The feasibility of a process protocol for facilities management: An exploratory investigation in a higher education institution in the United Kingdom

The contemporary socio-economic and technological climate promotes structural change in organisations. The impact has been further heightened by the recent global financial crisis. In these circumstances organisations in all sectors develop change strategies to enable them to adapt and continue to be effective. In response, Business Process Management (BPM) can be used as an ongoing organisational commitment and its effectiveness is through the strategic management of processes. Many public sector organisations also face a fundamental cultural shift as the basis of public funding changes. As an example, the importance of higher education institutions to the economy is increasingly recognised. Transformation of higher education institutions increases the importance of facilities and demands a more strategic approach to their management. For facilities management to take a leading role in transforming organisations, processes need to be mapped to understand their status ('as-is'), to identify opportunities for their development and set out plans for improvement ('to-be'). This research thesis focuses on the role and development of facilities management in the United Kingdom, considered as business processes, and as a response to changing conditions in higher education.Evidence from literature reveals the need for the development a generic process protocol for facilities management. This research contributes to the early stages in the development of a generic process protocol for facilities management and tests its feasibility in a UK higher education institution. The research provided the author with the opportunity to contribute to the development of a new CEN European standard in facilities management processes and involvement in the Realising Our Vision (ROV) project at the University of Salford.Qualitative research was conducted within a nested research philosophy with a single case study, designed to gain in-depth information and to create a framework that describes and maps facilities management processes. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, documents' review, direct observation and archival records and this data was analysed using content analysis, cognitive mapping and process mapping.The research found that poorly developed FM processes limit the contribution of the FM Process Protocol in supporting the University's strategic objectives. The study identified organisational and cultural barriers in the development of a FM Process Protocol and suggested that a better understanding of the organisation is vital to the incorporation of a FM strategy into strategic management. The study confirmed the feasibility of developing a process protocol for facilities management and the protocol was consistent with guidance on the development and improvement of FM processes that was produced in the draft European standard. This study also offered a methodological contribution that could be applied to a similar study for different types of universities and different countries. The work identified the input necessary for the development of a FM Process Protocol to create a robust tool and to deliver consistency in its application, across sectors and in different contexts.