A strategic integrated healthcare facility management model

The requirement to reduce expenditure on “non‐core” activities, along with building's owners’ expectations for improved performance, are the main dilemmas with which a facility manager deals on a regular basis. The primary objective of this research was to identify the effect of defined parameters, such as the actual age of a building and its level of occupancy, on the performance of facilities and their systems. This study contributed to the development of a model capable of integrating these parameters into a Facility Management (FM) tactical and strategic decision‐making process, referred to as the Integrated Healthcare Facility Management Model (IHFMM). The model's guidelines may be outlined for the methodological design and operation of facilities from a life cycle perspective. The paper presents the architecture of the developed model, and four of the 15 procedures that comprise the heart of this model. Strateginis integruotas sveikatos priežiūros pastatų ūkio valdymo modelis Santrauka Reikalavimas mažinti „neesmines“ veiklos išlaidas bei pastato savininkų lūkesčiai dėl geresnių rezultatų – su tokiomis pagrindinėmis dilemomis reguliariai susiduriapastatų ūkio valdymo vadybininkas. Šio tiriamojo darbo pagrindinis uždavinys yra nustatyti, koks yra apibrėžtaparametrų, tokių kaip realus pastato amžius ir jo užimtumolygis, poveikis pastatų ir jų sistemų rezultatyvumui. Šistyrimas prisidėjo kuriant modelį, kuris leidžia šiuosparametrus integruoti į taktinių ir strateginių pastatų ūkiovaldymo sprendimų priėmimo procesą ir yra vadinamas integruotu sveikatos priežiūros pastatų ūkio valdymo modeliu. Modelio rekomendacijas galima taikyti vykdantmetodologinį pastatų projektavimą ir eksploatavimą išgyvavimo ciklo perspektyvos. Šiame darbe pristatoma sukurto modelio architektūra ir keturios iš penkiolikos procedūrų, sudarančių šio modelio šerdį. First published online: 18 Oct 201

BSRI (Building Sustainability Rating Index) for Building Construction

Sustainability has been defined by various institutions as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. This is a soft qualitative definition. It has also been defined as “taming the exponential growth of resource consumption and emissions generation while maintaining an exponential growth in affluence growth”. This is a quantitative definition. This paper provides a building sustainability rating system (BSRI) to assess sustainability impacts using both prescriptive (qualitative) assessment tools as well as performance (quantitative) rating tools of resource consumption and emissions generation. BSRI is easy to apply and focuses on macro (strategic design mission, vision and objectives) as well as micro (tactical) levels of the building stakeholder’s sustainability perspectives. The criteria and indices in BSRI are defined in order to reduce ambiguity, confusion and misunderstanding and create a standard for future integration of sustainability (GREEN) with BIM and LEAN platforms. The BSRI platform allows for adaptation and growth in knowledge of the sustainability issues such as embedded energy protocols, through the use of Bayesian Equations

Facility maintenance and management: a health care case study

Contemporary trends in healthcare services provision tend toward the increased use of community based healthcare centers. This study on the concepts of healthcare provision hypothesizes that in the future, the main source of healthcare services will be a network of community based clinics which will be responsible for the majority of primary and ambulatory care. This concept implies that a network of community clinics equipped with state of the art telemedicine will be established with a wide geographical dispersion. The implications for healthcare facilities in terms of the resources and performance of the built environment are investigated by reference to the Israeli healthcare system. This paper reflects the results of research on healthcare facility management over the past 10 years. Comparison of the performance and maintenance of hospital facilities and community clinics reveals that the maintenance and performance of clinic facilities have the potential to combine improved healthcare facility services with cost-effective facility management and maintenance

Using Visual Ethnography for Space Studies

Conference proceeding from the 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual ConferenceA space usage study was conducted of the College of Architecture and the College of Education & Human Development on the Texas A&M University - College Station campus. This study used visual ethnography to document when and where these colleges’ undergraduate and graduate students study. The goal of the study was to use this information to inform the library in planning space usage for these student populations. This paper discusses how students use personal and public spaces in their departments, the library, and what they deem as necessities to complete their “home away from home” on-campus experience. The photos and gps database will be added to the library repository collection for future researchers to use.T3: Texas A&M Triads for Transformatio

Investigation into the nature of productivity gains observed during the Airplane Game lean simulation

Abstract Research Question: What is the nature of productivity gains observed during live playing of the lean simulation, the "airplane game"? Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate and identify the nature of productivity gains observed during live playing of the lean simulation, the airplane game. The intent is two-fold: (1) to identify the specific mechanistic impact of each lean principle, as it is successively introduced; and (2) to identify the productivity contributions of non-mechanistic phenomena such as learning curve and/or Hawthorne Effect. The game serves as a proxy for controlled experimentation in the field-experimentation that is difficult to conduct on actual construction projects but that is important when making claims regarding generalizability of results. Research Method: To identify the specific mechanistic impact of each lean principle, researchers used Microsoft Excel to graphically map the airplane simulation, stationby-station and second-by-second. Metrics such as time to first batch, number of successful planes and work-in-process were derived from the Excel graphic and evaluated after each round to understand the specific impact of each successivelyintroduced lean principle. To identify the specific impact of non-mechanistic processes on productivity (such as learning curve and Hawthorne effect), researchers compared average results from live playings against results derived from the Excel graphic. Findings: Comparison of results obtained from the Excel graphic demonstrate the following: (1) reducing batch sizes primarily results in reduced time to first batch; transitioning from a push to pull system primarily results in reduction of work-inprocess; and transitioning from an uneven loading of work to a work-leveled system primarily results in an increased amount of final product; and (2) the contribution of productivity gains from non-mechanistic phenomena such as learning curve and/or Hawthorne effect is relatively minor (i.e. approximately 70% of productivity gains in

Impact of cost constraints on aesthetic ranking following Target Value Design exercises

PURPOSE: Target Value Design (TVD) is a project delivery subset that shares methodologies with Target Costing and Value Engineering, but is performed within the context of lean construction. TVD has been shown to generate first cost savings of approximately 20% on case study projects. A concern voiced by some architects, however, is that TVD may produce aesthetically inferior designs. Addressing this concern, we explore whether there is a relationship between cost and aesthetics. METHODOLOGY: Eighteen postgraduate- level university students were asked to design a functional wine stand using a restricted pallet of materials—Styrofoam cups and plates and 8 1/2” x 11” sheets of paper within one hour—(a) without cost constraints and (b) with cost constraints. The resulting wine stands were photographed and then graphically rendered to remove confounding variables, permitting comparisons between them. Over one hundred twenty subjects were surveyed and asked to rank the stands according to their preferences. Ratings were then correlated with costs using Spearman’s Rank-Order coefficient. FINDINGS: We found there was a very mild negative correlation (rs=-0.214) between final cost of the individual stands and their aesthetic rankings. The result suggests that popular aesthetic preference, as measured in wine stand design, is very slightly correlated with higher cost, and that other factors (not investigated) have a greater influence on aesthetic rankings. IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggest that TVD does not necessarily compromise the popular aesthetic quality of a simple product design, such as a wine stand, and similarly, may not substantially compromise the final aesthetic of building design