Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Building Construction

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Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Building Construction

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https://hdl.handle.net/1853/72547

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Degree Series

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School of Building Construction

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Now showing 1 - 9 of 9

Facility management during the 2009 recession: a snapshot view

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-11-17) Geierman, Joseph

In 2008 and 2009, the world was shaken by the deepest recession since the Great Depression. This event has forced changes on many industries and professions - including Facility Management. This paper provides a "snapshot view" of how Facility Managers and Facility Management departments are navigating the financial meltdown. Preliminary research focused on previous recessionary periods, and the impact that they had on the development of Facility Management. In the recessions of the eighties, nineties and two thousands, Facility Managers started professional associations and developed professional certifications for themselves. At the same time, more businesses began utilizing the Facility Management function in order to orchestrate an increasingly complicated (and potentially expensive) built environment. At the same time, the same economic pressures led both to an increase in the use of outsourcing, and a backlog of deferred maintenance. Facility Managers had to be both innovative and flexible to survive in the industry - which has seen little growth in the 2000s. The main focus of this paper was a survey answered by 119 Facility Managers. In it, they reported on both how their departments were responding to the recession, and also how they were personally managing their careers during this time. Follow-up questions were also asked of some Facility Managers, to get a more detailed understanding of their answers. The main strategy that the survey found Facility Management departments turning to during the current recession was deferred maintenance, followed by staffing cuts and contract renegotiations. Facility Managers also reported that they are continuing to shift work to outsourcers - although some FMs reported that they have either outsourced all the work they can, or that there is no way to outsource some of the tasks that they do. In those cases, they focused on doing more work in-house. Individual Facility Managers tended to have relatively long careers, with about seventy percent being in their positions for longer than three years. Also, of those FMs who reported being unemployed, the majority had only been out of work for less than six months. Many of the Facility Managers questioned in this survey stated that they believed networking was a key component of their jobs. There were some who disagreed with this, however, believing that technical knowledge has become much more important than a strong social network. About equal numbers of people who had been in their jobs for about a year reported finding those jobs through job-boards as through networking Most of the Facility Managers who responded to the survey are not aware of any initiatives devoted specifically to helping out-of-work FMs. These groups do exist, however, and some were discovered in the course of researching this paper. It's notable that many Facility Managers appeared to have much more negative view of social networking sites than they do of in-person networking. The paper concludes by speculating on what the various results mean. While Facility Management departments appear to be laying professionals off, the long tenures and short periods of unemployment may signal that Facility managers are still in demand - even in times of recession. They may actually be more in demand now than in normal times, because of the need to balance multiple needs during a time of constrained spending on both capital and operating budgets. One red flag on the horizon is the perception of new technologies by respondents to this survey. Facility Managers were originally hired to manage costly new technologies in the workplace - this is something that they must continue to do in the future, and if they are not comfortable with changes that are coming, the profession may be bypassed or become marginalized. This may be a generational issue, which will be solved as younger people enter the industry.
Artificial neural network (ANN) based decision support model for alternative workplace arrangements (AWA): readiness assessment and type selection

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-11-11) Kim, Jun Ha

A growing body of evidence shows that globalization and advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have prompted a revolution in the way work is produced. One of the most notable changes is the establishment of the alternative workplace arrangement (AWA), in which workers have more freedom in their work hours and workplaces. Just as all organizations are not good candidates for AWA adoption, all work types, all employees and all levels of facilities supports are not good candidates for AWA adoption. The main problem is that facility managers have no established tools to assess their readiness for AWA adoption or to select among the possible choices regarding which AWA type is most appropriate considering their organizations' business reasons or objectives of adoption and the current readiness levels. This dissertation resulted in the development of readiness level assessment indicators (RLAI), which measure the initial readiness of high-tech companies for adopting AWAs and the ANN based decision model, which allows facility managers to predict not only an appropriate AWA type, but also an anticipated satisfaction level considering the objectives and the current readiness level. This research has identified significant factors and relative attributes for facility managers to consider when measuring their organization's readiness for AWA adoption. Robust predictive performance of the ANN model shows that the main factors or key determinants have been correctly identified in RLAI and can be used to predict an appropriate AWA type as well as a high-tech company's satisfaction level regarding the AWA adoption.
An analysis regarding energy efficiency in metro Atlanta's private office buildings

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-06-12) Fore, Elizabeth K.

Commercial office building occupants are a significant consumer of electricity, and they subsequently contribute a significant amount of greenhouse gases into the environment in the process. An opportunity exists to improve the energy efficiency in existing buildings, and the Energy Star certification program provides both tools to do so and an independent verification of a building's superior energy efficiency. However, only 16% of metro Atlanta's office space has achieved this certification. The intent of the research was to identify the current state of energy efficiency in buildings, and to identify potential obstacles to obtaining the Energy Star certification. Towards this goal, secondary research was conducted among prominent academic journals, as well as numerous professional and governmental organizations and publications. Primary research was conducted through an online survey of Facility Managers, Property Managers, and Building Engineers of Energy Star office buildings and comparable non-Energy Star office buildings in the metro Atlanta area. The survey was conducted mostly using closed-ended questions using a Likert scale so as to provide a basis for statistical analysis among responses, and open-ended questions were also included to identify the current state of energy efficiency practices. The research identified three areas which hold statistically significant differences between Energy Star and directly comparable buildings. An analysis also determined that building age does seem to play a role in the building representatives' responses. Four conclusions were found regarding characteristics of Energy Star buildings themselves. The research also identified five conclusions regarding the expected result when pursuing the Energy Star certification. These conclusions include the best method to achieve the Energy Star certification, the expected energy savings, the expected time spent to achieve the certification, the expected cost to achieve the certification, and the main reasons to recertify the building. Finally, this research highlights innovative practices in other states and cities, such as financial incentives and legislation which require commercial buildings to obtain a building rating. Such innovative practices are currently not employed in the Atlanta metro area, but would be beneficial to both the Atlanta area and individual buildings.
Employee engagement model for the multi-family rental housing industry

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-03-23) Phillips, Deborah Ann

Employee Engagement Model for the Multi-family Rental Housing Industry Deborah R. Phillips 238 Pages Directed by Roozbeh Kangari The multi-family rental housing industry has faced numerous challenges in the past decade. Increased competition, declining occupancy rates and higher operating expenses have forced management companies to re-examine their organizational strategies, particularly as it applies to its human capital. Employee engagement has become an emerging topic and shows that engaged employees perform better, put in extra effort to help get the job done, show a strong level of commitment to the organization, and are more motivated and optimistic about their work goals. Companies now recognize the value in fostering a climate in which engaged employees drive sales by creating loyal customers. However, despite documented support identifying the link between engaged employees and more impressive business outcomes, little research has concentrated on the special needs and challenges of the multi-family rental housing industry. Further, there are limited tools available to assist owners and managers with the task of identifying the drivers affecting employee engagement. An Employee Engagement Model (EEM) was developed to allow multi-family apartment rental property owners and managers to determine the percentage of satisfied residents for a given average level of engagement score. This research utilized statistical analysis, neural network techniques, and probabilistic modeling to develop the Employee Engagement Model. The Employee Engagement Model (EEM) offers new knowledge in the relationship between employee engagement and resident satisfaction in the multi-family rental housing industry. New knowledge may also be derived in correlations of certain aspects of employee engagement and the likelihood of residents extending their leases or referring others to his/her community, thus improving business performance. It is expected that the Employee Engagement Model (EEM) will provide useful feedback to multi-family professionals in their process of talent management. It is also expected that further discussions toward improvements in measuring employee engagement and its impact on satisfaction will be prompted by this research.
Leadership in project management

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-11-19) Xiong, Riyue

Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific one-time task. For example, constructing a building or implementing a new computer system, all need to be well-managed. Projects are conceived and completed by people, who are involved in the whole process of project execution and completion. Thus, project management not only requires an efficient project manager, but also a qualified leader who can lead the team effectively. This research will provide a clearer understanding of the concept of leadership in projects, discussing how and why it works, and the ways to make project teams more dynamic and effective. The results from the study are applied to these leadership concepts, in an effort understand the role of effective leadership in reducing costs across the whole project process and increasing the project value.
Automation Performance Index

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006-11-30) Makarechi, Shariar

Automation is intended to improve overall building performance. Building Automation Systems (BAS) are attractive and popular due to their promise of increased operational effectiveness. BAS can be optimized and a well-designed and well-implemented BAS is expected to increase a buildings overall appeal and value as a result of improvement to its performance. In order to improve the level of automation in buildings, a measurement tool in the form of a performance index is needed. The goal of this research is to quantify a buildings level of automation-performance. The specific objective is to develop an Automation Performance Index (API) model for evaluating the extent of a buildings automation-performance. A methodology is outlined with ten tasks to accomplish the goals of this research and a criterion for each task is described. An extensive literature research and expert survey are performed to identify the key parameters that influence the performance of BAS. Seminars related to the building automation and commissioning fields were also attended to obtain the views of practitioners, manufacturers experts, as well as scholars in the field of building automation and performance commissioning. A Delphi method of research approach is conducted through a series of interviews and surveys of industry and academia experts. The feedback from experts and the research from literature, industry and academic resources are combined, classified and categorized for identification of significant parameters around which Automation Performance Index (API) model can be defined.
Engaging the Senses for Performance: a Framework for Researching Sensory Design Elements and Their Effects on Productivity in the Workplace

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-11-29) Hyatt, Abigail

In conjunction with an investigation of past research, this study provides a measured account of changes in worker productivity resulting from changes including the application of new sensory design elements in a typical office environment. A case study is presented that follows a collection agencys relocation of offices in order to provide confirmation of a relationship between employee productivity and changes in the office environment. As noted, these changes included a general application of color in the new environment as compared to the neutral palette of the previous site. Data representing the total dollar amounts collected by individual employees is compiled for the two months directly prior (November and December 2004) and immediately following (January and February 2005) the companys relocation of offices to a space integrating various colors (red, blue, green, and gold) into the work environment. Information relating to a total of 10 client groups and the average volume per employee are compared for each of the months. In order to substantiate the findings, the monthly numbers are also compared to the same periods (November/December 2003 and January/February 2004) in the previous year.
Standardized Design Process and Capital Planning for Salvation Army Corps Community Centers: a Case Study and Recommendations

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-04-10) Taylor, Robert L.

The Salvation Army, a non-profit Christian Church and social service enterprise, struggles as all corporations do, with expending limited resources in the most efficient and effective manner. The Salvation Army has been recognized as a corporate leader in effectively managing administrative and programmatic resources and generating positive results in their programs designed for the benefit of society and the community of mankind as a whole. This document focuses on whether The Salvation Armys practices concerning the design, construction, and operation of facilities warrants the same praise regarding efficiencies and effectiveness. The contents of this thesis are an evaluation of, and recommendations for, the design and construction processes used by The Salvation Armys Corporate Headquarters to construct and operate Salvation Army Corps Community Centers throughout the southeastern United States. The primary objectives were to analyze the current design and construction processes, develop a prototype design, and determine through quantitative research if standardization of the design is cost effective, programmatically functional, superior in terms of constructability, maintainability, sustainability, and if and how a standard model should be implemented. The methodology used to produce this thesis included a comprehensive review of relevant literature concerning current industry standards regarding design and construction to develop an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of standardized design. Personal interviews with architects and directors of similar facilities were conducted to gain a thorough knowledge of the concept of standardization. A survey was distributed to internal personnel involved in the design, construction, and operations of Salvation Army Corps Community Centers. The survey was used to determine the experience, expertise, and limitations of those individuals and how the internal population views and implements current processes, as well as their opinion of standardization. In concert with a standard design, an integrated operations, maintenance, capital renewal plan, and emergency plan concept is discussed, produced, and incorporated into an actual constructed model. An implementation plan for each of the components mentioned above is also provided. The information gleaned from the research indicated that process improvement was warranted and that a standardized design could effectively jump start the design process which would ultimately result in cost savings, production of a programmatically functional facility that is cost effectively maintained, built from sustainable products, and incorporates an operations, maintenance and capital renewal plan as well. While the research conducted supports the implementation of a standardized design, operations, and capital renewal plan, further research will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented program. By studying the constructed model, adjustments can be made in the process and practice to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the standardized design process, operations, maintenance, and capital renewal plan.
Technology advancement in intelligent buildings : a through preplanning process pertaining to long-term maintainability

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004-08-20) Wilson, Michael Thomas

Innovation and new technologies are daily changing the characteristics of facilities as building owners are requiring more automated services, increased security is becoming more prevalent, and budget constraints are affecting facility operations. Therefore, additional avenues should be evaluated to reduce long-term costs by improving facility maintainability. The conclusions of these quarries should be incorporated into the design and preplanning phases as early as possible, as this is when the most impact can be made at the least expense. As it relates to this effort, preplanning refers to the project concept development and includes some initial aspects of the design. Preplanning for maintainability is one aspect that has historically not received much industry attention. This study considered the preplanning process as it pertains to maintainability, particularly for intelligent buildings, as this is the current trend in which building construction is heading. It limitedly considered the historic aspects of construction and automation, assessed the current situation and considered the projected future needs. Based on the expectations as to where future building intelligence will lead, it was ascertained that better preplanning should be incorporated into the construction process, especially as it pertains to maintainability.