Co‐operative education receives worldwide interest and attentionhas been given to the better implementation of the policy ofsynthesizing education and production. There has also…
Abstract
Co‐operative education receives worldwide interest and attention has been given to the better implementation of the policy of synthesizing education and production. There has also been a focus on the integration of students into the world of work. The principle was adopted in the BEng course in Building Services Engineering offered by the Hong Kong Polytechnic and it is recognized that industrial training forms an essential part in the development of a building services engineer. The HKIE has identified a training scheme for the training of graduates and the scheme in the building services discipline has been undertaken by undergraduates in the BEng (Hons) course for the past four years. Evaluates the effectiveness of the scheme through a survey carried out in which students were asked questions about the training they received. Suggests recommendations, as a consequence of the survey, to improve the training system, including its technical content, management and administration.
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Y.N. Au Yeung, L. Gow, C.C. Lai, W.F. Ho, A. Sivan and J. Ledesma
Action research involves practitioners in attempting to improvetheir own teaching through cycles of planning, acting, observing andreflecting. This idea was adopted by a group of…
Abstract
Action research involves practitioners in attempting to improve their own teaching through cycles of planning, acting, observing and reflecting. This idea was adopted by a group of interested staff to evaluate the industrial training in the third year of the four‐year sandwich course, B.Eng. (Hons) in Building Services Engineering, at Hong Kong Polytechnic. As there are foreseen difficulties in locating suitable and adequate high quality industrial placements, research was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing arrangement. Assesses attitudes of BSE staff, students and industrial supervisors towards the training. Results of the survey indicated that objectives of the training were not wholly fulfilled. Suggestions are included to improve the management of the training system.
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Zhonghua Gou and Stephen Siu‐Yu Lau
The purpose of this article is to present a sick building syndrome (SBS) survey in open‐plan offices. The design factors (indoor plants, workstation partitions, and operable…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to present a sick building syndrome (SBS) survey in open‐plan offices. The design factors (indoor plants, workstation partitions, and operable windows) that predict SBS were described for architects and interior designers, and the indoor environmental characteristics (thermal comfort, air quality, noise and lighting) that contribute to SBS symptoms were also investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a standard Building Use Studies (BUS) questionnaire that included sick building syndrome symptoms, environmental satisfaction and perception, and background information about the respondents and their office space. The questionnaire was conducted in 30 offices of building‐related professionals in Hong Kong. There were 469 Chinese office workers that participated.
Findings
Indoor plants and operable windows were related to a reduction of SBS symptoms; while workstation partitions did not affect the incidence of SBS symptoms. There were fewer sick building syndrome symptoms reported in the more satisfied respondents.
Originality/value
This study highlights a perception‐based solution for facilities design and management.
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Built facilities, in order to be sustainable, have to be operated and maintained by practitioners who possess the appropriate types and levels of knowledge. The study reported in…
Abstract
Purpose
Built facilities, in order to be sustainable, have to be operated and maintained by practitioners who possess the appropriate types and levels of knowledge. The study reported in this paper aims to identify the available higher education programmes in this relation and to investigate what kinds of education are needed by the operation and maintenance (O&M) practitioners in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
The published information of the building‐related programmes offered by the local higher education institutions was reviewed. A questionnaire, designed, piloted and distributed with the support given by the leading O&M society in Hong Kong, was used to survey the perceptions and opinions of the practitioners.
Findings
No education programme had been tailored for producing professionals to meet the rising demand for O&M works. The practitioners indicated their strong wish to learn more, in particular, about energy and environmental management, and testing and commissioning. Their desire for dedicated O&M programmes was also overwhelming.
Research limitations/implications
The survey and analysis method used in the study may be taken to investigate the education needs in other developing industries.
Practical implications
The relatively low levels that the practitioners perceived about their knowledge in most aspects of their works imply that there is room for improving work quality through enhancing O&M education.
Originality/value
The survey findings unveiled the contemporary education needs of the O&M practitioners, which are essential information that supports the development of some matching courses.
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Anne Morris and Peter Dennison
Sick building syndrome is recognized by the World HealthOrganization. It is characterized by employees suffering from a range ofsymptoms which are associated with being in a…
Abstract
Sick building syndrome is recognized by the World Health Organization. It is characterized by employees suffering from a range of symptoms which are associated with being in a particular building and are relieved by leaving it or staying away. Discusses the results of a survey which examined the extent and possible causes of sick building syndrome in libraries. Questionnaires were sent to all academic libraries in Great Britain together with a sample of public libraries. The evidence suggests that sick building syndrome exists in libraries and that air‐conditioned libraries are more likely to be affected than those which are naturally ventilated.
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Francis W.H. Yik, Joseph H.K. Lai, W.L. Lee, K.T. Chan and C.K. Chau
The purpose of this paper is to narrow the diverse views of the industry stakeholders on two controversial issues, namely the scope of core competence of building services…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to narrow the diverse views of the industry stakeholders on two controversial issues, namely the scope of core competence of building services engineers (BSEs) and the statutory role that they should play, which were encountered in an extensive research study on the building services profession of Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
An expert panel was formed and the Delphi method was applied to resolve the controversies. In the Delphi process, every panel member was provided with complete opinions expressed by all other panel members in each round of the deliberation.
Findings
Sufficient support was found for the proposition that professional BSEs should be competent in handling air‐conditioning, electrical, fire services, and plumbing & drainage works, and that the government authorities should mandate the design and compliance certification of electrical and fire services installations by BSEs.
Research limitations/implications
Although the Delphi method has not been hitherto applied to resolve the controversies addressed in the study, it was proven to be a very effective tool in seeking majority opinions from a group of experts. The same approach may be taken in similar studies in future.
Practical implications
The core competence identified should be made as a minimum requirement for practitioners who wish to practise as professional BSEs. The views and comments given by the expert panel members are informative references to public policy makers.
Originality/value
This was the first ever study conducted in an attempt to identify the core competence and statutory role of BSEs in Hong Kong.
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Hannah R. Marston, Linda Shore, Laura Stoops and Robbie S. Turner
Sara Jebbor, Abdellatif El Afia and Raddouane Chiheb
This paper aims to propose an approach by human and material resources combination to reduce hospitals crowding. Hospitals crowding is becoming a serious problem. Many research…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose an approach by human and material resources combination to reduce hospitals crowding. Hospitals crowding is becoming a serious problem. Many research works present several methods and approaches to deal with this problem. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge – after a deep reading of literature – in all the proposed approaches, human and material resources are studied separately while they must be combined (to a given number of material resources an optimal number of human resources must be assigned and vice versa) to reflect reality and provide better results.
Design/methodology/approach
Hospital inpatient unit is chosen as framework. This unit crowding reduction is carried out by its capacity increasing. Indeed, inpatient unit modeling is performed to find the adequate combinations of human and material resources numbers insuring this unit stability and providing optimal service rates. At first, inpatient unit is modeled using queuing networks and considering only two resources (beds and nurses). Then, the obtained service rate formula is improved by including other resources and parameters using Baskett, Chandy, Muntz and Palecios (BCMP) queuing networks. This work is applied to “Princess Lalla Meryem” hospital inpatient unit.
Findings
Results are patients’ average number reduction by an average (in each block) of three patients, patients’ average waiting time reduction by an average of 9.98 h and non-admitted patients (to inpatient wards) access percentage of 39.26 per cent on average.
Originality/value
Previous works focus their studies on either human resources or material resources. Only a few works study both resources types, but separately. The context of those studies does not meet the real hospital context (where human resources are combined with material resources). Therefore, the provided results are not very reliable. In this paper, an approach by human and material resources combination is proposed to increase inpatient unit care capacity. Indeed, this approach consists of developing inpatient unit service rate formula in terms of human and material resources numbers.