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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SERVICE QUALITY INDICATORS JIGAR CHAVDA

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SERVICE QUALITY

INDICATORS

(Auditing Systems for Commercial Buildings in the Indian Context)

JIGAR CHAVDA

GUIDE: PROF. NIMITT KARIA

SIGN

Proposal for Capstone Project (Thesis Proposal)

Introduction As the urban areas grow, the complexity and scale of the buildings that house people in these areas

also grows. To keep these complex habitats running sustainably the management of the facilities is

necessary. Facilities Management has over the years become an important field as it involves guiding

and managing the operations and maintenance of buildings, precincts and community infrastructure

on behalf of the property owners.

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and with growing economy comes

urbanization. Urban area are driven by the commercial activity vis-a-vis the rural where agriculture is

dominant.

According to an article published by the Economic Times the market for Facilities Management

services is highly fragmented and unorganized. Small and medium sized unorganized players with few

clients and services have dominated the market. (Awasthi, 2004)

The growth in the office space and the creation of more integrated facilities and campuses has created

growth opportunities for more organized players. The market for Facilities Management has grown

with the IT revolutions. International players have also entered the Indian market to tap in on the

growing opportunities. As per the latest industry estimate the market size for the Facilities

Management services is close to ₨ 80 billion and has an employment potential of 5 million people.

(Services, 2012)

Commercial buildings are complex in nature when it comes to services, these are managed by facilities

managers. The quality of Facilities Management services must be measured and the end user must be

involved in order to improve the service quality.

Facilities Management service quality indicators facilitate the manager in understanding the level of

service efficiency and the satisfaction level of the end user.

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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SERVICE QUALITY INDICATORS JIGAR CHAVDA

Definitions: Facilities Management: (FM)

Facilities Management is a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure

functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology.

(http://www.ifma.org)

Audit:

Periodic onsite-verification to ascertain whether or not a documented quality system is being

effectively implemented.

Commercial Buildings:

A commercial building is a building that is used for commercial use. Types can include office

buildings, warehouses, or retail.

Benchmarking:

Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics

to industry bests or best practices from other companies.

Thesis Question What are the FM service quality indicators in commercial buildings?

Objectives The objective of the research is to understand the core concepts and benchmarks for service quality

of Facilities Management. The study will be further used to develop a rating system which will enable

the facility managers to understand and satisfy the needs of the end user.

Scope The research will give a brief of what Facilities Management services in commercial buildings are, with

a view to developing a rating system based on the service quality and end user satisfaction keeping in mind the global benchmarks.

Methodology Literature Review:

Qualitative study involving fundamental investigation of objective will be carried out in a

systematic manner from last decade’s primary data, published research papers, international

journals, and standard books.

Data Collection:

The primary data will be collected in the form of questionnaires and interviews from the users

of the commercial buildings in the context of Ahmedabad. The questionnaires will be designed

in order to focus on understanding the FM service quality in commercial buildings and

satisfaction level of the end users. The interviews will focus on understanding the evaluating

criteria of the end user for these commercial buildings.

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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SERVICE QUALITY INDICATORS JIGAR CHAVDA

Data Analysis:

Primary data collected will be analyzed in line with the literature review outcome, both

quantitatively and qualitatively so as to reach the research objective.

Tentative Gantt chart: The following is a tentative time schedule which may vary as the research progresses.

Timeline

Phase 1 (Jan) Phase 2 (Feb) Phase 3 (March) Phase 4 (April)

Literature review

Collection of primary data

Analysis of the data

Preparation of a rating system

for Commercial Buildings

References

I. Anker Jensen, P., 2008. The origin and constitution of Facilities Management as an integrated

corporate function. Facilities, 26(13/14), pp.490–500. Available at:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/02632770810914253 [Accessed January

6, 2015].

II. Barrett, P., Sexton, M. & Stanley, C., 1995. COBRA 1995. , pp.0–15.

III. Broumels, M. & Leeuwen, T. Van, 2008. “Facilities Management ; from services to

experiences.”, pp.1–73.

IV. Studies, C., 2014. RICS Strategic Facilities Management RICS Strategic Facilities Management

Case Studies. , (April).

V. Netscribes (India), P. L., April 2013. Facilities Management Services Market in India 2013,

India: Reaserch and Markets.

VI. Awasthi, R., 2004. The rise of the facilities manager. The Economic Times, India.

VII. Services, A. F. M., 2012. Market Scan Report for Facility Management Industry, India: s.n.