Factors Influencing Facilities Management Cost Performance in Building Projects

Abstract

Buildings are complex systems, and therefore truly understanding their performance is difficult. The cost of maintenance is a real problem and a major issue in building projects, and it constitutes a significant part of the total facilities management (FM) cost. This study intends to examine the factors attributed to increased FM cost and the building components’ difficulty level of operating and maintaining. A literature analysis identified 16 factors responsible for increasing FM costs and 28 building components that are hard to operate and maintain at the postoccupancy stage. That analysis was followed by a questionnaire survey, and 31 respondents graded the identified factors using a five-point Likert scale during an online survey. The mean and relative importance index (RII) of the factors and building components were determined, followed by rank analysis. This study demonstrates that design errors, lack of maintenance plan, lack of understanding of FM, underestimating the impacts of FM, and lower maintenance quality significantly affect the FM cost performance. Among building components, roofs, construction joints, façades, HVAC, and sewer lines were rated as the most difficult to operate and maintain. Finally, the relationships between the factors influencing FM cost and the building components were identified using correlation tests. This study provides insight into the major factors of FM cost performance and difficulty level of building components for maintenance.