In linking research to practice, Nutt (1999) discusses collaborative work using knowledge exchange which links post-occupancy to preoccupancy through informing designers about the main concerns of organisations related to the effectiveness of facility operations and services.
This post-to-preoccupancy link is tackled by Jensen (2009) who proposed a typology of four mechanisms for knowledge transfer, to establish an integration of building operation considerations in building design.
Jensen’s mechanisms of knowledge transfer are the following:
1. Utilizing building operation experiences to create codified knowledge, increasing designers’ awareness as a result
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2. Boosting the skills and capabilities of facilities managers, increasing designers’ awareness as a result
3. Using power to guarantee that designers seriously take into consideration building operation issues through facilities management participation
4. Using power to guarantee that design teams seriously utilize codified knowledge
The mechanisms reveal the fact that knowledge transfer might not naturally lead to FM integration in design but instead, power should be applied to force the transfer to happen; the client role in requirements definition and preparation as well as the degree of influence of the different parties involved in design affect how power can be used.
The third mechanism above, dealing with the facilities management participation in design, was previously addressed by Jaunzens et al. (2001, p. 2) who produced a guide which focuses on “overcoming the technical issues that prevent buildings from being operated optimally by promoting the facilities manager’s needs in this respect.” The guide, an output of the collaboration between the British Research Establishment (BRE) and the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM), handles the participation of the facilities management team that is part of a client organisation in the design of future facilities and how the FM team’s position within the client organisation, its level of expertise and relationship with the design team affect this participation.
Jaunzens et al. (2001) were able to identify issues relevant to facilities management which should be stated in the design brief, namely maintenance,
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flexibility and adaptability and the environmental policy. These issues form part of the FM knowledge presented in the previous section.
Table 3 represents a comparison between the views of Jaunzens et al. (2001) and Jensen (2002; quoted in Jensen, 2009), showing the involvement of facilities managers during the various project stages starting from pre-design stages and up till occupation. Both authors agree that:
a. User requirements and user involvement should be considered during pre- design stages
b. The various requirements should be checked during schematic design stage to ensure they are incorporated
c. FM personnel should participate during commissioning, towards the end of the construction stage
Jaunzens et al. (2001) discuss the participation of the facilities manager/FM team, part of a client organisation, in the design activities of future projects initiated by the same client. Jensen (2009) on the other hand proposes general transfer mechanisms, one of which is facilities management participation. This participation is denoted by the term “facilities management participation” in Jensen’s typology without specifically referring to the FM team within the client’s organisation.
It is worth noting that the typology proposed by Jensen (2009) was based on a literature review including the work done by Jaunzens (2001), as well as previous work on the subject carried out by Jensen in 2002 and 2006. On top of the literature review, Jensen (2009) also includes the results of a case study that the author was personally involved in.
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Table 3 FM role during various project stages Project
Phase Project Stage Activities to be Undertaken
Building Project
Phase FM-Specific Tasks
Handing Over Completion
-Ensuring that handover documentation is adequate and complete
-Ensuring that facilities staff and end users have been instructed in using facilities
N/A
Occupancy Feedback
-Ensuring that post-handover services are in place (eg post-handover commissioning)
-Obtaining information on building performance; ensuring that feedback is given to the design team and appropriate follow-up action is taken
Occupation
-Move
-Handling former building (s)
-Implementation of operational procedures Construction
Project planning -Ensuring that the chosen tenders comply with key requirements
Construction
-Interior Planning
-Prepare commissioning
-Contracting-out operational tasks Operations on site
-Ensuring that the commissioning procedures are appropriate
-Witnessing that commissioning has been properly carried out
-Organization of user involvement
-Formulation of considerations for operation and sustainability
Schematic Design
Outline proposal and scheme design
-Ensuring that any strategic facilities requirements have been incorporated into the design
-Contributing to assessment of design
-Checking that the cost plan considers operational costs where this is required
Design
-Incorporation of considerations for operation, sustainability and user needs
-Formulation of operational concept
-Formulation of requirements for building automation system
Detailed
Design Detail design
-Reviewing the design and ensuring that functionality has not been compromised
-Reviewing the design and ensuring that operating costs meet financial criteria
-Checking design limitations
As Viewed by Jaunzens et al. (2001) As Viewed by Jensen (2009)
Pre-Design
Inception -Contributing to pre-briefing discussions
Decision
-Incorporating real estate strategies
-Information on space needs etc…
-Estimation of impacts on cost of FM
Feasibility
-Inputting to strategic requirements relating to operational issues
-Giving advice on the requirements setting within the brief
-Ensuring that end users' needs are incorporated into the planning process
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Although the studies carried out by Jaunzens (2001) and Jensen (2009) both address the issue of considering FM during design stage, the work of Jensen (2009) is seen to be more inclusive. This is due to the fact that Jensen considers the broad idea of FM knowledge transfer to design taking place in different forms, while Jaunzens et al. (2001) mainly discuss this transfer of knowledge through FM participation in design, represented by an FM team that is part of the client organisation. The typology of knowledge transfer that concludes Jensen’s (2009) work, compared to the personal development plan for FM managers provided by Jaunzens et al. (2001) also shows that the latter were focusing more on the role of the FM team within a client organisation and their relevant participation in design.
A third view on the FM role during design stage is presented by El-Haram and Agapiou (2002). The authors discuss two facilities manager roles in Private Finance Initiative (PFI) strategies, namely being involved in design and bidding as well as building use and services. Due to the different way facilities are designed, constructed and operated under such a procurement strategy (requiring the building contractor to service the facility for a certain period of time), FM managers become more involved in the lifecycle costing and facility planning.
FM responsibilities, as seen by by El-Haram and Agapiou (2002), throughout the design and bid development processes include:
a. Providing a breakdown for operating, occupancy, maintenance and replacement costs along with an estimation of FM costs
b. Reviewing and studying the design using a maintenance, operation and serviceability perspective
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d. Coordinating with design and construction teams in order to reach a design solution which best suits whole life facility costing
e. Coordinating with the bidding management group
Developing a knowledge management system for the exchange of FM knowledge and facility requirements necessitates the gathering of large amounts of data such as (El-Haram and Agapiou, 2002):
a. Building standards received through interaction with the design and construction information systems
b. Operation standards
c. Operation and occupancy information
d. Maintenance and repair/replacement records e. Space management input
f. Health and safety information
g. Financial and commercial information
The role of the FM manager and the type of knowledge input provided by El- Haram and Agapiou (2002) is similar to the previously presented views on FM participation in design. However, the procurement strategy in this case is restricted to PFI, which provides a construction context that makes FM participation more likely. Because FM services are part of the contractor’s responsibility, FM managers could get involved during project development phases.
Moreover, the information provided by El-Haram and Agapiou (2002), when compared to that of Jaunzen’s (2001) on FM participation, is noticed to lack in detail concerning the specific tasks performed by FM during design as well as the particular knowledge content that needs to be incorporated.
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Given that the overall integration of FM and design can occur based on different forms of knowledge transfer, rather than the sole FM participation in design, Jensen (2009) explains that knowledge transfer from facility operation to facility design could be perceived as a knowledge push from the operation side (senders) and a knowledge pull from the design side (receivers).
For the fact that FM and design integration is required through the transfer of knowledge from FM to design, the process of knowledge management and the types of knowledge involved must therefore be research and discussed.