Customer performance measurement in facilities management

Toward human-centric urban infrastructure: Text mining for social media data to identify the public perception of COVID-19 policy in transportation hubs

The COVID-19 pandemic has made transportation hubs vulnerable to public health risks. In response, policies using nonpharmaceutical interventions have been implemented, changing the way individuals interact within these facilities. However, the impact of building design and operation on policy efficacy is not fully discovered, making it critical to investigate how these policies are perceived and complied in different building spaces. Therefore, we investigate the spatial drivers of user perceptions and policy compliance in airports. Using text mining, we analyze 103,428 Google Maps reviews of 64 major hub airports in the US to identify representative topics of passenger concerns in airports (i.e., Staff, Shop, Space, and Service). Our results show that passengers express having positive experiences with Staff and Shop, but neutral or negative experiences with Service and Space, which indicates how building design has impacted policy compliance and the vulnerability of health crises. Furthermore, we discuss the actual review comments with respect to 1) spatial design and planning, 2) gate assignment and operation, 3) airport service policy, and 4) building maintenance, which will construct the foundational knowledge to improve the resilience of transportation hubs to future health crises.

A framework for facilities management supply chain performance evaluation: case study of hotel buildings

Purpose

The performance of the facilities management supply chain (FMSC) in the hotel sector is challenged by the diverse nature of parties involved, their relationships and the flows of services and products. Although performance measurement systems have been endorsed by researchers worldwide as a mechanism to evaluate and improve performance, there seems lack of mechanisms to evaluate the FMSC performance in hotels. Hence, this paper aims to develop a framework that would enable to evaluate FMSC performance in hotels.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study strategy was used, where 3 five-star hotels in Sri Lanka were studied for the purpose. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with 21 professionals involved in FMSC and through document reviews. A content analysis was performed and the framework was developed. This was validated with 3 subject matter experts in the field.

Findings

The study findings revealed that the FMSC process is different from manufacturing and service supply chain (SC) processes as it comprises both product and service elements and incorporates internal, as well as external customers. The developed FMSC process comprises seven sub-processes as follows: delivery of products, delivery of services, sourcing, make/fulfil, delivery of FM services and products, receipt of FM services and receipt of products by customers. Based on the derived FMSC process and the key activities, 38 key performance indicators were developed and used in the framework to evaluate the performance of FMSC.

Originality/value

The developed performance evaluation framework is expected to facilitate performance measurement of the SC and enhance its performance. Further, it would enhance cooperation among FMSC partners and assist in achieving FMSC excellence.

Examining the links between logistics outsourcing, company competitiveness and selected performances: the evidence from an emerging country

Purpose

This study examines the mediation effects of time-based competitiveness, cost-based competitiveness and customer performance between logistics outsourcing and financial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study relied on a questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument and further employed partial least squares structural equation modelling technique to test all formulated hypotheses.

Findings

The results demonstrate that logistics outsourcing has a significant positive impact on time-based competitiveness, cost-based competitiveness, customer performance and financial performance. Time-based competitiveness and cost-based competitiveness were both found to have a significant positive impact on financial performance; however, customer performance had no significant impact on financial performance. The mediation analysis further indicates that while both time-based competitiveness and cost-based competitiveness play mediation effects between logistics outsourcing and financial performance, customer performance plays no mediation effect between logistics outsourcing and financial performance.

Research limitations/implications

The sampled firms for this study came from a single emerging country; hence, the results cannot be generalized or imported to reflect the results that may be obtained from other emerging geographical settings.

Practical implications

The results provide sufficient evidence for managers to turn their attention to logistics outsourcing, as a transformative business initiative, to gain time-based and cost-based competitiveness so as to improve financial performance.

Originality/value

The study provides significant insight and makes an additional contribution to literature in the area of logistics outsourcing, especially by collecting data from an emerging country. Modelling time-based competitiveness, cost-based competitiveness and customer performance as mediating variables between logistics outsourcing and financial performance make this work relatively different from other studies.

A review of facilities management performance measurement

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of facilities management (FM) performance measurement (PM) research within the past two decades to understand existing gaps in FM PM literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs a systematic approach to review papers in FM PM published from 1997 to 2017. The articles published in selected peer-reviewed international journals in the last 20 years were collected by conducting literature search in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The content of the papers were scrutinized to understand the gap in literature.

Findings

The review depicts a slow pace of FM PM research characterized by diverse and fragmented performance measures, whereas the existing PM frameworks are at the nascent stage.

Research limitations/implications

The judgments of the paper are based on the 54 papers selected for the critical review and analysis that should be treated as key issues in FM PM research agenda. The review also excludes energy management.

Originality/value

The paper identifies the gaps in the current PM literature in FM and set propositions for future research which is of utility and relevance to FM researchers more especially on the existing conceptual frameworks. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first attempt to conduct a review on FM PM in the extant literature.

STATUS QUO AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS OF FACILITY MANAGEMENT: A BIBLIOMETRIC – QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

Facility management (FM) has received extensive attention from practitioners and researchers. While FM is continuously maturing as a scientific discipline and relevant studies are constantly growing, there are no holistic reviews of current research. The information in previous studies is generally scattered, and existing literature reviews mostly focused on specific aspects of FM. It is necessary for researchers and practitioners to obtain a thorough view of the current status in the FM field and future development trends that have been summarized and discussed in depth. Using a bibliometricqualitative analysis, a total of 724 academic journal papers on FM, between 1995 and 2018, were reviewed. A number of the latest advancements and emergent trends were identified based on knowledge maps in FM, including changing circumstances, enhancing information technology, all-around facility manager, strategic performance management, sustainable FM and innovative FM practice. It is hoped that this review can help researchers understand the current body of FM knowledge. The future directions were also highlighted in this study to help researchers identify areas where research is most needed. This study could also help practitioners to address upcoming challenges in the FM field.

Leveraging previously reported research to create a decision support tool for institutional facility maintenance

Purpose

The discretionary expense budget required to maintain public infrastructure has declined in recent years, even as public expectations and accountability for performance have increased. The purpose of this paper is to leverage previously reported research to create a decision support tool (DST) for prioritizing institutional facility maintenance.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured literature review was developed to identify critical aspects of facility maintenance shown to have a positive relationship with academic performance in K-12 schools within the USA. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) serves as a framework for a multi-criteria DST based on the findings of the literature review. Finally, a targeted focus group of industry professionals was used to validate the usability of the resulting DST.

Findings

The framework for the DST developed for this study effectively represents the scale and scope of an institutional facility. Results of the study suggest that when evaluating multi-criteria work orders, the proposed visual AHP methodology can be used to generate usable DSTs to assist with the prioritization of work.

Practical implications

This study provides a methodology for building a multi-criterion DST leveraging precedent research, using a visual AHP to assist facility management (FM) decision-makers in the prioritization of routine work orders.

Originality/value

The developed process indicates a practical approach to incorporating disparate research findings into a concise and useable manner to guide FM decision-makers, who have traditionally not been able to explicitly leverage this information to make evidence-based spending decisions.

Supply chain performance measures and metrics: a bibliometric study

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on supply chain performance measures and metrics (PMMs). It provides a critical evaluation of 234 articles published in past 24 years.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the studies published from 1991 to 2014 by adopting the bibliometric technique of citation and co-citation analysis.

Findings

The analysis of the results indicate that the number of articles on supply chain PMMs is increasing at its fastest pace in the past few years. Furthermore, the study identifies some of the most influential articles on performance measurement and metrics. Finally, it concludes that there has been a transition from traditional to more sophisticated performance measurement system.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses only on supply chain performance measurement and metrics and excludes research on performance management and control. Thus, researchers may explore and extend this area of research.

Originality/value

To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first study to review the literature on supply chain PMMs by using citation and co-citation analysis. The study includes 234 articles over the time of 24 years (1991-2014).

An assessment model of FM organisational performance

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the existing model developed by Hsu and Sabherwal (2012) by developing a new dimension of the relationships between a group of constructs (knowledge elements, mediating constructs and facility management [FM] organisational performance) in the model of FM organisational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews the theoretical studies empirically to all of the knowledge elements (learning culture, intellectual capital and knowledge management) literature, mediating constructs (customer performance, efficiency, innovation and dynamic capabilities) and the organisational performance that relates to FM.

Findings

The paper identifies the relationships between the knowledge elements, mediating constructs and the FM organisational performance. Subsequently, a proposal of relationships was made to develop the FM organisational performance model.

Research limitations/implications

The model provides a possible explanation of relationships between the knowledge elements, mediating constructs and the FM organisational performance. Thus, the understanding of the identified relationships will provide a new direction in improving the FM organisational performance.

Originality/value

Addressing lack of research in identifying the importance of relationships between knowledge and the FM organisational performance, the paper conceptualises the potential relationships into a proposed model. The proposed model integrates with a new mediating construct into the existing research model, which is customer performance. Moreover, knowing that the nature of FM organisation is more towards the non-financial aspects, the paper investigates the nature of the efficiency and organisational performance that is not based on the financial performance, but rather the ability to optimise organisational resources, to achieve organisational goals and customer needs.

Use balanced scorecard for measuring competitive advantage of infrastructure assets of state-owned ports in Indonesia

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the balanced scorecard (BSC) for measuring the competitive advantage of infrastructure assets of state-owned port in Indonesia: Pelindo IV, Makassar, Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

This investigation adopts an explanatory and exploratory qualitative case study method to analyze the effectiveness of the BSC over the strategy management processes. For data collection, the researchers used semi-structured interviews, direct observation and document collection. Data collection was made for a six-month period, which allowed deep knowledge to be gained of the culture and management methods used in Pelindo IV Makassar Branch. Other data collected refer to the company’s documentation and reporting of online media publications. Detailed interview data were the main data sources, allowing the authors to obtain a detailed and holistic understanding of the experience, opinions, and attitudes of the interviewees. Interviews focus on asset management to determine the relationship between various factors. This study adopts an ideal BSC principle (four perspectives) in order to develop a strategic map for infrastructure assets of Pelindo IV.

Findings

The results showed that the management performance of Pelindo IV in the financial sector over the next five years was expected to increase by 3.5 times with the business profit reaching an amount of Rp.1.64 trillium in 2017. In the next five years, the target of the customer’s perspective set was zero complaints and zero claim with waiting time meeting the ideal standard, which is a maximum of one-hour service, and the number of containers were expected to witness an average growth of 30 percent per year; the growth ship traffic visit history showed that the flow of goods increased by 4 percent and the number of passengers was targeted to grow up to 30 percent. A historical growth rate of 6 percent was also expected both for the human resources and personnel scout.

Originality/value

In this paper, the Sobel test was used to test the significance of a mediation effect and balanced scorecard was used for measuring competitive advantage of infrastructure assets of state-owned ports in Indonesia. Previously, no research has been undertaken to examine the relationship between the location of the study and competitive advantage of infrastructure assets in the context of PELINDO IV, Makassar branch, Indonesia.

Organising in-house cleaning services in public FM

Purpose

This paper aims to describe and discuss in-house cleaning services in local authorities to gain a better understanding of current practices. These descriptions are intended to increase researchers’, practitioners’ and educators’ understanding of the studied issue, as there at present does not exist a solid understanding of in-house cleaning services in local authorities. Previous studies provide little detailed information regarding the internal environment of facility management (FM) organisations, in particular with regard to FM organisations’ individual services.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on two descriptive case studies, one from Norway and one from the UK. The case studies are based on semi-structured, face-to-face in-depth interviews and document reviews.

Findings

The cases demonstrate that in-house cleaning services can be structured and managed in different ways, particularly with respect to the split in services, the management of staff and customer contracts, the span of control, the chain of command, self-managed leadership, cleaners’ hours of duty and the use of outsourcing.

Research limitations/implications

Although the previous research on particular FM services is limited, this paper’s detailed descriptions may stimulate further development and research within the field. The knowledge brought forward is part of bridging a knowledge gap on cleaning in FM research. This knowledge can contribute to advancements in the way this service is discussed and measured across contexts by encouraging more rigour and specific studies on cleaning.

Originality/value

This paper constitutes one of the first detailed descriptions of in-house cleaning organisation in local authorities. This is a type of service supply that is common in certain contexts and identified as beneficial to cost-saving in other contexts.

Exploring added value through the service process: a comparative multiple case study

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to evaluate how the service process of the market leader differs from the other actors’ processes and whether the service process explains the success of the market leader; second, to identify the success factors of the service process; and third, to test and analyse how the mystery shopping method works as a measurement tool to evaluate the service processes, including the quality of such processes.

Design/methodology/approach

– The case study focuses on the service processes of kitchen fitments. The paper is an explorative multiple case study. The results of the study are based on seven service processes of seven different kitchen fitment stores in Finland. The mystery shopping method has been utilised in an empirical data collection process.

Findings

– The study revealed the most important factors in the service process that differentiate the market leader from the other operators. The results indicated that there are three main aspects highlighted in the market leader’s service process. The results also reveal that mystery shopping is a workable tool for analysing service processes.

Practical implications

– The study identifies the key factors that affect the success of the service process of kitchen fitments companies. By developing these factors, companies can increase service quality. The results also reveal that the mystery shopping method can be a workable tool to evaluate service processes.

Originality/value

– The study reveals the most important factors in the service process that differentiate the market leader from the other operators. It can be stated that these factors also explain their success. Thus, the results of the study are applicable at least in companies which operate in the kitchen fitments industry. Furthermore, the results can be utilised to some extent in companies which are developing their service processes.

Measuring the performance of property management companies in high-rise flats

Purpose

The complex nature of multi-ownership, multi-storey buildings requires the services of property management companies (PMCs). Naturally, homeowners favor PMCs with good performance. Yet, their performances vary. The purpose of this paper is to measure the performance of PMCs in managing high-rise flats using the logic model as the contextual framework with its indicators adapted from the building quality index (BQI) scheme.

Design/methodology/approach

For this pilot study, the research was based on visual inspection and interviews with building management staff for the information concerning the output and outcome indicators. The authors also tested the relationship between outcomes and outputs and other factors that affect the performance of PMCs.

Findings

Based on our pilot study of 41 high-rise residential buildings, the performance outcomes of the PMCs varied considerably. The same PMC was likely to yield different performance outcomes due to unique building characteristics. The outputs, building ages and rehabilitation statuses of the buildings were the contributing factors to the PMCs’ performance outcomes.

Practical implications

The performance outcomes of the logic model can help homeowners and PMCs understand current PMC performance, which can help trigger the development of a strategy to enhance the health and safety of residential buildings in the future.

Originality/value

Unlike traditional performance measurements that use financial figures or balanced scorecards to measure organizational performance, the authors used the logic model performance measurement system because the performance outcomes of the PMCs were explicitly reflected in the physical building conditions. This framework was relatively straightforward and could be applied to cities dominated by multi-ownership, multi-storey apartments.

Distinctive features of service performance measurement

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the distinctive features of service performance measurement. It also provides an overview of current status of performance measurement in three service sectors in Finland.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper builds on two complementary empirical studies. In the first study, data were gathered through individual interviews in Finnish service organizations. In the second study, group interviews were held in order to enhance the understanding. The service sectors studied are knowledge-intensive, public and industrial services. There are two main units of analysis in the data set: an organization and service operations.

Findings

– The results show that the specific performance measurement characteristics are more apparent at service operations level. The findings reveal three distinctive features of service performance measurement. First, the contingency perspective stresses a need to consider the characteristics of different service contexts. Second, customer-orientation implies that the measurement should also cover customers’ actions during the service operation as well as the impacts of service operations. Third, the systemic perspective proposes that performance measurement should encompass all actors participating to service operations.

Research limitations/implications

– The results provide support for structuring the existing research and identifying paths for future research. They also assist practitioners in their search for best measurement practices.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes by providing empirical insights from three service sectors on the development needs of performance measurement. The findings provide understanding on what exactly makes service performance measurement problematic and suggests three paths to move forward.

Facilities management in Malaysia

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to understand the facilities management (FM) industry in Malaysia, looking at the development and focus in the industry in contrast with other countries where the FM industry is mature. The paper also focuses on the development hierarchy and initiatives taken by the Malaysian Government regarding public service in FM.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study adopts a mixed method approach. The first method used is an FM literature review; this is followed by a survey of Malaysian FM practitioners, which also acts as a preliminary study for this research.

Findings

– The paper proposes a set of elements in understanding FM development in Malaysia. These are categorised into seven key factors: level of growth, practice, service, profession, opportunities, demands and challenges.

Research limitations/implications

– The preliminary survey was carried out to ascertain the research gap and viability of the study. Although there was a participation constraint, it is believed that the responses have contributed significantly in indicating the way forward for this research.

Practical implications

– There is a lack of FM studies in the Malaysian context, which limits the knowledge and exploration of the research scope. This study gives more opportunities for future researchers to embark on research in this area.

Originality/value

– The paper gives comprehensive key factors defining development or progress of the FM industry in Malaysia. A further study exploring the element of FM service performance will be conducted based on a case study methodology.

The role of maintenance and facility management in logistics: a literature review

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review on the different ways of carrying out facility management and related topics in order to uncover that there is limited research regarding the impact of facility management on the logistics and operational performance of warehouses.

Design/methodology/approach

– Four different focus areas have been identified and for each one different methodologies and streams of research have been studied.

Findings

– The study underlines the importance of facility management for the logistics operations; therefore it supports the notion that investments aiming at preserving the status of the building and service components of warehouses are crucial.

Originality/value

– This paper aims to suggest to facilities management managers that they can contribute to enhance business performance by designing effective facility management strategies.

Overcoming the specific performance measurement challenges of knowledge‐intensive organizations

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify practical ways to overcome the specific performance measurement challenges of knowledge‐intensive organizations. By reviewing performance measurement, service management and human resources management literature the paper recognizes two aspects that are crucial for the success of knowledge‐intensive organizations: the performance and well‐being of individual knowledge workers and the ability to provide value for the customer. The authors evaluate three measurement solutions for measuring these aspects, in three empirical settings.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative case approach, carried out as an action research, is used with empirical data obtained through interviews, workshops and analysis of documentation related to measurement systems. The empirical study consists of three case studies where two main phases were carried out: investigating the status of existing measurement practices; and development and evaluation of new measurement approaches and tools.

Findings

The results of the evaluation of proposed measurement approaches provide understanding of their potential in different workplaces. Eventually, this potentially supports the managers of knowledge‐intensive organizations in developing not only the measurement practices but also the overall performance of their organizations.

Originality/value

As the key academic contribution, the study provides new understanding on the potential of selected measurement approaches in overcoming the specific performance measurement challenges in knowledge‐intensive organizations. The results take into account the perspectives of an individual knowledge worker, a customer and an organization as a whole. In many previous studies, the main focus has been solely on the organizational perspective.

Improving service provision through better management and measurement of customer satisfaction in facilities management

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of a customer performance measurement system (CPMS) to demonstrate how facilities management (FM) organisations can enhance their existing processes for measuring the customer satisfaction of their service provision.

Design/methodology/approach

Customer performance measurement in FM is the process of capturing, measuring, and improving the satisfaction of FM customers. A generic CPMS was developed that FM organisations can adopt to improve their existing service provision. The CPMS was developed using a mixed methods approach was adopted. An instrumental case study was used to test the CPMS. The case study represented what was deemed as a typical FM organisation in the UK. The effectiveness of the CPMS application was first validated internally by the instrumental case study. A series of collective case studies were then used to validate the CPMS externally, by testing a series of other FM companies in the UK to provide further understanding of the potential application of the CPMS.

Findings

The findings suggest that by adopting a strategic model that incorporates a balance of quantitative and qualitative methods to gain customer satisfaction of FM service provision, can enhance an FM organisation's existing processes of gaining customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

Although there are many studies researching performance measurement in FM, there is a lack of knowledge on the application of customer performance measurement. This paper contends that there is a need to develop a mixed methods system that is not limited to gaining quantitative findings of customer satisfaction, but also gains wider qualitative findings that investigate customer expectations and perceptions of FM service provision. Generic customer satisfaction benchmarks in the UK FM industry were also established, and formed a crucial component of the CPMS.