Sustainability in facility management: a comprehensive study and benchmark in existing

educational campuses in Qatar

Abstract

Facility management (FM) has witnessed a pragmatic growth and its importance has increased parallel
to the expansion of the construction sector. Meanwhile, the concept of sustainability has been established and is
considered an essential topic nowadays. Sustainability standards and accreditations are adopted now to design
and erect buildings; however, this will not ensure building efficiency during the buildings life cycle.

Integration between facility management and sustainability practices should take place in order to raise a
buildings performance and achieve energy conservation throughout building operation.
Although much research has been conducted in sustainability, few researchers have investigated the topic
of sustainability in facility management.

The objective of this study is to get more thorough understanding of facility management practices and
sustainability strategies adopted by different FM departments in Qatar. This research is considered as the base for
FM research as no such previous research is available in Qatar. Moreover, this study aims to investigate and
analyze energy consumption, FM practices, and user satisfaction through several case studies in FM educational
campuses in Qatar.

The analysis of interviews and surveys for participants showed that FM teams lack sustainability training.
Also, sustainability practices are not well understood and implemented by FM departments. User satisfaction
regarding services was good, but was not adequate regarding indoor air temperatures. Planned preventive
maintenance is well - implemented on campuses and supports energy conservation. Energy consumption analysis
was done and it revealed a continuous increase in energy consumption.

The main results showed that although the EUI value for the case studies meets the energy star standards
for most of the buildings, it does not accurately represent energy performance. To get results that are more
accurate on energy performance patterns, the consumption per occupant was calculated for all of the studied
buildings and benchmarked with broad campus buildings. Although building function is different in classroom
building than office building ,the study found that energy consumption for both of them is the same. Furthermore,
different HVAC systems highly effect energy consumption.

Key words:

Sustainability
Facility management
Energy use intensity (EUI)
Sustainable facility management
Energy consumption benchmark
Facility management provision for existing buildings