Abstract: Proper maintenance of buildings is to extend the life span of building

Abd Hamid

Abd Rahim

Bachan Singh

Fajaruddin Mustakim

Halid Abdullah

Mohd Norazam Bin Yasin

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Maintenance Organization at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia  
(UTHM) 
 
Mohd Norazam bin Yasin1, a, Abd Halid Abdullah2,b Fajaruddin mustakim3,c 
Bachan Singh4,d Abd. Rahim Abd. Hamid5,e 
 
1,2,3 Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia 
4,5 Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Technology Malaysia 
a norazam@uthm.edu.my, b abdhalid@uthm.edu.my, c fajardin@uthm.edu.my,  
d bachan19@yahoo.com, e rahimfka@yahoo.com   
 
Keywords: Maintenance, Life span, Organization, Training, Job satisfaction, UTHM 
 
Abstract: Proper maintenance of buildings is to extend the life span of buildings [1]. In order to 
maintain the buildings, apart from maintenance work, is the organization aspect, one of the 
important elements in building maintenance [3]. The organization will have to be carefully 
structured and designed so that the staff can function efficiently [8,9,10,11,13]. The staff will have 
to be given training from time to time so that they are acquainted with the current technology and to 
tackle the challenges [6,12]. The objectives of this study are to examine the current maintenance 
organizational structure, to identify the main problems faced by the maintenance staff, to evaluate 
the level of job satisfaction and to identify the types of training to be provided to the maintenance 
staff. The study is carried through questionnaires and interviews. A total of fifty (50) questionnaires 
are distributed to the respondents consisting of engineers, technical assistants and technicians. The 
data is analyzed using average index. From the study, it was found that the type of organization 
structure of the maintenance department in UTHM is of line and staff.  
 
Introduction 
Maintenance is an important feature of any structure.  According to Ahmad (2002) maintenance 
is always a must for any structure in order to maintain is serviceability and to prevent deterioration 
that may shorten the service life [1,2].  Proper maintenance of the buildings is very important and 
need to be given top priority by the organization. Maintenance, as per British Standard 3811 is 
defined as ‘the combination of all technical and administrative actions intended to retain an item in, 
or restore it to, a state in which it can perform its required function’ [4,5].  According to Harold 
Koontz (1955) was described organization as ‘people working together in groups to achieve some 
goal must have roles to play, much like the parts actors fill the drama, whether these roles are ones 
they develop themselves, are accidental or haphazard, or are defined and structured by someone 
who wants to make sure that people contribute in a specific way to group effort’ [8,9,10,11]. 
 
Problem Statement 
With the aging of some of the buildings which are approximately 30 years ever since it were 
being constructed UTHM faces problems in building maintenance.  The budget obtained from the 
Ministry of Education (MOE) is not enough for the yearly maintenance. Are there various 
mechanisms for the maintenance department to forecast the yearly budget? Can the maintenance 
department justify the priority of works to be carried out? UTHM also spends too much money to 
carryout repair works as some of the defects reoccur even though the repair works have been carried 
out. The maintenance staff faces problems repairing these recurring problems due to some of the 
problems due to design failure.  Apart from the budget, the maintenance department faces many 
challenges as the campus expands rapidly. The sudden change involves the staff and the 
organization itself. The staff will have to be trained to handle the influx of maintenance work. The 
staff were not given the job description and job specification when they employed by UTHM. They 
are just provided with the contract of employment and most of the training for the staff is on the job 
Applied Mechanics and Materials Submitted: 2014-10-08
ISSN: 1662-7482, Vols. 773-774, pp 834-838 Revised: 2015-01-11
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.773-774.834 Accepted: 2015-03-03
© 2015 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland Online: 2015-07-15
This is an open access article under the CC-BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
 
 
training. Therefore, the training provided to the staff is adequate enough for them to carry out the 
work efficiently and effectively? The organization structure by itself also influence the way the 
department runs the maintenance. Poor organization will result in slower response time, more red 
tapes and this will eventually affect the completion of the repair works. Does the organization need 
to be restructured? Are the employees qualified enough to manage and carryout the repair works? 
Are the maintenance staffs highly motivated and productive in carrying out the maintenance work?  
 
Aim and Objectives 
The aim of this study is to examine the maintenance department and the job satisfaction of the 
maintenance staff. 
• To examine the current maintenance organizational structure 
• To identify the main problems faced by the maintenance staff 
• To evaluate the level of job satisfaction of maintenance staff 
• To identify the types of training to be provided to the maintenance staff 
 
Organization Structure 
Organization structure is the formal pattern of interactions and coordination designed to link the 
task of individuals and groups to achieve organizational goals.  The word ‘formal’ is refer to the 
point at which organization structure was created by the management to achieve organizational 
goals and objectives and hence, is official or formal outcomes of the organizing function [13].  
Organizations are also having informal structures or patterns of interaction, which is not designed 
by management but emerging because of common interests or friendships.  The process of 
developing an organization structure is referred to as organization design [9,10,13].   
 
Job Satisfaction 
Locke (1969, 1976) defined job satisfaction as "a pleasurable or positive emotional state 
resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experiences" [6,7].  In simple terms, job satisfaction 
explains; what makes people want to come to work and what makes them happy about their job in 
order for them not to quit their job?  It is found in many researches that Job Satisfaction can lead to 
Intention to stay in an organization (Kim et al., 1996) [7].  An important finding for organizations to 
note is that job satisfaction has a rather tenuous correlation to productivity on the job [12]. Job 
satisfaction is important to an organization's success [12].    
Training 
According to Wexley & Latham (1981); Hall & Goodale (1986); Bateman & Zeithaml (1990) 
the term of training and development is defined as a planned effort to facilitate employee learning 
of job- related behavior to improve performance [12]. Whereas training is an attempt to improve 
employee performance on current job, development is learning opportunities designed to help 
employees grow. 
 
Methodology          
Primary information was obtained by collecting data from the archive of Pejabat Pembangunan 
& Pengurusan Hartabina, UTHM. Secondary information was obtained from questionnaires survey 
and interview. The questionnaires survey was carried out to the maintenance staff at UTHM. The 
interview session is to get the information of the maintenance organization. Information obtained 
from primary and secondary sources was analyzed and processed to get the final results of the 
study. All information and theories gather from secondary information was applied to the primary 
information to test the accuracy of the theory. After getting the final results, a conclusion and 
recommendation was done. 
 
 
Applied Mechanics and Materials Vols. 773-774 835
 
 
Data Analysis 
Table 1 shows the list of problem faces by maintenance staff contents and the mean index for 
each element according to the survey has been done in maintenance department at UTHM.  The 
table shows that client do not understand about the maintenance work process was score the highest 
mean index 3.42.  The second score was for inadequate budget 3.39.  The third score was for 
understaffed 3.34.  Followed by uncomfortable workplace 3.24, lack of materials, equipment and 
tools 3.11, lack of training 3.05, unsatisfied client feedback 3.03, maintenance staff is always 
scolded by the client also 3.03.  The least score was lack of commitment 2.39. To get clear view 
about this we can look to Figure 1 below.     
 
836 International Integrated Engineering Summit 2014
 
 
 
 
Table 2 shows the list of level of job satisfaction contents and the mean index for each element 
according to the survey has been done in maintenance department at UTHM.  The table shows that I 
view my job seriously was scoring the highest mean index 4.16.  The second score was for 
management should take note of the staffs achievement and sacrifice 4.08.  The third score was for 
currently, I don’t have any problem work in the different team or personnel of maintenance 
organization 3.95. The least score was the, I understand my work thoroughly 2.79. To get clear 
view about this we can look to Figure 2 above. Table 3 above shows the list of training and types of 
training contents and the mean index for each element. For the training mean index, the table shows 
that Organization should provide the suitable training to the staff based on their job or expertise was 
score the highest mean index 4.29.  The second score was for the training that you attending give 
benefit to the organization 4.18.  The third score was for the training did you attended is relevant to 
your job 4.11. The least score was continuous learning is staffs own responsibility 3.87.  To get 
clear view about this we can look to Figure 3 above.  For the types of training mean index, the table 
shows that supervision of maintenance work was score the highest mean index 4.61.  The second 
score was for maintenance technology 4.45.  The third score was for maintenance management 
4.39. The least score was contract administration 4.16.  To get clear view about this we can look to 
Figure 4 above. 
 
Applied Mechanics and Materials Vols. 773-774 837
 
 
Conclusion 
From the study, it was found that the organizational structure is of line and staff.  The 
organizational structure is tall organization because it has many level of authority relative to the 
organization’s size. There is a “long chain of command” running from the top of the 
organization down to the bottom of the organization. It’s also known as pyramid-
type organization that has relatively large number of levels in its hierarchy of authority.  As level in 
hierarchy increase, communication will get difficult.  Communication will become more garbled as 
it is repeated through the department.  So as a result more time being taken to implement decisions.  
As an organization grows, the number of management levels increases and the structure grows 
taller. The main problems faced by the maintenance organization according to priority are client do 
not understand about the maintenance work process, inadequate budget for training and 
advancement, understaffed, uncomfortable workplace and lack of materials, equipment and tools. 
The level of job satisfaction of maintenance staff is ‘Average Satisfied’. There are understanding 
the work, relationships with the co- worker, relationship with the supervisor, the job specification, 
responsibility to control the own job independently, working hours, the trainings provided, making 
decision, working conditions and salary. The types of training required that need to be provided are 
supervision of maintenance work, maintenance technology, maintenance management, planning & 
scheduling and communication skills. Therefore, future studies can be carried out on maintenance 
organization involving government or private sectors. Based on findings, an approach can be 
recommended to assist management in maintenance organization. 
 
Acknowledgement 
Support from Department of Building and Construction Engineering, Faculty of Civil 
Environmental Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and Ministry of 
Education Malaysia (MOE). 
 
References  
[1] Barrie Chanter and Peter Swallow, Building Maintenance Management, 2nd edition, De 
Montfort University, Leicester. (2007) 
[2] Reginald Lee, M. Phil, FRICS, Building Maintenance Management, University of Reading, 
England. (1976) 
[3] Gregory H. Magee, PE, Facilities Maintenance Management, Kingston. (1988) 
[4] British Standard, Building Maintenance Management, BS 8210. (1986)  
[5] Edward D Mills, CBE, FRIBA, FSIAD, Building Maintenance and Preservation- A Guide for 
Design and Management, London. (1980) 
[6] Robert A. Suttermeister, People and Productivity, third edition, University of Washington. 
(1976) 
[7] Mattew P. Stephens, Productivity and Reliability- Based Maintenance Management, New 
Jersey. (2004) 
[8] Mathis & Jackson, Human Resource Management- Essential Perspectives, third edition, 
Canada. (2005) 
[9] John M. Ivancevich, Human Resource Management, 11th edition, University of Houston. 
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[10] Ellen Ernst Kossek and Richard N. Block, Managing Human Resources in The 21st Century- 
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[11] Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich, Management, ninth edition, USA. (1988) 
[12] Adeniyi, O.I, Staff training and development in Ejiogu, A; Achumba, I. Asika (eds). (1995) 
[13] Reading in Organizational Behavior in Nigeria, Lagos. Maltho use Press Ltd, Mondy, R.W. et 
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159- 167. 
838 International Integrated Engineering Summit 2014


Maintenance Organization at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM)

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