Simulation Models and Facility Planning

The paper is based on a now completed research project funded by SERC and carried out by the author and former colleagues from the University of Salford in a multi-disciplinary team comprising building maintenance experts and operational researchers. The project sought to develop a model to simulate manpower deployment in a building maintenance organisation using a single case study. Although the results of the project were limited in scope, being more concernedwith the development of the methodology to deal with such problems, the work did have useful outcomes including the development of a database which contained detailed information on the hourly deployment of labour on maintenance and facilities work over a 12 month period. The proposed paper will consider the implications of the output from both the database and the simulation model for the planning of facilities and the deployment of labour in developing and maintaining those facilities