Ranking Critical Factors for Facility Renovation and System Upgrade Decisions in Dormitories: A Delphi Study
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 28, Issue 4
Abstract
Renovations and facility system upgrades are necessary investments to extend the useful life of a facility, reduce maintenance, and improve the efficiency of installed systems. It is important to carefully consider the factors that affect these decisions in dormitories, because they negatively impact residents in the short term; however, they improve occupant satisfaction and comfort in the long term. This study employed a Delphi method with a panel of experts to identify and rank order the factors for renovation and system upgrade decisions and the sources of information for these decisions. This study determined, with moderate consensus, that the three most important factors were: (1) facility condition, (2) health and safety, and (3) the dormitory’s suitability for the owner’s objectives or mission. The most important sources of information were input from maintenance technicians, maintenance work order databases, and condition assessments. This study could contribute to renovation and system upgrade decisions by identifying a method to reach a consensus on a rank order of the factors for use in multicriteria decision-making (MCDM). In addition, this study could contribute to the practice of prioritizing information-gathering efforts to support renovation decisions.
Practical Applications
To help facility maintenance managers (FMMs) make decisions about the scope and timing of renovations or upgrades to the facility systems in their dormitories, this study used an expert panel to agree on the order of importance of 15 potential decision factors. The panel was made up of experienced maintenance managers or directors from universities in the United States and US military. The FMMs determined that the three most important factors that impacted their renovation and upgrade decisions were: (1) facility condition, (2) health and safety of the occupants, and (3) how well the dormitory met the organization’s objectives. In addition, the experts answered that the three most important data sources they used when deciding included maintenance technicians’ inputs, work order databases, and facility condition assessments. FMMs should focus their time and efforts on the three factors and invest in the information sources determined when making decisions about the scope and timing of dormitory renovations and system upgrades.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge Amelia Celoza for reviewing the method section and Amelia Celoza, Bing Han, Ryan Hoff, and April Clemmensen for the feedback on the pilot survey. A big thank you to Nina Kilambi and Katrina Fierro for combing through many LinkedIn profiles. To my wife and children for all the love and support, always.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 28 • Issue 4 • December 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 22, 2021
Accepted: Jun 1, 2022
Published online: Jul 28, 2022
Published in print: Dec 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Dec 28, 2022
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Architectural engineering
- Building management
- Buildings
- Business management
- Computing in civil engineering
- Databases
- Decision making
- Facilities (by type)
- Financial management
- Health care facilities
- Information Technology (IT)
- Investments
- Maintenance and operation
- Management methods
- Practice and Profession
- Public administration
- Public health and safety
- Ratings
- Renovation
- Safety
- Structural engineering
- Structures (by type)
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