Development of Facility Management Assessment Tool for Public Office Buildings: In the Context of Hawassa City (Sidama Region, Ethiopia)

Abstract

Facility Management Involves The Daily Operations That Are Essential For Maintaining A Physical Environment That Aligns With An Organization's Requirements And Main Functions. This Amplifies The Importance Of Facility Management In Enhancing Organizational Performance On A Global Scale. One Of The Key Indicator For Effective Facility Management Existence Is The Facility Management Assessment Tool, Which Is Used To Evaluate And Control The Performance Of Facility Management. Unfortunately, There Is A Lack Of This Tool In Hawassa City, Including Ethiopia As A Whole. And This Made It Difficult To Know The Performance Of Facility Management, Especially In Public Office Buildings Of Hawassa City. Thus, The Objective Of This Study Was To Develop A Facility Management Assessment Tool For Public Office Buildings In The Context Of Hawassa City, Which Would Be Used In The Operation Phase. The Study Used Both Secondary And Primary Data Sources; Secondary Data From The Existing Literature Review, And Primary Data Obtained From Purposively Selected Respondents By Using Closed-Ended Questionnaires, Open-Ended Questionnaires, And Focus Group Discussions. The Data Was Analyzed By Using Item Content Validity Index, Analytical Hierarchy Process, Descriptive Analysis And Inferential Analysis As Per Data Type And Specific Objective Of The Study With The Help Of Microsoft Excel Version 2016 And A Statistical Package For Social Science Software Version 2023. The Literature Review Identified 81 Indicators Related To Facility Management Across Nine Categories. These Indicators Were Further Evaluated For Their Content Validity Using The Item Content Validity Index Analysis. After The Analysis, 67 Indicators Remained, Categorized Into Eight Different Groups. The Results Of The Content Validity Study Were Then Compared Through Survey Questionnaires Based On The Analytical Hierarchical Process. Based On The Data Analysis, Financial, Functional, Learning, And Management Categories Were Identified As The Most Three Critical Categories For The Facility Management Performance Evaluation. From Sub-Indicators, Leadership Skills Of The Top Management, Energy Efficiency, And Understanding Of Ethiopian Law Related To Facility Management Were Identified As The Top Three Critical Indicators For The Facility Management Performance Assessment. On Top Of Prioritization, Evaluation, And Status Award Points Were Suggested. Accordingly, A Score Of ??? 20 Indicates Poor Performance, 21-40 Indicates Low Performance, 41?�?60 Indicates Medium Or Good Performance, 61-80 Indicates Very Good Performance And 81?�?100 Indicates Excellent Performance Of Facility Management. By Using The Result Of The Prioritization And Evaluation Range, The Facility Management Practice Was Evaluated. And As Per The Result, The Socio-Cultural, Financial, And Human Resource Management Practices Were Found In A Medium Or Good Performance. Whereas, Technical Category Service Was Found In The Lowest Range Than Others, And Overall Facility Management Performance Of The Public Office Building In Hawassa City Resulted In Low Performance. Finally, Based On The Result Of Overall Data Analysis, A Conceptual Framework Has Been Developed Which Can Be Applied To Facility Management In The Public Office Building Of Hawassa City, Which Can Improve The Existing Facility Management Practice.