Review on indoor environmental quality parameters towards healthier green buildings in Malaysia / Fadhilah Che Aziz and Md. Yusof Hamid

This paper presents the review of indoor environmental quality parameters in various guidelines and green rating tools namely; Guidelines on Indoor Environmental Quality for Government Office, Guideline for Performance Evaluation and Office Building‟s Rating, Green Building Index (GBI), Green Real Estate (GreenRE), Green Mark and Building Research Establishment Environment Assessment Method(BREEAM). The review process was done by comparing theparameters existing in these guidelines and green rating tools. Further review has been done on the selected green rating tools across several green policies on indoor environmental quality. Standard references for the parameters isalso identified. Previous studies that have been conducted regarding indoor environmental quality level in several buildings are also been reviewed.With the insights drawn from the comparative review, suggestions on ways to improve indoor environmental quality parameters and assessments are made that may facilitate its implementation. The outcome of the study provides a deep understanding in indoor environment quality parameters and assessments. With the outcome of this study, it may helpsinimprovingassessment in indoor environmental qualitytowards healthier green buildings in Malaysia

Mould prevention strategies for library buildings in tropical climate / Suriani Ngah Abdul Wahab and Md Yusof Hamid

This paper presents mould prevention strategies that should be applied in the library buildings. Library constructed in tropical climatic conditions must be moisture controlled from fungi or mould growth on any potential material. In order to identify the magnitude and the causes for mould growth, comprehensive research was carried out within three libraries in Malaysia universities. Aspergillus, Penicillium, Stachybotrys's and fungal had been identified as a common mould growth found. Thus, the growth of mould on the building elements such as walls and floors carpets, books, air conditioning parts of the surrounding library areas will be inevitable unless prevention strategies applied. Four strategies have been identified as possible mould prevention strategies in the library buildin

The compliance of contractor on providing the occupational safety system at the construction site. (Case Study - Government Projects) / Zakaria Yaa'cob, Mohamad Sohaimi Man and Dr. Md. Yusof Hamid

Now day we seen many accidents happen at the construction site, it seen is in control situation. The contract that stated the need of safety at construction site and it like the contractor did not take a serious action on it. All parties involved in the project must contribute their roles in resolving the problems. It must be study according to law and regulation such as Occupational Safety and Health Act 1974 and Machinery and Industry Act 1967 and providing the safety management system by contractor. There are two methodologies that has been used in this research, one is the literature review including safety management system, such as safety policies, safety plan, accident reporting system, training, monitoring and supervising and risk assessment, legislation. The second methodology is to do a case study on government projects by using interview to the target group that is contractor, members of professional, and safety officer. The analysis base on the finding of case study for every item discuss and the result of the analysis will show the compliance of contractor on providing the safety management system. As Conclusion, at the end of this research, a proposal to government agencies for an improvement of system at construction site

Usability evaluation via accessibility design / Siti Norsazlina Haron ... [et al.]

This paper provides strategies in evaluating usability via accessibility from the user experience of three replacement hospitals. The methodology refers to a five-stage evaluation process and using the “walk-through journey experience” among patient and visitors. The data analysis was based on thematic analysis principles using NVivo9. The accessibility design issues due to participant disabilities and expectation will build up for usability parameters. The findings indicate that the quality design is the positive user experience feedback on the usability of the physical design environment that fulfils their expectations and the concept of usability and accessibility is to support the user-friendly environment design

The composition of usability evaluation in assessing quality of the display case lighting / Siti Norsazlina Haron ... [et al.]

This paper presents and discussed discusses the need for usability evaluation as a tool to support an assessment of museum quality in-use by exploring the meaning of users‟ experiences. In this study, usability evaluation is a preliminary study to identify the design issues associated with the museum visitor‟s context of use. The finding from usability evaluation reveals that the visitors need an improvement on the lighting in the display cases. need the museum to make improvements on the lighting in the display cases. However, there are a few considerations in applying Lux reading because it will give an impact to the display artifacts. Therefore, the main case study is focusing on identifying the Lux reading in display cases for protecting the artifact and making it ideal for museum visitors. In addition, this paper provides a discussion on “usability concept and the importance of Lux reading of artifact display. Later the main study result will be validated by the museum end user to help suggest usable Lux reading. This usability evaluation is useful to the museum curator, designers and facilities management. The usability evaluation is beneficial in identifying the important usability design issues to be investigated and explored. Besides the Lux data is highly significant in improving the museum design practice and provide a guide in monitoring the performance of lighting, which is more valuable to their end-user

Investor relations in developing country: a disclosure strategy

The recent corporate collapse in the United States of America (US) has possibly highlighted inadequacy of corporate disclosure policies, governance and investor relations that potentially indicate that current polices needed serious revisions. Corporate disclosure policies and investor relations (hereafter known as IR) are neither related nor competing each other. According to Marston (1996) the purpose of IR is to provide information to financial community and public investor to evaluate the company.Rayder and Register (1989) proposed that IR has strategic importance to create linkage between company and investors.Furthermore, they have suggested that IR activities must focus on three principles. Firstly, is for the firm interest by achieving and maintaining highest share price.Secondly, to create investor confidence that will lower the cost of financing.Thirdly, to attain needs of shareholder whose holding highest companies’ shares or to attract institutional shareholders and foreign shareholders to invest in companies’ shares or debts in future

A comparative analysis of the performance of conventional and Islamic unit trust companies in Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficiency of selected conventional and Islamic unit trust companies in Malaysia during the period 2002 to 2005. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to investigate efficiency, as measured by the Malmquist index, which is decomposed into two components: efficiency change and technical change indexes. Findings – The study indicates that technical efficiency is the main contributor to enhancing the efficiency of the Malaysian unit trust industry. In addition, the larger the size of the unit trust companies, the more inefficient the performance. In comparing the efficiency of unit trust companies, the study finds that some of the Islamic unit trust companies perform better than their conventional counterparts. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to five Islamic unit trust companies. Thus, the findings of this study are indicative, but inconclusive for the unit trust industry as a whole. Practical implications – The results have two important implications for both conventional and Islamic unit trust companies in Malaysia. First, the deterioration of total factor productivity (TFP) in the unit trust industry in Malaysia is due to the deficiency of innovation in technical components. Second, the size of the unit trust companies has an adverse effect on the TFP performance. Originality/value – The contribution of this study is that it analyzes the efficiency of the two types of unit trust industry which are important and relevant for Malaysia. This significance arises from the dual financial system, in which the Islamic unit trust companies operate in parallel with their conventional counterparts. The comparison sheds some light on the performance of the Islamic unit trust companies, whose operations are based on profit-sharing, in contrast to the conventional unit trust companies

Unveiling the Impact of Sustainable Interior Design Criteria on Hotel’s Operational Performance Effectiveness and User’s Hedonic Consumption

Performance effectiveness in the hotel’s operational stage is significant for hotel industry as the industry relies on customer satisfaction towards the service. Fulfilling the customer’s satisfaction and users’ hedonic on the aesthetic appearance, interiors, room decorations, and furnishings is crucial for hotel's operational and facilities management concept. However, awareness the management of tangible interiors and aesthetic performance on sustainable interiors products are still lacking in the hotel's operational performance. This study aims to close the loop between the sustainable interior design (SID) and facilities management, by identifying the criteria of SID relating to hotel’s operational performance and user’s hedonic consumption. A semi-structured interview was carried out this study involving three professionals; architect, interior designer, GBI facilitator, in various green hotels project. The data is analysed using ATLAS.ti9© qualitative software. The findings revealed that there are seven (7) sustainable ID criteria consists of biophilic, energy efficiency, water consumption, health and social flexibility, environmental comfort, ergonomics, and green awareness. This study is significant for the hoteliers in identifying critical elements contributed to the successful performance in hotel’s operational stage using sustainable interiors.

Developing a Conceptual Model for Strategic Knowledge Sharing of Facilities Management Protocol (FMP)

The aim of this paper is to identify a key dimension of knowledge sharing strategy to improve Facilities Management Process of Protocol (FMP) in achieving facilities management organization performance. It investigates the key dimension of facilities management protocol strategy that can be adopted by the Facilities Management organizations and examines the problem related to IBS during the operational stages of maintenance management. An analysis of previous research provides an insight of the relationship between the IBS attribute and Facilities Management Protocol (FMP) component that can proposed a significant variable to improve the FM performance to solve problem related maintenance for IBS building. The review shows that a factor related to FM Protocol such as ‘operate and optimize facility’, ‘monitor and record facility condition’, ‘implement schedule maintenance work’, ‘manage inventory and spare part’, and ‘supervised vendor work’ was identified as a key dimension for FMP strategy to improve FM performance. Meanwhile a factor such as ‘diagnosing tools and assessment’, ‘systematic procurement procedure’, ‘complementary IBS input and information document’ and ‘handing over document’ was classified as a key factor to improve FM performance through adopting knowledge sharing strategy. This paper suggests that through improvement of each factor, the recognition of the whole strategic approach process in FMP can be increase thus helping to strengthen the facilities management organization for competitive advantages

Developing a Conceptual Model for Strategic Knowledge Sharing of Facilities Management Protocol (FMP)

The aim of this paper is to identify a key dimension of knowledge sharing strategy to improve Facilities Management Process of Protocol (FMP) in achieving facilities management organization performance. It investigates the key dimension of facilities management protocol strategy that can be adopted by the Facilities Management organizations and examines the problem related to IBS during the operational stages of maintenance management. An analysis of previous research provides an insight of the relationship between the IBS attribute and Facilities Management Protocol (FMP) component that can proposed a significant variable to improve the FM performance to solve problem related maintenance for IBS building. The review shows that a factor related to FM Protocol such as ‘operate and optimize facility’, ‘monitor and record facility condition’, ‘implement schedule maintenance work’, ‘manage inventory and spare part’, and ‘supervised vendor work’ was identified as a key dimension for FMP strategy to improve FM performance. Meanwhile a factor such as ‘diagnosing tools and assessment’, ‘systematic procurement procedure’, ‘complementary IBS input and information document’ and ‘handing over document’ was classified as a key factor to improve FM performance through adopting knowledge sharing strategy. This paper suggests that through improvement of each factor, the recognition of the whole strategic approach process in FMP can be increase thus helping to strengthen the facilities management organization for competitive advantages