Editorial

Citation

Finch, E. (2001), "Editorial", Facilities, Vol. 19 No. 5/6. https://doi.org/10.1108/f.2001.06919eaa.001

Editorial

Energy is a key theme in this issue of Facilities. Rising global energy prices are beginning to reawaken our interest in improved energy savings. But perhaps more importantly for many organisations, their corporate image needs to reflect a concern for the environment and sustainability.

In the paper by Gilleard and Kam-shim the authors describe the opportunities afforded by performance contracting, specifically the area of energy performance contracting. For many organisations wishing to avoid tying up working capital in non-core assets, performance contracting clearly makes a lot of sense. In this way, the contractor may put forward capital to install an energy conservation scheme with resulting savings being shared between the building owner and contractor. The paper explains the central importance of creating a team culture between contractor and building operator, allaying fears of in-house redundancies and providing a catalyst for change. The "change master" is seen as the linchpin in this process.

Energy modelling is one way in which facilities managers can predict energy consumption and establish performance benchmarks. The paper by Boussabaine attempts to predict the energy consumption of sports facilities based on two factors:

1. 1.

   the floor area; and

2. 2.

   the number of users.

A number of modelling methods are compared and the results suggest that neural networking models provide a good alternative to regression and neurofuzzy models.

Embodied energy was the theme of an award-winning paper by Treloar et al. in a previous issue of Facilities. In this issue the authors ask the question "how does the height of a building affect its embodied energy?". In other words, does it take more energy to acquire the necessary inputs and construct a building if it is a high-rise building? The conclusions present a mixed picture which suggests that variation in embodied energy in some instances is attributable to structural aspects such as columns, internal walls and upper floors. The authors argue that it is not appropriate to analyse only one element at a time since elements such as columns have an integrated structural role. To achieve an integrated analysis structural elements were grouped. The analysis indicates that the embodied energy of the structure groups are associated with building height.

Continuing on the theme of modelling, Alani et al. propose a coded system for observing, assessing and appraising the condition of structural elements which most affect the repair and maintenance of buildings. The resulting model is advocated for use in predictive maintenance projection and in maintenance strategy formulation.

Brown and Pitt consider the characteristics of sustainable airports. In their paper they look at the growing pressure on airports to expand. They suggest that, whilst the activities of planes themselves tend to attract public concern, the impact associated with airport infrastructure is equally important. It is argued that facilities management has a major role to play in reducing this impact.

Housing does not always fall under the remit of facilities management, but this particular paper by Yu and Han presents a case study which is relevant to all facilities managers developing a public information system. The use of Web portals is allowing residents in the west coast region of Singapore to be more informed about decision making and planning issues likely to affect them.

Edward Finch