Development of a facilities management framework for sustainable building practices in Nigeria

There is need for sustainable building practice in Nigeria as buildings generally show signs of poor design for ventilation, natural lighting, energy management, water management, waste management and other building services. These buildings under perform in relation to the purpose for which they have been built. Building users often complain that the buildings do not provide the required services such as functioning air-conditioning systems, effective water and energy management systems and waste management. Facilities management (FM) professionals in Nigeria have recognised the role that they can play in the practice of sustainable building as a way to proffering a solution to the above mentioned problems. Six objectives were set for the study: to identify the constituents of sustainable building with reference to literature and internationally recognised standards; to evaluate the role of FM in relation to the sustainable building at the design, the construction and operations stages of the building life-cycle; to develop a conceptual framework that shows the facilities manager’s role in sustainable buildings; to evaluate the perception of facilities managers in relation to their competence in achieving sustainable buildings; to investigate the drivers and barriers to the facilities manager’s role in achieving sustainable buildings; and finally to develop and validate a framework for sustainable building practice for FM in Nigeria. The methodology adopted for this research included a combination of extensive literature review, content analysis of relevant literature and documents, 20 interviews and a questionnaire survey of 139 members of IFMA Nigeria in order to identify sustainable building constituents and the facilities manager’s role in sustainable buildings. The findings of the research helped in developing a framework for the achievement of sustainable buildings through the facilities manager’s role at the design, construction and operations stages of the building’s life-cycle.