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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current practices of the early facilities management (FM) involvement during the design development and review stages (DDRS), and recommend activities aimed at achieving better integration.

A comprehensive literature review was conducted to ascertain the challenges faced by the integrated design team (IDT) in the absence of the facilities managers’ review of design solutions, and underscore the significance of the early involvement of facilities managers during the DDRS. A questionnaire survey was then developed for collecting data on eight aspects of the current practices of early FM involvement during the DDRS. The questionnaire survey was administered to the FM departments of 13 long established, public universities in Saudi Arabia. Ten responses were obtained and analyzed.

The findings suggest that the early involvement of the FM department enhances the operation and maintenance of facilities. This has been measured through reductions in the number of architectural, structural, electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating and air conditioning defects.

Recommendations were provided to facilitate the process of integrating the practices of two influential stakeholders of building projects. These recommendations encompass the need for maintainability considerations at the early schematic stage, the necessity of direct contact between the two parties and the necessity of facility managers’ increased familiarity of the design stage activities, among other recommendations. In this way, the study promotes the awareness of the significance of integrating FM with the IDT at the DDRS.

This study contributes to the literature and practice by presenting a detailed analysis of the integration process between the FM department and the IDT. Furthermore, the outcomes of the integration between the parties were measured to assess the effectiveness of the collaboration and highlight the possible areas of improvement.

This study aims to identify research gaps on workplace relocation, through investigating and critiquing the published literature, in the facilities management (FM) and real estate management (REM) domains, over three decades.

An extensive literature review was conducted, using academic search engines, using qualitative analysis software, in the domains of FM and REM, on workplace relocation, from 1990 to 2020, chronologically. The paper proposes future research directions through a maturity matrix.

Several gaps in workplace relocation research were identified, including the need for a wide-ranging coverage of workplace relocation lifecycle, a review and assessment of factors affecting workplace relocation over its lifecycle, studies on large organizations mobility, studies of international experiences on workplace relocation, absence of a holistic framework for the workplace relocation process and digital tools and solutions to facilitate the processes. A three levels maturity matrix for future research, proposing the adoption of qualitative, quantitative and applications research approaches, was presented.

This study enlists a chronological comprehension of knowledge obtained from the review of the internationally published literature. The research investigated and identified gaps, gripping for future research efforts.

This study reviews 30 years of published literature on workplace relocation and proposes topics for advancing future research, collectively.

The purpose of this paper is to present an assessment of the challenges to the implementation of building management systems (BMS) in Saudi Arabia, during the life cycle of building projects.

Review of literature and interviews were conducted with professionals to identify and synthesize the challenges to the implementation of BMS in Saudi Arabia. This formed the basis of three questionnaire surveys that were designed utilizing a five-point Likert scale, and consisted of 32 challenges. The surveys were assessed by representatives of architectural/engineering (A/E) firms, BMS installation sub-contractors and facilities managers to calculate the effect index of each challenge.

The top influential challenges pertaining to the briefing and design phase includes “inappropriate selection of the BMS,” “inappropriate selection of the A/E team”; installation and final acceptance phase includes “inappropriate selection of sub-contractors to install the BMS” and “inappropriate selection of the BMS suppliers,” operation and maintenance phase includes “inadequate initial training for the BMS facility personnel,” “poor operation and maintenance activities.”

The paper is of practical benefit to stakeholders in the building industry, as it allows for the development of an effective BMS implementation plan.

The study increases the level of awareness in the building industry about the challenges that influence the implementation of BMS.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the factors affecting building services’ coordination during the design development and review stages of building projects.

Literature review and interviews were conducted to identify the factors affecting building services’ coordination. In total, 36 factors were identified under six categories: planning phase of the project; design of mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems; construction of MEP systems; operation and maintenance of MEP systems; owner; and design team and tools used. This formed the basis of a questionnaire survey designed utilizing a 5-point Likert scale of importance. The survey was assessed by practitioners in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

The top five factors include the scale and complexity of the project, the level of experience of the design team, the quality of the preliminary/conceptual design of the building project, the clarity of the requirements and objectives provided by the owner, the allotted budget for the project and communication skills of the design team members. A high level of agreement between A/E professionals and contractors, and between contractors and facility managers was noted. The research provides the ranking of the identified factors for prioritization.

The paper provides stakeholders in the building services industry with the ranks of the factors that affect building services’ coordination.

The study provided a significant contribution to research and industry, especially in the regional context, where few studies have been conducted. The findings of the study will help in the reduction of construction wastes, delays and cost over-runs.

This paper intends to review and assess the factors influencing adaptive reuse of commercial projects, throughout their life cycle, in Saudi Arabia.

A mixed approach of literature review, pilot-testing and questionnaire survey was utilized to identify and assess the factors affecting adaptive reuse of commercial projects. Thirty-eight factors were identified and categorized under four groups, corresponding to the key phases of the project life cycle. The questionnaire survey was administered to a targeted group of 90 architecture/engineering, construction and facilities management (AEC/FM) practitioners of building adaptive reuse, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The relative importance index (RII) for each factor was calculated. Three levels of agreement, based on the ranking of the factors, among the respondents were determined.

The most important factors affecting adaptive reuse of commercial projects are: structural integrity of the building, municipal approval for the land use change, enforcement of safety procedures at the project site, compliance with health and safety measures and accuracy and completeness of the contract documents. A high level of agreement was observed among the three groups of respondents, on the ranking of the factors.

This research expands the body of knowledge, through providing AEC/FM practitioners, with the type, importance and ranking of the influential factors on adaptive reuse of commercial projects, throughout their life cycle.

This paper provides an exemplary systematic conduct of post‐occupancy evaluation (POE) on higher education facilities in Saudi Arabia.

The research study utilized several qualitative and quantitative POE techniques which were systematically comprising (1) scoping and reviewing the facilities-related documents, (2) identification of performance indicators through the review of literature, (3) development and collection of questionnaire survey responses from stakeholders, (4) collection of physical measurements and (5) assessing the facilities by walk-throughs. Then, the data were analyzed and the findings were reported to representative samples of users through focus group meetings. Then, recommendations were drawn for improving the occupational conditions of the case study facilities.

The synthesis of literature led to three main categories of performance elements that are relevant for higher education facilities. These include technical, functional and behavioral elements, in which each of the elements has specific performance indicators, 97 in total. The research study exemplifies a systematic conduct of POE. The stakeholders' perspectives on the performance elements through surveys, measurements and walk-throughs were collected. The assessment led to recommendations toward satisfactory and quality occupation of the case study facilities.

This research aims to standardize POE by introducing its methods as a tool for evaluating higher education facilities and by elaborating the most prominent performance indicators for ensuring higher education core functions, namely, teaching, research and community collaboration.

The purpose of this paper is to holistically identify and assess the factors affecting the workplace relocation process during its various phases, namely: pre-relocation, relocation and post-relocation. The factors assessment evaluates the perspectives and level of agreement between facilities and real estate management professionals.

Literature review was conducted to identify the factors affecting the workplace relocation process. In total, 34 factors were identified, which formed the basis of a questionnaire survey to assess their importance. Responses to the questionnaire survey were obtained through face-to-face interviews with two groups of professionals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, 32 facilities managers (FM) and 32 real estate managers (REM). The questionnaire utilized a 5-point Likert scale of importance.

The research delivers rankings of the identified factors for prioritization. Where a moderate (to high) level of agreement between FM and REM professionals was remarked. Significant factors include: “availability of workplace health and safety plan”, “analysis of business needs for relocation”, “cost control and management of the relocation process”, “availability of maintenance plans” and “selection of fit-out contractor”.

The study provides a significant contribution to research and professional practice, while no comprehensive studies have been conducted on the various phases of the relocation process. The findings of this study are genuine to keep professionals and practitioners on the ball managing their workplace relocations, overcoming their unforeseen struggles, resourcefully and efficiently.

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic approach for the evaluation and selection of curtain wall systems for medium-high rise building construction.

The authors have identified the different types of curtain wall systems that are commonly used in the building construction industry in Saudi Arabia; examined the various performance as well as financial and non-financial criteria affecting the evaluation and selection of these systems; and subjected the identified different types of curtain wall systems to several filtering processes, namely feasibility ranking, evaluation by comparison and weighted evaluation to facilitate making a decision on the most suitable system to select.

The analysis of the collected data indicated that the precast concrete curtain wall system is considered to be the first choice. The second choice is the prefabricated brick panel curtain wall system.

Curtain walls are the most recognized elements of contemporary structures today. There exists ample variety of materials and designs that could be utilized for the development of these building elements. This paper is of practical value to project owners, architects and design professionals endeavoring on the process of selecting and specifying curtain wall systems in their projects.

The purpose of this paper is to present the development of a multi-criteria decision-making model for use by maintenance managers to consider before making a decision on outsourcing.

Thirty-eight factors were identified for outsourcing maintenance services. These factors were grouped under six categories, namely: “strategic”, “management”, “technological”, “quality”, “economic” and “function characteristics”. The Analytic Hierarchy Process, as a multi-criteria decision-making model, was introduced and applied as an approach for maintenance managers in Saudi Arabian universities to consider before making a decision on outsourcing. A case study on the outsourcing decision of maintenance services of air-conditioning systems was carried out to apply the developed model.

Data analysis indicated that all outsourcing decision groups of factors have almost equal weight, with the “quality” group of factors having the highest weight and the “technological” group of factors having the least weight. Further, the analysis indicated, in general, that the recommended decision for the maintenance managers is to outsource. However, an application of the developed model through a case study on the outsourcing of maintenance services of air-conditioning systems showed that the recommended action is not to outsource.

The presented approach in this paper could be of practical benefit to maintenance managers in their decision making of whether or not to outsource maintenance services. The factors in the model were identified through a literature survey of research carried out in different countries. Therefore, the model could be applied in different settings, depending on the relative weight of the factors by the users.

The objectives of this paper are to identify the critical factors that influence the decision to outsource maintenance services in public Saudi Arabian universities, and to investigate the relative importance of each of the identified factors based on the expressed opinions of the in‐house maintenance managers in the concerned maintenance departments in these universities.

The authors conducted a comprehensive review of the literature in the fields of maintenance management and outsourcing practices to achieve a thorough understanding of the issues involved, and identifying the crucial factors affecting the outsourcing decision of maintenance services. A questionnaire survey was developed to assess each factor influencing the decision to outsource maintenance services in the public Saudi Arabian universities. The survey included 38 factors grouped in six major groups. The respondents who have opted to outsource several of their maintenance services to specialty contractors were asked to indicate their perceived level of importance for each of the identified factors. The level of importance of the factors and the groups were measured. The factor groups were ranked according to the obtained mean rating values.

The findings show that Saudi universities generally value the importance of the quality, management and strategic factors when making outsourcing decisions. The most important three factors influencing the decision to outsource maintenance services in the public Saudi Arabia universities were identified as “increase the speed of implementation”, “improve quality requirements” and “risk sharing with contractors”.

The findings of the study provide practical value for facilities maintenance managers in institutions of higher education confronted with the decision of whether to outsource maintenance services in their campuses.

The paper is original in the sense that it identifies how in‐house maintenance managers rate the importance of the factors influencing outsourcing decisions.