Innovation and new technologies are daily changing the characteristics of facilities as building owners are requiring more automated services, increased security is becoming more prevalent, and budget constraints are affecting facility operations. Therefore, additional avenues should be evaluated to reduce long-term costs by improving facility maintainability. The conclusions of these quarries should be incorporated into the design and preplanning phases as early as possible, as this is when the most impact can be made at the least expense. As it relates to this effort, preplanning refers to the project concept development and includes some initial aspects of the design. Preplanning for maintainability is one aspect that has historically not received much industry attention. This study considered the preplanning process as it pertains to maintainability, particularly for intelligent buildings, as this is the current trend in which building construction is heading. It limitedly considered the historic aspects of construction and automation, assessed the current situation and considered the projected future needs. Based on the expectations as to where future building intelligence will lead, it was ascertained that better preplanning should be incorporated into the construction process, especially as it pertains to maintainability.

The Salvation Army, a non-profit Christian Church and social service enterprise, struggles as all corporations do, with expending limited resources in the most efficient and effective manner. The Salvation Army has been recognized as a corporate leader in effectively managing administrative and programmatic resources and generating positive results in their programs designed for the benefit of society and the community of mankind as a whole. This document focuses on whether The Salvation Armys practices concerning the design, construction, and operation of facilities warrants the same praise regarding efficiencies and effectiveness. The contents of this thesis are an evaluation of, and recommendations for, the design and construction processes used by The Salvation Armys Corporate Headquarters to construct and operate Salvation Army Corps Community Centers throughout the southeastern United States. The primary objectives were to analyze the current design and construction processes, develop a prototype design, and determine through quantitative research if standardization of the design is cost effective, programmatically functional, superior in terms of constructability, maintainability, sustainability, and if and how a standard model should be implemented. The methodology used to produce this thesis included a comprehensive review of relevant literature concerning current industry standards regarding design and construction to develop an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of standardized design. Personal interviews with architects and directors of similar facilities were conducted to gain a thorough knowledge of the concept of standardization. A survey was distributed to internal personnel involved in the design, construction, and operations of Salvation Army Corps Community Centers. The survey was used to determine the experience, expertise, and limitations of those individuals and how the internal population views and implements current processes, as well as their opinion of standardization. In concert with a standard design, an integrated operations, maintenance, capital renewal plan, and emergency plan concept is discussed, produced, and incorporated into an actual constructed model. An implementation plan for each of the components mentioned above is also provided. The information gleaned from the research indicated that process improvement was warranted and that a standardized design could effectively jump start the design process which would ultimately result in cost savings, production of a programmatically functional facility that is cost effectively maintained, built from sustainable products, and incorporates an operations, maintenance and capital renewal plan as well. While the research conducted supports the implementation of a standardized design, operations, and capital renewal plan, further research will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented program. By studying the constructed model, adjustments can be made in the process and practice to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the standardized design process, operations, maintenance, and capital renewal plan.

M. Tech. Business Administration / Quality management was initially applied as a management philosophy in the manufacturing sector in the 1920s. Following its success, it is increasingly being applied within the services sector also in the management of public buildings. The purpose of the study was to investigate the factors influencing the quality of building maintenance services within the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs buildings. The study determined the extent of commitment to quality standards by service providers in managing building maintenance services.

"The purpose of this study is to determine the present status of the McKinney school system in regard to the financial ability, the school plant, the teaching staff, and the pupils by making a profound comparison with general practices and statndards set up by accepted authorities and offering constructive criticism and recommendations that are needed, as obviously shown by comparison."--leaf 2

As organizações têm repassado para empresas especializadas os trabalhos que originalmente realizavam com empregados de seus quadros de efetivos. Este fenômeno tem provocado um crescente movimento de subcontratação de serviços conhecido como terceirização. As empresas terceirizadas têm se estabelecido de forma frágil do ponto de vista da segurança do trabalho, negligenciando os aspectos mais básicos estabelecidos pela legislação vigente, normas técnicas e as boas práticas nesta área no intuito de oferecer propostas mais econômicas para fazer frente a um mercado cada vez mais competitivo. Estabeleceu-se como objetivo para esta pesquisa identificar as práticas adotadas em matéria de segurança por uma companhia multinacional do ramo de alimentos, que é certificada na Norma OHSAS 18.001:2007, no que tange as empresas terceirizadas que prestaram serviços de manutenção predial com foco nas atividades de construção civil no período de julho de 2009 a junho de 2010. A metodologia utilizada consistiu de um estudo detalhado da documentação relativa ao sistema de gestão da organização contratante quanto aos trabalhos terceirizados e dos registros das subcontratadas concernentes a acidentes e medidas prevencionistas adotadas para o atendimento das exigências estipuladas pela contratante. Como resultado principal desta pesquisa identificou-se que dentre as medidas adotadas destacaram-se o estabelecimento de processos administrativos e técnicos, como a operacionalização de ações chaves como a fundamentação dos trabalhos com base em requisitos da Norma OHSAS 18.001, dos programas de treinamento, do atendimento a legislação, da definição de procedimentos para atividades administrativas e de risco, de uma boa relação entre contratante e contratada, da organização de profissionais de segurança, de preparação de emergências e atendimento médico. Como conclusão verificou-se que as medidas implantadas foram eficazes, pois contribuíram efetivamente para que a área de manutenção predial com foco em construção civil apresentasse o melhor desempenho em termos de indicadores de acidentabilidade. Desta forma recomenda-se considerar a aplicação das ações preventivas identificadas nesta pesquisa em virtude da sua eficácia, e pelo processo de implantação ser basicamente de ordem administrativa. / Organizations have transferred to specialized companies that originally held the jobs of their employees with effective frameworks. This phenomenon has caused a growing movement known as outsourcing services. The outsourced companies have been established so fragile from the standpoint of safety at work, neglecting the most basic aspects established by the legislation, technical standards and best practice in this area in order to offer more economic proposals to deal with a market every increasingly competitive. It was established as a goal for this research to identify the practices adopted in terms of safety by a multinational company in the food industry field that is certified under OHSAS 18.001:2007, regarding outside contractors who provide building maintenance services with focus on civil construction activities during July 2009 thru June 2010. The methodology consisted of a detailed study relating to the contracting organization management system concerning outside contractors as well as of the records of accidents and preventive measures adopted to meet the requirements stipulated by the contractor. As a main result of this research it was identified that among the measures adopted, it were highlighted the establishment of administrative and technical procedures, such as the operationalization of key actions like work oriented on the requirements of OHSAS 18001, training programs, the legislation attendance, the definition of administration procedures and for risk management activities, a good relationship between the contractor and subcontractors, the organization of safety professionals, emergency preparedness and medical care. As conclusion it was found that the measures implemented were effective because they contributed to the branch of building maintenance with a focus on civil construction on presenting the best performance in terms of accident rates. Therefore it is recommended to consider the application of the preventive actions identified in this survey due to its effectiveness, and for the fact that the deployment process is basically administrative.