What is it about?

This study explores how the Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) strategy can be used to encourage everyday employees to participate in the operation and maintenance of green office buildings. The researchers surveyed 417 employees in Green Building Index (GBI) rated office buildings in Malaysia and conducted expert interviews to find out what factors make staff more likely to help out. They discovered that when employees have a strong knowledge of TPM, communicate well with maintenance staff, and are aware of how their involvement impacts the building, they are significantly more likely to actively participate in keeping the building green and efficient.

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Why is it important?

Green buildings only deliver on their promises, such as saving energy, reducing carbon footprints, and promoting cost savings, if they are properly operated and maintained. Inappropriate operation and maintenance practices are major barriers to sustaining a building's green certification. Because relying solely on a small facilities team is often not enough, getting all employees involved can optimize workloads, lower maintenance costs, extend the building's lifespan, and ensure the building actually performs as sustainably as it was designed to.

Perspectives

Employers and Management: Organizations must be willing to invest time and resources into training and education programs prior to implementing TPM. Building awareness is the first crucial step to changing company culture. Employees: Staff members need to shift their mindset to understand that building maintenance isn't just for the facilities team. Simple, everyday actions like practicing energy and water-saving behaviors or reporting defects make a massive difference. Maintenance Teams: Facilities managers stand to benefit from optimized workloads. When non-maintenance staff act as additional "eyes and ears" and communicate effectively, maintenance teams can spot and fix issues much faster.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cheong Peng Au-Yong
University of Malaya

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Promoting employee participation in operation and maintenance of green office building by adopting the total productive maintenance (TPM) concept, Journal of Cleaner Production, June 2022, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131608.
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