Abstract:
Health Care (HC) is one of the most polluting industries and recognised as the second
energy-intensive sector. Integrating sustainability into Facilities Management (FM) is
imperative and could significantly contribute to reduce energy consumption, waste and
day-to-day operational costs. However, operations of FM vary upon facility types,
business sector, organisation characteristics, cultural context and organisational scale.
Thus, this study examines the current practice of sustainable FM and its perceptions in
HC organisations in Sri Lanka. A Delphi survey was administered to 10 experts in two
rounds, who are specialised in FM practices in the HC organisations. A semi structured
questionnaire was deployed and collected qualitative data were analysed using content
analysis whilst quantitative data were analysed through mode, mean and quartile ranges
to reach consensus. With respective to FM practice in HC it was found that 8 out of 10
organisations had no separate departments for FM to conduct FM practices. The
functions were collectively carried out among departments namely; engineering, quality
assurance and housekeeping. Operations delays incur additional costs and disputes
were reported constantly. Also, building services was found to be the topmost FM service
practiced. Integration of sustainability is at a moderate level and FM practitioners face
higher level of constraints of which “high costs” obtained the highest rank. The study is
novel in offering the state of the art of FM practice in HC organisations and adds values
and provides recommendations for further research to maximise the contribution of FM
towards sustainable practice. It thus directs FM practitioners to support the future
enhancement of HCFM
