1,720,968 research outputs found
Framework for the effective implementation of total quality management in the maintenance of tertiary instituition buildings in South Africa
No full textThesis (MTech (Construction Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018.The standards of maintenance management of building facilities at many educational institutions, including tertiary institutions, need improvement. TQM has been proven to be effective in the improvement of quality in the maintenance of school building facilities, although many tertiary institutions are still grappling to implement TQM in the maintenance of their buildings. This particular research project investigates the extent of TQM practices; determines challenges experienced; determines success factors and establishes a framework that will ensure the effective implementation of Total Quality Management in the maintenance of tertiary institution buildings in South Africa.
A quantitative research design was adopted, where a questionnaire with closed-ended questions was distributed to purposively-sampled maintenance workers in a tertiary institution. A total of 54 respondents participated in the study. The study adopted a case study approach. Five CPUT campuses were selected as the cases for the research study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Data analysis was carried out by means of ranking; ANOVA test and Kruskal-Wallis test of association. The findings obtained indicate that all the TQM practices were implemented. Respondents perceived non-involvement of maintenance workers in decision-making as the most frequently experienced challenge during their building maintenance activities. A statistically significant different existed in the perception of workers’ affiliated campuses on TQM success factors. Findings revealed that TQM success factors were extensively practiced with respect to training and education of maintenance workers, use of statistical methods, and commitment to satisfaction to school stakeholders, as well as commitment from top management.
To improve the maintenance management standard of buildings in tertiary institutions and ensure effective TQM implementation during maintenance activities, the study suggests a framework that provides interventions in situations where significant differences were found. It also suggests nine factors to the CPUT Maintenance Department to ensure effective implementation or actualisation in the maintenance of its buildings. A further study to identify new trends in the application of TQM in the maintenance of school buildings by conducting continuous studies from time to time is highly recommended
Prioritisation of spaces and services in on-campus student housing facilities in southern Ghana universities
Get PDFStudent housing facilities (SHFs) are an integral part of universities’ physical facilities. Therefore, the management of SHF should be seen as part of broader university facility management. Moreover, it can be argued that by understanding the requirements of occupants, facility managers would be able to effectively prioritise the spaces and services required in the SHFs. However, studies from many parts of the world, including Ghana, show that users’ requirements and expectations are not duly incorporated into the management process of university building facilities. As a result, users’, in this case students requirements are not well prioritised by facility managers. Thus, the facility departments are unable to adequately provide and deliver SHF spaces and services to meet students’ requirements. With this in mind, this research aimed to develop a prioritisation and a standard SHF frameworks to enhance the provisioning and management of the on-campus SHF spaces and services at southern Ghana universities. The overarching research methodology was subjective. The qualitative method was adopted for the study. The research was conducted within the southern part of Ghana and limited to five universities. A total of ten focus group discussions were carried out in the five universities. Other sources of primary data were interviews and site visit. The study found that washrooms (toilet and bath), sleeping spaces, kitchens, study areas, libraries, sick bays, computer labs, bookshops, drying areas and discussion rooms as well as electricity, water, security, internet, cleaning services, maintenance services, generators, ventilation (fans), health services, library services, electric sockets, study furniture, refuse collection, pest control and fire extinguishers are extremely important spaces and services that students expect to have in a SHF. Furthermore, it was found that only 3 spaces out of the 10 rated as extremely important were rated as basic, whilst 10 out of the 15 services rated as extremely important received a basic priority rating. However, the study also found that some of these extremely important spaces and services such as study areas, computer labs, kitchens and internet were not provided in some SHFs. The study also revealed that students were generally not satisfied with some of the spaces and services that were provided in the SHFs; dissatisfaction was expressed with: the infrequent water supply; the poor condition of washrooms, i.e. bath and toilet facilities; the lack of study areas and also the condition, adequacy and availability of chairs and tables in the study rooms; the slow response of maintenance departments; the poor standard/quality of cleaning and availability of cleaners; the lack of adequate kitchens and the lack of stable internet connectivity. The study has achieved its aim by developing a prioritisation framework as well as an ideal SHF framework to enhance the provision and management of the on-campus SHF spaces and services at southern Ghana universities. It is recommended that SHFs which do not meet average students’ expected standards should be upgraded to meet such standards. The frameworks developed in the study could be used by facility managers or departments as a guide for effective on-campus SHF management
Challenges faced by university hostel managers in the Greater Accra region of Ghana
No full textMost universities provide hostels to promote the living and learning experience as well as the wellbeing of students. However, the managers of the hostels are generally faced with several challenges that hinder their effectiveness. This paper explores the challenges of university hostel managers in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, with the aim of providing empirical information that will help to develop a better understanding of hostel managers’ challenges. Data was qualitatively collected by means of interviews; a total of 5 interviews were carried out in five universities. The data was thematically analysed. It became evident that university hostel managers in Ghana face both management and student related challenges. The general management related challenges were; insufficient funds and budget reduction, slow response to maintenance requests, and centralised management approach. The dominant student related challenges were students disregard for hostel rules and regulations such as students changing the paints of rooms as well as fixing carpets with glues, vandalism and misuse of facilities. Other student related challenges highlighted were; petty quarrelling, students’ inability to pay hostel fees timeously and students disposing off facilities. The study provides invaluable information that contribute to filling the knowledge gap in the area of hostel managers’ challenges. This study provides empirical evidence that can help university management to better understand and mitigate hostel managers’ challenges. It is recommended that university management give priority to the hostels and reconsider the budget allocated for managing the hostels
A Bibliometric Review of Research Trends in Facilities Management Technologies from 2000 to 2023
Get PDFTechnologies such as building management systems, building information modelling, computer aided design, virtual reality, internet of things, geographic information systems and robotics have been adopted to achieve effective Facilities Management (FM). However, little attempt has been made to map global research trends in FM technologies. This paper presents a bibliometric review on the application of technology in FM with the aim of determining research trends and gaps in this research area. A total of 107 publications on FM technologies from 2000 to 2023 were reviewed. The analysis was done with the VOSviewer software (version 1.6.13). The analysis focused on bibliographic coupling of countries, co-authorship of authors, citation of documents, and co-occurrence of keywords, which were presented as network visualization maps. The findings revealed that the publication trends in FM technologies have been upwards since 2000, although not completely gradient. Italy, United States, Mainland China, South Korea, Australia, United Kingdom, Sweden, China Taiwan, Canada, and Malaysia are the countries that have had great impact in this research area. Both the keywords and documents citation analysis revealed three distinct phases in the evolution of FM technologies research – energy efficiency technologies, BIM technologies, and advanced BIM technologies/internet of things. It also became evident that Africa lags in this area of research. This study helps to determine the range of technologies used for managing facilities and how such technologies have evolved. This can help facilities managers to become familiar with the current and cutting-edge technologies that could promote effective and efficient FM. Only one data source - Scopus - was used. Therefore, the representation of publications presented in this study are limited. However, the findings contribute to the body of knowledge in FM technologies
Challenges faced by university hostel managers in the Greater Accra region of Ghana
No full textMost universities provide hostels to promote the living and learning experience as well as the wellbeing of students. However, the managers of the hostels are generally faced with several challenges that hinder their effectiveness. This paper explores the challenges of university hostel managers in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, with the aim of providing empirical information that will help to develop a better understanding of hostel managers’ challenges. Data was qualitatively collected by means of interviews; a total of 5 interviews were carried out in five universities. The data was thematically analysed. It became evident that university hostel managers in Ghana face both management and student related challenges. The general management related challenges were; insufficient funds and budget reduction, slow response to maintenance requests, and centralised management approach. The dominant student related challenges were students disregard for hostel rules and regulations such as students changing the paints of rooms as well as fixing carpets with glues, vandalism and misuse of facilities. Other student related challenges highlighted were; petty quarrelling, students’ inability to pay hostel fees timeously and students disposing off facilities. The study provides invaluable information that contribute to filling the knowledge gap in the area of hostel managers’ challenges. This study provides empirical evidence that can help university management to better understand and mitigate hostel managers’ challenges. It is recommended that university management give priority to the hostels and reconsider the budget allocated for managing the hostels
Framework to improve the safety of university student housing facilities in the Western Cape Province, South Africa
Get PDFThesis (Master of Construction (Construction Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2020In the recent time, knowledge of Facility Management (FM) has been found useful in academic settings. FM principles are now applied to ensure the appropriate management of facilities. FM can be applied to all forms of facilities, including educational facilities such as student housing facilities (SHFs). The provision of a safe SHF is very important as shelters form a significant part of man’s environment, including in higher learning institutions. However, studies reveal that safety and security measures are not given the necessary attention in tertiary institutions – particularly SHFs. The consequences of neglecting the aspect of safety and security in universities in South Africa has exposed students to several risks and hazards such as increase rate of accidents, theft, fire outbreaks, sexual harassment, and fatalities on campuses. Thus, the need to consider safety and security issues in the management of SHFs in universities in South Africa is paramount. This research aims to develop a framework to improve the safety of university SHFs in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
A mixed research method was used for the study. A case study approach was adopted where two universities were selected. Interviews, questionnaire surveys and observation were used to collect the primary data. A total of 460 questionnaires were administered to students living in on-campus SHFs which directly belong to the universities. Only 400 questionnaires were returned from both universities. However, 62 of the returned questionnaires were not fully completed. In essence, a total of 338 questionnaires were properly completed. Statistics package SPSS version 25 was used to execute the analysis of the data collected, where both descriptive and inferential statistics were carefully implemented to analyse the data collected accordingly. Observations were also carried out to validate the results. The reliability of the variables and the scale questions were tested with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient.
The major findings are centered on the provision and level of importance of security measures, fire safety measures, traffic safety measures, building safety measures and general safety measures in the SHFs. In addition, the findings include the risk associated with the absence of these measures, as well as students’ satisfaction level with the performance of the above-mentioned measures in the on-campus university SHFs. The findings indicated a significant difference in the level of provision of security measures and fire safety measures between the two universities. Similarly, a significant difference exists in students’ satisfaction level with performance/functionality of different safety and security measures provided in the on-campus SHFs between the two universities. The mean score (MS) differences between the security measures and fire safety measures are quite high, whilst the MS differences between traffic safety measures, building safety measures, and general safety measures are comparatively low. The major issues of concern at university A were; non-functionality of the CCTV, lack of weapon detectors, lack of access control with functional smart card in some residences and inadequate provision of light at night. The lapses at university B include; lack of weapon detectors, inadequate provision of CCTV in the SHFs and around the campus and lack of access control with functional smart card in some residences. Issues of concern across both universities are; inadequate provision/non-functionality of the CCTV, lack of weapon detectors, and absence of electronic coded locks on the doors at the hostels. The findings further revealed that students across both universities ranked all the variables/measures adopted in this study as important and/or extremely important in the SHFs. Likewise, the majority of students across both universities acknowledged that the absence of these measures poses a very high risk to their safety in the on-campus SHFs. Thus, this indicates the need to ensure the appropriate management of the security and safety measures of the on-campus SHFs across both universities. It is essential because peaceful living and effective learning can only take place in a safe and secured environment. The scope of the study is limited to 2 universities in the Western Cape Province of South Africa
On-campus housing facilities : the perceptions of Ghanaian university students
No full textThis paper explores the perceptions that Ghanaian university students have about their on-campus student
housing facilities (SHFs) with the aim of providing empirical information that can help hostel managers to
appropriately manage and mitigate the gaps in the provision of the services and spaces in SHFs. A
phenomenological research strategy was adopted for this study. Data was qualitatively collected by means of
focus group discussions. A total of ten focus group discussions were carried out in five universities in the
southern part of Ghana. The data was thematically analysed. The study found that students had both positive
(commendation) and negative (challenges) perceptions about the SHFs. On the one hand, students commended
the stable supply of electricity, the proximity of the SHFs to the lecture theatres, the washrooms provided inside
the bedrooms, the provision of mini mart and the religious nature of the SHFs. On the other hand,
discontentment was expressed with: the infrequent water supply; the poor condition of bathrooms and toilet
facilities; the lack of study areas as well as the inadequacy and unavailability of chairs and tables in the study
areas; the slow response of maintenance departments; the poor standard of cleaning; the lack of adequate
kitchens and the lack of stable internet connectivity. With this information, the hostel managers will be well
positioned to appropriately manage the provision of the services and spaces in the SHFs to meet students’ needs
and expectations. The study recommends that university estate and hostel managers take prompt steps to
improve on the provision and management of the services and spaces that students are discontent with,
particularly, those that have health implications as well as those that affect the well-being of the students.National Research Foundation (NRF-CPUT RO22
Importance level of post graduate student housing facility services: perceptions of students
No full textConference PaperThis paper investigates students’ perceptions about the level of importance of the services required in
an on-campus student housing facility (SHF), with the aim of providing empirical information that
can guide the provision and management of on-campus university SHF services. The paper adopted a
survey research strategy. The study is exploratory in nature; a postgraduate residence was selected,
and a closed-ended questionnaire was administered to students who are registered residents of the
housing facility. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The study
found that security personnel, waste disposal, electricity, internet, fire safety, access control, cleaning,
water, fumigation, CCTV, first aid, and room heater were perceived to be more important than
services such as; gym equipment, indoor sports equipment, DSTV decoder, phone, receptionist, tuck
shop, ATM service, vending machine and lift service. No statistically significant differences of the
gender groups and the level of study categories regarding perception of services available and the
importance level of services in the SHF were found. Although, several studies have been conducted
on SHFs, studies that primarily focuses on the services requirements and prioritisation of the services
is lacking. Therefore, the study provides empirical information that could serve as a guide for the
provision and management of SHF services for both property investors and university facility and
hostel managers. The study further contributes to the knowledge in the area of SHF services
requirements by providing empirical information that could serve as a precursor for further studies
On-campus housing facilities : the perceptions of Ghanaian university students
No full textThis paper explores the perceptions that Ghanaian university students have about their on-campus student
housing facilities (SHFs) with the aim of providing empirical information that can help hostel managers to
appropriately manage and mitigate the gaps in the provision of the services and spaces in SHFs. A
phenomenological research strategy was adopted for this study. Data was qualitatively collected by means of
focus group discussions. A total of ten focus group discussions were carried out in five universities in the
southern part of Ghana. The data was thematically analysed. The study found that students had both positive
(commendation) and negative (challenges) perceptions about the SHFs. On the one hand, students commended
the stable supply of electricity, the proximity of the SHFs to the lecture theatres, the washrooms provided inside
the bedrooms, the provision of mini mart and the religious nature of the SHFs. On the other hand,
discontentment was expressed with: the infrequent water supply; the poor condition of bathrooms and toilet
facilities; the lack of study areas as well as the inadequacy and unavailability of chairs and tables in the study
areas; the slow response of maintenance departments; the poor standard of cleaning; the lack of adequate
kitchens and the lack of stable internet connectivity. With this information, the hostel managers will be well
positioned to appropriately manage the provision of the services and spaces in the SHFs to meet students’ needs
and expectations. The study recommends that university estate and hostel managers take prompt steps to
improve on the provision and management of the services and spaces that students are discontent with,
particularly, those that have health implications as well as those that affect the well-being of the students.National Research Foundation (NRF-CPUT RO22
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