Procuring professional housing maintenance services

Abstract

Purpose -This study aims to develop an evaluation model for public managers in Hong Kong to assist in the procurement of best value consultants for professional housing maintenance services as part of the privatisation process. Design/methodology/approach -The model developed is termed the "strategic evaluation model", in which the strategic objective of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of resources through privatisation is used as the basis for evaluation. A value for money (VFM) ratio can represent both efficiency and effectiveness. This ratio refers to the output service quality versus the input costs, which are assessed independently. Production and transaction costs are quantitative figures, and as such the key issue in the analysis is the forecast of the output quality. It was hypothesized that there was a correlation between output quality and input management and economic factors. A triangulation methodology was used to develop and test out the correlation whereby the literature review and qualitative interviews with the maintenance consultancy management practitioners of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) were used to generate the hypothesis, which was then tested by quantitative regression, using data from the maintenance consultancies of the Authority. The hypothesis was validated, and hence an authentic, objective evaluation model was substantiated. Findings -The main hypothesis was "In evaluating the competitive consultants for providing professional services for housing maintenance, the decision approach to ensuring the optimum use of resources can be determined by an objective comparison of the value for money of the respective services". The sub-hypotheses considered the relationships between output service quality and individual input factors of competition level, past performance, project leadership and quality benchmarking. The results of the qualitative and quantitative studies confirmed and validated the hypotheses, and hence substantiated the strategic evaluation model which is based on objective VFM assessment.Research limitations/implications -While the model was developed in the context of housing maintenance in the Hong Kong Housing Authority, it can form the baseline from which further research can build to provide an evaluation model for procuring property management and construction professional and contractor services in many other public-and private-sector settings. Practical implications -The weighted quality and price assessment method previously used is unable to obtain value services. This combined assessment method should therefore be replaced by the strategic model in order to achieve an optimum use of resources. Originality/value -This paper establishes an evaluation framework for public managers to obtain best value services and hence ensure optimum use of resources in outsourcing of those facilities management (FM) services.

How Does Communication Influence the Perceived Performance of Maintenance Services in Multi-Storey Public Housing?

“…In addition, the organisational structure and the resources of the maintenance team are considered part of maintenance service performance. Appropriate work structures that allow easy contact for defect reporting is vital for better maintenance performance (Lam 2008). Resources that the maintenance service providers have are also important.…”

Supply network design in the residential-FM sector

“…So far, both the practical and scholarly interest have mostly focused on the commercial real estate sector and related professional FM services. Recently, however, this focus has begun to expand from the commercial to include residential (Straub, 2007;Lam, 2008aLam, , 2008bBlomé, 2010;Hui and Zheng, 2010;Lam, 2011;Nielsen et al, 2012). This expansion in focus is, at least partly, motivated by challenges in the business environment.…”

“…For such simple products and services, whether cleaning, maintenance or domestic services, the key for success and competitiveness is often to economise production processes for achieving cost advantage over the competitors (Porter, 1980). Second, in search of effective use of resources, companies increasingly focus on their core competencies and outsource many of their service functions to external actors (Lam, 2008a;van Mossel and van der Valk, 2008;Carr, 2011). As a result, they become increasingly embedded in networks of inter-organisational relations and networks and, to some extent, dependent on their suppliers and partners (Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978).…”

Maintainability of Condominiums Constructed for Low-Income Families in Sri Lanka

“…However, though the management processes used with various properties are different, the aim of an efficient process should be focused on providing a service of value for money to the property owners (International Facilities Management Association, 1993;Hegazy, 2006;Lam, 2008).…”