FACILITIES MANAGEMENT CONSULTING KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM Natalija Lepkova1, Zigmas Bigelis2 1
Department of Construction Economics and Property Management,Vilnius Gedinimas Technical University, Sauletekio al. 11, LT–10223 Vilnius-40, Lithuania E-mail:
[email protected] 2 Distance Learning Centre,Vilnius Gedinimas Technical University, Sauletekio al. 11, LT–10223 Vilnius-40, Lithuania E–mail:
[email protected] Received
; accepted
Abstract. The paper presents the understanding of knowledge management concept and facilities management definition analysis. The model of facilities management Consulting Knowledge System is described in the paper. Main objective is to develop a Consulting Knowledge System that will enable different users to get relevant information on the facilities management subject. The Consulting Knowledge System will be developed by a few stages: short specification - development of standalone prototype – prototype enhancement after testing and entering information and knowledge – development of detail specification – development of an online system – implementation – periodic enhancement using every day experience. Keywords: facilities management, knowledge management, consulting knowledge system, metadata
1. Introduction In any organization, there is a certain component of the work carried out that can be termed “knowledge work”. Many researches (Gurteen [1]; Martin [2]; Kamara, Anumba, &Carrillo [3]; Kululanga&McCaffer [4]; Koch [5]) have provided discussions and definitions of the terms “knowledge”, “knowledge work”, and “knowledge management”. In an engineering consultancy domain “knowledge work” refers to work that relies on the accumulated knowledge, experience, and judgment of the individuals both as persons or members of team, rather than the ability to be trained to learn and execute simple procedures. Garvin [6] provides distinctions between tangible assets and intangible (knowledge) assets. The knowledge that is required to carry out those work elements can be considered to be an asset of the company–its “intellectual capital” (Garvin [6]). In consulting engineering, knowledge work makes up the major component of a firm’s effort, output, efficiency and profitability. The primary product is an intellectual capital–the firm’s specialists knowledge– rather than physical. Any physical output, such as design drawings, documents, and the like ones, are simply a representation of the knowledge that is being sold. This is not only the technical or professional knowledge acquired
by the firm’s staff members during, and subsequent to, tertiary education, but also their accumulated knowledge of clients, business sectors, organizational procedures, other industry personnel, and so forth [7]. When knowledge is considered as an asset in consulting engineering, a loss of company knowledge, or its inefficient use, will have an impact on the company economic performance (Kamara et al. [3]). A company knowledge can be lost either through staff turnover or simply a loss of organizational memory of what once was known. Martin [2] reports on the problems of inefficient knowledge management for a company and how this can impact on its operation and profitability. For example, he reports that the problems include: reinventing the wheel, knowledge loss, knowledge hoarding, poor decisions, and the inability to learn. In consulting engineering the problems of additional work to correct errors, time (and money) spent searching for held knowledge, lost or missed business opportunities, and financial liability for errors should be included. All knowledge is initially held by individuals, either as tacit knowledge or as personal explicit knowledge (Nonaka&Takeuchi [8]). The following diagram represents the transitions from data, to information, to knowledge, and finally to wisdom, and it is understanding that support the
transition from each stage to the next. Understanding is not a separate level of its own [9].
Fig 1. The transitions from data, to information, to knowledge, and finally to wisdom [9].
2. The origin and the analysis of the definition of the facilities management ,,Facilities Management” is a new field, which originated in the middle of the XX century in the USA. The word “Facilities” covers: plots, buildings, gears, the technical servicing means and infrastructure [10]. With the growth of the states economy, especially the necessity of the modernization of the office equipment and supervision was the basis for this idea of the facilities management to be found. Those developments initiated to establish the International Association of Facilities Management in 1980 in Michigan. Sudden rate of development in 1982 was the ground for the establishment of the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA). In Europe the way of the development of Facilities Management was slow and difficult. The conception of Facilities Management was first mentioned by the architecture Francis Duffy in 1980 in England. Five years later Association of Facility Managers and Institute of
Administrative Management/Facilities Management Group (IFM/FMG) were founded. Scientists from different foreign countries perceive the definition of Facilities Management differently, but none seems to be universally appropriate, as the definitions depend on the context in which they are used. The definition of the International Facility Management Association [11] provides an initial definition, which is often quoted to explain the breadth of the field of facilities management that is as follow: ,,The practice of coordinating the physical workplace with the people and the work of the organization; integrates the principles of business administration, architecture and the behavioral and engineering sciences”. The British Institute of Facilities Management [12, 13] adopts a definition that emphasizes: ,,The multidisciplinary nature of the role of facilities managers which includes extensive responsibilities for providing, maintaining and developing services ranging from property strategy, space management and communication infrastructure, to building maintenance, administration and contract management”. According to Keith Alexander’s [14] opinion: ,,The facilities management covers all aspects of property, space, environmental control, health and safety. It also includes support services, which requires that the appropriate control point would be established within the organization”. For the purpose of this article, Facilities Management is defined as follows: ,,Facility management is the process by which an organization ensures that its buildings, systems and services support the core operations and processes as well as, contributes in achieving strategic objectives by changing conditions”. According to the analysis carried out before of the completed works it is suggested to look at the Facilities Management as at four constituent parts (see Table 1) [15,16].
Table 1. Facilities management components [15, 16]
Space management • •
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Planning of space and application to volatile needs; The analysis on the need for equipment, gear, furniture, inventory and provision of it; Provision of services.
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Facilities management components Administrative Technical management Management of other management services • special services at the • Exploitation, Control of the request of customers, inspection, repair and buildings usage; i.e. implementation supervision of the Accounting; and management of systems and Management of computers and their equipment; contracts; networks, • Exploitation, Employment of the information and the inspection and repair staff; Internet technologies, of the building Control of the building simulation, constructions and the subcontractors; consultations on the elements; Management of rent energy saving • Energy management. and leasing; matters, etc. Economics of real estate.
The Table 1 highlights that effective facilities management components are vital to the success of an organization in contributing to the delivery of its strategic and operational objectives.
• • •
3. Facilities management service providers The facilities management definition defined above allows to examine the types of facilities management providers. The facilities management providers may range from the use of an external organization or individual who manages the client organization’s own employees, through the appointment of a contractor to manage some or all service providers, to an arrangement where all facilities are managed by an external entity offering a single point of responsibility. There are three main types of service providers in the market place: managing agent, managing contractor and total facilities management company. In all cases, the choice of service providers has to be based on identified organizational or individual needs [17]. 3.1. Facilities Management Sector in Lithuania The Facilities Management Sector in Lithuania is under development now. It was existing before as separate parts: maintenance of buildings, supervision and etc., but wasn’t covering a whole field. According to Civil Code of Republic of Lithuania [18] there are 3 real estate administration forms: 1. Home owners association; 2. Administration according to joint activity contract; 3. Commitment of administrator. There are few possibilities to provide facilities management services: 1. Services provided to the customers only by living place (for separate districts-in this case the facilities management services providing company taking care of buildings and surrounding areas in are territory, belonging to company facilities management services zone-by the municipality companies); 2. Services provided to the customers independently of location of the buildings, equipments and etc. (by private companies). Owners of premises (houses or flats) can establish home owners' associations and then the maintenance and supervision services to the buildings could be provided by private companies by contracts or the same companies mentioned in subsection. 3.2. Facilities management Service providers in Lithuania The activity of the facilities management service companies is regulates by laws of Republic of Lithuania. Companies, which responsible for building’s supervision working according to the Law on Joint Stock Companies. These companies carrying out the following exploitation and repair works:
•
Repair and exploitation of the building and its engineering infrastructure; Supervision and repair of heating systems and gears; Supervision and repair of hot and cold water supply and canalization systems; Electric power supply, supervision of general housing electrical systems and responsible for mentioned services quality.
These companies also managing the accounting of the provided services: calculations of charges by estimated rates for premises heating, hot and cold water usage, electric power usage in electrical system, general buildings exploitation, supervision and repair. These companies are responsible for all mentioned calculations and that they are correct. The owners of the buildings and users paying all charges through the banks, via Internet or in other institutions, who have right to received mentioned charges. The companies can also have other activities, close to main functions. For instance, production of construction materials, exploitation of parking places and etc. Majority of such companies are joint stock companies, but mostly all or part of share capital belongs to municipality. As it was mentioned before, the users of buildings and also owners are paying for the supervision of premises and also utilities and services provided by facilities management companies. This is the main activity of the facilities management companies and main incomes. Municipalities obligated to ensure, that facilities management companies will provide fixed quality services. The companies must inform the users and buildings owners about technical conditions and quality of gears and communications. Unfortunately, sometimes buildings owners and users are not satisfied of provided services quality and charge rates. The main works, carried out by facilities management companies are following: 1. Supervision of constructions of the buildings: of foundations, walls, floors, roofs, balconies and etc.; 2. Supervision of facades, out doors, windows of premises of general usage; 3. Supervision of engineering systems of dwelling houses: hot and cold water, heating, gas, electrical systems supervision and repair; 4. Supervision and cleaning of general usage premises, foundations, stairwell; 5. Supervision of lifts, communication systems; 6. Supervision of yard territory: cleaning and etc. Facilities management companies have signed exploitation and payment for services agreements with dwellings houses owners or multi-flat story buildings owners associations, by which the companies obligated to exploitation, repair, supervision of buildings and
engineering systems, also to prepare the buildings for heating season. Mentioned companies could organize technical inspections of buildings, evaluate their condition. The main problem of all above mentioned relations between users and facilities management companies is that in Lithuania the common system, which could provide the all needed information to the users, does not exists. 4. Consulting Knowledge System for Facilities Management Sector in Lithuania The main objective is to create a Web-based consulting knowledge system that will enable different users to get relevant information on the facilities management subject. The users of the system are: • facilities management professionals, • facilities management managers, services suppliers, • universities lecturers and students, • other interested parties. Consulting should be provided in different ways: • search website using domain ontology, • by email, • by using decision support systems.
The consulting knowledge system will be developed by a few stages: short specification - development of standalone prototype – prototype enhancement after entering information and knowledge – development of detail specification – development of an online system – implementation - enhancement using every day experience. Standalone prototype can be developed as an off-line software application.(without Internet access). Later the part of main information and knowledge will be stored in the system. The interface, reports (their content and forms), searching tools, questions and answers and additional metadata (semantics) is to be analyzed and enhanced on the next stages. The main parts of the systems are: content– information snippets–ontology–queries on the internet– questions/answers. The main parts of the system are shown in the Figure 2. The main functions of the system are: 1. Consultation of different interested parties in different ways (questions online, questions by email and comments (proposal) of customers). 2. Continual development of the system (interface, ontology development, new information complement to the system, continual development of learning software applications). 3. Arrangement of analytical reports. 4. Development of methods. 5. System integration with other systems.
Graphical INTERFACE of the System
Online Questions/Answers Interface
Questions/Answers
Metadata system of Questions/Answers
Questions by email
Comments – proposals system (feedback) Metadata of comments-proposals
Questions/Answers entered by administrator of Knowledge system
Knowledge system of questions – answers (on the Web and by e-mail) and feedback of customers
Snippets of Information Sources
• • • •
Metadata of snippets of Information Sources
Facilities Management Ontology Terms (could be presented in a few languages) Definitions of the Terms (possible few for one concept) Examples of the Terms Resource (could be only reference or short descriptions) Relations between Terms
Application of Multiple-Criteria analysis Methods for Facilities Management Alternatives (System Integration with Existing Facilities Management Decision Support System) Fig 2. The main parts of Facilities Management Consulting Knowledge System
Answers by email
Main features of the facilities management consulting knowledge system are: • the system is a people and technology integrated system, • the system will evolve by using it each day, • the system will be used by different interested parties, • feedback will be collected, analyzed and stored, • the system will store information and knowledge on facilities management during all building life cycle, • Questions-answers, feedback and snippets of information sources (e.g. documents) will be enriched by metadata that will be created manually or selected from facilities management ontology. Different information is entered mainly as snippets. Therefore search results are short and contain only relevant information. User can browse domain ontology before entering question (query). It provides better quality both of queries and search results. The term “question-answer” is used instead of terms “search” and/or “query” as it is planned to use natural language queries. 5. Summary 1. The proposed facilities management consulting knowledge system should be created in a few languages (Lithuanian, English, using of other languages depends on the market where the system will be applied). 2. Collaboration with specialists from other countries is needed. 3. The appropriate EU legal information (full documents or snippets) will be entered when the requirements of customers will be specified. 4. The proposed system will facilitate interaction between facilities management services users and providers.
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References 18. 1.
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