Factors affecting effective facilities management practices in South Africa: a case study of Kwazulu Natal Province

Abstract

Purpose

Although facilities management (FM) has been advocated in the construction industry to address the issues of facilities in buildings, their adoption is still plagued with barriers. The factors affecting FM practices need detailed investigation. However, few studies have been conducted on the factors affecting FM practices in developing countries such as South Africa. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting effective FM practices in public buildings in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve this aim, a quantitative survey was carried out using questionnaire to gather relevant data in the study area. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics and principal component (factor) analysis. The study was conducted on 39 facilities managers in the Department of Public Works in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.

Findings

The descriptive analysis revealed that availability of funds, occupants’ knowledge of FM, absence of policy guiding FM practice, state of deterioration of facilities and design concepts and scope were significant challenges affecting effective FM practices in public buildings in South Africa. The result of the principal component analysis of the factors affecting FM practices were grouped into organisational factors, structural/design errors and end users’ elements.

Research limitations/implications

As it is widely understood that “money” plays a significant role in the performance of any activity or function, administrators/governments of public facilities should strive to plan and make appropriate finances accessible to facilities managers. Participation of facilities managers in the planning stage can also help reduce design flaws and their maintenance implications. In addition, adequate training for professionals can improve FM awareness and productivity.

Originality/value

The paper reveals the structural framework of the factors that can influence the effective facilities management practices in public buildings.

Citation

Mewomo, M.C., Ndlovu, P.M. and Iyiola, C.O. (2022), "Factors affecting effective facilities management practices in South Africa: a case study of Kwazulu Natal Province", Facilities, Vol. 40 No. 15/16, pp. 107-124. https://doi.org/10.1108/F-09-2021-0087

1. Introduction

The rapid technology breakthroughs and increased competitiveness in today’s economy have made the construction industry develop an effective supporting services system to ensure long-term building functionality and profitable operation (Støre-Valen and Buser, 2019). Meanwhile, implementing such an effective system provided by facilities management (FM) remains a significant obstacle (Abu Jawdeh, 2013). According to Abigo et al. (2012), developing countries still contend with design and project execution problems. The issues related to environmental sustainability, detrimental construction fabrics and mediocre management and maintenance of buildings are still lingering. Moreover, various building professionals’ lack of adherence to building practices has negatively impacted building occupants’ functionality, comfort and health (Jiboye, 2012). This has resulted in the continual maintenance of poorly designed buildings and the dissatisfaction of the building occupants. Olaniyi (2017) mentioned that facilities managers with good knowledge and vast technical skill in construction management are not usually consulted during the design stage. Due to this, facilities managers are poorly represented in the planning phase of a new project when critical decisions influencing the building’s lasting sustainability are addressed (Støre-Valen and Busan, 2019). While the decision taken at the design stage is crucial to the effective operation and utilisation of the building, facility managers may only be involved during the construction and post-construction stage of the building process (Olotuah, 2015). According to Ikedaishi et al. (2012), facilities managers are not usually consulted or involved during the operations, installation and maintenance of services within a building. Therefore, FM services suffer. Regrettably, the facilities managers do not usually request feedback from the building users (Elmualim et al., 2017). Consequently, buildings deteriorate quickly due to the unavailability of building performance information on which the designers can improve their designs. Often, facilities professionals end their professional roles at the end of the construction stage (Odediran et al., 2015). According to research, building facilities are only given specific attention by management in exceptional cases (Odediran et al., 2015). According to Asiabaka (2008), FM is a part of the educational system sometimes disregarded in developing countries. Little priority is devoted to their maintenance when new buildings are built and taken over by the relevant authorities. According to Mohammed and Hassanain (2010), the most pressing issue is how building tenants or maintenance employees manage the structure once the construction process is concluded. According to Akinsola et al. (2012), most facilities lack an effective maintenance strategy. Preventive maintenance and emergency repair requirements are expected to emerge as the facility or building ages, so preventive maintenance is critical. Furthermore, Kamaruzzaman et al. (2017) suggested that the fundamental issue with FM in a building is being handled unprofessionally by facilities managers, resulting in negative consequences on building facilities. The detrimental performance of facilities in a building may potentially harm the building occupants in terms of health, safety and comfort (Lai and Yik, 2011). From the preceding, many public buildings in developing countries have not yet benefited from the advantages derived from the practice of FM. The present study will fill the gap by providing an in-depth application of the significant challenges influencing the effectiveness of FM practices.

2. Literature review

Investing in building facilities and making a profit is the primary goal of the FM organisation. The difficulty for professionals is to stay profitable while dealing with ever-tightening legislation and occupant demands. Meanwhile, the environmental benefits of sustainable practices are recognised by all, and the increased cost and often ambiguous financial return of these initiatives are still perceived as roadblocks (Aliyu et al., 2016). Early FM engagement during the pre-construction stage, according to Xianhai (2013), can lead to concerns such as inefficient use of building materials and equipment. Changes in environmental circumstances and a lack of a maintenance culture contribute to the ageing and damage of building facilities, according to Asiabaka (2008). Time restrictions, a shortage of understanding and a lack of top managers’ commitment were the critical challenges to implementing a consistent and complete sustainable FM practice (Elmualim et al., 2010). Sarpin et al. (2016) briefly assessed the shortcomings and obstacles to sustainable development in FM practices. The study identified the competence of professionals, knowledge, organisational factors and authority issues. Education, environmental policies/legislation and FM skills are required to provide a positive working environment to monitor the output of FM service to guarantee the country’s economic success (Akinsola et al., 2012). In addition, Asiabaka (2008) described a lack of policy guidance for infrastructural growth, a lack of managerial process expertise, nonchalant or passive attitudes towards facilities deterioration, a lack of qualified experts, insufficient qualifications and insufficient funding as fundamental factors affecting FM practices. According to Chandrashekaran and Gopalakrishnan (2008), a shortage of adequate funds for FM in organisations is a significant factor affecting FM. This typically results in the postponement of significant facility repairs and replacements. According to Talib et al. (2014), the fundamental problems influencing FM in public buildings are a lack of preventive maintenance, insufficient funding for facilities and a shortage of FM regulatory requirements. Moum et al. (2017) highlight the need for long-term FM commitment, transparency, trust and a positive client and team relationship as critical success factors for FM practices. According to Häkkinen and Belloni (2011), the essential challenges to FM are a lack of steering mechanisms, financial abilities, client comprehension, process expertise and the lack of methodologies, tools and competencies connected to the FM process.

The low level of innovation, insufficient finance and poor policy enforcement, according to Odediran et al. (2015), are all significant problems in FM practice. According to Asiabaka (2008), prevailing factors influencing FM practices include a lack of awareness of managerial processes, a casual or passive attitude about facilities degrading, a lack of educated professionals, relevant skills and insufficient funds. Inadequate knowledge, improper regulation and quality control, procurement process, shortage of skill/workforce, mistrust between managers and stakeholders, type of employer, political barrier/government intervention and personal and labour issues, according to Ikedaishi et al. (2012), are all influencing factors in ineffective FM practices. Design errors, a lack of a maintenance schedule, a lack of understanding of FM, underestimating the impacts of FM and worse maintenance efficiency are all critical variables that affect FM services in companies, according to Islam et al. (2019). Femi (2014) backed up this point by stressing that designers make the mistake of assuming that using aesthetically pleasant materials will result in less building maintenance. Similarly, Hasan et al. (2016) discovered that selecting high-quality materials is one of the most successful techniques for reducing building flaws. Similarly, Olanrewaju and Anifowose (2015) cited the usage of untested materials as a primary cause of fault, stating that early engagement of qualified and competent specialists might alleviate these problems. According to Jandali and Sweis (2018), design stage-related elements were among the factors that significantly impacted a hospital’s maintenance management performance. These reasons included, among others, a lack of information from the maintenance department to the design team and the exclusion of a maintainability evaluation. Furthermore, Waziri and Vanduhe (2013) ascribed maintenance issues to shoddy craftsmanship, design accuracy adequate to user needs, low-cost and low-quality materials and the most significant element, a lack of money for building maintenance.

Cobbinah (2010) attributed the factors to lack of funds, improper maintenance culture, increased cost of maintenance, pressure from end-users, errors during construction and ineffective maintenance carried out by facility personnel. Koleoso et al. (2017) mentioned that the time at which work is completed, mistakes during the construction process, design problems, late response in carrying out maintenance, unavailability of competent maintenance personnel, scared skilled workers, insufficient finance, age of buildings and the general condition of the building all affect FM practices. Several other studies have also emphasised the problems faced by FM practitioners when conversing with end-users (Shah, 2007; Then, 2013; Thomsen et al., 2013; Risholt et al., 2013; Moum et al., 2017). Focusing on measurable aspects and technological capabilities, facility managers frequently overlook issues such as everyday facility use and users’ behaviour alignment with recommended solutions (Sezer, 2012; Gram-Hanssen et al., 2017). Also, the use of buildings by end-users in a way that was not intended can potentially jeopardise effective FM practices (Gram-Hanssen et al., 2017).

3. Methodology

3.1 Identification of factors influencing effective facilities management practices

Previous studies by Myeda and Pitt (2014), Odediran et al. (2015), Ikedaishi and Okwuashi (2015) and Islam et al. (2019) have reported that several factors influence effective FM practices in public buildings. Following a comprehensive evaluation of this research, this study found 22 possible factors shown in Table 3. There are lists of factors well-documented in earlier studies that are more applicable. Availability of funding, design principles and scope and a lack of a sound maintenance system, for instance, are all recognised as critical elements determining its success in the literature.

3.2 Data collection

A quantitative approach collects data dependent on a study population (Tan, 2011). It has been used in FM research to get professional perspectives (Elmualim et al., 2010; Muin et al., 2021). A structured questionnaire was used in this study to evaluate the impediments of the crucial components influencing FM activities. As a result, the analysis presented in this publication is a questionnaire-based quantitative approach (Creswell, 2014). The research objectives and respondents’ information were introduced in the first section of the questionnaire, followed by questions designed to obtain background information from the respondents. Afterwards, the respondents were asked to rate the 22 factors influencing FM practices using a five-point Likert scale (1 – strongly disagree, 2 – disagree, 3 – neutral, 4 – agree, 5 – strongly agree).

Facilities managers with knowledge and awareness of facilities in South Africa made up the population. A total of 39 research questionnaires were distributed to facilities managers in the Department of Public Works (DPW) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province to seek the opinion of these respondents. KZN Province was selected as a case study because it is the biggest province in South Africa with many public buildings and facilities managers. Specifically, there are 13 DPW districts under the leadership of 39 facilities managers consisting of three facilities managers per district who are highly knowledgeable on FM issues. All the 39 facilities managers were purposefully selected to participate in the research. Therefore, 39 questionnaires were distributed and duly filled and returned, yielding a 100.0% response rate. Quantitative research could still be conducted despite the limited sample size since the central limit theorem is considered valid with a sample size of 30 or more, according to the widely recognised rule (Ott and Longnecker, 2010; Hwang et al., 2015).

3.3 Procedures for data analysis

3.3.1 Cronbach’s alpha.

Cronbach's alpha is one of the most widely used metrics for evaluating scale dependability. Cronbach’s alpha is used to examine the questionnaire’s reliability by measuring the average association or internal reliability among features in a research questionnaire or internal consistency among factors in a survey questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α) measures the consistency of components retrieved from multi-point and dichotomous structured ratings or questionnaires and varies from zero to one (Jarkas, 2015). The higher the (α) value, the more reliable is the adopted scale of measurement. However, the scale is reliable if the (α) value is not less than 0.70 (Taber, 2018). Based on this assertion and using the SPSS 20.0 statistical software, the computed (α) value for the 22 variables was 0.748, indicating that the five-point Likert scale measurement was reliable at a 5% significance level. Therefore, the collected sample can be treated as a whole and thus suitable for further analysis such as factor analysis (FA).

3.3.2 Descriptive statistics (mean score analysis).

As a commonly used statistical method for determining relative importance (Olanrewaju et al., 2020), the mean score analysis determined the ranking order of the 22 influencing factors in descending order, according to the participants’ perceptions. If several influencing factors have the same mean score, the element with the lowest standard deviation (SD) was given the highest rank.

3.3.3 Factor analysis technique.

The fundamental categorised variables revealed in this study were determined using FA. FA is a statistical technique for identifying a limited number of component groupings that can depict correlations between many connected variables (Aluko et al., 2021). Obtaining principal components of the responses is an effective strategy for regrouping and reducing a massive range of variables to smaller components (Iyiola and Mewomo, 2022a). However, before using FA, it is necessary to assess its suitability. To determine the suitability of the principal component analysis, the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure of sample adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity were used in this study. The KMO is an indicator of sampling adequacy that represents the ratio of the squared correlation between the variables to the squared partial correlation between the variables (Field, 2013). The KMO value is a number that varies from zero to one. A score of 0 indicates that the sum of partial correlations is large relative to the sum of correlations, implying that the pattern of correlations has diffused. Hence, FA is unsuitable (Norusis, 2008). On the other hand, a score near one indicates that correlation patterns are highly compact, so FA would give reliable and distinct components (Field, 2013). The KMO value should be above the acceptable threshold of 0.50 to be considered suitable for FA (Field, 2009; Aluko et al., 2021; Aluko and Mewomo, 2021). However, as demonstrated in Table 1, the level of acceptance of KMO values varies depending on the KMO value. The Bartlett sphericity test is a statistical test that emphasises the occurrence of correlations between variables (Iyiola and Mewomo, 2022b). It is used to see if the original correlation matrix is an identity matrix, which means there is no relationship between the variables and hence FA is not applicable (Pett et al., 2003). The population correlation matrix is not an identity matrix when the test statistic for sphericity is enormous, and the associated significance level is minimal; hence FA is suitable (Pallant, 2010) (Figure 1).

4. Results and discussion

Two main approaches were used to analyse the factors affecting FM practices; ranking analysis and FA. This section presents the result of the study. Firstly, the development of the ranking analysis was presented. Afterwards, the result of the FA was presented in this section.

Table 2 shows the general information of the respondents. According to the data collected, males made up 21% of the respondents (53.8%), while females were 18% (46.2%). The result also revealed that 32 (82.1%) of the respondents had a National diploma as their highest level of education, while 6 (15.4%) had a bachelor’s degree/BTech. An Honorary Degree is the highest degree of education held by 1 (2.6%) of the respondents. The findings also revealed that 15 (38.5%) respondents have less than five years of FM experience. The majority of the participants (59.0%) have between six and 10 years of FM experience, while the remaining 2.6% have between 11 and 15 years.

4.1 Result of descriptive analysis

Table 3 revealed the descriptive analysis of the challenges inhibiting effective FM in public buildings. Table 3 showed that the major challenges affecting FM services are; Availability of fund (M = 4.205, SD = 1.005), Occupants knowledge of FM (M = 4.128, SD = 1.105), Absence of a policy guideline for FM practice (M = 4.128, SD = 0.951), State of deterioration of facilities (M = 4.077, SD = 1.036) and design concepts and scope (M = 4.051, SD = 0.916).

4.2 Result of factor analysis

The 22 critical factors (variables) in the findings of this research were subjected to FA to comprehend the factors affecting FM practices in South Africa entirely. The KMO value is 0.686, which is satisfactory because it meets the acceptable threshold, as shown in Table 1. Table 6 shows that all factor loadings were greater than or equal to 0.50, with all over 0.50; thus, all variables were included in the principal component. Table 4 shows that the population correlation matrix is not an identity matrix because the chi-square value in Bartlett’s sphericity test is immense (805.726), and the corresponding significance level is minimal (0.000). This, therefore, justify the use of using principal component analysis.

The principal component analysis approach was used to identify underlying factors for factor extraction. The outcome of the principal component analysis following Varimax rotation is summarised in Table 5. Three underlying groupings (components) were retrieved with eigenvalues greater than 1, accounting for 75.99% of the overall variance. This indicates that factors influencing FM practices with these three components explain the highest percentage (>50%) of the variance. The rate of variance defined by each component is also shown in the result. The first component accounts for 38.56% of the total variation, while the others account for 31.79%, 5.65% and 5.65%, respectively. The factors were classified into three groups.

Table 6 (Pattern matrix) shows the distribution pattern of variables that make up each component to identify the category of factors under each factor loading. As indicated in Table 6, the variables that loaded highly in components one to three were given unique names. Elements loaded in component one were referred to as organisational factors. In contrast, those loaded in component two were design/structural errors and those loaded in component three were referred to as end-user factors, respectively.

5. Discussion

5.1 Structural/design errors

The descriptive analysis in Table 3 revealed that FM is strongly affected by the availability of funds, occupants’ knowledge of FM, absence of a policy guiding FM practice, state of deterioration of facilities and design concepts and scope were significant challenges affecting effective FM practices in public buildings in South Africa. This result was also in confirmation by the opinion of Mohammed and Hassanain (2010) and Akinsola et al. (2012). Since it is widely known that “money” plays a significant role in the performance of any task and procedure, owners of public buildings should make every effort to prepare and make appropriate finance accessible to facilities managers. South Africa’s Government should also pay more attention to FM by ensuring that effective regulations are established to make FM practices mandatory in public buildings and tighter steps to remedy users’ bad handling and mishandling of public facilities. This was also supported by the findings of Ogungbile and Oke (2015). One of the critical variables affecting effective FM procedures in public buildings is structural/design errors. Design errors result from mistakes in working drawings, detailing and specifications. Garcez et al. (2015), Salim et al. (2016), Isa et al. (2016) and Carretero-Ayuso and García-Sanz-Calcedo (2018) highlighted that neglecting maintenance during the initial stage of design can contribute to the increased life cycle, operation and maintenance expenses. Therefore, it is necessary to think about the maintenance from the beginning of the project.

Hassanain et al. (2014a) emphasised the importance of considering maintenance in the early stage of the construction process, suggesting that planned maintenance should begin at the design phase and continue throughout the facility’s life span. Maintainability should be included in the design and construction phases to reduce operating and maintenance expenses while also simplifying the work necessary for maintenance (Hassanain et al., 2014a, 2014b). Reworks are expected during the post-occupancy phase because of failed components. As a result, in the post-occupancy stage, unanticipated changes in designed facilities, costly maintenance and repair and numerous problems can arise in building components. According to Femi (2014), enhancing design quality can drastically reduce FM costs. Gatlin (2013) also mentioned that minimising design flaws can reduce many maintenance costs. Furthermore, Yap et al. (2017) found that cost-effectiveness can add value to construction projects by lowering the design error rate. It is believed that the absence of facilities managers and FM components throughout the design phase will pose a severe threat to the building’s structural and functional integrity, necessitating additional maintenance efforts and an increase in the cost of maintenance. Therefore, the facilities manager’s involvement in the design and construction process will reduce maintenance challenges (Ofori et al., 2015). Another criterion for a successful building project is an understanding of FM. A lack of knowledge of FM would result in a serious maintenance issue. Also, problems with the maintainability and functionality of facilities may develop in the post-occupancy phase. Therefore, a lack of understanding of FM among design professionals may build defects and rework. Regular FM training programs with adequate skills and knowledge can increase the competency of all FM professionals. Therefore, organisations should give their workers constant training/education on improving FM practices. This finding is confirmed by the conclusions from Mohammed and Hassanain (2010), Akinsola et al. (2012), Agola and Kashiyanu (2015) and Jandali and Sweis (2018).

5.2 Organisational factors

The result in Table 6 also revealed that organisational factors are one of the factors influencing FM practices in buildings. This study attributed organisation factors to the following; low priorities for maintenance, lack of discernable maintenance culture, inadequate information about the structure, lack of integration of stakeholder knowledge, ineffective leadership and responsibility for driving essential change, lack of motivation for FM personnel, absence of a policy guiding FM practice, funding/financing, lack of competent professionals to render FM services, lack of proper maintenance system, training and development of FM personnel and availability of technology for FM. According to Odediran et al. (2015), FM in buildings is a complex process that necessitates many resources to carry out FM services. The success of FM services is mainly dependent on the availability of resources such as funds, time and workforce inside the organisation. As a result, individuals and governments in society must reimburse more funds to FM services to promote FM in buildings. Recently, Kate (2020) also mentioned that providing sufficient funds and creating adequate awareness can help improve FM practices in public buildings and society. It also involves a wide range of stakeholders across time and necessitates simultaneous attention to technical and non-technical challenges (Koleoso et al., 2017). All significant actors must participate and commit for a long-term (Støre-Valen and Buser, 2019). An absence of strategic leadership and responsibility for bringing about necessary change was also cited as an issue.

One of the essential requirements for successful FM practices is leadership (Ikedaishi and Okwuashi, 2012). According to Obradovic et al. (2013), the success of a construction project is determined not by the number of specialists involved but by how successfully these individuals interact with one another and collaborate towards a shared vision of an integrated result. A competent leader can get tasks accomplished by focusing on people’s efforts towards a similar objective and allowing them to work together as a team (Woon et al., 2015). The lack of qualified personnel to provide FM services was also cited as a significant stumbling block to developing FM practices (Odediran et al., 2015). The outcomes of this study reinforce the notion that a facilities manager’s knowledge and expertise are critical in ensuring the effectiveness and performance of FM (Firdauz et al., 2015). Since there are more sophisticated buildings, managing facilities in a building have gotten more difficult (Islam et al., 2019). To provide successful FM practices, facilities experts must possess diverse abilities. According to Pathirage et al. (2008), knowledge management methods in FM organisations requires strategic design, the implementation of procedures and performance review. According to Asiabaka (2008), the expanded educational goals and objectives necessitated the inclusion of several minds and specialists from other fields of knowledge in the FM process and collaborative initiatives that introduce new ideas and views into FM. Maintaining complex structures and remodelling and updating existing ones necessitates a high level of skill and expertise and a significant investment in both people and material resources. This is because the ageing and damage of facilities and equipment are caused by changes in weather conditions and an absence of maintenance culture (Lind and Muyingo, 2012).

5.3 End-users factors

End-user factors were attributed to irresponsible use of facilities, failure to disclose faults in facilities promptly, poor attitudes of building users towards FM and occupants’ knowledge of FM. Users’ involvement in FM projects is significant (Thomsen et al., 2013; Risholt et al., 2013; Moum et al., 2017). Facility managers must make a more substantial effort to educate the public (particularly building owners and administrators) about FM’s need for and benefits in public buildings. The importance of maintenance and resilience should be emphasised (Ogungbile and Oke, 2015). This is especially important for the owner, as they substantially impact FM concerns throughout the design stage. Awareness may be promoted by hosting international conferences and workshops showing the best international techniques (Fatayer et al., 2019). Asiabaka (2008) noted that lack of awareness of managerial systems, nonchalant or passive attitudes towards facilities rotting, unavailability of qualified experts, insufficient expertise and inadequate financing are significant areas that need attention.

Individual needs to be aware of the importance of FM practices because awareness is one of the crucial factors that could influence FM practice in public buildings. Lack of awareness of the importance of FM practices in the building will prevent owners and administrators of public buildings from seeing why skilled workmanship and expertise are needed to carry out FM services (Haugen and Klungseth, 2017). Awareness and knowledge are the first stumbling blocks that must be conquered in achieving effective facility management practices. Individual awareness, knowledge and understanding, according to Spagnolli (2011), determine the extent of commitment that will be put into action and the adoption of any concept. The importance of ensuring that information reaches individuals clearly and effectively is emphasised in this study, but it also offers more extensive and distinctive techniques for integrating users and stakeholders. According to the findings, developing unique and innovative solutions that meet users’ needs necessitates a collaborative approach known as co-creation (Alexander, 2012; Price, 2018). At the initial planning and development stages, this coordinated approach is viewed as critical throughout the early construction phases.

6. Conclusion and recommendation

Based on the discussion of the findings of this study, it was concluded that the most predominant challenges in FM public sector buildings are insufficient funding, irregular or fixed budget, the absence of a policy guideline for the development of infrastructure and maintenance of facilities in buildings, poor workmanship, lack of discernable maintenance culture, construction of facilities, an inspection of facilities, deterioration of structures or facilities as a result of their age and reckless use of facilities. The study concluded that structural/design errors, financial factors and awareness factors significantly affect effective FM practices in South Africa. FM is a substantial concern in South African and international construction projects. Based on the findings, specific recommendations are proposed to reduce the effects of the listed factors on the performance of the building. Firstly, facility managers can help remove design flaws and their impact on facilities during the design phase by reviewing operational design possibilities and the structural engineer’s selection of the structure of a building. If more robust integration is to be accomplished in the future, this situation must be addressed. Also included in the design stage should be good maintenance planning or maintainability. Furthermore, proper training can boost the workforce and production. In addition, sufficient financing is required for the smooth operation of FM. This research has revealed the most critical elements that influence FM. The importance of maintainability should be made more widely known. This is especially important for the owner, as they have a big say in how maintainability is considered during the design process. The staging of international seminars and workshops showing the most excellent global practices could help raise awareness. As a result, this research is helpful to designers and facility managers since it will inspire authorities and policymakers in the field of FM to focus on the most relevant variables and discover strategies to minimise them. This research suggests new approaches to solving FM issues in buildings and society. Additionally, FM managers must set time-bound goals and objectives to improve the state of the facilities and FM procedures. In addition, facilities in the buildings should be inspected regularly. This is necessary because it will allow organisations to understand the current state of their facilities, which will aid in formulating time-bound policies. FM planning ahead is also vital for improving FM practices because any organisation that wants to forge ahead in its FM procedures should plan. As a result, a managerial strategy is very iessentialide employees in terms of FM performance expectations. Facilities auditing can also be used to analyse the condition of facilities to determine the best course of action for improving their performance. There could be damage to some facilities beyond repair, and such components can impact the overall system’s efficiency. Finally, strategic planning is necessary since the technique used to manage one component in a facility may not be entirely relevant for another component in the same facility. As a result, FM experts must be actively engaged in creating goals and planning for effective FM procedures. Furthermore, one of the most significant possible advancements in FM is the use of technology. As a result, standardisation and digitisation are projected to improve FM processes and lead to better information-based decisions.

The findings of this study help to bridge the information gap in developing nations about FM. Still, they also serve as a helpful guideline for policymakers and practitioners to take appropriate initiatives to strengthen FM practices. Furthermore, international organisations and advocates interested in supporting FM techniques in South Africa to create more sustainable facility improvements might benefit from this research.

Even though the objective was met, certain limitations to this study should be recognised. These constraints should be acknowledged in future research and when interpreting and generalising the findings. Firstly, because the criticalities assessment in this study was subjective, it could be impacted by the respondents’ attitudes and experiences. Apart from that, while the sample size and KMO value of this study were suitable for conducting statistical analyses, it should be noted that they are still limited. Increasing the sample size could increase the KMO value; therefore, further research with a bigger sample size would be helpful to evaluate whether the results will change considerably from those given in this study. Finally, while the results of this study may be beneficial to policymakers and practitioners in other developing countries around the world, data from other countries may provide different results. Similar studies might also be conducted in many developing nations to identify significant differences, which would aid in developing approaches to improve its effectiveness. The outcomes of a large-scale study on the promotion of FM practices in a developing nation are summarised in this publication. While this work focuses on the factors that influence FM practices, a future research publication will focus on empirical data on ways to overcome obstacles and promoting more excellent FM practices. Interrelationships between influencing factors and their effects on FM practices will be investigated/modelled in a future study.

Figures

Figure 1.

Structural framework showing factors influencing facilities management practices in public buildings

Table 1.

Acceptable KMO value (Field, 2009)

KMO value	Level of acceptance
>0.90	Excellent
0.80 to 0.90	Great
0.70 to 0.80	Good
0.50 to 0.70	Mediocre
<0.50	Inappropriate

Table 2.

Background information of respondents

Socio-demographic information	Frequency (n)	(%)
			Gender
Male	18	46.2
Female	21	53.8
Education
National Science Certificate	0	0.0
National Diploma	32	82.1
Bachelor of Science/BTech	6	15.4
Master’s Degree	0	0.0
Honorary Degree	1	2.6
Doctorate (PhD)	0	0.0
Years of Experience in Facilities Management
Less than five years	15	38.5
6–10 years	23	59.0
11–15 years	1	2.6
16–20 years	0	0.0
More than 20 years	0	0.0

Table 3.

Challenges inhibiting effective FM in South Africa’s public buildings

Challenges affecting FM practices in public buildings	Mean	SD	Rank
Availability of fund	4.205	1.005	1
Occupants’ knowledge of FM	4.128	1.105	2
Absence of a policy guiding FM practice	4.128	0.951	3
State of deterioration of facilities	4.077	1.036	4
Design concepts and scope	4.051	0.916	5
Availability of technology for FM services	3.769	0.959	6
Lack of proper maintenance system	3.744	1.019	7
Training for FM professionals	3.718	0.916	8
Incompetent professionals to render FM services	3.718	0.972	9
Quality of building materials used	3.513	0.997	10
Poor attitudes of building users towards FM services	3.410	1.044	11
Delay in reporting failures of facilities	3.077	1.109	12
Lack of motivation for FM personnel	2.949	1.075	13
Poor integration of stakeholder knowledge	2.923	1.156	14
Deterioration of facilities	2.769	1.087	15
Poor workmanship	2.769	1.038	16
Inadequate information and knowledge about the building	2.769	1.111	17
Obsolescence of facilities	2.744	1.186	18
Inappropriate use of facilities	2.744	1.251	19
Low discernible maintenance culture	2.744	1.019	20
Low priorities for maintenance	2.692	1.104	21
Inappropriate strategic leadership and responsibility for driving essential change	2.564	1.209	22

Table 4.

KMO and Barlett’s test of sample adequacy

KMO and Barlett’s test of sample adequacy
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy	0.686
Approx. chi-square	805.726
Bartlett's test of sphericity	190
	0.000

Table 5.

Total variance explained

				Loadings			Loadings
	Initial eigenvalues			Extraction sums of squared loadings			Rotation sums of squared loadings
Component S/N	Total	% of variance	Cumulative %	Total	% of variance	Cumulative %	Total	% of variance	Cumulative %
1	8.482	38.556	38.556	8.482	38.556	38.556	8.261	37.549	37.549
2	6.993	31.787	70.343	6.993	31.787	70.343	6.658	30.264	67.812
3	1.244	5.654	75.996	1.244	5.654	75.996	1.801	8.184	75.996
4	0.960	4.362	80.358
5	0.787	3.575	83.993
6	0.688	3.128	87.061
7	0.521	2.370	89.431
8	0.484	2.201	91.632
9	0.385	1.749	93.381
10	0.342	1.555	94.936
11	0.253	1.151	96.087
12	0.185	0.842	96.929
13	0.174	0.791	97.720
14	0.126	0.574	98.294
15	0.110	0.499	98.793
16	0.090	0.407	99.200
17	0.056	0.253	99.454
18	0.051	0.232	99.686
19	0.031	0.140	99.826
20	0.023	0.105	99.931
21	0.011	0.050	99.981
22	0.004	0.019	100.000

Table 6.

Rotated component matrix

	Components
	1	2	3
Low priorities for maintenance	0.931
Low discernable maintenance culture	0.919
Inadequate information and knowledge about the building	0.890
Poor integration of stakeholder knowledge	0.876
Inappropriate strategic leadership and responsibility for driving essential change	0.856
Inadequate motivation for FM personnel	0.856
Absence of a policy guiding FM practice	0.854
Availability of funds	0.852
Incompetent professionals to render FM services	0.843
Lack of proper maintenance plan	0.793
Training of FM personnel	0.659
Availability of technology for FM	0.869
Deterioration of facilities		0.875
Obsolescence of facilities		0.516
Level of deterioration of facilities		0.864
Quality of building materials used		0.840
Design concepts and scope		0.773
Poor workmanship		0.922
Inappropriate use of facilities			0.731
Delay in reporting failures of facilities			0.696
Poor attitudes of building users toward FM			0.696
Occupants’ knowledge of FM			0.703