The contributions of knowledge mapping in facilities performance evaluation practice in Malaysia

Performance evaluations of facilities are widely practiced within facilities organisations and it is generally accepted by Facilities Management practitioners that failure to obtain feedback on the building performance can expose facilities to serious consequences. The success of the evaluation is largely dependent on the breadth of issues being covered. These include financial matters, the physical condition of the building or the environment. As performance evaluation is a continuous process in the facilities management cycle, the factors that contribute to its success need to be identified. Issues such as accuracy, standardisation of practice, skill and knowledge remain open to debate among practitioners and academia in facilities management. There is also a view that facility users and owners are still in doubt as to how the performance evaluation will benefit them. On the knowledge management side, previous studies in various fields have identified numbers of knowledge mapping tools and techniques that are widely used. Knowledge mapping tools and techniques assist with information and knowledge flow throughout an organisation. However, for a knowledge map to be useful it must serve the purpose for which it is intended. This imposes some constraints upon which map forms are suitable and for what purpose. In the same vein, facilities performance practices are developing and evolving with changes in technology, business needs and users’ expectation. The present research identifies and explores the potential knowledge mapping tools and techniques that might be of benefit to facilities management organisations. In addition, a conceptual framework for the exploitation of benefits of knowledge mapping at various stages of performance evaluation is presented and discussed. The research methodology of the study employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Twenty-one (21) facilities managers from different facilities management organisation were interviewed using semi structured interview techniques in order to obtain in-depth information on the implementation of knowledge mapping in the organisations. The data obtained was analysed using content analysis techniques. To obtain a broader perspective of the key issues investigated in the research, one hundred and eighty-eight (188) usable questionnaires were obtained from facilities managers in Malaysia via e-mail survey. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 16.0) was used to analyse the quantitative data and various statistical methods. The present research concludes that majority of facilities management organisations are of the view that knowledge mapping is important and some have initiated and implemented tools and techniques of knowledge mapping in evaluating facilities performance. The study also revealed that the main benefits of knowledge mapping in evaluating facilities performance are: improvements in the decision making process, problems identification and problem solving by providing quick access to critical information, identifying knowledge gaps and islands of expertise. The guidance produced will be beneficial to facilities management organisations in implementing knowledge mapping and exploit the benefits in facilities management organisation