Quality Assurance System for Quality Building Services Maintenance K. C.

Lam Building Services Engineering Department The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Summary This paper is concerning the quality of building services maintenance. Building services design, installation and maintenance will have a significant effect on the efficiency of the building services systems and the performance of buildings. Hence, building services maintenance must be planned and managed throughout the whole life of a project. The current management of building services maintenance is not entirely efficient and satisfactory. The application of a quality management system is seen to be a useful framework which can provide better control and significant improvements of all maintenance activities. Considerable determination will be needed to produce a building services Quality Assurance System for maintenance by all participants involved in the management, design, installation and maintenance of the engineering services.

Introduction Building services play an important role in buildings where M&E services are the only active components in an otherwise passive shelter. When a building is put into use, its building services have to perform day in, day out for the life of a building. Without effective and efficient M&E services, a building would not function properly. The building services industry is becoming more aware of the seriousness of maintenance and the consequences of ignoring it, both because of the high cost involved and the implications of failure of service. Effective building services maintenance management can ensure that operating and maintenance costs are minimized, that the building services continue to operate efficiently, and that the economic life of the building is optimized. In addition, good maintenance will ensure there are no breaches of legal and statutory obligations regarding health and safety. Though very important, many of the traditional ways of managing services maintenance and practices are often neither cost effective nor optimum, and therefore most clients are still not satisfied.

Meaning of maintenance system is Maintenance System = building design + M&E services design + installations + testing & commissioning + operation & maintenance + improvement

M&E services start to age or deteriorate from the moment users run them to satisfy own needs. This deterioration can, however, be controlled by: Proper design of M&E services Proper installation of services Proper maintenance of services

Perhaps, we could look at the above points from another angle, that is the impact of design, installation and maintenance of M&E services on the performance of a building. The authors findings are: The clients contribution can influence the designers design concepts and consideration of maintenance The designers design in turn, will influence the physical installation of M&E services and the provision of spaces, facilities, etc. required for their proper maintenance The contractors final M&E services installations have a direct bearing on the subsequent maintenance of services The planning and management of building services maintenance by the client or his maintenance provider (e.g. in-house maintenance department or maintenance contractor) will determine the performance of the M&E services

The maintenance of building services is becoming increasingly important with increasing reliance of the services. With engineering services accounting for 15-50% of the total building costs, the application of a good building services maintenance management can dramatically affect the operational efficiency of the building and its M&E services, the associated capital and revenue expenditure, and most importantly, the efficiency of the business organizations that operate from the building. For these to happen, perfect services design, installation, testing and commissioning and management of building services maintenance is essential. Obviously, these must be related to the quality of any product or service. As far as M&E services are concerned, quality can be seen as the sum of faultless building services, excellent delivery of services for the customer, reliable and maintainable systems, and reasonable whole life-cycle-cost. A survey conducted in Hong Kong on some recently completed buildings revealed that: Up to 40% of maintenance faults were design related Up to 30% of maintenance problems were construction/installation related Up to 30% of maintenance headaches were related to maintenance management

Though not easy, the above problems can be overcome by more effective management of building services maintenance. We must also consider the importance of the management of a quality chain (i.e. client, designers, contractors, manufacturers and maintenance specialist). Failure to meet the maintenance requirement in any part of this chain has a way of multiplying, and failure in one part of the system can create problems in the next part, and so on, and finally leading to unsatisfactory building services. Hence, the need for better collaboration between all parties in a maintenance supply chain must be emphasized. In order to be assured of the high quality required for the proper functioning of our buildings, it is important to have total integration and control of all services design, installation and maintenance elements so that none is subservient to the other. It is also imperative that maintenance of services should no longer be separated form services design because it is the only means of getting maintenance right the first time round. Furthermore, all services installations must also be perfect, as they would have a direct bearing on the subsequent maintenance process. Also, we have to manage the maintenance of services before the physical installations are being handed over to us. Although the concept of quality assurance has traditionally been applied to products, there is no reason at all why the same principles of quality management cannot be applied to the maintenance of building services installation for better customer satisfaction.

Essential parts of a maintenance system are: 1 User & Client + quality M&E services design + quality building design 2 Integrated design with maintenance + right installations + complete testing & commissioning 3 Comprehensive planning and management of maintenance + total commitment from client; Users; Designers; Contractors and Maintenance providers + quality of service + improvements

Why do we need quality assurance? Before examining the quality assurance concept in detail, the universal problems in maintenance of building services has to be considered as this will stimulate better understanding of the importance of quality issue. The authors study reveals the following shortcomings: 1 2 3 Lack of maintenance lowers building performance and costs money Inadequate maintenance wastes energy and creates pollution Inadequate clients management of maintenance. Such as: Lack of clear maintenance policy Lack of recognition of the full effects of a failure to maintain building services adequately, and of the resulting effect on the value and function of an asset Lack of communication regarding maintenance issue Inadequate resources allowed for adequate maintenance Capital cost overriding life-cycle-cost Maintenance not being given priority on the business agenda, and inadequate management of building services maintenance is usually the norm

4. Maintenance of services has still not been fully integrated into the design and installation. The resulting problems are: Very complex services systems with low reliability Inadequate access for maintenance Inadequate considerations of health and safety requirements Lack of sufficient instrumentation for easy monitoring Installations are difficult to maintain Services are difficult to replace Inadequate testing and commissioning with no attempt to systematically monitor long term performance Lack of comprehensive maintenance information Lack of advice on maintenance planning

5. Inadequate management of services maintenance by the provider such as: Late planning of maintenance Inadequate resources to support maintenance needs Too much or too little technical information, and lack of facilities for accessing technical information Lack of formal routines for dealing with failures of services and their effects on the building and its business organizations Lack of fault finding information and feedback from similar maintenance activities Lack of suitably trained maintenance professionals Ineffective management and allocation of resources No maintenance audits, and inadequate evaluation and improvisation of maintenance performance

All the foregoing problems concern client, designer, contractors and maintenance provider, each of whom should play an important role in the proper management of building services maintenance. Recognizing the essential contribution from each of the participants in the maintenance supply chain, it is clear that we are talking about the quality of service in each of these interrelated and interacted activities starting from the clients decision, design, installation to the maintenance provider. To sum up, for best building services maintenance management, we need: Good clients briefing regarding maintenance Fully integrated M&E services design with sufficient provisions for good maintenance and further change of use for the building Good M&E services installations with adequate allowances for efficient maintenance Fully tested and commissioned M&E services, and the provision of sufficient technical data for effective maintenance purpose Adequate planning of maintenance between both designer, contractors and the selected maintenance provider at an early stage Efficient management of services maintenance by the maintenance provider using the right engineering and management techniques, and with the clients full support

Other points to consider include: Understanding what the customer requires Getting it right first time and every time during the design, installation, operation and maintenance of the M&E services Commitment to good maintenance shared by all Good management sense for both technical and managerial issues by all parties Prevention and detection of problems Continuous improvement

In essence, we are talking about the principles and issues of total quality management.

What is Quality? The reader of this paper may find that the idea of quality of maintenance as something of an abstract concept and he may be right. Quality, as a measure of excellence, means different things to different people and as such is totally subjective. In the context of quality assurance, quality has a precise meaning. It is defined as: The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability stated or implied needs (ISO 8402-1986, Quality Vocabulary). Clearly, part of the acceptability of a product or service will depend on its ability to function satisfactorily over a period of time, and it is this aspect of performance which is given the name reliability. In brief, 1. Quality = management = control = systems = standards = assessment 2. Quality control = reaction (checks and inspection) = quality of service

What is Quality Assurance? Quality assurance (QA) has the aim of getting things right first time, and QA aims to provide a platform on which consistent improvement can be developed. Quality assurance is broadly termed as the prevention of quality problems through planned and systematic activities (including documentation). These include the establishment of a good quality management system and the assessment of its adequacy, the auditing of the operation of the system, and the review of the system itself. Therefore, the essence of a quality system is Say what you do Do what you say Record that you have done it Audit for effective implementation Feedback and improve In short, we see 1. Quality Assurance = prevention = quality of management 2. Documentation = quality policy (purpose) + procedures (systems to achieve the objectives) + details of work + audits and review

Quality assurance is therefore an administrate system concerned primarily with clarity of information which aims to prevent non-conformance with the use of clearly stipulated and authorized administrative system and audits. As such, procedures, forms and paperwork would be utilized. Maintenance is the combination of all the technical and associated administrative action, and therefore uses a great deal of paperwork (i.e. maintenance brief, O&M manual, technical data, asset register, maintenance schedule, work specification, maintenance programme, work order, plant history, stock control and cost control document, etc.). Thus, the success of a good maintenance also depends on the soundness of the paperwork system. Similarly, a great deal of paperwork and quality management would be needed for the design, planning and execution of M&E services. Quality assurance for building services maintenance works as a management system. This is due to the fact that: 1. It covers all the activities of an organization (i.e. client, design, contractor and maintenance provider) 2. It covers every action taken within an organization from the identification to the need for a service, installation, process, system, etc., through to its completion and delivery. 3. It actively involves people It is important to note that a QA system involves no great change for an efficient and wellorganized company. Much of what is required may already be done, it merely needs formalizing, recording and executing quality procedures. Of course, new way of working and a change of culture of an organization would be needed. Quality assurance also asks three basic questions: a) Are people being given clear, documented instructions/details as to what they are expected to do? b) Is the way the job is being done the best way of doing it? c) Are those people adhering to the instructions/details? To be right first time, it is, therefore, necessary to understand the requirements of the customer and what he or she means by quality if the product or service is to satisfy the stated or implied needs. Therefore, to achieve quality is to meet the requirements of the customer. But what are the clients criteria for quality maintenance. The authors survey results indicate some of the needs: Reasonable maintenance cost Minimum running cost High reliability of services Good operational efficiency of building Quick response to maintenance problems if any Safe building Profitable and economic maintenance function On-going improvement Compliance with statutory requirements

To satisfy the client, it is the responsibility of any maintenance service provider to devote considerable effort to attain all these quality criteria. But to meet all these needs a system is required.

What is quality management? In order to assure quality, it is necessary to integrate and control all elements (e.g. clients decision, design with maintenance, proper installation and adequate maintenance) so that none is subservient to the other. Hence, quality assurance can be seen as a management system that brings maintenance activities undertaken by all parties under control with the aim of preventing things from going wrong and costing time, effort and money to put it right. Management (i.e. forecasting, planning, organizing, communicating, coordinating, motivating, controlling, evaluating and improving) is needed to ensure that all our clients requirements will be met. It is no longer acceptable or logical to see the maintenance operative as the one controlling factor in maintenance work. It becomes obvious that whilst the maintenance provider carries a major share of the maintenance responsibility, he cannot be wholly responsible since there are also other parties in the maintenance system. So much work would have still to be done by the client, designer and all M&E services contractors. A quality management system would thus have to be employed to achieve the desired good maintenance. To recapitulate, Management System = policies + procedures + implementation (practice; people and professional work) + proof feedback + improvement demonstration or proof of management performance

BS5750: Quality System BS 5750/ISO 9000: Quality System is regarded as the cornerstone of quality assurance, and can be applied to maintenance. The standard is in three main parts: Part 1 design/development, production, installation and servicing Part 2 production and installation Part 3 final inspection and test Not all these parts are written for building services maintenance, but we can use the concepts for the quality maintenance management system. Part 2, however, is the standard that most easily translates across to the full scope of maintenance activities. The main features of BS 5750/ISO 9000 are: Not necessarily customer focused Technical systems and procedures focused Not focus on continuous improvement Employee involvement not necessary

Not integrated with corporate strategy Quality department responsible for quality More likely to preserve the status quo

BS5750 is a quality management system in which the emphasis is on the writing of formal procedures and work instructions to guide people in an organization (both supplier and customer). The ultimate objective is to ensure that the work is done properly. As building services maintenance demands close working of all parties, BS 5750 cannot be used alone for best results.

Total Quality Management As discussed earlier, building services maintenance involves a long chain of activities which requires input, involvement and commitment from many participants in order to meet the needs and satisfaction of the customer (whether internal or external). If this is to work at its best, there should be a sense of teamwork among all parties associated with the whole maintenance process. Most importantly, customer satisfaction and quality/performance of product or service are the fundamental goals in every participants business. Teamwork enhances the interdependence through improved communications, trust and exchange of ideas between the participants. Surely, the team would follow Demings Plan Do Check Act problem solving process for continuous improvement. When properly managed, this integrated team improves the whole design, installation and maintenance more effectively and economically. In the main, we are talking about a fresh management paradigm using a more rational project oriented team based approach for the maintenance process which is depicted as: Quality Control + Quality Assurance + Joint Management Team + Continuous participation + Co-operation + Collective improvement + Customers satisfaction = Total Quality Management Total quality management (TQM) is a corporate business management philosophy which recognizes that customer needs and business goals are inseparable. It ensures maximum effectiveness and efficiency within a business and secures commercial leadership by putting in place processes and systems which will promote excellence, prevent errors and ensure that every aspect of the business is aligned to customer needs and the advancement of business goals without duplication or waste of effort. Thus, TQM would be seen as: Definitely customer focused Integral to company strategy Philosophy, concepts, tools and techniques focused Emphasis on employee involvement and empowerment Continuous improvement Organizational wide, everyone responsible for quality Involves process and culture change

It is envisaged that using both BS 5750/ISO 9000 and TQM will yield better quality management in each of the responsible parties within the project team.

For the client, his responsibilities are: Meeting the building users (business organizations) needs first by providing the most appropriate M&E services systems Defining clearly his maintenance requirements and communicating them to all providers Providing resources to support maintenance Selecting a provider to meet maintenance requirements Improving building in order to satisfy customer requirement from time to time

The scope of quality system should be organized, documented and reviewed. The client should prepare the maintenance policy/statement with details on planning, authority and responsibility/organization, maintenance requirements and benchmarks, document control and process control regarding maintenance, selection of maintenance provider/ contract review, control of maintenance, corrective action, quality records and feedback, quality/maintenance cost and management review similar to those quality system standards as stipulated in BS 5750 as a basis. For the client, he must see that a QA system can in large measure be: An answer to many of the management problem pertaining to running and maintaining the building services Not at all the generator of paperwork imagined Placing maintenance responsibility on all both building design and construction team in addition to his involvement

For the designer/contractors, their responsibilities are: Establishing the clients requirements Making adequate provisions to meet that requirement and maintenance will be designed/incorporated into each M&E services systems Verifying requirements have been met and are cost effective and reliable Demonstrating that the customers requirements have been met Responding to feedback Implementing planning of services maintenance with M&E services contractors and clients maintenance provider well before using the building Reviewing the building performance Improving the building services

Both designers and contractors must, of course, provide a quality system by referring to BS 5750 but with necessary modifications to suit the building services design and construction. In general, the quality system should again be properly organized, documented and reviewed. In brief, the system should incorporate design and maintenance policies, planning, management responsibility, design and maintenance input/output requirements, evaluation of design and installation, control and review (including feedback), planning and management of inspection/testing and commissioning for compilation of O&M manuals, planning of maintenance details, programmes, issues like plans, organization, and review of performances of M&E services against design and users feedback.

For the maintenance provider, his responsibilities are: Understanding what is required of him by the client and the building users and business organizations that operate from the building Making provisions to meet that requirement Implementing those provisions based on the users needs Using strategic maintenance rather than tactical Verifying requirements have been met (performance based rather than task based) Being prepared to demonstrate that the customers requirements have been met Responding to feedback, users changes and the ever increasing building standard Ensuring effective management, resources allocation and training of staff Providing sufficient operating and maintenance audits Providing continuous improvement

Again, the maintenance engineer should organize, document and review his maintenance system in pursuit of a successful management of building services maintenance. Similar to other parties of the quality chain, he should make good use of BS 5750. He must understand and evaluate the maintenance needs of the client and those organizations within the building, and select the best maintenance technique to support the business function of all these organizations. Of course, he would still handle a great deal of quality system work such as management policy, responsibility, planning, maintenance documents/procedures, control of operation and maintenance data (O&M manuals, drawings, asset registers, schedule, programmes, maintenance tasks/work instructions, records, spare parts control, maintenance view, training, etc.), inspection/tests, corrective action, handling, storage, etc., audits and training as quoted in BS 5750. Having gone through all the quality systems that would be carried out by each member of the maintenance project team, it is quite clear that in order to achieve the high quality of building services maintenance, both the client, designer, contractor and the ultimate maintenance provider should all: Understand and plan the work Know what the responsibilities are Know what their duties are Know what to do Know how to do it Know whether it is cost-effective Want to do it Be able to do it Know that it is done Record that it has been done See whether they can do better (with benchmarks!)

Last but not least, the project team will have to remember the seven Ps of quality: 1. Positive commitment to maintenance 2. Planning of maintenance from the very beginning to the end of the project 3. Participation by all people

4. 5. 6. 7.

Process control with BS5750/ISO9000 Problem identification Problem elimination Permanence (stick to the established system but keep on improving)

It must be borne in mind that BS 5750 must be used intelligently. We need the concept but not necessarily all rigid procedures that can sometimes be cumbersome. Most importantly, we have to identify our customer needs and expectations, and use the best engineering and managerial techniques to meet the customers requirements in the most cost-effective way. To summarize, TQM in maintenance = QA system + User; Client; Designers; Contractors; Suppliers and maintenance providers + Commitment to maintenance + ongoing improvement Resistance to TQM Inevitably, there will be resistance to the implementation of quality assurance in the management of building services maintenance. The main reasons are: 1. A lack of management commitment and support from all parties 2. Too much time spent on costly paperwork, and too much paperwork to be prepared and handled 3. Employee resistance 4. Results cannot be seen immediately 5. A fairly new concept in the maintenance industry 6. A lack of operational management support and involvement Despite the negative comments on the use of TQM (too ideal, costly, long-term benefit only, difficult to do by all parties involved, and not commonly used for maintenance), experience has shown that the benefits resulting from the introduction of TQM programmes are numerous. These include: Reduction in customer complaints Reduction in costs of high quality attainment Improvement in quality and efficiency of M&E services Reduced failure Improvements in communication and co-operation amongst all parties Improvement in management (everybody) Enhanced job satisfaction Increased profit and efficiency and increased return on investment Increased competitiveness in the building services industry

As the mechanical and electrical services in a building are an asset, good management of building services should be provided, and the TQM system is a useful management framework for achieving high quality of maintenance.

Application of Quality Management Systems in Hong Kong Before the author summarizes this paper, it would appear more informative if he could give some of his observations pertaining to QA system for M&E services in Hong Kong. The observations are: Only large public and private organizations use QA system for building services applications. Many designers, contractors and developers still do not fully realize the benefits and usefulness of QA system. In their eyes, QA is often viewed as expensive paperwork and another useful certificate for promoting their businesses. QA system for the management of building services maintenance is hardly seen in many of our building stocks, perhaps it is due to the fact that the O&M of building services have been the Cinderellas of the building services industry for too long and maintenance is very much a second-rate responsibility. In practice considerable determination will be needed to produce a building services QA system for the integrated design, installation, and O&M of building services, but it is easier said than done. Furthermore, the lack of QA manual specially prepared for O&M also discourages the application of QA system to building services.

There are good examples of good management of building services maintenance with QA but these are comparatively few when compared with the large stocks of different types of buildings in Hong Kong. Above all, those provide properly prepared and managed QA system for maintenance will often have adequate confidence that the M&E services can be available when required and operate efficiently. In both the private and public sectors of property management in Hong Kong, there are indications that maintenance is gaining an air of respectability, although QA is not yet fully utilized for the design, installation and O&M of building services, the seriousness of maintenance and the consequences of ignoring are coming to be fully appreciated by many people, and greater use of QA will be likely to have more significant influence on the missing integration of design, installation and Q&M.

Conclusion As buildings more towards a greater dependence on M&E services to provide the comfort conditions and facilities expected by their occupants, there will be an increasing need for better management of M&E services maintenance. It will become ever more important to ensure that the plant and services are available when required and that these operate efficiently for the proper operation of those business organizations (customers) that operate from the building. Management of services maintenance covers engineering and managerial issues, and success of implementation of management of services maintenance requires better teamworking right from the start of a building project. It has been identified by the author that the concepts of quality assurance and total quality management will overcome many, but not all, of the shortcomings

within the building services maintenance world, and all parties are likely to share the ultimate benefit. The readers are also recommended to see the CIBSEs new guide to ownership, operation and maintenance of building services before planning all the quality system and necessary procedures as given by the author. The author also acknowledges that some readers may consider that the quality and management issues raised by this paper may not easily be applied to the maintenance industry. However, the author firmly believes that new way would work better, and we should accept changes in our profession. It is also hoped that all readers will recognize the intended advantages (not on the formal procedures, but rather the concepts) of quality assurance management that can improve the current standards of maintenance and the status in which it is held. There are indications that maintenance is beginning to receive closer attention than at any time in the past. At the same time, the management of maintenance is getting more difficult as buildings become more complex, and the use of more sophisticated technology becomes more widespread in building services. Traditional way of maintenance will no longer work satisfactorily, we have to re-engineer ourselves. TQM is seen to be a rational approach to successful building services maintenance, let us use this framework for good management of our service. After all, we all get pay from our client. We should serve our customer well and give what he or she really wants i.e. a perfect building with excellent building services.

References (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) BS 5750, Quality Systems, Part 1, 2 and 3, British Standard, U.K. BS 8210, Guide to building maintenance, British Standard, U.K. TM17, Maintenance management for building services. CIBSE, U.K. Guide to ownership, operation and maintenance of building services, CIBSE, U.K. Armstrong, J.H. (1987), Maintaining building services. Mitchell, London. Magee, H.G. (1988) Facilities Maintenance Management, R.S. Means