Industrialised, Integrated, Intelligent sustainable Construction - I3con

SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK 2
phases of construction will meet the end-user objectives and provide a pathway to more sustainable
building.
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Sustainable Facilities Management and Construction
A Facilities Management (FM) has an enormous amount of influence over the productivity and
profitability of an organisation (Hodges 2004). FM started life as a service as small as security
provisions within a building and has grown to integrate the planning and management of ‘hard
services’ (building fabric) and ‘soft services’ (cleaning, security, health and safety) to achieve better
quality and economies of scale (Shah 2007). The formation of the British Institute of Facilities
Management in 1993 gave the final drive towards FM integration in organisations, followed by the
development of specialised training and qualifications.
Since 1940, the fragmented nature of the construction industry has been continually criticised for its
poor performance in its operations and providing value to the customer (Barrett 2008). The most
documented examples include the reports by Sir Michael Latham (1994) and Sir John Egan (1998)
where a collaborative approach was encouraged to meet the requirements of the client in terms of time
and cost. Egan (1994) suggested that the industry is still experiencing similar problems surrounding
the fragmented nature of construction which greatly inhibits the process of innovation and
performance improvements (Egan 1998). These problems still abound within the industry more than
ten years after publication of these two major reports. The reality of such fragmentation and the
overriding aim of design, construction and FM constituencies’ pursuit of financial interest have great
implications on sustainable design management and the drive for sustainability agenda (Elmualim et
al. 2009).
Sustainable development has significantly grown in importance largely due to EU legislation and the
UK government forcing the construction industry to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon
emissions (Stern 2006). An example is the recent government set targets to reduce carbon emissions
by 80% by 2050 compared with 1990 levels. The construction industry poses a huge detriment on the
environment due to its large resource consumption and level of Green House Gas emissions (Kibert
and Sendzimir 2000, Cole 2000, Pearce 2006). The benefits of sustainability and green buildings are
therefore, well established (Adis and Talbot 2001). Hodges (2004) recognises these benefits as the
reduction in energy consumption, increased user productivity, waste reductions and many other
issues. A number of FM involved in sustainability aim to make these savings at the operational phase.
However, the physical aspect of a building still dominates the design and construction within the built
environment with no considerations for in-use or FM. There is a need for involving FM in the design
and construction processes to lay bare the sustainability goals (Elmualim et al. 2009). Popular
methods for designing and building facilities leads to 40-50% consumption of energy produced on a
popular basis, therefore small strides forward will equal big savings (Hodges 2004).
Design management is considered the holy grail of sustainability. However, sustainable design
management, often exclusive of other processes, is resulting in an increasing number of case studies
leading sustainable design and innovation which fail to demonstrate changes or materialise in
common practice (Elmualim et al. 2009). Designers should be required to look at the life cycle of a
building when assessing green alternatives (Hodges 2004). The chapter analyses whether the
knowledge of FM at the operational phases can contribute to the early briefing and design phases of
construction and create more sustainable buildings that fully meet the needs of the end-user of the
facility. The investigation will also consider the common barriers restricting their inclusion, of
paramount importance is the inclusion of Sustainable FM at the briefing and design phases of
construction. The research focuses on the attitudes of different professionals and informs the industry
of the potential benefits of sustainable FM and barriers restricting their inclusion within the early
phases of construction.
The performance of the construction industry within the UK has been recognised considerably for its
poor performance and the production of buildings that present high end-user dissatisfaction.
Therefore, change within the industry is required to meet the needs of the end-user and provide a