Facility Management in Private Finance Initiative project in UTHM Pagoh Campus

Facility management (FM) in Private Finance Initiative (PFI) involved a long-time process and duration in improving the infrastructure and associating the facilities. FM will give a support role or service within an organisation that have been strategically integrated approach to operating, maintaining, improving, and adapting the buildings and supporting services in order to create natural environment. In a long-term relationship, facility management need to evolve to a higher strategic level in compliance with the organisation’s strategy. At the end of the process, it will achieve best value and performance on delivery of support services. In this research, direct observation has been done to analyze facility management provided in UTHM Pagoh Campus. Furthermore, the satisfaction level of building occupants also was investigated by using different measurement factors in a structured questionnaire to measure the effectiveness. Hence, the results concluded that the total overall satisfaction of users towards facility provided by private sector are mostly satisfied among building occupants. From the results obtained, outdoor area was ranked first out of eight measurement factors. An interview has been done in order to clarify the success of facility management. It can be summarized that all the facility supplied by private sector were meets Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), by meant it also need to improvise their services provision

An edible cutleries using green materials: sorghum flour

Plastic cutlery may be a convenient alternative and detrimental to the health. The presence of toxins and carcinogens that can quickly be ingested into the body is a petroleum by-product. As toxins and carcinogens can leech into food through the natural ecosystem, the processing of plastic cutlery has become harmful for the environment. Therefore, to minimize the negative impact towards the envi�ronment, and to support the green materials product, this study proposes an edible cutlery from sorghum flour. This study aims to calculate the exact quantity of the product used to manufacture edible cutlery, to identify the expense of making edible cutlery, and to compare the ability of edible cutleries and plastic cutleries to resist water absorption test and soil burial test. The edible cutleries are produced from the combination of natural ingredients like green materials, which are sorghum flour, wheat flour and rice. The tests involved in this study are soil burial test and water absorption test. Thus, from this study, it can minimize the negative impact towards the environment and be able to replace the conventional plastic cutleries. For commer�cialized purposes in future, the edible cutlery should be moulded in perfect shape and size to get the same quality for every single unit

FACTORS INFLUENCING LEARNING EFFECTIVENESS AMONG STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN DESIGN AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION COURSE: A CASE STUDY

ABSTRACTAs part of their social obligation to the nation, polytechnics in Malaysia offer selected certificate level programs to students with special need. Considering that these students require special education for effective learning, it is important to ensure that teaching and learning process for this group of students is carried out successfully. This study aims to explore factors that influence learning effectiveness among these students. Survey questionnaires were distributed to 27 students with special needs who were in their fourth semester at the Department of Design and Visual Communication. The data were then analysed using SPSS version 16. This study found that interpreters can increase the effectiveness of teaching and learning in the classroom. Factors related to course suitability need to be considered to ensure that it is appropriate to the level and ability of this group. Besides, learning facilities specifically for students with special needs should be provided to facilitate effective learning among them.KEYWORDS: students with special needs, learning effectiveness, teaching and learning, teaching facilities

A partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) of energy management critical success factors to sustainable university in Malaysia

This paper analyzes the critical success factors (CSFs) in energy management (EM) for the implementation of Sustainable University (SU) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at Malaysian research universities. Through a thorough review of the literature, CSFs related to EM were established, which were then contextually tailored through a pilot study and presented as a hypothesized template. Primary data was collected to 300 academic and non-academic staff of five research universities in Malaysia through questionnaire surveys. Modeling of the structural formula of partial least squares (PLS-SEM) was used to statistically verify the final version of the EM CSFs to achieve SU. This paper fills the knowledge gap by concentrating on the quantified contribution to the adoption of SU in Malaysia by the most significant EM CSFs. Findings from this paper have confirmed the hypotheses that four EM CSFs have a significant relationship to KPIs namely, top management support, understanding, strong stakeholder relationships, and risk management which ultimately lead to successful adoption of EM in achieving SU. It is hoped that the findings will provide guidelines for the Malaysian Higher Education Ministry to be more effective in achieving sustainability for all universities

DETERMINANT FACTORS IN DEVELOPMENT OF MAINTENANCE CULTURE IN MANAGING PUBLIC ASSET AND FACILITIES

Abstract Malaysia is a fast growing developing country and its vision is becoming a developed country with a first class infrastructure. Towards this vision, the assets and facilities were developed especially buildings, constructions and infrastructures to fulfil the need of society and organization. However, the assets especially public buildings and infrastructures are not maintained properly because of the lack of maintenance culture. Thus, developing the maintenance culture is essential to increase the awareness about maintenance activity on public facilities and assets in Malaysia. Regarding to this, maintenance culture should studied through examining and identifying the determinant factors which influence the development of maintenance culture. This paper aims to review the determinant factors which influence the development of maintenance culture. The determinant factors are leadership; communication; rewards and recognition; teamwork; training and education; motivation; involvement; empowerment; policy systems strategy and work planning; and organization structure

Effectiveness of lotus and duckweed in ferum removal to improve greywater quality

The broad environmental issue for surface water is the water pollution and always due to various industrial and domestic activities that produce liquid waste. The untreated wastewater that contain high concentration of ferum can lead to the damage healthy skin cells, causes of residue inside the pipes. Besides that, the The untreated greywater that contain high concentration of ferum can cause the growth rate of the plants reduced and affect the growth of aquatic organisms. The goal of this study is to test the greywater quality after planting lotus in the sample greywater. The parameters tests include the pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, concentration of ferum, dissolve oxygen (DO), ammoniacal nitrogen (AN) and total suspended solids (TSS) of the sample greywater, before and after planted with lotus. The sample greywater tested for 3 days and 7 days after planted with the lotus to identify whether the duration of treatment can improve the water quality. This study also includes compare the effectiveness of lotus and duckweed in improving the quality of sample greywater. Results from the experiment showed that the lotus had the ability to reduce ferum and improve quality in the greywater to standard A. Besides that, the quality of sample greywater keeps on improving with the longer time planted with lotus. The sample greywater had the better quality after 7 days planted with lotus compare to the greywater that had planted by lotus for 3 days. For example, the concentration of ferum in greywater sample recorded as 0.28mg/L and reduced to 0.80mg/L after 7 days planted with lotus. The duckweed had the better ability to remove ferum and turbidity in the greywater whereas lotus had the better ability in increasing the DO and reducing the BOD and COD of the sample greywater. The percentage of duckweed in ferum removal recorded as 77.06% which is 50.45% higher than lotus

Factors affecting the space utilisation rate of Malaysian public universities

This paper shares the factors that affect space utilization rate in the Malaysian public higher education institutions. The factors, which gathered through a qualitative study involving academics and practitioners are, people, place and process. This helps the Malaysian public universities to understand what they can afford to put forward in order to achieve higher space utilization. Besides, academics and practitioners are encouraged to explore how space utilization can be embraced as a tool in managing space, especially for public higher education institutionsina developing countryy such as Malaysi

Measurement of facility management competencies in higher education institution

Facility management competency plays an important role in providing conducive facilities for higher education institutions. This study will examine the selection of measurement items for facility management competencies in higher education institution. Variables examined in this study are leadership and management, managing people, understanding business organization, operation and maintenance, managing premises, managing services, managing resources, and managing the working environment. Respondents consisted of 646 individuals who manage the facilities of higher education institutions. Data was analysed by using SPSS version 20 software. Results showed that the stated variables were categorized into five areas of facility management competencies with Eigenvalues above 1.0. The value of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy 0.966 > 0.6 was adequate for inter-correlation, while Bartlett’s Test was significant (Chi Square = 23069.264, p <0.05). Hence, factor analysis was carried out and the results formed five constructs that were able to explain 71.78% of the polytechnic facility management competencies. In terms of reliability, the Cronbach’s Alpha value classification was very high, exceeding 0.7. Accordingly, the findings obtained reveal that the instrument can identify facility management competencies required to manage facilities in the polytechnic

Competencies Framework For The Property Manager Of Shopping Malls

The property management profession in Malaysia is registered under the Akta Penilai, Pentaksir, Ejen Harta Tanah dan Pengurus Harta 1981 (Akta 242)/ Valuers, Appraisers, Real Estate Agents and Property Managers Act 1981 (Act 242). A property manager is required to carry out management and control of any land, building and any interest in the land or building, excluding business management based on the property on behalf of the owner for a fee. In Malaysia, property managers have previously been free to manage their property under their custody, most of whom manage the assets on the basis of their own guidelines and standards. Therefore, in order to address these issues, this study was conducted in order to develop a competencies framework for property managers in the shopping mall. Proposed framework that based on knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOs), could assist the organization in determining the competencies of property managers in their shopping centers for day-to-day tasks as well as for the purpose of hiring. Future research on the relationship between knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics of job performance is recommended

Evaluation of performance energy collection using five types of solar flat plate collector

Solar radiation is emitted from the sun and collected on the surface of the earth by solar collectors. Solar energy can be transformed into useful energy in the structure of thermal power. One of the foremosteconomic always is to reapheat by exploitationsolar Flat Plate Collector (FPC). The solar collector's function is to heat water from the atmosphere. Heated water can be used for domestic and industrial uses, etc. The types of FPCs involved in this study are, for the colour’s FPC (black collector versus white collector), material’s FPC (copper collector versus polypropylene collector) and glazing’s FPC (double glazing collector versus single glazing collector) by using the Energy Solar Trainer. The present work is aimed to predict the performance of FPC tested for three different days with different types of FPC using an application of water heating The sky was almost clear with an ambient temperature in the range 20o C-36.2o C. Readings are collected from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. with the solar radiation intensity, I = 722 W/m2 and flow rate fixed at 2 Lm-1. The result shows that the efficiency of FPCs (colour, material and glazing), the colour’s FPC, and black collector is higher than white collector. While for material’s FPC, copper collector is higher than polypropylene collector. For the glazing’s FPC, double glazing collector is higher than single collector. For the overall FPCs efficiency, double glazing collector is the highest compared to others FPC