A Discussion On Methodologies To Measure

The 3rd International Building Control Conference 2013
A Discussion on Methodologies to Measure the Perception of

Malaysian Architects towards the Implementation of Green
Roof System
M. H. Md. Zahira,b,1*, S. N. Ramana, M. F. Mohameda, Z. M. Nopiahc, M. Jamila
a
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
b
Public Works Department of Malaysia (JKR), JKR Malaysia Headquarters, Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, 50582 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
c
Unit for Fundamental Studies in Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
The application of green roof system (GRS) in Malaysia as a sustainability tool to mitigate the Urban Heat Island effect is
relatively new. Although many research abroad have indicated that green roofs contribute towards enhancing the environmental
and aesthetical quality of the built environment, it is yet to be widely practised by local construction practitioners. It was
hypothesized that the low application of GRS in the Malaysian construction scene is due to the lack of awareness, exposure and
experience in its’ benefits. In view of this, this project was initiated to determine the perception and understanding of Malaysian
Architects on the issues of green roof, as well as to identify their level of acceptance and readiness to implement it. This paper
presents the methodologies proposed to determine the perception of Malaysian Architects towards the implementation of GRS in
the local construction industry. Architects were chosen as the respondents due to their direct involvement in the
conceptualisation, planning, design and construction of a built environment project. Extensive literature review was conducted to
explore past experiences in GRS implementation and to develop the theoretical framework for this research. The necessary
quantitative data required for this research was collected through a questionnaire survey, that was subsequently used to identify
their perceptions on benefits and obstacles related to the implementation of GRS among local Architects. Then, statistical
analysis will be performed to investigate the main factors that influence green roof implementation. Finally, field observation and
case studies will be conducted on local buildings with green roof features to cross verify the quantitative data .
Keywords: Green Roof Systems (GRS); Malaysian Architects; Perception; Survey; Benefits; Obstacles.
1. Introduction
1.1. Research Background
Similar to most parts of the world, the global warming phenomenon has triggered the drive towards sustainability
in the Malaysian construction industry. At the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, in December 2009,
The Honorable Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak has proposed a stand to curb Malaysia’s CO2
emission to 40% by the year 2020 (The Star, 2009). In view of this, the Malaysian Government has created
numerous green initiatives such as the National Green Technology Policy (KeTTHA, 2009) and Greater KL, which
plan to create a more sustainable and liveable city (Kamini, 2013). In order to achieve the emission targets, the
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6-032-616-5181; fax: +6-032-697-7430.

E-mail address: hafizzudin@jkr.gov.my.
1
government needs to tackle its urbanisation sector, which consumes most of the national energy and natural
resources, generates lots of waste and emits tons of air pollutant.
The ever-growing urban population has the needs for rapid development and thus increasing the impervious area
while reducing the greenery. In 2012, a study showed that Kuala Lumpur’s green areas have been reduced to a mere
59.4% or 14,386 hectare from its total 24,222 hectare of city area (Yusof & Johari, 2012). This means that the rapid
urbanisation throughout the years has affected the Kuala Lumpur green areas, thus creating many environmental
problems and the city is facing high pressure on its urban green spaces (Aziz,2012). It also means that the previously
implemented policies have not reached their target although measures have been taken by the local government to
plant more trees and creating more green areas for the urban dwellers (KWPKB, 2009).
A study by Ibrahim & Samah (2011) analysed the relation of urban land cover towards Urban Heat Island
(UHI)effect and the results showed that the highest temperature was recorded in Dataran Merdeka with 37 o Celsius,
while in the Lake Gardens, it was only 26.7o Celsius. Areas with impervious surfaces generate more heat thus
contributing to UHI and heavy flooding.
One of the steps taken in cities of developed countries is to widely use green roof as one of the solution to
increase the urban green area along with its benefits (Ismail, Aziz, Nasir & Taib, 2012a). Herman (2003) stated that
14% of all flat roofs in Germany are green and it became very common because of the supportive government
policies. This is because many researches have proven GRS as a natural mitigation in reducing the UHI effect.
Green Roofs were also well accepted for European cities with environmental problems and less green space
(Carpenter, 2008). According to Getter & Rowe (2006), in most urban areas, the roof area will normally represent
around 21% to 26% of the total areas, which has the opportunity to increase the urban green space if green roof are
used. In Malaysia, “The Greening of Greater KL” initiative identified a total area of 150,000m2of conventional roofs
to be converted into green roofs by 2020 to achieve the top 10 liveable cities in the world (KWPKB, 2009).
Malaysia has a growing urban population rate of 2.4% annually and 72% of the total population lives in urban
areas (The World Fact Book, 2010). As a result, the government needs to take measures by making sure that every
citizen have sufficient green space of16m2per person (KWPKB, 2009). Since 2004, the Town and Country Planning
Department has initiated various planning guidelines that included green roofs. These guidelines were designed
specifically for industrial players such as the Local Authorities, Developers and Building Professionals (JPBD,
2004; JPBD, 2011; JPBD, 2012).
Although green roof have been widely used abroad and despite the government efforts towards a sustainable
urbanisation, only a handful of buildings in Malaysia have adopted green roofs (Ismail, Aziz, Nasir & Taib, 2012b).
Building professionals such as architect plays an important role in the development process. An environmentally
concerned architect will influence and advise their client towards on environmentally positive and sustainable
development. Hence, it is crucial to understand and identify the perception of local architects towards the green
roofs benefits and the implementation’s obstacles. Both of these factors are known to influence the acceptance of
this technology in the Malaysian construction industry.
This paper aims to discuss and deliberate on the methodologies that can be adopted to gauge the current
perception of Malaysian architects on the possible implementation of GRS in the Malaysian construction industry.
In order to achieve this aim, the methodologies applied by past research, local and abroad, have been investigated,
their findings examined and the data have been utilised to formulate appropriate tools to be used in the present
study.
1.2 Green Roof Systems (GRS)
According to Grant, Engleback & Nicholson (2003), the term ‘green roof’ is defined as either a roof top garden
with ornamental planting or a fertile vegetation space, which has been designed to develop naturally, and with a
substrate on a man-made structure, of at least one floor. Meanwhile, Getter & Rowe (2006) described green roof as a
vegetated roof system with growing media, supporting layers such as root barrier, roof membrane and drainage to
recover the lost of green space. History has shown that green roofs have been used on the Hanging Garden of
Babylon and on the Nordic Vikings houses (House, 2009). Green roof have long been associated with sustainability,
as it tends to be the best replacement for the lost of green area when a building is constructed. It is also one of the
typical methods use in a sustainable development principals (Gedge & Frith, 2004). Commonly agreed, green roofs
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can be divided into two distinctive groups namely, the Intensive and Extensive green roof (Getter & Rowe, 2006).
Intensive green roofs contain deeper soil and have more varieties of vegetation, but are costly to build and maintain.
On contrary, Extensive green roofs are cheaper and easier to build and maintain. It contains shallow soil, have fewer
varieties of plants and rarely accessible unlike its counterpart. From these, it can be concluded that most of man-
made structure with vegetation layers and habitable space beneath the structure, can be considered as a green roof.
1.3. Implementation of Green Roof Systems (GRS) in Malaysia
In Malaysia, in the last 15 years, only a handful of buildings have adapted the green roof as a main green feature
element (Ismail et al., 2012b). From past research, some implementers were very sceptical about having rooftop
gardens due to unknown risk on maintenance aspects. Although nowadays many commercial buildings have green
garden on their roof or as a recreational podium, the type of green roof were mostly extensive rather than intensive.
Green roof nowadays are becoming a trend in contemporary modern high-rise design in Kuala Lumpur. A known
early initiative related to green roof in Malaysia started in the late 90’s when the then Chief Minister of Kedah, Tan
Sri Sanusi Junid decided to work on rooftop paddy field projects with Malaysian Agricultural Research and
Development Institute (MARDI). The project was realized when Laman Padi or Rice Garden was built in Langkawi
in 1998. Since then, paddy harvesting was done up to 4 times a year (Junid, 2012).Table 1 lists the buildings with
significant green roof in Malaysia.
Table 1. Implementation of Green Roof in Malaysia.

Building Type of Green Roof Architect Year
Rice Garden Museum (Laman
Intensive - 1998
Padi), Langkawi.
Ministry of Finance, Putrajaya. Extensive and Intensive GDP Architect. 2002
Putrajaya International
Intensive and Extensive Hijjas Kasturi Assc. 2003
Convention Centre (PICC).
Putrajaya City Hall, Putrajaya. Extensive ZDR Architect. 2004
Malaysian Design Technology
Centre (MDTC), LKW, Extensive Llewellyn Davies Yeang. 2004
Cyberjaya.
Serdang Hospital. Intensive Gabungan Architect. 2005
Fakulti Sains Sosial &
Retrofit Extensive - 2007
Kemanusiaan, UKM.
Sime Darby Oasis, Damansara. Extensive GRA Architect. 2009
Perunding Alam Bina &
KL Sentral Park @ Platinum. Intensive 2009
Cox Architects.
Menara Hap Seng, KL. Retrofit Intensive - 2010
Newcastle University Medicine
Extensive MAA Architect. 2011
Malaysia, Nusajaya.
NeoCyber Domain, Cyberjaya. Intensive - 2012
Laman PKNS, Shah Alam. Intensive Veritas Architect. 2013
Heriot-Watt University, Expected in
Extensive Hijjas Kasturi Assc.
Putrajaya. 2014
Arkitek Jururancang & Expected in
Tun Razak Exchange (TRX). Intensive
Machado Silvetti and Assc. 2016
Icon Residenz Creative Tower, Expected in
Intensive -
Petaling Jaya. 2015
Expected in
The Light, Penang. Intensive -
2016
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2. Literature Research
This section will discusson the methodologies employed in previous research to explore the perception on green
roof implementation issues. Locally and internationally, there were previous investigations that have been conducted
on matters involving building professional’s perception on green roof implementation issues and have been
documented in various publications (Ismail et al., 2012a; House, 2009; Gedge & Frith, 2004; Aziz & Ismail, 2011;
Wong et al., 2005; Taheri et al., 2007; Kuper, 2009). This publication is partly an exploratory step on determining
the appropriate methodologies that can be used in this study. By examining and understanding the viewpoints of past
findings, the research scope and limitations can be clearly defined. This step is crucial because identifying past
methodologies will allow ascertaining the key factors for developing a better result. These methodologies and its
findings have been summarized in Table 2 and Table 3.
Table 2. Past Researches Methods and Findings on Implementation Issues of Green Roof in Malaysia.
Authors Method(s) Target Sample(s) Findings on Perception
3FM optimistic towards
GRS benefits. Lack of
supervision during
Ismail, Ahmad, Hashim, Isnin,
3 Facilities Managers construction and
& Ali (2010); Using field observation on 3
(FM) of GRS maintenance contributes
Ismail, Ismail, Hashim, Irfan & GRS buildings and interviews.
buildings. to leakages. Other
Ramli (2009)
problems related to
unspecialized green roof
designer.
Literature Review, Survey and Local developers and
Aziz& Ismail (2011) Proposed papers
Case Study. Architects
Ismail et al. (2012b) Literature review - Proposed papers
75 responses. Past failure,
no design guidelines and
limited local expertise on
Ismail et al. (2012a) Questionnaire survey 350 Local architects
GRS are the main
obstacles in
implementation.
There were very limited literatures that discuss on the perception towards green roofs in Malaysia. These papers
used both qualitative and quantitative survey on construction practitioners such as architects, facility managers,
developers and other built environment professionals. However, the authors have also identified various literatures
from abroad, which included varied groups of building professionals and practitioners in their study. This wide
range of building professionals creates a more comprehensive research on the subject matter. Ismail et al.’s (2010)
research approach deliberated on the maintenance aspect of GRS and to find out what were the benefits and outcome
in the post-construction period. The samples used in this study were all facilities managers that maintained the GRS
buildings. These samples offered a different kind of perspective and end result than the pre-construction samples.
However, Ismail et al. (2012a) used different methods in order to collect the architect’s perception only on GRS
obstacles. From the literature, he listed nine obstacles to be ranked by the respondents and the results were then
analysed using the relative importance index (RII) formula. It was concluded that the biggest obstacles was
perceived on limited local expertise and inexperienced green roof applicators.
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Table 3. Past Researches Method on Implementation Issues of Green Roof in other Countries.
Authors Method(s) Target Sample(s) Findings on Perception
104 responses from the
construction practitioners
Using mixed method of 332 Singaporean architects, generally agreed with most of
Wong et al. (2005) survey questionnaire and landscape architects, the benefits of GRS. They
interviews developers. disagreed that GRS can
enhance the life span of
waterproofing membrane.
89.5% believed that GRS is
important for reducing heat and
cools buildings and the
Taheri et al. (2007) Face-to-face questionnaire 40 Iranian construction
environment. 97.7% believed
and semi-structured professionals and
GRS should be implemented to
interviews. practitioners
reduce urban energy issues. In
general they believed GRS
could improve urban climate.
City officials & developers
8 North Texas developers, have lack of knowledge on
Face-to-face semi-
House (2009) city planners, architects & GRS. Barrier issues on cost,
structured interviews
landscape architects. unfamiliarity and lack of
incentives.
Half of respondents did not
know anything about GRS.
Majorities were neutral of
Face-to-face survey 100 students of Temple
Kuper (2009) having GRS in their
questionnaire. University Ambler Campus.
neighbourhood. Very few had
strong perceptions against
GRS.
5
The Influence of Work Adjustment of Malaysian Expatriate

Executives in Malaysian Construction Companies Overseas.
H. Zainola,2*, A. Che Ahmada, A. H. Abdul Tharima, N.A. Ismaila A. M. Ab Wahida
a
Faculty of Architecture Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA (Perak), Seri Iskandar, 32610, Perak, Malaysia.
Abstract
The upward trend of construction industry in Malaysia shows that the number of construction firms has growing from year to
year The development of Malaysia’s economy gives the opportunities for companies to explore and operate overseas. To achieve
success, a company has to ensure that the selected individuals are willing to work abroad, have high perseverance and always
ready to meet challenges. The success of implementing the overseas assignment does not solely depend on technical expertise. It
also depends on non-technical issues such as the ability to interact with colleagues at work, adaptability to the new environment
and openness to the local culture. Past studies found 65% of the companies indicated that 5% of their expatriates returned
prematurely from their assignment. This research however, proved that non-technical factor such as work adjustment ought to be
considered by the company. One of the non-technical factors that contributes to the failure is the expatriate’s inability to adapt to
the new environment. This paper will also look into the factors that are faced by the expatriates during expatriation. The findings
are obtained from empirical study and 64 respondents from Malaysian expatriate executives overseas. Suggestions and
recommendations are given to improve the work adjustment of the expatriates.
Keywords: Expatriate; adjustment; preparation; construction.
1. Introduction
To achieve success, a company has to have a stable operation management and get full support from its
personnel, especially the ones assigned to work in the respective countries. The company has to ensure that the
selected individuals want to work abroad, have high perseverance and always ready to meet challenges. Such
individuals could be moulded if the company has a well-organised development programme for expatriates, since
the expatriates are the drivers that will determine the success of a multinational company abroad. The success in
implementing overseas assignment does not solely depend on technical expertise; non-technical issues, including
culture, family work procedures, and ability to interact with colleagues at work, adaptability and openness to local
culture also exert influence on the assignment. The involvement of expatriates in a host country does not only reflect
the performance of the company which they represent, but also affects the contribution to the country they come
from. The work adjustment during the assignment also influences the expatriates when working abroad.
There are practices of expatriates as alluded to by Noe (2007), Drafke (2006) and Dessler, Griffiths and Lloyd-
Walker (2007). The expatriate management in the global organization does not only emphasize the necessity of
expertise for the success of an assignment. Other aspects such as adaptation to the environment, family influence,
the ability of communication with colleagues and being open to the local environment are the elements that are
taken into account (Noe, 2007). According to Selmer (2006), the more differences found in the environment of the
host country, the longer length of time needed for adaptation. Those who cannot adapt will definitely be affected in
their performance and thus leads to failure in the implementation of the task area.
The purpose of this paper is to focus on work adjustment of the Malaysia executive expatriates in the host
country. Past study has shown between 33%-70% difficulties in adjusting to new environment prompted the early
return of expatriates to their country of origin (Zainol & Aziz, 2013). The question is, what are the factors that have
an influence on expatriate adjustment?
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6019-5582282; fax: +605-3742244.

E-mail address: halmi461@perak.uitm.edu.my.
6
2. Literature Review
The success of any the overseas assignment does not solely depend on technical expertise; non-technical issues,
including culture, family work procedures, and ability to interact with colleagues at work, adaptability and openness
to local culture also exert influence on the success. The involvement of expatriates in a host country does not only
reflect the performance of the company they represent, but also affects the contribution to the country they come
from. Work adjustment based on Nicholson (1984), indicated the longer the expatriates take to perform tasks, the
easier for them to adapt to the work environment in the host country. Work adjustment refers to a psychological
comfort to assignments tasks or job (Shaffer, Harrison, Gregersen, Black & Ferzandi, 2006). According to Chi and
Chiou (2007), work adjustment is the ability of the individual to understand and adapt to foreign cultures and to
cope with the work environment.
The composition of employees in multinational companies is diversified. Local staff may make up the majority
of the company’s human resource to facilitate its management and operations (Dessler et al., 2007). According to
Black (1998), Hurn (2006) and Minter (2008), an expatriate might not know how to act and dress within a
culturally diverse community of employees. Furthermore, he or she might have to make a lot of adjustments quickly
to fit into an unfamiliar local work culture and environment and get on with his or her business assignment.
In their research, Harzing and Christensen (2004) acknowledged that expatriate management was an extremely
complex process that required a long term monitoring and implementation. The pre-assignment stage was the most
critical stage of implementation where suitable expatriate managers were selected. Included in the pre-assignment
stage was training needs analysis in person's context of expatriation and physical aspects. Some of the elements of
work adjustment covered tasks in the new post, position at work, autonomy, work pressure, job satisfaction,
promotion, using skill and knowledge and social standing (refer to Table 1)). Although the international job
description and specification had been determined by the home organisation, Selmer (2007) stressed that the
selection of suitable, well-trained candidates (if available) were of utmost importance for their performance carried
the organisation’s business reputation. The suitability of an expatriate in executing assignments in a host country
was an important aspect that required a special emphasis.
Table 1 : Past studies on work adjustment variables.
Work Adjustment
a. Pay Vance & Paik (2002), Toh & Denisi (2003), Bonache
(2005),
b. Tasks in the new post Suutari & Brewster (2003), Selmer (2007)
c. Position at work Black (1994), Shay & Baack (2006), Selmer (2007)
d. Autonomy at work Black (1994), Gregersen, Hite & Black (1996), Gregersen &
Stroh (1997), Vidal, Sanz, Aragón & Brewster (2007),
e. Work pressure/Stress Suutari & Burch (2001), Brown (2008), Lazarova, Westman,
Shaffer (2010)
f. Management practices Yavas & Bodur (1999), Selmer (2002), Hutchings (2003)
g. Work with host nationals in organization Black (1988), Gregersen & Black (1992)
h. Job satisfaction Gregersen & Black (1992), Choi & Choi (2004), Hutchings
(2003), McCaughey & Bruning (2005),
i. Promotion Black (1990, 1998), Caligiuri, Philips, Lazarova, Tarique &
Burgi (2001), Stahl, Miller, & Tung, (2002), Bonache
(2005), Hutchings & Ratnasari (2006)
j. Using skills and knowledge Black & Gregersen (1999), Stahl et al. (2002), Lee &
Crocker (2006)
k. Social standing and financial extras Suutari & Valimaa (2002), Selmer & Leung (2003)
An attractive salary as a reward is an incentive for the executive expatriates to accept the assignment overseas.
Job satisfaction will be affected if low salaries are received (Vance & Paik, 2002; Bonache, 2005). Past studies by
Zhu, Luthans, Chew and Li (2005) revealed one of the reasons of expatriates to accept international assignments is
because of the low salary received in the home country. According to Black, Gregersen and Mendenhall (1992),
77% of the expatriates were not satisfied with the compensation received during assignment. In multinational
companies, satisfaction of salaries received will influence work performance (Toh & Denisi, 2003). Low salary
received, will result in job dissatisfaction and lead to migration to other companies.
7
Social standing is associated with the position and salary of the expatriates. The highest position in the
organisation represents the standard of living of the person. According to Suutari & Valimaa (2002); Selmer &
Leung (2003), social standing refers to living status, the post position in the organization and facilities given by the
organisation. One of the main reasons of the individual to accept an international assignment is due to the high
offers by the company without realizing the standard of living in the host country. The research by Bennett, Aston
and Colquhoun (2000) and Selmer (2002) found the basic salaries of international assignments ranging from three to
five times higher. Therefore, companies have to ensure all necessary steps taken to promote success and to
overcome failure. This is a key challenge for the construction companies so that progress can be monitored
accordingly. The loss of social status and lifestyle changes can lead to negative impact on work adjustment.
According to Black and Gregersen (1999), working with host nationals in an organisation relates to social
adaptation of an individual. Different culture and work environment causes communication difficulty among
expatriates and host nationals. A study done by Vance and Paik (2002) showed that additional knowledge of the host
country’s culture was essential for expatriates to be effective when interacting with host nationals. Black and
Mendenhall (1990) discovered the acceptance expatriates by the host nationals in the organisation contributes to
adaptation of work adjustment. When working abroad, the expatriates will be dealing with a variety of behaviours
and different ways of working cultures. The strong integration between host nationals in multinational company is
needed for adaptation in the new environment. The acceptance of home nationals working culture and practices
facilitating the tasks performed (Hutchings, 2003). Eschbach, Parker and Stoeberl (2001) suggested the good
working relationship among employees, understanding and effective communication encourage the organisation to
grow.
Based on Pires, Stanton and Ostenfeld (2006), the use of skills and technical competence encompasses
knowledge, language and understanding of the assignment. This enables the expatriates to face any challenges.
Black and Gregersen (2000), believed the background of individual and experience contribute to the success of the
expatriate assignment. These findings conflicted with Shay and Baack (2006), where the success of expatriates
adapting in the work environment in host country was based on skills and knowledge. However, these findings
supported the study done by Zakaria (2000). The presence of expatriates is not only to bring in the expertise and
skills to the host countries but also to gain and learn new experience through knowledge transfer which is beneficial
to the Malaysian construction companies overseas. Stahl et al. (2002) and Lee and Crocker (2006) have confirmed
those elements contribute to the success of the organisation and work adjustment of the expatriates. Therefore,
individuals should act positively on the changes in the new environment to facilitate adjustment with host nationals.
3. Methodology
3.1. Sample
The sampling frame which was received from Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB,
2009), indicated that 102 companies had ventured into projects overseas. Those companies were personally
contacted. Forty two companies no longer had overseas projects, and three used host nationals for their construction
projects. Therefore, only 60 companies had assigned their executive expatriates overseas. The questionnaires were
sent together with a cover letter by email to the human resources manager for distribution to their construction
company executive expatriates overseas. Respondents were contacted by e-mail address obtained by the company.
This method is the best and effective way in getting responses from the expatriates (Glinow, Drost & Teagarden,
2002; Hutchings, 2003; Haslberger, 2005). At present, distributing questionnaire using email is the most suitable
method and get a high return rate (Babbie, 2010). In addition, respondents are able to answer questions clearly and
concisely. When the respondents replied, a letter of appreciation was sent to them. The snowball sampling method
was used to obtain respondents (Hutchings, 2003; Haslberger, 2005; Bank & Rothmann, 2006; Tahir & Ishmael,
2007; Piaw, 2011). Researchers seeked assistance from the respondents to send the questionnaire to friends who
worked with Malaysian construction companies abroad.
The questionnaires was sent to the 349 respondents, via e-mail provided by the company, 'Qatar group' , the
Malaysian Club of Bahrain, and MAQSA (Malaysia Quantity Surveyor). Three stages of follow-up were made to
get good feedback from the respondents (Sussman, 2001). Of the 349 questionnaires sent, 15 questionnaires were
8
received from respondents based on the first email sent. After 21 days from the first sent email, the first follow-up
reminder was sent to the respondents. Thirty seven questionnaires received after the second follow up. Then third
reminder was sent to respondents who did not respond after 12 days from the second follow-up. From the third
follow-up, 12 responses were received, giving the number of respondents a total of 66 respondents. Two
respondents were not accepted because of non-target groups. Thus, only 64 respondents were used. The total
number of respondents is acceptable based on the study conducted by Causin and Ayoun (2011) that received 66
expatriates, 65 respondents (Vogel, Vuuren, & Millard, 2008), 46 respondents (Selmer & Leung, 2007) and 23
respondents (Erbacher, Parker & Stoeberl, 2006). The return rate is 18.5% (64 questionnaires) and this is
comparable with the study by Vidal et al. (2007).
3.2. Instrumentation
Data were obtained via a mailed survey questionnaire that was distributed among expatriate executives of
Malaysian construction companies overseas. The questionnaire covered three dimensions such as personal
adjustment (13 variable), work adjustment (11 variables) and family adjustment (7 variables). There were 25
variables of expatriate dimensions. These dimensions and their measures were adapted from survey instruments
based on previous findings. This paper concentrates on nine variables of work adjustment. The dimension consisted
a number of measurement items that made use of a balanced five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (Completely
Unadjusted) to 5 (Completely Adjusted) (Sullivan, Forret, & Mainiero, 2007; Ascalon, Schleicher & Born, 2008;
Hoersting & Jenkins, 2011). According to Hinkin (1998), at least four items are needed to improve the consistency
of validity. The minimum number of four items are used for a study in accordance with his findings. According to
Cortina (1993), more items will increase the reliability. The variables obtained were tested by using factor analysis.
Among the specific variables examined were tasks in the new post, pay, position at work, autonomy, work
pressure/stress, work with host nationals, job satisfaction, promotion, skill in job and social standing. The reliability
of dimension was gauged by using Cronbach’s alpha ( ). The Cronbach’s alpha 0.7 was used as suggested by
MacKenzie, Podsakoff and Podsakoff, (2010), and Vogel et al. (2008).
3.2 Respondents’ Demographic
The total number of respondents in this research was 64. The majority of respondents were 92.2% male, and the
average age was 39.3 years old. This showed that most of them were relatively mature. In terms of ethnicity, Malay
respondents dominated 82.5%, compared to 12.5% Chinese and 4.7% Indians. This is due to the nature of Malaysian
population that comprises three main ethnic groups as aforesaid. Majority of the respondents were Malay. Most of
the respondents were professionals (67.2%) and fell within the scope of this research which focused on expatriate
executives involved in the construction industry. The length of expatriate assignments varied from 9 to 50 months.
Expatriate assignment duration from 25 – 60 months was the most (48.4%), followed by 29.7% 13- 24 moths, 9-
20.3% 12 months.
3.3. Factor Analysis and Reliabilities
Factor analysis and reliability are were to answer the research question. The purpose of using factor analysis
procedure was to reduce the number of variables to a manageable group (Aaker, Kumar & Day, 1995; Field, 2005;
Coakes, Steed & Dzidic, 2006). By reducing a data set from a group of interrelated variables, the maximum amount
of common variance in a correlation could be achieved (Field, 2005). The factors consisted of variables that were
highly correlated among them. At least five variables required for factor analysis (Coakes, 2005). A research review
on exploration of 60 factor analysis found that the minimal sample size was 42 for factor analysis (Henson and
Roberts, 2006).
Reliability analysis was used to find the value of the correlation between the score of each item. High correlation
values showed have high reliability. Cronbach’s alpha < 0.7 would be dropped from the test (Sweet & Grace-Martin,
2008, Vogel et al., 2008; Tucker, Bonial, & Lahti, 2004). The reliability of the value exceeding α < 0.7 was
selected based on past studies. In this study, 11 variables (items) were used for the expatriate adjustment and 64
sample size was considered adequate to meet the required variables for factor analysis.
9
4. Findings and Discussion
The purpose of the study is to identify the factors that influence the work adjustment of Malaysian expatriate
executives while abroad. Based on previous studies, the variables are identified. Factor analysis was used to
examine the loaded items for the correlated factors. For factor Analysis procedure, principle component analysis
with varimax rotation were used. The procedure was successfully done and the items were reduced to nine.
Analysis on work adjustment showed the variables were grouped into three factors namely, work environment,
reward and task satisfaction (refer to Table 2). Working with local national and stress were dropped because the
communalities value was less than 0.5.
Table 2. Factor analysis of work adjustment
Items Factor Loading Alpha
Factor 1 Work Environment

Tasks in the new post .790
Position at work .736
Autonomy at work .757
Management Practices .797 .80
Factor 2 Reward
Pay .882
Social Standing .858 .78
Factor 3 Task Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction .803
Promotion .758
Using skill in present job .753 .74
Note : N = 64, Underlined loadings indicate the inclusion of that item in the factor ; p < .05*, p < .01**
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin=0.782, Barlett’s Test Sphericity=197.52**, Anti-Image Correlation Matrix (range)=.71-.86,
Total Variance Explained=69.42%. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of less than 0.7 were deleted.
The rotated factor loading results show the variables such as tasks in the new post, position at work, autonomy at
work and management practices load highly on the first factor. These factors reflected the combination of work
environment variables in this research. Items such as job satisfaction, promotion and using skill in present job load
highly on the second factor which reflected the second factor. Items such as pay and social standing loaded highly in
third factor. The first factor can be represented as work environment factor and the second factor can be grouped as
reward . The third factor can be characterised as a task satisfaction reward. These three factors explain the variance
of variables about 69.42 % of the total sample variance. This shows a better factor solution for the variables. A
Cronbach’s alpha reliability was also tested for the newly named factors to ensure that items consist of factors that
produce a reliable scale. The reliability scores obtained are: Work Environment ( = 0.80), Reward ( = 0.78). and
Task Satisfaction ( = 0.74). All the values are above 0.7 and this indicates the reliability of measurements.
Work Environment
Work Adjustment Reward
Task Satisfaction
Figure 1. The results show the reduction of data of three main factors.
10
The questionnaire required the respondents to answer in respect of adjustment of expatriates while abroad. As
mentioned earlier, nine related variables to work adjustment were selected. By using principal component in the
factor analysis, the items were reduced into three main factors that influence the Malaysian executive expatriates
overseas. The results showed, the variables that fell under work environment were tasks in the new position, position
at work, autonomy and management practices. The work environment and reward data have had a mean score
depicted as ‘adjusted’ for all the four variables. Interestingly the task satisfaction was ‘moderately adjusted’ where
the mean score is below 3.50 (refer to Table 3).
Table 3. Means and Standard Deviations of Work Adjustment
Factor Mean Factor Variables Mean SD
Work Environment 3.82 Tasks in the new post 4.12 .63

Position at work 3.89 .88
Management Practices 3.66 .98
Autonomy at work 3.61 .92
Reward 3.51 Pay 3.53 1.01
Social Standing 3.50 1.04
Task Satisfaction 3.47 Using skill in present job 3.94 1.04
Job Satisfaction 3.50 1.04
Promotion 2.98 1.05
Note: Mean of 1.0 to 1.49, not adjusted; 1.5-2.49, slightly adjusted; 2.5-3.49, moderately adjusted;
3.50-4.49, adjusted; 4.5-5.0, completely adjusted
4.1. Work Environment
As compared to reward and task satisfaction, work environment fell under ‘moderately adjusted’. Task
satisfaction was the most important element that influenced the work adjustment (mean=3. 82). Reward contributed
the mean score 3.51, followed by task satisfaction which contributed the mean score 3.47. This variable shows the
construction company selected suitable candidates for expatriate assignments. In addition, the executive expatriates
that accepted the overseas assignments were those who were highly skilled and experience.
The most important element that influenced the work adjustment was task in the new post (mean= 4.12).
Position at work (mean = 3.89) was considered the second most important element in the work environment,
reflecting on the expatriates’ ability to socialize with the local people in the host country. Following the
management practices of the host country (mean = 3.66) came third, autonomy at work (mean = 3.61) was fourth
and the fifth item was pay (mean=3. 61) All these variables can be considered as the main elements that influence
the work adjustment of Malaysian executive expatriates overseas. All items showed respondents have no difficulties
in the adaptation to work environment. The literature on expatriation also stresses the importance of adjustment
when being in a different culture (Lee & Cheng, 2008; Kim & Slocum, 2008). The findings contradicted by
previous studies, where such conditions do not apply to expatriate executives in the construction industry. They did
not face any problems in the work environment. According to Shaffer et al., (2006) emotional stability was
positively related to expatriate work adjustment.
4.2. Reward
The second factor of work adjustment was reward for expatriates. Two variables correlated with each other on a
matrix correlation. The variables were pay and social standing. The expatriate salary was the most important
element in reward (mean=3. 53). Social standing represented second most important (mean=3. 50). All these
variables are also depicted as ‘moderately unadjusted’. Social standing can be considered as close to ‘slightly
adjusted’. Both aspects such as salary and social standing also described moderate satisfaction in term of reward.
This suggests that consideration given by the company to the Malaysian executive is less. Such situation also led to
dissatisfaction among Malaysian expatriate executives. According to Bennett et al., (2000), reward is the main
11
factor that influences the development of intercultural competence. This will gear to a successful expatriate
adjustment in the new culture.
From the results, although the expatriates were paid highly during expatriation, they were ‘moderately adjusted’
to social services in host country because of the different cultures. From the literature, psychological comfort is
related to the cultural toughness that is defined as the difference between the expatriate’s home and host culture
(Shay and Baack, 2006). The research done by Tung (1987) showed that one of the main reasons for expatriate
failure is the inabilities of managers to adjust to the new environment. Therefore, the results show that the facilities
and social requirements during expatriation might influence the adjustment of expatriate executives overseas.
4.3 Task Satisfaction
The output data show three variables correlated with task satisfaction. The variables used were skill in the present
job, job satisfaction and promotion. The results showed the factor of task satisfaction with the mean score 3.47
(Min<3.50). Using skill in present job indicated the most important (mean=3.94) and job satisfaction was the second
most (mean=2.50). Both items explained as ‘moderately adjusted’, but close to ‘slightly adjusted’. This data
indirectly represent that the Malaysia expatriates were not satisfied when performing tasks. Though most of the
expatriates sent by the companies were experienced but they were still ‘slightly adjusted’ with the work environment
with host nationals.
The last item in reward was promotion. The mean score for this item is 2.98 (slightly adjusted). The findings
showed the expatriates have difficulties in promotion during assignment abroad. Past research by Caligiury.
Lazarova, Tarique and Zehetbauer (2001) indicated besides higher pay and competitive benefits other incentives
such as promotion should be taken into account by the construction employers. Many employees refuse to accept the
international assignment demands because they fear of being left out for promotion (Mezias & Scandura, 2008). The
results are parallel with the previous findings that showed that the element of promotion is the main thing that needs
to be considered.
5. Conclusion
Malaysian expatriates working abroad represent of the company which they come from. Preparation prior to
departure is required to cope with the new environment in that never faced before. The election of expatriate
executives does not only involve technical expertise but also non-technical aspects. Hence, the particular
international companies have to get support from the workers, especially the professionals who are assigned to work
overseas. The companies need to ensure that the chosen individuals are inclined to the overseas assignment and
always ready to meet challenges. Such individuals can only be nurtured if the companies have well-organized
expatriate development programmes, for the expatriates will be the prime mover who will ensure the success in the
operations of the multinational companies abroad.
When a worker is assigned to work in a host country, several things such as an incentive and psychological
aspect need to be considered before the assignment. Although the research found the expatriate executives were
moderately adjusted to the work satisfaction and reward but the task satisfaction was the element that has to be taken
into consideration. Although the assignment is temporary, its implication is big, such as moving family, children’s
education, different culture and environment. Working spouses with career and additional factors that needs be
taken into consideration include the need to resign, or to follow their spouse overseas. Prior knowledge and early
preparation will benefit an expatriate work adjustment overseas. In general, an expatriate is considered an outsider to
12
the host community. Hence, there is a need for an orientation of the expatriate candidates to ensure that their
entrusted responsibilities are well executed.
There are some constraints such as the respondent’s rate. Due to the low number of responses received from the
respondents, the possibility of potential biases of sampling exists in the study. In addition, feedback is difficult to
supervise due to the geographical distance of the respondents. Questionnaires were sent via email. The limitation
occurs when the respondent did not receive the questionnaire due to no email facility or invalid email address.
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17
Building Information Modeling (BIM): A New Paradigm for

Quality of Life within Architectural, Engineering and
Construction (AEC) Industry
R. Takim a, M.Harris a* A. H. Nawawi a

a
Centre of Postgraduate Studies, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam,40450 Malaysia
Abstract
The adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) constitutes a paradigm shift in the architectural, engineering and
construction (AEC) industry. Broader BIM adoption will transform construction processes to achieve greater efficiency to
improve the quality of life (QOL) of construction stakeholders. This paper seeks to identify determinant factors and
implementation gaps of BIM in the AEC industry. A case study was conducted through a preliminary workshop organised by
CIDB among the five potential stakeholders: Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit (UKAS), JARING, eMOST/ UMP,
Greenwave Synergy (GWS) and CIDB eConstruct (EC) of the AEC industry in Malaysia. The findings suggest various
determining factors and gaps existed at the national and organisational levels. Finally, the workshop suggested an ‘affordable
BIM concept’ with ‘pay-per-use or periodical license’ method to be adopted for SMEs contractors.
Keywords: Building Information Modeling (BIM), BIM influencing model, construction, technology, Affordable, BIM;
1. Introduction
Technology is changing and developing around the world at a rate and pace never experienced before. The
contribution of new technology to economic growth can only be realized when and if the new technology is widely
adopted and used. Adoption itself results from a series of individual decisions to begin using the new technology,
decisions which are often the result of a comparison between the uncertain benefits of the new invention and the
uncertain costs of adopting it (Parente and Prescott, 1994). The architecture, engineering and construction
(AEC) industry is often perceived as being slow in adopting technology, and was claimed to cling on to old business
models and processes for decades. Nevertheless, the AEC industry has several practical applications that facilitate
the technology, outsourcing and exchange of information within the industry, the roles of technology adopted are
important to sustain the quality of life (QOL) to mankind. For instance Computer aided design (CAD) or drafting is
a technology widely used by the AEC industry. CAD is a form of computer-aided building modulation that
architects, engineers and contractors use to create and view two-and three-dimensional models. The AEC industry
also uses building information modeling (BIM), a newer computerized modeling system that can create up to n-
dimensional models; this software can greatly increase productivity in the AEC industry. Hence, the task of AEC
industry is to be able to adopt and apply technologies in order to improve the quality and productivity of the industry
(Hassan, 2012).
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: harisdoc7@gmail.com
18
Much attention in the AEC industry today is focusing on Building Information Modeling
(BIM). CIDB (2013) defines BIM as modeling technology and associated set of processes to
produce, communicate and analyze digital information models for construction life-cycle. BIM is
now being increasingly used as an emerging technology to assist in conceiving, designing,
construction and operating the building in many countries (Wong et. al., 2009). It is recognized as a
new management technology that provides an integrated solution to operate businesses while improving the client
satisfaction to time, cost, safety, quality and functionality of construction projects. Meanwhile, there is a great
diversity in ideas about definitions on Quality of Life (QOL). Some perceive it as the
environment we live, the house and the air we breathe, while others describe it as safety and
security, health, wealth (employment), transport infrastructures, adequate building for housing,
schooling and recreation (Mercer, 2007). In general, QOL is a subjective matter that involves a
person’s emotional state and personal life. To achieve any of the perceive QOL, adoption of new
technology is inevitable.
This paper seeks to identify the key determinant factors and implementation gaps of BIM in the AEC
industry. A Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) developed by Davis (1989) posits that human feelings, behavior
and attitude are the trigger to begin adopting new technology. The study accesses the impact of perceive usefulness
and ease-of-use to the broader adoption of BIM which will ultimately contribute to the improvement of QOL in the
AEC industry.
2. Background
One of the Malaysian government agenda in the 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) is to
enhance business growth in the AEC industry (Pemandu, 2011). For this matter , the AEC organizations have
aggressively embraced new technology in order to remain competitive in the current market (Alshawi et.al. 2010).
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is one of the new emerging technologies to be deployed in the design,
construction, and facility management in which a digital representation of the building process is being created to
facilitate the exchange and interoperability of information in digital format. Despite the advantages derived from
this paradigm, local construction industry is reluctant to deploy the technology in its service delivery (Shuratman,
2012).
BIM methodology of practices has existed for over 30 years; it is only over the last few
years that the construction industry is aware that BIM promises to make the industry much more
streamlined and efficient (Arayici, et. al., 2012). BIM applications has grown tremendously,
from a tool to design in three dimensions and use of components, to a tool that is used for model
analysis, clash detection, product selection, and whole project conceptualization (Weygant,
2011). BIM is now being increasingly used as an emerging technology to assist in conceiving,
designing, construction and operating the building in many countries (Wong et.al. 2009). It is
providing itself as a very powerful tool that allows users to create visual simulation of a project
and provide a virtual prototype of a building prior to construction.
Despite the industry’s awareness of the potential of BIM, construction organisations are yet to utilise it
aggressively. According to Khosrowshahi and Arayici (2012) the UK construction sector is still facing slow
progressive changes in the BIM implementation. The probable reasons could be the difficulty to implement BIM,
adoption could incur higher additional project cost, require a comprehensive training, and majority of the designers
are still familiar in using AutoCAD in their design services instead of BIM, due to complexity of BIM software.
19
3. Methodology
The study starts with literature search which reviews the determining factors in the
adoption and implementation of BIM in the AEC industry. Further research has been carried out
through a workshop by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) to investigate the
determining factors and implementation gaps of BIM movement within the five potential
stakeholders: Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit (UKAS), JARING, eMOST/ UMP, Greenwave Synergy (GWS)
and CIDB eConstruct (EC) of the AEC industries in Malaysia. The data were processed by means of
content analysis techniques.
4. Determinant factors of Technology Acceptance
The determinant factors of technology acceptance could be divided into three parts; categories of technology
adoption; factors influencing the choice to adopt; and factors mediating technology implementation. These factors
will be discussed in turn.
4.1 Categories of technology adoption
The adoption of new technology usually begins prior to an official decision made by the organisations.
Most local and international organisations decide to adopt technology based on the benefits or competitive
advantage that they will gain through the push factors such as regulations, policy and industry standards (Abukhzam
and Lee, 2010). Similarly, in Malaysia, the AEC industry decides to regulate the technology implementation based
on economic demand, advantages and global competitiveness (Parente and Prescott, 1994; Hasan, 2012). In order
for the technology to be adopted conversantly, training and support in the use of the technology is inevitable due to
the complexity of its processes (Suebin and Gerdsri, 2009). In this regard, technology adoption could be categorised
into two levels: national and organisational/individual levels. At the national level, the adoption means the decision
at the ministry to mandate or regulate the use of technology throughout the whole nation. This will result in policy
making and development of national standards and enforcement acts. The organisational level is referring to the
decision made by the top management of the organisations based on the push factors or the competitive needs to be
champion in the respective area (Teng and Nelson, 1996). The organisational level could also include the
individual’s acceptance and motivation to accept changes and the ability to learn new ideas. This motivation and
ability to learn are hugely dependent on the ease-of-use of the technology and its usefulness to each individual.
Without the acceptance from the individuals, the organisation will not obtain any benefits from investing in new
technology (Suebin and Gerdsri, 2009).
4.2 Factors influencing the choice to adopt
When people are presented with new technology in the market, a number of factors influence their
decisions on how and when to use the technology (Majid et.al, 2011). These decisions are related to their
perceptions of the new technology through social communication but with fearful of changes (Suebin and Gerdsri,
2009). The use and adoption of new technology is a process that begins with awareness of the technology and
progresses through a series of stages that end in appropriate and effective usages. According to BTC (2005), factors
influencing the choice to adopt technology could be in five stages. These are: awareness, assessment, acceptance,
learning and usage. Awareness implies the knowledge gained by potential users through one's own perceptions or by
means of information about the technology, its benefits, and plan to investigate further; assessment is the potential
users’ evaluation on the usefulness, usability, difficulty in adopting the technology; acceptance means potential
users’ decision to acquire and use the technology, or decide not to adopt; learning is when users’ develop the skills
and knowledge to use the technology effectively; and finally, usage is when the users demonstrate the effective use
of the technology and conform of the adoption. Figure 1 shows TAM theory which employs the perception towards
technology usefulness and ease-of-use as determinant factors to technology adoption (Davis, 1989).
20
TAM theory starts with the exertion of external factors or external variables such as the stimulus from
political influence, regulation and implementation process as the push factors. While, the combination of perceived
usefulness and perceived ease-of-use will form the attitude and intention to use prior to full acceptance and actual
use of any new system or technology in the industry. Perceived usefulness is defined as the degree to which an
adopter believes the new technology would improve or enhance job performance, meanwhile perceived ease-of-use
refers to the users perception of the minimum effort required for the use of new technology. Venkatesh and Davis
(2000) developed the extended model of TAM called TAM2 by including social influence and cognitive
instrumental processes into the equation. TAM3 is later being established by Venkatesh (2012) as an extended
version of TAM2. However, the models are consistent with the basic TAM theory which defines perceived
usefulness and perceived ease-of-use as key predictors of technology acceptance within the AEC industry.
Figure 1: Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989)
4.3 Mediating factors to technology implementation
Studies have demonstrated that the issue of technology adoption is very complex. Upon the analysis to
begin accepting and the decision to adopt, the readiness of the organisations in respect to the product, process, and
people is sought (Gu and London, 2010). Product refers to the capability and complexity of the selected system to
fulfil the users’ requirements; process means the necessity to revisit current work processes that require changes or
otherwise; while people refers to users and top management awareness, involvement, sufficient training and
sufficient support. These are mediating factors to technology implementation within the organisations
(Khosrowshahi and Arayici, 2012). Figure 2 illustrates the general process flow of new technology adoption and
implementation in the AEC industry.
Upon the incursion of technology into the nation, the benefits, competitive-advantage and championship
will be evaluated. In the event of no benefit or advantage is found there will be a no buy-in of the technology at the
national level. Meanwhile, the regulation, policy, enforcement and awareness programs will subsequently emanated
when the entire process of developing and managing could be beneficial to the nations. In this figure, two gaps of
BIM adoption in the Malaysia’s AEC industry are predicted. Gap 1 is to ensure the acceptance of BIM at the
national level. This means to say that there is a considerable attention to the benefits, competitive advantage and
championship being paid to the adoption of BIM technology prior accepting it for the National agenda (CIDB,
2013). The Gap 2; however is to ensure the internal aspect of organisational/individual acceptance or rejection prior
the implementation. Gap 2 is divided into two parts; private and public organisations. Private organisations are
referring to companies run by private entity or individuals. It encompasses businesses that are not owned by the
government. Nevertheless, it may have a business associated with the government by which regulation and policies
is exerts. On the other hand, public organisation means a portion of industry managed by national or state
government through several respective organisations controlled by the government.
21
TECHNOLOGY
NATION
Negative N Determinant Factors

Impact O Benefit,
Competitive Advantage,
Championship
GAP 1
YES
Private Organisation Awareness, Regulate,

Policy, Enforcement
N Negative Public Organisation

Usefulness and O Impact
Ease of use Negative
Influence
N
O
Usefulness and
YES Ease of use
GAP 2
YES
Implementation Process
(Evaluation of Product, Process, People)
Figure 2: General process flow of new technology adoption and implementation in the AEC industry (CIDB, 2013).
The usefulness and ease-of-use in implementing new technology would influence the adoption decisions at
both parts (private and public organisations). In the event there is no usefulness or ease-of-use found by the private
organisations, a negative influence will be asserted to the public organisations which ultimately impact the
awareness program, regulation, policy and enforcement of the new technology. Gap 2 is associated to the three vital
factors: BIM could increase clarity of project to all stakeholders for better decision making and reducing risk;
ensuring data fidelity and continuity across project lifecycle; and providing critical foundation to business agility.
Implementing BIM on public and private projects could be done in planning, design, delivery and operational areas.
In Malaysia, architects are the chief consultants in the AEC industry but they do not seem to actively drive the BIM
movements (RISM, 2013). The reason could be due to the limited access to capital, naïve and incapable in the
system. Among others, RISM has initiated several BIM committees within the AEC industry, while the Public
Works Department (JKR) has started to use BIM for selected projects. Nevertheless, the Malaysian Construction
22
Industry Development Board (CIDB) had formed a National Steering Committee of BIM for Malaysia Construction
Industry to fill the Gap 2 (CIDB, 2013). The initial initiative is through a series of workshops with the purpose to
discover technical limitations in the implementation of affordable BIM with centralised storage within government
agencies and product vendors in Malaysia.
5. Case Study
A case study was conducted through a preliminary workshop organised by CIDB in January 2013. It
brought together five potential stakeholders: Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit (UKAS), JARING, eMOST/
UMP, Greenwave Synergy (GWS) and CIDB eConstruct (EC). UKAS acts as the main stakeholder who will
enforce the usage of BIM by contractors; JARING as the infrastructure-as-a-service (IAAS) provider; eMOST/UMP
represents BIMs process adviser; while the GWS and EC represent the BIM product vendors to advice on system
limitations and developing the ‘affordable BIM’ platform. The purpose of this workshop is to discover the factors
influencing the choice to adopt BIM in AEC industry. The outcomes of this workshop are tabulated in Table 1.
Table 1: Factors and implementation gaps influencing the adoption of BIM in EAC industry
CIDB UKAS eMOST/UMP GWS (Vendor) EC (vendor)
Determining Perceived usefulness Economic demand Technical support Product limitation Product limitation
factors Ease of use People acceptance Process change Product Product
Championship interoperability interoperability
Implementation BIMs as multi- 1. Small and Medium 1. Specialized Plan to propose Plan to propose
Gaps representational, (SMEs) companies training is required affordable BIM affordable BIM
multi-dimensional and are reluctant to use for BIM among PPP concept in the concept in the
integration of BIM due to the contractors. PPP next workshop next workshop
information carried expensive cost of contractors are to
out for project software and could appoint BIM
implementation. increase the total manager to
amount of project coordinate the
cost. training and estimate
2. PPP Contractor the cost incurred.
transfers the cost in
implementing BIM
onto the Government,
defeating the idea of
cost saving.
Suggestion To explore on the The concept of Specialised training Majority of To suggest a

platform of pay-per- periodical license to be embedded software special discount
use method or may benefit the PPP To propose process companies are for those who
periodical license, contractors and change not ready on the want to
where SMEs able to SMEs in which they method of pay- implement BIM,
utilized during their are able to implement per-use but will registered through
short tenancy in the BIM without try to explore CIDB portal
project. incurring additional further
cost onto the project
Conclusion The workshop suggested an ‘affordable BIM concept’ with ‘pay-per-use or periodical license’ method
to be adopted for SMEs contractors.
According to CIDB, there is a need to facilitate the whole AEC industries in order to effectively implement
BIM. Despite the comprehensive understanding on the usefulness of BIM, the AEC industries need to have easy
access and ease-of-use on the use of BIM for their projects. Hence the concept of pay-per-use or periodical license
was suggested that need to be explored further. Meanwhile, UKAS describe that BIM could incur higher project
23
cost since the software is expensive to purchase and implemented. For that matter, cost is the biggest obstacles to
effectively implement BIM to projects in particular among small and medium (SMEs) companies of sub-contractors
and suppliers. Moreover, for a small contract value (i.e., less than RM 1 million), it is difficult for them to
implement BIM for their projects. The concept of periodical license was suggested to support the implementation of
BIM in the PPP projects.
On the other hand, eMOST /UMP suggest conducting a specialized training of BIM among PPP
contractors. Through a comprehensive training, the usefulness and ease-of-use in using BIM could be discovered.
Despite BIM training could incur a substantial cost for the project at the early stage, the overall cost saving could be
realized in the long run. The eMOST/UMP has asserted that, the cost saving throughout the project life-cycle will
outweighed the up-front additional cost of implementing BIM in the construction projects. To BIM product vendors,
the GWS and EC; an ‘affordable BIM concept’ is suggested for further discussion. The workshop has derived two
important action plans: the first is to explore the possibility of providing a pilot BIM pay-per-use concept for Public
Private Partnership (UKAS) projects; and the second is to investigate further the concept of ‘affordable BIM’ to be
implemented for SMEs projects.
6. Conclusion
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the use of computer generated model to simulate the planning,
design, construction and operation of a facility; a technology that allows users to create visual simulation of a
project with a digital prototype of a building prior to construction. The deployment of BIM in construction can
make the industry more efficient, effective, flexible, and innovative. Based on the literature search and data from the
preliminary workshop, it can be deduced that three (3) vital determining factors in adopting BIM at the national
level are: regulation, policy & industry standards; benefit, competitive advantage & championship; and economic
demand in the AEC industry within the perceptions of perceived usefulness and ease-of-use. To ensure the
acceptance of BIM (G1) by the Government is the fundamental gap that exists at this level. Meanwhile five (5) vital
determining factors captured in adopting and implementing BIM at the organisational level are: clarity of the
project; fidelity and continuity across project lifecycle; business agility; training and support; and cost of
implementation within the perceptions of perceived usefulness and ease-of-use. Once again the acceptance or
rejection (G2) by public and private organisations is the essential gap at this level.
The workshop held by CIDB has suggested an ‘affordable BIM concept’ to be explored with the method of
‘pay-per-use or periodical license’ for SMEs contractors. The purpose is to investigate further that expensive cost
of implementing BIM could give a negative impact on the ease-of-use of BIM in the AEC industry. Nevertheless,
this concept will require further discussion and brainstorming in the future workshops.
7. Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution and assistance of the CIDB in providing all the relevant
and necessary publications related to the topic. The author would also like to thank the BIM Steering Committee
members for being very cooperative, attentive and supportive to the industry players and the academia in pursuing
the Building Information Modelling (BIM) agenda in Malaysia.
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26
Energy Efficiency Architecture in Certified Green Building,

Malaysia Energy Commission Headquarters, Putrajaya
(Diamond Building)
I. B. Zakariaa,3*, N. Ahzahar a, M. M. Baharia
a
Department of Building Surveying, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, UiTM Cawangan Perak
Abstract
Building as they are designed and used today, contribute to serious environmental problems because of excessive consumption of
energy. However, buildings can be designed to meet occupant’s need for thermal and visual comfort at reduced levels energy
consumption. With the development of green technology leading to sustainable development, energy efficiency was high on the
list of priorities for the approach to sustainable design. This study was conducted to explore and disseminate knowledge on the
current energy efficiency elements which has been implemented at Diamond Building of Malaysia Energy Commission
Headquarters, Putrajaya which is the first office building in Malaysia to obtain Green Building Index platinum rating. From the
studies done, passive design that affect energy savings in buildings is composed of the design of the building itself, windows
design, roof lights, atrium design, the orientation of building and sunken garden. This passive design information will assist
tailoring the mechanical design system in future.
Keywords: Sustainable development; green building; green building index; energy efficiency; passive design
1. Introduction
Buildings are energy hogs. About 35- 40 percent of all worlds’ energy goes into the operations of homes, offices,
and factories (Nicholas, 2008; Milne et al., 2006). Each type of building will have a different pattern of energy
consumption throughout each day and throughout the year.
Figure 1: Breakdown of air conditioned office energy consumption

(Source: The Green Building Bible, 2008)
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 05 3742289; fax: 053742244.

E-mail address: intan602@perak.uitm.edu.my.
27
According to Nicholas (2008), there are many factors affecting energy consumption in the building. These include:
a) Building type
Buildings enclose a wide range of human activity such as places of education, work or living. The different
between each type of building is the physical size, specifically areas and volumes.
b) Building fabric
One role of the building fabric is to protect the occupants from the discomfort of the external environment.
Thermal insulation, thermal mass, air tightness all have an effect on energy consumption.
c) Building services
It is reported in United States energy consumption survey, buildings are the main cause of global warming that
represent 48 percent (Lechner, 2008). Of that 48 percent, about 40 percent is for operating the building (heating,
cooling, lighting, etc.).
d) Load on the services

The main factor, making the operation of energy consuming services necessary, is the variation in external
climate. This could be too hot, requiring cooling or too cold, requiring heating.
e) Human behaviour
When humans interact with the building services they can modify the amount of energy used by them but
sometimes when working in the office the services are often controlled centrally, with no accessible manual
controls.
Building as they are designed and used today, contribute to serious environmental problems because of excessive
consumption of energy. However, buildings can be designed to meet occupant’s need for thermal and visual comfort
at reduced levels energy consumption (Majumdar, 2002). According to Mustapa (2010), studies in Malaysia showed
that the electricity consumption of buildings in the country was around 250 to 350 kilowatt-hours per square metre
each year. But, when applying the green building concept, this will be reduced up to 200 kilowatt-hours per square
metre each year. Energy resource efficiency in new constructions can be effected by adopting an integrate approach
to building design.
2. Problem Statement
Chor (2011) said approximately 200 building were registered under GBI but only three building that has fulfil the
criteria of Green Building. As a successful application for certification is low, it is necessary to study the
characteristics found in the building that was certified as Green Building. Building will be awarded the GBI rating
based on 6 key criteria and energy efficiency is under components number one (1) and represents the highest marks
(35 marks). The highest points allocated in the GBI for energy efficiency shows how serious the industry and the
Government are in encouraging green technology in Malaysia. Based on this critical criterion, Malaysia Energy
Commission Headquarters, Putrajaya was chosen to be a case study.
3. Research Objectives
The research objectives of this study are:
i) To identify passive design concept implemented in green building.
ii) To explore on the current energy efficiency architecture elements of Malaysia Energy Commission Headquarters,
Putrajaya
28
4. Research Methodology
In general, the data collected for this study consists of relative information that was synthesized and featured
as literature review of green building. The second stage is to conduct a visit and interview with the key personnel in
the selected building. Photographs were taken in order to capture the energy efficiency design and element of the
building. All the information gathered was processed, categorized and synthesized to ensure all compiled data were
relevant to the research.
In general, green building is structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated or reused in resource efficient
manner. The term actually is to inform that we need to sustain our environment clean and fresh so that we able to get
better life and improve productivity. The introduction of green building is a step to sustain the environment, to save
resources, to maintain the earth and to fully utilize efficiently the resources.
The difference between green buildings with other typical building is the design and requirement that has
underline certain standard and criteria to be followed. Typical buildings consume more of our resources than
necessary and generate large amounts of waste (Chen, 2009). There are objective underlines by implements green
building such as to fully utilize the resources efficiently, to create building that environmental friendly, to reduce
energy consume and cost, to reuse and recycle the resource into daily use and to minimize the emission of carbon.
Green buildings not only give commercial benefits, but also come with social and environmental advantages,
means that green buildings have tangible and intangible benefits (Trivita & Abhishek, 2008) such as:-
1. It can save energy and resources, recycle material and minimize the emission of toxic substances
throughout its life cycle.
2. It harmonizes with the local climate, traditions, culture and the surrounding environment.
3. It able to sustain and improve the quality of human life whilst maintaining the capacity of ecosystem at
local and global levels.
4. It can increase work productivity and make efficient use of resources. Studies of workers in Green business
premises have reportedly shown increases in productivity by up to 16%, inclusive of reductions in
absenteeism and improved quality of work (The Ingenieur, 2011).
These benefits was confirmed through international research which shows and confirmed that green building
consume 26% less energy than the average commercial building and generate 33% less than greenhouse gas
emission. (Green Building Council Australia, 2007). According to Ghodrati, et al.(2012), in order to achieve the
sustainable development, each country has designed and launched appropriate policies and standards, for example
provide direct payment, tax incentives or other subsides to the customers who purchased green homes or implement
energy efficient products which match with current standards. In Malaysia, together with the launch of Green
Building Index, the Government introduced tax incentives for GBI-certified buildings in Budget 2010 to encourage
the construction of buildings using green technology (Price Water House Cooper, 2010).
In Malaysia, the Green Building Index was officially launched on 21 May 2009. The GBI was developed by
Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM / Malaysian Institute of Architects) and Association of Consulting Engineers
Malaysia (ACEM). It is a profession-driven initiative to lead the Malaysian property industry toward becoming
more environmentally friendly. It is a benchmarking rating system incorporates internationally recognized best
practices in environmental design and performance, which similar to Building Research Establishment
Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) in UK, Leadership in Energy and Design (LEED) in US, Green
Mark in Singapore and Green Star in Australia (Kubba,2010)
GBI was introduced in Malaysia with content consisting of two (2) sections which are GBI rating system and GBI rating
tools. The GBI rating system consists of six (6) main criteria which are: Energy Efficiency, Indoor Environment Quality, Sustainable Site
Planning & Management, Materials & Resources, Water Efficiency, and Innovation. These six criteria will be evaluated in the GBI
rating tools of building classification which consists of Non -Residential New Construction (NRNC), Residential New
29
Construction (RNC), Non - Residential Existing Building (NREB), Industrial New Construction (INC) and Industrial Existing Building (IEB).
Rating tools assessment will lead to green building award certification.
Table 1 GBI Criteria And Scoring For Non Residential-New Construction Building
PART ITEM MAXIMUM POINT
1 Energy Efficiency 35
2 Indoor Environmental Quality 21
3 Sustainable Site Planning & 16
Management
4 Material & Resources 11
5 Water Efficiency 10
6 Innovation 7
TOTAL SCORE 100
The buildings will be assessed according to six criteria scored on and scores will be added up and the building
will get an award certification based on the categories below:
Table 2 GBI Total Scores And Clasification Award For Non Residential-New Construction Building
POINTS GBI RATING
86+ Platinum
76-85 Gold
66-75 Silver
50-65 Certified
The City of Vancouver defines passive design as “an approach to building design that uses building architecture to
minimize energy consumption and improve thermal comfort” (Gonzalo & Habermann, 2006). This relatively
straightforward notion has fallen out of practice where inexpensive energy has encouraged the use of mechanical
systems instead of passive techniques. The cost of implementing passive design is relatively inexpensive, yet the
energy savings can be significant. Passive strategies are proactive and mechanical systems are reactive (The
Ingenieur, 2011).
The basic passive design is composed of the optimal use of natural lights, the building must have a well-insulated
envelope to perform well in terms of energy efficiency, cooling buildings using sun shading devices, circulating
fresh air from the outdoors by passive means, to include building design orientation relationship between the path of
the sun and a building's form and sun shading installation (Gonzalo & Habermann, 2006).
Energy efficiency was high on the list of priorities for the approach to sustainable design. As such, architects,
mechanical engineers and envelope and sustainability consultants became involved in establishing these principles
at the outset of design. Instead of tailoring the mechanical design to meet the energy-efficiency goals, the team used
passive design to greatly reduce building energy requirements before even considering mechanical systems. Once
the baseline energy loads were established, mechanical comfort control systems could be sized appropriately. The
building cost also can transfer from mechanical to architectural (Adiwoso, 2010).
30
Figure 2: Cost transfer between elements of normal building to green building

(Source: WRI Report 2010)
6. The Case Study: Diamond Building of Malaysia Energy Commission Headquarters, Putrajaya
Beginning from the National Green Technology Policy launched by the Prime Minister on 24th July 2009, some
of the efforts in that direction is the initiative to transform the Putrajaya and Cyberjaya as the Green township where
targeted saving of 10% on the usage of energy and water among the Government buildings in Putrajaya (Malaysian
Productiviti Corporation,2010) . Thus, the construction of diamond building is seen in line with the government's
efforts.
The Diamond Building is located at Lot 2C15 Precint 2, Putrajaya. Malaysian local firm NR Architect was
involved in the design of the building in association with Thai architect Dr Soontom Boonyatikam as the principal
architect and IEN Consultants as the sustainability consultant. This building was constructed on 13 September 2007
and was completed by 15 March 2010. The building consists of 8 storeys level plus with 1.5 storey basement
parking. The Diamond Building carries a Platinum Certificate from Malaysia’s Green Building Index (GBI) with
total score 88 points and Singapore’s Green Mark. These are the green building rating bodies in Malaysia and
Singapore, respectively, similar to the Philippine Green Building Initiative or PGBI ( Jesus, 2013). The building is
designed with a building energy index (BEI) of 85 kWh/m2/year at annual operation of 2,800 hours—a 65-percent
reduction in energy consumption compared to a typical building office in Malaysia with an average BEI of 210
kWh/m2/year. At present, the Diamond Building’s average BEI is at 65 kWh/m2 per year. Diamond Building has
implemented the green technology through both passive and active approach.
31
Figure 3: The Diamond Building, Putrajaya

(Source : ST Diamond Building, 2012)
A. 7.0 Finding Analysis
Passive green architecture is simple but scientifically intelligent that ensures a minimal impact of the
environment, as well as allowing it to maximise the benefits it can gain from natural conditions (The Ingenieur,
2011). At Diamond Building, several passive green approaches have been used such as listed below:
7.1Design Strategy
The diamond design was selected for its philosophical and practical values and to conceptualize an iconic office
building. The building design was combination of circle and square shape for concept plan and for elevation concept
by affiliation of triangle and square shape. The unique shape represents an optimum passive design approach to
achieve energy efficiency.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7) Figure 4 : Conceptual design of Diamond Building Figure 5 : Concept plan and elevation of Diamond
Building
8) (Source: Concept Presentation of Energy Commission Headquarters) (Source: Concept Presentation of Energy Commission
Headquarters)
9) 7.2Day lighting
Natural day lighting is a key factor in the architectural design of a space and promotes the visual comfort of the user
where it reduces the need for electric lighting and contributes to bright and productive indoor environments. The
selection, size and placement of windows will determine the level of natural day lighting in a room. There are three
techniques used in Diamond Building to optimize daylight utilization by using window /tilting façade, roof light and
atrium.
32
7.2.1 Window / tilting façade

The façade day lighting system consists of a mirror light shelf and a white painted window sill. Both deflect daylight
onto the white ceiling for improved daylight distribution until 5 meters from the façade. Fixed white louvers with
top surface mirror finish on the top side are mounted with a 30° tilt angle above the light shelf for glare protection
while still allowing daylight to be deflected on to the ceiling.
Figure 6 : Diffuse light deflected into room by light shelf Figure 7 : Daylight reflected onto ceiling at meeting room
and window sill
7.2.2 Roof light
Roof light trough is located at the roof top of this building. It consists of five panel window glass. The indirect
daylight drawn into the roof light trough and direct to the space below with some reflection. This room space almost
10% uses the natural lighting that receives from the light trough. The roof light provides a better sunray to building
occupants. It also reduce the electrical lighting almost 40% at this level.
Figure 8 : Roof light trough at the roof top Figure 9 : Indirect daylight drawn into the roof light
trough to the space below
(Source : ST Diamond Building, 2012
33
Figure 10: Lounge area at level 7 Figure 11: Daylight skylight through roof
7.2.3 Atrium
An atrium built at the centre of the building plays the important roles for this building for example provide sufficient
natural lighting for each building floor such as for office zone, corridor walkways and other building space. The
daylight improves the quality of the indoor environment and indirectly natural lighting substitute artificial lighting.
The crown of the atrium is a ‘diamond dome’ skylight made from laminated tempered glass. The sensors placed
under the glazing detect how much light is to be allowed and activate the blinds appropriately. The windows that
face the atrium gradually increase in size from the upper floors down to the lower floors where there is less sunlight.
Figure 12 : Atrium daylight Figure 13 : Inside view at atrium

34
7.3 Orientation
Orientation, layout and location on site will all influence the amount of sun a building receives. The unique shape of
the Diamond Building was designed according to the climate and solar path of equatorial Malaysia as to maximize
the use of natural lighting. The 25° tilt angle of the facades ensures that North and South facades are fully self-
shaded during the hottest mid day hours which were also applied to the East and West façades. The solar exposure
on the east and west sides is reduced by about 40%, thus there is only diffused sunlight which is softer.
Figure 14 : The 25° tilt angle of the facades Figure 15 : The tilting facade allows self shading for the lower
(Source: Concept Presentation of Energy Commission Headquarters) floor
7.4 Sunken Garden
The tilting façade results in a smaller building footprint which allows for more landscape areas around the building
as a heat sink (Ahmed, 2008). The sunken garden reduces the heat gain in the building as the ambient temperature
around the building is greener and therefore cooler. The shape of the building allows for a bigger area on the ground
for greenery, while the larger roof area provides space for solar panels.
Figure 16: The uses of landscape area to reduce the direct sun rays Figure 17: Natural lighting at basement area
35
8. Conclusion
The building design concept that inspired by diamond shape itself contributes to the overall energy saving to the
building. This design encourages maximum acceptance of natural lighting to the building and promote the visual
comfort of the user. Atrium design as an axis of the building where the roof automated blind operation is controlled
by the mechanical application helps to get natural lighting from the top and is reflected on the ground floor of the
building. The facade is integrated with internal light shelves to direct natural daylight deep into the office space
whilst the glazing is specially coated with low-energy coating to address the heat. The tilted glazing admits more of
the desirable diffuse light reflected off the landscape for glare free day lighting. Optimizing the distribution of
daylight saves energy and reduces the heat generated by artificial lighting.
With application of passive green architecture in this building that lead to cost savings of electricity should be
able to open the eyes of public to try to apply these techniques in their building construction. Indirectly, public
awareness on the importance of energy conservation can be improved in line with the government‘s agenda.
Hopefully in the future, the community will adopt a green culture and leave a 'green' Malaysia for the next
generations.
References
Adiwoso, N. (2010) Towards Indonesia’s Sustainable Future through Sustainable Building and Construction.
Conference on Sustainable Building South Asia, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). 4-6 May 2010.
Ahmed, A. Z. (2008) Integrating Sustainable Energy in Buildings : A Case Study in Malaysia. FAU Conference,
Copenhagen, Denmark. 14-15 May 2008.
Chen, T.L (2009). Technical Paper: Green Building Index Malaysia. Berita ENSEARCH. Q 3 2009. Retrieved
January 2013, from http://www.ensearch.org/OLD_SITE/download/berita/BERITA%20Q3%202009.pdf
Chor , C.H (2011, Oct 4) Berita Harian .
Ghodrati,N., Samar, M. & Mohd Shafiei, M.W. (2012).Investigation on Government Financial Incentives to
Simulate Green Homes Purchase .World Applied Sciences Journal , 20 (6),832-84.
Gonzalo, R., & Habermann, K.J. (2006) Energy-Efficient Architecture, Basics For Planning and
Construction.Munich: Birkhauser.
Green Building Council Australia (2012) Why Choose Green Star. Retrieved January 2013, from
http://www.gbca.org.au/uploads/91/2139/GBCA012%20Green%20Benefits130510.pdf.
Hall, K. (2011). The Green Building Bible Volume 1 (4rd ed.) United Kingdom:Green Building Press.
Jesus, A. (2013, June 28). Malaysia’s Diamond Building wins Asean Energy Awards.Green Architrends Online.
Krishnan, A., Baker, kaN., Yannas, S., & Szokolay, S.V. (2001).Climate Responsive Architecture-A Design
Handbook for Energy Efficient Building, McGraw Hill: New York.
Kubra, S. (2010). Green Construction Project Management And Cost Oversight. United State :Elsevier.
Malaysia Productiviti Corporation (2010).Sustainable Development Initiatives in Malaysia. Selangor:Malaysia

Productiviti Corporation.
Majumdar, M.(2002). Energy Efficienct Building in India.India: Thomson Press (India) Limited.
36
Mustapa. (2010, May 3). Govenment Encourages Green Building Concept. Bernama Online.
Murray, M., Gomez, C.F & Epailly. (2006). Picturing The Hidden Environmental Benefits Of Passive Building
Design Decisions. Retrieved January 2013, from http://www.energy-design-tools.aud.ucla.edu/papers/ASES-
96.pdf
Price Water Cooper. (2010).Green Tax Incentives For A Sustainable Malaysia. PWC Alert Issue No. 86 October
2010.RetrievedJanuary 2013, from
http://services.eumcci.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=16&Itemid=
Reimann, G. (2012). ST Diamond Building – Sustainable by Integrated Design. Conference . Singapore. 12-14
December 2012
The Ingenieur. (2011). Building Up Green : The Sustainable Way. Vol 50. Jun 2011-Aug 2011. Board Of Engineers
Malaysia.
Trivita, R. & Abhishek, K.G. (2008). Greenomics:Cost Efficiency of Green Buildings in India. Jones Lang LaSalle
Meghraj Research. Retrieved January 2013, from
http://www.joneslanglasalle.com/ResearchLevel1/research_greenomics_cost_efficiency_of_green.
Watson, D. & Labs, K. (1983). Climatic Building Design, Energy-Efficiency Building Principles and Practice.
McGraw Hill: New York.
37
Pembangunan Kerangka Teori Punca Kelewatandalam Projek

Binaan Berdasarkan Sistem Produktiviti
M. A. Khoirya*, N. Hamzaha, N.M Tawilb, W.H.W. Badaruzzamana, I. Arshada.
a
Jabataan Kejuruteraan Awam & Struktur, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, 43600 Malaysia
b
Jabataan Senibina, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia, Bangi, 43600 Malaysia
Abstrak
Kelewatan dalam pembinaan merupakan perkara biasa dalam projek pembinaan di seluruh dunia. Ramai penyelidik berusaha
mendapatkan punca-punca kelewatan bagi mengurangkan kebarangkalian kelewatan untuk berlaku. Kajian ini membentangkan
kerangka teori kelewatan dengan menggunakan Sistem Konversi Terbuka Drewin (SKTD) bagi mendapatkan kategori kelewatan
yang holistik. Kajian mendapati faktor input, faktor persekitaran dalaman dan faktor luar merupakan tiga kategori kelewatan
utama dan setiap daripadanya dipecahkan kepada beberapa konstuk. Komunikasi yang kurang berkesan yang berada dalam
kategori faktor persekitaran dalaman dikenal pasti menjadi punca kelewatan yang mendapat perhatian kebelakangan ini oleh
penyelidik. Kerangka teori kelewatan ini diharapkan memudahkan para penyelidik di seluruh dunia bagi mendapatkan punca
kelewatan dalam kerja pembinaan.
Keywords:kerangka teori kelewatan, kelewatan dalam pembinaan, Sistem Konversi Terbuka Drewin
1. Pengenalan
Kejuruteraan dan pengurusan adalah dua elemen yang penting untuk mencapai kejayaan, kata penyumbang dana
Maurice Lubbock Memorial Fund di Universiti Oxford. Maurice Lubbock, 1957 mempercayai dua idea yang hebat
membawa kepada kejayaan kepada industri British yang mampu mengetuai dunia iaitu kejuruteraan yang
merupakan kekuatan utama dan pengurusan yang cemerlang. Ini terbukti dengan kejayaan projek pembinaan
bertaraf dunia, iaitu projek sukan terbesar di Britain iaitu projek pembinaan Olimpik dan Paralimpik London 2012
yang bernilai multibillion pound Britain kata Howard Shiplee, Pengarah Pembinaan Olympic Delivery Authority
(ODE) dalam syarahan beliau di Maurice Lubbock Memorial Lectures 2012(Williams, 2012).
Ke arah mencapai status negara maju, peranan yang penting dalam industri pembinaan dalam merealisasikan
aspirasi tidak dapat dinafikan lagi.Industri pembinaan boleh dianggap sebagai industri yang produktif di Malaysia
sehingga kini. Industri pembinaan di negara ini telah bermula sebelum negara mencapai kemerdekaan.Kerajaan atau
pentadbiran sesebuah negara bertanggungjawab memastikan kesejahteraan hidup setiap rakyat, maka setiap rakyat,
dapat menikmati kualiti hidup yang minimum untuk membolehkan mereka mengekalkan maruah diri, menikmati
kebebasan yang sebenar dan membangunkan kerohanian masing-masing(Wan Abdul Aziz bin Wan Abdullah,
2004).
Pembinaan merupakan proses yang terdiri daripada pemasangan bangunan dan/atau pembangunan infrastruktur
(Alnaser & Flanagan, 2007). Sesebuah projek pembinaan terdiri daripada pelbagai aktiviti dalam satu masa(Menesi,
2007). Dalam pembinaan pelbagai perkara di luar jangkaan sering berlaku dan mengganggu perjalanan projek
pembinaan. Istilah “lewat” ialah perkara atau peristiwayang menyebabkan lanjutan kepada tempoh masa atau
kelewatan kepada aktiviti dalam sesebuah projek binaan(Braimah, 2008).Kelewatan merupakan isu biasa dalam
projek pembinaan di seluruh dunia (Ahmed, Salman, & Kappagantula, 2003).
Industri pembinaan sering dirujuk sebagai industri yang mempunyai risiko yang tinggi dan pelbagai
ketidakpastian yang wujud berbanding industri lain(Acharya, Lee, Kim, Lee, & Kim, 2006).Kesan kelewatan akan
memberikan tekanan kepada pihak perlaksanaan projek pembinaan, terutama kontraktor. Apabila sesebuah projek
mengalami kelewatan, pihak kontraktor akan mempercepatkan atau menambah peruntukan masa yang telah
38
ditetapkan(Dayang Sabarian Safri, 2009). Sering kali isu kelewatan mendapat perhatian oleh para penyelidik di
seluruh dunia seolah-olah menggambarkan isu ini tidakberpenghujung.
2. Objektif
Penentuan punca kelewatan adalah penting bagi meminimumkan kelewatan yang berlaku dalam kerja-kerja
pembinaan. Bagi mendapatkan punca-punca kelewatan dalam pembinaan,penyelidik akan menggunakan kajian
lepas sebagai rujukan bagi mendapatkan punca-punca kelewatan di seluruh dunia. Objektif kajian adalah untuk
menghasilkan kerangka teori punca kelewatan dalam projek pembinaan. Kerangka teori merupakan asas panduan
reka bentuk sesuatu kajian. Oleh itu kajian akan menghasilkan kerangka teori punca kelewatan dalam pembinaan
berdasarkan kajian-kajian lepas.
3. Kajian Literatur
Pelbagai kajian kelewatan yang telah dihasilkan oleh penyelidik di seluruh dunia. Beberapa kajian lepas telah
dipilih bagi dimuatkan sebagai rujukan kajian ini.Pertama ialah kajian perbandingan punca kelewatan dalam
pengurusan pembinaan hospitaldi Libya dan United Kingdom daripada Greenwood, Osborne, & Aggiag (2001).
Penyelidik menggunakan kajian kes sebagai kaedah mengenal pasti punca kelewatan dalam pembinaan, berbeza
dengan kajian yang dilaporkan sebelum ini yang menggunakan kaedah soal selidik. Kajian ini mengkategorikan
kumpulan kelewatan kepada primer dan sekunder.Kategori primer terdiri daripada kelewatan yang berpunca
daripada pengurusan, kewangan dan teknikal manakala kategori sekunder ialah gabungan dua atau lebih punca
kelewatan daripada kategori pertama. Kajian ini dilakukan bagi mengukur sejauh mana cabaran pembinaan dalam
pembinaan hospital.
Kedua ialah kajian kelewatan ke atas projek binaan yang mengamalkan Bina-Kendali-Pindah atau BOT di
Taiwan. Kajian yang dilakukan oleh Yang, Yang, & Kao (2010)mengenal pasti punca kelewatan berdasarkan
peringkat-peringkat pembinaan. Kategorinya kelewatan terdiri daripada (i) kajian kemungkinan dan pelan awal, (ii)
pengumuman dan penyerahan permohonan, (iii) penilaian dan pemilihan (iv) perundingan dan tandatangan
perjanjian (v) reka bentuk (vi) pembinaan (vii) operasi dan (viii) pemindahan. Keputusan kajian ini menyatakan
kelewatan dalam pembinaan BOT adalah daripada kategori “perundingan dan tandatangan perjanjian” yang terdiri
daripada perancangan kontrak yang tidak wajar, masalah hutang dan ketidakpastian mengenai isu-isu politik dan
kerajaan.
Shaikh, Muree, & Soomro (2010) melakukan kajian kelewatan bagi mendapatkan model matematik untuk
mengenal pasti punca kelewatan dalam pembinaan. Punca-punca kelewatan dikenal pasti daripada masalah yang
berlaku dalam pembinaan. Kajian beliau memecahkan punca kelewatan dalam empat kategori iaitu masalah
pemilik, masalah kontraktor, masalah am dan masalah sumber. Penyelidik menyatakan bagi meminimumkan
masalah kelewatan dalam pembinaan, pengenalpastian punca kelewatan, kesimpulan dan cadangan perlu dilakukan
sebaik mungkin.
Seterusnya Hamzah, Khoiry, Arshad, Tawil, & Che Ani (2011) memecahkan kategori kelewatan berdasarkan
jenis-jenis kelewatan iaitu kelewatan yang dibenarkan, kelewatan yang tidak dibenarkan (boleh dituntut dan tidak
boleh dituntut) dan kelewatan serentak. Kelewatan yang dibenarkan merupakan kelewatan yang berpunca daripada
pemilik projek dan perunding, manakala kelewatan yang tidak dibenarkan adalah yang berpunca daripada kontraktor
yang menjalankan projek binaan tersebut dan kelewatan serentak berlaku apabila lebih daripada satu punca
kelewatan berlaku dalam satu masa.
Kajian seterusnya ialah oleh Mahamid & Arabia (2011) yang mengenal pasti puca kelewatan dalam pembinaan
jalan raya di Tebing Barat, Palestin. Penyelidik menyatakan bahawa kelewatan bukan sahaja memberi kesan kepada
tempoh perlaksanaan, malah ia melibatkan kos dan kualiti pembinaan. Sebanyak 45 punca kelewatan di nyatakan
dan dipecahkan kepada 5 kategori iaitu kumpulan; projek, pengurusan, perunding, kewangan dan luar. Daripada
pecahan kategori tersebut penyelidik mendapati punca-punca kelewatan daripada kumpulan kewangan adalah
tersenarai sebagai dua daripada tiga punca kelewatan tertinggi.
Akhir sekali Akogbe, Feng, & Zhou (2013), beliau mengenal pasti faktor kelewatan dalam projek pembinaan di
Benin, sebuah negara yang terletak di barat Afrika. Kajian ini telah mendapati bahawa kelewatan adalah disebabkan
oleh masalah kewangan, pengaruh politik dan kaedah pengurusan yang dipakai oleh sesebuah negara. Kajian ini
39
telah menyenaraikan sebanyak 35 punca kelewatan dalam pembinaan dan memecahkannya kepada 5 kategori
berdasarkan pihak di dalam pembinaan iaitu pemilik projek, konsultan, arkitek, kontraktor dan orang luar.
Dari enam kajian yang dinyatakan dari dikaji dari aspek kategori kelewatan,sebahagian daripada penyelidik
menggunakan pihak pelaksana dalam pembinaan sebagai kategori kelewatan dan sebahagian yang lain
menggunakan proses pembinaan, masalah danjenis kelewatansebagai kategori dalam punca kelewatan. Daripada
bacaan, didapati bahawa tiada rangka kerja yang holistik dan sistematik bagi mengklasifikasikan punca-punca
kelewatan dalam projek pembinaan. Oleh itukajian ini akan mencadangkan kerangka kerja yang terperinci bagi
mengkategorikan punca-punca kelewatan.
Ia penting dalam menjadikan penyelidikan lebih sistematik dan boleh diuji serta menggambarkan hubungan
antara elemen. Tidak banyak pengarang yang menekankan kerangka teori dalam kajian mereka bagi
menggambarkan proses pembinaan dan punca kelewatan. Masalah hanya dapat diselesaikan dengan efektif apabila
kita mengetahui perkara atau masalah sebenar yang dihadapi. Oleh itu kajian ini menghasilkan kerangka teori yang
efektif bagi mengkategorikan punca-punca kelewatan bagi mencari penyelesaian kepada punca kelewatan tersebut.
4. Metodologi kajian
Beberapa buah kajian dirujuk bagi mendapatkan punca-punca kelewatan untuk dimuatmasuk ke dalam rangka
kerja yang bakal dihasilkan. Bagi menghasilkan rangka kerja, kajian ini menggunakan Sistem Konversi Terbuka
Drewin(SKTD) sebagai asas teori rangka kerja. SKTD ialah sebuah sistem yang menggambarkan input dan output
sesebuah pembinaan seperti yang digunakan dalam kajian oleh Sweis, Sweis, Abu Hammad, & Shboul(2008) di
Jordon. Sistem yang diperkenalkan oleh Drewin (1982)telah digunakan untuk menggambarkan produktiviti dalam
proses pembinaan. Sinonim bagi produktiviti ialah penghasilan, ia sering kali diterjemahkan sebagai kerja yang
dihasilkan per unit masa (Shehata & El-Gohary, 2011). Penghasilan dapat ditingkatkan dengan peningkatan salah
satu faktor input dan sebaliknya. Oleh itu adalah penting bagi mengaitkan hubungan antara faktor input dan hasil
dalam membandingkan produktiviti (Rojas & Aramvareekul, 2003).
Rajah 1. Sistem Konversi Terbuka Drewin (Drewin, 1982).
40
Kajian ini mengaitkan punca-punca kelewatan dengan menghubungkan faktor; input, persekitaran dalaman dan
luar kawalan. Ia digunakan sebagai panduan dalam mengklasifikasikan punca-punca kelewatan dalam projek
pembinaan dalam kajian ini. SKTD seperti Rajah 1 secara amnya menggambarkan sistem pembinaan tipikal yang
menghubung kaitkan antara satu faktor kepada faktor dan keadaan yang lain serta gangguan dan maklum balas
semula jadi yang berlaku dalam sesebuah aktiviti pembinaan bangunan. Ini merupakan kerangka teori yang holistik
kerana ia dibangunkan berdasarkan proses atau situasi dalam projek pembinaan.
5. Dapatan & Perbincangan
Pembinaan rangka teori adalah berdasarkan gabungan daripada kajian-kajian lepas yang menggunakan aktiviti
atau proses yang berlaku dalam pembinaan sebagai dimensi kepada konstruk (faktor; input, luaran dan persekitaran
dalaman). Ia juga dinyatakan dalam kajian yang dilakukan oleh Soekiman, Pribadi, Soemardi, & Wirahadikusumah
pada tahun 2011. Rajah 2 merupakan kerangka teori kelewatan bagi kajian ini. Ia mengandungi dimensi kepada
faktor input yang terlibat dalam pembinaan ialah buruh, kewangan, bahan dan peralatan pembinaan, manakala faktor
dalaman merupakan pengurusan, kontrak, keselamatan, perancangan, pemeriksaan, organisasi, pemantauan,
kawalan, peraturan kerja dan sebagainya. Bagi faktor luar,ia terjadi disebabkan oleh keadaan cuaca, ekonomi, pihak
berkuasa tempatan, dan politik yang boleh mencacatkan perancangan pembinaan atas gangguan yang terjadi.
Rajah 2. Kerangka teori kelewatan
Kerangka kerja ini di uji dengan menggabungkan punca-punca kelewatan daripada kajian yang ditulis oleh
Akogbe et al., 2013; Greenwood et al., 2001; Hamzah et al., 2011; Mahamid & Arabia, 2011; Shaikh et al., 2010;
Yang et al., 2010. Rajah 3 menunjukkan senarai punca kelewatan berdasarkan kategori mengikut kerangka teori
kelewatan bagi kajian ini. Sembilan puluh enam punca kelewatan telah dikenal pasti dan telah dibahagikan kepada
tiga kategori kelewatan seperti yang dinyatakan sebelum ini. Walau bagaimanapun proses validasi tidak dapat
dilakukan lagi pada tahap ini, ia akan dilakukan pada kajian seterusnya iaitu kajian lapangan,ini kerana pembinaan
kerangka teori seharusnya diuji melalui kajian lapangan (Tigelaar, Ineke, & Vleuten, 2004).
Ia mengandungi lima faktor input dipecahkan kepada pekerja (3 punca), bahan (3 punca), kewangan (5 punca)
dan jentera binaan (4 punca), manakala faktor persekitaran dalaman dipecahkan kepadarekabentuk (10 punca),
dokumentasi (8 punca), pengurusan (18 punca), penjadualan dan perancangan (7 punca), hubungan manusia (3
41
punca), kerja binaan (5 punca), kontrak (7 punca), pemeriksaan di tapak (3 punca) dan keselamatan (2 punca) dan
faktor luar terdiri daripada ekonomi (1punca), tanah (4 punca), cuaca (2 punca), politik (3 punca), pihak berkuasa (3
punca), dan awam (4 punca).
Dapat diperhatikan bahawa faktor input ialah faktor yang melibatkan sumber utama kepada pembinaan yang
menyebabkan kerja-kerja binaan akan lewat atau terhenti apabila tiada sember tersebut. Bagi faktor persekitaran
dalaman pula ialah proses yang berlaku dalam pembinaan yang melibatkan pihak yang terlibat secara langsung
dalam kerja binaan. Bagi faktor luar pula, melibatkan pihak luar atau ketiga yang terlibat secara tidak langsung
dalam kerja binaan tetapi penting dalam kerja pembinaan. Ia terdiri daripada punca dalam kawalan dan tidak dapat
dikawal. Ini menjadikan kerangka teori ini lengkap dan sistematik untuk menghubungkan punca kelewatan.
Kajian ini mendapati komunikasi yang kurang berkesan yang berada dalam kategori faktor persekitaran dalaman
dikenal pasti menjadi punca kelewatan yang mendapat perhatian kebelakangan ini oleh penyelidik. Ia telah dipilih
oleh penyelidik sebelum ini bagi mengenal pasti punca kelewatan (Hamzah, Khoiry, Arshad, Badaruzzaman, &
Tawil, 2012). Punca komunikasi kurang mendapat perhatian penyelidik Ini bermakna penyelidik perlu menilai
faktor manusia dalam kajian yang akan datang. Sikap manusia turut menyebabkan kelewatan dalam pembinaan,
apatah lagi dalam keadaan pembinaan yang amat mendesak dan menekan.
6. Penutup
Rangka teori yang lebih holistik telah dinyatakan dalam kajian ini jika dibandingkan dengan kerangka teori
kelewatan kajian lepas. Gambaran yang jelas dapat diperoleh bagi menentukan punca kelewatan dalam pembinaan
berdasarkan prinsip produktiviti. Produktiviti yang tinggi dapat menjadikan pembinaan berjalan dengan lancar tanpa
kelewatan. Kerangka teori kelewatan ini diharap dapat memberi idea kepada para penyelidik bagi menentukan
kategori punca kelewatan dalam kerja binaan.
42
Rajah 3. Punca kelewatan dalm pembinaan berdasarkan kategori
43
Penghargaan
Penulis ingin merakamkan ribuan terima kasih atas sokongan kewangan yang diterima daripada Kementerian
Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia sebagai geran penyelidikan UKM-KK-05-FRGS0218-2010.
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45
Aiding Decisions for Selecting Appropriate BIM Software in

Construction Industry
M. F. Omar a,4*, M. N. Mohd Nawi b, A. T. Nursal a
a
Department of Decision Science, School of Quantitative Sciences,College of Arts and Sciences,
Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia
b
Department of Technology & Operation Management, School of Technology Management & Logistics,
Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia
Abstract
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is dramatically reshaping the way construction project teams work together to increase
productivity and improve the final project outcomes (cost, time, quality, safety, functionality, maintainability, etc.) for all the
parties involved. The use of BIM on construction projects is growing rapidly. As a result, many commercial software products
are developed to cater demands for BIM. Due to the wide variety of BIM tools on the market, the selection of appropriate BIM
software for a certain construction project becoming more difficult. The need of aided decision making for BIM software
selection often overlooked. Research indicates that there is limited study attempt to guide decision to select the right software for
construction project that utilized BIM. Thus, this paper hightlight the importance of decision making and support for BIM
software selection as it is vital to increase productivity, construction project throughout building lifecycle.
Keywords: Construction Project, Building Information Modelling, Decision Support;
1. Introduction
The current Architechture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry building process has been fragmented
and the paper based communication is considered to be the drawback (Gann, 2000). Errors, changes, omissions
result in upgrading the design a number of times sequentially by different parties (Succar, 2008). In addition to this,
the various interpretations of a single design intent by different parties lead to even more complexities. With the
introduction of ICT technologies like 2D CAD, the time spent on redrafting a change in the design has been reduced
(Gann, 2000). However, the practice of sequential design changes, omissions, errors, different interpretations remain
the same (Succar, 2008). In addition to this, while incorporating the changes and confirming that every consultant is
on the same page with respect to design intent; the major aspect of achieving the project goals becomes secondary.
During the last decade, the major shift in ICT for the AEC industry has been the proliferation of Building
Information Modeling (BIM) in industrial and academic circles. BIM is the most commonly used term to describe a
set of parametric tools and processes for the creation and maintenance of an integrated collaborative
database of multi-dimensional information regarding the design, construction and/or operations of a building,
with the purpose of improving collaboration between stakeholders, reducing the time needed for
documentation of the project and producing more predictable project outcomes.
Nowadays, various BIM software package available in the market that provide a different capabilities and
function according to constructor needs such as Revit, Bentley, Archicad 12, Innovaya, Synchro, Vico, Tekla,
Onuma, Solibri, etc. (CREAM, 2012). Each of these software packages has their own specialization in term of
* Corresponding author. Tel.:+604-928 6867 ; fax: +604 928 6906.

E-mail address: faizal_omar@uum.edu.my.
46
function and implementation. It is vital to select appropriate BIM software due to variability of cost and features as
it can affect the overall construction project execution throughout building lifecycle. In contrast, investigation into
selection criteria and decision process to select appropriate BIM software are until recently, relatively limited. Most
of the company tend to follow market trend, software package that they are familiar, and choose software that is
more popular in industry without having a proper analysis for a value decision making (Kumar & Murkerjee, 2009).
Considering the current situation in the industry, this paper discusses the importance of decision making for BIM
software selection in construction industry.
2. General Aspect of Project Life Cycle
Project can be viewed by different meaning depends on its system theory/contexts. For instance, Project
Management Institute (2001) define project as “a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product,
service or result”. The word “temporary” refer to characteristic of the project that has beginning and an end. On the
other hand, unique means that project involve doing something that has not been done before. There might be a
similar of previous project but there are unique in term of resources, business environment and others. (PMBOK,
2001). Project life cycle basically consist of four phases; initiation, planning/design, execution, controlling and
closing. Each phase in project life cycle is a key factor that would determine successful of the project. Initially, a
project started with an “initiation phase” where it involves authorizing a project or phases. Then, it is followed by
the “planning phase” as it engages selecting the best alternative in order to achieve the project objective
successfully. Next, the “execution phase” is primary focus on coordinating people and other resources for instance
equipment and material due to perform well in the project. On the other hand, “monitoring and controlling phase”
purpose to ensure the high quality of achievement of project. Lastly, “closing phases” is a formalized process in
acceptance of the project (PMBOK, 2001). Project management life cycle consist of nine knowledge areas; project
integration, project scope, project time, project cost, project quality, project human resource, project communication,
project risk, and project procurement management (PMBOK, 2001).
3. Design Phase and BIM
Design is the most significant phase that would influence overall project life cycle. It would establishes the basic
program, allocated responsibility, determine activities and resources and all input relating to the project such as
personnel skills, technical requirement must be determine at this point . In addition, the evaluation of environment
factors, social criteria and procedure must also be included. Moreover, the design phase also involves tasks such as
operation plan, work schedule and contingency plan (Goodman, 1988). ICT technology such as CAD and BIM
would impact mostly in this phase.
Currently, the 2D (CAD) tool use in building design practice become inadequate with the development of
construction industries. Compare to the CAD, BIM is more than drawing, BIM consist of vast data due to building
design, construction and maintenance information that merge in one proper model. Simply stated drawing produce
using BIM is interactive representation model rather than manually coordinated lines which will eliminate
coordination error and improve overall quality of the work (Kumar & Murkerjee, 2009).
BIM is generally a three dimensional digital representation of a building and its build in characteristics.
(Hergunsel, 2011). BIM can also be define as “a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a
facility and a shared knowledge resource for information about facility forming a reliable basis for decision during
its life cycle; defined as existing from earliest conception to demolition” (Succar, 2008). Meanwhile, Liu (2010)
asserts that BIM can be define as an IT artefact which model the physical and functional characteristics of a facility
and a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions during its
life-cycle; defined as existing from earliest conception to demolition. On the other hand, East (2007) simplify the
definition of BIM by focusing on the philosophy for managing and accessing common building and facilities data
and information.
BIM is applied throughout the facilities life-cycle, from requirements definition through disposal. Reichardt
(2007) indicates that the main aim of BIM is to provide installation owners and caretakers with the best information
available for making best value decisions and reducing total ownership costs. Implementation of BIM on a project
level requires comprehensive planning by facility owners and project participants (designers, contractors,
47
subcontractors, and manufacturers) to ensure successful transition from a traditional approach to incorporating this
new technology into the project workflow (Reichardt, 2007).
4. Decision Making for Selecting BIM software
Research shows that BIM is being broadly adopted across the construction industry with over 50% of each survey
segment - architect, engineers, contractors and owners utilizing the tools at moderate levels or higher (Liu, 2010).
Liu (2010) also identified that architects are the heaviest users of BIM with 43% using it on more than 60% of their
projects in 2009. In addition, the study also reveal that contractors are the lightest users of BIM with nearly half
(45%) using it on less than 15% of projects and a quarter (23%) using it on more than 60% of projects. At the
moment, there are variety of BIM software packages available in the market for AEC inductry. According to
Pinheiro (2013) and Penn State University BIM Research Group (2013), BIM software can be grouped under 6
categories such as Architechture, Sustainability, Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing (MEP), Construction, and
Facility Management.
Prior embarking into BIM project, designers need to select an appropriate software for their construction project.
There are various software tools available for selection such as Revit, Tekla and Vico, Navisworks and Solibri
Model Chekcer, OPS and BIMServer (CREAM 2012). It is vital to select appropriate BIM software due to
variability of cost and features as it can affect the overall construction project execution throughout building
lifecycle. Table 1 presented the list of BIM software and its related AEC domain.
Table 1 List of Software in AEC Industry (Pinheiro (2013), Broquetas (2010))
AEC Domain Software Name

Architecture Autodesk Revit Architechture
Graphisoft ArchiCAD
Nemetschek Allplan Architecture
Gehry Technologies – Digital Project Designer
Nemetschek Vectorworks Architect
Bentley Architecture
4MSA IDEA Architectural Design (IntelliCAD)
CADSoft Envisioneer
Softtech Spirit
RhinoBIM (BETA)
Sustainability Autodesk Ecotech Analysis
Autodesk Green Building Studio
Graphisoft EcoDesigner
IES Solutions Virtual Environment VE-Pro
Ebntley Tas Simulator
Bentley Hevacomp
DesignBuilder
Structures Autodesk Revit Structure
Bentley Strutural Modeler
Bentley RAM, STAAD and ProSteel
Tekla Structures
CypeCAD
Graytec Advance Design
StrutureSoft Metal Wood Framer
NemetSchek Scia
4MSA Strad and Steel
Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis
MEP Autodesk Revit MEP
Bentley Hevacomp Mechanical Designer
4MSA FinaHVAC+FineLIFT+FineELEC+FineSANI
48
Gehry Techologies – Digital Project MEP Systems Routing

CADMEP (CADduct/CADmech)
Construction (Simulation, Estimating, Autodesk Navisworks
and Const. Analysis) Solibri Model checker
Vico Office Suite
Vela Field BIM
BentleyConstrucSim
Tekla BIMSight
Glue (by Horizontal Systems)
Synchro Professional
Innovaya
Facility Management Bentley Facilities
FM: Systems FM: Interact
Vintocon ArchiFM (For ArchiCAD)
Onuma System
EcoDomus
Figure 1 illustrates 25 possible uses of BIM throughout building lifecycle (Rohena, 2011). Due to the variability
of BIM functional, it is essential to identify the appropriate BIM uses for a target project from Planning to Operating
Phase.
Figure 1: BIM Uses Throughout A Building Lifecycle (Rohena, 2011).
In literature, there is limited study attempt to thoroughly investigate the criteria and decision process to select
appropriate BIM software. CREAM (2012) indicates that availability, affordability, diffusion, training, and support
are among some generic criteria to select a BIM software. Hence, there is a needs to aid decision making towards
BIM software selection to cater the project and client’s need. Till date the study to identify the critical criteria and
decision support for BIM selection in construction are largely neglected. Only Ruiz (2009) proposed a model for
evaluation of BIM software package where the study only uses simple descriptive statistics and does not consider
Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique. Thus, by considering the aforementioned issues, the main
research problem is identified as follows;
49
“The lack of multi criteria decision support framework to assist BIM software selection for construction
project”
Due to unavailability for decision support, it is desirable to a develop a computerised multi-criteria decision
support system for BIM software selection.
5. Discussion and Conclusion
Nowadays technology is major contributor to construction industry. Introducing to BIM technology has become
increasingly important as it advantages will affect the productivity and quality of a project among constructor.
Moreover, previous research has proven fact that as well implementation of BIM will increase quality, scheduling,
safety, reducing cost and error of the project throughout project life cycle. As the used of BIM become more
prevalent, construction companies facing a market full of option in BIM software that available. Due to the variety
of BIM tools on the market, the selection of the right BIM software for a certain construction project becoming more
apparent. However, the needs to aid the decision making often overlooked. In contrast, there are some of these
companies tend to make decision making on selection of BIM software base on marketing campaign by the software
vendor and popular software package rather than using an appropriate analysis of the company needs (Ruiz, 2009).
However, the literature is limited to reveal any significant of decision support regarding of BIM software selection.
Thus a multi criteria decision support for BIM software selection is vital towards successful construction project
throughout building lifecycle.Therefore this research attemp to fill the gap by develop a decision making framework
and prototype to solve BIM software selection in an innovative way.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support by the Ministry of Education Malaysia for providing the funding
under Research Acculturation Grant Scheme (RAGS). Many of the parts of this paper were originally written in the
process of preparing several grants proposal and parts of student’s postgraduate thesis. We also thanks the
contribution by other member in our Construction Innovation Research Cluster particularly Kamaruddin Radzuan
from Universiti Utara Malaysia.
References
Autodesk, (2003). Building information modelling in practice. From http://www.ddscad.com/BIM retrieved on 25th
June 2013.
Broquetas, M. (2010). List of BIM Software & Providers. From http://www.cad-addict.com/2010/03/list-of-bim-

software-providers.html retrieved on 11th October 2013
10) CREAM (2012). BIM Industrial Transformation in Australia. From http://www.cream.com.my retrieved on 1st
October 2012.
Editor of BIM Journal, (2012). Case study: building SMART level 2 training – BIM process management. From
http://www.bimjournal.com/2012/01/case-study-buildingsmart-level-2-training-bim-process-management
retrieved on 27th June 2013
Gann (2000). Building innovation - complex constructs in a changing world. pp 150-186.
Goodman, L. J. (1988). Project planning and management. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc.
Hergunsel, M. F., (2011). Benefit of building information modeling for construction manager and BIM base
scheduling. Worchester Polytechnic Institute.
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Kumar, V. J., and Mukherjee, M (2009). Scope of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in India. Journal of
Engineering Science and Technology Review. 2(1)
Liu, Z., (2010). Feasibility Analysis of BIM Based Information System for Facility Management at WPI. Thesis
Pinheiro, J. (2013). List of BIM Software. From http://therevitkid.blogspot.com/2013/06/list-of-bim-software.html

retrieved on 11th of October 2013
Project Management Institute (2001). A guide to the project management body of knowledge. Pennsylvania USA:
Project Management Institute, Inc.
Reichardt, M. (2007). Convergence of Standards.” Journal of Building Information Modeling. pp 36-38.
Rohena, R., (2011). BIM Implementation in Naval Construction. Unpublished Master Thesis, Louisiana State
University.
Ruiz, J. M. (2009). Best software evaluation model for general contractors. Master Thesis. University of Florida.
Succar, B. (2008). Building information modelling framework: A research and delivery foundation for industry
stakeholders. Automation in Construction. 18: 357–375.
51
EVOLUTION SUSTAINABLE GREEN INNERWALL

WITH FLEXIBLE FLOOR PLAN
N.M. Tawil1*, H. A. Hussaini1, H. Basri1, A. I. Che Ani1,

M.A. Othuman Mydin2
1
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Malaysia
2
School of Housing, Building and Planning,
Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, MALAYSIA
Abstract
The trend of renovate residential houses especially the interior of the house has become a common phenomenon for
homeowners nowadays in Malaysia. This scenario is quiet concern because sometimes no modifications to comply
with the law and the guidelines set by the government housing. Modifications with not done properly can cause
injury and harm to families and the people around. To reduce this problem, the concept of sustainable inner walls
with flexible floor plan should be incorporated in every house in Malaysia. This is because the wall is the basic
structure of a building and usually serves as the border, supporting structures and dividing the space with another
space. Wall also causes an increase of the price of a house. This is due to the increase in raw material costs and labor
costs, land subsidence have to bear by the developer. The increasing in house prices is causing among Malaysians,
especially young executives cannot afford to buy their first home. To reduce the price of the home, reduction in
construction interior wall in wet construction should be done and replaced with the sustainable inner wall. This
sustainable inner wall also can save the space and the owner simplify can added or reduced the room according their
need without spending too much money for renovation in the future.
Keywords: Affordable housing; Middle income; basic housing design; flexible floor plan;
Introduction
Renovation or remodeling is the process of improving a building either commercial or residential. Additionally,
renovation can refer to making something new or changing the building in better condition. Housing forms one of
the basic needs of human. Maslow’s Theory Hierarchy of Needs sees that housing forms the foremost important
needs (Dr Wan Nor Azriyati Wan Abd Aziz & Singaravello, n.d.). Omar, Endut, & Saruwono, (2012) has mention,
modification of the home has become a ‘culture’ in Malaysian housing development. It is an act of altering an
environment, allowing transformation of house into ‘home’. As time goes by, people develop and wanting to
improve the state and quality of their house so that they can live their lives towards better meaning parallel to their
up growth. In Malaysia, we could see lots of houses being renovated or extended by owners after the houses get
dwelled in especially of those terrace housing(Nangkula Utabertaab, 2011). According to Saji, N.B (2012) the
physical adaptation and adjustment made by the occupants to fit their utilitarian needs could result in the extensive
modification of the housing facilities and the relocation of spatial distribution. In Malaysia, the trend of renovation
is not a new phenomenon because house buyers usually like to renovate their house especially the new house. This
scenario is a big concern because all of the renovations that were done without adhering to its legal requirement
might harm the occupants and their surrounding in the near future. The extension of homeland that articulating the
sense of belongingness, expresses through modification of kitchen with additional function as social meeting as well
as source of self identity. Jayanti, D. (2007) added that traditions and rituals had actually made the place unique and
valuable as it differs from other places.
* Corresponding author.
*
E-mail address: nmtawil@gmail.com
52
The sudden increasing price house in Malaysia lately had been effect most people and also one of the reason why
many owner of the house renovate their house because they cannot afford to buy a better house for their family. The
renovation is an alternative to solve the problem. Double-storey terrace house is not a type of house that is cheap.
(Jamel & Utaberta, 2011) This type of house is categorized in a high-cost level. In Selangor, take Bandar Baru
Bangi for instance; one unit of double-storey house (40 x 65) square feet could reach RM 400, 000 (Ringgit
Malaysia). The problem is that this house is bought at such an expensive price but still needs major renovations.
Also, the reason of house renovation in Malaysia based on behavior, unsatisfied with their house and as a hobby. For
example, the renovations have been done in particular area such as a walk-in wardrobe, kitchen bedroom and living
area. Omar et al., (2012) It is common knowledge that kitchen is one of the favorite renovated spaces in local
housing and also bedrooms are another feature which is commonly modified. Thus, (Jamel & Utaberta, 2011) stated
apart from that, they also need to increase the privacy. So generally almost all of things need to be expanded as the
family grows.
Flexible Floor Plan
The concept of flexible floor plan it very suitable and conveniences for sustainable green inner wall. Because the
concept flexible floor plan has provided basic needed such as bedroom, living room, kitchen and also toilet. One of
the strategies of flexible floor plan concept is to offer the landed property focusing on terrace house with lower
house price for middle income group buyer because the construction cost will be reduce by reducing the inner wall
(Tawil, Musa, Goh, et al., 2012).
Figure 1 : Evolution of house renovation using flexible floor plan with sustainable inner wall.
Based on figure 1, flexible floor plan has only basic unit like a bedroom, toilet and a big space of living and kitchen
area. From time being, owner can modified or renovate their house according their need or interest without spending
a lot of money for renovation. Nangkula Utabertaab, (2011) stated the price that those developer put on should be
consistently rational to the condition of the house as in design, function, aesthetic and other aspects of the house but
this is not the case happening in Malaysia. The evolution from above, the houses only have a basic needed but the
owner can renovate or modified their house from one bedroom being a two bedroom or more. Simply, people
renovate to suit their personal needs and certain feature or fashion is favored by house owners (Zavei & Jusan,
2012). From the figure, they just use sustainable green inner wall as a bedroom wall or barrier. So, the cost for
renovation can be diminished and also the sustainable green inner wall, it is not only wall but has another function
like furniture wall, wardrobe, wall selves, moveable wall and etc. There are a lot of innovative material nowadays in
the market produce from waste and recycle material that not only can reduce the environmental impact but also may
lower the cost and most important result in a healthier and more comfortable living environment (Tawil, Musa, Goh,
et al., 2012). Saruwono, Rashdi, & Omar, (2012) give the result in housing designs that is said to be devoid of basic
design principles and often, does not match the needs of the ordinary population. In addition, houses are built fast
and lacking in creative design efforts.
53
Sustainable green inner wall
Sustainable products are to provide environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public
health, environment and economic over their whole life cycle, from the extraction of raw until the final disposal. For
innovative material nowadays, sustainable green inner wall one of the concepts to reduce the price of renovation and
house. According to Santos, Rocha, & Lepre, (2010) direct involvement of the user in the assembling process of
his/her own products or even entire house is a reality among low-income populations in developing countries.
Nevertheless, there are a limited number of products that have actually been designed from a do-it-yourself (DIY)
perspective, which results in several problems, such as poor user safety while the product is being assembled or
inadequate results from an improvised assembling. Using sustainable green inner the space of the room can be save
with another purpose. Jamel & Utaberta, (2011) has been stated that the obvious reason why these people did the
renovations is that they needed a larger space or area. Plus, there are few people who rearranged or repositioned the
guest room to the back of the house to get a larger and flexible kitchen and dining area. (Edmundas Kazimieras
ZAVADSKAS l, 2004) In brick and cast-in-place buildings they take 35% and 6°/c of all apartments in multifamily
buildings, respectively. The types of buildings are not numerous. They include about seven varieties of large-panel
houses, six types of brick and four types of cast-in-place buildings. Omar et al., (2012) said the people are getting
more alert and attentive about design aspects and they wanted a better house to live their lives.
Figure 3: The type of sustainable green inner wall
Multipurpose Wall
Multipurpose wall also can describe as a furniture wall, selves wall, wardrobe and etc. It also can be a replace a wall
and saving the space. Multipurpose wall is the way to go for those with small space or who like to have everything
in one place (Home designing).
54
Figure 3 : Furniture wall used as a partition or wall to divide with another room or area.
From the figure 3 we can describe that multipurpose wall can be a wall as a divider and it saving a lot of space for a
small room. In this picture we could see using the multipurpose wall their can also create another connection or door
to go another place or area without made another wall or door. Furthermore, nowadays a lot of people have a
tendency to use open wardrobe as wardrobe in their room, so it saving a lot of space and saving money either then
use a wardrobe. Also, using multipurpose wall, they can made built in wardrobe or cabinet as storage. Omar et al.,
(2012) mention when asked on the lack of storage space, all of the homeowners did not comment negatively but
informed that they are willing to give up a portion of bedroom space for storage purposes. For time being, they also
can change the room into another purpose and function. Also, they can remove the multipurpose wall to make a
room a big space without using a lot of money or renovated the whole house or area. While fixing the optimal
renovation prices from the aspect of market value increase, the main indicator, limiting the size of investments into
building renovation, is the difference between market values after and before renovation (Taylor, Zavadskas, &
Raslanas, n.d.2013). Recently, more attention is paid to sustainable, complex renovation satisfying integration of
social, technical, economic, ecological needs of various stakeholder groups (Kaklauskas, Naimaviciene, Tupenaite,
& Kanapeckiene, 2007). Also, Tawil, Musa, Abdullah, Ani, & Basri, (2012) mention if a scheme of terrace house
can provide a design with basic facilities and flexi floor plan, the price of the selling price can be lower thus can be
beneficial to middle income group.
Fixed Wall
Gypsum, wood, plywood, Styrofoam, structural insulated panel (SIP), bamboo, composite material and glass is a
material for making fixed wall. Using this material, the wall can be made and safely can be removed without using a
big construction renovation because they have their own strength. Malmgren, Jensen, & Olofsson, (2010) has divide
the product in four different views the complexity of the product can be reduced and each view represent the interest
of customer, engineering, production and assembly respectively. Wilson, (1988) present invention relates to a
removable wall panel, and particularly to a decorative panel which may be easily and conveniently installed.
Figure 4 : The fixed wall made by gypsum as a divider between living area and bedroom
55
By example from figure above, gypsum can be a divider between living area and bedroom because gypsum board
are easy to install for several reasons and using dry construction. Preventing the transfer of unwanted sound to
adjoining areas is a key consideration when designing a building, specifically when taking into account the intended
activities of the occupants in the various parts of the building (Gypsum Association). Gypsum wall board is the most
common interior finish used in Canada and the United States. There are several types of gypsum board
manufactured for specific purposes.
Figure 5 : Wood can be a fixed wall and a divider, also as a cabinet for television.
They have many type of wood for wall such as timber, hard word, softwood, lumber and every type of wood has a
unique character and sources. Furthermore, glass is quite popular as a partition interior decoration and architecture
nowadays because has long been used for its transparency and designed to meet specific requirements. This concept
able to help middle income groups to has lower house price and give opportunities for individuals to design and own
their dream spaces in the house using Do It Yourself (D.I.Y) (Tawil, Musa, Abdullah, et al., 2012).
Movable wall
Figure 6 : Moveable wall are easy for instalment and just do it by the owner itself
Movable wall is making it possible to divide one room into several different ones and can separate one room into
various small rooms. With movable walls it can divide a large room into a smaller one and turn it back into a large
room again anytime they want. Movable wall can be a rolling, mobile, sliding or folding room divider which provide
temporary walls in place of traditional non mobile products such as operable walls, accordion partitions, cubicles, pipe
and drape, and shoji screens. They are sometimes folded and are on wheels enabling mobility and ease of storage.
Moveable walls have manufactured in a highly modern facility using innovative hi-tech materials to achieve a very
high quality product. The lightweight design makes even large moving wall panels easy to move and reduces
structural support requirements (Style, 2013). Folding wall which can either be hung from a ceiling track or
56
supported by a low profile surface mounted floor track. The movable wall has two full panel end members which
provide support, rigidity, privacy and noise reduction. It can divide space quickly where non-mobile permanent room
dividers may be unavailable or impracticable. They may also be used as a convenient sight divider to conceal door
openings to restrooms, kitchens and other backroom areas. Santos et al., (2010) conclude the DIY approach presents a
competitive solution in terms of cost when compared to second-hand furniture and give opportunities for developing
DIY solutions for low-income housing.
Conclusion
Issue housing price and illegal renovation can be solving if we are willing to accept the new method and design.
Using sustainable green inner wall with flexible floor plan, the house can be more sustain and economic to use.
Also, it can reduce the price of the house and give a lot of benefit for the developer, government and house buyers.
The concept of implementing a sustainable green inner-wall with a flexible floor plan helps these people in a way
that they can afford to buy their first home and the design evolves according to their needs and family growth.
Furthermore, sustainable green inner wall also can educated people about Do-It-Yourself (DIY) concept to help
owner redesign and adding another space for their room by himself without carpenter. This method also can educate
the citizen of Malaysia especially, to being creative, economic, and being brave to try a new method.
Reference
Dr Wan Nor Azriyati Wan Abd Aziz, A. P. . D. N. R. H., & Singaravello, D. K. a/l. (n.d.). A STUDY ON
AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITHIN THE MIDDLE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN THE MAJOR CITIES
AND TOWNS IN MALAYSIAin in The study concluded that more government intervention is warranted to
address this affordability issue in relation to the types of houses pref, 1–20.
Edmundas Kazimieras ZAVADSKAS l, A. ras K. 2 and S. R. 2. (2004). EVALUATION OF INVESTMENTS

INTO HOUSING RENOVATION, (October 2013), 37–41. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1648715X.2004.9637516
Jamel, M. A., & Utaberta, N. (2011). House Renovations and Extensions in Malaysia: An Investigation of
Mechanical Changes and Modification of House in Klang Valey, Malaysia. Advanced Materials Research,
291-294, 1547–1550. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.291-294.1547
Kaklauskas, A., Naimaviciene, J., Tupenaite, L., & Kanapeckiene, L. (2007). KNOWLEDGE BASE MODEL FOR
SUSTAINABLE HOUSING RENOVATION, vol 1(In The 9th International Conference “Modern Building
Materials, Structures and Techniques), pg 3.
Malmgren, L., Jensen, P., & Olofsson, T. (2010). PRODUCT MODELING OF CONFIGURABLE BUILDING
SYSTEMS – A CASE STUDY, 15(October), 354–368.
Nangkula Utabertaab, M. A. J. (2011). Renovations and Extensions of Modern Terrace House in Malaysia: A Case
Study of Changes and Modification of House in Klang Valey, Malaysia. Retrieved from
https://smk.ukm.my/erep/fail3.cfm?komp=TKK2011861
Omar, E. O., Endut, E., & Saruwono, M. (2012). Not Your Perfect Home? How Malaysian Homeowners Make It
Works. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 42(July 2010), 350–361. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.04.199
Saji, N. B. (2012). A Review of Malaysian Terraced House Design and the Tendency of Changing. Journal of
Sustainable Development, 5(5), 140–149. doi:10.5539/jsd.v5n5p140
Santos, A. Dos, Rocha, C. G., & Lepre, P. (2010). Barriers and Opportunities in Developing “ Do-it-yourself ”
Products for Low-income Housing, 15(1), 29–43.
57
Saruwono, M., Rashdi, A. M., & Omar, E. O. (2012). To House-owners, Style Does Matter. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences, 36(June 2011), 166–176. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.03.019
Tawil, N. M., Musa, A. R., Abdullah, N. A. G., Ani, A. I. C. H. E., & Basri, H. (2012). An Investigation Of Portable
Green Inner Wall For Self Build Remodelled House 3 The Importance of Self-Build Remodel House 4
Criteria for Self-Build Remodel House Construction Method and, 240–244.
Tawil, N. M., Musa, A. R., Goh, N. A., Beh, C. K., Basri, H., & Zaharim, A. (2012). Empowering Energy
Economics In Housing Renovation With Portable Green Inner Wall For Self Build House 2 Self Build
Remodelled House One of the major benefits of building your own 3 Portable Green Inner Walls, 480–483.
Retrieved from https://smk.ukm.my/erep/fail3.cfm?komp=TKK2013347
Taylor, P., Zavadskas, E. K., & Raslanas, S. (n.d.). International Journal of Strategic Property Management,
(October 2013), 37–41.
Wilson, W. J. (1988). Removable Wall Panel. United States Patent.
Zavei, S. J. A. P., & Jusan, M. M. (2012). Exploring Housing Attributes Selection based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 42(July 2010), 311–319. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.04.195
Jayanti, D. (2007). Interpreting place identity and meaning of home: Learning from expatriates’ experiences.
International conference on built environment. Monash University, Australia.
Home designing home & interior design idea. http://www.home-designing.com Update 2013
II. GYPSUM ASSOCIATION USING GYPSUM BOARD FOR WALLS AND CEILINGS SECTION HTTP://WWW.GYPSUM.ORG
UPDATE 2013.
Style, moveable partition specialists, http://style-partitions.co.uk update 2013
58
Basic Housing Design Approach as The Strategy in Addressing

House Pricing Issue for Middle-Income Citizens
A.R. Musaa5*, N.M. Tawila, A.I. Che-Ania, H. Basrib, M.A. Othuman Mydinc
a
Department of Architecture Engineering and Built Faculty,
UKM Bangi, Selangor,MALAYSIA
b
Department of Civil & Structural Engineering, Engineering and Built Faculty,
UKM Bangi, Selangor,MALAYSIA
c
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,
UiTM Perak, Seri Iskandar Campus, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak, MALAYSIA
Abstract
The issue of people’s affordability in owning a home, especially among middle-income people has been frequently debated and
become of major interest among certain parties. However, this issue has been very much overwhelming and subsequently,
critical to people with middle income because the requirement for home-purchasing for this type of people is restrictive,
rendering them unqualified to buy even a low-cost house. Among the factors for this increase which can be resolved and
examined in this study would be the design intricacies and the price increase of construction materials. The objective of this
study only serves as an early exposure of the new concept of housing to the community, and further studies need to be done to
investigate the actual costs of construction and preventing hidden costs or additional costs which need to be incurred on the
owners. Therefore, this study will introduce the approach of basic house concept design as an avenue to overcome any issues
concerning price increase. The basic housing design approach is a strategy in providing a landed affordable housing for middle
income citizens where this concept offer a home with a bedroom, kitchen, toilet and living . Furthermore this concept is adopted
as a step towards reducing the market price for houses, by reducing the use of interior construction materials, but at the same time
allowing the owners to add some space in the future, according to their needs.
Keywords: Affordable housing; Middle income; basic housing design; flexible floor plan;Introduction
1. Introduction
In ensuring that every community obtains their accommodation, various housing policies and regulations have been
implemented by the Government by status and affordability. Affordable housing seeks to ensure that the houses
provided are reasonably priced, for all income groups, be it those with low income, middle income and high income
[1]. The main goal of housing policies lies in creating an environment where everybody can afford to have a
comfortable home, according to their status, and which tailors to their current lifestyles Housing policy serves as an
action plan formulated by the government to influence the housing sector towards a particular goal [2]. This implies
that the housing policy does not necessarily point to resolving housing issues. Policy implementation also housing
policies are motivated by the home ownership democracy objective that the government aspires to achieve [3].
Various government programs have been introduced to meet the housing needs of the present one implementation of
the new program is 1 Malaysia Housing Programme (PR1MA). This program is the aspiration of the government to
ensure affordable housing for middle income groups, especially in urban and suburban areas, involving households
earning between RM2,500 to RM5,000 a month [4]. Program is designed to help middle-income groups but not
more than RM6, 000 a month, regardless of those who work with the government, private sector or self-employed,
offering home unit price ranging from RM150, 000 to RM300, 000 by location [5].
The exorbitant prices of houses [6] have always been of interest to young, would-be house buyers, who only
recently step foot into the working world. With meagre income, the chance for them to own a house would be slim.
Although nowadays, buyers no longer have to pay 10% deposit from the total price of the house they plan to buy to
housing developers [7], yet house prices, most of which are very high, especially when compared to the population’s
* Corresponding author. Tel.:+603 8921 6691; fax: +603 8921 6691.

E-mail address: azza.ukm@gmail.com.
59
total income and the increased prices of basic necessities, will hamper the youngsters’ effort in obtaining a landed
property.
In this vein, studies on affordable houses for middle-income people can significantly help resolve any emerging
conflicts, other than not prolonging the anxiousness among this younger population to have their own terrace homes.
The market price which goes beyond their affordability, forces them to seek for other alternatives in order to fulfil
the demands of their lives [8]. The housing price’s drastic increase is said to be explained by several internal and
external factors in the construction, such as the global construction materials’ price increase, the increasing rate of
labour force, design intricacies and several other factors [9].
2. Study Methodology
To fulfil the purpose of this study, several approaches have been adopted to obtain both the primary and
secondary data. The methods adopted to derive the primary data are through survey, field work and observation. In
the meantime, to obtain the secondary data, we have been going through theses, journals, articles, interviews and so
on. Every method employed is aimed at reaching the objectives and fulfilling the goals set in the study.
Library studies and observation are regarded as practical towards examining the related issues in detail, and
determining sustainable construction materials and housing design methods thought to be appropriate to be
integrated in the housing design which is able to reach high GBI. Interviews and survey analyse the degree of
affordability of middle-income citizens in owning medium-cost houses, focusing on terrace, semi-detached houses
and the variables influencing the affordability to own medium-cost houses around the Klang Valley. The issue of
housing affordability often concentrates on two main aspects, namely income and house pricing. This field work
materialises by looking closely into the already-available terrace houses’ designs that have been fully constructed,
and further making assessment and carrying out the simulations together with the additional costs involved in the
terrace houses’ construction, so that these unnecessary costs that should be shouldered by the building owners can
be identified.
3. Problem Solution
The aim of this study is placed on developing the new concept of housing which applies the concept of
sustainable design affordable by the middle-income population, with concentration on their affordability to own
their own homes, at the early phase of settling down and working. In this work, several approaches will be
introduced towards enabling this young generation with middle income to have their own homes. Among the
concepts proposed is the basic home concept, or the flexible plan concept whereby owners are free to add space or
room if needed, according to their own affordability and convenience. The concept of basic housing seeks to ensure
that the prices offered in the market are low, and affordable, whereas the second concept of self-built flexible plan is
a concept whereby owners can rearrange and renovate their own rooms from the basic houses provided for them.
This concept actually serves as a strategy to give the opportunity to the middle-income earners to own landed homes
like the terrace houses with reasonable prices. Next, the aim of this study is to propose a sustainable, affordable
design for these earners, through the application of the flexible plan concept. This concept is illustrated in Diagram
1, where it sets the target to fulfil the current needs of these people, as in reasonable housing prices, using
sustainable construction materials, owners can choose to renovate or add the interior spaces or rooms, according to
current needs and to add the number of rooms or spaces to cater for the increasing number of family members.
60
Diagram 1. The home concept proposed

The design strategy recommended is by suggesting the concept, design and the framework of development
strategy of the landed property for people earning middle income, to overcome the problem of escalating prices of
houses in Malaysia currently and in the future. The concepts proposed (basic homes or flexible homes) will allow
the homes to evolve horizontally and vertically (refer to diagrams 2). This concept makes allowance for the addition
and renovation of houses based on current requirements and desires of the owners, such as when their families have
grown larger.
The young earners will be able to own their own landed houses at an affordable price, and still being able to
obtain basic houses and expand according to needs, like adding more rooms without involving wet construction, and
adding the storey to 2 or 3 storeys without affecting the existing structure of the house. By examining the level of
acceptance of the Malaysian community, especially young executives, construction structure, construction costs and
minimum span of the land, this concept should be able to overcome the issue of affordability among the young
executives when it comes to being in possession of their own landed property.
This is due to the fact that the outcome of this study expects that the proposed houses would stay at prices found
affordable by people with middle level salaries.
Diagram 2 : The concept of a home with horizontal evolution
61
4. Conclusion
Owning a home, after food, is a basic essential for everyone, irrespective of the level of income that they have.
On this realisation, this study is decided to be done seeing that the house price increase crises have become
increasingly persistent for the past 3 years. The issue of construction material price increase stands prominent as the
main speculation in house price increase, yet the government steps up by taking the initiative to address the issue by
targeting the middle income citizens. Therefore, this study proves to be significant to aid the people who earn
middle level of income, especially the young executives to be in possession of landed property, with the adaptation
on the current environment, especially the economy. This certainly lightens everyone’s burden, especially those
living in urban areas, who are always pressured with various financial obligations. It is hoped that this study can
help the country in handling issues pertinent to the increasing house price, whereby the younger citizens who earn
moderate income (RM3000-RM6000) are only eligible and qualified to own storey homes like the apartment with
the price less than RM 200,000. This study anticipates for this younger generation to be eligible to own landed
property with affordable prices. Everyone should be entitled to enjoy the comfort of their own homes as stressed
through home ownership democracy, indicated by the conviction that home ownership is in line with human natural
desire to have their own assets and properties, for security and as a vehicle to prove that their basic rights can be
enhanced.
References
Suhaida M.S., Tawil M.N., Hamzah N., Che-Ani A.I. and Tahir M.M. A Conceptual Overview Of Housing
Affordability In Selangor, Malaysia. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology. 2010. Pp.
72.
National Housing Policy, 2010. National Housing Department Ministry Of Housing And Local Government.
Julaihi & Abdul Hadi. 1999. Aspek Budaya Dalam Reka Bentuk Perumahan Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Satiawacana.
PR1MA, http://www.pr1ma.my/. [Assessed 10 October 2011].
Magendran Rajagopal, 2011/07/05. PR1MA: Pinjaman hingga 105 peratus, Berita Harian.
Puteri Ameera Mentaza Khan, Rosadah Mahamud, Norhaya Kamaruddin. 2012. Overview of Housing Affordability
for First Time Home Buyer in Malaysia. 3rd International Conference on Business and Economic
Research (3rd ICBER 2012) Proceeding, 12-13 March 2012. 388-400.
Shaharudin Idrus, 2011. Memahami ekologi perumahan. Rencana, arkib utusan Malaysia, 29 January 2011.
Wan, N. A., Hanif, N.R and Singaravelloo, K., 2010. “Housing affordability issues for middle income households:
The Malaysian perspective”. ENHR 2010 Conference, Istanbul, Turki, July 4-7.
N. Hamzah M.A. Khoiry, M.A.M. Ali, N.S. Zaini, I.Arshad, 2011. Faktor Luaran Dan Dalaman Yang
Mempengaruhi Harga Rumah Teres Di Bandar Baru Bangi. Journal Design + Built, 2011. pp 1-7.
62
Biomimicry Of Palm Tree Leaves Form And Pattern On

Building Form
N.A. Agus Salima,, M.A. Othuman Mydin b, N. H. Md. Ulangc
a
Building Surveying Department, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak, Perak, Malaysia
b,c
School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia
Abstract
This article is a study on biomimicry of palm tree towards a building form. It is to find a suitable form and pattern that can be
applied to building shell to ease building maintenance operation beside to enhance the aesthetic value of a building architecture.
The research has been carried out by observation and modeling on some various species of palm tree’s patterns and forms. The
result expectation can be found at the end of this research by producing the best pattern of palm tree that can be adapted to
building envelop as the whole form of a building.
Keywords : Biomimicry, form, pattern, palm tree
1. Introduction
Palm tree: Palm tree is growth without branch evergreen and the leaves with long feathered or fan-shaped. The old
leaves scars forming a hard regular pattern on the trunk. The population of this tree normally dominated on sandy
soil in tropical climate country. The palm tree is described as well-known with its longevity due to its largely
organismal life span by the period over which constituent cells can function metabolically by Barny Tomlinson and
Huggett (2012). In addition, this plants. It is also listed in low maintenance landscape category characteristics by
Haynes et al, (2012). It is considered by experimenting the fertilizer requirement, pest control and disease problem.
It is famous with self-cleaning tree without trimming, cleaning and cutting any part from the trees. Besides, it has a
unique shape of stump, simple lines on leaves for shades and jazzed up textural. These are the characteristic of the
palm trees and its leaves bring into architectural styles and modification of the forms and patterns on building shape.
2. Species of Palm Trees In Tropical Country
There are 32 species of palm trees has been experimented in this research (Figure 1). These palm trees are
population in tropical country. In conjunction to find the most suitable pattern and form of palm trees for a building
in tropical country; the pattern, form and structure of these palm trees are explored. These trees survived in tropical
climate through the form of leaves and it is important to prevent from dehydrated beside of its special texture and
character of its structure. These are the species of palm trees populated in tropical country.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +60133891979; fax: +6053742244.

E-mail address: nuzaihanaras@gmail.com
63
SPECIES OF PALM TREES
Alexander Palm Areca Palm Bismarck Palm Blue Hesper Palm
Canary Island Date Palm Chinese Fan Palm Christmas Palm Chusan Palm
Coconut Palm Dwarf Palmetto Edible Date Palm European Fan Palm
Fishtail Palm Foxtail Palm Guadalupe Palm Indian Date Palm
Majestic Palm Mexican Palmetto Montgomery Palm Paurotis Palm
64
Pigmy Date Palm Pindo or Jelly Palm Queen Palm Royal Palm
Sabal Palm Sago Palm Senegal Palm Sylvester Palm
Tiger Palm Travellers Palm Triangle Palm Washington Palm

Figure 1: Species of palm trees populated in tropical country (http://www.palmantics.com/palms/palm_pics.php)
Figure 1: The species of palm trees in tropical country (http://www.palmantics.com/palms/palm_pics.php).
3. Methodology Through The Identification Form Of Tropical Palm Leaves
The correlational research has been carried out to identify the common pattern of palm leaf in tropical country.
Therefore, a table in Figure 2 shows the characteristic on palm leaves patterns and trees on the above 32 species in
tropical country. These patterns have been explored to help to identify the identity of tropical palm tree in Asia. The
exploration includes patterns, cross section of leaves and the tree structures.
65
Identification Form Of Tropical Palm Leaves
NO. NAME OF SCIENTIFIC NAME PATTERN SECTIONS STRUCTURE

SPECIES
1. Alexander Palm Archintophoenix
alexandrae
2. Areca Palm Areca triandra
3. Bismarck Palm Bismarckia nobilis
4. Blue Hesper Palm Brahea armata
5. Canary Island Pheonix canariensis

Date Palm
6. Chinese Fan Palm Livistona chinensis
7. Christmas Palm Veitchia merillii
8. Chusan Palm Trachycarpus fortunei
9. Coconut Palm Coco nucifera
66
10. Edible Date Palm Phoenix dactilifera
11. European Fan Chamaerops humilis

Palm
12. Fishtail Palm Caryota mitis
13. Foxtail Palm Wodyetia bifurcata
14. Guadalupe Palm Brahea edulis
15. Indian Date Palm Phoenix rupicola
16. Majestic Palm Ravenea rivularis
17. Montgomery Palm Veitchia montgomeryana
18. Paurotis Palm Acoelorrhape wrightii
67
19. Pigmy Date Palm Phoenix roebelenii
20. PaPindo / Jelly Butia capitata

Palm
21. Queen Palm Syagrus romannzoffiana
22. Senegal Date Palm Phoenix reclinata
23. Royal Palm Roystonea regia
24. Mexican Palmetto Sabal Mexicana
25. Dwarf Palmetto Sabal Mexicana
26. Sabal Palm Sabal palmetto
27. Sylvester Palm Phoenix sylvestris
28. Tiger Palm Burretiokentia vieillardii
68
29. Triangle Palm Dypsis decaryi
30. Washingston Palm Washingtonia robusta
31. Sago Palm Cycas revolute
32. Travellers Palm Ravenala

madagascariensis
Figure 2 : The Characteristic of Palm Leaves in different species.
Figure 2 shows that most of the palm trees have a wide form of leaves. This leaves is supported with a strong bones
in the middle jointing one to another. The number of this leaves in a bunch make the trees becoming a shelter and
produce an airy shade. The air can flow in between the leaves to avoid from obstruction that can produce a high
density of wind load. In addition, some of the species trees reached more than 5 metres height. This species survived
with thin stump and less leaves to decrease its loads beside to prevent from falling down. Figure 3 shows the
common palm trees pattern, form and structure in tropical country.
4. Finding and Analysis Of Palm Leaves Form And Pattern
The palm trees do have a certain character that can be developed into building envelope. The character comes with
slope, beam, smooth and flat surface that helped in building cleaning and maintenance. In this, study, there are three
(3) characters have been discovered. There are form, pattern and structure. Graph 1 shows the common patterns of
palm leaves in tropical country. The higher number of species owns the patterns of palm leaves are the feather shape
and followed with the fan shape. The details are followed in Table 1.
20
15
10
0
FAN FISH FEATHER FOX TAIL
SHAPE TAILS SHAPE
Graph 1: The common pattern of palm leaf in tropical country.
69
Analysis Of Tropical Palm Leaves Form And Pattern
NO. FORM PATTERN STRUCTURE NO. OF

SPECIES
Form in round shape. It is combination of many straight structured 11
segments centralised with a rhythm of length. At the end of each
1 segment, it is end up by a sharp form. It is similar with a fan shape.
There 2 parts and mostly are symmetry. These 2 parts jointing at one 0
point and end up with two different directions in same length. It is also
2 a combination of many straight structured segments. In the middle of
each part, it is formed in a volume and end with a sharp point. This
shape similar to a fish tail.
It is structured with a strong trunk. There are many segments jointing 18
at this trunk with different length and rhythm. These segments end up
3 with sharp point. It is likely to a duck feather.
It is formed with 3 complicated form. The main trunk jointing with the 1
secondary trunk. The secondary trunk is smaller than the main trunk.
4 Each leaf formed like a fish tail combined to this secondary trunk. This
palm leaf is obviously different from ordinary palm tree. The overall
form is more to a pine tree.
This leaf consist of the combination of ordinary palm leaf segment. 2
However, the pattern on arrangement of these segments swirl on the
5 main trunk. The form known as a foxtail.
It is fraction of the segments and jointing at the centre of the leaf. The 0
segment is sharp at the end of it.
6
Table 1: The collection of common pattern of tropical palm leaf.
a) Palm Leaves Characteristic In Architecture
The wellknown palm leaf’s pattern that is been mimicry into building form and texture is fan shape. This shape is
widely used by adapting the flow and wave of the leave. Figure 3 and 4 shows the common pattern that been
mimicry into building envelope.
Figure 3: The common pattern of palm leaf contributes in biomimicry of a building.
70
Figure 4: The common pattern of palm leaf contributes in biomimicry of a building.
Most of the architects choose to mimicry the palm leaf fan shape and form in building envelope design. This is
because the shape of this leaf is form as an umbrella. The segments are jointed to each other to become a shelter.
There are flat and smooth surface to facilitate the rain water passage through its slope (Figure 5).
Figure 5: The mechanism of the pattern on building envelope.
Case Study
These are amongst of the buildings that mimicry the palm tree and leaf pattern on the building.
a. Kuala Lumpur International Airport
71
b. National Mosque Kuala Lumpur
c. Marine Parada Community Club
d. Valencia
72
e. Wuzhen Theather Hall
References
D. Akca , A. Gruen (2003), Re-sequencing a historical palm leaf manuscript with boundary-based shape
descriptors. ETH, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry, 19 th CIPA
International Symposium Antalya, Turkey. http://cipa.icomos.org/fileadmin/template/doc/antalya/12.pdf
Gibbons, M. & T. Spanner (1997). Trachycarpus oreophilus—TheThailand Trachycarpus.
http://www.palmantics.com/palms/palm_pics.php
Jose. L. Arans & Kevin P. Hogan (1994), Leaf Structure &Patterns Of Photoinhibition In Two Neotropical Palm In
Clearing And Forest Understanding During The Dry Season,American Journal Of Botany, Vol. 81. US
73
The Effect Of Construction Cost Estimating (CCE) Software On

Job Performance: An Improvement Plan
E.M.A Zawawia1. M.F.M.Mukelasa, Z.Aliasa, K.M. Syukura
a
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Mara, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Malaysia
Abstract
This paper presents a comprehensive statistical research on the effect of construction cost estimating software’s
features towards estimating job performance. The objectives of this study are identification of cost estimating
software features, analyzing the significant relation of cost estimating software’s features towards job performance,
Explore the problem faced during the implementation and lastly propose a plan to improve the cost estimating
software usage among contractors in Malaysia. The study statistically reveals four features of cost estimating
software that significantly impact towards changes in cost estimating job performance. These features were refined
by performing interview to focus group of respondent to observe the actual possible problems during the
implementation. Eventually, the proposed improvement plan was validated by the focus group of respondents to
enhance the cost estimating software implementation among contractors in Malaysia.
Keywords: Estimating software, Cost estimating job performance, construction software, estimating software features, estimating software
improvement plan.
1. Introduction
In Malaysia, the usage of cost estimating software was very limited (Mofti,2011), moreover, the commercial
CCE software also has failed to meet the user’s requirement especially in increasing estimating productivity and it
was agreed by (Mofti,2011), when the current estimating programs are unable to fully satisfy their own users. Not
only that, lack of strategic insights often resulting from poor ICT literacy and an inability to understand its potential.
Thus, it shows lack of knowledge on benefits tapped for ICT application like commercial CCE software leading to
lack of strategic development plan to further implement the software. Besides that, lacking in exposure on the
guideline in enhancing usage of the software has badly impact to the contractor. It reduces the contractor’s
confidence level to invest into ICT. The same goes to the estimating software when the contractors as users lack of
confidence in investing in ICT, to use the software as tool for their estimating activities. So that, unavailability of
clear guideline on method to continuously and improve the software usage, then contractors will stay feel
unprofitable to invest in this software due to unconfident on the benefits from the software outcome. Therefore, the
establishment of framework to further improves the commercial CCE software usage is crucially needed in order to
provide clear guideline to contractor to confidently invest in this software
In addition, the global economic competition trend has also become apparent in construction industry, with client
expecting a better service and project that meet their requirements more closely, Sarah (2006). Plus with the bad
reputation in construction industry delivery as similarly discussed by Kamarani (2002), the Malaysian construction
industry faces serious problems such low productivity, heavy reliance on a large pool of unskilled and foreign labor
and labor intensive construction techniques. Therefore, automation in construction industry is crucially needed in
way to improve the construction performance. For example the construction industry has greatly earning benefit
from the ICT through increasing the speed of information flow, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of
information communication and reducing the cost of information transfer Chen (2011). The ICT application widely
used by contractors in all phases of construction activities.
* Corresponding author. Tel.:

E-mail address:
74
However, this reseach will disscuss more specific the effect of construction cost estimating software on job
performance.
The research used to conduct both primary and secondary data collection method, the primary data collection
was conducted using quantitative method of questionnaire survey and qualitative method of interview session.
However the secondary data were conducted using online databases from Science Direct, Scopus, Emerald, and
American Society of Civil Engineer (ASCE), Building Economic journal, and Journal of construction technology.
Literature was drawn to illustrate the breadth of knowledge on CCE software including features. These theoretical
finding used to develop the questionnaire for second stage of quantitative data collection.
The survey was distributed among contractors in Malaysia that use the cost estimating software, the sample
sizes were determined based on users listed by the software vendor. So that out of 82 questionnaires distributed by
both hand and postage within 1st January 2013 to 15 March 2013, 63 were retrieved. Five (5) of the returns were
found invalid because it was badly completed and therefore it was discarded. This produce new numbers of effective
responds to 58, which represents a response rate of 70.%. This response rate is considered adequate as, referring to
Ellhag and Boussabaine (1999) and Idrus & Newman (2002), a response rate of 30% is good enough in construction
studies.
The questionnaire contains 30 variables of cost estimating features. The variable represents features that
available for the most cost estimating software in Malaysia. The features lists were collected from various sources
including from electronic sources and meeting with software representative. It was further arranged according to
cost estimating sequential of job and clearly explained in the previous chapter of literature review.
In term of the reliability of items in questionnaire, the data was tested using Cronbach’s Alpha is 0.904, which
is more than 0.70. This shows that the instrument used for this research is highly reliable. The survey data is
analyzed using statistical Kruskall- Wallis test as shown in the following figure 1, to measure the relationship
between cost estimating software’s features towards performance of the cost estimating job. According to Field
(2009), it is non parametric test of whether more than two independent groups differ. The test relies on scores being
ranked from the lowest to the highest, which represent greater number of lowest score and greater number of highest
score.
What so important in this test is the significant value, which determines the group of studies that significantly
give effect to the related factors. Any value that less than 0.5 is considered as significant because it gives us a lot of
confidence that the significant effect is genuine Field (2009). So that, finally the discussion will take place to throw
an opinion and reason for the outcome specifically to significant factors and groups.
75
12 K Ri²
H=
N (N - 1)
Σ
i=1 ni
- 3 (N + 1)
Legend:
ni Is the sample size of a particular
Ri group
Is the sum of ranks for each group
H Krushal wallist
test
Is a total sample
N
size
Figure 1: Kruskall-Wallis test equation
*Source: Field (2009)
The significant variable is then further investigated to explore its problems especially during the
implementation. The only ways to find reliable and relevant data with regards to detail problems during the
implementation, therefore interview was conducted within 20 focus groups of questionnaire respondent. Advantages
of having qualitative method of research point out by homestead.com (2011) as getting depth and detail information
compared to standardized questionnaire, openness in generating new theories and recognize phenomena. So that, the
interview method is capable to help researcher to find data that cannot be collected by questionnaire survey.
3. Result & Discussion
3.1 Variable related to construction cost estimating software features
Table 1: List of variable related to CCE software features
CCE activity CCES features

Quotation invitation to Create a quote in Microsoft Word based on your own template designs.
sub-contractor Links material and labor prices to vendors and subcontractors
Tender estimation taking Calculates quantity of materials required for a job
off Calculates quantity of labor required for a job
Generates purchase orders and work orders based on take-off
Links material and labor prices to vendors and subcontractors
Utilizes master database of material Items
Allows for use of assemblies in take-off
Provides material quantity reporting
Generates price comparison reports
Integrates with take-off packages and digitizers
Integrate with third party quantity takeoff software using Takeoff Integrator
Material/Labor/Equipment The Spread feature allows you to manipulate your submission price on an
usage calculation Item by Item basis
Routines feature is easy-touse and designed to handle repetitive activities.
latest Resource prices from your central Resource Library build the estimate
for you.
Estimate checked Easily modify and add cost data to suit your local conditions and business.
The Cost Check feature is ideal for updating previous estimates with current
76
prices. It determines price are out of date and elect to update all.
Final summary Benchmark Estimating Software gives you over 80 individual reports for each
Project these include bill of materials, Resource usage and estimate review
reports
All reports can be exported to Microsoft Word, Excel and PDF formats giving
you a clear, transparent format for management to review an estimate
Project templates make it easy to estimate "standard" types of projects
Estimate and project management reporting
Quotation replied by sub Benchmark Estimating Software gives you over 80 individual reports for each
contractor Project these include bill of materials, Resource usage and estimate review
reports
All reports can be exported to Microsoft Word, Excel and PDF formats giving
you a clear, transparent format for management to review an estimate
Project templates make it easy to estimate "standard" types of projects
Estimate and project management reporting
All the Resources for each Item in your bid can be viewed in one screen,
making it fast and easy to review and edit details of your bid and ensuring
maximum accuracy within your estimates
Competitive bid tracking handles price quotes from suppliers and
subcontractors
Compile final cost figure Client’s schedule of Items is loaded electronically, eliminating the need to
retype details.
Import multiple Items from library to one Item in schedule, giving amazing
flexibility to bid any job, regardless of client specifications.
The flexibility is in your hands with the popular quote with options report,
and the ability to create a quote in Microsoft Word based
Checking on profit/loss Extras allow add profit (mark-up) as an overall percentage or as a lump sum.
tabulation You can add different mark-up percentages to your Labour, Plant, Materials
and Subcontract components.
Approved & tender Manipulate your submission price on an Item by Item basis. The spread can
submission be print out item by item according to BQ listed and make it easy for tender
pricing purposes.
Referring to table 1, Both study of CCE knowledge that discussed by (Fang, 2006) which explore ISO standard
procedure of contractor’s estimating procedure and CCES features which collected from actual software features
offers by different types of CCES known as Masterbill (Masterbill, 2012), Buildsoft (Buildsoft,2011), Ripac (CSSP,
2002), Goldenseal estimate (turtlesoft.com, 2006), and benchmark estimating software (benchmarkestimating.com,
2012). Finally, both informations were combined to form a summary of CCES features that devided carefully
according to CCES activity and procedure
77
3.2 Variable related to cost estimating performance
Tender
price
Desired
tender
price Reaction
Tender Price gap

Action
Current
tender
Contractor cost
price
estimating (CCE)
preparation
Figure 2: Proposed of CCE software performance model
* Sources: Adapted from Martin Sexton and Peter Barrett (2010)
The above figure 2 explains the CCE performance (Tender price) and CCE preparation is related each other. The
researcher conclude the evidence above by defining contractor cost estimate (CCE) preparation as a process to built
up the unit price of construction resources according to a given tender document, which finally used to multiple with
a given quantity in Bill of quantity document (BQ) to produce a total cost known as tender price. The tender price is
then further evaluated by client to be awarded.
Referring back to figure 28, it shows both current performance and desired performance. In this research context,
these are very important element in determine the CCE performance in term of tender performance. As discussed
before, other method of measuring tender performance was plenty of biases and therefore, researcher was decided to
used and compare both current and desired performance in order to identify the power of CCE software against CCE
performance. Then, the following discussion explains in depth on both current and desired performance with respect
to this research context.
i) Current performance
In this research context, the researcher defines a current performance as a proposed tender price promoted by
contractor to respective client in a given set of tender. Since this research is focusing on the usage of CCE software
during preparing CCE for tender price, therefore contractor with CCE software implementation will be evaluated.
ii) Desired performance
Meanwhile desired performance refers to the lowest tender price for a similar tender project. This is relevant
when contractor invest to use CCE software with objective for improving the accuracy and assist in preparation
tender price which eventually increase the potential to be awarded. So that, the lowest tender price became a
benchmark for contractor to measure the CCE performance in term of tender price.
Basically, the client will display the tender price after the submission date to the public. The practice was used
in Malaysia especially for open tendering procurement method. The display only shows the ranking and the
proposed tender price and invisible the company names. Normally, the lowest tender price will be ranked at first and
it ascents downward up to total numbers of contractor join to compete the tender. So that, the 1st ranking which
indicates the lowest tender price need to identify and further compare with the own tender price.
78
95% of Confidence
Monte Interval
(Performance of estimating Chi- Asymp.
No df Carlo
software )* Group of variable Square Sig. Lower Upper
Sig.
bound bound
Online quote invitation via email to
4.082 4 .039 .043a .042 .045
supplier or sub contractor
The cost check feature is ideal for
updating price quote with current
1.476 3 .048 .037a .041 .044
prices. It determines prices are out of
date and update all.
All reports can be exported to Microsoft
Word, Excel and PDF formats giving you 7.720
3 .048 .038a .035 .042
a clear, transparent format for
management to review an estimate
Import multiple Items from library to one
Item in schedule, giving amazing
12.049 3 .007 .001a .000 .001
flexibility to bid any job, regardless of
client specifications.
Table 2: Significance variables of CCE software features against cost estimating performance
Variable Satisfaction level N Mean Rank

Performance of measurement Not satisfy at all 10 12.80
(Lowest cost) Slightly satisfy 8 11.13
Online quote invitation via Satisfy 2 12.00
email to supplier or sub Very satisfy 2 17.00
Contractor 1 1.00
Extremely satisfy
Total 23
Performance of measurement Slightly satisfy 2 7.50
(Lowest cost)* Satisfy 8 11.13
The cost check feature is ideal Very satisfy 10 13.25
for updating price quote with
Extremely satisfy 3 13.17
current prices
Total 23
(Lowest cost) Satisfy 12 8.58
All reports can be exported Very satisfy 4 14.13
to Microsoft Word, Excel and PDF
Extremely satisfy 3 19.33
formats
Total 23
(Lowest cost) Satisfy 3 18.33
Import multiple Items from Very satisfy 5 16.70
library to one Item in schedule Extremely satisfy 1 22.50
Total 23
79
Combination between both statistical results in table 2 and table 3 is important to interpret the results of effect CCE
software features against its job performance. As discussed in previous methodology chapter, table 2 shows the
significant variable against cost estimating performance and the table 3 use to broaden the significant result towards
satisfaction by users.
Firstly, the online quote invitation via email to supplier or subcontractor towards its performance, H(4), 4.082,
p<0.05 (refer table 2) and the highest frequency within its satisfaction group (frequency= 10) at “Not satisfy at all”
(refer table 3). The bad internet infrastructure and unavailability of expertise to respond the contractor’s online
quotation make the vendors and subcontractors refuse to use online quotation and prefer to use manually using
facsimile transfer. This is very bad for contractors to fully automate their cost estimating activities.
The combination between cost check features towards its performance also seen having the significance differences,
H(3), 1.476, p<0.05 (refer table 2) and the highest frequency within satisfaction group (frequency =10) at “Very
satisfy” (refer table 3). This result was generally affected from the excellent features performance, which make user
feel easy to track anything error in during the cost estimating works. It improve the accuracy by limiting the cost
price error and finally produce very competitive tender price.
Other than that, there is also significance different between Exporting report to various format of Microsoft word,
Excell and PDF towards its performance. H(3), 7.720, p<0.05 (refer table 2) and the highest frequency within the
satisfaction group (frequency= 12) at “Satisfy”. (refer table 3). Most of the user are convenience with this features, it
is useful especially when the vendor or sub contractor demand for quotation with different formatting. This make
contractor feel happy and generally satisfy to help them in preparing better tender price.
Features of Library also shows significance differences against its performance, H (3), 12.049, p<0.05 (refer table 2)
and the highest frequency within the satisfaction group (frequency=14) at “satisfy” (refer table 23). The library
function to store the prices and keep it updated to be used to price the tender has improve the price searching
activities. It capable to give the latest prices based on previous project within just a minute without go through the
quotation process. So that, the user can earns the benefits of easiest and fastest tender price rate searching
4. Conclusion and Recommendation
In conclusion, the research found more than 30 features used for CCE software through the comprehensive
journal review of secondary data. Besides, the method to measure the CCE performance was found to be effected
from the automation in doing cost estimating activities. These two independent variables were statistically tested and
reveal only four of them has significant relationship each others. Eventually, these significant variables were further
tested more using cross tabulation in effort to determine its effect against CCE performance to be negative or
positive. Therefore, the following table 4 and 5 are summary of recommendation of improvement plan towards
better implementation among contractors in Malaysia.
Table 4: Summary of recommendation for improvement
CCE software features Problems (Interview) Improvement plan (Proposed)

The third parties such sub contractors Sub contractors and suppliers
and supplier refuse to use the online especially those from Small Medium
Online quote invitation application to respond the quotation Enterprise (SME) should invest more
because of unavailability in expertise in ICT infrastructure and hire staff
and ICT infrastructure. with ICT knowledge and skills
The cost check features is not working The software developer should
well to update the prices to be relevant integrate GPS with cost check features
The cost check feature.
especially in ensuring the accuracy for to ensure the prices can be updated
different project location according to location of project
80
The report is too rigid and limits users The software developer should allow
All reports can be exported to to custom the price and specification for the users to have greater flexibility
Microsoft Word, Excel and PDF especially when it is needed by the in extracting the virtual information as
formats suppliers and sub contractors. to cater the quotation needs
Basically, there is no department The contractors should introduce
assigned to control the library, in department that specifically
Import multiple Items from library to
order to keep it updated. It reduce its designated to manage the library.
one Item in schedule
usage to save time in looking the best Functioning to keep the prices
price during the estimating process. updated and relevant to be used
Acknowledgement
This research paper was funded by Research Management Institute (RMI), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).
References
Andy Field (2009) Discovering statistic using SPSS Textbook, 4 th Edition

benchmarkestimating.com. (2012). Retrieved 10 8, 2012, from http://benchmarkestimating.com/industries/civil/
Buildsoft. (2011). Retrieved 10 2, 2012, from http://www.buildsoft.com/index.asp
B., I. A. (2002). Construction related factors influencing choice of concrete floor systems. Construction
Management and Economics , 13-19.
CSSP. (2002). Retrieved 10 2, 2012, from http://www.cssp.co.uk/content/products/ripac.php
Fang, L. T. (2006). ISO 9001:2000 Quality management system in construction- Tendering procedure. Thesis .
Homestead.com (2011) Retrieved 9 1, 2012, from http://www.homestead.com/qualitative data
Kamarani, M. K. (2002). REFORMING MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY TOWARDS. ASIAN

FORUM 2002. Kuala Lumpur: CIDB Malaysia.
Martin Sexton & Peter Barrett. (2010). Appropriate innovation in small construction firms. Construction
Management and Economics , 623-633.
Marjuki, M. b. (2006). Computerize building estimating system. Thesis .
Masterbill. (2012). Retrieved 10 2, 2012, from http://www.masterbill.com/1/default.asp
Peansupap,V and Walker, d. (2005). Exploratory factors infleuncing information and communication technology
diffusion and adoption within Australian construction organization: a micro analysis. Construction Innovation , 5
(3), 135-57.
Sarah Bowden, Alex Dorr, Tony Thorpe, Chimay Anumba. (2005, August 30). Mobile ICT support for construction
process improvement. Automation in Construction , 664-676.
Turtlesoft.com. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.turtlesoft.com/Estimating-Software.html
Yuan Chen, J. M. (2011). A framework for using mobile computing for information management on construction
sites. Automation in construction , 001-013.
81
Wood as a main material for Traditional Malay House based on

criteria of Green Building material
S. Z. Hashima,6*, H. Hashim b, N. Kamarulzaman c , A. A. Saleh d,
a
Building Surveying Department, Faculty Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM Seri Iskandar, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
Green building concept is one of the best solutions for the environmental aspect. The professional bodies in construction industry
are now practicing this concept to their new development. In current situation in Malaysia, there has produce the green building
rating system to give a reward to the building that can achieve the level of sustainability. To implement this concept still have a
several barriers especially on the documentation process, lack of knowledge and also financial aspect. To increase the
implementation of green building concept, government have to an incentive to the key players in construction industry. This
research to get an overview on the application of wood materials in green building concept for traditional Malay house. The
finding from this review shown that used the wood as a main material for traditional Malay house can give a better impact to the
environment building itself and environment. The tool used to achieve best practice in this research is benchmarking for
efficiency and effectiveness.
Keywords: Sustainability, Wood, Timber,Waste material
1. Introduction
Green building concept is one of the concepts that can save the energy in the building. Its also become as a good
business sense. The factors that involve in green building concept are indoor air quality, energy consumption,
material, water use and locations. The main issue by using this concept is to reducing the waste material and
inefficiency while increasing comfort and productivity (Sullivan, 2008).
In Malaysia, a traditional house is one of the main concept involve over the generations and adapted to the needs,
culture and environment. These traditional houses have continued to serve many in the Third World. Most of the
Malaysian choose this traditional house concept because there are cheap to construct, making intensive use of labour
rather than capital, individual needs of occupant and more focus on the use values compared to market value. This
happened because the people starting before Third War, they did not have any specialty in technology to produce
something better houses.
Majority of people living in rural areas of Malaysia used the traditional Malay house. Basically the material used
for traditional Malay house such as timber, bamboo, rattan, tree roots and leaves. Traditional Malay house can be
described as raised on timber stilts.
For traditional Malay house components are made on the ground and later assembled on the building site. A very
sophisticated addition system, which allows the house to grow with the needs of the user, this is an advantages for
the poor people because it allows them to invest and built gradually rather than shouldering one huge initial financial
burden.

E-mail address: sitiz056@perak.uitm.edu.my
82
2. Literature review
2.1 Traditional Malay House
Traditional Malay house usually have pitched roofs, verandahs or porches in front, high ceiling and also have
lots of opening for natural ventilation purposes. In Peninsular Malaysia, traditional Malay house are different
between state and also their shapes and sizes.
The climate factor is one of the influences to the roof of the traditional Malay house. Malaysia is located at the
central part of the Southeast Asia. Temperatures in Malaysia is about range from 25C to 34 C and sunny, hot and
humid all the year. The roofs of the traditional Malay house are very steep because of heavy monsoon rains (Jee
Yuan, 2008)
Due to Malaysia has a tropical climate, building material such as timber, rattan, tree roots, leaves and bamboo
are available from the tropical forest. Timber is the main material used for the structure of the traditional Malay
house such as for the column, floor, wall, roof trusses and others.
Most of the traditional Malay house was made from the timber as a main material. The timber can give a good
impact to the environment inside and outside of the building.
Figure 1: Traditional Malay House

Sources: The Traditional Malay house
2.2 Green building materials
Currently in market have green building material products which are used to build, furnish and power building.
To ensure that, the material have to meet certain eco- friendly criteria such as being manufactured from recycled
materials or containing low- VOC levels. The material will be greener when it meets more the criteria. The term
“green washing” has come into vogue to identify products that purport to contain green characteristics.
The green building material itself should have no negative impact to the environment and it might be give a
positive impact to the environment including air, land and water purification. There is no perfect of green building
material, but in practice there are a growing number of green materials that reduce negative impact on the
environment and people (Kubba, 2010).
Recycled material is very effective to produce green building materials. This is because the material can be
recycled once they useful lifespan is over. The building materials also can be classified as green because it made
from renewable resources that are sustainable harvested such as rain water that can used in toilet. Another good
example of an environmentally friendly building material is made from cement and recycled wood fiber. Durable
products made from environmentally friendly materials such as recycled waste offer even greater benefits.
83
2.3 Materials: Natural versus Synthetic
The definition of natural materials is unprocessed or minimally processed in industry such as timber or glass.
Vice versa to the synthetic materials are manufactured in factory after undergoing considerable human
manipulations such as plastics (Kabba, 2010).
2.3.1 Natural Building Materials
The impact of using the natural material in construction industry is decrease the cost and pollution associated
with the transportation. The natural materials that using in building construction such as stone and timber. The more
popular naturally occurring building materials are:
 Adobe
 Cob
 Cordwood
 Stone, granite
 Straw bale
 Bamboo
 Lumber
2.3.2 Synthetic Materials
The good example of typical synthetic material is plastic. Nowadays the challenge to the industrial is to meet the
required specifications of natural materials. The adaptability and the general uniformity of composition as well as
the lightness of plastics, use in awide variety of industrial and other application (Kabba, 2010).
2.4 Wood as a main natural material for traditional Malay house
The commonly material used for traditional Malay house is wood. Recently, the wood used the traditional Malay
house is from the environment such as cengal, jati and bamboo. There have lots of type of wood that can be used
and requires special precautions. There is therefore considerable interest in the development of more
environmentally friendly alternatives. Since most of the quality material timbers exported to other country, the local
market is deprived of high quality of hardwoods.
To overcome the problem, the wood can be change to the new types of wood such as Organo Wood AB with
proper management a flow of wood products can be maintained indefinitely. The importance of forest-based
products to economy and standard of living is hard to overemphasize. However, the sustainability of this resource
requires forestry and harvesting practices that ensure the long-term health and diversity of forests (Bakken, 2006).
Unfortunately, sustainable practices have not always been applied in the past, nor are they universally applied
around the world today.
According to Marten Hellberg (2012), CEO of OrganoWood AB, one of the new materials that can protect wood
from decay and fire is Organo Wood. This type of wood is contains no biocides or heavy metal and also flame
retardant and maintenance free. This wood is inspired by the natural fossilizing process called organic catalysis. This
wood contains small natural substances that catalyze the reaction in which silicon is bound to the cellulose
molecules. The catalyst is found in fruits and vegetables and preservative fluid is water- based and contains no
substances that are classified as hazardous.
 Cellulose molecules
In pharmaceutical industry already been used the small organic molecules but many interesting possibilities will
open up especially when its applied to wood. According to Hellberg, in the timber, silicon binds itself to cellulose
molecules and the result is a physical barrier to decay. In the timber, silicon binds itself to cellulose molecules and
the result is a physical barrier to decay said Hellberg (2012). Rotting agents no longer see the wood as a nutrient,
and a piece of wood that has been buried in the ground for three years shows no infestation of dry rot. The
mineralization also makes the wood resistant to fire in an excellent manner. The wood treated with their technology
84
consists of approximately 10 percent silicon and the rest is wood. Fossilization occurs primarily on the surface of the
fibers, which encapsulates them and makes them inaccessible for decaying fungi. The wood has undergone tests for
rot and fire protection with very good results. When the timber reaches the end of its life, it need not be treated as
hazardous waste but can be reused for something else (Yudelson, 2008).
The modified wood can be used for patio decking and terraces but an entire house can also be built with it. The
wood has a natural color and may in time develop a silver gray tint with a hard and even surface increasing the
wood’s life even further.
Figure 2: Organo WoodSources: Natural Wood Preservation, 2012
3. Conclusion
Wood material is being used by people all over the world to create shelters and other structures to suit their local
weather conditions. That is the reason for Malaysian used wood as a main material for their building especially
house in Third World. Based on weather in Malaysia, wood can produce cool environment at night compare to day
and the wood itself is a eco- friendly to the environment. To increase the implementation of Green Building Concept
in Traditional Malay House, the government can encourage all the key players in construction industry to use this
concept by giving a incentive, self-help, mutual-help and site-and-services. The government can use an approach by
providing land, resources and finance. The traditional Malay house can be developed as a prototype for such
approaches because its involved a highly sophisticated building system. According to Jee Juan (2010) , the
availability of good-quality timber at cheaper prices will become an encouragement for Malaysians to build high-
quality timber houses.
References
Edward Sullivan (2008), “Getting green right”, Building Operating Management; Jun 2008; 55, 6; ProQuest Educations journal,
pg.8.
Lim Jee Yuan (2008) “The Traditional House”, Indegenous and Traditional Knowledge & Practice.
Marten Hellberg (2012), “Organowood (Natural Wood Preservation)”, Announcement.
Peggy Bakken (2006), “Build green, save green”, Credit Union Magazine; May 2007; 54, 5; ProQuest Educations journal, pg. 28.
Sam Kubba (2010), “Green Constuction Project Management and Cost Oversight”, Architectural Press.
Yudelson, J (2008), “The Green building Revolution”, Washington DC: Island Press.
85
Assessment of Mould Growth for Library Buildings in Tropical

Climates
S. Ngah Abdul Wahaba7*, M. F. Khamidib, N. Jamaludinc
abc
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 37150 Tronoh Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
This paper attempt to give a brief insight into the importance of studying mould growth in library building that
relates to human health and causes of material deterioration to library materials. It’s significant to conduct this
research because no similar study has carried out for a library building in Malaysia. Recent literature on the topics
reviews to gain insight into developing a theoretical framework and research method. Likewise, the study also
supports through pilot study questionnaires with 30 respondents from two different university libraries. The finding
revealed to further investigation and mould growth assessment to be conducted that useful in protecting library
materials and users health effects through environmental control.
Keywords: Mould, libraries, health effects, deterioration, environmental factors.
1. Introduction
This paper presents part of current PhD research study. The aim of this paper is to report a pilot study on
assessing mould growth and its effect to the library users in two different universities in Malaysia. To achieve the
aim of this study, it combines a literature review with a questionnaire survey and analysis. The major finding drawn
from the survey was the important for the researcher to complete assessing mould growth and conducting
investigation on mould growth and its relation to the health effect of the users. This paper has three main sections.
First, a literature review of mould growth in library building and environmental factors in library deterioration
problem. Second, the proposed theoretical framework in assessing mould growth in building that consists of four
important steps. Third, the adoptions of the first step in assessing mould growth in the library building and it's
finding based on the pilot study. This paper intends to understand assessing mould growth in library building that
can lead to the better environment of the users.
The library is the place known as the first point of knowledge gain and in building typology it is categorized as
academic building. It is an important to all students, lecturers and others have to pass through this area to gain the
information and knowledge besides attending to the class. The library is also used by the public to seek knowledge
as well as daily life. The important parts are libraries are the place which conserve, collects and record of human
knowledge that useful for the future.(Bankole, 2010)
Consequently, it becomes focus agenda and service mission of all Universities in the world to deliver with
effectiveness and efficiency in producing the best library service. Nowadays modern libraries consist of many books
such as historical books that are centuries old, newspapers and magazines, maps, audio visual materials, photos,
multimedia items and others (Zyska, 1997).
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +0-000-000-0000 ; fax: +0-000-000-0000 .

E-mail address: snawbs74@gmail.com
86
However libraries are favourable environments for the growth of mould. Mainly library collections are often
composite stuff. Frequently composing the library building made from many types of material(Harvey, 1993). As
stated in Aerobiological Engineering Handbook, libraries generally require severe control over indoor air conditions.
Acceptable of relative humidity and temperature should be highlight in term of reducing the rate of deterioration of
books and other materials.
It became serious as library must have the characteristics to become avoiding from noise for example the used of
carpet and other materials. The materials stored in libraries may be a source of allergens and the nutrient source for
microorganisms, especially fungi(Jan, 2006). The biological reason is related with attack of a material by a living
organism, such as bacteria, fungi or insect infestation (American Society for Testing and Materials E632, 1996). In
these circumstances measurements of mould growth assessment needed for efficiency and users satisfaction of
library environments.
2.1 Biology of Mould
Mould is part of the natural environment and microscopic subset of the fungi kingdom. It grows indoor and
outdoor of buildings. Moulds reproduced by the spores which are tiny and invisible to the naked eye and float
through outdoor and indoor air. According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) more than
1000 species of mould found in United States with more than 100,000 recognised species worldwide.
Moulds reproduce and grow rapidly. They grow with acceptable of moisture, nutrient, temperature and air
(Aibinu, Salami, Shafie, Ali, & Bamgbopa, 2009; Bankole, 2010; Chen & Garcia, 2004; Nianping, Jinhua, Binghua,
& Lijie, 2011; Rahman, Rasul, & Khan, 2008). Mould can cause material stain or discolored and overtime can cause
wood rot and structural damage and sometime can detected by a musty odors(Myers, 2011). It also can cause allergy
react and illness(Goldstein, 2011). If we having an experienced on this probably we faced of health risk (US
Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Mould grows on dead material and commonly visible growth as
various fungi. It’s usually seen as fluffy spots on the surface of materials such as textiles and materials.
2.2 Growth Condition
There are several reasons for the growth and survival of mould. Mould germinated with necessary conditions
such namely a) moisture; b) temperatures; c) relative humidity; and d) nutrients.
1) Moisture Conditions
Moisture or water is the key factor of mould growth. Water can occur in different form and it originates from
different sources. Moisture can be performed from leakage of plumbing(Adan Olaf CG & Robert, 2011;
Bornehag,Blomquist, Gyntelberg, Jarvholm, Malmberg, Nordvall, Nielsen, Pershagen & Sundell, 2001) rainwater or
groundwater leaking into the enclosure, condensation(Haas, Habib, Galler, Buzina, Schlacher, Marth & Reinthaler,
2007; WHO, 2009), structural damage and high humidity levels.
2) Temperatures Conditions
The temperature could be 10-35°C with optima of 20°C and above(Child, 2011). According to (Storey,
Dangman, Schenck, DeBernado, Yang, Bracker & Hodgson, 2004; Wessel, 1970) mould also favour with
temperature between 59-86°F (15-30°C) and there are varieties of mould will grow outside of these limit. While
temperature below 10°C inhibit spore germination and above 50°C will dehydrate and kill fungi within a few
hours(Child, 2011).
3) Relatives Humidity
Humidity measurements involve and relative humidity. Complete humidity is measured in term of the mass of
water vapour per unit volume of natural air(Wessel, 1970). According to Environment Protection Agency
maintaining humidity level below 60% and ideal between 30-50% significantly can reduce the chance to mould
growth. In order mould grow and spread it must have a food source and moisture. It has a greater chance of
developing problems with IAQ in the building when humidity is greater than 50% (Viitanen, 2007).
4)Nutrients
The nutrients of mould growth includes carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, potassium and
magnesium(Lee, 1988). In the library the book collections are favourable for mould growth because they made from
organic material such as paper, starch, leather and cloth and its ideal substrates of mould growth.
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2.3 Mould Is Associated With Human Health Effects
Mould exposure is one of significant cause in Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). Sick Building Syndrome is a
combination of ailments associated with an individual's place of work or house. Mould damage not only can pose a
serious threat to library collections but it also can harm to peoples' health. Small amounts of mould growth in
workplaces are not a major concern but no mould should allowed to problems for some people(Myers, 2011).
Specific types and concentrations of mould in damp indoor environment can cause respiratory irritation to human
health(Palaty, 2010).
Coughing, wheezing, and nasal congestion may as a signs and symptoms of disclosed to the mouldy
environment (WHO, 2009)(Institute Of Medicine of The National academics, 2004). It could be having symptoms
such as sneezing; irritation of the nose, mouth, or throat; nasal stuffiness and runny nose; and red, itchy or watery
eyes. Inhaling or touching mould or mould spores may cause allergic reactions to certain individuals. They can be
immediate or delayed (Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2010).
Many people have no reaction when exposed to moulds. It’s depends on their age, fitness and the species of
mould itself. However according to AIHA(Myers, 2011) the risk group could be infants and children, elderly
people, pregnant woman and individuals with respiratory conditions or allergies and asthma. Exposure in different
environments and for variable durations makes the accurate determination of exposure challenging.
2.4 Environmental Factors in Library Deterioration Problem
Fungi not only have adverse effects on health but also cause great damage to buildings, the wood-rotting
fungi being destructive to (wooden) building structures. Mould spores also attracted to paper, starches, glue,
gelatine, and leather. According to the National Library of Australia (2004) deterioration of library materials is one
of the major crisis facing libraries throughout the world. The rate of book decay is high in tropical countries where
reasons that aggravate weakening are at ideal(Bankole, 2010). (Wessel, 1970) classified the environmental factors
in library deterioration problem as table I below.
Table 1.Environmental Factors Important In Library Deterioration Problems

No Factors Causes
1 Atmospheric Pollutants – Particulate Matter

Dust, dirt etc
Gases – Acidic Components

Oxidants
Normal Constituents – Water
2 Radiant Light, Heat and Other radiation

Energy effects
3 Biological Microbiological Agents – Fungi,

Bacteria, Actinomycetes
Macro biological Agents – Insects,

Rodents
Source - Carl J. Wessel [2,P41]
88
3. Theoretical Framework
Intensive literature review on assessing mould growth in building was conducted to explore reasons that
contribute to successful identification of mould growth and its assessment. Fig. 1 shows a theoretical framework for
assessing mould growth in building. It's classified into four steps; instigation of assessment; information gathering
and planned; visual inspection of building; mould sampling, and invasive techniques if necessary including
remediate for moisture or mould(Palaty, 2010).
INSTIGATION OF ASSESSMENT
Visible mould or suspicion of mould;
odour, water damage, excess moisture
or health effects
STEP 1 – INFORMATION GATHERING &

PLANNING Prevention/
No further action
Gather information about complaints, Awareness
required
space and occupants initiated
No evidence of mould or moisture

STEP 2 – VISUAL INSPECTION OF
PREMISES
Examination of external and internal Evidence of mould growth and /or moisture
surfaces for signs of moisture damage
and mould growth
Remediate for Prevention/
moisture and/or Awareness
STEP 3 – MOULD SAMPLING mould initiated
Create hypothesis, design and
implement sampling protocol with
necessary controls.
Prevention/
Do test result provide clear NO No further action Awareness
evidence of indoor mould
required initiated
YES contamination?
No evidence of
STEP 4– IF NECESSARY, Invasive mould or moisture No further action Prevention/
techniques used only if a strong required Awareness
suspicion or evidence exists Evidence of mould growth and /or moisture initiated
damage
Prevention/
REMEDIATE FOR
Awareness
MOISTURE AND/OR MOULD
initiated
Figure 2.Theoretical framework of mould growth assessment

Source-Metaphase Health Research Consulting Inc
4. RESEARCH DESIGN
In general, the assessment of mould growth in library building is conducted primarily via quantitative and
qualitative terms and through workplace air samples collected in a library and archive storage facilities(Palaty,
2010). Overall the research method was structured in two phases. The first phase involved a pilot study from two
different university library identifying research issues and problem faced by the users.
89
In the second phases, qualitative analysis using case studies will be carried out to confirm the results obtained
from the first phase. Yin (2003) classified case studies as descriptive, exploratory an explanatory. For the purpose of
this study, descriptive study case studies will be adopted since it focused on what needs to be described. Fig. 2
shows the methodology of the research.
Figure 3. Illustrate the research method adopted
5. RESULT FROM PILOT STUDY
A questionnaire survey approach was used to collect a primary data of this pilot study. The questionnaires were
administered to 30 respondents from two different universities in Malaysia. Seventeen (17) questionnaires were
returned and analysed for this study with a response rate of 57%. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate
the current state of mould growth resulting impact on health, environment, material and archive in the library.
90
A quantitative analysis using SPSS was used to evaluate the data collected from a questionnaire survey. The
question developed based on the step one of mould assessment which is to gather as much information as possible
about the situation and to create an assessment plan. The study population comprises the users who are the librarian
staff, administrative and management staffs that working in the library building.
The questionnaire survey consists of 29 questions and divided into four sections; these are demographics, health
experience, library observation experienced and employee opinion.
A. Demographic Survey
It reveals that a huge number (57%) of the participants were women and (36%) were men. It was discovered
that, 14% of the participants were the deputy chief librarian and senior librarian while (36%) were assistance
librarian and other.
It was found that many (43%) of the respondents were spending their time working in the office, (14%) each
recorded work in information reference, IT section and other places while (7%) worked in circulation center and
open access collection. From the survey it was found that (71%) are working more than 8 hours and the rest (21%)
working between 6 to 8 hours and (8%) work between 4 to 6 hours. The length of service distributions indicated that
(36%) have been working more than 15 years, (11%) have been working between 11-15 years, whilst 42% have
been worked below than 7 years.
B. Health Experience
In general, it shows that a large number (65%) of the respondent were in towards to excellent condition whilst
(21%) recorded towards poor condition. Table II shows the percentage of the respondents with the following
symptoms in the last four weeks.
Table 2. Symptom Experienced
No Symptom Percentage
(%)
1 Headache 50
2 Allergy 42
3 Coughing 33
4 Eye irritation 33
5 Dry skin 33
6 Runny nose 25
7 Tearing eyes 25
8 Short of breath 8
9 Blocked nose 8
10 Dark circle under eyes 8
11 Nose rubbing 8
The survey revealed that 50% of the respondents seen the doctor because of the symptoms whilst others have not
seen the doctor. The length of the symptoms has been recovered indicated that 50% have been recovered from the
symptoms more than a week, (29%) recovered it within overnight and (7%) of the respondent felt that the symptoms
experienced permanently. The majority of the respondents (86%) agreed that their health interfere with the library
condition. This is an indicator that quality environment of the workplace has strong relations with the user’s health
and it is important for the researcher to study on the effect of mould growth.
C. Library Observation Experiences
Fig. 3 indicates that the users experience regarding their workplace environment. The survey revealed that most
of the respondents (77%) felt that the library is too cold, (54%) found the library in a dusty condition, (31%) been
recorded the library environment with air dry and seem stuffy and (23%) of the respondent have experienced
unusual odors and the temperature.
The survey also found that 71% of the library are being carpeted with the intention of acoustic performance. It
is also found that (75%) of the respondents stated that they have an experienced of water ingress from the roof leaks,
(38%) of the respondents faced plumbing leak incidents and (13%) of respondents confirmed that water leak through
91
defective windows. The findings also revealed the users have found the signs or the symptoms of mould growth
within the library building structure and fabrics including books and library archives.
From the analysis, the highest percentage of mould growth (55%) found in book collections, (45%) on the
carpet, (36%) appeared on the ceiling, (27%) found on the shelf or stack and (18%) visible on the floor. It is not
surprising that books have been recorded as the place of visible mould growth. Further, it is interesting that the
respondents rated higher on the symptoms that marked mould growth on the books which is (58%) found it smelly.
Figure 4. User Perception of Library Environment.
Fig.4 pointed out the percentage of mould growth symptoms that been observed by the respondents on books in
the library building based on the users experienced.
Figure 5. Mould growth symptoms on books in the library
Furthermore, the user perception of the quality working environment that relates to the negative impact on their
work performance revealed that the majority of the respondents (72%) agreed that quality of air have a strong effect
on their work performance. These factors have been related to the environment indicators such as if the air is humid
or dry, smelly air, room temperature including users control over the ventilation system provided.
D. Employee Opinion
As anticipated, most of the respondents agreed the importance of Indoor air-quality (IAQ) in the library building.
Furthermore, (65%) of the respondents agreed that library are risky for the mould growth due to the condition and its
operatives. In addition, (79%) of respondents agreed that exposure to mould will effect to their health. For the books
that become a primary collection of the library, most of the respondents (79%) agreed old book have the potential
and more risky to the mould growth compared to the new book. The users also suggested that old books or archives
are valuable material that we need to protect from deterioration. The users (79%) also agreed that mould also been
identified as harmful to the library environment and physical condition.
6. Conclusions
92
This paper presents the finding on the step one of assessing mould growth in a library building in Malaysia.
Mould growth can occur from water damage, condensation, leaks, or even the mere presence of high humidity. A
further assessment in laboratory is required to confirm on the possible types and species of moulds in the library.
This also required a depth understanding of the relationship between the mould growth, its causes and effects to the
built environment and its occupant.
The mould growth can be identifies and can be useful for benchmarking and creating a comparative database for
the future. This will improve library design and maintenance including the prevention of mould growth in the library
building. The paper concludes that there is a need for research on the mould growth in a library building and suggest
the researcher to complete the steps in assessing mould growth.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the respondents who provided their time to complete the
questionnaires for this study.
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on Building Materials using Spatial and Frequency Domain Analysis Techniques, 9(7), 154–167.
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94
The Need for Energy Efficiency Legislation in the

Malaysian Building Sector
S. M. Zaid ab, *, N. E. Myeda b, N. Mahyuddin b , R. Sulaiman b,
a*
Faculty of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia
b
Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
By 2009, Malaysia’s national energy demand had increased by 210.7% from 1990, which prompted its carbon emissions growth
by +235.6%. At present, there is no mandatory energy efficiency legislation implemented in the Malaysian building sector. This
unparalleled carbon emission growth, coupled with business-as-usual practices will potentially lock Malaysia in for an
unsustainable path of development. Malaysia clearly has to make significant and urgent changes in its policy, economy,
industries and lifestyle if it is to reduce its contribution to climate change. Without emissions mitigation and conservation
policies, Malaysia is unlikely to meet its emissions reduction targets. This paper reviews existing building policies and energy
efficiency measures in Malaysia and highlights the need to implement mandatory energy efficiency building codes in reducing
the sector’s impact on climate change.
Keywords: Energy efficiency, GHG emissions, building sector, climate change, developing country
1. Introduction
The building sector’s primary contribution of GHG emissions is the result of fossil fuels being used to generate
electricity or used directly for building operations, in the form of fuel combustions (IEA, 2011a; UNEP-SBCI, 2009,
2010a), produces 40% of global wastes, and consumes approximately 16% of water sources (du Plessis, 2002;
Sisson et al., 2009; UNEP-SBCI, 2010b). Specifically, residential buildings represent 65% of the global total
sectoral emissions, and 35% for commercial buildings (IEA, 2004 cited in Baumert et al., 2005). For example,
China’s construction industry consumes almost 50% of its national energy total and produces 650 million tonnes of
waste per annum (Wang et al., 2010). It is also projected that by year 2020 China will have constructed a total of 70
billion square meters (m2) of buildings, from its 40 billion m2 already constructed (in 2010) (Wang et al., 2010). The
combined GHG emissions of India and China accounted for 51.8% of the world’s total growth of GHG emissions 8
in 2008 (Anas & Timilsina, 2009; IEA, 2010).
Building Sector Account for:

80-90% Used 50% Used for space heating
during and/or cooling
Consumes 60% of global Operational 10-20% Used for water
40% Of global energy use Phase heating
electricity
10-20% Used for pre-production and
demolition/ deconstruction
65% from Residential
Of global GHG buildings
40% 80-90% Emitted during Operational Phase
emissions 35% from Commercial
buildings
Building Sector Reduction Potential:
75% Reduction in energy use
Suzaini M. Zaid Tel.: +603-79677601 fax: +603-7967 5713.

E-mail address: suzaini_zaid@um.edu.my
8
GHG emissions is calculated as CO2 emissions from fuel combustion only (IEA, 2010)
95
35% Reduction in GHG emissions

40% Reduction in water use
70% Reduction in waste output
Figure 6. Building Sector’s Global Contribution to Climate Change
Source: (Comstock et al., 2012; Levine et al., 2012; Urge-Vorsatz et al., 2012)
Only 10-20% of building energy is consumed for pre-production and demolition or deconstruction, and similarly
for its GHG emissions (Sisson et al., 2009; Urge-Vorsatz et al., 2012). The bulk of GHG emissions from the
building sector are largely produced in the operational phase (80-90%) from energy consumption for heating,
cooling, lighting, ventilation and appliances (Sisson et al., 2009; Urge-Vorsatz et al., 2012). Approximately 50% of
final building energy used during operation is consumed for space heating and cooling, and between 10% to 20% is
used for water heating (Urge-Vorsatz et al., 2012). Furthermore, the bulk of the building sector’s GHG emission
comes from residential buildings, accounting for approximately 65% of the global total, while commercial buildings
account for the balance of 35% (in 20009) (IEA, 2004 cited in Baumert et al., 2005). Studies suggest that without
any action, the building sector ‘s energy use is expected to grow from 60% to 90% between 2005 to 2050 (Urge-
Vorsatz et al., 2012), thus increasing its GHG emissions. The building sector’s contribution to climate change can be
summarized and tabulated as Error! Reference source not found..
4.1. Preventing the Lock-In Effect
Many projects have therefore emerged in the building sector to reduce energy consumption (Kibert, 2004; Lee &
Yik, 2004). It is estimated that consumption in both new and existing buildings could be reduced significantly by
applying existing technologies, design, equipment, management systems and alternative solutions (Levine et al.,
2007). The IPCC predicts a reduction of 75% in energy consumption for new buildings, through incorporating
energy efficiency strategies in designing and operating buildings systematically (Levine et al., 2007). Holistic and
systematic approaches to building systems, rather than improving individual component efficiency, is predicted to
achieve significant energy reduction (Urge-Vorsatz et al., 2012).
However, it is argued that the biggest challenge to implementing more energy efficiency strategies in buildings is
to create a shift in behaviour (Graham, 2008; IPCC, 2007b; WBCSD, 2008). The behavioural patterns of a
building’s occupants during its operational phase play a large role in reducing (or increasing) its energy
consumption and consequently its GHG emissions. Occupant behaviour in energy dependency is unlikely to shift
quickly without legislation and market demand (Brown et al., 2007). Although occupant behaviour is important,
other elements such as energy modelling through baseline, construction quality and other innovative building
operating systems are equally as important in reducing the building sector’s environmental impact (Karjalainen &
Lappalainen, 2011; Kolokotsa et al., 2011). For example, in European countries such as Austria and Germany, the
housing market is being transformed with advanced technologies for energy efficiency and improved water heating
(Urge-Vorsatz et al., 2012). This provides an example of expanding market demand for more efficient housing in
developed countries.
As developing countries prepare for a growing demand for construction, it is important to invest in more energy
efficient buildings and prevent the carbon ‘lock-in’ effect. Industrialized countries’ significant contribution to
climate change is predominantly a result of meeting consumer’s demands for goods and services such as
transportation, electricity, industrial and commercial buildings, through carbon-based energy technologies and
systems (IPCC, 2007a; Unruh, 2000). According to the World Bank, in China alone it is estimated that every year
lost in failure to build efficient buildings locks in approximately 800 million square meters of urban built space of
inefficient energy use for decades into the future (Asia Business Council (ABC), 2007). Inefficient sectors and
infrastructure prolong the operation of obsolete technologies that are highly energy dependent, which causes large-
scale ‘carbon lock-in’ (Brown et al., 2007). The danger of lock-in pattern is highly relevant to climate change and
environmental policies, as high GHG emissions become more difficult to reverse (Anas & Timilsina, 2009).
The challenge now is to absorb rapidly and on a large-scale, low-carbon technologies into the economy and move
beyond research and development (R&D) strategies into operation (Brown et al., 2007). The inertia to change and
9
Absolute emissions by the building sector in 2000 is approximately 6,418 MtCO 2e (IEA, 2004 cited in Baumert et al., 2005).
96
reduce energy-dependency manifests itself as market and policy failure that is systematically ignored, or aggravated
institutionally (Unruh, 2000, 2002). Environmental policy makers need to develop policies in mainstreaming energy
efficient strategies, which are based on best practice and case study energy performance. Nevertheless, carbon lock-
in is not a permanent condition, rather a persistent state that raises market and policy barriers to alternatives (Unruh,
2000). Malaysia should be strategic in implementing policies that support mainstream implementation of new
technological advances to avoid or minimize the lock-in effect.
2. The Need for Energy Efficiency Building Codes in Malaysia
The Malaysian construction industry has yet to streamline and modernize its approach to innovative building
systems and energy efficiency (Hamid & Kamar, 2010). For example, the Construction Industry Development
Board (CIDB) missed an opportunity to promote energy efficiency in the Construction Industry Master Plan (2006-
2015), which was launched in 2007 (CIDB, 2007b). Poor quality of construction, maintenance and performance of
contractors remain the central challenges affecting the industry (EPU, 2010; Hamid & Kamar, 2010). Most
environmental problems in Malaysia are caused by “lack of environmental considerations in the exploitation,
development and management of resources as well as lack of control of pollution resources” (Hussein & Hamid,
2008, p. 4). Malaysia’s carbon emissions grew by 221 per cent (+221%) from1990 to 2004, through an increased
energy demand from industrial and transportation sectors, dubbed the fastest growth rate in the world (Al-Jazeera,
2007; UNDP Communications Office, 2007; Watkins, 2007). By 2009, Malaysia’s national energy demand had
increased by 210.7% from 1990, which prompted its carbon emissions growth by +235.6% (Energy Commission,
2011b; IEA, 2011a). This unparalleled carbon emission growth, coupled with business-as-usual practices will
potentially lock Malaysia in for an unsustainable path of development. Malaysia clearly has to make significant and
urgent changes in its policy, economy, industries and lifestyle if it is to reduce its contribution to climate change.
Without emissions mitigation and conservation policies, Malaysia is unlikely to meet its emissions reduction targets.
Figure 7 presents a contemporary comparison of Malaysia’s steady increase of carbon emissions (metric tons per
capita) to the world average emissions and other developing countries in Asia such as China, India and Indonesia,
and comparing Malaysia’s emission with its neighbouring Singapore where there has been a steady decrease in
emissions (World Bank, 2013). The unparalleled carbon emission growth, coupled with business-as-usual practices
will potentially lock Malaysia in for an unsustainable path of development.
Figure 7. Carbon Emissions in Metric Tons per Capita (2003-2010)

Source: World Bank (2013)
97
Notwithstanding its environmental impacts, the building sector has been identified by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as the sector with largest mitigation potential (IPCC, 2007a). It is estimated that
both new and existing buildings have the potential to reduce energy consumption up to 80% using proven and
commercially available technologies and with net profit during their lifespan (IPCC, 2007a; UNEP, 2009).
Enforcing energy performance requirements in building codes has been argued to be the most cost-effective strategy
in reducing GHG emissions from both existing and new buildings (UNEP, 2009). In 2007, GHG emissions from
Malaysian buildings accounted for approximately 4% of national emissions related to energy, at 3,947 Gigagram of
carbon dioxide (GgCO2) or approximately 0.004 Giga-tonnes of carbon dioxide (GtCO2) (Malaysia Energy Centre,
2007). The average energy consumption and GHG emissions for the Malaysian building sector 10 is expected to grow
approximately at 6% rate annually (UNDP, 2011). Zain-Ahmed (2008b) estimated that the average Malaysian office
building consumes energy at approximately 269 kilowatt per meter square per year (kWh/m 2/year). However,
currently there is no mandatory energy efficiency standard for the Malaysian building sector and without which is
difficult to reduce the sector’s energy consumption and related GHG emissions.
2.1 Lack of Energy Efficiency Consideration in Existing Building Codes
Malaysia presently has no energy efficiency strategies enforceable in the mandatory Uniform Building By-Laws
(UBBL) to provide minimum energy efficiency and/or energy performance standards for buildings (Zain-Ahmed,
2008a). In addition, sectoral baseline data for energy-related GHG emissions in Malaysia is limited or at best
underdeveloped (Fong et al., 2008, 2009). Presently, there is no consistent framework in Malaysia for assessing
GHG emissions from buildings, which limits the development of an emissions baseline for the building sector and
therefore building energy performance policies. This is reflected in the existing Malaysian Green Building Index
(GBI) rating tool, which exclude any calculation for GHG emissions from buildings. In reference to energy
efficiency (EE) for the building sector in Malaysia, the Malaysian voluntary Standard Code of Practice on Energy
Efficiency and Use of Renewable Energy for Non-residential Buildings (MS 1525:2007) was introduced in 2005
(and updated in 2007) (Zain-Ahmed, 2008a).
The MS 1525:2007 recommends an annual energy consumption rate for non-residential buildings at 135
kWh/m2/year (Shafii, 2008; SIRIM, 2007; Zain-Ahmed, 2008b). However, similar energy efficiency or energy
performance standard for the Malaysian residential sector does not exist (SIRIM, 2004; Zain-Ahmed, 2008a), and
the existing MS 1525:2007 is focused on non-residential buildings with air-conditioning systems whereas not all
residential buildings would consume high levels of energy for air-condition. Energy efficiency standard for the
residential sector should also cater for the different operating time between residential buildings that is mainly
occupied during the night, in comparison to a non-residential or commercial building that is highly occupied during
the daytime.
Energy efficiency for residential buildings in Malaysia is neither regulated nor promoted (UNDP, 2011), which is
likely to have significant implications for its energy end-use performance (APEC, 2011). Without such legislation to
reduce the sector’s energy consumption, its GHG emissions growth is inevitable and puts the country at high risk for
carbon lock-in with more inefficient buildings being constructed. Energy efficiency performance standards would
help reduce total GHG emissions from electricity consumed by the building sector. It is also crucial for stakeholders
in the building industry to promote existing guidelines to reduce its overall environmental impact. Additionally, the
industry must be able to change and expand innovatively, in order to meet shifting demands and growing
international standards (Abdulllah et al., 2004; Hamid & Kamar, 2010). This voluntary code of practice is to guide
effective use of energy (including renewable energy) in new and existing non-residential buildings, to reduce energy
consumption within the construction, operation and maintenance of a building (Department of Standards Malaysia
(SIRIM), 2004). At present, a similar energy efficiency guideline for the residential sector does not exist. Therefore
neither the mandatory or voluntary standards consider the impact of building energy use on climate change.
10
“The building sector in Malaysia consist predominantly of commercial, government and residential buildings (high-rise, as well as
terraced and single dwellings). Industrial facilities obviously also have buildings, but energy use in industry is dominated by
processing and building energy use is therefore a minor constituent” (UNDP, 2011 p.5).
98
According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report on Malaysia’s Building Sector Energy
Efficiency Project (BSEEP) 11 , in 2008, Malaysia’s building sector consumed approximately 7,750 GWh of
electricity and emitted 5,301 ktoe12 of GHG (UNDP, 2011). By 2009, the sector’s energy consumption increased to
8,315 GWh and its GHG emissions to 5,688 ktoe (UNDP, 2011). The increase between 2008 and 2009 was higher
than expected, at a rate of approximately 7.3% for both the sector’s energy consumption and GHG emissions. The
BSEEP’s objective is to improve “energy utilization of efficiency in Malaysian buildings, particularly those in the
commercial and government sectors, by promoting the energy conserving design of new buildings and by improving
the energy utilization efficiency in the operation of existing buildings” (UNDP, 2011, p. 1). The BSEEP projected a
business-as-usual baseline using 2008 data 13 and existing policies, activities and mandates (UNDP, 2011). The
forecast predicts an increase of GHG emissions to 8,088 ktoe and energy consumption to 11,824 GWh by 2014
(refer Figure 8). The projections scenario however, assumes that the “relative proportions of different housing types
remain the same over the projection period” (UNDP, 2011 p.7), and only estimate the number of units within the
residential sector, and not the floor area in its calculations (UNDP, 2011).
Figure 8. Business-As-Usual Forecast of Annual Energy Consumption and CO2 Emissions for Malaysian Building Sector
Source: UNDP (2011)
Therefore, any energy savings and/or emissions reduction from the residential sector is deemed indirect, as
continued economic growth will likely produce larger units of housing (in terms of floor area) (UNDP, 2011). The
report also pointed out that data for the current building stock was limited, especially for residential buildings
(UNDP, 2011). Such findings demonstrate the need for research that provides MRV data for the low-cost housing
typology and the development of a more accurate residential baseline for operational energy use and associated
GHG emissions. Existing government policies and legislation have been poorly formulated in dealing with energy
efficiency in buildings, and efforts to incorporate the MS1525:2007 into the Uniform Building By-Laws (UBBL)
have been stalled since 2003 (UNDP, 2011). The report concludes that without projects like the BSEEP, coupled
with the lack of research, expertise and mandatory EE requirements, the prospect of drastically improving the
energy performance of the building sector is bleak (UNDP, 2011). It is clear that the Malaysian building sector has
11 The BSEEP is an international partnership project between the Malaysian Public

Works Department (PWD) with Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UNDP (Public Works Department, 2012).
12 ktoe of GHG is defined as kilo tonnes of “emission equivalents from electricity consumption using a grid emission factor of 0.684 ton
CO2/MWh” (UNDP, 2011 p.5).

13 “This covers office buildings, educational facilities and hotels in both private and public sector. The information on floor space in
service sector derives from the forecast presented in the Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) reference scenario, and has been adjusted
to exclude shop lots and other negligible sectors. This does not include residential floor space, except those in high rise residential
buildings” (UNDP, 2011 p.5).
99
to formulate and implement energy efficiency or energy performance standards, to help reduce its GHG emissions
contribution.
2.2 Voluntary Energy Efficiency Measures and Incentives
The MS 1525:2007 stipulates energy efficiency standards and recommendations for renewable energy application
for new non-residential buildings and retrofit of existing buildings (SIRIM, 2007). EE requirements made in the MS
1525:2007 are such as efficient lighting systems, efficient air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems, and
designing an energy management system (SIRIM, 2007). Recommendations for renewable energy emphasis of
strategies such as (SIRIM, 2007 p.1):
a) Maximizing the availability of renewable energy resources such as solar heating, solar electricity, solar
lighting and solar assisted technologies;
b) Optimizing passive cooling strategies;
c) Optimizing environmental cooling through natural means such as vegetation, site planning, landscaping
and shading; and
d) Maximizing passive solar design.
The scope of the MS 1525:2007 guideline is divided into seven categories: architectural and passive design
strategy, building envelope, lighting, electrical power and distribution, air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation
(ACMV) system, an energy management control system, and building energy simulation method (SIRIM, 2007).
Estimated energy consumption for a typical non-residential building in Malaysia is broken down to 52% for air
conditioning, 20% for lighting and 28% for other equipment (Kristensen, 2003 cited in Shafii, 2008 p.3). As the
average non-residential building in Malaysia consumes between 250-300 kWh/m2/year, it implies that more drastic
strategies are needed to comply with the energy efficiency guideline. Localized climatic design strategy can be seen
in the architectural and passive design strategy and building envelope categories, which combines architectural,
engineering, site planning and landscaping multidisciplinary approach in designing a more energy efficient building
(SIRIM, 2007). The architectural and passive design strategies include site planning and orientation, natural day-
lighting, natural ventilation, façade design and material, and strategic landscaping (SIRIM, 2007). Building envelope
category stipulates minimum standards for OTTV, shading co-efficiency, day-lighting, maximum thermal
transmittance (U-value) for roofs and RTTV for air-conditioned buildings, and air leakages (SIRIM, 2007). A
similar code of practice for residential buildings is absent.
The Malaysian building sector is regulated by the Uniform Building By-Law (UBBL) that prescribes minimum
specifications for features such as ventilation, structural and constructional requirements, and fire safety (APEC,
2011; Ministry of Finance, 2006). The by-law, however, has yet to include energy performance or energy efficiency
guidelines (UNEP & BCA, 2011). However, there are plans to incorporate MS 1525:2007 into the UBBL by 2015
under the National Energy Efficiency Master Plan (NEEMP), an initiative by the Ministry of Energy, Green
Technology and Water (MEGTW) (APEC, 2011). This effort however is yet to materialize (APEC, 2011; UNDP,
2011). Other governmental initiatives such as the Malaysian Industry Energy Efficiency Improvement Programme
(MIEEIP) developed by MEGTW, is aimed at improving energy efficiency in the industrial sector (UNEP & BCA,
2011). The MIEEIP objectives included removing barriers to improving the efficiency of industrial energy
consumption, generating an institutional sustainability capacity, and developing a conducive policy, planning and
research framework. The Sustainability Achieved via Energy Efficiency (SAVE) programme was also initiated by
MEGTW to provide consumer rebates on identified appliances such as energy efficient refrigerators, air-
conditioners and chillers. Tax exemptions are also available for buildings that have Green Building Index
certification (UNEP & BCA, 2011).
Additionally, MEGTW have been promoting energy efficiency in government-owned buildings, as presented in
Chapter 1. In 2006. An energy audit conducted on the Low Energy Office (LEO) building calculated its energy
consumption at 104 kWh/m2/year, which subsequently won the ASEAN Building Energy Award (MEGTW, 2009;
Shafii, 2007). Other buildings like Malaysian Energy Centre’s Zero Energy Building in Bangi (ZERO) and Energy
Commission’s Diamond Building in Putrajaya were designed to reduce energy consumption to 50 kWh/m2/year and
85 kWh/m2/year, respectively (Zain-Ahmed, 2008b). In 2007, the Malaysia Green Building Council (now known as
100
the Malaysia Green Building Confederation – MGBC) was formed after a concerted effort to guide the building
industry towards more sustainable solutions (MGBC, 2011). MGBC’s main objective is “to support the government
in developing a sustainable built environment” and “to facilitate exchange of knowledge among different
stakeholders in the building and construction industry” (MGBC, 2011, Goals & Objectives section, para. 5). Since
then, more investment into advancing technological construction and building material research were implemented
to address environmental issues within the building sector (see Shafii, 2007).
Notwithstanding the measures and efforts already in place, the most critical gap still lies in the lack of energy
efficiency or energy standards for residential buildings in Malaysia. Even more so, there is lack of energy efficiency
or conservation measures for existing residential buildings in Malaysia. This is also reflected in the Malaysian Green
Building Index (GBI), which excludes existing residential buildings in its assessment.
2.3 The Malaysian Green Building Council and Green Building Index
The GBI currently only applies to non-residential buildings (existing and new), residential buildings (new only),
industrial (new and existing), and newly included townships 14 (Greenbuildingindex, 2012b). The GBI remains a
voluntary tool and has yet to introduce the rating tool for existing residential buildings. This presents an apparent
gap in research practice and the need for policy development, particularly for existing residential buildings, in terms
of energy efficiency or energy performance standard for building operations. The GBI Residential certification
presents a general scorecard based on a point-system calculation that measures the relevant design features. This
certification, which is not administrated by the government, does not imply any energy standard nor does it ensure
best practice on energy efficiency. The GBI’s energy efficient (EE) assessment criteria for new residential buildings
are divided into five categories, i.e. minimum energy performance, renewable energy, advanced energy efficiency
performance based on Overall Thermal Transfer Value (OTTV) and Roof Thermal Transfer Value (RTTV), home
office and connectivity, and sustainable maintenance. The minimum EE performance criteria is based on OTTV and
RTTV that is adopted in the MS 1525:2007, which sets a minimum standard of less than 50 Watts per meter square
(OTTV ≤ 50 W/m2) and less than 20 Watts per meter square (RTTV ≤ 25 W/m2, respectively (Greenbuildingindex,
2011).
2.4 Lack of Environmental Research and Awareness in the Malaysian Residential Sector
The building sector presents a huge potential for GHG mitigation strategies, but has been poorly understood in
Malaysia. Although awareness towards sustainability is increasing in the Malaysian building industry, there is still a
lack of implementation of strategies and a need for mandatory policies (Newell & Manaf, 2008; Nazirah Zainul
Abidin, 2010; Nazirah Zainul Abidin, 2009). Research regarding GHG emissions from the Malaysian building
sector has only considered urban scale emissions (Fong et al., 2008; Wee et al., 2007), cement manufacturing (Fujita
et al., 2009), and embodied emissions of building materials for residential homes (Mursib, 1999; Zakaria,
2007).Research and development initiatives invested in energy efficient buildings remain a low priority to both
industry and building owners (UNDP, 2011). Research regarding energy efficiency or environmental performance
of buildings in Malaysia focuses on technological issues for high performance “green buildings” (Shafii, 2007; Zain-
Ahmed, 2008b), and not GHG emissions from end-use energy consumption. Such research and development outputs
can be seen in some government or institutional buildings and private commercial properties. For example, the Zero
Emission Office (ZEO) and the Low Energy Office (LEO) were construction as governmental headquarters for the
Malaysian Energy Centre and Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (MEGTW), respectively (Shafii,
2007; Zain-Ahmed, 2008b). Other institutional buildings include the Security Commission Headquarters, the
Telekom Headquarters and the Energy Commission ‘diamond building’ (Shafii, 2007; Zain-Ahmed, 2008b).
14
The GBI’s defines sustainable township as “livable places that meet the diverse needs of the community. They are places that are
well planned and designed, safe and secure, and enhances the surrounding environment, thus providing a high quality of life for the
people who live, work and play there” (Greenbuildingindex, 2012a, p. 8).
The township category is assessed by six (6) criteria, namely climate, energy and water (CEW), ecology and environment (EEC),
community planning and design )CPD), transportation and connectivity (TRC), building and resources (BDR) and business and
innovation (BSI) (Greenbuildingindex, 2012a)
101
Still, these buildings were built as case studies to demonstrate, educate and enhance energy efficiency awareness
to the building industry and the public (Zain-Ahmed, 2008b). These showcases are few and scattered, and have yet
to be absorbed by mainstream building industry (UNDP, 2011). This is a reflection of the absence of a strong
coordinating framework or energy efficiency policy within the building industry (UNDP, 2011). Additionally, such
showcase projects focus exclusively on new non-residential buildings. Most research in the residential sector is
focused on individual residential units, and their structural faults or indoor environmental quality (Mursib, 1999;
Zakaria, 2007). Indoor environmental quality research has focused on issues such as natural day lighting, internal
temperature and minimizing energy gain influenced by solar radiation (see Kubota et al., 2009; Mursib, 1999;
Zakaria, 2007) but has not considered the cumulative effects of energy consumption on GHG emissions. There has
been some research on the thermal performance in high rise-residential houses (Djamila et al., 2013) and
comparison of comfort between modern versus traditional houses (Mursib, 1999; Zakaria, 2007).
Recent research regarding energy performance in the residential sector included retrofitting to reduce energy
consumption (Shekarchian et al., 2012) and evaluation of photovoltaic installations (Muhammad-Sukki et al., 2011).
Malaysia’s solar energy potential is abundant, but solar photovoltaic applications are still mostly limited to
standalone systems in the commercial and industrial sector (Mongia et al., 2007; UNDP, 2011). Key barriers in
implementing and disseminating more energy efficient technology in Malaysia is largely due to the relatively low
price of electricity that is highly subsidized by the government (Mongia et al., 2007; UNDP, 2011). According to
Malaysian Energy Commission, the federal government provided an average of 75% discount or subsidies in gas
prices, until November 2011, in order to maintain a stable national average price of electricity at 33.54 cents per kilo
Watt hour (c/kWh) (in Ringgit Malaysia – RM) (Energy Commission, 2011a). The average electricity rate for
Peninsula Malaysia is 31.31 c/kWh15 for 2010 (Energy Commission, 2010).
3 Conclusion
In summary, the building sector has tremendous potential to reduce GHG emissions by considering mitigation
strategies such as low-energy building design, energy efficiency policies and building codes. Even with current
voluntary measures such as the MS 1525:2007 and the GBI labelling programme, the existing residential typology is
crucially excluded. Buildings in Malaysia should be constructed according its tropical climate classification to
reduce cooling loads, as Malaysia experiences a constant hot and humid temperature all year round. Many countries
are adopting mandatory energy efficiency building codes, but Malaysia is a notable exception. This is concern
considering the rate of economic development in Malaysia. In Malaysia construction standards are controlled by the
Uniform Building By-Laws 1984, which currently impose no energy efficiency requirements. This is a missed
opportunity for saving energy and improving thermal comfort the Malaysian building sector. Therefore, there is a
need to development energy efficient building codes and labelling policy to help reduce overall energy consumption
and related GHG emissions in Malaysia.
Acknowledgements
This study was sponsored by Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) as part of the Young Academic Training
Scholarship.
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Effectiveness of Practicing Supply Chain Management in

Construction Site
S. Mamtera16*, M. E. Mamatb, N. Mat Sallehc, I. F. Mohd Kamard, N. S. Lope
a,b,c,,d,e,
Department of Quantity Surveying, Faculty of Architecture Planning and Surveying,
UiTM Perak,32610 Bandar Baru Seri Iskandar, Perak,Malaysia.
Abstract
Construction Supply chain management comprised of the network of organization involved in the different processes and
activities which produce the material, components and services that come together to design, procurement and deliver a building.
It also consists of different organizations involved in the construction process including client/owner, designer, contractor,
subcontractor and suppliers. This paper shall present on the implementation of supply chain management in construction and the
effectiveness of practicing SCM in construction site. A field study is done from the viewpoint of contractor and consultant then
analysed by using average index methods and presented in a statistical analysis. From the analysis, it reveals that effectiveness of
practicing the SCM give a lot of good performances and granted benefits to contractor. The statistical analysis produced first
ranking effectiveness of SCM is can minimize waste of material and labor for construction project.
Keywords: Supply Chain, Effectiveness, Contractor, Construction site, Average index
1. Introduction
Construction supply chain management is more concerned with the coordination of discrete quantities of materials
(and associated specialized engineering services) are delivered to specific construction projects (O'Brien, 2009).
Construction supply chain (CSC) embodies all construction processes, which starts at the initial demands by the
client/owner, to design and construction, maintenance, replacement and eventual demolition of the projects. It also
consists of different organizations involved in the construction process, including client/owner, designer, contractor,
subcontractor, and suppliers.
Based to Anon (2010), said that most construction projects today struggle with the same problems that have faced
the industry such as no centralized source of information and resource management, multiple parties involved on
each project - resulting in constantly changing people and companies on each job-site, multiple projects occurring
simultaneously - resulting in redundant and costly duplication of processes and activities; and multiple Customers -
even different departments within the same organization can result in different rules being enforced on each project -
resulting in higher management and administrative costs.
The purpose of supply chain management normally involved during construction planning and scheduling system is
central to the acquisition of subcontracting and materials in an effective construction environment (Benton, 2010).
Therefore Bankvall (2010) found that the concept of SCM in construction is the relation between the actors of
project and remains in it networks of project activities in it network resources remain to carry out the activities
required to complete the building.
* Corresponding author:
E-mail address: shahe789@perak.uitm.edu.my
109
Figure 1.1 describes the four major roles in the construction of SCM are recognized, depending on whether to focus
on the supply chain and the construction site. ( Vrijhoe, 2001). First role SCM is focus may be on the impact of the
supply chain in site activities. The goal is to reduce the cost and duration of site activities. Second roles might be on
supply chain with aim to reduce costs, especially those related to logistic, lead time and inventories. Third roles may
focus on momevent activities from site to the early stages of the supply chain. The goal is again to reduce total cost
and duration. Normally contractor initiates this third and fourth role. Fourth role is focusing in an integrated
management and supply chain improvement and production site.
Supply chain Construction site Supply chain Construction site
Role 2: Focus on the supply chain Role 1: Focus on the interface between the
supply chain and the construction site
Supply chain Construction site Construction site Supply chain
Role 4: Focus on the intergrated management Role 3: Focus on transferring activities from
of the supply chain and the construction site construction site to the supply chain
Figure 1.1: The four roles of SCM in construction (Vrijhoe, 2003)
2. Construction Supply Chain Management in Malaysia
In relation to the Malaysian Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP 2006-2015), apparently the key problem is
meeting the government’s and the industry’s needs to adopt innovative approaches and standardisation of
components in order to enhance their performance in a competitive global market. Malaysian construction supply
chain management involves the management of activities in the chain to ensure best value for the customer and to
achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. With the increased of competition and technology it allows many firms
transformed to supply chain management as a central part of strategic competence, which is believe would be able to
create competitive advantage (Othman, 2010).
In practise, SCM is applied to prevent issues about abandoned projects and delays. This issues will cause the
customer lose the project and project management that are not consistent with plans made before the start of
construction is called a real plan only after the contractor gets the Letter of Acceptance. Besides that, practising the
SCM in construction site can achieved an integrated supply chain for building and facility standards.
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3. Methodology
This research collected data by hand questionnaire and distributed to the contractor companies in Kelantan state.
The survey has been carried out on the developers registered under Construction Industry Development Board
(CIDB) by selecting overall contractor’s company available in Kelantan state to gather relevant data in this study.
Overall of 50 contractor G7 company registered under CIDB been chosen for the study .The targeted respondents
are the contractor and professionals are involved in construction site. Therefore, 100 sets of questionnaires have
been distributed by hand and by using online survey. The numbers of returned questionnaires are 52 respondents.
Descriptive statistic will be used to analyze the data.
Questionnaires data will be present in statistical. The data will be analysing using Likert scale calculation. The likert
scale questions are analysed using the average index method. Rating scale 1 is strongly disagree to scale 4 is
strongly agree.
For the purpose this study, the author was conducted a field study to the related person. It was calculated to produce
the result of listed criteria in the questionnaire.
Based on the methodology that had been chosen, the result of the analysis revealed the following:
a) Five ways which head among the company implement the SCM in the construction site.
Average Index (AI)
Early involvement of supply chain partners is key to

achieving target objectives
Supply Chain management based on collaboration
can reduce overall project cost
Improper use of power to influence decisions by the
contractor in the supply chain
Poor use of management tools such as huge

construction to eliminate waste in the construction…
Open exchange of data and information is a guide of
construction supply chain management
Implementation of SCM in construction site 2.85 2.9 2.95 3 3.05 3.1 3.15 3.2
Figure 2.1: Implementation SCM in the construction site average index
Based on figure 2.1 the average index (AI) of implementation SCM in construction site implemented on the open
exchange of data and information is a guide of construction supply chain management. Besides a poor uses of
management tools such as huge construction to eliminate waste in the construction process followed by early
involvement of supply chain partners is input to achieving target in SCM. Next ways is improper use of power to
influence decisions by the contractor in the supply chain. The least implementation is the SCM based on
collaboration can reduce overall project cost.
b) Effectiveness of practising SCM in Malaysian construction site
The findings had been shown from table 1.1 that the first ranking after implementation of SCM in construction site
is it can minimize waste of material and labour. Second ranking can reduced lead time in construction and got the
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trust between stake holders, followed by better quality of information. The SCM also can save the cost and time
predictability. Besides, SCM will give better on the quantity of information and resources planning.
Table 1.1: Effectiveness of practicing SCM in construction site ranking table
Average Ranking Description

Index (AI)
a) Minimize waste of material and labour 3.23 1 Agree
b) Reduced lead-time in construction 3.14 2 Agree
c) Trust between stakeholders 3.10 3 Agree
d) Better quality of information 3.09 4 Agree
e) Cost saving 3.06 5 Agree
f) Time predictability 3.02 6 Agree
g) Better quantity of information 3.00 7 Agree
h) Resource planning more better 2.98 8 Agree
i) Better to predict risks of disruption of 2.75 9 Agree
construction
5. Conclusion
The study tries to reveal the ranking of an effectiveness of practicing of SCM in construction site. The field study
found that highest ranking after implementation of SCM is can minimize waste of material and labour. Therefore the
lowest is better on predict risks of disruption of construction. Besides that, it is difficult to produce green SCM in
construction as an initiative for environmental enhancement, and increasing economic performance. The author
found the gap of study about the greening of SCM in Malaysian practice that could be the further action for the next
study.
6. References
Anon (2012). Supply chain management, constructiong excellent, United Kingdom.

Bankvall (2010). Iterdependenece in Supply Chains and Porjects in Construction. Supply chain Management : An
International Journal.
Benton, W.C and Mchenry, L.F (2010) Construction Purchasing & Supply Chain management, US, Mc Graw Hill.
Dainty, A.R.J., Briscoe, G.H. and Millett, S.J. (2001), “New perspectives on construction supply chain integration”,
Supply Chain Management, Vol. 6 No. 4.
Geoffrey, B., & Andrew, D. (2005). Construction Supply Chain Integration:. An Elusive Goal?.
Howell, G.A. 1999: What is lean construction – 1999. Presented at Seventh Annual Conference of the International
Group for Lean Construction, IGLC-7, Berkeley, CA, 1999
Howick, S. and Eden, C. (2001), “The impact of disruption and delay when compressing large projects: going for
incentives?”, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 5.
William J O’Brien., et al (2009). Construction Supply Chain Management Handbook. London.CRC Press
Othman . A.A and Abd. Rahman (2010). Supply chain management in the building construction industry: Linking
procurement process coordination, market orientation and performance.
Vrijhoef, R and Koskela, L (2001) Understanding Construction Supply Chain; An Alternative Interpretation. In 9 th
International Group for Lean Construction Conference, National University of Singapore, August 2001.
Vrijhoef, R. and Voordijk, H. (2003),'Improving supply chain management in construction:what can be learned from the
food and grocery sector?', CIB Joint International Symposium on Knowledge Construction, 22-24 October,
Singapore
112
A Study of Potential Load Bearing Masonry (LBM) System in

Malaysia Construction Industry
N. A. Ramli a17*, C. S. Abdullahb, M. N. Mohd Nawic
a,b,c
School of Technology Management and Logistics, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia.
Abstract
To overcome the problems in increasing of material prices, land prices, shortage of skilled workers, equipping low cost housing
demands and maintained the cost of the constructing at an affordable price, there is a need to find the alternative solution for
constructing method. The use of the load bearing masonry system (LBM) has been identified as a sustainable and an effective
alternative method for the construction industry. The system offers several advantages in term of cost and speed of the
construction, durability, strength, environmentally friendly practices and aesthetic qualities. Despite these advantages,
unfortunately, this system has not been widely used in Malaysia compared to reinforced concrete (RC) frame construction.
Therefore, this paper aims to discuss the advantages and potential of the system implementation to Malaysia construction
industry in the future.
Keywords: Load bearing masonry system, construction industry, advantages
1.Introduction
Housing is one the most important needs of the human basis and demands of the houses increase through the growth
of population. To meet market demand of the affordable housing especially for lower income group, government
under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015) committed to build 38,000 units low cost housing under Program
Perumahan Rakyat (PPR). Unfortunately, there are delays in the construction of some of the projects as a results of
escalation of material prices, shortage material during construction and shortage in supply of labor (Abdullah et al.,
2011; Sambasivan and Soon, 2007). These factors have led to frequent demands of low cost housing which seems
difficult to achieve (Abdullah et al., 2011; Sambasivan and Soon, 2007).
Additionally, the increasing land prices also contributed to these inadequate demands. According to (Mooi, 2012),
the price of land in ten year estimate increases for about 0.6 percent in Johor and 5.5 percent in Kuala Lumpur states
in Malaysia. Therefore, the increasing price is found to be influenced by insufficient lands, speculation activities in
land industry which shows the prices of land will increase in the future especially in urban areas.
Because of these reasons, the alternative construction methods need to be introduced to overcome the problems. A
load bearing masonry system is one of a good alternative in terms of their advantages which reduced of construction
cost, time and its durability, together with aesthetics and flexibility (Hendry, 2001) while compare to the
conventional RC frame system. Moreover, a load bearing masonry system was introduced in the early time of
civilizations. With the advancement in research and development, load bearing masonry has been widely accepted
and used for housing and building in the developed countries like United States and Europe.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6019-4216193

E-mail address:azlinda9091@gmail.com
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2.Historical and Development of Masonry
Masonry is the simplest technique for the building construction and made from collective units of bricks, stones,
concrete and blocks in making a wall. Masonry buildings portray the great works of architecture in the world, where
many buildings have been built using masonry technique giving it a heritage building.
Many types of materials have been used for masonry units. In the early civilization, the sun dried mud bricks
were used by the people of Mesopotamia for their shelter and temples. Moreover, the Egyptians used the stones for
their temples and pyramids. Today, the common masonry constructed from the use of clay, concrete, soil and
calcium silicate respectively.
Masonry structures have been used in the earlier century from the smallest to huge building, infrastructural and
monument. Pyramid of Egypt, the Towel of Babel in Mesopotamia and Mohenjo Daro in the Indus valley, Holy of
Kaabah and Great Wall of China have been considered part of several constructions in the world that used masonry
structures.
As cheaper and early materials of construction, the masonry is widely used in the developed countries like United
States and Europe. The masonry building is built based on graphical methods or simple calculation as cantilever
wall, without shear wall and lead to the increased thickness from top to bottom. In the late of the 19th century,
masonry began to lose its priority among the material of construction. The building began to choose the structure
frame from steel and reinforce concrete to replace the masonry structure. An example of the final masonry structure
was built in the year 1891, the Monadnock Building with sixteen (16) stories in Chicago was considered as the final
triumph of traditional masonry structures that was designed by John Root with 1.82m thickness of the walls (Sinha,
2002).
3.Modern Masonry Structural
A modern concept of masonry buildings has been introduced in many countries in the middle of the 20th century,
making use of the design that is based on shear walls due to the resistance of longitudinal walls, transverse walls and
slab against horizontal action (Lourenco et al., 2008). This is because the walls could be used both in compression
and shear to resist the wind loading in any direction and provide possibility of making the buildings with high
number of floors. This principle is moderated the thickness of walls and built in zones of low seismic hazard and
widely spread in the Europe, where there are many load bearing brickwork exceeding ten stories. The example of
buildings that used this modern system can be found in Switzerland with 18 stories load bearing building supported
on relatively thick walls 127mm to 254mm was built in 1957. The design of this building was determined by the
requirement of the thermal insulation rather than a structural requirement (BIA, 2002). Besides that, this type of
construction has become norm all over the world with many examples; 12 stories blocks of flats in Birmingham
United Kingdom, 17 stories Park Mayfair East Building in Denver Colorado and 11 stories Muskegon Retirement
Apartment in Muskegon Michigan.
Recently, this system has come with innovative design through the research and development. According to a
study by Mosele et al. (2006), the innovative systems for load bearing masonry and non-load bearing masonry wall
are based on the advancement of vertical reinforcement and fastening of mortar, concrete block together with
integration with special clay and concrete block. Additionally, a study by Lourenco et al. (2008) emphasized that
alternative replacement reinforced concrete structures are confined lightweight concrete masonry which reinforced
hollow concrete masonry. The researches have solved the remaining technical problems and provided modern
design methods for seismic areas. This innovative design gives several advantages and they are; new possibilities for
masonry, more economical construction and maintenance, quality increase for masonry wall, crack-free and
earthquake resistant constructs.
4.Masonry Structural in Malaysia
In Malaysia, the used of masonry was found more than 350 years ago during the settlement of the Portuguese in
Melaka. The Al-Formosa is the example of masonry building heritage that left by them. Then, brick masonry are
widely implemented in Tanah Melayu and continued by British. The office and middle class residential are the
114
example of the buildings that were built by the British. Pursuing this further, a modern of masonry construction was
initiated by the British. The buildings were found located at Harvard Estate at Gurun and TUDM quarters at Tok
Jalai, Jitra (Abdullah, 2009). Unfortunately many of these buildings have been demolished as a result of the
development brought by the government.
For the block materials, it was introduced after independent mainly in housing projects. Example of housing
project was using a hollow block of low cost houses at Taman Sri Kemuning, Jitra in year 1970, Setapak Jaya
Housing Estate in Setapak in 1978 and the Selayang Utara and Selayang Selatan in 1979 (Abdullah, 2009).
Some of the buildings using a masonry system still around gazette as ‘national heritage’ in such Bangunan Sultan
Abdul Samad in Kuala Lumpur were built in year 1894, Hospital Tun Aminah in Johor Bharu and Bagunan
Federated Malay States Railways.
Due to the excellent record in overseas and local, this system had been approved and gazette under the Uniform
Building by- Law in 1989. In 1994, the low cost housing project at Chembong Negeri Sembilan were using this
system and won the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award that organized by Jabatan Perumahan Negara. Since that, a
few numbers of housing projects using the load bearing masonry system have been reported. Unfortunately, the
usages of the masonry structural are less popular in Malaysia country despite the associated advantages to this
structure.
6.Load Bearing Masonry Definition
Load bearing masonry system has been applied until now is based on rational engineering design. Load
bearing masonry is a concept where the floors and walls work together as a system, each giving support to others
(BIA, 1997). In the simple definition of load bearing system, the system was designed to support the building loads
by the roof, upper floor slabs, dead load and lateral loads, such as wind and soil pressure. Indeed, beams, columns,
stairs and foundation can also build with masonry. Generally, there are three types of structural masonry namely,
plain masonry or unreinforced masonry, reinforced masonry and pre stressed masonry.
7.The Advantages of Load Bearing Masonry System
The load bearing masonry wall is the oldest technique of construction and widely used in the developed
countries. With the development of the reinforced and pre-stressed masonry structure, this system is becoming
popular for the large span building in such factories, commercial premises and sports center. Load bearing masonry
system offers several advantages compared to the conventional reinforced frame system in terms of cost, speed of
construction and design.
a. Economic (cost saving)
Admittedly, load bearing masonry could provide 10 to 20 percent saving from the total building cost
compared to a conventional RC building. These savings achieved by reducing the use of reinforced concrete, more
economic foundation designs due to uniform load, more efficient roof design and using flat floor construction
(Majid, 1997).
Additionally, as reported by (Sinha, 2002), the construction cost saved about 10 percent in Europe over
than other forms of construction method and 7 to 9 percent cost savings per square foot per floor in the United
States. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom the used of load bearing masonry system saved about 38 percent of the
construction cost.
For the construction process, this system does not require any expensive tool or machine and expensive
plan, only skilled workers were needed in laying the number of bricks or blocks (Allan and Thallon, 2006; Hendry,
2001). In other hand, the system doesn’t have any intensive period for the preparation or fabrication of advance
method in beginning of the construction. Since that, it is can reduce the cost of labors and methods.
b. Construction (reduce speed of construction)

115
For the speed of the construction, the load bearing system provided 30 to 40 per cent of the saving
construction time. These achieved by eliminating the concrete framework, very quick start up of wall construction
and continuous construction due to rapid strength gained from the brickwork (Majid, 1997). For the reinforcement
building, the works would have waited until the cast concrete gain enough strength before formwork dismantled.
Structural masonry does not require large of scaffolding for the construction work where the units of block or brick
were laid seem like ‘LEGO’ concepts and the completion of the construction is about half of the frame building
structural Sinha (2002) and this system is ease to assemble in the construction site.
c. Design
From the designers view, the usage of this system related to durability and flexibility. The durability may
be expected serviceable for many decades due to appropriate materials selection. For flexibility from the
architectural viewpoint, it offers advantages in terms of greater flexibility of plan form, where the detailing and
layout are simple and flexible due to the repetitive floor arrangement. This system has the versatility of the texture
and pattern where it offers an unlimited colour, texture and patterns of masonry units (Sinha, 2002).
In the European Countries the structure masonry walls is carried out according to the national code of
practices, where in the United Kingdom the British Standard (BS 5621) or Euro code 6 are used for design.
Structural design based on both of these codes is based on limit state principles, safety being assured by the use of
characteristic value of load and material strength together with partial safety factors, applied as a multiplier to load
and as a divisor to strength (Hendry, 2001).
Load bearing masonry system is one of the construction methods that contribute to the sustainable
construction through their materials used. According to the El – Adaway et al. (2011), brick contribute to the
sustainable through three important factors which are: made of brick, manufactured and the used of brick and the
detailed as followed:
a. Bricks were made from the natural resources in such clay and shale
b. Bricks manufacturing located in close to mine. It can incorporate waste products in term reduce energy,
reduce water use and gas emission and other wasters of fuel
c. Brickwork can provide acoustic comfort, thermal comfort, and good indoor air quality and fire resistance
Brickwork also meets the requirement of many certificated rating systems in the area of development of
density, storm water management, heat island effect, improve energy performance, construction waste management
and low maintenance in overseas respectively as reported by (BIA, 2009). Consequently, the list of advantages of
the load bearing could be summarized as the following Table 1.
8. Conclusion
Since the advantages and the implementation widely spread in the overseas, the government mainly has to take
initiates to promote the usage of this system in Malaysia construction industry. Implementation of this system can be
great platform to improve the method and demands for the housing projects. In other hand, this system is an
effective approach in order to enhance the level of productivity, effectiveness and efficiency of the industry business
and housing industry respectively.
Table 1.The advantages of load bearing masonry system in construction industry

No Advantages of LBM system Authors
1. Economic
- (reduce cost of construction ) (Nasly and Yassin 2009;
Lourenco et al., 2008; Sinha,
2002; Hendry 2001; Majid,
2. Construction 1997)
- (enhance speed of construction)
(Nasly and Yassin 2009;
3. Design Lourenco et al., 2008; Sinha,
- Complied with the code and practices 2002; Majid, 1997
- Simplicity of design and flexibility (Hendry 2001)
- Sustainability material (Sinha 2002)
(El- Adaway et al., 2011;
116
- Ease to assemble the unit of blocks BIA, 2009)

and bricks (Mosele and Porto 2009;
4 Allan and Thallon 2006)
- Without expensive plant and machines (Hendry, 2001)
Products (Allan and Thallon 2006;

- Quality of permanence, solidity, fire Mehta et al., 2013)
resistance, excellence in texture and
pattern.
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vol.5, pp 323-330
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117
FLEXIBILITY SUPPLY CHAIN IN INDUSTRIALISED

BUILDING SYSTEM (IBS)
U. Kassima,18*, S. Abdullah b, Z. Udinc

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Sintok,
Kedah, 06010, Malaysia
SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kompleks Pusat Pengajian Jejawi 3,Arau, Perlis,
02600, Malaysia
b,3
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Sintok,
Kedah, 06010, Malaysia
Abstract
It is irrefutable that the construction industry is in need of a highly technological construction method or system for the simple
aim of giving it a push it deserves. In Malaysia this technologically enhanced method is known as the Indutrialised Building
System (IBS). Concerted efforts have been made for the past decade by various responsible parties especially by the
government. Therefore, the IBS ‘Road Map’ 2003-2010 was introduced and now continues with the IBS ‘road map’ 2011-2015.
However, its performance is still at its infancy, which target is only at an initial stage. This study seeks to identify and analyse the
factor of the IBS’ system’s supply chain flexibility as a factor on the success of the system itself. It has been a suspicion that
there exists a condition and situation where the supply chain is too rigid and is not flexible in fulfilling the needs and demands of
the IBS development in Malaysia. This inflexible situation has brought about a broad range of problems and has stood in the way
of the development of the industrialised building system, despite it being introduced since 1964, or 49 years ago. Flexibility in
the IBS supply chain is very important and is associated with other industries like transportation, manufacturing industry, and
others. Up until now, we have yet to discover any special studies related to the flexibility in the IBS supply chain in this country.
Responding to this challenge, this research is hoped to be able to provide sufficient feedback to the solution to the IBS supply
chain flexibility issue. The researcher is confident that the poor system flow of supply chain has impeded the advancement of the
Industrialised Building System that has long been open to debate.
Keywords: Industrialised Building System (IBS), Flexibility, Supply Chain, Construction
1. INTRODUCTION
The construction industry has given a great contribution to the national economic growth. Nonetheless, in the first
quarter of 2012, the work value of the construction sector produced remained at RM17.73 billion, representing an
increase of mere 14.2 (Kok, 2012). This statement implies the need for active effort to stimulate the exponential
growth of the construction industry. It is due to this reason that the construction industry necessitates the smooth
running of the IBS or a system that is catalytic to the fulfillment of the needs and demands of the national
construction industry. However, the IBS ‘Road Map’ 2003-2010 and the IBS ‘Road map’ 2011-2015 did not seem
to achieve much and were only concentrating on early targets (Syukor, 2011). What are the factors and issues of
inflexibility of the IBS’ supply chain that obstructs the success of the IBS for almost 50 years? Reffering (Othman,
2010) fundamentally is a chain of companies involved in complex activities and in multiple processes, and with such
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 0194702258 ;

E-mail address: umar@unimap.edu.my.
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complexity, the management requires a sense of coordination as to improve the performance of the supply chain
such as to the information flow, services, finance and materials. According to Nawi et.al (2010) the term ’supply
chain’ is defined as the ’key of integration of a business process from the end-user to through the original supplier
who produces the products, services and information where it is an added value to the customers and stakeholders.
2. RESEARCH METHOD
This paper is an initial-stage of ongoing PhD study regarding the flexibility of the IBS’ supply chain. Therefore,
the information presented in this working paper primarily leans on studies on literature that is relevant to the fields
of the IBS and construction. The method of the research lies in identifying that literature studies serve as ”a
segment of the critical analysis of knowledge’ published through summaries, classification, and comparison
conducted in the past in research studies, literature review and article theories”. A literature review aims at
explaining, concluding, evaluating, elaborating or integrating the content of a piece of information. Completing a
literature study would be a significant intellectual achievement in its own right, where prior to this, it necessitates a
work analysis and synthesis in whichever way possible, in order to gain new understanding and discovery, and it
serves as a pioneer for new researches. Through this method, the definition, application, and issues related to the
flexibility of the supply chain in the Industrialised Building System of the construction industry should be explored
and placed under the limelight.
Simultaneously, various steps and strategies are put forth and discussed towards enhancing the IBS’ supply chain
flexibility. All the data and information gathered are directly from the books, articles and other printed materials
obtained from both local and international journals, also proceedings and bulletins. The established findings are not
destined to be conclusive, but they do spark the fuel for debates and become the platform to collect the responses
and feedback from those involved in this construction industry. More evidence is needed to offer support for this
paper work and further studies need to be done as to validate the method and proposal that have been produced.
Writer hopes that the initial paper work will construct a robust platform for future research and also become
preparatory stage for more detailed and comprehensive thesis writing.
3. OVERVIEW ISSUES, PROBLEMS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE MALAYSIAN IBS

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
The dented reputation of the readily-installed building system is explained by the fact that initially, the quality
control level is still low, also there is the lack of technical experiences , further leading to several noticeable flaws
like cracks, moisture leakage, leakage and low degree of thermal insulation (Maryam Qays, 2010). In the meantime,
the poor connection and relationships in the IBS systems are also apparent, where these systems are critical and
sensitive to flaws and skilled technical work, (Warszawki, 1999).
The shortage of raw materials, lateness, or delays in supplying and also poor weather have also adversely
impacted the transportation in the way that these explain why there is a great delay in the completion of many IBS
projects,(Badir, 2002). Other than that, large cost and capital including setting up factories, supplying machineries
and molds, and the whole expenses of traveling (totalling 3%-5% of their total cost for distance not more than
50km-100km. Costs can only be reduced in large-scale projects when employing repetitious method in designs
(Hong, 2006).
The low costs of unskilled workers have made the contractors favour the conventional method than the IBS,
(Thanoon, 2003). Apart from that, the transportation process also has its limit such as the difficulties of getting to
the site and of transporting large components from the factory to the construction site (Hong, 2006).
This supply chain process also requires a wide store to be provided in a factory to keep IBS components and
there is also a need for areas for the trailer and cranes to move about (Hong, 2006).
According to Kamar (2011) looking at the overall registered contractors and those who have attended the CDB-
organised training, by average and through sampling calculation, only 22% from these contractors have been
offered the IBS project tender offer, while only 9% of the contractors have implemented the IBS project. This total
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is too meager if compared to the overall number of registered contractors. The majority of them are involved in the
installation work of the castled steel frames namely the kind of work that is common in the construction industry
whether the project uses the IBS method or conventional method. The lack of involvement of the contractors
demonstrates that training alone is not enough to help the contractors; most of them need the guidance in the form of
consultation, via integrated programmed also better incentives from the government.
It is also found that there are no specific rules and regulations provided by the government’s authorities over the
implementation of the IBS; (Azman, 2010) thus, the government should make the move to ensure that the policies
are carried out towards implementing the IBS so as to initiate the motivation.
The construction industry’s growth is also evolving and is in need of due attention, to drive the development and
advancement of the country. This term is in reference of the requirement of the IBS construction industry Master
Plan, ‘Road Map’ 2003-2010 and IBS ‘Road Map’ 2011-2015 with achievement is still in progress and which is still
an initial stage (Syukor, 2011).
This relationship has often been the subject of various scholars and writers, among whom are Maryam et.al
(2010); Nawi et.al (2010) and Abdullah et.al (2010). It has been stated in the CIDB Survey (2003) that 15% of the
Malaysian construction project employ the IBS method while the mid-study of IBS 2007 establishes that only 10%
had been completed using the IBS in 2006, as compared to the target of use of 50% IBS in 2006 and 70%
approaching 2008 as its target Hamid, (2008). Meanwhile it is found that less than 35% from the total number of
projects in Malaysia has used at least one IBS product in 2006.
What are given below are some matters regarding the existing IBS issues and policies, but one fact remains that
one particular rule or one specific and detailed Act is yet to be laid out.
IBS ‘Roadmap’ 2003 to 2010 was endorsed by the Cabinet of Malaysia on 29th October 2003. One of the aim of
this Roadmap is to reduce the dependency on foreign labour in the national construction industry also enhance the
quality, productivity, safety and competition in the construction industry. Other than generating new economic
growth towards the IBS component industry through open construction system (2003; CIDB, 2003), the government
has made an effort to allocate various incentives in the yearly budget of 2005 and 2006. In the 2005 budget, the
Government has granted full exemption to the CIDB levy for housing projects which adopt more than 50% content
of IBS. Meanwhile in the 2006 budget, it is stated that the capital expenditure on the purchasing of moulds for IBS
component manufacturers is expedited, via Expedited Capital Allowance to be claimed in the period of three years.
These efforts are able to mitigate the costs of construction components, like the beam, column, walls and floors
(CIDB).
According to Azman et.al (2010) the government has given the mandate to industry player which is the fact that
70% of the IBS component should be used in government projects with the Treasury value of RM10 million (2008),
To look at this order, writer refers to the Treasury’s circular dated 31st October 2008. It is directed to all ministries,
heads of the department, state governments, statutory bodies and local authorities. Among the things that have been
brought up are the use of the open system through the coordination modular MS 1064, the requirement of 70% IBS
component content must be used in government projects, the National IBS Secretariat as the coordinator, the
Implementation Coordination Unit, the Prime Minister’s office as the monitoring party and the CIDB IBS Center as
the local reference center, CIDB (2008). In the period of implementation of the latest IBS namely the IBS ‘Roadmap
2011-2015’, the government sector will maintain its enforcement of the IBS component use as much as 70% for
projects worth RM million, as outlined in the circular Item 7./2008 (CIDB,2007).
The government has improve 1st edition of IBS Road Map 2003-2010 to ‘Roadmap 2011-2015’. The
Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP 2006-2015) was gazetted in December 2006 and serves as the industry’s
direction. The direction of the IBS 2011-2015 in replacement of the current directional plan was issued in the last
months of 2010. The objective is to achieve high level performance as the outcome of the IBS implementation. The
new action plan will focus on the private sector to adopt IBS. To stay focus, the concentration is on three basic
policies; quality, efficacy and sustainability. A sustainable IBS industry will contribute to a competitive construction
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industry. Therefore, 37 steps of action have been proposed to be achieved by the year 2015. It is anticipated that the
plan will be able to play a part in realizing a mosre sustainable IBS in both public and private sectors.
The aims for the plan aforementioned are listed as follows:
1. To retain the existing momentum, 70% of the IBS content are allocated for the public sectors’ construction
projects until 2015.
2. To increase the existing content of the IBS to 50% for the building projects of the private sector by the year
2015.
Harmonious with the technologically modern development, the latest and the most effective approach of the
construction technology is crucial. To date, the IBS is a method that is gaining popularity due to its strengths and
benefits (Kamar, 2010).
IBS uses an innovative and clean moulding technology (namely steel, aluminium and plastics). IBS offers the
benefit in ascertaining the cost and time, achieving better quality and productivity of construction, mitigating risks
related to occupational safety and health, combating the issue of skilled workers and the dependency on foreign
labour manually and achieving the main aim of reducing the overall costs of construction (Kamar, 2010).
4. THE ADVANTAGES OF THE INDUSTRIALISED BUILDING SYSTEM.

The practical benefits of the IBS have been confirmed by researchers such as Nawi (2011) ,Tam (2007) ,Badir
(2002) and Hassim (2009).
a) Optimising the use of materials, repeating and reusing the molds, at the same time reducing the
remnants of the materials. Factories are able to produce quality products from rational and efficient
manufacturing processes, skilled workers, repetitious procedures and quality and controlled supervision
(Kamar , 2010).
b) Shorter duration of construction – which is less than half of the in-situ cast construction method
(Tam, 2007).
c) The construction operations are not impacted by the bad weather as readily installed components
are made in the factory and later sent to the construction site (Badir, 2002).
d) The manufacturing work is done in the factory in a centralised manner, altogether reducing the
number of workers on the site, high degree of mechanisms is involved (Nawi, 2011).
e) Opening more opportunities for the architecture to be more innovative when this system creates
opportunities to designers and contractors to explore more into creative designs using the IBS approach
(CIDB, 2007).
f) Environmentally-friendly construction method and materials will lower the hazardous effects to
the environment and minimise the production of construction wastes (Tam, 2007).
g) Advantage in terms of reducing the number of unskilled workers (CIDB, 2007).
h) The reduced intake of foreign workers in the construction sector (for Malaysian cases), which is
previously plagued with the influx of foreign workers (CIDB, 2007).
i) Reducing the overall construction, material and labour costs effectively, through the practice of
the grand-scale production of building components (Badir, 2002).
j) Better supervision and monitoring at the expense of enhancing the quality of the readily-installed
products (CIDB, 2007).
k) Promoting more planned, and safer, construction site surroundings (Tam, 2007).
l) Elevating the image, the integrity of the building designs and the construction (Nawi, 2011).
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5. SUPPLY CHAIN FLEXIBILITY.

According to Soroor and Tarokh (2006) the term ’supply chain’ is defined as :
” the integration of key business process from end user through original suppliers that provides products,
services and information that add value for customers and stakeholders”.
Tommelein (2002) explains that ”the chain of supply management implies the practice of groups of companies
and individuals who are working collectively in the related network of process structure to gain the end-user
satisfaction during the benefit-sharing among all involved in the chain”.
Supply chain integrates the flow of integrated processes of physical materials, information and cash flow along
the chain value from the manufacturers, suppliers and a broad-range distribution network and customer logistics.
Business competition has become very strong in the global market in the 1990s and 2000 (Coyle et al 2006). The
supply chain management practice is created to deliver the products to the right place, at the right time, in the right
quantity, with the right quality to customers at the lowest cost (Coyle, Bardi and Langley, 2003; Lummus, Duclos
and Vokurka, 2003; Li , Rao and Nathan, 2006).
Gilmore (2010) explained that the chain supply denotes the ability to provide a quicker response to demands and
opportunities. Gilmore (2010) also classifies flexibility into two types, namely micro flexibility and macro
flexibility. Micro flexibility means just how fast the supply chain can detect and respond to issues and opportunities
in the short term – and even now. The delay of the truck, demands that have become drastic, customers needing
several types of packaging and handling; how fast and how effective can these be done? On the other hand macro
flexibility refers to the speed at which the company’s supply chain adapts and implements the new strategies and
programmed to support the changes in the company’s strategies as a whole or the change of the market. For
instance, the company decided to create customers’ e-commerce through a direct channel. How fast can this be
delivered and is this possible?
In an increasingly competitive environment, the market is internationalized with a dynamic range of customers.
Customers have their own demands and needs, where their expectation lies in a better quality also faster services
and delivery. Business organizations require lower costs, faster reactions to the changing demands, an enhanced
supply manufacturing and network for an advantageous competition in the market. The power shift in the supply
chain to retailers and the distribution of important roles as manufacturers to obtain products and services to the
customers has been observed. The lack of supervision and globalization dictate that businesses are to deal with
various supply networks to succeed (Coyle et al., 2003). With the emergence of business challenges that are related
to the enhanced volatility of the environment, products’ exponential life cycle, and the organizational internal
complex reaction to the changing demands and the intricacies of the global logistics, organisations have provided
supply chain as a competitive advantage resource (Fischer, 1997; Holweg, 2005; Lee, 2004).
In the Supply Chain Management (SCM) context, it involves materials’ physical flow integration, information in
the supply chain to create business value. Supply Chain Council (2008) through SCOR (Operational Supply Chain
Reference) also explained the business plan activities, resources, manufacturing, delivering and returning as a
framework of measurement of business relationships, metrics, benchmarking processes crossing a more functional
relationship.
The theory and concept of the flexibility supply chain model are pioneered by Duclos et. al. (2003) and Lumnus
et. al. (2003). Then it followed on the production flexibility towards the cross-functional integrated dynamic
industry. Duclos et. al. (2003). Then it have produced a node supply chain concept between customers and suppliers.
It comprises of supplies, logistics, information system, market, operation, and organisational leniency. Meanwhile,
Lumnus et. al. (2003) produce an operational system concept, the logistics process, supply chain, organisational
design, and information system by creating a significant (supply chain asset) and (such as customers satisfaction,
responsive) as insignificant benefits.
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6. REVIEWS OF STATEMENT OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN FLEXIBILITY PROBLEMS

These factors of flexibility serve as an aset of prima facie assumptions based on through literature reviews. This
assumption refers to the existing condition and situation of the supply chain that is too rigid and is not flexible in
meeting the needs and demands of the IBS development in Malaysia. Such an inflexible condition causes various
problems which altogether impede the growth of the IBS although it had been introduced since the year 1964.
The following finding in desk study highlighted issues and problems of IBS the Malaysian IBS industry:
a) Studies done by the CIDB in 2003 show the level of use of the IBS in the local construction industry is
only 15% CIDB (2003). The actual reason behind sticking to the conventional construction is due to the IBS
intensive capital cost compared to the conventional labour costs. Additionally, the failure of the pre-cast system
introduced in Malaysia as there are several western systems that do not seem to be compatible to be used in
Malaysia. Also, a flawed installation of site has caused the problem of leakage due to the inexperienced workers
installing the IBS component at the early stage (CIDB, 2005). These problems have brought along a bad image and
reputation to the IBS. In addition, a lot of contractors have chosen to use of the conventional type of construction
due to the cost and over supply of foreign workers in Malaysia. Other than that, local workers are also uninterested
to be part of this industry as it does not offer much and due to the low emphasis on their working conditions (CIDB,
2007).
b) Nawi (2007) stated that current practice of conventional IBS, the chosen contractor will be paid between
10% and 25% from the total of contract value as the start-up payment by customer. However, in the IBS project, the
contractor is expected to produce early expenditure and most will pay to the supplier before any payment of work is
made. Usually, local contractors do not have sufficient funding for this early-stage IBS-based projects (Nawi, 2007).
c) Fikri (2005) and Nawi (2005) point out that IBS suppliers would normally require a deposit of 75% from
the total manufacturing of the IBS component before any of the components are sent to the project site. There is
only one way for the contractor to do it which is by applying for a bond from financial institutions as a deposit
guarantee with the IBS producer. Unfortunately, for some contractors, especially new ones, they will face a problem
to obtain these bonds. Subsequently, this will impact the IBS project development process.
d) Potts (1995) states that the lack of, or the delay in supplying the IBS information, equipment and materials
to the site serve as the main obstacles to the success of the implementation of the IBS projects.
e) Love (2004), Nawi (2010) and Person (1999) point out that the issue of communication, the weakness of
integration among designers and construction. But it can be mitigated, with involving the suppliers (as an expert
related to design and procurement stage). At the initial stage of the project, the project performance needs to be
improved through the mitigation of wastes according to schedule, costs , communication issues and opposite
relationships.
f) Simon Report (1944), Banwell (1964), Latham (1994) and Egan (1998) state that the information obstacle
flow between the separation of the traditional design and the production process that have been criticized since 50
years ago.
g) Love (2004) explains the gap in the relationship in the supply chain cycle among the life cycles of various
phases that integrate with one another.
h) MPEN (2010) states that most entities of item production and services in Malaysia are segregated, non-
interactional and cooperative with one another.
i) Fitri (2005) states that issues pertinent to the requirement for manufacturing are identified as something
burdensome in the implementation of the IBS in Malaysia.
j) Syukor (2011) maintains that the issue of supply management chain system is the integration through the
superviser of the procurement system in the IBS itself.
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k) Chung (2006) and Nawi (2005) explain that the construction location is too far from the locations of the
manufacturers or suppliers. Most of the IBS producers are located in industrial areas like in the Klang Valley,
Seremban, or Butterworth. This situation has indirectly enhanced the cost of the logistics component and
transportation in the project funding if it is situated in villages especially in the north and east of Malaysia.
Following this, the contractor has to shoulder some extra costs for logistics and transportation to obtain the delivery
of components of IBS to the project site. This is identified as one of the main obstacles in the act of receiving the
implementation of the IBS components in the Malaysian construction industry, especially in the north area and in
the rural areas.
l) Nawi (2011) also states that the Malaysian IBS projects are still based on the traditional design form, that
leans on the needs of the consumers. The architect will produce design drawings which will be sent to the Structural
Engineer. After the design is ready, a detailed specification will be handed to the main contractor for calculation and
quotation of price. Then, the document will be given to the main contractor where he will discuss further with the
producer and until the end, is held accountable for the building structure. This method is known as “beyond-the-wall
syndrome’. This practice only allows both the producer and contractor after the design stage, where it causes a
problem in the supply chain such as, the delay in the project, delay in supply and so on.
m) CIDB (2011) elaborates that although the level of acceptance and practice of the SCM is credible, the
understanding of the SCM is still far ahead and weak in certain aspects. This leaves the government agencies with
heavy responsibilities in relation to the construction to enhance the understanding of the construction players on the
practice of the SCM.
n) CIDB (2011) The pioneer of the industry believes that there will be a new creation of the SCM practice
which is ineffective. Issues such as, material scarcity on the site, the delay in supplies of materials in the market,
lack of equipment and lack of communication among the players have become somewhat commonplace to the
industry. Fundamentally speaking, these issues are related to how the players, the technology and effective process
can be handled effectively by the pioneers of the industry starting from the top stage to the lower-level activities.
On the other hand, CIDB (2011) infer the following point of issues of the logistics network associated to
supply chain of IBS are :
1) Able to respond quickly towards the change of demands
2) Manage properly the warehouse capacity to meet the changing demands.
3) The different adaptability of the demand system as a response to changing demands
4) The smooth running of the delivery services.
5) Bringing in the customers’ returns, if necessary.
According to Hamid (2011) the disintegration of the construction’s supply chain is the main factor for the low
construction performance and limited selection on the IBS construction system.
According to Ketchen (2007) traditional supply chain often concentrates on one main outcome like speed or
costs, while the best value of the supply chain gives priority to the speed or cost, quality and flexibility.
7. Conclusion
The flexibility of the supply chain management is indeed giving a great impact to the development and progress
of the national construction industry particularly the Industrialised Building System. The issue of inflexibility in the
supply chain management occurred since more than 49 years ago is believed to be one of the main reasons for the
CIDB’s failure in reaching the target as contained in the Master plan (CIMP) 2003-2010. Through literature reviews
it was suggested that explored to justify the reason and necessary steps of action. This study aims to identify and
analyse the factor of the IBS supply chain flexibility as a success factor’s of the IBS supply chain flexibility.
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Parameter Variation In Embodied Energy And Carbon

Emission Assessment Of Construction Material Intensity Using
Hybrid LCA In Malaysia
W. M. S. Wan Omara,19*, J.H. Doh b, K. Panuwatwanich c
a,b,c
Griffith School of Engineering, Griffith University, Queensland 4222, Australia
*School of Environmental Engineering, University Malaysia Perlis, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia
sabki.wanomar@griffithuni.edu.au
Abstract
A variability of factor affects the variations in energy and carbon emission material over their lifecycle. Previous researches have
shown that hybrid LCA generally can overcome the problems of incompleteness and accuracy of embodied energy and carbon
emission assessment. Unfortunately, the current interpretation and quantification procedure has not been extensively and
empirically studied in a qualitative manner, especially in hybridizing between LCA and I-O LCA. To determine this weakness,
this study empirically demonstrates the changes in embodied energy and carbon emission intensity caused by variation in key
parameters in material production. The results are compared with previous hybrid model to identify key parameter and issues
across countries such as Australia and Malaysia. The parameters considered are technological change, energy tariffs, primary
energy factors, disaggregated constant, emission factors, and material price fluctuation. The study found that significant
variation of model caused by changing in technological efficiency, energy tariffs and material prices. Finally, the comparison of
hybrid models revealed that HLCA of non-energy intensive materials have great influence in parameters variation.
Keywords: Variation; parameter; embodied energy; carbon emission; Malaysia; hybrid
1. Introduction
1.1 The overview of LCA variation
The purpose of LCA is to quantify environmental impact for whole life cycle of a product including raw material
extraction, material or product manufacturing, construction, operation and maintenance, and demolition. The LCA
can be classified into top-down and bottom-up approach. The traditional LCA, bottom-up approach, is considered
most accurate in embodied energy and carbon assessment but failure to include upstream supply chain.
However, more than 75% of energy and carbon emission arise from upstream boundary of supply chain in
product manufacturing. Because of difficulty of upstream inventory analysis in time and labor consumption, the
traditional LCA often uses process data available within commercial database such as Ecoinvent, GaBi, SimaPro,
Athena, etc. Compared with process LCA, the methodology based on I-O data includes a wider system boundary of
entire economic supply chain. However, I-O LCA inherits uncertainty, data aggregation, homogeneity assumption,
age of data and capital equipment.
The hybrid LCA has been developed recently as an effective method to assess embodied energy and carbon
emission for the whole supply chain of materials or products while maintaining the accuracy of process data. The
HLCA can be defined as combination between physical and monetary unit or integration between process and I-O

E-mail address: author@institute.xxx .
126
data. There are four steps to perform HLCA; (1) Derive an I-O LCA model; (2) extract the most important pathway
for the evaluated sector; (3) derive specific data for evaluated sector or components; and (4) substitute the case
specific LCA data into I-O model (Treloar et al. 2000).
The I-O LCA and HLCA are widely used to overcome process data but depend on the I-O data with highly
aggregated industry sector such as building construction that can cause variation in HLCA inventory. Due to
truncation and cut-off error in HLCA lead to high level of uncertainty in hybrid model. Previous studies have
proposed to improve hybrid model by reducing uncertainty between process and I-O data but they still need
improvement when involve fusion between process and I-O data (Dixit et al. 2013; Lee and Ma 2013).
Generally, HLCA has five types of uncertainty; data inventory, system cut-off error, sector or product
aggregation, and temporal and geographic uncertainty (Williams et al. 2009). Data uncertainty occurs in input due to
inadequate parameters and data. Cut-off error occurs when the definition of system boundary is inconsistence or
truncation occurs between process and I-O inventory. The variation in energy and carbon emission in building
materials over its life cycle are known as uncertainties, resulting from stochastic variation and lack of knowledge of
precise parameter values (Gustavsson and Sathre 2006).
The iterative nature of HLCA means that more detailed assessment is conducted until more reliable data is
achieved. Previous studies proposed methodology to identify uncertainty and variability in LCI analysis. Heijungs
(1996) has outlined operational and generic method to identify key issues for further analysis in detailed LCI. Key
issues were defined as the areas where product or process improvement leads to highest environmental gain as
depicted in Figure 1. Small changes that have large consequences (hot-spots) are crucial for subsequent detailed of
LCI and further identified as (Heijungs 1996):
1. Areas represent highly sensitive parameter whereas small changes have great impacts and must be accurately
known prior drawing conclusion.
2. Areas represent highly sensitive parameter whereas small changes have great impacts and might be affected by
alternative product or process design.
The uncertainty and variation level in hybridizing EE and EC assessment can be summarized and illustrated in
Figure 1. With regard to the whole life cycle of a building, the uncertainty and variation can occur vertically and
horizontally. Vertical uncertainty arises due to the parameter variation in upstream boundary of supply chain.
Horizontal variability occurs due to the human decision and management methods and can be easily measured
through standard rating or certification system such as Green Star, LEED, etc. However, vertical uncertainties
involved in upstream system boundary due to parameter variation are difficult to measured and there are lack of
simple method for checking I-O data (Crawford 2004).
Parameter variation in HLCA are not well studied and empirically investigated to identify factor that lead to
significant variation in embodied energy and carbon emission. The purpose of this paper is to identify factor that have
strong influence on hybrid model resulting from material production and determine how key factors and issues
differently effect the hybrid model variation. Subsequently, the comparisons were made between previous studies to
determine under what circumstances hybrid model have higher than other.
High
Perhaps a key issue Key issue
Uncertainty
Low Not a key issue Perhaps a key issue
Low High
Contribution
Figure 1. Key issues of uncertainty and contribution of inputs in evaluation of life cycle inventory analysis results (Heijungs 1996).
127
1.2 Hybrid LCA limitation
HLCA approach can be classified into three categories; (1) tiered hybrid model; (2) I-O hybrid model; and (3)
integrated hybrid model. These models were developed to overcome limitation of process data by combining I-O data
using monetary unit. However, variation of direct and indirect energy between energy and non-energy intensive
materials results in variety of consequence. For instance, converting monetary unit of materials with high indirect
energy in upstream boundary could increase EE and EC variation due to price fluctuation. Therefore, using highly
aggregated industry sector such as building construction with high level of indirect energy tend to cause more
variation in hybrid model.
Inappropriate system boundary could lead to truncation error and variation in embodied energy and carbon
emission. Dixit et al. (2013) identified variation of system boundary definition as key parameter that cause problems
in EE and EC results. The HLCA need to be improved such as inclusion of more process data and disaggregation of
aggregated industry sectors. The further disaggregation of the current Australian I-O models, with the use of
commodity details, may be useful in reducing the inherent errors associated with I-O data (Crawford 2004).
Previous studies attempts to hybridize process and I-O data to increase reliability, completeness and accuracy of
model. These studies (Acquaye 2010; Crawford 2004; Crawford et al. 2010; Crawford and Treloar 2003) calculated
the EE of the entire building using data from a highly aggregated industry sector such as residential construction that
does not differentiate between a low and a high-cost, a horizontal and a high rise or a modular and a custom-designed
structure (Dixit et al. 2013). Furthermore, cut-off error occurs in hybrid model and lack of truncation criteria between
process and I-O inventory may lead to high level of uncertainty in the hybrid model (Lee and Ma 2013). To overcome
these limitations, process LCA plays an important role to determine the precision of hybrid data and the proportion of
I-O inventory would be lower than for process LCA (Lee and Ma 2013). This paper demonstrates HLCA at material
production levels first and them computing the EE and EC of its components using actual quantity of materials,
energy and construction equipment (process data). These model is more flexible, consistence, and capable of reducing
uncertainty and variation in hybrid model. This approach would assist in generating EE and EC estimates specific to
building design and types of building which is in agreement with, and provides contextual support to previous study
(Dixit et al. 2013).
2 Methodology
2.1 Evaluation Method
A variety of factors can affect the energy and carbon emission of building materials over its entire lifecycle. These
factors can be classified into uncertainty and variability (Gustavsson and Sathre 2006). Uncertainty occurs due to
stochastic variation or lack of knowledge of precise parameter values while variability is identified by human
decisions and management methods. Uncertainty in LCI is categorized into parameter uncertainty, model uncertainty,
and scenario uncertainty.
Parameter uncertainty occurs due to incomplete knowledge of true value of data and management error in
input values (Acquaye 2010). Data uncertainty may rise due to data inaccuracy, lack of specific data, data gaps, and
unrepresentative data (Huijbregts et al. 2001). This uncertainty can be dealt with using techniques such as analytical
propagation method, stochastic model, fuzzy logic, and neural network.
Meanwhile, model uncertainty arises due to unknown interaction between models. Simplification of aspects
that cannot be modeled in EE and EC analysis such as temporal and spatial characteristic lost by aggregation, non-
linear instead of linear model, or derivation of characteristic model were identified as factors affect the uncertainty
model. This can be mitigated by re-sampling different model formulation (Huijbregts et al. 2003) or combination
between I-O LCA and PLCA (Williams et al. 2009).
Scenario uncertainties arise due to choices regarding functional unit, system boundaries, weighting of
factors and forecasting. Huijbregts et al. (2003) suggested that quantifying scenario uncertainty by re-sampling
different decision scenarios. For example, results can be calculated for a data set with high emission values and
a data set with low emission values. This technique involves investigating what effects different sets of data,
models and choices have on the results (Acquaye 2010). For example, in an analysis of parameter variation in
embodied energy and CO2-e analysis of a building, the effects of high and low process embodied CO2-e intensities of
building materials on the results can be conducted.
128
A number of techniques were identified in dealing with uncertainty and variability in LCI. Uncertainty
analysis can be conducted using two approaches, one based on calculating extreme value and the other on statistical
methods (Heijungs 1996). The first approach is to identify lower and upper values of every parameter and to combine
these to determine lower and upper value of the area. The second approach is using statistical method by establishing
the margins of uncertainty (margins of confidents). On the other hand, these techniques can be categorized into four
groups namely parameter or scenario analysis, sampling methods, analytical methods, and non-traditional methods
such as fuzzy logic (Acquaye 2010). Parameter or scenario analysis involves investigation of the impact from
different set of data, models and choices on the results. Meanwhile, sampling methods is conducted by iterative
calculation using statistical techniques such as Monte Carlo analysis. Analytical methods, on the other hand are based
on the explicit mathematical equation such as first order approximation of Taylor expansion. Non-traditional
statistical approaches involve more complicated mathematical models such as Bayesian analysis, fuzzy logic, neural
network, and non-parametric statistics. González et al. (2002) has incorporated fuzzy logic in LCA whereas
Shipworth (2002) has conducted Bayesian analysis to model embodied greenhouse gas emission of construction
materials.
With regard to the complexity and lack of knowledge about uncertainty of data, evaluation of all uncertainty
in LCI is considered to be too time consuming to be applied to every LCI. Due to the lack of transparency of process
data and lack of simple methods for I-O model evaluation, the detailed LCI of process and I-O data is a difficult task.
Crawford (2004) believes that it is necessary to focus on the evaluation of LCI data at a higher level. With regards to
these issues, parameter or scenario analysis was identified to be suitable evaluation methods for this study to quantify
uncertainty in HLCA.
This study used coefficient of variation and calculation of extreme values to identify changes in every parameter
and tested to the hybrid model. By limiting the selection of lower and upper values of each parameter not affects the
results because of sensitivity analysis is concerned with determining only minimum and maximum possible of EE and
EC impacts (Basbagill et al. 2013). There are two important components as proposed in this study as shown in Figure
2. Firstly, quantify parameter variation in EE and EC inventory and identification of possible key parameters and
issues by using coefficient of variation (CoV). Secondly, identify solution by incorporating lower (minimum) and
upper (maximum) values of each parameter into the HLCA. Finally, all parameter variation was combined to identify
impacts to the HLCA. Detailed of parameters variations are discussed in the following section.
Literature review on embodied energy (EE) and carbon

(EC) inventory
Review on parameters in EE Review on standard

and EC inventory variation methodology
identification
Key issues
Quantify parameter variation in Quantify methodology variation

EE and EC inventory in EE and EC variation
Identification key parameters in Identification key issues in

EE and EC inventory variation methodology development
Development of EE and EC inventory methodology

identification
Solution
Implementation of EE and EC inventory methodology
Figure 2. Proposed approach to assess variability and uncertainty in EE and EC inventory methodology
129
3 . Description of Parameters
3.1 Technological Changes
Technological change in manufacturing of building materials could affect the variation of energy consumption and
carbon emission in hybrid model. Using of differing production technology and type of energy used in the process
could bring large differences to embodied energy figures. To determine the impact of technological change on energy
and carbon emission, direct technological coefficient was decreased up to 30% for selected product (commodity)
sector.
3.2 Energy Tariffs
Economic data on energy used is converted to physical quantities using national energy tariffs. The average energy
tariff is defined as average price paid for energy supplied by a given energy supply sector. Energy tariffs for each
energy supply sectors were derived from Malaysia energy balance supplied by International Energy Agency (IEA)
database and I-O tables provided by Department of Statistic Malaysia (DOE).
Variation of energy tariff for coal sector found to be highest than other energy supply sectors accounted for
33.47%. Large variation in energy sector becomes possible key parameter influence impact to HLCA. An energy
tariff for crude oil, natural gas, petroleum and coal products varies by 18.34%, 0%, and 14.04% for Malaysia,
respectively. Due to dependency of electricity generation on fossil fuel, the variation of electricity energy tariff has
similar trend with other energy sector (fuel input) in electricity generation. In this study, each of extremes
parameters values (minimum and maximum values) for energy supply sectors were identified and incorporated in
HLCA.
3.3 Primary Energy Factors
Primary energy factor (PEF) is used to convert delivered energy (on-site energy) to the primary energy (fossil fuel).
PEFs for Malaysia were derived from energy balance database for period of 2005 to 2008 supplied by International
Energy Agency (IEA). Natural gas and coal products sector has high PEF variation due to own energy fuel use during
transformation processes (e.g. transformation of natural gas into LNG). Malaysia’s PEF were found to be 3.31% and
4.28% for natural gas supply and electricity energy supply sector, respectively. Malaysia’s PEF for electricity energy
sector were slightly varying due to different in efficiency of electricity generation. Efficiency in Malaysian electricity
generation can be vary between 22.90-25.23% due to loss in distribution and own use.
3.4 Disaggregated constants
Major problem associated with the validity of I-O LCA is relatively high level of aggregation. Errors associated with
I-O LCA are often significantly lower than the truncation error of a typical process LCA. Disaggregated constants
were used for reference case to disaggregate individual energy supply sectors. Considering different aggregated
energy supply sector would cause variation in embodied energy and carbon emission. To determine this variation,
disaggregated constants were excluded from reference materials and energy supply sectors were combined into four
aggregated energy supply sector. In this study, disaggregated constants were excluded in each parameter to quantify
HLCA variation.
3.5 Emission Factors
Emission factor was used to convert monetary value to the physical value of energy supply through supply chain of a
product. Variation of electricity emission occurs due to the energy fuel mix during electricity generation in public
thermal power plant (PTPP). Different countries have different energy policy regarding to fuel mix in electricity
generation. Based on Table 7, the electricity emission factor was greatly influenced by natural gas and coal.
130
3.6 Price fluctuation
Economic flows in supply chain of industry sector depend heavily on the price variation. Variation of price from
reference material was based on percentage range of maximum price value with minimum price value over period of
2005-2008. Malaysian building materials price were acquired from Malaysian Department of Statistic and
Construction Industrial Development Board (CIDB) database. Material price for instance increased up to 42% over
period of 2005-2008 for ready-mixed concrete.
140
120
100
Producer price index
80
60
40
Ready mixed
20 concrete
0
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Year
Figure 3. Price variation in selected construction materials based on producer price index for period of 1985-2012
4 . Result and Discussion
4.1 Effect of Parameter Variations
The variation of EE and EC due to parameter changes compared to the reference case at material and component
production level for Malaysia is presented in Table 1. Increase in energy tariff (ET) for energy supply sector has
single significant effect on material energy intensity. The results showed the variation of HLCA up to 23.93% and
13.81% of EE and EC intensity for plain cellulose fiber due to influence of indirect energy in upstream boundary of
supply chain in material production.
Increase in material price also makes a large impact on the HLCA of embodied energy and carbon material
intensity. By maximum increase of material price has significant influence on variation of HLCA up to 18.07% and
13.07% of EE and EC intensity for concrete (35 MPa). Therefore, increase of material price and ET lead to significant
impact of HLCA values. For instance, HLCA value for plain cellulous fiber was significantly increased up to 46.59%
and 8.56% from 24.29 MJ/kg to 35.60 MJ/kg and 2.34 kg CO2-e/kg to 2.54 kg CO2-e/kg from reference case,
respectively.
Similar impact can be found on others HLCA of materials with high indirect energy and carbon in upstream
boundary but were excluded in this paper. Therefore, materials with high indirect energy and carbon have the largest
influence on HLCA. Using aggregated industry sector such as residential construction to quantify embodied energy
and carbon of entire building may also results in a significant variation of HLCA for a building.
Technological change due to energy efficiency in material production found to has significant impact on HLCA
for Malaysia energy and carbon material intensity. By reducing 30% of direct requirement coefficient (technological
coefficient) would decrease up to 13% of HLCA for concrete. With high indirect energy and carbon in Malaysia EE
and EC intensity has further impact on variation of HLCA (negative value) due to substantial influence of energy and
carbon in upstream boundary. By 30% increase in energy efficiency of concrete (30% reduction of direct requirement
coefficient of cement, aggregate and water) has decrease 13.26% of EE intensity from 1.85 MJ/kg to 1.61 MJ/kg.
Variation in PEF for Malaysia has a less impact on HLCA of EE and EC material intensity. Variation of PEF for
natural gas supply sector has less significant impact to HLCA for both energy and non-energy intensive material such
as cement, plain cellulous fiber and concrete. The influence of parameter variation on energy intensive materials is
131
less significant due to large proportion of direct energy in material production such as cement or steel. High
proportion of process data increase the accuracy of HLCA and reduce level of uncertainty in HLCA model (Lee and
Ma 2013).
Using disaggregated constant for aggregated energy supply sectors has less impact to the EE and EC of material
intensity using HLCA. Without disaggregated constants, HLCA vary up to 7% to 9% for both EE and EC materials
intensity. However, this not always happen when disaggregated constants are used to aggregated energy and non-
energy supply sectors results in variation of HLCA up to 2.6 times (Acquaye 2010).
The variation of electricity emission factor is due to the fuel mix of fossil fuel in national energy policy has less
impact to the HLCA. The variation of emission factor has slightly increased HLCA values by approximately 2% of
EC material intensity. This also implies that using disaggregated constant for aggregated energy supply sector so that
individual emission factor can be used instead of average emission factor result in less variation in HLCA values.
5 . Comparison with previous studies
This research compares the results of HLCA conducted by previous research which used Australian and New Zealand
I-O tables and the results are depicted in Figure 4. Selected building materials were classified into energy and non-
energy intensive materials which have different impact due to the parameter variations as mentioned in previous
section. The comparison of HLCA across models and countries found that energy intensive materials such as cement,
clay brick and steel virgin are more consistent and less uncertainty and variation. This is due to the high proportion of
process data that reduce uncertainty in upstream boundary (Lee and Ma 2013). Meanwhile, non-energy intensive
materials which have high indirect energy such as clear float glass, aluminum and structural steel varied significantly
between models. By incorporating these materials in EE and EC assessment would significantly impact the whole life
cycle of a building and its components. Subsequently, using HLCA with highly aggregated industry sector such as
residential construction has great influence on the variation of EE and EC of a building. 391.022
378.500
450
400
350
252.600
250.793
Embodied energy intensity (MJ/kg)
300
192.000
174.220
250
200
111.624
85.460
85.460
83.600
81.724
150
72.753
56.677
55.805
55.500
55.500
46.276
33.099
31.300
31.300
27.379
100
21.722
19.300
16.960
15.900
9.509
9.400
8.690
8.370
6.700
6.200
5.400
4.549
4.119
4.161
2.824
2.800
2.304
2.153
1.710
1.400
0.591
0.308
0.286
0.040
50
New Zealand HLCA (Alcorn, 2003)

Australian HLCA (Pullen, 2007)
Figure 4. Comparison of HLCA with previous studies conducted in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia
132
Table 1. Embodied energy and carbon emission and changes in due to parameter variations compared to the reference case at material and component production level in Malaysia
Embodied energy (MJ/kg) Embodied carbon emission (kg CO2-e/kg)

Building
materials or Changed parameter Input-Output LCA Change Input-Output LCA Change
Process Hybrid Process Hybrid
components from from ref.
LCA Direct Indirect Total LCA LCA Direct Indirect Total LCA
ref. (%) (%)
Reference material (Minimum case) 5.200 1.024 3.807 4.831 9.007 0.000 0.740 0.106 0.265 0.372 1.005 0.000
30% increase in technological efficiency 5.200 0.717 2.747 3.464 7.947 -11.762 0.740 0.074 0.192 0.267 0.932 -7.270
Maximum increase in ET 5.200 1.443 4.668 6.111 9.868 9.565 0.740 0.141 0.332 0.473 1.072 6.642
Cement
Maximum increase in PEF 5.200 1.085 4.015 5.100 9.215 2.315 0.740 0.114 0.281 0.395 1.021 1.558
(OPC)
Without disaggregated constant 5.200 1.030 3.149 4.180 8.349 -7.298 0.740 0.093 0.223 0.315 0.963 -4.259
Maximum increase in material price 5.200 1.362 5.061 6.423 10.261 13.927 0.740 0.141 0.353 0.494 1.093 8.699
Maximum increase in electricity
- - - - - - 0.740 0.111 0.271 0.382 1.011 0.568
emission factor
Whole-casea 9.614 6.747 1.065 5.937
30% increase efficiency 10.400 1.780 13.013 14.793 23.413 -3.600 1.090 0.183 1.043 1.226 2.133 -8.695
Plain Maximum increase in ET 10.400 3.903 19.699 23.603 30.099 23.931 1.090 1.568 1.568 3.137 2.658 13.809
cellulose Maximum increase in PEF 10.400 2.674 16.679 19.353 27.079 11.495 1.090 0.279 1.327 1.606 2.417 3.457
fibre Without disaggregated constant 10.400 2.557 13.482 16.039 23.882 -1.668 1.090 0.232 1.039 1.271 2.129 -8.852
- - - - - - 1.090 0.274 1.288 1.561 2.378 1.784
emission factor
Whole-casea 35.602 46.589 2.536 8.560
Reference product (Minimum case) 1.074 0.145 0.777 0.922 1.851 0.000 0.142 0.015 0.055 0.070 0.197 0.000
Concrete
(35 MPa)
- - - - - - 0.142 0.016 0.056 0.072 0.198 0.981
emission factor
Whole-casea 2.111 14.078 0.220 11.821
Note:
a) Difference compared to reference case and previous accumulated changes.
133
6 Conclusion
This research was conducted to identify factors that contribute most significantly to the variation of embodied energy and
carbon using HLCA and to compare developed model with previous studies. Currently, there are no single study are
conducted to quantify uncertainty in parameter variation. Crawford (2004) used gap and comparative analysis to evaluate
completeness and accuracy of HLCA between case studies but only focused on final HLCA results instead of input data
(input parameter) to HLCA model. A first approach was proposed by Dixit (Dixit et al. 2010) regarding to the parameter
variation in EE assessment.
Therefore, parameter or scenario uncertainty was conducted to empirically investigate key parameters and issues
that significantly contribute to the high variation in EE and EC assessment of Malaysian case study. This study found
that technological changes, increase energy tariffs and material price fluctuation were the key parameter and issues that
lead to the significant variation in EE and EC assessment. Others parameter such as PEF, excluding disaggregated
constant and emission factor have slightly impact to EE and EC variation.
The significant variation of EE and EC can be obviously seen between energy and non-energy intensive materials
when compare with previous studies. Building materials with high indirect energy in upstream boundary have great
influence on HLCA variation between studies. Therefore, any decision regarding to these material should be carefully
considered.
The completeness and accuracy of EE and EC assessment using HLCA depend upon many factors and studied have
been proposing to improve uncertainty and reliability in the hybrid model (Dixit et al. 2013; Lee and Ma 2013). This
paper empirically investigated the variability of hybrid model and identified key parameters and issues toward
development of robust EE and EC assessment methodology.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Malaysian Higher Ministry of Education and Universiti
Malaysia Perlis. We thank an anonymous reviewer for their valuable comment and feedback.
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135
Effects of Specimen Size and Shape on the Compressive Strength

of Lightweight Foamcrete
M.A. Othuman Mydina,20*, N. Md Sanib, S. Ganesanc, M.A.S Sudind
a,b,c,d
Abstract
Lightweight foamcrete is a versatile material; primarily consist of a cement based mortar mixed with at least 20% volume of air.
High flow ability, lower self-weight, minimal requirement of aggregate, controlled low strength and good thermal insulation
properties were few characteristics of foamcrete. Its dry densities, typically, is below 1600 kg/m3 with compressive strengths
maximum of 15MPa. The ASTM standard provision specifies a correction factor for concrete strengths of between 14 and 42MPa to
compensate for the reduced strength when the aspect height-to-diameter ratio of specimen is less than 2.0, while the CEB-FIP
provision specifically mentions the ratio of 150 x 300 mm cylinder strength to 150 mm cube strength. However, both provision
requirements do not specifically clarify the applicability and/or modification of the correction factors for the compressive strength to
lightweight concrete (in this case, foamcrete). This proposed laboratory work is intended to study the effect of size and shape of
specimen on the axial compressive strength of concrete. Specimens of various sizes and shapes are cast with square and circular
cross-sections i.e., cubes, prisms and cylinders, and to investigate their behavior in compression strength at 7 and 28 days.
Hypothetically, compressive strength will decrease with the increase of concrete specimen size and concrete specimen with cube
shape would yield comparable compressive strength to cylinder (100 x 100 x 100mm cube to 100dia x 200mm cylinder)..
Keywords: Foamed Concrete, Compressive strength, Lightweight Concrete, size, shape, foamed
1. Introduction
The differences between the types of lightweight concrete are particularly related to its aggregate grading used
in the mixes. Foamcrete is a type of porous concrete and by referring to its features and use; it is quiet similar to aerated
concrete (Jones and McCarthy, 2005). The synonyms for are: aerated concrete, lightweight concrete or porous concrete.
Foamcrete is a versatile material; primarily consist of a cement based mortar mixed with at least 20% volume of air
(Othuman Mydin, 2013). High flow ability, lower self-weight, minimal requirement of aggregate, controlled low
strength and good thermal insulation properties were few characteristics of foamcrete (Awang et al., 2012a). Its dry
densities, typically, is below 1600 kg/m3 with compressive strengths maximum of 15Mpa (Aldridge and Ansell, 2001).
Typically, foamcrete does not contain coarse aggregate, and is made by introducing air or other gas into a cement slurry
and fine sand (Othuman Mydin, 2012a). In industrial practice, pulverized fuel ash or other siliceous material is used to
replaced the sand, and instead of cement, lime used as the replacement (Roslan et, al., 2013).
Foamcrete produced by the mixing of ordinary portland cement (OPC), sand and/or alone fly ash, water and
preformed stable foam. The foam is generated with the help of a foam generator, using foaming solution with 1:30 ratio
to water. The air/foam content is typically between 40 to 80 percent of the total volume. Foamcrete is different
compared to, (a) gas/aerated concrete, where the foam are chemically formed through the reaction of aluminium
powder with calcium hydro oxide and other alkalizes released by cement hydration and, (b) air entrained concrete,
which a much lower volume of entrained air is used in concrete for durability. Foamcrete curing may be done as per IS:
456-2000 and can be speeded up by steam.
Foamcrete may be produce by mixing the above mentioned ingredients in ready mix plant or ordinary concrete
mixer (Othuman Mydin, 2012b). Foamcrete is a self compacting concrete (requires no compaction) and will flow
readily from a pump outlet to fill mould, formwork, restricted and/or irregular cavities. It can be pumped effectively
over reasonable height and distances. The 28 days compressive strength and dry density of the material vary
accordingly to its composition and usually depend on mixture air voids content. The target plastic/wet density during
mixture is usually about 150 to 200 kg/m3 higher than the dry density.

E-mail address: azree@usm.my
136
There are two methods to prepare the aerated/foamcrete. The first method is by injecting the gas into the mixing
during its plastic condition by means of a chemical reaction and the second one is by introducing the air, either by
mixing-in stable foam or by whipping-in air, using an air-entraining agent (Soleimanzadeh and Othuman Mydin, 2013).
The first method of choice is usually used in precast concrete factories where the precast units are subsequently
autoclaved in order to produce concrete with a reasonable high strength and low drying shrinkage (Weigler and Karl,
1980). The second method is generally used for in-situ concrete which is suitable for pipe lagging or insulation roof
screeds.
For this present, no regulation or standard method for proportioning foamcrete because the hardened density of
foamcrete depends on the saturation level in its pores (Yunsheng and Chung, 2000). However, certain mix proportions
by real trials may be worked out with the given set of site materials for requisite compressive strength, plastic density
and workability (Othuman Mydin, 2012b). Usually the OPC cement of foamcrete lies between 300 to 500 kg/m3 and
with, between 0.4 to 0.8, W/C or W/C+FA ratio including the water in foam value. The higher values are required with
finer grained binders such as fly ash.
Basically, compressive strength capability of a material or structure to resist axially directed pushing forces - is
the main measurement of quality of concrete in structural design is its compressive strength (Othuman Mydin, 2013).
Concrete will brittle materials are crushed when the limit of compressive strength is reached. So, by definition, the
compressive strength of a material is that value of axial compressive stress obtained when the material fails completely
(Awang et al., 2012b).
The compressive and flexural strength of concrete is used as the most basic and important material property in
the design of foamcrete structures, but, it has become a problem to use this value as the control specimen sizes and
shapes are different from country to country. In Malaysia, the characteristic compressive strength is usually measured
based on 150 mm cubes, which is based on BS8110. But, the new Euro Codes of practice specifies the design
compressive strength should base on the standard 150 x 300 mm cylinders (Use of 100 x 200 mm cylinders gained
more acceptance as the need to test high strength concrete increases). It has been generally known that the concrete
compressive strength decreases with the increase of the section size of the specimen and, the compressive strength
measured from a cube is commonly higher than that recorded from a cylinder.
The ASTM standard provision specifies a correction factor for concrete strengths of between 14 and 42 MPa to
compensate for the reduced strength when the aspect height-to-diameter ratio of specimen is less than 2.0, while the
CEB-FIP provision specifically mentions the ratio of 150 x 300 mm cylinder strength to 150 mm cube strength.
However, both provision requirements do not specifically clarify the applicability and/or modification of the correction
factors for the compressive strength to lightweight concrete (in this case, foamcrete). For the normal weight concrete,
its compressive strength are affected by the cohesion and void between pastes and aggregate particles together with the
propagation of a number of cracks in the local failure zone (Soleimanzadeh and Othuman Mydin, 2013). But, foamcrete
don’t have coarse aggregate in its mixture. So, foamcrete should, generally, produces a lower cohesion with higher void
in the interface with pastes, compared to natural normal-weight concrete. So, due to these different characteristics, the
decreasing rate of the strength against the lateral dimension of the specimen in foamcrete would be possibly distinct
from that observed in normal-weight concrete.
2. Problem Statements
The compressive and flexural strength of concrete is used as the most basic and important material property in
the design of foamcrete structures, but, it has become a problem to use this value as the control specimen sizes and
shapes are different from country to country. In Malaysia, the characteristic compressive strength is usually measured
based on 150 mm cubes, which is based on BS8110. But, the new Euro Codes of practice specifies the design
compressive strength should base on the standard 150 x 300 mm cylinders (use of 100 x 200 mm cylinders gained more
acceptance as the need to test high strength concrete increases). It has been generally known that the concrete
compressive strength decreases with the increase of the section size of the specimen and, the compressive strength
measured from a cube is commonly higher than that recorded from a cylinder. The ASTM standard provision specifies
a correction factor for concrete strengths of between 14 and 42 MPa to compensate for the reduced strength when the
aspect height-to-diameter ratio of specimen is less than 2.0, while the CEB-FIP provision specifically mentions the
ratio of 150 x 300 mm cylinder strength to 150 mm cube strength. However, both provision requirements do not
specifically clarify the applicability and/or modification of the correction factors for the compressive strength to
lightweight concrete (in this case, foamcrete). For the normal weight concrete, its compressive strength are affected by
the cohesion and void between pastes and aggregate particles together with the propagation of a number of cracks in the
local failure zone. But, foamcrete don’t have coarse aggregate in its mixture. So, foamcrete should, generally, produces
a lower cohesion with higher void in the interface with pastes, compared to natural normal-weight concrete. So, due to
these different characteristics, the decreasing rate of the strength against the lateral dimension of the specimen in
foamcrete would be possibly distinct from that observed in normal-weight concrete.
137
3. Experimental Works
3.1 Material and mix design

Foamcrete mixes, with target dry density of 1250kg/m3, were prepared containing Ordinary Portland Cement
(OPC), sand as fine aggregate, water and stable foamed. Three batches of mixes were done for three types of samples
with various sizes and shapes. Three samples type from three mixes (a) different specimen shapes (cube, prism and
cylinder) with l/d of 1.0 and 2.0, (b) same size specimens with different shapes, and (c) cube specimen with l/d = 1.0
but different section sizes
Table 1: Mix design for 3 batches

Descriptions Mix 1 (Sample A) Mix 2 (Sample B) Mix 3 (Sample C)
Volume, m3 0.15 0.03 0.05
Target dry density, kg/m3 1250 1250 1250
Wet and dry density difference, kg/m3 +140 +140 +140
Wet density, kg/m3 1390 1390 1390
Solid mass, kg 208.5 41.7 69.5
Estimate foam mass, kg 3.59 0.72 1.20
Actual mass, kg 204.91 40.98 68.3
Mix ratio (C:S:W) 1:2.5:0.45 = 3.95 1:2.5:0.45 = 3.95 1:2.5:0.45 = 3.95
Cement mass, kg 51.88 10.37 17.29
Sand mass, kg 129.69 25.94 43.23
Water mass, kg 23.45 4.67 7.78
Add water (during mixing), kg 7.3 1.5 1.9
Total mortar mass, kg 212.32 42.48 70.2
Slump 22cm 22cm 22cm
Mortar measured, kg/m3 2150 2150 2150
Mortar volume, m3 0.099 0.02 0.033
Estimate foam volume, m3 0.051 0.01 0.017
Foamed mix density, kg/m3 1420 1440 1430
3.2 Curing
All cylinder and cube samples were wrapped in an air-tight condition with plastic sheet after de-mould, for
curing. Samples unwrapped, on day 6 (7 day testing) and on day 27 (28 day testing) for another 24-hours oven dry
curing (100-110°C) before testing (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Samples wrapped in plastic sheet for curing.

3.3 Method of Testing
The compression test procedure where done with accordance to MS 26: part 2: 1991. Testing was conducted using
GOTECH GT-7001-BS300, a closed-loop servo-hydraulic dynamic with 300 tan-capacity compression machine.
Loading rate was adjusted for all specimens to be 0.2-0.4N/mm2s (Figure 2). The spherical bearing block height of the
test machine was changed depending on the height of the tested specimens.
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Figure 2. GOTECH universal compression machine
4. Results and Discussions
Table 1. Experiment results for samples A, B and C at 28 days test
Dry density, Compressive strength,

Shape Section, mm Height, mm Max load, kN
kg/m3 kN/mm2
Sample A
Cube 100 1200 43.94 4.39
100 x 100 36.68 3.67
Prism 200 1189
100 1223 30.64 3.90
Cylinder 100 (diameter)
200 1267 36.22 4.61
Sample B
Cube 50 1173 7.82 4.89
40 x 40 8.00 5.00
Prism 100 1230
43.0 (diameter) 50 1190 6.80 4.68
Cylinder
43.4 (diameter) 100 1187 7.56 5.11
Sample C
50 x 50 50 1216 8.38 3.35
Cube 100 x 100 100 1209 40.01 4.00
150 x 150 150 1179 78.89 3.51
Table 2. Compressive strength comparison between samples A

Sample A Cube Prism Cylinder, d=100mm Cylinder, d=200mm
Cube , d = 100mm +16.4% +11.2% -5.0%
Prism , d = 200mm -19.6% -6.3% -25.6%
Cylinder , d = 100mm -12.6% +5.9% -18.2%
Cylinder , d = 200mm +4.8% +20.4% +15.4%
Table 3. Compressive strength comparison between samples B

Sample B Cube Prism Cylinder, d=50mm Cylinder, d=100mm
Cube , d = 100mm +4.3% -4.5%
Prism , d = 200mm +6.4% -2.2%
Cylinder , d = 50mm -4.5% -6.8%
Cylinder , d= 100mm +4.3% +2.2%
Table 4. Compressive strength comparison between sample C
139
Sample C Cube, 50mm3 Cube, 100mm3 Cube, 150mm3

Cube, 50mm3 -19.4% -4.8%
Cube, 100mm3 +16.3% +12.3%
Cube, 150mm3 +4.6% -14.0%
Table 1 shows the complete results for samples A, B and C. As been shown in Table 2, there is 16.4%
compression strength reduction when l/d ratio of cube and prism increase from 1.0 to 2.0, but for cylinder, the strength
became 15.4% higher for the same l/d ratio change. By referring to CEB-FIP standard of comparison, when 100 x 100
x 100mm cube (l/d = 1.0) compared to 100dia x 100mm cylinder (l/d = 2.0), there is only 5% difference in compressive
strength, which, could be treat as margin of error during samples preparation, curing or testing.
By reducing the effective cross-sectional area differences between cube (prism) and cylinder during testing,
data comparison can be concentrated more on the effect of specimen shape to its compressive strength. The initial
target cross-sectional area for cylinder is 45mm diameter (1590mm2) to compare with 40 x 40mm (1600mm2) cube.
But, because of the frictional loss of surface area during coring process of 100 x 100 x 500mm prism to obtained 45dia.
x 50mm and 100mm cylinder, effective cross-sectional cylinder tested have become the average of 43.5mm
(1486mm2). Nonetheless, as we can see from Table 5, cube (and prism) could handle higher loading than cylinder by
13.0% if both depth is 50mm but the advantage reduce to 5.5% when depth up to 100mm. referring to table 7, both
shapes are pretty much identical in term of compressive strength.
According to research done by Othuman Mydin (2013), compressive strength decrease as sample size increase
for lightweight aggregate concrete. But, from Table 4, for foamcrete, cube with 100mm3 has highest compressive
strength from all of the samples. Even 150mm3 cube produce higher result than 50mm3. One of the reason might be,
due to foamcrete mechanical properties of having low compressive strength (maximum f cu of 15MPa), cube size with
50mm3 parameter are not suitable to be used as specimen in foamcrete compression test.
5. Conclusions
The effect of the size and shape (section shape and aspect ratio) of a specimen on the foamcrete compressive
strength was examined according to the unit weight of 1250kg/m3. From the experimental results established, the
following conclusions may be drawn:
1. Cylinder specimen has less change in compressive strength (fcu) when l/d ratio change from 1.0 to 2.0 compared to
cube. In fact, fcu for cylinder increase as l/d increase, whereas for cube, there is 18.2% reduction in compressive
strength.
2. Cube could carry higher load than cylinder (by assuming both cross-section and volume as identical).
3. At same l/d ratio and shape (cube only), for foamcrete, fcu does not decrease as specimen size increase.
4. As CEB-FIP provision specified, even for foamcrete, 100 x 100mm cube (l/d = 1.0) does produced comparable
compressive strength with 100dia. x 200mm cylinder (l/d = 2.0).
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Universiti Sains Malaysia and Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for their
financial supports under Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) No. 203/PPBGN/6711256.
References
Aldridge, D. & Ansell, T. (2001). Foamed Concrete: Production and Equipment Design, Properties, Applications and
Potential. In: Proceedings of one day seminar on foamed concrete: Properties, applications and latest technological
developments, Loughborough University.
Awang, H., Othuman Mydin, M.A. & Roslan, A.F. (2012a). Microstructural investigation of lightweight foamed
concrete incorporating various additives, International Journal of Academic Research, 4, 197-201.
Awang, H., Othuman Mydin, M.A. & Roslan, A.F. (2012b). Effects of Fibre on Drying Shrinkage, Compressive and
Flextural Strength of Lightweight Foamed Concrete, Advanced Materials Research, Trans Tech Publications,
Switzerland, 587, 144-149.
Jones, M.R., McCarthy, A. (2005). Preliminary Views on the Potential of Foamed Concrete as a Structural Material,
Magazine of Concrete Research, 57, 21–31.
140
Othuman Mydin, M.A. (2013). An experimental investigation on thermal conductivity of lightweight foamcrete for
thermal insulation, Jurnal Teknologi, 62, 43-49.
Othuman Mydin, M.A. & Wang, Y. C. (2012a). Mechanical properties of foamed concrete exposed to high
temperatures, Journal of Construction and Building Materials, 26, 638-654.
Othuman Mydin, M.A. and Wang, Y. C. (2012b). Thermal and mechanical properties of Lightweight Foamed Concrete
(LFC) at elevated temperatures, Magazine of Concrete Research, 64, 213-224.
Roslan, A.F., Awang, H. & Othuman Mydin, M.A. (2013). Effects of Various Additives on Drying Shrinkage,
Compressive and Flexural Strength of Lightweight Foamed Concrete (LFC), Advanced Materials Research Journal,
626, 594-604.
Soleimanzadeh, S. and Othuman Mydin, M.A. (2013). Influence of High Temperatures on Flexural Strength of Foamed
Concrete Containing Fly Ash and Polypropylene Fiber, International Journal of Engineering, 26, 365-374.
Weigler, H. & Karl, S. (1980). Structural Lightweight Aggregate Concrete with Reduced Density-lightweight
Aggregate Foamed Concrete. International Journal of Lightweight Concrete, 2, 101–104.
Yunsheng, X. & Chung, D.D.L. (2000). Effect of Sand Addition on the Specific Heat and Thermal Conductivity of
Cement, Cement and Concrete Research, 30, 59–61.
141
Mechanical Properties of Polymer Modified Mortar with Various

Level of Polymeric Modifier Dosage
G. Shankara , M.A. Othuman Mydinb,21*, N. Md Sanic, A.I. Che Anid , N.M. Tawile,
a,b,c
School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, MALAYSIA
d,e
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment ,Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, MALAYSIA
Abstract
Polymer modified mortar system is defined as hydraulic cement combined at the time of mixing with organic polymers that are
dispersed or re-dispersed in water, with or without aggregates. The compressive strength and flexural strength of polymer modified
mortar obtained at early age are low and it required prolong curing period for the strength enhancement. In order to enhance the
mechanical properties of cementitious mixture as well its durability, hybridization of polymeric modifiers are applied into
cementitious mixture specimens. Thus, this study is intended to examine the mechanical properties of hybrid polymer modified
mortar system at various levels of polymeric modifier dosage; styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) latex and epoxy resin. Laboratory
tests for density, compressive strength and flexural strength were carried out to determine the strength of hybrid polymer modified
mortar. In this study, the hybrid polymer of SBR latex with epoxy resin gives discontented results compared to unmodified cement
system. The results of density, compressive strength and flexural strength of hybrid polymer modified cement system shown in
negative way and did not make any improvement to cement system.
Keyword: polymer modified cement, mechanical properties, compressive, flexural, strength, durability, hybridization, mortar
1. Introduction
For the past few decades, there are lot of researches has taken place in the subject of polymer modified mortar,
polymer mortar and polymer impregnated mortar. At present, this material is largely employed as popular construction
materials because of comparative high performance, multi-functionality and sustainability in comparison to
conventional cement concrete. Concrete polymer mortar is environmental friendly and confirm to concerns of saving of
natural resources, the permanence of infrastructures and the environmental protection (Ru et. al, 2005). Polymer
modified mortar can be defined as hydraulic cement system combined at the time of mixing with organic polymers
which are dispersed in water, with or without the existence of aggregates (Barluenga and Hernandez, 2004).
It should be pointed out that lowering the polymer to cement ratio has no major contributions of enhancing
effects on strength and durability (Ru et. al, 2005). They explained that the connections between the aggregates are very
thin as if only an admixture for the cementitious material. At higher polymer to cement ratios, the polymer film
becomes denser, has stronger bridging effects between the aggregates and forms continuous polymer film throughout
the binder matrix. It seems to become a secondary binder matrix to the composite material. The polymer films would
also become denser which indicates that the cement hydrates and cement particles are thoroughly mixed with the
polymer particles and the polymer film (Bhutta, 2011). The hydration of the cement is reflected in the strength
development of the material.
In addition, flexural strength also increases if a dry curing period is included. The dry condition promotes a
polymer film formation due to the coalescence of polymer particles Bhutta and Ohama, 2010). They reported there is
no improvement flexural strength is noticed in the case of standard cured as long as no dry curing period is applied on
the polymer modified mortar samples. As soon as the polymer modified mortar samples exposed to dry environment
for curing purpose, the film formation process would start immediately and build up through the entire binder phase.
The flexural strength was also reported to have positive relationship with polymer to cement ratio, which is the flexural
strength increases with the increasing polymer to cement ratio. The presence of the polymer film compensated the
retardation of the cement hydration process. A maximum of flexural strength is achieved with a polymer to cement
ratio of about 15% in long-term behaviour (Barluenga and Hernandez, 2004). Figure 1 shows the bonding and
anchoring of polymer resin which interphases in the cementitious adhesive tile interface.

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Figure 1: Bonding and anchoring polymer resin interphases in the cementitious adhesive tile interface
The conflicts between the curing conditions of polymers and cements are cement always require high humidity
for hydration while polymers have to be hardened in hot and dry environment. The curing conditions for each substance
will bring deleterious effects to the other even though they mixed to form a new composite. The addition of hardener-
free epoxy resin can develop an intelligent self-repairing cement system during the case that cracks have been initiated
by any loadings (Gretz and Plank, 2010). Hence, it would produce extra hydroxide ions (OH-) to react with unhardened
epoxy resin and eventually fill the cracks as induced by the loadings. Primary and secondary amines are the most
widely used curing agents for epoxy resins. The reaction between amines and an epoxy resin (Figure 2) is shown as
follows:
Figure 2. Reaction between amines and an epoxy resin (Bhatnagar and Salamone, 1996)
When the temperature is raised to a desired point, the initiator system is fed to the reactor, followed by the
remainder of the monomer. By temperature control and possibly by other chemical additions, 90 to more than 99 %
conversion of the reaction normally occur (Ru et. al, 2005). Unreacted monomer is reduced to acceptable levels by a
process known as stripping. The resultant latex may be concentrated or diluted, and small amounts of materials such as
preservatives and surfactants may be added (Bhatnagar and Salamone, 1996). Other ingredients are often used in the
polymerization process and are incorporated for many reasons, such as controlling pH, particle size, and molecular
weight. Figure 3 show the sequences of copolymerization of butadiene and styrene.
Figure 3. Copolymerization of butadiene and styrene (Bhatnagar and Salamone, 1996)

Hence, this study is intended to determine the mechanical properties of hybrid polymer modified mortar
system at various levels of polymeric modifier dosage; styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) latex and epoxy resin.
143
Laboratory tests for density, compressive strength and flexural strength were carried out to determine the strength of
hybrid polymer modified mortar.
3. Materials and Test Samples
2.1 Portland Cement SEM1
Portland Cement CEM I with specific surface area of 1043.2 m2/kg, specific gravity of 3.02 and median
particle size of 3.9 μm is used for specimen preparation which is supplied by concrete laboratory of School of Housing,
Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
2.2 Fine Aggregates

For this study, uncrushed fine aggregates are used in mortar mixes as a constituent material with a specific
gravity of 2.83 and a maximum aggregate size of 5mm. The fine aggregates were graded in accordance to BS 812: Part
102 and the fitness modulus were determined to be 3.26. The fine aggregates were sieved and oven dried for 24-hours
and kept in container to maintain in dry condition.
2.3 Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) Latex

In order to produce a hybridization of polymer modified cement system, one of the polymers used in specimen
mixing is SBR latex. In this study, Nitobond SBR from FOSROC is used for mortar specimens mixing. Table 1 shows
the specification of Nitobond SBR.
Table 1. Specification of Nitobond SBR

Nitobond SBR Specification
Color white
Chemical type Styrene-butadiene
pH 8
Solid content (%) 45
Elongation (%) 450 to 500
Shore A hardness 50 to 90
Dynamic viscocity (mPa) 6 to 46
Glass transition temperature (°C) – 55
2.4 Epoxy Resin with Hardener
Epoxy resin bisphenol, a type with hardener is used for this study and combines with SBR to form a composite
polymer admixture for hybrid polymer modified cement system. The mixing ratio of epoxy resin to hardener is 100 to
40. Table 2 visualizes the specification of epoxy resin bisphenol Type A
Table 2. Specification of epoxy resin bisphenol A type
Item Epoxy
Chemical type Epoxy
Color Clear
Mixing ratio (weight) 100
Curing schedule 4 hour at RT
Gel time (min) 135
Tensile strength (psi) 9200
Elongation at break (%) 4
Shore D hardness 83
2.5 Water
Water used for construction purpose must be in clean and clear status. Hence, tap water from local water supply
network is used for specimen mixing. The quality of tap water is proven by local authorities in clean condition with pH
value between 6.5 to 8.5.
144
2.6 Test Specimens
In this study, design mean target for compressive strength of specimen is 40 N/mm 2. Water to cement ratio used is 0.5.
A total of five (5) types of samples are prepared for this study with respective polymer to cement ratio:
 C - Control / unmodified mortar

 H5 - 5% SBR latex + 5% Epoxy resin
 L - 10% SBR latex + 5% Epoxy resin
 E - 5% SBR latex + 10% Epoxy resin
 H10 - 10% SBR latex + 10% Epoxy resin
3.0 Experimental Program and Set-Up
For this study, the mix proportion of polymer modified mortar is calculated based Standard Mix Design
according to British Department of Environment (DoE) method. Table 3 shows the mix proportion of mortar specimens
fabricated for this study. Size of 50 mm in length, 50 mm in width, and 50 mm in height for cube specimens are
prepared to determine the density at the age of 56 days, and the compressive strength at the age of 3, 7, 14, 28 and 56
days under water curing. Besides, size of 160 mm in length, 40 mm in width, and 40 mm in height for prism specimens
are prepared to determine flexural strength at 3, 7,14 28 and 56 days under water curing. In addition, size of 500 mm in
length, 100 mm in width, and 100 mm in height for prism specimens are prepared to determine water absorption and air
permeability at the age of 28 and 56 days.
Table 3. Mix proportion of mortar specimens

Cement SBR latex Epoxy resin Fine aggregates
Mortar mix w/c ratio
(kg/m3) (%) (%) (kg/m3)
C 410 - - 1730 0.5
H5 410 5 5 1730 0.5
L 410 10 5 1730 0.5
E 410 5 10 1730 0.5
H10 410 10 10 1730 0.5
After the specimens are cured for certain ages, there are few laboratory tests to be carried out to determine the
engineering properties and durability properties of polymer modified mortar specimens. Table 4 shows the summary of
parameters used with the type of sample according to the age required.
Table 4. Summary of parameters used with type of sample according to age

Testing Sample Age (day)
Density of hardened mortar 50 mm × 50 mm × 50 mm cube 56
Water absorption 75 mm diameter × 100 mm cylinder 28,56
Compressive strength 50 mm × 50 mm × 50 mm cube 3,7,14,28,56
Flexural strength 160 mm × 40 mm × 40 mm prism 3,7,14,28,56
3.1 Density of Hardened Specimen
This test is carried out when the polymer modified mortar specimens are cured for certain ages and according
to BSI 12390-7 (2009). The weight of each sample in both air and water condition are recorded by using weighing
machine. The mass and volume of the specimen of hardened mortar are determined and the density calculated.
3.2 Water absorption
For durability properties investigation, water absorption test method is specified in BS 1881-122. A 75 mm in
diameter and 100 mm in height coring cylinder sample with 24-hours oven-dried is weighted first and soaked in water
for 30 minutes. After that, take out the cylinder sample and record the weight in both air and water condition.
3.3 Compressive Strength
The compressive strength test for mortar specimens was conducted by using compressive test machine in the
structural laboratory of School of Housing, Building and Planning as specified in the test method BS EN 12390-3
(2009). To obtain the maximum compressive load, an increasing compressive load was applied to the specimen until
the failure occurred. Sample used for compression test are size in 50 mm length, 50 mm width, and 50 mm height cube.
In this study, GOTECH Universal Testing Machine is used for compression test and flexural strength test (Figure 4).
145
Figure 4. GOTECH Universal testing machine for compression test
3.4 Flexural Strength
Flexural strength test gives two important parameters which are first crack strength controlled by the matrix
and the ultimate flexural strength or the modulus of rapture that determined by the maximum load. Prisms were used
for this test using the two point loading arrangement specified in the Test method BS EN 12390-5. While the test was
conducted, the development of first crack and the cracking up to the failure was closely observed. Record the maximum
reading showed at the display before the specimen failed. Sample used for flexural strength test are size in 160 mm
length, 40 mm width, and 40 mm height prism. Figure 5 shows the set-up of flexural test
Figure 5. Setup of flexural strength test
4.0 Results and Discussions
4.1 Density of Hardened Mortar Test
The results obtained for density of specimen are shown in Table 5. From Table 5, it can be seen that control
mortar obtained the highest density among the mortar specimens which is 2290 kg/m 3 at the age of 56 days. At the
same age, hybrid polymer modified mortar L obtained the lowest density which is 2140 kg/m3 compared to other
mortar specimens and it is due to the high content of SBR latex in hybrid polymer modified mortar L. SBR latex
contained low solid content and increase the water to cement ratio of hybrid polymer modified mortar L. Hence, the
great reduction of density in hybrid polymer modified mortar L occurred after water cured process.
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Table 5. Density of hardened mortars (kg/m3)

Mortar Mix Age (day) 56
C 2290
H5 2200
L 2140
E 2190
H10 2210
On the other hand, the density of H5, E, and H10 are relatively same which the range is 2190 to 2210 kg/m 3 at
the age of 56 days. It can be concluded that higher epoxy resin content in hybrid polymer modified mortar specimens
did not give the significant contribute in reduction or increase of mortar density.
Figure 6. Density of hardened mortar at 56-day
From Figure 6, it can be seen that hybrid polymer modified mortars contain lower density compare to unmodified
mortar due to the polymeric admixtures in mortar mix. It is due to the hybrid polymer admixture contained low solid
content and it leads to deduction in density of modified mortar specimens.
Table 6. Reduction in density of hardened mortar

Mortar mixes Percentage of reduction (%)
H5 to C 3.9
L to C 6.6
E to C 4.4
H10 to C 3.5
The percentage of density reduction of hybrid polymer modified mortars compared to unmodified mortar is
presented in Table 6. At the age of 56 days, the density of hybrid polymer modified mortar L was found to below the
density of control mortar by 6.6% which is the greatest reduction in density. Followed by hybrid polymer modified
mortar E, the reduction of density found by 4.4% compared to control mortar. The density reduction of hybrid polymer
modified mortars H5 and H10 are relatively same which by 3.9% and 3.5% respectively.
4.2 Water Absorption Test
In this study, water absorption test according BS 1881: 122 is used to determine the durability properties of
mortar specimens. This parameter is important as it relative with gas absorption, chloride penetration, porosity which
contributes to durability properties of mortar. The results at the age of 28 and 56 days are shown in Table 7.
Table 7. Percentage of water absorption for mortar specimens

28 days 56 days
Mortar Mix
Dry (g) Wet (g) % Dry (g) Wet (g) %
C 748.3 776.5 3.8 777.7 794.6 2.2
H5 715.4 728.7 1.9 751.5 765.1 1.8
147
L 673.5 696.6 3.4 711.2 735.5 3.4

E 697.2 713.0 2.3 738.9 754.6 2.1
H10 718.3 729.6 1.6 761.4 773.0 1.5
As can be seen on Table 7 and Figure 7, hybrid polymer modified mortar obtained better water penetration
resistance at age of 28 and 56 days. H10 achieves the lowest percentage of water absorption which is only 1.5 % and it
shown the enhancement of durability for cement system. Control mortar was reduced the percentage of water
absorption from 3.8 % at 28 days to 2.2 % at 56 days test while hybrid polymer modified mortars were maintained the
percentage of water absorption. As conclusion, hybrid polymer modified mortar can optimizes the water penetration
resistance within 28 days and unmodified mortar need longer time to achieve.
Figure 7, Percentage of water absorption by mortar mixes
At the age of 28 days, it can be seen that the significantly improvement in water tightness by hybrid polymer
modified mortars. H10 obtained the greatest reduction in water absorption by 57.9% compared to control mortar and
followed by H5 (50.0 %), E (39.5 %), and L (10.5 %). The advantage in water tightness by hybrid polymer modified
mortars remained at the age of 56 days except hybrid polymer modified mortar L. While all specimens are obtained
improvement in reduction of water absorption, but hybrid polymer modified mortar L remained in same condition and
found to exceed by 54.5 % compared to control mortar at 56 days.
4.3 Compressive Strength Test
The most important properties in cement system are strength as it gives an overall picture of the quality of cement
based material system. Among the various strength of mortar or concrete system, the most concerned is compressive
strength. The results of compressive strength test of mortar cubes with respective hybrid polymer dosage at the age of
3, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days are shown in Table 8 and Figure 8 shows the compressive strength – age relation for mortar
specimens.
Table 8 Compressive strength of unmodified mortar and polymer modified mortar cubes (N/mm 2)
Age (day)
Mortar Mix
3 7 14 28 56
C 30.8 37.5 38.4 40.7 42.4
H5 8.2 11.8 14.0 17.7 18.8
L 6.9 9.9 12.6 16.6 18.2
E 10.9 14.9 16.8 21.7 23.2
H10 8.5 11.7 13.4 17.5 18.7
In this study, hybrid polymer modified mortars achieve lower compressive strength compared to unmodified
mortar from the age of 3 days to 56 days. Table 8 presented that control mortar obtained the highest reading among
mortar specimens in compressive strength test which is 42.4 N/mm2 at the age of 56 days while hybrid polymer
modified mortar L obtained the lowest reading which is 18.2 N/mm 2 at the same age. Hybrid polymer modified mortars
H5 and H10 achieved relatively same compressive strength which is 18.8 N/mm2 and 18.7 N/mm2 at the age of 56
days. On the other hand, hybrid polymer modified mortar E obtained the highest reading in compressive strength
among hybrid polymer modified mortars which is 23.2 N/mm 2 at the age of 56 days.
148
In Figure 8, it can be seen that hybrid polymer modified mortar E obtained higher compressive strength and hybrid
polymer modified mortar L achieved lower compressive strength among modified mortars. It is due to the epoxy resin
polymer modifier contain higher solid content compared to SBR latex polymer modifier. Therefore, it can be concluded
that epoxy resin polymer modifier has better potential in mortar strength development compared to SBR latex polymer
modifier. Table 9 shows the percentage of reduction in compressive strength between hybrid polymer modified mortars
to control mortar.
Figure 8. Compressive strength - age relation for mortar specimens
Table 9. Reduction in compressive strength

Percentage of reduction (%)
Mortar mixes
3-day 7-day 14-day 28-day 56-day
H5 to C 73.4 68.5 63.5 56.5 55.7
L to C 77.6 73.6 67.1 59.2 57.1
E to C 64.6 60.3 56.3 46.7 45.3
H10 to C 72.4 68.8 65.1 57.0 55.9
The reasons that made to this outcome are greater water to cement ratio, no air curing process included, no
antifoam agent is used, and incompatible of hybrid polymer system. Hybrid polymer modifier is applied as additive but
not as replacement to cement and it increases the water to cement ratio of mortar mixes. As a result, the greater water to
cement ratio of mortar mixes lead to lower compressive strength for hybrid polymer modified mortar. The specimens
are cured by water only and polymer need a dry and hot environment to process the film formation. In this study, epoxy
resin is used to expect the improvement in strength development and full water curing is chosen for durability
development. Besides, foaming problem occurred in this study. Epoxy is a high emulsion admixture for cement system
and it trapped the air bubbles are formed during mixing process and difficult to release from specimens. As a result,
percentage of void in specimens was increased and the density has been lower. In addition, incompatible hybrid
polymer system between latex and epoxy resin lead to lower compressive strength in cement based material system.
4.4 Flexural Strength Test
Mortar specimens were tested for flexural strength by applying increasing load until failure occurs. Thus, reading of the
maximum load for failure can be obtained. In this study, center-point load method is used. The results of flexural
strength test of mortar specimens are shown in Table 10 and Figure 9 shows the flexural strength – age relation for
mortar specimens. From From Table 10, unmodified mortar achieved the highest strength in flexural test with 7.7
N/mm2 at 56 days and hybrid polymer modified mortar L obtained the lowest reading in flexural strength test which is
4.5 N/mm2 at 56 days.
Table 10 Flexural strength of unmodified mortar and polymer modified mortar prisms (N/mm 2)
Mortar mixes
C 5.6 6.4 7.3 7.6 7.7
H5 2.3 2.7 3.1 3.7 5.1
L 2.1 3.1 3.7 4.3 4.5
E 3.4 3.7 4.7 6.1 6.4
149
Figure 9. Flexural strength – age relation for mortar specimens
From Figure 9, it can be seen that hybrid polymer modified mortar achieves lower flexural strength compared
to unmodified mortar. This complexion is similar to the result of compressive strength test. The reasons which made to
this result are insufficient air curing process, greater water to cement ratio, foaming process, and incompatible of hybrid
polymer system. Air cured is important for polymer modified specimen as polymer need a heat and dry
environment for film formation. In this study, only water cured method is applied and the high moisture affects the
process of polymer film formation negatively. Besides, hybrid polymer was applied as additive and it increase the water
to cement ratio in this study. Hence, the flexural strength of modified specimens was decrease. Furthermore, SBR latex
and epoxy emulsion are air trapped agents. Foaming process occurred during the mixing and it leads to air pocket in
modified specimens. In addition, an assumption of incompatible of hybrid polymer system is made due to no references
and no researches were done.
On the other hand, hybrid polymer modified mortars have better potential in flexural strength development
which is shown in Figure 9. Development of the flexural strength of unmodified mortar specimens has optimized and
became consistence after 14 days while hybrid polymer modified mortar specimens developed the flexural strength
continually. Similar to the result of compressive strength test, E obtained highest flexural strength and L achieves the
lowest among the hybrid polymer modified mortar specimens.
Table 11. Reduction in flexural strength

Mortar mixes
H5 to C 58.9 57.8 57.5 51.3 33.8
L to C 62.5 51.6 49.3 43.4 41.6
E to C 39.3 42.2 35.6 19.7 16.9
H10 to C 50.0 37.5 39.7 27.6 23.4
From Table 11, it can be seen that the trend of minimization in reduction of flexural strength between hybrid
polymer modified mortars to control mortar. At the age of 56 days, E obtained the minimum reduction in flexural
strength by 16.9 % compared to C while L achieved the maximum reduction by 41.6 %.
5. Conclusions
This study has described all the processes from primarily stages of mortar mix design up to the analysis of the data
obtained. Experimental laboratory works were carried out to obtain the data for strength and durability analysis. As
conclusion, an assumption made that hybridization of SBR latex and epoxy resin is not a suitable material for polymer
modified cement system. Based on the data obtained and analysis done, this hybrid polymer system has only shown an
improvement in water absorption for durability properties. The results of density, compressive strength and flexural
strength of hybrid polymer modified cement system shown in negative way and did not make any enhancement or
improvement to cement system. As a result, hybridization of polymer modified cement system in this study had shown
the enhancement in water tightness while conventional cement system proves better engineering properties
performance and lower gas penetration compared to hybrid polymer modified cement system.
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Acknowledgement
The first and second authors would like to thank Universiti Sains Malaysia and Ministry of Higher Education
Malaysia for their supports under Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) No. 203/PPBGN/6711256.
References
Barbuta, M. & Harja, M. (2008). Experimental study on the characteristics of polymer concrete with epoxy resin,
Buletinul Institutului Politehnic Din Iaşi, 9, 117-125.
Barluenga, G. & Hernandez, O.F. (2004). SBR latex modified mortar rheology and mechanical behavior, Journal of
Cement and Concrete Research, 34, 527-535
Bhatnagar, S. & Salamone, C.J. (1996). The Polymeric Materials Encyclopedia © 1996 CRC Press, Taylor and Francis
Group Inc.
Bhutta, M.A.R. & Ohama, Y. (2010). Recent Status of Research and Development of Concrete-Polymer Composites in
Japan, Concrete Research Letters, 1, 125-130.
Bhutta, M.A.R. (2011). Air permeability of hardener-free epoxy-modified mortars as repair materials, Concrete
Research Letters, 2, 895-899.
British Standard Institution (2009). Testing hardened concrete: Compressive strength of test specimens, BS EN 12390-
3
British Standard Institution (2009). Testing hardened concrete: Compressive strength of test specimens, BS EN 12390-
7
Gretz, M. & Plank, J. (2010). An ESEM investigation of latex film formation in cement pore solution. Journal of
Cement and Concrete Research, 41, 184-190.
Mikhailov, K.V., Kreis, R., & Paturoev, V.V. (1992). Polymer Concretes and Their Structural Uses. Taylor & Francis,
23-26
Ru, W. & Ming, W.P. & Gui, L.X. (2005). Physical and mechanical properties of styrene–butadiene rubber emulsion
modified cement mortars, Journal of Cement and Concrete Research, 35, 900-906.
151
Appraisal on Decisive Factors of Construction Project Delay in

Malaysian Private Housing from Developers Perspective
M.A. Othuman Mydina,22*, N. Md Sanib, N.A. Agus Salimc, A.I. Che Anid, N. Mohamed
Aliase
a,b,e
c
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM Perak, Seri Iskandar Campus, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak, MALAYSIA
d
Abstract
Project delay can be defined as an incident that causes extended time in order to complete all or part of a particular project
successfully. In other words, delay is the time overrun, either ahead of the date for project completion specified by the contract or
further than the extensive contract period where an addition of time has been granted. It should be pointed out that the project delay
in the construction industry is a universal or large-scale observable fact affecting not only the construction industry but the overall
economy of countries too. As far as Malaysian construction industry is concerned, project delays are common problems in the
construction industries; particularly most common is in the housing development industries. In the first quarter of year 2013, there
were about 247 private housing development projects that had been categorized as late and sick projects by the Ministry of Housing
and Local Government. The objective of this study is to evaluate and identify the causes and consequences of project delays in the
private housing development projects in Malaysia and the remedies that can minimize these delays. An online questionnaire survey
has been done to collect the data and this included 76 respondents from a variety of developers’ companies in Malaysia that had
responded in the research. From the survey, a total of 28 causes and six consequences of project delays have been identified from
four different factors of delays that were caused by client factors, consultant factors, contractor factors and external factors. The top
ten causes of the delays are due to weather conditions, poor site conditions, poor site management, incomplete documents, lack of
experience, financial problems, contract modifications, delay in approving of major variations, contractor coordination problem with
other parties and construction mistakes and defective works. It had been analyzed that the causes of the delays pin point to the
contractor factors, which contribute to the major factors that causes of project delays in private housing project developments. The
consequences of the delays would contribute to time overrun, cost overrun, difference opinion, negotiations, legal actions and total
abandonment. We put forward herewith our recommendations to minimize these project delays.
Keyword: project delay, construction, developer, contractor, extension, private housing
1. Introduction
Project delays can be defined as an incident that causes extended time to complete all or part of a particular
projects. Delay can also be defined as the time overrun, either ahead of the date for project completion specified by the
contract or further than the extended contract period where an addition of time has been granted (Aibinu and Jagboro,
2002). The projects delay in the construction industry is a universal or large-scale observable fact affecting not only the
construction industry but the overall economy of the country too (Sambasivan and Soon, 2007). Project delay involves
manifold multifaceted issues all of which are perpetually of decisive magnitude to the parties to the construction
contract. These issues concern right to recuperate costs of the project delay or the need to extend the project with the
substantial right to recovery costs for adjustments to the contract schedules (Alaghbari et. al., 2007).
One of the main objectives and policies of any public or private sectors dealing with the implementation of
project is to upgrade the projects performance process, through reduction of costs, completion of the construction
project within their contract sum and time limit and improve quality. Private housing project delays are often caused by
circumstances that create barriers to launch and further implementation of project activities (Al-Momani, 2000).
When project delays are unexpected, they are unmanageable and have rather a negative impact on the project
activities and outcomes. An unexpected delay will extends the overall duration of project activities and entails an
increase in project costs (Alaghbari et. al., 2007). It produces time-associated cost effects that will increase the resource

152
consumption and will require extra time to reaching project success. In the private housing sector a developer can just
be a project owner or both the owner and contractor of a development project itself. In either capacity, a developer has
certain requirements that need to be addressed bringing out clearly in the contract document. If this is done, the
probability of a successful completion of the project is enhanced. If the preliminary step is omitted, the chances of
delay and disagreement will increase.
It has been noted that many researchers that investigate the causes and effects of project delay. These studies
tend to focus attention on explaining the causes, which turn would help to guide practitioners to identify possible
measures for mitigating against delay in construction project (Assaf and Al-Hejji, 2006). Delay in construction projects
give rise to displeasure to all the parties involved and the main role of the project manager is to make sure that the
projects are completed within the budgeted time and cost (Bordoli and Baldwin, 1998). Despite many researchers that
had conducted studies on project delays and giving recommendations, delays are still the major problems in the
construction industry until now. The main purpose of this study is to identify the factors of delay and their effect on
project completion. This study takes an integrated approach and attempts to analyze the effect of specific causes on
specific effects
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Delay is a condition that occurs when the contractor fails to complete a project within the specified period
according to the date that is agreed by both parties as stated in the contract (Niazai and Gidado, 2012) . There are
various factors that cause delay in the completion of a project, whether caused by the client, contractor, human
resources, equipment, financial, material resources and a various other factors which will be discussed later.
Completion time is extremely important in construction (Kikwasi, 2012). Execution of time is one of the routines
measures in the projects that are the time, cost, quality and productivity. Project success is measured by these items that
show the work of the construction parties involved, especially two important parties that is the client and the contractor
(Koushki et. al., 2003) All the parties involve look for the completion of the project by a specified time stated in the
contract, in the most cost effective, with required quality and productivity.
Table 1. Statistics of Launch Project by States until September 2012

States Number of Project Number of Housing Unit Number of Buyers
Selangor 865 145,736 75,653
Johor 503 54,562 24,414
Perak 496 71,560 43,986
Pulau Pinang 290 22,364 10,112
Pahang 283 17,679 7,062
Kedah 242 24,076 7,901
W.P. Kuala Lumpur 160 35,213 25,546
Negeri Sembilan 155 16,283 4,728
Kelantan 97 6,460 3,515
Melaka 83 9,130 4,728
Terengganu 81 8,312 3,416
Perlis 26 1,334 459
Total 3,281 412,709 211,520
In the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the performance of housing development programs was encouraging with the
number of houses constructed surpassing the targeted plan. During 2001 to 2005, a total of 84,000 units were
completed. Of the total, 77.6% of the houses were constructed by the private sector company while another 22.4% was
by the public sector that is the government itself.
For the period 2006 to 2010, the private sectors developer build nearly 72.1% of the houses and the remaining
houses is by the government. Among the type of houses available are low-cost housing, low-medium housing, medium
cost and high cost in urban and rural areas. 38.2% is combination of low and low-medium cost houses as well houses
for the poor while another 61.8% is for medium houses and high cost houses.
In the third quarter of 2012, there were about 3,281 projects in Peninsular Malaysia smoothly involving
412.709 housing units and 211.520 of buyers. From Table 1, the state that has the highest number of project launches is
at Selangor, that is around 26.36% or 865 projects involving 75,653 buyers and 145.736 of housing unit and this was
followed by Johor by 15:33% or projects involving 54,562 housing units and 24,414 buyers.
In the third quarter of 2012, the number of projects that are late is around 41 projects involving a total of 3,998
housing units and 2,303 buyers. Based on Table 2, the highest number of late projects was recorded in at Selangor,
around 16 projects (39.02%) followed by Johor and Penang, which recorded 8 projects (19.51%). There is no late
project reported in Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Perlis and Terengganu in the year of 2012.
153
Table 2. Statistics of Late Project by States until September 2012

Selangor 16 1,362 810
Johor 8 380 176
Pulau Pinang 8 827 586
W. P. Kuala lumpur 4 766 629
Pahang 3 155 73
Melaka 1 476 1
Perak 1 32 28
Kedah 0 0 0
Kelantan 0 0 0
Negeri Sembilan 0 0 0
Perlis 0 0 0
Terengganu 0 0 0
Total 41 3,998 2,303
Until the third quarter of 2012, the number of sick Project is around 220 projects involving a total of 29,858
housing units and 21,168 buyers. Based on Table 3, the highest sick project is recorded at Selangor that is 86 projects
(39.1%), followed by Kelantan with 21 projects (9.54%) and the state of Johor with 19 projects (8.63%).
Table 3. Statistics of Sick Project by States until September 2012

Selangor 86 15,124 11,254
Kelantan 21 1,506 1,125
Johor 19 2,369 1,794
Kedah 17 2,363 1,406
Pahang 17 1,287 736
Terengganu 15 1,415 1,172
Negeri sembilan 12 1,528 1,075
Perak 9 993 537
W. P. Kuala Lumpur 9 1,338 619
Pulau pinang 8 1,357 1,119
Melaka 6 502 295
Perlis 1 76 36
Total 220 29,858 21,168
3. Methodology
The research methodology will be described and explained based on the objectives of this study. In this study,
two approaches will be done throughout this study to gather reliable and related data. The approaches that been used
are literature review and questionnaire survey that focus on clients, consultants and contractors. The literature review
was done through engineering journals, articles and books. By referring to the previous literature, the information from
the causes of construction projects delays, consequences of construction projects delays, and the method of minimizing
the delay would be used to develop the questionnaire survey in order to collect data from the targeted respondent. An
online questionnaire has been developed to know the perspective from several of developers in Malaysia. 28 causes
have been identified from the literature review and been divided into four factors that is client factors, contractor
factors, consultant factors and external factors. Next part is the consequences of project delays. A number of six
consequences of delay also been identified that is the time overrun, cost overrun, difference opinion, negotiation, legal
action and total abandonment. This research is based on purposive sampling technique, the alternative use of
probability sampling is not considered due to limited time and resources. The researcher will make contact with
potential respondents based on the statistic of private housing delay project all around Malaysia that have been given by
the Ministry of Housing and Local Government of Malaysia. Based on the information that been gather from the
Ministry of Housing and Local Government of Malaysia, around 220 developers have been involved in the private
housing project around Malaysia that have some delay problem in their project and a total of 220 set of questionnaire
were distributed for this survey but only 76 sets of questionnaire that have been returned.
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4. Data Analysis and Discussion
4.1 Causes of Delays
The data collected from the questionnaire was analyzed from the perspective of the developers. Every cause of
delays based on the client factor, contractors factor, consultants factor and externals factor was computed for overall
analysis. The mean score was computed for each cause to identify the most significant causes and later the causes of
delays were ranked based on the mean score. Based on Table 4, the ranking that been given to each cause of delays will
be used to identify the most important factors or causes of delay in Malaysian private housing industry.
Table 4. Causes of Delays in Private Housing Projects in Malaysia
Undecide
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Strongly
Mean score
Agree
Agree
Rank
d
Description
1 2 3 4 5
CLIENT FACTORS
Contract modifications 0 4 6 57 9 3.93 7
Slowness in decisions making 1 12 1 54 8 3.74 17
Financial problem 2 14 1 44 14 3.67 20
Lack of coordination with the contractor 2 20 0 49 5 3.46 24
Lack of working knowledge 13 22 1 38 2 3.05 25
CONTRACTORS FACTORS
Poor site management 0 3 2 51 19 4.09 3
Financial problem 2 6 1 50 17 3.97 6
Coordination problem with other 0 6 3 58 9 3.92 9
Construction mistakes and defective work 0 4 1 66 4 3.88 10
Delay in delivery of material to site 0 7 0 65 4 3.87 11
Low productivity of labor 0 11 1 57 7 3.79 15
Shortage of material on site 0 11 0 60 5 3.77 16
Poor skills of labor 0 11 2 59 3 3.67 21
Shortage of site labor 0 14 6 52 4 3.61 22
CONSULTANTS FACTORS
Incomplete documents 0 2 1 59 13 4.05 4
Lack of experience on the part of consultant site staff 0 5 3 51 16 3.99 5
Delay in approving major changes in the scope of work 0 7 2 51 15 3.93 8
Lack of experience on the part of consultant 0 5 3 57 9 3.84 12
Poor communication and coordination 1 9 2 57 6 3.72 19
Absence of consultant's site staff 4 24 13 32 2 2.99 26
EXTERNAL FACTORS
Weather conditions on the site 0 0 4 42 31 4.41 1
Poor site conditions 0 2 4 47 24 4.26 2
Delay in manufacturing building material 0 15 2 45 15 3.83 13
Changes in laws and regulations 0 5 9 57 5 3.81 14
Transportation delay 0 8 7 59 2 3.72 18
Delay in performing final inspection and certification 0 15 6 53 3 3.62 23
Lack of materials on the market 3 38 3 30 3 2.93 27
Lack of equipment and tools on the market 3 40 3 28 3 2.88 28
Therefore based on the ranking of the causes of delays from Figure 1, the top 10 causes of delay in private housing
projects have been identified. The highest causes of delays are as follows:
(1) The weather conditions on the site (external factors) whereas the mean score calculation are at 4.41. These show
that unpredictable weathers conditions can really give a big affect to the construction progress whether the projects
proceed quickly or slowly. This implies that the environment is a very important factor in construction project.
(2) Poor site condition (mean value score= 4.26) can cause delay in private housing projects. A poor site condition will
decrease the productivity on the site
(3) The poor site management of the contractor (mean value score= 4.09),
(4) Incomplete document by the consultant (mean value score= 4.05). The consultant has the full authority to issue
changes, correct the mistakes in the drawings and the discrepancies in the contract document on behalf of the client,
however the consultants site staff always not have confidence in issuing instructions until they discuss with their top
managers, the contractors often cannot receive instructions about those discrepancies in time.
155
(5) Lack of experience on the part of consultant site staff (managerial and supervisory personnel) (mean value score=
3.99) some of the consultant site staff do not have enough experience in the construction industry. Some problems in
the design cannot be found until the contractor enquires about them in the construction. Therefore it takes extra time in
order to approve new design solution. ,
(6) Financial problem (mean value score= 3.97) of the contractor are the cause of delay in housing projects and have
been at the six ranked in this analysis based on the mean score value that is 3.97. This delay happen because when
contractors received advanced or monthly payment from the client, most of them may use the money to finance other
urgent or more profitable projects. It often leads to the problem such as lack of material, late payment to sub-
contractors, etc.
(7) Contract modifications (replacement and addition of new work and change in specification) by the client(mean
value score= 3.93) ,
(8) Delay in approving major changes in the scope of work by the consultant (mean value score= 3.93). It is time
consuming and complex process for consultant to approve documents submitted by the contractors (e.g. method
statement or specifications). It is reported that the contractor have to wait a long time in order to get the approval from
the consultant and this will result to the construction delay.
(9) Contractor coordination problem with other parties (mean value score= 3.92) can cause delay. A total of 76% of the
respondent agree with this type of delays. The contractors have to frequently communicate with the other project
participant.
(10) Construction mistakes and defective work (mean value score= 3.88) . With high demand of workforce in the local
construction market, the majority of the labors are from other countries like Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and other
that are without adequate training. This often leads to poor workmanship.
Top 10 Causes of Private Housing

10. Construction mistakes and defective work 3.88
9. Contractor coordination problem with other 3.92
8. Delay in approving major changes in the scope of work … 3.93
7. Contract modifications by the client 3.93
6. Contractor financial problem 3.97
5. Lack of experience on the part of consultant site staff … 3.99
4. Incomplete documents by consultant 4.05
3. Contractor poor site management 4.09
2. Poor site conditions 4.26
1. Weather conditions on the site 4.41
3.6 3.8 4 4.2 4.4 4.6
Mean Score Value
Figure 1. Top 10 Causes of Private Housing Project Delays in Malaysia
4.2 Effect of Delays
Based on Table 5, (1) time overrun and (2) cost overrun was the top two effects of the project delays in the
private housing construction. Based on Table 5, time overrun (mean value score= 4.43) are one of the highest
consequences of delays. The time overrun happen when the construction process is delayed and the time of the
construction process become longer than expected. Client and contractor related factors of delay are responsible for
time overrun. At least half of the causes of project delays contribute to the time overrun in the construction project such
as client slowness in making decision, construction mistakes and defective works, shortage of material in site, delay in
delivery material in site, weather condition, and delay in manufacturing building material and etc. Based on Figure 2,
for the cost overrun, a total of 61% of respondent agree and 38% are strongly agreed. It is the second highest
consequence of delays that been choose by the respondent based on the mean score that is about 4.40. The cost overrun
happen because of contractual factors such as contract modifications (replacement and addition of new work and
change in specification), poor communication and site management, lack of working knowledge of the parties involved.
The third consequences of delay that been ranked based on the respondent opinion is (3) difference opinion or
been known as disputes. The mean score for this consequence is about 4.01 and 79% of the respondents agree
difference opinion are one of the consequences of delay in private housing industry.
Disputes frequently arise in respects of delays and who the one should bear the responsibility for them. A
combination of environmental and behavioral factors can lead to construction disputes. Projects are usually long-term
transactions with high uncertainty and complexity, and it is impossible to resolve every detail and foreseen contingency
at the outset (4) Negotiation (mean value score= 3.82) is at the fourth ranked in the analysis that been made to
determine the consequences of delay of this research. Figure 2 shows that 78% of the respondents agree negotiation can
156
lead to consequence of delay in the project. The client related factors and contractual relationship creates disputes and
leads to be settlement by negotiation, which involves third party to settler issue out of the courts.
Therefore if anybody from the parties does not accept the result made by the mediator, they can appeal the
result that been made with the arbitrator. Negotiation is a complex process that mainly used to resolve conflicts and
disagreements. Negotiation play a important responsibility in resolving claims, prevent dispute and keep a good
relationship between the project participants but the long period of negotiations may lead to the consequences of delay
in private housing projects, Next consequences of delays is follow by (5) legal action (mean value score= 3.56) or also
know as litigation are at the fifth ranked where a total of 66% of the respondent agree with it. Contract disputes that
lead to the construction litigation sometimes involve only small issues, such as non-payment, condition of the work or
deadlines of the projects, and often involve just two parties, the appointed contractor and a subcontractor. Sometimes,
the contract disputes are complex and involve claims about the quality and scope of work performed by the contractor
or matters pertaining to clauses in the contract agreements. These are likely to include additional parties, such as the
bank and supplier. Construction litigation involving negligence often centres on discovered by client during or after the
construction process. These discoveries will sometimes lead to legal action against the contractor based on claims of
poor quality of materials, improper site investigation and problem on the structural engineering.
The last consequence of delay is the (6) total abandonment (mean value score= 3.30). The fourth factors are
client factors, contractor factors, consultant factors and external factors contribute to total abandonment. There are
about 56% of respondent are agree, another 18% disagree with it and another 14 % of the respondents stated that they
are undecided. Total abandonment happen because of the financial problem of the client or the contractor, the cash flow
problem will lead to the unable to continue the construction process.
Consequences of Delay
3%
56%
Total abandonment 14%
18%
9%
3%
66%
Legal action 20%
9%
3%
5%
78%
Negotiation 5%
12%
0%
12%
79%
Difference opinion 4%
4%
1%
38%
61%
Cost overrun 0%
1%
0%
38%
62%
Time overrun 0%
0%
0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree
Figure 3. Consequences of Private Housing Project Delays
157
Table 5. Consequences of Private Housing Projects Delays

Strongly Strongly
Disagree Undecided Agree
Description Disagree Agree Mean Score Ranked
1 2 3 4 5
Time overrun 0 0 0 48 29 4.43 1
Cost overrun 0 1 0 47 29 4.40 2
Difference opinion 1 3 3 61 9 4.01 3
Negotiation 0 9 4 60 4 3.82 4
Legal action 2 7 15 50 2 3.56 5
Total abandonment 7 14 11 43 2 3.30 6
5. Recommendations
Some recommendations are made to minimize the project delays in private housing project. The recommendations are:
i. Proper planning before commencement of the project.
ii. Approval & confirmation of design concept, construction drawings, material selection, logistic planning & etc
prior to construction stage.
iii. Improvement in communication, e.g. regular & fruitful meeting & site walk with relevant parties in order to solve
problem in time.
iv. Effective control and monitoring of site workers, to improve productivity.
v. New rules and regulations (Majlis Daerah) should be relayed to the developers/contractors as soon as possible so
that the developer/contractor is aware of the changes in the rules and regulations.
vi. Client to stick on original plan and client to allocate adequate budget for any contract modifications.
vii. Site management & proper award on time is important to avoid the project delay
viii. Close monitoring of the progress of work.
ix. Counter check the accuracy of work progress data’s with actual physical completion versus cost expended.
x. Propose "Bonus" scheme for early completion.
xi. Effective planning and scheduling would overcome the problem.
xii. Predict potential problem that will occur and try to solve it in early stage. A good project management with
experience personnel most of the time can minimize project delay.
6. Conclusion
The first objective of the study is to identify the contributing factors of project delays in Malaysian private
housing based on developer’s perspective has been identified. A total of 28 factors that causes delays were identified.
The top ten major factors that contributed to the causes of delays were weather condition, poor site condition, poor site
management of the contractor, incomplete documents from the consultant, lack of experiences on the part of the
consultant site staff(managerial and supervisory personnel), contractor financial problem, contract modification by the
client, delay in approving major changes in the scope of work by the consultant, contractor coordination problem with
other parties and lastly is contractors construction mistakes and defective work. The factors were divided into four
groups based on the causes of delays. Group of contractor factors delays was ranked the most significant groups that
cause delays, followed by group of consultant factors delay, consultant related delays, client factors delay, and external
delays. The second objective of this research was to study and analyze the consequences of project delays in Malaysian
private housing based on the developers point of view. There are six factors that had affect delays in private housing
project which includes: times overrun, cost overrun, difference opinion or dispute, negotiation or arbitration, legal
action or litigation and total abandonment. From the analysis that has been done it shown that the time overrun and cost
overrun were two most frequent consequences of delays in construction project. Method of minimizing the project
delays have been recommend in order to reduce the project delays in private housing projects.
References
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industry, Int. Journal of Project Management, 20, 593–99.
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construction projects in Malaysia, Engineering, Construction Architectural Management, 14, 192–206.
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18, 5-9.
Assaf, S.A. & Al-Hejji, S. (2006). Causes of Delay in Large Construction Projects, International Journal of Project
Management, 24, 349-357.
Bordoli, D.W. & Baldwin, A.N. (1998). A Methodology for Assessing Construction Project Delays, Construction
Management and Economics, 16, 327-337
Niazai, G.A. & Gidado, K. (2012). Causes of Project Delay in the Construction Industry in Afghanistan, EPPM2012,
University of Brighton, United Kingdom, 63-74
Kikwasi, G.J. (2012). Causes and effects of delays and disruptions in construction projects in Tanzania, Australasian
Journal of Construction Economics and Building, Conference Series, 1, 52-59
Koushki, P.A., Al-Rashid, K. & Kartam, N. (2003). Delays and cost increases in the construction of private residential
projects in Kuwait, Construction Management and Economics, 23, 285–294
Sambasivan, M. & Wen Soon, Y. (2007), Causes and effects of delays in Malaysian construction industry, International
Journal of Project Management, 25, 517–26.
159
Sustainable Absorption Panels from Agricultural Wastes
F. Z. Ismaila23* M. N. Rahmatb N. M Ishakc

a,b,c
Department of Construction Management, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA 40450 Shah Alam
Abstract
Noise has become a serious environmental problem and there are demands for alternative sustainable materials which capable to
reduce the noise level at various frequency ranges. Therefore, the aim of this research is to study the potential of turning the
agricultural waste and waste paper into a sound absorption panel. For the purpose of this study, combination of two materials was
under studied; coconut coir fibre from agriculture waste and shredded waste paper from the office. There were two main objective of
the research; first is to develop absorption panels from coconut coir powder that available locally with a combination of shredded
paper at different percentage of mixture. Second objective is to identify the absorption rate of the panels. The study encompasses the
fabrication of the particle board using the coconut husk powder mix with shredded waste paper and using the gypsum powder as the
binder for the two materials. Four acoustic panels of size 0.5m x 0.5m and 0.012 m thick were fabricated with different mix ratio;
25% of coconut coir powder mixed with 75% of shredded waste papers for sample 1, 50% both of the material for sample 2, 75% of
coconut coir powder mixed with 25% of shredded waste paper for sample 3, and lastly 100% of coconut coir powder for sample 4.
The absorption coefficient of the panels was tested in a reverberation chamber and in accordance with ISO 354:1985 standards.
Based on the results, sample 1 gave the highest absorption coefficient compared to sample 2, 3 and 4. It can be concluded that the
acoustic panel made from a mixture of 25% coconut coir powder with 75% shredded waste paper provided higher absorption
coefficient compared to the performance of the other samples. This might be caused by the size of the coir powder which is very
small, creating less void space in between the panel and thus causing it to absorb less sound. Since sound absorption is very much
affected by the availability of void space of the panel, further studies on other potential materials from waste should be conducted.
Keywords: Noise, Absorption, Panel, Agricultural Wastes
INTRODUCTION
Noise pollution has becoming a major concern worldwide. Many researchers have come forward sharing views and
conducting studies pertaining to the noise issue. Whilst majority agrees at some level that the current traditional sound
absorption panels using synthetic materials such as glass, mineral wool, felts or polyester fibers are the solution to the
noise problems, others on the other hand voice out concerns on the health and environmental impacts of such synthetic
materials. Thus, new researches on sustainable sound absorption panels are now trending. By looking at the current
hype of green and sustainable approach, waste is now the major highlight as the possible alternative. Natural cellulose
fibers which can usually be found in agricultural waste such coconut husk has proven in previous studies to have the
capability to absorb sound. Not only this could mitigate the noise issue, it might also overcome the waste problem.
When a sound wave hits a surface, those are not reflected is absorbed. According to Salter (2002) all materials have
some sound-absorbing properties. The more fibrous a material is the better its absorption capability; and denser
materials on the other hand are less absorptive. Sound absorption coefficient describes the efficiency of the material or
the surface to absorb the sound. Absorption coefficients for building materials normally vary from about 0.01 to 0.99.
Materials with medium to high sound absorption coefficients (usually > 0.50) are referred to as sound – absorbing;
those with low coefficients (usually 0.20) are sound reflecting (Egan, 2007). Many absorption panels in the market are
made from traditional material such as gypsum which are not sustainable and could affect the health of the occupants.
There are need and demand for alternative materials which are sustainable that capable to reduce the noise level at
various frequency ranges. For this reason the recycling of the agricultural waste has become more popular that can
replace the traditional one. There are many research initiated to study the potential of waste especially the agricultural
waste as an acoustic panel. Malaysia has plenty of agricultural waste products such as coir (Cocosnucifera) fiber, rice
(Oryza sativa) husk and oil palm (Elaeisguinnesis) frond fibre. In some research conducted by Zulkifli et al (2009),
they found that organic natural fibres have various usages in many structural and non-structural applications such as
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +06 016 3151747; fax:+06 03 5544 4244.

E-mail address: drnidzam04@yahoo.com
160
automotive lining component and acoustic absorption barrier. Khedari et al. (2004) has developed particle composite
boards from agricultural waste products using combinations of durian peel and coir fibre straw particles instead of
wood as an insulation board in wooden construction industry. Yang et al. (2003) study the acoustic properties of rice
straw-wood particle composite boards and found that the sound absorption coefficient in the frequency range of 500 to
8000 Hz is higher than other wood-based materials which are due to the low specific gravity of the composite boards.
Jan E.G. and Van Dam (2003) stated that coconut husk fibres are suitable as raw material for the production of
environmentally safe and high performance construction materials such as high performance fibre boards, poles and
panels, which will be locally produced, can be applied in low-cost housing and other suitable places. Banzo and
Valesco (1982), Dam et al (2003) and Tejano (1984) all agreed that at some level the coconut coir can be made an
acoustic panel for its sound absorption character such as spongy and fibrous. Current traditional sound absorption
panels using synthetic materials such as glass, mineral wool, felts or polyester fibres are not sustainable and can be
hazardous to human’s health and occupancy of the building. At the same time, more sustainable and green approach
solution is craved around the world to solve such issues. Looking at this, attention is moved to waste for the possible
solution. For instance, agricultural waste such as coconut husks and other waste such as papers are left abandoned in
dumping areas. These wastes could be used as an alternative material for sound absorption panel.
Therefore the aim of this research was to study the potential use of the coconut coir as a sound absorption material to
replace synthetic materials such as glass, mineral wool, felts or polyester fibres in the current market. This study
revolved around the sound absorption properties of the coir fibres together with its characteristics and the form of the
coir fibres.
III.
Figure 1: Close-up Image Coconut Husk Fibre (Coconut Coir) X300 (Keijsers, 2011)
IV. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Target Materials
For the purpose of the study, two types of waste were used; coconut coir powder from agriculture waste and
shredded waste paper. Gypsum powder was used as the binder.
Property Coir Dust Shredded Paper
Ash (%) 9.00 (b) 18.8 (c)

Bulk density (kg/m3) 0.074 (a) -
Particle density (g/cm-3) 0.758 (a) -
Total pore space (% vol) 96.264 (a) -
Cellulose (%) 35.99 (b) 50.1 (c)
Lignin (%) 53.5 (b) 11.6 (c)
Shrinkage (% vol) 11.206 (b) -
Source: Asiah et. al (2004), Israel et. al (2011), Sissine et al (2005)
161
Specimen preparation
Four samples of acoustic panels were fabricated from a mixture of coconut coir powder and shredded waste papers
as follow:
 Sample 1 (25% of coconut coir powder, 75% of shredded waste paper)
 Sample 4 (100% of coconut coir powder)
The measurement of the panels is 0.5m x 0.5m x 0.012 m. Gypsum powder was used as the binder. The process
began with dispensing waste pulping paper into the mixer and mix them with water. After that the gypsum powder
and coconut coir powder were added. The mixture was left for about 5 minutes in the mixer for all the three
ingredients to blend well. The mixtures were then casted into the mould which already coated with oil and later
compressed manually by using a cylindrical concrete. Once compressed, plywood was used to level and to set the
thickness. Finally, the samples were set in the oven at 90 degrees Celsius and left for 1 day (24 hours) to cool off
and settle.
Materials were mixed in The well blended Next, the mixture was
the mixer at fixed mixture was then casted into an oil coated
proportion. transferred into a mould to create a panel.
container.
The panel was left to dry Once compressed, Compression was done
before being set in the plywood was used for manually using a
oven at 90 degrees levelling to ensure cylindrical concrete.
Celsius and left for 1 day uniform thickness.
(24 hours) to cool off
and settle.
Figure 2: Fabrication process of the panels.
Sound Absorption Coefficient Test
The measurement of sound absorption coefficient of the test sample was conducted in the reverberation chamber.
The procedure of the test was carried out in accordance with ISO354:1985 standard. The required inputs are
reverberation time for empty room, RTo and reverberation time for room with sample, RTm. Volume for and
empty reverberation room and samples testing area were required as parameter for the experiment setup. The
samples were laid directly over the reverberation chamber floor. The schematic diagram of the experimental setup
and the arrangement layout of the absorption test can be seen in Figure 3 and Figure 5 respectively. For the test
simulation, dBBAT132 Building acoustics software was used. This programme allows a quick configuration of the
measurement analysis and measurement could be carried out in batch mode.
162
Figure 3: Arrangement of the samples and sound source in the reverberation room.
Figure 4: Arrangement of the samples and sound source in the reverberation room.
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1: Absorption coefficient data of the samples.
Sam
ple Content Absorption Coefficient
(%)
Co Shr 250 500 1000 200 400 8000
con ed Hz Hz Hz 0 0 Hz
ut pap Hz Hz
coi er
r
po
wd
er
1. 25 75 0.03 0.24 0.26 0.27 0.36 0.40
2. 50 50 0.14 0.16 0.27 0.26 0.30 0.26
3. 75 25 0.10 0.16 0.22 0.24 0.26 0.24
4. 10 0 0.05 0.12 0.27 0.26 0.26 0.26
0
163
Chart Title
0.45
0.40
0.35
Noise absorption Co-efficient

0.30
0.25 Sample 1
Sample 2
0.20
Sample 3
0.15 Sample 4
0.10
0.05
0.00
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
Frequencies
Figure 1: The absorption coefficient graph for the samples.
The aim of the research was to study the potential of creating a sustainable sound absorption panel using waste such as
coconut husk powder and shredded waste paper. From the results it can be said that these materials could absorb sound
especially at higher frequency.
The first objective of this research was to produce the acoustic panel using the mix proportion on different percentages
of agricultural waste. 4 sound absorption panels were produced using cultural waste such as coconut husk powder and
shredded waste paper. All the samples measuring 1.0m x 1.0m x 0.012m sized with different proportion of materials;
sample 1 has 25% of coconut coir powder with 75% of waste pulping papers, sample 2 mixed with 50% both of the
material, 75% of coconut coir powder mix with 25% of waste pulping paper for sample 3, and sample 4 with 100% of
coconut coir powder.
The second objective of this research was to measure the absorption coefficient of the panels. It can be seen from the
results that the absorption coefficient of the panels ranging from 0.03 to 0.4 at frequency of 250Hz to 8000Hz.
For sample 1 which was a mixture of 25% of coconut coir powder with 75% of shredded waste paper, the absorption
coefficient are 0.03, 0.24, 0.26, 0.27, 0.36 and 0.40 at respective frequency of 250Hz, 500Hz, 1000Hz, 2000Hz,
4000Hz and 8000Hz. It can be seen that more sound were absorbed at higher range of frequency. The void space
provided by the shredded waste paper increased the sound absorption performance of the panel.
For sample 2 the absorption coefficient are 0.14, 0.16, 0.27, 0.26, 0.30 and 0.26 at respective frequency of 250Hz,
500Hz, 1000Hz, 2000Hz, 4000Hz and 8000Hz. Meanwhile for sample 3 the absorption coefficient are 0.10, 0.16, 0.22,
0.24, 0.26 and 0.24 at respective frequency of 250Hz, 500Hz, 1000Hz, 2000Hz, 4000Hz and 8000Hz. It can be seen
that the sound absorption performance had decreased 0.20 at 8000Hz.
The average sound absorption coefficient for sample 2 and 3 is 0.26 and both samples showed a decrement in
absorption performance after 4000Hz. It can be seen that the similarity of the results for sample 2 and 3 might be
affected by higher amount of the coconut coir powder used compared to sample 1 with higher ratio of shredded waste
paper used.
Sample 4 which contained 100% of coconut coir powder showed that the highest absorption coefficient was 0.27 at
1000Hz before it decreased and became stagnant with 0.26 absorption coefficient at higher frequency. Since the
particle of the coconut coir powder is too small, combining it 100% has resulted in tighter space in the panel thus
lowering the ability to absorb the sound.
CONCLUSION
Based on the results, sample 1 gave the highest absorption coefficient compared to sample 2, 3 and 4. It can be
concluded that the acoustic panel made from a mixture of 25% coconut coir powder with 75% shredded waste paper
provided higher absorption coefficient compared to the performance of the other samples. This might be caused by the
size of the coir powder which is very small, creating less void space in between the panel and thus causing it to absorb
164
less sound. Since sound absorption is very much affected by the availability of void space of the panel, further studies
on other potential materials from waste should be conducted.
(1) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors would also like to thank Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Faculty of Civil Engineering for
their technical support and Universiti Teknologi MARA Research Intensive Faculty Fund (RIF) for sponsoring this
research.
(2) REFERENCES
Asiah A., Mohd. Razi, I., Mohd. Khanif Y,Marziah M. & Shaharuddin M. ‘Physical And Chemical Properties Of
Coconut Coir Dust And Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch And The Growth Of Hybrid Heat Tolerant Cauliflower Plant’
Pertanikaj. Trap. Agric. Sci. 27(2): 121 - 133 (2004) ISSN : 1511-3701.
A. U. Israel, R. E. Ogali, O. Akaranta, And I.B. Obot ‘Extraction And Characterization Of Coconut (Cocos Nucifera
L.) Coir Dust’ Songklanakarin J. Sci. Technol. 33 (6), 717-724, 2011.
Banzon and Velasco (1982) Coconut Production and Utilization. p. 277 (1982).
E.A Tejano (1984), State of The Art of Coconut Coir Dust and Husk Utilization (General Ovewrview), Philippine
Journal of Coconut Studies.
Jan E.G. and Van Dam (2003), Production process for high density high performance binderless boards from whole
coconut husk, Elsevier B.V. Industrial Crops and Products 20 (2004) 97–101.
Khedari, J., S. Charoenvai, J. Hirunlabh and S. Teekasap, 2004. New low-cost insulation particleboards from mixture
of durian peel and coconut coir. Build. Environ., 39: 59-65.
Lindawati Ismail et al (2010), Sound Absorption of Arenga Pinnata Natural Fiber, World Academy of Science,
Engineering and Technology 67 2010.
M. David Egan (2007), Architecture Acoustics, J. Ross Publishing Classics.
R. Zulkifli, M.J. Mohd Nor, M.F. Mat Tahir, A.R. Ismail and M.Z. Nuawi, 2008. Acoustic Properties of Multi-Layer
Coir Fibres Sound Absorption Panel. Journal of Applied Sciences, 8: 3709-3714
R. Zulkifli, M.J. Mohd Nor, M.F. Mat Tahir, A.R. Ismail and M.Z. Nuawi, 2009. Comparison of Acoustic Properties
between Coir Fibre and Oil Palm Fibre, European Journal of Scientific Research, ISSN 1450-216X Vol.33 No.1
(2009), pp.144-152
R. Zulkifli, M.J. Mohd Nor, M.F. Mat Tahir, A.R. Ismail and M.Z. Nuawi, 2010. Noise Control Using Coconut Coir
Fiber Sound Absorber with Porous Layer Backing and Perforated Panel, American Journal of Applied Sciences 7 (2):
260-264
Salter (2002), Acoustic for Libraries, Institute of Museum and Library Design.
Wang, C.N. and J.H. Torng, 2001. Experimental study of the absorption characteristics of some porous fibrous
materials. Appl Acoust., 62: 447-459
Yang, H.S., D.J. Kim and H.J. Kim, 2003. Rice straw-wood particle composite for sound absorbing wooden
construction materials. Bioresour. Technol., 86: 117-121.
Y.N. Sassine, Y. Ghora, M. Kharrat, M. Bohme and A.M.R. Abdel-Mawgoud ‘Waste Paper as an Alternative for
Casing Soil in Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) Production’ Journal of Applied Sciences Research 1(3): 277-284, 2005.
165
Utilisation of Oil Palm Ash in Foamed Concrete

H. Awanga,24*, M. Z. Al-Mulali b, H.P.S. Abdul Khalilc, Z. S. Aljoumailyd
a, b,d
School of Housing, Building & Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, P. Pinang 11800,Malaysia
c
School of Industrial Technology, Iniversiti Sains Malaysia, P. Pinang 11800, Malaysia
Abstract
This study is a part of an on-going research examining the properties of foam concrete when replacing the cement with semi-
processed Oil Palm Ash (OPA). Replacements range from 25% to 65% were used for a mix having the mix ratio of (1:2:0.45) and
having the target density of 1300kg/m3. All mixes were tested for their strength using the compressive, splitting tensile and flexural
strengths up to the age of 28 days. Results show that a 25% replacement level exhibited higher compressive and splitting tensile
strength than that of the control mix at the age of 28 days. However, the same replacement level exhibited a close strength to that of
the control mix when tested for the flexural strength at the same age
Keywords: Foamed Concrete; Oil Palm Ash; Strength of Concrete; Replacement
1. Introduction
Foam concrete, is a type of lightweight concrete. This type of concrete is a homogeneous material due to the absence
of large aggregates when compared to conventional concrete. The most attractive properties that this type of concrete
has are its self-compacting and self-levelling nature, flow-ability , its ability to be produced with very low densities
(Jones & McCarthy, 2005) and its low weight leading to designing more economical supporting structures such as
foundations, walls and floors (Narayanan & Ramaurthy, 2000). Furthermore, foam concrete is considered to be an
environmentally friendly product because it uses less natural resources and the ability to incorporate larger amounts of
waste materials within its mix (Noordin & Awang, 2005). Such wastes include fly ash, rice husk ash and blast
furnace slag. These by-products can possess pozzolanic properties that can enhance the characteristics of concrete
further more. These pozzolanic materials are called Supplementary cementiteous materials (Siddique & Khan, 2011).
Oil palm ash has been introduced recently to be a pozzolanic material.
Oil palm Ash (OPA) or Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) is a by-product produced by countries having a blooming palm
oil industry such as Malaysia and Thailand. It is generated by the incineration of oil palm shell and palm oil empty fruit
bunch at 800Cº to 1000Cº as a mean of heating up the mill’s boilers instead of using conventional fuels. Due to this
incineration process, ash is produced at about 5% by weight of the incinerated solid fuels (Sata et al., 2004). The
quantity of OPA produced in Malaysia alone is about 4 million tonnes a year (Foo & Hameed, 2009a).
OPA is a throw away product that is produced abundantly. Common practices for disposing of this by-product were
either by tipping or dumping. Hence, the waste is either spread over the premises of the mill or dumped to fill in low
economic value dumps or selected types of land such as swamplands, abandoned sand quarries (Foo & Hameed,
2009b).
These disposal methods were conducted without taking into consideration the surrounding environment or taking
precautions to compact, cover and prevent the spreading of pollutants into the ground water levels (Foo & Hameed,
2009b). In addition, due to its fine particles, OPA can be easily carried away by wind by that causing smog on a humid
day (Tay, 1990). Therefore, the utilisation of OPA in concrete production has a number of environmental benefits such
as reducing the amount of OPA that is disposed of into landfills, reducing the amount of energy used and the emitted
greenhouse gases when OPA is used to replace manufactured cement and the conservation of other natural resources
when OPA is used as filler replacement. Therefore, a number of studies focused on the utilisation of OPA in the
construction industry as a mean of recycling such a waste. OPA has been used as a binder or filler replacement in
normal concrete (Tay, 1990)(Tay & Show, 1995)(Jaturapitakkul et al., 2007), high strength concrete (Sata et al., 2007)
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +60194781158 Fax: +604-6576523.

E-mail address: hanizam@usm.my.
166
(Johari et al., 2012), mortar (Chindaprasirt et al., 2008)(Jaturapitakkul et al., 2011) and aerated concrete (Abdullah et
al., 2006) (Abdullah & Hussin, 2010) (Abdullah et al., 2010).
This study is a part of an on-going research studying the effects of semi-processed OPA on the properties of foam
concrete when used as a cement replacement. It is common sense to utilise such a by-product into the manufacture of
an environmentally friendly concrete in order to make it greener.
2. Materials
The cement used is a Type I cement which can be classified as MS 522 and complies with BS EN 196 of the British
Standards. The cement is manufactured in Malaysia under the CIMA group and packed under the name (Blue Lion).
Natural sand form a local river bed was used as the fine sand in this study. A sieve analysis was conducted on the sand
and it fell into zone 3 according to BS 882: Part 2: 1973.
Oil palm ash was produced by the incineration of oil palm shell and empty fruit bunch by a nearby palm oil mill.
The type of ash used has been incinerated at a temperature of 800Cº. The OPA used in this study is the passing through
a 300µm sieve. Table1 shows the chemical composition of both the cement and OPA used in this study. The OPA’s
chemical composition complies with a class F pozzolana according to ASTM C 618 (ASTM, 2001).
The foaming agent is a protein based agent called (Noraite PA-1) which is manufactured in Malaysia. The foaming
agent was diluted in water at a ratio of (1:30) by volume producing stable foam with a density range of 64kg/m3 to
68kg/m3. A super-plasticiser called (PS-1), also manufactured in Malaysia, is used with mixes containing OPA
replacements. This additive is based on soluble salts of Polymeric Sulphonates. Table 2 shows the characteristics of this
additive.
Table 1. Chemical composition of cement and OPA
Chemical composition % Cement OPA

Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) 19.98 66.6411
Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3) 5.17 3.8164
Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) 3.27 3.6979
Calcium Oxide (CaO) 63.17 5.2290
Magnesium Oxide (MgO) 0.79 2.2866
Sulphur Trioxide (SO3) 2.38 0.4278
Loss on Ignition (LOI) 2.5 2.32
SiO2+Al2O3+Fe2O3 -- 74.155
Table 2. PS-1 Characteristics and typical composition
A mixture of sodium acids and

Chemical content
glycol compounds
Appearance Brown to light brown coloured liquid
Total Solids % 40
PH Solution 7.5 to 8.0
Salt Content Max. 5%
In-Soluble Materials Negligible
Chlorides as NACL Nil
3. Mixing Procedure
A total of six mixes have been conducted in this part of this research. Each mix had the mix ratio of (1:2:0.45), a
target density of 1300kg/m3 and a volume of 0.18m3. The difference between target and wet density was fixed at
150kg/m3. Cement has been replaced by OPA at levels starting from 25% to 65%. Super- plasticiser (PS-1) was added
167
to the mixes containing OPA at a percentage of 1% by weight of cementation materials. The flow table taste was kept
at a range between 22cm and 24cm. Table 3 shows the mix proportion for the mixes conducted.
Table 3 :. Mix proportions
Mix Mix Proportions (kg) Slump

No.
Symbol OPC OPA Sand Water PS-1 W/C (cm)
1 CC 74.6 -- 149.2 25.07 -- 0.45 22.0
2 OPA25 55.95 18.65 149.2 26.44 0.746 0.45 22.0
3 OPA35 48.49 26.11 149.2 26.58 0.746 0.45 22.5
4 OPA45 41.03 33.57 149.2 27.33 0.746 0.45 23.0
5 OPA55 33.57 41.03 149.2 27.47 0.746 0.45 23.5
6 OPA65 26.11 55.95 149.2 32.24 0.746 0.45 23.0
4. Testing Procedures
All specimens were de-moulded after 24hrs + 2hrs from mixing. Afterwards the specimens were wrapped with
polythene wrapping and kept until the day of testing (Kearsley & Wainwright, 2001). Before 24 hrs of the testing date,
specimens were kept in an oven at a temperature of 105Cº + 2Cº then they would be taken out, weighed, left to cool
down then tested. Tests were conducted at the age of 7, 14 and 28 days. Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength
and flexural strength were examined for all mixes. For compressive strength, a 100mm cube is used and the mean of
three cubes was taken as the reading for each age. For the splitting tensile strength, a cylinder having a length of
200mm and a diameter of 100mm is used and the reading for each age is taken as the mean of three specimens. On the
other hand, prisms having the dimensions of (100×100×500) mm were used and the reading for each age is taken as the
mean of the three specimens.
5. Results and Discussion
a. Mix Proportions
Due to the porous nature of OPA’s particles, it is clear from Table 2 that the amount of water needed to achieve the
required slump increases with the increase in replacement level of OPA. The Control mix needed the least amount of
water were there was about 8.5kg of extra water. On the other hand, the mix OPA65 with a replacement level of 65% of
cement by OPA left out only 1.33kg of water to achieve the desired slump.
b. Compressive Strength
The compressive strength results for all six mixes are listed in Table 4 below. All cubes were tested at a pace rate of
2.5KN/s with an ELE testing machine that has a capacity of 3000KN.The results show that two of the replacement
levels, namely 25% and 35%, have exhibited higher compressive strengths than that of the control mix at the age of 28
days. The 25% replacement showed a 9% increase to the control mix’s compressive strength. While a 35% replacement
exhibited 41% increase than the control mix’s strength at 28 days. This can only be explained by the fact the OPA used,
despite its large particle size, has a high content of (SiO2) (66.6411%) enabling it to react with the Calcium Hydroxide
(Ca(OH)2) producing additional Calcium Silicate Hydrates (C-S-H); hence, causing the improvement of the
compressive strength (Sata et al., 2007).
However, mixes that exceeded a replacement level of 35% showed lower compressive strengths. This phenomenon
is interrelated to the fact that lower cement content will reduce the amount of Calcium Oxide (CaO). For that reason,
smaller amounts of Calcium Hydroxide (Ca(OH) 2) are produced which in turn are insufficient for all the silica to take
part in the pozzolanic reaction creating Calcium Silicate Hydrates (C-S-H) which are responsible for the development
of strength. This result agrees with findings of (Abdullah et al., 2010).
168
Table 4: Compressive strength results
Mix 7days (MPa) 14days (MPa) 28days (MPa)
CC 5.92 6.00 5.58
OPA25 5.51 6.51 6.09
OPA35 6.66 5.75 7.89
OPA45 4.59 6.19 4.49
OPA55 3.81 4.42 4.43

OPA65 2.46 2.70 3.28
5.3 Splitting Tensile Strength
The results for the splitting tensile strength for all six mixes are presented in Table 5. The cylinder specimens were
tested at a pace rate of 0.94KN/s with the same machine used for the compression test. The findings show a different
trend than the compressive strength. The highest tensile strength is recorded at the age of 28 days for OPA25 exhibiting
a tensile strength of 0.720MPa higher than that of the control mix by 8.3%.
Table 5: Splitting tensile strength results
Mix 7 days (MPa) 14 days (MPa) 28 days (MPa)
CC 0.75 0.77 0.67
OPA25 0.70 0.72 0.72
OPA35 0.69 0.69 0.59
OPA45 0.42 0.29 0.39
OPA55 0.22 0.28 0.34

OPA65 0.29 0.29 0.31
5.4 Flexural Strength
Flexural strength specimens were tested using the same machine used for the prior tests. Prisms were tested at a pace
rate of 0.200KN/s using a 4 point flexural test. The results show that all replacement mixes suffer from lower flexural
strengths when compared to the control mix. The nearest flexural reading was recorded for OPA25 having a reading of
1.802MPa by that obtaining 96% of the flexural strength exhibited by the control mix. Table 6 lists the results for the
flexural strength of all mixes.
Table 6. Flexural strength results
Mix 7 days (MPa) 14 days (MPa) 28 days (MPa)
CC 1.62 2.12 1.87
OPA25 1.45 1.29 1.80
OPA35 1.87 1.61 0.98
OPA45 0.74 0.92 0.78
OPA55 0.56 0.56 0.68

OPA65 0.52 0.67 0.52
169
6. Strength to Replacement Level Relationship
The previous tests show that OPA when semi-processed (sieved through a 300µm sieve) with the help of a super-
plasticiser can be a good pozzolanic material. Replacements of cement by the sieved only OPA can be done until 35%.
It is evident that both the 25% and 35% replacement levels excelled with its compressive strength. However, only the
25% replacement level showed higher splitting tensile strength than that of the control mix. On the other hand, flexural
strength results showed that even at a 25% replacement flexural strength of about 96% of the control mix’s flexural
strength can be achieved. Fig.1 shows the results for all mixes at the age of 28 days for the tests.
Fig.1:Results for all mixes at the age of 28 days for the tests.
7. Conclusions
1) When sieved OPA is used as a cement replacement, the increasing replacement levels will need more water to
achieve the desired slump.
2) Replacement level of 25% showed good results in compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural
strength at the age of 28 days by obtaining a 109%, 108% and 96% of the control mix strengths, respectively.
3) When only Compressive strength is concerned, a 35% replacement has shown good results by obtaining 141%
of the control mix’s compressive strength at the age of 28 days.
4) Increasing the replacement levels will decrease the strength of foam concrete.
References
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Replacement Material in Aerated Concrete, Proceedings of the 6 th Asian-Pacific Structural Engineering and
Construction Conference (APSEC 2006) 5th-6th September 2006, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pp.B-132-140.
Abdullah, K. & Hussin, M. (2010), Fire Resistance Properties of Palm Oil Fuel Ash Cement Based Aerated Concrete,
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Containing Various Amount of Palm Oil Fuel Ash, Water Content and Binder Sand Ratio, 2nd International Conference
on Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering (ICBEE 2010) 2 nd -4th November 2010, Cairo, Egypt, IEEE,
pp.391-395.
ASTM C 618, (2001) Standard specification for coal fly ash and raw or calcined natural pozzolan for use as a mineral
admixture in concrete.
Annual book of ASTM standards 04.02, pp. 310–313.
Chindaprasirt, P,. Rukzon, S. & Sirivivatnanon, V. (2008), Resistance to Chloride Penetration of Blended Portland
Cement Mortar Containing Palm Oil Fuel Ash, Rice Husk Ash and Fly Ash, Construction and Building Materials,
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agricultural waste, Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol.172, pp.523-531.
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containing palm oil fuel ash, Construction and Building Materials, vol.21, pp.1399-1405.
Jaturapitakkul.C, Tangpagasit, J., Songmue, S. & Kiattikomol, K (2011), Filler Effect and Pozzolanic Reaction of
Ground Oil Palm Fuel Ash, Construction and Building Materials, vol.25, pp.4287-4293.
Johari, M.A.M., Zeyad, A.M , Bunnori, N.M. & Ariffin, K.S. (2012), Engineering and Transport Properties of High-
Strength Green Concrete Containing High Volume of Ultrafine Palm Oil Fuel Ash, Construction and Building
Materials, vol.30, pp.281-288.
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Conference Held at the University of Dundee, Scotland, UK on 5 July 2005, Thomas Telford, London, pp.61-88.
Kearsley, E.P. & Wainwright, P.J.(2001), The Effect of High Fly Ash Content on the Compressive Strength of Foamed
Concrete, Cement and Concrete Research, vol.31, pp.105-112.
Narayanan, N. & Ramamurthy, K. (2000), Structure and properties of aerated concrete: a review, Cement & Concrete
Composites, vol.22, pp.321-329.
Noordin, N. & Awang, H. (2005), Lightweight foamed concrete in construction industry, International Conference on
Construction and Real Estate Management ICCREM, 12th-13th December 2005, Penang, Malaysia, pp.1-6.
Sata, V. , Jaturapitakkul, C & Kiattikomol, K, (2004), Utilization of palm oil fuel ash in high-strength concrete, Journal
of Materials in Civil Engineering, vol.16, pp.1-6.
Sata, V., Jaturapitakkul, C. & Kiattikomol, K. (2007), Influence of Pozzolan from Various By-Products Materials on
Mechanical Properties of High-Strength Concrete, Construction and Building Materials, vol.21, pp.1589-1598.
Siddique, R. & Khan, M.I. (2011), Supplementary Cementing Materials, Springer, Berlin, pp.vii,.
Tay, J.H (1990) Ash from oil-palm waste as concrete material, Journal of Materials and Civil Engineering, vol.2, pp.1-
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Tay, J.H. &. Show, K.Y (1995), Use of Ash Derived from Oil-Palm Waste Incineration as a Cement Replacement
Material, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol.13, pp.27-36.
171
The Mechanical Properties of Foamed Concrete containing un-

processed Blast Furnace Slag
H. Awanga,25*, Z. S. Aljoumailyb, N. Noordinc, M. Z. Al-Mulalid
a, b,c,d
School of Housing, Building & Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, P. Pinang 11800,Malaysia
Abstract
For many years, supplementary cementation materials have been utilized as cement or filler replacements to heighten the properties
of concrete. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the effects of un-processed blast furnace slag (RS) on the compressive,
splitting tensile and flexural strengths of foam concrete over periods of 7, 14 and 28 days. The introduction of slag to the cement
begins at 30% and rises to 70% of the total content. Six mixes, which include the control mix with a similar mix ratio (1:2:0.45) and
a dry density of 1300 kg/m3 is generated. Taking into consideration, from the total weight of the cementation material, 1% of super-
plasticizer (PS-1) is added to the mixes with slag content. Test results revealed that the most favourable (optimum) replacement level
of un-processed slag in foam concrete is 30%. This represents a commercial advantage as the cement requirement is reduced from
414 Kg/m3 to 290 Kg/m3. On the 28th day, the optimum mix showed higher values than the control mix by 32% for compressive
strength, 46.5% for splitting tensile strength and 61% for flexural strength.
Keywords: Foamed Concrete; Un-processed Blast Furnace Slag; Properties; Replacement; Optimum design.
1. Introduction
For over six decades, foam concrete, also known as cellular concrete, has been widely used in the construction
industry (Ulhaq and Alex, 2007). Dijik (1991), describes foam concrete as a slurry or mortar based substance
containing a minimum of 20% (by volume) mechanically entrained foam in a plastic material. The foam concrete
densities vary (300 Kg/m3 to 1800 Kg/m3) according to the amount of calculated stabile foam added to the mortar in
order to attain the required density. Compared to other techniques, the pre-foamed method was found to be more
economical and easy to manage. The production of foam concrete is considered environmentally friendly as it
consumes a minimum amount of natural resources and the resulting by-products (fly ash, blast furnace slag, rice husk
ash etc.) can be used as cement and filler replacements (Kearsley, 1996, Noordin and Awang, 2005, Ramamurthy et al.
2009)
Slag from blast furnaces is a by-product from the melting of iron ore, limestone and coke at a temperature of 1500
Co. Molten slag, which floats on the molten iron, is made up mostly of silicates, alumina and some oxides. Currently,
factories lower the temperature of slag through the projection of pressurized water or exposure to air in large fields with
the usage of a small amount of water. Rapid cooling of molten slag hinders the creation of large crystals and results in
the formation of a granular material containing 95% non-crystalline calcium-aluminosilicates. With a maximum
particle size of 5mm, slag is comparable to sand. It ranges from dark beige to off-white in colour depending on the
moisture content (A tcin, 2008, Siddique and Khan, 2011).
Maier and Durham (2012), studied the effects of introducing recycled material into regular concrete at varying levels
of replacement beginning from 25% and rising to 75%. When the introduction of Ground Granulated Blast-furnace
Slag (GGBS) was increased, he detected a reduction in unit weight. The highest strength recorded in his study was
when the level of slag replacement arrived at 50% (5240 cm2/gr) of the cement content. On the 28th day the strength
value recorded in his study was higher than the control mix by about 18.6% for 50% replacement, and lower than the
control mix by about 5% for both 25% and 75% replacements. This phenomenon, which was also noted by Bijen
(1996), can be attributed to the fact that the slag is mostly under the control of C2S rather than C3S. The research work
by Top u and Boga (2010) regarding the effects of GGBS (4230 mm2/gr) on reinforced concrete had a maximum
cement content of 300Kg/m3. His study involved the use of 25% - 50% of GGBS as cement replacement with air and
water as curing regimes. A reduction in unit weight was noted with the introduction of GGBS. At the replacement level
of 25%, the recorded compressive strength was the highest for both regimes. While the splitting tensile strength in the

E-mail address: hanizam@usm.my.
172
water curing regime exhibited a noteworthy rise for the mix content with 25% GGBS, a decline was apparent for the air
curing regime. Babu and Kumar (2000) scrutinized the efficiency of the mixes from 10% to 80% (3500 mm 2/gr - 4650
mm2/gr) of regular concrete substitution by GGBS and observed greater strength on the 28 th day with a replacement of
30% GGBS. A maximum dosage (2%) of Super- Plasticizer was used for the cementation material. Memon et al.
(2007), conducted a study using three mix ratios (1:2, 1:2.5 and 1:3) in a mortar based mixture. By substituting 50% of
the cement content with GGBS and utilizing a super-plasticizer 0.5%, she achieved increased material strength in 28
days and a reduction in unit weight that was in tandem with an increase in slag content. However, Ayd n (2008),
observed a decline in mortar compressive strength when the level of GGBS (4850 mm 2/gr) was elevated at a
temperature of 20 Co. However, the level of flexural strength increased at a similar temperature with 20% GGBS.
Generally, these results concur with the findings of Dehuai and Zhaoyuan (1997). His study involved the use of ternary
blended cement comprising slag and fly ash in varying ratios in a mortar base. The water/cement ratio and binder/ fine
aggregate were ascertained for all mixes as 0.44 and 2.5 respectively.
In order to generate lightweight aerated concrete, Aguilar et al. (2010), used blast furnace slag (BF) (85% retained in
sieve 420 m) as fine aggregate. 75% metakaolin was utilized as the binder with 25% fly ash as 100% substitute for
PC. The mix ratio for all mixes was set at 1:1 (binder: filler) with distinct densities (600 Kg/m 3, 900 Kg/m3 and 1200
Kg/m3) and temperatures (20o and 75o) for the curing regimes. He noted that by using 100% BF as fine aggregate with
a density of 1200 kg/m3, close to the same strength can be attained in a normal curing temperature of 20 o. With regard
to flexure strength, a higher level of strength was observed with the inclusion of BF and an increase in the curing
temperature. Wee et al. (2006) produced Grade 20 lightweight foam concrete in 28 days with a wet density 1310
Kg/m3. To achieve this they used blended cement (50% GGBFS) with a fixed water/binder ratio (0.3) and excluded fine
aggregate. Aljoumaily et al. (2012) conducted studies to investigate the effects of non-grinded slag on the compressive
strength of foam concrete. As for this research, 40% of non-grinded slag was used as a replacement for cement and
1.5% super-plasticizer was used for the cementation material. The dry density, binder/filler ratio and water/binder ratio
were determined as 1300 Kg/m3, 1:2 and 0.45 respectively. As part of a research in progress, this paper will delve into
the use of un-processed slag as a cement replacement (30%-70%) and identify its effects on the mechanical properties
of foam concrete (compressive, flexure, and splitting tensile strengths) for the periods of 7, 14 and 28 days.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Materials
Presented below are the materials utilized for this study, which measure up to international standard requirements.
Cement: The cement selected for this study goes by the trade name ‘Blue Lion’ and is manufactured by Cement
Industries of Malaysia Berhad (CIMA Group). It has been categorized as type 1 cement by BSEN 196-1; 2005 and
meets the specifications set by ASTM C150 (2004) and Malaysian Standard MS 522: part I (2007). The chemical
composition of the cement is exhibited in Table 1.
Table 1. Chemical composition of OPC

Constituent Chemical Composition W%
Lime (CaO) 65.3
Silica (SiO2) 21.09
Alumina (Al2O3) 5.46
Iron oxide (Fe2O3) 3.5
Magnesia (MgO) 2.06
Sulphur trioxide (SO3) 2.14
N2O 0.05
Loss of ignition 0.64
Lime saturation factor 0.92
C3S 52.82
C2S 21.45
C3A 9.16
C4AF 10.2
Sand: The fine aggregate conformed to the specifications of BS 812-103.1:1985 for verifying distribution and
particle size. Unprocessed Slag (RS): The blast furnace slag utilized for this study was obtained from a Malaysian steel
factory. It has a particle size of between 0.15mm and 1.18mm. Replacement began at the level of 30% and rose by 10%
each time until the level of 70%. The unprocessed slag used for this study conformed to the conditions set by BS EN
15167-1:2006 and its chemical composition is listed in Table 2.
173
Table 2. Chemical composition of unprocessed slag (RS)

Components Chemical Composition W%
SiO2 38
CaO 39
Al2O3 12
MgO 8.5
MnO 0.6
TiO2 0.6
S 0.5
TFe 0.4
Foaming Agent and Machinery: A black, protein based foaming agent (NORAITE PA-1) with a water dilution
ratio of 1:30 was utilized to generate stabile foam with a density of between 62 Kg/m 3 – 68 Kg/m3. DRN Concrete
Resources, a Malaysian company, produced the foam generating machine (PM-1) and the foaming agent (PA-1).
Super- Plasticizer (PS-1): Taking the weight of the binder into consideration, 1% of super-plasticizer is added to the
mixes with slag replacement content. The foaming agent and additives should be tested in advance for compatibility in
order to eliminate any negative effects on the properties of foam concrete (ACI, 2006). A broad perspective on PS-1
made available by the supplier is shown in Table 3. MS (2007), Standard (2009c),
Table 3. General Information on PS-1
General Information PS-1

A mixture of sodium acids and
Chemical content glycol compounds based on Sulphonates
Appearance
Brown to light brown coloured liquid
Rate of dosage (by the weight
0.2%- 2%
of the binder %)
a. Mixing Procedures
For this study, seven mixes were generated according to a consistent mix ratio of 1:2:0.45 with a constant dry
density of 1300 Kg/m3 and a variation of 150Kg/m3. Each constituent is weighed prior to mixing based on the wet
density. Table 4 displays the constituents of the seven mixes. The additives were tested by adding them to the control
mix to detect any effects on the mechanical properties with and without the presence of RS. First to go into the mixer
(which should be wet) is sand and 10% of the calculated water. After a thorough mixing, the cementation material was
added together with the remaining water. The additive was included gradually until the mortar attained workability
(flow table test). Mixing was allowed to progress until a uniform mixture was achieved and 20cm-23cm for the mortar
flow table test was attained for all mixes. The density of the mixture was measured by first weighing a one-litre cup
filled with the mix. The foam weight was then determined through calculations of the actual mortar volume and the
total volume. The rate of foam inclusion is dependent on the flow rate of the machine (litre/ sec). Periodic stalling may
be necessary in order to allow the foam and mortar to mix thoroughly. A tolerance on plastic density was set at +50
kg/m3 of the wet density value, which is the standard practice in the foamed concrete production industry (Aljoumaily
et al. ,2012, Mahmood and Noordin, 2010, Jones and McCarthy, 2005a)
Table 4. Constituent Kg. per cubic meter

Cement Sand Water RS PS-1
Mix
[Kg] [Kg] [Kg] [Kg] [Kg]
CF 414.6 828.3 186.4 - -
CFP 414.6 828.3 186.4 - 4.14
SF-30 290.2 828.3 186.4 124.4 4.14
SF-40 248.8 828.3 186.4 165.8 4.14
SF-50 207.3 828.3 186.4 207.3 4.14
SF-60 165.8 828.3 186.4 248.7 4.14
SF-70 124.4 828.3 186.4 290.2 4.14
Steel moulds with varying dimensions were used to hold the resultant mix. The measurements of the moulds are as
follows: compressive strength - 100x100x100mm, flexural strength - 500x100x100mm and splitting tensile strength -
200 mm in height x 100mm in diameter (cylinder shaped). After 24 hours the samples were removed from the moulds
and wrapped in polythene film for curing before testing.
174
A Twenty four hours prior to testing, the specimens were exposed to an oven temperature of 105Co+ 2Co for drying.
Following this, an average reading of the three samples was taken for each period (7, 14 and 28 days). ELE
International, with a capacity for 2000KN, a paste rate of 2.5KN/s for compression, 0.94KN/s for splitting and 0.2KN/s
for flexure was the machine used for testing. Graphs were generated to represent the results procured from the tests.
The three specimens were investigated for each situation and the average values calculated. The following is a
discussion on the results obtained from the tests.
3.1 Fresh and Hardened Densities
For the purpose of approximating the volumetric value of the foam, the mortar was weighed during the mixing
process. The plastic density level is inclined to rise in tandem with an increase in the percentage of slag, while a
reduction in plastic density reduces the presence of foam (Figure 1). For this study the variation between dry and wet
density was depicted as 150 Kg/m3. The density loss for the period prior to the day of testing (before oven drying), and
on the day of testing (after oven drying) was an average of three cubes. As displayed in Figure 2, it is apparent that
except for CF-70, all the mixes experienced a tolerable loss in density throughout. The substantial loss in density
experienced by CF-70, which surpassed the acceptable level, can be attributed to the high level of slag content. The
hydration process and pozzolanic reaction led to a higher loss in average density during the early phase. However, this
loss rate declined during the later phases. These results concur with those of Top u and Boga (2010), Memon et al.
(2007)
0.8
Volume (cubic meter)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
CF CFP SF-30 SF-40 SF-50 SF-60 SF-70
Mixes
Figure 1. Mortar volume related to replacement level
Mixes
250.0 CF
Density loss Kg/m3
200.0 CFP
CF-30
150.0
CF-40
100.0
CF-50
50.0 CF-60
0.0 CF-70
7 days 14 days 28 days
Figure 2. Density loss during the periods of 7, 14 and 28 days.
With regard to density loss, the results reveal similar behaviour for the mixes CFP and CF-30 comparing with other
mixes. This shows that the volumetric value and distribution of the Air-void system are close to identical for both
mixes with each having a substantial disparity in cement content.
175
Tests which were conducted in compliance with BS EN 12390-3:2009 revealed that in general, the seven mixes
achieved higher levels of strength in 28 days. For the most part, earlier studies were more concerned about using GGBS
as a material as fine as, or finer than cement. For this study, the assessment will focus on strength development with
regard to cement replacement by unprocessed slag. From Figure 3, it is apparent that the CFP mix attained a higher
level of strength for the periods of 7, 14 and 28 days (98.4% above that of the control mix) compared to the other
mixes. The objective of this mixing was to observe the effects of the additive (PS-1) and its compatibility with the
foaming agent with regard to strength enhancement. The control mix (CF) gained strength (5.01 MPa) during the 28
day period and this result is almost similar to those obtained by Hamidah et al. (2005) and Jones and McCarthy
(2005b). Newman and Owens (2003) discussed the general properties of lightweight concrete and stated that after 28
days the average strength of foam concrete with a density ranging from 1200 Kg/m3 to 1400 Kg/m3 was 4.5 MPa to 8
MPa. Generally, the mixes CF-30, CF-40 and CF-50, which contain a 30% to 50% replacement level of unprocessed
slag attained strength superior to that of the CF mix by approximately 32%, 20.5% and 7.6% respectively. British
Standard 15167-1, 2006 considers 50% to be the ideal replacement level of cement by GGBS. However, this level can
be raised to accommodate specific objectives. Relevant literature is mostly of the opinion that utilizing GGBS with
varied fineness and a replacement level of up to 50% results in increased strength. Results from the first three levels of
replacements in this paper (30%, 40% and 50%) are in agreement to those in studies conducted by Maier and Durham
(2012), Babu and Kumar (2000), Memon et al. (2007) and Aljoumaily et al. (2012). The mixes CF-60 and CF-70
progressed throughout the periods (7, 14, and 28 days) and increased in strength by 74.9% and 50.3% respectively from
the control mix.
Mixes
12 CF
10 CFP
8 SF-30
MPa
6 SF-40
4 SF-50
2 SF-60
0 SF-70
7-Days 14-Days 28-Days
Figure 3. Compressive Strength through different periods
3.3 Flexure Strength
With an average from three samples and in compliance with BS 12390-5: 2009, the flexural test (four points
bending test) was conducted on all seven mixes at 7, 14 and 28 days (Figure 4). The results reveal that the highest
flexural strength recorded on the 28th day was 2.4 MPa for the CFP mix.
176
Mixes
3
CF
2.5
CFP
2
SF-30
MPa 1.5
SF-40
1
SF-50
0.5
SF-60
0
7-days 14-days 28-days SF-70
Figure 4 . Flexure strength through different periods
The CF mix attained a flexural strength of 1.4 MPa in 28 days. This result is similar to that obtained by Awang et al.
(2012). The SF-30 mix recorded an impressive flexural strength that was 61% greater than that of the CF mix with a
cement content of less than 300 Kg/m3. It is clear that when the replacement level is beyond 30%, a decline in flexural
strength transpires. The mixes SF-40, SF-50, SF-60 and SF-70 attained flexural strengths of 96%, 63%, 87.9% and
36% respectively from the control mix. The outstanding flexure to compressive strength ratio of 0.34 was achieved by
the SF-30 mix. Researchers conducted in the past produced similar results within a range of 0.25 to 0.35 (Ramamurthy
et al., 2009). The remaining mixes generated ratios of 0.16 to 0.27 which are higher than those achieved in research
conducted by Jones and McCarthy (2005b).
3.4 Splitting Tensile Strength
Testing on the splitting tensile strength was carried out with an average from three samples and in accordance with
BS EN 12390-6:2009. The results derived from testing the seven mixes through the three periods of 7, 14 and 28 days
are exhibited in Figure 5. These results clearly follow a similar trend to the results obtained through flexural testing.
However, the mix with a replacement level of 0% and with PS-1 (CFP) developed through the periods and attained a
strength level that was 63% greater than that of the control. On the 28 th day the control mix (CF) registered a gain of
0.694 MPa and a tensile/compressive ratio that was almost similar to that obtained in a test carried out by Jones and
McCarthy (2005b). The mixes with 30% (SF-30) and 40% (SF-40) slag replacement attained a greater strength level
than the control by approximately 46.5% and 2.9% respectively. On the other hand, SF-50, SFi-60 and SF-70 achieved
strength levels that were lower than the control mix by 28%, 33% and 63.7% respectively. The highest tensile/
compressive ratio was achieved by SF-30 (0.153) which is close to those realized in tests conducted by Ramamurthy et
al. (2009) and Jones and McCarthy (2005b).
Mixes
1.4
1.2 CF
1 CFP
0.8 SF-30
MPa
0.6 SF-40
0.4 SF-50
0.2 SF-60
0 SF-70
7-days 14-days 28-days
Figure 5. Splitting tensile strength through different periods
177
4. Conclusion
Based on the test results of this study, the following can be surmised.
 The usage of slag will not only reduce the cost of foam concrete but also enhance its level of resilience.
Cement content can be reduced by slag replacement and maintained at below 300 Kg/m3.
 Instead of fine slag, which requires more energy and effort to produce, the use of unprocessed blast furnace
slag as a cement replacement appears promising. With a replacement level of 30% up to 50% and a mix ratio
of 1:2:0.45, the compressive strength achieved was greater than that of the control mix.
 At 30% and 40% of cement replacement by unprocessed slag (30% and 40%), flexural and splitting tensile
testing produced better results than the CF.
 The results derived from testing the seven mixes indicate that the optimum replacement level is 30% of
unprocessed slag in foam concrete with a mix ratio of 1:2:0.45 (cement content <300 Kg and superior
mechanical properties compared to the control mix).
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mr. Lim Hong Hock, Mr. Yoong Wai and Mr. Ng Beng Fooi of Ann Joo Resources
Berhad for providing me with the materials required for this research. Your generous contributions are greatly
appreciated.
References
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with blast furnace slag aggregates. Construction and Building Materials, 24, 1166–1175.
A Tcin, P. C. (2008). Binders for Durable and Sustainable Concrete,London and New york. Taylor & Francis pp.
373-513
Aljoumaily, Z. S. ,Noordin, N., Awang, H. & Almulali, M. Z. (2012). The Effect of Blast Furnace Slag on Foam
Concrete in Terms of Compressive Strength. Advanced Materials Research, 587,81-87.
American Concrete Institute (ACI) (2006). 523.1R-06 Guide for Cast-in-Place Low Density Cellular Concrete.
ASTM: C 150 Standard Specification for Portland Cement.ASTM international,USA.
Awang, H.,Othuman, M. A. & Roslan, A. F. (2012). Effect of additives on mechanical and thermal properties of
lightweight foamed concrete Advances in Applied Science Research,, 3(5), 3326-3338.
Aydin, S. 2008. Development of a high-temperature-resistant mortar by using slag and pumice. Fire Safety Journal
43, 610–617.
Babu, K. G. & Kumar, V. S. R. (2000). Efficiency of GGBS in concrete. Cement and Concrete Research 30, 1031
1036.
Bijen, J. (1996). Benefits of slag and fly ash. Construction and Building Materials,, 10(5), 309-314.
BS 812-103.1:1985 (1985), Testing aggregates. Method for determination of particle size distribution. Sieve tests.
BSI,London, UK.
BS EN 12390-3:2009.(2009),Testing hardened concrete.Compressive strength of test specimens. BSI.,London, UK.
BS EN 12390-5:2009, (2009).Testing hardened concrete.Flexural strength of test specimens. BSI.,London, UK.
BS EN 12390-6:2009,(2009) Testing hardened concrete.Tensile splitting strength of test specimens. BSI.,London,

UK.
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concrete. Cement and Concrete Composites, 31(6), 388-396.
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179
School Building Defect Pattern

M. Mahlia, A.I Che-Ania*, H. Yahayab, N.M. Tawila, M.A.Othuman Mydinc
a
Department of Architecure, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment,UniversitiKebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Architecture and Built Environment,Twintech International University College of Technology (TWINTECH), Kuala Lumpur 52200,
Malaysia
c
Abstract
In providing a conducive learning environment for the student, the school building must be in good condition. This paper is
evaluating the existing condition of primary school building in Sarawak, Malaysia. It focuses on building defects pattern for school
building. The primary data collection is from the school building condition survey with involvement of 24 primary schools. The
schools have been selected using simple random sampling and stratified sampling (of school age as the variable of selection). The
reporting method is based on Condition Survey Protocol (CSP) 1 Matrix. Data analysis covers descriptive and inferential statistics.
The analysis carried out found that the overall 4,725 defects have been identified. The building defect pattern is mainly on Ground
Level of 3,176 defects, the highest number of defects components found on walls (798). 16.2% defects are cracks from 11 common
defects and most of all the highest score of defects based on age of the building were the building in the range of 11 to 20 years.
Key words: building condition; CSP1 Matrix; assessment; school; Malaysia.
1. Introduction
The condition of school buildings is a very important factor in influencing the school environment and should be
evaluated. However, there is lacked of published research in this field in Malaysia. The evaluation of school's building
has not been formally developed. Since the school building is the main asset to the learning process, information on the
current condition to the building is very important in the school's management. This study focuses on assessing the
condition of school buildings, which one of the keys processes in the life cycle of a comprehensive asset management
and facilities management. This assessment is important that the asset of the building is capable of supporting a
school’s core operations, which need to operate efficiently and effectively in providing a quality learning environment
to the school users. This paper discusses the evaluation of school buildings condition based on CSP1 Matrix’s
assessment and analysis, focusing on building defects pattern for school building.
Maintenance of school building includes activities to maintain school facilities as to keep it in good condition. In
Malaysia, school building maintenance usually neglected (Syamilah 2005) and there are no sufficient guidelines for this
process (NikElyna et al. 2011). Maintenance work is not only necessary to the aging building. It is needed as to new
building as well. New building will not remain constant during its lifetime (Abdul Lateef et al. 2011). Assessment of
building condition is therefore needed as one of the proactive steps in managing and maintaining the performance of
school facilities.
School is the building that used for the teaching purposes, and classrooms are physical spaces that designed to
support in person teaching and learning activities. There is a significant impact of the school building conditions on
student achievement (Mendell& Heath 2003; Bosch 2004; Tiburcio& Finch 2004; Adeogun&Osifila 2008; Tanner
2008; Uline&Tschannen-Moran 2008; Fram 2010) because the built environment can influence users’ behavior
(Rapoport 1982). The relationship between schools building condition with student achievement was explained by
Uline&Tschannen-Moran (2008) who asserts that student from school with the better environment showed higher
achievement. Schneider (2002) added that school facilities had a direct impact on teaching and learning, while good
school facilities can be provided by an efficient maintenance. Besides, characteristic of the occupied space affect the
exchange of information and working environment. In addition, the physical condition of schools affects the behaviors
and attitudes of both the teachers and students. The building and spaces reflect the message of life, activities and social
values of users. The features such as color, shape and arrangement are able to help students and teachers to identify a
clear mental image of the environment.
Extraction from a report issued by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) in March 2011,
typically operational and maintenance cost is between 60-80% of the total cost of facility during its lifetime and
180
revealed that there were weaknesses intoasset maintenance activities carried out by the government. This action will
reduce the future maintenance cost, and it must be done by the experts.
3. Materials and Methods
Data for the evaluation of school building condition is gathered from samples of public school in Kuching, Sarawak.
Data collection and analysis conducted based on CSP1 Matrix. There are 134 public primary schools in Kuching
Division (MOE, 2010). The sampling criteria used are based on school age, which refer to the first building constructed
for the school which in the range of one year to 65 years. Two sampling methods used are simple random sampling and
stratified sampling. Variable of Selection (VOS) used for the calculation of sample size was the rate of school age. The
calculation of sample size was using the Simple Random Sampling (SRS) formula. Based on the calculation, 24
samples of school have been selected.
The condition of building component is evaluated using CSP1 Matrix Che-Ani et al. (2011). This protocol requires
the information of every defect to be assessed in terms of its condition and priority. All defects identified are assessed
and recorded on-site with the evidence (photos and plan tag). The score obtained from the scoring system determine the
level of defects/component such as good, fair and dilapidated. Besides, the possible cause of the defects is also
identified. This information is recorded in Defect Sheet, and then it was transferred to the Schedule of Building
Condition (see Che-Ani et al. 2011). A summary of finding such as the number of defects, total score and overall
building rating are based on CSP1 Matrix. The data is statistically analyzed using the software of Statistical Package
for Social Sciences (SPSS).
Assessment of the physical condition of school building at Kuching Division was conducted on 24 schools. In total,
4,275 defects were identified and the total mark is 45,868. This means that the rating for overall condition of the
buildings is 9.71, which at a fair level but close to dilapidated.
4.1 The number of defects based on building levels
According to Table I, the highest number of defects recorded on Ground Level of 3176 defects, while the lowest
number recorded on Roof Level of 38 defects. Total defects recorded to show that the higher the level of building, the
number of defects was decreasing. From the aspect of schools’ age, the highest number of defects recorded by the
school over 20 years old of 2838 defects. Highest defects on Ground Floor recorded by the school over 20 years old.
However, for the other levels, the highest number of defects recorded by the schools between the ages of 11 to 20
years.
Table I: The number of building defects based on schools’ age and building levels.
School No. of The number of defects

s’ Age schoo Groun Leve Leve Leve Roof Total
ls d l1 l2 l3 Leve
level l
<10 2 100 94 95 0 0 289
11-20 5 798 430 288 58 24 1598
>20 17 2278 381 138 27 14 2838
Total 24 3176 905 521 85 38 4725
4.2The number of defects based on component
There were 67 major component included in this survey. Table III presents the only component that has
more than 100 defects. The highest number of defects found on walls (798) followed by floors (690), doors
(629), fittings (575), windows (541) and ceilings (476). This component is the main parts to the building and
181
its cover most of the buildings. Meanwhile, there are some other components (which are not listed in
diagram 1) that have a little number of defects such as fire extinguishers, balcony railing and cabinets.
The number of defects
Windows, 541, Aprons, 124, 3%

13%
Columns, 101, 2%
Walls ,
798, 18%
Ceilings, 476, 11%
Sanitary , 144, 3%
Fittings, 575, 13%
Doors, 629, 15%
Wirings, 141, 3% Floors, 690, 16%

Drains, 136, 3%
Fig. 1: Number of defects based on components
4.3 The types of defects
There are 207 types of defects recorded during this survey. Table II shows the only types of defects that
have more than 100 defects, which can be assumed to be common building defects. Based on Table II, there
are eleven common defects with cracks as the highest types of defects (16.2%) followed by missing (13.9%),
damaged (8.6%), broken (7.0%) and punch (4.6%). Large number of cracks is because it often occurs on the
walls and floor, which are major components of a building.
Table II the types of defects

The number of Percentage
Types of defects defects (%)
Punch 230 4.6
Missing 683 13.9
Rust 177 3.6
Water spot mark 101 2.0
Dirty 108 2.2
Broken 346 7.0
Decayed 192 3.9
Crack 798 16.2
Damaged 422 8.6
Malfunction 114 2.3
Water spot 129 2.6
*This table presents the only types of defects that has
more than 100 defects
182
4.4 The relationship between components with sub-components and types of defects
Independent Chi-Square Test has been used to measure the correlation of relationship between the
components and sub-components. Components is intended consists of doors, floors, walls, windows,
ceilings, sanitary facilities, equipment, waste pipes and others. Sub-components consists of frames, ceiling
boards, tiles, and so on. Based on Table 5, the results of analysis show that the components and sub-
components have significant relationships. In addition, the types of defects are also connected to the
components. This is proven after the Chi-Square Test conducted in which a p-value less than 0.05. In other
words, in the event of defects in components such as doors, indirectly sub-components such as door leaf and
frames also had an impact. In the same time, components also influence the occurrence of defects.
Table III Chi Square Test for sub-components and type of defects
Variables p-value
Sub-component 0.000*
Type of defects 0.000*
5. Conclusions
As overall school building condition, it is in fair condition, but it close to dilapidated. The age of the
schools is giving the idea of its building condition, where the older the school, the higher number of building
defects is expected. Apart from this, the critical age of building condition is within the range of 11 to be 20
years old, where the number of building defects keeps on increasing. This is supported by the findings that
the two schools which is found in dilapidated condition are the school that is more than 20 years. This
finding gives an implication for this study is going to help the school management to better plan and
prioritize the school maintenance activity. By using CSP1 Matrix, it helps to prioritize the building defects.
Defects with the red-coded means serious action need to be taken care first, and followed by the yellow-
coded. This is also helping the maintenance budget to be spent wisely according to the priority.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to express their heartiest thanks to Ministry of Education, Malaysia, The National
University of Malaysia, Twintech International University College of Technology and University Science
Malaysia for supporting this research.
References
Abdul Lateef, O. A., MohdFarisKhamidi&AraziIdrus. 2011. Appraisal of the building maintenance

management
practices of Malaysian universities. Journal of Building Appraisal. 6(3/4):261-275.
Adeogun, A.A. &Osifila, G.I. 2008.Relationship between educational resources and students’ academic
performance in Lagos state, Nigeria.International Journal of Educational Management. 5&6:144-153.
Bosch, S.J. 2004. Identifying relevant variables for understanding how school facilities affect educational
outcomes.
PhD Dissertation.Georgia Institute of Technology.
Che-Ani A.I., Tazilan A.S.M., Kosman K.A. 2011. The development of a condition survey protocol
matrix.Structural
Fram, S.M. 2010. One built environment: an example for school administrators and planners. Journal of
Educational Administration.Vol. 48. No. 4 pp 468-489.
GAO. 2011. Opportunities to reduce potential duplication in government programs, save tax dollars, and
enhance
revenue. Report to Congressional Addressees. United States Government Accountability Office.Mac 2011.
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MOE. 2010. Statistic and number of school. Website of Malaysian Ministry of Education. Access: 22 Aug
2010. Last update: 22 Aug 2010.
Mendell, M.J., Heath, G.A. 2003. Do Indoor Environments in Schools Influence Student Performance? A
Review
of the Literature.Indoor Health and Productivity Project (IHP). USA.
Nik Elyna Myeda, Syahrul Nizam Kamaruzzaman & Pitt, M. 2011.Measuring the performance of office
buildings
maintenance management in Malaysia.Journal of Facilities Management.9(3):181-199.
Rapoport, A. 1982.The Meaning of the built environment: A nonverbal communication approach. Sage.
Beverly
Hill. USA.
Schneider, M. 2002. Do school facilities affect academic outcomes? National Clearinghouse for
Educational
Facilities. Washington D.C.
Schneider, M. 2003. Linking school facility conditions to teacher satisfaction and success. National
Clearinghouse
for Educational Facilities. Washington D.C.
SyamilahYacob. 2005. Maintenance management system through strategic planning for public school in
Malaysia.
Sarjana Sains (Pengurusan Pembinaan). UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia.
Tanner, C.K. 2008.Effect of school design on students outcomes. Journal of Educational Administration.
47(3):381-
399.
Tiburcio, T. & Finch, E.F. 2004.The impact of an intelligent classroom on pupils’ interactive behavior.
Facilities.
23(5/6): 262-278.
Uline, C. &Tschannen-Moran, M. 2008. The wall speak: the interplay of quality facilities, school climate,
and
student achievement. Journal of Education Administration. 46(1):56-73.
184
Factors Influencing The Practice Of Knowledge Transfer: A

case study of the Malaysian construction firm
M. A. Zaidia,26*, H. Davies b, M. F. M. Yasin c
a
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak,Seri Iskandar, 32610 Perak
b
Second Lecturer, Faculty of Architecture and Built Environment, Deakin University, 3220 Victoria, Australia
c
Abstract
The aims of this paper is to identify the main factors driving or hindering knowledge transfer practice in the
Malaysian construction firm. With extensive knowledge transfer theoretical perspective guides, 19 factors are
identified as the key variables that influence construction firm performance for knowledge transfer effectiveness. A
mixed methodology approach was employed with qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and
quantitative data collected through questionnaire survey of the Malaysian contractors. A preliminary test of the
19 factors was conducted by using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) extraction method to further examine
their content validity, construct validity and reliability which resulted in retaining 17 factors as key influence for
knowledge transfer. These factors were then grouped into five components, the first of which was Personnel
Characteristics (PC) comprising, creating shared awareness for information sharing, communication, personal skills
and individual attitude. The second component was Personnel Development (PD) comprising training,
organizational culture, information technology and motivation. Both PC and PD components are classified as
‘knowledge transfer-related factors’. Meanwhile the remaining three components, recognized as ‘organizational-
related factors’, consisted of External Transfer (ET) comprising monitoring and supervision, service quality and
information accessibility; Knowledge Mechanism (kM) component comprising information supply, socialization
process and knowledge tools; and Internal Transfer (InT) comprising coaching and mentoring, staff briefing and
information sharing. The findings from both literature and survey conducted suggest that through interaction
between knowledge transfer-related factor and organizational-related factor, the intensity of the whole strategic
knowledge transfer process will be increase thus helping to strengthen the Malaysian construction firm for
competitive advantages.
Keywords: Knowledge Transfer; Organisational Performance, Critical Success Factor
1. Introduction
In recent years, a number of research studies on knowledge management have highlighted that knowledge
transfer is becoming one of the most significant strategic inputs for sustainable competitive advantage of an
organization(Argote & Ingram 2000; Fong et al. 2007; Lazarevic 2005). Knowledge is being seen as the most
important strategic resource for organizations and the transfer of this knowledge is considered critical for
organizational success (Ipe 2003). In seeking to improve project delivery process and outputs of the construction
industry, an effective knowledge transfer process is required for creating organizational dynamic capability (Cheng,
2010).

E-mail address:mohda763@perak.uitm.edu.my.
185
With the global trend to shift from a traditional theory of economy (reliant on labour, land and capital) into a
knowledge-based economy, knowledge and information have become a central part of organizational development
(Kululanga & McCaffer 2001). These days, many organizations including construction firms recognize that through
knowledge, organizations have the chance to offer customers value and maintain competitive advantage (Fong et al.
2007). However, it seems that, lack of knowledge transfer amongst industry practitioners contribute to the major
problem of poor performance by the contractor (Low, 2007; Chan, 2009). The issues including poor information
supply, lack of organizational culture, poor attitude of workers and lack of awareness amongst contractor to share
knowledge were highlight as a key barrier for knowledge transfer success (Ipe, 2003; Li-Hua, 2004). Thus, this
paper is aims to explore the fundamental issues that influences knowledge transfer success from the Malaysian
construction firm point of views; by discussing the aspect of information creation between construction
organizations and other knowledge provider agencies such as authority bodies, research institutions, etc., in order to
provide more clarity on the significance of information creation for the knowledge transfer process.
In the construction industry, the increase of organizational and individual knowledge is leveraged through
the level of knowledge transfer practices facilitated in the business. An examination of the relevant literature
indicates that construction organizations are weak in transferring knowledge within and outside of the organization’s
boundary (Eliufoo 2005; Li-Hua 2004). Some studies found that the crucial challenges in transferring knowledge
could reduce organization performance that resulted from a poor understanding of information, miscommunication,
little cooperation and poor sharing of information (Kululanga & McCaffer 2001; Low 2007). Low (2007), in his
study, remarked that the Malaysian construction industry is large and complex: many different practitioners do not
share a common education base which causes a poor knowledge-sharing culture in the society. Further, a study
conducted by Mohamed et al. (2007) on knowledge management practice also revealed practices of knowledge
transfer activity among Malaysian contractors are still inadequate. Many construction organizations do not adopt
good practices of knowledge transfer which generates barriers for the communication of skills and knowledge.
According to Kamarani (2002), the government of Malaysia will need to establish a world-class research institution
for knowledge generation, acquisition and diffusion. The industry players must be facilitated by the provision of
infrastructure, incentives and training to promote the development of a knowledge-intensive product. However, the
poor practice of knowledge transfer provides significant challenges for industry practitioners in gaining and
expanding their knowledge (Zaidi et al. 2009).
3. Methodology
It has been argued that the most appropriate approach for this kind of research is a mixed approach combining both
qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In the first stage, semi-structured interviews were conducted with related
construction firm in Malaysia, the main thrust being to draw out the key factors that contributed to the challenges of
knowledge transfer practices faces by the Malaysian builders. Thirteen interviews (R1-R13) were conducted with
experience practitioners representing construction firm with an average more than five years working experiences.
To facilitate the analysis, the thematic analysis technique was employed for coding, organizing, linking and
exploring the transcript for themes and sub themes in lines the analysis guide.
The second stage that was the quantitative phase involved a survey research design based on findings from the
literature and interviews. It was design to provide a numeric description of trends, attitudes or opinions of
respondents. The questionnaire was conducted on a sample of drawn from a database of contractor listed in the
Construction Industry Board (CIDB) Malaysia. A total of 500 questionnaires were mailed out to participants for
completion. A total of 151 questionnaires were returned representing an overall response rate of 30.2 per cent. The
Principal Component Analysis (PCA) extraction method in factor analysis technique was employed to further
186
examine their content validity, construct validity and reliability; which aim to group the key factors that might exist
among the critical factors.
4. Result
4.1 Stage 1: The Interviews
The analysis of the field data from the semi-structured interviews identified nine categories of knowledge transfer
factors that affect construction organization performance. These factors were [1] poor attitude of workers, [2] lack of
communication, [3] skills issues, [4] commitment problems, [5] lack of training, [6] poor use of information
technology, [7] lack of monitoring and supervision, [8] poor service quality and [9] lack of information supply. In
all, 19 factors were recognized based on outcomes that were compiled from the comprehensive literature review and
the interviews. The various raised dimensions raised by the interviewees relating to such behaviors are summarized
in Table 1. Meanwhile, Table 2 demonstrated the list of factors that identified from the literature and interviews
Table 1: Summary of the factors affecting knowledge transfer in the construction firms
Coding R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13

F1 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
F2 √ √ √ √ √ √
F3 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
F4 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
F5 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
F6 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
F7 √ √ √ √ √
F8 √ √ √ √ √ √
F9 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
Note: F1-Attitude problem, F2-Communication issue, F3- Skills issue, F4-Lack of commitment, F5- Training issue,
F6-Application of IT, F7-Monitoring and supervision, F8- Poor service quality, F9-Lack of information supply
Table 2: Summary of items found in theory and practice
A. Knowledge Transfer Related-Factors Factors from the Found in

literature practices
Individual attitude √ √
Sharing awareness √
Communication √ √
Individual skills √ √
Personal experiences √
Self-commitment √ √
Organizational culture √
Training √ √
Information technology (IT) application √ √
Motivation √
B. Organizational Related-Factors Factors from the Found in

literature practices
187
Service quality √ √
Monitoring and supervision √ √
Information accessibility √ √
Information supply (accessing information) √ √
Socialization process √
Information sharing √ √
Coaching and mentoring √
Staff briefing √ √
Effective knowledge tools √
Total factors from literature 19
Total factors from interviews 12
4.2 Stage 2: Factor Analysis of the important factors
Factor analysis is used to address the problem of analyzing the structure of the interrelationship (correlations) among
a large number of variables by defining a set of common underlying dimensions, known as factors (Wang and Yuan,
2010). This statistical technique was employed in this study to explore the groupings that might exist among the
critical factors. The surveys of 19 factors were fed into SPSS 13.0 for principal component analysis, which is a
common method in factor analysis. The analysis results shows that the eigenvalue results in Table 3 below proposed
five factor solutions. These factor solutions explain 66.541% of the total variances. The 19 factors were rotated
converged in seven iterations, resulting in clean loadings for their respective scales
Table 3: Eigenvalues and rotation sums of squared loadings

Component Initial Eigenvalues Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings
Total % of Cumulative Total % of Cumulative
variances % variances %
1 6.185 32.555 32.555 2.949 15.521 15.521
2 2.092 11.011 43.566 2.556 13.451 28.972
3 1.809 9.521 53.087 2.484 13.073 42.045
4 1.386 7.292 60.379 2.415 12.711 54.756
5 1.171 6.162 66.541 2.239 11.785 66.541
Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis
Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser normalization
Reliability was then calculated for each group of scales. Reliability measures the consistency among items for a
given construct. The reliability of each data set was established by examining the correlation matrix, the Kaiser-
Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity. The analysis results show
that Bartlett Test of Sphericity is 1231.593 and the associated significance level is 0.000, demonstrating that the
sample is large enough to allow the covariance matrix to converge (Table 4). The KMO value is 0.839, higher than
0.6, which demonstrated that the sample meets the fundamental requirements for factor analysis (Yang et al. 2010).
Table 5 shows the overall results for factor analysis.
Table 4: KMO and Bartlett’s Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy 0.839
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity
Approx.Chi-Square 1231.593
Df 171
Sig. 0.000
188
Table 5: The results of factor analysis (Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis and Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser
normalization)
Critical Success Factors (CSFs) Factor Components1
1 2 3 4 5
F2 Creating shared awareness for information sharing
.788
F3 Ensuring effective communication
.763
F4 Improving personal skills through knowledge sharing

.715
F1 Improving individual’s or employees’ attitude in sharing knowledge

.714
F5 Promoting good relationship between experienced staff and less experienced staff
.562 .428
F7 Facilitating training for staff to develop skills and knowledge
.796
F8 Promoting an effective organizational culture for a learning environment

.779
F9 Enhancing the use of IT in the organization for effective transferring of knowledge

.617
F10 Promoting motivation through rewards and incentives
.560
F15 Improving external agencies’ work style in regards to monitoring and supervision aspects
.828
F14 Improving external agencies’ service quality

.788
F16 Improving external agencies’ policy in regards to information accessibility
.737
F6 Increasing staff commitment on job task

.440 .462
F18 Increasing employees’ social interaction (socialization process) for better knowledge transfer
.842
F17 Encouraging effective information supply from information provider agencies (control,
innovation, best practice and audit) .825
F19 Improving knowledge tool facilities in the organization

.724
F12 Improving employees’ knowledge through coaching and mentoring
.816
F13 Conducting staff briefing frequently

.788
F11 Encouraging information sharing among employees

.760
% of variance 32.555 11.011 9.521 7.292

6.162
Cumulative % of variance 32.555 43.566 53.087 60.37
9 66.541
4.3 Grouping the factors
Analysis showed that there were two items that could be loaded into two factors which were F5 (experiences) and
F6 (commitment). Based on Piaw’s (2009) recommendations, if the purpose of the study was to make a distinction
between the different components produced, then these two items should be removed. This is because a single item
cannot be represented by two components in the analysis of the comparison between constructs. Items F5 and F6
189
which emerged in more than one component were deleted. The remaining 17 items were further regrouped as
indicators for the development of the knowledge transfer model.
Component one was highly loaded with variables like sharing awareness (F2), communication (F3), skills (F4) and
attitude (F1), and was therefore labelled ‘Personnel Characteristics’ (PC). Component two was highly loaded with
factors like training (F7), organizational culture (F8), information technology (F9) and motivation (F10). This
component was therefore labelled ‘Personnel Development’ (PD). The significant loadings on component three were
monitoring and supervision (F15), service quality (F14) and information accessibility (F16). Altogether, these
factors give an indication of ‘External Transfer’ characteristics. Component four was labelled ‘Knowledge
Mechanism’ as all significant factors, that is, the socialization process (F18), information supply (F17) and
knowledge tools (F19) clearly make reference to the relationship with the knowledge mechanism. The last
component was loaded with coaching and mentoring (F12), staff briefing (F13) and information sharing (F11). This
component was therefore labelled ‘Internal Transfer’ characteristics. Table 6 demonstrates the five groups of CSFs
that emerged from the factor analysis.
Table 6: Five groups of critical success factors (CSFs)

Components Factor Critical Success Factors (CSFs) Factor Loadings
F2 Creating shared awareness for information sharing .788
1 F3 Communication .763
F4 Personal skills .715
F1 Individual attitude .714
F7 Training .796
F8 Organizational culture .779
2
F9 Information technology (IT) .617
F10 Motivation .560
F15 Monitoring and supervision .828
3 F14 Service quality .788
F16 Information accessibility .737
F18 Socialization process .842
4 F17 Information supply .825
F19 Knowledge tools .724
F12 Coaching and mentoring .816
5 F13 Staff briefing .788
F11 Information sharing .760
Notes: [1]-Personnel Characteristics; [2]-Personnel Development; [3]-External Transfer; [4]-Knowledge
Mechanism; [5]-Internal Transfer
4.3.1 Component 1: Personnel Characteristics (PC)
The four extracted factors for component one were creating shared awareness for information sharing (78.8%),
communication (76.3%), personal skills (71.5%) and individual attitude (71.4%). The cluster accounted for 32.56%
of the variance (refer Table 5.12). These criteria shared a common connection to the people aspects as proposed by
190
Eliufoo (2005) that the effectiveness of knowledge transfer is influenced by the communication, skills and attitude
of the individual. Thus, the first component for knowledge transfer proposed for this study was categorized as the
Personnel Characteristics (PC) element.
4.3.2 Component 2: Personnel Development (PD)
The ‘Personnel Development’ (PD) component consists of training (79.6%), organizational culture (77.9%),
information technology (61.7%) and motivation (56.0 %) which are in relation to the need for good human resource
practice in the organization. This component accounts for 11.01% of the total variance explained among all critical
factors. Training, organizational culture, IT application and motivation are all related to human resource practices
which aim to develop staff skills and knowledge (Carneiro 2000; Junnarkar & Brown 1997). Therefore, the second
component of knowledge transfer classified as Personnel Development (PD) was proposed for this study.
4.3.3 Component 3: External Transfer (ET)
The ‘External Transfer’ (ET) component comprises monitoring and supervision (82.8%), service quality (78.8%)
and information accessibility (73.7%) which are relevant to the external organization roles of transferring
knowledge to the construction organization. This component accounts for 9.52% of the total variance explained
among all critical success factors. As highlighted by Ribeiro (2009), cross-functional knowledge sharing can be
acquired outside the organization boundary. This study proposes the ET element as one of the knowledge transfer
components. This component specifically addressed the importance of external organizations in transferring
knowledge by considering relevant variables such as monitoring and supervision, service quality and information
accessibility.
4.3.4 Component 4: Knowledge Mechanism (kM)
There are three critical factors involved in this component: socialization process (84.2%), information supply
(82.5%) and knowledge tools (72.4%). This component is responsible for 7.29% of the total variance explained in
the critical factor analysis (see Table 5.12). These three factors are all related to the Knowledge Mechanism (KM)
which indicates that the kM plays an important role in affecting knowledge transfer in the construction organization
(Cheng, J 2010; Low 2007).
4.3.5 Component 5: Internal Transfer (InT)
Component five consists of coaching and mentoring (81.6%), staff briefing (78.8%) and information sharing
(76.0%) and was labelled ‘Internal Transfer’ (InT) accounting for 6.16% of the variances. All three critical factors in
the InT component emerged as the highest factors in this grouping and conform to the empirical evidence that
internal transfer is significantly essential for effective knowledge transfer in the organization. This supports a
statement that coaching and mentoring, staff briefing and information sharing were important for the success of
knowledge transfer (Beijerse 2000; Bhatt 2000).
5. Conclusions
This paper presents the key influences of knowledge transfer factors that emerged from the current practices in the
Malaysian construction firm. Data gathered from semi-structured interviews were analysed by using thematic
analysis techniques to establish the main knowledge transfer factors for further analysis. The analysis of the field
191
data from the semi-structured interviews identified nine categories of knowledge transfer factors that affect
construction organization performance. These factors were poor attitude of workers, lack of communication, skills
issues, commitment problems, lack of training, poor use of information technology, lack of monitoring and
supervision, poor service quality and lack of information supply. In all, 19 factors were recognized based on
outcomes that were compiled from the comprehensive literature review and the interviews. A preliminary test of the
19 factors was then conducted using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) extraction method to further examine
their content validity, construct validity and reliability which resulted in retaining 17 factors as critical items for
knowledge transfer. These factors were further grouped into five components, namely, Personnel Characteristics
(PC), Personnel Development (PD), External Transfer (ET), Knowledge Mechanism (kM) and Internal Transfer
(InT) which was viewed as factors influencing knowledge transfer practices in the Malaysian construction firms.
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193
Dimension of Fully Integrated Delivery Team for Malaysian

Industrialised Building System (IBS) Construction Projects
M. N. M. Nawia; N. Baluchb; M. F. Omarc,27*

a,b
School of Technology Management and Logistic, University Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok Kedah, Malaysia
c
Department of Decision Science, School of Quantitative Sciences,College of Arts and Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah,
Malaysia
Abstract
Problems associated with fragmentation in the traditional construction process, such as isolation of professionals, lack of co-
ordination between design and construction, and the sequential manner of its processes, has impacted on construction
performance leading to a lack of integration, wastage, low productivity and inefficiency. Team integration is perceived as
paramount. Unfortunately, there are limited numbers of studies that focus on the dimension of fully integrated team, especially
for Malaysian IBS projects. Accordingly, this paper explores and identifies the dimension of fully integrated team from the
traditional approach and conducts a validation process for implementing it in Malaysian IBS projects. The research presented
uses interviews case study to obtain qualitative data. It was found that the dimension of fully integrated team from the traditional
construction process could apply to the Malaysian IBS projects.
Keywords: Industrialised building system (IBS); Malaysian construction industry; dimension of fully integrated team
1. Introduction
As Malaysia is witnessing rapid development, the construction industry has been encouraged to shift from
the conventional practice towards industrialised approach. Although Industrialised Building System (IBS) has a
solution towards improving constructions sustainability however implementation of this system faces a lot of
barriers like lack of integration among stakeholders during design stage in project life cycle. Therefore, ‘integrated
project team’ has been identified as one of the appropriate approaches that can provide an effective framework for
integrating in order to overcome that problem (Nawi et al., 2012, CIDB, 2009). An integrated delivery team is
highly effective to bring together various skills and knowledge that removes the traditional barriers towards an
effective and efficient delivery of the project (Baiden et al., 2006; Achieving Excellence in Construction, 2003;
Akintoye, 1994; Fleming and Koppelman, 1996). For example, involvement of IBS’s specialty contractors or
manufacturers early in the design process will help design professionals to see how a contractor will implement the
design. This strategy indirectly hinders the result in scheduling problems, delays and disputes during the
construction process, and, hence, harms the overall project performance (Nawi et al. 2011; Baiden et al., 2006).
Based on the literature review from the previous studies (Love et al., 2004; Anumba et al., 2002; Baiden et
al., 2003; Bromley et al., 2003; Cornick and Mather, 1999; Dainty et al., 2001; Evbuomwan and Anumba, 1998;
Love and Gunasekaran, 1998; Moore and Dainty, 1999; Strategic Forum for Construction, 2003; and Vyse, 2001) it
has been identified that the delivery team on a construction project can be described as ‘fully integrated’ when it;
* Corresponding author. Tel.:+604-928 6867 ; fax: +604 928 6906.

E-mail address: faizal_omar@uum.edu.my.
194
 has a single focus and objectives for the project

 operates without boundaries among the various organization members and works towards mutually
beneficial outcomes
 shares information freely among its members such that access is not restricted to specific professions and
organisational units within the team
 has a new identity and is co-located, usually in a given common space
 operates in an atmosphere where relationships are equitable, offers its members equal opportunities to
contribute to the delivery process and all members are respected
 has a “no blame”, culture
Due to validity and practicality of data, Bell (1991) warned that secondary data has the disadvantage of
becoming out-of-date, as well as not being appropriate for the precise needs of a particular research problem.
Mohammad (2011) also claimed that secondary data by itself cannot meet the specific needs of particular situations,
problems or settings, and it is essential to obtain primary data to overcome this shortcoming. In view of that, this
type of research is generated to gather the primary data and also to validate all the dimensions that have been
identified, in general, to see if they could be applied for Malaysian IBS industry or not.
The data was obtained from a case study organized by researchers. A number of interviews with three officers
from different job functions (top level of management, operational, and technical department) were conducted in
validating the dimension of integrated project team in construction. The main selection criteria for inviting the
survey participants to the interview session is to have at least 5 years of working experience in IBS related projects.
Robson (2002) defines case study as a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a
particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence (quoted from
Saunders et al., 2007). Many researcher (i.e. Yin, 2007; Nawi et al., 2012; Kamar, 2011) clearly agree that interview
is one of the establish tool or technique for qualitative data collection especially for the research that involves case
study as a research design.
For the purpose of this study, the interviews were conducted two times at two difference venues. The first
interview was conducted with managing director and design engineer of the company in the headquarter office
meeting room. The second interviews were conducted with operation manager in the site office meeting room. Due
to the need to maintain confidentiality and anonymity, the interviewees’ names are not revealed. Therefore, prefix
codes listed-in Table 1 were used. Both of the interviews session used structured and semi structured questionnaires
focusing on validation of dimension of fully integrated team delivery in the Malaysian IBS project. The results of
the interviews are presented in Table 2 below.
Table 1; Interview quotation code prefixes details
Interviewee ID Code Prefix

Managing Director RCS-01-01
Operation Manager RCS-01-02
Senior Design Engineer RCS-01-03
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3. Result and Discussion
Based on the findings from the case study, it was confirmed that the entire dimension obtained from the literature
review are necessary to be applied in IBS projects in order to achieve a fully integrated team delivery. The findings
below show all the recommendations discussed during the case study interviews.
Table 2: Summary of recommendations from the Validation Case Study

Dimension Recommendation
Single focus and Each of the team members is responsible for the progress and performance of the project from
objectives beginning until the completion of the project. They must have a feel of ‘sense of ownership’ when
doing the job thus putting extra effort that goes beyond their routine of duty. Most of the
respondents agreed that this factor is essential for the success of integrated design team delivery.
‘In the beginning of a project, we always practice that all the project team members understand
their duty and responsibility of the project to avoid duplication of job and wastage’ – Managing
Director
‘In the current practice, we need to update the progress of work through the monthly meeting with
design manager in order to avoid something bad happened in the future’ – Senior Design Engineer
‘As a leader, we make sure that we create a single goal of direction especially to fulfil the client’s
requirement. At the same time, we make sure all members clearly understand the project’s vision
and mission’ in the delivery of project - Managing Director
Operates without ‘Operational’ in this study refers to a process or series of actions such as has an interaction space,
boundaries co-located of team, non operational boundary, collaborative, and teamwork supportive of climate.
According to respondents, these entire components are very important thus indirectly will improve
team culture and attitude among professional disciplines towards successful integrated team.
‘We always think about transportation issues during the design phase to avoid problems happened
during the transportation or delivery process. All the information is discussed with design team
during consultant meeting or walk in to consultant firm’ – Operation Manager
‘Normally, we spend around 3 month for design process. At the same time, the substructure work is
started to reduce the time of constructions. However, the time period of design stage should be
longer than in the current practice to produce best quality of design’ – Senior Design Engineer
Shares information The respondents mostly agreed that technology plays as a medium or appropriate mechanism to co-
freely ordinate activity, enhance interaction and knowledge sharing within a project team. In this project,
technology is needed to support team communication due to temporal and departmental constraints.
‘IT is an important tool to visualize drawing and improve communication during IBS design
process. Currently we move to 3D instead of 2D drawings for designers and manufacturers having
better view and understanding of detail IBS components’ – Managing Director
‘Technology visualization is the key to coordinate and enhance interaction during the design and
manufacture stage. It requires avoiding any mistake and failure during design process particularly
in the technical drawing’ – Operation Manager
‘AutoCAD, Esteem, Staad Pro 2005, Orion and Tekla are among the software that we always use
during the IBS design processes’ – Senior Design Engineer
New identity and co- The integrated design team delivery was set up to maintain central control of the various
location organizations. This team is usually given a common space operates in an atmosphere where
relationships are equitable and members are respected. This approach brought all the functional
expertise that is required for the project together to act within a single entity with working
collaboratively rather than individuals. Therefore all the team members could be able to respond to
196
change over the duration of the project. The interviewees agreed that this approach is significantly
affective for improving integration team practice.
‘The current team structure makes it easier to manage the various consultants and other parties
who are involved in the design of the project effectively. It’s also easier to ensure that all issues
related to design such as manufacturability and constructability are dealt earlier in the beginning of
project’ – Managing Director
‘Flexibility and balance of process between factory and site is critical. For example, when works at
site are stopped, casting at factory shall also stop. Therefore, the concept of early involvement and
fully utilization of collective skills and expertise from the both sides during the design stage is very
important; especially to prevent double handling and problems with storage’ – Operation Manager
‘We will make sure that all of our design engineers are qualified, recognized and registered with the
professional body such as board of engineers Malaysia etc’ in order to avoid any bad things
happening in the future – Managing Director
‘I think the production and construction issues must be incorporated earlier during the design stage
in order to ensure smooth project sequences and error-free of construction’ – Senior Design
Manager
No ‘blame each other’ Transparency in this study refers to the commitment of open, frequent and genuine communication
culture among team members in a construction project. Respondents agreed that this transparency
communication will create a good collaborative working environment such as resolution of
disagreement without confrontation among team’s members.
‘We try our best to create the necessary environment for all members of the delivery team to know
each other through social functions and family activity’ - Managing Director
‘Normally, we will use the weekly meeting to solve our problems. Meeting is an appropriate medium
for everybody to declare their problem and it is very effective to avoid confrontation or
miscommunication among members at site’ – Operation Manager
‘We have been working on this project for long time and I do believe the relationships that exist
among us are good at all levels. Every member is respected among each other and there has no
blame culture in our team’ – Senior Design Engineer
Based on the findings identified from the case study, all the dimension factors are significant to be implemented in
the Malaysian IBS projects except work in relationship environment. On the other hand, the respondents also
suggested that some other dimensions also need to be added in order to enhance the efficiency of integrated team
project delivery. For example, the respondent recommended that personal attitude, policy and leadership are among
the extra dimension that should be considered for a team to excel as fully integrated team in Malaysian IBS projects.
All the recommendations are highlighted as below:
 Excellent personal working attitude

This factor that represents an individual’s degree of ‘like or dislike’ for work has been identified critical by all the
respondents in order to achieve fully integrated team in construction project. All the respondents agreed that “doing
what you love” in routine work can create a powerful motivator of group performance including commitment,
continuity and positive self improvement.
‘My style is so simple to train and approach our staff. Firstly, know their expertise; give the appropriate
job and allocate a flexibility of time to complete the task. Sure they will be happy and enjoy their current
job’ – Managing Director
‘Personally I think ‘openness of thinking’ is the key for the team to be excellent and work in collaborative
manner’ - Operation Manager
197
‘A few of our engineers are fresh but they are very committed and willing to learn that something new
especially related to technology or software. As a senior staff, we are also happy to teach and share our
knowledge and skills together’ – Senior Design Engineer
 Policy
Respondent consents that the government policy has been noted as one of the key influences in promoting a new
technique or product in the Malaysian construction industry. According to them, this is simply because the
government is one of the biggest clients for the IBS construction projects in Malaysia. This policy typically will
affect the delivery of a construction project either in term of process or team structure.
‘Our company’s vision is always aligned with the government policy in order to gain some benefits of
practice such as reduction of levy, tax etc.’ – Operation Manager
 Leadership
Management of leadership has been validated by the respondents as critical factor to ensure that the vision and
strategy of a team is communicated effectively to all members. The support from top management and all senior
managers in terms of sponsorship, training, commitment and empowerment are essential towards successful
integrated team delivery. The competency of team members is part of the fundamental key success to IBS integrated
design team.
‘Training scheme is part of the continuous improvement process in our organization of project. This
process is the fundamental success for integrated design team through the development of staff
competency’– Managing Director
‘Company provides continuous education and training activities such as hands-on and on-the-job labour
training, particularly in technical part such as installation and jointing panel systems’ – Operation
Manager
4. Conclusion
Although, a list of dimension for fully integrated teams have been identified to become the core elements
for the development of a framework for effective integrated design team delivery in Malaysian IBS projects,
unfortunately, the findings of the dimension are based on the traditional construction process as a general. The
specific dimensions of fully integrated team that relate to the IBS Malaysian construction industry are still limited.
Therefore, this research conducted a validation process through a case study interviews with Malaysian industry
players in order to transform the lesson learnt from the traditional practice to IBS. The findings from this study show
almost all the dimensions identified from the previous studies are significant and to be applied towards fully
integrated team except the factor of ‘work in relationship environment.’ For the recommendation of future study
improvement, a few more similar studies need to be done in order to support this dimension as a core element for
developing a framework for effective integrated design team delivery in Malaysian IBS projects.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support by the Ministry of Education Malaysia for providing the funding
under Research Acculturation Grant Scheme (RAGS) and Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).
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The Trend of Carbon Emission Reduction for Building Projects

in the Malaysian Construction Industry
M. M. A. Klufallaha,*, M. F. Nuruddinb, M. F. Khamidic, S. M. M. E. Ahmedd,

N.Jamaludine
a,b,d,e
Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia
c
School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, 62100 Putrajaya, Putrajaya, Malaysia
Abstract
The Malaysian construction industry significantly contributes as an empowerment to its development vision of 2020 by reducing
40% of carbon emission in the country. Moreover, the buildings and construction industry are the key sectors for sustainable
development and economical growth, but still they are amongst the biggest threat to the ecological systems and the environment,
not only in terms of natural resources consumption but also in emitting million tonnes of carbon emission each year. In fact, the
Malaysian construction industry is categorized the 30th in the world’s ranking in carbon emission level. To mitigate the raise of
carbon emission level from the buildings construction, several studies around the world identified some of the effective carbon
emission assessment tools for construction projects but it is lack of implementation in the Malaysian construction context. In
Malaysia, the green building index (GBI), Malaysian CIB Report and the Green Performance Assessment System in Construction
(Green PASS) has been introduced to assist the construction stakeholders in reducing the level of carbon emission and the impact
of buildings on the environment. This paper presents a comparative analysis of carbon emission from housing projects and office
buildings in order to identify and quantify the main sources of carbon emission for each project and it proposes environmental
friendly materials as replacement for conventional construction materials to achieve the implementation of sustainability in the
Malaysian construction industry.
Keywords: Carbon emission, sutainability, resource consumption, office buildings, housing
1. Introduction
The construction industry is one of the most important industries supporting every economic sector. This industry
is responsible for building the nation’s physical infrastructure, providing transportation facilities, accommodation
for the citizens, businesses and institutions. Although there are demands of construction projects for commercial,
industrial and residential, the construction industry has a great impact in the environment and very significant issues
raised recently in a form of carbon footprints and global warming. Since then, the construction projects contribute
harmful gases that emitted into the atmosphere, which known as the greenhouse gases (GHGs). To mitigate the
impact throughout the life cycle of buildings, the construction industry and the related activities are the pressing
issues faced by all the stakeholders to promote sustainable buildings (Chan, 2004).
In recent years, there has been growing concern about global warming resulting from increased atmospheric
concentrations of the so-called (GHGs) and the resulting environmental impacts. The global increases in carbon
emission (CO2) concentration are primarily due to fossil fuel and land uses. The main objective of this study is to
identify and determine the carbon footprint of construction materials within the Malaysian environment for future
research in order to identify the relationship between construction materials and its carbon emission.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +605-3742475; fax: +605-3742244

E-mail address:mohda763@perak.uitm.edu.my.
201
2. Resources Consumption
Recently, carbon emission had a tremendous increase in public appearance and it is a buzzword widely used
across the media, the government and in the business world. According to data from the Worldwatch Institute, the
construction industry annually consumes a huge amount of natural resources and raw materials. In fact, these
consumptions are 25% of timber, 40% of stones, gravels and sand and 16% of water in the world. The life cycle of
building construction consumes a great quantity of energy and emits GHGs. For instant, in the member states of the
European Union, buildings through their life cycle consume approximately 50% of the total energy demand and
contribute almost about 50% of the carbon emissions to the environment (Yan et al, 2010). In general, there are
three categories of energy consumption in construction, which are inherent energy, energy in use and embodied
energy (Hammond & Jones, 2008). The inherent energy is when the materials are processed through combustion of
chemical processing, which release chemical energy.
Furthermore, energy in use usually refers to the energy used by building’s occupants such as water heating and
lighting. Lastly, embodied energy, which is the total energy of constructing materials, for example, extracting of raw
materials, manufacturing, assembling and transporting to construction site. All these activities consume energy and
emit million tonnes of CO2.
3. Building Construction and Carbon Emission
According to Chan (2004), the construction activities are considered the major contributor to environmental
pollution, and the impact of construction industry produces undesirable remnants (Augenbroe & Pearce, 1998). This
includes the depletion of non-renewable resources, destruction of landscapes and creation of health and safety
problem, both relating directly and indirectly to the people involved in this industry. In addition, the construction
industry consumes large quantity of environmental resource and it is one of the largest polluters of the
environment (Ding, 2008). Currently, the world is facing the challenge of global warming and climate change
issues. The anthropogenic driver of climate change is the increasing concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere, this
include, CO2, water vapour, nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and tropospheric
ozone (O3). Among these gases, CO2 is the most important by-product in the manufacture of building materials
(Buchanan & Honey, 1994).
4. Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases Emissions
“Of all the global environmental problems, climate change is the most pervasively threatening to human well-
being and in many respects the most intractable” (Schipper & Meyers, 1994).
“The greatest challenge facing the world at the beginning of the 21stCentury – and the issue where business
could adopt a leadership role is climate change” (Wolfenesen, 2001).
The quotations above explain the impact of greenhouse gases concentration in the global environment and
provide an insight into the environment-economy nexus and the relevance of our concern for the impact arising from
these GHGs concentrations. In this situation, the increased concentration of GHGs emission will lead to rise of
global warming and drives what is called, climate change.
Among GHGs emissions, CO2 is the most important anthropogenic GHGs, and the global increases in CO 2
concentration are due burning of fossil fuel and extensive uses of land (Patermann, 1999). The GHGs will increase
temperatures and result in higher evaporation thus, the amount of water availability will be reduced. In addition, this
problem is further exacerbated during the dry months. An increase in storm magnitudes will increase the intensity
and frequency of floods (Graham, 2003). Moreover, the changes in climatic conditions have increased the
probability and extreme climatic events such as hurricanes, droughts, wildfires and other natural disasters,
resulting in damages to human lives, property and the nation’s economy (USEPA, 2010).
The embodied energy can be specified as “Cradle to Gate” (extracting of raw materials to manufacturing process
until the transportation to construction site), which is a common practice as the boundary condition is specified as
compared to “Cradle to Grave” (the whole building life cycle), which lack of specified boundary conditions as
shown in Figure 1 (Hammond & Jones, 2008). Furthermore, there are four sources of GHGs emission in
202
construction of buildings, which are; the manufacture and transportation of building materials, energy consumption
of construction equipment, energy consumption of processing resources and disposal of construction’s waste (Yan et
al, 2010).
Figure 1. The life cycle of a building
5. The Malaysian Constructions and GHGs
In the worldwide, the building construction yearly consumes three billion tonnes of raw materials and produces
10% to 40% of solid waste stream in all countries (United Nations, 2007). In the United States, 70% of electricity
consumption of buildings, 39% of energy use, 30% of waste output and 12% of all potable water consumption
(IPCC, 2007). On the other hand, statistics show that in Malaysia, the buildings account for about 20% of the
production of GHGs that comes in third after transportation 27% and industries 21% (Kibert, 2002). The materials
used in buildings, which consist mainly of fossil fuels. In addition, Malaysia is ranked the 30th in the world for the
countries that have the largest amount of GHGs emission. In addition, 24% from the total CO 2 comes from the
construction industry in the country (Samad, Rahman & Ibrahim, 2008). Furthermore, buildings are responsible
for more than one third of total energy uses and associated GHGs emissions in society, both in developed
and developing countries.
6. Towards Sustainability
The World Committee on Environment and Development, or more popularly known as the (Brundtland
Commission) set up by the United Nations General Assembly and clearly defined the sustainable development as
development that ‘meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs’ (Van, 1999). The construction industry is reflected by the progress of sustainable development
fundamentals; which are social, economic and environmental factors. Therefore, it’s necessary for developing
countries like Malaysia to have the ability in assessing sustainability of their construction projects by using a
combination of environmental, social and economic factors (Nation Master Statistic, 2013). Although the
construction industry is considered important for the progress of a society but at the same time, the attention should
be almost for protecting the environment and to reduce harming gases in order to achieve sustainability goals
(Patermann, 1999).
A sustainable building also considers how the building will affect the environment through its deconstruction
(Graham, 2003). Furthermore, providing a sustainable building is not only to mitigate all environmental impacts but
also to produce buildings that exist harmoniously with their natural surroundings and bring benefits to their
occupants.
203
a. Assessing sustainability in Malaysia
The Malaysian government has introduced some of energy efficiency measures in order to achieve sustainability
goals like, the five-year development plans, which outline the government policies toward vision 2020, guidelines
for buildings in improving their energy efficiency, road systems’ improvement, the construction of both light rail
and electrical systems. Even more strategies were adopted such as environmental regulations, planning and land
uses in order to increase the intention of public awareness toward protection of the environment. To construct a
green buildings that can provide energy and water savings, a healthier indoor environment, better connectivity to
public transport and the adoption of recycling and greenery in their projects is intended to promote sustainability in
the built environment and raise awareness among developers, architects, engineers, planners, designers, contractors
and the public about environmental issues (Chandranayagam, 2013). The construction industry development board
of Malaysia (CIDB) developed a new standard assessment tool, which known as “Green PASS” in order to estimate
the carbon emissions from building construction works through a building’s life cycle. The assessment approach
compares the carbon emissions from a baseline with the carbon emissions based on strategies for carbon reductions
in order to quantify the actual carbon abatement achieved then the procedures will lead to final Green PASS
diamond rating, as shown in and Figure 2 (CIDB, 2012).
Figure 2. Green PASS assessment approach
In this paper, the amount of carbon emission for each material has been extracted from Bill of Quantities (BQ) in
the contract document. The conversions to tonnes are the density value, where it can relate the volume and weight
for each material. The method used for the CO2 equivalent is the boundary of cradle-to-gate method as the
boundary condition are specified compared to cradle to grave. Then, the average of carbon emission for selected
projects has been identified and compared accordingly. Figure 4 below explain the research methodology.
Identification of projects to
be evaluated
Housing Projects Office buildings
Obtain data from BQ and apply the CO2

conversion rate
Conversion value of materials

into CO2 equivalent
Calculation & Comparison of total

CO2 emission per square meter
204
Identify best practices
Conclusion & Recommendation
Figure 3. The flow chart of research methodology
8. Results & Discussions
a. Carbon emission from housing projects
The quantification of carbon footprint is done by evaluating the selected Putrajaya Holdings’ projects. The data is
obtained from the BQ of the projects. In general, there are 26 units of intermediate double story houses (more
environmental friendly) and 20 units of corner double storey house to be compared.
In Table 1, the carbon emission of 26 units intermediate double storey house has been classified into four major
selected construction materials.
Table 1. Conversion of the material to CO2 equivalent for 26 units of intermediate double storey house (Project 1)
Amount from Unit Tonne conversion Tonnes CO2/tonnes CO2 Emission

Material Tonnes of Material
BQ (tonnes / m3) material (tonnes)
Concrete 2271.49 M3 2.2000 4997.28 0.2000 999.46

Steel 141.62 Kg 8.0000 1132.99 1.8100 2050.71
Mortar 26.47 M2 2.2000 58.24 0.2100 12.23
Brick 1080514 M2 0.0024 2593.2 0.2000 518.65
TOTAL 3581.05
Table 2, classified the carbon emission of 20 units corner double storey houses of each material that contributes
to the CO2 equivalent to the project. The result shows that the Steel here still is the highest contributor followed by
concrete.
Table 2. Conversion of the material to CO2 equivalent for 20 units of corner double storey house (Project 2)
Amount from Tonne conversion Tonnes CO2/tonnes CO2 Emission

Material Unit Tonnes of Material
BQ (tonnes / m3) material (tonnes)
Concrete 1918.20 M3 2.2000 4220.04 0.2000 844.01
Steel 117.95 Kg 8.0000 943.56 1.8100 1707.85
Mortar 12.97 M2 2.2000 28.52 0.2100 5.99
Bricks 704205 M2 0.0024 1690.09 0.2000 338.02
TOTAL 2895.86
The result shows that the steel provides the highest amount of CO2 equivalent value, followed by concrete and
bricks. It can be seen that in Figure 4, the two projects have a similar trend in which the concrete and steel has the
highest contribution of carbon emission compared to all other materials.
205
550
500
Carbon emission per meter

450
400
350
300 Corner Double Storey
250
square (kg)
200 House
150
100
50
0
Intermediate Double
Storey House
Types of Construction Materials
Figure 4. Carbon emission from materials of housing projects

The amount varies of selected materials are dependant to the material usage. Therefore, the carbon dioxide
equivalent value must be represented as accurately as possible. Table 3 presents the total carbon emission equivalent
of each project per meter square.
Table 3. The kg CO2 equivalent per square meter of selected housing projects
CO2 emission Area of CO2e per sqm.

Project
(CO2e) (kg) Project (m2) (kgCO2/m2)
H. Project 1 3581040 5130.3 698.01
H. Project 2 2895862 3946.4 733.7
Figure 5 shows the carbon emissions equivalent per square meter for sustainable (H. Project 1) and conventional
housing (H. Project 2) projects. The values obtain for sustainable project is 698.01 kg CO 2/m2, whereas conventional
project gives values of 733.7 kg CO2/m2, with the average of 715.8 kg CO2/m2. In terms of reduction percentage by
comparing both sustainable and conventional housing projects, it is found that the sustainable housing project has a
lower carbon footprint than conventional project by 4.8%.
740 733.7 715.8

kgCO2/m2
per square meter of buildings
Avarage of carbon emission
730 Reduction Conventional

of 4.8% House
720
710
698.01
700
690 Sustainable
House
680
Figure 5. The average carbon emission m2 of housing projects
b. Carbon Emission from office buildings
Table 4 classified the office buildings into sustainable and conventional by evaluating the selected Putrajaya
Holdings’ projects. As shown in Figure 6, the usage of structural material for overall building area is much lower for
sustainable buildings than the conventional buildings. As shown in it is found that the sustainable buildings have a
lower carbon footprint than conventional buildings by 16.17%. With the average of 333.98 kg CO2/m2 as shown in
206
Figure 7. Technically, sustainable buildings emit less carbon footprint than conventional buildings due to the
efficiency in using building materials in construction activities for these green building projects.
Table 4. The kg CO2 equivalent per square meter of selected office building projects
Project CO2 emission (CO2e) (kg) Gross floor area (sqm) CO2e per sqm.
(kgCO2/m2)
Lot 2C2- Green 20230195.753 53486 378.233
Lot 4C11- Green 29359701.612 77600 378.347
Lot 348-Green 21,481,540.82 136636 157.216
Plot Z1-Conventional 7287743.372 16362 445.396
Loc 3C-Conventional 12248705.43 29473 415.590
411-G- Conventional 19,872,828.68 86758 229.1
200 380.00
Carbon emission per square meter
180 Projects 333.98 363.36

160
kgCO2/m2
per square meter of buildings
Avarage of carbon emission
140 Lot 2C2 360.00
120
100 Lot 4C11
80 340.00 Reduction of Conventional
(kg)
60 Lot 348 16.17% office

40 Building
Lot Z10
20 320.00
0 Lot 3C4 304.60
Lot 411G 300.00 Sustainable
office
Types of Construction Materials Building
280.00
Figure 6. Comparison of carbon emission of building materials Figure 7. Total average of carbon emission per m2 of each
(kg) per m2 and the average CO2/m2 building.
VI.
9. Conclusion and Recommendations
From the research done of the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the average of GHGs emission by material
type of an On-Site Construction House is approximately 660 kg CO2/m2 of GHG emission per square meter. In
comparison to the case study done in this paper, the Carbon Footprint is 715 kg CO2e/m2. Thus, the housing
project’s carbon footprint is relatively high. The value obtained for office buildings is less compared to that of
conventional building by 16.17% reduction in comparison. These values differ because the construction of
sustainable buildings uses materials more efficiently than conventional buildings. It can be concluded that for further
buildings construction’s practice in terms of building materials and the amount of carbon emission is recommended
to be below the red line (715 kg CO2e/m2) for housing projects and (333.98 Kg CO2/m2) for office buildings and any
values obtained above the red line is considered as not being able to adapt the good practice.
Choosing the “green” or environmental-friendly materials would absolutely help in minimizing the depletion
of natural resources including raw materials such as water, gravel and sand as well as energy and water used
annually in the manufacturing & construction process. This practice can be applied in choosing “green” structural
materials. For example, in constructing sustainable building, instead of using ordinary cement, one can use ‘green
cement’ in which is a combination of cement kiln dust (CKD) and class F Fly Ash. In addition, it is possible to
reduce amount of steel and concrete to construct the building. This can actually be achieved by using light weight
materials such as light weight concrete so that the loading carried by the structural elements such as main beams and
columns can be reduced significantly.
207
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) for providing the facilities and finance.
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208
The Construction Solid Waste Minimization Practices among

Malaysian Contractors
A. Che Ahmad a,28*, N. I. Husinb, H. Zainolc, A. H. Abdul Tharimd, N. A. Ismaile and
Abdul Muhaimin Ab Wahide
a,b,c,d,e,f
Faculty of Architecture Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA (Perak), Seri Iskandar, 32610, Perak, Malaysia.
Abstract
The function of minimization of construction solid waste is to reduce or eliminates the adverse impacts on the environment
and to human health. Due to the increase of population that leads to rapid development, there are possibilities of construction
solid waste to be increased shortly from the construction works, demolition or renovation works. Materials such as wood,
concrete, paint, brick, roofing, tiles, plastic and any other materials would contribute problem involving construction solid waste.
Therefore, the proper waste minimization is needed to control the quantity of construction solid waste produced. This paper
identifies the type of construction solid waste produced and discusses the waste minimization practice by the contractors at
construction sites in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Keywords: Construction; minimization; practices; solid waste.
1. Introduction
The solid waste problem is one of the most debatable as well as other environmental issues such as problems of
haze and air emissions from anthropogenic sources, and water problem both in terms of quantity and quality and
indiscriminate dumping toxic and hazardous wastes (Hassan, Chong, Rahman, Salleh, Zakaria and Awang 2001).
According to GEC (2012) solid waste is one of the three major environmental problems in Malaysia. Over 23,000
tonnes of waste is produced each day in Malaysia. The amount of solid waste is expected to rise to 30,000 tonnes by
the year of 2020 (GEC, 2012). In Malaysia, there are almost 1800 rivers, but more than half of the river have been
polluted and destroyed because of the improper solid waste management (GEC, 2012).
The amount of solid waste collected was 70 percent lower than the amount of waste generated (Hassan et al.,
2001). Amount per capita generation of solid waste varies from 0.45 to 1.44 kilograms per capita per day (Hassan et
al., 2001). According to Formoso, Soibelman, Cesar and Isatto (2002), the waste quantity produced are more due to
insufficient in managing a waste material as compared to faulty in construction methods. The lack of waste
management also can increase the waste material on site. The practice of reuse, reduce and recycle are suggested to
minimize waste production by the contractors at construction sites as it could reduce the needs of new resource and
cost savings in terms of transportation and disposal of waste materials to landfill (Sisa. May, 2012). Other than that,
these practices could gain revenue from selling of the recycled materials (Hassan et al., 2001). The purpose of this
paper is to identify the type of construction solid waste at construction sites and determine the waste minimization
practiced by the contractors at Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Malaysia.

E-mail address: asmalia809@perak.uitm.edu.my.
209
a. Construction solid waste
Construction solid waste is any solid waste generated from any construction or demolition activity, including
improvement, preparatory, repair or alteration works (ONSW, 2012). Wokekoro (2007) defined that the construction
and demolition waste is the waste from new construction sites, road repairs, renovation sites and razing broken
pavement. According to Hsiao et al. (2002), the construction waste as all wastes generated in construction works,
including remaining mud, sand, stone, dirt (including the remaining volume of earthwork), brick, tile, concrete,
asphalt concrete, timber, bamboo, paper, glass, pottery and porcelain, plastic, and metal, but not including general
office and residential wastes (refuse, kitchen waste and excretions).
Shen et al. (2004) defined the construction waste are in the form of building debris, rubble, earth, concrete, steel,
timber, and mixed site clearance material that arises from various construction activities that include the land
excavation or formation, civil and building construction, site clearance, demolition activities, roadwork and building
renovation. Meanwhile, Tchobanoglous, Theisin and Vigil, (1993) stated that waste come from construction,
remodelling, repairing of individual residences, commercial buildings, and other structures are classified as a
construction waste. He also stated that demolition waste is waste from razed buildings, broken-out streets,
sidewalks, bridges and other structures. He also reported that the composition of construction and demolition waste
is similar but latter includes broken glass, plastics, and reinforcing steel.
Construction and demolition waste are waste that's produced during construction, renovation, or demolition of
structures (Pitchel, 2005). Furthermore, the component of construction and demolition waste include concrete,
asphalt, wood, metals, gypsum wallboard, roofing also for the land-clearing debris such as tree stumps, rocks, and
soil. Referring to US EPA (1998), construction and demolition (C&D) debris are waste material that is produced in
the process of construction, renovation, or demolition of structures. The structures include buildings of all types like
residential and non-residential building as well as roads and bridges. The components of C&D debris include
concrete, asphalt, wood, metals, gypsum wallboard, and roofing. Land clearing debris, such as stumps, rocks, and
dirt, are also included in some definitions of C&D debris. Tchobanoglous et al. (1977) as cited in Gavilan and
Bernold (1994) declared that the quantities of construction waste produced are difficult to estimate and variable in
composition, which include dirt, stones, concrete, bricks, plaster, lumber, shingles, and plumbing, heating, and
electrical parts.
b. Waste Minimization Practices
Basically, construction project has three main waste minimization practices; avoiding waste, re-using materials
and recycling waste (Faniran & Caban, 1998). Avoiding waste refers to any practice or process that avoids,
eliminates or minimizes waste at source. In addition, avoiding waste is also referred to as minimization of waste at
source. Followed by reusing and recycling waste which refers to the re-using and recycling of waste materials,
whereby reducing the volume of waste material to be disposed of and discharged into the environment.
According to Faniran and Caban (1998) experienced practitioners in the waste and environmental pollution
fields recommended that minimization of waste at source should be given the highest priority when developing
strategies for waste minimization. This is because, conceptually, it makes more sense to avoid or minimize the
generation of waste than to develop extensive schemes for treating waste. Besides that, re-using and recycling
strategies allow waste materials to be put to beneficial use. However, reusing and recycling do not avoid the
generation of waste although it approaches serve to reduce the quantity of waste to be ultimately disposed of and
treated.
The significant of minimization of waste are to make sure the high quality of live, environment clean, health and
safety (Sisa.my, 2012). According to Gambin et al. (2011) in the New South Wales (NSW) Australia, the local and
state government in NSW as well as the environmental advocates and community groups fulfil the goals of waste
minimization and ecologically sustainable development to reduce the amount of waste into the landfill. The main
aspects of an integrated approach undertaken are on demolition and construction waste. The aims is to nurture and
enhance waste minimization through major consideration of reduction and recycling demolition and construction
waste. Other actions taken are the development of legislation framework, promotion of best practices for waste
minimization, waste reduction grant program, waste reduction and purchasing policy and setting waste targets.
210
In order to minimize construction waste in Malaysia, National Strategic Plan for Solid Waste Management
(2005) put forward the Hierarchy Management of Solid Waste. The hierarchy is divided into five stages, which are
reduce, reuse, recycle, treatment and disposal as Table 1.
Table 1. Hierarchy Management of Solid Waste
Hierarchy Defination
Reduce Management of waste through reducing the production of solid waste

Reuse Reuse the material repeatedly
Recycle Production of useful material from the solid waste
Treatment When the stage of reduce, reuse, and recycle is practiced, the quantity of waste can be
minimized. The balance of the waste will be sent to the waste treatment centre
Disposal The balance of the waste will be sent to the sanitary landfill
3. Methodology
a. Sample
This research used quantitative method with questionnaire as a survey instrument. 240 sets of questionnaire have
been distributed where one set questionnaire for each construction site. The questionnaire was distributed by email,
post and also face to face meeting at the construction site. 240 sets of questionnaires were distributed, and the total
number returned the questionnaires is 50 (20.8%). The remaining 184 set of questionnaire was not returned back
(79.2%). This low response to the questionnaire survey is also experienced by Berawi et al. (2012). They had
experienced that out of 500 questionnaires that were distributed, returned rate was 47 (9.40%). Therefore, it is
acceptable for this research with the response rate of 20.8%.
b. Scope of research
This research only scopes down to contractors in Klang Valley i.e; Kuala Lumpur and Selangor as well as Putrajaya
due the immense location of construction and development sites. It covered all different types of construction sites
including construction projects for low rise residential, high rise residential, commercial, mixed development and
institution.
c. Rating frequency of construction waste
This rating frequency of construction waste is aimed to identify the types of construction waste produced to achieve
the first objective of this research. The data collected according to rating frequency and level of agreement for rating
construction solid waste at the construction site (Table 2).
Scale of rating frequency is defined as below (Mahayuddin 2012):
1 = no production of waste (0%)

2 = less production of waste (1 – 30%)
3 = severity production of waste (31 – 50%)
4 = more production of waste (51 – 70%)
5 = most production of waste (71 – 100%)
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Table 2. Average index on level of agreement for rating construction waste
Average Index Level of Agreement
0.00 ≤ Average Index < 1.49 Strongly Disagree

1.50 ≤ Average Index < 2.49 Disagree
2.50 ≤ Average Index < 3.49 Neutral
3.50 ≤ Average Index < 4.49 Agree
4.50 ≤ Average Index < 5.00 Strongly Agree
d. Average Index for Waste Minimization Practices
The average index is aimed to identify the waste minimization practices done at the construction site to achieve
the second objective of this paper. This data is presented using the average index by referring to the formula for
calculation of average index from Al-Hammad and Assaf (1996).
Average index = Σa1x1

Σx1
= Σ(1X1 + 2X2 + 3X3 + 4X4 + 5X5)

n
Where; X1 = No. of respondent for not practicing

X2 = No. of respondent for less practice
X3 = No. of respondent for moderate practice
X4 = No. of respondent for regularly practice
X5 = No. of respondent for frequently practice
Below is the Table 3 for the average index on the level of agreement for waste minimization practice.
Table 3. Average index on level of agreement for waste minimization practice
Average Index Level of Agreement
0.00 ≤ Average Index < 1.49 Strongly Disagree

1.50 ≤ Average Index < 2.49 Disagree
2.50 ≤ Average Index < 3.49 Neutral
3.50 ≤ Average Index < 4.49 Agree
4.50 ≤ Average Index < 5.00 Strongly Agree
a. Respondents’ Demographic
240 sets of questionnaire survey were distributed and the total number returned the questionnaire is 50 sets (20.8%).
Thus, the total number of respondents in this research was 50. The majority of respondents were female (60%)
while others are male (40%). Most of the respondents were professionals i.e. quantity surveyor (24%), engineer
(20%) and architect (16%) while others are site supervisor (16%), project manager (14%) and site clerk (10%) who
involve directly at a construction site. 64% of the respondents have than 5 years working experience in the
construction industry. Thus, this research is more reliable due to the experience of the majority of respondents.
Berawi et al. (2012) stated that the data obtained from the questionnaires for a respondent working experience more
than 5 years are reliable due to the high level of the experience of the respondents.
212
b. Construction site profile
The Table 4 shows the division of the types of construction. Low rise residential is the highest percentage of 52%
followed by high rise residential (22%), mixed development (14%), commercial (8%) and the lowest are institutions
and others type of construction which is 2%. The residential project is the most favoured because ‘Skim Rumah
Pertamaku’ or My First House has been implemented by the Malaysia government. Recently, many housing are
being constructed by the government to encourage people to own a house. The government encourages contractors
and developer to provide housing for low and medium income. German Chamber Network (2012) reported that the
housing sector is strongly going up to 37.6% with an increasing number of housing projects.
Table 4. Type of construction
Type of construction Percentage (%)
Low rise residential 52

High rise residential 22
Commercial 8
Mixed development 14
Institution 2
Others 2
c. Rating frequency of construction waste
There are fifteen common types of construction waste produce during the construction works. Thus, the Table 5
shows the types of waste and the ranking of construction solid waste production. Majority of respondent agreed that
the larger production of waste is timber with the mean 3.42 followed by brick, reinforcement, paint, concrete, tiles,
soil, cement, hoarding, fibre, mortar, plastic, alloy/aluminium, rubber and the lowest production is glass with mean
1.94. The cut off point of 2.45 is chosen to discuss about the type of construction waste.
Table 5. Rank for mean of rating frequency for types of construction waste
Type of construction waste Rating Mean Rank
Timber 3.42 1
Brick 3.26 2
Reinforcement 2.96 3
Paint 2.74 4
Concrete 2.70 5
Tiles 2.66 6
Soil 2.48 7
Cement 2.46 8
Hoarding 2.36 9
Fibre 2.30 10
Mortar 2.26 11
Plastic 2.18 12
Alloy/Aluminium 2.04 13
Rubber 2.00 14
Glass 1.94 15
Based on analysis mentioned, the timber is the highest production of construction waste. It is because timber is
used as a temporary support especially for projects using traditional methods of construction. It used a lot of timber
acts as a temporary support especially for concreting work. Nature of timber that easy to rot also becomes one of the
reason why the timber is the highest rank in the production of waste. It can be proofed by Lachimpadi, Pereira,
Taha, and Mokhtar (2012) in their study which, timber also is the largest quantity of construction waste. Timber will
be used as a temporary support to all the concreting work especially for projects using traditional method. Then, the
lifespan of timber for reuse depends on the quality of the product used in construction site.
213
According to US EPA (1998), it mentioned that timber and concrete waste are the highest component of the
construction solid waste produce at the construction site of residential. The statement is seconded by Lau and Whyte
(2007) which also state that timber is the highest composition of waste at two from three sites in their study.
Moreover, Wahid et al. (2006) mentioned that the material of timber has been used at the minimum level for the
construction of residential projects in Malaysia.
On second rank is brick which mean 3.26. The production of brick is high because a lot of construction is using
brick especially for wall. In one building many walls are required. Llatas (2011) state in his study about the
production of brick as waste is the second highest of production (12%). In study of mixed system by Lachimpandi et
al. (2012), they mentions the production of bricks is (4%). While as for reinforcement, it took place at the third
highest in the ranking (2.96 mean). Reinforcement become a waste when a lot of mistakes during setting works.
Usually, waste of reinforcement will be sold to another person.
Furthermore, paint emerged as the fourth highest with an average of 2.74. The production of wasted paint is
more that the paint can itself. Used paint cans are categorised as packaging byproducts. This is proven by Llatas
(2011) in his research that stated the amount of wasted paint are more than packaging, and also the highest amount.
In a research by Mcgrath (2001) confirmed the finding by Llatas whereby the production of packaging byproduct is
the top five ranking with 9%. In addition, concrete also made their way as the top 5 ranking of waste produced with
mean of 2.70. However, in a study by Cochran et al. (2007) shows the highest composition of waste for residential
projects are concrete (52%). Begum, Siwar, Pereira and Jaafar, (2006), who did research on projects of construction
of hostel that used conventional methods of construction in Malaysia found that the production of concrete is
number five in the rank (10%). This appears to be same with a research by Lachimpadi et al. (2012) which mentions
concrete and aggregate are the largest waste produced at 60%.
Following the list, production of tiles ranks 6th with means at 2.66. Waste tiles are produced when the tiles are
fitted according to the shape desired. Hence, leftover pieces become waste. In a study by McGrath (2001), the tiles
are the number four waste produced with the percentage of 22%. Meanwhile, Llatas found that tiles are the biggest
amount of waste produced on a construction site with 54%. But as compared to study done by Lachimpadi et al.
(2012), tiles produces the least amount of waste at 1%.
On the other hand, soil emerged with means at 2.46. Different site will produce different quantities of soil. It
depends on condition of sites whether it needs to be cut or filled to get a flat ground before construction could begin.
Lachimpadi et al. (2012) concludes that the generation of soil waste greatly depended on the design of buildings and
the landscape of the site. If the site at hilly area, it will involve a lot of cutting compared to fills, thus the surplus of
soil will classified as soil waste. Begum et al. (2006) found that soil and sand is the second highest for their study
worth percentage (27%). The last production of waste is glass (mean 1.94). This production of glass is supported by
study of Llatas (2011) found out glass is the lowest production of waste (0.5%).
d. Average Index for Waste Minimization Practices
Table 6 shows the number, percentage and average index of respondent who gave a specific grade to each waste
minimization practices. Based on the result, the highest average index is 3.62 for reuse on site and gets first
rank. Thus, the amounts of 3.62 included in the stages of age. Most of the respondents agree to reuse on site
compared to leave at the site that the lowest average index 2.12 and the last rank. Many practices are included in the
neutral category which are reused off site, recycle on site, recycle off site, sell to another person, give to another
person, disposal off site, and disposal to landfill. For the practices to leave at the site, burning trash at the site, buried
at the site and buried off site is included in disagree category. It is because, all the practices that include in disagree
category is not good practice to be practiced at the construction site.
Table 6 shows the number, percentage and average index of respondent who gave a specific grade to each waste
management practices. Based on the result, the highest average index is 3.62 for reuse on site and gets first rank.
Thus, the amounts of 3.62 included in the stages of age. Most of the respondents agree to reuse on site compared to
leave at the site that the lowest average index 2.12 and the last rank. Many practices are included in the neutral
214
category which are reused off site, recycle on site, recycle off site, sell to another person, give to another person,
disposal off site, and disposal to landfill. For the practices to leave at the site, burning trash at the site, buried at the
site and buried off site is included in disagree category. It is because, all the practices that include in disagree
category is not good practice to be practiced at the construction site.
Table 6. Average index for waste minimization practices
Management 1 2 3 4 5 Total Average Category Rank

Practices Freq % Freq % Freq % Freq % Freq % Freq % Index
Reuse on site 3 6 4 8 12 24 21 42 10 20 50 100 3.62 Agree 1

Recycle on site 4 8 7 14 14 28 15 30 10 20 50 100 3.40 Neutral 2
Disposal to land fill 3 6 9 18 13 26 18 36 7 14 50 100 3.34 Neutral 3
Sell to other person 4 8 10 20 12 24 16 32 8 16 50 100 3.28 Neutral 4
Reuse off site 3 6 8 16 24 48 10 20 5 10 50 100 3.12 Neutral 5
Recycle off site 4 8 8 16 21 42 14 28 3 6 50 100 3.08 Neutral 6
Give to other person 5 10 14 28 15 30 11 22 5 10 50 100 2.94 Neutral 7
Disposal off site 9 18 11 22 14 28 13 26 3 6 50 100 2.80 Neutral 8
Burning on site 15 30 15 30 12 24 6 12 2 4 50 100 2.30 Disagree 9
Buried off site 18 36 11 22 12 24 6 12 3 6 50 100 2.30 Disagree 10
Buried at site 20 40 12 24 10 20 6 12 2 4 50 100 2.16 Disagree 11
Leave at site 18 36 17 34 9 18 3 6 3 6 50 100 2.12 Disagree 12
Based on analysis mentioned the practices to reuse on site is the most practices activity do at a construction site.
It is because when the reuse on site is practice it can reduce the production of waste. This analysis can be proofed by
Mahayuddin (2011) stated the most popular practices at construction site are reused on site. More from the total
amount of production of waste will be reused at a construction site. For instance, soil and sand will be reused to fill
in a dig or to do the embankment at the construction site.
However, recycle on site in the second stage which 3.40 average indexes. Have many site's practices recycled on
site to minimize the production of waste. It also for maximizes the usage of the material likes timber and wood. In
the case study of Mahayuddin (2011) also stated that, the second practices are recycled on site.
5. Conclusion
There are various types of construction waste produced by different types of construction. Findings from the
analysis show the highest production of construction solid waste is timber. The findings are similar with the
previous research done by Lachimpadi et al. (2012) which the largest production of construction solid waste is
timber. The second highest type of waste is brick, followed by the third rank that is reinforcement. The forth ranking
of construction waste is paint. Llatas (2011) also found out that, the production of brick as construction waste is the
second highest while wasted paint are produced from packaging contribute the highest amount of construction
waste. Glass becomes least production of construction waste where alike the research done by Llatas (2011).
According to Faniran and Caban (1996), the waste minimization strategy should start with avoiding the
generation of waste and followed by reuse of the waste. The next step is recycling the waste and last action is
disposal of the waste. This is parallel with the Hierarchy Management of Solid Waste by National Strategic Plan for
Solid Waste Management (2005) with additional steps of treatment of waste before disposal. Findings from this
research demonstrate that activities of reuse at construction site are highly being practiced by the contractors in
minimizing waste. The second custom of minimizing waste practiced by the contractors are recycle of solid
construction waste on site while disposal of construction waste to landfill turn out to be third rank. As wrapping up,
the contractors more or less had contributed to the minimization of waste at construction site as suggested by the
National Strategic Plan for Solid Waste Management. For further research, it is recommended the quantity of waste
that had been minimized could be determined as proof of the practice in minimization of construction solid waste.
215
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A Review On The Impact of Fragmentation Issue In

M. N. Mohd Nawia29*, N. Balucha, A. Y. Bahauddina
a
Abstract
In general, fragmentation within the construction industry arises from two areas within the traditional construction process; the
construction work process where the most significant division is in the separation of the design and construction phase, and the
construction structure itself. The fragmentation process in traditional contracting practice further hinders the integration of
construction knowledge among contractors, diminishing the opportunity for them to influence design decisions. Failure of design
professionals to consider how a contractor will construct the design thus results in scheduling problems, delays and disputes
during the construction process. Moving towards team integration is considered a significant strategy for overcoming the issue.
Accordingly,this paper discussesthe fragmentation issue in more detail including the definition, causes and effects to the
construction projects. It also explores that the team integration strategy alleviates scheduling problems, delays and disputes
during the construction process, and, hence, prevent harming the overall project performance.
Keywords: Fragmentation Issue; Construction Industry; Team Integration; Project Performance.
1. Introduction
The construction industry is a complex and dynamic industrial sector. The construction industry entails many
players at various stages; the construction organisation, primarily, encompassing functions such as planning, design,
construction, and maintenance. The stakeholders mainly including client, designer, contractor, and manufacturer are
involved from the start till completion of the project.Previous researchers revealed that traditional construction
project delivery practice generated many problems associated with fragmentation, such as; isolation of
professionals, lack of co-ordination between design and construction, and as it is carried out in a sequential manner.
Typically, the separation of the design and construction process in traditional contracting practice (design-bid-build)
further hinders the integration of construction knowledge among contractors, diminishing the opportunity for them
to influence design decisions (Song et al., 2009). Failure of design professionals to consider how a contractor will
construct the design can result in scheduling problems, delays and disputes during the construction process (Arditiet
al., 2002). More importantly however, opportunities to reduce the schedulefailings, improve the functionality of the
final product, and reduce costs are missed when construction is separated from planning and engineering (CII,
1996). Therefore, how to effectively incorporate construction requirements and knowledge at an early stage of the
project (design process) is paramount and undoubtedly leads to an overall improvement in project performance
(Pococket al., 2006; Khalfanet al., 2001; Russell, 1994). Many researchers (Baidenet al., 2006; Egan, 2002;
Anumba et al., 1998) noted that the aim of integration in the construction is to promote a working environment
where information is freely exchanged between the different participants. Although this issue is critical and
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 601053742516; fax: 601053742244.

E-mail address:hasna829@perak.uitm.edu.my
218
significantly affects the efficiency and effectiveness of project performance; however it still has a limitation of
particular research that focuseson this issue.
Even though the construction sector continues to play an essential commercial role in the Malaysian economy,
where it lends strength and capability to a host of economic activities, whilst supporting the social development of
the country through the provision of basic infrastructure; fragmentation is aformidable barrier to improved return on
investment. In addition various influencing economic determinants have presented sizeable challenges to the
Malaysian construction industry, especially in the enhancement of productivity on the low and unreliable rate of
profitability. Furthermore the construction industry has become very complicated given the political and business
trends that are exerting additional economic pressure (Schellekens, 2009).Accordingly, this paper explores and
discusses the issue of fragmentation comprehensively. The following section addresses the definition relating to
fragmentation, categories, causes and implication of this issue to the construction projects.
2. Fragmentation
2.1 Definition and Clarification of Fragmentation

The term fragmentation can be defined in terms of the number of firms/ specialists involved in construction projects,
and in terms of its effects on the multiple processes in construction projects. In the context of the construction
industry, Abadi (2005) defined fragmentation as: “the division resulting from the increasing number of both
professions (i.e. architect, engineer) and organisations involved in all processes of a building project. This has been
caused by the growing demand for differentiation and specialization as building projects increase in both size and
complexity.” Abadi (2005) also explained that there are two main forms of fragmentation in the construction
industry; internal fragmentation and external fragmentation. Internal fragmentation refers to the problem of
integration and coordination between different alliance organisations (e.g. client, consultant) while external
fragmentation refers to the involvement of non-alliance organisation (e.g. local authority) at different stages of the
design process. The following section will discuss the cause factors of fragmentation in greater detail.
2.2 The Impact of Fragmentation Issue
2.2.1 Separation of Design and Construction

Fundamentally, fragmentation is inherent in the traditional contract strategy (procurement) that is characterised by a
lack of a sense of identity, promoting a confrontational culture and a lack of feedback loops or co-ordination
between the design and construction process (Abadi, 2005; Dainty et al., 2001; Rowlinson, 1999; Mohammed,
1999; Egan, 1998; Tommelein& Ballard, 1997; Anumbaet al., 1997). Furthermore, the traditional design and
construction process is conducted in a sequential manner and is constructed of segregated professionals (lack of
interaction between contractors and designers) during the design and construction phase. This scenario often results
in inefficiencies during the construction phase such as increased project complexity, rework, increasing costs and
longer construction duration (Evbuomwan&Anumba, 1998). This type of approach has resulted in the construction
industry being labelled as having a lack of continuity, thus hindering the formation of effective teams which then
resulted in inefficiencies in the project delivery process (Jha&Iyer, 2006; Baidenet al., 2006; Smith et al., 2004;
Dainty et al., 2001; Ngowi, 2000; Gunasekaran& Love, 1998; Latham, 1994; Howard et al., 1989). An example
model of a traditional sequence of activities in construction is shown in figure 1. According to Kwakye (1997), this
figure not only presents the sequence of the phases, but also represents details of the inter-relationships between the
major parties in each phase.
219
Figure 1: Traditional sequences of activities in a construction project (Kwakye, 1997)
Furthermore, the sequential nature of construction activities is highly embedded in construction processes and seems
to override itself in all new procurement methods e.g. strategic alliances and new methods of team working such as
virtual teams (Abadi, 2005). For example, design partners within project alliances are restricted to take part in the
design unless they are commissioned by the client.
The Egan Report (1998) was highly critical of the sequential nature of construction processes which often acts as an
effective barrier to using the skills and knowledge of all project partners effectively in the design and planning of the
project. Previous reports by Latham (1994) and Nelson (2004) argued that input from other experts, such as
mechanical and engineering design/construction professionals, as well as facility management expertise was needed
during the early stage of a project.
In addition, the gap between design and construction processes also contributes to ‘major behavioural, cultural and
organisational differences between project individuals and groups (Love et al., 1997). For example, the current
industry structure has the potential for conflict when participants try to pass on the risk to others within the work
(Cox & Townsend, 1997). During the design and construction stage for example, it is clearly shown in the
diversification of the goals of the designers and builders where “the designer wants a functional design that reflects
his philosophy and the builder wants a buildable product within reasonable risk limitations” (Mendelsohn, 1998).
In an organisational context, this separation system extends into the various sub construction processes (Kong
&Gray, 2006) especially affecting relationships in large construction projects (Harmon, 2003). Fragmentation of
organisation interface, this happens frequently and is considered to be one of the weaknesses of current procurement
processes especially in the traditional method (Love et al., 1997). This fragmentation of organisation interface
occurring within the traditional procurement method (design-bid-build) has been revealed as having a tendency
towards adversarial relationships (Nawi& Lee, 2011; Love et al., 2004) and it could be viewed as one of the
‘fragmentation, friction and mistrust’ circumstances (Newcombe, 1997). This fragmented traditional approach will
also create some related problems such as inadequate capture, structuring, prioritisation and implementation of client
needs; occurrence of late and costly design changes and unnecessary liability claims, occurring as a result of the
above; and characterisation of the design process with a rigid sequence of activity (Anumbaet al., 2002;
Evbuomwan&Anumba, 1998).
220
2.2.2 Lack of Communication in the Supply Chain
Poor communication has been widely recognised as a major problem faced by the construction industry
(Mohammed, 1999). As has been observed by many researchers, this problem arises from the fragmented nature of
the industry (Howard et al., 1989) during design and is exacerbated by differences in language or the
communicating culture itself (Ngowi, 1997; Loosemore& Lee, 2002). Murray et al (2002) noted that
communication problems arise typically at the contractor-subcontractor-architect design interfaces. The flow of
essential information between the relevant parties is very limited. Furthermore, Konchar&Sanvido (1998) identified
that the level of communication between the main contractor and sub-contractors and interaction between the
specialists within traditional project delivery procurement is extremely low especially during the design phase. As
stated by Newton (1995), successful design performance of large multi-disciplinary projects requires substantial co-
ordination to ensure that all cross discipline interactions between architects, engineers and quality surveyors are
facilitated and all parties are constantly aware of the ever changing state of the project. Due to this limitation, most
of the decisions within the supply chain are made on an ad-hoc basis rather than systematically (Mohammed, 1999).
According to Agapiouet al (1998) ad-hoc based decision making can lead to two problems. First, some of the
materials are purchased during construction immediately prior to their being required and this can result in delay or
interruption to the schedule. The second problem is dealing with materials procured in large quantities without
considering the actual production requirements at site. For example,this practice has much potential for wastage and
inventory problem especially when the building component at site cannot be kept and managed adequately. Other
than being inefficient in the project delivery process (Luitenet al., 1997), this practice is also considered to be a lack
of communication of design intent and rationale for example between designer and builder. (Evbuomwan&Anumba,
1998). Consequently, these problems lead to design inefficiency, unnecessary liability claims, increases in design
time and cost variations, and inadequate pre- and post-design specifications which will ultimately affect the project
coordination and schedule (Chan &Kumaraswamy, 1997; Zaneldinet al., 2001; Evbuomwan&Anumba, 1998). In
the case of projects that do not meet the owner’s expectations because of low quality productivity, the process of
redesign by the consultant (designer) will occur, thus delaying the completion of work by the contractor. Orr &
McKenzie (1992), Pardu (1996), Clarke (1999), Hartman (2000) and Zaneldinet al (2001) all agreed that a lack of
appropriate communication or poorly communicated design changes among design team members is a major reason
for the failure of many projects that do not meet the set expectations.
2.2.3 Lack of Client Focus
In general, the management of design and engineering is felt to be problematic in construction projects (Abadi,
2005). This problem could be seen clearly from the separation of design and construction process through traditional
contracting practice. Many clients, as highlighted by Williams (1995), have the wrong justification or misconception
of the traditional construction process namely, ‘if clients accept design and construction as two separate independent
functions, this will raise the quality of the work.’ This type of working environment will limit clients to actively get
involved in the whole thus prevent from optimising full co-operation and teamwork during the design solution
process. This leads to a lack of continuity and ineffective responses to changes in the delivery process (Baiden,
2006). In addition, the traditional design and construction process hinders design and construction knowledge
integration besides diminishing the opportunity for professionals or contractors to influence design decisions (Song,
et al., 2006). It is because each project participant in this traditional practice is a separate entity and, therefore, there
is no overall management and coordination in the procurement process (Tenah, 2001).
2.2.4 Adversarial Culture
As stated by Smith et al (2004), the construction industry is well-known as a complex business, with its very
essence based on one-off projects and temporary relationships. As highlighted earlier, the problem of fragmentation
not only exists in project relationships, but also in the project process whether conventional (i.e. mortar and brick
system) or modern methods of construction (i.e. precast technology, etc) are used (Nawiet al., 2012; Smith et al.,
2004). For example, current industry structure has many potential points of conflict where participants attempt to
221
pass on the risk to others (Cox & Townsend, 1997). It is clearly present in the diversification of the goals of the
designer and builder, where “the designer wants a functional design that reflects his philosophy and the builder
wants a buildable product within reasonable risk limitations” (Mendelsohn, 1998).This situation clearly shows
‘conflicts, inconsistencies and mismatches’ between all of project team members (Hegazyet al., 2001) which is
possibly due to simple misunderstandings or assumptions mainly caused by the current traditional design and
construction practice (Gardiner & Simmons, 1998). Construction industry, in general, is fragmented and
uncoordinated (Alashwalet al., 2011), riddled with a lack of trust, non-client focused, inefficient and expensive; it
has no effective forum where all the constituent parts come together to thrash out issues of the day. The industry
needs an effective forum where all stakeholders can come together to discuss the important issues of the day and
then communicate with the government and its regulatory bodies.
A study in Singapore(Dulaimiaet al., 2006), ‘Re-inventing Construction’, criticized the performance of the industry
and identified fragmentation and segregation of design and construction activities as the main barriers to improved
investment and development. In order improve business and market conditions that meet customer demands and
expectations, the study identified that the construction industry needs further integration and greater innovation
effort (Dulaimiaet al., 2006).
Conclusion
Based on the discussion above, it shows that, typically, fragmentation within the construction industry arises from
two areas within the traditional construction process; the construction work process where the most significant
division is in the separation of the design and construction phase, and the construction structure itself. However, it
shows that more studies are required to be focused on fragmentation of the design and construction work process as
this best reflects the current demand by the industry. This initiative is also a response to the proposal by Latham
(1994) and Egan (1998) that challenged the construction industry to work towards more collaborative and integrated
delivery approaches. It is also supported by the reports by Egan (2002) suggesting that process and team integration
are key drivers of change necessary for the industry to become more successful. In addition, the recent report by
CIDB (2009) revealed that the integration of design, manufacturing and construction process, especially in the
Industrialized Building System (IBS) projects,is extremely important. The report also suggested that by
implementing an integrated approach in design and construction process, the fragmentation gaps could be
minimised. Therefore, it is recommended that for the future study should focus towards the development of best
practice or approach of integrated procurement, concepts, principles etc. in more detail in order for overcoming the
issues of fragmentation in effectively.
Acknowledgements
The Authors wish to thank the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Ministry of Education Malaysia for supporting
this construction research.
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224
Embracing Industrialised Building System (IBS) Across the

Malaysian Construction Industry
M. N. Mohd Nawia30*, A. Leeb, A. M. Kamaruddeenc
a,c
b
School of Built and Human Environment, University of Salford, Greater Manchester M5 4WT, United Kingdom
Abstract
In embracing globalisation, it is necessary for all industries, including the AEC/FM industry, to be equipped with relevant
technology. One such technology available for the sector is the industrialised building system (IBS). Since 1998, Construction
Industry Development Board (CIDB) in Malaysia has been actively promoting the use of IBS in the Malaysian construction
industry by deploying large funds for research, developing standards in addition to implementing various training and
promotional programmes. Previous studies have shown that using IBS can enhanced the management of project quality, thus
reducing rectification work and lowering the total cost of construction. However, the trend of IBS usage in Malaysian
construction industry is still far below expectation. Disintegration among stakeholders during the design stage has been identified
as one major barrier for implementing IBS. As such, this paper explores the potential solutions to reduce disintegration. The
research presented uses focus groups to obtain qualitative data. It was found that increased collaboration and team integration,
such as team accountability, structural organisation and operation in terms of work processes and environment will enhance IBS
implementation in the Malaysian construction industry.
Keywords: Industrialised building system (IBS); Malaysian construction industry; IBS solutions; construction issues; IBS Projects
1. Introduction
As Malaysia is witnessing rapid development, the construction industry has been encouraged to shift from the
traditional approach to use of offsite-manufactured components. To attain such level of development, it is therefore
necessary for the construction sector to be equipped with relevant technology. One such technology is the
industrialised building system (IBS). IBS has been heavily promoted in Malaysia by Construction Industry
Development Board (CIDB). Through its IBS Roadmap 2003-2010, IBS is defined as a construction technique in
which components are manufactured in a controlled environment (on or offsite), transported, positioned and
assembled into a structure with minimal additional site works. According to Kamar, Hamid and Dzulkalnine (2012),
IBS is the term coined by the industry and government in Malaysia to represent the adoption of construction
industrialisation and the use of prefabrication of components in building construction.
According to the IBS Roadmap (2003), industrialisation is a process of social and economic change whereby a
society is transformed from pre-industrial to industrial state. It is part of a wider modernisation process through the
gainfully utilisation of relevant and viable technologies. Based on the 5-M strategy (Manpower, Materials-
Components-Machines, Management-Processes-Method, Monetary and Marketing), Industrialised Building System
(IBS) has been proposed as the solution that will mitigate many Malaysian construction issues, and will enable the
industry to address the increasing housing demand. Since 1998, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)
has been actively promoting the use of IBS by deploying large funds for research, developing standards as well as
implementing various training and promotional programmes.

225
While previous research such as Bohari et al. (2012); Nawi et al. (2012); Nawi et al. (2011); and Thanoon et al.
(2003) have examined the barriers to implementing IBS in some parts of Malaysia, through addressing IBS related
issues, the study on embracing Malaysian IBS implementation has not been given much attention. Identifying the
issues on improving the implemention of IBS across all regions of Malaysia requires obtaining the views of all
players in the industry. Despite the aggressive campaign by the government to promote the usage of IBS in
delivering construction projects in Malaysia, adoption is still way below the expected figure (Bohari et al., 2012)
and contractors are still not rapidly embracing IBS (Kamar, Hamid and Dzulkalnine, 2012). Giving the
aforementioned, this paper therefore aims to identify the alternative or solution factors that influencing full
implementation of IBS in the entire parts of Malaysia.
Following Gibbs (1997); Powell et al (1996) and Kitzinger (1995), data was obtained from a focus group during a
workshop organized by researchers. This endeavours to provide an avenue to obtain information from different
participants’ viewpoints, based on the reality of experience and practice (realism ontological stance) with direct
interaction and corporate views (knowledge gained from current of practices and experiences) in which requires the
involvement of project’s multiples stakeholders and experts (practitioners) who specifically collaborate with the
researcher or become part of the study. The main selection criteria for inviting the survey participants to the focus
group workshop is to have at least 5 years of working experience in IBS related projects.
Furthermore, the participants were selected in such a way that they are dispersed geographically and represent
different department project organisations (companies) such as planning, design, construction, and manufacturing, in
order to generate different opinions across the spectrum during the workshop. Based on the selection criteria
discussed above, 60 respondents were sampled and invitation letters were sent to them two weeks prior to the date of
the workshop. However, only 15 people agreed and subsequently attended the focus group workshop. It was decided
that the names of the participants in this study would not be disclosed due to issues of confidentiality and
anonymity. Instead codes (e.g., P1, P2) will be used to identify the participants. The list of the workshop participants
is shown in Table 1. During the workshop, the participants were asked a few questions verbally to be discussed
among the groups. Research assistants were assigned to write down and record the discussions including all
proposed solutions that were highlighted during the process. The workshop took approximately 3 hours at a Seminar
Room in Hotel Grand Season, Kuala Lumpur.
Table 1. Profile of the Participants

Name Position held Experience Company/Discipline Location Gender
P1 Principle/Project Planner 13 years Designer Southern Male
P2 BIM Manager 18 years Designer Southern Male
P3 Construction Manager 16 years Contractor Southern Male
P4 Operation Manager 9 years Manufacturer Western Male
P5 Area Manager 21 years Manufacturer Northern Male
P6 Principle/Contract Manager 15 years Designer Eastern Male
P7 Design Manager 7 years Contractor Western Male
P8 Principle/Marketing & Sales 23 years Manufacturer Western Male
Manager
P9 Project Manager 8 years Contractor Western Male
P10 C&S Engineer 7 years Government Western Female
P11 Innovation Manager/Researcher 7 years Government Western Male
P12 Architect 6 years Designer Northern Female
P13 Quantity Surveyor 8 years Contractor Northern Male
P14 Managing Director 17 years Manufacturer Western Male
P15 Project Manager 8 years Developer Northern Male
226
As discussed earlier, efforts by the Malaysian government to promote usage of IBS as an alternative to the
traditional labour-intensive construction method have not been widely embraced. In an attempt to understand the
poor diffusion of IBS, this research determined that a lack of integration (disintegration) among stakeholders is one
of the main problems and challenges faced by IBS practitioners in the entire IBS design process.
In terms of the initiatives or method to be taken to overcome the issues identified above, the question: “What is the
solution to resolving the lack of integration (disintegration) problem?” was asked to a focus group to obtain the type
of solutions from different perspectives of multidisciplinary IBS practitioners for overcoming the problem.
In this respect, all the participants agreed that the solutions to resolve disintegration are more related to soft issues in
organisations not hard issues (technical aspects). They agreed that IBS adoption required a fundamental structural
change in the IBS Malaysian construction industry in terms of personnel structures and/ or work processes.
Furthermore, participants P7, P8, P11, P12 and P14 suggested that IBS adoption required improvement to the
traditional design, procurement and management of the supply chain process. As stated by one of the participants
with 17 years experienced in the IBS design process (P14);
‘The IBS design process is slightly different from conventional methods, which includes fabrication and
installation stages, thus requiring some additional drawings, such as mould and production drawings in
advance’ – Participant P14
In addition, a participant from the northern geographical area (P5) suggested that the original design and drawings
for IBS projects should come from the system provider or maker (the IBS consultant) whilst the manufacturer is the
fabricator or caster for IBS products. This statement was strongly supported by one of the IBS government officers
(P11) who perceived the IBS process as potentially a highly significant method for solving the problem of
miscommunication between designer and manufacturer. At the same time, another participant (P15) noted that this
practice would be an effective strategy to avoid the issue of the ‘monopoly system’ among ‘big’ manufacturers in
the current Malaysian IBS market. Participant P11 then explained, once a contractor use a prefabricated
manufacturing system, the contractor will probably be obliged use the same manufacturer throughout construction
process. According to him, in this respect, the supplier will control the price and the components will be more
expensive and not commercially viable for small contractors.
This statement however, was refuted by one of the manufacturers who had been involved in precast construction for
over 20 years. According to participant P8, the issue of monopoly would not arise if all the designers had the
knowledge and capability to design and review all the IBS system components provided by the manufacturers. He
then suggested that an open system is the best strategy for the government to employ to overcome the issue of IBS
monopoly.
However, the participant with 23 years experience involved in IBS design and manufacture argued that the
implementation of this strategy is not as easy as it appears. According to him (P8), it needs a person (i.e. designer)
who has a thorough understanding of the design and manufacturing processes to encourage the industry towards use
of the practice. The participant further expressed that;
‘The issue of responsibility or liability can be resolved when the consultants are ‘ahead in vision’ in
which manufacturers produce short drawing, based on the layout from a consultant, and endorsement
and submission from the consultant’ - Participant P8
Participant P8 further explained that with regard to this practice, the designer must able to review the shop drawings
(designed by manufacturer), and be willing to take responsibility and liability for the new design and drawings either
in full or semi collaboration with the manufacturer. On the other hand, a few designers (P2, P6, P7, and P12) noted
that currently, in certain projects the original designer (who designed the drawings based on the traditional process
227
method) agreed to undertake the responsibility and liability for the drawings but with an additional cost. According
to one of them (P6), it is not fair that designers (architect, engineers or surveyors) undertake extra work that is not
stated in the original tender document or contract without any extra payment from the client. A participant with an
architectural background (P12) explained that the cost will be used to pay for the additional works, including
reviewing all the new designs and drawings for the project. Participant (P12) responded that;
‘The consultants do not want to take liability for design. This is not because of the lack of competence,
but they have an agenda: which is to gain an additional fee for design, check, and review of all the
manufacturer’s drawings’ - Participant P12
Therefore, participants P6 and P12 stated that the issue of lack of IBS knowledge among designers is untrue,
because it is a basic requirement for the designers to register as IBS consultants with CIDB before getting involved
with any IBS projects in Malaysia. They added that to be a registered CIDB IBS consultant all the designers need to
fulfill the criteria for certification by attending continuous IBS courses, training or workshops. Therefore, according
to them, there is no lack of knowledge of the IBS process among designers.
Even though there was a clear explanation from the designers regarding the issue of redesign and recognition of new
design and drawings for IBS projects, a few of the manufacturers (P4, P8, and P14) still believed that some of the
designers will not be able to do that even if the client is willing to fund the work. Participants P4, P8, and P14
pointed that some designers are not capable, in terms of knowledge and skill, to design short drawings (i.e. mould
drawing) of IBS components. The sales and marketing manager (P8) however admitted that based on his 23 years
experience in the industry, only a few local consultants agreed to endorse his designs in previous IBS projects.
Based on the findings identified from the workshop, some improvements in the current IBS practice need to be
critically addressed in order to solve the issue of disintegration in IBS projects. Some efforts towards this approach
could be summarized as below:
 Requirement of a fundamental structural change in the current IBS Malaysian construction industry in
terms of personnel structures and work task such as;
o The consultant must be able to review the shop drawings and be willing to take responsibility and
liability for the new design and drawings either in full or semi collaboration with the
manufacturer.
o The client should encourage the consultant to redesign, review and be more responsible for the
IBS design (i.e. shop drawing) by providing an additional consultation cost for the job.
 Requirement of a transformation from traditional to integrated practice in the IBS design process,
procurement and management of the supply chain such as;
o The original design and drawing of the IBS system must be provided by the supplier or system
maker while the manufacturer focuses on fabrication of IBS components.
o Training or working together (collaboration) with IBS manufacturers is needed in order to enhance
a thorough understanding of design and manufacturing processes among consultants.
4. Conclusion
The findings from this research confirm that IBS has not been fully embraced across the Malaysian construction
industry. In addition, disintegration has been identified as a major factor hampering implementation of this
construction method. Given the current condition of the Malaysian construction industry, full implementation of
IBS will enhance utilization of available resources and improve project quality, thus reducing construction rework
and lowering the total cost of construction. The Malaysian construction industry is required to change from its
traditional modus operandi towards better performance through increased collaboration and team integration, such
as team accountability, structural organisation and operation in terms of work processes and environment. This
paper demonstrated that the approach towards team working collaboration was perceived to be a major strategy to
addressing the issue of disintegration in Malaysian IBS projects. Future research should give further thought on this
strategy in more detail in order to develop a business model for an effective integrated design team delivery in the
Malaysian IBS projects.
228
Acknowledgements
The Authors wish to thank the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), IBS Centre and Construction Research Institute of
Malaysia (CREAM) for supporting this IBS research.
References
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System, Proceeding of International Conference Industrialized Building Systems,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
229
Building Information Modelling (BIM): An integrated Practice

in Malaysian Industrialised Building System (IBS) Perspective
Nawi, M.N.M.,1 Haron, A.T.,2 Omar, M.F.,3 and Ibrahim, S.H.,4
1
School of Technology Management and Logistic, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia.
2
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26300 Gambang Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia.
3
School of Quantitative Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia.
4
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan Sarawak,Malaysia.
Abstract
Fragmentation relates to a lack of integration among stakeholders involved during the design phase of a construction IBS project.
This lack of integration created numerous problems in IBS projects, such as delays, increased lead in times, increased costs and
late supply of materials. Notably, these problems are similar to those associated with the traditional construction process (non-
IBS methods) on which IBS is based for example, rework, increasing costs and longer construction duration. Therefore, it could
be supposed that lessons learned from the improvements made to address the problems in the traditional construction process
could help solve the problems related to the lack of integration in IBS projects. Accordingly, BIM as one of such tool or strategy
used to form or enhance integration teams in the traditional construction process could be borrowed and applied to improve team
integration in IBS projects. This paper will review and define the scenario of current IBS practice, concepts of integration team
working and followed by exploration on how the BIM can be an integrated practice/tool for overcoming the fragmentation issue
in which indirectly will enhance the level of IBS uptake in the Malaysian future construction projects.
Keywords: Industrialised Building System (IBS), Building Information Modelling, Integrated Practice, Malaysian Construction Industry.
1. Introduction
Time and schedule overruns, delay, and poor health and safety issue always highlighted in the Malaysian
construction industry (Abdul-Rahman et al., 2006). Working to solve this problem has spurred numerous of studies
initiated investigations. Finding from this investigations clarified that the industry were critical fragmented nature,
lack of coordination and communication between participants, adversarial contractual relationship and culture, lack
of supplier-customer focus, price-based selection and effective use of technology (Nawi, et al., 2012a; Kamar et al.,
2009; Haron et al., 2005). For example, poor communication has been widely recognised as a major problem faced
by the construction industry (Mohammed, 1999). In a typical building project, participants would include the client,
the architect, the structural engineer, the building services engineer, the quantity surveyor, the main contractor,
subcontractors, materials suppliers, etc. Many of these participants however often work disconnected from each
other and work in isolation while taking decisions that inevitably affect others (Gunasekaran and Love, 1998;
Evbuomwan and Anumba, 1998). Such inadequate organisational and management practice have contributed to the
unnecessary costs, time waste, increased errors, constructability problems, misunderstanding between design
consultant and contractors (Nawi et al, 2011b; Love and Sohal, 2002). In the end, this will result to the redesign or
rework, conflict and abandoned in the project.
230
2. Towards IBS Adoption and Its Challenges
The Malaysian government together with professional bodies have recommended that the industry requires
reform, if improvement in quality, productivity and performance are to be achieved (CIDB, 2009; Abdullah, 2009).
This need for radical improvement is not restricted to the Malaysia alone, as several other countries have received
similar calls for example Singapore and UK (Latham, 1994, Egan, 1998; UKCG, 2009).
Therefore, the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, in collaboration with various
organisations representing the construction industry, had developed the Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP)
that identified and recommended measures to address these problems and challenges (CIDB, 2009). Thus, the
Malaysian construction industry has been urged to use innovative construction techniques, and to shift from the
traditional practice of brick and mortar systems to an Industrialised Building System (IBS) of construction, or
Offsite Manufacturing/ Offsite Construction as it is more commonly known in the others countries (CIDB, 2009).
According to Kamar et al (2009), IBS is a construction technique in which components are manufactured in a
controlled environment (on or off site), transported, positioned and assembled into a structure with minimal
additional site work. This initiative has been recommended based on some analysis of IBS from others countries,
such as UK government commissioned reports which have proposed IBS as an important contributor to progress in
the construction industry such as attaining better construction quality and productivity, reducing risks related to
occupational safety and health, alleviating the lack of skilled workers (Pan, 2006; Buildoffsite, 2008; Egan, 1998;
Barker, 2004; and Blismass and Wakefield, 2008).
Even with well-documented benefits and powerful support from the government, the uptake for IBS however was
not as high as anticipated (Hamid et al., 2008). As reported in IBS Survey (2003), only 15% of construction projects
used IBS in Malaysia in the year 2003 while 10% of the complete projects used IBS in the year 2006 (IBS Mid
Term Review, 2007). All of these statistics are not achieve the IBS forecast as projected by IBS Roadmap 2003.
As a response to that challenge, and consistent with needs of the construction industry, this research, therefore,
investigates what tool and how it work in order to enhance the usage of IBS Malaysian in more efficiently and
effectively.
3. Methodology
This research is still at the initial stage; therefore, the information presented in this paper is primarily based on the
thorough review of the relevant literature within the scope of Industrialised Building System (IBS) and Building
Information Modelling (BIM). Wisconsin (2008) identified that a literature review is a “critical analysis of a
segment of a published body of knowledge through summary, classification, and comparison of prior research
studies, reviews of literature, and theoretical articles.” In the course of the literature review, the definition,
application, and related issues of IBS and integrated practice in the construction industry is examined and
highlighted. At the same time, the potential tool and strategy of BIM for improving process in the traditional
practice and its applicability for IBS project will be discussed as well. All the data and information gathered directly
from libraries, books, articles and other printed materials searched in the international and national journals,
proceeding and bulletin.
4. The Need for an Integrated Approach in IBS Project Delivery
Previous studies highlighted that the process of IBS project delivery is associated with problems of fragmentation,
including the isolation of professionals, lack of co-ordination between design and construction, and as it is carried
out in a sequential manner it leads to time delays, poor communication, conflicts and misunderstanding between
design consultants and contractors (Nawi et al., 2012a, Kamar et al., 2011, Nawi et al., 2011a; CIDB, 2009).
Following these problems, many industry-led reports (Strategic Forum for Construction, 2003; Egan, 1998; Latham,
1994) have all called on the industry to change from its traditional modus operandi and perform better through
integrated practice. Recent follow-up reports such as the UKCG (2009) and Egan (2002), challenged the
construction industry to create a fully integrated service capable of delivering predictable results to clients through
processes and team integration. Implementation of integrated practice approach can create a lot of benefits such as;
could bring together various skills and knowledge, and removes the traditional barriers towards an effective and
231
efficiency delivery of the project (Baiden et al., 2006; Fleming and Koppelman, 1996). The detail explanations of
growing for improving construction project delivery processes through Building Information Modelling (BIM) will
be highlighted in the next section.
5. BIM as an Integrated Practice
5.1. The Application of BIM
Starting a couple of decades ago and still ongoing, much research been conducted all over the world to facilitate
or even to solve the problems of fragmentation in construction. As highlighted earlier, many researchers and
construction industry practitioners dealing with fragmentation of construction would agree that integrated practice
could solve many problems within construction. And much effort has been applied to explore in depth on how it
could really be applied and other potential benefits that it could bring to the industry. Consequently, many
approaches and concepts have been identified, developed, introduced and tested to support integrated practice in
construction. Such of them are, to name a few, concurrent engineering (Anumba et al, 1998; Love and
Gunasekaran,1997), web based project management (Anumba et al, 2008; Alshawi and Ingirige, 2003), partnering
(Bresnen and Marshall, 2000; Barlow et. al, (1997), Building Information Modelling (Eastman et al., 2008; Sacks et.
al., 2005; Howard and Bjork, 2007), 4D modelling (Fischer, 2001; Heesom and Mahdjoubi, 2004), nD modelling
(Aouad et al., 2007; Lee, 2002) and Integrated Project Delivery (AIA, 2007).
Initially, the developments of BIM are targeted at solving the common practice of information sharing and
communication. According to Eastman et al. (2008) the delivery process depends on paper based communication.
Errors and omissions in paper documents often cause unanticipated costs, delays and eventual lawsuits between
various parties in a project team. They further indentified that one of the most common problems associated with
paper-based communication during the design phase is the considerable time and expense required to generate
critical assessment information about a proposed design, including cost estimates, energy-use analysis, structural
details, etc. These analyses are normally done last, when it is already too late to make important changes.
Therefore, there is a need to develop integrated product and process information that offers the potential for
improved collaborative working as agreed by Anumba et al. (1998). While, McKinney and Fischer (1998), focus
more on IT tools to support collaborative working by identifying the need to incorporate 4D principles with other
construction and built environment software tools like GIS, cost estimation and safety and health. Meanwhile, in the
AIA (2007) guidelines they also agreed that new technologies have emerged, that when utilised in conjunction with
collaborative processes, are demonstrating substantial increases in productivity and decreases in requests for
information, field conflicts, waste, and project schedules. They suggested that Integrated Project Delivery with the
utilisation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) could improve the traditional fragmented construction process.
The use of BIM has also been extended by the work that has been carried out by the University of Salford’s from
3D to nD Modelling project which aimed to integrate an nth number of design dimensions into a holistic model
which would enable users to portray and visually project the building design over its complete lifecycle. In the
project, the model developed is based upon the Building Information Model where the BIM will be a repository that
stores all the data objects with each object being described only once. In the project, the dimensions that have been
incorporated into the model are whole-lifecycle costing, acoustic, environmental impact data, crime analysis and
accessibility. The uniqueness of the work carried out by the university however, is that it could enable the what-if
analysis to be carried out before the real construction takes place; for instance what are the knock-on effects for
time, cost, maintainability, etc of widening a door to allow for wheelchair access (Marshall-Ponting and Aouad,
2005).
Comparing the efforts which have been carried out by AIA, UoS and CIB they all share a common goal which is
to realise integrated practice in the construction industry. The similarity of them is the use of Building Information
Modelling in order to support integrated practice. Nevertheless, one should notice that it is possible to achieve
integrated practice without using BIM (AIA, 2007). On the other hand, the application of BIM could be expand in
232
many ways and its use to support integrated practice could be one of them which have been explained earlier. It is
therefore important to discuss the benefits of BIM so that its potential can be identified.
5.2. The Benefits of BIM
There are numerous benefits that could be gained by implementing Building Information Modelling in the project,
whether it is used as an isolated application or collaborative application. According to Kymmel (2008), the clearest
benefit from BIM is that a 3D model improves the ability to understand what is being presented. Many people have
difficulty understanding 2D drawings and according to Lee (2002) it is estimated that 98% of the industry cannot
understand drawings. According Eastman et al (2008), the 3D model generated by the BIM software is designed
directly rather than generated from multiple 2D views and it can be used to visualise the design at any stage of the
process with the expectation that it will be dimensionally consistent in every view. Manning and Messner (2008),
argue that based on the case study of implementing building information modelling for programming of healthcare
facilities, the major benefit of 3D visualisation is that it could be quickly evaluated by technical and non technical
staff alike. As a consequence of the clear understanding through visualisation, the project could reduce the total
Request of Information (RFI) during project implementation. In the case study carried out by Khanzode et al (2008),
only 2 of 233 RFIs identified on the project were related to field conflict and construction related issues and these
two RFIs were for systems that were not modelled using BIM tools.
Furthermore, BIM technology facilitates simultaneous work by multiple design disciplines (Eastman et al., 2008).
While collaboration with drawing is also possible, it is inherently more difficult and time consuming than working
with one or more coordinated 3D models in which change control can be well managed. This shortens the design
time and significantly reduces design errors and omissions. It also gives earlier insight into design problems and
presents opportunities for a design to be continuously improved. This is much more cost effective than waiting until
a design is nearly complete and then applying value engineering only after the major design decisions have been
made. Kymmel (2008) then further explains that early collaboration has large benefits for the planning and
construction of a building project thus the development of a virtual model is one of the best means of ensuring early
and in-depth collaboration of the project team on most relevant planning, design, and construction issues. In the
study conducted by Manning and Messner (2008) on the project using BIM tools and collaborative project delivery
approach, the team was able to save $9 million and 6 months as compared to traditional process. In addition to
collaboration, subcontractors were involved sooner and are resolving issues in the design and detailing stage that
would typically come up in the field. It was noticeable that a lot of reciprocal work that typically happens during
construction has happened during design on the project, resulting in more efficient construction.
Another benefit generated by implementing Building Information Modelling is that design errors and omissions
can be discovered before construction. According to Eastman et al. (2008), design errors caused by inconsistent 2D
drawings are eliminated in building information modelling because the virtual 3D building model is the source for
all 2D and 3D drawings. In addition, because systems from all disciplines can be brought together and compared,
multi-systems interfaces are easily checked both systematically (for hard and soft clashes) and visually (for other
kinds of errors). Conflicts are identified before they are detected in the field. Coordination among participating
designers and contractors is enhanced and errors of omission are significantly reduced. This result in the
acceleration of construction processes, reduction of costs, reduced likelihood of legal disputes and provision of a
smoother process for the entire project team.
The next benefit of implementing Building Information Modelling is the ability to synchronise design and
construction planning. Based on the study conducted by Ting et al. (2007), the study showed that the 4D modelling
enables the users to visualise the constructability of the proposed construction approach. The system also assists the
project team to design a precise construction schedule so as to remove any potential unproductive activities. The
result of the study is similar to the result from Koo and Fischer (2000). In the study, the 4D models able to identify
and eliminate the construction related problems before going to site. It further investigated whether 4D could help
project participants identify problems that would normally be overlooked in traditional bar chart techniques. The
work concluded that 4D models communicate a schedule more clearly and enable even relatively inexperienced
233
construction professionals to identify problems. The identification of problems before materialising could help
companies save time and money in the long term. In developing 4D modelling, according to Kymmel (2008), the
construction schedule can be developed if a preliminary schedule is available and a schematic construction sequence
can be simulated. The 4D modelling could facilitate the visualisation of the construction process and allow the
consideration of alternative approaches to sequencing, site layout, crane placement, etc., during the construction
process. Eastman et. al (2008) then further explain that this graphic simulation provides considerable insight into
how the building will be constructed day-by-day and reveals the source of potential problems and opportunities for
possible improvements which agreed with the case study conducted by Koo and Fischer (2000).
In the white paper by Autodesk the implementation of BIM could potentially reduce the construction cost.
Manning and Messner (2008) identified that sections, perspectives, plan views and quantity take offs could quickly
(in many cases automatically) be updated to effectively ascertain potential costs. Another way BIM could reduce
construction cost is by having minimum change order during project execution. As highlighted by Khanzode et al.,
(2008), there are zero change orders related to field conflicts on the case study project. The project is now complete
and the building is operational with 100% of MEP systems installed. There has not been a single change order due
to a field related conflict. Interviews were also been conducted to the project team to determine how much they
would normally expect to spend on change orders on a similar sized project and the estimate was about 1%-2% of
cost of MEP systems. On this project this is a substantial savings for the owner.
5.3 The Application of BIM for IBS
BIM is a new tool and platform for project stakeholders seem to be able design and construct almost anything they
can visualize, and the data they use enables these buildings to be well managed by their owners. Architect, engineer,
contractor, developer, client and manufacturer are also working together more closely than ever towards fully
integrated team. As has been discussed earlier, the inefficiencies inherent in the process of design and construction
in the Malaysian IBS projects are necessitating a shift to greater multidisciplinary collaboration and information
sharing among project team members. Previous researchers (i.e. to Eastman et al., 2008, AIA, 2007) also suggested
that Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) with the utilisation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) could improve
the traditional fragmented construction process. Compared to other integrated procurement approaches such, as
Design & Build, Constructing Management or Partnering; the IPD implementation are required the principle of early
involvement in concurrent processes to integrate people, systems, business structures and practices in order to
reduce waste and optimise efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication and construction (Nawi et al., 2012b)
These key principles significantly contribute to the success of overcoming the issue of lack of integration existing in
current Malaysian IBS projects. Some of the documentation required to convey certain information in the traditional
design process may also be reduced or eliminated all together. This will result in savings of time and money in
Malaysian IBS projects. Therefore, improvement of the weaknesses in the current construction industry (i.e.
fragmentation) towards integrated practice by using BIM as a toll of implementation will indirectly make an IBS
integrated delivery team approach more effective.
6. Conclusion
Even though some of researchers recommended that IBS as one of the alternative technique for improving
constructions sustainability however the up taken this system faced a lot of barriers including a fragmentation issue
especially during design stage of a project. As has been highlighted earlier, the lessons learned from the
improvements made to address the fragmentation issue in the traditional construction process could help solve the
problems that related to the lack of integration in IBS projects. Accordingly, an integrated practice such as BIM has
been identified as one of the appropriate approaches or tools can be used to form or enhance integration teams in the
traditional construction process could be borrowed and applied to improve team integration in IBS projects as well.
Although BIM has been recognised as one of the effective tool for enhance the construction project performance
unfortunately, the real cases or examples of BIM achievement especially in the Malaysian IBS industry are limited.
In view of that, this type of research is needed in order to overcome the related issue of fragmentation particularly in
234
design and construction stage, thus will increase the level of IBS uptake in the Malaysian construction projects. This
paper actually is a part of the subject of ongoing research project involving major construction industry players.
Acknowledgements
The Authors wish to thank the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), IBS Centre
and Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM) for supporting this IBS-BIM research.
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237
Literature Review on the Concept of Building Performance and

Incorporation of Users’ Feedback
N. Khalila b,31*, S. N. Kamaruzzamanb, H. N. Husina ,
a
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
Generally, building is a structure that provides basic shelter for the humans to conduct general activities. In common prose, the
purpose of buildings is to provide humans a comfortable working and living space and protected from the extremes of climate.
However, a building usage is depends on the lifespan and the change of rate effected on their impact on efficiency of use. Hence,
more attention needs to be emphasized on the performance of buildings as the changes are not static over time. This paper
highlights the concept and requirements in evaluating building performance. Exploration on the concept of building performance
is also addressed on the purposes of building performance and the link of performance towards the end-users and incorporating
their feedback. It concludes that obtaining users’ feedback is vital in building performance and the requirements of assessment
must outline the performance criteria and mandates in such building.
Keywords: Building Performance; Performance Evaluation; End-User; Feedback;
1. Introduction
A building is not only provides structures to live in, but it supposed to address other vital key aspects (Nawawi &
Khalil, 2008). Buildings, therefore, are generally important as they are the durable fixed assets enabling potential
activities and tasks to be carried. Each building is unique and distinctive since it was constructed and developed
based on various purposes, dealing with many objectives in terms of operation and management, and accommodates
different occupancy patterns. As supported by Douglas (1996), even two buildings of the same design at one
location may have varying exposures, dissimilar subsoil conditions, and different access provisions. The building
may not in itself add value to the process, but it facilitates the process, and has the potential to cause process
problems. To that end, cost reduction is a primary consideration for many building owners and occupiers
(Mcdougall et al., 2002).
However, a building usage is depends on the lifespan and the change of rate effected on their impact on
efficiency of use. Hence, more attention needs to be emphasized on the change rate and performance of buildings as
the changes are not static over time. The emergence of these changes are allied in the building’s response towards
internal and external factors such as climate, exposure and, more significantly, internal factors such as use and
maintenance (Douglas, 1996). As a commodity, building is not only an asset for investment and financial purposes,
but also reflected in functional terms. In financial terms, over thirty per cent of many an organisation's total asset
value is highly related to the business premises (Amaratunga & Baldry, 1998). This provides significant impact on
buildings that were seen more as an enabler to the core business.

E-mail address: natashakhalil29@gmail.com
238
2. Literature Review: Definition and Concept of Building Performance
As described in introduction, the overview of this paper reveals the concept of building performance. According
to (Parmjit, Chan, & Gurnam, 2006), difficulties can arise when a certain key terms produce different meaning and
context to different people, that may also lead to misinterpretation. Therefore, defining vital keywords solicits in the
concepts articulates a better understanding of the theories.
a. Definition of “Building Performance”
Building performance studies has been emerged into numerous objectives and aspects. The evolution of
performance in building is growing due to the many factors, such as environment change and shifting building
needs. As stressed by Pati et al., (2006), the prospective of building performance in fulfilling the expectations of
owners, designers, building operators and the occupants is enormous. Hence, it is crucial to understand the term of
“building performance”. Inevitably, there is no single definition of terms accepted for building performance. As
addressed by Cole (1998), even though the term of “building performance” is simple, the specific definition is
depends upon differing interests and widely requirements in buildings. Building performance has been defined in BS
5240 as “behaviour of a product in use” (Almeida, Sousa, Alves Dias, & Branco, 2010; Amaratunga & Baldry,
1998; Douglas, 1996). This is supported by William (1993) that describe building performance as the ability of the
building to contribute in fulfilling the functions of its intended use. To gain a better understanding of the term, the
description and definition of building performance were compiled and summarised as per Table 1.
Table 2. Summary on the definition of “building performance”
SOURCE DEFINITION / DESCRIPTION

Amaratunga & Baldry (2003) A process of assessing progress towards achieving goods and services
efficiency, quality of building outputs and effectiveness of building
operations.
Abaza (2012) A permanent improvement in standard design practices among building
designers and owners that results in higher efficiency and lower utility
costs.
(Eley, 2001) “......future expectations of the organization and its users......design/ build
which uses the concept, akin to product provision, of fitness for purpose”
(Clift & Butler, 1995) “....denote the physical performance characteristics of a building
functioning as a whole and of its parts”
(William, 1993) A building’s ability to contribute to fulfilling the functions of its intended
use.
(Mcdougall et al., 2002) ...the measurement involves the efficiency and effectiveness of an action.
Efficiency and effectiveness relate, as concepts, to Best Practice
(efficiency) — the pursuit of perfection of a given approach, and Best
Value (effectiveness) — the pursuit of the most economic (in the widest
sense) approach
Khalil (2008) An accomplishment, fulfilment, and achievement of a building in meeting
the emergence objectives
(Woods, 2008) A set of measured responses of the building, as a system, to anticipated
and actual forcing functions
From the above definitions, monotonous norms that can be found in building performance are generally related to
efficiency, function, fitness, fulfilment. Hence, it can be summarised that the definition of “building performance” is
the ability of a building to be operated at optimum efficiency and fulfil its function throughout the building life
cycle.
b. The Concept and Requirements of Building Performance
Each building is unique and distinctive since it was constructed and developed based on various purposes,
dealing with many objectives in terms of operation and management, and accommodates different occupancy
239
patterns. As supported by Douglas (1996), even two buildings of the same design at one location may have varying
exposures, dissimilar subsoil conditions, and different access provisions. Since not all buildings are change in the
same rate, the relevant building stakeholders, as mentioned by Haapio & Viitaniemi (2008) had to focus on how
buildings were designed, built and the operations are fit for purpose. The fact is that most buildings are too complex
to be evaluated on various aspects and characteristics. Therefore, how to ensure that buildings are able to be
sustained throughout its life span? The answer to that question would seem to raise several arguments among
building experts. To assess how well a building is behaving overall and in the long term, a more holistic approach is
needed. This is where building performance evaluation (BPE) can play an important role.
Amaratunga & Baldry (1998) express that building performance as an attractive concept which is not only benefit
the designers and users, but also for the long term benefit of those concerned with the built environment. The basic
concept of building performance has been emerged in various issues, characteristics with various objectives. The
performance concept involves BPE that combined with recommendations for improvement and it is used for
feedback and feed forward regarding the performance of similar buildings (Amaratunga & Baldry, 1998). It denotes
the comparison of client's goals and performance criteria against actual building performance, measured both
subjectively and objectively.
As depicted in Figure 1, the performance concept is an act of evaluation, performance measures are compared
with appropriate performance criteria and a conclusion is reached on how successful the building performance has
been (Preiser et al., 1988). The following figure illustrates the benefit and values of building performance concept
behind the goals and objectives of clients.
Figure 1. Building Performance Concept

(Amaratunga & Baldry, 1998; Preiser et al., 1988)
The notion of assessing building performance is to understand how the building meets the design, function,
capability and technical objectives. As stated by Mcdougall et al., (2002), the performance measurement of a
building is firstly summarised in terms of the background of the building and the scope of performance assessment.
Building performance remarked as an important aspect that reflects the issues arise in building operation and address
varying uses placed on all buildings. Amaratunga & Baldry (1998) stated that the performance concept in the
building process views buildings as dynamic entities and indicates a comprehensive attitude towards the
management of buildings. Therefore, the assessment of building performance serves as a valuable tool that has great
potential for decision makers at both strategic and operational levels. As illustrated in Figure 2, the concept of
building performance address a comprehensive evaluation that much related to operational level, that can be a feed
forward cycle as decision making tools for stakeholders (Amaratunga & Baldry, 1998).
240
Figure 2. Building Process and the Performance Concept

(Amaratunga & Baldry, 1998)
The above figure shows how performance is measured and compared to criteria, thus the valuation results are
used as feedback to improve the evaluated building performance. Hence, the planning, programming, design and
construction of future buildings can be improved through the feed forward of evaluation results. This is mutually
depends on the requirement and purposes of evaluating building performance, that is specifically prioritised as the
main character in building performance concept
3. Purposes of Evaluating Building Performance
Building performance is evaluated for many reasons and purposes. Ideally, the aspects that need to be
thoroughly assessed depend on the evaluation purposes. The following reasons were listed by Douglas (1996) that
outlines some of the uses of evaluating building performance in buildings:
 For property portfolio review, acquisition or disposal purposes;
 To highlight where a building is lacking in performance;
 To help prioritize maintenance or remodelling works;
 To provide identification or early warning of obsolescence in buildings; and
 To assist in achieving value-for-money from building assets by aiding identification of performance
achievements as well as failures.
The above reasons are prone towards achieving sustainable buildings and prolong the optimization of its
provision of service operations. Preiser & Nasar (2008) described that the key issues to cover in building
performance also includes health, safety, security; issues addressed by building codes; functionality and guideline
materials; and last, but not least, the social, psychological, cultural aspects of building performance. To ease the
understanding of building performance concept and its requirement, the following table summarised several
literatures that articulated the requirements and purposes of evaluating building performance, generally applied for
all type of buildings.
Table 2. Summary of concept/requirements and purposes of BPE
ASPECTS IN DESCRIPTION OF ASPECTS SOURCE(S)

BPE
 Building Users/ Occupants (Amaratunga & Baldry, 1998; Amaratunga, 2000;
 Feedback from users or occupants Augenbroe & Park, 2005; Baird, 2009; Bordass,
Cohen, Standeven, & Leaman, 2001; Bordass,
Leaman, & Ruyssevelt, 2001; Bordass & Leaman,
2005a, 2005b; Bordass, 2003; Clift & Butler, 1995;
Douglas, 1996; Lützkendorf & Lorenz, 2006;
Lützkendorf & Speer, 2005; Mcdougall et al., 2002;
Concept/
Pati, Park, & Augenbroe, 2009; Pitt & Tucker, 2008;
Requirements in
W.F.E. Preiser et al., 1988; Wolfgang F.E. Preiser,
BPE
2001; Vischer, 2002, 2008; Woods, 2008)
 Client’s goal (Amaratunga & Baldry, 1998; Bordass, Cohen, et al.,
 Performance Criteria 2001; Bordass & Leaman, 2005a, 2005b; Bordass,
 Performance measures/evaluation 2003; Cohen, Standeven, Leaman, & Bordass, 2001;
Douglas, 1996; Mcdougall et al., 2002; Pati et al.,
2006, 2009; W.F.E. Preiser et al., 1988; Vischer, 2008)
Efficiency and effectiveness ((Mcdougall et al., 2002)
241
Help to fine tune building performance and reduce energy (Nevill, 2007).
consumption
Explore design changes that provide incremental (Soebarto & Williamson, 2001)
improvement measured against single criteria such as
reduced energy consumption and or improved thermal
comfort.
As an integral part of the planning and controlling cycle - it (Alexander, 1996)
was among essential issues for the effective
implementation of a facilities strategy.
For better matching of supply and demand, improved ((Baird, 2009)
Purposes of
productivity within the workplace, minimisation of
BPE
occupancy costs, increased user satisfaction, certainty of
management and design decision making, higher returns on
investment in buildings and people.
As negotiating instruments among stakeholders at various ((Pati et al., 2006, 2009)
phases of the building procurement process.
To solve problems on “real-world research” such as Robson, C. (2002) as cited in (Leaman, Stevenson, &
predicting effects, robust results and developing services Bordass, 2010)
towards client oriented
To credibly account on how well a building achieve its (Woods, 2008)
purpose at any time during its useful life
4. Incorporation of User’s Feedback in Evaluating Building Performance
Within the understanding on imposed society towards the implementation of building evaluation, the goal of such
assessment is to ascertain how well the building serves the needs of the occupier. At the same time, identification of
any major deficiencies based on the performance factors in its overall performance able to be collected. Key
performance factors, as summarised Mcdougall et al., (2002), can be attained by obtaining accurate measures and
record the findings as a lesson learned to adjust the relevance of certain aspects. Lesson-learned is generally
obtained from mistakes, arising issues and problems that appear in buildings, so that those mistakes are not repeated
for current management or future development. The question is how to acquire the “lesson-learned” and what will
be the suitable medium to perform actions from “lesson-learned”?
According to Zimmerman & Martin (2001), lessons learned are retrieved from the building users or occupants
that could be used to improve the fit of the existing and be fed back into design research and programming of the
next building. Lesson-learned is feasible to be established from the feedback or responses of building users, which
significantly experience the impact from the occupied buildings. Sinopoli (2009) states that the feedback from
people using a building, whether they are office workers, shoppers or teachers is invaluable input to building
operations or the design of the next building. Typically, the criteria for judgement are the fulfilment of the functional
programme and the occupants’ needs (Zimmerman & Martin, 2001). This is gradually enhanced through the
changing needs of the users and not only depends on the suitability of the building orientation and facilities towards
the users.
The responses from the users on how well the buildings were performed are considered as the feedback. As
defined by Bordass (2003), ‘feedback’ is a process of learning and understanding from valuable information and
responses in a current building situation. The instrument for users’ feedback can be obtained through
individual/focus group interview or questionnaire survey. It generally requires the users or occupants to incorporate
their perception, satisfaction or level of needs towards provided building criteria. In simple words, the understanding
leans from what people have informed, thus create actions from the information and improve from the actions.
Without a feedback loop, every building and its systems put together in new ways, with potentially unpredictable
outcomes (Zimmerman & Martin, 2001). In building performance, it is vital to incorporate users’ feedback to
postulate the improvement that can be established for the building.
To improve building performance overall in a changing market, the industry and its clients need to identify
opportunities and pitfalls by means of rapid feedback (Cohen et al., 2001). This is allied to the concept of building
performance which feedback in occupancy stage able to meet client’s goal and objectives in the preliminary stage of
building development. As stated by Lützkendorf & Lorenz (2006) feedback derived from occupants’ satisfaction
represents a key performance indicator that may replace some other building partial indicators. Significantly, this
242
indicator reveals a very close relationship between the social aspects of sustainable development (in terms of health,
comfort and well-being) and economic or financial considerations. As described by (Mcdougall et al., 2002), in the
development of performance measurement systems, the importance of a feedback loop has long been established.
Therefore, it is undoubted that there is much study has shown an increasing awareness on the direct impact of
responses gathered from the feedback of building users.
However, learning from feedback is not yet embedded in many processes affecting the procurement and use of
buildings (Way & Bordass, 2005). In building performance, one of the barriers to perform such evaluation includes
reluctant of occupants to be participated and this somehow worsens the need of feedback. Hence, effective feedback
needs to be addressed as to ensure that the information was comprehensive and lies on the performance criteria.
5. Conclusion
The above literature demonstrates the overall performance that includes the building’s appearance, evaluative
quality, the meanings and evaluative responses that may convey to the users. As a summary, the building
performance concept has been an evolutionary process. Therefore, all relevant stakeholders need to understand the
key performance factors in a building. It is vital to incorporate users’ feedback to postulate the improvement that can
be established for the building. In Malaysia, collecting feedback in completed and occupied buildings is not a
routine; especially when there’s argument arises on the cost and time that will imposed to obtain such information.
As stated by Bordass (2003), feedback is not routine in the industry because there are many barriers and not enough
drivers. The similar experiences were found in developed countries such as US and UK, having some barriers not
only relates to the time and cost, but also other factors such as management, client, and users’ participation. The
construction industry is often slow to learn from its completed projects, particularly how they perform in the hands
of their users. To overcome the barriers, the priority of evaluation must be enhanced on suitable performance
criteria, suitable techniques and right methods that enable the result of improvement to be successful.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of fund for this research under Exploratory Research Grant Scheme
(ERGS) Phase 1/2013 from Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia (MOHE) and also support from IPPP,
Universiti Malaya (UM).
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A Review Of Indoor Environmental Quality And Sustainable

Housing In Tropical Climates - Meeting the Challenge of the
Global Warming and Sustainability
N. Jamaludina,32, M. F. Khamidi a, S. Ngah Abdul Wahab a, M.A. Mohammeda
a
Universiti Teknologi Petronas,31750 Tronoh, Malaysia
Abstract
Indoor environmental quality is one of the sustainability elements in assessing green building. This paper discussed the indoor
environmental quality as indicated in sustainable housing for tropical climate. The consideration and integration of environmental
concerns before the design is developed would effectively comprehend the sustainability of the building environment. Building
owners are now more conscious the importance of sustainability for a better quality of life. Indoor environmental quality is
essential for wellness and comfort as people spend most of their time in the building. A residential environment will influence
residents' health and safety. The global warming increase the earth’s temperature and greenhouse emission to the atmosphere
cause adverse effects to the outdoor environment. The management of indoor environmental quality components will improve a
comfortable and healthy environment as it has a momentous effect on residents' health.
Keywords: sustainability, global warming, indoor environmental quality; tropical climate; building simulation
1. Introduction
The challenge in sustainable housing is to reduce resource inputs such as energy, materials and water and waste
output simultaneously improving the quality of living. Even if we adopt the global knowledge and technology of
sustainability, it’s still depending on the local abilities to aim for the alternative sustainable development pathways.
Climate change such as global warming and extreme weather condition has become environmental burdens. The
disasters are threatening the sustainability of humankind and the ecosystem. The recent literature survey on the
sustainable development issue has gone to study in depth the sustainable building industry to the environment
without compromising the character of the occupant life. Researchers in Western have far advanced in sustainable
development, followed by East Asian countries and too little scientific evidence in tropical region. Therefore more
research needed to contribute knowledge and scientific data for sustainable building design in tropical climate.
2. Literature review
The sustainable architectural design and construction practices are motivated by the sustainable building concept.
Sustainable building or green building concept is to bring positive impact to the social, economic and environmental
aspect of the building life-cycle. The intention to achieve specified energy-efficient on existing buildings and any
new structures in terms of its location, design, erection, renovation and operation. The precepts of the sustainability
have been incorporated in several green building eco-labelling certification marks established such as BREEAM
(Building Research Establish Environmental Assessment Method), LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design), GBCA (Green Building Council Australia), CASBEE (Comprehensive Assessment System for Building
32 Nazhatulzalkis Jamaludin. Tel.: +60-013-5920-060;

E-mail address: nazha150@perak.uitm.edu.my
245
Environmental Efficiency), GeSBC (German Sustainable Building Certificate) and MINERGIE ECO (Switzerland).
In numerous sustainable building assessments, certification awarded at various levels of attainment a specified
number of points. Indoor environmental quality is one of the key methods measure in the assessment to gain the
points. Indoor environmental quality influenced by environmental parameter such as air quality, air temperature,
relative humidity and acoustics influence the entire building performance. An understanding of the environmental
factors with building design and setting provide a successful indoor environment. The overall climate and
topography within a site or place are major factors determining the type of ecosystems that develop, but within any
ecosystem itself comprise complex interactions and minor variations that result in smaller communities within
which we call as micro climate (Yeang, 2006). The fundamental aspect of our natural systems is relatively stable
and resilient. Any disturbance in this system due to human-induced changes such as global warming will make them
fragile and vulnerable to catastrophic decline. Thus sustainable design approach is vital for our building
environment and activities.
2.1 Sustainability in building environment
Awareness to conserve the earth resources had been passed over two and half decades since resolved officially as
sustainable idea in World Commission on Environment and Development report entitled "Our Common
Future"(United Nation, 1987). This idea urged the world community to start thinking of earth future in our daily
activities. These include in every aspect of human activities without ignoring impact for the next generation. The
conservation of earth natural systems, technical growth and instantaneous socioeconomic in fulfilling human needs
driving the sustainable development (A.P. Sage, 1998). The three themes of sustainability; social, environmental and
economic, can further strengthen sustainability in any disciplines and areas in the world for now and in the future
(Khalfan, 2002). There have been many definitions of sustainability used to mean different things and different
circumstances. This term evolved from the Bruntdland Report 1987. In this paper the sustainability is discussed
under the ability of providing future generation needs without compromising present necessities for the continuity of
human environment and natural environment. The human environment is human-modified places and composed of
either a single building or groups of buildings, structures and infrastructures (Byrd & Ramli, 2012). It is the base of
human activities and at the same time connected to the natural environment which needs to be sustainable in order to
continue to serve in the future. According to the definition by (A.I.J, 2005), "A sustainable building is one which is
designed:
1. To save energy and resources, recycle materials and minimize the emission of toxic constituent
throughout its life cycle.
2. To harmonize with the local climate, traditions, culture and the immediate environment,
3. To be able to sustain and improve the quality of human life while maintaining the capacity of the
ecosystem at the local and global levels."
In the built environment, awareness of the sustainable development has increased resulting in the environmental
assessment of building performance in terms of green building rating tools. In this assessment the main effect is to
produce a healthy living indoor environment meanwhile conserving natural resources and reducing negative impact
to the natural environment. The eastern cultural design currently has been recognized as healthy environment
designs that accomplish sustainability in human environment (Choi & Yu, 2011). Traditional building design and
construction of the east were considered as climate responsive design in mitigating current climatic problems. In
order to integrate the sustainable design with the combination of techniques and natural principles, they are being
reconstructed and reconsidered in encountering the human quality of life.
2.2 Global warming and urban heat island
Global warming phenomena are increasingly to be seen at alarming rate although there are many mitigation plans
and projects were prepared and done all over the globe. Currently, the cool season that continuously occurs until
summer in the Northern hemisphere, meanwhile the higher temperature and uncertain weather conditions recorded
in equatorial, proof the earth is getting warmer. This event used to be rare a few decades back, but now it emerges
disasters to human life. Environmental problem has demonstrated the important issue of climate change that cause
246
severe threats for living things throughout the world (Sozen and Alp, 2009). Arctic sea ice cover has record loss of
18 percent in August-September 2012 compared to the previous record set in 2007, 4.17 million square kilometres
(WMO, 2012). The WMO assessment report the year 2012 many extreme weather conditions such as droughts and
tropical cyclones. Meanwhile the constant rising trend of greenhouse gas concentration in Earth’s atmosphere and
resulting radiating heat in the air validates the continuous global warming. The report of the World Meteorological
Organization for the year 2012, the surface temperature of the global ocean and land is expected to be
0.45C±0.11C higher than in 1960-1990 average of 14C. The global warming has a greater effect of the increases
of temperature of the earth and this temperature trend over the urban areas is relatively higher as compared to the
rural area. Local urban heat island could have been contributed towards higher temperature due to urbanization that
could cause increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases that further contribute to global earth warming (Memon,
Leung, & Chunho, 2008). Industrialization and urbanization expand human comfort and material life, but they may
prompt threats to human beings if not control. Modern living encourages more energy usage for daily activities and
comfort conditions. One of the environmental issues is urban heat island effect in densely built cities that has higher
air temperatures compared to the suburban and rural areas (N. H. Wong & Yu, 2005). Deforestation and the loss of
green areas in an urban environment for land development have intensified the urban heat island effect in cities. The
inverse relationship between forest cover and built-up area in affecting land surface temperature shows the
importance of vegetation coverage in minimising the thermal energy response in urban areas (Hashim, Ahmad, &
Abdullah, 2007) Study of temperature trends for the rest of meteorological stations in Malaysia noted that the
temperature trend over the urban areas is higher than the rural. The local urban heat island could have been
contributed in small fraction towards higher temperature due to urbanization that could cause increasing
concentrations of greenhouse gases (A. Ishak et al, 2011). The changing of climate has changed our outdoor
environments which in turn has great impact to the indoor environment quality.
2.3 Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in building environment
The design and operation of building system control components of indoor environmental quality and ensure the
quality of the indoor environment (Matizawa & Saffa, 2012). Indoor environmental qualities assist better evaluation
of building energy performance and provide supplementary information on the energy consumption and energy
classification of a building. At the same time it also gives details the effects on the productivity and health of the
occupants (Tiberiu & Vlad, 2012). Human beings spend most of their time indoor. The indoor conditions are
influenced by by several elements such as HVAC systems building envelope, materials, occupants' activities or air
infiltration. From the survey done by (S.-K. Wong et al., 2009) in apartment in Hong Kong, occupants were more
sensitive to air quality and noise problems within their flats and neighbourhood, they perceived nose and head
symptoms were more relevant to their indoor environmental quality satisfaction. There is no easy way in assessing
indoor environmental quality and mostly architects and engineers used various simulation software’s and calculation
throughout the design stage (Tiberiu & Vlad, 2012). The indoor environmental factors that related to the outdoor
environment in termed of; i) thermal comfort associated with temperature, humidity and air velocity, ii) Indoor air
quality encompassing fresh air supply, odour and indoor air pollution, iii) Lighting quality concern with illuminance,
luminance ratios, view and reflection, iv) Sound quality related to outside noise and indoors vibration. The indoor
environmental factors can also be a risk to human health in living and working space (Bluyssen, 2010). The health
and comfort indicators in IEQ can be divided into three categories which are i) Occupant related - sick leave,
specific building related illness, ii) Environmental related illness - ventilation rate, carbon dioxide concentration iii)
building related - dampness, mould growth. The indoor and outdoor quality of residential building in urban area
influenced the concentration level of carbon monoxide, particulate matters and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide were
found to be contributed from the indoor sources such as human metabolism activity while carbon monoxide and
particulate matters were originated from outdoor sources for example vehicle smoke (Darus, Zain-Ahmed, & Latiff,
2011).
Indoor environmental quality is also one of the factors affecting energy use in the buildings. It is assumed that 70%
of the average domestic electricity consumption is for air conditioning and refrigerator and the biggest consumer of
electricity in the household is air conditioning. Keeping the cool environment will become increasingly important as
247
the earth temperature getting warmer. The capacity of air conditioning load required and energy used depends very
much on the air temperature maintained in the buildings. The indoor environment is very complex and may consist
of many aspects. It is essential to consider numerous characteristics of environmental factors and to measure the
effects of building environment for the occupants in building performance evaluation.
2.4 The necessity of sustainable housing
In Malaysia, implementation of housing projects through federal government policies in providing affordable home
for the nation, upgrading rural areas and funding initiatives of housing schemes. Ministry of Housing and Local
Government is responsible to ensure the implementation of this policy. Providing housing for all the citizens has
been a fundamental part of the state's housing policy especially for low income people. Malaysian government had
allocated annual budget in the nation Five Yearly Development to supply adequate and affordable housing. The
housing industry is a major contributor to global resource depletion, pollution and climate change (Roufechaei, Abu
Bakar and Tabassi, 2013). Therefore residential building design should also take the sustainability approach in
providing shelter need and a better quality living. There are many types of housing in Malaysia for instance the
detached, semi-detached, terrace/link, cluster, townhouse, shop houses, flat, apartment and condominium. The most
typical and affordable house is terraced or link, according to Statistic Department Malaysia the total unit is about
2.57 million in the year 2010. In Malaysia with warm and humid climate, occupants control the indoor environment
with external air movement (Kubota and Ahmad, 2009). However, there has recently been a rapid and widespread
usage of air conditioners to cool indoor environment in tropical climate. The dependent of mechanical systems in
achieving required health and comfort level has unseen implication on essential performance of other serious
building design decisions (Wong, Poh and Feriadi, 2000). Mechanical system will acquire more energy usage in
buildings. As global warming is increasing at an alarming rate, it is important to keep energy efficiency while
maintaining a healthy and comfortable environment in residential buildings. The sustainable building is similar to
‘green building’ or ecological building. The term is also used as ‘healthy building’ and ‘energy efficient building’
(Zhu and Lin, 2004). A sustainable house has less use of natural resources, water and energy, hence less surplus and
creating a healthier indoor environment as compared to a conventional house (Abidin, Yusof and Awang, 2010). In
Malaysia the concept of "green homes" of sustainable house, is beginning to expand into the local housing trade
(Jamaldin, 2008). It is a new approach as home living perception. The Green Building Index (GBI) introduced in
2009 as green building assessment tools in Malaysia. Developed by Persatuan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) and the
Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) have initiated the green building construction in Malaysia
(GBI, 2013). One of the tools is GBI Residential Rating Tool to evaluate sustainable aspect of residential building.
The sustainable criteria allocate is to stress more on sustainable site planning and management in order to reduce
impact on the environment while providing better environment quality to the inhabitants. The reduction of
greenhouse gas emission and negative impact to the environment in the building industry through environmental
protection is a strategic sustainability plan should be taken up in the housing development scheme. Therefore a
better and cleaner environment can be created.
2.5 Tropical climate impact to the building
Tropical climate locates within the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn between 15°South and 15°North. Tropical
region known with warm and humid climate condition cover the areas of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia,
Philippines, India and northern Australia, part of Africa and Latin America. These regions generally characterized as
high humidity, excessive rainfall and considerable sunshine. It is an ideal medium condition for the thriving of
tropical plants and rainforest. A building in the tropics means a confrontation of construction and function with
extreme climatic condition (Lauber, 2005, Givoni 1997). Typical climatic elements in tropical climate have both
negative impact and positive impact to the building design. The most common impacts caused by the climatic
parameters of tropical climate are temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, rainfall and prevailing wind. High
humidity and temperatures reduce moisture evaporation rate from the human skin. But in tropical climate the solar
heat and rainfall initiate continuous evaporation of the human body. In achieving thermal comfort, cooling effects
are always necessary. The equatorial region received a high amount of solar radiation. These excessive solar
248
radiations affect the thermal condition of indoor environment in buildings. Solar control design should be
incorporated into building to overcome this problem. Wind movement is the source for natural cooling strategy in
the tropics. Weak or still air movement with high temperature and relative humidity can cause thermal discomfort.
When wind is unpredictable parameter and variations in its velocity, the building orientation need to be placed
towards the direction of the local prevailing wind will enhance the natural ventilation for cooling purposes. Tropical
climate dominated by high rainfall and there is one or two dry seasons in a year. Heavy rainfall at periods of the year
and high temperatures increased the relative humidity. The concern of the openings design in tropical climate is also
to avoid the penetration of rain and strong wind. Drainage system from roof and paved surfaces is important for
water runoff because it will influence traffic flow in urban areas.
2.6 Vernacular housing as sustainable design principles in tropical climate
Characteristics of the housing can be renowned according to a region. Critical factors such as climate, materials,
economic and cultural background reflects the house design (Hutchison, 2002). The Malay house was a perfect
vernacular architecture in the past that is environmentally sustainable (Sufian and Rashid, 2009). The effective
adaptation of environmental factors in the traditional house design reflected the sensitivity of Malay people in the
past in understanding bioclimatic design approaches (Tajul, Husin and Kamal, 2005). Traditional Malay house
encourages a dynamic integration of local society, cultural and environmental necessities (Lim, 1987). The climatic
design of the Malay traditional house in response to the microclimate and materials available provides the house
with cooler environment and aids thermal comfort to the occupants. The traditional Malay house usually raised on
stilts made of local building materials such as bamboo, softwood, hardwoods, tree barks and Nipah palm (nypa
fruitican) leaves, (Gibbs, Rahman and Kassim, 1987) available from the tropical forest. The house has a prevalent
roof, high ceiling level, front porch or veranda, many and large openings for ventilation in the house (Schmidt, Maas
and Hauser, 1999). In Malay vernacular houses, there were many numbers of windows that envelope the walls and
the design applied the maximum height of the wall to the floor, with fenestration at the top of the windows. This
approach encourages cross air ventilation in promoting excellent indoor air quality and temperature in the house.
Reference (Carslaw, 2007) stated that this opening design helps to circulate fresh air supply into the building,
exchanged of used air and free the pollutants inside the house. Lowly air ventilation may lead to sick building
syndrome symptoms such as distress, ill health and irritation (Hassan and Ramli, 2010). The analysis of a Malay
traditional house in Penang found that the house demonstrated a good cross ventilation and stack effect. The typical
indoor temperature has slightly lower (0.2 -0.7°C) at the central area and near east window, compared to the outdoor
temperature from 9.00 am - 2.00pm (Carslaw, 2007). Traditional Malay architecture appreciates climate which the
outdoor expressions were responding to the exposure of the building surfaces or envelopes and their aesthetic effect
of the sunlight and even the sky condition (Ahmad, 2005). With a perusal and detail research by involving various
knowledge disciplines such as mathematics, engineering, material and sociology and anthropology, the potential in
this expanded traditional Malay house would be able to give a very mean contribution in planning and modern
housing design (Utaberta, Spalie and Abdullah, 2010).
2.7 Building performance simulation as a tool assessing IEQ in the building environment
Nowadays building simulation tools have very much assisting at the stage before the building design being
conceptualized. The creation of the computer simulation program has commenced in the 1960s essentially focus on
energy performance. Then extend its application for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, wind movement
and others. Current application of building performance simulation has developed to associate more parameters such
as heat transfer and moisture, automation systems, acoustics and even simulate with indoor and outdoor
environment. The simulation program assists in generating behavioural data model and energy performance
prediction with the system performance, electrical loads, building envelope heat loss and temperatures. Therefore
these programs assist to evaluate the indoor environment for the existing building and also during the design stage.
In improving the built environment field, a non-profit society the International Building Performance Simulation
Association (IBPSA) has created a room for discussion of building performance simulation among researchers and
practitioners (Hensen, Lambert and Negrao, 2002). There are now many packages of computer software program
249
offered to run building simulations such as Autodesk Ecotect, Energy Plus, IES Virtual Environment, CFD and TAS
for easier and better accuracy in building performance design. Building designers need consistent information that
assists the design optimization process and guide into building science designs. A design tool should educate as well
as give information on the assumptions that are behind the results. A computer-based modelling and simulation
plays an important role in building and systems during the design, operation, renovation or management of decision
making processes (Hensen and Nakahara, 2001). A study using Ecotect analysis calculates thermal performance and
the result of the simulation help in predicting building thermal behaviour, thermal comfort level and heat gain and
loss. The simulation analysis provide information to make decision on building design and building material
selected during design stage to improve building performance (Bakar & Abdullah, 2012). A CFD simulation
approaches in assessing indoor air quality analysed the pollution distribution and ventilation in buildings. The result
has shown the impact of airflow pattern on pollutant pathways. The analysis found that the room design, air supply
capacity placement of the inlet outlet devices, and heat sources should be considered in ventilation design (Sekhar &
Willem, 2004).
2.8 Guidelines and Standard for indoor environmental design
Recently in Malaysia the guideline for indoor environment refers to MS 1525:2007 and ASHRAE standard. As
people now is more concern on the indoor environmental quality, but no guidelines yet specific to the indoor
environment in residential building ( Darus, Zain-Ahmed, & Talib, 2011, Darus et al, 2010). But this is not enough
to provide data in the context of indoor environment Malaysian climate. MS1525:2007 is a guideline of a standard
indoor environment design for Malaysian climate. There are numerous factors need to be considered in designing
room comfort design. The factors are humidity, radiant temperature, air temperatures, metabolic rate, air movement
and clothing of the occupants. The human body temperature needs to be maintained at a constant 37±5°C regardless
of the prevailing ambient condition. Table 2 and Table 3 shows the recommended engineering design purpose stated
in MS1525:2007 for indoor design.
Table 1 Room condition comfort for engineering design purpose (MS1525:2007)
a Recommended design 23°C - 26°C

dry bulb temperature
b Min dry bulb 22°C
temperature
c Recommended design 55% - 70%
RH
d Recommended air 015m/s - 0.50 m/s
movement
e Maximum air movement 0.7m/s
Table 3 Recommended outdoor design conditions. (MS1525:2007)
a Dry bulb temperature 33°C

b Wet dry bulb 27.2°C
temperature
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3 Conclusion
Indoor environmental quality is closely related to the occupants' health and comfort. But it has been less concern
because most of the building designs more focus on building function. Many tools are now available to assist in
analysis indoor environmental quality in the building. As the global warming is threatening the environment and the
developing of urbanization, indoor environmental quality should be a significant concern in sustainable
development. The quality of the indoor environment is also dependent upon the local climatic parameters in creating
a comfortable shape. It was even found that there is no simplified method in assessing indoor environmental quality
but analysing of building simulation tools could assist in providing an overview of the indoor environmental quality
effect in sustainable housing for tropical climate.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the assistance and funding offered by Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak, the Ministry
of Education Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Petronas for this research project.
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253
An Overview of Cooling Potential using Green Roof Approach

in Hot and Humid Climate in Malaysia.
N. Kamarulzamana, S. Z. Hashim a, H. Hashim a, A. A. Saleh a,
a
Building Surveying Department, Faculty Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM Seri Iskandar, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
Nowadays, community awareness on the impact of human activities towards environment has increased the demand for green
construction or sustainable development concept. Energy efficiency has been identified as a key consideration in discussions of
this concept. As mentioned by Omer A.M. (2007), a recent World Energy Council (WEC) study found that without any change in
our current practice, the world energy demand in 2020 would be 50–80% higher than 1990 levels. Mohd Yunus (2007) also
mentioned that in term of energy, Malaysia ranked 33rd in the list global electricity consumption and 25th in the list of man-made
carbon dioxide emissions. If energy consumption continues to increase at its current rate, domestic petroleum reserve in
Peninsular Malaysia is predicted to be depleted by 2014 and Sarawak by 2020 (UNDP & EPU, 2005). The heat island effect is
identified as a major environmental problem in most urban area which leads to higher energy demand in buildings. As
responding to the increasing of energy consumption due to heat island effects, the thermal and energy performance of green roof
technology has attracted the attention of researchers, architects, engineers, property developers, and authorities. In addition, by
greening the rooftops in urban area, the impact on the urban climate and micro climate as well as on the indoor climate of
buildings beneath them will be reduced. Generally, a green roof is a vegetated roof or deck designed to provide urban greening
for buildings, people, or the environment. Studies reported by Gill et al. (2007), show that an increase by 10% of the urban green
in Manchester, UK, could amortize the predicted increase by 4 K, of the ambient temperature over the next 80 years. Therefore,
the purpose of this paper is to give a basic understanding of green roof concept as global. Discussion on the benefits of the
concept, their components, types of plants and so on are among topic will be discussed .
Keywords: Green roof technology; urban greening; global warming; roof garden
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Phenomenon of Global warming or climate change such as higher atmospheric temperatures, increase
greenhouse gas emission and intensive precipitation has grabbed peoples attention and become critical worldwide.
According to Maslin (2004), the mean global temperature has increased about 0.3 to 0.6 0C since the late of 19th
century and the high of temperature, rising of sea level and abundant precipitation are seen as the indicators of
global warming. Meanwhile, Santamouris (2001) mentioned that the most documented phenomenon of climate
change is heat island. This phenomenon is related to higher urban temperatures compared to the adjacent suburban
and rural areas and being known for almost a century. Several studies have analyzed that higher urban temperatures
increase the energy consumption for cooling and raise the peak electricity demand.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +605-3742442; fax: +605-3742244

E-mail address:nooraz376@perak.uitm.edu.my
254
Globally, buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of the total world annual energy consumption.
Most of this energy is for the provision of lighting, heating, cooling, and air conditioning. According to Biro
Maklumat Tenaga Malaysia, higher energy consumption in office building in Malaysia is due to the consumption of
air-conditioning system whereby it’s contribute to 64% from the overall energy consumption. Meanwhile, its
represents 23% of energy used for residential building. In Europe, buildings represent 40% of the overall energy
consumption and 36% of the overall CO2 emissions (Chen GQ et al., 2011; Petersdorff C et. al., 2006). United
States Green Building Council (USGBC), estimated that commercial and residential construction buildings release
30% of greenhouse gases and consumes 65% of electricity in USA. Announcement by the Prime Minister, Y.A.B
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Denmark in 2009 to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 40% by 2020, was a brilliant
move and shows the commitment of the government in addressing environmental issues at the global level.
In conjunction with, it is recognized that construction practices are one of the major contributors of
environmental problems. As responding to the overwhelming demand in urban development as well as to global
environmental issues, the concept of sustainability has been introduced to the construction sector. Spence R et.al
(1995) mentioned that green construction aims to develop environmental friendly construction practices that
contribute in reduction of emissions, energy saving, re-use and recycle of materials. To counterbalance the
phenomenon, several ways either active or passive constructions have been developed and proposed. Among them,
Green Roofs Technology appears as a natural and sustainable way to help urban centres respond to climate change
and improve urban environmental quality. This technology is more popular across Europe over the past few decades.
In contrast, implementation of this technology in Malaysia is still new and scant.
2.0 WHAT IS A GREEN ROOF?
Green roofs, also known as eco-roofs, living roofs, planted roofs or vegetated roofs, use plants to improve a
roof’s performance, its appearance, or both. As mentioned by Anon (2007); Dunnett and Kingsbury (2004), green
roofs is a planted roof or can be defined as a roof that consists of vegetation and growing medium and sometime
refers to the roof garden in some places. Goddard et al., (2009) stated that a green roof is a roof structure that are
designed to support vegetation onto a flat or sloping rooftop. In addition to their ecological characteristics, green
roofs are sophisticated systems to provide a fully functioning roof. They are made up of several membranes such as
waterproofing, root-barrier, drainage layer and filter membranes onto which a substrate layer is placed to allow
vegetation to grow (Dvorak and Volder, 2010).
In the meantime, Oberndorfer et al., (2007) also defined green roof as a flat or pitch rooftop designed to
support vegetation on it. Soil depths can range from a few centimeters for a dense mat of succulent plants to 20cm to
1m or even deeper for more intensively managed roof gardens. Green roof systems have been shown to promote
many ecosystem services such as improved storm water management, reducing energy usage for cooling, minimized
heat island effects, and as attraction of wildlife habitat.
Green roof can be divided into two distinguished types which are either considered as extensive or intensive
(refer figure 1,2,3 and 4). Roughly, extensive green roofs are light and covered by a thin layer of vegetation such as
sedum meanwhile intensive green roofs are more heavier and able to support small trees and shrubs. According to
Osmundson (1999), intensive green roof or famously known as a roof garden are normally suite to be built on the
reinforced–concrete or steel frame roofs structures that are strong enough to support the load. However, with the
technological advances, its can be built on the various types of structures nowdays. Extensive green roofs with a
substrate layer with a maximum depth of about 150 mm, with usually Sedum species as the major part of the
vegetation. Intensive green roofs with a substrate layer with a depth of more than 150 mm, and usually grasses,
perennial herbs and shrubs make up the main constituents of the vegetation (Krupka. B et. al., 1992 and Kolb. W et.
al., 1999). Besides that, D.J. Sailor (2008) mentioned that the green roof growing medium depth for intensive green
roofs is typically between 10 and 30 cm, although some implementations have deeper soils capable of sustaining
large shrubs and even trees. The thinner implementations typically not more than 20 cm depth and can only sustain a
smaller plants and ground cover is known as extensive green roofs.
255
Figure 1: Extensive green roof at School of Art, Figure 2 : Extensive green roof buildings in
Design & Media, Nanyang Technological Europe.
University, Singapore.
Figure 3 : Intensive green roof on the Coast Plaza Figure 4 : Office building in Hazelton,
Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia Pennsylvania.
The differences between extensive and intensive green roofs are summarized in the table 1 below.
Table 1: Summarized of the differences between extensive and intensive green roofs
INTENSIVE GREEN ROOF EXTENSIVE GREEN ROOF
 Require intensive maintenance  Require extensive maintenance

 Accessible  Inaccessible
 Require deeper substrate (min 15 cm)  Require shallow substrate (only 2-15 cm)
 Heavy weight (saturated weight  Low weight (saturated weight between 60-150
between 200 to 500 kg/m2) kg/m2)
 High cost of installation  Low cost of installation
Source: Werthmann, 2007& German National Standard DIN 1055
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3.0 GREEN ROOF BENEFITS
Generally, green roofs entail growing plants on rooftops, which partially replaces the vegetation that was
destroyed when the building was constructed. In doing so they provide numerous benefits that can help offset the
negative aspects of pollution, especially in the urban environment. They can improve storm water management by
reducing runoff and improving water quality, conserve energy, mitigate the urban heat island, increase longevity of
roofing membranes, reduce noise and air pollution, sequester carbon, increase urban biodiversity by providing
habitat for wildlife, provide a more aesthetically pleasing environment to work and live, and improve return on
investment compared to traditional roofs (D. Bradley Rowe, 2011). The benefits of green roof as mentioned by D.
Bradley Rowe were agreed by worldwide researchers as follows:
3.1 Storm water management

Moran et. al, (2005) stated that current research underway at North Carolina State University had prove that
application of green roof has tremendous potential for addressing storm water runoff and water quality. They
suggests that green roofs with 4 inch (10cm) of substrate retain as much as 60 percent of all rainwater.
Lin Y-J et. al., (2011) & Carter T et. al., (2007) has mentioned in their research that by absorbing rainwater in
their substrate, the impact of heavy rains could be mitigate and delay the water runoff, which affect urban areas with
impermeable soils. Green roofs also has a potential to decrease the risk of floods, water reprocessing and duct
overloading.
Although many studies have demonstrated that green roofs can retain rainfall, but the quantity retained
depends on many variables, such as the depth of substrate, the selection of vegetation types and the period and
intensity of precipitation. This variation prevents generalizations being made about the efficiency of green roofs in
this respect (Carter and Fowler, 2008)
3.2 Longer life of the roof membrane

Green roof can also significantly extend the life of a roof by protecting its roofing membrane. This, in turn,
reduces roofing costs in the long run. Because of green roof covers the roofing membrane with a series of layers, it
protects it from the extreme temperature fluctuations and ultraviolet rays that degrade traditional exposed roofing
membranes (Snodgrass E.C et. al, 2006).
3.3 Aesthetic and practical benefits.

According to Gedge (2003), green roof offers habitat for birds and insects, purifies the air, produces oxygen,
sequesters carbon dioxide and other pollutants, and returns moisture and coolness to the air through
evapotranspiration. In Europe, intensive and extensive green roofs are also frequently designed as recreational or
open spaces, and playgrounds over underground parking garages due to populations are more densely concentrated.
Meanwhile, Karts (2004) stated that among other environmental beneficial practices in and on buildings,
green roof also have indirect impact positively towards the people living or working around them. The performance
and worker productivity in green buildings to be substantially is higher compare with a buildings that are less
environmental friendly.
3.4 Mitigation of the urban heat island effect

Green roofs is that their presence allows for evapotranspiration, and the resultant humidification and air
cooling will, in turn reduce the heat island effect. In urban areas, this effect increases night temperatures in the heart
of the city (Wong NH et.al., 2003)
3.5 Reduce noise pollution

The hard surfaces of urban areas tend to reflect sound rather than absorb it. Green roofs can absorb sound,
however with both substrate and plants making a contribution, the former tending to block lower sound frequencies
257
and the latter higher ones. Some extravagant claims are made about the ability of green roofs to reduce noise. For
example, it has been stated that a green roof with a 12cm (4.8in) substrate layer can reduce sound by 40 decibels
while a 20cm (8 in) layer can reduce by 46-50 decibels (Peck, 2003).
Burke (2003), mentioned that the installation of the green roof at the award-winning Gap’s 90I Cherry Hill
office in California was one of the main reasons for acoustic insulation. The roof aimed to dampen sound
transmission by as much as 50 decibels.
3.6 Thermal reduction and thus energy saving.

The green roof is also able to reduce the energy consumption and improve the internal comfort during the
spring and summer seasons, in sites where the climatology is characterized by high temperature and irradiance
values during the day (Onmura S. Et. al, 1994)
Few studies were investigated in the Southern hemisphere where the green roof potential as a natural cooling
is still unknown or poorly known. Wong et al. (2003) explored the thermal benefits of a green roof in Singapore
through an experimental test done before and after the construction of a rooftop garden. That study concluded that
the thermal protection of plants also highly depends on their leaf area index (LAI) since lower temperatures were
found under dense trees and shrubs as compared to sparse foliages.
Further explanations for the benefit of green roof on thermal performance are discussed in chapter 5.0.
The benefits of green roofs are many and varities. As a conclusion, the summarized of green roof benefits
are stated in table 2 below.
Table 2: Summarized of green roof benefits.

BUILDING OWNER COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT
1.Reduce air-conditioning costs  Reduce storm water runoff  Prevent combined sewer
2.Reduce winter heating costs  Reduce city “heat island” overflow
3.Storm water management tool effect  Reduce carbon monoxide
 Government and municipality  Reduce smog and improve air impact
incentives quality  Remove nitrogen pollution
 Improve public relations  Reduce noise from rain
 Transform dead space into  Reduce energy demand  Neutralize acid rain effect
garden space  Improve aesthetics  Provide habitat for wildlife
 Provide a green space
Source: http://www.greenrooftechnology.com/advantages-of-green-roofs
4.0 COMPONENTS OF A GREEN ROOF
A green roof is an engineered system that must meet basic roofing requirements. The system includes layers
that protect building from leaks, allow excess water drain, retain sufficient water to support the vegetation, prevent
plant roots from penetrating the roof membrane and in some cases insulate the building. Typical green roof layers
may include the following components as refer to http://suite101.com/article/green-roof-components:
4.1 Vegetation
The type of plants used for the green roof depends on the type of green roof design, the depth of growing medium
installed, and the climate zone. An Intensive green roofs may use any plant, including shrubs, perennials, trees, and
so on. Meanwhile, Extensive green roof generally uses drought resistant plants with shallow roots such as Sedums
and lawn.
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4.2 Growing Medium

The plants are supported in a growing medium, not soil. The growing medium is lightweight engineered substance
that provides the necessary nutrients for the plants, absorbs and drains water efficiently. Growing mediums typically
designed and tested to suit specific growing conditions and requirements.
4.3 Filter Mats

Filter mats is installed to hold the growing medium in place and to prevent any small particles from washing out to
the drainage layer and clogging the drains. They may be integrated into the drainage layer or installed separately.
4.4 Holding Cups and Retention Mats

In reservoir systems, a layer is added to store excess water for later use. This layer reduces the need for irrigation.
Water collects in these cups or mats and is available to the plants during dry weather. This layer has the added
benefit of reducing the amount of runoff from the roof.
4.4 Drainage Layer

Excess water must be able to drain from the roof to prevent the growing medium from becoming oversaturated. The
drainage layer must handle surface water, subsurface water, and transporting water from the roof to gutters and
downspouts. The type and size of the drainage layer depend on the type of green roof being installed.
4.4 Insulation
By adding a layer of insulation, the green roof is able to regulate the interior temperature of the building and reduce
the amount of energy required to heat and cool the building. In some cases, the insulation layer is integrated with the
drainage layer. If applied as a separate layer, it can be installed under or over the roof deck or directly over the
waterproofing membrane.
4.5 Root Barrier

Some plant roots are aggressive and, if unimpeded, can penetrate the roofing membrane and damage the roofing
system. This layer prevents plants from growing deeper into the roofing system and protects the waterproof
membrane from damage.
4.6 Waterproof Membrane

This membrane either as a liquid or in sheets is applied to the building surface and keeps water from leaking into the
building construction. In some cases, the membrane will also contain a root barrier either as a laminated surface or
through chemical additives in the coating.
259
Figure 5 : A Section of a Typical Green Roof Components

(Source : http://www.lid-stormwater.net/greenroofs_specs.htm)
5.0 GREEN ROOF AS A PASSIVE COOLING METHOD
Green roofs can offer a sustainable green surface by improving urban climate, minimizing heat island effects
and simultaneously protecting biodiversity. Many studies have demonstrated that a green roof is able to reduce the
energy consumption by lowering the thermal absorption and improve the internal comfort of buildings. As stated by
Eumorfopoulou and Aravantinos, (1998), by providing large surfaces with vegetation, they contribute to the
improvement of thermal performance of buildings. This finding was supported by Niachou A, et al (2001) which
discovered the indoor temperature values in the building with green roof are lower during the day. They measured
the roof temperatures in non-insulated building with and without green roof. The result shows that the surface
temperature of non-insulated building without green roof are varied from 42 to 480C while the surface temperatures
of the green roof upon non-insulated building are lower and ranging from 28 to 400C. They also concluded that the
existence of large temperature differences due to the installation of green roof could contribute to energy saving
potential (Asmat Ismail et. al., 2008).
Several properties of green roofs contribute to their thermal characteristics ; direct shading of the roof,
evaporative cooling from the plants and the growing medium, additional insulation values from both the plants and
the growing medium, and the thermal mass effects of the growing medium (Liu and Baskaran, 2003). Differences in
these factors can have important effects on the roof’s performance (Dunnett, N. & kingsbury, N. (2004). A group of
researchers from Japan has conducted the field measurements of roof lawn garden planted on non-woven fabric on
an actual three-storey pre-cast reinforced concrete building. From the measurements, it confirmed that the amount of
heat coming into room during summer was reduced by a roof lawn garden. The reduction of roof slab surface
temperature from 60 to 300C was observed during the measurement and estimation of 50 percent in heat flux was
calculated by simple calculation (Onmura et al., 2001). Another study on the thermal performance of extensive
rooftop greenery systems has been conducted in Singapore by Wong et al. (2007). That study concluded that the
260
green roof tends to experience lower surface temperature than the original exposed roof surface. In areas well
covered by vegetation, over 60 percent of heat gain was prevented by the implementation of green roof system.
According to that study, the heat flux through the roof structure was greatly reduced after the installation of the
green roof system (Asmat Ismail et. al., 2008)..
Spala et al (2008) found that the installation of green roof on the office building in Athens presents a
significant contribution to the energy saving during summer period. The remarkable reduction of the building
cooling load was estimated during the simulation study. However, during winter, the effect of green roof installation
is not significant because of the variation of heating load was quite small. Green roof also can effectively reduce the
need for air conditioning in summertime thus contribute to energy saving in building (Liu and Baskaran, 2003). Liu,
in another study, made a conclusion that green roofs are giving better performance in the summer than in the winter
because the ability of reducing heat gain than heat loss (Liu, 2006). Researchers also proved that plants and
substrates are the major contributor to the thermal performance and energy reduction aspect.
6.0 CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, the issue of increasing energy consumption in a building is due to the increasing outdoor
temperature and it’s related to environmental issues such as global warming and heat island. Most of the researchers
worldwide collectively agreed that one way of reducing the impact of global warming and heat transfer into the
building is by implementing green roof technology. However, as stated by Czemiel Berndtsson et al., (2009), the
effects of green roofs on energy consumption through thermal reduction are influenced by the type of vegetation
used, climate, intensity and duration of precipitation, substrate depth, and also the type of building. That statement
was supported by M. Santamouris (2012) which indicated that the specific energy benefits depend on the local
climate, the green roof design and more importantly on the specific building characteristics. Hence, further research
on the performance of thermal reduction and plant characteristics suitable to the Malaysia climatic condition is
crucial to be studied.
References
Asmat Ismail, M. H. A. S. A. A. M. A. R. (2008). Using Green Roof Concept As A Passive Design Technology To
Minimise The Impact Of Global Warming. 2nd International Conference On Built Environment In Developing
Countries (ICBEDC 2008).
Carter T, Jackson CR. Vegetated roofs for stormwater management at multiple spatial scales. Landscape Urban
Plann 2007;80(1e2):84e94.
Carter, T., Fowler, L., 2008. Establishing green roof infrastructure through environmental policy instruments.
Environmental Management 42, 151e164.
Chen Gq, Chen H, Chen Zm, Zhang Bo, Shao L, Guo S, Et Al. Low-Carbon Building Assessment And Multi-Scale
Inputeoutput Analysis. Commun Nonlinear Sci Numer Simul 2011;16:583e95.
Czemiel Berndtsson, J., Bengtsson, L., Jinno, K., 2009. Runoff water quality from intensive and extensive vegetated
roofs. Ecological Engineering 35, 369e380.
D. Bradley Rowe (2011). Green roofs as a means of pollution abatement. Environmental Pollution 159 (2011)
2100e2110
D. J. Sailor (2008). A Green Roof Model For Building Energy Simulation Programs. Energy And Buildings 40
(2008) 1466–1478.
261
Dunnett, N. & kingsbury, N. (2004) Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls, Portland, Timber Press.
Dvorak, B., Volder, A., 2010. Green roof vegetation for North American ecoregions: a literature review. Landscape
and Urban Planning 96, 197e213
Eumorfopoulou, E. & Aravantinos, D. (1998) The Contribution Of A Planted Roof To The Thermal Protection Of
Buildings In Greece. Energy And Buildings, 27, 29-36.
Krupka B, DachbegrÜnung. Pflanzen-Undvegetationsanwendung An Bauwerken. Stuttgart :Ulmer; 1992 Krupka

B, DachbegrÜnung. Pflanzen-Undvegetationsanwendung An Bauwerken. Stuttgart :Ulmer; 1992
Lin Y-J, Lin H-T. Thermal performance of different planting substrates and irrigation frequencies in extensive
tropical rooftop greeneries. Building Environ 2011;46(2):345e55.
Liu, K. & Baskaran, B. (2003) Thermal Performance Of Green Roofs Through Field Evaluation. Greening Rooftops
For Sustainable Communities,” The First North American Green Roofs Infrastructure Conference, Awards, And
Trade Show, Chicago, IL, May, 29-30.
Liu, K. (2006) Thermal Performance Of Green Roofs In Canada. British Columbia Institute Of Technology
Maslin, M. (2004) Global Warming: A Very Short Introduction, New York, Oxford University Press.
Oberndorfer, E., Lundholm, J., Bass, B., Coffman, R., Doshi, H., Dunnett, N., et al., 2007. Green roofs as urban
ecosystems: ecological structures, functions, and services. Bioscience 57 (10), 823–833.
Onmura S, Matsumoto M, Hokoi S. A study on evaporative cooling effect by roof lawn garden. Proceedings of the
European conference on energy performance and indoor climate in buildings 1994:634–9.
Onmura, S., Et Al. (2001) Study On Evaporative Cooling Effect Of Roof Lawn Gardens. Energy And Buildings, 33,
653-666.
Peck, S.P 2003a. Private benefits, public benefits. Available via http:// www.peck.ca.grhcc/
Santamouris, M. (Ed.), 2001. Energy And Climate In The Urban Built Environment. James And James Science
Publishers, London.
Spala, A., Et Al. (2008) On The Green Roof System. Selection, State Of The Art And Energy Potential Investigation
Of A System Installed In An Office Building In Athens, Greece. Renewable Energy, 33, 173-177.
Spence R, Mulligan H. Sustainable Development And The Construction Industry. Habitat Int 1995;19(3):279e92.
UNDP & EPU, (2005), Malaysia: Achieving The Millennium Development Goals-Successes And Challenges,
Kuala Lumpur, United Nations Country Team, Malaysia.
Werthmann, C. (2007) Green Roof - A Case Study: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates' Design for the
Headquaters of the American Society of Landscape Architects, New York, Princeton Architectural Press.
Wong NH, Chen Y, Ong CL, Sia A. Investigation of thermal benefits of rooftop garden in the tropical environment.
Building Environ 2003;38(2):261e70.
Available via http://suite101.com/article/green-roof-components
Available via http://www.lid-stormwater.net/greenroofs_specs.htm
Available via http://www.ntu.edu.sg/publicportal
262
Identifying the Level of Awareness on Value Management

Practice amongst Construction Developers
N. S. Lopa33*, M. ‘A. M. Apandib, I. F. M. Kamarc, N. M. Sallehd, S. Mamtere, N. A. M.

Hamdanf
a,b,c,,d,e,f
Department of Quantity Surveying, Faculty of Architecture Planning and Surveying, UiTM Perak,32610 Bandar Baru Seri Iskandar,
Perak,Malaysia.
Abstract
Construction Industry is one of the catalysts that enable such a nation economy to kept runs and grow from time to time. In this
large and unique industry, the position of Architect, Engineer, Quantity Surveyor and Builders is the position that had been so
familiar generally. Many of people do not aware with Value Management practice in Malaysia. Value Management may be
described as a structured, analytical process for developing innovative holistic solutions to complex problems. The objective of
this research is to identify the level of awareness on Value Management practice amongst Construction Developers. In this study,
the General Manager, Professionals and Project Manager from 34 Developers Company registered under Real Estate and
Housing Developers’ Association (REHDA) in Kelantan State has been chosen as respondents. Quantitative methods have been
used and 102 sets of questionnaire had been distributed where the returned was only 81 sets. The results indicate that most of the
respondents did aware with the Value Management issues in Malaysia. Ultimately, this research paper hoped to contribute in the
improvement of the implementation of Value Management in Malaysia especially amongst Developers.
Keywords: Value Management; Awareness; Construction Developers; Construdtion Industry.
1. Introduction
Construction Industry is the sector that commonly related to the sector that contribute to the growth of other
sector in such a country. Construction industry provides physical development and infrastructure like new
residential, roads, bridge, and towers thus, all sector require construction industry in providing the place or buildings
to operate such work in a sector. Most of the sector involves in runs the economic growth will require construction
industry to build up their office, factory and premises.
According to New South Wales in value management guideline (2004) described that, Value Management as a
structured, analytical process for developing innovative holistic solutions to complex problems. Jaapar (2006) stated
that, Value Management is a multi-disciplinary, team orientated, structured, analytical process and systematic
analysis of function which seeks best value via the design and construction process to meet the client’s perceived
needs’. Typically, value management functions to ensure that such construction project will achieve value for
money product without ignoring the clients need and requirements towards the project.
In Malaysia, value management was first introduced to the construction industry in 1986 which is almost 3
decade ago, but yet, the application of value management in Malaysia Construction Industry is still in its infancy
(Jaapar and Torrance, 2006). Most of the parties involved in Malaysia construction industry do not implement the
* Corresponding author:
E-mail address: norsu993@perak.uitm.edu.my
263
value management process even though the profession was introduced long time ago. Many researchers in Malaysia
had carried out research regarding the application of value management in Malaysia.
Value management practice is not widely used in Malaysia even though it was first introduced in Malaysia
construction Industry in 1986 (Jaapar and Torrance, 2006). Even though it had been more than 25 years of the value
management introduction in Malaysia construction industry, the application of this profession is still at a low
numbers. The value management terms it seems likely not to be involves in most of construction project due to lack
of knowledge on its practice. Even though the studies of VM have found that the implementation of VM by the
construction participants in Malaysia still at the infant stage, but the level of awareness amongst the specific
construction participants is still not yet identified. Hence, a further research will be carry out in order to find out the
level of awareness that affect to the level of application and practice of Value Management for the construction
project by focusing at Kelantan State only. This research only focuses on the identifying level of awareness on
Value Management practice (VM) amongst construction developers in Kelantan State.
2. The Levels of Awareness on Value Management Practice
Saifulnizam et al (2011) mentioned in their research paper that Value Management (VM) is a structured,
systematic and analytical process which seeks to achieve value for money by providing all the necessary functions at
the lowest total cost consistent with the required levels of quality and performance. Additionally, it is a technique for
improving client value in projects, products, processes and systems which has been internationally recognized for
almost forty years (Kelly et al, 2004).
Ong (2003) stated that, VM has been widely practiced in countries like the USA, UK, Australia and Hong
Kong, it is still not so in Malaysia due to the lack of knowledge and awareness of its existence and applications. VM
also can be considered still at its infant stage in Malaysia as only a handful of construction projects have been
known to apply VM so far by the construction parties.
According Jaapar (2006) in the research paper of value management study to the Malaysian construction
industry, stated that, the implementation of value management in overall construction industry will be depending on
the results of whether the application and partied value management is consistent with internationally practices and
what had been experienced by the project that had been applying Value Management in their project.
As quoted from Che Mat (1999) is his research paper of the challenges and potential of value management in
local construction industry, he claimed that the significant contributions and tremendous amount of savings resulting
from value management studies lead to its worldwide application especially in developed countries and many
requires formal value management studies for their projects above certain budget. He adds that in Malaysia, Value
Management application is still at infant stage. However, judging from the feedback that gathered from the Value
Management road show in 6 major towns in Malaysia and Brunei towards the end of 1997, the respond were very
encouraging and many have shown their interest to further understand this technique”(Che Mat,1999).
Saifulnizam et al (2011) in his research paper mentioned that, the level of awareness and appreciation of VM
as an essential toolset for providing better value has developed sufficiently over time to the extent that the Institute
of Value Management Malaysia (IVMM) was established in 2000 with support and encouragement from
Government agencies such as the Professional Services and Development Corporation (PSDC).
Bowen et al (2009) also stated that, the use of VM among South African quantity surveyors does not reach
their reported levels of awareness of this management technique. He also stressed that, indeed, their awareness also
appears to relate more to older understandings of value engineering, rather than to more contemporary developments
of VM and its application.
Jaapar. et al (2009) in the result also confirmed that the majority (51%) of the respondents did not practice the
VM methodology in their working environment and a large number of organisations had no experience in any
workshop in the application of VM study in the construction projects procured. She was also found that more than
half of the projects (57%) used in-house facilitators to facilitate the VM workshops rather than hiring an
independent VM facilitator, it was also found that 63% of respondents did possess a good level of understanding
towards the VM concept by the quality of feedback gathered from the questionnaire.
264
3. Methodology
This research collected data by hand questionnaire and distributed to the developer companies in Kelantan
state. The survey has been carried out on the developers registered under The Real Estate and Housing Developers’
Association (REHDA) by selecting overall developer’s company available in Kelantan state to gather relevant data
in this study. Overall of 34 developers registered under REHDA been chosen for the study and each of 34
companies will be distributed with three (3) sets of questionnaires. The targeted respondents are the top management
and professionals of the company. Therefore, 102 sets of questionnaires have been distributed by hand which is 3
sets provided for each company making the overall respondents to be 102. The numbers of returned questionnaires
are 81 respondents.
The data were analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 21 software to
produce descriptive statistics. These results were presented in the form of tabulation. This research paper will guide
the result obtain from the quantitative result to determine the research outcome to be parallel or not with the referred
research paper. As the result is compared with the literature, the conclusion is made and the recommendation for the
future research could be obtain.
4.1 Demographic Background
Table 1 : Years of company established (n=81)

Years of company
Frequency Percentage (%)
established
< 5 years 15 18.5
5 - 10 years 18 22.2
10 - 15 years 18 22.2
>15 years 30 37.0
Total 81 100.0
Table 1 shows the range for the years of the respondents’ company. There are about four (4) ranges of years
listed in the company particulars form. The purpose of this question is to identify the level time experience of the
respondents’ company do achieved in construction industry. Based on the returned questionnaires, it is found that
the highest percentage of the established years is more than 15 years with the percentage of 37% out of 100%. The
range of years between 5 to 10 years and 10 to 15 years of company establishment do share the same percentage
which are both 22% and considered to be the second highest respondents.
The least numbers of respondents are from the company that been established less than 5 years. It is due to the
facts that most of the respondents are from the company that had been in the construction industry for a long time
and considered to have lots of experience especially involved with the management tools that will create a value for
money for the project.
Table 2 : Company Experience in VM (n=81)
Company have
Frequency Percentage (%)
experience in VM
Yes 51 63.0
No 30 37.0
Total 81 100.0
265
Based on the results from Table 2, it shows that, the numbers of company that do have experience in Value
Management process. It is found that 63% of the respondents claimed that their company have an experience in
practicing Value Management and only 37% declare that their company does not have any experience and not
practicing the Value Management in their construction project. This situation indicates that majority of the
developer’s company have an experience even a basic knowledge regarding Value Management process.
4.2 Developer’s Level of Awareness on Value Management Practice
This question was aimed to determine the level of awareness among the staff which is eventually represent the
company regarding the Government in the 10 th Malaysia Plan which had enforced that the Value Management
practice should be done on the project over RM50 million.
Based on the obtained result in Table 4.3, the result shows that the score mean (4.00) is actually between the
scale rating of 4.50 to 5.00 which represent the entire answer to be agreed with the statement of the company to
aware with the 10th National Plan regarding the Value Management process should be implement in the project over
RM50 million. This result shows that most of the company aware with current issues especially issues of VM in
construction industry.
For the statement Company top management support the staff in understanding VM recorded that, the score
mean is 3.96 and represent the results to be slightly agree. The score mean tell us that, the respondents slightly agree
that the company top management is concerned with Value Management process and have the attitude of supporting
the staff in understanding Value Management process.
Table 3: The Level of Awareness on Value Management Practice (n=81)
Section Statement of Awareness Mean
1 Company aware with RMK-10th plan regarding the VM 4.00

process for project over RM50 mil.
2 Company top management support the staff in 3.96
understanding VM.
3 Understanding of meaning and function of VM. 3.91
4 Company have VM Guidelines for VM process. 3.89
5 Company provide sufficient Information regarding VM to 3.83
staffs.
6 Company provide the staffs with VM Guidelines. 3.81
7 Company professionals do attend seminars regarding VM. 3.81
8 Company concerned with VM and do organize training 3.70
among staffs.
9 Having in-house training for VM. 3.57
10 Company recognize the benefits of VM. 4.22
AVERAGE MEAN 3.87
Score mean for the statement of company recognize the benefits of VM is 4.22 and it is between the ranges of
4.50 to 5.50 which represent the results to be agreed with the statement. It is due to the fact that most of the
company does recognize the benefits of implementing VM process throughout the building development study. It is
a positive sign for the Value Management to be highly used in Kelantan state as the awareness towards its benefits
had been highly recognize by the construction industry members.
266
Results from Table 3 also indicates the score mean for the statement of having in-house training for VM is 3.57
for which represent the whole answer also to be slightly agree. Based on the result, we can say that most of the
respondents are aware with the involvement and existence of Value Management in the construction industry.
Referring to the average mean of the results for the whole statements, 3.87, it can be summarized that the level
of awareness amongst the developers towards Value Management Practice in Malaysia especially in Kelantan State
had been established. This statement is supported by Jaapar and Torrance (2006), it was also found that 63% of
respondents did possess a good level of understanding towards the VM concept by the quality of feedback gathered
from the questionnaire.
5. Conclusion
The aim of this research paper is to identify the level of awareness towards Value Management practice
amongst the construction developers in Kelantan State. A broad literature review has provided some findings of the
previous research conducted in order to find the level of awareness towards Value Management practice amongst
Malaysian construction developers. The level of awareness towards Value Management practice amongst the
Construction developers in Kelantan State has been successfully identified and the results indicate that average
mean score for each question is 3.87 which concluded that they are aware of the existence and the issues of Value
Management in Malaysian construction Industry but still face some barriers to implement it. Future research papers
will report on the identification of the barriers and facilitating factors in implementing and practicing VM in
Malaysia.
References
New South Wales Treasury (2004). Value Management Guideline. Total Asset Management, 1-18.
Jaapar A. (2006). Value Management Study to the Malaysia Construction Industry, 1-13.
Jaapar A. & Prof. Dr. Victor Torrance J. (2006). Contribution Of Value Management To The Malaysian
Construction Industry: A New Insight. In International Conference on Construction Industry.
M. Saifulnizam, V. Coffey, and C.N. Preece (2011), Value Management: An Extension of Quantity Surveying
Services in Malaysia. International Construction Business & Management Symposium.
Kelly, J. R., S. Male, et al. (2004). Value Management of Construction Projects. Blackwell Science Publishing.
Ong H.T. (2003). Quality and Value Management in Construction ‘Achieving Excellence through Value-Managed
Quality System (VMQS)’, Instituition Surveyor Malaysia.
Che Mat M.M. (1999). The Challenges And Potential Of Value Management In Local Construction Industry. Jurnal
Alam Bina, 41-47.
Bowen P., Cattell K., Edwards P., Jay I. (2009). Value management practice by South African Quantity Surveyors.
Emerald Journal.
Jaapar A., Endut I.R., Ahmad Bari N. A., Takim R. (2009). The Impact of Value Management Implementation in
Malaysia, Journal of sustainable Development, 2(2).
267
The Escalating of Numbers of Foreign Workers in Construction

Site
a b c d e
N. M. Salleh , S. Mamter , N. S. Lop , I. F. M. Kamar , N. A. M. Hamdan 34*
a,b,c,d,e
Faculty Architecture, Planning and Surveying, University Teknologi MARA (Perak), 32610, Malaysia
Abstract
Malaysia is developing rapidly and striving towards becoming a developed country by the year 2020. In the process of doing so,
the need to hire foreign workers is inevitable but the migrant flows cannot be controlled. Currently Malaysia was flooding by
foreigners. This paper is evaluating the factors effecting the increasing in the numbers of foreign workers on site. A critical
review of the literature was extracted and part of the reason because of the Malaysian economics is booming and the
characteristics of the construction industry itself make the foreigners comfortable works on site. This paper discusses the results
from the conducted questionnaire survey among the contractors in Selangor. Based on the average index, there are several
important factors identified by the respondents influencing the escalating of numbers of foreign workers in construction site such
as shortage of manpower, reluctant of local labour, project increased the demand for labour and accelerating economic
development. Based on the result hopefully, this factor will improve the decision making process in recruiting labour on site.
Keywords: Foreign workers, construction labour, construction site;
1. Introduction
By the end of 80’s, the booming of the industrial revolution in Malaysia started. The country’s population could not
catch up the surge forward by eager entrepreneurs. Sectors such as construction, plantation and manufacturing
industries actually drained off all the local manpower resources. As a result, the country needs to import workforce
due to several reason. Local people who were being trained were promoted to supervisor level or higher
management level, thus more vacancies are available. Employer’s overcome the manpower shortage problem by
import the workforce from other countries which had excess manpower at a reasonable cost. The foreign workers
who being employed not only obtain the job opportunity where their own country shortage of, but also earn an
income to improve their lives with his family.
Currently, Malaysia has achieved a successful economic growth and full employment. Although the Malaysian
economic situation showed a good performance during the normal period, the Malaysian economy actually faced a
tight situation in the labour market. The demand for labour is high. According to Che Amat (2011), the projects
under the 10th Malaysian Plan (10MP) and Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) include Mass Rapid
Transit (MRT) which will cost over RM40 billion and require up to 130,000 skilled construction workers in various
trades.
In addition, due to the local workers are unable to fulfill the demand of the construction market. The Malaysian
construction industry has been experiencing a critical shortage of workforce. Hence, the contractors are willing to
import foreign workers to meet the needs and requirement of the labour market in the construction sector, which is

E-mail address: noraz470@perak.uitm.edu.my.
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indirect, contributes to the escalating number of the foreign workers. Therefore, the escalating has continually from
time to time.
2. Statistic of Foreign Workers in Malaysia
In the Population Census 1991, foreigners account for 4.4% of the Malaysian population of over 18.3 million. By
2000, the foreign population increased to over 1.384 million or 5.9%. It is believed that census figures on foreign
nationals are understated as it is well known that many of the illegal residing in the country at the time of the census,
refrained from enumeration for fear of being identified and deported. Out of a total over 1.38 million foreigners in
the country in 2000, only about 820,000 were registered as employees and expatriates with the Department of
Immigration, less than 100,000 refugees and around 30,000 foreign students. The remaining numbers, around
435,000 are most likely illegal immigrants (Kassim, 2005).
From a peak of around 1.5 million in 1997, the number of registered foreign workers fell to a low of around 800,000
by 2000. With economic recovery, the number of registered migrant workers in the Peninsula has once again risen to
around 847,000 in 2002 and to 1.1 million in 2003. As in December 2005, this figure stood at 1.9 million
(Kanapathy 2006).
Navamukundan (2002) indicated that as at July 1999, the total number of registered foreign workers according to the
government was 715,145 of whom 73% were Indonesians, 19% Bangladeshis, 3% Filipinos and the remainder from
other nations such as India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, all the Malaysians are aware that the actual
number of foreign labour far exceeds this number. It is estimated that approximately 1.5 million foreign labours
(both legal and illegal) work in Malaysia.
In mid-2001, the population of Malaysia numbered 23.8 million, with 33 percent under the age of 15. It is projected
that the population will grow to 33.7 million in 2025. The labour force increased from 9.6 million in 2000 to 9.9
million in 2001. Migrant labour makes up approximately 20 percent of the Malaysian workforce. The country
currently has between 1.7 million to two million foreign workers, of whom 770,000 are legal. The foreign workers
are primarily from Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, and India. They are employed in
factories, in the construction industry, and on plantations (Bureau of International Affairs 2002).
The Annual Labour Force Survey conducted by the Department of Statistics, revealed that the number of foreign
workers has increased to 1.1 million in 2000 compared to about 136,000 persons in the early 1980s. Latest
immigration statistics indicate that the number of legal foreign workers in Malaysia rose to 1,359,632 as at July
2004. The majority of foreign workers are from Indonesia, averaging 66.5% of total foreign workers, followed by
Nepal (9.2%), Bangladesh (8.0%), India (4.5%) and Myanmar (4.2%), as shown in Table 1. In 2001, male foreign
workers accounted for 66% of total foreign workers and they dominated all major sectors, except services.
Table 1: Composition of Foreign Workers by Country of Origin (%)
Country 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Jan-July 2004
Indonesia 53.3 65.7 69.4 68.4 64.7 63.8 66.5
Nepal 0.1 0.1 0.1 7.3 9.7 9.7 9.2
Bangladesh 37.1 27.0 24.6 17.1 9.7 8.4 8.0
India 3.6 3.2 3.0 4.0 4.6 5.6 4.5
Myanmar 1.3 0.9 0.5 1.0 3.3 4.3 4.2
Philippines 2.7 1.8 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 1.1
Thailand 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.4 2.4 0.9 1.0
Pakistan 1.0 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1
Other 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 4.6 6.5 5.4
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: Department of Immigration
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In the early 1970s, foreign workers were mostly employed in the agriculture sector. By 1990 it accounted for 48% of
total foreign workers employed. As at July 2004, foreign workers are employed in all major sectors of the economy,
with manufacturing accounting the largest share at 30.5%, services (25%), agriculture (24.7%) and construction
(19.8%), as shown in Table 2. Foreign workers in the services sector are mainly employed in restaurants, hotels and
as domestic maids. The number of domestic maids rose sharply by more than three times from 75,300 persons in
1997 to 261,006 persons as at July 2004. In terms of educational attainment, foreign workers with no formal
education or primary education background accounted for 67% of the total.
Table 2: Sectoral Distribution of Foreign Workers

Country Number of workers (‘000)
1990 1995 2001 2003 July 2004
Agriculture 115.8 173.0 284.1 185.9 335.2
Mining 1.4 1.8 2.1 - -
Construction 25.1 64.8 99.0 265.9 269.1
Manufacturing 23.7 115.7 213.0 355.4 414.3
Services 76.0 124.0 265.6 319.9 340.9
Total 242.0 479.3 863.8 1,126.8 1,359.5
Source: Department of Statistics and Department of Immigration
Saleh @ Aman (2008) describes based on Labour Force Survey Report for 2005, there were 6.47 million employed
persons in Malaysia of which 12.9 per cent were in construction industry, 673,900 were Non-Malaysian citizens and
8 per cent from Non-Malaysian citizens were in construction industry. As of June 2006, there were 1.84 million
registered foreign workers of which 33.3 percent were employed in manufacturing, plantation (20.2 per cent),
services (including domestic maids) (25.9 per cent) and construction sector (15.1 per cent).
Kanapathy (2006) describes that contract migrant workers account for about 22 per cent of the Malaysian labour
force. This is a relatively high percentage compared to other countries in East Asia that rely on imported labour.
Contract migrant workers are at the lower end of the skills spectrum and they account for approximately 98 per cent
of the total number of migrant workers in the country. Of the estimated 2.5 million contract migrant workers, an
estimated 0.7 million or almost a third are clandestine or irregular migrants. The majority of migrant workers are
from Indonesia (68.9 per cent), followed by Nepal (9.9 per cent), India (6.9 per cent) and Myanmar (4.6 per cent).
The manufacturing sector employed most of the migrant workers (29.9 per cent), followed by the plantation sector
(19.8 per cent), domestic services (17.1 per cent) and construction (14.5 per cent).
On May 2011, Malaysia has approximately 1.9 million foreign workers spread across sectors such as manufacturing
(39%), construction (19%), plantation (14%), housemaids (12%), services (10%), with the rest in agriculture. The
contributing countries by rank are: Indonesia (50.9%), Bangladesh (17.4%), Nepal (9.7%), Myanmar (7.8%), India
(6.3%), and the rest of Vietnam. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had announced that the
government plans to reduce the number of foreign workers to 1.5 million in three years. If we were to account for
another 2 million illegal foreign workers, the number is explosive considering Malaysia such a small job market
(Abdul Hamid et al. 2011).
According to Department of Statistic, as of June 2011, Malaysian construction industry employs 1,214,000 or about
10% of our country total employment 12,116,600. It is supported by Abdul Hamid et al. (2011), as of June 2011
total employment is 12.12 million people, 12.6% is employed in agriculture, 0.7% in mining, 16.4% in
manufacturing, 10 % in construction and 60.3% in services industry. A research has been done by Abdul Hamid et
al. (2011) to know the total of foreign workers in the construction site with comparing to locals in some population.
As aresult, the number of foreign workers employed at the construction site totalled 1,130 employees as compared
to the locals only 409 workers. This situation clearly shows that the foreign workers have monopoly the employment
in construction site and taken away the jobs opportunity for locals.
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In observation from the research by the previous researchers above, it certainly shows that the continually escalating
in number of foreign workers in this country. Foreign labour has become an integral part of the Malaysian labour
forces, particularly in the construction industry. There are many estimates of foreign workers in Malaysia, but the
data on the number of foreign workers have to be interpreted with caution because there is no foolproof study or
survey giving exact number. From year to year, the number of foreign employees in construction site keeps
accelerating due to many factors involved.
When the acceptance of foreign workers is expanded, they may reside permanently. Most of them will go back after
a short working. But, it is possible for foreign workers to inflow into Malaysia and to be accumulated by various
informal ways, such as their staying in Malaysia, marrying, calling a family to Malaysia, and giving birth. The
actual total number of foreigners in this country must of course be larger. In addition to the workers, there are also
members of their families, i.e. wives, children, aged parents and other relatives whom they have smuggled in. Many
of these relatives are not in the workforce and therefore not accounted for in the registration exercise which was
aimed only at those in employments and not at aliens in general. This situation consequently contributes to
escalating in number of foreigners in Malaysia.
3.0 Factors contribute to the escalating in numbers of foreign workers on site
There are many research has been conducted and proved statistically that the number of foreigners in Malaysia is
increasing from year to year whether legitimate or not. According to Abdul Hamid et al. (2011), there are many
factors that influencing the increase of foreign workers in construction site such as weak enforcement, unethical
practice by the authority, tourism policies that will not limit visitor, high foreign labour ratio, employer abuse of
work permits and economic policy of border less world. The most favourable factor influencing the increase foreign
workers in construction site is distinguished foreign labour ratio. All these factors will affect the employment of the
foreign worker in a construction site. However in this paper only discusses the following factors :-
3.1 Development projects
The implementation of several strategic infrastructure development and urban development projects increased the
demand for labour, especially in the construction sector (Navamukundan 2002). According to Kanapathy (2006), oil
palm, construction and electronic sectors are the principal engines of growth, and these sectors heavily depend on
low-skilled migrants to remain profitable and competitive. Therefore the uses of the foreign workers in the
construction site in this country are important due to reluctance by the local to do the works. Other than that, there
are many more factors that have contributed to the employment of foreign workers as below.
3.2 Economic Factor
Malaysia is attractive because of its relatively better economic performance and prospects for foreign labour. Owing
to greater industrialization and urbanisation in the economy there has been a massive rural-urban migration drift,
which in turn has led to an acute shortage of workers. As a fast developing and progressive nation, Malaysia holds a
better prospect for the prospective immigrants. The demand for labour has been increasing continuously in tandem
with economic progress. Navamukundan (2002) also indicated that the accelerated economic development
programmes and the sustained high economic growth rates in Malaysia over approximately three decades caused the
influx of foreign workers to meet the increasing demand in the Malaysian labour market.
3.3 Labour shortage
Malaysia, which has tremendous shortages of manpower in the construction industry, the importation of foreign
workers could initially fill up the vacancies or at least minimize the extent of manpower shortage. The supply of this
additional labour force fulfilled the urgent demand for labour which could not be met so quickly and a ‘cheaper
rate’. In addition, it is also supported by the President of the Master Builder Association of Malaysia (MBAM), the
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shortage of skilled construction workers is very crucial issues in the construction industry (Abdul Latif, 2010).
MBAM also stated that, the acute shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry will give negative impact
towards the projects under 10MP and ETP (Wong 2011).
3.4 Local reluctance
Presently, job opportunities generally fulfilled by the foreign workers compare to the local. This situation happens
due to local attitudes which are reluctance of local in doing the jobs. There are several factors that influence to the
poor participation of local labour in the construction industry.
a) Local prefer easier jobs
b) Poor images of constructions jobs
c) Poor working conditions
d) Unsafe and unhealthy working conditions
e) Poor Site Accommodations and Services
f) Low wage structure for construction jobs
g) Unattractive Jobs
h) Higher education levels
i) Lack of Training and Skill Formation
j) Change in Education
k) Skilled workers lured overseas
4.0 Research Methodology
The purpose of research methodology is to provide a sound platform for the researcher to achieve the aim and
objectives of the study. This chapter highlights the chronological order of research methodology, discusses how the
research methodology will be conducted in order to achieve the objectives of this research. It is also important in
obtaining relevant primary data from the selected group. From there, an analysis is conducted to study the data
obtained from respondent and finally, based on the results obtained, a conclusion is derived.
Fifty sets of questionnaire were distributed randomly to the selected contractors around Selangor and thirty three
was returned. The questionnaire was sent via post, electronic mail (e-mail) and also hand delivered, with the self-
addressed envelopes enclosed. All the data obtained from the questionnaires surveyed were collected and analyzed.
The questionnaire method was conducted to collect the latest primary data from industry practitioners that
accomplish the research objective.
On the other hands, informal or unstructured interviews likewise had been conducted to the selected contractors to
obtain more detailed information regarding site operative on site. Overviews of these problems are used to design
the questionnaires in preliminary stage. Finally, the observation also did via electronic media such as television and
on sites itself. At the moment, when we went to the site, we could see preponderance of the workers is foreign
labour.
The primary data will be analyse by using quantitative approach after considering the types of data and the research
objective. The questionnaires were analyzed through statistical method (descriptive statistic) using SPSS software.
All the questions in the questionnaire have been given the answer and the respondents just need to tick the relevant
answer where appropriate. Finally, the entire answer was presented based on the percentage frequency of the
respondents and put in the table and figure. Based on that, the primary data was justified and developed.
5.0 Analysis and Findings
After all responses are collected, the data received was analysed. The purpose data analysis is to determine the most
factors influencing the escalating numbers of foreign workers on site and the rank of the factors. Frequencies
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analysis is used to analyse the frequencies or the percentage of the respondents and relation to the variables in the
questionnaires (Naoum, 2001). The result of analysis is further interested into table to give clearer view of the
frequencies. In order to analyse data gathered, average index is used to gather the level of importance data and the
finding as follows:
Table 3.0: Factors That Contribute to the escalating of Number of Foreign Workers in Construction Site
No Factors that contribute to the escalating in

number of foreign worker in construction site Frequency Analysis
Mean Rank
1 2 3 4 5
No. of Respondents
1 The implementation of strategic development
projects increased the demand for labour 0 2 2 14 15 4.27 3
2 Accelerating economic development and the
sustained high economic growth rates in 0 4 7 17 5 3.70 4
Malaysia
3 Tremendous shortages of manpower in
construction industry 0 1 2 7 23 4.58 1
4 Reluctance of local which no longer willing to
perform jobs that they consider as 3-D (dirty, 1 1 7 14 17 4.36 2
difficult and dangerous)
As presented in the table 3.0 above, the mean or average index has clearly shown that the tremendous shortage of
manpower in the construction industry is the main factor of the escalating in number of foreign labour in the
construction site. It gains a very high mark at 4.58. This probably means that as long as there were shortages of
manpower in the construction industry, employer will continue to employ foreign labour in fulfilling the shortage.
This statement can be supported by the followed mean or average index which gains 4.36, the second high mark
after a tremendous shortage of manpower in the construction industry. The second high mark is the reluctance of
local which no longer willing to perform jobs that they consider as 3-D (dirty, difficult and dangerous).
Besides, the implementation of strategic development projects increased the demand for labour with the average
index of 4.27 gains a ranking number three (3). While the lowest score 3.70 is gained by the accelerating economic
progress and the sustained high economic growth rates in Malaysia. This may indicate that the economic growth rate
in Malaysia is not a main reason why the number of foreign labour in the construction site was escalating. Local’s
reluctance to involve in the construction sector has generated the manpower shortage issues which indirectly create
great opportunity for the foreign labour to enter into our local construction industry.
6.0 Conclusion
Many released statistics showing an increase in foreign workers in every sector, including in the construction
industry. The most significant factors influencing the escalating in numbers of foreign workers in the construction
site based on the research are tremendous shortages of manpower in the construction industry and rapid
development in Malaysia are the foremost reason brought employer in recruiting foreign worker. Therefore, the
responsible party should take appropriate measures to address the issues related to labour on construction site for the
country instead of continuously relying on foreign workers.
References
Abdul Aziz, A. R. (2001). ‘Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia’s construction sector’, Asia-Pacific Population Journal,
16(1).
273
Abdul Latif, S. S. (2010). Skilled manpower shortage need urgent attention, MBAM Online News, 04 August, retrieved June 02,
2012.
Che Amat, S. (2011). ‘Moving forward’, CIDB Malaysia News, Issue 1.
Department of Statistic. (2011), Sectoral Distribution of Foreign Workers, Department of Statistic, Malaysia
Department of Immigration (2004), Composition of Foreign Workers by Country of Origin (%), Department of Immigration,
Malaysia
Kanapathy, V. (2006). ‘Migrant workers in Malaysia: An overview’, Towards and East Asian Cooperation Framework for
Migrant Labour. Country paper prepared for the Workshop on an East Asian Cooperation Framework for Migrant Labour,
Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 6-7 December.
Kassim, A. (2005). ‘Cross-border movement of foreign workers in Malaysia: a comparative analysis’, Master Builders 3rd
Quarter.
Ministry of Finance Malaysia (2004), Economic Report 2004/2005. Ministry of Finance Malaysia.
Naoum. S.G. (2001) Dissertation Research and writing for Construction Students, Butterworth-Heinemann.
Navamukundan, A. (2002). ‘Migrant workers: Labour migration in Malaysia – Trade union views’, Labour Education 2002/4,
No. 129.
Saleh @ Aman, S. (2008). Causes of poor participation of local workers in Malaysia construction industry and strategies for
improvement (Master Dissertation). University Technology Malaysia(UTM), Malaysia.
Wong, P. M. (2011), Workers Shortage Could Hit ETP Plan, The Star Online, March 16, retrieved June 02, 2012.
274
The Effect of Culture on Emergency Evacuation in Malaysia: A

Preliminary Study
N. I. Wahapa, F. W. Akashah a*35, M. S. Azmia, Z. Yahya
a
Centre for Construction, Building and Urban Studies (CeBUS), University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
Evacuation analysis has become essential part of since these facilities cater to a large number of people. Such analysis requires
behavioural and movement data derived from experiments, fire drills or observations under normal conditions. This causes many
designers rely on Western cultures available data without examining the applicability of such data to the destined country of the
project. This paper explores the suitability of applying such data cross-culturally especially when there are differences in factors
such as demographics, personal experience and evacuation education that could impact evacuation behaviour and movement
speeds. This paper illustrates preliminary finding that demonstrate the validity of such effects from various study and also from
observation done to evacuation drill in one of the building in Malaysia. The main goal of this research is to develop a set of data
that reflect the culture of people in Malaysia, as well as highlighting the fact that cultural differences do effect evacuation time
and that it should be taken into consideration when conducting an egress analysis in non-western countries.
Keywords:buildings; culture;evacuation;fire safety; high rise; human behaviour;pre-movement time
1. Introduction
At the end of 20th century, the interpretation of fire safety of buildings changed from a technological to a more
behavioural perspective. For example, Sime(1999) introduced an occupant response shelter escape time (ORSET)
model that unifies aspects of building fire safety and human behaviour during building evacuation . The first
scientific research into human behaviour in the case of fire conducted in 1950s in United States (US) (Bryan, J.L,
2008). This research has been done due to fact that researchers at that time assume that buildings were engineered in
such a way that they were safe enough in a fire thus the focus of research was on the relationship between the
behaviour of people and fire development. As year goes by, Malaysia increased the number of mega-building
projects in order for it to achieve as a fully developed country by year 2020. These projects include various high-rise
buildings in Kuala Lumpur. Evacuation analysis has become essential part of such projects since these facilities
cater to a large number of people. Such analysis requires behavioural and movement data derived from
experiments, fire drills or observations under normal conditions. However, most studies were confined to the
researchers’ country of origin or culture, which would usually be in developed Western countries such as UK, USA
and Canada. Galea (2011) and Ono (2004) have been doing studies identifying cultural effects on occupant pre-
movement time during evacuation concentrated on western and semi-western societies (e.g. Turkey, Czech, Japan
and Brazil). The result of such studies might provide an inaccurate level of safety that would not be applicable to
reflect people in Malaysia. For this reason, cultural difference in Malaysia such as the level of awareness and fire
education should be assessed to determine the effect of cultural difference on pre-movement time.
35
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +603- 79676874; fax: +603-79675713.
E-mail address: faridakashah@um.edu.my
275
2. Culture
Culture has many definitions, and it affects everything people do in their society because of ideas, values, attitudes,
and normative or expected patterns of behaviour. Based on the report on cultural differences by Andrée and
Eriksson (2008), culture that has appears because of the belonging to the same nation is callednational culture while
the variations within the national culture are called sub-cultures.Sub-cultures are the values of people that may
depend on place of birth, belonging to a minority or even the belongings to a certain social class. Thus it is difficult
to divide people into certain classes as they often overlap into different groups depending on the surroundings.
To define national culture for each country it is not only about the similarities between the majorities of the
inhabitants. Other characteristic actions and values can appear when they are comparedagainstother countries. This
research investigates if there are cultural differences specific toMalaysia which might affect how peoplebehave
during evacuation. However, in term of this research culture is specifically refers to safety culture.
2.1 Safety Culture
Safety culture is a subset of the overall culture. Safety culture is defined as ‘The product of shared values,
beliefs, attitudes, and patterns of behaviour based on a top-down approach practice that is concerned with
minimizing the exposure to conditions considered dangerous or injurious to the entire group members on a self-
regulatory basis (Faridah, 2009; 2011).Translating culture formation, according to Schneider (2000), into
behavioural terms helps people to understand how the process works as people learn more from behaviours than
from printed statements and company policies. Furthermore, 80-90% of all industrial accidents are attributed to
human factors (Fleming et al., 1999).
2.2.Culture and how it affects human behaviour
There are few cross-cultural studies have been done by researchers to study the effect of culture to human
behavior. Based on past research in natural disasters, it has shown that culture do make some impacts to human
response. Based on 1954 Rio Grande flood and 2004 Tsunami, it is clearly shown that different cultures in a society
react differently to natural disasters based on their previous experiences (Almejmaj,M and Meacham, B, 2012). This
would increase people’s reaction time and place them in harm’s way especially in a tsunami or earthquake
situation.In 2004, a study of children’s attitude towards fire safety and evacuation behaviour in Brazil and
comparison with Japan shows that Brazilian school children are more inclined to notify and help others during a fire
alarm than Japanese children. On the other hand, Japanese school children are more opt to wait for the teacher’s
instructions than Brazilian children (Ono, R. and Tatebe, K., 2004). This clearly shown that cultural difference does
affects human behavior in fire. A post-fire survey on pre-evacuation human behavior done by Zhao in 2007 shows
Chinese occupants reported different first actions during the response phase when compared with results from the
UK or the US. For example, the majority of Chinese participants reported choosing to evacuate the building as a
first action during the response phase. On the other hand, the majority of the participants from the US study reported
notifying others as their first action (Zhao, C.M. et al, 2007).Meanwhile, Galea (2011) and Andreѐ (2008) argue that
the level of understanding the seriousness of fire alarm differs according to places and it is due to the culture
differences of the place itself. Though such outcomes may not be directly applicable to this study, they are important
in validating the hypothesis that culture would affect human behaviour and movement during evacuation. It is
evident that cross cultural studies covering people’s behaviour due to natural disasters or technological incidents are
limited especially for developing countries such as Malaysia.
3. Pre-movement time and why people decide to evacuate
Andrée and Eriksson (2008) proposed that the evacuation time of a building can be broken down into two;pre-
movement time and movement time. The definition of pre-movement time is the the time from that signal of the fire
alarm activates to people's initial movements towards the exit. Meanwhile, Galea (2009) proposed evacuation
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behaviour framework that comprise of two broad phase; response phase and evacuation movement phase..Response
phase or pre-movement time has three different stages; response phase, cognition phase and activity phase,
whereby,cognition and activity phase run in parallel.
There are no fixed variables on pre-movement time as people tend to react differently depending on the settings
of the fire or drill. One of the variable is the number of cues that has been proven in past research has impact on how
people react. For example, people seek for more information to confirm that it is an emergency or not when first
hear the tone of fire alarm (Canter, 1990). Other variables that discussed in past research are type and location of fire
alarm; group belonging and social behaviour; and personal authority and responsibility. Proulx (1995) proposed that
gender and age do not have significant influence on the evacuation time and movement. Latané&Danley (1970)
found that people's behaviour affected their surroundings whereby people tend to follow the behaviour of their
surroundings.In the case of fire event in London's King's Cross Underground Station in 1987 shown that people
usually modified their behaviour when they were told to do so (Donald and Canter, 1990).
4. Research Methodology.
In order to achieve the aim and objectives for this research, surveillance of occupants’ behaviour during
evacuation been look into. A high-rise building has been selected as a case study where evacuation drills been
organise. This building was built in 1986 with estimated height of 107.25 metre. The building is situated at the city
of Kuala Lumpur and is a mixed-used building. In total of 26-storeys, there are 23-storeys used as office, ground
floor as a family clinic, another floor as Day care centre and one-floor is closed due to renovation. During the drill
all occupants within this 26-storey building were evacuated. This includes officer, health officer from a family clinic
and also children from the Day care centre in the building. The evacuation was video recorded.
There are ten (10) camera used to record the drill placed at purpose with selected position. Eight (8) camera been
positioned inside the emergency staircase while the other two (2) are positioned in the lobby.Total duration of video
footage is approximately around 40 minutes for each camera. Analysis were conducted on the video footage and
findings been made in descriptive statistics. The location of the camera is illustrated in the floor plan in Figure 1.
The camera been positioned as shown in table 1.
Legend:
Camera
Office Space
lobby
lifts
Staircase A Staircase B
Figure 1.A typical floor plan of the building with camera positions.
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Table 1. Location of the camera

Camera Location
C1 Ground floor
C2 First floor (A)
C3 Second floor (A)
C4 Fire floor lobby
C5 Third floor (A)
C6 Fourth floor (A)
C7 Third floor (B)
C8 Second floor (B)
C9 First floor (B)
C10 Fourth floor (B)
5. Analysis of Video Footage
Overall statistic of video findings was shown in Table 2. The variable been use is in term of minute taken for the
first occupant to evacuate and last person to evacuate. Later in the findings, research shown, some of the error or
mistakes made by the occupant of the building and also the floor warden and Emergency Response Team (ERT).At
0928 hours, alarm sounded and followed by announcement of evacuation drill from incident manager. The first
occupant start to evacuate a minute after the alarm sounded (see figure 3).
Table 2. Time taken for the first and last occupant to evacuate from the building based on camera location.
Camera
C1 C2 C3 C4* C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10
First occupant seen to evacuate (min) 1 1 2 - 2 2 1 2 2 2
Last occupant seen to evacuate (min) 12 10 10 - 13 8 10 10 6 7
*Camera 4 is not included, as the floor was vacant and used as fire incident start area.
From the table shown above, it is clear that the occupants inside the building will take at least two (2) minutes to
initiate movements to evacuate (figure 2). This result to several numbers of occupants still evacuating even after
thirteen (13) minutes after the alarm rang (figure 3).
Figure 2: Occupant initiate evacuation (09:29:34). Figure 3: Last occupant to evacuate (09:42:33).
This building had an announced fire drill. The drill has been informed earlier to the key personnels and also
announcement stating that this is fire drill was made by the incident manager advises the occupants to evacuate the
building. Meanwhile, unannounced drill should remained secretive to the occupants without any announcement
made. However, to conduct an unannounced drill, a risk assessment should be carried out in the first place.
Unannounced drills need a careful plan and could actually test the efficiency of the evacuation procedure. There are
advantages and disadvantages of an announced fire drill on this building. The advantages are occupant will aware of
evacuation drill will take place and get prepared. While the disadvantages are, people will start to gather first at the
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lobby floor and wait for other colleagues before they go the assembly area. This will most likely results to
congestion at the lobby area and slow down the evacuation process.
This incident can be seen in the video footage recorded at the lobby area. Figure 4 shows several occupant gather
at the lobby, while figure 5 shows congestion happen at the lobby area where some occupants need to slow down to
move within people who gather at the lobby.
Figure 4.Occupant gathers at lobby while talking. Figure 5. Several occupants have to slow down to move.
Other than slow down the movement of occupants, people who gather at the lobby will make others confuse
about the route that should be taken to a safe place (figure 6). This been added up with multiple exit door available
at the same location. Again, this will slow down movement for evacuation. On top of that, people who gather at the
lobby will create difficulties for fire fighters to move into the building (figure 7).
Figure 6.Occupants’ uncertainty of exit route Figure 7.Fire fighters slow movement due to gathering.
Besides that, there are also occupants moving back upstairs after the evacuation began. There are no signs this
particular occupants’ act as an Emergency Response Team (ERT) or Floor Warden on the occupants. This can be
seen in video footage on figure 8.
279
Figure 8.Occupants moving back upstairs during evacuation.
6. Discussion
Previous research done has shown that familiarity with the environment is importance to determine the pre-
movement time. Andreѐ and Eriksson(2008) approximated pre-movement time of 60 seconds needed for people
evacuating from an office building. However in this research, it is approximately 120 seconds (two minutes) needed
for the occupants to initiate the evacuation. This may show that the participants hardly to recognize the fire alarm
though they were all in the familiar environment as all participants have thescase study as their workplace. It may
also indicate that the cultural difference on the pre-movement time is significant between Western countries
(Australia and Sweden) and non-western countries, specifically Malaysia. Almejmaj and Meacham (2012) in their
research highlighting the fact that cultural difference do effect evacuation time as there are differences in factors
such as comfort level and personal space, gender segregation, clothing, and evacuation education in non-western
countries.
Andrée and Eriksson (2008) shown that the Australian participants are evacuatingindividually to a greater extent
than the Swedish participants.From this video, it is clearly shown that participants tend to wait for their colleague
and walk in group rather than individually evacuate the building. This indicate that affiliativebehaviour is not
exclusive to people that comes from Western countries. Sime (1983) shown that individuals with close
psychological ties will attempt to escape with other group members. The study also found out that people in fact, are
likely to leave buildings in groups rather than individually. This is what exactly the video shown whereby people in
this building tend to evacuate in group and rather wait to evacuate in group.
7. Conclusion
In this paper, the culture of people in Malaysia were studied through the observation during an evacuation drill.
Through observing the behaviour and analyzing video data, some results were obtained as following conclusions are
drawn:
1) the first actions during response phase is collecting all personal belongings. This is shown by the video
footage that shows occupants brought their wallet/purse at least before start to evacuate.
2) the occupants only start to evacuate once they hear the announcement, not when the alarm rang.
3) there are no sign of urgency shown by the occupants during the evacuation drill.
4) occupants tend to wait for their own friend or colleague before start to evacuate.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank their colleague in Centre for Construction, Building and Urban Studies and Fire
and Rescue Department of Malaysiafor the assistance during evacuation drills. They also acknowledge support by
the University of Malaya underUMRG (Project No.: BK024-2011B; RG180-12SUS).
References
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Explosions: Recent Advances in Modelling and Analysis, Professional Engineering Publishing Ltd., London, Bury
St. Edmunds, 1999, pp. 23-33.
Bryan, J. L. (2008). Behavioral Response to Fire and Smoke. In: The SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection
Engineering. Bathesda: National Fire Protection Association, pp. 3-321 to 3-352.
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Almejmaj, M. & Meacham, B.. (2012). The Effects of Cultural and Social Differences between the West and Saudi
Arabia on Emergency Evacuation - Preliminary Finding. Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Human
Behaviour in Fire 2012.pp 74-85.
Andreѐ,K. & Eriksson, B., (2008). Cultural differences in an evacuation scenario- A study comparing Australian
and Swedish responses, Lund, Sweden: Department of Fire Safety Engineering, Lund University.
Faridah.I., Ahmad EzaneeHashim, Razidah Ismail &Muhd.Zaimi Abdul Majid (2009) “The Operationalisation Of
Safety Culture for The Malaysian Construction Organisations”. International Business and Management.Canadian
Centre of Science and Education, 4(9), September, 2009.
Faridah, I., Ahmad, N., IsnainiJanipha, N.A., & Ismail, R. (2011).Assessing the Behavioural Factors’ of Safety
Culture for the Malaysian Construction Companies.Proceedings ASEAN Conference on Environment-Behaviour
Studies (AcE-Bs 2011), Bandung, Indonesia, 15-17 June 2011.
Galea, E. R., Sauter, M., Deere, S. J. &Filippidis, L., (2011).Investigating the Impact of Culture on Evacuation
Behavior – A Turkish Data-Set. College Park, MD, The International Association for Fire Safet Science.
Ono, R. &Tatebe, K., (2004).A Study on School Children’s Attitude Towards Firesafety and Evacuation Behaviour
in Brazil and the Comparison with Data from Japanese Children..United Kingdom, Interscience Communications
Ltd, pp. 327-338.
Schneider, B. (1990). Organizational Climate and Culture.California, Jossey-Bass.
Fleming, M. & Larder Ronny (1999). “Safety culture- the way foward”.The chemical engineer (March), 16-18.
Sime, J.D. Affiliative During Escape to Building Exits.of Environmental Psychology, 3:1, 21-41 1983
Zhao, C. M., Lo, S.M., Liu, M. & Zhang, S. P., (2007). A Post-fire Survey on the pre-evacuation Human
Behavior.Fire Technology, pp. 71-95
281
BIOMIMETIC ARCHITECTURE IN BUILDING ENVELOPE

MAINTENANCE (A LITERATURE)
N.A. Agus Salima,, M.A. Othuman Mydin b, N. H. Md. Ulangc
a
Building Surveying Department, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak, Perak, Malaysia
b,c
Abstract
The study of biomimetic architecture on building envelope is the main structure of this research. The concept is believed more
sustainable and efficient for energy saving, operating cost consumption, waste recycle and design renewal in the future. The
inspiration from the nature developed the intention on this study to explore on what and how this concept to overcome the
problems through design (Maibritt, 2007). Biomimicry does catch the attention of human to study more on the system and
function of its nature course. The designers are not exception influenced by this concept when the form, shape, texture and colour
inspired them in their design. The domination of building form will affect the building envelope as the skin of the structure. A
clear impact on building failure is begun with building envelope appearance without a proper maintenance. Ishak et.al., (2007)
stated that the faults in building design place a heavy burden on the building for the rest of its operational life and there is no
compensation for it. In such situations, the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the designer (Ishak et.al., 2007).
Keywords: Biomimetic Architecture; Biomimicry, Building Design; Forms;Building Envelope;Skin; Maintenance; Pattern
1. INTRODUCTION
In this research, a study on the building envelope will carry out to explore the design and performance of
maintenance on biomimetic concept. At the end of the study, the expectation on better maintenance design for
building envelope by using biomimetic architecture is explored to achieve sustainability in design and maintenance.
Furthermore, a better quality for building maintenance operational can be achieved via the journey of this research.
Biomimetic Architecture is mimic from the biomimicry concept into architecture (Maibritt, 2007). This history of
biomimicry started in the 15th century when Leonardo DaVinci took this type of mimicry from the birds and created
drawing to depict flying machine (Science Channel, 2011). The study of biomimicry by Salma (2011), shows that
this is one of the tools for sustainable. Salma (2011), founds that the nature’s design process feedback systems are
strongly related and affected by surrounding environment and much more advanced in terms of environmental and
sustainable performance.
Gruber (2011), defined that biomimetic architecture is known as Architekturbionik, an emerging field of nature into
functional analogies, processes, mechanisms, strategies or information derived from living organisms. In addition,
Grubber meet the application of observations made in nature to architecture has always been a challenge for
architects and designers. The strategic search for role models in nature is what discerns biomimetics from the ever-
existing inspiration from nature.

E-mail address: nuzaihanaras@gmail.com.
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It is supported by Semih and Ledita (2011), stated that nature provides us with an amazing array of solutions for
many complex problems that we face today and the quest to learn from nature in this way is “Bioarchitecture or
biomimicry” and an architecture can benefit from this approach.
Guild (2007), defined that there are two categories of biomimicry in design process: Defining a human need or
design problem, and looking to the ways other organism or ecosystems solve the problem. In further discussion,
Guild (2007), says that design looking to biology, or identifying a particular characteristic, behaviour or function in
an organism or ecosystem and translating that into human design, referred to as biology influencing design.
Guild (2007), stated there are two categories of biomimicry technology approach is designed; which are biomimicry
design to biology and biomimicry biology to design. This approach of biomimicry design from biology brings the
technology into safe the environment (Maibritt, 2010). Maibritt (2010) referring to Guild’s approach and found that
there are three levels applied to design problem are typically as form, process and ecosystem.
Maibritt (2010), refined the biomimetic architecture from the above discussed approached. The first is by
determined the human needs and requirements through design problems. There three levels of biomimicry that may
be applied to a design problem which are given as form, process, and ecosystems (Guild, 2007). Furthermore it is
explained by Maibritt (2010), biomimetic architecture may influenced design, structure, skin, texture, colour and
more to physical appearance. The second is by the functional of organism and ecosystems react or worked with its
characteristics, behaviour and function through design problems and solutions. Therefore, he divided the study in
three levels of mimicry that is organism level, behaviour level and ecosystem level.
This study of the overlapping fields of biology and architecture shows innovative potential for architectural
solutions shown by Grubber to transfer nature’s principles to architecture have provided successful developments
(Grubber, 2008). An example is the scientific analysis of the lotus flower emerging clean from swamy water, which
led to many design innovations as detailed by Baumeister (2007), including Sto’s Lotusan paint which enables
buildings to be self-cleaning. Fig. 6 shows how the lotus leaves texture acting as self-cleaning.
Fig. 6: The texture of lotus leaves (source from http://www.google.com.my/).
Grubber (2008), stated that the design perfection is measured through issue and problem solving wisely on
sustainability. Thus, this current finding through the study of biology is considered and applied widely in the
elements of the design concept.
In biomimicry adaptation in building form, Gruber and Jeronimidis (2012), critics that it still lacks a showcase of
innovative products or real breakthrough in the form of a 'really biomimetic building'. This implies the interpretation
of biomimetics as an architectural style, defining the entirety of a building, best reflected in the overall form.
The generative design process is limited by phylogenetic and physical constraints and according to Menges (2012),
support that the challenge of this approach lies in resolving the complexity arising from the interrelation and
reciprocal effects of material systems and dynamic environments. Manges found that the evolutionary design
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exploration is introduced as a method together with a detailed description of case studies exploring the design of
form-performance relations of overall building morphologies and urban block morphologies.
The majority of green building assessment systems focus on the design of the constructed building, with little focus
on the effect of the building system’s life during operation. This tendency has resulted in a failure of many rating
systems to properly consider durability, lifecycle cost and the effects on the premature building envelope failures
(McLay, 2007).
It is proven by James and Hoff (2009), the failure of building envelope design will encourage more internal
problems and issues. This will result the impact to maintenance planning, operation and costs that might ruined the
aesthetic and value of the building in the future.
Chen (2010), says most of recent buildings are striving to achieve criteria of Green Building Index (GBI) to
overcome the issues of global warming. In addition, Chen says the innovation and invention of building materials
and systems are believed in leading to the GBI criteria could reduce problem. However, the sustainability building
envelope design is addressed more in reducing energy consumption through building design that is more sustainable.
Support data from Gabriel, Carolyn and Farrokh (2002) proved that the issues arise in expenditure in design stage
(Fig. 7).
Fig. 7: Comparison of design cost (DC), Gabriel, Carolyn and Farrokh (2002).
This is support by Optimal Maintenance Decision Inc, OMDEC (2011), in its case study on “Failure Prevention
through Designed-in RCM” defined that proactive maintenance should start at the design stage. However, this study
found that failure prevention and maintenance cost control by Maintenance Managers is so often frustrated right in
the equipment design phase. This is being supported by a survey had been carried out on 38 designer firms from
architectural, civil & structural consultant firms and 30 maintenance firms located in Shah Alam and Kuala Lumpur
districts (Aris, Rozita, 2006). Aris and Rozita (2006), added more that the awareness of most designers claimed to
have knowledge and experience on building maintenance aspects but only few are aware of the importance to
consider maintenance factors during design stage.
Furthermore, Michael (2011), discovered on biomimetic architecture practicing is more sustainable and this building
envelope design form and shape is particularly more solid, curvy and spiral; that is a challenge to maintenance when
the building is in operation claimed by Che-Ani, Chohan, Goh, Tahir, Surat, and Usman (2009).
Through the interview on practitioner architect, Fahmi (2012), claimed that he defined biomimetic is more than only
the shape and form, imagine about human body or another organic life. There are structured (bone and flesh),
system and protection distribution (electricity, blood, oxygen, etc), maintenance in how to survive in supporting our
life. Some can solve the problems by itself and the rest is from outside source. It is a perfect analogy for the creation
284
and we can only imitate (mimic) little part of it. Some only could implement the form and some only can a bit for
the system. So if the consideration with the cost (initial cost and future cost). He himself defined that not all
architects can take this matter and issues about how far the biomimetic form can overcome the problem in
maintenance in the future.
Moreover, large amount of the country’s maintenance resources is being expended on corrective or remedial
measures to buildings and their services due to design or construction defects. Therefore, by reducing the number of
design defects, the amount of maintenance expenditure can be reduced (Assaf et al., 1996). Apart of this, the hard
part is coming now, when we really have to improve the energy performance of our buildings in Week (2010). It is
respond that they have to invest in the envelope and that’s going to be a big challenge over the next three to four
years.
The building envelope failures that have plagued Vancouver’s condominium market since the early 1990’s illustrate
the importance of proper building envelope design and commissioning. The cost for repetitive maintenance, repairs,
premature replacement, health effects and occupant disruption has escalated to multibillion-dollar levels. In addition,
envelope has obvious impact on the sustainability of building.
(www.firestopcaulking.com/PDF/buildingenvelope.pdf).
3. PROBLEM STATEMENT
The biomimetic architecture concept on building envelope needs to meet the sustainability on maintenance in the
future. Therefore, a maintenance sustainability is discovered in biomimetic architecture concept on building
envelope (Fig. 1). The research on biomimetic architecture inspired the researcher to study on its perfection concept
based on the literiture preview. The interest become more challenging when there is a lack research were done on
the maintenance aspect on this concept. The prospect on maintenance in this perfection concept based on several
issues is to find a guide for better building envelope performance in the future.
The impact on building design form and envelope is said that will effects to facility operation and maintenance
(Mohammad and Mohammad, 2010). This issues has been arise since 1986 when The Building Research
Establishment in England conducted a survey of building failure patterns and their implications and found that 58
percent of the defects have originated from faulty design (Seeley,1986). Today, sustainability is a part of perfection
in every elements in design. Beside the challenge by the cost increasing in energy consumption and waste
management, design is competed with sustainability in innovation and invention to search for better concept.
Furthermore, each elements in design such as materials, technology and system are improved to produce better
application, quality, durability and more sustainable with little concern on escalation of cost and maintenance in the
future.
At present, the concept of biomimetic architecture is more sustainable for building. On the other hand, the
appearance of the building consumed more cost in the future (Mohammad and Mohammad, 2010). (Mohammad and
Mohammad, 2010) stated that the design decisions are made without the benefit of realistic user needs, operational
and functional requirements, and maintenance issues. Nowadays, the stakeholder usually invest more on building
design to present the image of the wealty and power of the core business (Week, 2010). The increasement on height
and space of the building shall influence to building envelope design. Additionally, the passion on designer
creativity and image do reflect to the building envelope (Miller and Hokanson, 2009). Nevertherless, the selection
on materials, technology and systems of the building thus allocated a certain impact on cost in present and future.
(retreived from :http://www.climatesmartsolutions.com.au/Sustainable%20building.html.)
On the other part, design form is the most greatest authority in designing structure, materials and systems to meet
the design satisfaction. The abilities of elements to be flexible, circular, spirally, curvy and other forms are
determined in designing the building envelope. Moreover, the element shall meet the sustainable criteria. This
characteristic of building envelope components opposite the maintenance perspective when the cost of cleaning,
replacement and repairing is high.
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4. CONCLUSION
To satisfy the aim of research, the following objectives are as follows and by refering Fig. 2:
1. To identify the biomimetic architecture concept on building envelope in design development.
2. To identify the adaptation of building maintenance through biomimicry concept for building envelope.
Fig. 2: Conceptual of problem statement understanding (source: Author).
4.1 Biomimetic Architectural and Maintenance Planning Approach

This is the main purpose on how researchers review the concept of biomimicry applied in the building envelope
design. This approach could solve the problem of biological design form of the building envelope elements.
286
The second most important focus of this research is maintenance. This is to investigate on how the biological and
design systems consider to maintain the building envelope and how to solve the problem of maintenance in
biomimicry concept. The criteria and characteristic of the building envelope design is an important criteria of this
research. Among the aspects proposed are:
 Planning
 Operational
 cost
 Maintenance Performance
5. Dicussion
SIMULATION AND MODELING RESEARCH
The strategy has been outline based on the understanding of the process on design development togetherness with a
study on biological action on the selective pattern. The transformation of pattern and detailing to the building pattern
are needed to produce a model and ready to be tested on the climate and effected sources from the environment. In
the way of producing a better design for maintenance, once shall considered on materials selection to enhance the
self-cleaning surface on building form (referred to Fig. 6).
Fig. 6: Conceptual of research strategy approach (source: Author).

Biomimetic architecture approach shall be expand in maintenance design aspect to produce better maintenance
planning in the way of sustainable building envelope design. Furthermore, it will reduce the risk and cost in
maintenance planning in the future.
287
References
Baumeister, D., Biomimicry Presentation at the University of Washington College of Architecture. Seattle, USA. (8
May 2007).
Chen, T. L., Going Green, Ingenieur, Board Of Engineers Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, (2010).
Fahmi, H. (2012), Practitioner Architect, From the interview, Bandung, Indonesia, (15:00 p.m. 16 June 2012).
Fire Stop Caulking Supply Ltd., Building Envelope Design Principles, Retrieved from
http://www.firestopcaulking.com/PDF/buildingenvelope.pdf, (2012).
Gruber, P., Jeronimidis, G., Has Biomimetics Arrived In Architecture? Has Biomimetics Arrived In
Architecture?,Bioinspiration And Biomimetics, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp. 010201 (2012).
Gruber, P., Biomimetics – Materials, Structures and Processes, Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical
Engineering, New York, (2011).
Guild, B., Innovation inspired by nature work book. Biomimicry Guild. (2007).
Holverstott, B., What Can Architecture Learn From Nature, GreenBizSite, UK, (September 7, 2008).
Ishak, N.H., Chohan, A.H. & Ramly, A. (2007) Implications of design deficiency on building maintenance at post-
occupational stage. Journal of Building Appraisal, 3(2), 115–124.
James L. Hoff, D.B.A., Sustainable Buildings: Addressing Long-Term Building Envelope Durability, RCI 24th
International Convention and Trade Show, Dallas, Texas. (2009).
Jeffrey L. Brittan, Chief Executive Officer, Total Building Envelope Management Solution: Memo From The
President, Structure Tec Journal, (2009).
John, Y., Biomimetic Building Skin: A Phenomenological Approach Using Tree Bark As Model, University Of
Oklahoma Graduate College, US, (2011).
Maibritt, P. Z., Biomimetic Approaches To Architectural Design For Increased Sustainability, Proceeding From
New Zealand Sustainable Building Conference, New Zealand. (2010).
McKay, J. Green Assessment Tools: The Integration of Building Envelope Durability. Proceedings of the 11th
Canadian Conference on Building Science and Technology. Banff, Alberta: National Building Envelope Council,
(2007).
Menges. A., Biomimetic Design Processes In Architecture: Morphogenetic And Evolutionary Computational Design
Bioinspire. Biomim. 7 015003, US, (2012).
Michael, P., Biomimicry in Architecture, RIBA Publishing, London. (2011).

Miller, C., Hokanson, B., The Artist and Architect: Creativity and Innovation Through Role-Based Design,
Educational Technology, v4 n4 p18-27 (July-August 2009).
Mohammed, A. M. , Mohammad A. H., Towards Improvement in Facilities Operation and Maintenance through
Feedback to the Design Team, Architectural Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and
Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia (2010).
288
OMDEC, In Case Study Of “Failure Prevention Through Designed-In RCM, http://www.omdec.com/wordpress/wp-

content/uploads/2011/03/Failure-Prevention-thro-RCM-impact-on-Equipment-Design09-2010.pdf, (2011).
Pedersen Zari, M., Biomimetic Approaches to Architecture (poster). Toronto Sustainable Building Conference 07.
Toronto, Canada, (2007).
Preston, F., Biomimicry Inspired Cactus Building, Retrieved from

http://www.jetsongreen.com/2009/03/biomimicry-inspired-cactus-tower-by-aesthetics-architects.html, (March 13,
2009).
Salma, A., Saad, E. A., Biomimicry As A Tool For Sustainable Architectural Design Towards Morphogenetic
Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. (January 2011).
Science Channel, http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/the-history-of-biomimicry, (2011).
Semih, E., Ledita, M., Bioarchitecture - Inspirations From Nature, 1Epoka University. Faculty of Engineering and
Architecture, Tirana, Albania, (June 2, 2011).
Seeley, I.H. (1986) Building technology. Macmillan Education, London, UK.
Weeks, K., Perspective Winner: Peter Busby. Eco-Structure. Retrieved from http://www.eco-structure.com/energy-
efficiency/the-2010-evergreen-awards-perspective-winner.aspx,, (November 3, 2010).
www.climatesmartsolutions.com.au/Sustainable%20building.html (2010).
289
Green Sun-Baked Bricks from Agricultural Wastes for

Sustainable Construction
A.M. Saleha 1* M. N. Rahmatb F. N. M. Yusoffc

a,b,c Department of Construction Management, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA 40450 Shah Alam
Abstract
The production of sustainable construction component could prevent and control the pollution and environmental degradation in
Malaysia. This is a key area in Malaysia’s Green Strategies (Ministry of Science, Technology and the environment, 2002). This
paper reports on the laboratory investigation to establish the potential of utilizing Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) and Rice Husk
(RH) in developing green construction components. Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) reported that currently Malaysia’s
contribution to world palm oil production is 39% and has taken 44% of world exports. Consequently it will increase the POFA
production in palm oil manufacturing and this waste sometimes dispose in open area near the factory. On the other hand
Malaysia also producing more 300k hectares of paddy production, thus rice husk is also a concern as an agricultural waste. The
research objective is to study on the potential of utilizing of agricultural waste in developing of green bricks. This research
involved laboratory investigations. In this research 2% - 10% of POFA and 1% - 5% RH were used in the mix composition of
the brick’s weight. Addition of POFA was aimed to reduce the cement usage and RH was added to reduce sand in the bricks.
The bricks were manually pressed in Materials Laboratory in Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM Shah
Alam. The result showed that the addition of POFA and RH are able to reduce the density but in contrast the compressive
strength were decrease compare to the control unit.
Keywords: Sustainale, bricks, POFA, RH
1. Introduction
Brick is one of the conventional construction component widely used. Sun-baked and fired clay bricks are
conventionally used for mainstream masonry wall construction but they suffer from the rising price of energy
usage and carbon dioxide emission (Muntohar, 2011). The term of ‘brick’ is included process of mixing,
preparing and moulding before it’s slowly drying and been firing in an oven (Cultrone & Sebastian, 2008).
Uncontrolled increase in building material prices may affect construction period, the project cost and the end user.
Concern shown by the Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM), Real Estate and Housing Developers'
Association Malaysia (REHDA), Malay Contractors Association of Malaysia (PKMM) and India Contractors
Association Malaysia (PKIM) on the prices of construction materials have recently caused by external pressure
(MBAM,2007). Higher demand for construction materials, shortage of raw materials and high price of energy will
affect the increment cost of construction materials. Therefore research to reduce energy consumption and
alternative for natural resources becoming a global issue in producing sustainable construction materials
(Safiuddin, 2010).
The utilization of waste in construction materials is not new. The addition of waste such as fly ash, blast furnace
slag, phosphogypsum, recycled aggregates, red mud, Kraft pulp production residue, waste tea etc. in the
production of sustainable construction components shown some success of research in each area of study
(Safiuddin, 2010). He also highlighted five types of solid waste that been recycled and utilized for construction
materials. Agro waste (organic) such as rice and wheat straw, saw mill waste, ground nut shell, jute, sisal, cotton
stalk, vegetable residue have been recycled to produce cement boards, particle board, wall panels, roof sheets and
other related construction components. Industrial waste (inorganic), mining/mineral waste, non hazardous waste
and hazardous waste also used to produce bricks, blocks, wood substitute product as well as ceramic products.
290
According to Aminudin (2010), Palm ash can be found either in black or dark gray. This is very much influenced
by the carbon content. Particles are also spherical and have sizes smaller than cement. As shown in the Table 1,
ash fineness was 519m²/kg and its specific gravity is 2.22. In terms of delicacy, Palm ashes are finer than Portland
cement. Chemical content of SiO2 (43.6%), Al2O3 (11.4%) and Fe2O3 (4.7%). Table 1 below shows the physical
properties of OPC and POFA.
Table 1: Physical and Chemical Properties of OPC and POFA
OPC POFA
Physical Properties
Specific gravity 3.28 2.22
Chemical Analysis (%)

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) 20.2 43.6
Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3) 5.7 11.4
Ferric Oxide (Fe2O3) 3.0 4.7
Calcium Oxide (CaO) 62.5 8.4
Magnesium Oxide (MgO) 2.6 4.8
Sulphur Trioxide (SO3) 1.8 2.8
Sodium Oxide (Na2O) 0.16 0.39
Potassium Oxide (K2O) 0.87 3.5
POFA does not contain sufficient nutrients for use as a fertilizer. Hence, it is mostly dumped into open fields near
to the palm oil factories, thus causing environmental pollution and health hazard. In order to resolve these
problems, several studies were conducted to examine the feasibility of using POFA in construction materials
(Safiuddin et al, 2010). In Thailand, research by Tagchirapat et al (2006) on utilizing the palm oil fuel ash
(POFA) as a pozzolanic material in concrete. On the other hand rice husk is an agricultural waste that can be easily
obtained in mass quantity locally. Rice husk can be used for a variety of needs such as chemical industrial raw
materials and building materials, energy / fuel (MOA 2008), active charcoal and briquettes. According to Ahmad
Fuad et al (1994b), currently a lot of agricultural waste (rice husk) can only be burned in the open outside the
factory. The situation would threaten the environment and cause air pollution (Suri, 2009). In general, rice husks
or straw colour golden, 5-10 mm long and 2.5 to 5 mm wide. According to Saheb & Jog (1999), rice husks
constitute 20% of the total paddy produced. The percentages of chemical constituents in different biofibres are
different. Generally, the fibers contain 60 to 80% cellulose, 5 to 20 % lignin, and up to 20% of moisture and
according to Hattotuwa & et all (2002) as indicated in Table 2 below. Rice husk filler contains cellulose,
hemicellulose, lignin ash and other chemical constituents (Chong, 2009).
Table 2: Chemical Composition Of Rice Husk

Composition Weight Percentage
Cellulose 35%
Hemicellulose 25%
Lignin 20%
Ash 17%
Other chemical constituents 3%
Therefore research should rigorously look into the production of unfired Green Bricks manufacturing process that
can utterly reduced carbon emission. Producing a sustainable construction component could prevent and control
the pollution and environmental degradation which also one of the key area in Malaysia’s Green Strategies
(Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Malaysia, 2002). Malaysia’s Green Strategies (Ministry of
Science, Technology and Environment, Malaysia, 2002). Researches on utilising wastes from industrial and
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agriculture have been made by incorporating these wastes into building or construction materials are a practical
solution to the environment pollution. (S.P. Raut, 2011).
2. Experimental Procedures
Materials gathered from the respective area and all materials were prepared and the mixing used both manually and
mechanically using laboratory mixer. Material used in this research consist of laterite soil, sand, Ordinary Portland
Cement (OPC), Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) and Rice Husk (RH). Laboratory testing carried out according to
BS3921:1985.
Laterite Soil
The laterite soil was kept under sheltered area as to control the moisture content in the soil. The sieve size used
to strain soil is 12mm diameter. Therefore, size of soil particle must below than 12mm diameter. The soil used
was reddish brown in colour and easy to get in Shah Alam.
Sand
The sand was prepared at to concrete laboratory (UiTM). Dry sand is preferred to be used for this specimen. The
reason is to control the water contain in the brick. Therefore, sand will be left in the oven for the whole night
under 100°C for temperature. Sand also will be sieved before use by using 6mm sieve container.
Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
The cement used in this experiment was Ordinary Portland Cement as according to the British Standard
specification (BS 812 : Part 2 : 1971) for the concrete works specification.
Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA)
Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) used in this experiment was taken Eng Hong Palm Oill Mill Sdn Bhd, Banting,
Selangor. Ash actually produced from palm kernel burned as fuel in palm oil mill boiler. Ashes that will take
were ash in grayish colour. The POFA dried in 110°C temperature of oven for 24 hour to control the rate of the
moisture content. The ashes sieved by using 6mm sieve container.
Rice Husk (RH)
Rice husk (RH) used in this experiment was taken from Dibuk Sdn Bhd, Perlis. Rice husk is the final result of
the process of production of rice from rice plants. It is obtained through a process of grading which is rice paddy
plants will be harvested using harvesting machines. Then rice paddy plants will be sent to the factory for process
separate rice from the rice husk. The natural rice husk will be used for preparing specimen.
Mix composition, sample preparation and testing
The mix percentage used for control brick was 70% soils, 24% sand and 6% cement. The percentage of wastage
allocate was 20% which to cover if there any spillage occur during handling means during lift material from mixer
to pressed machine and also during pressing the bricks. Each constituent material quantity in total was stated
below:
1. Soil (70%) = 25 kg
2. Sand (24%) = 8.4 kg
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3. Cement(6%) = 1.6 kg
Each group of specimens contained 10 numbers of bricks. The percentage of POFA were used from weight of
cement is 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%. Total quantity of POFA is 600g. The percentage of Rice Husk (RH) were
used from weight of sand was 1% to 5%. The total quantity of RH used was 1.20kg. Moisture content was
controlled at 7% of the weight of the specimens.
Table 3: Quantity of POFA and RH

Sample RH Volume RH POFA Volume Fraction POFA
No Fraction Quantity (%) Quantity
(%)
S1 1% of sand (8.0kg) 80g 2% of cement (2.0kg) 40 g
S2 2% of sand (8.0kg) 160g 4% of cement (2.0kg) 80 g
S3 3% of sand (8.0kg) 240g 6% of cement (2.0kg) 120g
Total of quantity 1.20kg Total of quantity 600g
Table 4: Quantity of POFA and RH Used

Sample Quantity Laterite 70% Sand 24% Cement 6% POFA % from RH % from
Label (kg) (kg) (kg) cement (kg) sand (kg)
CS 10 25 8.4 1.6 - -
S1 10 25 8.32 1.56 2(0.04) 1 (0.08)
S2 10 25 8.24 1.52 4 (0.08) 2(0.16)
S3 10 25 8.16 1.48 6 (0.12) 3(0.24)
S4 10 25 8.08 1.44 8 (0.16) 4(0.32)
S5 10 25 8.00 1.40 10 (0.20) 5(0.40)
Sample Preparation
The bricks were pressed in using hydraulic pressing machine. The processes of material mixing were carried out in
2 steps by using mini mixer and hand shovel. All the mixing processes were taken about 10 minutes for each type
of samples. After mixing, the materials were poured out and mixed for another 10 minutes by hand to ensure the
materials were homogeneous. Finally, the materials were loaded into the mould and hydraulically pressed with
300 Psi. The bricks samples were arranged on pallet and wrapped with cling-film. This is to avoid rapid drying of
the sample. The bricks were kept air dry for 60 days before testing at the age of 7, 28 and 60 days.
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Figure 1 : Compression Brick Machine
Figure 2 : Compressive Strength Test for Brick
3.1 Density
This research aimed to study the effect of adding RH to the brick’s physical properties; the weight and density of
the brick. Rice husk were used to replace sand in a purpose to enlighten the brick. According to the data obtained
from the results, the specimen’s weight at 28 and 60 day were decreased with increasing of RH content. This is
thought to be the specific gravity of RH was lower than the natural sand. The lightest brick at day 60 was 2.4 kg
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for the S5 mixture with density of 1.675 kg/m³. The density of brick was calculated by dividing the average weight
with volume.
2.1 2.065
DENSITY (kg/mm³) 1.985
2 control
1.917
1.9 1.869 1.855 SP1
1.8 1.773 SP2

SP3
1.7
SP4
1.6
28 days SP5
DAYS
Figure 3: Density of Brick on 28 days
2.1
1.979 1.971
2
control
DENSITY (kg/mm³)
1.9 1.841
1.773 SP1
1.8 1.729
1.675 SP2
1.7
SP3
1.6
SP4
1.5
SP5
60 days
DAYS
Figure 4: Density of Brick on 60 days
Figure 3 and 4 shows the density of the bricks at 28 and 60 days respectively. The overall results showed that the
density of the bricks decreased with an increase in RH content. Addition of RH would contribute to the
lightweight property of the bricks. The density per unit volume of RH brick is much lighter compared to sand as in
control brick. This indicates that RH can be used as a material to replace sand in brick making to achieve objective
of lightweight brick production.
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Table 5 : Relationship Between The Weight And The Amount Of RH
Averange Averange Density of Density of

Weight Volume Weight Of Weight Of Brick 28 Brick 60
Sample Description
Of RH (m³) Brick 28 Days Brick 60 Days days days
(kg) (kg) (Kg/m³) (Kg/m³)
Brick with 0% of
CS 0 1.43 2.953 2.83 2.065 1.979
RH
Brick with 1% of
S1 80 1.43 2.838 2.819 1.985 1.971
RH
Brick with 2% of
S2 160 1.43 2.742 2.633 1.917 1.841
RH
Brick with 3% of
S3 240 1.43 2.672 2.536 1.869 1.773
RH
Brick with 4% of
S4 320 1.43 2.652 2.472 1.855 1.729
RH
Brick with 5% of
S5 400 1.43 2.536 2.395 1.773 1.675
RH
The relationship between the weight and the percentage of RH and the relationship between density and the
percentage of RH is shown in the Table 5.
Table 6: Result of Compressive Strength
Compressive Strength (N/mm²)

Sample Specimen
7 days 28days 60days
CS Brick with 0% of POFA & RH 4.500 5.280 6.196

S1 Brick with 2% of POFA & 1% of RH
9.024 8.727 8.425

7.390 7.337 7.191

4.584 4.128 3.407
3.859 3.809 3.608

2.666 2.380 2.271
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10.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
6.0
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH 5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
(N/mm2)
CS 4.5 5.3 6.2

SP1 9.0 8.7 8.4
SP2 7.4 7.3 7.2
SP3 4.6 4.1 3.4
SP4 3.9 3.8 3.6
SP5 2.7 2.4 2.3
Figure 5: Compressive Strength of different mixture of POFA & RH
Figure 5 shows the compressive strength of different mixture of bricks specimens. The strength of the control
specimens increased as the curing period increased. The results also recorded that the compressive strength for
SP2 and SP3 mixture were higher strength than control brick at all curing age 7, 28 and 60 days. The Strength of
SP1 and SP2 at 7 days was 9.024 N/mm² and 7.390 N/mm². The same pattern of result recorded at 28 and 60 days.
However, the result indicated that replacement of cement and sand with POFA and RH decreased in strength while
the control brick strength was increased. For SP3, the result show at the beginning was higher than control brick
which is 4.584 N/mm² compare to 4.500 N/mm², however the strength was decreased as the curing period
increased from 4.128 N/mm² at 28 days to 3.407 N/mm² at 60 days which is lower than control brick. The
decreased in compressive strength with increasing percentage of POFA and RH were also observed by Sutas et al
(2011) in his investigation on effect of Rice Husk and Rice Husk Ash to properties of bricks. This is probably
because higher porosity and low bulk density specimens were produced. However replacement of 2% and 4% of
POFA and 1% and 2% of RH (S1 and S2) gave higher strength at early stage which are better than 0% of POFA
and RH. The best composition mix of POFA and RH in sun baked bricks is 2% of POFA and 1% of RH (S1) even
though the strength was declining as the curing period increased but the strength is higher than control brick.
4. Conclusions
From the laboratory experiments the increase percentage of POFA and RH in the mixed design of laterite brick
reduced the density and the compressive strength. However the maximum percentage of POFA and RH can be use
in mix proportion of bricks is 4% of POFA and 2% of RH to get comparable strength to the control sample. The
best combination of POFA and RH in this research was S1 that showed higher compressive strength than control
brick which is 8.425N/mm². In term of Lightweight brick production, replacement of sand with RH show the
better result compared to when POFA was used. 5% of RH in the mixture contribute to lower weight which is
2.395 kg compared to control specimen which is 2.83 kg with density of 1.675 kg/m³. The end product from this
research will reduce the consumer cost as the bricks are utilising the agricultural waste materials. Thus POFA
before this, were disposed widely to the environment it will be recycled to produce sustainable materials.
Recommendation for future research in developing green bricks by using different water cement ratio, different
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industrial waste. This research adopting curing time up to 60 days, by prolong the curing time the different result
may be achieved.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) for funding the research, via the
Research Intensive Faculty (RIF) Programme (Project Code : 600-RMI/DANA 5/3/RIF (280/2012). The
authors finally acknowledge the research and undergraduate students of BSc Construction Management
(Hons) and staffing resources provided by the Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM.
References
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Aminudin, E. (2010), “Engineering Properties of POFA Cement Brick”. UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia: Thesis Master
Chong, S. Y. (2009). “Bio-Komposit High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Bergentian Sekam Padi Untuk Elemen Struktur ”. Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia:Unpublished Master Thesis.
Cultrone, G. & Sebastian, E. (2008). “Fly ash addition in clayey materials to improve the quality of solid brick”.Department of Mineralogy and
Petrology, Faculty of Science, Granda University.Pp 2,3.
Hattotuwa G.B. Premalal, H. Ismail (2002), “A. Baharin Comparison of the mechanical properties of rice husk powder filled polypropylene
composites with talc filled polypropylene composites”, Polymer Testing 21 (2002) 833–83
Master Builders Association Malaysia (2007).“Rising prices of building material will hamper construction industry”.Retrieved September 20,
2012
Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Malaysia. (2002). National Policy on the Environment. Malaysia: Ministry of Science,
Technology and Environment.
Muntohar, A. (2011). Engineering characteristics of the compressed-stabilised earth brick. Construction Building Materials (25), 4215-4220.
Pei-wei G, X.-l. L. (2007). Effects of the Fly Ash on the Properties of Environmetally Friendly Dam Concrete. Fuel , 2181-2189.
S.P. Raut, R. R. (2011). Development of sustainable construction material using industrial and agricultural solid waste: A Review of waste-
create bricks. Construction and Building Materials (25), 4037-4042.
Safiuddin, M. (2010). Utilization of Solid Wastes in Construction Materials. Physical Sciences , 1952-1963.
Safiuddin, M., Jumaat, M.Z., Salam, A., &Hafizan, M. (2010). “Best use of palm oil fuel ash”. The Independent. Retrieved Sept 26, 2012 from
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Saheb & Jog (1999), “Natural Fibre Polymer Composite : A Review”, Advances in Polymer Technology, Vol. 18, No. 4, 351–363.
Suri, R.S. (2009). “Komposit Poliester Tak Tepu – Sekam Padi: Kesan Pencuacaan Terhadap Sifat Mekanikal Komposit”. Universiti Sains
Malaysia.
Sutas, J., Mana, A. & Pitak, L. (2011). “Effect of Rice Husk and Rice Husk Ash to Properties of Bricks. Procedia Engineering 32 (2012) 1061
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concrete”.Department of Civil Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thornburi, Thailand.
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Feasibility Study on Mini Biogas Power Plant to Produce

Electricity from Food Waste
M.A. Othuman Mydina,36*, N. Md Sanib, N.F. Nik Abllahc , N. Ghazalid , S. Ganesane
a,b,c,d,e
Abstract
Mini biogas power plant (MBPP) is first used in Malaysia and launched in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). USM
with the collaboration Enerbon Sdn Bhd setup up this mini biogas power plant as an education and research and
development to professionals and researchers and at the same time give opportunity to the people who are interest
with this system to see and experience their self by looking how this mini biogas power plant works. The objectives
of this paper are two-fold; firstly to determine whether food wastes (canteen and cafeterias wastes) can produce
methane gas (biogas) that can generate heat and electricity and secondly to establish how much methane gas
(biogas) can be produced with the certain amount of the feedstock . It should be pointed out that this MBPP can
generate 600kW electricity per day as this system can generate electricity about 25kW/h. The methane produced per
day is approximately 180 cubic metres. The higher the wastes, the higher the amount of methane gas produced. The
cow dung is used to increase the bacteria in the tank; the methane gas production will be higher if the bacteria breed.
Keyword: mini biogas, power plant, electricity, feedstock, methane gas, cow dung, food waste
6. Introduction
Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. It is
a renewable energy source, like solar and wind energy. Furthermore, biogas can be produced from regionally
available raw materials and recycled waste and is environmentally friendly and CO2 neutral. Biogas is produced by
the anaerobic digestion or fermentation of biodegradable materials such as manure, sewage, municipal waste, green
waste, plant material, and crops (Ahn et. al., 2012) Biogas comprises primarily methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide
(CO2) and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), moisture and siloxanes.
The gases methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide (CO) can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen. This
energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel. Biogas can be used as a fuel in any country for any heating
purpose, such as cooking. It can also be used in anaerobic digesters where it is typically used in a gas engine to
convert the energy in the gas into electricity and heat (Babel et. al., 2009). Biogas can be compressed, much like
natural gas, and used to power motor vehicles. In the UK, for example, biogas is estimated to have the potential to
replace around 17% of vehicle fuel. Biogas is a renewable fuel so it qualifies for renewable energy subsidies in
some parts of the world. Biogas can also be cleaned and upgraded to natural gas standards when it becomes bio
methane. Figure 1 shows the green house gas reduction by biogas plant installation (Wiley et. al., 2011).
Mini biogas power plant (MBPP) is first launched in Malaysia at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) that is
capable of generating 600 kW of electricity a day from food waste in the campus. This pioneering project is aimed
at building a prototype to be used by interior communities with problems pertaining obtaining regular electricity
supply. Food waste provided by all cafeterias and canteens in the campus will be converted into methane which will

299
be turned to generate electricity. The plant has two tanks that can accommodate 1000kg of food and organic waste
such as grass, vegetables waste, leftover rice and leftover fish.
The electricity generated could be channelled to the university’s power supply grid. Communities with a lot
of organic waste but no connection to the grid would benefit most from MBPP, in which MBPP per se produces
approximately 180 cubic metres of methane a day from readily available local waste material. This methane
produced is actually equal to 180 litres of diesel per day of generated electric power, making the plant an ideal
alternative for remote and island communities that depend on diesel to run generator sets for their power needs. At
an estimated cost of RM800,000 (US$260,000) per MBPP, and with fuel and transportation costs to a remote or
island location adding up to some RM4.00 per litre, it is possible to recover the initial investment in three to six
years.
Figure 1. Green house gas reduction by biogas plant installation (Waqar Bhatti, 2012)
As this is the first experience in Malaysia, food waste is used as a feedstock to produce methane. Currently,
feedstock in Malaysia consists of palm oil due to the organic material strength it possesses that can produce a higher
amount of methane gas. This mini biogas power plant use anaerobic digestion which consists of a series of processes
in which micro-organisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen to produce a methane rich
biogas. Anaerobic Digestion can be used to treat organic farm, industrial and domestic waste. Besides that,
anaerobic digestion process can also produce biogas that usually consists of 60% methane and 40% Carbon dioxide
(Rapport, 2011). This biogas can be used to generate heat and electricity via a CHP engine that is used directly in a
biogas boiler, or cleaned and compressed for injection into the local gas grid (Manikam, 2012).
Waqar Bhatti (2012) reported that in Thatta, mini biogas power plants reduce people's dependence on
firewood. Small raw-built biogases units are proved to be the best alternative to replace the firewood for some of the
Thatta villagers who believe that these mini biogas plants have not only reduced their dependence on firewood but
they are also getting quality organic manure for their farmlands. Built and installed by WWF-Pakistan, these 150
biogas units of six cubic metres each have been providing clean cooking solutions in the villages of Thatta which are
not connected to the country’s natural gas network. The people that make use of them are extremely excited about
these magical structures (Najafi and Jaafarzadeh, 2007).
Based on Corral and Argelia (2007), anaerobic digestion treatments have often been used for biological
stabilization of solid wastes. These treatment processes generate biogas which can be used as a renewable energy
source. Recently, anaerobic digestion of solid wastes has attracted more interest because of current environmental
problems, most especially those that involved global warming.
Manikam (2012) reported that the palm oil is one of the main commodities in Malaysia. The palm oil
demand increased by 10.6% to 33.17 million tonnes in year 2006. The total production of palm oil from Malaysia
was 14.96 million tonnes which contributed to 45% of the world's palm oil demand. With such a huge production,
the palm oil industry generates large amount of wastewater known as palm oil mill effluent (POME). POME is a
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thick brownish liquid with average chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) values
of 50,000 and 25,000 mg/l, respectively. Various treatments have been used to treat POME in order to meet the
Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) discharge standard that only consists of BOD of 100 mg/l. Anaerobic
treatment of POME is widely used because of its low operational cost. During anaerobic treatment, a large amount
of biogas is produced (Manikam, 2012). Biogas is a mixture of colourless flammable gases obtained in anaerobic
digestion of plant based (lignocellulosic) organic waste materials and also from other types of organic waste such as
cow dung, pig slurry, effluent from slaughter houses and landfill. Biogas from anaerobic decomposition consists of
methane, carbon dioxide and a small amount of nitrogen (N2), hydrogen (H2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) (Wiley et.
al., 2011).
2. Materials and Compositions
The main material in this study is mini biogas power plant (MBPP) that consists of two tanks. The
objective for this research is to know whether this MBPP can produce methane gas and generate electricity as much
as the achievement that its works on the other country before by using food wastes (cafeterias and canteens) as the
feedstock. Figure 2 shows the modular concept of the MBPP, is in prefabricated design and can be installed easily
while Figure 3 visualizes two digester tank where all the canteen waste was put in with the cow dung and pure water
(solid with liquid). After a day, all the waste will be pumped into the digester at the left site that contains water (in
the form of liquid).
Figure 2. The modular concept of the MBPP, is in prefabricated design and can be installed easily.
Figure 3. Two digester tank where all the canteen waste was put in with the cow dung and pure water
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Figure 4. Mixture of cafeterias and canteens waste was collected before fill in the tank
Figure 5. The canteens waste in the digester tank 1 and tank 2 in every other day.
This mini biogas power plant will show the amount of methane gas produced with the certain amount of
feedstock used everyday. This machine works 24 hours per days with the amount of feedstock from 200kg to
1000kg. These mini biogas power plants use anaerobic digestion (no present of oxygen) and the feedstock is mixed
with the cow dung and water. The feedstock was comes from canteens and cafeterias waste for example leftover
rice, vegetables waste, fish waste, fruits and any other food lefts. Figures 4 and 5 show examples of feedstock used
and Figure 6 demonstrates the room where the temperature and pH value was controlled
Figure 6. Room where the temperature and pH value was controlled.

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3. Experimental Setup
By using food waste and organic waste from cafeterias and canteens around the campus, this mini biogas
power plant will digest all the waste to turn it into methane in order to produce electricity. With the total amount of
1000kg of mixed food waste per day, there is about 180 cubic metre of methane can be produced and about 600kW
electricity can be generated. The flow of work done to turn waste to electric energy:
i. About 1000 kg of waste was placed into tank 1 and tank 2 every other day.
ii. The tank was filled with water and cow dung. All the materials were digested together (solid + liquid).
iii. On the next day, the digested waste was pumped into the digester that only consists of water (liquid).
iv. After that, the wastes decompose and methane gas was generated.
v. Methane rises to the top and is collected into digested bag.
vi. Methane was then used to produce heat or generate electricity.
vii. Step i) to vi) were repeated daily.
The composition of biogas varies depending upon the origin of the anaerobic digestion process. Landfill
gas typically has methane concentrations around 50%. Advanced waste treatment technologies can produce biogas
with 55–75% methane, which for reactors with free liquids can be increased to 80-90% methane using in-situ gas
purification techniques. As-produced, biogas also contains water vapour. The fractional volume of water vapour is a
function of biogas temperature; correction of measured gas volume for both water vapour content and thermal
expansion is easily done via a simple mathematic algorithm which yields the standardized volume of dry biogas.
In some cases, biogas contains siloxanes. These siloxanes are formed from the anaerobic decomposition of
materials commonly found in soaps and detergents. During combustion of biogas containing siloxanes, silicon is
released and can combine with free oxygen or various other elements in the combustion gas. Deposits are formed
containing mostly silica or silicates and can also contain calcium, sulfur, zinc, phosphorus. Such white
mineral deposits accumulate to a surface thickness of several millimetres and must be removed by chemical or
mechanical means. The biogas production is not a constant process, it is depending on the biological activities of the
microorganism and the biomass. The two temperature conventional operational temperature levels for anaerobic
digesters are determined by the species of methanogens in the digesters.
i) Mesophilic digestion takes place optimally around 30 to 38 °C, or at ambient temperatures between 20 and
45 °C, where mesophiles are the primary microorganism present.
ii) Thermophilic digestion takes place optimally around 49 to 57 °C, or at elevated temperatures up to 70 °C,
where thermophiles are the primary microorganisms present.
The digesters that are used for the purpose of production of biogas can be used in mesophilic conditions,
which mean a temperature range of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius to 40 to 45 degrees Celsius. The digesters can also be
run in thermophilic conditions, where the temperature range is from 50 to 55 degrees Celsius to 60 to 65 degrees
Celsius. Both these conditions call for separate species of bacteria. It is thought that the mesophilic operations are
more safe and stable than the thermophilic operations that are capable of inactivating the parasites of animals and
the various pathogens. Through the lab test that has been conducted in the environmental lab, the temperature of the
water in the tank 1 and in the digester are 35.7°C and 37.5°C respectively. Figure 7 shows samples that were taken
from tank and digester.
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Figure 7. Samples taken from tank and digester
At the hydrolysis process it is important to make sure that the pH value are 4 to 5 and for the
methanogenesis are 7 to 8. Preparation of feeding substrate for pH value is very important with the condition no
oxygen and darkness is about less than 1%.The heating of digesters is also pretty important in this regard. The pH of
the slurry has to be close to 7. This is pretty much possible provided that cow dung is employed in the form of a
substrate. If favourable conditions may be provided then as much as sixty litres of biogas may be produced for one
kilogram of cow dung. Through the lab test that has been conducted in the environmental lab, the pH values
obtained from tank 1 and in the digester are 4.78 and 7.11 correspondingly. Figure 8 visualizes the filtration process
of the suspended solid.
Figure 8: The filtration process of the suspended solid
4. Results and discussions
The results obtained from the hypothetical case study, the result is shown in Table 1. The mini biogas
system costs about RM1.0 – RM 1.2 millions including the operational cost which is diesel that costs RM4 per litre.
This mini biogas power plant needs only a battery backup of about 6 hours to add fuels on the generator or when
doing maintenance to the generator. The cost for solar energy system is higher than biogas system which sums up
around RM 4.5 Million due to the cost for battery backup. Solar energy system needs battery backup when it is
raining or cloudy, that makes the solar panel unable to receive sunlight. In this situation, solar panel cannot generate
any electricity. The cost for battery backup makes the solar system's cost higher than biogas.
Therefore, it is better to use biogas mini power plant at remote areas because it does not cost a lot and generates
electricity easier without causing any problem. Furthermore, this system can be installed easily due to it being
modular which means it is portable and can be transferred and installed anywhere. The biogas mini power plant only
needs food and organic waste to generate electricity energy and the generator is guaranteed to work 24 hours a day
regardless of the weather. The supply of wastes is continuous as long as there are people that lives in the vicinity;
ensuring that this system will work well. If solar system is used, it may cause a problem during rainy day because
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the system will not be able to receive any sunlight and needs battery for backup. The battery will cost a lot and the
place needed to store the battery is also high in cost. The price needed is too high to be used in remote areas.
Table 1: The comparison between biogas' and solar system's costs

Types of energy Biogas with generator Solar energy with batteries
Source Needs 1000kg/day organic feedstock and Needs 150 kWp panel capacity with 4-5h max sun
operator shine plus additional light
Efficiency 600kW and 182m3 Methane Gas per day 4hours sunshine (150kWp x 4) = 600kW per day
Operational cost Need diesel to run the generator (1 litres diesel No need
= RM4 )
Battery backup Battery backup for 6 hour only Battery backup for 2 days (for raining and cloudy
day)
Production Gas and electricity Electricity
Cost RM 1.0 – 1.2 Million RM4.5 Million ( needed a lot of battery backup for
raining days)
By having an amount of 1000 kg waste per day, the electricity generated will be about 600kW per day due
to the fact that this mini biogas power plant can produce up to 25kWh. About 180 cubic metre methane gas is
produced and will be burned to generate electricity. If there are more wastes, the electricity energy generated will
also increase. The maximum electricity that can be generated by this mini biogas power plant is 720Kw with the
amount of waste of 1200kg per day. The result of the methane and electricity produced is as shown in Table 2
below.
Table 2. The production of methane gas and electricity per day
Feedstock – Organic active (canteens and cafeterias waste)
Feedstock substrate CH4/VS and /Feedstock Power/tFs (per day)
(m3CH4/kg VS) kWh/d kWh/h
Food Waste 0.196 196.0 646.80 26.95
The production of biogas result indicated that about 26.95 kWh/h electricity can be generated with the total
amount of 1000kg/d of food waste supplied. There is about 646.80kWh/d electricity can be produced a day.
Methane gas that can be produced per day is 196.0 cubic metres. It is proved that all the foods waste from canteens
and cafeterias can generate more methane gas and electricity. The dry matter content in this mixed waste is about
40% while the volatile solid makes up about 98%. The result shown was higher from other country's results because
this mini biogas power plant has a change in their design that increases their workability and efficiency.
Table 3 shows the amount of the feedstock used by week. The amount of feedstock is same in week 1 to
week 3 because the bacteria in the tank (cow dung) need at least 3 weeks to multiply the bacteria. The higher the
bacteria, the higher the methane gas production. At the week 4 until week 12 the amount of feedstock place in the
tank increase to multiply the bacteria but until 1000kg the feedstock will remains constant.
Table 3. Table of feedstock used per week

Weeks Amount of feedstock (kg) Amount of methane gas production (m3)
1 200 35.48
2 200 37.23
3 200 39.20
4 400 70.76
5 400 78.40
6 500 98.00
7 600 117.60
8 700 137.20
9 800 156.80
10 900 176.40
11 1000 196.00
12 1000 196.00
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Figure 9. The amount of feedstock used by week
Based on Figure 9, it is shows the increasing of the number of the feedstock by the weeks. This MBPP
already function about 3 months, and at the week 11 to week 12 the number of feedstocks are remain constant. On
the other hand, according to Figure 10, the production of methane gas production increase when the feedstock
increase. At the beginning, the number of feedstock is 200kg and the number of methane gas production s are
around 35.48, 37.32 and 39.20 respectively. Figure 10 shows the amount of methane gas produced per week
Figure 10. The amount of methane gas produced per week
Figure 11 shows the number of electric generated increase by weeks is remains constant at the week 11 and
12 with the amount of 646.80kW. It clearly visualised that the amount of electric power increase by weeks.
306
Figure 11. The number of electric power generated per week
5. Conclusions
The most suitable power plant system to be installed at remote area is mini biogas power plant compared to
solar energy system because of several reasons. First of all, this mini biogas power plant is easy to set-up because it
is made in a modular system that could be installed or uninstalled and transferred easily everywhere and anywhere.
When there is a human, there will be waste. It is not hard to collect the wastes to be used in generating the energy
rather than waiting for the sunlight that is dependable on the weather. If it is raining season, they villagers will not
suffer to stay in dark at night and feeling hot during the day. The generator will work 24 hours to generate electricity
as long as there are wastes and the generator have enough fuels to work.
If there is 1000kg waste per day, the mini biogas power plant can generate about 180 cubic metre methane
gas and 600kW electricity per day. The waste produced should be enough to support this system. It is acceptable if
the waste is lower than 1000kg per day, as long as it could support all the needs that the people demand at their
place. The higher the amount of wastes could produce the higher the amount of electricity.
References
Ahn, H.K., Smith, M.C. & Kondrad, S.L and White, J.W. (2012). Evaluation of Biogas Production Potential by Dry
Anaerobic Digestion of Switch grass–Animal Manure Mixtures, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 160, 965-
975
Babel, S., Sae-Tang, J. & Pecharaply, A. (2009). Anaerobic co-digestion of sewage and brewery sludge for biogas
production and land application, International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 6, 131-140.
Corral, M. & Argelia, M. (2007) Biogas production via anaerobic digestion of high solids livestock manures, PhD
thesis, New Mexico State University, 593-599
Manikam, N.S.T. (2012) Report of Biogas Production From The Municipal Waste, B.Sc final year project, Faculty
of Engineering and Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, 432-437.
Najafi, Z. & Jaafarzadeh, N. (2007). Biogas Production From Animal Manure And Vegetable Wastes, The Social
Contex, 48, 52-54
Rapport, J.L. (2011) Large scale anaerobic digestion of food processing waste and pre-treatment of agricultural
residue for enhancement of biogas production, 23-29
Waqar Bhatti, M. (2012) Mini biogas plant reducing dependence on the firewood, International The News, Karachi,
42-53
307
Wiley, P.E., Campbell, J. & McKuin, B. (2011). Water Environment Research, Production of Biodiesel and Biogas
from Algae: A Review of Process Train Options, Water Environment Research, 83, 326-338
308
Potential of Modular Construction in Malaysia: Industrialised

Building System (IBS) vs Traditional Construction
M.A. Othuman Mydina,37*, N. Md Sanib, A.F. Phiusc, N.M. Tawild , S. Ganesane
a,b,c,e
d
Abstract
The Industrialised Building System (IBS) which was introduced in Malaysia since the 1960s is an approach to the construction of
buildings. It involves the manufacturing and assembling of components in factories and production plants. These are then
dispatched to project sites where they are installed in processes which require minimal labour. Traditional construction methods
are still widely practiced, although many researches indicate that this method is less effective compared to IBS construction. The
existence of the IBS provides an increase in techniques within the construction industry. This study is dedicated to making
comparisons between the two approaches to construction. It is conducted via case studies on construction sites, distribution of a
total of 100 questionnaires as well as interviewing respondents who are related to this discourse. The case studies for this
research were conducted at four construction sites within the Malaysian state of Penang. Two projects were based on the IBS
while the remaining two deployed the traditional method of construction. Based on the analysis of obtained results, it can be
surmised that the IBS approach has more to offer compared to the traditional method. Among these advantages are reduced
construction durations, reduced overall cost, reduced labour requirements, better site conditions and the production of
components of higher quality among others. Also, this study managed to determine the perceptions of key players in the industry
and their rationales in preferring the traditional approach while at the same time, admitting to the edges offered by the IBS..
Keyword: IBS, traditional system, strengths and weaknesses, builders perception, construction, modular system
1. Introduction
The construction industry in Malaysia is experiencing a migration from conventional methods to a more
systematic and mechanised method known as the Industrialised Building System (IBS). EACH STATE IN Malaysia is
currently examining the developments of the IBS and its potential to overcome the shortages of housing
accommodations in this country (CIDB, 1998). The Malaysian government, involved through its agency, the
Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has been persistently pushing the construction industry to utilise
of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) method of construction since the year 2003 (CIDB, 2005). It is a part of
an incorporated endeavour to further improve the aptitude, potential, effectiveness and competitiveness of the
industry as well as to diminish the industry's dependence on foreign labour (CIDB, 2000). This is also an attempt in
the Malaysian construction industry to encourage positive inroads in matters related to construction-site safety with
regards to a working environment which is cleaner, more convenient and more organized (Waleed et. al., 1997).
This production is also mentioned as being able to provide more protection to the environment as it secures the
sustainability of the industry (Hussein, 2007).
The IBS system has been acknowledged as being able to offer a potential solution to perk overall
performances in the construction sector in terms of increased labour and work quality, reduced costs, sufficient
security, waste reduction and enhanced productivity (Trikha, 1999). The study carried out will observe the two
aforementioned approaches to construction in various perspectives. It is important to note that the case studies

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carried out are of several construction projects around the Malaysian state of Penang (Harun et. al., 2005). In
Malaysia, the IBS was initiated since the 1960s, when the Ministry of Housing and Local Government made visits to
several European municipalities with the objective of assessing their housing development plans. After a successful
tour run in 1964, the Malaysian government launched a project to put to the test the efficiency of the IBS (Hussein,
2007). This is to gauge its potential as a system that could be deployed as an alternative to the conventional system
which already had a strong foothold in Malaysia. The key objectives looking to be fulfilled include the acceleration
as well as the increase of affordable housing of substantial quality here in Malaysia.
The IBS proved to be a success. Not only was it efficient in accelerating the construction of housing projects,
it also improved the quality and affordability of the projects in which the IBS was deployed (Esa and Nuruddin,
1998). Based on different reference materials accepted by authorities in the construction fraternity, we have several
ways of defining the IBS (Agus, 1997). Despite the IBS being well-known and accepted by most construction firms
due to its theoretical advantage in terms of speed, safety and quality, wet construction method is still widely
regarded in Malaysia as a conventional and safe option despite incurring higher costs and slower production rates
(Badir et. al., 2002).
Traditional construction is one of the earliest approaches practised in the construction industry. It involves
procedures where everything is done at the project site without prior completion of construction materials at
manufacturing plants (Hamid et. al., 2008). This type of construction is appropriate for countries that have limited
skilled labour, lack of heavy machineries and a shortage of relevant technology. This system is applicable to almost
all types of buildings. It involves a formwork which is used as a mould. Concrete slurry is poured into this
temporary system that also acts as a temporary support for the structures (Kamar et. al., 2009).
The conventional building system had predominantly been built using reinforced concrete frames and it is
typically divided into two major components. The first component is the structural system which includes cast in-
situ columns, beams, slabs and frames (Chew and Michael, 2001). These frames are constructed through four
successive operations which are the erection of timber formworks and scaffoldings, the erection of steel bars, the
pouring of fresh concrete into forms and finally, the dismantling of formwork and scaffoldings (Hahim et. al., 2009).
These operations are labour intensive, tedious and require a lot of on-site coordination. The second component
consists of bricks and plaster as the non-structural infill material (Harun et. al., 2005).. It involves high costs for
construction taking into account the expenditures for labour, raw materials, transportation as well as the required
lengthy construction periods.
Returning to the definition of the IBS, it is simply regarded as a construction technique in which components
are manufactured in a controlled environment either on or off-site. These are transported, positioned and assembled
into a structure with the least of additional site work, (CIDB, 2000).
The components of the IBS are materials that are produced in factories where quality control is not
compromised on. This also minimises activities at the site of construction. Building components which are often
used in the IBS projects include walls, floors, beams and staircases (Nawi et. al., 2005). The IBS construction
method can reduce wastage of resources besides providing good quality results for consumers (Naruddin and Esa,
1998). Similarly, Warswaski (1999) also noted that the system is capable of reducing dependencies on the amount of
labour besides being able to maximise optimal production and quality (Chung, 2006). The construction method of
this type is an industrial process in which building components are designed, transported to the construction site and
finally erected according to plans. It sometimes involves pertaining software which is a prerequisite in creating
conducive environments for industrial development. The hardware elements which are involved in the IBS can be
categorised into three main groups. These design systems are set up to study the needs of the end users, market
analysis, improvements of establishment standards as well as the layout of manufacturing and installation work,
(Chung and Kadir, 2007).
The Malaysian government often provides housing projects to the populace. For instance, about 800,000
affordable housing units were provisioned and expected to be provided under the 7th Malaysian Plan in which 73.1%
were low and medium cost houses. However, reports of achievements are rare and only 20% of the envisioned
figure have been reported despite the various initiatives implemented to encourage developers to invest in the
housing sector (Faizul, 2006). Housing development projects continued in 2001 until 2005 under the 8 th Malaysian
Plan in which provisions were made for affordable and sustainable housing accommodations (Rahman and Omar,
2006). The total target was set at between 600,000 to 800,000 units. In the 9 th Malaysian Plan, 43,800 units of low-
cost houses were built through several housing programmes while 29,000 units of low and medium-cost houses
were built by the Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (Kadir et. al., 2006). The 10th Malaysian Plan also added to the
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access of quality and affordable housing with an increase of 161,000 new units which were owned and developed by
public housing firms. These housing projects will contain elements of green building technologies and designs
(Kadir et. al., 2006). With the provisions set by the federal government, a problem will definitely be encountered
due to the inability of conventional construction methods in coping with the demand for housing.
This is because Malaysia faces a shortage of labour. Therefore, the government has decided to introduce the
use of pre-cast building materials in the construction industry. All civil construction projects are directed to apply at
least 50% of the IBS approach in their endeavours. This will confer greater advantages in line with increased
productivity, enhanced quality of the internal resistance besides being cost-cutting 1. (Kamar et. al., 2009). Works
Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said that the directive covers 26 projects worth RM2.4 billion proposed in the
9th Malaysian Plan (2006-2010) which have been approved for immediate action (Nawi et. al., 2005). Regarding the
10th Malaysian Plan, the government promises to provide affordable housing projects which are sustainable and
which adhere to the green concept for all the projected 78,000 housing units in this plan indicating that the IBS
construction method has to be fully implemented.
The increasing demands of clients in the construction industry have led to the selection of a faster and
cheaper construction method which, by the way, is capable of producing higher quality results. For that reason,
builders involved in the construction sector are required to decide either to utilise the IBS or the traditional method
of construction. This study will highlight all the differences between these two construction methods. Widespread
knowledge and a good understanding of the Malaysian construction industry will also be fostered.
A. 2. Problem Statement
The Industrialised Building System (IBS) is not a new phenomenon in the construction industry in Malaysia.
It has been implemented in the constructions of civil engineering structures such as bridges and drains for some time
now. Nevertheless, the utilisation of the IBS construction approach in Malaysia is still less practiced in comparison
to the conventional construction method. The practice of traditional construction incurs much lower productivity
rates compared to the other alternatives. The IBS will endanger employment opportunities for labour workers. The
CIDB estimates that there would be an approximate 70% decrease of foreign workers in labour-intensive jobs.
Through the IBS, we can thus enhance productivity levels by reducing expenditure on foreign workers,
Under the 9th Malaysian Plan (1996-2000), the government had established a programme involving the
construction of 800,000 housing units allocated for both the government and the private sector. This is in tandem
with the government’s commitment to satiate the demand for housing units. On average, a labourer needs one year
to complete the construction of a double-storey terraced house. With such being the case, the conventional method is
simply unable to meet the housing demand in Malaysia due to the long construction periods.
A newly encountered obstacle is the traditional mindset of buyers who prefer houses built of brick and
mortar. There were erroneous notions and opinions over one of the pre-cast panels where the buyer thinks that it is
an element of housing construction of a lower quality because it is regularly used for the construction of low cost
housing projects in Malaysia. Due to the ongoing dilemma, developers today are not willing to take the risk to utilise
pre-cast construction. Therefore, the parties involved in the construction industry must take the initiative in
generating alternative construction methods to compete and remain relevant in the construction industry. Awareness
of current trends and innovations in the IBS is important.
The lack of experience and technical knowledge of contractors regarding the IBS causes the costs to
become higher owing to their non-effectiveness in managing the costs. This situation brings about an apprehensive
feeling with respect to the efficiency of using an IBS system. Not possessing the suitable technology and relevant
experiences pertaining to managing quality problems, productivity as well as safety had caused local contractors
being unable to compete with their counterparts in other countries who widely adopt and apply the IBS
So, it is significant for all competitors in the construction industry to ready themselves and begin to takes
initiatives in maximising the potentials of their proposed methods of construction. Companies need to play their
roles actively to promote changes and to come out with new methodologies to compete with other international
competitors. Awareness towards trends and innovations are therefore essential
This study is conducted to identify the differences and weaknesses with respect to the methods of
construction of the IBS and traditional methods. It is also to identify the opinions and perceptions of the parties that
are involved in the construction industry besides forwarding their recommendations on measures to improve the
application of the IBS in Malaysia.
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3. Methodology
This research deployed several approaches as listed in Figure 1 below with the objective of gathering reliable
and relevant data of the subject. The case study in this research was conducted to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of the Industrialised Building System as well as those of the traditional method deployed in the
construction of four targeted projects around Penang. The four sites are:
i. Kompleks Ibu Pejabat Mahkamah Syariah, Pulau Pinang (IBS)
ii. Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Height, Gelugor, Pulau Pinang (IBS)
iii. Masjid Jamek Sg. Gelugor, Pulau Pinang (Traditional Method)
iv. 11 Unit Rumah, Tingkat Dua, Tingkat Satu, Tingkat Basemen, George Town, Pulau Pinang (Traditional
Method)
Questionnaire was also distributed to the builders in the construction sector to solicit their answers, comments
and opinions regarding both construction methods. Besides that, interviews were also conducted on a number of
respondents at the construction sites. The frequency analysis technique was used to derive results from data obtained
through the questionnaires. This analysis is used as it is relatively easier to conduct and is generally comprehensible
among the masses. In this method, the obtained data will be presented in terms of percentages. The Likert scale was
used to determine the weaknesses and strengths of both methods in construction. Table 1 shows the frequency index
that was used in this study.
Figure 1. Methodology flowchart for this study

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Table 1. Frequency Index Table
Scale Frequency Index

1 Very Poor 1.00 to 1.750
2 Poor >1.750 to 2.500
3 Good >2.500 to 3.250
4 Excellent > 3.250 to 4.000
4.1 Respondent Backgrounds and General Information
In this study, 100 respondents were involved. The biggest representation in this study is from contractor
companies (53%), followed by developer companies (17%), the Public Works Department (15%), consultation firms
(8%) and the smallest percentage is contributed by architecture firms (7%). According to survey forms which were
distributed to builders, the majority of them had working experiences of between 6 and 9 years. Generally, those
with more than 6 years working experiences are common at construction sites and have sufficient experience and
knowledge in both of these methods. So, it would be more reliable to depend on them to point out the differences
regarding the strengths and weaknesses of both construction methods. Besides, from the questionnaires, it can easily
be observed that the parties involved in construction activities are more likely to use conventional methods rather
than the IBS method. This situation reveals that the construction of IBS is still not very much adopted by builders
even though it has long been introduced.
4.2 Knowledge and Application of the Industrialised Building System (IBS)
As reflected by the diagram in Figure 2, 90% of the respondents were familiar with the IBS but rarely
applied this method in construction. The IBS is rarely performed because of the small numbers of contractors who
refuse to manage projects involving the implementation of the IBS method. Furthermore, they are more familiar
with the traditional construction method and they might have found it difficult to embrace a new approach to
construction. In addition, the financial factor is another reason they dared not involve themselves in the construction
of IBS projects. The lack of knowledge in the IBS had played its part in discouraging builders from participating in
the constructions of IBS projects. Although only 10% of the respondents were familiar and frequently deployed the
IBS method, this trend might change over the next few decades. This may be due to the existence of more
contractors who are backed by strong financial resources besides lucrative incentives from the government
promoting for the implementation of theIndustrialised
IBS approach.Building System (IBS) in
Malaysia
Frequently Been
90%
10% Implemented
Frequently And
Occasionally Been
Implemented
Figure 2. Familiarity of Industrialised Building System in Malaysia
There are various mediums through which the Industrialised Building System had obtained itself attention
from among individuals in the construction industry here in Malaysia. Many builders are introduced to the use of the
pre-cast construction method through workshops, seminars and courses. Government agencies such as the Public
313
Works Department (PWD) and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) have played their roles in
providing a variety of information to the players in the construction industry. Other means are through friends and
associates in the construction industry, from the Internet and from other electronic media. The least popular
information channels are newspapers, articles and etc.
According to data analysis, the majority of respondents at 72% admitted having sound knowledge on the
IBS while 1% declared that they are in the possession of excellent knowledge on this matter. The remaining 27% of
the respondents who participated in the questionnaire admitted that they are rather poor when it comes to knowing
details regarding the construction method involving the IBS approach. This could be a result of their recent entry
into the construction industry. Overall, it is safe to say that players in the construction industry have an excellent
knowledge on matters related to the IBS construction due to the various initiatives taken by the government in
introducing the IBS into the construction industry in the country.
25%
Good 61%
Fair 8%
Poor 6%
Not sure
0%
Good 50%
Fair 100%
Poor Not sure
Figure 3. Level of Development of the IBS in Malaysia
With reference to Figure 3, 61% of the builders agree that the development of the IBS in Malaysia is
moderate while 8% of the respondents state that the level of IBS implementation in Malaysia is very low. 6% were
unsure about the developments of the IBS in Malaysia. Nonetheless, 25% of the respondents agreed that the
development of the IBS in Malaysia is at an encouraging level. This is due to the various initiatives taken by the
government to implement construction projects with the IBS concept especially in government projects.
4.3 Strengths and Weaknesses of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) and the Traditional System
This study was conducted through case studies, questionnaires and interviews. Respondents involved are
builders from the four construction sites around Penang which had been visited.
4.3.1 Case Studies - IBS vs Conventional System
These case studies were conducted to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Industrialised Building
System and the traditional method for the four projects around Penang applying both these methods. Among these
are Kompleks Ibu Pejabat Mahkamah Syariah, Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Heights, Masjid Jamek Sg. Gelugor
and also the SP Setia housing project specifically 11 Unit Rumah, Dua Tingkat Satu Tingkat Basemen. Many
researchers have tried to compare these two methods of construction. Through these case studies, it is found that the
IBS has significant advantages over the conventional method of construction. Figure 4 show the erection of structure
at Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Heights which was completed within 3 months. Responses from the interviews
conducted upon relevant respondents from each of the four projects also point in the same direction. For example, in
the project involving the school building of Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Heights, it took less than three months to
erect the structure of the building as a whole while in the case of Masjid Jamek at Gelugor, a duration of four to five
months was required to complete the building structure. This indicates that the IBS approach to construction can cut
down on the overall construction period. Statistically, IBS construction projects can save up to 30% of time
compared to the conventional method (CIDB, 2005).
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Figure 4. Erection of IBS Structure Component at Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Heights
Through analyses of the questionnaires, a total mean score of 3.45 which indicates excellence was
obtained. 50% of the respondents agreed that construction endeavours can be completed rapidly because of the
earlier manufacturing and assembling of pre-cast components in factories. In contrast, projects that deploy the
traditional method are difficult to complete within a short period of time. This method requires a long duration
before completion since moulds need to be built and the concrete has to be given enough time to set and so on.
Figure 6. Labours at SP Setia site (traditional construction)
Through the case studies of the four construction sites, significant differences in terms of the labour
workforce involved can be observed. In fact, one would be able to discern whether a project was deploying the IBS
or the traditional approach by casting a single glance at the construction site during working hours. Construction is
a labour-intensive industry, more so the case in conventional construction. With an overall mean score of 3.10, the
IBS application is able to reduce labour at the construction sites. Pre-cast construction method (IBS) is a relatively
less labour-intensive method, but it still requires skilled labour to perform on-site work such as the installation of
IBS components. This explains the minimal number of labourers because they are only used for the installation of
the IBS components (Warszawski, 1999). Contrary to conventional methods which require more labour to complete
work such as formwork fabrications, reinforcement bar or steel cage fabrications, formwork installations,
reinforcement bar installations, concrete placements and formwork dismantling, the use of the IBS method will
reduce the dependency on foreign labour. However, the use of skilled labour is needed for the installation of
mechanical equipments and components that involve heavy machineries like cranes at construction sites. Figure 5
shows, traditional construction methods was involved more construction workers on the construction site.
Through research, labour efficiency is one of the factors that contribute to increased productivity. It is an
important element in projects that will contribute to increased building costs. Declines in labour productivity can
reduce wages as a man is paid depending on the amount of work that he does. Workers who do not work optimally
at the construction site will impede the progress of the project and lengthen its completion. This phenomenon makes
the conventional method appear cheaper compared to the IBS approach. Besides, the IBS offers lower costs
to build large and repetitive designs within a short period of time. This leads to the lowering of the overall cost of
the project provided that the project is a large one which involves high degrees of repetition. However, the costs of
the initial stages of construction are usually higher because during these phases, the involvement of complex
315
machineries would be eminent for the preparation, casting, curing and treatment, stripping and demoulding as well
as in the inspection, lifting and handling processes. Furthermore, IBS components are also considered to be
expensive due to the small numbers of IBS components manufacturers in Malaysia. Figure 6 shows the use of steel
formworks for a repetitive building to minimize costs and wastes at the construction site.
Figure 6. The Use of Steel Formwork for Repeated Construction
The IBS promises less labour during construction. Besides, it is also able to eliminate the use of
conventional formworks which encourage waste production and excessive costs in construction. This helps to
reduce overall costs in the construction of IBS projects as compared to projects using the traditional method which
usually incur high costs partially due to concrete wastage. Figure 7 visualizes the traditional construction using
wooden formwork. Construction process will take a long time to complete and I would produce more wastage in
construction materials.
Figure 7. The use of wood formworks in the traditional construction site of Masjid Jamek
Through the case studies of the four construction projects which are respectively based on the IBS and the
traditional method, it can be concluded that these two construction methods are affected by the way the construction
sites are managed by the contractors and the labourers. The IBS method offers economical designs with a guarantee
of high quality because it is well managed and regulated. Moreover, the IBS building designs are still capable of
providing certain degrees of flexibility in its construction to produce a variety of forms, quality and also attractive
finishes. However, new moulds will be required unless the project manager decides to practise a monotonous
approach and repeat the designs over and over again. In the event that new moulds are conscripted, the charges
incurred will not be cheap. This is very much in contrast to the traditional method which offers a variety of designs
and more than half of the respondents agree with this due to the fact that the production of desired designs using the
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traditional method is easy to attain. The respondents recorded a mean of 2.84 to indicate that the components
involved in the traditional building method are easily assembled.
Besides, if there are any changes in terms of the design, the alterations can be done with ease. In terms of
quality, the mean score of 3.13 indicates that the IBS ensures the quality of its end products. The usage of the IBS
would certainly result in outcomes of good quality because the components are manufactured in well-controlled
conditions to obtain high-quality components. Consistency is an important element in the manufacturing of these
components and extra emphasis is placed in ensuring that the components are each produced in accordance with
design specifications. IBS components typically have smooth surfaces as compared to those of the traditional
method because the former is made of materials which are superior in quality using advanced technologies and
produced under the supervision of pronounced experts in the field. Based on studies, the quality of work from the
traditional method depends very much on the technical knowledge of the labourers and how they execute their tasks
at the project sites. There is a high probability for the traditional method to yield products with rough surfaces which
are also known as honeycombs because of the low construction quality and also due to bad weather conditions.
Based on earlier conducted studies and visits to the four sites and analysis via questionnaires, with a mean
score of 3.22, the IBS able was to maintain good site conditions besides being able to create avenues for cleaner and
well-organised sites. IBS sites typically generate minimal construction wastage save for the required site tools. From
my visits to projects where the IBS approach was deployed, the area surrounding the construction site were clean
and organised leading to the feel of being in a safe environment. This is in high contrast to the environmental
conditions at construction sites where the traditional method was applied. The conditions of these project sites were
messy and unorganised. The mean score for this aspect is 2.04, placing it in the poor category. These do not only
pose threats to the work safety of workers but also disrupt their movements in and around the construction sites.
Needless to say, it would be difficult for the processes of loading and unloading of the construction materials. The
overall findings of this analysis from case studies on project sites, questionnaires, and also interviews with
respondents showed that the IBS offers much more advantages compared to the traditional construction methods.
4.4 Perception Levels of Local Builders toward the Industrialised Building System (IBS) and the Traditional
System
The traditional method is much more preferred by the respondents. Builders are more likely to prefer this
method because they have grown familiar to this approach. In addition, they are also reluctant to change to new
methods such as the IBS because they might not have sufficient knowledge on this method. However, they do not
deny the advantages of the IBS approach.
34%
Industrialised Building System
Traditional System
21%
20%
14%
7%
2% 2%
0%
0-20 % 21-40 % 41-80 % 81-100 %

Figure 8. Percentages of Reduction of Durations of Construction
317
32%
Industrialised Building System
22%
Traditional System
18%
15%
11%
2%
0% 0%
0-20 % 21-40 % 41-80 % 81-100 %

Figure 9. Percentages of Possible Cost Reductions
3.49%
25.58%
13.95%
0-20 %
21-40 %
41-80 %
56.98% 81-100 %
Figure 10. Percentage of Labour Reductions with the implementation of IBS
Figure 8 shows that, the respondents agree that the IBS method can accelerate the construction time
compared to the traditional method. The IBS approach can consume less construction time because it doesn't
required the erection of formwork, concrete castings, and concrete curing and so on. The components only need be
erected on site, because they have already been completed at the factories. This kind of situation allow for the
construction time of IBS to be much faster than that of the traditional method. In fact, in terms of construction costs,
the IBS is able to reduce the overall construction cost by 0-20% as shown in Figure 9, and this is because as a
whole, IBS constructions will be able to save in terms of waste materials as well as on the minimising of labour at
the construction sites. It is also proven through the case studies and interviews that the IBS construction is capable
of saving on labour because it only requires skilled workers to set up the components at the construction sites and
workers to control the operation of the machineries at the beginning of the manufacturing and also during the
installation of components. As much as 21-40% as in Figure 10, of the total workforce can be reduced. Among the
jobs that can be reduced at the construction site are concreters, plasterers, brick layers and also carpenters. The
following factors are among the causes why the IBS had failed to be practiced widely in Malaysia. This is namely
because the industry players are less familiar with IBS construction, the lack of guidelines and standards, the lack of
components manufacturers and also the lack of knowledge and skills in the construction using the IBS approach.
Therefore, as a whole, the builders have the same perception for both construction methods and they also are aware
of the existence and benefits of the IBS as a way to expedite construction projects compared to the traditional
method However, most of them are still apply the traditional construction method because it is still relevant
especially for complex buildings with a variety of designs.
318
4.5 Analysis of Ways to Enhance and to Improve the Utilisation of the IBS in Malaysia
Based on the survey forms which were distributed to the respondents, it was found that they still are not
certain if they should apply the IBS in future. This is because they have to consider all the aspects that they will face
if they choose to practice this method. However, the respondents have agreed to the government's call for the
implementation of at least 70% of the IBS approach in their construction projects. This is due to the advantages of
the IBS especially in terms of the time for completion, labour reductions and encouraging environmental conditions
at the construction sites. Various methods can be implemented to promote and enhance the applications of the IBS
approach in the construction sector in Malaysia as per shown at Figure 11. Amongst them are making a
standardisation of IBS components. This is to avoid the occurrences of errors in production. In addition, promotional
campaigns and educational programmes should also be organised to further enhance the knowledge of the
construction industry so that the IBS will continue to be practiced in the future.
Standardisation of IBS 40%

56%
component e.g. shapes and… 4%
Additional incentive from 39%
55%
the Government for IBS… 6%
Contractor, engineer, 35%
61%
developer and architect are… 4%
20%
Makes IBS as compulsory 35%
45%
Quality control on IBS 45%
54%
components 1%
21%
Promote IBS to manufacturers 75%
4%
Promote designer to design 34%
64%
on IBS construction . 2%
Carry out more efficient 33%
66%
awareness and education… 1%
Introduce more training 34%
64%
programmes regarding IBS… 2%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Very Much Agree Agree Don’t Agree
Figure 11. Solutions to Enhance and Improve the Utilisation of the Industrialised Building System in Malaysia
In addition, the respondents also agreed to encourage the designers to design buildings using the IBS
approach to avoid monotonous designs in the construction. Furthermore, to increase the use of this method in the
construction industry, the respondents had agreed to introduce the IBS to manufacturers to encourage them to
produce components based on the IBS. It will then be easier for developers to obtain IBS components for
construction projects. Even the application of the IBS can be enhanced by the increased availability of incentives
from the government to encourage all builders to apply this method. The IBS construction method is well regulated
during the manufacturing stages. This is one of the steps to improve the construction of the IBS based in Malaysia
because in this way, a positive outlook can be given to investors and players in the construction industry. In
addition, a good knowledge of the IBS would be able to increase the use of IBS construction. Therefore, all builders
such as contractors, engineers, developers and architects are required to attend seminars and campaigns related to
the IBS. Incentives provided by the government should also be able to attract more builders to get involved in IBS
construction. Thus, as a whole, the last objective which is to identify ways to enhance the application of the IBS in
Malaysia has been achieved. This is because as much as 89% of the respondents had agreed to measures that should
319
be carried out to enhance and improve the system of IBS in Malaysia although, to make the IBS method as
compulsory is difficult to put into practice in order to improve the application of IBS in the construction industry.
5. Recommendations
This study which is dedicated to comparing between the IBS construction method and the traditional
construction method was conducted around the state of Penang. Several suggestions on ways to improve the usage
of the IBS in the Malaysian construction industry were unearthed during the entire duration of this discourse. Due to
several limitations, this study was focussed only on the state of Penang. Therefore, it is advised that future studies be
extended to larger sampling areas.
i. IBS construction projects would involve high costs. To curb this assumption, components manufacturers
should consider offering their products at more affordable and reasonable rates.
ii. Identify means and ways to encourage the application of the IBS approach in the local construction industry.
Perhaps we could refer to successful projects from abroad.
iii. Restructure the introductions to basics exposure programmes related to the management of IBS projects. This
allows for an enhanced experience and deeper technical understanding among parties in the local construction
industry.
iv. Continuous researches should be conducted to further enhance competency and flexibility levels of
construction using the IBS approach.
v. Solutions in terms of integrating mechanical and electrical components into IBS designs should also be
identified.
vi. Continuous updates and quotation-seeking should be conducted to ensure that the projects are completed
within the projected timeframes and within the budgeted costs. Should there be an overshoot somewhere, the
consequences resulted could prove to be damaging to the company’s credibility not to mention the
inconveniences it could result to various parties.
In summary, although this discourse can be regarded as a general one, it is advisable that this study is
continued so that more input can be obtained. This could be helpful to all parties seeking to further enhance their
mastery on matters related to the two approaches to construction so that the future of Malaysian construction will
always be advancing in the direction of progress.
B. 6. Conclusion
Various efforts were concerted with the aim of fulfilling all of the pre-determined research objectives
pertaining to the two approaches to building construction in Malaysia. The first objective in this study is to identify
the strengths and weaknesses of these two building systems. This is fulfilled by conducting case studies on project
sites, acquiring data from questionnaires and interviewing respondents at the project sites. Besides from an in-depth
literature review, relevant information was also derived from catalogues issued by the CIDB which contained
sufficient data related to this discourse. The IBS building approach is capable of hastening project completion,
increasing quality and site security as well as minimizing the number of site workers.
The second objective of this study is to gauge the perception levels regarding the IBS and the traditional
method approaches among local builders. This is so that the builders’ preferences can be noted as well as their
opinions regarding the factors that they considered before coming up with their choices. This objective was attained
through means of a questionnaire and a round of interviews. Approximately half of the respondents are reluctant to
switch to the IBS and prefer the old conventional method. This could be due to the nature of humans which resist
changes after achieving a comfortable pedestal, one which they have grown accustomed to. It is important to note
however that they do not reject the notion that the IBS brings with it a host of advantages.
The third and final objective which pertains to identifying suggestions which could boost the
implementation of the IBS in Malaysia was achieved via the analysis of data collected from the questionnaires. As
much as 89% of the respondents agree that suggestive measures to encourage the use of the IBS should be applied in
Malaysia although, to make the IBS method as compulsory is difficult to put into practice in order to improve the
application of IBS in the construction industry.
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320
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Science Construction, UTM, Johor, Malaysia.
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Esa, H. and Nuruddin, M.M. (1998). Policy on Industrialised Building System – Report on Colloquim on
Industrialised Construction System. Kuala Lumpur, 1-9
Kadir, M.R.A., Lee, W.P., Jaafar, M.S. and Sapuan, S.M. (2006). Construction performance comparison between
conventional and industrialised building systems in Malaysia. Structural Survey, 24, 412-424
Faizul, N.A. (2006) Supply Chain Management in IBS Industry. Malaysia International IBS Exhibition, Kuala
Lumpur.
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in Malaysia: the current state and R&D initiatives. Malaysia Construction Research Journal, 2, 1-13.
Haron, N.A. Hassim, S. Kadir, M. R.A., & Jaafar, M. S. (2005) Building Costing Comparison Between
Conventional and Framework System. Journal of Technology, 43(B), UTM, Johor, Malaysia.
Hassim, S., Jaafar, M.S. & Sazali, & S.A.A.H. (2009) The Contractor Perception Towers Industrialised Building
System Risk in Construction Projects in Malaysia. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 6, 937-942
Hussein, J. (2007) Industrialised Building System: The Challenge and The Way Forward. Keynote address at
Construction Industry Research Achievement International Conference, CIDB, PWTC, Kuala Lumpur.
Kamar, K.A.M., Alshawi, M. & Hamid, Z. A. (2009) Barriers to Industrialised Building System (IBS): The Case of
Malaysia. BuHu 9th International Postgraduate Research Conference (IPGRC) (Eds., Alshawi, M., Ahmed, V.,
Egbu, C. and Sutrisna, M.), Salford, UK
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322
Assessment of the pull-out test to determine strength of

lightweight foamcrete
M.A.O. Mydina,38*, N. M. Sanib , Z. Matoric , S. Ganesand
a,b,c,d
Abstract
This study focuses on the results of the comprehensive strength test to qualify the mechanical properties of the
screw’s pullout strength on foamcrete. Foamcrete is classified as lightweight concrete that been produced by cement
paste or mortar in which air-voids are entrapped in the mortar by a suitable foaming agent. These days the use of
foamcrete has been recognized in the construction industry as wall blocks, wall panels and also material floor and
roof screeds. Due to that, the application of this material should consider many functional aspects so that the
application may be maximized. As we are noted, the use of screws on the wall or ceiling is common in a building.
The objective of this research is to examine and determine the pullout strength of the screw in lightweight foamcrete
with various densities which also look into the various properties and types of screw that may depict the best result
of the pullout strength on foamcrete. To visualize the different result of pullout strength, screw with wall plug and
without wall plug will be utilized as well. The pullout strength will be tested using the Universal Testing Machine
where it shall measure the ultimate load that the screw attached to the foamcrete may resist.
Keyword: pull out test, foamed concrete, strength, screw, wall plug, wall block, foamcrete, lightweight concrete
1. Introduction
Lightweight concretes are extensively used in developed countries like Germany, United Kingdom,
Australia, United States, and Europe (Narayanan and Ramamurthy, 2012). The main characteristic of this product is
low in density with can offer wide range of dry densities, typically from 400 to 1600 kg/m3 which in addition tender
low mechanical properties compared to normal concrete strength (Awang et. al., 2012). It is a free flowing material
which is ideal for a extensive range of applications (Weigler and Karl, 1980). Foamcrete can easily be placed by
means of pumping (if necessary) or manually by hand and easy to place in inaccessible places (Othuman Mydin and
Wang, 2012a). It does not require any compaction, vibrating or levelling. It has an excellent water and frost
resistance product and provides high level of sound and thermal insulation (Othuman Mydin, 2013).
Lightweight foamcrete has been used in the construction industry over 50 years ago since the introduction
of cellular concrete system (Kearsley and Wainwright, 2002). The use of foamcrete has been almost exclusively
limited to non-structural void filling, bridge abutment work, roof insulation, thermal insulation, acoustic damping,
and trench filling for reinstatement of road and for building blocks (Roslan et. al., 2013). Foamcrete first used was
recorded ain early 1920s and primarily employed as an insulation material. The application of foamcrete for
construction works was not recognized until the late 1970s, when it began to be used in Sweden in 1929s (BCA,
1994).
Lightweight foamcrete is now increasingly used in Malaysia. The use of this type of concrete in low-rise
residential construction as partition or load bearing wall are towering t (Othuman Mydin and Wang, 2012b). In line

323
with government requirement to encourage the use of IBS system, lightweight foamcrete can enhance the
transformation and strategy towards achieving the goal. Some research has to be done in order to diversify the use of
this concrete. Nowadays the use of foamcrete became accepted in the construction the industry as wall blocks, wall
panels and also floor & roof screeds. Due to this situation, the application of this product must consider many things
so that the usage can be maximized (Soleimanzadeh and Othuman Mydin, 2013).
Pullout strength of screw on foamcrete is a new idea in order to distinguish the performance of foamcrete to
be used in construction industry. This is due to the usage of screw for the finishing and for the installation of
furniture and electrical component (Babalola and LaBoube, 2004).
As far as the researcher is concerned, there is no single research has been conducted related to pull-out
strength on foamcrete. There is on published work to characterize the pullout failure in conical and cylindrical
pedicle screws after full insertion and back-out. Pullout strength and load failure were measure by using a servo-
hydraulic materials testing machine (Abshire et. al., 2001). An adapter was made to fit securely around the head of
screw. The adapter was attached to the load cell of the testing device. As the ram of the testing machine moved, the
adaptor allowed axial pull-out along the axis of the screw at a displacement rate of 25mm/min. The MTS device and
adaptor were re-evaluated before each test in order to ensure the specimen was fitted flush into the jig and the
adaptor created an axial displacement preventing any off-axis loading of the screw (Flahiff et. al., 1995). A curve of
pullout force (N) versus time was plotted for each specimen.
Hence, a study needs to be done in order to determine the maximum suspended load by screw that can be
applied on the foamcrete. In order to determine the maximum suspended load, planning of variable used in the test
should be well planned in order to get the best result.
2. Experimental Setup
The foamcrete used in this study was made from Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), fine sand, water and
stable foam. The concrete specimens were prepared with two different densities that are 900 and 1250kg/m3. The
density 900 kg/m3 was selected because it may be used in lightweight partition and 1250 kg/m 3 density would have a
useful amount of mechanical properties to make it practicable as a light load bearing infill material, which may be
combined with profiled thin walled steel in lightweight composite panel construction. Mix cement ratio for the
sample with density 900kg/m3 is 1:1.5:0.45. For density 1250kg/m3 the mix cement ratio is 1:2.5:0.45. Foam is
added after some calculations were made. Further details of the mix constituent proportions of both densities are
outline in Table 1. The targeted foamcrete volume required for the mix design was 0.15m3.
Table 1. Mix constituent proportions of foamcrete mixes

Target dry density (kg/m3) Portland Cement content (kg/m3) Sand content (kg/m3) Noraite PA-1 surfactant (m3)
900 17.07 25.61 0.027
1250 51.88 129.69 0.051
2.1 Sample Preparation

Each density will use the same method of mixing. Stable foam was produced using foam generator
Portafoam TM2 System, obtained from the Malaysian Manufacturer (www.portafoam.com). Noraite PA-1 (protein
based) was used as foaming agent which is appropriate for foamcrete densities ranging from 400 kg/m3 to 1600
kg/m3. Noraite PA-1 comes from natural sources and has a weight of around 80 g/l and expands about 12.5 times
when used with the portafoam foam generator.
The samples used in this study were wall block and concrete cube. Concrete was use to check compression
strength of concrete while concrete block to be test with screws to get the pullout strength of screw on foamcrete.
The size of wall block used is dimensioned 100 x 200 x 500mm and for the cube is 100x100x100mm. Every mix will
have 6 sample of concrete cube and 3 samples of wall block. Since this concrete is a foamcrete and the workability
is high, during the pouring process to the mould, didn’t need compaction or vibration. The sample will be removed
from the mould after 24 hours. Figure 1 shows the placement of foamcrete mix into steel mould.
324
Figure 1. Placement of foamcrete mix into mould
2.2 Types of screw
There are 3 types of screws will be used in this test; (a) chipboard Screw, (b) self-tapping Screw, and (c)
drywall screw as been shown in Figure 2. The screws that been used for this study have similar length of 50.8 mm.
Table 2 shows the detail of the screws.
Figure 2. Types of screw used for this study
i. Chipboard Screw / Particle Board Screw

Chipboard screw is similar to drywall screw but it has a thinner shaft and provides better resistance to pullout in
particle board, while offset against lower shear strength. The threads on particle board screws are asymmetrical.
ii. Concrete Screw / Masonry Screw / Self-Tapping Screw.

Self-tapping screw is a stainless steel screw for fastening wood, metal or other materials into concrete or masonry.
This type of screw may either have a Philips flat head or a slotted hex washer head. Usually the head of this screw is
in the range of 0.1875 to 0.375 in. (4.763 to 9.525 mm) and the lengths from 1.25 to 5 in (32 to 127 mm). In order to
establish this type of screw on hard surfaces such as concrete, the installer usually uses drill hammer in order to
establish a pilot hole for each item.
iii. Drywall Screw

This type of screw was designed with a bugle head and specialized to attach drywall to wood or metal studs. Screws
are made of various metals like stainless steel, fibers, iron and copper. Common applications of screws are in
325
electrical appliances, large machinery and domestic houses. The diameter of drywall screw threads is larger than the
shaft diameter.
Table 2. Details of screw that used in this study

Screw Length (mm) Diameter (mm) No. of thread Material
Low- carbon steel black
Drywall Screw 50.8 2 25
phosphate coating
Chipboard Screw 50.8 4 19 Alloy steel
Self-Tapping screw 50.8 4 30 Stainless steel
2.3 Pullout Strength Setup
A 40.8 mm length of the screw’s shaft will be inserted on sample of foamcrete with 10 mm distance from
the head of the screw to the surface of sample as shown in Figure 3. The three types of screw will be installed on a
same sample. In order to insure uniformity of screw placement during the experiment, the screws were introduced
while the screwdriver was seated to fit completely on the head of the screw and kept in line with the long axis of the
screw. Repeat the method of inserting screws on the sample with the use of wall plug on it as shown in Figure 4.
10mm
Figure 3. Installation of Screw on a Sample
This machine will measure the ultimate load that can break a screw on foamcrete. Screw on foamcrete will be tested
using Universal Testing Machine as shown in Figure 5. This machine will measure the ultimate load that can fail a
screw on foamcrete.
326
Figure 5. Universal Testing Machine
Universal Testing Machine was designed to allow testing in tension, compression and bending or flexural.
Since the objective of this study is to determine the pullout strength of screw on foamcrete, the method that used for
tensile test for rebar can be used in this study to determine the load that can extract the screw out of the sample. The
setting out of the sample of the machine is shown in Figure 6, Figure 7 and Figure 8:
Figure 6. Hook that will be used to hold screw at the sample
A hook that is depicted in Figure 6 serves as screw holder of the sample. There is one part of Universal
Testing Machine that movable. The sample will be placed on the movable part while the hook will be positioned at
the top of the machine that starts from the upper part. When the movable part moves downward, the machine will
take the reading of the total load that can make screw fail or disengage from the concrete.
Figure 7: Setting Out of the Sample at Machine
Since the method of tensile test for rebar was implemented in this study, the hook must be welded on data
logger (reader) in order to run the test. Figure 7 demonstrates how the sample was placed in the testing machine. G
clamp was used to hold the sample.
327
3.1 Compressive Test

Compressive test is the primary physical property of concrete and the most important parameter when
designing a concrete mix for different purposes. It's also a fundamental property used for quality control for
lightweight concrete. Compressive strength can be defined as the ability of concrete specimens to sustain the axial
load. In this study foamcrete cube will be tested after allowing hardening for 7 days and 28 days. Six samples will
be provided for each mixture in order to determine the compressive strength of the concrete. 3 samples will be tested
after 7 days the other 3 samples will be tested after 28 days of hardening. The results of this test are shown in Table
3 and Table 4 below.
Table 3. Compressive strength after 7 days hardening

Density (kg/m3) Compressive strength at 7-days (N/mm2) Average compressive strength (N/mm2)
0.85
900 0.88 0.85
0.82
2.44
1250 2.47 2.65
3.04
Table 4. Compressive strength after 28 days hardening

Density (kg/m3) Compressive strength at 7-days (N/mm2) Average compressive strength (N/mm2)
0.76
900 0.95 0.92
1.05
2.44
1250 2.47 3.10
3.04
Based on the compressive strength results shown in the Table 3 and Table 4, it can be concluded that the
results matched the requirement of compressive strength as per published by previous researchers. The typical
compressive strength of the foamcrete range between 800 to 1200 kg/m3 after 28 days hardening is from 1 to 8
N/mm2 (Kunhanandan Nambiar and Ramamurthy, 2006). This shows that foamcrete has an adequate amount of
strength which to be used in pullout strength test.
3.2 Pullout strength of screw
The pullout strength of the screws will be measured in unit kilogram (kg) as the researcher would like to
distinguish the load that could be held by screw on foamcrete material. Universal Testing Machine will give the
maximum load of reading. The results of pullout strength are shown in Table 5 and Table 6.
Table 5. Pullout strength result for foamcrete density 900kg/m3

Types of Screw Sample Unplugged Screw Result (kg) Plugged Screw Result (kg)
1 25.7 28.0
Chipboard Screw 2 26.4 42.3
3 - 33.9
1 31.6 34.5
Self-tapping Screw 2 28.2 32.4
3 - 29.3
1 25.8 25.5
Drywall Screw 2 34.5 32.2
3 - 37.3
328
Minimum reading that could be recorded by Universal Testing Machine is 25kg. Therefore, the result for
some tests cannot be obtained because of low reading. This is due to the testing method that that is designed for
tensile stress which usually resulted in higher ultimate load. From Table 5, we can see an inconsistence result of
pullout strength of each screw test. For chipboard, the highest and the lowest reading of pullout strength for plug
screw shows a significantly different result.
Table 6. Pullout strength result for foamcrete density 1250kg/m3

Types of Screw Sample Unplugged Screw Result (kg) Plugged Screw Result (kg)
1 140.5 144.0
Chipboard Screw 2 135.8 138.4
3 125.0 169.1
1 148.5 188.9
Self-tapping Screw 2 146.3 142.6
3 155.9 217.7
1 107.1 108.8
Drywall Screw 2 83.1 99.9
3 91.6 100.2
Based on the result shown on Table 5 and Table 6, it shows that different densities will give different
pullout strength. Higher density of concrete will give higher pullout strength of screw. The use of wall plug
evidently will resulted better pullout strength. Three different type of screw gave different reading of pullout
strength.
Based on Table 6, it can be seen that the result was consistence on high density of foamcrete to differentiate
the pullout strength of three different type of screw on foamcrete. Compared to pullout strength at low density
shows different type of screw are not really effected the pullout strength of screws because of the result were not too
different to each type of screw.
Conclusions
This paper has presented the results of a pilot study to qualify the mechanical performance of pullout
strength of screws on foamcrete. Three different type of screw were used to be tested on two different densities of
foamcrete. From the experimental and comparative results the following conclusion may be drawn.
1. The results shows higher density of foamcrete will give higher pullout strength of screw on foamcrete.
2. Throughout this study, and based on consistent result at the test on foamcrete density 1250 kg/m3, we can see
Self-Tapping Screw was give the best pullout strength. This is because it have a large number of thread on it
shaft. Chipboard screw in this test have same shaft diameter. Because of that, two other types of screws give
higher pullout strength compared to drywall screw that have smaller diameter of shaft.
3. The use of wall plug on foamcrete will strengthen the stranglehold of screw on the concrete.
Acknowledgement
The first author would like to thank Universiti Sains Malaysia and Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for
their financial supports under USM Short Term Grant No. 304 / PPBGN / 6311055.
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Night-Time Highway Construction or Maintenance/Upgrading

Works: An Analysis
A. M. Ab Wahid1*, A. H. Abdul Tharim2, A. Ahmad3,N. A. Ismail4, H. Zainol5
1, 2, 3,4,5
Department of Quantity Surveying, Faculty Architecture Planning and Surveying,UiTM Perak, 32610 Bandar Baru Seri Iskandar, Perak,
Malaysia
Abstract
This paper presents the analysis of interview sessions conducted with the general objective of studying night-time highway
construction or maintenance/upgrading works. This includes any work; construction, maintenance or upgrading, that involves the
closure of highway lanes and traffic mitigation. Such works might be disadvantageous to be conducted during daytime, thus
requiring them to be conducted at night. Data were collected by conducting interviews to relevant industry players with the
objective of identifying reasons for such works to be conducted at night. The answers obtained were the gathered and the most
famous themes are selected.
Keywords: Night-time; highway construction; highway maintenance
1. Introduction
Traffic congestion is a normal occurrence in the roads of Malaysia, especially in major towns such Kuala Lumpur,
Georgetown, and many more. Other than in towns, congestion also occurs in highways, especially during peak
hours, when road users commute from their office to their homes. Any highway construction or
maintenance/upgrading works will only make things worse as it may lead them to spend more hours on the road
since such works would require the closing of lanes and other problems, which will increase traffic congestion.
Contractors and also local authorities should ensure that such problems do not exist and plan how to avoid road
users from being the victim when this occurs. Night-time highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works is
not the best option for all cases, and should only be used when necessary. Therefore, this study is crucial as it offers
contractors a basis on what to consider when deciding whether to go for night-time highway construction or
maintenance/upgrading works or not.
The road construction site itself is considered as a hazardous place to work at (Gannapathy,Subramaniam,
MohamadDiah,Suaidi,&Hamidon, 2011) and accident can occur at any time and in many ways. The importance of
roads and highways as a means to deliver goods and increase the country’s income cannot be denied. As a result,
roads and highways should be constantly maintained and if necessary, upgraded, without interfering their normal
use and also safe to use.
According to Abraham, Spadaccini, Burgess, Miller, and Valentin(2007), the main reason for works to be conducted
at night-time is to avoid tafficcongestion from occurring, especially on busy roads and during rush hours. Night-
timehighway construction or maintenance/upgrading works may seem as the best option compared to day time
works in order to avoid traffic congestion problems especially when it comes to major roads and highways.
* Corresponding author. Tel.:

E-mail address: anisz286@perak.uitm.edu.my
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Figure 1.0:Factors to be considered (Hinze and Carlisle, 1990)
• The characteristic of the road and the

effect of lane closure towards the traffic
must be determined. Data can be
Traffic Pattern obtained by conducting traffic counts on
the said road and having a basis of
Analysis knowledge of the lane capacities if work
is to be conducted which can obtained
from past experience.
• Night time construction activities have its

economic implication too. The costs
Cost associated are mainly construction cost,
user cost, accident cost and also
Implication maintenance cost.
Analysis
Choosing to conduct road construction activities at night will have its implication due to its different working
conditions compared to working during the day. Even if traffic congestion problems may be solved, other problems
might arise thus increasing the risk of other types of incident to occur.
Table 1.Implication of conducting road construction activities at night compared to day time operation
Implication Explanation
A Like all construction site, safety is of the most important factor to be looked at.
Failure to ensure safety will lead to accidents and even death to occur, even at a
road works site. A night time road construction zone should ensure the safety of
works, workers or the general public.
According to Elrahman (2008), an analysis had shown that crash rates per 100
hours of road work per mile were much higher during the day compared to the
ones at night and that there is a slightly greater percentage of severe night time
crashes before night work and during night work as compared to day time crashes.
However, lower traffic demand at night can result in fewer crashes over the
duration of the project.
Productivity Several studies have been conducted and most of them have concluded that there
are no real substantial differences in terms of worker productivity between night
time and day time construction works (Ellis,Herbsmann, Chheda, Epstein&
Kumar, 1993, Colbert, 2003 and Elrahman, 2008).
However, Hinze and Carlisle (1990) did state that communication between the
client’s, contractor’s and site personnel would become a problem during night
time since not all of them will be working at that time, thus making decision
making difficult and leading to works being delayed and resulting to works being
put on hold.
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Quality According to Abraham et. al. (2007), quality of works would be affected at night
due to inadequate lighting. Besides that, Park,Douglas,Griffithand Haas(2001)
reported that paving operations that the quality of works were 3% less at night
than during the day.
On the other hand, according to Elrahman (2008), Hacher and Taylor (2001) and
Al-Kaisy and Nassar (2002) had found out that the cooler condition at associated
with working at night can actually increase night time work quality.
The effect of quality during night time construction is difficult to conclude since
each work has its own specification and requirement. Price (1986) confirmed that
roller marks for paving project became more apparent at night, which may be
caused by the rapid cooling at night, where on the other hand will result to
placement of certain types of Portland cement paving to become easier.
Workers There is only a small number of research conducted on the physical and mental
effects of night time works towards the workers. Carpentier and Cazamian (1977)
stated that the disruption of the normal human biological sleep cycle may lead to
various physiological and psychological stresses to a person, while according to
Holguin-Veras,Baker,Medina,and Sackey(2001) mentioned that 20% of workers
engaged in night shift activities report sleep-related disorders.
As mentioned earlier, data were collected through interviews in order to understand the whole idea and
implementation of highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works during night-time in the Malaysian
construction industry. For the purpose of this study, 30 interviewees were selected from contractors, consultants and
road users of PLUS highway from Perak to Penang, including a few interviewees from highway related research
centers. The theme of the answer given by the interviewees were then abstracted and compiled. They are the
arranged and listed from the most famous and common theme to the least famous theme. Themes that have the most
frequency and famous given by the interviewees were discussed and analysed in this study while the least famous
were not discussed.
4. Data Analysis
In order to identifying reasons for night-time highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works, structured
interviews with 4 questions were conducted, and then the most famous answers (themes) were gathered and ranked
and explained in this section. The least famous themes were not taken and explained here since not all the
interviewees agreed on them.The following table indicates the summary of model for data collection for this
research.
4.1 The main reasons for night-time highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works
Table 2.Reasons for night-time highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works
Ranking Theme Explanation
No.
1 Saving time Interviewees were asked the main reasons for night-time highway construction or
maintenance/upgrading works. The main theme found in the response for the
question was that night-time highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works
were conducted due to the intention of reducing the construction period.
Construction performed both day and night will be able to increase the output hours
within a 24-hour period compared to working during the normal daytime working
333
hours only. For example, an interviewee stated if working during daytime only, the
output hours that can be achieved is around 8 hours only (8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.)
within 24 hours (1 day). On the other hand, by working both day and night, more
working hours can be achieved thus increasing the output for a day where works
can be done during the 8 hours in the day plus the extra working hours at night,
usually around 4, which will lead to the output of 12 hours within the 24 hours (1
day) (output per day). The increase in output hours will also increase the number of
works that can be accomplished in a day thus reducing the total working days of a
project. This is very important especially for projects with tight datelines and short
construction period.
2 Reduce The other theme obtained from main reason for conducting highway construction or
traffic maintenance/upgrading works during night-time is to reduce and if possible to
congestion avoid altogether traffic congestion problem arising from daytime works. Based on
the interviewee’s comments, they stated that some works cannot be performed
during the day since it involves road closures or traffic divergence which could
possibly lead to traffic congestion problems during working hours and road users
arriving late to their destination. In order to avoid such problems from occurring
during the busy working hours a day, works can only be performed at night due the
lower volume of traffic and also people are less rushing at night. If there is a need to
perform road closures or traffic divergence at night, the road users will not be
severely affected since people are normally not in a rush at night compared to
during the day.
3 Ease of Some works can also be performed much easier at night especially when it involves
conducting the transportation of large components or the use of large machineries.
works
4.2 The effects of night-time highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works to safety, productivity, quality
and the workers
Table 3.Effectsto safety, productivity, quality and the workers
No.
1 Safety When talking about safety, the interviewees mentioned that contractors should
- for workers increase the safety aspect especially in terms of lighting and other relevant visual
- for road aspects of safety due to the reduce visibility associated to working at night-time. In
users the interview, the most common theme identified is that the most important safety
considerations for night-time works can be focused into two groups. First of all is
the safety of the workers. Workers should wear appropriate clothings in order for
them to be visibly clear to road users at night. This is to avoid them from being hit
by incoming traffic. The site should also be well lighted so that the workers can see
everything in from of them and can also clearly see the works that they are doing.
Secondly, the safety of the road users should also be emphasized. Road users should
be warned in advance of any construction works and should clearly see everything
in their path. These can be achieved by adequate lighting and also making sure that
everything around the construction zone is light reflective, ranging from the
clothings of the workers, the signs used, the barriers used, machineries and
everything else. By doing so, the road users are aware of their surrounding and
clearly see everything thus reducing the possibility of accidents from occurring
which will jeopardize the life of the road users. The other theme found in the
interviewee is that the protection of the works on site from accidents is also
334
important, but not as important as protecting people’s wellbeing and life.
2 Productivity It is found that the productivity of workers will be affected and is in direct relation
of workers to the effect of night-time highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works to
workers themselves as some workers are not used to working at night, while some
might have difficulty seeing at night, while others are too tired since they have been
working all day long. This shows that night-time highway construction or
maintenance/upgrading works will have an affect towards the productivity of
workers.
3 Quality of When it comes to the quality or works of night-time highway construction or

works maintenance/upgrading works, there is a slight effect towards the drying period of
surfacing of road works. This is due to the cool and humid condition at night
compared to the sunny, hot and dry condition of the day. For other works such as
demolishing existing road, placing up new permanent road dividers and permanent
road signs, hoisting up pre-cast road structures and other works that doesn’t involve
drying of works are not really affected. The issue of inadequate lighting also doesn’t
affect the quality of works rather than the safety of works. This is mainly because
night-time highway construction works are normally large and heavy and doesn’t
really involve a high degree of precision works such as painting.
4 Physical and When asked on the effects of night-time works towards the workers themselves, the
psychological theme of answers varies according to the type of work. For workers that have to
effect work from daytime until night-time, they will have both physical and psychological
towards effect. This is because, eventhough they are paid overtime, their body will be
workers exhausted due to the long working hours and their mind will be demoralised since
the night-time that they normally use to spend to rest and be with their families are
now used to work. The same physical problems do not occur to workers working in
shifts do not really affect for night-time workers who works in shifts since they
have rested enough during the day, but the same psychological problem might still
persist. This will result to a less productive work output per hour by the workers at
night as mentioned earlier.
4.3 Safety measures of night-time highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works

Table 4.Safety measures
No.
1 Lighting In terms of safety, the most common theme obtained from the respondents is that
the essence of safety features of night-time highway construction or
maintenance/upgrading works is similar to day-time construction, but extreme
emphasize must be the give towards lighting aspect of the works. As mentioned
earlier, due to the low visibility problems associated with working in night-time,
sufficient lighting and visual aid devices are important. The most important safety
feature is that the whole construction zone is well lighted using ample floodlight.
By doing so, not only will it help the workers to do their work, the road users will
also be aware of such activity going on due to the bright nature of the works and
will be more careful when passing through. In addition to that, the road users must
also be well alarmed of the works going on ahead of them with the use of visually
vibrant and attracting signs, delineators and devices. These items should be clear
and easy to understand and act as an early warning on the works going on ahead of
them and what they must do.
3.4 The main problems of night-time highway construction or maintenance/upgrading works
Table 5.Main problems faced
335

No.
1 Hazard from According to the interviews conducted, most of the respondents have highlighted
road users that apart from the visibility issues of night-time highway construction or
maintenance/upgrading works, one of the main problems of night-time highway
construction or maintenance/upgrading works is the road users themselves. Since
traffic is quite low during the night, road users tend to drive their vehicles and ride
their bikes much faster at night. These with the addition of drunk drivers and also
drowsiness have definitely increased the danger factor when conduction
construction works at night-time. Even after all the safety measures along with
ample lighting devices are used, road users are driving too fast might still be unable
to control their vehicles when arriving at the construction zone and accident might
still happen. This factor is way out of the contractor’s and authorities hand and is all
up to the road users themselves.
5. Conclusion
Based on the data collection and analysis, one of the main purposes of conducting highway construction or
maintenance/upgrading works at night is to cut down the construction period. Night-time construction is particularly
useful when dealing with projects with short periods or for projects that need to be completed in a hurry, such as
when nearing public holidays or festive seasons. By conducting works both day and night, construction or
maintenance/upgrading works can be completed at a much shorter period compared to if the works were conducted
during daytime only.
Other than that, in some highway construction or maintenance/upgrading work zone, the works can only be
conducted at night-time only. This is mainly due to avoid traffic congestion problem from occurring if such works to
be conducted during daytime. Other than that, transportation works and works involving large machineries are easier
to be conducted at night due to low traffic volume.
When talking about the aspects of safety, it is concluded that contractors should emphasize in ensuring that the work
zone is properly lighted and that signs, delineators and the workers themselves are clearly visible to the road users.
Productivity of night-time works is a direct result of what impact working at night will have towards the physical
and mental well-being of the workers. This means that productivity of workers working in night-time will become
low because they might be too tired working since the morning or in other cases the workers feeling uncomfortable
working at night since night-time is usually spent to be with family and resting. In terms of quality of works, it is
determined that the quality of night-time works is as according to the original specification and will not have an
impact towards the works.
The main problem working at night, apart from the lighting and visual issues mentioned earlier, the road users at
night themselves tend pose a threat towards the safety of the construction workers, mainly due to drowsiness,
driving at high speed and also driving under the influence.
References
Abraham, D. M., Spadaccini,J. J., Burgess,B.B., Miller,L.R., and Valentin, V. (2007).Evaluating and enhancing the
safety of nighttime construction projects, Publication FHWA/IN/JTRP-2007/14. Joint Transportation Research
Program, Indiana Department of Transportation and Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Al-Kaisy, A., and K. Nassar (2002).Night-time Construction Issues Revisited, 82nd Annual Meeting of the
Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
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Arditi, D., Ayrancioglu, M., and Shi, J.J., (2005).Worker safety issues in night-time highway construction,
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Carpentier, J., and Cazamian, P. (1977). Night work: Its effect on the health and the welfare of the worker,
International Labor Office, Geneva, Switzerland.
Colbert, D.A. (2003)Productivity and Safety Implications of Night-Time Construction Operations, Independent
Research Study Report, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Elrahman, O.A. (2008), Night-time Road Construction Operations: Synthesis of Practice, Transportation Research
and Development Bureau, New York State Department of Transportation, Albany, NY.
Ellis, R.D., Herbsmann, Z.J.,Chheda, P.N., Epstein, W.C., and Kumar, A. (1993).Developing Procedures for Night
Operations of Transportation Projects, Transportation Research Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida,
January 1993.
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involved in road construction site, International Journal of Sustainable Construction Engineering & Technology,
2011, pp. 113 – 118
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Transportation Northwest, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Holguin-Veras, J., Baker, R., Medina,A.,and Sackey,D. (2001).An Analysis of Human Factors at Night-time Work
Zones, City College of New York, New York, New York.
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Night-time Operations in Oregon, 81st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
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337
The Tangible and Intangible Features of Ethnic Enclave: A

Basis for Conservation
A.F.Bakria,39*, N.Q. Zaman b, H. Kamarudin c, M. Mohd Dom d, Z. Alias e
a,b,d
Centre of Studies for Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor,
Malaysia
Abstract
Ethnic enclaves exist in many countries as a manifestation of the immigrants’ identity and the connection to their homeland. This
research investigates on the tangible and intangible attributes of an ethnic enclave. The study was conducted on Little India,
Penang and ‘Little India’ of Klang through observations and interviews, with literature review, to form the research framework.
The data obtained were matched against Part X Clause 67 (1) and (2) of the National Heritage Act 2005. Though not listed as
National Heritage, it was found that both sites possess significant physical and cultural attributes which could be used as a basis
for conservation framework of ethnic enclave while maintaining its authenticity.
Keywords: Ethnic enclave; physical attributes; cultural attributes; significance; conservation
1.Introduction
Ethnic enclaves exist all around the world as a manifestation of what the immigrants had at home and how they
blend with the mainstream economy. Although on the surface, they portray strong identity of the people that they
represent, however it is still questionable, whether the enclave is conserved, both culturally, and physically. People
in the ethnic enclave represent and practice the culture and custom which are not only confined within the built
environment, but also on the street. A combination of these practices provides a sense of familiarity, engagement as
well as a sense of place. Without the culture and customs, the built environment would remain soulless, thus
betraying the idea of an ethnic enclave in principles. As highlighted by Mazumdar, Mazumdar, Docuyanan, and
McLaughlin (2000); the built environment, social activities and public ritual events are three aspects that can create
a sense of place. Studies have shown that these three are essential for the immigrants as they settle themselves in
foreign lands.
This research investigates on the tangible and intangible attributes of an ethnic enclave, which can be divided into
two: namely cultural and physical. Cultural attributes include the types of social activities, languages, birth origin,
religion, rituals and practice, types of business, dressing, foods, festivals and celebrations while physical attributes
include building typology, street activities, architecture, and settlement pattern. The data obtained were then
matched against Part X Clause 67 (1) and (2) of the National Heritage Act 2005 as a way of understanding the
significance of the selected case studies as the epitome of an ethnic enclave.
* Aidatul Fadzlin Bakri. Tel.: +6013-6679766; fax:.+603-55444353

E-mail address: aida_fadzlin@yahoo.co.uk
338
2.Literature Review
b. Concept of ethnic enclave
Ethnic enclave is widely denoted in the literature as spaces of cultural identity, community of choices, and ethnic
economy (Hiebert 1994; Logan et al. 2002; Li 2001 cited by Ghosh 2007). Yuryevich (2005) defines ethnic enclaves
as a place of people with same ethnicity or religion. The characteristics were further described by Digby (2006), as
well as Portes and Wilson (1998) as a group of people who do not speak the mother tongue of the host country,
celebrate different festivals, different beliefs, eat different foods and dress differently, compared to the majority of
the population. Abrahamson (1996) as cited by S. Mazumdar et al (2000) defines urban enclaves as ‘concentration
of residents which share a distinctive status that is important to their identity; specialized stores and institutions that
provide local support for the residents’ distinctive lifestyle and the geographic space the resident occupy.’
Meanwhile, Portes and Bach (1985) coined the term ethnic enclave based on the two most crucial features - the
presence of immigrants with social capital and wide division of labour. The first wave of immigrants is the
businessman or traders who have the capital, than the second waves of the immigrants, which are dominated by the
less wealthy ones came to work for the traders. The former will provide the latter with job opportunities, comfort
and a greater chance to utilize their skills and knowledge. This is also supported by Hedberg and Tammaru (2012)
who suggested that educated immigrants will get a better chance in obtaining a job in the host country as compared
to the uneducated one. Therefore, social contact is very important in ensuring the productivity and success of people
in ethnic enclaves.
Little India, Little Tokyo, Chinatown, and Little Saigon are some examples of ethnic enclave, which has become
part of the urban landscape. The existence is largely due to several factors that triggered the migration process such
as poverty, economic crisis, political instability, and working opportunity. These people migrated for various
reasons, and ethnic enclaves are looked upon as a support system in their newfound home (Abrahamson, 1996;
Gold, 1992; Zhou, 1992 cited by Mazumdar, Mazumdar, Docuyanan, and Mclaughlin, 2000). More often than not,
the locals and authority acknowledged ethnic enclaves as part of the urban landscape (Kumar and Martin, 2004)
where we can feast on the sights, sounds, smell and touch.
c. The need to sustain the cultural attributes of ethnic enclaves
The Burra Charter describes ‘cultural significance’ as the aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value
for past, present or future generations. As stated in the same article, ‘cultural significance is embodied in the place
itself, its fabric, setting, use, associations, meanings, records, related places and related objects’. The term is
associated with heritage significance and cultural heritage value, more often than not. The charter also stated that
cultural significance may vary with the layer of history of the area where it belongs. As such, cultural practice is
understood as a result of long-term practice, accepted, and modified to suit the prevailing circumstances. In the
situation of the selected case study, it is a cultural practice that evolved from the beginning of the Indus Valley
Civilization to what they have today. When they migrated into Malaya, they brought in their culture, as part of their
lifestyle.
It is also essential to note that the Burra Charter mentioned that understanding of cultural significance may
change as a result of new information. Therefore, having sound knowledge of the cultural characteristics is a pre-
requisite in the planning of a conservation approach for the physical attributes of an ethnic enclave. It is, therefore,
important to sustain the cultural practice of an ethnic enclave as it is the soul of the physical attributes of the ethnic
enclave.
339
i. Cultural attributes of an ethnic enclave
Based on literature reviews, the cultural attributes of an ethnic enclave can be summarized as follows:
 People / social group
The initial dwellers are immigrants and can be of multi-ethnicity. They came from the same country, share
the same religion and culture, and are dominant in that area. They may be of various age groups and may
consist of sub-cultural groups.
 Language
They speak their mother tongue though with varied dialects. Immigrants also tend to learn the local
language.
 Celebrations
Festivals, celebrations, and ceremonies make the ethnic enclave livelier and create opportunities for
gatherings and strengthening the ties between them.
 Religion
As religion could also be interpreted as a way of life, immigrants bring their faith as continuity of their lives
back home. It also acts as a binding force for them, being away from family and relatives.
 Attire
Attire is one way of recognizing their hometown.
 Ritual and practice
They perform the same rituals and practices as those back home.
 Food
Food and cuisines represent culture, religion and group attachment amongst the people.
 Business
The nature of business is very much the same like those at home. It emerged due to discrimination and social
segregation, and the major business is usually food. They are highly dependent on co-ethnic network due to
trust, comfort and familiarity. They sometimes venture into businesses which are common both at home and
in the host country. Most traditional trades have difficulties surviving due to development pressure, lack of
skills and not being inherited by the next generation.
d. The need to sustain the physical attributes of ethnic enclaves
The physical attributes accommodate for human interaction and activities. It also plays a significant role in
maintaining the associations of their place of origin. Everywhere, these ethnic groups tried their very best to imitate
the architecture of their hometown to the enclave as it could evoke memories of their place of origin. Chako and
Cheung (2006) clarified that Ethiopians in Los Angeles mark their enclave territory by projecting their identity.
Their pride was manifested in the features and colour scheme used in the exterior and interior as well as the
language used for the signages. Chako and Cheung (2006) also highlighted “sometimes the ‘gojo’, a type of
Ethiopians thatched roof is incorporated into the décor or patrons are seated around ‘messobs’, traditional dining
tables made of goat skin stretched over drums.’
In support for this, Mazumdar et al (2000) mentioned that in Little Saigon of Westminster, California;
Vietnamese architectural features were used to highlight the image of the area and to create the sense of place.
Familiar architectural forms such as gateway, arches and curved roofs help the Vietnamese to retain the memory of
their birthplace and ancestors.
340
i. Physical attributes of an ethnic enclave
Based on literature reviews, the physical attributes of an ethnic enclave can be summarized as follows
 Location
The location is in the urban area or downtown. In most cases, ethnic enclaves are located in the older part of
the city.
 Settlement pattern
The settlement pattern may have evolved through the years and have the potential to continue evolving in the
future. The morphology of the settlement pattern is important for conservation as it may change due to the
requirements set by the host country. It could also provide information on how immigrants adapt to changes
while maintaining their identity.
 Public realms
Decoration, streetscape and public realms could enhance the identity of the area.
 Architecture
The common typologies are market, shops and religious buildings. The architectural style, interior design and
colour scheme reflect those at home while the signages are in the characters of their language.
3.Study Methods
Qualitative method is used in the data collection. There are two types of data needed: the primary and the
secondary data. The first part of the case study involved extensive observation of the site. Data obtained include the
types of business activities, their ways of life, religion, language, sub-cultural group and festivals that form the
richness of the area. The second instrument was an interview, where people responding orally to structured
questions or expressing their views about the place. The respondents include the employee of the local authorities
(Klang Municipal Council and Pulau Pinang Municipal Council), the building owners, the locals and tourists.
4.Study Methods
Qualitative method is used in the data collection. There are two types of data needed: the primary and the
secondary data. The first part of the case study involved extensive observation of the site. Data obtained include the
types of business activities, their ways of life, religion, language, sub-cultural group and festivals that form the
richness of the area. The second instrument was an interview, where people responding orally to structured
questions or expressing their views about the place. The respondents include the employee of the local authorities
(Klang Municipal Council and Pulau Pinang Municipal Council), the building owners, the locals and tourists.
5.‘Little India’ of Klang and Little India, Penang – An Overview
The study was carried out at ‘Little India’ of Klang and Little India of Penang. Both areas were chosen due to the
rich Indian culture that they contain and the fact that they still survive until today. Very little is known on the history
of the formation of ‘Little India’ in Klang except the word of mouth. From an interview with one of the traders
there, it is believed that the Indians have started to settle there from the late 19 th century. Based on historical
findings, Indians were brought in to Selangor by the British to work in plantations as well as road and railway
construction yards. Amongst the first arrivals were by the Indian Muslims merchants from Gujarat. Initially, Jalan
Tengku Kelana was known as Rembau Street. The name was then changed to Jalan Tengku Kelana when Klang was
declared as The Royal Town. In 1950s, the Indian traders in Rangoon, Myanmar was chased out of the country.
Fearing that they would suffer the same fate, some of the Indians traders have sold their shops in Klang. Some also
did sell their shop after the racial riot on 13 th May 1969. The area was then dominated by the Chinese until in 1990s
when the Chinese sold or rent out the shops to the Indians again. Until now, the businesses are dominated by the
Indians. The term ‘Little India’ was coined by the locals and tourists. It was never acknowledged and declared by
the local authority as they usually address the area as ‘business area at Jalan Tengku Kelana’. There are no definite
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boundaries for ‘Little India’. Therefore, for the purpose of this study, the researchers have defined the area to
include Jalan Tengku Kelana, Jalan Pulasan, Jalan Yeo Guan Hup, Jalan Dato’ Hamzah and Lorong Tingkat.
Figure 1. Jalan Tengku Kelana as the main road of Figure 2. Flower stalls at Lorong Tingkat which sells a
‘Little India’ of Klang. variety of flowers for decoration and religious purposes.
The Little India of Penang on the other hand has a very long history and has become a tourist attraction.
According to Bhatt (2002), settlement at Little India started in the early 19th century when traders and labourers
from southern India came to start a new life there. They settled in Chulia Street, one of the first streets planned
under the administration of Captain Francis Light. Initially, business was carried out to cater for their own needs.
Utaka (2002) explained that some of the shophouses at Little India were destroyed by the Japanese during World
War II. However, the buildings were later rebuilt. The name Little India was introduced by the local authorities in
the early 1990s. Until today, this area still becomes a favourite tourist spot to experience the rich and unique culture
of the Indians which has started since the British occupation in the Straits Settlement including Penang.
Figure 3. Some of the shophouses with different

Figure 4. Nagore Durgha Sheriff Shrine which was built
architectural styles at Lebuh
in 1800 is also located along Chulia Street.
6.Findings & Analysis
The following subheadings will discuss on the attributes of Little India. By categorizing and understanding the
attributes, identification can be made on the significance of these ethnic enclaves as spelled out by National Heritage
Act 2005 (Act 645), which will form a sound basis for the conservation.
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e. Physical attributes of Little India
Table 1. Summary of physical attributes at ‘Little India’ Klang and Little India Penang
Attribute ‘Little India’, Klang Little India, Penang
Location  Located in the old administration and commercial area  Located at the Historic Commercial District of
of Klang. Georgetown.
 Within proximity to Klang river, KTMB railway  Within proximity to the jetty and other ethnic
station and religious institutions. enclaves.
 Become one of the most popular shopping destinations
for Indians product in Malaysia.
Settlement  Evolved from a business area to an ethnic enclave.  It was the settlement of Indian traders and the area was
pattern Chinese once dominated the area but later was then planned by Sir Francis Light.
taken again by the Indians.  In early days, the area was full of bungalow lots, but it
was subdivided into smaller ones to build shophouses.
 Physically, the area has not changed much from the
time it was first established apart from having wider
roads and better facilities. Others remain the same.
Public realms  Public realms are of typical local authority design and  Road decoration and streetscape are of Indian identity
in a poor condition. with the use of icons and symbols.
 Lack of soft landscape.  Others public realms are of typical local authority
 Unsatisfactory pedestrian walkway. design and some are in bad condition.
 Insufficient parking area causing illegal and  Insufficient green area with some attempts to
unorganized parking especially during weekends. introduce landscape to soften the area.
Architecture/  Shophouses of varieties of architectural features is the  Shophouses of varieties of architectural features is the
Building main building typology and was introduced by the main building typology and was introduced by the
typology British. British.
 Other typologies include religious institutions such as  Other typologies include religious institutions such as
mosque, Hindu temple and church. mosque, Hindu temple and Buddhist temple.
Building  Influenced by migrants e.g. mosque and Indian temple  Influenced by migrants: mosque and Indian temple
styles from South India. from South India, shophouses from China.
Colour  Use of bright and variety of colours especially at  Use of bright and variety of colours especially at
building facades and signages. building facades and signages.
 Used to attract buyers.  Used to attract buyers.
 No control and specific regulation.
Signage  Use of Tamil characters and English language.  Use of Tamil characters, Malay and English language.
 No specific regulation on the size of signages.  Limited regulations on the size of signages.
Architectural  Certain buildings such as temple display features of  Certain buildings such as temples display features of
feature Indian architecture, others may depend on the ethnic Indian architecture, others may depend on the ethnic
influence. influence.
 Use of figurines and intricate details at temple.  Use of figurines and intricate details at temple.
Interior design  Depends on the types of business they operate.  Depends on the types of business they operate.
 Mostly, traders have shown some indications to the  Mostly, traders have shown some indications to the
client on their religion - shrine, Quran verses. client on their religion- shrine, Quran verses.
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f. Cultural attributes of Little India
Table 2. Summary of cultural attributes at ‘Little India’ Klang and Little India Penang
Attribute ‘Little India’, Klang Little India, Penang
People/  Indians are the dominant ethnic group.  Indians are the dominant ethnic group.
social  A multiple ethnicity enclave with Chinese doing  A multiple ethnicity enclave with Chinese living
groups business together. together.
 There are Indians of different sub cultures - Tamil,  There are Indians of different sub cultures- Tamil,
Gujaratis, etc. Gujaratis, Punjabis, Telegus, Malayalees, Sindhi , etc.
 Their ties become strong with the help of associations  Their ties become strong with the help of associations
such as Indian Chamber and mosque committee. such as Indian Chamber, Penang Muslim League,
Chinese associations.
Language  Mainly Tamil, Malay and English.  Mainly Tamil, Malay and English.
 Varies according to their sub- cultural group.  Varies according to their sub- cultural group.
 Some has adapted English fluently, some can speak  Some has adapted English fluently, some can speak
both Malay and English. both Malay and English.
Festivals,  Celebration of festivals are not only limited to their  Celebration of festivals is not only limited to their
celebration houses, but also business premises and shops. houses, but also business premises and shops.
s and  Full of colours and involves many rituals.  Full of colours and involves many rituals.
ceremonies
 Opportunity to meet family and friends.  Opportunity to meet family, friends.
 Involves all age group who enjoy it in several  Involves all age group who enjoy it in several different
different ways. ways.
 Cultural events and festivities are organized.  Cultural events and festivities are organized
 Concentrate more on Indian festivals and celebrations.  Celebrates both Malay and Indian festivals and
 Has strong cultural and spiritual associations with the celebrations.
ethnic group.
Religion  Mainly Hindu, Muslim.  Mainly Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist.
 Strong symbolism especially in the architecture of  Strong symbolism especially at the architecture of
temples. temples.
 Religious institution as a place of worship and  Religious institution as a place of worship and
gathering. gathering.
 Important as spiritual support for the people.  Important as spiritual support for the people.
Attire  Traditional attire is used during festivals and  Traditional attire is used extensively during festivals
celebrations. and celebrations
Rituals  Some ritual events are individual, and some are at  Some ritual events are individual, and some are at
and large scale. large scale.
practice  Still follow traditional rituals and practices.  Still follow traditional rituals and practices.
Food  Extensive use of herbs and spices obtained directly  Extensive use of herbs and spices obtained directly
from India. from India.
 Choice of North and Southern Indian food.  Choice of North and Southern Indian food.
 Sufficient number of Indian foods in restaurants and  Sufficient number of Indian foods in restaurants and
stalls. stalls.
 Majority still uses traditional recipe for cooking.  Majority still uses traditional recipe for cooking
 Very few ‘halal’ restaurants can be found there.  ‘Halal’ restaurants can easily found there.
Business  Most shops cater to Indian needs.  Most shops cater to Indian needs.
 Provide job opportunities to the non- English  Provide job opportunities to the no- English speaking.
speaking.  Use Tamil, English or Malay a combination of two
 Use Tamil, English or Malay or a combination of two languages.
languages.  Bargaining over price of goods and service is normal
 Bargaining over price of goods and service is a especially groceries.
normal practice especially in groceries shopping.  Some traditional trades still exist, where some are
 Some are competing each other in trying to attract endangered such as the songkok maker, traditional
tourists by placing their staffs near five foot way. jewelleries maker, traditional signboard, ‘ottu kedai’.
 Shops are decorated to attract tourists/potential  Some are doing business at the five- foot way
buyers. including the fortune teller.
 Some are doing business at the five-foot way  Some traders spill their goods/ products at five-foot
including the palm reader and flower garland seller way and pedestrian walkway.
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 Some traders spill their goods/ products at five-foot  Display of items make full use of walls, ceiling and
way and pedestrian walkway. shelves.
 Display of items make full use of walls, ceiling and  No indication of direction for the tourists to experience
shelves. and see traditional businesses that were once very
 Prefer staffs of similar ethnicity. famous in the area.
 A lot of the current trade in the area is not very much  Prefer staffs of similar ethnicity.
of the authentic and original ones.  Indian songs and Hindu prayer songs can be heard at
 Indian songs and Hindu prayer songs can be heard at most of the shops.
most of the shops.
7.Discussion
The National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645) is a legal tool that governs the management of heritage in the country
and conservation is just another aspect of heritage management spelled out in the act. The act also contains
provisions for National Heritages which is defined as ‘any heritage site, heritage object, underwater cultural heritage
or any living person declared as a National Heritage under Section 67. In the case of the Little India of Penang and
‘Little India’ of Klang, both are not listed as National Heritage, however, understanding the criteria for the
nomination of National Heritage is a way of how we can define the significance of both ethnic enclaves.
In Part X of the act, the criteria outlined in the nomination of a National Heritage are as follows:
(a) The historical importance, association with or relationship to Malaysian history
(b) The good design or aesthetic characteristics
(c) The scientific or technical innovations or achievements
(d) The social or cultural association
(e) The potential to educate, illustrate or provide further scientific investigation in relation to Malaysian
cultural heritage
(f) The importance in exhibiting a richness, diversity or unusual integration of features
(g) The rarity or uniqueness of the natural heritage, tangible or intangible cultural heritage or underwater
cultural heritage
(h) The representative nature of a site or object as part of a class or type of a site or object; and
(i) Any other matter which is relevant to the determination of cultural heritage significance
From the data obtained, we can see that both Little India, Penang and ‘Little India’ of Klang have the significance
comparable to subsection (a), (d) and (f) of Part X Clause 67 (1) and (2) of the National Heritage Act 2005. In terms
of their historical significance, the two enclaves are located in the old quarter of early administrative centers in
Federated Malay States and the Straits Settlements, both significant as part of British Colonization history of the
country.
8.Conclusion
Both ethnic enclaves express strong social and cultural associations amongst the people. Finally, in terms
exhibiting richness, diversity or unusual integration of features, this can be seen both in their architecture, where the
blending of authentic India features with local architectural solutions occur; and in the culture, where there is a
strong assimilation of what was brought from mainland India with the local culture. Having understood this,
preparation of a holistic conservation plan will be more objective and purposeful.
Acknowledgements
This study is funded by Research Intensive Faculty (RIF), project no: 600-RMI/DANA 5/3/RIF (775/2012) provided
by Research Management Institute of Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Malaysia.
345
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Daylighting Performance in JKR Standard Classroom in

Malaysia Public Schools
A.D. Mathalamuthu a, N.L. Nik Ibrahim b *
a
Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology, Department of Construction Management, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Perak Campus,
Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak, Malaysia.
b
Fakulti Kejuruteraan & Alam Bina, Jabatan Seni Bina,Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
This study is about daylighting performance in JKR standard classroom in Malaysian public schools. In this study, daylighting is
being analyzed to improve its efficiency and functionality in a specified space. Which for this case will be the classroom. Study
shows that most of the classroom in Malaysia, either in schools or higher institutions, the issue of daylighting is not given as a
priority and more relying on lighting fixtures. The main reason behind this problem could be the misconception of differentiating
between sunlight and daylight characteristics. To enhance the quality of the daylighting in a space, case study research method
will be used. As a result, it is found that the JKR standard classroom design has achieved the required illuminance level and
performs well in terms of welcoming the daylight into the classroom during an overcast sky condition. But because of human
failure in embracing the daylight, obstructions such as trees, furniture and unsuitable curtains has caused the classroom to receive
poor level of illuminance. This problems can be resolved by promoting a better understanding about the benefits of daylight to
the occupants and by doing so, improving the performance of the classroom through planning and design.
Keywords : Daylighting, public schools, classroom, JKR (Jabatan Kerja Raya)
1.Introduction
Daylighting is a light source of controlled entry of natural light into a space or an area and at the same time
reducing the usage of electricity or active lighting. It is also a main architectural strategy in the design of high
performance schools which gives an impact on students & teachers health that increases their performance in the
learning environment[1]. Due to the inadequate architectural standards and unsuitable designs, it’s not hard to find a
school building that has a very bad performance regarding energy efficiency. Based on a daily basis activity in
Malaysian schools, all the lights will be turned on throughout the day and only being disabled on recess and at the
end of the class. There are many reasons that justify considering daylight as a useful light source in almost every
type of buildings especially in learning environment. But the most is because of the quality of light is far better than
any electrical lighting to be used as a task lighting for reading and writing purposes. The luminous efficacy of
daylight in Malaysia is excellent and could meet most of the required luminance during the day[2](Zain-Ahmed et
al. 2002).

E-mail address: sabki.wanomar@griffithuni.edu.au
347
The I-O LCA and HLCA are widely used to overcome process data but depend on the I-O data with highly
aggregated industry sector such as building construction that can cause variation in HLCA inventory. Due to
truncation and cut-off error in HLCA lead to high level of uncertainty in hybrid model. Previous studies have
proposed to improve hybrid model by reducing uncertainty between process and I-O data but they still need
improvement when involve fusion between process and I-O data (Dixit et al. 2013; Lee and Ma 2013).
Generally, HLCA has five types of uncertainty; data inventory, system cut-off error, sector or product
aggregation, and temporal and geographic uncertainty (Williams et al. 2009). Data uncertainty occurs in input due to
inadequate parameters and data. Cut-off error occurs when the definition of system boundary is inconsistence or
truncation occurs between process and I-O inventory. The variation in energy and carbon emission in building
materials over its life cycle are known as uncertainties, resulting from stochastic variation and lack of knowledge of
precise parameter values (Gustavsson and Sathre 2006).
The iterative nature of HLCA means that more detailed assessment is conducted until more reliable data is
achieved. Previous studies proposed methodology to identify uncertainty and variability in LCI analysis. Heijungs
(1996) has outlined operational and generic method to identify key issues for further analysis in detailed LCI. Key
issues were defined as the areas where product or process improvement leads to highest environmental gain as
depicted in Figure 1. Small changes that have large consequences (hot-spots) are crucial for subsequent detailed of
LCI and further identified as (Heijungs 1996):
1. Areas represent highly sensitive parameter whereas small changes have great impacts and must be
accurately known prior drawing conclusion.
2. Areas represent highly sensitive parameter whereas small changes have great impacts and might be
affected by alternative product or process design.
The uncertainty and variation level in hybridizing EE and EC assessment can be summarized and illustrated in
Figure 1. With regard to the whole life cycle of a building, the uncertainty and variation can occur vertically and
horizontally. Vertical uncertainty arises due to the parameter variation in upstream boundary of supply chain.
Horizontal variability occurs due to the human decision and management methods and can be easily measured
through standard rating or certification system such as Green Star, LEED, etc. However, vertical uncertainties
involved in upstream system boundary due to parameter variation are difficult to measured and there are lack of
simple method for checking I-O data (Crawford 2004).
Parameter variation in HLCA are not well studied and empirically investigated to identify factor that lead to
significant variation in embodied energy and carbon emission. The purpose of this paper is to identify factor that have
strong influence on hybrid model resulting from material production and determine how key factors and issues
differently effect the hybrid model variation. Subsequently, the comparisons were made between previous studies to
determine under what circumstances hybrid model have higher than other.
High
Perhaps a key issue Key issue
Uncertainty
Low Not a key issue Perhaps a key issue
Low High
Contribution
Figure 5. Key issues of uncertainty and contribution of inputs in evaluation of life cycle inventory analysis results (Heijungs 1996).
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1.1 Hybrid LCA limitation
HLCA approach can be classified into three categories; (1) tiered hybrid model; (2) I-O hybrid model; and (3)
integrated hybrid model. These models were developed to overcome limitation of process data by combining I-O data
using monetary unit. However, variation of direct and indirect energy between energy and non-energy intensive
materials results in variety of consequence. For instance, converting monetary unit of materials with high indirect
energy in upstream boundary could increase EE and EC variation due to price fluctuation. Therefore, using highly
aggregated industry sector such as building construction with high level of indirect energy tend to cause more
variation in hybrid model.
Inappropriate system boundary could lead to truncation error and variation in embodied energy and carbon
emission. Dixit et al. (2013) identified variation of system boundary definition as key parameter that cause problems
in EE and EC results. The HLCA need to be improved such as inclusion of more process data and disaggregation of
aggregated industry sectors. The further disaggregation of the current Australian I-O models, with the use of
commodity details, may be useful in reducing the inherent errors associated with I-O data (Crawford 2004).
Previous studies attempts to hybridize process and I-O data to increase reliability, completeness and accuracy of
model. These studies (Acquaye 2010; Crawford 2004; Crawford et al. 2010; Crawford and Treloar 2003) calculated
the EE of the entire building using data from a highly aggregated industry sector such as residential construction that
does not differentiate between a low and a high-cost, a horizontal and a high rise or a modular and a custom-designed
structure (Dixit et al. 2013). Furthermore, cut-off error occurs in hybrid model and lack of truncation criteria between
process and I-O inventory may lead to high level of uncertainty in the hybrid model (Lee and Ma 2013). To overcome
these limitations, process LCA plays an important role to determine the precision of hybrid data and the proportion of
I-O inventory would be lower than for process LCA (Lee and Ma 2013). This paper demonstrates HLCA at material
production levels first and them computing the EE and EC of its components using actual quantity of materials,
energy and construction equipment (process data). These model is more flexible, consistence, and capable of reducing
uncertainty and variation in hybrid model. This approach would assist in generating EE and EC estimates specific to
building design and types of building which is in agreement with, and provides contextual support to previous study
(Dixit et al. 2013).
2.Research Methodology
2.1 Evaluation Method
A variety of factors can affect the energy and carbon emission of building materials over its entire lifecycle. These
factors can be classified into uncertainty and variability (Gustavsson and Sathre 2006). Uncertainty occurs due to
stochastic variation or lack of knowledge of precise parameter values while variability is identified by human
decisions and management methods. Uncertainty in LCI is categorized into parameter uncertainty, model uncertainty,
and scenario uncertainty.
Parameter uncertainty occurs due to incomplete knowledge of true value of data and management error in
input values (Acquaye 2010). Data uncertainty may rise due to data inaccuracy, lack of specific data, data gaps, and
unrepresentative data (Huijbregts et al. 2001). This uncertainty can be dealt with using techniques such as analytical
propagation method, stochastic model, fuzzy logic, and neural network.
Meanwhile, model uncertainty arises due to unknown interaction between models. Simplification of aspects
that cannot be modeled in EE and EC analysis such as temporal and spatial characteristic lost by aggregation, non-
linear instead of linear model, or derivation of characteristic model were identified as factors affect the uncertainty
model. This can be mitigated by re-sampling different model formulation (Huijbregts et al. 2003) or combination
between I-O LCA and PLCA (Williams et al. 2009).
349
Scenario uncertainties arise due to choices regarding functional unit, system boundaries, weighting of
factors and forecasting. Huijbregts et al. (2003) suggested that quantifying scenario uncertainty by re-sampling
different decision scenarios. For example, results can be calculated for a data set with high emission values and
a data set with low emission values. This technique involves investigating what effects different sets of data,
models and choices have on the results (Acquaye 2010). For example, in an analysis of parameter variation in
embodied energy and CO2-e analysis of a building, the effects of high and low process embodied CO2-e intensities of
building materials on the results can be conducted.
A number of techniques were identified in dealing with uncertainty and variability in LCI. Uncertainty
analysis can be conducted using two approaches, one based on calculating extreme value and the other on statistical
methods (Heijungs 1996). The first approach is to identify lower and upper values of every parameter and to combine
these to determine lower and upper value of the area. The second approach is using statistical method by establishing
the margins of uncertainty (margins of confidents). On the other hand, these techniques can be categorized into four
groups namely parameter or scenario analysis, sampling methods, analytical methods, and non-traditional methods
such as fuzzy logic (Acquaye 2010). Parameter or scenario analysis involves investigation of the impact from
different set of data, models and choices on the results. Meanwhile, sampling methods is conducted by iterative
calculation using statistical techniques such as Monte Carlo analysis. Analytical methods, on the other hand are based
on the explicit mathematical equation such as first order approximation of Taylor expansion. Non-traditional
statistical approaches involve more complicated mathematical models such as Bayesian analysis, fuzzy logic, neural
network, and non-parametric statistics. González et al. (2002) has incorporated fuzzy logic in LCA whereas
Shipworth (2002) has conducted Bayesian analysis to model embodied greenhouse gas emission of construction
materials.
With regard to the complexity and lack of knowledge about uncertainty of data, evaluation of all uncertainty
in LCI is considered to be too time consuming to be applied to every LCI. Due to the lack of transparency of process
data and lack of simple methods for I-O model evaluation, the detailed LCI of process and I-O data is a difficult task.
Crawford (2004) believes that it is necessary to focus on the evaluation of LCI data at a higher level. With regards to
these issues, parameter or scenario analysis was identified to be suitable evaluation methods for this study to quantify
uncertainty in HLCA.
This study used coefficient of variation and calculation of extreme values to identify changes in every parameter
and tested to the hybrid model. By limiting the selection of lower and upper values of each parameter not affects the
results because of sensitivity analysis is concerned with determining only minimum and maximum possible of EE and
EC impacts (Basbagill et al. 2013). There are two important components as proposed in this study as shown in Figure
2. Firstly, quantify parameter variation in EE and EC inventory and identification of possible key parameters and
issues by using coefficient of variation (CoV). Secondly, identify solution by incorporating lower (minimum) and
upper (maximum) values of each parameter into the HLCA. Finally, all parameter variation was combined to identify
impacts to the HLCA. Detailed of parameters variations are discussed in the following section.
350
Literature review on embodied energy (EE) and carbon

(EC) inventory
Review on parameters in EE Review on standard

and EC inventory variation methodology
identification
Key issues
Quantify parameter variation in Quantify methodology variation
EE and EC inventory in EE and EC variation
Identification key parameters in Identification key issues in

EE and EC inventory variation methodology development
Development of EE and EC inventory methodology
identification
Solution
Implementation of EE and EC inventory methodology
Proposed approach to assess variability and uncertainty in EE and EC inventory methodology.
3.Description of Parameters
3.1 Technological Changes
Technological change in manufacturing of building materials could affect the variation of energy consumption and
carbon emission in hybrid model. Using of differing production technology and type of energy used in the process
could bring large differences to embodied energy figures. To determine the impact of technological change on energy
and carbon emission, direct technological coefficient was decreased up to 30% for selected product (commodity)
sector.
3.2 Energy Tariffs
Economic data on energy used is converted to physical quantities using national energy tariffs. The average energy
tariff is defined as average price paid for energy supplied by a given energy supply sector. Energy tariffs for each
energy supply sectors were derived from Malaysia energy balance supplied by International Energy Agency (IEA)
database and I-O tables provided by Department of Statistic Malaysia (DOE).
Variation of energy tariff for coal sector found to be highest than other energy supply sectors accounted for
33.47%. Large variation in energy sector becomes possible key parameter influence impact to HLCA. An energy
tariff for crude oil, natural gas, petroleum and coal products varies by 18.34%, 0%, and 14.04% for Malaysia,
respectively. Due to dependency of electricity generation on fossil fuel, the variation of electricity energy tariff has
similar trend with other energy sector (fuel input) in electricity generation. In this study, each of extremes
parameters values (minimum and maximum values) for energy supply sectors were identified and incorporated in
HLCA.
3.3 Primary Energy Factors
Primary energy factor (PEF) is used to convert delivered energy (on-site energy) to the primary energy (fossil fuel).
PEFs for Malaysia were derived from energy balance database for period of 2005 to 2008 supplied by International
Energy Agency (IEA). Natural gas and coal products sector has high PEF variation due to own energy fuel use during
transformation processes (e.g. transformation of natural gas into LNG). Malaysia’s PEF were found to be 3.31% and
4.28% for natural gas supply and electricity energy supply sector, respectively. Malaysia’s PEF for electricity energy
351
sector were slightly varying due to different in efficiency of electricity generation. Efficiency in Malaysian electricity
generation can be vary between 22.90-25.23% due to loss in distribution and own use.
3.4 Disaggregated constants
Major problem associated with the validity of I-O LCA is relatively high level of aggregation. Errors associated with
I-O LCA are often significantly lower than the truncation error of a typical process LCA. Disaggregated constants
were used for reference case to disaggregate individual energy supply sectors. Considering different aggregated
energy supply sector would cause variation in embodied energy and carbon emission. To determine this variation,
disaggregated constants were excluded from reference materials and energy supply sectors were combined into four
aggregated energy supply sector. In this study, disaggregated constants were excluded in each parameter to quantify
HLCA variation.
3.5 Emission Factors
Emission factor was used to convert monetary value to the physical value of energy supply through supply chain of a
product. Variation of electricity emission occurs due to the energy fuel mix during electricity generation in public
thermal power plant (PTPP). Different countries have different energy policy regarding to fuel mix in electricity
generation. Based on Table 7, the electricity emission factor was greatly influenced by natural gas and coal.
3.6 Price fluctuation
Economic flows in supply chain of industry sector depend heavily on the price variation. Variation of price from
reference material was based on percentage range of maximum price value with minimum price value over period of
2005-2008. Malaysian building materials price were acquired from Malaysian Department of Statistic and
Construction Industrial Development Board (CIDB) database. Material price for instance increased up to 42% over
period of 2005-2008 for ready-mixed concrete.
140
120
100
Producer price index
80
60
40
Ready mixed
20 concrete
0
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Year
Price variation in selected construction materials based on producer price index for period of 1985-2012
352
4.1 Effect of Parameter Variations
The variation of EE and EC due to parameter changes compared to the reference case at material and component
production level for Malaysia is presented in Table 1. Increase in energy tariff (ET) for energy supply sector has
single significant effect on material energy intensity. The results showed the variation of HLCA up to 23.93% and
13.81% of EE and EC intensity for plain cellulose fiber due to influence of indirect energy in upstream boundary of
supply chain in material production.
Increase in material price also makes a large impact on the HLCA of embodied energy and carbon material
intensity. By maximum increase of material price has significant influence on variation of HLCA up to 18.07% and
13.07% of EE and EC intensity for concrete (35 MPa). Therefore, increase of material price and ET lead to significant
impact of HLCA values. For instance, HLCA value for plain cellulous fiber was significantly increased up to 46.59%
and 8.56% from 24.29 MJ/kg to 35.60 MJ/kg and 2.34 kg CO2-e/kg to 2.54 kg CO2-e/kg from reference case,
respectively.
Similar impact can be found on others HLCA of materials with high indirect energy and carbon in upstream
boundary but were excluded in this paper. Therefore, materials with high indirect energy and carbon have the largest
influence on HLCA. Using aggregated industry sector such as residential construction to quantify embodied energy
and carbon of entire building may also results in a significant variation of HLCA for a building.
Technological change due to energy efficiency in material production found to has significant impact on HLCA
for Malaysia energy and carbon material intensity. By reducing 30% of direct requirement coefficient (technological
coefficient) would decrease up to 13% of HLCA for concrete. With high indirect energy and carbon in Malaysia EE
and EC intensity has further impact on variation of HLCA (negative value) due to substantial influence of energy and
carbon in upstream boundary. By 30% increase in energy efficiency of concrete (30% reduction of direct requirement
coefficient of cement, aggregate and water) has decrease 13.26% of EE intensity from 1.85 MJ/kg to 1.61 MJ/kg.
Variation in PEF for Malaysia has a less impact on HLCA of EE and EC material intensity. Variation of PEF for
natural gas supply sector has less significant impact to HLCA for both energy and non-energy intensive material such
as cement, plain cellulous fiber and concrete. The influence of parameter variation on energy intensive materials is
less significant due to large proportion of direct energy in material production such as cement or steel. High
proportion of process data increase the accuracy of HLCA and reduce level of uncertainty in HLCA model (Lee and
Ma 2013).
Using disaggregated constant for aggregated energy supply sectors has less impact to the EE and EC of material
intensity using HLCA. Without disaggregated constants, HLCA vary up to 7% to 9% for both EE and EC materials
intensity. However, this not always happen when disaggregated constants are used to aggregated energy and non-
energy supply sectors results in variation of HLCA up to 2.6 times (Acquaye 2010).
The variation of electricity emission factor is due to the fuel mix of fossil fuel in national energy policy has less
impact to the HLCA. The variation of emission factor has slightly increased HLCA values by approximately 2% of
EC material intensity. This also implies that using disaggregated constant for aggregated energy supply sector so that
individual emission factor can be used instead of average emission factor result in less variation in HLCA values.
5. Comparison with previous studies
This research compares the results of HLCA conducted by previous research which used Australian and New Zealand
I-O tables and the results are depicted in Figure 4. Selected building materials were classified into energy and non-
energy intensive materials which have different impact due to the parameter variations as mentioned in previous
section. The comparison of HLCA across models and countries found that energy intensive materials such as cement,
353
clay brick and steel virgin are more consistent and less uncertainty and variation. This is due to the high proportion of
process data that reduce uncertainty in upstream boundary (Lee and Ma 2013). Meanwhile, non-energy intensive
materials which have high indirect energy such as clear float glass, aluminum and structural steel varied significantly
between models. By incorporating these materials in EE and EC assessment would significantly impact the whole life
cycle of a building and its components. Subsequently, using HLCA with highly aggregated industry sector such as
residential construction has great influence on the variation of EE and EC of a building.
391.022
378.500
450
400
350
252.600
250.793
Embodied energy intensity (MJ/kg)
300
192.000
174.220
250
200
111.624
85.460
85.460
83.600
81.724
150
72.753
56.677
55.805
55.500
55.500
46.276
33.099
31.300
31.300
27.379
100
21.722
19.300
16.960
15.900
9.509
9.400
8.690
8.370
6.700
6.200
5.400
4.549
4.161
4.119
2.800
2.824
2.304
2.153
1.710
1.400
0.591
0.308
0.286
0.040
50
New Zealand HLCA (Alcorn, 2003)

Australian HLCA (Pullen, 2007)
Figure 6. Comparison of HLCA with previous studies conducted in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia
354
Table 1. Embodied energy and carbon emission and changes in due to parameter variations compared to the reference case at material and component production level in Malaysia
Embodied energy (MJ/kg) Embodied carbon emission (kg CO2-e/kg)

Building
materials or Changed parameter Input-Output LCA Change Input-Output LCA Change
Process Hybrid Process Hybrid
components from from ref.
LCA Direct Indirect Total LCA LCA Direct Indirect Total LCA
ref. (%) (%)
30% increase in technological efficiency 5.200 0.717 2.747 3.464 7.947 -11.762 0.740 0.074 0.192 0.267 0.932 -7.270
Cement
(OPC)
- - - - - - 0.740 0.111 0.271 0.382 1.011 0.568
emission factor
Whole-casea 9.614 6.747 1.065 5.937
Plain Maximum increase in ET 10.400 3.903 19.699 23.603 30.099 23.931 1.090 1.568 1.568 3.137 2.658 13.809
cellulose Maximum increase in PEF 10.400 2.674 16.679 19.353 27.079 11.495 1.090 0.279 1.327 1.606 2.417 3.457
fibre Without disaggregated constant 10.400 2.557 13.482 16.039 23.882 -1.668 1.090 0.232 1.039 1.271 2.129 -8.852
- - - - - - 1.090 0.274 1.288 1.561 2.378 1.784
emission factor
Whole-casea 35.602 46.589 2.536 8.560
Reference product (Minimum case) 1.074 0.145 0.777 0.922 1.851 0.000 0.142 0.015 0.055 0.070 0.197 0.000
Concrete
(35 MPa)
- - - - - - 0.142 0.016 0.056 0.072 0.198 0.981
emission factor
Whole-casea 2.111 14.078 0.220 11.821
Note:
a) Difference compared to reference case and previous accumulated changes.
355
6. Conclusion
This research was conducted to identify factors that contribute most significantly to the variation of embodied
energy and carbon using HLCA and to compare developed model with previous studies. Currently, there are no
single study are conducted to quantify uncertainty in parameter variation. Crawford (2004) used gap and
comparative analysis to evaluate completeness and accuracy of HLCA between case studies but only focused on
final HLCA results instead of input data (input parameter) to HLCA model. A first approach was proposed by Dixit
(Dixit et al. 2010) regarding to the parameter variation in EE assessment.
Therefore, parameter or scenario uncertainty was conducted to empirically investigate key parameters and issues
that significantly contribute to the high variation in EE and EC assessment of Malaysian case study. This study
found that technological changes, increase energy tariffs and material price fluctuation were the key parameter and
issues that lead to the significant variation in EE and EC assessment. Others parameter such as PEF, excluding
disaggregated constant and emission factor have slightly impact to EE and EC variation.
The significant variation of EE and EC can be obviously seen between energy and non-energy intensive materials
when compare with previous studies. Building materials with high indirect energy in upstream boundary have great
influence on HLCA variation between studies. Therefore, any decision regarding to these material should be
carefully considered.
The completeness and accuracy of EE and EC assessment using HLCA depend upon many factors and studied have
been proposing to improve uncertainty and reliability in the hybrid model (Dixit et al. 2013; Lee and Ma 2013). This
paper empirically investigated the variability of hybrid model and identified key parameters and issues toward
development of robust EE and EC assessment methodology.
7. Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Malaysian Higher Ministry of Education and Universiti
Malaysia Perlis. We thank an anonymous reviewer for their valuable comment and feedback.
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357
Facilities Management Services: A Study on Customers

Satisfaction at Plaza Merdeka Shopping Mall, Kuching,
Sarawak.
B. Ismail a,40*, A.I. Awang Yunos b, K. Kipli c
a, b, c
Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Jalan Meranek, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak
Abstract
Shopping centres industry has grown significantly in Malaysia. It is conceivable that the shopping mall sector becomes essential
and vital in Malaysia by providing a good relationship among its services and customer satisfaction. Thus, it is important to
understand the level of customer satisfaction towards facilities management (FM) in the shopping centres and how FM can add
value to the management of shopping centre. The aim of the study is to investigate customer satisfaction towards facilities
management services at shopping mall. The data was collected through the literature study, collected data by random
questionnaires survey, observation and also interview with the shopping mall management. The study found that customers are
basically satisfied with the FM services in the shopping mall including building operation and maintenance, support services and
other facilities that have been implemented. The proposed improvements in FM services were to outsourcing or contract out
some services to expert or contractor, faster response time and have integrated FM computer system. This study delivers useful
implications for FM team who are willing to provide higher service quality and improve customer satisfaction in shopping
centres industry in Malaysia.
Keywords: Facilities Management; Shopping Mall; Shopping Centers Industry; Customers Satisfaction; Building Operation and Maintenance.
3. Introduction
Facilities management (FM) is the integration of multiple disciplines necessary for the ensuring functionality of
the land, buildings, infrastructure, furniture, equipment and fixtures of a company necessary for the operations of the
business (Dubey, N. B., 2009). In today’s world with high competition, the key to maintain sustainable competitive
advantage and customer loyalty is to deliver high quality service and achieve customer satisfaction (Shemwell, et
al., 1998; Shaw and Haynes, 2004). It is now widely accepted that service quality and customer satisfaction are two
core concepts that are central to marketing theory and practice (Spreng, R. A., & Mackoy, R. D., 1996). Customer
satisfaction could reflect the difference between perception and expectation of service quality. Therefore, a higher
level of perceived service quality would lead to a higher level of customer satisfaction (Van Ree, H., 2010)
In shopping centers industry, efficiency, judgment and sensitivity to people and their needs are essential qualities
in successful management and operation. Morgan and Walker (1988) added that the quality of its management is
one of the most important which can affect the success or failure of a shopping centre. The building operation and
maintenance management of a shopping centre is crucial to its success. It is the role of the FM department to
* Balkhiz Ismail. Tel.: +6082-6777839

E-mail address: balkhiz@sarawak.uitm.edu.my
358
coordinate and supervise the safe, secure and environmentally operations and maintenance of these assets in a cost
effective manner aimed at long-term preservation of the asset value.
Facilities Management (FM) is a relatively young industry; however, its rapid development in the last decade
shows the important growth of FM industry (Tay & Ooi, 2001). As defined by the International Facilities
Management Association (IFMA), FM is a profession or service provision that encompasses multiple disciplines to
ensure the satisfactory functionality of the Built Environment by integrating people, place, process, technology and
environment. In other words, facilities management ensures that a building to be managed well and it fits for its
intended purposes as to achieve customers’ satisfaction and value for money. Looking at operational management
perspectives, Atkins and Brooks (2005) also describe FM is an integrated approach to operating, maintaining,
improving and adapting the buildings and infrastructure of an organisation in order to create an environment that
strongly supports the primary objectives of that organisation. However, it is very important to understand on how
FM is carried out. One of the important parts of FM is managing and maintaining the services and especially
facilities services. FM services are very large complex and the listing of different services is troublesome. All
service action, which support the organisations core business that come out in organizations facilities, can be seen as
FM services (Lindholm, A.-L., 2005). Atkins and Brooks (2005) also conclude that, there is no general approach in
managing facilities. Each organisation also will have different needs even within the same sector.
A shopping centre can be defined as a building that contains many units of shops but is managed as a single
property. Nowadays, shopping centres are more complex in terms of size, type and characteristics. Managing
properties and facilities of shopping centres are very important for the management teams to maintain and organise
especially the image and the physical aspects. Management teams in shopping centres may vary from one shopping
centre to another shopping centre. This is because they seek and attempt to establish the right teams to face the
challenges in shopping centres in today’s environment. Aside from this it is also important to retain the value of the
property and optimising the operational cost. The operations basically oversee day to day housekeeping, emergency
repairs, ongoing maintenance that includes landscaping and usually long-term maintenance, as well (London, 1999).
There are few dimensions of shopping mall customer satisfaction (Eddie C.M. Hui, 2013) such as security
services, cleaning staff and cleanliness, management of common area, promotion and operational and maintenance
management of facilities. Muhlebach and Alexander (2005) stated that having all lighting, security, cleaning,
heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) and any other systems in the best condition possible is critical to
the success of any shopping centre. Otherwise, this could affect on consumer’s expectation and they will go
elsewhere if amenities such as parking, security, cleanliness and landscaping are the main issues. For those reasons,
customer satisfactions measurement (CSM) has become one of the common prescriptions to manager and
organisation and comes from wide variety of sources. Besides, customer satisfaction measurements enable the
establishment of the key factors that affect satisfaction or dissatisfaction with services. Typically, the way their
managing the property and facilities of shopping centres are more likely to be contracted through a third-party
resource rather than be in-house staff, or owner’s employees (London, 1999). Once they are defined, one can make
appropriate efforts to eliminate the negative factors. In other words, an organization can then manage its resources
more efficiently (Lepkova, N. and Žūkaitė-Jefimovienė, G., 2012).
3. Methodology and Data Collection
This study applies the case study approach on the facilities management services implementation at Plaza
Merdeka Shopping Mall, Kuching, Sarawak. The implementation of FM services obtained from the management
through an informal interview to generate understanding of the FM services. The interview question concerns on
FM services that has been implemented in the shopping mall and suggestions and improvement of the FM services.
A set of question was developed for the purpose of the survey to study the FM services and how it will reflects
359
customer satisfactions. A number of forty-five (45) questionnaires were being analysed out of fifty (50) respondents.
The questionnaires divided into three (3) sections; 1. General/demographic background of respondents; 2. The
information on level of satisfaction of FM services by ranking using the Likert’s scale of five ordinal measures; 3.
The overall assessment and satisfaction level towards the FM services. In this section, the recommendation
improvement is obtained. The key controlled characteristics were customers of Plaza Merdeka Shopping Mall,
Kuching, Sarawak.
The collected data obtained from questionnaires survey were analyzed and later on, presented by the use of the
tables and figures for ease interpretation. The questionnaire was measured based on five ordinal measures from one
(1) to five (5) according to the level of agreement. The data generated from the questionnaire survey was analyzed
using average index. The measurement tools in the survey provide quantitative indication of qualitative judgments.
The rating scales used for the questionnaire are: 1 for Very Dissatisfied, 2 for Dissatisfied, 3 for Slightly Satisfied, 4
for Satisfied and 5 for Very Satisfied. This instrument will led to the significance of study which the FM services
will get back in return to the overall customers satisfaction. Observation was carried out to validate the information
and data collected during interviews and questionnaires survey. Through observation, the FM service approach and
the problems encountered was also further dictated.
4. Results and Analysis
1. Demographic of Respondents
The samples were collected using random sampling. Table 1 show the demographic background for respondents.
The total numbers of respondents for this pilot study are fourty-five (45). Out of the total number of forty-five (45)
respondents, 31 person are male and another 14 are female which consist of 68.8% and 31.2% respectively. All of
respondents in this survey are aged above 21 years old, the largest numbers are 33 respondents with 73.3% and only
2% (Frequency-1) are above 41 years. The respondents come from various backgrounds. From the study, 55.6% of
them are students, 20% working in private sector, and 15.6% in the government sector whilst 4.4% of them are retail
staffs and also from other job background. The survey also reveals most of the respondents have been visiting this
shopping mall for more than 1-2 times in a month at 57.8% of the total respondents. Another 24.4% of the
respondents came to the shopping mall at least 1-2 times per week whilst 4.4% (Frequency-2) drop by to this mall
once in a year. The respective 6.7% each or 3 of the respondents are first time and daily visitors.
Table 1. Respondents Demographic Profile

Demographic Background Frequency Percentage (%)
Gender Male 31 68.8

Female 14 31.2
Age 21 – 25 years 33 73.3

26 – 30 years 9 20.0
31 – 40 years 2 4.4
41 years and above 1 2.3
Job Background Retail staff 2 4.4

Government staff 7 15.6
Private staff 9 20.0
Students 25 55.6
Other 2 4.4
360
Frequent visit to the mall Everyday 3 6.7

1-2 times per week 11 24.4
1-2 times in a month 26 57.8
Once in a year 2 4.4
First time 3 6.7
2. Level of Satisfaction : Building Operation and Maintenance
The data was generated and analyzed using average index. From Figure 1, 13 items list out as services provided
under Building and Maintenance Operation were selected based on the literature study to identify the satisfaction
level of the customers.
Level of Satisfaction : Building Operation and Maintenance

5
Elevator
4.5 Escalator
4.18 4.16 4.15
4.11
4 Air Conditioning System
3.8 3.86
3.8 3.73 3.75 3.77
3.6 3.51 Lighting System
3.5 3.42
Performance of promotion and event
Average Index Score
3
Supply and Quality of Water Tap
2.5 Fire protection
Telecommunication
2
Decorations
1.5
Landscaping
1 Vehicles Parking Space
0.5 Directional Signs
Overall Maintenance and Repairing Works

0
Services Provided
Figure 1. Level of Satisfaction on Building Operation and Maintenance
From the analysis, the highest calculated average index was for air conditioning system with an index score 4.18
followed by decorations which has an average index score of 4.16 and followed by parking space with an average
index is 4.15. The index score shows that the shopping mall has given the air-conditioning system as priority
towards satisfaction level for their customers. It is an important aspect of any buildings in Malaysia to have an
appropriate temperature to achieve the comfort level as we live in the warm humid climate. Being a multi-racial
country with a lot of festive and celebrations, the interior or outside decoration of the shopping mall are also the
important part in maintaining the satisfaction level of visiting customers. The management did their very best effort
as visitors seem happy and attracted to the decorations especially during festive seasons. From the score vehicles
361
parking space has the third highest ranking. This is showing that this shopping mall has been providing adequate
parking space. From the observation, the parking bay also provided with parking sensor system for detecting the
numbers of available parking space and buggy services for the customers who parked their vehicles far from the lift
lobby. In this Figure 1 the data also shows that the lowest calculated average index was for elevator with 3.42 score.
The design and location of elevators in this shopping mall are quite a distance from the main entrance and this might
consider as difficulty for customers to reach the elevators.
3. Level of Satisfaction : Support Services
Referring to Figure 2, the support services can be divided into three categories in example cleaning services,
security services and customer services. From the analysis, the highest calculated average index for cleaning
services was for appearance of the shopping mall with 4.02 score. The average index score of cleaning services
showing that the appearance (Average Index-4.02), the cleanliness and shininess of floor (Average Index-3.80) and
the safety consciousness of the staffs (Average Index-3.73) ranked as three major descriptions of satisfaction level
of the customers. Based on the interview with management, the outsourcing system in cleaning services might be
the key point of the great appearance in cleaning level due to the contractual terms and agreements of their
company.
Table 2. Level of Satisfaction on Support Services (Cleaning, Security and Customer Services)
Item Description Average Index
A. Cleaning Services
i. Appearance 4.02
ii. Cleanliness & shininess of floor 3.80
iii. Safety consciousness of cleaning staff 3.73
iv. Washrooms/Toilet cleanliness & facilities 3.70
v. Overall cleanliness 3.70
B. Security Services
i. Appearance of security guards 3.62
ii. Attitude and courtesy 3.60
iii. CCTV 3.53
iv. Overall security level 3.44
v. Communication skills 3.33
vi. Efficiency of complain-handling 3.33
C. Customer Services
i Staff’s attitude, courtesy and appearance 3.70
ii Efficiency of complain handling 3.60
iii Communication skills 3.33
Moreover, in security services, appearance of the security guards scored the highest calculated average index
with 3.62 followed by the attitude and courtesy of the security staff with 3.6. Communication skills and efficiency of
complain handling both with an average index of 3.33 noted as the lowest score in security services. Meanwhile, for
the customer services, most of customers are satisfied with the staff’s attitude, courtesy and appearance (Average
Index-3.70). Customers are also satisfied with the efficiency of complain handling with an average index of 3.60 and
this is very important for the staffs to handle any complain, complimentary or even suggestions in a very effective
and efficient manner.
362
4. Level of Satisfaction : Other Facilities
From the graph in Figure 3, the highest calculated average index for other facilities is for the restaurants and food
court (Average Index-3.6). These followed by the Auto-Teller Machine (ATM) or bank with average index score of
3.40. At the moment, the seating facilities scored the lowest average index 2.67. Basically these other add-ons
facilities achieving the minimum customer satisfactions level and need to have some improvement from time to time
as the shopping mall will be receiving a lot of visitors in future.
Level of Satisfaction : Other Facilities

5
4.5 Disable Facilities
4
3.18 3.4 3.6 3.24
Average Index Score
3.5 Seating
3.07
3
2.5 ATM Machine / Bank
2
1.5 Restaurant and Food Court
1
0.5 Gaming Zone / Play Area
0
Facilities Provided
Figure 2. Level of Satisfaction on Other Facilities
5. Overall Satisfaction Level on the FM Services
The pie-chart in Figure 4 below shows the overall assessment on the facilities management (FM) services at the
shopping mall. Classification of overall assessment was mainly bases on Likert’s scale of five ordinal measures
from one (1) to five (5) according to level of performance classified from Very Dissatisfied to Very Satisfied.
Based on the survey, 40% of the respondents (18 out of 45 respondents) are satisfied towards the FM services at
the shopping mall. 28.8% (13 respondents) felt very satisfied to the overall FM services and 24.5% of them slightly
satisfied with the overall FM services. However, they are also respondents who dissatisfied and very dissatisfied
with the FM services with 4.4% and 2.2% respectively. It is no suprise that most of the customer felt quite satisfied
with the FM services implemented at the shopping mall as it is remarkable as one of a new and modern shopping
mall in Kuching. The management has done their good effort and deliver the best to the customers to ensure the
satisfaction of the customers towards the FM services are in very high level of quality. Performance of the FM
services is related to the customer satisfaction and it is proven by the next question.
363
Overall Satisfaction Level on the FM Services

2.2%
4.5%
Very Dissatisfied
28.8% Dissatisfied
24.5% Slightly Satisfied
Satisfied
Very Satisfied
40.0%
Figure 3. Overall Satisfaction Level on Facilities Management Services

6. Improvement on the FM Services
The last sections of the questionnaires survey require the respondent to give their opinion regarding the
improvement on the facilities management services at the shopping mall. Proposed improvements on the FM
services particularly adapted from the literature study were listed out.
Table 3. Suggested Improvement on Facilities Management Services

Agree Disagree
Item Suggested Improvement
(%) (%)
a) Integrated FM-Computer Systems including extensive controlling
96.0 4.0
and reporting tool,customer help-desk and service centre
b) Outsourcing or contract out some of the services to expert FM
87.0 13.0
provider or contractor
c) Proactive maintenance and repair works 93.0 7.0
d) Better utilization of space 89.0 11.0
e) Faster response time to problems occurred 93.0 7.0
From Figure 5 above, we can see that 96.0% of the respondents agreed that having Integrated FM-Computer
Systems to handle all the facilities management services can improve the FM services at the shopping mall. 93.0%
of them also agreed that proactive maintenance and repair works and faster response time are very important in
order enhance the FM services provided currently. Suggested improvements essentially needed for the management
team to provide better FM services in future as the end product experirnced by the users specifically the customers
or the staffs itself.
5. Discussion and Conclusion
FM is a relatively new and fast developing profession in the service industry. The quality of FM service plays an
important role in the overall service performance of shopping mall. This study is to investigate the satisfaction level
of the customer towards the FM services at the shopping mall. The result presently shows the shopping mall
364
management is quite successful in fulfilling customer’s needs, which is crucial for service business. These results
imply that the shopping mall management should effectively improve customer satisfaction by enhancing the
satisfaction level of those FM services.
A few scholars have also specifically recommended ways to access, measure and mean to provide a good
facilities maintenance and management strategies in shopping mall sector. Facilities Management providers are now
seen to be an essential and integral part of some shopping centre strategy and not merely a base level provider of
general cleaning, security or mechanical and electrical support (Cant, 2005).
To ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the FM services, it took all the responsibilities for all the operation and
management staffs of the shopping mall. The FM team and manager especially must organize, control and
coordinate the strategic and operational management of buildings and facilities in order to ensure the proper and
efficient operation of all its physical aspects, creating and sustaining safe and productive environments for
customers,visitors and tenants.
However, the awareness and knowledge on the implementation of FM services much be spread out time by time
as it must be a balance between putting much effort on documentations and paperwork and the actions in providing
a good quality of FM services in the shopping mall. In parallel with that one of the ways to improve the FM services
is by having good documentation and record system. Maintaining current and accurate records of a facilities system
and performance is essential to ensure the continuity of facility operations and will assist in identifying problem
areas, and opportunities to improve. Good documentation and records management systems especially using specific
programmes or softwares will help towards the valuable result of change of the staff, management, tenant, supplier
or other stakeholder.
Acknowledgements
The authors are very thankful and grateful to anonymous commentators, reviewers and experts for their helps and
comments that assisted in the piloting process. Authors also gratefully acknowledge Universiti Teknologi MARA
Sarawak for the supports and funds of parts of this work. The data presented, the statements made and the views
expressed by means are responsibilities of the authors.
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Conservation Plan for Historic Buildings from Building Control

Administration Perspective
B. Anak Kayana,*, F.W. Akashahb, N.H. Ishakc
a
Urban Conservation and Tropical Architecture (UCTA), University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
b,c
Abstract
Promotion of conservation plan has attracted more attention to the maintenance of historic buildings. However,
conservation plan for historic buildings has diverse array of the major issues, particularly from building control
administration perspective. It is the main aim of this paper to ask why this situation occurs and how it influences
historic buildings conservation. The paper is composed of a critical review of existing literature, highlighting
conservation plan implementation from building control administration perspective for historic buildings. Despite
promotion and recognition, conservation plan often mitigates against its own implementation for historic buildings
conservation.Unless implementation of conservation plan is improved, much of our culturally significant historic
buildings will be lost to future generations and sustainable historic environment may also not achieve
comprehensively.
Keywords:building control administration; conservation plan, heritage buildings; historic buildings; legislation
1. Introduction
Conservation plan is not new in the area of historic buildings conservation. It has been widely recognised in
Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and globally. A considerable number of authors defined conservation
plan−albeit with various understanding, interpretation and from different perspectives. Despite its inception in the
1990’s, there is no well establishedstudy to ascertain whether conservation plan is workable or vice versa,
particularly for historic buildings conservation. A significant number of authorities, experts and researchers claimed
it is not. Others suggest that conservation plan may be workable only in certain areas in the buildings conservation
industry. Some of its important links with historic buildings building control administration are still missing,
particularly lacking in terms of authority. This paper reviews conservation plan for historic buildings from the
maintenance perspective in both United Kingdom and Malaysia as well as in a global context.
2. Definitions
To date, a considerable number of authors have defined conservation plan through various interpretations. Kerr
(2000) defines conservation plan as “a document that explains what is significant in a site (also referred to as a
‘place’) or building and reasoning why they are important and how their significance can be retained” (Kerr, 2000,
p. 1). Conservation plan is formulated to conserve the “significance” of a building, site or place (Worthing and
Bond, 2008, p. 47), either for “potential use” (Smith, 2005, p. 101) or for “future development” (Gard'ner, 2007, p.
367
156). In ‘Conservation Plans: A Guide to the Preparation of Conservation Plans’, Historic Scotland defines
conservation plan as reference document used to identify relevant needs to achieve effective building maintenance
(Historic Scotland, 2000). Meanwhile, ‘Conservation Plans for Historic Places’ by Heritage Lottery Fund (1998)
defines conservation plan as policies used to understand the processes in maintaining and protecting buildings
significance. Generally, a conservation plan is a well-developed policy to protect a building’s significance without
jeopardising their future development. In the author’s opinion however, its definition relied heavily on
professional’s and conservation organisation’s opinion, who are directly involved in maintaining historic buildings.
This has contributed to some related issues affecting its emergence and virtues.
3. The Emergence and Virtues of Conservation Plan
Chronologically, conservation plan was developed in response to both the initiatives of leading conservation
bodies and support from building conservation charters. Initially, conservation plan was introduced by James
Semple Kerr under The Burra Charter (Worthing and Bond, 2008). ‘Burra Charter Process' has set a logical
sequence of investigations, decisions and actions upon buildings’ significance (Pearce, 2000, p. 15; Worthing and
Bond, 2008, p. 110) and this makes it “very similar” (O’Connor, 2000; Hudson and James, 2007) and “well
resonance” with conservation plan (Whitbourn, 2007).
While Burra Charter and conservation plan are significantly similar, recognition gained by the latter however is
achieved only at a very late stage. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was the first public body to promote and adopt
conservation plan (see Clark, 1991a). In the UK context, conservation plan is widely recognised by national
committees of International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) (Gard'ner, 2007) and strongly supported
by ‘Conservation Plans for Historic Places’ documents (Smith, 2005).
Various supplementary documents have been widely published to support conservation plan. But, they are
published with different emphases. To quote Worthing &Gwilliams (2002),
“‘Sustaining the Historic Environment: New Perspectives on the Future’ by English Heritage in 1997 has taken
into account the contributions from all parties (including experts, local residents, politicians or even business
people) that might make value judgment on built cultural heritage and its significance. Followed by ‘Power of
Place’ by Historic Environment Review Steering Group (English Heritage) in 2000 which emphasises on the
need to understand (and debate) why particular places, sites or buildings are important and to seek the greater
involvement of a range of stakeholders in such discussion and decisions that followed. ‘The Historic
Environment: A Force for Our Future’ by the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS), in 2002,
refers to the role of management agreements and Conservation Plans in assessing the significance of specifically
in deciding how to integrate changes and consider long term maintenance and management”. (Worthing and
Gwilliams, 2002, p. 564).
A considerable number of authorities also appeared to be implementing conservation plan. Collaborative efforts
between English Heritage with major institutions (Miele, 2005) and statutory regulations of ‘Review of Heritage
Protection: The Way Forward (June 2004) by DCMS (DCMS, 2004) hadrecognised the significant role of
conservation plan in England. While, in Scotland, Gard'ner (2007) claims that “Conservation plans was adopted in
conservation planning process as a method for a better understanding of historic buildings” (Gard'ner, 2007, p. 156).
Comparatively, ‘Conservation Area Appraisals’ (Clark, 199b) is commonly championing the efforts in promoting
the conservation plan in protecting historic building in Australia context. In local context, Malaysian ‘conservation
management plan’ (CMP) of Section 97 of National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645) (Kayan, 2006) and ‘conservation
framework’ (see Ahmad, 2006) also share similarities with conservation plan.
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Conservation plan may encompass many attached values connected to places, sites or buildings−cultural,
historical, scientific, educational, aesthetic, social, economic and ecological values. These “values” need to be
considered in the production, components and structures of conservation plan (Australasian Legal Information
Institute, 2008, Heritage Council of Kilkenny, 2008).But, with regard to historic building conservation, its standard
components, structures and processes with regards to building control administration scope of works are still
unclear.
4. Components, Structures and Processes of Conservation Plan
As suggested by Clark (2000), Miele (2005), Gard’ner (2007) and (Worthing & Bond, 2008), conservation plan
should include an understanding of buildings, sites or place and their cultural significance. Conservation planneeds
to have “good written policy” (Atkins, 1999) and fair “judgement” on vulnerability of site significance (Worthing
and Bond, 2008). Clearly, conservation plan is developed based on its fundamental association with the significance
of heritage properties. However, its distinct components, structures and processes for historic building conservation
remained unclear and relatively compromised, particularly in building control administration scope of works.
Prior to its implementation, conservation plan should and be able to identify all the contradictory
elementsaffecting buildings (English Heritage, 2005). These include any small cumulative alterations, loss of fabric,
problems with mixed ownership, conflicts between different types of heritage, pressure from visitors or users and
the need for better access (Stenning and Evans, 2007). Due to its complex implementation processes, it is difficult
to ascertain the requirements of conservation plan for historic buildings conservation, particularly in determining the
requirement of works essential for building control administration.
Conservation plan needs to be more authoritative, accessible and easy to read (Clark 1999a; Clark 1999b; Clark
2000), representing a good degree of consensus (Pendlebury and Townshend, 1997), thoroughly debated (Historic
Scotland, 2000; Dann and Wood, 2004) and clearly explaining future use of buildings (Clark 1999a; Clark 2000;
English Heritage, 2005). Worthing and Bond, (2008) asserts that conservation plan needs to “provide ready advice
necessary, appropriate requirements and opportunities, basis for assessing change, reassurance of projects right
direction for appointed heritage and funding agencies” (Worthing and Bond, 2008, p. 108). Clarks (1999a and
2000) suggests that conservation plan needs to explain building’s maintenance regimes (including building control
administration scope of works) and legislative influence (Clark 1999a; Clark, 2000). From the above statements,
unique components, structures and processesof conservation plan are caused by their very own requirements. This
posed possible risks both to its benefits and deficiencies.
5. Benefits of Conservation Plan
On behalf of the grant or fund providers, in Clark’s opinion, conservation plan is useful in applying for grant
from the funding organisations (Clark 1999b). Consequently, Worthing and Bond (2008) asserts that “in many
cases, the reason that conservation plans are produced is to fulfil the requirement of either a funding body (such as
Heritage Lottery Fund in UK), or a statutory consent authority within the context of a development proposal”
(Worthing and Bond, 2008, p. 109). But, is conservation plan only prepared for the sake of applying for grant? Are
there any possibilities for them to be produced beyond this ultimate reason, particularly with regards to scope of
works stipulated in building control administration?
As a professional himself in the building conservation industry, Miele (2005) points out that the reason for
conservation plan preparation is beyond grant, as he said: “Conservation plan is helpful for a full understanding of
an historic building and protects certain areas within a building by setting parameters for further investigative or
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design works” (Miele, 2005, p. 31). Conservation plan acts as a “practical document” (Smith, 2005, p. 101) and a
“useful tool” in dealing with political, resource, economic and community issues surrounding the conservation of
heritage properties (Tavernor, 2007, p. 2). It can be concluded that the simple concept behind conservation plan
masks a potentially powerful management tool in maintaining built heritage properties such as historic buildings.
Utilisation of conservation plan helps to achieve informed decision upon heritage properties. Atkins (1999) and
Worthing and Gwilliams, (2002) suggest that by utilising conservation plan, heritage property managers will be
more explicit, transparent, and open about their assumptions (Atkins 1999; Worthing and Gwilliams, 2002).
Conservation plan is always seen as a downscaled version of “rescue operation” for heritage properties, a tool to
prevent negative outcome either from new development or threats and a cost budgeting instrument to minimise
major expenditure for conservation works (Clark, 1999b; Smith, 2005; Stenning and Evans, 2007).
A series of very effective implementation of conservation plan can notably be observed from a significant
number of cases. They include projects commissioned by English National Trust (done by Inskip + Jenkins for
Stowe and Mogerhanger), Historic Scotland, Allies and Morrison, HLF (Royal Festival Hall, London, St. George's
Hall, Liverpool and for Somerset House in London) and The Heritage Council of New South Wales (NSW),
Australia (Clark, 1999b). Conservation plan is an essential tool for those who are facing difficulties in making
major decision either on new development or resolving conflicting types of building significance. But, there is still
no clear indication on how it can provides reference point of strategic thinking of well-developed conservation
approach and philosophy for historic buildings.
To date, benefits of conservation plan have been highlighted by the majority of professionals who are involved
directly in building conservation. Conservation plan is important guidance for avoiding a dispute case reaching a
court (Preston, 1999), reference that brings together all the related issues (Clark, 1999a), resolution for conflict (such
‘Sheffield Template’ by English Heritage) (Clark, 1999b), mechanism to achieve consensus (Kerr, 2000). In
addition, conservation plan is a holistic view of the development of the place, site or building encompassing a
variety of disciplines; archaeology, architectural history, landscape history, ecology, science and technology and the
social perspective (Clark, 2000).
Historic Scotland (1998), claims that “Conservation plan did not harm the special interest of the listed building
and provided a huge opportunity as well as guidance for any legal dispute in conservation” (Historic Scotland, 1998,
p. 66). Conservation plan identifies the opportunities for building development (Cambridge Architectural Research
Limited, 1999) and provides feedbacks from stakeholders before any conservation work commences (Victoria Baths
Trust, 2003). In addition, conservation plan is able to address sustainable development as it pointed out buildings
future threats, vulnerability, issues and concerns (Worthing and Bond, 2008).
In the opinion of the author, the above statements, however, are emphatically made by professionals who are
directly involved in the management and maintenance of historic buildings (see example from Forster and Kayan,
2009). Therefore, there is the element of biased judgement and strong preference on conservation plan’s advantages.
This leads to a question: “Is there any contradicting views or significant concern raised particularly on the
deficiencies of conservation plan and its influence in the historic building conservation, particularly in building
control administration perspective?”
6. Deficiencies of Conservation Plan
From previous discussion, conservation plan has gained recognition from the majority of building conservation
professionals due to its theoretical advantages. While evaluating this recognition, it leads to some major questions,
“is conservation plan workable without any deficiencies or completely perfect, particularly in building control
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administration?” In fact, deficiencies of conservation plan have also been consistently under close scrutiny. Since
being promoted in UK, Miele (2005) strongly claims that there is no research to ascertain the workability of
conservation plan, as he said: “Conservation plan has been promoted in the United Kingdom for more than a
decade, but there is to date no research to establish whether they are working as intended”(Miele, 2005, p. 23).
Despite establishment of ‘conservation management plan’ (CMP) of Section 97 of National Heritage Act 2005 (Act
645) (Kayan, 2006) and ‘conservation framework’ (see Ahmad, 2006) in Malaysian context, the practicality of its
approach is prone to cynical views from academic sectors and industry alike.
Conservation plan adoption may face various constraints as it is too prescriptive, particularly in its components,
structures and processes. Conservation plan should specifically describe the scope, intensity, circumstances, issues
and details of the conservation work (such as building conservation works coordination) required (Kerr, 2000;
Worthing and Gwilliams, 2002). Conservation plan which is too complex however, may no longer be appropriate
for adoption because a wide range of skills is required in its implementation.
With regard to the skills needed to implement a conservation plan, there is the question of who should prepare
them and the criteria in the selection of the right person. A study by Preston (2006) in ‘Journal of Architectural
Conservation, Special Issue' finds that “legislation is only able to work well when the necessary skills exist”
(Preston 2006, p. 35). But, there is a lack of expertise (Preston, 2006) and a disappointing number of professionals
(Historic Scotland, 2008) in this area. Skills needed to write conservation plan may vary as it is very much
determined by “characteristic and complexity” of sites (Wise, 1993, p. 229). In practice, the writing team preparing
conservation plan should reflect on the details and qualities of the building, place or site and their maintenance
needs. Yet, this leads to the question: “is a good writing teamalways available for conservation plan preparation”
and “whether or not they are in-house team or a group of consultants or practitionerswho will put holistic building
conservation approach above all other needs”?
At its best, the conservation plan preparation processes should be a creative integration of efforts and skills by
both client and practitioner. Marquis-Kyle (1998) said in ‘Study of the East Brisbane State School,Queensland,
Australia’, that conservation plan needs a thorough process in its preparation (Marquis-Kyle, 1998). While in
Preston’s’ opinion, the setback is that, there are stages and procedures to be followed (Preston, 2006). During the
stage of writing a conservation plan, Horne (1993) suggests that it is essential to engage consultants who have a
wide “broadened knowledge” (Horne, 1993, p. 375), equipped with “skills and motivation to engage” (Worthing and
Bond, 2008, p. 114) and possessed good “coordination ability” (Weaver, 1995, p. 30; Drewer and Steel, 1996: 53).
Regarding conservation plan preparation, Wood (1999) suggests that a team-based approach should be adopted
(Wood, 1999). In line with these opinions, the more “viewpoints” (Drury, 1999) and “cast of fresh eye” (Clark,
1999a) included, the higher the possibility of achieving the desired result of conservation plan. But, Worthing and
Gwilliams (2002) argues that the more disciplines and people involved however, the more difficult for a coherent
conservation plans to evolve (Worthing and Gwilliams, 2002). Based on the above statements, it can be concluded
that there is no clear indication on how to ascertain whether a team or an individual efforts can achieve the best end
results of conservation plan. Therefore, the influence of the end results of conservation plan on historic buildings
conservation from building control administration perspective is difficult to determine.
Despite the logic behind the establishment of conservation plan (at least methodologically), however, there is
anecdotal evidence suggesting that it has not been comprehensively implemented. John (2007b) asserts that the UK
government has defined therole of conservation plan in statutory regulations back in 2004 (John 2007b). But, Miele
(2005) argues that “Unfortunately, the role of conservation plan may not, of course, being actually adopted and
materialized to this day” (Miele, 2005, p. 23). Clark (1999a) asserts that “Conservation plan is easy to fall into bad
practice...there is room for abuse if the related parties fail to manage the process” (Clark, 1999a, p. 37). When the
relevant parties are unable to manage the implementation of conservation plan (Forster and Kayan, 2009, p. 214), it
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can cause historic buildings be left to dereliction or subjected to controversy (example from Adam Smith’s
Edinburgh home) (Ferguson, 2011a & 2011b). Conservation plan might also become a money-spinning exercise
(Inskip, 1999; Forster and Kayan, 2009), undermined by heritage sectors and exploited by the clients (example of
Skye Castle Ross) (Ross, 2004).
As the application for building conservation grants using conservation plan is consistently facing stiff
competition, it is arguable that it may not be ethically and inclusively implemented. In the case of English Heritage,
nearly £33 million per annum has been expended on grants over the past five years which spread over 800-900
offers per year (depending on demands and projects financial commitment) (English Heritage, 2011). To date, HLF
has handed over £1.5billion to conserve 12,800 historic buildings and £305 million for religious buildings and
monuments in UK (HLF, 2011a). By and large however, HLF’s funds are always overwhelmed by grant
applications (HLF 2011b). In the author’s opinion, conservation plan may merely be produced to fulfil the
satisfaction of grant funding requirements rather than be used as a decisive tool for maintaining heritage properties,
including historic buildings.
To date, however, there is a lack of understanding, support and negative perception towards building
conservation itself. Hubbard (1993) claims that “there is still very little certain knowledge of people’s conscious or
unconscious commitment to buildings from the past...as such, conservation remains shackled by the stigma of
subjectivity and accusation of elitism (Hubbard, 1993). Conservation plan considered as “didactic process”
(Worthing and Bond, 2008, p. 71), with “considerable amount of gaps” (Pendlebury and Townshend, 1997, p. 9) and
has “no ability to check maintenance works” (Forster and Kayan, 2009, p. 214). Professionals working within
legislation are guided by their own philosophy and they are rarely involved in seeking people’s view (Mansfield,
2004), ignored community perceptions (e.g. Hendry, 1993; Moore, 1993; Turnpenny, 2004) and perceived merely as
a developer’s charter (Worthing and Gwilliams, 2002). From the above statements, a great number of parties in
historic buildings maintenance believed that conservation plan is exclusive for certain sectors and not
comprehensively applicable to all groups alike.
As stated by English Heritage and the Department of the Environment and Department of National Heritage in
Larkham (2000), it is widely accepted that the success of any conservation policy is a result of strong support (e.g.
Maguire, 1997; Taylor, 1997, p. 78; Clark, 2000; Kayan and Zuraini, 2003, p. 42; Dann and Wood, 2004, p. 138;
Kayan, 2006, p. 41; Orbaşli, 2008), active attention (Watt, 1999, p. 225; Earl, 2003; Mansfield, 2004; Chung, 2005)
and a high level of awareness (Rodwell 2007, p. 88; Forsyth, 2008) of the public at large.Pendlebury and
Townshend reports as reviewed by Johns, warns that “…communities and individuals will continue to need to take a
leading role”(Johns, 2007b, p. 144). Rodwell (2007, p.14) argues that “If there is any deficiency in public support,
therefore, linkage and strategic roles of conservation seemed to be very loose, unsound and might be missing at
some critical points.” Based on the above arguments, there are scepticisms and low level of confidence regarding
the practicality of conservation plan by the public at large.
A considerable number of past authors have suggested that the use of conservation plan has contributed to
unnecessary constraints, particularly for historic building protection. Implementation of conservation plan by local
government is firmly based on the “stick rather than carrot” (Taylor, 2004) and only able to be seen as a
“punishment rather than a beneficial process” (Historic Scotland, 1998). From these statements, heritage
organisations have been penalised for their inability to conform with conservation plan. This may have sent a wrong
message that conservation plan is an instrument of ‘punishment’ and ‘pressure’ rather than a tool that provides
maintenance solutions and reference for building control administration decision for historic buildings.
Maguire (1997) and Earl (2003) claim that heritage organisations are often under political pressure (Maguire,
1997, p. 17; Earl, 2003, p. 47). Kerr (2000) suggests that conservation plan should be implemented away from
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extraneous pressures (Kerr, 2000). Efforts to express its benefits for historic buildings conservation are essentially
paramount. But, it should be allowed to evolve in an independent manner.
There are efforts between related parties in the conservation of historic buildings conservation to the
implementation of conservation plan in historic buildings. But, their success in the legal context is still very much
questionable as there is “loophole” (English Heritage, 2008), “poor” (Dann, Worthing and Bond, 1999, p. 147),
“inherent” (Fairclough, 1999, p. 127) enhancement of its principles. In agreement with the statement, Johnson
(1999), points out that, “it takes far too long for grant provider to realise why Conservation Plan is needed”
(Johnson, 1999, p. 21). Clark (2000) claims that some practitioners in building conservation industry are still unclear
about conservation plan terminology (Clark, 2000). Conservation bodies and authorities are, more often than not,
able to work collaboratively in implementing conservation plan (Larkham and Jones, 1993, p. 395; Kayan, 2005,
p.15; Shacklock, 2006, p. 7). As evidence, English Heritage’s views on planning applications for new development
are always in conflict with the opinions of local planning authorities (e.g. Mansfield, 2004). In addition, Miele
(2005) claims that few conservation plan summary shows any understanding of the statutory planning process and
the status of the plan in development control or statutory policy (Miele, 2005). In the author’s point of view, legal
support and enforcement of conservation plan in historic buildings conservation, particularly in building
administration perspective is insufficient.
From the previous discussion, the extent of the influence of deficiencies in conservation plan remains unclear
and difficult to determine.It can be said that, there is a strong stand on the need to understand the strategic roles that
can be played by conservation plan in historic building conservation with regards to building control administration,
particularly in the legislative context.
7. Conservation Legislation and Its Influence on Conservation Plan
Various documents recognised the importance of conservation plan in protecting building’s or place’s
significance in legislation in a very specific manner. ‘Building in Context: New Development in Historic Areas’ (by
English Heritage and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), Johns, 2007b),
‘Summaries of Importance’ (by Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) (Department for Culture, Media
and Sport, 2004) and adoption of Scotland’s ‘Conservation Plans: A Guide to the Preparation of Conservation
Plans’ inScotland (Johns, 2007a) have supported the structures, consultation process, implementation, distribution,
and presentation of conservation plan. In addition, from April 2005 onwards, each new designation of buildings,
sites or places for conservation in UK is required to have conservation plan (e.g. Johns, 2007b).
There is a varying degree of results in the enforcement of legislation and its influence on focus and consistency
of conservation plan. Previously, conservation plan focused more on buildings that were likely to fall out of use
(schools, hospitals, town hall and etc.) and properties listed in Buildings at Risk Register (used by English Heritage
and Heritage Lottery Fund) (English Heritage, 1992; Atkins 1999). On behalf of the conservation grants providers,
Clark (2000) asserts that conservation plan needs to demonstrate the consistency. Consistency of legislation that
supports conservation plan however, is very difficult to be determined as there is no comprehensive procedures and
protocols to check their practicality. Pam Alexander, Chief Executive of English Heritage, as cited by Worthing and
Gwilliams (2002) said that:
“Management of historic environment has to be done with great sensitivity, and in a sustainable way, to meet
today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. This will only be possible
with widespread support and understanding. However, “legislation alone, even with funding support to support
it, would not be sufficient.” (Worthing and Gwilliams, 2002, p. 564).
373
In the present situation, conservation plan seems well- accepted is being promoted in the legislative context by
the involvement of a wide-range of conservation organisations. But, it is clear that there are contradicting views
regarding the implementation of conservation plan. Therefore, in the opinion of the author, the rationale for the
implementation of conservation plan will only be holistically justified by focusing on all types of heritage
properties. All sorts of relevant contexts (including building control administration), forms and consistency need to
be considered inclusively by conservation plan, particularly in the historic buildings conservation.
8. Conservation Plan for Historic Buildings from Building Control Administration Perspective
Conservation plan plays a crucial role to pull all the building conservation issues together in a balanced way.
With regard to historic buildings maintenance, conservation plan provides a good approach, protection, legislative
control (Yeomans, 2007), promotes active involvement (Fairclough and Taylor, 2001), contributes resolutions
(Drury, 1999; Worthing and Bond, 2008), enhances the cultural significance (Kerr, 2000; Worthing and Dann, 2008)
and enlighten the clarity of historic buildings (Simpson, 1999).
However, other professionals in the industry suggested that there is a need to develop conservation plan in a
more comprehensive, vigorous and robust manner. Miele (2005) argues that: “...Conservation plan succeeds not
because the statement of significance or policy section is well worded (although this helps); the critical factor has in
every case been whether or not the plan shows an awareness of the wider development process affecting the site”
(Miele, 2005, p. 25). Wood (1999) highlights that, “the promoters of conservation plan should seek to introduce
greater flexibility into their conceptual model, addressing the different circumstances commissioned by the different
types of clients”(Wood, 1999, p. 83).
On the other hand, Miele (2005) points out that“...there is no technical planning reason why an authority could
not give conservation plans some status, encouraging or even requiring them in respect of certain sites or
areas...andto allow for the possibility of conservation plan in certain circumstances” (Miele, 2005, p. 32).
Considering the above statements, it is clear that an opportunity exists now to give conservation plan a stronger
statutory basis tailored to suit local/national building conservation needs and context, particularly in the
conservation of historic buildings.
Clarks (1999b) strongly believed that conservation plan seems able to avoid various layers of legislative system-
bureaucratic policies (Clark, 1999b). However, Miele (2005) raises his concern on overlapping issues as he points
out:
“One could argue that local planning policies which reproduce accepted guidance and principles are superfluous
and should not be repeated in conservation plans...therefore,evidence-based analysis is essential to the
effectiveness of conservation plans” (Miele, 2005, p. 25).
Therefore, if conservation plan is really good and practical in the building conservation industry, then more than
a simple semantic shift is needed. This includes evidence-based analysis on its implementation, particularly in
historic building conservation approach, particularly in building control administration context. For instance,
relevant building control scopes of works that inclusive in the context include scrutiny of building plans (e.g.
issuance of historic building’s plan approval on conservation works). In addition, enforcement of legislative (e.g.
plan checking by referring to related law such in upgrading and refurbishment works and etc.), building works
inspection (e.g. pre, during and post conservation such as issuance declaration of inspection), building upgrading,
refurbishment aand adaptive re-use consultation (e.g. new use of buildings-BOMBA Requirements), building
conservation coordination (e.g. restoration, refurbishment, preservation and adaptive re-use projects).
374
Conservation plan can act as a “bridge” for all the expertise involved in the protection of heritage properties. But, in
reality, this is not seen as a common practice. In enhancing the workability and values of conservation plan
however, contributions of other professionals may be overlooked. Worthing and Gwilliams (2002) quoted:
“The National Trust has admitted as it has not always happened in practice. The National Trust has placed
particular emphasis on surveys which reflect specialist views of archaeologist, nature conservationists, and
architectural historians. Yet, it has tended to place less emphasis on local people’s judgments of what is
significant and must now consider how to restore the balance” (Worthing &Gwilliams, 2002, p. 20).
The question is, apart from owners and occupiers who should be consulted in developing a conservation plan?
Glover (2003) articulates that building surveyors’ expertise is required to enhance the value of conservation plan as
they possessed the competency necessary in producing maintenance schedule, conducting dilapidation survey and
preparing building repair works proposal (Glover, 2003). Ideally, in the opinion of the author, conservation plan
should be prepared by a wide and balanced range of experts. It should also be prepared without heavily relies on the
influence of certain expertise.
It is also important for the people who are commissioned to carry out conservation plan to show their awareness
on relevant influencing factors and needs. As highlighted, conservation plan is affected by relevant factors such as
building’s information and conservation policies (see for example, Christchurch City Council, 2004), therefore, they
are likely to be implemented with more integrity and competently (Clark, 1999b) using a rigorous approach yet in a
transparent way (Worthing and Bond, 2008). According to Worthing and Bond (2008):
“three categories of stakeholders who need to be consulted and actively involved including interested parties
who might be affected or might have an impact on conservation plans delivery and individuals and groups that
may have evidence in significance establishment. Individuals or groups involved and have memories and insight
into the place should also be consulted as well”. (Worthing & Bond, 2008, p. 20).
It is clear that conservation plan should not be confidential to those who share the common grounds, issues and
benefits from their heritage properties such as the stakeholders and public at large.
Conservation plan can be seen as a driver that contributes to a sustainable historic environment. Clark (1999a)
suggests that implementation of conservation plan is another aspects of achieving sustainability (Clark, 1999a).
English Heritage echoed that conservation plan achieves a good understanding and set a high level of appreciation
of the historic environment values, forces of change and resources (English Heritage, 1992 and 1997). Apparently,
when a conservation plan provides guidelines to achieve a balance either in cultural, aesthetic, economic and etc. for
historic buildings (including building control administration aspect), only then sustainable historic environment is
likely to be achieved (see example from Forster, et al., 2011). This is essential to the emergence and virtues of
conservation plan particularly in maintaining and protecting the cultural significance of historic buildings.
9. Conclusion
Conservation plan can be seen as a rigorous tool to comprehensively understand building, place or site and making
informed historic building conservation decision and approach. Despite promotion and recognition, conservation
plan often mitigates against its implementation for historic buildings conservation and building control
administration context, at international arena (including in Malaysia). More importantly however, a holistic
375
conservation approach for historic buildings supported by conservation plan will contribute to a sustainable historic
environment. This novel concept will be pursued in achieving sustainable historic building conservation.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Alan M. Forster and Professor Philip F.G. Banfillof School of the Built
Environment, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh, UK for their valuable inputs throughout the period of
completion of this paper.
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Prioritizing Defects Severity in Residential Building Systems

Using Semi-Quantitative Risk Based Inspection Technique
D. B. Hammada,41*, N. Shafiqb, M. F. Nuruddinc

a
Postgraduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, 31750, Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia
b
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, 31750, Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia
c
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, 31750, Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
One of the most significant current discussions in on asset management is risk based maintenance. It is a maintenance based
approach that considers technical and social impact of defect on a facility under investigation. One of the critical challenge in
Risk based inspection of building is identifying the criticality of individual building system using either quantitative or qualitative
approach. While quantitative approach requires verifiable design data, the qualitative approach is considered subjective. The
objective of this paper is to describe the concept of risk based inspections and maintenances and illustrates the use of semi-
quantitative risk analysis method in prioritizing the criticality of physical defects in a residential building system. A residential
building constructed in 1985 was considered in this study. Four (4) criteria which include; Physical Condition of the building
system (PC), Effect on Asset (EA), effect on Occupants (EO) and Maintenance Cost (MC) where considered in the inspection.
The building was divided in to Nine (9) systems regarded as alternatives. Expert’s choice software was used in comparing the
importance of the criteria against the main objective. Whereas structured Proforma was used in quantifying the defects observed
on all building systems against each criteria. The defects severity score of each building system was identified and later
multiplied by the weight of the criteria and final hierarchy was derived. The final ranking indicates that, electrical system was
considered the most critical system with a risk value of 0.134 while ceiling system scored the lowest risk value of 0.066. The
technique is often used in prioritizing mechanical equipment for maintenance planning. However, result of this study indicates
that the technique could be used in prioritizing building systems for maintenance planning
Keywords: Building Maintenace, Building Inspection, Risk Ranking;
1. Introduction
Over some years, maintenance strategies have progressed tremendously from the traditional breakdown maintenance
to more sophisticated strategy like condition monitoring and reliability centred maintenance (Khan, Sadiq, &
Haddara, 2004). According to (Cigolini, Fedele, Garetti, & Macchi, 2008), this can be attributed to the changes in
maintenance approaches due to growing needs of serviceability of facilities and structures which imposes new
challenging requirement to the facility management. The reasons for sudden changes in the field of maintenance
management as highlighted by (Gahlot & Sharma, 2006) are (i) complexity of maintenance system due to rapid
technological changes (ii) impact hidden cost of maintenance on competitiveness and survivability in service (iii)
* Corresponding author. Tel.:0177615385.

E-mail address: dbhammad_g01661@utp.edu.my.
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apparent need for maintenance and facility management in enhancing safety and eco-efficient paradigms. Hence,
these reasons have resulted to introduction of risk based approach to maintenance.
Risk is the potential impact either positive or negative to an asset of value that may arise from some present
operation scenario or from some future events. In every day usage, “risk” is often used synonymously with
probability and restricted to negative risk or threat. According to (Márquez, 2007a) Risk is a process of identifying
the possible risks and employing plans to ameliorate them. As posited by (Reynolds, 2000), the concept of risk has
been around for a long time. What is new and encouraging, is that the media and the public are beginning to
understand and appreciate that business and government entities do no not have the resources to eliminate every
undesirable event known to man, and that prioritizing is our concern with a systematic process that exposes risk
priorities remains very important. Similarly, (Márquez, 2007a) affirmed that, the number of assets potentially at risk
out weight the resources available to manage them. According to (Arunraj & Maiti, 2007) the concept of Risk based
maintenance was developed to inspect the high risk components usually with greater frequency and thoroughness
and to maintain a greater manner, to achieve tolerable risk criteria. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of
deterioration and failure of an item is very critical in achieving the defined objectives of risk based maintenance
approach. Moreover, the reasons for inspection according to (Peterson & Jablonski, 2003) are: maintaining the
integrity of an asset, increase/maintain reliability, maintain a safe work place, ensure fitness for service, provide and
prove due diligence. Risk based adapts risk analysis to the process of inspecting damage and other forms of
degradation in buildings and infrastructures (Reynolds, 2000). It is therefore of immense importance to know where
to apply available resources to mitigate risk. There are three basic methods of risk analysis; qualitative risk analysis,
quantitative risk analysis and Semi-quantitative risk analysis. Qualitative risk analysis uses experience and experts’
judgment to generate risk values of a system or event, but it was criticized for its high subjectivity. While
quantitative risk analysis uses complex mathematical model to generate the values, and is considered the most
acceptable risk analysis technique however, it is only possible if all the required quantities are available. In contrast
to both approaches, semi-quantitative and sometime called hybrid risk analysis technique combined the two
aforementioned techniques to derive its final result. This study used semi-quantitative due to limitation of data on
the material, date of manufacture, temperature etc. which are necessary for simulating material deterioration.
Moreover, (Arunraj & Maiti, 2007) argued that, there is seldom use of complete quantitative technique due to its
complexity and difficulty is accessing the required data. Hence, most risk analysis use the hybrid approach.
On this note, building tends to deteriorate over time due to usage, aging and environmental influence particularly
when not maintained. Maintenance of safety and serviceability of a building during its lifecycle is indispensable.
According to (Frangopol & Liu, 2007) most existing maintenance and management systems are developed on the
basis of life-cycle cost minimization only. Although single maintenance and management solution obtained through
this method does not result to acceptable long-term structure performance, the structure performance is usually
described by the visual inspection-based structure condition only. Building deterioration does not only occur in
physical term as posited by (Douglas & Ransom, 2001) who further enumerated other forms of deterioration such
as;
 Economic-depreciation or reduction in capital or rental value of the property.

 Legal-increase noncompliance with statutory requirement.
 Environmental-increase pollution and blight leading to an unsustainable building.
 Functional-partial or full cessation of use leading to redundancy of the deteriorated building and finally
 Social that is reduction in or loss of amenity owing to obsolescence or redundancy. The structure social
levels such as safety, reputation, and environment are not adequately considered in determining
maintenance management decision.
Therefore, in any meaningful maintenance planning, there is a need to use all possible criteria in assessing all
possible sources of defect and their general implications on the building. On this note, this study considered multiple
380
criteria in evaluating the multiple alternatives of a building system. Therefore one of the useful tools that can be
used in prioritizing the criticality of the various building system using multiple criteria is Analytic Hierarchy Process
(AHP). The tool was developed in Wharton School of Business by Saaty (Saaty, 2006a). According to (Arif, Salit,
Ismail, & Nukman, 2008), the tool has been widely used to solve multi-criteria decision making in both academic
research and industrial practice. Similarly, the tool has been extensively applied in risk analysis as opined by
(Márquez, 2007b). Hence, the objective of this paper is to describe the concept of risk based maintenance and
illustrates the use of semi-quantitative risk analysis method in prioritizing the criticality of physical defects in
residential building system.
2. Methodology
The study uses two methodologies, which is analytic Hierarchy process (AHP) and condition survey of the building
system. The AHP was used in weighting the importance of each criterion against the main objective of identifying
the most critical defect in building system. AHP is a widely used multi-criteria decision making tool (Dalalah, Al-
Oqba, & Hayajmeh, 2010). Developed by Thomas Saaty ((Saaty, 2006b), AHP provides a proven , effective means
to deal with complex decision making and can assist in identifying and weighing criteria, analyzing the data
collected and enhances the decision making process. When making a complex decision, first, the decision problem
is decomposed in to hierarchy with the top level representing the goal of the decision and the middle level
representing the criteria and the lowest level representing the alternatives. In the context of this paper, the hierarchy
composed of main object that is prioritizing the criticality of defects in building systems and the criteria used are;
PC: Physical condition, EA: Effect on Assets, EO: Effect on Occupants and MC: Maintenance cost. While building
systems considered as the alternatives are; FS = Floor System, WS = Wall System, DW = Doors/Windows, CS=
Ceiling System, RT = Roof Trusses, RS= Roofing Sheets, ES=Electrical system, DS= Drainage system, WF = Wall
finishing. These systems are chosen for this study because they form the most critical sets of conventional building
envelope. According to (Saaty, 2006b), the main principles of AHP are three. They are; Hierarchy framework,
Priority Analysis and consistency verification.
However, due to the fact that, the work is on progress, the scope of this paper does not cover the final stage that is
consistency verification. Thus, it is limited to the second stage that is, priority analysis only. After constructing the
hierarchy, as shown on figure 2, Analytic Hierarchy Process ratio scale (Table 1) is used in comparing the
importance of criteria against the main goal.
On the other hand, the condition survey is used in evaluating and ranking of the physical observable defects in the
building systems using a defined Proforma as shown is appendix 1. A condition survey is aimed at carrying out a
close and more intensive examination of all elements of the structures (Li, Leung, & Xi, 2009). The condition
survey may be required for routine maintenance, rehabilitation, modification, of the service condition, investigation
of the structural stability, and study of the performance of material under a specific exposure condition (Straub,
2009). Therefore, in formulating any maintenance planning or activity, the condition survey has to be carried out
first. The condition survey often seeks to identify three condition matrixes which includes; importance of defects,
intensity of defects and extends of defects. Hence, in the context of this work, the experts surveyed the defects based
on the physical condition of the defects (intensity of the defect), effect of the defect on the facility (extent of the
defect), effect on occupants of the building and the probable maintenance cost of the defects. Each defect is ranked
against the four criteria on a scale of (1-9). The scale of 1- 9 was chosen to comply with the AHP ratio scale.
381
Judgment Score
Equal 1
2
Weak 3
4
Strong 5
6
Very strong 7
8
Absolute 9
Table 1 AHP Judgment Ratio Scale ((Saaty, 2006a)
Criticality of building systems Objective
Physical Effect on Effect on Maintenance

Condition Assets Occupant cost Criteria
Floor System (FS)
Wall System (WS)
Doors and Windows (DW)
Ceiling System (CS) Alternatives
Roof Truss (RT)
Roofing Sheet (RS)
Electrical System (ES)
Drainage System (DS)
Wall Finishing (WF)

Figure 2 Hierarchy model for ranking defects in building systems
382
Table 2 Physical Condition (PC) Scale of the building system

Model
No Chronology value Physical Condition
Scale
structural element is free from any visible
1 Repair is not needed
defects
Repair is needed within the period of Structural element is structurally functional but
3
1-2 years need minor repair
1 Repair is needed within the period of Structural element is functionally sound but
5
6-12 months require urgent repair
Repair is needed within the period of Serious defect, structural element can function
7
1-6 moths but not to an acceptable standard
9 Repair is required immediately Structural member is not functioning at all.
Table 2 is a rating of physical condition of a defect. In order to rank this parameter sometime, measurement of size
in case of cracks using crack gauge or measuring rule and measurement of hardness using rebound hammer or
ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) may be required.
Table 3 Effect on Asset (EA) Criteria Scale

Scale
No Chronology value Linguistic value
value
1 Has no effect on other structure/component No damage
3 May have a slight effect on the other structure Minor damage
5 Some damage to only an individual structure Local damage
2
7 Damage to a structure that may affect co-joint structure Major damage
Major damage that may lead to total failure of a system of
9 Excessive damage
structure
The criterion in Table 3 is concerned with the possible impact the defect may have on an adjoined component (s) or
system. Reference may be made to design in order to ascertain the relationship between the system or
components/structure that has already developed a defect and its adjoining member.
Table 4 Effect on Occupant (EO) Criteria scale
Scale
value
No impact to human, environment No impact
1
or operation facilities
3 3 Has negligible effect on occupants Minor Impact
5 Has Moderate impact on occupants Localized impact
7 Impact on occupant or human is imminent. High Impact
9 Has catastrophic impact – may lead to loss of live Catastrophic impact
Table 4 is concerned with the safety and environmental impact the defect may have on the occupants of the building.
Scoring of this criterion may also require an in-depth understanding of the functionality and material characteristics
of the system/component. Drainage pipe from WC may have a higher impact on the occupants than crack on the
floor.
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Table 5 Maintenance Cost (MC) Criteria Scale

Scale
value
Defect cost no significant cost to maintenance of the Very Low
1
building system
4
Defect may cause significant cost on maintenance of the Moderate
3
system
5 Defect may demand for high direct cost/repair cost High
7 System may requires very high cost for partial replacement Very high
9 System may requires extremely high cost to be replaced. Extremely high
Table 5 refers to the probable cost of restoring affected component to its original designed condition. Defect that
may require extensive technical skills and sophisticated maintenance tool may cost higher and therefore could be
ranked higher. Nominal defects such as cracks on the lower part of wall that may require neither scaffolding nor
crane may be ranked low if the repair material is within reach.
3. Data Analysis and Result
Since, this technique is a hybrid approach; the total ranking value of all defects in building systems will be sum to
derive the total score of the defects against each criterion. Then each individual score is divided by the total sum of
the score. For instance in table 6, to obtained normalized value of FS against PC, = 6/56 = 0.107.
Table 6 Alternative evaluation of each criterion
PC EA EO MC
FS 6 0.107 5 0.102 5 0.098 5 0.094
WS 6 0.107 5 0.102 4 0.078 7 0.132
DW 5 0.089 4 0.082 7 0.137 9 0.170
CS 5 0.089 3 0.061 3 0.059 4 0.075
RT 5 0.089 4 0.082 5 0.098 5 0.094
RS 6 0.107 6 0.122 6 0.118 4 0.075
ES 7 0.125 9 0.184 9 0.176 5 0.094
DS 7 0.125 7 0.143 7 0.137 7 0.132
WF 9 0.161 6 0.122 5 0.098 7 0.132
Total 56 49 51 53
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Then, the priority values of the criteria as shown in table 7 were obtained by pair wise comparison using expert
choice software
Table 7 Priority values of Criteria
Criteria Priority (wi)

PC .296
MC .253
EO .199
EA .169
Table 9 shows the overall priority vector of the alternatives with respect to the criteria. The overall priority vector
can be obtained by multiplying the priority vector for the building system (alternatives) and the priority vector of the
criteria obtained from expert choice software and presented in table 7. The result of the multiplication of alternative
under each criterion will then be added together to obtained the final ranking. An example of the overall priority for
floor system (FS) is 0.032 + 0.026 + 0.020+ 0.0159 = 0.093
Table 9 Overall Priority vector for the alternatives with respect to the criteria
x x
x x Final
PC EA EO MC Hierarchy
1 2 3
4 Ʃ(1,2,3,4)
FS 0.107 0.032 0.102 0.026 0.098 0.020 0.094 0.0159 0.093
WS 0.107 0.032 0.102 0.026 0.078 0.016 0.132 0.0223 0.095
DW 0.089 0.026 0.082 0.021 0.137 0.027 0.170 0.0287 0.103
CS 0.089 0.026 0.061 0.015 0.059 0.012 0.075 0.0127 0.066
RT 0.089 0.026 0.082 0.021 0.098 0.020 0.094 0.0159 0.082
RS 0.107 0.032 0.122 0.031 0.118 0.023 0.075 0.0127 0.099
ES 0.125 0.037 0.184 0.047 0.176 0.035 0.094 0.0159 0.134
DS 0.125 0.037 0.143 0.036 0.137 0.027 0.132 0.0223 0.123
WF 0.161 0.048 0.122 0.031 0.098 0.020 0.132 0.0223 0.120
4. Conclusion
Pair wise comparison of criteria for criticality ranking of defects in building was obtained using experts’ choice
software. Subjective judgment of building defects was obtained using physical survey. Therefore, criticality ranking
385
of defects in building systems has been estimated using semi-quantitative risk analysis technique using analytic
hierarchy process as a multiple criteria decision making tool. Hence, this technique could be used in ranking any
type of defects in engineering system where design data cannot be obtained. However, this study could be extended
by considering more criteria and sub-criteria as well as more alternatives and sub-alternatives may be added to this
model.
5. Reference
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Teknologi, 49(A), 1-18.
Arunraj, N. S., & Maiti, J. (2007). Risk-based maintenance—Techniques and applications. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 142(3), 653-661.
doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.06.069
Cigolini, R., Fedele, L., Garetti, M., & Macchi, M. (2008). Recent advances in maintenance and facility management. Production Planning &
Control, 19(4), 279-286. doi:10.1080/09537280802034034
Dalalah, D., Al-Oqba, F., & Hayajmeh, M. (2010). Application of the analystic hierarchy process (AHP) in mult-criteria analysis of the selection
of cranes. JJME, Jordan Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 4(5), 567-578.
Douglas, J., & Ransom, B. (2001). Understanding building failure (Third Edition ed.) Taylor and Francis London.
Frangopol, D. M., & Liu, M. (2007). Maintenance and management of civil infrastructure based on condition, safety, optimization, and life-cycle
cost∗. Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 3(1), 29-41. doi:10.1080/15732470500253164
Gahlot, P. S., & Sharma, S. '. (2006). Building repair and maintenance management (First ed.). India: CBS Publisher.
Khan, F. I., Sadiq, R., & Haddara, M. M. (2004). Risk-based inspection and maintenance (RBIM): Multi-attribute decision-making with
aggregative risk analysis. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 82(6), 398-411. doi:10.1205/psep.82.6.398.53209
Li, Z., Leung, C., & Xi, Y. (2009). Structural renovation in concrete. USA and Canada: Spoons Press.
Márquez, A. C. (2007a). In Pham H. (Ed.), The maintenance management framework: Models and methods for complex systems maintenance
(First ed.). London: Springer-Verlag London Limited.
Márquez, A. C. (2007b). Maintenance management characterization: Process, framework and supporting pillars Springer London.
doi:10.1007/978-1-84628-821-0_2
Peterson, R., & Jablonski, R. (2003). Risk based inspection - as part of an overall inspection management program. CORROSION 2003,
Reynolds, J. T. (2000). Risk based inspection - where are we today? CORROSION 2000,
Saaty, T., L. (2006a). In Saaty T., L., Luis. G., V. (Eds.), Decision making with analytic network process: Economic, political, social and
technological applications with benefits, opportunities, costs and risks (1st ed.). USA: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
Saaty, T., L. (2006b). Fundametal of decision making and priority setting theory with the analytic hierarchy process (1st ed.) RWS Publication.
Straub, A. (2009). Dutch standard for condition assessment of buildings. Structural Survey, 27(1), 23-35.
386
Quantitative Risk Assessment for Performance-Based Building

Fire Regulation
F. W. Akashah a,42*, B. Anak Kayan b, N.H. Ishak c
a,c
b
Urban Conservation and Tropical Architecture (UCTA), University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
This paper provides a review of quantitative risk assessment (QRA) as a fire risk approach in performance-based fire regulation
by presenting the shift to performance-based regulations from prescriptive-based regulations around the world for the past three
decades. The adoption of performance-based regulations has helped QRA being an important fire risk approach to designers and
Authority Having Jurisdictions (AHJs) involved in the built environment. This paper also explores the risk concepts in
performance-based regulations and fire risk approaches focusing on QRA. This paper ends by stressing the needs to develop a
novel methodology to improve the process of implementing QRA in line with the adoption rate of performance-based building
fire regulations that keeps on increasing.
Keywords: building regulation; fire risk; performance; performance-based building; performance-based regulations; quantitative risk assessment
1. Introduction
The development of performance-based regulations and its widespread adoption by countries around the world
has led to an increased interest in fire risk assessment. Under performance-based regulations, design objectives,
which include the aspect of fire safety objectives, are clearly stated (Hadjisophocleous, Benichou, & Tamim, 1998).
These objectives need to be fulfilled for any design to be approved as safe. However, in performance-based
regulations, designers are given flexibility in providing fire safety solutions that can fulfil these requirements, as the
detail on how specific requirements should be fulfilled is presented in the form of explicit statement of goals and
objectives rather than an acceptable solution. From this, it is clear that the implementation of performance-based
regulations gives the flexibility in building design, the room to innovate and the means to promote cost
effectiveness. With the implementation of performance-based regulations, the need for a tool that is capable in
helping both designers and Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) in assessing designs that fulfil performance
statements in the regulations has become more important than ever.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 3 7967 6874; fax: +60 3 7967 5713.
E-mail address: faridakashah@um.edu.my
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2. Building fire regulations: prescriptive-based v performance-based
Traditionally, building fire regulations are of mostly prescriptive-based. Prescriptive-based regulations

specifically state what its user should do in any given case in achieving safe design. This makes the implementation
of prescriptive-based regulations a straightforward process (Frantzich, 1998a). The same can be said of the
evaluation process of design under prescriptive-based regulations. The user will implement what the prescriptive
regulations specify as requirements. If the requirements in the regulations are not fulfilled, the design is deemed
unsatisfactory.
However, the requirements that were specified in the prescriptive-based regulations were presented without
statement of objectives. This offers little flexibility for the user of prescriptive-based regulations to come up with
different solutions to fulfil the requirements as it purports that there is only a certain way to provide the level of
safety required (Blackmore, 2004). Alternative solutions that were not implemented or that were overlooked as a
result of this inflexibility may be more effective in fulfilling the objectives as well as cost-effective. Therefore, it can
be said that prescriptive-based regulations can lead to unnecessary spending on measures to make sure that the
design produced is in accordance to prescribed regulations.
On top of that, the current development that sees large and complex buildings being built has made implementing
prescriptive-based regulations even more difficult or impossible to implement. Both, engineers and AHJ, needs to
use performance-based regulations in favour of prescriptive- based regulations to design and assess these large
complex buildings.
2.1 International adoption of performance-based regulations
In the past three-decades, more and more countries have moved from prescriptive-based regulations to
performance-based regulations. Countries like the United Kingdom introduced the Building Regulations of 1985
("The Building Regulations," 1985), Japan with the introduction of their guidelines (Construction, 1989), Australia
with the report by Beck and co-workers of the Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering (V. Beck, 1989a, 1989b)
and Sweden with BBR94 (The Swedish Board of Housing, 1994) were among the first to adopt performance-based
building fire regulations.
In performance-based regulations, design objectives are clearly defined without the mention of how these
objectives need to be fulfilled. Designers will be given a choice to fulfil the design objectives by either one of the
two methods: a deemed to satisfy method or design based on calculations (Notarianni, 2000).
The deemed to satisfy method has essentially the same provisions as the prescriptive-based regulations where the
designer will implement simplified design method prescribed in the regulations when delivering fire safety solutions
in their design. In the event that the design presented is within the boundary that allows the simplified method in the
regulations to be implemented, the designer may just employ the deemed to satisfy method to deliver the design
objectives demand by the regulations. The difference in performance-based regulations is the flexibility that the
designer has in choosing engineering methods other than simplified design methods given in the provisions to fulfil
the design objectives. In this method, the designer needs to demonstrate how the design objectives are fulfilled using
acceptable engineering methods of their choice.
2.2 Risk concept in performance-based regulations
The transition from prescriptive-based regulations to performance-based regulations was described as the
transition from selecting strict design standards to more functional design standards that provide the least detail
about what need to be fulfilled. This transition has been driven by significant improvement of knowledge on the
388
subject of fire science and fire safety engineering. This factor has certainly helped designers and AHJ in the
transitional situation from prescriptive-based regulations to performance-based regulations within the built
environment industry. In implementing the performance-based regulations, more complex and difficult decisions are
to be made compared to decision making under prescriptive-based regulations. Although the best way to evaluate
the performance of a building is by having a full-scale building built and burned it under different probable
scenarios (Brannigan & Smidts, 1998), this is something that is unfeasible to implement because of the cost it will
incur. Even if the design team or AHJ has the means to foot the bill, at any one time, the building can only be
subjected to just one specific scenario (Notarianni, 2000).
In order to help people within the current situation of performance-based regulations, engineering methods are
used to satisfy these regulations. These engineering methods are implicitly based on risk. The level of safety
associated with a design is measured by the level of risk the design holds against the level of acceptable risk. The
design team needs to demonstrate their design is safe for public use by delivering the design objectives stated in the
regulations. Risk assessment methods need to be conducted in order to show that a design under review is safe
namely that the design objectives have been fulfilled by means of completely avoiding hazardous conditions or
reducing the impact of hazardous conditions by introducing special measures (Phillips, 1994).
2.2.1 Level of risk acceptance in performance-based regulations
The society accept the fact that for whatever we do in life, there will be a certain number of chance that things
will go wrong and affect us in a negative way. However, there is a difference between how one person/society or the
other viewed risk. For an instance, a person who love outdoor activities and a person who hate outdoor activities
may have different view towards risk of doing extreme sports like bungee jumping or skydiving.
In the event of fire, unwanted consequence of death, injuries and interruptions to business can be represented by
multiplication of numerical values of probability and consequence of possible fire. This is a way of representing risk
quantitatively. However, loss of building of social importance is an example of unwanted consequence that is
somewhat difficult to express, as different building can be perceived of having different social importance to
different people. This may affect how the decision maker (a person or an entity) decides on the acceptable level of
risk. For example, a director working in the Investment Department of an oil and gas company will have different
view on level of risk he/she is willing to take compare to his/her counterpart in the Health and Safety Department on
an issue of exploring new oilrig in Middle Eastern countries. The decision will be based on the willingness of
decision maker i.e. board of directors to endure risk e.g. political instability and terrorist threats to the operation
against the advantages i.e. profit that their organisation will be making out of the operation. The willingness of the
board to take the risk will result in the readiness to accept a little higher risk that comes with continuing the
operation.
From this example and probability, it is clear that the level of risk acceptance is the degree of unwanted
consequence a society or an individual deemed acceptable. Level of risk acceptance is about a value judgment of a
person or a society on risk (Bottelberghs, 2000).
The definition above highlights the fact that there is no situation as absolute risk-free. It is the level of risk
acceptance that makes the difference (Rasbash, 1985). As mentioned earlier in this section, the level of risk
acceptance is about value judgement. This level of acceptance varies based on confidence on the scale and method
used to measure risk. An individual or a society that have confidence on the method used by the authority to
measure risk would be more willing to accept higher threshold value of risk compare with the situation where the
public confidence is lot less. The level of risk acceptance may differ based on whose values, between an individual
or a society, will be used to obtain the level of risk acceptability (Watts & Hall, 2008). Other than these two factors
above, the level of risk acceptance are influenced by the type of industry, the level of loss and the economic and
social factors surrounding individual, society, property and the environment (Bottelberghs, 2000).
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The process of evaluating level of risk acceptance is done when the risk assessment process is completed. These
days where performance based regulations are practised, the local authority will have the jurisdiction to perform this
task of evaluating risk. In order for local authority to approve any given designs, the level of risk that is associated
with the design presented must be below the acceptable level of risk. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the
United Kingdom has published a document (HSE, 1992) containing a framework from which decision-making in
risk assessment, where societal risks are concern, is based (refer illustrates if risk is at or above unacceptable region,
immediate action shall be taken to reduce risk or terminate the activity altogether at any cost. If the level of risk is at
or below broadly acceptable region, no further measures required in reducing the level of risk. However, it is
necessary to maintain the risk within this region. The middle region, called As Low As Reasonably Practicable
(ALARP) region, is where risk reduction measures need to be made to keep the risk at a level where the cost of risk
reduction exceed the improvements gained.
Figure 9 illustrates if risk is at or above unacceptable region, immediate action shall be taken to reduce risk or
terminate the activity altogether at any cost. If the level of risk is at or below broadly acceptable region, no further
measures required in reducing the level of risk. However, it is necessary to maintain the risk within this region. The
middle region, called As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) region, is where risk reduction measures need to
be made to keep the risk at a level where the cost of risk reduction exceed the improvements gained.
Tolerable only if risk reduction is

impractical or if its cost is grossly
disproportionate to the improvements
gained
390
Broadly acceptable region
Necessary to maintain assurance
The 3rd International Building Control Conference
that risk remains at2013
this level
Negligible risk
Figure 9. Levels of risk and ALARP (Lo & Cheng, 2003)
2.3 Fire risk assessment approaches
In the previous sections, the authors mentioned about how the designer has the options to achieve design
objectives set by performance-based regulations: the deemed to satisfy method or the design based on calculations.
The design based on calculations is called performance-based engineering.
Performance-based engineering is an engineering approach used to deliver a safe design based on fire safety
objectives agreed by the stakeholders e.g. AHJ, design team, clients. The methods of performing performance-based
include subjecting the design to deterministic and/or probabilistic evaluation of different fire phenomena to assess
the physical and chemical properties of fire products and the effectiveness of the design under review against the
objectives laid down earlier (Meacham & Custer, 1995).
From this definition, it is clear that in performance-based engineering, risk assessment plays a large part in the
process of decision making in the implementation of performance based regulations. Risk assessment is a process of
decision-making based on the estimate of probability of an incident by engineering evaluation and mathematical
techniques (Arendt & Lorenzo, 2000). Risk assessment methods can be of qualitative, quantitative or combination of
both (Charters, 2013): sub-methods include checklists (CPQRA, 2000), risk ranking (Charters, 2013), reliability
index β method (Magnusson, Frantzich, Karlsson, & Särdqvist, 1994) and QRA (Frantzich, 1998a).
Qualitative methods are methods used to identify factors that affect safety objectives. An example of qualitative
methods is HAZOP (CPQRA, 2000). In practice, the factors that are identified to be affecting risk are listed. Next,
these factors are assessed against a set of safety objectives. The design team will use their engineering judgement to
assess these factors by using the word such as more, less and as well as (BSI, 2001) to describe on how these factors
may contribute to the design to deviate from its safety objectives. The causes and effects of these factors are then
analysed after which the design will undergo modification to improve its safety.
Semi-quantitative methods or ranking methods such as the Gretener method (Fontana, 1998) and NFPA 101M
fire safety evaluation system (Frantzich, 1998b) use the combination of qualitative methods of identifying factors
that affect the safety objectives of a design with a scoring system. By associating hazards identified with numerical
values provided by the scoring system, risk associated with factors identified earlier can be presented in numerical
terms. Next, the resulting scores of the factors that were identified to affect safety objectives are compared to the
benchmark score of the safety objectives of the design under question.
Quantitative methods are the most extensive among the three in terms of risk quantification. It is the most time
consuming and labour intensive (Frantzich, 1998a; Salisbury, Johnson, Yii, & Hui, 2007). QRA is driven by three
main questions: what can go wrong; how often will it happen; what are the consequences if it happens (CPQRA,
2000; Frantzich, 1998a). The process of implementing QRA consists of the following steps: hazard identification;
accident frequency estimation; consequence calculation; risk evaluation and risk reduction (CPQRA, 2000; Fontana,
1998). The fire risk assessment approaches were compared and contrasted in Table 4.
Table 4. Fire risk assessment approaches; advantages and disadvantages
Qualitative Risk Assessment Semi-quantitative Risk Assessment Quantitative Risk Assessment

Extensiveness Lowest Moderate Highest
Complexity Lowest Moderate Highest
According to Table 4, in terms of degree of resolution, QRA is the most extensive method compared to semi-
quantitative and qualitative risk assessment. However, it is also the most labour intensive and time consuming
among the three (Charters, 2013; Hui & Salisbury, 2006). On the other hand, qualitative risk assessment is the least
391
extensive and least complex. In terms of extensiveness and complexity, semi-quantitative method lies between the
two. The ideal situation would be to have a level of extensiveness of a QRA with the complexity of qualitative risk
assessment. The next sections will present the steps of implementing QRA.
3 . Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) and performance-based regulations
Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) is the process of quantifying risk estimates based on engineering methods
and mathematical techniques for the basis of decision making process (Arendt & Lorenzo, 2000). QRA has been
used as a decision making tools in nuclear industry (Beckjord, Cunningham, & Murphy, 1993; Commission, 1975),
chemical industry (CPQRA, 2000), and petro-chemical industry (Paté-Cornell, 1993). In the built environment,
generic approach to QRA is presented in PD 7974-7:2011(BSI, 2003) as shown in Figure 10.
Hazard identification
Frequency analysis Consequence analysis
Risk evaluation Risk reduction
Risk acceptable
End
Figure 10. Generic approach to Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) from PD 7974-7:2011 (BSI, 2003)
The King’s Cross Disaster (Fennell, 1988) has helped uncover the potential that QRA might bring in terms of
evaluating risk within the built environment in the UK. The work by Charters (Charters, 1996), Frantzich (Frantzich,
1998b), Yung (D. Yung, Hadjisophocleous, & Proulx, 1999), Beck (V. R. Beck, 1998), Fraser Mitchell (Fraser-
Mitchell, 1999), and Jonsson and Lundin (Jönsson & Lundin, 2000) are examples of how quantified risk-based
approach is being adopted for the purpose of evaluating risk and fire safety problems within the built environment.
The decision by designer to choose between available risk assessments methods available is based on the
complexity of the problem at hand and the budget available (both monetary and time). For these reasons, QRA with
its rigorous procedure (Atallah, Gupta, de la Garza, & Tappi, 1999), and its perceived complexity has not been
preferred by practitioners in the built environment as a method of choice in assessing risk despite being the most
extensive (Hui & Salisbury, 2006; Salisbury et al., 2007).
In the built environment, Charters (Charters, 1996), Frantzich (Frantzich, 1998b), Yung (David Yung, 2008)
Beck (V.R. Beck, 1991), and Fraser-Mitchell (Fraser-Mitchell, 1996), are just some of those who have undertaken a
392
quantified risk-based approach for the evaluation of building fire safety problems. However, QRA is not used as
much compared to other risk assessment techniques (Salisbury et al., 2007).
3.1.1 Components of Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA)
Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) includes the use of fault tree, event tree and consequence analysis. QRA is
also often used to provide risk curves, which are internationally recognized standard for presentation of risk (Paté-
Cornell, 1996). Matthews et al (Mathews, Karydas, & Delichatsios, 1997) has proposed the methodology for QRA
as shown in Figure 11
Deterministic Model
Event Tree Algorithm

Smoke and
Building
Temperature
Architecture
Data with Time
Scenarios: Time decision,
Probability and Soot
Probabilistic Models
Concentration
Probability of Damage Evacuation

Probability Criteria Models
Success and
Parameters
Failure
Property Risk vs Life Risk vs

Probability Probability
Figure 11. Quantitative Risk Assessment Methodology by Matthews et al (Mathews et al., 1997)
Fault tree is a method of risk assessment that considers an event from an initial failure condition (Watts & Hall,
2008). The preceding scenarios that lead to the failure condition are studied. The order in which this analysis is
being carried out is from top-to-bottom. On the other hand, event tree analysis is carried out from bottom-to-top. An
initial event is the starting point of an analysis. This event will escalate and corresponds to probability of both
success and failure of any given system.
The other component of QRA, consequence analysis, is an analysis that looks into an outcome of a scenario
being considered earlier in fault tree and event tree respectively. These outcomes can be calculated in terms of
monies, business interruption or life safety. For this study, only life risk and property risk are taken into
393
consideration. Risk curves are used to illustrate the probability to have a certain scenario (the consequence) greater
than a certain value.
4 . Moving forward with quantitative risk assessment (QRA) and performance-based regulations
Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) involves examining multiple scenarios to determine which design is better
than the other. It is different from the traditional way of focusing the assessment to just a worst-case scenario. In
order to do that, a method is needed to assess the many outcomes associated with QRA. Event tree, the graphical
logic model used within QRA, is one of the most common methods in QRA for identifying and quantifying possible
outcomes following an initial event. Event tree if constructed manually is a time consuming task. As with any
manual approach, human errors may appear due to its invariably complex nature of constructing manual event tree.
Therefore, attempts have been made to automate event tree generation, as it is faster and easier to construct
compared to manually constructed event tree.
At present, a method that is capable of generating event trees automatically in quantitative fire risk assessment
does not exist. A methodology develop need to provide flexibility. It also needs to be highly customizable to assess
different aspect of issues within fire safety engineering concerning design that will definitely include different
models with varying complexity. Another are that the methodology need to be able to achieve is addressing
uncertainty in order to add credibility to the data. For that reason the methodology must incorporate uncertainty
analysis. The methodology needs to present the result in the form of risk curves, a comprehensive standard for
presentation of risk. A method that is rigorous and comprehensible is needed.
5 . Final remarks
The main aim of this paper is to critically review QRA as a fire risk approach, in assessing risk in performance-
based building fire regulation. This paper highlights the need to develop a novel methodology to improve the
process of implementing QRA in line with the increased adoption rate of performance-based building fire
regulations around the world. The current method of implementing QRA is perceived to be complex. There is a need
to improve the way of implementing QRA as this perceived complexity has made QRA not widely used method in
performing risk assessment. This is despite the advantage QRA holds in comparison to other risk assessment method
in which it offers more holistic view of a design as the assessment made is not limited to just the worst case or the
credible worst case scenario.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank support extended by the University of Malaya through UMRG (Project No.:
BK024-2011B ).
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Assessment of Facilities Management Performance in Universiti

Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia
H. Hashim a,43*, N. Bahardin a, M.N. Baharuddin a
a
Building Surveying Department, Faculty Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM (Perak), 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
Performance management has a strong relationship with facilities management practices. The unclear information of the method
of managing performance in higher education properties is emerged the research to be undertaken. In order to identify the
relationship and the implementation of FM performance in higher education properties in Malaysia, this research has been carried
out and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) is taken as a single case study. The objective of conducting the research is to assess
the current practice of Facilities Management in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) according to the research variables.
Analysis for the research comprises of comparative and descriptive approach as well as qualitative and quantitative analysis
which are based on case studies, interview and structured questionnaire. The findings revealed that performance management
practices in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) is systematically established, implemented and enforced as part of their quality
objectives achievements by introduced the performance indicators and using the four tested research variables which are
flexibility, effectiveness, efficiency and creativity. The opinions gathered from respondents are very encouraging. The
information is obtained from FM personnel in multiple disciplines and customer (students, ordinary staff and public) where the
results are thoroughly analyzed. From the findings, the author anticipate that this research would provide better understanding
and perception to the readers on the FM performance management in higher education properties and the extent of its benefits as
well.
Keywords: Assessment; Facilities Management; Performance
1. Background of FM Office
Facilities Management Office (FMO) was established in 1972 and formerly known as Local Engineering Offices.
Then, on 1982 it is called Development and Maintenance Unit until 1994 where it changed again to Development
and Maintenance Office. At that time, the Development and Maintenance Office is led by two separate
administrators and being located under the responsibility of Chancellery Office. On August 1999, when UiTM is
officially declared as university, a lot of development and expansion occurred and a process of transformation is
begun. In order to achieve the university vision to be a world class and global public university, the organization has
restructured and rebranding the Development & Maintenance Office. On 4th January 2006, it is officially called as
Facilities Management Office (FMO).
2. Organization Philosophy
The vision of Facilities Management Office (FMO) UiTM is to be a professional ‘bumiputera’ facility
management organisation in line with the vision of UiTM. Hence, the mission is to upgrade the management of

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facility as well as to optimizing the utilization of asset professionally through the best method and technology to
provide an environment that is conducive and dynamic for learning as well as research for UiTM. The policy is to
conduct a comprehensive and competitive delivery system in line with the latest technology to achieve high
efficiencies in supporting university teaching and learning activities as well as to promote a convenience education
and research environment to the customer.
3. Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
In UiTM, performance will be monitored through periodic basis using agreed set of Key Performance Indicators
(KPI). KPIs are statements of measurement standards to define the actual work delivery against agreed objectives in
which the minimum quality of services to be delivered are being identified and measure against a quantified value.
The Key Performance Indicators (KPI) shall be used to monitor the performance in delivering all the services and
shall be mutually agreed in Service Level Agreement (SLA). The following is a set of Key Performance Indicators
imposed in UiTM:
Table 1: Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of (FMO), UiTM

No. KPI Measurement Target
1 Action Time Categorised according to priority level as To achieve a minimum of 95% from
(Table 2) the set action time.
2 Outstanding Work Order Exceeding 30 days 15% from Work Order
Exceeding 60 days 10% from Work Order
Exceeding 90 days 5% from Work Order
3 Maintenance Index % of Total Asset Replacement Value (ARV) Not less than 1%
4 Facilities Condition Index % of total portfolio liabilities / total ARV To achieve a minimum of 85%
(FCI)
5 Health, Safety & Environment No serious incident reported 0 (Zero)
6 Condition Auditing % of the facility to be audited according to schedule 100%
7 Maintenance Customer % score mark from customer survey exercise To achieve minimum of 80% score.
Service Rating
Source: Facilities Management Office (FMO), UiTM
In relation to KPI No.1 (Table 1), the action time is divided into four (4) level according to their severity of the
event occurred. The following described the action time:
Table 2: Action Time Priority Level

Level Action Time Description
1 1 Hour (Office Hour) Extremely hazardous to the safety and health of the UiTM
2 Hours (After Office Hours) residents and visitors; High impact to disturbance of learning
and teaching process;
Failure of utility supply such as electricity and water supply that
is sizable.
2 48 Hours (2 Working Days) Lower hazardous level to the safety and health of the UiTM
residents and visitors; Disturbance situation to the learning and
teaching process;
Malfunction of a failure of an equipment, apparatus or facility.
3 72 Hours (3 Working Days) Minor repair work or maintenance required on equipment,
apparatus or facility;
Minimum effect to learning and teaching process.
4 No Specific Time Routine work;
Planning and scheduling of the facility;
Agreed work plan with the customer or user.
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The data collected will be identified and examined through semi-structured interview and feedback questionnaire
on FM performance implemented in the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). The selection of the interviewees was
based on their position and function who are closely related to the strategic and operation, managing the service
standard and quality standard. Two set of questionnaire is designed to seek for the different type of respondent
which Set A for facilities staff to look on their understanding, opinion and interpretations about subject matter. 30
prospective respondents were selected randomly involved from whole section / unit under the department from top
to bottom by assume that all respondents are well known about the operation and organisation. While Set B for
customer (consist of staff, student & public) to seek on their satisfaction or level of facilities accommodation. The
50 numbers of prospective respondents involved.
5. Research Variable
The Facilities Management Office (FMO) has certified by ISO9001:2008 Quality Management System for all
activities within the core business of the company. The process and procedures established addressed the need to
control cost distribution and budgetary performance at all level of UiTM’s FMO operations. As an example in the
area of maintenance management, effective resource (manpower and material) planning, work execution, timng and
accurate management reporting will ensure gradual reduction in operational cost, hence increasing facilities
reliability over period of time. Furthermore, in order to sustain the performance, a lot of audit or assessments being
conducted by FMO UiTM which the most important are listed as follows; Building Condition Survey Audit –
includes facilities audit, Space Audit – to all main campus and branches, Contractor performance evaluation –
separate assessment according to their scope of work and Classroom Timetable Audit.
5.1 Research Variable No. 1: Flexibility

Changing the space usage to the other functional due to the organization physical policy can be as one of the
main examples on how Facilities Management Offices (FMO) UiTM are handles flexible matter. For example, the
relocation process to move students internally and externally within main campus, Puncak Perdana and Puncak
Alam involved the FMO staff. The FMO has struggling in setting the space allocation and space capabilities to
fulfill the customers need. Other than that, the FMO is flexible in managing the maintenance contract in determine
the qualified outsource contractor or to proceed in house according to the budget, quality expectation or time
constrain. A lot of development and upgrading work in UiTM main campus which they rely with the limited budget,
therefore the priorities must come first. The organization of UiTM is one of few universities that applied the FM
practices besides UIA that undergone the current market trends which one of the flexibility requirement. The
flexibility working hours for the technician and charge man staff is ordinary subject.
5.2 Research Variable No. 2: Effectiveness
Operating hours is one of service delivery plan that can bring the effectiveness level through the operation as
schedule below:
Normal Working Hours (for management and administration personnel only):
Table 3: Normal Working Hours (FMO) UiTM

Day Normal Operating Hours Standby
Monday to Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm 5:01 pm – 7:59 am
Saturday Off day 24 hours
Sunday / Public Holiday Rest day 24 hours
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Shift Working Hours (for operational team):
Table 4: Shift Working Hours (FMO) UiTM

Shift No. Shift Hours
Shift 1 07:00 am – 03:00 pm
Shift 2 03:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Shift 3 11:00 pm – 07:00 am
All operation and maintenance activities (including planned preventive and corrective) and administrative
support services shall be carried out during the normal operating hours. However works that require total shutdown
of system that negate usability of the facilities to users shall be done outside the normal working hours (when
necessary).
Regarding the quality standard, the Facility Management Office (FMO) has underline seven (7) areas that are:
1) Any complains should decrease by 10% per year from the previous year.
2) To ensure 10% cost reduction of energy and water usage from previous year.
3) To ensure monthly operational cost does not exceed 50 per cent per square feet.
4) To ensure 80% from customer satisfaction survey resulted “satisfactorily” for yearly basis evaluation.
5) To ensure 80% of planned training is executed in a year.
6) To resolve 80% of complaints within three (3) working days and the remaining in 7 days.
7) To take precaution action in avoid any injury at working site for yearly basis evaluation.
Customer Charter of FMO UiTM is developed based on the few fundamentals such as integration, committed,
teamwork, professionalism & customer friendly. Hence, it is to ensure the service delivery is effectively oriented
with user satisfaction. Those items below described the charter:
1) Ensure any complaints request from customer is attend within one (1) hours from the time received.
2) Ensure any alteration / renovation and upgrading works to be executed within six (6) month after received
approval from internal committee ‘Jawatankuasa Ubahsuai Dalaman’ (JKUD) UiTM.
3) Ensure that any electrical supply breakdown to be rectified within 2 hours from the complaints received.
4) Ensure the physical amenities and infrastructures are safe and conducive to the users and visitors.
Level of satisfaction is a clear indication of the effectiveness of the FMO on-site personnel to carry out the
service functions according to resident user’s needs. The FMO is conducting a formal customer satisfaction survey
where resident or users are given the opportunity to rate the level of FM service delivery. This survey shall be
carried out minimum of once a year and the result shall be declared to appropriate parties.
Effective communication is one of vital issue in order to ensure customer needs are effectively and consistently
addressed. Towards achieving this objective, the FMO has produced the bulletin / newsletter as a media to
communicate to the community within the facility. The content of the Bulletin / Newsletter is mainly to educate the
UiTM campus community on the best-use of the facilities and highlights of service updates or prevailing issues.
Warranty management is the process to assist the site operational team to manage either (existing and new)
asset and equipment or installation which under warranty by the manufacturer, supplier and contractor. Based on the
following process, the FMO shall prepare necessary documentation to support the status of works identified for
warranty claim. Work Order shall be generated in the ARCHIBAS software to log in the details of area, nature of
failure, type of equipment, installation, system and proposed solution to resolve the matter. This work order will
then be handed over to the original manufacturer, supplier or contractor for further action. The FMO shall monitor
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the work status closely to ensure that it is done accordingly as requested. Upon completion of rectification works,
the FMO representative together with manufacturer, supplier or contractor will conduct testing and commissioning
before signing of the acceptance certification. This process is important to ensure that the facilities are free from any
defects prior to the expiry of the Defect Liability Period as agreed between UiTM and project team.
5.3 Research Variable No. 3: Efficiency
The organizational structure is shown how the work process is scattered according to the specialization to
ensure the process is smoothly and efficiently control. The Facilities Management Office (FMO) UiTM has own
several division that support the objective of organization stated as follows:
1) Operational Division (Building & Infrastructure)
2) Operational Division (Mechanical & Electrical)
3) Project Division
4) Contract & Procurement Division & Cost Control
5) Quality, Audit & Training Division
6) Occupational, Safety & Health Division
7) Administration Division
Customer Services and Information (CSI) in FMO UiTM is a combination from all customer services oriented
such as helpdesk or one stop centre, services counter and programme with customer. Customer helpdesk is through
hotline 4444 as the focal-point to receive, coordinate and monitor user’s complaint or request. All work requests
shall be logged in the ARCHIBAS or e-ADUAN and valid Work Orders (WO) shall be forwarded to the site service
team to be responded accordingly. The work request shall be categorized into 4 groups as the following:
1) General Request – request for manpower support to facilitate event, function or general works. This nature
of request does not involve any repair works or replacement of parts.
2) Complaints – request of this nature normally involving failure of services due to non-compliance or
breakdown.
3) Proactive – work request generated by FMO personnel.
4) Null – invalid work request due to overlapping report, false report or irrelevant matters.
Work Orders are defined as the instruction to execute work with the assignment to the personnel responsible for
executing it. Completed works shall be endorsed by the requestor together with the quality evaluation of the work
performed. Routine work shall be executed immediately. Non-routine work will require approval from the
supervisor / manager in charge depending on the nature of work to be executed. Below is an example of Work Order
that received in Year 2010. 76% work has been completed while 24% is pending because of either they status is late
updated or not updated by person in charge, pending approval from charged department, pending quotation to
compared, work delay or caused by other external factors.
Table 5: Work order statistical data of UiTM in Year 2010

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Total
Civil 148 131 299 343 529 554 2004
Electrical 93 90 127 427 672 606 2015
Mechanical 90 46 124 103 120 118 601
Landscape 0 0 0 0 3 9 12
Project 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Total Complains 4634
Completed Taken Action 3540
Pending 1094
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Regarding the quality of workplace in support the efficiency, it has been utilize various means of technology
available to maintain good communication among the stakeholders in the UiTM campus. The operational office is
equipped with fixed lines to cater for voice and fax transmission, email facilities and walkie-talkie. The individual of
FMO personnel should have mobile phone and given multiple channel walkie-talkie to ensure that they are
contactable any time 24 hours a day. A structured escalation communication plan will be established internally as
well as externally with the various authorities such as Police, Fire Department, Hospital, Local Council, Public
Work Department, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Telekom Malaysia Berhad and other relevant agencies deemed relevant
in the event of emergency.
In realizing effective management of UiTM campus, it is used an advanced Information Technology (IT)
systems in the process of managing the asset & inventory records, maintenance works, staff and students access.
Firstly, the FMO UiTM acquired the ARCHIBAS system which is part of Computerized Maintenance Management
System (CMMS) that provides the system tools and the information framework to integrate best practices into the
maintenance process, space management and to lead and manage maintenance as a key part of the total operation.
Successful implementation of ARCHIBAS will provide measurable benefits and potential cost saving if effective
internal benchmarking is also initiated. Improved performance in a number of maintenance process activities can be
expected to support justification of utilization of ARCHIBAS. These include: (improve work control, improve
planning and scheduling, enhanced preventive and predictive maintenance, improved parts availability, reduced
store room inventory, improve reliability analysis, increased budget accountability, increased capability to measure
performance and increased level of maintenance information). ISCADA is another system that available in the FMO
UiTM which their features are purposely for mechanical and electrical parts including the building automation
system (BAS) with using SMS blasting also. The other IT software is ICRESS (classroom timetable according to
space), FLEET MANAGEMENT (transportation), e-ADUAN, staff portal, student portal and a lot of electronic
system.
The Access Card System (ACS) for UiTM staff and student shall carry the same function. The access card is
used as standard personal identification, facilities accessibility, attendance monitoring, library management or any
activities related to staff and student at the campus facilities.
5.4 Research Variable No. 4: Creativity
Facilities Management Office (FMO) has developing the innovation thinking when doing works. A lot of
innovation has been done and most of the projects / ideas are related to produce work method. Few groups from
FMO been sending by the organization to participate into an internal innovation & invention design and innovate &
creative competition.
Regarding the atmosphere or building scheme colour, UiTM is using a purple and white colour (at the new
phase of development building) as their official corporate colour when selecting the finishes material. The working
culture is emphasizing towards Integration, transparency and performance-based. In fact, campus Corporate Unit is
providing few guidelines with related to the university image such as signage protocol, event protocol, room
numbering standard and others.
Furthermore, the organization is already implemented few major energy saving project. One of them is
centralized air-conditioning at Science & Technology Engineering Twin Tower Block. A specialize working team
that focus on energy saving projects in UiTM campus was established through ‘Energy Saving Committee’
members.
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In general, the creativity is reflecting to the strategy for the continuous improvement. The continual process
improvement requirement in the Facilities Management Office (FMO) addresses the need to seek for best practices,
cost effective and better quality of service delivery at all levels of operation and maintenance. This effort requires
participation of various disciplines i.e. Operation & Maintenance, Finance, Human Resources and Information
System / Technology within the FMO to communicate and share information in achieving the most optimized
operational condition. Integration, transparency and performance-based working culture in the FMO shall provide
favorable environment for continuous improvement to take place at all levels of operational and management.
6. Findings
a. Section A: Evaluation of Current Practice of Performance Management
1. About half of the respondents agreed that KPI was formulated to improve productivity, as the quality
improvement in management, as a trend current market, to focus more on profit and to increase believe
from customer.
2. Most of the respondents agreed that the importance criteria in KPI parameter were respond time, action
time, health and safety environment, condition audit and customer service rating.
3. More than half of the respondents strongly agreed that the difficult aspect in managing KPI were limited
resources such as man, money, material, method and machinery, different expectation in determining the
level of work quality, communication error, external factor interruption and human behaviour factor
(accountability).
4. Third quarter of the respondents agreed that priority to the type of assessment in the facility were based on
condition audit, contractor performance evaluation, space audit, housekeeping audit and customer
satisfaction survey.
6.1.1 Research Variables No. 1: Flexibility

1. All respondent agreed that the characteristics of flexibility shall include financial structure and strength,
possibility to contract and expand, change layout and furniture and adapt workplace to functional changes
by adapting the market trends.
2. Factors that may influence the possibility to contract-in or contract-out decision are depends by the needs
of acquire resources, improve quality of work and require technical & engineering expertise.
6.1.2 Research Variables No.2: Effectiveness

1. Majority of respondents agreed with all listed criteria of most effectiveness measurement criteria of FM
performance that are Degree of Customer Satisfaction, Quality of Service Delivered, Less Incidents / Injury
at Workplace, On-time Completion of Work Reported or Job Assigned and Cost Price of Goods & Services
in Controlled.
2. The routine of customer satisfaction survey should be reviewed every month. This statement was strongly
agreed by almost half of the respondents.
6.1.3 Research Variables No. 3: Efficiency

1. All of the respondent agreed with all the important criteria that deliver the most efficient in facilities
management process comprised of availability in technology, quality of internal services, provided quality
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of workplace offered, design of the building to fit logistic (production process), and facility matching the
organizations’ philosophy and culture.
2. More than half of the respondents agreed with all types of efficient communication medium in provide the
facilities information including email, newsletter, memo, telephone and verbal communication.
6.1.4 Research Variables No. 4: Creativity

1. Most of the respondents were agreed that a lot of factors can flourish the innovation in facilities
organization such as creation the efficient & high morale working environment, organized work that
enables skills & employee knowledge is fully utilized, good manager inspires employee, new ideas is
rewarded and fruitful discussion & participation from team members.
2. Most of the respondents agreed that all of the elements considered as creative and innovative solution
including energy saving project, procurement and contract management approach, SLA application, value
management, and long-term partnership.
6.2 Section B: Evaluation the Level of Satisfaction on Performance Management
Table 6: Level of Satisfaction by Users / Public

Level of satisfaction as per classification scale given as follows:
(1 – Excellence, 2 – Good, 3 – Average, 4 – Poor)
No. Item Scale Total Average Rank
1 2 3 4 Respondent
1. Level of comfort and self-security 4 27 18 1 50 2.32 1
2. Cleanliness and environment 7 22 18 3 50 2.34 2
3. Health and safety aspect 4 27 16 3 50 2.36 3
4. Customer feedback procedure 4 24 20 2 50 2.40 4
5. Overall comment of facilities performance 3 25 19 3 50 2.44 5
6. Technology support the facilities 4 21 23 2 50 2.46 6
7. Contractors workers appearance & cooperation 1 27 19 3 50 2.48 7
8. Result of quality of works carried out meet the 2 22 25 1 50 2.50 8
customer expectation
9. Functionality of facilities / services offered 3 21 23 3 50 2.52 9
10. Monitoring and supervision 4 18 25 3 50 2.54 10
11. Adequate space 3 16 21 8 50 2.60 11
12. Respond time in attend your complain 4 13 27 6 50 2.70 12
13. Service received while dealing at the counter / facilities 3 22 23 2 50 2.92 13
personnel helpfulness
From the above table (Table 6), the users are likely to feel comfort and self-security when dealing with campus
facilities as well as most satisfied with the aspect of cleanliness & environment, health & safety and customer
feedback procedure. The detail sequence ranking are shown in the table above. The finding also revealed that few
item that should be improved are space adequacy, respond time in attend the complain and customer service at the
counter.
7. Conclusion
The objectives of the research are achieved in ascertaining the FM performance management practices adopted
by the Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. Objectives are met by analyzing the case studies on the FM
performance management. It has been clearly identified the extent of the practices by using four (4) research
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variables, flexible, effectiveness, efficiency and creativity. As a result of reviewing the information gathered through
interview and questionnaire on the FM performance management, it can be concluded that the implementation of
FM performance management in UiTM covers the full spectrum of its major activities which addressed the areas
that have relationship between the customers. However, the other areas are subject for further improvement.
Acknowledgements
Sr. Mohd Hanafi Moghni (UiTM), Facilities Management Office (FMO), Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
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Malaysian Scenario On Access And Facilities For Persons With

Disabilities: A literature review
H. Kamarudina,1, N. R. Muhamad Ariffb, W. Z. Wan Ismaila, A.F. Bakria, Z. Ithninc
a
Lecturer, bSenior Lecturer, cPhD Candidate
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,
Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
Physical barriers may hamper persons with disabilities (PWDs) movement in built environment. The needs of physical barrier-
free environment are internationally acknowledged. This study explores the Malaysian scenario on access and facilities for PWDs
by reviewing relevant legislation and guidelines, and literatures that examined the access and facilities provided in public
buildings. This study identifies that Malaysia has plays its roles by establishing the relevant acts and legislation on PWDs needs
and requirements. Nevertheless, previous studies on PWDs in Malaysia, demonstrated that there are still lacking on the
implementation of the practice towards the acts and legislations. This study suggests that the application of the acts and
legislation should be comprehensive covering all types of public buildings in Malaysia. In addition, enforcement by the local
authorities and government agencies is crucial in order to successfully creating a barrier-free environment for all.
Keywords: access and facilities; persons with disabilities; physical barriers; legislation; public buildings
1. Introduction
In Malaysia, the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 (Act 685) (PWDA) defines persons with disabilities (PWDs)
as “persons with physical, mental and intellectual disabilities that hindered them from fully participating in a
normal way in the community way of life.” As the PWDs has the rights to access and use public facilities, amenities,
services and buildings as described in the PWDA, removing barriers and providing access are a fundamental needs.
However, Yusof (2010) realizes that the consideration of equal accessibility to outdoor environments in Malaysia is
still lacking.
The increase in population of the PWDs in Malaysia has resulted demand for the provision of access and
facilities in and outside the building, especially in government institutions (Sanmargaraja and Seow Ta Wee, 2012).
Compared to the persons without disabilities, the PWDs have less opportunity to attend activities because of the
inaccessible environment. The inaccessible environment will lead to a stress, low self-esteem and discomfiture to
the PWDs when they are in public that affects them negatively (Iwasaki and Mactavish, 2005). Therefore,
appropriate considerations shall be taken by the appropriate governing bodies to ensure access and facilities are
conforming to the legislation, statutory and guidelines provided for the PWDs. However, the implementation of
these practices are always not fulfilling to the PWDs needs as Malaysia has still lack in provision of user-friendly
built environment as stated in the legislation, statutory and guidelines (Kamarudin, 2007).
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2. Related legislation, statutory and guidelines
The Person with Disabilities Act (Act 685) (PWDA) which was introduced in Malaysia in 2008 has evolves the
perspective of PWDs access and facilities from charity and welfare, based on the Medical Model, to a recognition of
the Social Model (Hussein and Yaacob, 2012). PWDs should not be seen out of sympathy while they should enjoy
the existing facilities as other legal citizens (Tiun and Khoo, 2013). The main aim for the PWDA is to provide an
equalization rights to all society. However, it is noted that Malaysia has limitations in enforcing legislation
pertaining to access and facilities for PWDs (Hussein and Yaacob, 2012). Roulstone and Prideaux (2009) agreed
that although legislative coherently provided for the PWDs, however there is still lack of enforcement towards what
is provided.
Other related acts on the access and facilities for PWDs in Malaysia are the Town and Country Planning Act
1976 (Act 172) and Street, Drainage and Building Act, 1974 (Act 133). The Act 172 is translated as the planning
permission requirements while Act 133 is detailed out in the Uniform Building By-Laws as the building plan
approval requirements.
2.1 Uniform Building (Amendment) By-Laws (UBBL) 1991
UBBL is a by-law under the Street, Drainage and Building Act, 1974 (Act 133). Amendments has been made
which resulted the insertion of the UBBL 34A which requires buildings to comply with the Malaysian Standard
Code of Practice on Access for Disabled Person (MS). All new buildings are compulsory to have access to enable
PWDs to get into, out of and within the buildings, otherwise, fines will be given under the provisions of the Street,
Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Kamarudin et al., 2012). Existing buildings have to comply with the requirements
within three years since the by-law came into force. However, Hussein and Yaacob (2012) claimed that the
implementation, compliance and enforcement of the access and facilities for PWDs are lax.
2.2 Malaysian Standard Code of Practice on Access for Disabled Persons (MS)
The MS is a decisive instrument providing guidelines in designing the accessible facilities for the PWDs (Kadir
and Jamaludin, 2012). They are categorized into three consecutive groups namely; MS 1184:2002 Code of Practice
on Access for Disabled Persons to Public Buildings (First Revision), MS 1183:1990 Code of Practice for Means of
Escape for Disabled Persons and MS 1331: 2003 Code of Practice for Access of Disabled Persons outside Buildings.
The MS needs emphasized on the wheelchair users (any kind of chair, whether accompanied or not), crutch users
(including in practice arm amputers), blind people (including those with low vision) and deaf people (including the
hard hearing) (Kamarudin et al., 2012)
The compliance to MS 1331:2003 is not required in the UBBL. Fortunately, according to Kamarudin (2007), the
requirement to fulfil the MS 1331: 2003 are written in the Development Order (for granting Planning Permission) as
“facilities for the PWDs must be allocate to comply the MS1183:1990, MS1184:2002 and MS1131:2003. The
facilities need to be indicated in the submitted plans before it can be approved.” However, Hussein and Yaacob
(2012) reveal that a revision exercise commenced in 2010 to merge MS 1184:2002 and MS 1331:2003 into one new
standard will be available in 2013. The descriptions of the Malaysian Standards are as shown in Table 1.
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Table 1. Malaysian Standard Code of Practice on Access for Disabled Persons

Malaysian Standards Description
Malaysian Standard 1184:2002, Code of Practice on Access It specifies the basic requirements of buildings and related facilities in order
for Disabled Persons to Public Buildings (First Revision) to permit access for PWDs.
Malaysian Standard 1183:1990 Code of Practice for Means The practices use as guidance for a new building construction work and
of Escape for Disabled Persons modification. It is to provide the planning, action and requirement that
should be applied on building in aspect of fire safety for PWDs. The
provisions are including of fire escape, staircase and others.
Malaysian Standard 1331:2003, Code of Practice for It specifies the basic requirements for the provision and design of outdoor
Access of Disabled Persons Outside Buildings (First facilities so that they are accessible and usable by PWDs. This standard
Revision) supersedes MS 1331:1993. This MS is not included in the Uniform
Building (Amendment) By-Laws (UBBL) 1991. However the requirement
to conform to this code is included for getting planning permission which is
stated in the Development Order (DO) requirement.
Source: Kamarudin et al., 2012
2.3 Universal Design (UD)
The adaptation of UD in Malaysia is to in line with other developed countries in providing efficient access and
facilities for all users. UD is designed for the usage of all without any special design for a certain group of people
which promote a design that does not discriminate people based on different abilities (College of Design, North
Carolina University, 1997). The key principles of UD are shown as in Table 2.
Table 2. The Key Principles of Universal Design

Principle Description
Equitable Use The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities
Flexibility in Use The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities
Simple and Intuitive Use Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge,
language skills, or current concentration level
Perceptible Information The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient
conditions or the user’s sensory abilities
Tolerance for Error The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accident or unintended actions.
Low Physical Effort The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.
Size and Space for Approach and Use Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation and use regardless of
user’s body size, posture or mobility.
Source: Adapted from College of Design, North Carolina University (1997)
Rahim and Abdullah (2009) aware that in many developing countries, the awareness and inclusion of universal
design is still in its initial stage where the cities’ authorities have not fully enforced the requirement of providing
access to PWDs in the built environment, including Malaysia. However, Kadir et al., (2009) highlight that there is a
positive development in terms of public awareness on access and facilities for PWDs in Malaysia even though the
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accurate understanding of UD theory is still low among Malaysian society. Some people have misunderstood that
UD is exclusively caters the needs of PWDs access and facilities in the built environment.
There is a few other design terms related to the provision of access and facilities for PWDs. Bringolf (2008)
concludes the term ‘universal design’, ‘design for all’ and ‘inclusive design’ as “designing for the whole of the
population bell curve by creating the maximum utility for the maximum number of people regardless of age, culture,
and education or ability level.”
‘Accessible design’ concerns mainly with PWDs on accessibility and promote UD which is regarded to be more
embracing of all types of people’s needs, including the elderly, children and pregnant women (Hussein and Yaacob,
2012) and ‘barrier-free environment’ targets for retrofitting of buildings or facilities to accommodate physically
impaired person (Audirac, 2008).
3. Access audit
As a rapid developing country, Malaysia offers technologically advanced services and facilities. However not all
of the people are able to conduct their activities because of the lack of physical access for the PWDs (Kamarudin, et
al., 2012). According to Maidin (2012), PWDs still have problem to access facilities such as education, employment,
enjoying social life, business premises, work places, public transport and public facilities. Although, if there are
access and facilities provided, it is mainly for those who are using wheelchairs but does not include for those who
suffered from visual, hearing or intellectual disabilities (Japan International Cooperation Agency, 2009). Among the
problems that faced by the PWDs are difficulty in going up steep ramps and lack of guiding blocks for the vision
impaired.
Malaysia has set legislation, statutory and guidelines in providing access and facilities for PWDs such as UBBL,
MS, UD and PWDA. However, there is still lack of compliance made by the building owners. With regards to the
problem, access audit should be conducted widely for existing buildings and other built environment in order to
ensure the compliance of those requirements set especially as in the MS (Kamarudin, 2007).
Holmes-Siedle (1996) suggests that the ‘usability’ of the building for disabled people can be examined by
conducting an access audit towards an existing building against predetermined criteria. Tan (2009) also agrees that
the main purpose of access audit is to identify barriers that need to be rectified so that the public facilities can be use
by everyone equally. In conducting the access audit, one can examine how well the facilities provided at the existing
building used by any of the PWDs independently (Holmes-Siedle, 1996).
Currently in Malaysia, the access audit consultants offer special training on access audit especially to the local
authority technical staff. The participants are highlighted to the needs of access and facilities in the built
environment. Simulation exposing the participants on how being on a wheelchair and walking with a stick, and
together assisting the PWDs in the built environment for the access audit training are really useful for the
participants to get a better understanding (Kamarudin et al., 2013). The participants are expected to conduct the real
access audit successfully where then they can give recommendations on how to upgrade the current access and
facilities provided.
4. Access and facilities for PWDs in public buildings
The implementation of the MS as described in the MS 1184:2002 are applicable to all buildings that PWDs may
use as a general public, visitors or for the purpose of employment, excluding residential buildings. Even though the
access and facilities for PWDs are improving, however, literatures highlight on the issues of physical barriers in
public buildings are still common.
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4.1 Public transportation terminal
Soltani et al. (2011) stated that the access and facilities in public transportation terminal is designed inefficiently
that leads to a limited space for the PWDs to move about. The government bodies in Malaysia should put some
more effort for some improvements and re-designing of the existing facilities for equality so that the PWDs would
not feel left out. As cited by Hussein and Yaacob (2012), Noraini (2010) reveals that report by the Department of
PWDs shows that actions has been taken by the transportation industry to upgrade the implementation of universal
design facilities i.e. in the Malaysian Railways (KTMB) and the Mass Transit Train (LRT). In the meantime, the
Ministry of Transportation is coming out for guidelines for accessible buses while Malaysian Airlines is providing
wheelchair services assistance with free of charge accommodation. According to Azharin Alias (2013), the Assistant
Director of the Automotive Engineering Unit of the Department of Road Transportation, the guideline drafted is not
being implemented and any universal access and facilities provided by the transportation company are only by
voluntary basis.
4.2 Commercial complex
Commercial complex is said to be the busiest public place and takes up different kinds of activities. Nowadays,
Malaysia has increased the accessibility and facilities provided for PWDs that lead to an acceptable satisfaction such
as the introduction of stair lift as an option for vertical access for the PWDs. However, Hashim et al. (2012)
highlighted that there are many physical barriers faced by PWDs in most shopping complexes with the main features
that should be considered are the toilet for PWDs, barrier-free access, facilities such as handrails in lifts, car parking
for PWDs, clear exit and signage. Inaccessibility found in the case study commercial complex are due to bad design
or poor thought out solution, poor planning in accommodating accessible design as part of the budget and lack of
enforcement on policies and guidelines (Hashim et al., 2011).
4.3 Buildings of tourist attraction
The heritage and cultural is the main sector of the tourism that can attract both international and domestic
visitors at which, in the same time increase the opportunities in employment together with revenue. Yaacob and
Hashim (2007) suggest that the elderly and PWDs can enjoy visiting heritage sites as long as the principle of the
barrier-free of ‘accessibility, safety and usability’ is implemented. The main cause that disables the PWDs to
participate is due to lack of access and facilities provided. Additional features on having access and facilities for
PWDs shall not change the whole view of the heritage building but complimenting with the important activity in
conserving the heritage buildings.
5. PWDs perception on access and facilities for PWDs in Malaysia
PWDA includes the rights of PWDs at where everyone shall have equal access to public facilities, amenities,
services and buildings, and public transport. Khalid (2012) reported, according to the President of Barrier-Free
Environment and Accessible Transport Group (BEAT), the access and facilities provided in public buildings are
improving. Most buildings have ramps and moving walkways that can help PWDs to move about in and within
building. However, the ramps and moving walkways mostly provided only at large public buildings. In addition, the
non-compliance of the sizes of lifts and toilets also restricted PWDs to freely access and use the facilities provided
(Khalid, 2012).
Kadir and Jamaludin (2012a) discover that the visual impaired emphasize on the design of guiding blocks, tactile
direction or warning indication to facilities in the building, and signage of the building. The hearing impaired focus
on the attitude of front-liner staff and signage while the wheelchair-bound emphasize on high gradients or level
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changes, ramp, barriers in front of ablution faucets, and size of the door and furniture layout in PWDs restroom.
According to their findings, Kadir and Jamaludin (2012a) notice that policies have been given extra attention to
guidelines or design for the wheelchair-bound user, while other PWDs like the hearing impaired were neglected.
6. Conclusion
This study explores Malaysian scenario on access and facilities for PWDs by discussing the relevant legislation
and guidelines established by the Malaysian Government, and examined previous studies that have investigated the
built-environment of public buildings. As ‘Building an Environment that Enhances Quality of Life’ is one of the
five Strategic Thrust of the Tenth Malaysian Plan (2011-2015) announced by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’
Sri Mohd Najib, it indicates that the needs of physical access and facilities in the built environment are vital for
PWDs. The physical access and facilities requires continuous improvement as the life in future is more challenging.
Furthermore, PWDs are not left out in contributing to economic, social and development stability of a country.
As for Malaysia, the UBBL and MS are the main references that required to be implemented in any public
buildings development in Malaysia. MS provide guidance on the basic requirements on access and facilities that are
accessible and usable by PWDs for a new and modification building constructions, including of fire safety
provision.
Previous studies recognized that the lack of awareness of the UD concept has resulted in the provision of physical
access and facilities for PWDs are not entirely to their benefit. Studies by Malaysian researchers revealed that
public buildings in Malaysia are partially complying with the UBBL and MS. However there are cases that facilities
and access provided are not accessible and reachable by PWDs.
A solution to these problems should be highlighted by the policy makers and enforcement bodies. An access
audit particularly the simulation is crucial to be compulsory implemented by the third party in any public building in
order to make sure the effectiveness of the access and facilities provided. This exercise should also covers to the
modified constructions such as refurbishment and renovation works, and conservation works for heritage buildings.
Future research should emphasis on the needs of access audit and continuously investigates the continuous
improvement actions, not only on the legislation but also on the aspects of universal designs.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi
MARA for giving the opportunity to participate in this conference. Research Management Institute owned special
thanks by the authors for funding the research.
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Addressing Safety Performance Assessment in Low Cost

Housing via Occupants’ Satisfaction Level
H. N. Husina,44*, A. H. Nawawi b, F. Ismail b , N. Khalila
a
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA , 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
The delivery performance of the low cost housing is questioned since the occupants are prone towards safety hazards in the
housing complex, such as structural instability and falling building fragments. Without defining the occupants’ requirements for
the development of low cost housing, the prevailing safety factors are hard to be determined. This paper explores the rationale of
safety performance assessment in the low cost housing by considering the occupants’ participation to achieve a better safety
provision during occupancy period. Questionnaire survey was distributed to 380 occupants of the low cost housing in Kuala
Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia. The result shows that 80.8% of the respondents had expressed their dissatisfaction with the
safety performance of the lift. By referring to the mode of ranking level, the most significant aspect rated by the respondents is
Building Safety Features, with 51.6% respondents. The attained aspects can be fundamental parameters which can be considered
in the future development of low cost housing.
© 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer reviewed under responsibility of the UKM Teaching and Learning
Congress 2012.
Keywords: Low Cost Housing;Safety Performance;Satisfaction Survey;Ranking needs;
1. Introduction
The move to build more low cost homes as announced in 9th Malaysia Plan is inevitable a welcome sign in view
of the spiralling property prices in the country. While the previous efforts in housing have been directed towards
meeting the quantitative shortage of dwellings, safety aspects of housing have gained importance in recent years.
Many cases have shown that most buildings fail to meet their objectives right from the moment they were declared
complete. Therefore, to enhance the performance and quality of a building, safety requirements must be strategized
during the preliminary design planning of any building development. Ramly, Ahmad, & Ishak (2006) revealed that
safety has become the major objective in maintaining a building sustainability. Thus, safety has become one of the
factors that contribute to poor performance in a building.
Users are currently getting more conscious of safety issues in housing environments. Kowaltowski et al. (2006)
stated that local housing developments, especially built for low-income level families are slow in adopting
recommended practices and perpetuate a standard design model often not adapted to specific geographic and social
situations. It was found that over the years, the government has tried a number of different approaches in an effort to
respond to changing conditions and the need for suitable in property, especially in LCH issues. Sadly, the process of
designing, construction, location and allocation of low cost housing are totally controlled by the local government
officials and the private developers without any participation from the building occupants. Hence, a structured

E-mail address: husrul820@perak.uitm.edu.my.
414
safety performance assessment is needed to provide a link between design criteria and user desires towards a better
safe living.
2. Safety Performance Assessment
Much study relates the term of “performance” as of a building is fulfilment, presentation, exhibition, achievement
of building functions. Safety performance can be defined as establishment of a building related to the measured
indicators to ensure that a building is safe. As supported by Mearns, Whitaker, & Flin (2003), any consequences
derived from a poor safety management, for example accidents and incidents, are described as safety performance.
The benchmark of “performance” must be clearly identified in conducting safety performance assessment.
Established safety performance schemes are necessary support on why technical performances and quality
assessment are included as the main component of a safe building for low cost housing in Malaysia. The schemes
includes the Building Quality Assessment (BQA) in Australia and New Zealand, the Building Safety and Condition
Index (BSCI), the Building Environmental Assessment Method (HK-BEAM), the Comprehensive Environmental
Performance Assessment Scheme for Buildings (CEPAS), the Standard of House Performance Appraisal (SHPA) in
Mainland China and the Housing Performance Evaluation Model (HPEM) in South Korea. Several of the schemes,
i.e. SHPA in China, and HPEM in Korea shows a comprehensive approach to measure the housing performance
(Wang, Ho, & Chen, 2005; Yau, 2006). These schemes developed a weightage rating scale to indicate the level of
safety performance in residential buildings. Hence, assessment of safety performance in Malaysia’s low cost
housing is therefore needed to promote the significant of performance of housing. As supported by Wang et
al.(2005), such assessment should incorporate major concerns the safety and health performance of occupants in
residential building.
2.1 Reviewing Safety Performance in Low Cost Housing
The performance of Low Cost Housing (LCH) is caused by various factors or attributes. Whether a building is
rated under good or poor performance, the rating is highly related to the failure of safety in the building. Based on
the events of safety performance failure, it was found that the dwelling conditions creates unsafe environment to the
occupants. Ramly et al., (2006) described that information from people that use the buildings enables the need for
space and equipment. These are much related to the safety provision as well in low cost housing.
Reviewing on the aspects of performance in low cost housing, Hashim (2003) reveals that the physical aspects
that relates to the building performance such as the finishing of the houses, the material used, the design and size of
houses are among the major complaints received about low cost housing. Low cost housing implies a lower standard
of housing and in trying to provide affordable housing the standard of houses is always being compromised.
Affordable homes owned and medium cost housing indispensable quality in the city. Junaidi, Fauzi, & Ghazali
(2012) stated that the quality of housing has affected the safe, clean and attractive built environment in community.
Therefore, each city must ensure that every family has a safe place to stay comfortable and healthy. Although there
are differences between quality and safety, as has been pointed out, they are neither mutually exclusive nor
contradictory. Whether a building is rated under good or poor performance, the rating is highly related to the failure
of safety in the building. A survey by (Lim, Rabindra, & Ahmad Rafi, 2001) to 355 group of low-cost house
occupants in Penang, Malaysia has concluded the following:
 Safety includes as a major problem in low-cost housing area.
 Poor workmanship and poor quality creates unsafe environment.
Hence, as stated by Yau, (2006), performance in safety has become one of the attributes of building quality.
Previous research revealed that studies on building quality generally focused on commercial properties whether if
they were in terms of energy efficiency, health, building intelligence, or sustainability. Structure failures, falling
objects, fire hazards, services failures and special hazards are the main key elements in a safe building (Yau, 2006).
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These identified safety hazards are useful in defining a safe building. The significance of having a highly
performance of a building is because it leads to the building sustainability. (Kowaltowski et al., 2006) indicates
quality relates to the safety, that the user attitudes depend on the psychological well-being, feelings of security and
safety and the perception of space as territory. Based on the review of safety issues in LCH, generally, safety can be
categorized under two elements; structural elements and services items (Darkwa, 2006; Kowaltowski et al., 2006;
Yau, 2006).
The significance of having a highly performance of a building is because it leads to the building sustainability.
Building performance has the potential to play a major role in articulating the expectations of owners and occupants,
and the fulfillment of them by designers and building operators (Pati et. al, 2006; Pati et. al, 2009). Much studies
have shown that building performance is highly concerned in construction development as there are various of
performance measurement tools developed and introduced by the researchers to the building practioners
(Mcdougall, et al., 2002).
2.2 Benchmarking the Performance Input by Occupant’s Perception
The occupants’ perception must be considered as to deliver a safe and satisfactory housing for them as occupants.
The quality of delivering the low cost housing is questioned since the occupants are prone to face safety hazards in
the housing complex, such as structural instability, and falling building fragments. According to Abdul-Rahman et
al. (1999), external customers are the people who actually buy the products or services. This imposed that they have
the final say as to whether a certain product has fulfilled their needs or requirements as they are the end-users of the
products and services.
Occupants or residents are the end-users of a housing unit and their satisfaction entailing the overall aspects of a
building. Learning from how buildings perform is the fastest and surest way to improve the economic and
environmental performance of buildings; and to achieve greater user satisfaction (Way & Bordass, 2005).
According to Mohit et al., (2010), there is a need to determine satisfaction with households’ housing conditions that
able to “indicate the absence of any complaints and a high degree of congruence between actual and desired
situations”. Hence, the definition of satisfaction level must be clarified to understand the mutual interaction of
satisfaction of the occupants with the safety performance of their housing unit.
Therefore, feedback from the occupants is important in determining the customer’s attributes to be incorporated
into the design of a new product or upgrading the features of an existing product. As concluded by Khalil et al.,
(2009), the approach of POE has a great potential in analyzing building performance as it uses a strategic approach
to achieve the best quality in building services, whereby the assessment integrates the building occupants’ behavior,
perception and opinion as the building users. By empowering end-users as the benchmarks of evaluation, it will
show how the end product (the building design and its management) meets the needs of its clients.
The research study utilizes a mixed-method design; using both qualitative and quantitative approach. Some
authors debated that when a research facilitates validation of data through cross verification from more than two
sources, it is called as triangulation. The main survey for this research used Occupants’ Satisfaction Survey (OSS) as
the instrument in quantitative approach. The survey is intended to determine occupants’ satisfaction level in several
safety performance attributes that were compiled from various literatures. The performance attributes of safety in the
low cost housing were preliminarily validated from the findings of structured interviews to building and safety
experts. The survey was conducted by distributing the questionnaires to the identified occupants. Questionnaire set
initially records the name of building and is divided into three separate sections, namely, i) Section A: Demographic
Information, ii) Section B: Occupants’ Satisfaction Level and iii) Section C: Perception on the Necessity of
Housing. However, the discussion in this paper only provide the results on Section B and C. The type of questions
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consists of multiple choices questions as well as Likert scale type. Utilizing the five points Likert-scale, the
respondents were requested to respond to each statement in the questionnaire in term of five degrees of satisfaction.
These multiple choices questions consist of nominal scale, interval scale and ordinal scale of data.
4. Analysis and Findings
The survey was distributed to 380 respondents that represent as the occupants of twenty-four (24) low cost
housing area namely Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) (see Table 1), that is located in the Federal Territory of Kuala
Lumpur. PPR is a Government program to accommodate and meet the needs of all slum dwellings for low-income
earners. National Housing Department (JPN), the Ministry of Housing and Local government is the implementing
agency for PPR projects across the country. Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the largest city of Malaysia and it
covers a land area of 244 sq km (94 sq mi), occupied 1.63 million people according to census projections in 2010
(Junaidi et al., 2012). Kuala Lumpur belongs in a large metropolitan area, which also includes most of the state,
namely Klang Valley, as the mass of the occupied city with 7.2 million people, and the metropolitan area's fastest
developing countries in terms of population and economy.
Table 1: Detail information of PPR housing projects
TOTAL TOTAL
DATE OF
NO. HOUSING PROJECTS NO. OF NO. OF
HANDING OVER
UNITS BLOCKS
1 PPR Taman Intan Baiduri 1,834 6 15.04.2004
2 PPR Kg. Muhibbah, Jalan Puchong 2,844 9 22.12.2006
3 PPR Kl Linear City 1 (PPR Seri Anggerik) 316 1 15.01.2003
4 PPR Ampang Hilir (PPR Hiliran Ampang) 948 3 16.12.2004
5 PPR Taman Wahyu I (PPR Beringin) 1,896 6 31.03.2003
6 PPR Pekan Batu 632 2 03.12.2002
7 PPR Malaysia Permai (PPR Raya Permai) 1,264 4 2.06.2006
8 PPR Kl Linear City Ii Fasa 1 (PPR Pantai Ria) 1,264 4 08.08.2007
9 PPR Sg. Besi (PPR Desa Petaling) 632 2 19.08.2002
10 PPR Kg. Baru Air Panas 2,528 8 1.05.2007
11 PPR Taman Wahyu II (PPR Wahyu) 948 3 07.04.2002
12 PPR Kg Batu Muda (Spnb) 2,132 7 31.12.2006
13 PPR Lembah Pantai, Kerinchi 1,896 6 31.3.2007
14 PPR Pudu Hulu 948 3 15.01.2003
15 PPR Kl Linear City II Fasa 632 2 08.08.2007
16 PPR Salak Selatan 632 2 24.06.2004
17 PPR Seri Malaysia 632 2 03.1.2007
18 PPR Sg. Bonus Air Jernih 632 2 14.02.2005
19 PPR Seri Semarak 1,580 5 12.06.2005
20 PPR Jln. Lapangan Terbang Lama Fasa 1 660 5 29.04.2004
21 PPR Jln Cochrane 1,620 5 25.04.2005
22 PPR Kg. Limau Pantai Dalam 632 2 15.1.2005
23 PPR Pekan Kepong 948 3 08.04.2010
24 PPR Jln. Lapangan Terbang Lama Fasa 2 920 7 12.07.2010
TOTAL 28,970 99
4.1 Occupants’ Satisfaction Levels
The survey provides the respondents to rate their satisfaction level based on five numerical likert-scale (“1 to “5”,
very dissatisfied to very satisfied) for 12 safety performance attributes that categorised for four (4) safety elements.
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The analysis was shown in Table 2, in accordance to the category of safety; i.e. performance category and quality
category.
Table 2. Occupants’ Satisfaction Level on Safety Attributes
Performance Category Percentage Result For Occupants' Satisfaction Level

Moderately Very
Elements Attributes Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied
Satisfied Satisfied
Column / beam 0.5% 6.1% 29.5% 60.5% 2.6%
Structural Roof 0.3% 7.1% 30.8% 59.2% 1.6%
Slabs 0.5% 8.7% 38.7% 48.2% 2.4%
Electrical
0.5% 33.2% 25.5% 37.9% 2.1%
Services
Services Plumbing
1.6% 12.4% 28.9% 54.7% 1.6%
System
Fire System 0.5% 20.5% 47.4% 29.7% 1.1%
Playground 0.5% 7.1% 59.5% 30.8% 0.8%
Vehicle
Amenities 1.1% 20.3% 53.7% 23.2% 0.0%
Parking
Traffic safety 0.8% 13.2% 58.4% 24.5% 0.5%
Drainage
4.7% 23.9% 53.4% 15.8% 1.3%
cleanliness
Maintenance Rubbish
1.8% 13.7% 53.4% 28.2% 1.1%
collection
Lift 18.7% 62.1% 13.4% 3.7% 0.8%
The above result indicates a higher proportion of satisfied respondents in attributes of Column/beam, Roof, Slabs,
Electrical services and Plumbing system. However, 47.4% respondents (that were 179 out of 380 respondents) are
only moderately satisfied with Fire system. It was found that more than 50% of the respondents were moderately
satisfied for the attributes of Playground, Vehicle Parking, Traffic safety, Drainage cleanliness, and Rubbish
collection. On the other hand, 80.80% of the respondents (which is made up of 62.1% of dissatisfied and 18.7% of
very dissatisfied respondents) had expressed their dissatisfaction with Lift. The respondents claimed that they were
dissatisfied with the performance of the lift that was regularly not functioning well and frequently break down.
For further discussion of the result, the analysis of occupants’ satisfaction for each attributes is summarised in a
descending order as per Table 3. The degree of satisfaction is calculated using One-Sample Statistic (T-test) by
listing the average degree (mean rank) based on the given scale of satisfaction; i.e. 1 to 5. Therefore, the average
degree of satisfaction given by the occupants is tabulated with the method as stated below, following (Abdul-
Rahman et al., 1999).
Table 3. Mean Rank score for Occupants’ satisfaction level
OCCUPANTS’ SATISFACTION SURVEY (OSS) RESULT

ATTRIBUTES OF SAFETY
NO. Standard Deviation
PERFORMANCE Sum (∑x) Mean ( )
(sd)
1) Security bar / metal grille 1380 3.63 0.6745
2) Column / beam 1354 3.59 0.6706
3) Door / window 1344 3.56 0.7049
4) Roof 1336 3.55 0.6632
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5) Slabs 1286 3.44 0.7101

6) Plumbing System 1292 3.43 0.7893
7) Sanitary fittings 1289 3.39 0.7559
8) Floor finishes 1255 3.30 0.6971
9) Wall finishes 1250 3.30 0.7151
10) Tiling works 1235 3.28 0.6861
11) Indoor temperature 1235 3.28 0.7389
12) Internal ventilation 1240 3.27 0.6567
13) Playground 1217 3.25 0.6149
14) Plastering works 1192 3.21 0.7169
15) Visual obstruction 1188 3.14 0.7950
16) Rubbish collection 1168 3.13 0.7269
17) Painting works 1175 3.12 0.6897
18) Traffic Safety 1151 3.11 0.6553
19) Ceiling finishes 1177 3.11 0.8226
20) Fire System 1170 3.10 0.7491
21) Electrical Services 1161 3.08 0.9045
22) Vehicle Parking 1122 3.01 0.6975
23) Drainage cleanliness 1074 2.85 0.7895
24) Lift 767 2.05 0.7390
Table 3 shows the summated score, mean score and the standard deviation that represents the distribution of the
occupants’ satisfaction level around the mean; ranging from scale 1 to 5 (very dissatisfied to very satisfied). The
obtained mean rank is range from the highest order of mean =3.63 (sd=0.6745) to the lowest order, =2.05
(sd=0.7390). This result has indicated a smaller dispersion of tabulation that showed a higher degree of consistency
on all performance scores.
It reveals that the occupants’ satisfaction of all attributes is generally reaching an average satisfaction that neither
being satisfied nor neither dissatisfied. Even though the valid case is not similar with the result of SPIS (due to
several incomplete responses from respondent’s form), the attributes were meticulously allied with the safety
performance result obtained from the inspection survey. It was found that similar attribute, i.e. Lift, ranked as the
lowest satisfaction by the occupants, which associated to the similar attribute ranked as the lowest safety
performance in inspection survey. Since majority of the attributes attained mean ranking score ranging from 3.00 to
3.99 (medium satisfaction), therefore, much improvement needs to be strategized to enhance the residents’
satisfaction upon their safety needs.
4.2 Perception on the Necessity of Housing
In the next question, the respondents were required to prioritize the aspects by allocating the ranking position for
each aspect. The outcome is able to establish the most and the least important aspects needed by the occupants. The
result for this question is shown as per Table 4.
Table 4. Percentage Analysis and Mean Rank score on Occupants’ Necessity of Housing
Mode of Percentage on the Required Safety Aspects (%) Standard

Mean
No. Aspects Very Disagree Medium Agree Very Deviation
( )
Disagree Agree (sd)
Need for security
1 2.6% 0.5% 3.7% 10.3% 82.6% 4.70 0.7957
(theft/burglary/crime)
2 Need quiet and peaceful environment 0.5% 1.8% 5.8% 1.6% 80.3% 4.69 0.7099
3 Need for building safety features 0% 2.1% 6.1% 18.7% 72.6% 4.63 0.6956
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Need for regular, scheduled and

4 0.5% 1.8% 9.7% 12.9% 75% 4.60 0.7810
routine maintenance
Need for facilitates the evacuation of
5 1.8% 1.1% 8.2% 13.2% 75.8% 4.60 0.8302
occupants in case of emergency
Improve quality of building
6 0.5% 1.8% 8.7% 24.2% 64.2% 4.51 0.7751
structures
Need provision of "fit for purpose"
7 0% 2.4% 13.4% 15.5% 68.7% 4.51 0.8138
layout
8 Need for safer amenities/facilities 0% 2.4% 10% 30.3% 56.8% 4.42 0.7678
Need for clean and hygienic
9 1.8% 0.5% 16.1% 19.5% 61.8% 4.39 0.9033
environmental conditions
Improve quality of architectural
10 2.4% 1.1% 12.1% 25.5% 58.9% 4.38 0.9090
conditions
Need isolated from noise and air
11 0% 2.4% 13.7% 28.9% 55% 4.37 0.8059
pollution sources
Need for secure play areas for
12 0.5% 2.4% 10.5% 45.8% 40.8% 4.24 0.7743
children
Based on the result showed in Table 4, majority of the respondents are highly agreed that all of the aspects were
vitally needed by them during their tenancy period in the housing. It was found that the items that received more
than 70% responses in the higher scale of agreement are i) safety features, ii) security aspects, iii) healthy
environment, iv) cleanliness, and v) peaceful environment.
These five (5) aspects are however categorized under different scopes of responsibilities and consideration. The
provision of safety aspects should be emphasized in building design factors and quality factors by the relevant
building players. As the occupancy stage needs to be prolong and to ensure that the occupants’ safety are balanced
and secured, the factors must be considered as priority allocation during early development stage of the housing.
For the aspects of health environment, cleanliness and peaceful environment, the consideration should be
emphasised to the community and society of the housing complex. Security aspects can be categorised for both
responsibility of building players and the community. Security measures in avoiding crime cases could be enhanced
by apportioning a proper design layout of fencing, parking, internal unit and other potential crime areas. It could be
also enhanced by the community initiatives to appoint more security volunteers and encouraged the society to
participate in preventing crime cases
5. Conclusion
The research study noted that many ideas and solution are developed to achieve a safe low cost housing delivered
to the occupants. The analysis has used strategic approach to achieve the best quality in building services, whereby
the assessment integrates the occupants’ behavior, perception and opinion as the building user. It is hoped that the
outcome of this survey able to provide significant inputs to related government agencies such as Kuala Lumpur City
Hall (DBKL), Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) or Fire Rescue Department Malaysia
(BOMBA), to propose a modification and improvement on the safety performance and maintenance in low cost
housing during occupancy period. Limitations of this research pointed several aspects on safety performance issues,
focusing on PPR housing in Kuala Lumpur with participation of responses from the occupants. Future research by
any individuals or authoritative bodies on similar topic of this research is highly encouraged.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of research grant for this research under Exploratory Research
Grant Scheme (ERGS) Phase 1/2011 funded by Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia (KPT) and also to
Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perak.
420
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The Trend of Housing Defect on Newly Completed House

I. Ismaila, A.I. Che-Ania*, N.M. Tawila, H. Yahayaa and S. Johara
a
Department of Architecure, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment,Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Malaysia
Abstract
House as a shelter to everyone carries a very big impact form the economics point of view, since newly constructed houses have
increased the price most rapidly. Thus, to parallel with the high price, the provision of a new house shall be free from any defects,
even for the defects that people do normally consider as “cosmetic defects." This paper studies the trend of the building defects of
a newly completed 72 units of a double-storey terraced house. The building survey implemented consists of three steps of
evaluation with the first stage by using Condition Survey Protocol 1 Matrix. This is done by the professional Surveyors, followed
with pre-delivery inspection and customer inspection. As for new house, the survey work is very stringent in determining the
defect's condition and priority. Survey and reporting procedure is carried out based on Condition Survey Protocol 1 Matrix and
Multi Attribute Variable Technique. The result shows that for every stage of inspection, there is an improvement made on the
housing condition. This means the repair work undertakes by the developer for every stage helps improved the house condition,
before the handing over the process is being done from the developer to house buyers.
Key words: terraced houses, building defects, post-construction, CSP1 Matrix, Malaysia.
1. Introduction
House or its multiple form housing has remained the subject of research and discussion on a number of reputable
platforms around the globe. The importance of housing has increased many folds and still is growing every-day
pass. Housing is a basic need for all. The increased population and income will lead to the rapidly in housing
demand. The increase of working group indirectly will increase the demand for houses since they are the productive
group and have the purchasing power. Housing represents the largest investment in an individual life.
Developing countries are experiencing rapid industrial growth are striving hard to prevent themselves from being
swallowed by the big economies. This trend by the underdeveloped nations results in unplanned growth,
development and law transient in almost all walks of life, particularly in urban centers. Alarming rate of population
growth is another problem faced by these countries which ultimately creates the demand for the increased number of
housing facilities. In modern days, house is a basic icon of shelter where a man can plan to live and work under a
protected environment. A case of building defects found in a newly completed house is not an unknown scenario in
Malaysia. This does not mean that the new built houses should always be defect-free. In the theory of
manufacturing, a defective product is going to happen, be it as good as the quality control process is applied. Such
cases also apply to the construction industry.
The acceptable construction product shall be determined as a standard of quality for new housing construction.
Based on the standard, developer works should be accepted and the process of improving the construction quality
should be continuing. Accordingly, this research was conducted as to assess the quality of a newly constructed
house, whether or not it achieves the acceptable standard of housing quality.
By using a standard method, the building inspector can provide objective data regarding the status of the building
for the property manager (Straub 2009). Quality indicators based on the condition of the building is a model that was
developed to measure the performance and quality of the building. Previous research, BEPAS (a life cycle
assessment models environmental performance assessment model) is related to the quality indicator. BEPAS is
model-based life cycle assessment (LCA) for the first building in China (Zhang et al. 2004).
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In the meantime, many past studies related to defects in the building done in the post-construction, which
includes the operation and maintenance of buildings. However, few similar studies done in the design stage and
during the construction phase (Josephson & Hammarlund 1999). This study is focusing on the newly completed
construction product as to support the concern of Josephson & Hammarlund (1999). This is because defects in the
building at the operational/maintenance to the building is influenced by the defects that occur during the
construction process (Josephson & Hammarlund 1999).
In Hong Kong, Tam et al. (2000) has reviewed the effectiveness of the Performance Assessment Scoring System
(PASS) which was implemented by the authority in assessing the ability of Hong Kong contractors in managing the
project according to the standards. The system is seen as an effective evaluation and incentive system to encourage
continuous quality improvement. However, analysis of PASS scores has shown that the quality of construction has
not increased. Therefore, Tam et al. (2000) has recommended several steps to achieve continuous quality
improvement in the construction of public housing.
Assessment of housing's condition is very important, and house-building segment of the construction industry is
important (Sommerville 2007) especially to meet the needs of the buyer. According to Crosby (1979), the quality is
to meet the requirements. Juran (1989) suggests the basis of a successful quality management system is a failure that
repealed. While quality is defined as the MS ISO 8402-1986 is the properties and characteristics of the whole of a
product or service depends on the ability to meet the needs of the state, expressed or implied. In addition, a study
conducted by Kazaz and Birnogul (2005) to identify why the owner renovated their house found that they are not
satisfied with the quality of their house and services provided in their house units.
Besides, the evaluation of housing condition is also important to ensure the health and safety to the occupants.
Structural failure may result in loss of life and property damage (Yuvabalan 2005). According to Reese (2004), the
maintenance significantly influences the building safety and health of residents. Therefore, assessment of housing
conditions is essential to obtain information related to carrying out maintenance work effectively. In addition, the
quality of housing construction also reflects the image of the developer.
Building defects is “the non-fulfillment of intended usage requirements” (Josephson & Hammarlund 1999).
Zuriani (2003) has described six common defects occurs in her research such as crack, moisture, peeling off,
painting defect, rust and rot. Besides, Ahmad Ramly (2004) has classified generally 14 types of building defects
such as leak, bend, rust, rot, moisture, sedimentation, crack and others (see Ahmad Ramly 2004). In addition,
Ahmad Ramly (2004) stated that there are some defects occur as the result of design errors, construction errors, and
misuse of the buildings.
Based on analysis of concrete defect's factors in Malaysia, Mohd Zaki (2006) stated that there are seven types of
defects usually happen on the concrete structure such as crack, failed jointing, leaking, corrosion of steel
reinforcement, sedimentation, honeycombed and disintegration of concrete. According to Mohd Zaki (2006), there
are five main factors of concrete structure defects, which are design error, building material, geotechnique,
construction errors and unpredicted errors.
This literature review suggests the need to perform the building condition survey, particularly to the newly
completed construction product, as one of the methods in tracking the construction defects. This also helps the
developers to identify and prioritize the most defected components in supporting the continuos quality improvement
process.
4. Methodology
This research involves the evaluation on the newly completed 72 unit terraced houses. Building condition survey
works has carried out using protocol 1 (visual inspection) techniques. The sample of the houses in this research is
terraced houses located in housing area in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor.
The condition of building component is evaluated using a Standard Building Inspection Code published by the
Royal Institutional of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM) and Condition Survey Protocol (CSP) 1 Matrix. This code and
protocol are a guideline to the Building Surveyor to assess any defect of building based on priority and condition.
This matrix has its own scoring system (see Che-Ani et al. 2011) to facilitate the examiner to assess the condition of
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building carefully and entirety. Another two stages is involving Multi Attribute Variables Technique (MAVT). This
researches are involved of three stages with the first stage was inspected by professionals and using the CSP1
matrix. In the second part, it involves the contractor to examine the building by using the five likert scale in
determining the defects after that before the handover to the clients, after that in the final stage; it was rechecked
again by the clients. All defects identified are assessed and recorded on-site with the evidence (photos and plan tag).
The score obtained from the scoring system determine the level of defects/component such as good, fair and
dilapidated. Furthermore, the possible cause of the defects also identified. This information recorded in Defect
Sheet, and then it was compiled in the Schedule of Building Condition.
Findings from the three surveys are analyzed by using MAVT method even though the first has been conducted
by using CSP1 matrix. The method of analysis transformed into MAVT for same standard of analysis. By this
method, the number of defects, building defects score and rating for the buildings determined. The result from the
research has been simplified in table form.
4. Results and Analysis
Bandar Baru Bangi is considered as new expanded township. Most of the houses build are terrace houses. Figure
1 shows the distribution of housing construction in Bandar Baru Bangi. This township covers an area of 1.869
hectares. It has developed in stages since 1974, with a target population of one hundred and twenty thousand people.
Bandar Baru Bangi was conceived as an urban university town with the distribution of the property as in Figure 1. In
conjunction with the Bandar Baru Bangi having several numbers of universities and training institutions for the
district as well as a growth centre for the South Klang Valley, Bandar Baru Bangi developments are almost
complete. Figure 1 show the distribution of property in Bandar Baru Bangi where institutions and infrastructure are
24% and 20% respectively, whereas business, recreational and industries are 6%, 15% and 11% respectively. This
shows housing is among the main property developed in Bandar Baru Bangi. Thus, the condition assessment for
newly completed house is at of importance.
Fig 1 Distribution of the property developed in Bandar Baru Bangi
Furthermore, building condition survey has been carried out on 72 units terraced houses. Overall, there are eight
blocks of the houses and there are five types of house design. Figure 2 shows the result for each house in three
stages of inspection. Based on Figure 2, it can be seen the first stage of evaluation has higher value of defects
compared to the other two stages. We can see clearly the last stage done by the client or the owner has the least
defect compared to the first two stages of condition assessment.
425
IKRCSP1 IKRPDI IKRCIF

5.000
4.000
3.000
2.000
1.000
0.000
R1
R4
R7
R43
R71
R10
R13
R16
R19
R22
R25
R28
R31
R34
R37
R40
R46
R49
R52
R55
R58
R62
R65
R68
Fig 2 Trend analysis in examining three stages of the house defects
A. The percentage of defects among three stages
Based on Figure 3, after analyzing the Likert scale of these three stages, it is found that the defects found is
significantly reduced in each phase of inspection. During the inspection phase of CSP1, 2,138 defects discovered
and reported. However, after the corrective actions and PDI phase inspection performed, defects found defects
decreased by 1,606. Declining ability is 25%. This shows a good improvement. When this entire defect has been
identified and corrective actions have put in place, inspection phase of the CIF has found 817 defects. The decrease
number of defects is encouraging, namely 49%. This shows that in each phase of the examination when defects are
discovered and reported, corrective action has been done properly and promptly. However, there are still categorized
as minor defects found. This situation can be improved by providing a comprehensive action plan together with the
standardization of the audit process before each inspection took place.
2,500 2,138
2,000
1,606
1,500
1,000 817
500
-
CSP1 PDI CIF
Fig 3 Numbers of defects from three stages of inspection
5 Discussion and Conclusions
Along with the rapid development within the construction industry, particularly in residential construction,
assessment of the quality of housing construction is very important to ensure that user requirements are met. In
addition, the assessment of housing condition can also ensure the health and safety of consumers can be guaranteed.
For the developer, the evaluation of housing conditions can help developers to maintain their works in order to give
the good image of the developer.
426
The findings revealed that there are weaknesses in terms of construction works quality. The overall CSP1 Matrix
rating for the houses is high; nevertheless, the numbers of defects are reduced in each next stage. If we refer to the
first stage of CSP1 matrix, it shows that the houses are in dilapidated condition and requires serious attention.
Besides, to meet user requirements for the new built houses, urgent maintenance work must be done to upgrade the
condition of the houses. Hence, the second stage and the third stage show a lot of improvements thus overall
construction needs to be viewed from all stage before the handling over to the clients.
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428
Analyzing the Impact of Roof Obstructions on Daylight Levels

in Atrium Buildings: Physical Scale Model Measurements under
Real Sky Conditions
J. Yunusa,45*, S. Sh Ahmad a,b , A. Zain-Ahmed c
a
Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam 40450, Malaysia
b
Research Management Institute, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam 40450, Malaysia
c
Institute of Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam 40450, Malaysia
Abstract
This paper describes the effects of atrium roof forms and internal structural obstructions (roof truss) upon the daylight levels in
atrium buildings under tropical real sky conditions (intermediate sky). Daylight measurements were made inside one atrium
model with four different types of structured roof forms (flat, pitched, pyramidal-gridded and south facing saw-tooth). Results
showed intermediate skies revealed a generally linear relationship and had a good degree of correlation with the overall reduction
of daylight levels. Internal obstructions tend to reduce about 55% of light transmittance with similar pattern of losses for all roof
profiles. It was observed that the internal obstructions of roof created relatively constant attenuation of the daylight compared
with the clear unobstructed roof. The structured flat roof had the least impact on roof transmittance, and generally all four roof
forms had similar patterns of light losses. The measurements also confirmed that as the sky brightened, the daylight availability
became more significant as the inclined glazing and internal obstructions tend to reflect or splay sunlight away or into the atrium.
The analysis showed significant differences between the effects of roof forms and internal roof obstructions (roof truss) on
daylight levels that will support the authors’ future project of using innovative glazing panels as roof glazing material.
Keywords: Daylight; Atrium; Roof Transmittance; Sacle Model; Real Sky Conditions
1. Introduction
Daylighting represents one an aesthetic quality of atria and is an essential component of visually appealing and
energy-efficient atria buildings. Key issues for daylighting are daylight availability, distribution and utilization.
Therefore, the atrium roof form and structure, its orientation, the reflectivity of the atrium surfaces and the glazed
area within the space, will influence the lighting energy consumption. To achieve optimum daylight performance, it
is necessary to have a good understanding of how daylight is transmitted into a space. Careful design of the roof
fenestration system will influence and improve daylight availability in atria, as roof form and structure are important
design elements of atria.
The amount of daylight entering an atrium through external roof envelopes depends on the form and height of the
atrium, transmission of the glazing, reflectance of the atrium walls and the transmittance of the atrium roof. This
paper will focus on roof structure systems since this is perhaps the least understood area of atrium design (Littlefair,
2000; S. Sharples & Lash, 2007; S. Sharples & Shea, 1999). This initial investigation revealed real-time evidence on the
measured effects of roof obstructions upon daylight levels in atria under real sky conditions using physical scale
models.

E-mail address: julitta@salam.uitm.edu.my.
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2. Background
An atrium’s characteristic is the roof: a careful design of the roof fenestration systems limits glare, mitigates
passive solar heating effects and supplies adequate daylighting and minimize sunlight. Therefore, atrium roof form
and structure are important architectural design elements, where it can influence daylight availability within the
space and, hence, lighting energy consumption. A common feature of most studies were that the atrium roof was left
as an open, unobstructed void, which is obviously very different from the conditions existing in real atria (Yunus,
Ahmad, & Zain-Ahmed, 2007). Therefore, this is an area not studied before. However, there were significant series of
investigations on daylight performances for atria buildings that incorporated roof forms and internal obstructions as
their atria roof transmittance variables (Calcagni & Paroncini, 2004; S. Sharples, and Mahambrey, S, 1999; S. Sharples, and Shea, A D,
2000; S. Sharples & Shea, 1999). Although these works described an experimental study on the effect of atria roof forms
under real sky conditions, only one type of fenestration system was considered and study was focused on temperate
regions. These studies recommended further analysis on several variations of roof fenestration system and their
impact on the distribution of daylight.
Physical scale model experiment has been used as the method of investigation since it assesses luminance levels
under real sky conditions (Thanachareonkit, 2008). This reliable method provides incisively quantitative and qualitative
results to support decision-making process on daylight performance for buildings. The justification for specifying
tropical sky is that Malaysian Sky was discovered to be of the intermediate type (Shahriar & Mohit, 2006; Azni Zain-
Ahmed, 2000). This type is very different from the established overcast or clear sky conditions of Europe and North
America. Considerable research has been conducted for the temperate climate region under overcast sky conditions,
however, the environmental objectives of an atrium in a tropical and temperate region are not the same and today’s
passive daylighting system requires different approach than the conventional (Ahmad, 2000; A Zain-Ahmed, Sopian, Zainol
Abidin, & H, 2002).
This paper investigates the effects of roof forms and internal structural obstructions on daylight levels in atria.
The findings will be used to facilitate further investigations in which targets an optimal strategy of atrium roof for
daylight performances in office buildings under tropical sky conditions.
3. Methodology
3.1. The physical scale model under real sky conditions
A 1:50 scaled model was used to investigate the daylight distribution and illuminance level of an atrium building
with different roof fenestration designs (Figure 1). The model was scaled to 1:50 as it is the most appropriate size to
simulate a square four-sided top-lit atrium. Its full-scale dimensions were 400m2, with four floors of 3.0m height
each and measured for sun and skylight distributions under real sky conditions. The model was made of 12mm thick
MDF board, with internal size of 400mm x 400mm x 240mm, with a Plan Aspect Ratio (PAR) of 2, A Section
Aspect Ratio (SAR) of 2 and Well Index (WI) of 1.0. The internal sides of the model were painted matt black to
minimize internal surface reflections (2%) and to focus on roof transmittance. The external walls were painted with
white gloss to maximize external surface reflectance (85%). The model was tested under real sky conditions in Shah
Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Since the model was solely top-lit, it was placed on 1.5m high platform, at the roof-top
of a 4-storey building, to avoid obstruction from surrounding area (Figure 2).
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Figure 1. Four types of atrium roofs with structural obstructions used in the investigation
Figure 2. Physical model of atrium on the 1.5m height platform, placed on the rooftop
431
Four types of roof forms were used in the investigation: a) structured flat roof, b) structured pyramidal-gridded
roof (roof height 60mm, pitch angle 18 0), c) structured north-south facing saw-tooth roof and d) structured north-
east sloping glazed pitched roof (roof height 165mm, pitch angle 18 0). All roofs were constructed with 2mm thick
clear glazing and white-painted wooden struts that represent roof trusses. The selection of roof forms examined were
based on typical built atrium for office building in Malaysia (Yunus, Ahmad, & Zain-Ahmed, 2010). This study was
inspired by these projects (S. Sharples, and Shea, A D, 2000; S. Sharples & Shea, 1999), where their results showed under
overcast sky conditions, the structured flat, pitched and mono-pitched roof, performed similarly and likely to have a
linear relationship with good degree of correlation. They also clarified that mono-pitched roof had the least impact
on daylight levels.
3.2. Equipment set-up and illuminance measurement
The physical scale model was equipped with six newly calibrated illuminance sensors EKO luxmeter (ML020O)
for outdoor illuminance monitoring under real sky conditions. Table 1 shows the details of the experiment.
Horizontal measurements were made on the atria well floor (center, corner and central edge positions). Vertical
measurements were taken from three sensors positioned on the central line of walls with heights of 60mm, 120mm
and 180mm above the floor level (Figure 3). All measurements were kept constant by drilling 22mm diameter holes
for six sensors, and the top surfaces of the sensors were pushed through the hole so that the sensors’ surfaces were
flushed with the wall. Thus, 16 illuminance measurements were made in each model for each roof profile per half
hour.
Table 1. Details of experiments undertaken under real sky conditions
Placement (Fig. 2) On an flat platform, raised 1.5m Roof Top, Block C, FSPU
Sky type Real Sky
Type of model Detailed quality study
Scale 1:50
Location Address Universiti Teknologi
MARA, Shah Alam,
Selangor, Malaysia
Latitude 3o
Longitude 101o
Elevation 32m
Climate Average Temperature (min) 23.4 o
Average Temperature (max) 32.5o
Annual Solar Radiation 16.06 MJm-2
Annual Cloud Cover 6.8 Oktas
Annual Average Sunshine 12 hours
hours
All internal illuminance measurements were set for the various combinations of roof type, sky type, four-
ordinance orientation and position of sensors in each model. The illuminance sensors were attached to independent
data logger (dataTaker DT80) for all internal measurements. Threes sensors were positioned horizontally and
another three vertically (Figure 3). The sensors were connected to six individual channels that gave outputs
corresponding to a range of illuminance for each individual luxmeter. Some of the channels had to be modified to
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measure to over 130,000 lux. A data logger, connected to a portable computer, recorded the illumination level of
each sensor using a computer program called DeLogger5. Extech Illuminance Meter (HD450) with built-in memory
was used for external illuminance measurements that ran concurrently with the internal illuminance measurements.
Illuminance levels were logged every minute, repeated for for-ordinance orientation for each type of roof, between
8.00am to 6.00pm under real sky conditions.
Figure 3. Atrium dimensions and illuminance sensors’ vertical and horizontal positions
4. Results
Results from the measurements were quantified based on distribution of light within the atrium interior including
average illumination, variance within daylight hours and minimum and maximum illumination. Then these datasets
were analyzed in three ways:
 Overall reductions in daylight levels created by the roofs were derived by plotting internal against
external illuminance for each roof type for a number of sensor positions, comparing each plot with the
simultaneous plot from the clear unobstructed model. The plotted value described the Daylight factor
(DF) distribution on the horizontal and vertical surfaces.
 The effects of roof structure upon the daylight reduction at atrium floor level by plotting the curve of
illuminance levels over the daylight hours for each atrium roof configuration.
 The pattern of daylight transmittance for atrium floor level illuminance over the daylight hours for each
atrium roof configuration were derived by plotting percentage of light losses due to different type of
roof configurations with the daylight hours.
4.1. Overall reductions in daylight levels created by the roof structures

Overall reductions in daylight levels created by the roofs were derived by plotting internal against external
illuminance for each roof type for a number of internal sensors positions and comparing each plot with the
simultaneous plot for the clear unobstructed model. Intermediate sky was considered in this study as it represents
the most common sky condition for the geographic location of this study. The plotted value showed Daylight Factor
(DF) distribution on the horizontal and vertical surfaces of the atrium model. Figure 4, 5, 6 and 7 show the gradient
lines of measured daylight illuminance levels at the atrium floor level and concurrent external horizontal
illuminance (under intermediate sky conditions) for each roof type.
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Figure 4. Illuminance for unobstructed and structured Flat roof under real sky conditions
Figure 5. Illuminance for unobstructed and structured Pitched roof under real sky conditions
Figure 6. Illuminance for unobstructed and structured Pyramidal-gridded roof under real sky conditions
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Figure 7. Illuminance for unobstructed and structured Saw-tooth roof under real sky conditions
The results plotted showed a generally linear relationship and good degree of correlation. The gradient of each
linear regression represented the sky component of the daylight factor for each particular roof configuration. For
example, Fig. 3 shows the value of visible sky obtained from the sensors in the atria with structured flat roof was
33% (R2=0.937). From the overall analysis of four different types of roof forms, it was evident that under
intermediate sky conditions, there were losses on daylight availability caused by the internal roof trusses and glazing
bars. As a result, the structured flat roof had the least impact on daylight levels in the atrium well with overall
contribution of 33%. The inclination of glazing panels and structural obstructions contributed between 4% and 7%
lesser visible sky component for the structured Pitched and Saw-tooth roofs.
4.2. The effects of roof structure upon the daylight reduction at atrium floor level Overall reductions in daylight
levels created by the roof structures
This section describes the pattern of light losses due to effects of roof structure upon daylight levels in the model
atrium. However, this condition does not signify the distributions of light in the atrium as they correspond with other
parameters. Based on the measurement taken, the proportion of visible sky seen from the sensor position was only
3% for the saw-tooth roof. The area classified as visible sky did not provide the corresponding illuminance levels
compared to if there was an open top well, due to reflectance and absorption by the glass. Likewise, the area
designated as obstructed from the light contributed to the illuminance measured at the sensor due to inter-reflections
from the surfaces. In this case light gained from perceived obstruction (i.e. the structure and the large opaque wall
obstruction) outweighed the losses due to attenuation on opaque surfaces. Until the exact relationship between the
glazing transmittance value and structural reflectance value can be assessed, it is impossible to implicitly state the
relationship between the proportion of visible sky and daylight levels at a given point.
Reductions of daylight availability caused by roof structural elements were evident. The pattern of light loss was
similar for all four types of roof. The analysis showed that the roof structures created a relatively constant
attenuation of daylight penetration on the floor of the atrium compared with the type of roof and internal
obstructions. Structures of glazing bars reduced daylight between 20% and 80% (Rennie & Parand, 1998), where
typically 50% were lost in passing through the roof. The results showed that each roof type measured under cloudy
sky conditions experienced about 55% daylight reduction at floor level. The decreasing pattern is similar for other
structured roof model, with light reduction between 37% and 46%. The Structured Flat Roof had the least impact on
daylight transmittance with only 37% daylight reduction compared to north-south Structured Pitched Roof and
435
Structured Pyramidal-Gridded Roof, both 45% and 46% respectively. While south-facing Structured Saw-tooth
Roof reduced more than 90% of daylight. The measurements were not taken simultaneously though, so it cannot be
ruled out that the light level was lower due to changes in sky conditions.
Figure 8, 9 10 and 11 showed the variations of daylight illuminance level across the center of the atrium floor for
the structured Flat, Pitched, Pyramidal-Gridded and Saw-tooth Roof compared to clear unobstructed atrium. The
pattern of losses was similar for the four types of roof under real sky conditions measurements. The structured flat
roof had the lowest rate of light losses due to its relatively higher amount visible sky component compared to
structured pitched roof and structured pyramidal-gridded roof. The latter two-structured model atrium well appeared
less lit as some of the light was deflected out of the glazing bars for high elevation angles. This noticeable evidence
led to further investigations to modify the roof configurations and glazing material. Thus, future investigation
derived from this investigation will include innovative glazing material to improve the daylights transmittance in the
atrium (Kischkoweit-Lopin, 2002).
Figure 8. Daylight levels at the center of floor level for Structured Flat
Roof and unobstructed atrium
Figure 9. Daylight levels at the center of floor level for Structured Pitched Roof and unobstructed atrium
436
Figure 10. Daylight levels at the center of floor level for Structured Pyramidal-gridded Roof and unobstructed atrium
Figure 11. Daylight levels at the center of floor level for Structured Saw-tooth Roof and unobstructed atrium
Further measurements on illuminance level were taken for north, west, south and east orientations with the same
parameters for roof forms and internal obstructions. The results show that the average illumination level in the
atrium have the same pattern for all roof types which were higher at the floor level compared to the vertical surfaces
for low, middle and high-level wall. Table 2 shows the general pattern on average vertical illuminance data for low,
middle and high-level wall. Generally, the horizontal surfaces received higher average illuminance levels compared
to vertical surfaces. It was revealed that under intermediate sky conditions, south facing surfaces received higher
illuminance levels for three types structured roof; flat, pitched and pyramidal-gridded, while structured saw-tooth
roof with south facing surface as the highest illuminance levels. As shown in Table 2, daylight level reaching the
lowest level is almost three quarter of daylight on the high level.
For higher angles and complicated roof profiles, daylight levels on west and east facing interior decreased by
more than half compared with unobstructed atrium, and west facing interior received more lights at all floor levels.
Exception to structured pyramidal-gridded where east-facing interior received more daylight for low and high-level
atrium wall. It was observed that the obstructed pitched and pyramidal-gridded roof received the least daylight for
north-facing interior surfaces. The reductions in daylight levels under these roofs measured between 16% and 28%.
Additionally, the reductions of daylights levels for low and mid-level vertical walls were not significant for all type
of roof, particularly for structured pitched and structured pyramidal-gridded roofs. While for high-level wall
locations the level of daylight were significantly higher than the middle and low levels as the daylights entering the
interior space were predominantly direct light and this is obvious for structured flat roof. It is interesting to note that
437
for structured pyramidal-gridded and structured flat roof, the mid-level received less light than low-level wall. This
phenomenon showed that the changing roof pitch and form showed different light patterns entering the atrium well.
Significantly, the result showed a reversed condition for similar procedure of measurement in temperate climate (S.
Sharples, and Shea, A D, 2000), under overcast and partly cloudy sky conditions, for obstructed A-frame roof, the north
facing surfaces received higher illuminance levels.
Table 2. Average illuminance level measured at horizontal floor level and vertical wall for four types of roof compared to unobstructed atrium
Average Illuminance Level on atrium’s vertical wall
Low Middle High
North 5,604.41 5,906.30 7,951.40
West 7,923.45 7,963.70 10,469.26
Unobstructed Atrium
South 9,395.39 9,631.76 12,276.97
East 7,188.03 7,463.00 9,785.12
North 3,372.32 3,422.05 4,695.65
West 4,374.25 4,282.94 5,696.65
Structured Flat Roof
South 6,245.92 5,974.97 7,646.23
East 4,189.26 4,151.19 5,594.85
North 2,867.28 2,869.53 3,742.38
West 3,678.59 3,639.18 4,674.68
Structured Pitched Roof
South 4,841.11 4,987.17 5,726.26
East 3,641.90 3,605.46 4,619.88
North 3,027.56 3,050.00 4,261.46
Structured Pyramidal West 4,032.91 3,957.72 5,302.08
Gridded Roof South 5,339.18 5,008.74 6,481.38
East 4,102.49 3,822.14 5,416.15
North 1,532.86 1,857.75 2,684.43
West 774.58 902.28 1,298.87
Structured Saw-tooth Roof
South 518.65 560.63 708.40
East 736.80 849.52 1,216.16
4.3. The pattern of daylight transmittance for atrium floor level illuminance throughout the day
Figure 12. The percentages of illuminance reduction throughout the day for each atrium roof configuration under intermediate sky conditions
438
The pattern of daylight losses was similar for the three types of roof under intermediate sky conditions. Figure 12
shows the percentages of the illuminance losses for the four types of atrium roofs. It can be concluded that under
intermediate sky conditions, the internal obstructions of structured flat roof has the least impact on the light losses,
followed by structured pitched roof and structured pyramidal-gridded roof. On the other hand, as the sky conditions
brightened during midday, the effects of roof shape and internal obstruction on daylight levels became more
significant. Between 1100 and 1500, the percentages of light losses constantly decreased for the three structured
roof; flat, pitched and pyramidal-gridded. This was due to internal obstruction and inclination of glazed roofs
reflecting the bright sunlight away or into the atrium. The percentages of daylight reductions dropped from up to
84% at 0900 to 69% at 1300 and then went up again after 1500. However, the level of daylight availability in the
atrium of structured saw-tooth roof were low compared to the other three roofs as the percentages of illuminance
reductions were very high throughout the day.
Further analysis showed that, under cloudy sky conditions between 0800 and 1100, the percentage of illuminance
reduction levels fluctuated for structured flat, pitched and pyramidal-gridded roofs. Conversely, under overcast
condition towards the end of the day, the illuminance levels dropped as the lights that entered the atrium were
predominantly diffused lights, thus internal roof obstructions gave the tremendous impact on daylight availability.
5. Conclusion
This paper describes an experimental study on the effects of atrium roof form, internal structural obstructions
upon the daylight levels in atrium buildings under real tropical sky conditions (intermediate skies). Daylight
measurements were made in a 1:50 scale model of an atrium building with four types of structured roofs (flat,
pitched, pyramidal-gridded and south facing saw-tooth). The experiments evaluated daylight penetration in the
atrium, while the adoption of varied roof forms and internal structural obstructions for the atrium allowed better
insight on their effects upon daylight availability horizontally and vertically. The measured data were analyzed and
quantified three ways: i) Overall reduction in daylight levels created by the roofs, ii) the effects of roof structures
upon the daylight distribution in a model atrium building, iii) the percentage of light losses due to different types of
roof configurations throughout the day.
The intermediate sky conditions showed a generally linear relationship and good degree of correlation on the
overall reduction of daylight levels in the atria. Results showed that structured roof forms applied to the atrium
model reduced daylight levels in the atrium well. Internal obstructions reduced light transmittance by 55% with
similar pattern of losses for all roofs. Internal roof obstructions created a relatively constant attenuation of daylight
compared with the clear unobstructed roof for the four structured. It was evident that structured flat roof had the
least impact on roof transmittance, and generally all four roofs forms had similar pattern of light losses. However,
the inclined roof produced different pattern of daylight reduction levels especially on the vertical surfaces of the
atrium well. It was established that for higher angles and complicated roof profiles, west and east facing surfaces,
the daylight level decreased more than half compared with unobstructed atrium, and west facing atrium received
more lights at all floor levels.
The results also confirmed that as the sky brightened, the daylight availability become more significant as the
inclined glazing and internal obstruction reflected sunlight/daylight away or into the atrium. During the brightest
time of the day, the daylight reduction levels were constantly decreasing for the three structured roof; flat, pitched
and pyramidal-gridded. However, the structured saw-tooth roof needed further roof modifications as it had
dissimilar light transmittance values.
This study showed the results of an initial investigation on the effects of the atrium roof form and internal
obstructions on daylight levels in the atrium. Thus, only one parameter, which is the roof structural obstruction, was
considered in the investigation. The analysis also did not consider the effects of clear sky conditions, as they were
very difficult to find and data measured showed the intermediate sky was found to be a norm in this tropical
439
location. Finally, was essential to obtain empirical daylight transmittance data to assess the validity of proposed
atrium roof forms and glazing profiles, before any future proposals to adopt innovative glazing materials for the
atrium could be considered.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Science Fund from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia.
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441
Viability Of Using Cockle Shell As Aggregate In Concrete

K. Shavarebi Ali a, N. Mohamed Ishak b, F. Z. Ismail c
a
Associate Professor, Fac. of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
b
Lecturer, Fac. of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
c
Lecturer, Fac. of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
Abstract
Construction is one of the major sectors that contribute to the country economic. However in the hasty development, lack of
aggregate especially fine aggregate is still being the current issues in the construction industries. Therefore, to avoid
environmental problem such as excavation and sand dragging at the riverbank, the needs of new material for the fine aggregate is
vitally important so that concrete can be continuously produced. The objectives of this research are to evaluate the strength
development of concrete with waste cockle shell as replacement to sand and to determine the suitability or potential of cockle
shell as concrete material. Thirty six cube test cubes 100mm by 100mm were cast using 0.55w/c and 0.64w/c.
Keywords: compressive strength; natural aggregate; concrete; cockle shell; waste material
1. Introduction
Concrete is the most extensively used construction industry material in the world and by far it is only second to
water as the most heavily consumed substance. It is used widely in domestic, commercial, recreational, rural and
educational construction. The problem with construction industry nowadays is that the natural resources and
construction material are declining for time to time. i.e. cement and aggregate [1].Since the resources are declining,
concrete has been a huge topic of research to find a possible way to implement the industrial waste and/or urban
waste in them since it is being used frequently because in order to maintain and build commercial and residential
structures (i.e. highways, bridges, parking lots, building) construction industry alone consume about 70% of overall
mineral extraction in United States [2]. Many research has been done and it is found that aggregates (fine/coarse)
can be successfully replaced by a variety type of waste [3]. Ecological characteristic of construction materials are
one of the factors that has to take into consideration since aggregates quarries is continuing to deplete [4]. To solve
the problem with depletion of natural aggregate the use of alternative aggregate is a natural step towards solving that
issue and to make the solution become more sensible is by using waste materials as the alternative aggregate [5].
Knowing what factors affecting concrete strength is important because concrete depend on their strength to hold
together tall building and avoid catastrophe. Since aggregates typically occupy between 60% and 80% of the
concrete volume, properties of both fresh and hardened concrete are influenced by the quality of aggregate [6]. By
gaining knowledge the factors affecting the concrete strength we can produce a good quality concrete that will have
the maximum strength depending on the mixture design.In Malaysia agriculture industries, cockle shell (Anadara
granosa) is one of the most important species. Locally, know as blood cockle or ‘kerang’, it is bivalve molluscs that
are edible. Cockle shell contributing a production of 78,024.7 tons a year in 2010 because in Malaysia, cockle
aquaculture areas extend about 10,383.09 hectares and this amount will continue to increase every year. [7].
________
Tel.: (+603) 5544 4338,
E-mail address: zarkam@yahoo.com
442
Cockle shell has been abandoned and discarded in a huge dump from the observation at the landing site of the
cockle shell. One of the benefits achieved from using these cockle by-products (shell) is it can reduces the
environmental degradation and pollution of the environment because the time taken for the cockle shells to
decay would take years. [8]. Malaysians researchers evaluated and determine the minerals composition of cockle
shells and it is found that it has quite similarity with aggregate minerals composition such as sand. Cockle shells
comprise of more than 98.7% of calcium carbonate (CaC) and meanwhile sand comprise of 67.75% of CaC. This
shows the similarity of the minerals of these two natural resources. Not to mention the magnesium (Mg) and
silica (Si) in both of the specimens. [9]. Ampleness resources, inexpensive and can be used as a way to dispose
the shell, studies have been borne out to examine the feasibilities of using the cockle shell ash as partial cement
replacement in concrete.
2. Laboratory Experiment
2.1 Materials
Concrete consists of cement, sand and water. High quality materials are vital to produce a high quality concrete.
In this study, cockle shell is used in concrete test to observe the strength of the concrete. Cockle shell is chosen
as it is a by-product in sea life and also as a substitute to sand in the construction industry. For this study,
Ordinary Portland cement is used as it is a regular in the construction industry in compliance with MS 522 [10]
and BS EN 197-1 [11]. Aggregate such as coarse aggregate and fine aggregate are used in the concrete mixture.
Single sized aggregates of size 20 mm, under BS EN 12620:2013 [12]. The crushed cockle shell is added to the
concrete mixtures are 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% respectively. The cockle shells are grinded to the size of sand
which is 1.18mm by using Los Angeles Abrasion Machine (grinder).
2.2. Minerals Composition of Aggregate and Cockle Shell
To use cockle as a replacement of concrete mixtures, the chemical composition of the cockle shell must be
suitable and have a similarity with any of the materials in the mixtures. The composition of cockle composed of
CaC, Na, Si, Mg and others minerals which is quite similar with the mineral composition of sand [13]. Table 1
below shows the comparison of both natural materials.
Table 1. The mineral composition for sand and cockle shell
Minerals Percentage (%)

Cockle Shell Sand
CaC 98.99 67.75
Mg 0.51 1.17
Si 0.078 21.00
Na 0.9 -
Others < 0.1 < 5.3
2.3. Preparation of Specimen

Table 2. Mix design
Coarse
Aggregate (kg/m3)
Water-Cement Cockle Shell Cement Water Aggregate
Ratio Amount (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
Cockle Shell Fine Aggregate
0.64 0 320 205 800 0 1060
5 320 205 800 53 1007
10 320 205 800 106 954
20 320 205 800 212 848
30 320 205 800 318 742
0.55 0 373 205 850 0 955
5 373 205 850 48 907
10 373 205 850 96 859
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20 373 205 850 192 763

30 373 205 850 287 668
The amount of materials used in this study depends on amount of the water content involved. For the tests, the
water contents are at 0.64 and 0.55 which are the high-water content for compressive strength test. The concrete
sample taken for this study is 9 cubes as a preparation in case of wastage during the slump test. The cockle shell will
be crushed and sieve according to size of the sand which is 1.18 mm and there will be four mix proportion 0%, 5%,
10%, 20% and 30% replaced in each of the water cement ratio, 0.64 and 0.55. The mix proportions are shown in
Table 2 above.
2.4. Measuring Technique
The specimen will be poured into a steel cube mould of size 100 mm x 100 mm. The test specimen followed the
standard requirement [14]. The size used is common for compressive strength test.
Concrete of mix proportion 5%, 10%, 20%, 30% and a control specimen were prepared. The mixing is made
according to DOE method. The properties of these mixes are checked and adjustment in the mix proportions are
made and followed by further trial mixes until a fully satisfactory mix is obtain. The moulds were filled with
concrete to 100 mm thickness and vibrated using compacting table as stated in the standard until the complete
compaction is obtain. The moulds are then left to dry for 24 hours. After 24 hours the mould were dissemble to
retrieve the specimen. The specimen will be marked for identification and transferred to water curing tank. The
concrete cubes are immersed in the curing tank and are left for 3, 7 and 28 days accordingly for both water-cement
ratio 0.64 and 0.55.
2.5. Workability Test
The workability of fresh concrete is tested accordance with BS EN 12350-2:2009. The mix will be poured into a
cone and filled about 1/3 cone volume and uniformly rod the layer 25 times followed by second layer 2/3 cone
volume and uniformly rod 25 times. The cone is overfilled with third layer and rod uniformly. The excessive
concrete will be removed and the cone will be removed by raising it carefully in a vertical direction without lateral
or tensional motion. The difference height of the cone and the mix will be recorded.
2.6. Compressive Strength Test
The compressive strength of harden concrete is tested accordance with BS EN 12390-3:2002. The concrete
cubes need to be dried out after curing and the specimen density is determined by weighing machine. The
bearing surface have to be clean from any debris from previous specimen and that any loosen grit or other
extraneous material is removed from the surfaces of the cube which will be in contact with the plate. The cube
are carefully place in the center on the lower plate and ensure that the load will be applied to two opposite cast
faces of the cube if auxiliary plate is being used, align the top auxiliary plate with the cube. Apply and increase
the load continuously at nominal rate. Record the maximum load applied to the cube. This is applied to the entire
specimen when their curing days is due.
For every water-cement ratio and percentage of cockle shell, two specimen with be tested for compressive
strength test. The value will be added together to achieve average value. This value will then be compared with
control specimen (0%) value to identify any changes.
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3.1. Workability Test Result
Workability of concrete is basically how well the concrete in the fresh (plastic) state ability to fill the mold
properly without reducing its quality and strength. Factor determine the workability of concrete is depends on
water content, aggregate size and shape distribution and cement content. To increase the workability of a
concrete is simply by increasing the water content but excessive water content can lead to bleeding or
segregation. This test is to determine whether adding cockle shell can affect the workability of a concrete mix
and by that we can determine whether by adding cockle shell reduces the water content of the mixture which will
result in less workability or vice versa.
Table 3. Slump test result
Cockle Shell Height (mm)

0.64 0.55
0 70 55
5 50 40
10 45 30
20 20 10
30 18 8
Table 3 shows the result of the slump test for 0%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% for both 0.64 water-cement ratio and
0.55 water-cement ratio mixes. From the table above, it shows the first impression of the cockle shell as a
replacement for aggregate. For both 0.64 and 0.55 water-cement ratio mixes, the mixes become less workable
compared to the control mix. For 0.64 mix, 5% height is reduced by 29%, 10% height is reduced by 36%, 20%
height is reduced by 71% and 30% height is reduced by 74%. For 0.55 mix, 5% height is reduced by 27%, 10%
height is reduced by 46%, 20% height is reduced by 82% and 30% height is reduced by 86%. The result analysis
will be discussed at the conclusion section.
3.2. Compressive Strength Test Result
Compressive test is a lab test that measures the concrete strength per millimeter square. The concrete mix affects
the compressive strength of the concrete. Compressive strength is the amounts of force that concrete can
withstand in 28 days after it has been placed. The average period of time required for concrete to gain its full
strength is 28 days.
Compressive test result has been recorded for both 0.64 and 0.55 water-cement ratio concrete blocks with 0%,
5%, 10%, 20% and 30% of cockle shell in N/mm². The percentage increased is based on the comparison with the
normal concrete mix (0% of cockle shell).
Table 4. Compressive strength test result 0.64 w/c mix samples
Cockle Shell Compressive Strength (N/mm2)

(%) 3 days 7 days 28 days
0 13 20 28
5 19 21 32
10 21 22 32
20 22 23 30
30 13 20 28
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Table 4 shows the result of the compressive strength test for 0.64 water-cement ratio mix with the data taken for
3, 7 and 28 days with the compressive strength of 13 N/mm², 20 N/mm² and 28 N/mm² respectively. The control
result varies depending on the percentage of the cockle shell added to the concrete.
The mixture with 5%, 10% and 20% of cockle shell replacement shows a slight increase for the compressive
strength for the 3 days curing period: 19 N/mm² for 5%, 21 N/mm² for 10%, and 22 N/mm² for 20% but the
value remain unchanged for 30%. On the 7 days curing period, all shows an increasing value except for 30%
where the value stayed 20 N/mm². 7 days of 5% is 21 N/mm², 10% is 22 N/mm², 20% is 23 N/mm² and 30% is
20 N/mm². On the 28th day of the test, the results increased more than the previous: 31 N/mm² for 5%, 32
N/mm² for 10%, 30 N/mm² for 20% but it remain unchanged for 30%. From the result it can be concluded that
0.64 water-cement ratio compressive strength is strengthen with the presence of the cockle shell in the concrete
mixture but decrease as it reach 20%.
Table 5. Compressive strength test result 0.55 w/c mix samples
Cockle Shell Compressive Strength (N/mm2)

(%) 3 days 7 days 28 days
0 20 29 42
5 33 30 46
10 34 35 49
20 35 36 46
30 20 31 44
Table 5 below shows the control mix data 0.55w/c. On the third day for the control mix, compressive strength is
20 N/mm², 7 days is 29 N/mm² and 28 days is 42 N/mm². Based on the table above, the compressive strength of
every specimen that contains cockle shell increased except for 30%. For 5% it increased by 13 N/mm², for 10%
it increased by 14 N/mm² and for 20% it increased by 15 N/mm² but for 30% the compressive strength drop 15
N/mm² compared to 20%. The increase in compressive strength is followed after 7 days of curing where the
compressive strength is better with the presence of the cockle shell in the mix but for 30% the compressive
strength continue to drop and for 28 days the compressive strength for 20% and 30% mix has decline by 3
N/mm² and 5 N/mm² respectively compared to the 10% mix.
Despite the increased in the results, the results for 0.55w/c concrete samples were not the desired results due to
the decrease of strength on day-28 for the sample with 20% cockle shell content. The data for compressive
strength result is shown graphically at Figure 1 and 2.
PERCENTAGE INCREASE OF STRENGTH

40
PERCENTAGE (%)
30
20
10
0
0% 5% 10% 20% 30%
Figure 1: Strength development comparison result for 0.64 w/c mix
446
60
50
PERCENTAGE (%)
40
30
20
10
0
0% 5% 10% 20% 30%
Figure 1: Strength development comparison result for 0.55 w/c mix
3.3. Strength Development
Table 6. Percentage increase of strength for 0.64 w/c mix.

Strength Increase of Concrete (%)
Days
0% 5% 10% 20% 30%
3 1.00 1.46 1.62 1.69 1.00
7 1.00 1.05 1.10 1.15 1.00
28 1.00 1.11 1.14 1.07 1.00
Table 6 above shows the increase in the percentage of the concrete strength for 0.64w/c with day-3 showing the
highest increase from 1.00% to 1.69% compared to the reading of day-28, which is from 1.00% to 4.02%. The
strength of the concrete increased in parallel with the percentage of cockle shell in the concrete which is the
desired result for this test but it decrease as when reach the 20% mix and continue to decrease for 30%.
Therefore, the usage of cockle shell in concrete has proved to be beneficial in this study. The increase in the
concrete strength is discussed in the following analysis.
Table 7. Percentage increase of strength for 0.55 w/c mix.

Strength Increase of Concrete (%)
Days
0% 5% 10% 20% 30%
3 1.00 1.65 1.70 1.75 1.00
7 1.00 1.03 1.21 1.24 1.07
28 1.00 1.10 1.17 1.10 1.05
Table 7 above shows the increased concrete strength due to the increase in percentage at 0.55w/c. Based on the
table above, the strength of the concrete increased on day-3 and day-7. However, the result for day-28 for 20%
increase at the start of 3 and 7 days but the strength decrease at the 28 days. The data for percentage increase of
strength in concrete is shown graphically at Figure 3 and 4.
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0.8
0.7
PERCENTAGE (%) 0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
5% 10% 20% 30%
Figure 3. Percentage increase of strength for 0.64 w/c mix.

0.8
PERCENTAGE (%)
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
5% 10% 20% 30%

Figure 4. Percentage increase of strength for 0.55 w/c mix.
4. Conclusion
The aim of this research is intended to study the suitability of using waste cockle shell as a potential replacement
of fine aggregate in terms of strength by conducting compressive strength test.
From the workability test, it shows that the higher the percentage of cockle shell replacement in concrete the less
workability of the concrete. This due to the rough surface of the cockle shell itself that greatly binds and interlock
the mix. This explains why the higher percentage replacement results in lower workability. Since aggregate is
heavier compared to cockle shell therefore to replace a certain amount of aggregate with cockle shells will result in
adding more cockle shell since it is lighter than sand. Thus, the more amount of aggregate added the higher its
ability to interlock and binds all the material of the concrete together.
Result from the compressive strength shows that cockle shell enhance and improve the compressive strength of
0.64 ratio mix. This is due to the fact that the angular shape of cockle shell is able to achieve interlocking properties
of aggregates and interlock all the constituent material in the concrete improves the strength. However, 0.55 water-
cement ratio mixes the strength decrease for 20% of cockle shell replacement but still compatible with concrete mix.
Thus the suitability of using cockle is acceptable on for a percentage below 20% because higher than that percentage
will result the declining of the compressive strength.
448
The cockle shell is able to bind together with the sand but due to less amount of sand in the mixture therefore the
combination of these two materials is less effective to interlock the cement and coarse aggregate together because
0.55 water-cement ratio have higher amount of cement and coarse aggregate compared to 0.64 water-cement ratio.
The high amount of cockle shell is also one of the factor for the compressive strength value to decline, thus it can
be concluded that high amount of cockle shell combines with high amount of cement and coarse aggregate does not
interlock the constituent material of the mix properly thus result in low compressive strength. The researcher also
mentions that since it does not react with Portland cement, by decreasing the fineness modulus, the workability of
concrete is decreased [15]. This is similar with the slump test result even though the fineness modulus remains
constant, but by increasing the amount of cockle shell it can be said that it is the same as increasing the fineness
modulus of the cockle shell.
The utilization of cockle shell replacement in concrete is suitable to be use in 0.64 water-cement ratio compared
to 0.55 water-cement ratio. With 0.64 water cement ratio, the more percentage of cockle shell added the higher the
concrete compressive strength and with 0.55 water-cement ratio it should not go beyond 20% of cockle shell
replacement.
For recommendations more technical and experimental study needs to be carried out to understand the mechanism
and suitability of cockle shell in concrete mixture. The benefits of the study will give technical information for
construction industry on replacement of valuable resources that are depleting from time to time and provide the
industries with sustainable resources as alternatives resources.
Acknowledgment
The author would like to thank Research Management Institute (RMI) University Teknologi Mara for providing
the grant for this research and also assistant Muhamad Fauzi Bin Yahaya for his contribution in completing this
research.
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Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Building Construction: University of Florida, pp 12
Maria Chiara Bignozzi, Andrea Saccani. (2012). ‘Ceramic waste as aggregate and supplementary cementing
material: A combined action to contrast alkali silica reaction (ASR)’. Cement and Concrete Composites, Volume 34,
Issue 10, 1141-1148
H. Hebhoub, H. Aoun, M. Belachia, H. Houari, E. Ghorbel. (2011). ‘Use of waste marble aggregates in concrete’.
Construction and Building Materials, Volume 25, Issue 3, 1167-1171
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Durability properties’. Construction and Building Materials, Volume 25, Issue 5, 2413-2419
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M. Y lmaz, A. Tuğrul. (2012). ‘The effects of different sandstone aggregates on concrete strength’ Construction and
Building Materials, Volume 35, 294-303
Department of Fisheries Malaysia (2010) Annual Fisheries Statistic 2010 Jabatan Perikanan Malaysia.
Nor Hazurina, O., Abu Bakar, B.H, Megat Johari, M.A, Mat Don, M. (2013). Potential Use of Cockle (Anadara
granosa) Shell Ash as Partial Cement Replacement in Concrete, Caspian Journal of Applied Sciences
Research,2(AICCE’12&GIZ’12),pp. 369-376
Awang-Hazmi, A.J., Zuki, A.B.Z., Noordin, M.M., Jalila, A., Norimah, Y. (2007). Mineral Composition of the
Cockle (Anadara granosa) Shells of West Coast of Penisular Malaysia and It’s Potential as Biomaterial for Use in
Bone Repair, Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances6,(5):591-594
MALAYSIAN STANDARDS 522: Part 1, Specification for Portland Cement, SIRIM Malaysia (1989)
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Cement Mortars for Masonry and Plastering’.Journal of Environmental Management111, 133-141
450
Identification Of Dampness Due To Water Leakages In High-

Rise Residential Buildings In Malaysia
N. H. Ishaka,46*, A. I. Che Anib, F. W.Akashahc, B. Anak Kayand

a,c
Centre for Construction, Building and Urban Studies (CeBUS), Fakulti Alam Bina, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur
b
Fakulti Kejuruteraan dan Alambina,Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor
d
Urban Conservation and Tropical Architecture (UCTA), Fakulti Alam Bina, University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur
Abstract
Malaysia which enlisted in tropical countries received high proportion of annual rainfall makes the building easily exposed to
damages and vulnerable to dampness. Building in this region should be capable enough to resist the humidity and condensation.
Building dampness is like an uncontrollable disease that will lead the buildings to deteriorate. Dampness and water leakages
problem are among the major affected building issues in the residential buildings in Malaysia that required high maintenance of
defects. Furthermore, the life style of Malaysian people that used excessive water in everyday life is also one of the important
factors that can cause dampness to the residential buildings. The purpose of this study is to identify the dampness due to water
leakages i.e. type , causes water leakage and the affected leakage area in high rise residential buildings as an earliest action before
planning for it maintenance. A face-to-face interview was carried out based on a semi-structure questionnaire on 156
maintenance management team of the selected buildings. The findings concluded that dampness was the most serious defects
found in high-rise residential buildings in Malaysia. The construction fault that shows the low quality of workmanship seems to
be the dominant factor that caused water leakage and the toilet floor area is the most common area for water leakage syndrome to
occur among other leakage elements in the residential building. Thus in the maintenance management, periodical maintenance
was the only solution to ensure the building is in good condition. The durability and longevity of a building is related to proper
maintenance besides building design and construction method.
Keywords: dampness; defects; water leakage; maintenance; residential buildings.
1. Introduction
Regional considerations are the most important factors that always influence the design and its architecture. It
ranges from local customs, sociology, climatic conditions and availability of materials and local building techniques.
Residential buildings in Malaysia present the conditions that suggest that ample consideration should be given to
resist the high humidity and condensation at design stage. In failure of such, results in the form of accumulating
dampness and its different form within building envelope and its enclosure.
Leak is created from accidental hole or crack or fissure that can allow water to enter or escape from the spaces of
a building in any way (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 2000). Leaks in building can
be caused by dampness, water spillage and leaks, condensation, water entrapment, water penetration and rising
dampness. The following lists are the common spaces in a building affected by these kinds of leakage; basement,
* Nor Haniza Ishak. Tel.: +6-013-365-7331; fax: +6-603-7967-5713.

E-mail address: norhanizaishak@gmail.com
451
garden, toilets, kitchens, bathrooms, shop lots, offices, work spaces and others. The buildings structures commonly
have to deal with water leaks are from below to the top of the concrete ground slabs, walls (including the openings’
frames such as doors and windows), ceilings and the roof structures (Richardson, 1995).
Leakage syndrome happened not only in old building but also new building. There are various type of leakage
such as rising damp, condensation, water penetration and water entrapment. Water seepage results mainly from poor
construction design, inferior materials, poor workmanship and deterioration of building materials. The misuse of
sanitary fittings and improper maintenance of sewer piping system may result in water seepage. It is more the
failings in the frame of systems that control their activities rather than the individual that to blame for the defects.
Poor construction practices of the contractor like the use of damaged formwork and its early removal, failure to
remove entrapped water and poor execution of waterproof membranes could cause defects in the completed
building. Due to all the factors, water leakage will happen and caused dampness to the building ((Keith 1982;
Mendel et al. 2006).
Walls leak because water passes through them from the outside to the inside in a manner determined to be
potentially damaging to the fabric or the contents, or that impacts the comfort of the occupants. For a leak to occur,
three conditions must be in place: water at the exterior surface, a motive force top moves it through the wall, and
sufficient time to transport the fluid. Most water enters the building through joints between materials or at junctures
of change in geometry. Small streams indicate two things: water coming through cracks or holes or spills through
the openings of the wall head (Samuel, 2001).
A study of the high-rise residential building in Malaysia done by Afaq (2010) shows that the factor ‘problem of
dampness in buildings’ gained the highest mean in descriptive statistics. These ranges of mean shows that people
have acknowledged the presence of this factor at their respective buildings. However, the study only focuses on the
factors influencing design deficiencies in and their effects on residential buildings at post occupational stage.
Further, Chew and De Silva (2003) studied the building maintenance problems with high-rise residential
buildings in Singapore found that leakage was the most serious problem identified besides ceiling leakage and
service pipe leakage with corrosion of all (nine) problems identified. Water leakages seem to be the most significant
problem that caused dampness to the residential buildings. The resulting leakage types and its various forms attack
the buildings from all sides i.e. from roof to bottom of building and its different form within building envelope and
its enclosure. Residential buildings are among major affected building by this syndrome and consume bulk of
exchanger on the maintenance of defects caused by building leakage. Functional design is the only way to prevent
the building form getting defective or failure at post occupational stage.
Dampness in buildings, if left unattended can lead to structural deteriorations, decay of wood, spoil decorations
and, by encouraging development of moulds and mites it can be dangerous to human health. According to Ipekoglu
et.al (2005), climate is among the most significant factors on the environmental performance, life span and
durability of construction materials in building. Perhaps he also explains that various climatic factors influences
directly or indirectly on buildings and its fabric and causes deterioration in it. Richardson (2001) highlighted that
humidity is the major source of problem in buildings worldwide. Moisture and resultant dampness can damage the
building structure, finishing and furnishing materials. Building Research Establishment (BRE) (1976) revealed that
50 percent of defects in buildings are caused by the dampness.
Generally, leakage in building is caused by few possible factors; it can be seen from different angles, such as the
environment factor, non-suitable design, poor workmanship and lacking of maintenance (Briffet,1995). The
purpose of this study is to identify the type of dampness, causes and affected area of dampness in high-rise
residential buildings as an earliest action before planning for it maintenance. Methods of investigation and survey
will be restricted to the physical of the buildings, internally and externally.
2. The Methodology
This discussion focuses on the appropriate survey instruments, data to be collected and the methods used in
analyzing the causes and other constraint factor of the investigation. Primary and secondary approaches which
452
involved literature review, questionnaire survey and field observation were selected to be conducted, based on the
limitation such as constraint of time, cost, confidentiality and sensitivity of the investigations.
2.1 Survey Investigation
This survey is conducted for obtaining primary information from the selected residential building which includes
observation, visual inspection, note-taking and photographs. Information obtained from the visual inspection will
determines whether there is a need for further comprehensive investigation using more sophisticated testing
technique. This study had surveyed the building floor to floor. Measuring equipments were used for diagnosing
purposes such as to check humidity, moisture content and identify defect sizes. There are two types of residential
building will be counted as case studies, the high-rise and low rise building. Ten buildings were chosen for the
research are over five years of building age. From all ten buildings, seven units of the high-rise building were
chosen as the sampling for this research.
2.2 Interviews and Questionnaires
The use of semi structured interview is necessary to strengthen and achieve the objectives of the research. The
questionnaire is designed to the respondent of the case study building mainly to find out leakage syndrome through
the present of leakage defect in the form of leakage type, leakage causes and leakage areas. A set of 200
questionnaire forms were distributed to the managerial and sub-managerial of the maintenance management team of
the selected case study buildings and 156 questionnaires were returned.
2.3 Data Analysis Technique
The collected data was tabulated and analyzed by using the descriptive analysis. The descriptive analysis refers
to the transformation of data in raw format, which will make it easier for interpretation. The statistical package for
the social science (SPSS) software for windows version 12.0 is used to analyzing the data. The raw data were edited
by means of frequency and percentage distribution for making the data readable and reliable.
3. The Findings
Dampness can be identified through the analysis of leakage syndrome that highlighted the types and causes of
leakage and also the affected leakage areas. The ultimate objective of any dampness study is to determine the lead
sources of moisture or liquid movement through materials.
3.1. Leakage type
There are generally four types of leakage in a high-rise residential building that are dampness, water penetration,
water entrapment, and condensation. From the survey result in Table 3.1, the highest distribution of leakage type is
dampness (46.2%). The second highest leakage type is water penetration (30.1%), followed by water entrapment
(18.6%) and condensation (3.8%). However, some of the respondents have an opinion that the burst pipe is another
type of leaking problem with a percentage of 1.3%.
453
Table 3.1 The Analysis of Water Leakage Type
Leakage Type Percentage

Dampness
46.2
Water Penetration 30.1
Water Entrapment 18.6
Condensation 3.8
Others(ie. pipe burst) 1.3
Total 100.0
50
40
30
20
10
0
Dampness Water Water Condensation Others
Penetration Entrapment
Percentange
Figure 3.1 Analysis on Leakage Type
3.2 Causes of leakage
The causes of water leakages is categorized in five major causes which are design fault(DF), construction
fault(CF), poor maintenance performance(PM), environment influence(EI) and the usage pattern(UP). However,
each of the causes is breakdown into their specific sub-causes. The analysis in Table 3.2 shows that the leakage
under design fault category is caused by selection of material (14.1%), design detailing (5.1%) and design
consideration (10.3%). For the construction fault, 4.5% of leakage is caused by construction supervision problem
and workmanship problem (24.4%). Total 12.9% leakage caused by poor maintenance performance are divided into
four sub-causes of poor out-source services (1.3%), inadequate budget allocation (4.5%), poor quality of material
(5.8%) and others (1.3%). Another leakage causes is environment influence which contributed by the sub-causes of
climatic condition (17.9%) and external force (8.3%). Lastly, the leakage caused by usage pattern is overload
(1.3%) and misused problem (1.3%).
From the analysis results, the dominant causes of water leakages was due to construction fault supervision and
workmanship problem (24.4%), Followed by environment influence which contributed by the sub-causes of
climatic condition (17.9%) and design fault category is caused by selection of material (14.1%)
454
Table 3.2 The Analysis on Causes of Water Leakage
Causes of leakage Percentage

Design Fault (DF)
Design fault - select of material 14.1
Design fault-detailing 5.1
Design fault-design consideration 10.3
Construction fault(CF)
Construction fault-supervision 4.5
Construction fault- workmanship 24.4
Poor maintenance performance(PM)
Poor maintenance – out-source services 1.3
Poor maintenance-budget allocation 4.5
Poor maintenance-material quality 5.8
Poor maintenance- others 1.3
Environment influence(EI)
Environment influence - climatic 17.9
condition
Environment influence-external forces 8.3
Usage pattern(UP)
Usage pattern-overload 1.3
Usage pattern-misuse 1.3
Total 100.0
Water Leakage Causes

30
25
20
15
10
5
0 Percentage
Figure 3.2 Analysis of Water Leakage Causes
3.3 Leakage area
The study of water leakages in high-rise residential buildings also analyzes the affected leakage area. Areas that
faced water leakage problem from the selected buildings are inclusive of the roof area, wall, floor (especially the
toilet area), gutter and down pipe, window and door, plumbing services, water tank and jointing area. Obviously,
from the Table 3.3 shows the dominant leakage area of the residential building is the toilet floor area (25.6%). The
second highest percentage of leakage area is the pitched-roof area (17.9%) followed by the external wall area
(14.1%); rain water down-pipe (7.7%); internal wall (6.4%); other type of wall (4.5%); roof area with combination
type and plumbing services and water tank each shows the results of 3.8%; flat roof with 2.6% and lastly the
basement wall, window and door, and joints each show the results of 0.6% of leakage area.
From the above results, the most affected area due to water leakages in high-rise residential buildings is the toilet
floor area. Being known as the dampest area in the building, toilets floor area need to be well maintained, to prevent
455
from the development of leakage defects. This problem is very common to all buildings and to avoid it from
reoccurring, the construction method at the toilets floor area need to be upgraded especially the use of damp
proofing elements. Due to water leakages problem at toilet area will results stain and moulds at the internal and
external wall and floor which will reduce the building performance in long term period.
Table 3.3 The Analysis of Water Leakage Area
Leakage area Percentage

Roof-pitched 17.9
Roof-flat 2.6
Roof-combination 3.8
Wall-external 14.1
Wall-internal 6.4
Wall-others 4.5
Floor-toilet 25.6
Floor-basement 0.6
Rain water-gutter 6.4
Rain water-down pipe 7.7
Rain water-others 1.3
Window and doors 0.6
Plumbing 3.8
Water tank 3.8
Joints 0.6
Total 100.0
30
25
20
15
10
5
Percentage
0
x t nd r s
-m ad
CF de ling
se
PM dge se hip
ve s
lq n
PM t so rkm sion
at llo es
c o -d e o n
- o -w er n
n
- y
-o rce
-e o e
ia tio
it
p o
na io
isu
UP rlo
EI ic c oth
-m t a rvic
u e s
lim P ual
i
PM C -su a ti
i
ig DF ect
er it
ns t a
-b urc an
UP l fo
er ca
u o vi
r
M
l
se
i
l' s
ia
at
er
F
n
at
-c
es
-m
EI
-d
DF
DF
Figure 3.3 Analysis of Leakage Area
4. Conclusion
Overall, the objective of this study has successfully been achieved. The dominant water leakage type found in high-
rise residential building is dampness. The construction fault which was normally faced the low quality of
workmanship problem during construction period seems to be the dominant factor that allowed water leakage
syndrome in residential buildings. This is due to the use of semi-skilled and un-skilled labour. Furthermore, it is
found that the toilet floor area is the most common area for water leakage syndrome to occur among other leakage
elements in the residential building. This is because toilet is the dampest area in the residential buildings. As a
consequence, occupant at the lower floor may suffer with dripped water when leakage occurred on the floor area.
456
The building elements such as roof, ceiling and floor area which lack of damp proof element may caused a lot of
problem that has resulted damp patches and fungus attack on the area. Whereas the most affected area caused by
dampness was found at roof area. This shows that the climatic condition is the most significant factor to cause
dampness in residential building.These findings had strengthened the facts that dampness is the most significant
defects found in most residential buildings in Malaysia.
Dampness is the major defect that affected buildings, it deteriorates the building components and materials and
as a whole, it will also affect the functional performance of a building. In residential buildings, dampness can lead to
discomfort and to some extent can affects the occupier/end-users health. By focusing on the long-term needs,
hopefully this study can solve the dampness problem in residential building and gain more advantages, such as cost-
effective reductions in leakage, operational cost savings and improved regulatory reporting. Therefore, building
maintenance management plays an important role for the building life cycle and sustainability. So, to prevent
leakage problem periodical maintenance is the only solution to ensure the building is in good condition. The
durability and longevity of a building is related to proper maintenance besides building design and construction
method.
Here, building maintenance takes an important place for the building life cycle and sustainability. The durability
and longevity of a building is related to proper maintenance besides building design and construction method.
Sometimes, there is no absolute solution to avoid building from being deteriorated by leaking problem because it is
daily exposed to the nature; e.g. rainwater, underground water and etc, so the only solution are building’s repair and
remedial works to ensure the building is in good condition and can be use longer is by doing periodical maintenance
to prevent leakage problem. Besides that the building owner can get the ideas and understand more deeply about the
dampness due to water leakages in the residential buildings. Besides, by focus on the long-term needs, hopefully this
study can solve the leakage problem on residential building and gain more advantages, such as cost-effective
reductions in leakage, operational cost savings and improved regulatory reporting.
Therefore, according to Brian (2003), sustainable care is about more than the care of a sustainable building; it is
also about caring for any or all buildings in a sustainable manner. Determinants of sustainable care could include
low maintenance, high durability, design attuned to use of building, adaptability, reusability and the use of
appropriate technologies.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Ms Low Kin Woh for her generous assistance and valuable inputs in producing
this paper.
References
Afaq H.C (2010) Factors Influencing Design Deficiencies in Private Housing: A Study in Klang Valley, Malaysia,
Sci. International (Lahore) Journal, 22(3): 181-188.
BRE. (1976) Failure Pattern and Implications, BRE Digest 176, Gartson.
Brian Wood (2003) Building Care, Blackwell Publishing, United Kingdom.
Briffet, C. (1995) Building Maintenance Technologies in Tropical Climate, Singapore University Press, Singapore.
Chew, M.Y.L., DeSilva, N. (2003) Maintainability problems of wet area in high-rise residential buildings in
Singapore, Building Research and Information Journal, Vol. 31 No.1, pp.60-9.
Ipekoglu,B.,Boke.H., and Cizer, O.(2007). Assesment of materials Use In Relation to Climate in Historical
Buildings. Building Environment.42.
Mendell, et.al.(2006) Causes of Prevention of Symptom Complaints in Office Buildings, Facilities Vol:24.No 11/12.
457
Richardson, B. A. (2001) Defects and Deterioration in Buildings, 2nd ed. Oxford: Press Ltd.
Richardson, B.A.(1995) Remedial Treatment of Building. Oxford: Press Ltd.
Samuel Y. H. (2001) Building Pathology- Deterioration, Diagnostic and Intervention, United States of America:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language (2000) 4 th Edition. London: Houghton Mifflin
Company.
458
Singgora Tiles: Perception of the Community in Kota Bharu,

Kelantan
N. H. Abdullaha47, R. Zawawia, Z. Md Alia,
a
Department of Building Surveying, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya
Abstract
Plain tile, locally known as Singgora tile, is a type of traditional tile that has been widely used in Kelantan as a roof covering
before the advent of modern roofs. With the passage of time, these tiles are now almost forgotten and most of the buildings that
still use it are old buildings and newly constructed traditional buildings. The goal of this study is to find out community
perceptions towards Singgora tiles by the age of the community members, and analyzing the potential for demand for Singgora
tiles to develop in the market. In this study, it has been concluded that users agree on the advantage of Singgora tiles in providing
a cool indoor temperature in the house, but the product is easily broken. The majority of users turn to other types of roof covering
because of the limited supply of Singgora tiles. However, most users are interested in using Singgora tiles if the quality is
improved. With regards to the new generation, the awareness of the existence of this traditional tile decreases with age.
Keywords: Roofing, Tiles, Conservation, Malaysia, Traditional Malay house, Clay tile, Singgora
1. Introduction
The traditional Malay buildings in Peninsula Malaysia include palaces, mosques and houses. The Malay house is a
reflection of the Malay community’s customs and way of living. There are three main parts in a traditional Malay
house; the pillars, the walls and the roof (Nasir & Teh, 2011). According to Killmann et al. (1994), the roofs of
buildings in Malaysia were traditionally covered with organic and combustible material such as palm leaves and
wood. Repeated fires subsequently forced the owners to switch to more expensive but safer terracotta tiles. Roof
covering of the Peninsular East-Coast houses use the plain clay tiles, known locally as Singgora tiles, is the roofing
material that has received the foreign influence due to historical and cultural traits with Thailand and Indo-China
(Killmann, 1994).
The history of Singgora tiles in this country is obscure because there is no proper record of their existence.
However, many scholars believed the industry of producing Singgora tiles originated from the south of Thailand
(Adit, 1994; Salinger, 1997) which was a part of the Malay Kingdom in the past. Previously, the roofs of Malay
houses were covered with thatch, but the use of Singgora tiles became popular after the enforcement of the law that
buildings must be constructed using non-combustible materials. This led to the development of the Singgora tile
industry because it was the only non-combustible roof covering that was available in Kelantan at that time.
Moreover, since 1950s, the improvement of transportation waterways has encouraged the development of the
Singgora tile industry as it was then transported for any distance inland around Kelantan and Trengganu (Adit,
1994).
1
Corresponding author. Tel.: +6019-232-2564; fax: +6-03-5544-4545
E-mail address: hikmah@salam.uitm.edu.my
459
Adit (1994) documented the periods of major growth and decline of the Singgora tile industry in Kelantan. He noted
that the Singgora tile industry was booming between 1950 and 1965 especially after the independence of the Malay
states in 1957. In 1960s, the government improved the road system between Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan, and
modern roofs such as zinc sheet and asbestos were introduced into the Kelantan market. Singgora tiles were
relatively cheaper than that of modern roofing materials. However, most of the users preferred to choose modern
roofing material because it was easily available in the market and convenient to install and maintain. Towards 1965,
the use and demand of Singgora tiles declined gradually and this continued up to 1970s, partly due to strong
competition with other modern roofs available in the market. Furthermore, with the emergence of the tobacco
industry which gave a relatively higher income, it affected the production of Singgora tiles industry due to shortage
of labours. In 1970s, the demand for Singgora tiles decreased and many entrepreneurs began to shut down their
operations (Adit 1994). Shamsu and Zulkifli (2011) claim that since 1977 up to present, there was only one Singgora
tile factory in Malaysia that was still operating and it became the sole supplier for conservation works and new
traditional buildings.
Nowadays, most of the demand for this traditional tile is to repair damage to the roofs of old dwellings, and
for use in pavilions, museums, restaurants and chalet gazebos, as well as for conservation projects. While little effort
has been made to prevent the decline of this folk industry, much less has been done to educate the new generation on
this heritage craft. Important questions arise: Does the old generation still prefer to retain the use of Singgora tiles as
roof covering for their houses? What is the community perception about these tiles? Does the new generation know
about this old roof covering? Is there any hope to redevelop this industry? The current study explores the
community’s perceptions of the knowledge and their viewpoints on Singgora tiles.
2. Research Design
The survey was conducted in June 2013 in Kota Bharu, the state capital of Kelantan, to find out the current
community’s perceptions and knowledge about Singgora tiles and the community’s interest in this product in future.
The questions in the questionnaire used to elicit information for the study were asked verbally in face-to-face
interviews. The questionnaire included multiple-choice, multiple-select, and constructed response items. The
respondents were categorised into two set of questionnaires depending upon their group age of those born before
and after 1990.
Set A: Adult and senior citizen questionnaire (24 years and above).
Section A requested factual information from respondents (i.e. their race, age, sex, income level, and type
of residence) that might contribute to the later study of the relationship between variables as well as to build some
rapport between the interviewee and researcher at the start of the interview (Gray, 2004). Section B posed a number
of multiple response answer questions that aimed to obtain information about Singgora tiles from the respondent.
Specifically, these items asked about any experience of living in a house roofed with Singgora tiles and their
thoughts on this traditional tile. We also asked adults about the difference between Singgora tiles and other roof
coverings, and their interest in Singgora tiles if this product were to be improved and easily available in the market.
Set B: Child and young adult questionnaire (9 - 23 years old).
The first few items addressed basic demographics such as gender, age and race. This study focused on
survey research where respondents were asked: Do they know what Singgora tiles are? How do they know about
these tiles? The remainder of the questionnaire addressed their interest to use Singgora tiles in the future.
460
Data analysis.
A quantitative approach was undertaken with the descriptive analysis of results from the multiple-choice
and multi selected items in the questionnaire.
3. Results
Set A: Adults and senior citizens
Demographics. For adults, a total of 100 persons were surveyed, out of which 66 were males and 44
females. The majority of the respondents were Malay (97%) with a very small number being Chinese (3%). Most of
the respondents had modest family monthly incomes which were less than RM 3,000.00(87%). The respondents had
categorized into four subgroups based on age: Age 24 to 45 (65 respondents); Age 46 to 50 (10 respondents); Age
51 to 65 (19 respondents) and Age more than 65 (6 respondents).
Knowledge of Singgora tiles. In this study, we first focused on the people’s knowledge about Singgora roof
tiles. The earliest question asked was whether the respondents knew or had seen Singgora roof tiles in Kelantan.
The result shows that all respondents knew Singgora tiles except nine of them. Based on Figure 1 below, all of
respondents aged between 46 and 50 as well more than 65 years old were familiar with Singgora tiles. However,
16% of the respondents aged 51 to 65 did not know about Singgora tiles. In fact, a higher percentage was also
shown by the middle-aged generation in Kelantan aged 24 to 45 years old. Out of 91 respondents that knew of
Singgora tiles, only 80 of them claimed that the supply of these traditional tiles is hardly available.
>65 100%
Age of Respondents (year)
51-65 84% 16%
Yes
46-50 100% No
24-45 91% 9%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Percentage of Respondents
Figure 12: Respondents’ knowledge about Singgora tiles
461
Perception of tile quality. Figure 2 shows the viewpoint of the respondents on Singgora tiles.
Cooling down indoor temperature 84
Broken easily 61
Mossy easily 13
Non-flammable 10
Expensive 4
Attractive 7
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Number of Respondents (n=91)
Figure 13: Respondents’ positive and negative perception about Singgora tiles
This multiple response answer obviously shows that 92% of respondents agreed that Singgora tiles cool
down the indoor temperature of a building. This is due to the characteristics of the raw material. Clay is a natural
thermal mass insulator, which keeps the heat outside. In addition, the small gaps between the overlapping of
Singgora tiles in the roof frame allow air to enter the building, creating natural ventilation inside. 67% of the
respondents agreed that this traditional roofing tile has a weakness - that it is easily broken. In order to truly
comprehend the claim that Singgora tiles are brittle, the respondents were also asked open-ended questions about the
sources of fracture. Here is some of the feedback as reported by 61 respondents representing negative perception:
i) Caused by animals (i.e. trampled by foxes, pigeons and fighting cats)

ii) Heavy rain and storms
iii) Broken tree branches falling on the roof
iv) Too thin
v) The hook of tiles cracks easily
The comments above seem to indicate that most of the defects are caused by the low quality of the tiles. In
fact, attrition from cats, pigeons and rainwater should not break the tiles. This due to the current Singgora tiles being
thinner compared to old Singgora tiles. Approximately one in seven respondents (14%) agreed with the statement
‘Singgora tiles become mossy easily’. This is because the porous body of Singgora tiles traps the water, thus making
them susceptible to moss growing on them, especially during the rainy season. In our study, only 10% of
respondents reported that the Singgora tiles were non-flammable, probably because their buildings had once been
exposed to fire. The clay product is characteristically non-flammable in nature. Only 4% of respondents felt that
these tiles were expensive. This is due to the limited source of Singgora tiles, with only one supplier in Malaysia.
8% of these respondents agreed that the design of Singgora tiles was attractive. The arrangement of the tiles in the
roof frame gives an aesthetic value to the building as the tiles look like fish scales.
462
Had used Singgora

17 roof tiles, 74 14 60
Never used Singgora tile

Still use Singgora tiles until today
Changed to other types of roof covering
Figure 14: The usage of Singgora tiles by respondents
In fact, refer to Figure 3 above, not all the respondents knew that Singgora tiles had been used as the roof
covering on their dwellings. Of 91 respondents, only 74 of them had used Singgora tiles as the roof covering of their
houses while others knew about this tile because their relative or friend had used it. However, only 14 of 74 still
used it up to the present, while 60 had changed to some other type of roof covering.
From those who had changed the roofing tiles, 78% was due to the inconvenience of getting Singgora tiles,
11% was due to greater durability of other roof materials while the rest wanting to follow the changing housing
style. No doubt, technical obsolescence of Singgora tiles occurs when a new product or technology supersedes them,
and it is preferred to use the new technology in place of the old, even though Singgora tiles are still functional. In
fact, modern tiles attract the users because they are more easily available in the market and are of better quality, thus
reducing the maintenance cost. These 60 respondents were also asked about the comparison between Singgora tiles
and new roof covering. The results show that 53 of the respondents indicated that Singgora tiles provide a cooler
indoor temperature, 6 respondents claim that Singgora tiles produce noise when there is rainfall or trampled on by
animals and only 2 respondents indicated that there was no difference between them.
The survey has also proven that the industry has the opportunity to develop, as 78% out of 91 respondents
were still interested in using it if the quality of the product was improved. 60% of them suggested that the quality of
the product can be improved by increasing the thickness of the tiles. However, for them to use singgora tiles for their
buildings, somesuggested the following:
463
i) Cheaper sales price

ii) Change the design of the tiles to a modern one
iii) Increase the number of suppliers
22% of the total respondents gave strong reasons not to use Singgora tiles if there were an improvement in quality
because of the installation of Singgora tiles uses a lot of timber battens as a frame, broken tiles are complicated to
replace and, in terms of design, are not attractive and outdated.
Set B: Children and teenagers
Demographics. Set B questionnaire was distributed to 50 people below the age of 24 years old. The
variables in the questionnaire were focused on their knowledge of Singgora tiles and their experience living in a
house using this type of clay roof tiles. The percentage of respondents based on age subgroups is that Age 9 to 12
(11 respondents); Age 13 to 16 (6 respondents); Age 17 to 20 (13 respondents); and Age 21 to 23 (20 respondents).
All respondents are Malay and the percentages of female and male are 60% and 40% respectively.
Knowledge of Singgora tiles. Figure 4 shows the awareness of respondents of the Singgora tiles. The result shows
that the knowledge of traditional tiles is declining with the respondent’s age. The majority of teenager/young adults
(more than 62%) aged between 17 to 23 years old know about Singgora tiles. The balance of the percentage of
knowledge for those aged between 13 to 16 years is indicated in the graph. In conclusion, the awareness of the new
generation of Singgora tiles is gradually decreasing, especially in the community aged below 12 years old (27%).
21-23 14 6
Age of Respondents (year)
17-20 8 5
Yes
13-16 3 3 No
9-12 3 8
0 5 10 15 20 25
Number of Respondents
Figure 15: Respondents’ knowledge about Singgora tiles.
In order to understand better how children and teenagers know about Singgora tiles although they were not
widely used in the present time, respondents were asked to provide open responses to the question about how they
knew about Singgora tiles. The result shows that the highest sources of knowledge were gained from existing
464
historic buildings (66%). This positive response shows that there are still many buildings covered with this type of
roof tile in these areas. In addition, 24% of the respondents said that they knew about Singgora tiles by the fact that
the house of their grandparents had this type of tile as the roof covering. Only three of the respondents (10%) were
staying in houses covered with Singgora tiles.
In referring to Figure 5 below, the survey data denotes that the majority of respondents (83%) consider
Singgora tiles to have contributed more attractive features to the house, and that they cooled the indoor temperature
(68%). This answer was mostly selected by young adults ranging from 21 to 23 years old. The survey findings show
that 14% of the respondents agree with the statement that water does not leak through the overlap of the Singgora
tiles in the roof frame. It can be said that the installation method of Singgora tiles is effective although they were just
hung in the batten, and they do not produce noise when it rains, as stated by 21% of the respondents. This research
points out that these young people and children are aware about the advantage of using Singgora tiles compared to
other tiles. When they were asked whether they were interested to use Singgora tiles as roof covering in future, 62%
of them chose to answer ‘yes’. This percentage, in so far as our survey is concerned, provides some evidence that
the Singgora tile industry has the opportunity to be redeveloped.
12 11
10
10
8
6 9-12
6
4 13-16
4 3 3 3 3 3 3 17-20
2
2 21-23
1
0
Provides a cool Water does not leak No noisy sound House looks more
indoor temperature through the overlap during rain or when attractive
trampled by animals
Figure 16: Perception of teenagers and children about Singgora tiles.

4. Conclusion
Based from findings, we can conclude that the majority of the community from older generation aged between
24 to 65 years old knows about Singgora tiles while the new generation’s knowledge of Singgora tiles is decreasing
with age. Most of the older generation have experienced using Singgora tiles as roof covering in their houses, but
most of the young generation are aware the existence of these tiles because they were still in used for old and
traditional buildings. Majority of older generation are interested to use Singgora tiles if their quality is improved
provided that the price is cheaper and easily available in market. Most of the new generation had a positive
perception about the characteristics of Singgora tiles. They are also interested to use Singgora tiles as roof covering
in their houses in the future due to its aesthetic and comfort characteristics.
465
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Postgraduate Research Grant (PPP), established at
the University of Malaya, Institute of Research Management and Consultancy (IPPP), grant no PG005-2013A.
References
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persatuan muzium Malaysia, 83-98.
Gray, D. E. (2004). Doing Research in the Real World. London, UK: SAGE Publications
Killmann, W., Sickinger, T., & Thong, H. L. (1994). Restoring & reconstructing the Malay timber house. Kuala
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A Review Of Excessive Heat Transmission In Residential

Building
N. Mizal Azzmia,48*, N. Jamaludin a
a
Building Surveying Department, Universiti Teknologi MARA,32610 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Malaysia
Abstract
Excessive heat in buildings causes discomfort to the occupants in tropical climate. The high penetration of solar radiation and
terrestrial radiation reaching the building envelops contribute to this problem. Tropical climate receives higher solar radiation
than other location on the earth, the building design should be more concern on reducing this heat. This paper provides a review
of heat contribution in a residential building indoor environment for tropical climate. A good comfortable home is part of the
sustainable development agenda to improve the quality of life. The incoming solar energy from the sun into the building surface
cannot be changed, therefore a consideration of passive building design need to be applied in residential building design. This
strategy would improve the building industry in promoting sustainable development in Malaysia.
Keywords: heat; warm and humid climate; residential building design; thermal comfort; sustainability
1. Introduction
Solar energy is the power engine for the earth weather. Earth’s spherical shape and its tilting rotation modulate the
solar energy and drive the weather. The equatorial receives the surplus of solar energy and a chilling shortfall
toward the poles. The intensity of solar energy reaching the equatorial is higher than other latitude further away
from the equator. Solar radiation and terrestrial radiation are the major concern to excessive heat gains in the
residential buildings. Overheating is the main problem of climatic design in warm and humid climates. Compared
to hot dry areas with high temperature, warm and humid climate has high relative humidity and small diurnal
temperature difference caused to this problem (Szokolay, 2008). Solar energy absorbed by the building envelops and
penetrates through openings raise the indoor air temperature. The heat transfer rate through the building skin
depends on the types of material comprise. As each material has different material property act alongside heat from
solar energy called as thermal conductivity. Heat in a building skin originates by three mechanisms: external heat,
internal heat and ventilation. Solar radiation strike on building envelope generates external heat gains neither
through opaque nor transparent materials such as windows and openings. Internal heat gain produced inside the
building due to heat input of occupants, electrical appliances and artificial lighting (Zain-Ahmed, Sopian, Othman,
Sayigh, & Surendran, 2002). The human body ability to measure the thermal comfort by making judgements about a
space is too warm, too cool and thermally comfortable. Human thermal comfort influence by many reasons such as
metabolic rate, types of clothing worn, energy radiation and heat loss from the bodily surface. There are four
classical thermal environmental parameters to predict human thermal sensation (Ole Fanger & Toftum, 2002);
* Norazura Mizal Azzmi. Tel.: +60-05-3742-227; fax: +60-05-3742-2244.

E-mail address: noraz@perak.uitm.edu.my.
467
humidity, air temperature, air velocity and mean radiant temperature. Measuring these parameters help to identify
the thermal sensation and variation of building design make to improve the indoor thermal environment. It is
important to create comfortable and healthy indoor environment which is one the criteria assessed in sustainable
building assessment tools.
2. Tropical Climate of Malaysia
Malaysia located in the equatorial region, the weather is warm and humid all year. The climate characterized as high
temperature and humidity. The country lies between 1degree to 7degree North latitude and extends from longitude
of 100 degree to 119 degree east. It has a diurnal temperature range at a minimum of 23 – 27 degree Celsius and a
maximum of 30 – 34 degree Celsius. The relative humidity ranges from 74 percent to 86 percent with evenly
distributed rainfall for the whole year and usually occurs with the thunderstorm and lightning. Air movement is low
and sometime become unpredictable. There two prevailing winds which dominated the monsoonal season affecting
different parts of Malaysia to varying degree. The monsoons represent major changes of the wind state and rainfall
that varies along the coastline of Peninsular Malaysia. The rainy season on the west coast expands from September
to December, whereas the east coast receives rainfall in the months from October to February. East Malaysia
collects heavy rains between the months of November to February. Malaysia is also experiencing high solar
intensity and duration. Direct and diffuse solar radiation will cause excessive heat in the buildings. Malaysia
receives high solar intensity and duration. Solar radiation from the sun and terrestrial radiation which is emitted by
all objects on the earth’s surface are the major heat gains into the building. Building surfaces such as walls, roofs
and windows exposed to the sun, admitting heat from solar radiation and leading to an increase air temperature
inside the building. The consumption of energy for cooling the indoor environment of the building in Malaysia is
about 70 per cent (Abdul Rahman & Ismail, 2008). In good design of building envelops, it is essential to take
consideration the level of thermal comfort and heat transmission in warm and humid condition. The higher limit of
comfortable temperature for human occupancy is 26 degree Celsius used as the standard thermal environmental
condition (Department of Standards Malaysia, 2007). The proper design of building envelop according to Malaysia
thermal expectation contribute to efficient energy and environment in building (Al-Tamimi & Syed Fadzil, 2011).
2.2 Heat and building design interaction in warm and humid climate
Heat transfer is the basic mechanism of environmental effects on buildings’ and occupant thermal behaviour.
The most significant heat input into a building is solar radiation. In warm and humid climates, the solar radiation
penetrates through the openings and solar heat gain over the building envelops during the day cause overheating to
the buildings (Rajapaksha, Nagai, & Okumiya, 2003). Solar radiation absorbed by building materials, gains energy
and brings warms into the building. Some properties of materials may reflect the solar radiation to the environment
as terrestrial radiation. The amount of diffused solar radiation in tropical region is very high because of high content
of water vapour in the air and the cloud cover in the sky. This excessive solar radiation affects the indoor thermal
environment through direct radiation and absorption properties of materials. The penetrations of direct solar
radiation enter the openings such as windows and heating up the internal surfaces. The absorption by building
façades through conduction transferred heat into interior space and increase the heating effects inside the buildings
(Nyuk Hien Wong & Chen, 2009). Natural ventilation is the most common cooling method in terraced house.
Recent rapid urbanization in Malaysia has increased the air-conditioning system as a cooling strategy in residential
building (Ahmad & Abdul-Ghani, 2011). Hence the use of active cooling will give the drawback on current energy
challenge. Building industry is among the major contributors of energy needs and carbon emission (Gill, Tierney,
Pegg, & Allan, 2011). A building can be considered as a thermal system building consists of heat inputs and outputs
given as the following equation (Szokolay, 2008):
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Qi + Q c + Q s + Q v + Q e =  S (1)
Where, Qi - internal heat gain, Qc – conduction of heat gain or heat loss, Qs – solar heat gain, Qe – evaporative heat
loss and S is a change in heat stored in the building.
The thermal balance in building achieved when the sum of all heat flow terms is zero, S equal to zero. If the total
of this equation is greater than zero (S>0), show the increasing of building temperature. If the sum is less than zero
(S<0), the building temperature is cooling down.
Figure 17 A thermal system of the building consist of heat outputs and inputs (McMullan,1998)
The building thermal system can be analysed firstly with the assumption in steady-state conditions where the indoor
and outdoor conditions are steady, non-changing and applied as standard heat loss calculation (Givoni, 1997). In this
condition the diurnal changes are small and a large difference of indoor and outdoor temperatures. The effect of the
thermal mass of the building can be disregarded without large error in the estimation of the heat loss. Secondly is the
building’s dynamic response which assumption of design conditions for heating, ventilation and air conditioning
(HVAC) system in buildings.
In a steady state condition the conduction of heat flow given as the following (Szokolay, 2008):
qc = (A X U) (2)
A is the area (m2) and U is transmittance value (W/m2K)

Solar heat gain in transparent (glass) measured differently with the opaque surfaces.
For transparent elements, solar gain through window is:
Qs = A X G X  (3)
A is area of the window (m2), G is global irradiance incident on the surface (W/m2).
469
The calculation of heat flow through opaque surfaces as the following (Szokolay, 2008):
Qc = A X U X (Tsa – Ti) (4)
Tsa is notional sol-air temperature difference for each side of the building and Ti is internal temperature.
The extra heat flow of solar radiation for the whole building calculated separately for each side of building elements
(Szokolay, 2008):
Qs = qc X dTe (5)
Where, dTe = (G X  - E) Rso for roofs

dTe = G X  X Rso for walls
Rso = (1/h)
G is global irradiance,  is surface absorptance, E is radiant emission, h is surface conductance
Figure 18 Heat gains in the building. (Zain-Ahmed et al, 2002)
Heat flow from hotter condition to colder condition following the thermodynamic law. As a result of the temperature
difference between outdoor and indoor conditions heat gains in the building. Solar gains through transparent, opaque
building elements and internal gains for cooling the building is given by the following equation (Santamouris and
Asimakopolous, 1996, Zain-Ahmed et al, 2002 )
Qc = k (Ti –To) + Qs + Qin (6)
where k is the building load coefficient in W/°C, To the ambient outdoor air temperature in °C, Ti the desirable
indoor air temperature in °C, Qs the solar gains through transparent and opaque elements, W, Qi the internal gains,
W.
The air flow rate due to wind is given as:
Q = 0.025AV (7)
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Where A is the area of the opening.
The air flow rate due to temperature difference is given as:
Q = 790h-1.5w(RT)1/2 (8)
Where the temperature ratio:
RT = DT/MT = (To-Ti)/(To+Ti)/2
Incorporating of passive solar design into the building is one of the strategies to control the increasing global
warming (Abdul Rahman, 2004). The best consideration is to prevent sun rays enter the building in whatever means.
Sunshine into a building heats up the high-density of building materials. After complete absorption, the saturation of
heat in the material will be emitted as radiative energy into the building. This is called as thermal conduction, the
transfer of heat within material properties in contact by the spread of molecular movement.
3. Residential building in tropical climate Malaysia
In the middle of the booming economy, the urban population has increased 57 % from 1960 to 2010 and with
more than three quarters of the Malaysia overall population estimated to settle in urban areas (Jamaliah, 2004). More
land will be developed for urbanization to fulfill housing settlement due to the increasing national population. The
most common typologies of residential buildings in Malaysia are terrace houses. Terrace houses are the most living
quarters in mass housing scheme for urban areas. The house is reasonably cheap and common housing alternative in
Malaysia (Rahim & Hashim, 2012). In tropical climate region, terrace houses usually experienced the warmer
indoor environment caused by higher energy input from solar (Sadafi, Salleh, Haw, & Jaafar, 2008). The study has
found that the quality of housing influence by three qualities which are the house quality, the indoor environment
quality and the urban site quality (Oh, 2000). The residents’ satisfactions are also related with space function such as
user characteristics, physical characters and beliefs of the user (Altaş & Özsoy, 1998). Human beings need well-
arranged spaces to live, but the ecology of vegetation and green areas were taken into consideration in a
development plan. The existing useful vegetation’s were cut down during the construction stages accordingly to
plan. It is easier to cut the tree rather than to apply in planning design. Housing layouts are important for
comfortable environment but the arrangement design irrespective of terrain, effective landscaping and direction.
Uniform Building By -Law (1984) allocate 10% for green area as required by the by most local authorities of all
Malaysian states must be relooked at to measure the effectiveness. A typical single terrace house usually has built-
up area about 650 - 700 square feet with 6.5 meters in front façade width and 11 meters in length. The deep floor
plan surges warmer air inside the building beginning in the morning until the sunset. Terrace house usually contain
of two sides opposite walls, the smaller wall exposed to the external environment. The other two remaining walls are
shared with the adjacent houses.
The most common building materials for housing are cement or clay bricks for wall construction, concrete floors
and concrete or clay roof tiles. These materials have a tendency for fabric heat gain into the building. The typical
plastered brick wall used in the local housing development has high heat storage capacity which means large amount
of heat gain will be released into the room at night (Zaki, Nawawi, & Ahmad, 2012) and warming the interiors
space. Terrace house designs are not favorable for thermal comfort and occupant tend to spend more money for air-
conditioning for cooling the inside environment (Abdul Rahman, Abd.Rahim, Al-Obaidi, Ismail, & Yoke Mui,
2013). Windows provided at front façade and the rear. The windows act as natural lighting and ventilation outlets-
471
inlets, thus allowing the heat from solar enter the interior spaces. The limited openings trapped the hot air and cause
discomfort in the house. Sun shading devices are rarely provided and aggravates internal heat gain. A study in
Singapore has showed that window shading devices is effective on cooling energy consumption for east and west (N
H Wong & Li, 2007). Normally terraced houses are arranged on a site for maximum return to the developer. As a
result, several housing units are subjected to high solar gain, particularly the ones facing east and west (Zaki et al.,
2012).
Human activities and electrical appliances generate internal heat gain in the building. Daily activities such as
cooking, watching television, the use of a fan or air-conditioning for indoor cooling, computer and electronic
devices further contribute the warmer indoor environment. One-third of the monthly electricity bill in residential
building is from air-conditioning system.
4. Passive design to mitigate heat from solar radiation in residential building
Due to excessive heat and high humidity in tropical climate, the indoor thermal environment in terraced house
can be improved by adapting passive design approaches. Passive design strategies developed by designer using a set
of architectural design approaches so that the buildings respond adequately to climatic requirements (Kroner, 1997).
A building designed to be responsive to the local climatic conditions is called as the Passive Architecture (Zaki et
al., 2007). Climate responsive design is based on a building form and structure moderates the climates for human
well-being and reduces environmental impacts (Hyde, 2000). Passive architecture approaches is also termed as
‘green building’ and ‘ecological building’, which is also recognise as ‘healthy building’ and ‘energy efficient
building’ (Zhu & Lin, 2004). Therefore passive design is a feature basis in an environmental sustainable design that
relates the climate to human requirement and control excessive heat gain in the building. The sustainability concept
administers three main pillars: social security, environmental safety and economic wealth (Addis & Talbot, 2001;
Brownhill & Rao, 2002). Built environment activities such as construction project involved with the natural
environment. Environmental safety concern with the built environment because if handled without proper planning
may have a negative impact and threatening the environment. The extraction of natural resources is anxious in
environmental sustainability (Addis & Talbot, 2001). In passive design the designer need to consider the
orientation, building form, ventilation, outdoor thermal environment, daylighting, noise pollution, sound pollution,
wall insulation, roof insulation and passive cooling. In Malaysia, the passive design approaches objectives to
encourage natural cross ventilation for natural cooling from prevailing wind, control of heat from the solar radiation
and allow enough daylight into the building. Existing provision of houses target for quantity and ignored the quality
that a house should be home with a healthy environment for well-being. (Abdul Rahman et al., 2013).
5. Conclusion
Heat transmission induced excessive heat gains in the building. The passive design element could help to mitigate
the overheating problems in residential housing for warm and humid climate. In achieving energy efficiency and
indoor environmental comfort, building designers and architects are stimulating creative typologies with passive
design consideration. The incorporation of sustainability elements in the building design concepts would prepare for
more or green system in the sustainable building. A new mechanism to enhance sustainable development is
necessary to promote the sustainable housing in Malaysia. The collaboration between researchers, building
designers, suppliers and contractors need further study on technical approaches in sustainable design. There are
many relevant technologies and local product related to sustainable building available in Malaysia, such as energy
472
saving building components and equipments of high efficient building energy system. If these approaches could be
effectively applied in the design and construction process of a building, the sustainability would be implemented.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the assistance and financial support provided by the Universiti Teknologi MARA
Perak for this research project.
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475
MODERN HOUSING TRANQUILITY IN MALAYSIA FROM

THE ASPECT OF THERMAL COMFORT FOR HUMID HOT
CLIMATE ZONE
M. A. Baharum, M. Surat, N. M. Tawil, A.I Che-Ani
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
436000 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Abstract
Development of housing is imperative to enhance the society’s standard of living in this country. The factor of occupant comfort
is the main element to indicate whether the housing is successful or not. In this writing, the thermal comfort discussed in only
relating to the thermal comfort zone in Malaysia and the results from the study of the internal temperature of modern houses from
previous researchers. Results by a few researchers found that modern houses are currently not reaching a good level of thermal
comfort to live in and the designs are not capable to resolve the issue of discomfort in the internal environment of the houses in
Malaysia. Therefore, thermal comfort is one of the important aspects of research in the development of modern housing because
it plays a very important role in enhancing welfare, health and the quality of life or urban society.
Keywords: Thermal Comfort, Comfort Zone, Modern Houses, Quality of Life, Internal Temperature
1. Introduction
Fundamentally, a function of a house is to provide protection from extreme natural climate factors such as
extreme heat, rain, cold and strong wind. The internal environment of houses must be safe, comfortable and could
withstand the pressures of external climate such as sunlight, rain and wind. Therefore, the internal climate must be
taken care so that the conditions of internal environment do not react like the external environment of the house.
Hence, in order to reach a desired level of thermal comfort, it has to meet the physiological criteria of the human
body. Therefore, the planning and design of buildings that meet the criteria of thermal comfort depend on the
climate of a particular space in order to achieve comfort that can be felt by humans, for them to do their daily
activities. Buildings must be designed to accommodate a variety of activities, to fulfil the physical and mental needs
and to assist in maintaining the health of the occupants. This is because an unsuitable climate conditions can cause
the mind and body strains, and also causes discomfort, efficiency loss and eventually affects human health.
2. The Concept Of Thermal Comfort
Thermal comfort is a research aspect of the human’s reaction towards climate effect on the human’s body
(Zulkifli 1999). Climate is defined as climate for a particular area that is determined by the common weather
condition and its elements that include sunlight, temperature, air humidity, wind and precipitation that affect the heat
condition of a building. Human comfort also depends on several factors such as physical, psychological and
sociology; these cannot be assessed separately and it relies on the combination of one or more of these factors.
Comfortable heat is said to be a subjective quality that depends on different individuals, and the exact definition for
476
it is quite hard to come up with. This level of comfort is actually different from one individual to another. Therefore,
it is hard to create an environment that can satisfy all. Nevertheless, Fanger (1970) stated that if 95% of the
individuals is found to be satisfied with their thermal environment, then this condition can be said as optimum
condition. Besides that, comfortable heat can also be determined through environmental, physical and subjective
factors. Environmental factor are elements such as air temperature, relative humidity, air movement and sunlight,
while subjective factor depends on each individual themselves and their ability to adapt to the environmental
condition. The determination of comfort was done empirically through measurement of the temperature of the
research area, comfort zone provided by the researchers and through a theoretical method of observing people’s
perspective. It was through this theoretical method that the comfort scale was assigned to find out the comfort
condition of a particular area.
Marcus (1980) defines comfortable heat as a condition for humans to evaluate whether their environment is cold
or hot and is a natural determining point for the avoidance of discomfort. O’Callaghan (1978) opines, it is a natural
condition of the body to not needing an adjustment to maintain the balance of heat. However, according to American
Society of Air Conditioning Engineering - ASHRAE. (1972), generally most researchers agreed that thermal
comfort refers to the state of mind or human’s perception that indicates satisfaction or not, from their thermal
environment.
Thermal comfort happens when the flow of heat in the human’s thermal system is balanced with the body
temperature, which is 37°C. Human’s body adds or reduces heat through the skin, by conduction, convection,
radiation from the air and the surrounding objects. If there is no thermal comfort, for instance too warm from the
surroundings or even cool compared to surrounding conditions of the body, this surrounding can affect health and
humans need to strive to modify themselves to enable the micro climate atmosphere to be balanced with their body’s
physiology. The steps that can be taken are using cooling tools, air conditioners and fan.
Thermal comfort has been defined in the ISO 7730 (Innova Airtech Instruments 1997) standards as a state of
mind in which human express the feel of satisfaction towards their thermal environment. This definition is accepted
by many, but it is not easy to convert it into a physical parameter for the comfort determination. For example, two
people in a different situation of environment might be comfortable with their environment, regardless of whether
they are inside or outside their house. This means that the thermal comfort depends not only on one parameter such
as air temperature, but also involves many other parameters.
The compiled definitions above indicate that thermal comfort is a situation in which individuals feel comfortable
with the surrounding temperature, whether inside or outside the house without having to change any weather
elements or comfort aid tool at that time. It is also associated with climate and non-climate factors, and will
determine the balance between human body and its surroundings. At this level, one will be able to maintain the
body’s stability to quench the heat without perspiring.
3. Comfort Zone
On the other hand, comfort zone is the range of a comfort heat condition. In this range, a suitable balancing
mechanism of human’s body temperature is at a minimum level of activity. In this comfortable surrounding
condition, the movement and feeling of human will reach their best level. In this zone, the body does not need to do
any action to maintain heat balance. Schedule 1 below summarizes the results of the researches done for comfort
range, for several parts of the world.
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Schedule 1: Range of comfort zone for a few parts of the world.
Research Area Range/Temperature
Fanger - 20°C
Markham United Kingdom 15.6°C – 24.5°C
Vernon & Bedford - 13.2°C – 23.2°C
Brooks United Kingdom 14.5°C – 21.1°C
United State of America 20.6°C – 26.7°C
Warm humid climate 23.4°C – 29.5°C
Saini Dry humid climate 31.1°C – 33.9°C
CIBSE Guide Warm humid climate 25.5°C - 27°C
4. Thermal Comfort In Malaysia
A few studies were done in the country to determine the thermal comfort. The study before Independence was
done by Webb and Ellis. Ellis (1953) done research on Asian male and female individuals to describe the comfort
condition for Malaysia and Singapore. The study also found that most individuals found it comfortable when the
temperature condition is as Schedule 2.
Schedule 2: Thermal Comfort Zone For Malaysia and Singapura
Effective Temperature
Dry-bulb temperature (°C) Wet-bulb temperature (°C)
(°C)
24.4 – 29.8 22.8 – 26.7 21.7 – 25.5
Webb’s study (1952) on climate in Malaysian houses found that the maximum comfort is at an effective
temperature of between 26.7°C to 27.2°C and temperature range of between 26.1°C to 27.8°C. When the change of
temperature exceeds 2.0°C from the optimum level, the discomfort will then be experienced by individuals.
Optimum condition is felt half an hour after midnight and at 7.30a.m. The Latest study by Abdul Malek (2000) on
the other hand suggested that the thermal comfort range of Malaysians is between 25.5°C to 28°C. Nevertheless, a
study by Wycherley (1967) in West Malaysia utilized index of effective temperature to find out the comfortable
limit in the country. It was discovered that the temperature for comfortable limit is 18.9°C until 24.5°C. This limit is
used in the writer’s study to find out the level of comfort in the suburban housing area.
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Schedule 3: Temperature of Buildings’ Design

Maximum exterior design
Location Interior design temperature
temperature
35°C dry-bulb 24°C

Kuala Lumpur
35°C dry-bulb 50% relative humidity
For the purpose of buildings’ design, the range of comfortable heat can be obtained from a few guides and
studies made for hot and humid climate like Malaysia. Estimation method of the Chartered Institute of Building
Services Engineers Grazie - CIBSE (1975) serves as a general guide to assess the comfortable condition of an area.
To find out a suitable condition of an interior or exterior design, the temperature of the building’s design must be
known through weather studies such as temperature, relative humidity and rain, and this is then documented using a
special nomogram for selection of the interior design of a certain area. For Malaysia, Schedule 3 gives the
representation of a suitable design temperature for the internal or external condition.
Mahoney’s schedule, a guidance schedule for climate based building’s designers that found the most suitable
comfortable limits for areas with annual mean temperature exceeding 20°C such as Malaysia, came up with a
schedule as Schedule 4.
Schedule 4: Mahoney’s Schedule for Malaysian Climate

Average relative humidity 70 – 100 %
Daytime comfort 22°C - 27°C
Night comfort 17°C - 21°C
Relative humidity on the other hand very much influences the thermal comfort in hot and humid area as it
usually exceeds 80 percent. Therefore, in thermal measurement, this study will refer to the relative humidity that is
recommended by the Chartered Institute of Building Services Eragineers Guide - CIBSE (1975) guide, which
explains that in order to maintain a comfortable condition in a hot and humid climate, relative humidity must be
within a range of 40% - 70% for most of the application.
Wind speed inside the house is a factor not less important in the research of thermal comfort. Webb (1952)
found in his study that the discomfort situation during noon/midday and hot times can be reduced if the wind speed
in the house can be increased by an average 0.5 m/s – 1.2 m/s. On the other hand, the suitable wind speed to achieve
comfort level is between 0.10 m/s to 0.40 m/s during daytime and between 0.07 m/s to 0.29 m/s at night. However,
O’Callaghan (1978) stressed that the range of air speed of between 0.1 m/s to 1.0 m/s is enough to achieve the
desired comfort inside a house. CIBSE (1975) guide on the other hand recommended that the range of between 0.1
m/s – 0.25 m/s for the comfort of most people in tropical climate.
5. Thermal Climate Of Modern Housing In Malaysia
Schedule 5 shows the study on thermal comfort that was done by Haryati Shafii (2012) on a few
neighbourhoods under the Kajang Municipal Council’s purview that includes Section 1 and 2 of Bandar Baru Bangi,
Kajang Utama, Bukit Mewah, and Taman Sentosa. This study involved temperature measurement at 70 houses that
were chosen as samples using the Discomfort Index (DI) method and the results of the study indicated that the
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temperature inside the houses is between 23 ºC - 31 ºC while the relative humidity obtained for all types of houses
are high which is between 51% to 90%. The bungalows are the most comfortable houses with the thermal conditions
recorded at 23 ºC-28 ºC and relative humidity of 65%-70%. Flats are the most uncomfortable with a thermal
condition recorded at 24 ºC-32 ºC and relative humidity of 51% - 59%. Nevertheless, as a whole, besides bungalows
being in a normal condition in the morning, the residence of many people in the Kajang municipal was found to be
uncomfortable.
Schedule 5: Inside air temperature, DI minimum dan maximum index, and relative humidity according to type of
house
Inside air temperature Minimum DI Maximum DI Relative
Type of house Index Humidity
(morning till night) Index
Bungalow 23°C - 28°C 25.6°C 30.4°C 65°C - 71%
One storey terrace 25°C - 30°C 26.8°C 31.6°C 67°C -70%
Two storey terrace 25°C – 26.5°C 25.4°C 28.6°C 88°C - 90%
Apartments 25.5°C – 30.1°C 26.6°C 31°C 70°C - 75%
Flat 24°C - 32°C 26°C 30.4°C 51°C – 59%
35
30
25
Temperature (ºC)
Bungalow
20
Single storey terrace
15
Double storey terrace
10 Apartments
Flat
5
0
Morning Afternoon Evening Night
Time
Diagram 1: Thermal comfort – Times of DI according to type of houses
Diagram 1 shows the thermal comfort graph according to the times. From this graph bar, the reading of the
minimum DI Index in the morning is the best compared with the other times, and is different according to the type
of house being studied. Meanwhile, the DI Index in the evening and night for flats and double storey terrace houses
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are the most uncomfortable. Therefore, it can be summarized that there is no comfortable time that can be
experienced by all types of houses, except for bungalows in the morning. It is also the most comfortable time at
noon and at night. However, the apartments have the most uncomfortable conditions at night to be occupied, as
compared to other houses. Double story terrace houses and bungalows have the best conditions compared to other
type of houses.
Thermal comfort study done by Mazlina Mansor (2003) towards 4 modern housing in Bandar Tun Hussein
Onn and Cheras Perdana which are single storey low cost houses, single storey medium cost houses, double storey
medium cost houses and double storey semi-detached houses; they generally indicated temperature readings of
between 27°C to 29°C.
Schedule 6: Inside air temperature, minimum and maximum DI index and relative humidity according to type of
houses
Inside Air Temperature Minimum DI Maximum DI Kelembapan
Station Index Index Bandingan
(°C )
1 27°C – 29.5°C 24.3°C 26°C 51 - 65%
2 27°C - 29°C 24.3°C 26°C 51 - 66%
3 27°C – 29°C 24.4°C 25.8°C 57 - 65%
4 27°C – 28C 24°C 24.8°C 50 - 59%
Indication:
Station 1: single storey low cost houses
Station 2: single storey medium cost houses
Station 3: double storey medium cost houses
Station 4: double storey semi-detached houses
The results of the above study can summarize that there is no difference from the aspect of thermal comfort
between single storey low cost houses and single storey medium cost houses. On the contrary, semi detached houses
were found to be the most comfortable compared to other types of houses. The result of the study also found that
there are differences between the comfort of the single storey type of houses and the comfort of the double storey
type of houses. Nevertheless, it is also found that the thermal comfort of double storey medium cost houses is not
much different from the thermal comfort of low cost houses and single storey medium cost houses, though the
design characteristics have many similarities with double storey semi detached houses. It can be concluded here that
both types of houses which are low cost and medium cost houses are not comfortable to be inhabited at certain
times.
481
Diagram 2: Thermal Comfort – DI times according to type of houses
Diagram 2 above on the other hand shows the graph of thermal comfort according to time and it is found that
comfort can be felt in the morning by all types of houses at the research stations while discomfort is felt at noon and
night. The comparison of comfort times according to types of houses found that semi detached houses are better
from the aspect of comfort compared to other houses. The comparison between low cost and medium cost houses
found that comfortable condition can be felt in the morning for both types of houses while it is uncomfortable during
noon, afternoon and night for both types of houses. These mean that there are no significant differences between the
thermal comfort of low cost and medium cost houses from the time aspect, in which it is also found that medium
cost houses are also uncomfortable to be inhabited at certain times, as what is being experienced in low cost houses.
Based on the studies of temperature measurement above, they clearly show that modern housing in Malaysia has
not reached the level of comfort that is really tranquil to be occupied by people in Malaysia where an average
modern house in Malaysia has a temperature range of between 23°C to 32°C when most individuals or occupants
would only be comfortable when being in a temperature condition of 21.7°C – 25.5°C.
6. Conclusion
Thermal comfort is one of the important aspect of research in providing comfort and tranquillity to occupants. This
has to be prioritized in the development of housing because I can increase the well being, health and subsequently
the quality of life of urban society and altogether fulfils the definition of life quality that is aspired by the country.
This aspiration includes self development, healthy life style and standard of living that exceed the basic needs of
individuals. The research on the aspect of thermal comfort inside houses can assist to provide knowledge and
disclose information for the planning and management of better housing development in the future. It becomes hope
that this factor will receive more scrutiny in the planning and design of houses in the times to come. The approach
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through the design comprehension based on natural climate does not involve a lot of cost, but only through
knowledge of its importance in planning of housing, can it provide the thermal comfort desired by society.
References
Abdul Malek Abdul Rahman (2000) Usaha-usaha mencapai keselesaan terma dalaman di
air conditioning engineers.
A S H R A E (1 9 7 7 ) Ha n d b o o k o f fu n d a m et a l s . Ame r i c a n So ci e t y o f h ea ti n g , re fri g e ra ti o n a n d
Bedford T (1936) Warm factor in comfort at work. Medical Research Council, Industrial
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur.
Ellis FP (1953) Thermal comfort in warm humid atmosphere: Observation on groups and
environment. Sains Malaysiana 6 (1), 65 – 83
Fan ger P O (19 7 0) Th erma l co mfo rt . Anal ysis a nd ap p licatio n in en vir o n me ntal e ngi neeri n g.
Har yati Sh a fii (2 0 1 2 ) K esel esa a n te rma ru ma h ked ia ma n d a n p en g a ru h n ya terh a d a p ku a liti
Health Report.hidup penduduk. Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor
individuals in Singapore. Journal of Hygiene 51, 422-430Malaysia. Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau
Pinang.
Markham SF (1947) Climate and the energy of nationas. Oxford Univ. Press., London.
Mazlina Mansor (2003) Keselesaan termal dalam pembangunan perumahan bandar baru:
New York.
O’ Callaghan PW (1978) Building for energy conservation. Pengamon Press, Oxford.of Heating and Ventilating
Engineers 20, 215 – 250
perbandingan di antara jenis -jenis rumah di bandar Tun Hussein Onn dan Chera s Perdana.
Master’s thesis Graduate Management Centre, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Saini BS (1980) Building in hot dry climate. John Wiley and Sons, Brisbane.
Sham Sani (1977) An indeks of comfort for Kuala Lumpur - Petaling Jaya and its
Stephenson PM (1963) An indek of comfort for Singapore. Meteorological Magazines 92, 338 – 345
Webb CG (1952) On some observation of indoor climate in Malaya. Journal of the Institution
Zu l k i fl i H a n a fi ( 1 9 9 9 ) R e ka b en tu k b a n g u n a n d a la m i kl i m p a n a s d a n l e m b a b d i M a la y s ia .
483
Complexity in Managing Refurbishment Design Process:

Malaysian Experience
A.S. Ali
a
Centre for Construction, Building and Urban Studies, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Abstract
In Malaysia, building refurbishment is expected to become more important in the next five years. This is due to
largest government allocations for refurbishment works in ninth and tenth Malaysian Plan and high demand for
refurbishment works. The investigation also introduced the functions of integrative mechanisms, which consist of
coordination devices and the degree of involvement of key participants in decision-making, as a means to integrate
management into the design process. This is paramount in order to increase information-processing capacity during
the design process. Seven (7) dominant factors were identified concerning with the design process of refurbishment
projects. The variables are: availability of design information, statutory requirements, clients’ attributes, clients’
needs, design fees, material availability and ease of access. The greater part of design process suffers from
uncertainty nature of the projects. Almost half of refurbishment projects prepare design with less than 70 percent
information available. The design performance recorded more than three-quarters of refurbishment projects exceed
the targeted design time and cost. It was also found that integrative mechanisms contribute toward the improvement
of the design performance. In addition, a high degree of involvement during the construction stage could improve
refurbishment design performance. From the findings, it could be concluded that the major part of the design
process of refurbishment projects suffered from the uncertain nature of the projects. The implementation of
integrative mechanisms indicated the possibility of improving some of the design performance.
Keywords: Uncertainty, Design Process, Refurbishment Malaysia.
1. Introduction
The Malaysian construction sector has performed quite inconsistently over the last 8 years. The output mostly
consisted of residential and infrastructure construction activities. However, the output of the local construction
industry started to decline in 2005 and 2006. This was mostly due to reduced government spending in the
construction sector. The sector however, achieved an output worth more than RM 50 million in 2007 due to bigger
government allocation in the construction industry, especially for the repair and maintenance sector. The slightly
decrease in construction output in 2006 is not influenced the refurbishment activity. Figure 1 shows the output for
refurbishment projects since year 2002 to 2009. Figure 1 shows a generally increasing trend, except for 2004 when
output for refurbishment projects declined. However, the refurbishment activities picked up in the following year
2005 even though the overall construction output showed a slight decrease.
* Azlan Shah Ali. Tel.: +6012-7570936, Fax No: +603-79675713

E-mail address: asafab@um.edu.my
484
This was due to the government policy of putting more emphasis on repair and maintenance activities, rather than on
new construction projects.
The trend is expected to continue in the future since more money has been allocated for repair and maintenance in
the ninth Malaysian Plan.
It is interesting to note that even though the trend for construction output has remained almost constant, the pattern
for refurbishment project shows an increase. This indicates the importance of refurbishment projects in the Malaysia
construction industry.
Figure 1: Refurbishment Projects Output in Malaysia
In ninth Malaysia Plan, the construction sector has an average growth of 3.5 percent per annum, compared with only
0.5 percent average growth during eighth Malaysian Plan. Besides civil engineering infrastructure projects, the
residential sector is forecast to become the main contributor to growth. One of the largest allocations is for the
construction sector, in which the government will inject almost 19 billion Ringgit Malaysia during the next five
years. This allocation includes provision for infrastructure, building, and repair and maintenance projects. The
development plan allocation for repair and maintenance works increased from RM 296 million during the Eighth
Malaysian Plan to RM 1079 million in the Ninth Malaysian Plan (Malaysia, 9 th Malaysian Plan, 2006). Hence, it is
expected that refurbishment work will become more important in the future.
2. The Design Process of Refurbishment Projects
Many management authors agree on the importance of the design process towards the success of construction
projects. Even though design cost contributes only about 10 percent of total project cost, the performance of the
refurbishment projects is much affected by the design process. There is also evidence shows that almost 80 percent
of quality problem in a project were contributed by problems in design. Construction performances in the UK have
always being reduced by the difficulty of managing the design process. Therefore, management in the design
process needs to be improved in order to produce accurate design before work started on site. However, the design
process is not easy to manage. The design process is made up of a combination of intense technical and social
activities. The In refurbishment, this problem is further compounded by the project uncertainty. Researchers such as
485
Egbu (1994), Rahmat (1997) and Ali (2008) have provided evidence of the complexity of refurbishment projects.
The problem mainly derives from the lack of information available to perform a task, especially during the initial
stage of the design process.
Problems of designing refurbishment projects include the lack of information available about the operating facilities,
space limitations and maintaining existing design. The fact is that untimely information makes the design process
more complex. Design in refurbishment is different from design in new-build projects because designers have to suit
their designs to the existing structure of the building. Because of this, many designers are less interested in being
involved in refurbishment work, due to the limitation put on their creativity.
Furthermore, refurbishment projects became even more uncertain when they involve structural modifications, which
are sensitive, dangerous and difficult operations. Extra precautions need to be taken when dealing with structural
modifications. Temporary supports, which are normally needed for demolition and alteration of building structure,
are more widely used in this type of refurbishment work compared with new-build projects. Moreover, the content
of services work in refurbishment projects is another major factor that contributes to design uncertainty of
refurbishment projects. Hidden items such as piping and electrical cables induce designers to make assumptions on
the services routing in their design. As a result, changes of design frequently happen during the construction stage,
due to inaccurate routing design.
In the aspect of building regulation, refurbishment design is one of sectors that are affected by the complexities of
legislation. Changing and updating some of building regulations by government have also affected approval process
in refurbishment projects, especially projects related to conservation. Refurbishment for heritage buildings has to
face regulations that are more stringent and must comply with the listed building requirements, which limits the
extent of alteration work allowed. The statutory requirements could cause project delays and cost overruns due to
adjustments that need to be made to design in order to comply with the regulations.
One of the problems faced by refurbishment designers is to match up the existing material with new designed
material. The problem of finding materials contributes to delay in the design and project duration. The availability of
refurbishment material for conservation works is uncertain and such materials often take more time to produce
because the material is no longer available in the market. Designers need to be knowledgeable in the selection of
suitable material, identifying which one is available and compatible during the construction stage. Often, designers
of refurbishment projects have to cope with frequent changes due to client requests. This contributes to uncertainty
since many unpredictable changes of design occur during the construction stage because the clients suddenly change
their preference. There were a greater number of instances of revision work carried out in post-design phases
compared to during the design phase of construction projects and the main reason for revision identified was owner-
initiated the changes. The uncertainty of design information to designers to produce a refurbishment design always
causes incomplete design. Some part of design remained incomplete because knowledge of the effected item could
only be revealed during the construction stage. As a result, designers need to make an assumption about the item.
This would cause design changes during construction and influence the performance of refurbishment projects.
The uncertainty in refurbishment projects has always been identified as one of the reason for poor project
performance. Ali (2008) found more than half of refurbishment projects exceeded the original cost. Furthermore, the
completeness of design is also an important factor to be considered. The availability design information is important
because it will guide the contractor to perform their works on site. However, Rahmat (1997) found that the design
for refurbishment works was generally to be incomplete. This reflected amount of provisional sum allocated in a
contract to cater the uncertainty of design information. The literature review found no systematic research had been
carried out on uncertainty during the design process in refurbishment projects. Hence, second objective of this study
is to identify the uncertainty variables that affect the design performance.
486
It is suggested that the management of uncertainty is important for the success of refurbishment projects. Therefore,
the rationale for conducting this study is to improve the management of complexity in the design process of
refurbishment projects.
3. Integrative Mechanism in Refurbishment Projects
The refurbishment design process is complex due to the fact that it involves multidisciplinary parties in decision
making to meet the clients’ requirements. The complexity in refurbishment projects is greater when limited
information is available, especially in the initial stage of the design process. The differentiation and fragmentation in
refurbishment projects is a consequence of the high degree of specialization in design and construction. The
participants involved in the project tend to make decisions in their specialised areas without coordinating with other
key participants. This causes disintegration of their own tasks in the construction projects, which leads to many
problems, such as completeness of design.
Differentiation and fragmentation within an organization demand a high level of integration. Integration refers to
coordination or working together among the organization members, a response to differentiation. Hence, it could be
argued that integration in the design process is critical to ensure efficient communication flow and to produce
complete design. One of the best ways to achieve integration in a project organization is by implementing
integrative mechanisms. Integrative mechanisms consist of two elements; namely coordination devices and
involvement of key participants in decision-making process. Coordination could be enhanced by using coordination
devices such as lateral relations, interpersonal relationships and information technology in managing the design
process.
Lateral relations such as meetings and direct contact are important coordination devices in highly uncertain
environments. Meeting functions are to coordinate and as a means of conveying information about current progress
work and recent design changes. In general, there are two type of meetings in construction project; namely,
scheduled and unscheduled meetings. Unscheduled meetings are conducted to discuss emergency issues and to get
faster decisions pertaining to the problem. Unscheduled meeting would be useful to handle uncertainty of new
discoveries on the site. In addition, direct contact is also an important method of gathering information. Formal
contact is more rigid to use in obtaining the information. On the other hand, a more flexible and faster approach
could be enjoyed by employing direct informal contact, which includes informal conversations, telephone call or
discussions.
Information Technology (IT) in the construction industry functions as an interface tool to improve project
integration. The use of an IT support system would enhance interfacing design, communication and the data
collection process. IT is not only effective for coordinating people in projects but it also useful for producing faster
and accurate designs. Changes in refurbishment design are often substantial due to late discovery of information on
site. This requires the design process to be more flexible so that the flow of communication could be more efficient.
Furthermore, the designers need to play an important role in achieving superior design constructability and
producing good quality of design. This mostly relies on the experience and knowledge of the designer, which could
reduce the amount of design information needed Different designers have different ways to approach their design
works and the outcome of the design produced, relied on the ability of the architects involved.
There has been relatively few research carried out which has focused on the involvement of key participants in
decision-making in the design process. It could be argued that the best way to manage the uncertainty of
refurbishment projects was by having a greater integration of decision making amongst the key participants. The
487
involvement of key participants at all stages of the design process could increase integration in project organization,
which in turn could improve design performance.
4. Conclusion
Integrative mechanisms combined of coordination devices and involvement of key design participants in decision-
making process. It is vital to gear towards improving some of the design performance by increase information
processing capacity in refurbishment design process. The inherent uncertainties associated in refurbishment design
process causes high risk in decisions to be taken. Hence, it is essential for the key design participants to involve
outside their own domain and prioritise which design performance need to be achieved. The need to coordinate key
design participants requires design team to implement coordination devices. The distinctive feature in the design
process of refurbishment projects is conflicting demands. The design process in refurbishment projects requires
formal and informal communications, integration and differentiations of tasks, flexible and rigid procedures. The
conflicting elements in managing refurbishment design process require the practitioners in Malaysia to handle the
problem holistically.
References
Ali, A.S., Rahmat, I. and Hassan, H. (2008). Involvement of key design participants in refurbishment design
process, Facilities, Vol. 26 No. 9/10, pp 389-400.
Egbu, C.O. (1994). Management education and training for refurbishment work within the construction industry,
PhD thesis Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salford, UK.
Malaysia, Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department (2006). Ninth Malaysian Plan 2006-2010.
Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad, Kuala Lumpur.
Rahmat, I. (1997). The planning and control process of refurbishment projects, PhD thesis, University College
London, UK.
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Assessment of Fire Emergency Plan and Potential Fire Hazards

of Heritage Ancestral Temple in Penang, Malaysia
M.A. Othuman Mydina,49*, N. Md Sanib, N.A. Agus Salimc, N.M. Tawild, K.Y. Yene
a,b,e
c
d
Abstract
Fire is a one of the subject that is always mistreated and ignored as far as heritage building is concerned. Unlike the newly built
buildings which need to endure some fire protection system test as required under UBBL, people are less likely to it can be seen
that this negligence becomes a huge factor in attributing to the fire in heritage building. The fire hazards of the heritage building
are often been neglected, causing fire to take place. There are a few factors that contribute to the fire in this unique yet vulnerable
heritage building. Most of the heritage buildings are of large scale buildings, flammable priceless contents, large numbers of
visitors, and existing structures weak on fire resistance. Therefore, fire risk assessment plays an important role as many historic
buildings in Penang are significant of architectural value and historical importance and their destruction by fire is an irreplaceable
loss. Thus, this study is intended to identify the current fire emergency plan of heritage temples and mansions in Penang which
includes 4 buildings such as Khoo Kongsi, Cheah Kongsi, Hock Teik Chen Shin Temple and Teochew Temple. The possible fire
risks of these heritage buildings will be identified and evaluated comprehensively. The previous fire cases will be considered as
well in order to discover the common factor contributing to the fire cases at heritage buildings. Time and again, people do not
record their findings upon completing the fire risk assessment. Hence this particular research will prepare a complete record of
the fire risk assessment. Having a fire risk assessment in the heritage building in Penang can be an interesting study to find out
the current situation of heritage building fire protection awareness.
Keyword: fire assessment; heritage building; UBBL; fire protection; fire hazards, emergency plan
1. Introduction
As most of the heritage buildings in Penang were built prior to the formulation of Uniform Building by Laws
1984 (UBBL), these heritage buildings are not subjected to the provision of fire safety requirement provided by the
by-law (Salleh, 2011). Many of these heritage buildings were built without much thought given to fire protection
and resistance. Hence, more people are placed at risk from fire than before (Salleh and Ahmad, 2009). Nevertheless,
the Fire Rescue Department Malaysia (FRDM) requires these buildings to be protected from fire risks. At least 3
parties may be involved in the assessment of fire risk of heritage building: Fire Rescue Department Malaysia
(FRDM) personnel, consultant and contractor, and maintenance personnel (Ibrahima et. al., 2011)
It is broadly acknowledged that fire is one of the furthermost threats not only to the building’s occupants but also
to the building’s fabric and contents. Fire has long been an adversary of heritage buildings and its structure, with
some older structures falling victim several times (Salleh and Ahmad, 2009). Salleh also pointed out several heritage

489
buildings which were badly damaged or burnt down by fire in Malaysia, including the People Museum, Melaka in
2001, Rumah Pak Ali, Gombak in 2003 and Sarawak Club, Kuching in 2006.
On July 25, 2007 the 97-year-old district police volunteer mess hall which was 3 years short of becoming
heritage building was destroyed in a morning fire on Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab, Ipoh. Ipoh OCPD Asst
Comm Jalaludin Ibrahim suspected faulty wiring to be the cause of the fire. Another significant heritage building
fire burnt happened on 11th December 2008, when fire destroyed 7 shops at Penang Heritage Site. The incident
happened in Lebuh Armenian. Fortunately, all occupants manage to escape unhurt from the tragedy. According to
Penang Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Mohd Razam Taja Rahim, the fire had caused damage
estimated at RM600,000 (Bernama, 2008).
Another fire case involving heritage building was reported in Malacca on 7th August 2012 where the century-old
Lido Theatre building, a renowned landmark in the city, has gone up in smoke. The blaze, which occurred just past
midnight, destroyed most of the structure in Jalan Kee Ann. Although the building no longer housed the theatre but
its name was retained due to its historic value. The fire burnt all the items in the supermarket causing a huge loss to
the owner (The Star, 2012)
Recently fire outbreak also reported in Jalan CY Choy, Georgetown. On February 24, 2013 some 10 shop houses
in a row went up in flames on the Chap Goh Meh celebration in the evening. It was fortunate that no one was
injured in the incident. The damages were estimated to be more than RM1 million. According to Beach Street fire
station head, Ismail Mohd Zain, six engines from nearby fire stations rushed to the scene after a distress call was
received at 7.55pm. According to Ismail, the fire raged as the pre-war properties were mainly constructed from
wood, causing the fire to spread quickly (New Straits Times, 2013)
Table 1. Fire cases reported in the region of Georgetown World Heritage Site on 1 st Quarter of 2013
DATE TIME TYPES OF BUILDING LOCATION TOTAL LOSS
7/1/2013 20:53 Office Building Queen St -
14/1/2013 05:05 Shop house Penang Rd > RM200,000
19/1/2013 20:11 Shop house Penang Rd RM10,000
25/1/013 16:30 Shop house Hutton Rd RM80,000
10/2/2013 14:30 Residential (Flat) Sri Saujana -
12/2/2013 05:38 Shop house Beach St -
18/2/2013 14:11 Residential (Terrace) Lebuh Nordin RM50,000
24/2/2013 19:55 Shop house Jln C.Y Choy > RM1 million
29/3/2013 14:40 Workshop Weld Quay >RM100,000
01:36 Temple Weld Quay -
31/3/2013 23:15 Shop House Jln Dr Lim Chee Leong -
Source: Fire Rescue Department Malaysia, Beach Street, Penang, Malaysia
There are a few factors that contribute to the fire in this unique yet vulnerable heritage building. Most of the
heritage buildings are of large scale buildings; flammable priceless contents; large numbers of visitors; and existing
structures weak on fire resistance (Salleh and Ahmad, 2009). Therefore, fire risk assessment plays an important role
as many historic buildings in Penang are significant of architectural value and historical importance and their
destruction by fire is an irreplaceable loss. All these heritage buildings should be well kept and protected from the
danger of fire at all time. Every building should have good fire protection and resistance to prevent from fire
outbreak (Salleh, 2011). Unfortunately, up to now, there are fairly insufficient legislations or guidelines on fire
safety for heritage buildings in Malaysia. In fact, FRDM stressed the safety of life is the ultimate principle of fire
safety in a building. Property protection which includes protection to building’s fabrics and contents of heritage
buildings is not really been prioritised (Ibrahima et. al., 2011). Efforts should be made to improve fire protection and
resistance at historic buildings to make certain that it is safe from the danger of fire with concerned of preserving the
490
building fabric without destroying or changing the features of existing building. In order to complete this research, 4
heritage religious buildings in Penang will be chosen as samples to carry out further investigation.
2. Case Studies
As a mean to provide more understanding and to perform this research more accurately, four ancestral temples,
namely Khoo Kongsi, Cheah Kongsi, Penang Teochew Association, and Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple, in
Georgetown were identified as case study of this research as been shown in Figure 1. All of the aforementioned
temples age over 200 years old. Currently, these heritage buildings are used as a clan house and an ancestral temple
for the current generation to worship their ancestral. Khoo Kongsi has the largest area as compared to other temple,
with a significant area of 97,035 sq ft whereas others are only around 14,000 sq ft to 20, 000 sq ft. Table 2
summarized the information of the case studies.
(a) Khoo Kongsi building (b) Cheah Kongsi building
(c) Hock Teik Chen Shin Temple (d) Teochew Temple

Figure 1. Buildings for case study
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Table 2. Summarized information of the case studies
Hock Teik Chen

Premises Khoo Kongsi Cheah Kongsi Teochew Temple
Shin Temple
Use of Premises Clan house Clan house Clan house Clan house
No of Floors 2 2 1 2
Approx. Age Since 1851 Since 1810 Since 1869 Since 1892
Approx. Age Since 1851 Since 1810 Since 1869 Since 1892
Area of building 97,035 sq ft 16,146 sq ft 19,636 sq ft 14,865 sq ft
3. Analysis and Discussion
3.1 Fire Hazards
After the fire risks assessment was carried out, it is found that the fire risk of the temples is mainly from the joss
stick used to worship the ancestral. Besides, the fire hazards are more likely to come from the oil lamps where the
posterities light up the oil lamps as to pray for good fortune. The procedures operating to prevent the accumulation
of these combustible materials vary according to temple. Khoo Kongsi makes a good example in keeping the
combistle materials whereas Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple are relatively less aware of this issues as the combustible
materials are not well kept as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3. There should be a store to keep all the flammable
materials in the temples. Besides, another fire hazard of the temple is that the building is made up 70% from timber.
Figure 2. Oil for lamps and joss stick not well kept Figure 3. The materials to worship not properly kept
Figure 4 shows a typical worship hall of these ancestral temples in Khoo Kongsi. It is clear that the area is
made up almost 70% by timber. Timber is a highly flammable building material. Thus, the fire risks increased
proportionally with the types of building materials. Nobody actually staying in four of the temples nowadays, thus
there is no open flame and fire hazard from the kitchen as compared to old times. The main electrical installation
and equipment are inspected occasionally, depending on situation of each temple. In preventing electrical fire, there
is however, no testing procedure been carried out.
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Figure 4. A typical worship hall of the ancestral temple at Khoo Kongsi
3.2 General Health and Safety Management
In health and safety management wise, the owner and authority of Khoo Kongsi are doing good job where
the documentation of the health and safety policy of Khoo Kongsi is well kept although they do not have any officer
solely in charge of it. There is however, no regular check on the fire safety inspection in four of the temples. There
is no designated competent person for health and safety, in accordance with the requirement of the Management of
Health and Safety at Work Regulation in four of the temple which indicates the lower awareness in public risk and
health factor. There is no document risk assessment for general work activities carried out within the building too,
making the occupants of these temples are not well aware of health and safety policy of the building. There is still
lack of awareness among the owner of the temples as it is a private building and not bond to any rules and
regulations in the management of health and safety system.
3.3 Staff Awareness & Training

As far as we can establish, the occupants in the temples aware of their responsibilities in the event of fire.
They are aware of the escape route, the location of fire extinguishers and the structure of the building although there
is not any training cover all relevant fire related information and guidance introduced to them. Basically, only staff
in Hock Teik Chin Seng Temple does not practice good housekeeping to prevent fire hazards and maintain safety
standards. The flammable materials are not well kept in the temple and this should be taken serious before any fire
hits the temple. None of these temples carry out fire risks tests within the building as an effort to ensure employees
are aware of the fire exits and auction to take.
3.4 Fire Fighting

There is no emergency plan developed for the company and is it easily available to employees and
communicated too. The staff awareness and training regarding fire risks is still very low in four of the temples. In
Khoo Kongsi, there are several numbers of fire extinguishers around the building. A total number of 27 fire
extinguishers recorded in here, with estimating RM1000 spent a year on them according to Account Admin, Ms
Yeap Siok Ching. The fire extinguishers are all placed in the worship hall at first floor and also the museum at
ground floor. Cheah Kongsi and Teochew Temple has a total number of 10 and 13 fire extinguishers respectively,
whereas Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple does not install any fire extinguisher (Table 3). In Khoo Kongsi, there is a
fire extinguisher is located near to the location of a higher fire risk, which is the worship hall, where joss sticks and
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candles are often used. The location of several fire extinguishers of Khoo Kongsi, Cheah Kongsi and Teochew
Ancestral Temple are shown in Figure 5, Figure 6 and Figure 7 respectively.
Figure 5. The location of several fire extinguishers and a fire hydrant found in Khoo Kongsi.
Figure 6. The location of several fire extinguishers and a fire hydrant found in Cheah Kongsi
The portable fire extinguishers used are of correct type, which is Class A fire extinguisher. All the fire-
fighting appliances certified by FRDM annually, with all of them properly coloured coded. Money is spent annually
to make sure the fire extinguisher is in good condition. For all the temples, the employees are well known about the
location of each fire extinguisher and they have been shown how to use the correct type of fire extinguisher.
However, among the four temples, only Khoo Kongsi we can find fire hydrant. It can be easily found in the open
space of Khoo Kongsi area.
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Figure 7. The location of several fire extinguishers and a fire hydrant found in Teochew Ancestral Temple
3.5 Fire Exit Routes & Signage
Under UBBL clause 166, it states that every floor space shall be provided with at least two exits on the
basis that if one exit is inoperable, the other exit can serve the function. Every ancestral temple fulfilled this aspect
because all of the temples have more than one excess to upper floor. It meets the requirement of to provide with at
least two exits on the basis that if one exit is inoperable, the other exit can serve the function. However, the exits
routes in these temples are not provided with conspicuous exit sign such as the “Green Running Man” on a white
background. However, it is quite easy to escape from these temples as the points of exits from the building clear of
obstruction. All floor surface and stairs on escape routes are free from tripping and slipping hazards. However, the
door used in all the ancestral temples are not fire rated door. This puts people in dilemma because when efforts are
made to protect the heritage art and culture of the elements of these temples, we need to compromise a little with
these art values. Lighting wise, it can be considered as satisfactory as all lighting (normal and where provided
emergency) on escape routes are fully operational. However, to the needs of the disable, all the four temples have
not provides mean of escape adequately for them. The escape routes of these ancestral buildings are by far
satisfactory and they all leads in different direction to places of safety, as shown in Figure 8, the open space in
Cheah Kongsi.
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Figure 8. Large open space outside of Cheah Kongsi for mean of escape during fire outbreak.
3.6 Fire Detection & Alarm
In fire detection and alarm wise, none of the temples surveyed has smoke / heat detectors fitted to the temple
(Table 3). According to interviewed outcome, they are not aware of the types and usage of smoke / heat detector
thus there is no such protection in the temples. To Mr Ismail bin Mohd Zain, the Head of FRDM Beach Street
branch, there are plenty of smoke detectors in market which are suitable for these heritage buildings, while all the
owners have to do is include it in the heritage buildings. However, to the research time, there is still no smoke
detector found in the temples. Smoke detectors is advisable to be installed in all other location of the temples except
the worship hall as there will often be smokes produced from the joss stick. Similarly, there is no fire call point
(break glass) in the temples too. Another reason given was that all these temples are actually easy to escape to a safe
open space, thus they reckon they do not need the fire alarm in their building. On the other hand, there is no hose
reel found in all the four ancestral temples. This is due to the lack of UBBL practice in heritage buildings.
Table 3. Summarized of fire protection system practiced in the case studies.
Penang Teow Hock Teik Cheng

Premises Khoo Kongsi Cheah Kongsi
Chew Assoc Sin Temple
Fire Extinguisher 27 10 13 0
Smoke Detector 0 0 0 0
Fire Route YES NO NO NO
Total cost on fire
RM 1000 RM 360 RM 480 RM 0
protection annually
3.7 Safety of Visitors and Contractors
All the ancestral temples are open to public for visits, thus the fire safety of visitors should be taking into account.
From the interviews done, it is clear there is not obvious communication in the event of making sure the public
aware of what to do when they are caught in fire. The contractors working in the temples need not sign a proper
procedure to provide for their safety in the event of fire too. This shows the lack of communication in the event of
contractors or maintenance work being carried out with the owners in fire risks issues.
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4. Recommendations for improvement
After the case study of four ancestral temples, there are a few recommendations need to be done by all the
temples. The recommendations provided will be divided into four categories, namely life safety, fire prevention, fire
protection, and fire fighting. There will be several elements to be look into to provide a better fire safety system in
the ancestral temple in the heritage buildings of Penang. All these elements are crucial to make sure the safety of the
occupants and visitors of the buildings. Fire can be aioded if all the measures are done accordingly. All the heritage
buildings are gifts and they are so valuable that no one can afford to lose them. Thus, the is a need to improve the
current fire protective system in the heritage building.
4.1 Life Safety
Under life safety, all the four temples do not have any emergency lights and emergency exit sign. Although
the elements could be a little odd to be installed in the heritage buildings, but it is necessary for the safety purpose of
the visitors. It can help the visitors to identify the correct way to escape during a fire outbreak. Besides that, the
corridor of the temples should be installed with some emergency lights. This is important especially during the fire
outbreak. Every temple should actually come out with an complete instruction on what should we do if there is any
fire risk outbreak happened. This could be in a fire escape route or instruction, depending on the owner to decide. It
is important to deliver the information on what to do during fire. The escape route shall Under Clause 172 UBBL, a
fire exits routes and signage shall be marked, strategically located, signage according to specification given,
illuminated at all-time Egress/ evacuation route. Besides that, the staircases shall be clear at all time to make sure it
is easy to escape from the ancestral temple. Clause 178 UBBL states that route to final exit must be protected. Thus,
the temple trustee shall always make sure that the route to final exit is always protected.
4.2 Fire Prevention
In fire prevention wise, it is recommended that the building install automatic fire detection (fire alarm
system). An automatic fire alarm system which consists of interconnected devices and controls is designed to detect
the unwanted presence of fire by monitoring environmental changes associated with combustion. Automatic fire
alarm systems are intended to notify the building occupants to evacuate in the event of a fire or other emergency, to
request such civil defense as fire brigades emergency services, and to send digital signals to associate systems
interface to control the spread of fire and smoke. This is really helpful in preventing the fire outbreak as presence of
any small fire will be directed to the authority. Fire in the temple can be detected either by locating the smoke, flame
or heat, and an alarm is sounded to enable emergency evacuation as well as to dispatch the local fire department.
When a detection system is activated, it can be programmed to carry out other actions. Fire alarm system shall be
tested, and service tagged at the main alarm panel, not less than annually in order to ensure correct operation.
4.3 Fire Protection
Discussing about the fire protection in the entire studied ancestral temple, the most important elements that
can be recommended is the compartmentalization. The spread of fire within a building can be restricted by sub-
diving it into compartments separated from one another by walls and/or floors of fire-resisting construction. This
method helps to prevent rapid fire spread which could trap occupants of the ancestral temples and to reduce the
chance of fires becoming large, on the basis that large fires are more dangerous, not only to occupants but to people
in the vicinity of the building. The construction of such compartments and all their components is a matter of
systems within systems, which use bounding to achieve fire-resistance ratings, all interdependent, forming part of an
overall fire safety plan. Compartmentalization prevents the spread of fire within the building and allows more time
for fire suppression.
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4.4 Fire Fighting
Last but not least, there are a few important elements under fire fighting facilities that are recommended to
be installed in the ancestral temples. Portable fire extinguishers will be the most important one. As far as we have
concern, only Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple does not provide any fire extinguisher. It is not right. Fire extinguisher
should be installed near to the emergency staircase and the exist. This location is easy to be seem when the people
run out of the building. There should be a sufficient number of fire extinguishers in the temple. It is also suggest that
the temple are installed with hose reel systems. Hose reel is often used for first-aid fire-fighting, but it is possible for
a fire to be extinguished in initial stage too. Hose reel usually are located in recess along corridors and provided with
up to 45m of reinforced rubber hose, so that all parts of a floor area not exceeding 800m2 are covered by on
installation. The hose reel can be installed near to the emergency staircase and the exist of the ancestral temples.
This location is easy to be seem when the people run out of the building.
Pressurized hydrant systems wise, Clause 225 in UBBL states that every building shall be served by at least
one fire hydrant located not more than 91.5 meters' from the nearest point of fire brigade access. It is obvious that
only Khoo Kongsi has fulfil this requirement at the moment. Thus, it is advisable that other temple to fix a fire
hydrant near to their premise. Depending on the size and location of the building and the provision of access for fire
appliances, additional fire hydrant shall be provided as may be required by the Fire Authority. Sprinkler system is
helpful in all the ancestral temple too. An automatic sprinkler normally placed near the ceilings of the building in
which a fire hazard requires their use. The temperature at which a sprinkler is triggered should be at least 25F°
(13.9°C) higher than the maximum ceiling temperature ordinarily expected.
The building plan shape, disposition of rooms and facilities for pipe work accommodation will
considerably affect sprinkler arrangements. Clause 188 UBBL states that the maximum travel distance to place of
assembly for sprinkled route 60m and for un-sprinkled route 45m where as Clause 228 states that sprinkler valves
shall be located in a safe and enclosed position on the exterior wall and shall be readily accessible to the Fire
authority. All sprinkler systems shall be electricity connected to the nearest fire station to provide immediate and
automatic relay of the alarm when activated.
5. Conclusion
It is clear that the ancestral temple in Georgetown, Penang has not achieved a high level of fire risk protection
awareness. The fire risks are in moderate condition but it is obviously a lot more can be done to prevent the fire
outbreak in these beautiful buildings. As to treasure the heritage values in the buildings, thus efforts to protect them
should be parallel with our love to these buildings. The fire protection systems carried out in these buildings are still
very limited. The fire protection system is of a very simple and basic level where only fire extinguishers are
provided. Fire hydrant can be found only in Khoo Kongsi, making people doubt the fire protection level of these
buildings. Owners should aware that the buildings are made up of 70% timber, which is highly flammable. Things
and effort should be done more accordingly and not solely rely and limit to the fire extinguisher. The system should
be reviewed. There is no intrusion from the Fire and Rescue Department Malaysia in helping and consulting them
on issues to increase the fire protection level in the buildings. In order to increase the fire protection in these
ancestral temple, it is advisable that the owner seek some advises from the FRDM. The buildings / temples are under
private property license, FRDM will never have authorized to intrude in the fire protection system if the owner does
not want to involve them in the fire safety planning. Thus, temple trustee and owners should put into consideration
in inviting FDRM in their temple future development planning. In conclusion, there are still a lot to do to enhance
the fire protection system in the ancestral temples in Georgetown, Penang. All the heritage elements in these
building are so valuable that no one can afford to lost them in any possible fire outbreak. A little more effort done
today will surely makes things a lot different in the future
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References
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from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/ 11/nation/20081211140318&sec=nation
Ibrahima, M.N., Abdul-Hamida, K., Ibrahima, M.S., Mohd-Dina, A. & Yunusb, R.M., Yahyac, M.R.
(2011) The Development of Fire Risk Assessment Method for Heritage Building - The 2nd International Building
Control Conference 2011
New Straits Times (2013). Fire razed 10 shophouses on Chap Goh Meh. nst.com. Retrieved 10 April, 2013,
from http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/fire-razed-10- shophouses-on-chap-goh-meh-1.224205
Salleh, N.H. (2011). Fire Safety Management in Heritage Buildings: The Current Scenario in Malaysia.
Published in CIPA 2009 at Kyoto, Japan
Salleh, H.N., Ahmad, A.G. (2009). Fire Safety Management In Heritage Buildings: The Current Scenario
In Malaysia, pp. 4-6
The Star, (2012). Gambier Street shophouses destroyed in 2009 fire to be rebuilt. Retrieved 10 April 2013
from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/14/sarawak/12168770Marshall D. (1998) Derek Worthing,
Roger Heath. Understanding Housing Defects.
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Appraisal of Pertinent Causes to School Building Defects and

Failures in Kedah, Malaysia
M.A. Othuman Mydina,50*, N. Md Ulangb, N.A. Agus Salimc, N.M. Tawild, T.S. Wene
a,b,e
c
d
Abstract
This paper focuses on the contribution factors of building defects in Malaysian school buildings. There are several
building defects commonly found in Malaysia school buildings. In fact, building defects are becoming ordinary
phenomena in the construction industry which results in negative impacts on schools, in the means of building
performance, health and safety aspects and overall environment condition as well as teaching and learning
processes. Therefore, a study is intended to identify the common building defects faced by school buildings in
Kedah, Malaysia. Then, a thorough inspection is conducted and the respective defects are recorded with the aid of
photographic. Resulted from the interview between researcher and person-in-charge from some schools, the main
factors contributing to those building defects had been determined. Besides, appropriate mitigation solutions on the
building defects have been offered, which are extremely essential in retaining a health and serviceable school
building.
Keyword: school building; defect ; failure ; dampness ; timber decay ; cracks ; termite attack ; corrosion ; settlement
1. Introduction
Malaysia is currently in the intermediary phase of development and industrialization where many construction
projects are being implemented in the whole country. There are many projects that have been constructed within
Malaysia such as commercial buildings, residential buildings, public buildings and industrial buildings. The project
of public buildings includes educational buildings, hospital buildings and government buildings. Nevertheless, there
are a great number of building defects arose and being reported officially by mass media, especially problems with
educational buildings (Mahli et. al, 2012). There are numerous defects which are common to school buildings’
components such as roofs, walls, floors, ceilings, toilets, doors and windows. These defects may cause unexpected
accident and even death. For example, in 12 September 2005, a teacher fell to his death when a decayed plywood
floor of a two-storey school block in SJK (C) Keat Hwa, Kedah gave away. It is believed that the floor was attacked
by termites (Khalid and Othuman Mydin, 2012). From the cases reported, defects can be concluded as fatally
disparaging and critical because they bring impairment to its users and the building itself; causing damage, serious
injuries and death. Therefore, a study is important to investigate the contribution factors of those defects in order to
create a safe building. From the study, a remediation plan can be developed based on the respective defects and
failures to mitigate the impacts and also improve the current conditions.

500
The problem to be studied must be identified at the early stage of the research. The next step was to identify
the significance and objectives of the study as well as outline the scope of study in order to achieve the set
objectives. The literature has critically reviewed from a variety of sources such as books, Internet, journals, articles
and unpublished thesis. Literature review was essential to develop the research hypotheses which formed the
framework of the research. Next, visual inspection was carried out on the selected schools to determine their current
building condition. There will be 7 schools in Kedah to be selected as case studies in this research. The building
defects found were recorded and the data were collected for data analysis. After that, the researcher concluded the
findings and provided recommendations to rectify the problems. There are four approaches had been utilized
throughout this study to gather reliable and relevant data such as conceptualization, literature review, case studies
and interviews.
2. Result, analysis and discussion
Seven schools in Kedah were selected as case studies. All data were collected through visual inspection and
interview sessions between the researcher and person-in-charge, technical staff or maintenance officer from each
school. And the results will be presented in section 2.1.
2.1 Common Building Defects and Failures
2.1.1 Peeling Paint

Peeling paint was the most common defect which was critically found on the building façade, especially on
the plastered walls, ceilings, beams and columns. These components were consistently exposed to sunlight, rain,
wind and dampness, resulting in peeling paint (David, 1999). The excessive exposure spoiled the surface of paint
and thus the surface became chalky, flake and blistered. The problem of peeling paint in schools mostly occurred on
the walls, internal or external. The paint on ceiling was also gradually peeled off due to the present of moisture. The
peeled off paint of ceiling can be easily found on the top floor of buildings because the rainwater entered through the
roof as some of the roof tiles was missing or blew by strong wind.
2.1.2 Dampness
Dampness in schools resulted from water incursion either from internal sources (e.g. leaking pipes) or
external sources (e.g. rainwater). This defect became a serious problem when various materials in the school
buildings became wet for extended periods of time. Besides, excessive moisture in the air due to poor ventilation
inside the buildings can also lead to dampness (Mills et. al, 2009). The common type of dampness found in school
buildings is penetrating damp. Dampness was found on the ceiling and wall due to the ingress of water. The
classrooms, especially on the top floor, were greatly affected by dampness which was happened to ceiling when the
roof tiles were missing or blown away by wind. The rainwater penetrated directly into the building itself, resulting in
dampness (Figure 1).
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Figure 1. Penetrating damp on the ceiling.
Dampness can arise from unintended water caused by leaking pipes, gutters and flashings (Ahmad, 2004).
The leaking water penetrated into the wall, resulting in horrible water stain. Under long term of dampness
penetration and poor ventilation within the building, excessive moisture promoted the growth of mould on the
surface of wall (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Mould growth on wall caused by dampness due to leaking pipe.
The growth of mould and fungi are ordinary consequences caused by excessive dampness. Mould and fungi
will grow when they gain enough moisture and nutrients (Ahmad, 2004). However, the growth of mould causes a lot
of problems to the school environment. It not only physically affected the appearance of the building structure, but
also led to plenty of health illnesses to the students and staffs.
2.1.3 Discoloration
It was common to found the discoloration of paintwork in the inspected school buildings. Surface
discoloration of paintwork found was in brownish, blackish and yellowish colours. This defect is often related to the
presence of dampness or biological attack (Ahmad, 2004). Mould grew aggressively on the surface of paintwork
where there is excessive moisture, resulting in discoloration. A simple repainting will not correct the problem for
long. Furthermore, serious discoloration will lead to structural damage and appearance damage.
2.1.4 Timber Decay

Timber was widely used as a building material in most Malaysian school buildings. However, this type of
material can be deteriorated easily due to several reasons, such as aging, dampness or wear and tear (Douglas and
Ransom, 2007). The problem of timber decay was mainly found on door frames, window frames, timber roof struts
and ceiling battens. Those components exposed to moisture which was the main critical element in the timber decay
process. While, some timber materials decayed because of aging, e.g. ceiling battens. Figure 3 illustrates the timber
502
door frames in toilets that suffered from the worst situation because they were highly exposed to water and
subsequently caused deterioration (Isa et. al., 2011). This type of timber decay was also known as wet rot. Wet rot
was the most common type of timber decay in which the fungus feeds on timber; the timber must be damp or wet
enough for the fungus to thrive and continue the rotting process. Timber decay occurred if the timber becomes
sufficiently wet, with the present of oxygen and nutrients.
Figure 3. Timber decay on door frame in toilet.

2.1.5 Cracking
Cracks happened on the various elements in school buildings such as walls, ceilings, beams, columns and
even floors (Figures 4 and 5). There were many structural and non-structural cracks found. Structural cracks took
place in walls, beams and columns. However, non-structural cracks usually happened in plaster or other finishes
with cement rendering (Ahzahar et. al., 2011). Different types of cracking such as vertical, horizontal, diagonal and
hairline were found in the school buildings.
Figure 4. Horizontal crack on beam Figure 5. Cracks on the staircase
Some parts of the inspected schools showed serious cracks while some only showed minor cracks. From the
inspection, cracks in wall were in various directions and varying in width from fine hair cracks to 5mm or more. The
hairline cracks in plaster and other finishes affected the appearance of the structure but fortunately did not pose any
safety concern (Ahmad, 2004). There were long and continuous cracks across the walls, beams, columns, ceilings
and floors. Moreover, a diagonal crack was found at the corner of door where the crack tip was very thin with
increased thickness at the initial point.
2.1.6 Gap and Detachment
There were some visible gaps found between the elements, such as walls, columns, beams, ceilings, door
frames etc. Figure 6 illustrates a gap formed at the interface between old beam and new beam. In fact, there was a
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new building which had been connected to the original building. However, this new addition was detached from the
old building, resulting in a large and visible gap (Md Kassim, 2009). A gap was also found between the wall and
door frames. Shrinkage and expansion of the door frames (timber materials) due to the atmospheric conditions may
result in gap. Besides door frames, other timber materials such as ceiling battens were also found to have gap from
the wall. In such circumstances, dampness may penetrate into the building and resulted in water stain. Moreover,
column detached from the wall is basically caused by poor construction and workmanship (Ahzahar et. al., 2011).
Figure 6. A visible gap between the beams
2.1.7 Roof Defects
Most of the roof systems constructed in each school building were pitched roof system. However, there still
had flat roof system in some school buildings. Roof is an important element in a building as it protects the interior
from the external weather, such as rain, sunlight and wind (Ahmad, 2004). Different types of roof covering materials
were used in each school, such as asbestos, zinc sheets and roof tiles. From the inspection, the roof defects found
were the blocked gutters, leaking downpipes, leaking roofs, missing roof tiles, slipping roof tiles and also defective
soffit and fascia board. The causes of blocked gutters were the growth of plants and accumulation of leaves and
debris. Figure 7 clearly shows two types of roof defects, which were blocked gutter and slipping tiles. The roof tiles
had been put downward towards the gutters and the growth of plants consequently blocked the runway of rainwater.
As the result, the rainwater will overflow when there was a heavy rain. However, there was also found that gutters
were not constructed along during the construction stage at some of the school buildings.
Figure 7. Slipping tiles & blocked gutter.
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2.1.8 Defective Plastered Renderings
Plastered render was the widest used finishes in the school buildings. Most of the sections in the inspected
school buildings were finished by plastered renderings. However, the plastered renderings underwent deterioration
after a period of time. Some of the plastered renderings were decayed, uneven, broken and also cracked. Although
plastered renderings tended to deteriorate with the increase of building age, there were still many damaged plastered
renderings appeared just after the construction, mainly due to poor workmanship or low quality material. Various
sizes of holes were also formed in the cement plastered rendered floor in the classrooms. Furthermore, it was also
common to found the cracked plastered renderings in the school buildings.
2.1.9 Termite Attack
Timber deteriorated when it exposed to water penetration and excess moisture (Wardhana and Hadipriono,
2003). Termite attack happened in a damp and digestible timber. Large amount of timber materials had been
attacked by termites, causing the timber structures became soft. These materials included timber doors, door frames,
roof struts and window frames. Some of the furniture was suffered from this defect as well.
2.1.10 Corrosion of Steel
The steel materials used in the school buildings were corroded. For example, the hinges, handrails and door
handles. Red colour of iron oxide (rust) was obviously seen on the steel materials. Fundamentally, most of the steels
corroded due to outdoor atmosphere (Chong and Low, 2006). The atmosphere contained oxygen and moisture,
which were the two critical elements in the corrosion process. Moreover, these components were frequently exposed
to excessive climate, such as sunlight, rain and dampness, especially in hot and humid country like Malaysia. Their
strength and corrosion resistance decreased gradually under long term of exposure. As a result, corrosion of steel
took place. Occasionally, this defect was also caused by the poor maintenance and low quality of materials used. In
addition, spalling of concrete was found with its exposed reinforcement (Figure 9). When steel reinforcement eroded,
the formation of rust caused a loss of bond between the steel and concrete and thus resulted in spalling. The integrity
and performance of the structure can be influenced if this problem was not addressed instantly.
2.1.11 Defective Tiles
Tiles were used as finishes to walls and floors. The types of tiles used in the inspected schools were ceramic
tiles and homogenous tiles. There were only certain areas utilized the tiles as finishes because most areas were
finished by plaster renderings which were cheaper. Those areas were the offices, cafeteria, computer labs, staff’s
toilets and multimedia hall. The major problems found in the inspected schools were lippage, unaligned, cracked,
broken and loose tiles. Heavy objects dropped on the tiles would crack and break the tiles. Defective tiles can further
affect the visual appearance of floors and walls. In brief, this defect was caused by vandalism, impact damage,
improper maintenance and poor materials.
2.1.12 Settlement
Cracks on the lower parts of the structure indicated the crisis of settlement. The gap of the cracks was large,
about 10mm (Figure 8). Besides, the cracks appeared along the wall of the building (Figure 9). This may be
associated with the movement of the ground beneath the foundations due to self-weight of the building. Settlement
occurred where a structure found in various ground conditions or foundation failures. Other possible causes of this
problem were soil erosion by flowing water, changes in ground water level, uneven bearing capacities of soils and
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poor soil condition. There was a drainage system built besides this building, however, the drainage culverts were
broken. This in turn caused the leaking water move into the soil layer and then may subsequently contribute to soil
erosion.
Figure 8. Cracks on the lower section Figure 9. Cracks along the wall
2.2 Contribution Factors to Building Defects in Malaysian School Buildings
2.2.1 Climatic Conditions
Malaysia is a hot and humid country where heavy rainfall and warm sunshine are all year round. This in turn
causes the school buildings tend to weather promptly, especially the building materials which are exposed to
external elements such as sunlight, rain, wind and atmospheric pollution (Akasah et. al., 2009). In such
circumferences, problems such as dampness, mould growth, peeling paint, discoloration and corrosion can easily
happen. Defects happened not solely caused by one factors; in fact, they are interlinked (Heitor, 2005). Paintwork
gradually peeled off due to excessive weather and this defect can be commonly found on the external walls because
they are directly exposed to climate. In a tropical country like Malaysia, dampness is the major problem faced by all
types of buildings. Hence, damp patches and water stains are broadly found on the buildings, especially on walls and
ceilings (Porteous, 1992). The common type of dampness in school buildings is the penetrating dampness.
Furthermore, excess dampness can promote the growth of mould and fungi. Mould growth on darker and protected
area is more difficult to be removed. The growth of mould and fungi not only physically affect the appearance of
the building structure, but also cause numerous health problems to its users.
2.2.2 Building Age

Most of school buildings are more than 10 years old. Some of them are even more than 50 years old. The
longer a building is exposed to the atmosphere, the higher tendency for it to deteriorate. In point of fact, all elements
of school buildings have a tendency to decay at a lesser or greater rate due to aging (Sui and Wee, 2001). For
example, timber is basically an aging building material. It will decay after a period of time if no proper inspection
and maintenance are conducted. Timber is extensively used as building materials in most Malaysian school
buildings but results from the inspection showed that timber decay is one of the common building defects. The
problem of timber decay was mainly found on door frames, window frames, timber roof struts and ceiling battens.
2.2.3 Maintenance of School Buildings

Most of the schools do not practice scheduled maintenance, but carry out emergency maintenance when
necessary, except for the private schools. Formally, public schools have to apply and wait for the allocation from
Ministry of Education for the repair and maintenance purposes when problems have occurred. However, private
schools perform their maintenance programmes which are more systematic (Akasah et. al., 2009). They conducted
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scheduled maintenance to every component in schools in order to keep those components in good condition. The
process of obtaining allocation from Ministry of Education is long and complicated. Due to lack of allocation, some
public schools were unable to carry out proper maintenance. For instance, they cannot paint all the school buildings
due to lack of budget, but can only repaint the areas where peeling paint had occurred. As a result of poor
maintenance, defects such as leaking roofs, leaking flashings, blocked gutters and blocked rainwater downpipes are
usually happened (Sui and Wee, 2001). Those defects contribute to dampness and structural damage in a building.
2.2.4 Poor Workmanship

Poor workmanship can worsen the building quality and performance, such as poor installation methods, poor
mixing of materials, poor handling of materials and poor planning (Akasah et. al., 2009). It is found that the tiles are
not installed adequately during the construction stage. In other words, they are not aligned and untidy. Tiles are used
as finishes, therefore, must be able to withstand the heavy impact acting on it as well as enhance its aesthetic value.
However, many problems of tiles can be seen in the inspected school buildings, namely slippage, unaligned, cracked,
broken and loosen tiles. Another evidence of poor workmanship is the defective plastered renderings. Almost all the
school buildings are using cement plastered renderings as floor finishes, particularly in the classrooms. Nonetheless,
all kinds of problems can be found in the school surroundings, such as broken, uneven and bump plastered
renderings.
2.2.5 Insufficient Awareness

Vandalism is one of the irresponsible actions that can damage the school facilities and infrastructures (Sui and
Wee, 2001). Insufficient awareness and knowledge among the students are the root causes of vandalism. Besides,
softer building materials often invite the cases of vandalism. The examples of vandalism are doodle on the walls and
bash the doors. Apart from that, the consciousness of school authorities and students in the maintenance aspect is
still low. They do not really alert and practice maintenance to look after the schools’ facilities and infrastructures.
This results in more damages and problems in the building structures.
2.2.6 Inadequate Supervision and Control

Another main factor is the insufficient supervision and management of site operation (Akasah et. al., 2009).
The construction works of school buildings will be approved by the Ministry of Education and conducted by
affirmed contractors. During the construction phase, Public Works Department will monitor and inspect the
construction progress to ensure the construction works follow the design and specifications. However, the inspection
process is not longer strict than before. This scenario happened during carried out the testing on the concrete
strength. According to the interviewee, the current concrete strength testing process taken by affirmed engineers
from Public Works Department is totally different from years ago. Few years ago, the engineers will carry out the
testing at a constant distance to check the overall concrete strength. However, the engineers now only inspect few
locations to complete the testing. The lack of supervision and control influenced significantly on the overall
performance and efficiency of construction projects. Although the consequence will not obviously see within few
years time, it may affect the structures gradually.
3. Conclusions
School buildings vastly exposed to all sort of problems due to numerous main factors. Building defects are
critical as they can physically affect the building appearance as well as damage the building structure. This can
subsequently affect the safety of the building users. Therefore, appropriate solutions to mitigate building defects in
schools should be carried out in order to ensure the school buildings do not easily fall into defects. If the defects
were not taken seriously, it may consequently lead to structural failure. In brief, all parties such as local government
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authorities, school authorities, consultants, contractors and public, should be involved in the remedial works and
work together in order to diminish the occurrences of defects and failures in school buildings. They should have a
close partnership to work mutually in order to form a strong and sustainable built environment in school.
References
Ahmad, A.G. (2004). Understanding Common Building Defects: The Dilapidation Survey Report. Universiti
Sains Malaysia, Penang.
Ahzahar, N., Karim, N.A., Hassan, S.H., & Eman, J. (2011). A study of Contribution Factors to Building
Failures and Defects in Construction Industry. Universiti Teknologi MARA, Pulau Pinang.
Akasah, Z.A., Shamsuddin, S.H., Abd Rahman, I., & Alias, M. (2009). School building maintenance strategy:
a new management approach.
Chong, W.K., & Low, S.P. (2006). Latent Building Defects: Causes and Design Strategies to Prevent Them.
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 20, 213-221.
David, S.W. (1999). Building Pathology: Principles & Practise. Utd Kingdom: Blackwell Science Ltd. pp. 28.
Douglas, J., & Ransom, B. (2007). Understanding Building Failure, 3rd ed. Oxon: Taylor & Francis.
Heitor, T. (2005). Potential Problems and Challenges in Defining International Design Principles for Schools.
Evaluting Quality in Education Facilities, pp. 44-54.
Khalid, M., & Othuman Mydin, M.A. (2012). Building Condition Assessment and Defect Analysis on Heritage
Shophouses in Penang, Malaysia: Case Studies. International Journal of Engineering, Fascicule 3, 441-444.
Mahli, M., Che Ani, A.I., Abd Razak, M.Z., Tawil, N.M., & Yahaya, H. (2012). School Age and Building
Defects: Analysis Using Condition Survey Protocol (CSP) 1 Matrix.
Md Kasim, N.D. (2009). Building Defect: Case Study at Taman Seri Indah, Pulau Pinang. Unpublished thesis
(degree), University Malaysia Pahang, Malaysia.
Mills, A., Love, P.E.D., & Williams, P. (2009). Defects cost in residential construction. Journal of
Construction Engineering and Management, 135, 12-16.
Mohd Isa, H., Hassan, P., Che Mat, M., Isnin, Z. & Sapeciay, Z. (2011). Learning from Defects in Design and
Build Hospital Projects in Malaysia. In International Conference on Social Science and Humanity, 5, 238-242.
Porteous, W.A. (1992). Classifying building failure by cause. Building Research and Information, Vol. 20 No.
6, pp. 350-356.
Sui Pheng, L., & Wee, D. (2001). Improving maintenance and reducing building defects through ISO 9000.
Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, 7, 6-24.
Wardhana, K., & Hadipriono, F.C. (2003). Study of recent building failures in the United States. Journal of
Performance of Constructed Facilities, 17, 151-158.
508
Facilities Management Futures: The Challenges Posed to

Facilities Manager in Malaysia
M. Y. Hamida,51*
a
Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perak, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Malaysia
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to understand the challenges posed to facilities manager in order to survive in the next generation.
This paper presents the factors that will give an impact on the organization in the future based on FM future projects initiated by
EuroFM in year 2005 to 2009. Many organizations’ strategies fail to achieve their vision and mission due to lack of
understanding on culture and people. In Malaysia, facilities management profession faces challenges in issues of recognition of
the value of good FM, the awareness of top management, including the importance of certification and education in FM
practices. The challenges posed to facilities manager are to manage employees from different generations and to enhance
usability for the benefit of all stakeholders. The main theme of this 3 rd International Building Control Conference 2013
‘Technology Transformation Towards Sustainable Built Environment’ is related to FM futures that challenge the Facilities
Manager to think on how to develop sustainable facilities and work with different people from different generations.
Keywords: culture; facilities management; futures; generation; people; strategic facilities management;
1. Introduction
The agenda of facilities management futures started at the European FM Research Summit held in Manchester, on
27 January 2005. It aimed to provide an understanding of the factors that would give an impact on the organisation
in the future and ways that FM sector responded to this situation. The Centre for Facilities Management in
Manchester that was led by Professor Keith Alexander had undertaken the research analysis and reporting of the
project. Three FM futures workshop and three open research seminars were held to gain a broader involvement of
facilities people as much as possible in its development. The output of this project contributed to five views of FM
futures such as: a) a desired future based on a vision of what FM can contribute; b) a created future built on a
strategy for EuroFM as a change agent; c) a possible future based on investing in education and research; d) a
probable future based on widely held assumptions about the state of the industry; and e) unexpected future born of
discontinuity (Alexander, 2009). Two key questions that arise from the discussion are how FM practitioner can
improve usability for the benefit of all stakeholders and how sustainable facilities could be developed. The project
highlighted many exciting opportunities and challenges for Facilities Manager to deal with. The second workshop of
FM futures with the theme of ‘Innovation, Sustainability and Regeneration’ was held in Manchester, United
Kingdom in March 2007 hosted by CFM, University of Salford and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). This workshop
was set in the Spinningfields redevelopment area in Manchester City centre and addressed different perspectives of
facilities management in response to the challenges of the knowledge economy and in the context of the City. Over
100 registered leading academics and practitioners across Europe, including the authors, participated in a Delphi

E-mail address: yusof344@perak.uitm.edu.my.
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exercise which discussed the role of FM and its capability to address the challenges. The discussion focused around:
a) the propositions; b) the opportunity; c) repositioning; d) partnership; e) processes; f) performance; and e)
innovation. The workshop concluded with the awareness of the importance to understand future FM challenges and
opportunities and explore new ideas or tackle old problems in new ways. In an uncertain conditions and changes,
Facilities Managers in Malaysia need to response quickly to unforeseen circumstances. They need to develop
approaches that enable them to foresee future challenges such as how to manage employees from different
generations, envisage the impact on the organisations and develop the strategies and competencies needed to gain
advantages. This paper focuses on the importance of people and organizational culture that shape the facilities
management futures and the challenges that will be faced by Facilities Managers in Malaysia.
2. Overview of Facilities Management in Malaysia
The importance of facilities management sector to the Malaysian economy is increasingly recognized. The sector is
changing rapidly, becoming more diverse and more business-like. Facilities management is defined in EN15221:
Part 1, 2006, ‘Facility Management: terms and definitions’ as the ‘integration of processes within an organisation to
maintain and develop the agreed services which support and improve the effectiveness of primary activities’ (BSI,
2007). Underlying this definition is a process-based, management systems approach, as defined in the ISO 9000
series. Organizations with well-defined management processes can potentially improve decision-making,
stakeholder management, consistency in delivery and also potentially improve their organizational coordination and
continuing improvement (Davenport & Prusak, 1998; Hegedus, 2008; Jeston and Nelis,2008). The facilities
management in Malaysian context defined by CIDB (2009) is ‘the managing of multi-disciplinary activities to
ensure continuous functionality by linking/integrating people, place, processes and available technology’. Facilities
managers need to identify the core business of the organization and support the core business objectives. For
instance, core business of higher education institution is to provide teaching and learning activities including
research and community activities whilst the support services are those services related to maintenance, space
management, administrative support, etc.
The development of FM profession in Malaysia is considered new. . Some authors even traced the development and
found that it started in the second half of 1990s. A brief history recorded of FM showed that it started in the late
1970’s with the establishment of Facilities Management Institute (FMI) by Herman Miller (Duffy, 2007 ). Currently
FM in Malaysia is divided into three areas: a) organizations that manage and deliver their own support services; b)
organisations that employ facilities managers who manage several activities; and c) out-source to facilities
management companies to provide both management and delivery of facilities activities. To date in Malaysia,
property management is recognised through the main professional bodies namely The Boards of Valuers, Appraisers
and Estate Agents Malaysia (BOVEA). The Malaysia Association of Facility Management (MAFM) was formed in
2005 with several objectives in strengthening the facilities management field in Malaysia. However, there is still
lack of understanding of the roles of FM in Malaysia and some conflicts between professional disciplines as to
which one should be recognised as licensed proprietor (Kamaruzzaman and Zawawi, 2010).
3. Facilities Manager Challenges and Facilities Management Response
Facilities management industry in Malaysia is facing numerous challenges, many of which are typically associated
with a young industry, lack of awareness of FM value among organization top management including lack of
maintenance culture (CIDB, 2009). Therefore, the industry needs to work towards greater recognition within the
wider business community. FM futures project required researchers to understand organizational issues and trend to
which FM must contribute and respond. This paper will focus on organizational culture and change and how FM
should respond to this aspect and the next generation scenario which requires Facilities Manager understanding in
managing new type of employee that enters/joins the workforce.
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3.1 Organizational Culture and Change
In today’s fast changing and competitive world, FM organisations require strategic plans which imply change in its
operation. The contemporary socio-economic and technological climate promotes structural change in organisations.
The impact has been further heightened by the recent global financial crisis which affects Malaysia’s economic
growth. In his book ‘The World is Flat’ Thomas L. Friedman, gave ten flattening factors such as the Berlin wall
came down in 1989, Netscape went public, the convergence of technology, global supply chain era, the attack on
World Trade Centre on 9/11 and other factors as the most crucial development created by globalization. Friedman
also explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to
countries, companies, communities, and individuals; and how governments and societies can, and must, adapt. This
flattening of the globe requires us to make changes. Indeed reading Friedman’s perspective made me wonder that
some economies or businesses may need to compete on new planes or in new geographic regions. It seems that in
these circumstances, organisations in all sectors develop change strategies to enable them to adapt and continue to
be effective. Consequently, many organisations ensure that their staffs are aware of their strategic plan. However,
few Facilities Managers try to ensure that their staffs really understand the need for the change and sometimes this
important message is not delivered, unless it becomes the individual responsibility to make change happen and is
prepared to participate in it. As I reflect on the importance of understanding organisational culture, I am convinced
that organisational culture is clearly an important ingredient of effective organisational performance. In the text,
Mullins, J. (1993) believed culture is a difficult concept to pin down. As stated by Robbins (1992) that ‘most people
are unaware of just how their culture will affect them’ (p.14). Although people may not be aware of how their
culture affects them it still has a pervasive influence over their behaviour and actions. Mullins, J. (1993) detailed
definition on organisational culture as ‘the collections of traditions, values, policies, beliefs and attitudes that
constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think in an organisation’ (p. 649). My view then was that, I
believe culture developed through the organisation systems, communications, belief and attitudes of people in it.
Hofstede (1980) made comparison of culture through dimensions of culture such as power distance, uncertainty
avoidance, individualism and masculinity. He classified cultures by these dimensions such as Germanic, Anglo,
Nordic, Asean and Latin. Many would say Japanese quality improvement appears to have been achieved due to its
culture and attitudes. It made me think that this form of classification helps to explain why different groups of
people perceived things in their own way and perform things differently from the others. Therefore the facilities
manager or leader in organisation needs to consider this aspect. The perception or thought of people in organisation
could be different. Indeed, the key for cultural change such as people practices, leadership action, performance
measures, vision, purpose and strategy including the competitive context of an organisation are important for the
organisation to succeed.
My rationale for this hypothetical scenario was based on my PhD research on the application of strategic facilities
management using facilities management process protocol in one higher education institution in the United
Kingdom. My research found that the different perception and understanding of vision and mission of organisation
create barriers to the success of its implementation (Hamid, 2009). The study identified that the Estate and Property
Services Division of the University are acting mainly at an operational level, managing facilities resources and
services to support the normal day to day operations of the University. During the stable period of University
development with low rates of incremental and predictable change, the current practices of operational with the
routine and short term planning is adequate. However, the Estate and Property Services Division operational became
critical once major organisational fundamental change of the University was planned. There will be significant
change to business process and working practice which needs to be made. The belief and attitudes of people in this
organisation need to be changed and that a broad range of skills, to meet the demands of the University business. It
convinced me again as the research findings reveal that the University needs to consider the culture of its
organisation in adopting the facilities management process protocol. In order to be successful, the Facilities
Managers should consider this aspect which is strongly related to an understanding of organisational culture. To
return to Mullins book, the author shared seven influential factors which are likely to play an important role in
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organisational culture such as history, primary function and technology, goals and objectives, size, location,
management and staffing and the environment. I agree with all of these influences which need to be considered by
the management if organisation is required to change to adapt with this new policy. Indeed Hegedus, I (2008) in his
book ‘Business Process Management: Insights and Practice for Sustained Information’ found several important
points from Covey, S (1997) organisationals’ effectiveness which are related to the organisational culture as
outcomes of the business operations model. He stresses that the process improvement and management are the key
components but must be viewed in context of the others. Furthermore, he gave an example of
PricewaterhouseCoopers Whitepaper conclusion of the lesson learnt in culture change that, it is important to address
the requirement for cultural change in organisation transformational change. I believe that understanding on the
change perspective itself is the most crucial point of any strategic plan and change initiatives.
When introducing change into the workplace, such as productivity initiative, I understand that several factors need
to be addressed such as management support, personal work style, and the most important is to understand both
organisational and corporate culture. Of these, organisational culture is the key factor; indeed it encompasses most
aspects of the other factors. If a productivity initiative is not properly introduced and explained, people may ignore,
override or sabotage the efforts. But if introducing the initiative is handled sensitively, staff may welcome the
changes and help make them work. Thus, as Facilities Manager, the understanding of organisational culture and
change itself has to be negotiated and managed to ensure that the initiative is successful in the long term.
3.2 The Next Generation
In FM Futures EuroFM research project, the short history of FM consists of its development and evolution which is
shown in table 3.2 below:
Table 1. History of FM
Years Generation Classification of FM Development FM Level
1970’s 1G Managed services, outsourcing total facilities management, CAFM Operational
1980’s 2G Quality management, management agency benchmarking, FM Tactical

processes, FIMS
1990’s 3G Partnering, re-engineering processes, knowledge management, Strategy

product innovation, sustainable facilities management
2000’s 4G Business processes, open innovation, usability service excellence, Transformational

transformational outsourcing
Source: Alexander (2009)
The workshops concluded with the forecast of when FM entered the fifth decade and the prediction for how the next
generation will be like. Facilities Manager in Malaysia need to understand apart from the development of facilities
management profession they also will be dealing with the new generation that will join the workforce. In Malaysia,
an estimated of 7 million of its total population, or the Generation Y is becoming the fastest growing segments of
today’s workforce. Therefore, Facilities Managers need to differentiate all of these generations that are at work in
most offices today. Table 2 below shows the different generations and their characteristic and common traits.
Table 2. Generations at Workplace in Malaysia

Years Significant life event, historical Economic and Individual Characteristic and
Generation
Social Influences Work Attitudes
Hardworking and loyal, great
1927-1945 Traditionalist World War 2, economic and political instability team players, less tech-savvy
Under British administration, communist Diligent, focused, dedicated,

Baby
1946-1964 insurgency, Malaysian independence, economic loyal, self motivated, thrifty,
Boomers
and political instability value, job security
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Indonesian confrontation, separation from Idealistic, Individualistic,

1965-1980 Generation X Singapore, May 13, beginning of computer usage, materialistic, sceptic, pro work
new economic policy, industrialisation, mergers life balance, mobile, value
and acquisitions prompt, recognition and reward
Optimistic, creative, civic

minded, pro diversity, pro work
1981-2001 life balance, mobile, value
Economic crises, look east policy, internet usage,
Generation Y prompt, recognition and reward,
beginning of social networking activities
team player, willing to learn,
adaptable to new technologies,
casual and fun loving
2001 above Living with tech-savvy, process information at Smarter generation, very
Generation Z
lightning speed individualistic
Source: Ravi Paul (2013)
By understanding the various generation including their philosophies and characteristics, it will help Facilities
Manager to identify the strength, weakness and requirement of each generation. The new generation Y and Z expect
to be treated as professionals; participate in the discussion and have access to further their education. In addition, the
new generations require Facilities Manager to be a strategic thinker rather than operational thinker. Therefore, the
expectations of the new generations on Facilities Manager are high and can be summarized in Table 3 below.
Table 3. Expectation of Future Facilities Manager

No Habits Requirement
1 Inspire Facilities Manager need to articulate the vision and set direction based on organisation vision and mission.
2 Impart Facilities Manager need to engage in communication at all level in the organisation and provide coaching plan.
3 Influence Facilities Manager need inculcate sincerity and built trust among stakeholders.
4 Initiate Facilities Manager need to motivate action and instill a sense of urgency for support services provided.
5 Improve Facilities Manager require to enable change and grant empowerment
6 Implement Facilities Manager able to measure performance and focus on the result that will benefited the organisation.
7 Innovate Facilities Manager need to stimulate creativity and seek out opportunity. FM needs to innovate to survive.
The new mindset of Generation Y and Z requires Facilities Manager to examine their expectations. They required
Facilities Managers to be strategic thinkers and not just the operational thinkers. Facilities Manager has to
understand and embrace an external and internal stakeholders perception of his or her activity. This is a key
requirement of aligning the FM strategy with the core business of organisation. Facilities Manager has to understand
what drives and motivates individuals, especially the new generation and use those drivers to encourage new
behaviours. Change can be more difficult than a Facilities Manager might expect as mentioned in above section of
organizational culture and change. In Malaysia, the industry wants to see how FM profession can demonstrate the
FM value and return on investment. FM in Malaysia needs a systematic approach and it also has to look into the
culture of the building use that consumer society has and improve the situation. Thus, Facilities Manager needs to
have strong innovative mindset apart with the other habits mentioned in Table 3.
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4. Conclusion
Facilities Managers in Malaysia, may select information and identify challenges that are posed to them in future and
plan the right path to achieve sustainable built environment. They need to have the technical knowledge of the
facilities and understand business process including people management that forms a very critical parameter of
successful FM. It is necessary to encourage true behavioral change from individuals if Facilities Manager wishes to
avoid FM strategic plan to fail to achieve organization’s objectives. Failure to understand and mobilize all the
potential of the employees can retard the organization’s performance. Facilities Manager in Malaysia is required to
have the highly skilled employees whose intellectual knowledge and technical skills are critical to the success of the
organization. Finally, facilities management in Malaysia should appear as a practical business activity that has a
strategic plan aligned with core business and its stakeholder requirements.
About the author
Md Yusof Hamid is Associate Professor of Building Surveying at Universiti Teknologi Mara (Perak). Md Yusof
was previously a PhD candidate with the Centre for Facilities Management, University of Salford under the
supervision of Professor Keith Alexander. The CFM has undertaken the research analysis and reporting the FM
futures project for European Facilities Management (EuroFM) in 2009. Md Yusof’s interests include strategic
facilities management, facilities management process, usability in built environment and space management in
higher education institutions.
References
Alexander, K. (2009). Facilities Management Futures (First Edition), EuroFM Network available at www.eurofm.org.
BSI (2007). Facility Management, British Standard Institution. BS EN 15221-1:2006: 5.
CIDB (2009). CIDB Asset and Facilities Management Survey Report, 2009, Construction Industry Development Board, Kuala Lumpur.
Davenport, T. H & L. Prusak (1998). Working Knowledge: How organizations manage what they know. Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard,
Business School Press.
Duffy, F. (2007) The origins of facilities. Facilities, 25, 11/12.
Friedman, T. (2005). The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, New York, USA, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.
Hamid, M. (2009). The Feasibility of a Process Protocol for Facilities Management: An Exploratory Investigation in a Higher Education
Institution in the United Kingdom, (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Salford, United Kingdom.
Hegedus, I. (2008). Business Process Management: Insights and Practices for Sustained Information, UK, ARK Group.
Hostfede, G. (1980). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, Beverly Hills, CA, Sage Publications.
Jeston, J.& J. Nelis (2008). Business Process Management: Practical Guidelines to Successful Implementations. Hungary, Butterworth-
Heinemann.
Kamaruzzaman, S.N. & Ahmad, E.M. (2010). Development of facilities management in Malaysia. Journal of Facilities Management, 8, 75-81.
Mullins, L. (1993). Management and Organisational Behaviour (Third Edition), London, United Kingdom: Pitman Publishing.
Ravi Paul (2013). The Millenials: Gen Y & Z The New Work Force: The Challenges Posed to Management and Leaders Workshop. 21 & 22
October 2013. PWTC, Kuala Lumpur.
Robbins, S. (1992). Essential of Organizational Behaviour. (Third Edition), Prentice Hall
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The Impact of Sea Level Rise on Heritage Sites – An Overview

E. D. Ismail52*, L.S. Safiee, S. Y. Said, Hasnizan Aksah, A. S. Abdullaha
a
Centre of Studies for Building Surveying,Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, 40450
Malaysia
Abstract
Climate change has never been a deserted discussion since it has started to demonstrate a threat to some part of the world
population. The impacts of the change resulted in various extreme weather events such as draughts and high temperature,
precipitation and floods, sea level rise, storm and heatwaves. This paper will discuss and summarise on the impacts of climate
change, particularly Sea Level Rise (SLR) to heritage sites as most of the major early cities were built along rivers and coastlines.
The findings were a collection of literature findings concerning this issue, emphasising on its direct and indirect implications to
the affected areas and buildings. It is aim to alarm on the seriousness of the matter and hopefully will attract more proactive
actions from various parties in preserving the world’s valuable heritage for the future generation.
Keywords: Climate change; sea level rise; global warming; heritage site
1. Introduction
The world is brought to various extreme weather events every day. Some of the events are not new and
repeatedly occurred such as drought in Africa and Australia, typhoon in Philippines and flooding in Bangladesh but
were in more extreme condition than they used to be, meanwhile some are newly recorded such as wildfires in
Russia, earthquake in Peru and Mississippi River record flooding. Although the factors to the change is still vague,
and even whether the extreme events resulted from climate change is still in debates, scientists around the globe
have agreed that from the growing evidence, human activity has begun to change the average temperature of the
earth’s surface (IPCC, 2007). As extreme events persist, it brought a lot of disaster to the affected nations. The direct
implications were the physical impacts, in terms of annihilated of infrastructures, buildings and agriculture, while
the indirect effects are seen in the economics, politics and health which are even more serious to handle.
Back in 1972, a Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted
by the UNESCO Member States consecutively to create an appropriate framework in order to preserve the shared
natural and cultural heritage for the benefit of current and future generations. However, it was not a huge concern of
the international community regarding the hidden threats of climate change to World Heritage properties.
Nevertheless, a couple decades ago, professionals and experts has proved that without ecological balance, the earth
could dramatically and irremediably be disrupted by certain unchecked human activities (UNESCO, 2006).

E-mail address: dewiyana@salam.uitm.edu.my.
515
2. Climate Change
Climate change is defined by any change in the global climate system, over time, whether due to natural
variability or as a result of human activity (Woodward and Buckingham, 2008). According to Huber and Gulledge
(2011), direct climatological link between a single event and the long term rise in the global average surface
temperature is illogical to debate as climate change is defined as changes in mean climate conditions that is, the
average of hundreds or thousands events over the span of decades. What virtually all climate scientists agree on,
however, is that the climate is already changing, that all weather events now form under different conditions than
they used to, and that this change is increasing the probability of extreme weather events happening. Moreover,
scientists agree that severe heat and heavy downpours are already more frequent and intense than they used to be.
Since the rising risk of extreme weather is well established, it makes sense to learn what we can from actual events
and avoid getting caught up in an irresolvable debate about why a particular event happened.
3. Sea Level rise (SLR)
As quoted from Carbognin, et al.(2009), Sea Level Rise is a significant consequence of climate change.
Alongside human development, sea level rise highly impacts marine coastal environments and sociaties,
contributing to the loss of coastal lowlands, increased damage from flooding to built-up zones and infrastructures, as
well as loss of economy in many areas worldwide (e.g., Jeftic et al. 1996; Cooper et al. 2008). Global mean sea level
has been rising since the end of the last ice age almost 18000 years ago (Ahmad and Ismail, 2011). However, during
the 21st century, global average sea level is expected to rise considerably faster than in the 20th, even if a common
conclusion from all the coupled atmospheric-ocean general circulation models that sea level change will be far from
uniform (Gregory et al. 2001; IPCC 2007)
According to Lewis (2000), there are two types of sea level rise: eustatic and isostatic. Eustatic sea level rise
responds to major climatic change and possibly affected by global warming. Isostatic sea level rise is a localized
representation of vertical displacements of land surface with respect to sea level.
Climate change and its consequence in term of SLR will not be uniform all over the world, as in the past, and
some regions are more threatened than others. The most vulnerable systems are those with a great sensitivity to
climate change and a low adaptability. Here the SLR will assume more regional than global characteristics.
(Carbognin, et al., 2009). It is an alarming issue for the whole world as according to Dasgupta et al. (2009), even if
greenhouse gas emissions were stabilized in the near future, thermal expansion and deglaciation would continue to
raise the sea level for many decades.
Ahmad and Ismail (2011) stated that, sea level rise is due to a number of causes, some of which may exert a more
regional influence than others, include:
i) Thermal expansion- as seawater becomes warmer it expands. Heat in the upper layer of the ocean is released
quickly into the atmosphere. However, heat absorbed by the deeper layers of the ocean will take much longer
to be released and therefore, will be stored in the ocean much longer and have significant impacts on future
ocean warming. Dasgupta et al. (2009) quoted that until recently, ocean thermal expansion was expected to be
the dominating factor behind the rise in sea level.
ii) Freshwater inputs- increase in freshwater inputs from mountain glaciers, ice sheets, ice caps, and sea ice, as
well as other atmospheric and hydrologic cycles due to rising global surface and ocean temperatures. Based on
the more recent data of deglaciation rates in Greenland and Antartica, scientists suggest greater significance
for glacial melt, especially due to the uncertainty, the dynamics of outlet glaciers.
iii) Physical forces- subsidence and lifting are associated with tectonic activity and the extraction of water and
resources such as gas and oil. These types of forces do not actually change the volume of the ocean, only the
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relative sea level. However, these changes do effect movement over land, as well as estimates from satellite
altimetry.
iv) Ocean current variation- large, regional ocean currents which move large quantities of water from one
location to another also affect relative sea level without changing the actual volume of the ocean, for example
el Nino. These large scale variations also affect the relative sea level of certain areas.
v) Atmospheric pressure- influences sea level by impacting the surface itself. This also only affects relative sea
level as the water pushed out of one place will move to another.
a. The impacts of sea level rise

Sea level at any location contains the influences of local and regional meteorological effects, including storm
surges, modes of climate variability for example the El Nino-Southern Oscillation and long term trends from both
the ocean surface and land movements, including the impact of anthropogenic climate change (Church and White,
2011).
Radzi (2011), IPCC (2007), Midun and Lee (1995) and Abdullah (1992) stated the impacts of sea level rise to the
world are:
i) Sandy beaches and muddy coastlines will be eroded. Coastal erosion appears to be the most severe impact,
with further aggravation of the existing erosion problems
ii) The low lying coastal line and riverine will be inundated with water, causing damage to houses, industries
and crops. Destruction of coastal bunds could inundate 1000km2 of agricultural land
iii) Low level islands could sink and disappear.
iv) The quality and salinity will drop when fresh water from the melted ice caps drin into the ocean. Water
resource will be scarced by the decrease in precipitation in the lower latitudes. While mid and high latitude
ocean waters have freshened, low latitude waters have become more saline, leading to changes in
evaporation and precipitation, and a decrease in freshwater availability.
v) The water levels in rivers will increase and cause flooding in the low level area.
vi) River water temperature and the ocean water temperature will also change accordingly.
vii) The river water will mix with salt water from the ocean making it unsafe for human consumption
viii) The total water density will also change and it changes the freeboard length of the ship. This is danger
especially on the large cargo vessel as it has lesser distance fro the deck to the vessel water line.
ix) The marine life, like fish and even coral will have to migrate as to find waters that are more suitable or
perish.
x) Topography of the respective affected country will change and the country’s size can decrease.
xi) Millions of money need to be allocted as to mitigate the global warming reaction especially on the sea level
rise
b. Impacts of climate change to cultural world heritage
The effects of climate change have given several implications towards natural and societal systems (agriculture,
human health, forestry and infrastructure) including cultural and natural heritage.
World Heritage Centre, Vilnius (2006) stated a number of direct impacts of Climate Change can be expected to
play a role on:
i) Archaeological evidence that is preserved in the ground has reached a balance with the hydrological,
chemical and biological processes of the soil. Short and long cycles of change to these parameters may result
in a poorer level of survival of some sensitive classes of material.
ii) Historic buildings have greater intimacy with the ground than modern ones. They are more porous and draw
water from the ground into the structure and lose it to the environment by surface evaporation. Their wall
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surfaces and floors are the point of exchange for these reactions. Increases in soil moisture might result in
greater salt mobilisation and consequent damaging crystallisation on decorated surfaces through drying.
iii) Timber and other organic building materials are subjected to the increase of biological infestation such as
migration of pests in altitudes and latitudes.
iv) Flooding may damage building materials that were not designed to withstand prolonged immersion, and post
flooding drying may encourage the growth of damaging micro-organisms such as moulds and fungi.
Archaeological sites and monuments may be at risk from flooding, particularly the eroding effect of rapid
flowing water.
v) Increases in storminess and wind gusts can lead to structural damage.
vi) Moveable heritage may be at risk from higher levels of humidity, higher temperatures and increased UV
levels.
vii) Desertification, salt weathering and erosion is threatening cultural heritage in deserted areas such as the
Chinguetti Mosque in Mauritania.
The impacts of climate change on cultural heritage are summarised in the table below:
Table 1: Principal Climate Change risks and impacts on cultural heritage

Climate indicator Climate change risk Physical, social and cultural impacts on cultural
heritage
Atmospheric  Flooding (sea, river)  pH changes to buried archaeological evidence
moisture change  Intense rainfall  Loss of stratigraphic integrity due to cracking and
 Changes in water table levels heaving from changes in sediment moisture
 Changes in soil chemistry  Data loss preserved in waterlogged / anaerobic /
 Ground water changes anoxic conditions
 Changes in humidity cycles  Eutrophication accelerating microbial
 Increase in time of wetness decomposition of organics
 Sea salt chlorides  Physical changes to porous building materials and
finishes due to rising damp
 Damage due to faulty or inadequate water disposal
systems; historic rainwater goods not capable of
handling heavy rain and often difficult to access,
maintain, and adjust
 Crystallisation and dissolution of salts caused by
wetting and drying affecting standing structures,
archaeology, wall paintings, frescos and other
decorated surfaces
 Erosion of inorganic and organic materials due to
flood waters
 Biological attack of organic materials by insects,
moulds, fungi, invasive species such as termites
 Subsoil instability, ground heave and subsidence
 Relative humidity cycles/shock causing splitting,
cracking, flaking and dusting of materials and
surfaces
 Corrosion of metals
 Other combined effects eg. increase in moisture
combined with fertilisers and pesticides
Temperature change  Diurnal, seasonal, extreme  Deterioration of facades due to thermal stress
events (heat waves, snow  Freeze-thaw/frost damage
loading)  Damage inside brick, stone, ceramics that has got
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 Changes in freeze-thaw and ice wet and frozen within material before drying
storms, and increase in wet  Biochemical deterioration
frost  Changes in ‘fitness for purpose’ of some structures.
For example overheating of the interior of buildings
can lead to inappropriate alterations to the historic
fabric due to the introduction of engineered
solutions
 Inappropriate adaptation to allow structures to
remain in use
Sea level rises  Coastal flooding  Coastal erosion/loss
 Sea water incursion  Intermittent introduction of large masses of
‘strange’ water to the site, which may disturb the
metastable equilibrium between artefacts and soil
 Permanent submersion of low lying areas
 Population migration
 Disruption of communities
 Loss of rituals and breakdown of social interactions
Wind  Wind-driven rain  Penetrative moisture into porous cultural heritage
 Wind-transported salt materials
 Wind-driven sand  Static and dynamic loading of historic or
 Winds, gusts and changes in archaeological structures
direction  Structural damage and collapse
 Deterioration of surfaces due to erosion
Desertification  Drought  Erosion
 Heat waves  Salt weathering
 Fall in water table  Impact on health of population
 Abandonment and collapse
 Loss of cultural memory
Climate and  pH precipitation  Stone recession by dissolution of carbonates
pollution acting  Changes in deposition of  Blackening of materials
together pollutants  Corrosion of metals
 Influence of bio-colonialisation
Climate and  Proliferation of invasive species  Collapse of structural timber and timber finishes
biological effects  Spread of existing and new  Reduction in availability of native species for repair
species of insects (e.g. termites) and maintenance of buildings
 Increase in mould growth  Changes in the natural heritage values of cultural
 Changes to lichen colonies on heritage sites
buildings  Changes in appearance of landscapes
 Decline of original plant  Transformation of communities
materials  Changes the livelihood of traditional settlements
 Changes in family structures as sources of
livelihoods become more dispersed and distant
(Source: World Heritage Centre, Vilnius, 2006)
c. Examples of cultural world heritage sites threatened by climate change
3.3.1 World Heritage Sites of the City of London, United Kingdom
Climate change leads to more frequent and intense flooding of the Thames River, which flows through the City
of London. Among the most significant flood, threat to London arises from a combination of high tides and storm
surges caused by low-pressure systems travelling over the North Sea, and the tunneling of water from the southern
North Sea into the Thames Estuary (London Climate Change Partnership, 2002). Several World Heritage Sites are
threatened by tidal flooding in the city of London, naming few of them are Tower of London, Westminster Abbey
and St Margaret’s Church.
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Figure 1. Thames River Flood Barrier
3.3.2 Venice and its Lagoons, Italy
Based of archaeological records and data, in previous time, Venice has been sinking at a rate about 10 cm per
century because of natural subsidence, the rise of water level caused by delta propagation and the compactness of
sediments (Cocks 2005).
Figure 2: Venice Lagoon
d. Predicting Future SLR
According to Church and White (2011), rising sea levels have important direct impacts on coastal and island
regions where a substantial percentage of the world’s population lives (Anthoff et al. 2006). Sea levels are rising
now and are expected to continue rising for centuries, even if greenhouse gas emissions are curbed and their
atmospheric concentration stabilised. Rising ocean heat content (and hence ocean thermal expansion) is an
important element of climate change and sea level rise. The remaining contributions to sea level rise come
principally from the melting of land ice, glaciers and ice caps, which include the small glaciers and ice caps fringing
the major ice sheets and the major ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, with additional contributions from
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changes in the storage of water on or in land. Correctly estimating historical sea level rise and representing global
ocean heat uptake in climate models are both critical to projecting future climate change and its consequences. The
largest uncertainty in projections of sea level rise up to 2100 is the uncertainty in global mean sea level (GMSL) and
thus improving estimates of GMSL rise as well as regional variations in sea level remains a high priority.
As cited from Dasgupta et al. (2009), the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets contain enough water to raise the
sea level by almost 70m (Hansen et al.,2005), so even small changes in their volume would have a significant effect.
If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt completely, it would raise average sea level by approximately 7 meters
(Church et al.,2001). The report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) excludes an
estimate of sea level rise produced by the melting of the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, due to the
uncertainties within these systems. It is also hard to summarise complex climate research into easily digestible
snippets for politicians and policymakers. Furthermore, the information available on climate change for policy-
making purposes is plagued by large inherent uncertainties (Shackey et al.,1998).
4. Conclusion
Based on growing analysis on extreme weather events trend, it is obvious that mitigation or adaptation approach
has to be applied with regards to sea level rise as even if greenhouse gas emissions were stabilized in the near future,
thermal expansion and deglaciation would continue to raise sea level for many decades (Dasgupta et al, 2009).
As quoted from Smith (2013), Klein at al. (2003) viewed resilience as a key tool in the successful adaptation to
hazards for coastal mega cities and the potential synergy between ecological and social resilience in the coastal areas
was also explored by Adger et al. (2005). For example, resilience along shorelines threatened by flooding could be
improved by the preservation of coastal vegetation. This conforms to a ‘living with hazards’ strategy, similar to that
for other people exposed to river floods.
Climate change is a global threat, but preservation, like politics, is local. Most of the work of historic preservation is
done on the state, city, or even neighbourhood level, and it has long been difficult to coordinate efforts on a wider
scale (Berenfeld, 2008)
The effects of climate change have given several implications towards natural and societal systems including
cultural and natural heritage. Therefore, it is important to understand the basic science problem and place a high
concern on the serious impact it could develop directly and indirectly to heritage sites. The approach in handling the
issue should be resilient especially in developing countries as dollars and cents are constraint and crucial.
International concerns and supports are required in resolving the matter, adding to the present aids. What is more
important is reducing our daily activities that might endangered our planet as every single conduct helps in
preserving the environment, helping the world to sustain and be a better place to live in.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Research Management Institute (RMI) of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
for the Research Incentive Fund (RFI) to accomplish this research.
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Sea Level Rise in Historical City of Malacca

E. D. Ismaila,53*, L. S. Saffie, A. S. Abdullah, S. Y. Said, H. Aksah
a
*Cente of Studies for Buiding Surveying, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Shah Alam,
Malaysia.
Abstract
Most of the cities in the world were built along rivers and coastlines, placing millions of valuable manmade buildings and
monuments. These buildings play important role in proofing the existence of some remarkable empires in history. However, as
time goes by, the buildings begin to be forgotten by the deterioration that takes place within them due to the natural process of
climatic phenomenon. The scenario is worsen by the change in climate condition which leads to higher impact, and become a
threat to these buildings which has started to alarm the world on its dangerous bell. This paper will study one of the huge
sultanate empires in South East Asia, Malacca which embraces multi racial heritage buildings which has been in the risk of
deterioration due to the effect of sea level rise. Analysis on the sea level rise, surface sea temperature and flooding events were
done based from historical data collected from various departments back from 1989 until 2012. It is aim to identify the probable
effects on the heritage building. The paper will also incorporate the measures done by the Malacca State Government in
preventing flooding events as well as the propose solution in reducing the hazard.
Keywords: sea level rise, Malacca City, flooding events, climate change
1. Introduction
UNESCO has listed the state of Malacca as the World Heritage Site in July 2008. It can be clearly define that this
particular historical town is among the sites, which may be affected by the climate change due to sea level rise.
Climate change is expected to have a number of direct physical impacts on built heritage. It is therefore significant
to search for measures and take certain actions in order to maintain this World Heritage Site. Akamar, 2008 stated
that sea level rise is one of the most significant potential impacts of climate change that may cause inundation of
coastal areas and islands, shoreline erosion, and destruction of important ecosystems such as wetland and
mangroves. Rising sea levels pose a substantial problem. A large portion of the world’s population live now and has
always lived along the coasts and in cities built along major rivers, and so with them are many of the world’s
cultural sites and historic cities (Berenfeld, 2008).
Malaysia, which covers 330,000 km2 and a coastline of some 4800 km sits on the geologically stable Sunda Shelf.
About half of the coastlines are beaches and slightly less than half is mangrove fringed; there are little rocky coasts.
It has been estimated that some 30% of the coastline is subject to varying degrees of erosion (J.E Ong, 2006
2. Scope and Limitation of Study

The scope of this research is based on observation, perception and data collection. The case study will be at the areas
nearby the Malacca River which presents and analyses data of tidal height from 1990 to 2012 and the sea surface
temperature from 1989 to 2009 provided by the Malaysia Survey and Mapping Department (MSMD). Therefore it
only presents yearly mean reading. The point of location is Tanjung Keling (Latitude 2 o 13’N and Longitude 102o
09’E). Besides that, another limitation is on the data of previous flooding incidents which had occurred in Malacca.
The data will only be from the year 2004 to 2009 in which before these particular years, there are no proper data
recorded by Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia. Only visual observations and general inspections were

E-mail address: dewiyana@salam.uitm.edu.my.
523
carried out in order to identify the current physical condition and the visibility of the site. No scientific analysis or
any laboratory test will be conducted.
3. Historical City of Malacca
Malacca during the Malacca Sultanate era has gone through tremendous civilization in history which has attracted
several colonization in four decades. These were portrayed on the left buildings and monuments around the state.
The eras of occupation are:
 Portuguese Era – 1511 to 1641
 Dutch Era – 1641 to 1824
 British Era – 1824 to 1942 and 1945 to 1957
 Japanese Occupation 1942 to 1945
In view of the fact that the Malacca city lies at the Straits of Malacca and Malacca River, it is therefore open to the
risk of climate change due to sea level rise, which could affect the historical grounds of Malacca.
Town Core Zone (acres) Buffer Zone (acres)

Malacca 38.62 134.03
Total 172.65 acres
Table 1: Core Zones and Buffer Zones in Malacca (Sources: Structure Plan MBMB)
1.1. Malacca River
Malacca River is one of the most significant rivers during the Malacca Sultanate from the year 1402 – 1511
and thereafter. This particular river has its own valuable history due to the location of the river which is
nearby the town center, cemetery, business, shipping, ports and others since hundreds years ago.
There are three main river basins in Malacca, which are:
i. Malacca River
ii. Duyung River
iii. Kesang River
The river water flows directly to the sea and it is exposed to the tidal waves. According to the
Meteorological Department, the average annual rainfall is 2100mm/year.
Figure 1: Malacca River
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Figure 2: Historical buildings around Malacca that are on risk
Because the core zone of the conservation areas is mostly adjacent to the Malacca River, it is therefore assumed that
the historical buildings nearby are most at risks of the climate change which in this case study will be concentrating
more on the sea level rise. In Malaysia, it rains mostly all year around. Malacca too had several flooding incidents in
previous years. It is therefore important to find ways in order to overcome this particular problem.
List of historical building which were built before the war (prewar buildings) that could be found in Malacca are:
List of Buildings Building Location

A’ Famosa Fort Bandar Hilir
Tengkera Mosque Jalan Tengkera
Kampung Keling Mosque Jalan Tukang Besi
Kampung Hulu Mosque Jalan Kampung Hulu
Chen Hoon Teng Temple Jalan Tokong
Sam Poh Tong Temple Jalan Tukang Besi
St. Francis Xavier Church Jalan Laksamana
Stadhuys Building Jalan Laksamana
Malacca Christ Church Jalan Laksamana
Sek. Ren. Keb. Tengkera Jalan Tengkera
Youth Museum Jalan Laksamana
Pintu Gerbang Santiago Bandar Hilir
St. Peter’s Church Jalan Kota
Malacca Gospel Hall Jalan Tengkera
Table 2: Historical buildings in Malacca (Sources: Inventory Warisan Seni Bina Malaysia, 1992/1993)
3. Data Findings and Analysis
Data analysis is carried out in order to obtain the finding in which they are evaluated and analyzed. These data are
analysed to produce a finding, which may lead to solutions and recommendations.
The data collection for the findings and collected from the case study are basically divided into three sections which
comprise of:
1. Sea surface temperature data.
2. Sea level rise data.
3. Previous flooding data.
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These data were collected from Malaysia Survey and Mapping Department (MSMD/JUPEM), Department of
Irrigation and Drainage (JPS), Historical Malacca Municipal Council (MBMB), Meteorological Department,
literature findings and own observation.
3.1 Section A – Sea Surface Temperature
The recorded 20 years (1989-2009) data of sea surface temperature were shown in table below:
Sea Surface Temperature (°C)

35
30
25
20 Temperature
2009
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
Figure 3: Plotted mean sea surface temperature.
The 20 years data gained from the Meteorological Department shows that the sea temperature is not consistent.
There are also several plateaus within the year 1994 and in the year 2001, but in this case, it is considered a good
plateau due that it is low in temperature. Sea surface temperature above 26.5°C (80 °F), are generally suitable for the
formation and sustaining of tropical cyclones. Generally, the higher sea surface temperature, the stronger the storm.
Therefore, in this analysis, it can be said that mostly the sea surface temperature are higher than 26.5°C. Long term
changes and increasing of sea surface temperature has the potential intensity of global warming which may
definitely increase the sea level rise and effect the climate change globally.
From the year 1989 until 1992, it shows that the sea surface temperature has been increasing slightly from year to
year and its highest peak within these four years was 29.67°C. On the other hand, in year 1995, the sea surface
temperature had increase tremendously from 27.16°C to 29.30°C. Within the first ten years, the highest sea surface
temperature was recorded in the year 1998, which was 30.36°C. Soon after the highest peak of the sea surface
temperature in 1998, the sea surface temperature decreased slightly for the next three years. The year 2001 recorded
the lowest sea surface temperature within these three years with the temperature of 28.69°C. In the year 2003, the
temperature was 29.50°C and the next year it increase slightly to 29.54°C. The next coming year 2005, the sea
surface temperature was 29.44°C, which means that the temperature has decreased slightly. The sea surface
temperature data recorded for the past 20 years shows that the highest sea surface temperature was in the year 2002
which was 31.00°C.
3.2 Section B Sea Level Height Data
Sea level heights from the year 1990-

2012 (cm)
300.00
280.00
260.00
Figure 4: Mean sea level heights obtained from Tanjung Keling Station, Malacca
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The table above is the sea level from the year 1990 until 2012. These data were obtained from MSMD, which
were collected from Tanjung Keling station. This is the only station in Malacca that provides the sea level
measurements and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage too rely on this information for any incidents such as
flooding.
As can be seen above, the data were gathered from 22 years back. All numbers are in centimeters above zero of tide
gauge. Starting from the year 1990, the mean sea level is 283.31cm above zero of tide gauge. Then a year after that
the number decreased to 281.46cm.
In 1992, the number increased from 281.46cm to 283.66cm. In 1993, the number had a slight increase of 0.2cm.
Then, the next year, in 1994, the number decreased to 280.86cm but in the year 1995, the number showed a huge
increment from 280.86cm to 286.34cm in which it had increased as much as 5.48cm. From the year 1995 to 1996,
there had been a slight increase of the sea level which is from 286.34cm to 286.99cm. Then in the year 1997, the
number had a huge decreased to 276.92cm but in the year 1998, the number rose back and the sea level height
became 285.57cm.
From the year 1998 to 1999, the number still had an increment of 4.21cm. Soon after that, for 2 years, the number
increased to 289.97cm and 289.80cm respectively. Meanwhile in 2002, the number decreased to 282.99cm. In 2003,
the number rose to 285.00cm and in 2004 the sea level decreased slightly to 284.36cm.
For the year 2005, the mean sea level height is 285.44cm in which it shows an increment from the previous. Then in
the year 2006, the number decreased to 282.71cm. However, in 2007, the number increased to 284.97cm.
The highest sea level height recorded for the past 22 years is in the year 2012. The increment rose from 291.10cm to
293.50cm. In 2009 and 2011, the number decreased a bit from the respective following years.
From this analysis, it shows that the sea level height has its up and downs (high water and low water). This shows
that the sea level does not have a stable increase and decrease number. However, the number has more increments in
certain years compared to decreasing numbers. Even though the numbers shown above is considered a small number
of increase and decrease in number, still it has a huge effect in the future if this is not well monitored.
From the analysis, the difference between the year 1990 which is 283.31cm and the highest sea level in 2012 which
is 293.50cm is quite a large number. The differences are about 10.19cm in about 22 years. If this number is not
monitored and the increments are steady until the end of the century, then the number by the year 2100 will
approximately be increased to 57.50cm, which is similar to the IPCC report in 2007 which stated that most probably
the sea level will rise from 55cm to 82 cm by the end of the century.
3.3. Section C Previous Flooding Events
The flooding events in Malacca have only been recorded by Department of Irrigation and Drainage since the year
2004. Before this year, there were no proper data recorded. Due to this factor, the analysis on the previous flooding
events in Malacca can only be analysed for the past 6 years. The data was gathered based on the flooding events that
occurred at Malacca River. Since Malacca River is considered as an important landmark nowadays and throughout
the history of Malacca, therefore, all the data were gathered due to analyze the frequency of flooding happening
around there.
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Flooding event frequency from

2004-2009
15
10
0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Figure 5: Flooding event frequency from 2004-2009
Based on the graph above, there were approximately about 43 flooding events from 2004 until 2009. This is
considered as a huge number within five years. The types of flood are categorised as flash flood and monsoon flood.
About 95% of the floods are flash flood and the other percentage comprises of the monsoon flood. Within these six
years, the most flooding incidents happened in year 2004 and 2006, while the less flooding incidents were in 2005,
which only had two flooding incidents. It could be clearly seen that the most of the flood height are more than 0.5
meters. Even though the height is not really high, but still it has caused many damage towards residential and
commercial building, and not forgetting, heritage buildings.
3.3.1. Areas prone to flooding
Flooding has been occurring quite frequently in Malacca City. These flooding incidents have brought many
damages to the public and government properties. Below are the areas that are most prone to flooding. In Melaka,
the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia has provided several tidal gates and floodgates in order to
control the overflow of the water. Most of the floodgates are located at several areas where it is more prone to
flooding. To name a few, the floodgates are Gadek floodgate, Melaka Pindah floodgate, Durian Tunggal floodgate,
Taman Merdeka floodgate, and Klebang floodgate.
3.3.2. Ground Water Network System
There are two types of ground water network systems in Melaka which are the manual type and the automatic type.
There are 9 stations which controls the river water level manually, located at:
i. Melaka Central District - 3 nos
ii. Alor Gajah District - 3 nos
iii. Jasin District - 3 nos
The automatic river water level are located at:

i. Chinchin - Sg Kesang
ii. Air Resam - Sg Durian Tunggal
iii. Pantai Belimbing - Sg Melaka
Other than providing flood control gates, there are also several flood warning systems which uses sirens located at
five different places. They are:
i. Lubok China
ii. Kg. Gadek
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iii. Pekan Jasin

iv. Parit Sidang Seman (Sg. Rambai)
v. Taman Malim Jaya
Figure 6: Location plan of hydrology system and flood control gates.
3.3.3. Efforts being done in Malacca Town

Due to the flooding incidents that often occurs in Malacca, the government has constructed several new
floodgates in order to improve the flood control system in Malacca. This particular program is called ‘Rancangan
Tebatan Banjir’. This project particularly costs about RM90 million meanwhile the other ongoing project is the
improvement of drainage system in Malacca town which costs around RM128.8 million.
Figure 7: Location plan of impounding reservoir in Melaka City
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Figure 8: Flood control system used in Melaka City
4. Recommendations
Recommendations are made based on the analysis and evaluation in the findings section. Recommendation of the
research can be summarized as follows:
i. Improve Monitoring
It is very important for the related government agencies to improve the monitoring of flooding before it
happens. This could be done by using more high technology and modern softwares which can detect the
coming of heavy rain, storm and surges. By improving the monitoring of the flooding, many public and
government property and lives could be saved.
ii. Increase officers on duty

Officers on duty should be increased in order to ensure that reports on alarming flooding are more
effective and reliable. From the interview done with one of the officers form Department of Irrigation
and Drainage Malaysia, lack of officers worsen the flooding issues. Therefore it is recommended that
several officers should be put in place at certain areas for monitoring.
iii. Upgrade flooding control system

By upgrading the flooding control system, it may ensure that the flood could be managed properly. In
Malacca the tidal gates and floodgates should be upgraded since some of the floodgates are not in very
good condition and does not function very well.
iv. Add more flooding control system

It is also recommended that the flooding control system should be added more to control the input of
water from entering the river. More floodgates should be implemented at places where are more prone to
flooding incidents.
v. Improve drainage system

The drainage system play a significant part in order to minimize the risk of flooding. An efficient
drainage system will ensure that the water flow will run smoothly without causing any complications. By
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improving the drainage system, it will ensure that the risk of flooding at this area could be decreased and
controlled.
vi. Upgrade levee at river embankments

It is also not impossible that flooding could be controlled by upgrading the levee at river embankments.
These levees could be build higher so that it may avoid water from overflowing out of the river.
vii. Prevention of soil erosion

Soil erosion too could cause flooding. By preventing soil erosion, it helps control flooding, which is why
it is recommended to plant trees, treat slopes and grads and create reservoirs to catch sediment debris.
viii. Improve reservoirs

By improving reservoirs and adding more reservoirs, it will ensure that the overflowing water has a
place to go. Therefore, it is advisable to provide enough reservoirs to avoid flooding incidents.
5. Conclusion
There are many factors which causes climate change. These factors indirectly effects the sea level rise and it is
proven that each year the sea level rise is increasing. The potential impact of climate change on the world’s cultural
and natural heritage is tremendous and worrisome.
This paper concentrates more on the sea level rise along the river of Malacca. This is because flooding incidents
often happen at this particular site and it is a significant site for which it has been listed as a World Heritage Site in
2008. Therefore, it is important to study the sea level rise as heritage sites were built along rivers and coastline,
prone to flooding incidents. In several foreign countries, flood control systems were built in order to protect the
historical sites. Although Melaka too has its own flood control systems, such as flood gates, tidal gates, and warning
siren stations, it is still not considered efficient enough to protect the heritage site and overcome the flooding
problems.
The study is based on data collected from the Land Survey Department, Department of Irrigation and Drainage,
Meteorological Department, Local Authority, and Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia which were
analysed and plotted into graphs. From the data by the Meteorological Department, it can be seen that the sea
temperature is not consistent because they are natural phenomenon. There has been an increase and decrease in sea
surface temperature from 1989 to 2009 along the river of Malacca. It has been stated that long term changes and
increasing of sea surface temperature has the potential intensity of global warming which may definitely increase the
sea level rise and effect the climate change globally. Thus, it could be concluded that if the sea surface temperature
is not monitored properly, then the risk of sudden global warming is inevitable.
For the past six years, flooding incidences have frequently happened in Melaka and about 43 incidences of flooding
were recorded by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia. From here, it could be seen that the
government should implement more flood control measures to reduce the occurrence of flooding.
Several recommendations on flood-control and flood mitigation measures are proposed adding to the present
initiatives taken by the government which indirectly will protect historical buildings from further damage.
Preserving the environment and heritage buildings is not only the responsibility of the government but also
individuals and public. This could be done from a single simple effort such as recycling of waste which could make
the world a better place to live in.
.
531
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Research Management Institute (RMI) and Universiti Teknologi Mara( UITM) for
the Research Intensive Fund (RIF).
References
Hardy, John T (2003). Climate Change : Causes, Effects, And Solutions. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Michael A. Toman and Brent Sohngen (2004). Climate Change. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing 2004.
Kirstin , D(2007). The Atlas Of Climate Change : Mapping The World's Greatest Challenge. London, UK:
Earthscan 2007.
Leary, N (2008) Climate Change And Adaptation. London: Earthscan 2008.
John, P (2008). Introduction - The Changing Climate. Charted Institute of Housing
John, L (2008).Climate Change- What causes it? Charted Institute of Housing
Susan B (2008). Approaching Environmental Issues. Sage Publications Ltd
John, W (2008) Global Climate Change. Sage Publications Ltd
Ong, J.E (2006) Vulnerability of Malaysia to sea level Change. Center for Marine and Coastal Studies.
Harun, Z (2008) Coastal Vulnerability. Coastal Division, Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia.
Bengtsson, J.(2008) , Possible effects on buildings through climate change.
Kaufmann, R.K. H. Kauppi, and J.H. Stock, Emission, Concentrations, & Temperature: A Time Series Analysis.
Climatic Change
532
Practice of Facilities Performance Evaluations Within Facilities

Management Organisation in Malaysia
M. F. Mat Yasin a,, C. Egbub, M. A. Zaidic
a
b
Professor,School of Built Environment, The University of Salford, Greater Manchester, UK
c
Abstract
A performance evaluation of facilities is a critical process in managing facilities effectively. The success of the evaluation is
largely dependent on the breadth of issues being covered. These can include financial matters, the physical condition of the
building or the environment. 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. In the same vein, facilities performance practices are developing and
evolving with changes in technology, business needs and users’ expectation. The study attempt to identify and explores the extent
of facilities performance evaluation practice in at least two dimension of facilities management organisation i.e. the size of the
FM organisation and the service provision of the organisation (in-house or out-sourced). The research methodology of the study
employed both quantitative and qualitative approach. Twenty-one facilities managers from different facilities management
organisation were interviewed using semi structured interview techniques. The data obtained analysed with content analysis
techniques. To obtain the breadth informative data about the implementation of the matters under studied, 188 usable
questionnaires were obtained from facilities managers in Malaysia via attached e-mail. Three aspects of facilities performance
evaluation practice in the organisation is measured i.e. (1) Level of preparedness of the FM organisations; (2) approach by FM
organisations towards FPE; (3) role and contribution of FPE towards the management of facilities in FM organisations. At least
two main conclusions could be rendered from the present research. Firstly, the issues of non-standard practice among that could
be addressed by having generic guidelines in conducting facilities performance evaluation. Secondly, the element of formal
knowledge management in FM organisation could address the issues of mass building facilities information and improved the
knowledge based FM organisation. By identifying the extent of facilities performance evaluation practice within FM organisation
in Malaysia, will provide the research direction for respective individuals and research team for improvement in this regard..
Keywords:facilities management; organisational size; performance evaluation; service provision
1. Introduction
According to Neely et. al. (1995), performance measurement is a topic which is often discussed but rarely defined.
Hence, Sink (1991) suggests that performance measurement is a “mystery...complex, frustrating, difficult,
challenging, important, abused and misused” function. He further described measuring facility performance as a
difficult activity, especially as performance measurement systems arouse suspicions of control associated with
market station, managerialism and ‘new public management’. Performance measurement can, however, be used as
the means to improve communication and facilitate better service outcomes from the service and the building
perspective, as well as respective governance. Preise and Schramm (2002) suggest that in order to be able to
evaluate buildings in their different settings; the need exists to develop state-of-the-art building performance
evaluation. Discussion of performance evaluation and assessment in facilities management led to the findings by
Alexander (1996) that identifies measurement of the performance as one of “three essential issues for the effective
implementation of a facilities strategy”. Thus, performance measurement has become increasingly important both
533
for reasons of justification to general management and to support management and practice within the FM
organisation.
In the early 1990s, several authors such as Kincaid (1994) and Douglas (1996) observed that benchmarking has
become one of the main exhortations in facilities management. In fact the word ‘benchmarking’ is often used to
describe as evaluation of facilities performance. The concept of the benchmarking was originally adapted from
business-related tools that are being increasingly adapted in construction and property. The benchmarking concept
lingers within the functioning of the facilities, design, and project management of the existing building facilities.
The outcomes from the evaluations and benchmarking are often used for guiding the designers for future
developments of new building facilities. The common term referring to comprehensive evaluation of building
facilities performance is “post occupancy evaluation” (Zimring et al., 2001)
In almost ten years later, the performance evaluation practice in facilities management has expanded to incorporate
the elements of efficiency and effectiveness in service (Neely, 1999). Hence, McDougall and Hinks (2000) suggest
that efficiency and effectiveness relate, as concepts, to best practice (efficiency) – the pursuit of perfection of a
given approach, and best value (effectiveness) – the pursuit of the most economic (in the widest sense) approach.
Facility managers are aware of the need to align facilities with the organisation’s overall aims and objectives, but
lack access to the relevant information and communication process to do so effectively. The rapid development of
information and communication technology sector also benefits facilities management organisation simultaneously.
This is made all the more difficult as the facility, as an enabler of organisational process and outcomes, sits at the
intersection of the building and service delivery, thereby straddling tangible and intangible performance aspects
(Brackertz, 2006) less complicated. The term facilities performance evaluation is used reflecting the broader scope
of the evaluations and the aims of the evaluation. The scope of the evaluation includes user’s view of the building
facilities and was aimed mainly at improving or maintaining building facilities performance to the standards set in
the service level agreements (SLA) (BSI, 2007).
In the recent years, since the broad application of information technology-based facilities management, most of the
building facilities performance information could be obtained and observed in electronic form. In this regard,
Amaratunga and Baldry (2002) suggest that the term performance management is more suitable rather than facilities
performance evaluation to reflect the high degree of accessibility to facilities performance evaluation.
As the facilities management role is to support the core business activities, it is always perceived as secondary in
importance and performance evaluations are frequently being abandoned. From a general management context and
classical points of view, Amaratunga and Baldry (2002) admit that there is a need to assess performance in order to
guide management decision making. Similarly, from a human relations angle, there is a need to assess performance
to know whether an initiative is producing the benefit intended.
The FM services themselves are relatively broad and sometimes beyond the building related services as described
earlier. Williams (2003) cites measurement of facilities as having three main components namely physical,
functional and financial.
Physical performance relates to the behaviour of the building’s fabric and embraces physical properties such as
structural integrity, heating, lighting, energy efficiency, maintainability, durability etc. Functional performance
concerns the relationship of building with its occupier and embraces issues such as space, layout, ergonomics,
image, ambiance, communication, health and safety, and flexibility. Finally, financial performance arises from the
physical and functional performance of the building and comprises capital and recurrent (life-cycle) expenditures,
depreciation and efficiency of use etc.
Traditionally, the performance of facilities related more to tangible measures such as space efficiency and cost of
occupation. Yet, the trend of measuring facilities performance has progressed towards considering the non-financial
measures (Houvala and Alexander 2004). However, for the purpose of the present study, aspects of performance
evaluation are concentrated on the usability and physical condition of the building facilities.
In the Malaysian context, generally, based on the majority of the literature (for example Ashaari, 2005, Mohammad
et. al., 2008, Nawawi and Khalil, 2008), post occupancy evaluation is viewed as a generic terminology for
evaluating facilities performance rather than a specific method and technique for that purpose. Ashaari (2005)
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asserts that a large number of personnel in facilities management organisations in Malaysia do not know the
mechanism to use to measure facilities performance through user satisfaction. Despite the large amount of research
that has been carried out in the context of building performance, the aspect of evaluating building performance has
not been emphasised widely in Malaysia (Nawawi and Khalil, 2008).
It is an argument that the evaluation of facilities performance indeed does exist and is broadly practiced within
facilities management organisations in Malaysia. Hence, the contexts of evaluations are too specific and are not in a
comprehensive manner. Users’ views are merely taken into account based on context, for example, the physical
condition survey, energy assessment, space audit, and structural analysis, as part of the broad facilities performance
area.
Given the above discussion, ten key variables constitute the basis for FM organisations to perform the facilities
performance evaluation. These are:
1. Facilities management organisation regularly conducting FPE according to predetermined schedule.

2. Facilities management organisations used and deployed specific techniques for evaluating facilities
performance tailored to organisational requirements.
3. FPEs are consistently conducted by facilities management organisations internally.
4. Facilities management organisations always maintain sufficient number of staff with necessary skill and
competencies in conducting FPE.
5. Staffs are provided with necessary training to improve and upkeep staff knowledge in the relevant areas of
FPE.
6. Facilities users and building occupants are constantly getting involved in providing feedback related to
facilities performance in the evaluation.
7. The outcomes of the FPE contribute significantly to facilities and facilities service improvement.
8. Clients and users are well informed and aware of the benefits of having facilities performance being
evaluated.
9. The outcome of FPE significantly contributes to guiding FM organisations in budget planning.
10. The outcomes of evaluation are significantly important to facilities management organisations for decision
making and problem solving.
Specialist
Level of evaluator skill
and knowledge
General
Indicative Investigative Diagnostic
Level of facilities performance evaluation
Figure 1: Level of interaction between levels in facilities performance evaluation and skills and
knowledge intensiveness
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The figure shows the relationship between the stage of facilities performance evaluation and level of skill and
knowledge required for the task. Hence, the more specific the level of evaluation, the more skills and knowledge of
individual and team are required.
3. Methodology
The study applies the mixed approach combining both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. A questionnaire
survey was conducted on 188 facilities managers from 97 facilities management organisation in Malaysia to
measure the extent of facilities performance evaluation being practiced among the facilities management
organisation in Malaysia by measuring the approach and basis in conducting facilities performance evaluation based
on that three main variables derived from literature discussion on purpose and benefits of facilities performance
evaluation. Samples are developed via snowballing techniques initiated with the attendance list of National and
Asset Facilities Management Conference 2008 (NAFAM). On top of questionnaire survey respondents, twenty-one
senior facilities managers from different FM organizations are interviewed to get the depth of the issues under
studied.The specific statistical analysis i.e. mean average score, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test was
used in analyzing the findings. Interview finding however analyzed by applying a thematic analysis technique which
employed coding, organizing, linking and exploring the transcript for specific themes. The present research is
focused on two dimension of evaluation of FM organization. The first dimension is focused on the size of
organisation that is small, medium and large FM organisation perspective. The second dimension is the service
provision of the organisation that is either in-house or out-sourced FM provision.
4. Results
4.1 Extent of Practice of Facilities Performance Evaluation
The questionnaires investigate the extent of practice of facilities performance evaluation derived from the literature
on the role of facilities performance evaluation practice as discussed in the previous section. Three (3) themes of the
main component in measuring extent of practice of FPE in the present research context are the measurement of the
main contribution and (1) role of FPE within FM context, (2) approaches towards FPE practice in the organisation
and (3) level of preparedness or readiness of the organisation to conduct FPE as illustrated in
Figure 19. Firstly, the contribution and role of the FPE towards the client, facilities users’ and FM organisation
itself are indicated as the use of FPE in budget planning, decision making and as a basis for facilities improvements.
In other words, it could be explained as the main element that shows that how FPE are significant to the FM
organisation.
Extent of practice
Level of Approach Role and

Preparedness towards FPE contribution
(D1) (D2) (D3)
Measurement Dimension
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Figure 19: Measurement of FPE practice
Secondly, the level of practice measured based on the approach towards the FPE such as frequencies of FPE,
involvement of occupants in the evaluation and the techniques used in the evaluation. The key measurement is
focused on how the FM organisations conduct the evaluation within their organisation.Third consideration is the
level of preparedness of the FM organisation in conducting FPE such as sufficient numbers of staff and training
provided for the staff to conduct facilities performance evaluation effectively. The main question in the third
measurement is up to what extent, the FM organisations are ready to conduct the evaluations.
Analysis of data from the postal questionnaire reveals that the practice of FPE is centred on its role and contribution
and significantly focused on the approach in conducting FPE. In other words, the extent of practice of facilities
performance evaluation is associated with the level of preparedness, the expected role and approach towards the
evaluation in an individual organisation.
Table 5: Extent of practice of FPE in Malaysia
Mean
Rank Variables
(N=188)
1 For facilities improvement 1.30
2 For decision making 1.33
3 Have predetermined schedule 1.62
4 For budget planning 1.63
5 Have internal team for evaluation 1.88
6 Deploy specific techniques 1.97
7 Occupants feedback 2.07
8 User or client awareness 2.11
9 Training for staff 2.15
10 Number of staff 2.29
Meaning of scale (for mean value): 1- Always, 2- Frequently, 3- Sometimes, 4- Never
Table 5shows the aggregate level mean score for extent of practice of facilities performance evaluation in facilities
management organisation in Malaysia. The result of mean score indicates that as the mean score increases, the
extent of practice decreases. In general, facilities performance evaluation conducted mainly focused on gaining
advantage for facilities management operation. The evidence from the above mean score shows that the facilities
performance evaluation was used as a basis for future facilities improvement (rank 1), decision making in facilities
operation (rank 2), routine approach based on schedule (rank 3) and used for facilities budget planning (rank 4).
Surprisingly, strategic approach of human resources such as providing relevant evaluation training for staff and
having sufficient number of staff had second last and last position in the ranking list. By having provided facilities
performance evaluation related training to the facilities managers, Barrett and Baldry (2009) suggest that they could
also:
 Understand how building evaluations can contribute to organisational effectiveness; and

 Be able to communicate the importance of building evaluations to other people within an organisation.
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By ignoring the importance of training and maintaining sufficient number of competent staff in organisations,
particularly for facilities performance evaluations, opportunities such as growth and innovation (Pitt and Tucker,
2008) could not be exploited.
Table 5 also revealed that the mean score leans towards 1 (mean range from 1.30 to 2.29) which suggests facilities
performance evaluation currently played an important role and was harnessed as part of the routine in managing
facilities. However, in identifying the most frequently practised approaches in facilities performance evaluation, a
cut-off point of 2.00 do differentiate between the less practiced approaches. The meaning of mean score of 1.00 to
2.00 is between “always” and “frequently” which shows the most frequently practised approaches in facilities
performance evaluation. Six variables were located in this region which means they were highly practiced in
facilities performance evaluations in Malaysian facilities management (FM) organisations (arranged in orderly
manner):
1) The outcomes of the facilities performance evaluation exercise are used for facilities performance
optimisation and improvement;
2) Outcomes of the evaluation are used in decision making and problem solving;
3) Performance evaluation of facilities is conducted based on the pre-determined schedule;
4) The outcomes of performance evaluation are very significant for facilities management budget
planning;
5) Relying entirely on internal evaluation team to conduct the facilities performance evaluation; and
6) A specific technique of inspection and data collection was used for facilities performance evaluation.
The results also suggest that facilities management organisation is more focused on the role and contribution of
facilities performance evaluation rather than on the level of preparedness and the approach towards facilities
performance evaluation itself. The assumption is based on the three elements of measurement of FPE practice as
shown in the Figure 1 that is, 1) level of preparedness; 2) approach towards FPE; and 3) role and contribution of
FPE itself.
The content of the interview with twenty-one (21) respondents however, includes the uses of IT elements such as
specific software and database in exploring data and information for the building performance besides ten elements
of facilities performance evaluation listed in Table 5. An example of the advantage of IT software and database they
explored for the evaluation is the ability of such software to generate “job order”, specific planned maintenance
programme, “life card” for equipment etc. However, to operate those tools, highly skilled and well trained staffs are
necessary which constitute a challenge in conducting FPE. It could be inferred that the possible reason for higher
level of the role and contribution element in conducting facilities performance evaluation is because the FM
organisation is expecting high quality facilities performance evaluation outcomes rather than providing input
towards the quality facilities performance evaluation in the first place. A quote by Barrett and Baldry (2003) stressed
the issues of ownerships and preparation for an evaluation:
“…it is important to ascertain why an evaluation is being conducted on whose authority. Evaluations obviously
need to be directed towards an outcome, so check what results are expected. Check time and budget allowances,
who will pay for reports, etc. try to ensure that some finances will be available on the completion of the evaluation,
so that certain items can be dealt with immediately. If nothing changes as a result of an evaluation, both users and
management will wonder why they agreed to participate.”
(Barrett and Baldry, 2003)
The elements of “awareness” and “ownership” of the evaluation are the main themes in describing the challenges
that hinder an effective FPE as discussed in Section 4.5 in the present chapter.
The implication of providing the necessary input at earlier stage simultaneously could improve the level of
preparedness and approach towards FPE and enhance the quality and the roles of FPE in management of facilities. A
possible suggestion that could be made is; the organisation should also focus on the necessary inputs rather than
outputs of the evaluation. Examples of the types of input that could be improved are providing the necessary tools
538
for the evaluation, providing continuous training to the employees to use the relevant tools and new techniques in
facilities performance evaluation that could improve the evaluation process and providing means for process
improvement in the evaluation of facilities performance evaluation.
4.2 Extent of facilities performance evaluation (FPE) practice based on facilities management service
provision
The inhibiting approaches for the evaluation identified in Section 4.3 above, at times, differed according to the type
of facilities management provision as well as the size of organisation. Comparisons were then made between
different groups of respondents in order to identify any variations to the above. Table 6 gives a mean value
comparison based on the approach and basis for conducting facilities performance evaluation based on categories of
respondents’ FM service provision.
Table 6: Extent of practice of FPE according to FM service provision

Outsource (N=66) In-house(N=122)
Variables
Mean Rank Mean Rank
For facilities improvement 1.25 1 1.33 2
For decision making 1.36 2 1.31 1
Have predetermined schedule 1.61 3 1.63 4
For budget planning 1.85 4 1.52 3
Have internal team for evaluation 1.88 5 2.02 6
Deploy specific techniques 1.92 6 1.86 5
Occupants’ feedback 1.98 7 2.11 7
User or client awareness 2.05 8 2.14 9
Training for staff 2.18 9 2.13 8
Number of staff 2.41 10 2.22 10
Interestingly, outsourced FM service provision ranked significant contribution of facilities performance evaluation
for facilities improvement as first in the rank in which in-house FM service provision ranked second. Rationally, in-
house FM service provision has more authority to make decisions related to facilities management including for
facilities improvement, expenditure and human resources compared to out-sourced FM organisations which are
restricted to the service level agreements (SLA) with their clients. This denotes slightly different “weightages” of
the facilities performance evaluation role between two categories of FM service provision (i.e out-source and in-
house).
Extent of practice of facilities performance evaluation according to facilities management service provision could be
observed by identifying the frequency and percentage of respondent rating either “always” and “frequently” or
“sometimes” and “never”. Table 6 shows the frequency and percentage of respondent rating as “always” and
“frequently” which indicated positively towards the individual variables.
Out-sourced facilities management service rated four (4) variables of more than 90% that is for facilities
improvement, for decision making, have predetermined schedule and user and client awareness. This slightly differs
with in-house FM service provision which has only three (3) variables of more than 90% that are for facilities
improvement, for decision making and have internal team for evaluation. These hint that out-sourced FM have a
better practice of facilities performance evaluation than in-house FM except for budget planning, training for staff
and number of staff.
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Budget planning for clients’ organisations is normally conducted in-house based on the maintenance proposal and
building and facilities condition report from the evaluation by their service contractor (out-source). In contrast, in-
house FM organisations are responsible to provide budget planning for works such as maintenance, repairing,
upgrading, refurbishment and renovation internally.
Surprisingly, training of staff and maintaining a sufficient number of staff are less of a concern by out-sourced FM.
As a business entity, these two variables are vital to maintain competitiveness in the service industry. The difference
means the score does not reflect that the differences between FM service provisions are significant. Therefore, to
test the significant differences between those two groups of facilities management service provisions, a Mann-
Whitney U statistical test was employed. It is now important to ascertain whether the size of organisation has an
impact on the results discussed above. The null hypothesis (H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1) used in this
statistical test are as follows:
H0 – Extent of practice of facilities performance evaluation does not differ according to the type of FM service
provision.
H1 – Extent of practice of facilities performance evaluation differs according to the type of FM service provision
Table 7: Mann-Whitney U test statistic extent of practice in conducting facilities performance evaluation according
to the facilities management service provision
budget planning
decision making
users feedback
internal team
staff training
improvement
performance
no. of staff
techniques
awareness
schedule
Mann-Whitney
4004 3650 3761 3500 3845 3615 3841 3656 3278 3732
U
Wilcoxon W 11507 5861 11264 11002 11348 5826 6052 5867 10781 12135
Z -.07 -1.12 -.90 -1.61 -.56 -1.41 -.66 -1.52 -2.41 -1.03
Asymp. Sig.
.944 .263 .368 .107 .573 .160 .507 .129 .016* .304
(2 tailed)
a- Group of variables: organisation type
* results are statistically significant at p<0.05
At five per cent level of significance, the Mann-Whitney U test result shown in Table 7 revealed that there is only
one variable with the p value less than 0.05. This could suggest that the null hypothesis is rejected, which means that
the extent of practice is differs according to facilities service provision.
Thus it could be inferred that a significant differences on the extent of practice hint that regardless of whether in-
house or out-sourced FM organisations, their roles, readiness and approaches towards FPE are almost disparate. The
possible variables of FPE exist on other factors such as the scope of evaluation, types of facilities to be evaluated,
availability of facilities information and accessibility to the space.
4.3 Extent of facilities performance evaluation (FPE) practice based on facilities management
organisational size
Another aspect of facilities management perspective that is important to be examined is from the angle of
organisational size. The norm of the organisational size could influence the extent of practice which is relevant to
the extent of practice construct. The three categories of facilities management according to the size of facilities
management organisations arranged as small, medium and large. The mean values given in Table 8 are arranged
according to the ranking order extracted from overall mean values given in Table 5.
540
Table 8: Extent of practice in conducting FPE according to organisational size

Small (N=56) Medium(N=101) Large (N=30)
Variables
Mean
Mean
Mean
Rank
Rank
Rank
For facilities improvement 1.18 1 1.20 1 1.83 3
For decision making 1.25 2 1.26 2 1.67 2
Have predetermined schedule 1.61 3 1.54 4 1.93 5
For budget planning 1.77 4 1.52 3 1.63 1
Have internal team for evaluation 2.00 5 2.11 8 2.30 10
Deploy specific techniques 2.07 6 1.70 5 2.13 8
Occupants feedback 2.13 7 2.11 9 1.83 4
User or client awareness 2.18 8 1.86 6 1.93 6
Training for staff 2.43 9 1.99 7 2.13 9
Number of staff 2.64 10 2.17 10 2.00 7
*rated as “always” and “frequently”
Table 8 revealed that the outcomes of a performance evaluation exercise contribute to facilities performance
optimisation and improvement ranked 1st by small and medium organisations but ranked 3 rd by large organisations.
Whereas large organisations ranked the outcomes of performance evaluation practice as significant for facilities
management budget planning whilst small and medium size organisations ranked it 3 rd and 4th respectively. This is
evident that large organisations perceived that facilities performance evaluation is vital for facilities management
budget planning rather than for facilities improvement purpose.
Thus, it could be inferred that large organisations has much better operation systems such as operation procedures,
more skilled staff and better knowledge sharing. Large organisations also rated user or client awareness as least
priority (rank 6) as large organisations were largely represented from in-house FM service provision and were
already aware of the important role of facilities performance evaluation in managing facilities.
This was further examined using a Kruskal-Wallis test by deploying SPSS.
In order to statistically test the significant differences between the three groups of organisational size (small medium
and large) a null hypothesis (H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1) are set as follows:
H0 = there is no significant difference between size of FM organisation to the extent of practice of facilities
performance evaluation.
H1 = there is a significant difference between size of FM organisation to the extent of practice of facilities
performance evaluation.
541
Table 9: Kruskal-Wallis test statistic for basis in conducting FPE according to the organisational size
budget planning
decision making
users feedback
internal team
improvement
staff training
performance
techniques
no. of staff
awareness
schedule
Chi-Square 3.22 5.19 20.80 23.09 15.28 6.66 43.13 9.97 4.45 13.38
df 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Asymp. Sig. 0.20 0.07 0.00* 0.00* 0.00* 0.04* 0.00* 0.01* 0.11 0.00*
a. Kruskal Wallis Test

b. Grouping Variable: number of employees
* results are statistically significant at p<0.05
As shown in
Table 9, at five per cent level of significance, the p value is statistically significant in most instances. Seven out of
ten variables has level of significance of less than five per cent. Thus, the null hypothesis is accepted for the above.
This suggests that there are no differences in the approach towards FPE between different organisational sizes i.e.
small, medium and large.
As the sizes of the organisation reflect the number of staff in the organisation, most of the significant factors in
Table 9 are human resource-related factors such as “reliance on the internal evaluation team”, “having sufficient
number of staff with relevant knowledge and skill”, “providing relevant training for staff”, and “awareness towards
the benefits of knowledge mapping outcomes”.
5. Conclusions
The finding of the analysis reveals the six elements that are most in place in facilities management organisations in
Malaysia are as shown in Error! Reference source not found. 6:
Table 6: The dimensions of FPE practice in FM organisations
Rank Variables Dimension

The outcomes of the facilities performance evaluation exercise are used for
1 D3
facilities performance optimisation and improvement
2 Outcomes of the evaluation are used in decision making and problem solving D3
Performance evaluation of facilities is conducted based on the pre-determined
3 D2
schedule
The outcomes of performance evaluation are very significant for facilities
4 D3
management budget planning
Relying entirely on internal evaluation team to conduct the facilities performance
5 D1 542
evaluation
A specific technique of inspection and data collection was used for facilities
6 D1,D2
performance evaluation
The present focus of FM organisations is on the FPE role and contribution rather than the preparation for conducting
FPE and approach towards conducting quality FPE. The extent of FPE practice is also linked with the challenges
and critical success factors in conducting them.
1) Develop and provide comprehensive guidance for conducting a FPE that could be used by the existing staff
and referred to by new staff;
2) Develop a knowledge management framework so the organisation could identify its strengths and
weaknesses. By having such frameworks, the organisation could always be sure that they are ready to
conduct FPE task;
3) Employing an integrated facilities database which includes information such as building information, space
management, tenant information, maintenance management information, past evaluation, vendors and staff
directories. The database should be easily accessed by relevant staff from their desk. The online directories
could assist in finding who does what and where they are;
4) Provide on-going learning so that existing staff could constantly update their knowledge;
5) Encourage staff within the organisation with a common interest to establish networking with each other so
that the sharing of knowledge could be transpired;
6) Creating electronic filing systems so that information could be searched in a number of ways, making it
much easier to find;
7) Creating intranets so that staff can access all kinds of organisational information and knowledge that might
otherwise take a great deal of time and energy to find.
References
Alexander, K. (1996). Facilities Management – Theory and Practice, . London, E&FN Spon.
Amaratunga, D. and Baldry, D (2002) performance measurement in facilities management and its relationships with
management theory and motivation, Facilities, Vol. 20, No. 10, pp.327-336.
Ashaari, Z (2005) Current Practice of post occupancy evaluation in facility management organisation of Malaysia,
master dissertation (not published) Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
Barrett, P. and D. Baldry (2003). Facilities Management Towards Best Practice. Oxford, Blackwell Publishing
Brackertz, N.(2006) relating physical and service performance in local government community facilities, Facilities,
Vol.24, No. 7/8, pp.280-291.
Douglas, J. (1996) "Building performance and its relevance to facilities management", Facilities, Vol. 14 No. 3/4,
pp.23 - 32
McDougall, G. and Hinks, J. (2000) “Identifying priority issues in facilities management benchmarking.” Facilities,
Vol. 18, 10/11/12, pp. 427-434.
Mohammad, I.S., Mohammed, A.H., Alias, B. And Abdullah, S. (2008) Post Occupancy evaluation in Malaysia:
The need for awareness and knowledge, Conference proceeding on 2 nd International Conference on Built
Environment in Developing Countries (ICBEDC 2008), pp. 786-800.
Nawawi, A.H. and Khalil, N.(2008) Post-occupancy evaluation correlated with building occupants’ satisfaction: An
approach to performance evaluation of government and public buildings, Journal of Building Appraisal,
Vol. 4, No.2
Neely A. D. (1999), “The performance measurement revolution: why now and what next?”, International Journal of
Operations & Production Management, Vol. 19, n. 2, pp. 205-228.
Preiser W.F.E.and Schramm U. (2002) “Intelligent office building performance evaluation” Facilities, Vol. 20,
Numbers 7-8, 2002, pp. 279-287.
543
Sink (1991) "The role of measurement in achieving world class quality and productivity management" industrial
Engineering, Vol. 23, No.6.
Kincaid, D. G. (1994). "Measuring Performance in Facility Management." Facilities Vol. 12, No.6, pp. 17 - 20.
Williams, B. (2003) Facilities Economics in the United Kingdom, 2 nd Edition, International Facilities & Property
Information Ltd.
Yasin F. and Egbu. C. (2010) Exploitation of knowledge mapping benefits in the facilities performance evaluation
process: a conceptual framework, Conference proceeding, ARCOM, Leeds.
Yasin, F. and Egbu. C. (2009) "Performance evaluation for offices building" International Post graduate Research
Conference Proceeding, Salford University, Salford, pp 309-19.
Zimring, C., Rashid, M. And Kampschroer, K. (2001) “Facilities performance evaluation (FPE)” Whole Building
Design Guide, available at www.wbdg.org/design/fpe.php (accessed 26 Fabruary 2009).
544
Modelling Air Distribution with Varying Inlet Sizes

N. Mahyuddina, S. M. Zaid b, N. E. Myeda c,
a,b,c
Department of Building Surveying, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
As airflow distributions vary within buildings or space due to the nature of their design, it is very difficult to interpret which
sampling protocol is best to implement and also to visualise these flow patterns that are relative to the building or space. As a
result, CFD simulations were used to complement the experimental results and to develop a better understanding of the airflow
patterns and the distribution of CO2 concentrations in a single zone room. This also offered guidance on locating sensors to
obtain average concentrations in rooms, as well as developing a visual understanding of the effects of CO 2 that otherwise could
not be visualised experimentally. A numerical model using ANSYS-CFX was created to carry out further quantitative analysis.
The emphasis of the model was on the variations or air flow distribution with different air flow rate.
Keywords: Computer Fluid Dynamics, Air flow patterns and Modelling.
1. Introduction
Indoor air quality has been a global public concern for many years. As most people spend up to 90 % of their
time indoors (Hui, Wong L.T, & Mui K.W, 2006; Leech, Nelson, Burnett, Aaron, & Raizenne, 2002), the adverse
effects of poor air quality have a far-reaching significance. Due to the increasing evidence of adverse effects caused
by poor IAQ, the importance of research in this area has increased significantly, particularly in houses and offices.
The range of indoor environmental issues is of a broad nature; however, the significance of each issue varies from
building to building (Edwards, 2005). Many parameters affect the quality of indoor air within buildings, most of
which are related in one way or another to the presence of pollutants, inadequate ventilation, and to personal factors
(i.e. relative to the person) that influence individual perceptions of air quality (G & D, 2000; Heschong, 2002).
Rudnick and Milton (2003) stated that exhaled breath is a vehicle for the release of airborne infectious particles,
and thus contributes to the risk of airborne transmission of infection indoors. In indoor environments, exposure to
high levels of airborne pollutants such as organic dust can lead to pulmonary diseases (Fox et al., 2003). Both of
these authors concluded that an increased outdoor air supply can reduce the airborne transmission of infection for
some common respiratory illnesses including influenza. In addition, a study carried out by Liu, et al (2000), also
found that Muramic acid (Mur) which serves as a marker for bacterial levels in indoor air, correlated with CO2 in an
occupied classroom.
2. The Applications of CO2 Measurement in The Indoor Environment

ASHRAE 62.1 (2010), it is emphasised that CO2 is not a health concern or a measure for IAQ, but that its
concentration gives information on the levels of pollutants from various human and other sources that affects the
indoor environment of a building. According to Burroughs and Hansen (2004) in 1992 the World Bank identified
indoor air pollution in developing countries as one of the four most critical environmental concerns. The adverse
effects of IAQ on the environment, natural and man-made structures, and human health have led to the
1
Corresponding author. Tel.: +6013 3640092
email address:
545
establishment of many regulations and to the development of various control technologies. Previous research has
confirmed that the measurement and analysis of indoor CO2 concentration could be useful for understanding IAQ
and ventilation (ASHRAE, 2010; Clements-Croome, Awbi, Bakó-Biró, Kochhar, & Williams, 2008; Woodcock,
2000). As mentioned earlier, CO2 is generated by human respiration which also contains bio-effluents as well as
possible viruses and bacteria. According to ASHRAE, the comfort criteria with respect to human bio-effluents
(odour) are likely to be satisfied if the ventilation results in an indoor CO2 concentration are of less than 700 ppm
above the outdoor air concentration.
Due to the high variability of occupancy density in higher education classrooms as compared to school
classrooms, the variations in CO2 concentrations resulting from differing occupancy patterns must be identified by
conducting studies. According to Bjorn and Nielsen (2002), human beings also act as flow obstacles, their
movement disturbing the stratification of the ventilated room. In ventilated rooms, this is mainly significant in the
case of physical activity i.e. students or lecturers walking. Considering that human exhalation is a buoyant jet with a
pulsating, intermittent nature and has an initial elevated temperature that acts as a contaminant source in space
(Bjorn & Nielsen, 2002), larger numbers of occupants in a classroom will result in a higher CO2 concentration if
insufficient ventilation is provided. In other words, the main source of CO2 is from exhaled breath and the main
mechanism to remove it is through ventilation.
3. Modelling Simulation
In principle, on-site measurements in an enclosed environment (i.e. office, classroom or bedroom) give the most
realistic information concerning airflow and air quality. However, due to the variability of outdoor conditions (i.e.
cooling loads, CO2 concentrations, wind speed and directions, etc.) which affect the velocity and control of air
movement within the measured room, making an estimation using quantitative analysis can be difficult and
inaccurate. To overcome this, a numerical modelling to visualise the spatial distribution of CO2 in a space, in
addition to the evaluation and assessment of CO2 monitoring in rooms was carried out.
In most studies, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approximates the partial differential equations of fluid
flow by using a volume discretisation method. This method simplifies the equations by using a system of algebraic
expressions which are then solved iteratively (Awbi, 2003; Ferziger & Peric, 2002).
4. Turbulence Model
Airflow and transport of pollutants within an enclosed environment (i.e. room) has been identified to be very
complex, three-dimensional, turbulent and normally accompanied by high levels of flow re-circulation (Loomans,
1998). Notably, airflows in rooms are characterised as being non-isothermal, turbulent, three dimensional and
transient. Considering these parameters, the turbulent nature of airflows in rooms has always been a bone of
contention when researchers are modeling turbulent flows. Unfortunately, no single turbulence model is universally
accepted for all categories of problems. This is because the choice of models depends on the application, level of
accuracy required, the available computational resources and the computation time available for a simulation.
Among various factors influencing CFD simulation are proper selection of turbulence models which can directly
affect the simulation accuracy and results. Intensive theoretical and experimental research demonstrates that
turbulent flows are so complex and varied that no generally valid universal model of turbulence exists (Yang, 2004).
The accuracy of CFD modelling depends on many factors, such as discretisation schemes, numerical methods,
boundary conditions, and turbulence models (Awbi, 2003; Chen & Zhai, 2003; Ferziger & Peric, 2002; Somarathne,
2003). However, in most indoor environments, turbulence is generally modelled with the well known models listed
below:
 Standard k-ε turbulence model (SKE)
 Re-normalisation Group (RNG) k-ε turbulence model
 Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω model
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5. Modeling the Environment with CFD
CFD applications to airflow simulations for an enclosed zone have achieved considerable success as reviewed by
Emmerich (1997), Nielsen (1995), Spengler and Chen (2000) and Zhai (2006). With the development of computer
speed and capacity, CFD technique can quantitatively calculate various air distribution parameters and has become a
powerful alternative for predicting airflow in enclosed spaces. Many commercial CFD codes are currently available
and some of these codes are highly specialised for a particular area of use such as turbo machinery, chemical
processes and indoor airflow.
This study investigated the airflow and contaminant (CO2 spatial distribution) transport in enclosed spaces using
a combination of CFD simulations and experimental data obtained from the field work and chamber tests to validate
the simulated results. The main focus of this chapter is to examine the methods of simulation that could be used for
this study and establish the most realistic boundary conditions to simulate the production of CO2 through respiration
(i.e. exhalation) from the occupant, and its spatial distributions within a classroom. For this project the software
package CFX by ANSYS version 12.0 was used. A numerical model using ANSYS-CFX was created to carry out
further quantitative analysis. The emphasis of the model was on the variations with different locations of sensors.
In this study, FVM is used with the numerical algorithm that consists of the following steps (Versteeg &
Malalasekra, 2007):
 Formal integration of the equations of fluid flow over all the (finite) control volumes of the solution
domain;
 Discretisation involving the substitution of a variety of finite-difference-type approximations for the
terms in the integrated equation representing flow processes such as convection, diffusion and sources –
this converts the integral equations into a system of algebraic equations;
 Solution of the algebraic equations by an iterative method.
5.1 Boundary Condition
Prediction accuracy is, as with all modelling techniques, highly sensitive to the boundary conditions supplied or
assumed by the user (Awbi, 1998, Xu and Chen, 1998, Emmerich, 1997). Essentially, the flow inside the CFD
solution domain (i.e. a chamber) is defined by the boundary conditions. In this study the geometry of the chamber
and the positioning of the occupant, furniture and heat sources used in the CFD simulation Figure 1 is similar to the
field work measurement in the environmental chamber carried out by Mahyuddin and Awbi (2010). However, in
objects like legs of tables and chairs supporting the seated CSP are not included to minimise the mesh size which
would reduce computation time. The chamber was ventilated by a mixing ventilation system via an inlet located at a
height of 2.15 m. The dimensions of the chamber were 2.78 m (length) x 2.78 m (width) x 2.3 m (height). The inlet
consists of a deflector attached just below the ceiling which forced the air supply jet to flow towards the ceiling. The
outlet opening was located at the other end of the inlet wall.
Boundary conditions specify the initial fluid flow and thermal properties on the boundaries of the geometry (i.e.
conditions on surfaces of domains) which are required to define the flow simulation. The type of boundary
conditions that can be set depend upon the surface (ANSYS CFX, 2009). They are a critical component of any
simulation and therefore it is important that they are specified appropriately. Types of boundary conditions that were
used in the simulations are wall properties, fluid and mass flow rate at the inlet and the outlet. On the whole, the
airflow pattern and temperature distribution in the entire boundary domain is governed by the conservation laws of
mass, momentum and energy. This flow is assumed to be steady-state, three-dimensional, incompressible and
turbulent.
547
Figure 1.0: Geometry of experimental chamber.
5.2Transient Simulation
Considering that buoyancy can be significant in ventilated rooms and that turbulence is time varying and random,
a transient simulation approach will be considered in this paper. For each simulation, the test room was modelled as
an enclosure with the same dimensions as in the experimental studies (N Mahyuddin & Awbi, 2010; Norhayati
Mahyuddin, 2011). Considering the time and limited computer resources, only a number of cases would be
considered for the validation and verifications of this study. The cases modelled are as follows:
1. Environmental Chamber with the large inlet (mixing ventilation) - Case 1
2. Environmental Chamber with the small inlet (mixing ventilation) - Case 2
The model for the room in this study is similar to that of Figure 1.0. In this study a manikin was used and the air
inlet size in Case 1 was 0.022 m2 which is bigger than that of for Case 2. The big inlet was 0.4 m wide and 0.065 m
high and the small inlet was 0.4 m wide x 0.01 m high. These types of supply systems with the same airflow rate (8
ls-1) have been investigated for the purpose of this study. Important demands for the supply system were:
 Low velocity air supply (0.31 ms-1) from the large air inlet (Case 1)
 High velocity air supply (2.00 ms-1) from the small air inlet (Case 2)
 The effect of the coanda effect close to the supply inlet
 The mixing and the distributions of temperature, air flow and CO 2 concentrations in the enclosed
environment.
5.3Airflow pattern
The supply air that enters the room initially forms a layer of fresh air along the ceiling due to the coanda effect.
The simulation results of airflow patterns at 2 different planes i.e. x = 1.3 m across the inlet air supply and x = 1.6 m
across the body planes are shown in Figure 2.0 and 3.0 respectively. In both Cases, it is observed that the convective
boundary layer around the manikin entrains air from the lower part of the room, leading it to the breathing zone and
into the buoyancy plume that forms above the head. However, there is a marked difference in airflow patterns
between these 2 Cases especially at the ceiling (see Figure 2.0). Unlike the flow pattern in Case 1 (Figure 3.0a), the
air jet in Figure 3.0b is observed to be flowing along the ceiling towards the other end of the wall with high velocity.
This flow causes a downdraft until dumping at the opposite wall, while in Case 1, this downdraft is flowing towards
the seated manikin until dumping (i.e. deflection of jet).
548
(a) (b)
Figure 2.0 Air flow pattern after one hour duration (a) Case 1 and (b) Case 2 at x = 1.3 (inlet section)
(a) (b)
Figure 3.0 Air flow pattern after one hour duration (a) Case 1 and (b) Case 2 at x = 1.6 (body section)
When a cold jet with a low velocity (0.31 ms-1) is supplied over a ceiling, it is possible that it will separate (a
phenomenon called dumping), the jet drops into the occupied zone. As a result a stagnant region develops from the
point of separation to the opposite wall as shown in Figure 2.0a. Therefore, not only the flow domain will be
significantly distorted by the jet separation, it would further reduce the availability of fresh air in most locations in
the chamber. Conversely, in the case of the higher jet inlet velocity (Figure 2.0b) it is observed that the jet can
actually reach the opposite wall and then deflects down into the lower parts of the room. Therefore, most of the
occupied zone will be provided with a sufficient fresh air. In addition, it can also be seen that no separation region
appears in the middle of the ceiling.
549
5.4Temperature distribution
The temperature distributions across the side body of the manikin at the manikin’s breathing level were very
similar for both cases. The average temperatures were around 26.0 ºC – 27.0 ºC. Close to the manikin’s upper body,
the temperature was around 24.0 ºC. In Case 1 (Figure 4.0a), the temperatures at the lower region (i.e. temperature
range between 20.0 ºC – 21.0 ºC) are significantly higher than in Case 2 (i.e. vary from 18.0 ºC – 20.0ºC). As
illustrated in Figure 2.0b earlier, the high velocity flow from the inlet air supply which created a cooler jet at the
ceiling forcing the air flow downstream towards the lower region can be observed again in Figure 4.0b from a
different plane (i.e. from the side of the manikin y = 1.28). Cooler temperature contour ranges from 17.0 ºC – 19.0
ºC at the centre of the ceiling plane were observed. In general, the effect of high velocity from the inlet air supply
seems to lower the temperatures in the lower region of the chamber.
Temperature
(a)
(b)
Figure 4.0 Air temperature contours across the exhalation plane y = 1.28 m after one hour duration for (a) Case 1
and (b) Case 2
5.5Thermal plume above the seated manikin
Within the indoor environment, a human body is not only a heat source but also a potential source of
contaminants. Buoyancy forces generate a vertical plume above the human body. With low velocities and reduced
ventilation (Case 1), the mean temperature in the chamber based on the measured values was ~ 20.8 ºC. Table 1.0
shows that the CFD predictions of the thermal plumes above the manikin’s head are fairly in reasonable agreement
with measured data. The differences observed are less than 0.4 K for both heights (i.e. 0.2 m and 0.4 m above the
manikin’s head), whereas no difference is observed between the measured data and the CFD results for the
maximum velocity above the human head.
550
Table 1.0 Air velocity and plume temperature above the human head in the chamber: Measurement and
Simulations
Case 1 Height from floor level
Temperature (ºC) 1.4 m 1.6 m

Experiment 21.4 21.3
Simulation 21.9 21.6
Air velocity (ms-1)
Case 2
Temperature (ºC)
Air velocity (ms-1)
In Case 2, with high air supply velocity and well mixed ventilation, the average temperature in the experimental
chamber was ~ 20.3 ºC. Although this temperature was slightly lower than in Case 1, the measured temperature for
the thermal plumes above the human head was slightly higher. The predicted velocity profiles are also observed to
be in agreement with measured data but with a slight over estimation of < 0.03 ms -1.
5.6 CO2 concentration distribution
The flow pattern of the exhaled air is visualised across the body plane at y = 1.28 m (i.e. at the centre of the
nostrils). The height of exhalation inlet was 1.1 m for a seated manikin. It is interesting to note that although CO 2
produced at the nose increases the air density in its vicinity, the simulated body temperature of 33.7ºC (compared to
~ 20 ºC ambient air) causes a stream of air to rise at comparatively high speed along the surface of the manikin.
This stream of rising air carries the CO2 upwards.
551
(a)
(b)
Figure 5.0 Contours of exhaled flow from the nose of the manikin in the chamber after 1 hour duration (a) Case
1and (b) Case 2.
In Case 1 (Figure 5.0a), the CO2 concentration of exhaled air is observed to stratify in the breathing zone. Due to
the downward flow from the ceiling for the low air velocity supply, the CO 2 concentration seems to be spreading
horizontally in front of the seated manikin. Another possible reason for the stratification is the low airflow in the
chamber which causes less convection. It is a fact that air movements tend to disturb flow stratification. . In Case 2
(Figure 5.0b), the temperature gradient from the lower level upwards is more significant (a difference of ~ 5 K) than
in Case 1. This behaviour is similar to studies of the thermal plumes carried out by Rim and Novoselac (2009),
Craven and Settles (2006), Etheridge and Sandberg (1996) and others. However, since the exhalation process
generates heat, it can be difficult to know for sure if the exhalation flow is caught by the boundary layer or if it is
moving upwards due to its own buoyancy.
6. Conclusion
The introduction of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) presented an attractive alternative to the empirical
research in indoor airflows. ANSYS CFX-12.0, CFD software was used to predict the spatial distribution of CO 2 in
both the chamber and selected classrooms. With the aid of this tool, significant findings have been made within this
research. These findings would enable future researchers to determine the associated uncertainties of CO 2
measurement strategies and airflow distribution in rooms.
Conclusions drawn from the numerical simulations are summarised as follows:
 The stratification of exhaled air would break down immediately as soon as the physical movements
(downward airflow i.e. dumping due to low supply velocity). Due to this local phenomenon, the CO 2
concentration is higher towards the breathing zone. This means that the manikin has the tendency to
inhale the same concentration as the ambient air at breathing zone height.
552
 Contaminant distribution around the human body has an important impact on inhaled air quality. Since
the human body is enclosed by a warm rising thermal plume, the air quality at the breathing zone is
affected by this rising airflow.
 It is interesting to note that although CO2 produced at the nose increases the air density in its vicinity,
the simulated body temperature of 33.7ºC (compared to ~ 20 ºC ambient air) causes a stream of air to
rise at comparatively high speed along the surface of the manikin.
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554
Implementation of Quality Management System for Historical

Building Conservation
N. F. Zahari a , M. A. Bakar b , S. D. M. Wahid c , M.A.O. Mydin d
ac
Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perak, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Malaysia
b
Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
d
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
Abstract
The main objectives of this study are twofold. Firstly, to identify the implementation of ISO 9001 procedures being used as
references for conservation works and the development of Quality Management System (QMS) guidelines. Data were solicited
from three (3) conservation areas. The analysis involved of descriptive approach and statistical methods. The findings revealed
that QMS is not structurally established, implemented and enforced as part of conservation practice in Malaysia. From the
findings, the authors hope to give clear perception to the reader on current preservation practice and the existence of QMS with
reference to ISO 9001 for future conservation mechanism.
Keywords: Conservation; Conservation practice; Conservation principle; Documentation; Re-construction
1. Introduction
Rapid development which in turns has some negative consequence effect on the old historical buildings
contributes to the rising awareness on the need of conservation of these historical buildings with the main purpose of
maintaining the buildings due to their historical, architectural and aesthetical values. In fact, the rising awareness on
the importance of building conservation also is the reason on the endorsement of regulations such as National
Heritage Act 2005 as well as other conservation guidelines. In addition to this, establishment of conservation bodies
comprises of state authority, private societies, non-governmental organizations and charitable bodies also is a hard
evidence that historical building conservation is not taken lightly within the local construction field. Similar to
conservation, Quality Management is also a new field of which lately being practiced within the local construction
industry. As conservation requires intricate monitoring in the control and assurance of maintaining the building to its
original state, the implementation of ISO 9001 as a way to achieve the expected quality is seen as an important step
in the conservation of historical building.
According to Darnall (1999), Quality Management System (QMS) is a formal set of procedures and policies that
defines how an organization will manage its potential impacts on the natural environment and on the health and
welfare of the people who depend on it. Darnall (1999) also states that it creates a system to access, catalogue and
quantify facility quality impacts; not simply activity-by-activity, but throughout the entire organization. Main
concept of QMS is voluntary in nature and at present, there is no requirement on enforcement of QMS. Developers
and contractors who adopted QMS in their practices may seek certification of ISO 9001 from related agency like
1
Corresponding author. Tel.: +6019-6543515
E-mail address: nurul998@perak.uitm.edu.my
555
SIRIM. International Organization of Standardization (ISO) has been designed to help organization meeting their
Quality Management System needs. ISO 9001 QMS is made up of 17 elements under five functional headings as
shown in figure below.
STEP 2 - PLANNING
STEP 1 -
- Quality Aspects
QUALITY POLICY
- Legal & Other Requirements
- Objectives & Targets
- Quality Management Plan /
Programme
STEP 3 - IMPLEMENTATION &

OPERATION
- Structure & Responsibilities
CONTINUAL - Training, Awareness & Competence
IMPROVEMENT - Communication
- Quality Management System
Documentation
- Document Change
- Emergency Preparedness &
Response
STEP 4 - CHECKING &

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
- Monitoring & Measurement
STEP 5 - - Non-Conformance and Corrective &
MANAGEMENT REVIEW Preventive Actions
- Records
- Quality Management System
Audit
Figure 1: The 5 steps of ISO 9001 QMS.

(Source: ISO 9000 (Lamprecht, 1997)
556
3. The Objectives
The main objective is to identify the implementation of ISO 9001 which is a QMS implementation tool for
conservation. The second objective is to determine the responses of the respondents on the implementation of QMS
requirements for conservation projects.
6. Methodology
The research methodologies consist of a serial chronological process that requires a step-by-step approach;
specifically designed in order to achieve the research objectives with the main concern of identifying the benefits of
waste minimization in the aspect of cost, awareness and corporate image and others.
Confirmation of Research Title

To determine and to confirm the research title based on Stage 1
personal interests and arising issues
Establishing Research Objectives

To establish the aims of the research in accordance to
research issues
`
Objective 1 Objective 2
To identify the implementation of ISO To determine the responses of the
9001 which is a QMS implementation respondents on the implementation of
tool for conservation projects. QMS requirements for conservation
projects.
DESKTOP STUDY, INTERVIEWS AND
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY
`
Feedbacks:
 Determination of contractors’ practices of QMS with regards to establishment of QMS
policy, planning, implementation, checking and corrective actions as well as the
management review
 Determination on the level of implementation practises by the conservation consultant
 Improvement of QMS implementation based on the findings and adoption of basic
frameworks by other local authorities and contractors.
Defining Research Scope

Stage 2
Case Study
To provide background information, to emphasize key aspects
Stage 3
Analysis and Findings

To analyze and to formulate results obtained, compliance to
the authority’s requirements and QMS practice Stage 4
Conclusion & Recommendations

Discussion on findings and identify areas for further research
agenda
Stage 5
Figure 2: Research Methodological Model
557
7. The Case Study

The case study was conducted in three locations which are Blue Mansion, Penang, Studthuys, Malacca and Victoria
Institute, Kuala Lumpur. All three case studies selected vary from administration office to mansion and commercial;
Blue Mansion (museum/gallery), Stadhuys (museum) and Victoria Institution (theatrette). Conservation period for
Blue Mansion is the longest among case studies which are 5 years while Stadhuys and Victoria Institution
completed within 2 years. All projects were assisted by National Museum and Antiquities Department and other
charitable organization and external conservation specialists appointed. Consultants and contractors involved in the
projects were registered with the museum and have a good track record. QMS was not directly enforced or
implemented using a standard quality tool or framework but it is a vital key in assuring the buildings were
successfully conserved. The Antiquities Act, state legislation and authorities’ requirements contribute much to the
quality control and assessments.
5.1 Blue Mansion, Penang

Built on 56,000 square feet land and total built-up area 33,000 square feet, this mansion belong to Cheong Fatt Tze,
a Chinese Official in Penang. Acted as base for his commercial enterprises and a home for the Chinese Vice-
Consulate and his favoured 7th wife. Ecletic architectural of Chinese and Colonial features, the mansion inclusive of
two parts which are two side wings and the main hall is known as Hakka-Teochew mansion style. The mansion was
bought by Penang Conservationists and restored after the death of his last son.
Photo 1: Front view of Blue Mansion, Penang.
5.2 Stadthuys, Malacca

One of the most historical building in Malaysia, Stadthuys has been functioning as administrative center for
three colonizer during colonization era; Portuguese, Dutch and English. After gaining independence, this building
belongs to Malacca and functioning as the main office for Malacca Museum Department. Being a part of a complex
built by the Portuguese, the building itself is a two-storey single unit with rectangular form with western architecture
touch of Portuguese and Dutch influence.
558
Photo 2: Front view of Stadthuys, Malacca
5.3 Victoria Institute, Kuala Lumpur

Former Victoria Institution now called the Kompleks Taman Budaya, Wilayah Persekutuan located in the
center of Kuala Lumpur on the former Jalan Bandar was originally built in 1893. The structure had been abandoned
for several years and having deteriorated over time due to physical, environmental and fire impacts. Following the
gazetment of the building under the Monument Act 1976 a contract was let to rebuild the structure in an adaptive
reuse of a cultural heritage building to a modern auditorium for Arts. Besides the upgrading and conservation works,
a new Annex building with a basement was included as part of development of the site.
Photo 3: Victoria Institute
8. Finding Analysis
Generally, analysis of this research is divided into two sections; first section features comparative analysis on case
studies with reference to the three numbers of conservation projects taken as case studies. The second section is the
analysis on the questionnaire set distributed to 100 respondents.
559
6.1 QMS implementation
Table 1 shows the compliances to QMS requirements for the entire three conservation projects. ISO 9001
standard, which emphasizes the QMS requirements, was being used as the benchmark for the survey.
QMS Elements Case Studies

Blue Mansion Stadthuys Victoria Institution
1. Quality Policy X X X
1.
2. Planning
a. Quality Aspects   
b. Legal and Other Requirements   
c. Objectives and Targets   
d. Quality Management Plan   
3. Implementation and Operation

a. Structure and Responsibilities X X X
b. Training, Awareness, and   
Competence   
c. Communication   
d. QMS Documentation X X X
e. Document Control   
f. Operational Control   
g. Emergency Preparedness and   
Response
4. Checking and Corrective Action

a. Monitoring   
b. Non-Conformance and Corrective   
Action
c. Records   
d. QMS Audit   
5. Management Review   
Table 1: Findings for conservation projects compliances to ISO 9001 standard.
6.2 Analysis of Questionnaire

The questionnaire is divided into two parts which are Section A-Respondents’ Background and Section B-
Implementation of QMS Requirements. For Section A, 100 respondents were randomly picked varies from
conservation unit, local authorities, charitable bodies, private organization, consultants and contractors. Respondents
involved in variety type of projects and can be concluded that the respondents have adequate working experience in
their professional field.
560
For Section B, overall respondents also agreed that highlighting quality matters and checklists prepared
specific to ISO 9001 framework are actions that need to be implement, submission of quality programme should be
compulsory and assistance of authorities in preparation of all quality reports was necessary.
A Addressing compliance to the requirements by highlighting quality matters and preparing

checklists that related to specific quality regulations/acts
B Preparing and submitting all quality reports as per conservation stages and authority’s
requirements
C Assistance of Authorities for the preparation of all quality reports
Table 2: Coding system for quality requirements with reference to Figure 3.
100
90
Percetage (100%)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
A B C
Code
Agree Fair/Disagree
Figure 3: Quality Control/Protection.
For QA/QC requirements, Conservation Council has prepared its own quality monitoring and testing
standard for various aspects and the respondents claimed that they complied with the standard conservation
requirement.
A All quality monitoring and testing are undertaken in accordance to the requirements’
specifications
B All quality monitoring and testing are undertaken in accordance to the Conservation
standards
C Compliance of monitoring and testing results are checked by authorities’ representatives
D Monitoring undertaken with the presence of authorities’ representatives as witnesses
Table 3: Coding system with reference to Figure 4.
561
100
90
80
Percetage (100%)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
A B C D
Code
Agree Fair/Disagree
Figure 4: Compliance with Quality requirements.
Findings from analysis conducted confirmed that even though there is no specific QMS were implemented and
enforced in conservation works; there was certain extent of quality related aspects that were required to be complied
by the contractors and consultants. In terms of QMS implementation in Malaysia, majority of respondents had
agreed on the idea of simultaneously implementing ISO 9001 as part of conservation management.
9. Implication
This research intends for contributing to significant practical implication of QMS in conservation work as it is
important in maintaining the historical building. This study however only limited to the use of self- reported
measures that may affect the responses by intentional distortions and misinformation.
10. Conclusion
It can be concluded that QMS is not implemented as part of the conservation programmes, plans and requirements.
However, it was found that that a certain quality management standard was being applied for all conservation
projects. However, as each project was undertaken at different state, none practice the same standardization and all
developed their own quality measures or benchmarks. In determining the responses of the respondents on the
implementation of QMS requirements for conservation projects, can be concluded that majority of the respondents
agreed that the implementation of ISO 9001 may bring benefits to the conservation projects undertaken. In addition,
the respondents viewed that there is a significant relationship for the implementation of ISO 9001 and conservation
works. ISO 9001 is seen as an essential step to ensure that a standardized quality management can be practiced
within the local context.
References
ICOMOS; (Rev. 1999); the Australia ICOMOS Charter for The Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance
(Burra Charter);
Government of Malaysia; (2005) National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645); Laws of Malaysia; MDC Publishers
printers Sdn Bhd.: Malaysia
Peter; J.L., (1996); Conservation and The City, Mcgraw hill Inc., London, United Kingdom
562
A Study On Problems Arises In Practicing Fire Drill In High

Rise Building In Kuala Lumpur
N. F. Zaharia, A. F. Aliminb, M. D. Sudirmanc, M.A.O. Mydind
a,b,c
Universiti Teknologi MARA, Perak, Seri Iskandar, Malaysia
d
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
Abstract
Fire drill is one of the steps taken to mitigate the risk trapped in a building during outbreak of fire. Hence, it is very important for
every building to practice fire drill, especially high-rise building. Referring to Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia
(BOMBA), high-rise building had a higher risk compared to other type of buildings. However, there might be problems arise to
practice fire drill especially in high-rise building. Realizing the importance of practicing fire drill, this dissertation which titled
“A Study On Problems Arises In Practicing Fire Drill In High Rise Building In Kuala Lumpur” is documented. This research
intends to study on fire drill procedure and identify any possible common problems arises when practicing fire drill in high-rise
building in Kuala Lumpur. Information was gained through regulations and guidelines associated with fire drill procedure and
also parties involved in the practice. Besides, a survey is done for awareness of occupants in high-rise building on fire drill
practice. For the case study, three high-rise building are selected in Kuala Lumpur based on specific criteria. Analysis for this
research comprises of comparative and descriptive approach as well as statistical analysis which are documented based on case
studies and questionnaire survey. The findings indicates that there is no standardized procedure in fire drill, while the most
common problems that can be seen in practicing fire drill are lack of commitment among occupants, lack of information on fire
drill and output on weaknesses after fire drill been practiced.
Keywords: Conservation; Conservation practice; Conservation principle; Documentation; Re-construction
11. Introduction
Fire is a hazardous and life threatening towards living things. Although it said that not all fire resulting in death but
the effect came from outbreak of fire are rather alarming. It is further worsen, if fire occurred in the building which
fully occupied by the human being. Hence, it will absolutely cause an enormous loss of property and in extreme
cases the fire can lead to progressive building and structural collapse. Hence, fire drill is one of the steps that can
mitigate the risk being trapped in a building during outbreak of fire. Fire drill is a method of practicing the
evacuation of a building for a fire or other emergency. Generally, the fire drill serve as an oppurtunity for the
occupant to demonstrate , under simulated fire conditions, that they can perform evacuation safely and ensure they
are aware enough of that responsibilities. Body that is responsible and involved in doing and supervising fire drill is
Fire and Rescue Department Malaysia (BOMBA) while regulations and guidelines associated in fire drill are
Uniform Building By-Law (UBBL) 1984, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Codes and Standards, Fire
Services Act 1988 and Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) code and also Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA)
1994.
In Oxford and Collin Dictionary, fire drill is defined as practice of emergency procedures to be used in case of
fire and a rehearsal of duties or escape procedures to be followed in case of fire. High-rise building is defined in
1
E-mail address: nurul998@perak.uitm.edu.my
563
NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code, 2012 Edition as a building more than 75 feet or 23 meters in height, measured from
the lowest level of fire department vehicle access to the floor of the highest occupiable story.
In addition, high-rise building usually consist of mix tenancy which cater for office premises, malls, retails, hotels
and others. Indirectly, the population of occupant is enormous and might reach to several thousand at a time. The
risk of fire for high rise building is quite high rather than the landed buildings, the multiple floors of a high-rise
building create a cumulative effect of requiring great numbers of person to travel great vertical distances on stairs in
order to evacuate the building. The risk of fire is commonly recognised as a serious threat to the life safety of
occupants in the buildings. History has repetedly demonstrated how hazardous and catastrophic impact of fires can
have on buildings and their occupants. (Muna Hanim, 2009).
Basically, when arranging fire drill, the employers or the building manager set up the date with the nearest Fire
Department to conduct a good fire drill. Once the date have been set up, the building manager or the building
department will inform to the head of floor in each floor about the fire drill and it will be spread out through all the
occupants in that premises. Fire drills may be pre-announced to building staff or occupants, or they may be
unannounced. As noted in Section 2.8 of the Fire Code, the chief fire official must be consulted on the development
of fire drill procedures. The procedures for conducting fire drills must be included in the fire safety plan. When
developing the fire drill procedures, consider the following factors to ensure the fire drills are relevant:
a) the building use and associated fire hazards;

b) the safety features provided in the building;
c) the desirable degree of participation of occupants other than supervisory staff;
d) the number and degree of experience of participating supervisory staff
e) the testing and operation of the emergency systems installed in buildings within the scope
4. The Objectives
The main objective is to study the procedure of fire drill in any regulations in Malaysia. Second objective is
to identify the most common problems that arise in practicing fire drill in high rise building in Kuala Lumpur. Third
objective is to determine the awareness among building occupants towards the importance of fire drill and
knowledge on the fire safety in their workplace.
564
5. Methodology
The research methodologies consist of a serial chronological process that requires a step-by-step approach;
specifically designed in order to achieve the research objectives with the main concern of studying procedure of fire
drill in any regulations in Malaysia, identifying common problems arise in practicing fire drill in high-rise building
and awareness among building occupants towards the importance of fire drill and knowledge on the fire safety in
their workplace. The method of identification and examination is based on analyses of questionnaires, personal
interview and observation through those three case studies. Appropriate methodologies are designed specifically to
ensure achievement of objectives.
Determination of objectives and scope

of works
Literature review conducted
Field research conducted based on

case study
Secondary sources
Primary sources (semi (literature review,
structured interview, books, journal,
questionnaire) articles etc )
Data analyzed
Findings
Conclusion and recommendation

Figure 1: Research Methodology Flow
6. The Case Study

5.1 Introduction
The case study was conducted in three locations which are TH Selborn Tower, PJD Tower and Celcom Tower
where all three towers are located in Kuala Lumpur. Selection of building is based on average height between 20 to
30 floors. All three buildings practices fire drill conducted and supervised by nearby Fire and Rescue Department.
Based on the criteria required, these buildings are suitable in order to be selected as the case studies.
565
Photo 1: TH Selborn Tower, Kuala Lumpur.
5.1 TH Selborn Tower, Kuala Lumpur
This building was completed in 2001 fully owned by the LembagaTabung Haji as one their office buildings in
Malaysia. This building is located at 153, JalanTunRazak, Kuala Lumpur at the junction of JalanSemarak and
JalanTunRazak. MenaraSelborn is a 31 storey building with 4 level of basement parking and 1 level of service floor
and 26 floor of office space and also mezzanine floor. There are few tenants that rent in the TH Selborn such as
Malaysian Airforce, Bank SimpananNasional, Perpustakaan Negara and other companies.
Building Manager
Time Keeper
Emergency Fire Drill Incident Safety Guard

Officer Officer Officer Officer
Figure 2: Emergency Response Team (ERT) Organization Chart in TH Selborn.
There are 6 basic roles that responsible in the aspect of prevention, fire control and rescue the occupants in the
building before the arrival of Bomba. The Building Manager act as an Emergency Manager and Time Keeper is the
one who keep the records and take down all the details of fire drill and emergency for future records saving.
LembagaTabung Haji has its own Safety Officer that manages all of their buildings in order to protect and control in
terms of safety among their staff and tenants. Property Management Department responsible in ensuring their
buildings are in good conditions and safe to occupy. Fire drill has been practiced once a year in this building.
566
5.2 PJD Tower, Kuala Lumpur
With 28 storey high, this commercial and office tower consisting of 5 floors of commercial podium and 8 floors
of car park located at Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur was completed in year 2010. Near to the Titiwangsa LRT
Putra and monorail. This building is owned by the PJ Developer Holdings Berhad and the anchor tenant for this
building is JKR- Cawangan Kerja Bangunan Am. The management for this building is PJD itself. For mean of fire
risk and hazard for this building, there is no specific organisation chart that control or manage the fire drill. The fire
drill had been practiced once a year in this building.
Photo 2: PJD Tower, Kuala Lumpur.
5.3 Celcom Tower, Kuala Lumpur
This Celcom building is 22 stories high with basement parking, office space and commercial space where it has
been CelcomAxiataBerhad Kuala Lumpur headquarters since 2002. This building was formerly known as Wisma
Telekom JalanSemarak and is next to Marinara Tower (Menara 238) and opposite to the WismaPerkeso. The fire
drill has been practiced twice a year in this building with the supervision of BalaiBomba Hang Tuah and
BalaiBombaMaharajalela. However, there is no specific organisation or team act as ERT.
567
Photo 3: Celcom Tower, Kuala Lumpur.

7. Finding Analysis
Analysis of this research is divided into three sections where each section achieving the objectives stated earlier.
Critical analyses are done on the regulations, standards and codes that associated with fire drill while personal
interview is done to find out the common problem when practicing fire drill and questionnaire is done to see the
awareness level among building occupants.
6.1 Analysis on Regulations, Standards and Codes
There are a few fire regulations that implemented in Malaysia by the Bomba such as Uniform Building By-Law
(UBBL) 1984, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes and standards, Fire Services Act 1988, and also
from Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) 1994. Generally, these codes and standards are used as the reference
regarding the fire for buildings. However, there are no standard procedure of fire drill stated in these regulations,
standards and codes and this finding analysis is supported by three officers of Fire Department in Putrajaya, Kuala
Lumpur and Ipoh. However, they provide the standard of operation prepared by them as below:
i. The building owner or the building manager prepare an intent letter and send it out to Bomba fo rasking
them to monitor or handle the fire dill
ii. letter received. Bomba reply the letter of acceptance for joining and monitoring the fire drill.
iii. then,building manager set up the date and time and all the details for the firedrill exercise. send againto the
Bomba to inform them
iv. Bomba received that letter and set up the date for the coming fire drill
v. Before that day, Bomba having a simple briefing to the Emergency Response Tean (ERT) and staff about
the fire drill.
vi. On that day, fire alarm rang in that premises. Gathered all the occupants in assembly point. Time keeper
records all the details happend.
vii. Each floor warden check up on their staff by head counting, then report to the responsible personnel.
viii. Briefing by the Bomba personnel regarding the programs and demonstrated the emergency and rescue the
victims and also the right way to use a firefighting aid such as fire extinguisher.
ix. Post mortem meeting among the management team and Bomba regarding to the fire drill and the analysis
as the report and reference in the future.
568
6.2 Analysis on Personal Interview
Semi structured interview is adopted in this research. The purpose of the interview is to get more
information and achieving the second objective of this research. The semi structured interview only conducted to
selected person from the Building Management Department of the case studies. The question in this interview was
in open ended question.
Question: What are the common problems arises in executing fire drill in
this building?
Respondent 1 1. Lack of commitment among occupants.
2. The floor warden and ERT did not perform his/her
role appropriately
3. Lack of information and output after the fire drill be
given to the occupants
Respondent 2 1. Poor planning by the management
2. Absence of occupants during fire drill exercise.
Respondent 3 1. Absence of ‘Pelan Tindakan Kecemasan’ by the
managemen
2. Lack of commitment by the occupants.
Table 1: Analysis on the common problems of fire drill.
The respondents stated that the common problems are lack of commitment among occupants during fire drill, the
floor warden and emergency response team (ERT) members did not execute their role properly due to insufficient
information and training before the fire drill carried out. Then, the most common problems for the three surveyed
site is lack of information and output after the fire drill or postmortem are not given to the occupants as they need to
know what the weaknesses that need to be improve. Then, the poor planning by the management also been
highlighted in the interview, as the respondent said, the management team did not properly plan the fire drill and
what should be stress on that day to give an optimum information and awareness to the occupants.
6.3 Analysis on Questionnaire
The design of the questionnaire comprised with three (3) section which is part A, part B and part C. Part A focused
on the demographic data. Parts B are questions in Likert-scale which is on knowledge of fire safety in workplace.
Meanwhile Section C is about the awareness on the importance of fire drill.
569
Score Frequency (person) Percentage (%)

Strongly Disagree 4 0.9
Disagree 35 7.6
Not Sure 193 41.8
Agree 227 49.1
Strongly Agree 3 0.6
TOTAL 462 100.0
Table 2: The awareness and knowledge on the fire safety at workplace.
Most of the respondents, 49.1 percent of them were agreed on this statement that they really know and aware of fire
safety at their workplace. However, only 0.9 percent of respondents did not know and aware of the issues given and
41.8 percent were not sure whether they agree or not towards the statement given. Based on the result above,
majority of the respondents know and aware on the fire safety because of the proper installation,signage and
information of fire safety being exposed to them as the occupants.
7. Implication of Research
This research intends to contribute to a significant practice of fire drill and increase the awareness of fire safety
among building occupants. Besides, through findings of common problems found in practicing fire drill, this
research hopes for all parties to be aware and solving the problems together. This study however only limited to the
use of self- reported measures that may affect the responses by intentional distortions and misinformation.
8. Conclusion
Through this research, it is found that there is no standard procedure of fire drill even though there are
regulations, standards and codes and this could lead to many different procedure among states or worst among Fire
and Rescue Department. Moreover, every party should play their role in order to ensure a good practice of fire drill
is implemented. However, awareness and knowledge of fire safety is at an average level which indicates that there
must be a strategy to be implemented in order to increase the awareness and knowledge.
References
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Heatlh) Act 1994.Regulations and Orders.(2011). International Law Book
Services. Malaysia.
UBBL (Uniform Building by-Law).(2003), International Law Book Services, Malaysia.
NFPA (National Fire Protection Associations).List of NFPA fire codes and standards.[Online]. [Retrieved 15
September 2012]
Jerry, L.Ball (2001). “Employee Fire and Life Safety: Developing a Preparedness Plan and Conducting Emergency
Evacuation Drills.Introduction to Employee Fire and Life Safety,” edited by Guy Colonna, © 2001 National Fire
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Structural Survey, Vol. 27 Iss: 2, pp.109 – 118
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A Study of REITs Performance and its Acceptability as

Alternative Source of Fund to Direct Real Estate Finance in
Nigeria: Malaysia REIT (MREIT) as Benchmark.
1
R. Said, 2M. N. Daud, 3O. O. Olanrele*
Department of Estate Management, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
The focus of this study is to appraise the performance of REITs and the possibility of deploying REITs fund into direct real estate
financing in Nigeria, using Malaysia (a developing nation, with similar characteristics) as benchmark for REITs performance.
The set objectives include determination of factors influencing REITs performance and to propose deployment of REITs fund to
direct real estate financing. The methodology involves in-depth study of REITs development, operations and performance
analysis. The study revealed that REITs return is being determined by both internal and external factors. Internal factors are
business/economic parameters (Size, Leverage, Asset Value, NAV, FFO) while the external factors are related to business
environment (Political Leadership, Social, Security and Infrastructure among others). It was also found that there is great need for
development financing in Nigeria as there are few properties to be acquired into a portfolio by REITs. REITs performance in
Nigeria is on the negative side. This study recommends a linear regression model analysis for REITs return measurement for
simultaneity effect of return determinant factors and forecasting of a benchmark. A simulation analysis is proposed for the
possibility of financing real estate development with REITs fund.
Keywords: REIT; Performance; Regression; Simulation; Estate Finance
1. Introduction
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) is attracting global investors’ attention more and more as its performance and
advantages are recognized nowadays to be superior (Ong, The, & Chong, 2011). However, despite the pool of fund
available through REITs and the world acceptability and adoption of REITs as an investment medium for real estate
sector, the effect has not been much felt in some developing countries like Nigeria. A rational investor will always
looks for an investment that maximizes his return and REITs being a tax concession investment medium/vehicle
perfectly fulfills such a requirement. It is therefore expected that such investment medium will be accepted to the
great majority of investors worldwide and be well subscribed. In the analysis of the REITs return, past studies have
in most times consider one determinant factor at a time while others are assumed to be constant or of no
simultaneous effect, a situation that rarely exist in real life investment market, thus a gap for the study of
simultaneous effects of all factor determinants on REITs performance. Few studies have also mentioned about
factors that relates to the business environment (Daud, Mohd Ali, Sipan, & Wilson, 2012). More concentration had
been on market/economic factors, another gap in knowledge. In the developing countries like Nigeria, the real estate
assets to be acquired with REITs fund is practically non existent, due to lack of finance for real estate development
as a result of inefficient mortgage/financing system and the effect of various economic problems. Past studies have
agreed that economic woe of many developing nations created the non-viable mortgage sector and poor funding to
real estate development.
1
Corresponding author. Tel.:
571
E-mail address: rosli_alambina@um.edu.my
The failure of the mortgage system and other conventional sources to provide required finance for real
estate developments created the need for alternative sources like securitization, unitization and REITs (Olanrele,
2010). Though, the operation of REITs is tailored towards investing on real estate products, especially income
generating properties. In so doing, REITs could be making fund available (indirectly) for real estate development
and thereby stimulating the real estate sector. However, the REIT legal and regulatory framework dictated that at
least, 75% of the REITs fund must be invested in real estate asset acquisition leaving 25% for other real estate
related investment vehicles like Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) and listed property shares and stocks in order to
qualify for tax concession. Nevertheless, the possibility of deploying 25% of the REITs fund into real estate
financing in an environment where there is acute short of development fund (Nigeria) is worth investigating,
perhaps to effect a policy change in REITs funds allocation. This is another focal point of this study.
2.Literature Review
2.1 Meaning and Development of REIT
REIT has been defined in various literatures and studies. REIT is a company that owns and manages
investment grade and income producing real estate properties such as office buildings, residential buildings,
shopping malls, tourism related facilities, healthcare facilities, industrial facilities and infrastructures (EPRA, 2012;
FMI, 2010). REIT is a duly registered company similar to mutual funds that enables investors to pool together huge
capital sum for investment in diversified pools of real estate assets and other real estate investment media (Corgel,
Mclntosh, & Ott, 1995; Ong et al., 2011; Oreagba, 2010). REIT is a contemporary investment vehicle that enjoys tax
exemption on the income distributed to its shareholders (90%) and expected to invest not less than 75% of its fund
in Real Estate Assets to enjoy the tax exemption. Under the United States Federal Income Tax Law, a REIT is any
corporation, trust or association that acts as an investment agent specializing in real estate and real estate mortgages.
REIT has been accepted and adopted all over the globe as an alternative investment medium in real estate.
REIT started in the United States in 1960. Since then more countries around the world have established REIT
regimes at different times. The spread of the REIT approach to real estate investment around the world has also
increased awareness and acceptance of investing in global real estate securities. REIT is not new in Malaysia, It was
previously known as Property Trust Fund which had been in existence since 1986. The Bank Negara Malaysian
(Malaysian Central Bank) approved the first regulatory framework under Company Act 1965 and Securities
Commission Act of 1983, governed the establishment and operations of the Property Trust Funds. Further guidelines
were published by the Specific Securities Commission in 1995 (Ong et al., 2011). The guideline was revised in
2002. Malaysian REIT (MREIT) in modern form, came into existence in 2005 following the guidelines of the
Securities Commission same year. There are 15 REITs company in Malaysia (12 Conventional and 3 Islamic). The
first REIT in Nigeria (NREIT) is the N2bn Skye Shelter fund launched in 2007. REITs took centre stage in Nigeria
with the N50bn Union Homes Hybrid REIT launched in September 2008 following the issuance of guidelines for
registration and requirement for operation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2007
REITs that are publicly traded on the stock exchange are referred to as Listed REITs while the non-traded
ones are Unlisted REITs. This is an important distinction in REITs. REITs also could be categorized as commercial
and Islamic. While both have the same operational and regulation framework, the difference comes in the form/type
of tenancy and/or activities/business conducted to generate income from the REIT acquired properties. Commercial
REITs allow all legal trading/business activities while Islamic REITs allowed only Sharia compliant activities and
trading/business. Broadly and conventionally, REITs are classified into three, Equity, Mortgage and Hybrid.
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2.2 REIT Return Analysis
In general, the performance of REITs is mainly determined by the different types of investment the
companies make, which is basically divided into Equity REIT, Mortgage REIT and hybrid REIT (Grupe &
DiRocco, 1999). Returns from REITs are primarily derived from dividend yield and share price appreciation.
Dividend is thus a measure of return of REITs like any other investment in the stock/capital market. A lot of
methods had been discussed and applied in the past studies to measure the performance of REITs. Each of the
methods however focused on each determinant factor that contributed to the yield while holding other factors
constant or of no simultaneous effect. Yong, Allen, and Lim (2009) using a multi-factor approach to analyse
Australian REIT (A–REIT) returns identified size (in terms of capitalisation), degree of leverage (Gearing) and
market-to-book (Value) ratio among others as the determinant of REITs returns. They however did not show the
simultaneous effect of all the multiple factors considered in their study.
2.2.1 Net Annual Value (NAV) Approach
Ong et al. (2011) studied the performance of Malaysian REITs from 2005 – 2010 using Net Annual Value
(per unit). An investment that trade at a market price that is below the NAV is perceived to have positive growth
potentials NAV while one with market price above NAV signals to investors, a negative growth opportunities for
the REIT. NAV is a function of the net market value of the underlying real property assets of a REIT company
spread over the total outstanding units of the REIT Company. Clayton, Eighholtz, Geltner, and Miller (2007)
discussed three REIT evaluation methods to include discounted cash flow (DCF), fund from operations (FFO) and
Net Asset Value (NAV). REITs trading at high or low premium, or even at discount has been discovered to be a
result of investors’ sentiments in most cases (Barkham & Ward, 1999; Clayton et al., 2007; Clayton & Mackinnon,
2001; Young, 1998).
2.2.2 Funds From Operation (FFO)
Hwa and Abdul Rahman (2007) studied stability of dividend and FFO (fund from operation) in Malaysia,
they concluded that the dividend (return) declared by REITs/Listed Property Trusts are not stable because it is
affected by (FFO), the net income from the underlying property assets. The finding is supported by Alias and Soi
Tho (2011). Gore and Stott (1998) found that FFO is more closely related to stock returns, Hardin III and Hill
(2008) stated that excess dividends are a function of a firm’s capacity to generate FFO, a view that was supported by
Feng, Price, and Sirmans (2011). Fields, Rangan, and Thiagarajan (1998) on the contrary concluded that the REIT
industry’s claim of FFO superiority is premature. Bradley, Capozza, and Seguin (1998) examined cash flow
volatility and dividend pay-out and concluded that there is a negative relationship between cash flow volatility and
dividend level. Alias and Soi Tho (2011) concluded that FFOs are in turn affected by other economic factors.
2.2.3 Leverage (Gearing)
The degree of influence of leverage on returns was found to be significant. Leverage magnifies both
positive and negative investment returns, resulting in pronounced gain and losses (Allen, Madura, & Springer,
2000). The relationship between the leverage/gearing was found to be positive but not significant. A short term
interest rate has inverse relationship with return while a long term interest rate posits a positive relationship (Allen et
al., 2000; Delcoure & Dickens, 2004). However, Ratcliffe and Dimowski (2007) in their study of a sample in
Australian found a contrasting result that there is a significant negative relationship between long term interest rates
and returns, with a positive insignificant relationship with short term interest rates.
573
2.2.4 Market – to- Book (Value) Ratio Analysis
The market-to-book ratio was also found to have negative relationship with returns (Yong et al., 2009). The
significance of the asset value has been increasing for REITs since 1990 and plays an important role in
diversification of REITs across continents rather than across countries (Hamelink & Hoesli, 2004). Alias and Soi
Tho (2011) however stated in their conclusion that a detailed study has to be carried out before generalising on the
factors affecting REITs performance. Stocks with high market-to-book ratio are regarded as growth stock while
those with low market-to-book value ratios are value stocks. Value stocks are expected to outperform growth stock.
2.2.5 Capitalisation (Size)
For the size (capitalisation) factor, studies had suggested that there is an inverse relationship between
returns and size implying that smaller REIT tend to yield more return than the larger REIT (Yong et al., 2009).
Chaudhry, Maheshwari, and Webb (2004) stated that larger REITS are found to be more geographically diversified
but less diversified across property types and this could result in negative relationship of size to return (Banz, 1981;
Keim, 1983; Lee & Kau, 1987; Mclntosh, Liang, & Tompkins, 1991; Olgun, 2005). (Yong et al., 2009) found and
concluded that size factor had a negative impact on return and was only found to be a determinant of returns before
1996 (prior to Asia financial crisis of 1997). Alias and Soi Thoi (2011) agreed with Ambrose and Linneman (2001)
and stated that there is a positive relationship among REIT size, Revenue and Profit. The larger the size, the higher
the rental income and profit margin therefore the better the yield. Brounen and Sjoerd (2012) attributed REIT stock
outperformance in Europe to size, specialisation and geographic focus.
2.2.6 Other (External) Factors
Studies has also confirmed that performance of real estate securities exhibits abnormal returns in international
real estate markets, it is also established that substantial returns exist across different markets and over different
periods (Abdullah & Wan Zahari, 2008; Amidu, Aluko, Nuhu, & Saibu, 2008; Bond, Karolyi, & Sanders, 2003;
Ong, The, Soh, & Yan, 2012). The contradictions in the findings of researchers as discussed above clearly show that
there some other factors outside market indices that could affect REIT return. Daud et al. (2012) studied the impact
of location attributes on REIT return. Their finding revealed a strong correlation between location attributes and
REIT return. The argument is supported with the fact that REIT return is strongly determined by income from
properties (FFO), any factor that affect property income will in effect affect REIT return. They adopted the Multiple
Regression Analysis which took into consideration, the significant effect of each of the location attributes. However,
location is just one of the external factors that could impact on REIT return.
2.3 REIT and Real Estate Finance
As a result of the recognized need to develop outlets for Pension Fund assets as well as further deepens the
Nigerian Capital Market, the key stakeholders such as The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and The Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) had identified Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) as a suitable products that can
serve as an outlets for the deployment of funds to real estate sector (Oreagba, 2010). The emergence of the
contemporary indirect sources of finance like securitization, unitization and real estate investment trusts (REITs)
indicates that the huge capital requirement for real estate development cannot be met by established conventional
sources. The conventional guidelines for REITs indicated that 75% of fund be used to acquire real estate assets. This
indirectly is making fund available to the real estate producers. The prominent role of REITs in financing
commercial real estate in US was noticed in mid 1990s. Cunningham and Ramey (2006) said “REITs have turned to
development as a core piece of their investment strategy”. They however cautioned that to remain qualified for tax
574
exemption at the corporate level, REITs should avoid ‘bad income’ which when exceeds 5% of the aggregate
income will be taxable at the prevailing rate. They suggested that a tax payable subsidiary can be established to
engage in real estate financing. The REIT regulations practically discourage direct real estate financing
3. Methodology
The study adopted a mix method approach. Both quantitative and qualitative data are required for this
study. For this paper, Statistical analyses were conducted on the quantitative data set collected in respect of the
market/economic factor determinants from annual reports of AMFIRST REIT (secondary source) for the period
2007 to 2013. A regression analysis was then performed on the data set using SPSS software, holding dividend as
the dependent variable and other variables as determinant factors. Through Literature study, the likely external
factors were identified. The study also made a numerical expression of possibility of deployment of REIT fund to
real estate financing. However, a simulation is proposed for better understanding.
Table 1: Extracted data set from annual report of AMREIT for period 2007 – 2013
YEAR TOTAL OPENING UNIT NAV/UNIT MKT CAP NET INCOME LEVERAGE ASSET VALUE DIVIDEND
UNIT(000) PRICE (RM) (RM) (RM'm) (FFO) (RM'm) (RM'm) (RM'bn) (Cent)
2007 429001 0.99 0.995 424710.99 8.349 65.5 501.7 1.946
2008 429001 0.895 1.032 383955.895 31.313 395.606 852.1 7.299
2009 429001 0.87 1.32 373230.87 37.537 402 980 8.75
2010 429001 0.85 1.3535 364650.85 23.528 413 1008 9.75
2011 429001 1.1 1.3631 471901.1 14.419 407 1024 9.75
2012 429001 1.16 1.3917 497641.16 23.179 380 1179.8 9.31
2013 686402 1.19 1.1828 816818.38 17.686 88.4 1277.226 6.81
Source: AmFirst REIT website(www.amfirstreit.com.my)
Table 1 above indicates that one factor in exclusion of other factors cannot determine the true actual return
from an investment but all factors are impacting on REIT returns simultaneously. This is because there is no perfect
constant relationship between yield and any of the indicators independently. A multiple regression analysis was
performed which gives standardised regression line.
.
D = 0.025N + 0.5285S + 0.25V – 0.109I + 0.992L (1)
Where D is dividend (in RM), N is NAV, S is Size, V is Asset Value, I is the Income and L is Leverage.
Substituting the real values, the regression gave a predicted expected yield of 5.3% per annum which could
serve as benchmark in Malaysia. NREITs is witnessing a negative return, even depreciation in share value (figure 2).
Table 2: Comparative Statistics Features of Malaysia and Nigeria
FEATURES MALAYSIA NIGERIA RATIO (M:N)

Co-ordinates 308’N, 101042’E 904’N, 7028’E +7hrs in time
Area:
Total 329,750 sq km 923,768 sq km 1:2.8
(127,316 sq mi) (356,667 sq mi)
Land 328,549 sq km 910,771 sq km 1:2.77
(126,853 sq mi) (351,649 sq mi)
Water 1,201 sq km 12,997 sq km 1:10.8
(463 sq mi)= 0.36% (5,018 sq mi)= 1.4% 1:3.89
Population:
575
2013 Estimate 29,628,392 170,123,740 1:5.7

Census 28,334,135 (2010) 140,431,790 (2006) 1:5
Economics:
GDP - Estimate $521.963bn $448.5bn 1.16:1
Per Capital $17,675 $2,722 6.5:1
GDP - Nominal $340.002bn $268,708bn 1.26:1
Per Capital $12,243 $1,657 7.4:1
Growth Rate 6.5% 5% 1.3:1
REITS
REIT Company 15 3
Capitalisation RM24.3bn ($7,397,824,366.62) NGN3.7bn ($22.65m) 326.61:1
Source: Authors’ search (www.nigeria.gov.ng, www.wikipedia.org/malaysia, Businessday, Thisday and Punch Newspapers)
Table 2 presented the characteristic/features of both Malaysia and Nigeria. There is a wide range of
similarity in terms of colonization, independence, ethnicity, and governance. Nigeria is bigger both in term of land
size and population and possesses more variety of natural and mineral resources. In terms of the economy and
infrastructure, Malaysia is superior with per capital income of $12,243, 7 times Nigeria per capital income. Malaysia
economy has annual growth rate of 6.5% against Nigeria estimated 5%. In terms of Energy Infrastructure, Malaysia
generates 13GW against 2.63GW of Nigeria 5 times higher for a lesser population. Transportation system in
Malaysia is better than that of Nigeria. For the REIT industry, MREIT have 15 listed REIT company with $24.3bn
against NREIT’s 2 listed REIT companies (the third just launched its IPO in March 2013) with $22.65m. NREITs
represent 0.31% of MREIT. Ordinarily NREITs is expected to grow close if not at per with MREITs working under
similar economic attributes. While MREITs continue to grow in size, NREITs is experiencing decline in size to the
level that the size today is 7% of Capitalisation value on inception of REIT in Nigeria. This pointed to a fact that
REIT return is not only influenced by market/economic indicators but external factors too. Daud et.al, (1999)
already indicated this by their study of location attributes and REIT return. Beside location attributes are other
factors like, Political Leadership, Transparency, Infrastructure and Security. All these are basically lacking in
Nigeria and could have led to failure of NREITs.
Table 3: NREIT Share Price/Unit for Period 2008-2012
Skye Shelter (20,000,000 units) Union Homes (250,000,000 units) Market turnover
Year Open (N) Close (N) Gain/Loss (%) Open (N) Close (N) Gain/Loss (%) Skye UH Sector
2008 105 111.1 5.72 51.50 7.6
2009 111.1 100 -9.92 7.6 3.1 -59.21 -90.19 -49.82 -49.92
2010 100 94 -3.0 2.99 0.85 -71.57 118.43 10.39 10.44
2011 97 100 3.09 0.89 0.86 -3.37 450.40 -52.58 -52.10
2012 100 100 .00 0.88 0.5 -43.18 -39.02 -99.33
-4.76 -83.87
Source: Proshare research 2013
During the five years of trading activities, NREIT witnessed consistent poor patronage and performance.
Skye Shelter REIT experienced its positive patronage in its listing year of 2008 and 2011 with +5.72% and +3.00%
gains respectively, it fell below its listing price in 2010 by -3.00%. The stock traded at N100.00kobo as at the close
of financial year in 2011 and 2012 to record no price appreciation in market price and value, a 4.76% aggregate loss
within the period under review (2008 and 2012). The Union Homes Hybrid REIT witnessed a barrage of sell
activities right from its listing year indicating strong negative sentiments for the stock and with the sector. During
the five years (2008 - 2012) of trading activities, the company witnessed consistent poor patronage from investors
with 83.87% loss over a four-year period performance review. The stock traded at N0.50kobo as at the close of the
2011 financial year, far below its offer price of NGN51.50 per unit, representing a 99.03% plunge in market price
and value (Figure 1)
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Unit Share Price

150
100 Skye Shelter

Opening Price
50
Closing price
Gain/Loss
0
Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Union Homes
-50 Opening Price
Closing Price
-100
Gain/Loss
-150
Year
Figure 1: NREIT share price movement between 2008 and 2012
Societal acceptability is another factor in REITs return, Ong et.al., 2011; Clayton and Mackinnon, 1998;
Ting, 1999) affirmed that institutional perception of MREITs is one of the factor affecting the growth rate. This
means the way the society perceive an investment will affect its return. It is therefore affirmed that the investors in
Nigeria has not fully accepted REIT as a viable investment vehicle. We consider this literary analysis. Out of the
Nigeria population of 140million people (2006 census), more than 10million are shareholders (registered with
different shareholders association), excluding the low income earners who deploy their savings into paper
investment. If each shareholder invested NGN100,000 in REIT, it will amount to NGN1trillion (RM20.17bn or
US$6.14bn,). The current total market size of NREITs is NGN3.7billion (RM74.56million or US$22.65million).
The share price trend of the listed REITs in Nigeria shows an indifference towards the REIT firms on the back of a
low or narrow investor orientation to a near comatose stance for the sector in the last five years. This reflected more
about market acceptability of the initiative over the last five years. The volume turnover in the sector remained low
and the growth continued to trend southward year-in-year-out with 85.81% aggregate loss within the period under
review (figure 2).
4500
4000
3500
turnover N'mn
3000
2500
2000
1500 SkyeREIT
1000
UHMREIT
500
Sector
0
08
09
10
11
12
r
ea
20
20
20
20
20
Y
ye ar
Figure 2: NREIT Capitalisation
REIT fund can be deployed to real estate development as long as ‘bad income’ is avoided or avoidable.
Othewise, REITs will be ready to pay the corporate tax at prevailing rate for any income from real estate financing
activities. The 25% of fund could be channelled to direct real estate financing. The expectation of every investor is
increase in profit and will always want to avoid tax payment. This study shows that in an economy where cost of
financing is double digit and the yield from property investment is below 10%, it may be more profitable and
rewarding to turn 25% of fund into mortgage financing. This was numerically expressed for Nigeria situation as
follow:
577
We assume the following.
Fund RM1, return from property 8%, cost of finance 22%, and company tax 10%
Scenario 1 (100% fund invested in real estate asset)
Return = 8% x 1 = 0.08 …………………… (2)
Scenario 2 (75% fund in real estate asset and 25% fund in real estate financing)
(a) Return from real estate asset = 8% x 75% = 0.06 ……….(3)
(b) Return from real estate financing= 22% x 25% = 0.055 ……..(4)
(c) Company tax on (b) = 22% x25% x 10% = 0.0055 …….(5)
Return from Scenario 2 = a+b–c

= (0.06 + 0.055 – 0.0055) = 0.1095
Comparing Scenario 1 and 2, Scenario 1 give 0.08 (8%) while Scenario 2 gives 0.1095 (10.95)
This means investor will have more money when diversifying into financing in Nigeria. This may not apply
in Malaysia because cost of financing and yield from real estate are not too far apart. This could be attributed to the
effect of external factor(s) in the operating environment.
5. Conclusion
From the literatures and the available market data and indices, we found that the operation and growth of
REIT in Malaysia is faster and better than Nigeria. The market capitalization of MREIT is also higher. Despite the
similarities in the REIT enabling laws, regulations and operational guidelines in both Malaysia and Nigeria, the
performance and growth of REITS is better (though at a slow pace) in Malaysia. This situation directs that there are
other external/environmental factors (outside the internal economic factors) that may be responsible for successful
operation of any investment medium in general and REITs in particular. The huge resources available to Nigeria is
capable of supporting a thriving REIT sector in Nigeria in a conducive operating environment where infrastructure
are available, peace guaranteed, transparency assured and leadership direction is clear to all citizens. Regression
Analysis predicts the REIT return ahead and this is useful for industry operators to monitor performance from the
beginning of the financial year. Since REITs fund deployment can result in more income/return to REIT companies
and investors, the policy/decision makers should look into adaptation of REIT’s operation to a beneficial investment
medium in every environment based on the peculiarity of each nation state.
6. Further Information
This paper is extracted from an ongoing research work and is its finding is expected to be tested and
implemented. However, at its current state there are limitations. The regression analysis was performed with one
REIT Company, this is considered micro level and cannot represent the aggregate for a nation. The study will be
extended to cover all REIT companies in Malaysia and Nigeria to enable a forecast of annual aggregate return for
REIT. While we are convinced that there are external factors’ influences on REIT return, the significant effect of
each identified factor has not been examined. The arithmetic for the diversification of REIT fund to real estate
financing here may look simple and convincing, it is a mere demonstration of the intent of the research. It has not
considered the general and peculiar exposure (to risk) of investments. A Monte Carlos simulation analysis is being
578
adopted in the research using the Markowitz average return and portfolio risk analysis (mean – variance model).
Nevertheless, the proposition from this paper will be useful for market operators, decision makers and the
investment minds.
Acknowledgements
We wish to express our gratitude to Dr Norhayati Muyyidin for circulating the information regarding this conference
to all postgraduate student of the faculty of built environment, university of malaya. The information afford us the
opportunity to showcase the ongoing research thought and investigation. We equally say thank you to the organisers
of this conference. Terima kasih.
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Facilities Management Service Delivery in Public and Private

High Rise Residential Buildings in Nigeria: A case study of Eko
Court Complex and Niger Towers.
O. O. Olanrelea54*, A. Ahmedb, H. O. Smithc
a
Departmentment of Estate Management, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
b
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
c
Head of Practice, HOS Consult (Quantity Surveyors), Fadeyi, Lagos, Nigeria
VII. ABSTRACT
This study assessed and compared the delivery of Facilities Management (FM) services in public and private high rise
residential buildings in Lagos, Nigeria. While some facilities or services may not be available in some public estates, the
efficiency of the available ones is inadequate in comparison with the adequacy and efficiency of services provided in private
estates. The objectives set for the study include identification of services that are provided in the case studies, service delivery
method, and an assessment of the residents’ satisfaction of the services. This study adopted questionnaire survey for collection of
data. 127 questionnaires were distributed to the residents of the case studies and 93 were returned. Three of which were discarded
for incompleteness, thus 90 were analysed. The study found that most but not all of the facilities services expected in high rise
buildings are available in the case studies and the services are outsourced under a standard Service Level Agreement. The service
delivery in private high rise residential building is better than the public residential high rise buildings as revealed by the study.
The study recommends improved standardization of services, customized services and meeting customer’s expectation for
improved service delivery.
Keywords: Comparative; Assessment; Facilities Management; Service Delivery; Residential
1. INTRODUCTION
Residential property refers to the housing /dwelling units for human habitation. Housing is regarded as
social goods to be provided by the government and/or its agencies for the citizenry. In the event of the even
increasing population and limited land, high rise residential block is being favoured to be able to accommodate a
large number of people within a limited land space (unit). In the Western world and developed nation of Asia,
majority of the residential units are in multi-storey developments which demand for provision of some facilities and
services to make the properties functional, such facilities/services include lift/elevator, adequate power supply, water
provision, cleaning, waste disposal, horticulture, security, reception, laundry, recreation etc. These facilities and
services need to be efficiently managed and maintained to meet the expectation of the residents. Mohd-Tawil et al.
(2005) while quoting Jamila (1994) agreed that high prices of land in urban centres make high rise residential
building inevitable and a more practical proposition from economic point of view. Population growth coupled with
dwindling land stock make high rise living an alternative (Jamila, 1994). Multi–storey residential apartment is
therefore seen as the appropriate decision to addressing the high demand for accommodation in the midst of limited
supply of land for development. Apartment towers and condominium and are the choice of high income earners
today.
1
Corresponding author. Tel.: +60196520401
E-mail address: olanrele@siswa.um.edu.my
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High rise residential property has its characteristic of multiple owner/occupier and the involvement of
specialist firm (company) for management of the properties and the accompanying facilities and services.
Christudason (2004) said ‘’the main characteristic of this form of property are individual ownership of a unit, share
ownership of common property and membership of a body corporation which is responsible for the management of
development’’. Therefore the management of the high rise residential complexes facilities will require expert
knowledge.
Management and maintenance of high rise complexes gave rise to the issue of facilities management
(Linariza & Ashok, 2003). As a result of the high pressure of needs on the revenue of the public, most public
residential estates are not provided with adequate facilities and where they are provided, the facilities are not well
managed, the extreme cases is inefficient and ineffective service delivery where facilities management are
undertaken. Measurement of service delivery/performance is aimed at establishing the satisfaction of clients or users
of a product and services. This is done by comparing the actual perception of the service/product against the
expectation of the users. Users’ expectations are predictions made by consumers about what a good/service could
offer while perception is the actual feelings of product/service by consumers; the degree of discrepancy between
consumers’ perceptions and expectations dictates the service quality and level of satisfaction of consumers.
2.1 High Rise Residential Development
The growth in population and increased urbanization has led to a great increase in demand for housing
(residential properties). In the advent of technology and limited supply of land for development, the idea of multi-
storey/high rise development evolved to cater for more people. This led to the development of towers and high rise
apartments to serve as residential estates. High Rise buildings in addition (and more than other types of residential
buildings) require provision of more, adequate and efficient facilities and services to make them liveable and
attractive to potential occupiers – the citizenry. In these modern days, high rise residential buildings are for the rich
and expatriates, because of the social status of the potential occupiers there must be efficient and effective facilities
services management delivery. High rise (tower block, apartment tower) residential apartment is a tall
building/structure used as dwelling units. In Nigeria, high rise apartment buildings are not uncommon phenomenon,
development of Eric Moore Towers in Surulere and the 1004 Estate in Victoria Island both in Lagos state by the
Federal Government of Nigeria dated back to 1970s. Following the development of Eric Moore Tower and 1004
estates were various developments by the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC), a public
developer. Among the development by LSDPC is the EKO Court Complex in Victoria Island. In the last two
decades, there have been a lot of private high rise apartment buildings in Lagos like Niger Tower, Folawiyo Tower,
Dangote Apartments etc.
2.2 Service Delivery in Facilities Management
Facilities management is a fast growing profession across the world. It is a cost cutting initiatives in the
1970s when outsourcing of services became to be popular (Noor & Pitt, 2009) Facilities management encompasses
multiple activities under various discipline and combines resources which make facilities management vital to the
success of organisations. Facilities management has been defined in past researches (Barrett, 1995; Becker, 1990;
Nutt, 1999; Tay & Ooi, 2001; Then, 1999). Facilities management can be summarized to mean creation of an
environment that is cohesive to carry out an organisation’s primary operations taking an integrated view of the
services, infrastructure services and use it to give customer satisfaction and value for money through the support for
an enhancement of the core business (Alexander, 1999; Bell, 1990; Goyal & Pitt, 2007; Noor & Pitt, 2009). All the
583
definitions of facilities management relate building to business activities and environment (business/commercial
properties) but facilities management is applicable to residential properties too.
For the study, the above Goyal’s opinion of facilities management is adapted and facilities management is
refers to as “the practice of managing and maintaining building fabrics and all associated equipment and services
including the occupants of buildings, and financial resources to ensure the efficient performance of the property to
give value for money”. The most essential elements in high rise residential facilities management is the value for
money which dictates the performance of building in economic terms and also contributes to the effectiveness of
such a housing scheme (Mohd-Tawil et al., 2010). Facilities management in high rise building is unique because the
facilities are jointly maintained by all residents.
2.3 Service and Service Quality
“A service is an activity or series of activities of more or less intangible nature that normally but not
necessarily take place in interactions between the customer and services employees and physical
resources/goods/systems of the services provider (i.e. designed solutions to customer problems)” - (Wei, 2007).
Quality of service is now the cornerstone of competitive strategies for the facilities management providers who are
seeking to widen and secure their client base (pheng 1996). Quality service is related to the customers’ need and
expectations (Johnston & Clark, 2005; Kotler, 2003; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985, 1988, 1990) submits
that service quality comprises five dimensions which if performed satisfactorily would help reduce the cost for
monitoring the performance of service contractors (Lai, 2010). These five dimensions include Reliability,
Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy and Tangibles.
2.4 Measurement of Service Quality
Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction depends on achieving or not achieving three levels of expectation
which are implicit, explicit and talent (Wei, 2007). Measurement of service quality and/or service delivery provides
the basis for answering two fundamental questions:
(a) Is what is being done worth doing?

(b) Has it been done well?
Measuring performance has an important role in measuring past achievements and providing the basis for
planning and control decisions (Cole, 2000). Measurement of service delivery/performance is aimed at establishing
the satisfaction of clients or users of a product and services. This is done by comparing the actual perception of the
service/product against the expectation of the users. The degree of discrepancy between consumer’s perceptions and
expectations dictates the service quality and level of satisfaction of consumers/users of the products/services. The
service quality (SERVQUAL) model can be adapted for use in measuring the service quality of facilities
management services. In Facilities management, customer satisfaction is the key deliverable to success of fulfilling
contractual obligation (Siu, Bridge, & Skitmore, 2001; Wei, 2007).
In Malaysia, management corporations were established and saddled with the responsibility of facilities
management in high rise residential under the Strata Title Act (STA) of 1985. In the western world, facilities
management are contracted out to service providers with a clearly defined Service Level Agreement (SLA). In
Nigeria, quality of services is measured mostly by the use of Benchmarking where yardstick are set against which
the performance of facilities and the quality of services are measured. Here, the standard already established by a
provider or in an estate could be taking as yardstick for any other estate to measure up or surpass. FM services could
584
be in-house or outsourced. The Service Quality instrument has been the predominant method used to measure
consumers’ perceptions of service quality. It has five generic dimensions or factors, stated as follows:
a. Tangibility - Physical facilities, equipment and appearance of personnel

b. Reliability - Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately
c. Responsiveness - Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service
d. Assurance - (including competence, courtesy, credibility and security). Knowledge and courtesy of employees
and their ability to inspire trust and confidence
e. Empathy - (including access, communication, understanding the customer) Caring and individualized attention
that the firm provides to its customers.
3. METHODOLOGY
Collection of data was through the administration of a structured questionnaire, the target respondents are
the residents of Eko Court Complex and Niger Tower. A total of 127 questionnaires were served in the two case
studies 73 in Eko Court Complex and 54 in Niger Towers. 93 were filled and returned within the period of the
survey, 55 from Eko Court Complex (3 discarded for incompleteness) and 38 from Niger Towers living 90 returned
questionnaires for analysis. The success level by percentage of the number of retrieved questionnaires is as follows;
for Eko Court it is 71.23% and 70.37% for Niger Towers. Cumulatively the success level by percentage of retrieved
questionnaires for both case studies was 70.87%. This shows a relatively high percentage of retrieved
questionnaires. The study adopted combination of descriptive statistics and measure of central tendency for analysis
and result presented in tables and figures. For Service Quality measurement, the SERVQUAL model was adopted
where expectations and perception are measured and Service Score Gap was calculated.
Service Quality Score (Gap) = Mean value of expectations – Mean value of perceptions
This study listed the services and some attributes of efficient service delivery and the level of efficiency
expected by the residents as well as the perceptions and the degree of goodness derived. The use of 4 point Likert
Scale was adopted to rank the efficient level. The highest level takes maximum point in ranking, while the least
level was ascribed 1 point.
4. RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS
The study found out that all necessary facilities management services that could make a high rise
residential apartment liveable, enjoyable and acceptable to residents were available in the case studies. The services
were completely outsourced in Eko Court Complex (a public estate) to two consulting firms, (Fola Oyekan &
Associates for tenancy management and Messrs Almog Engineering Ltd for facilities management). For the Niger
Towers (a private estate), part of the facilities management services were outsourced while others that are within the
managerial capacity of the developer/owner (UPDC) are provided by the appropriate department of the
developer/owner (UPDC). The UPDC is wholly responsible for the sale/lease/tenancy administration and
management of the estate. This posits that the owner of a private estate partakes in the facilities management
services to ensure efficient service delivery towards achieving the aim of profit and business sustenance. The only
outsourced facilities are the ones that require core competence of relevant professionals for example swimming
pools, sewage treatment, lift management and internet/DSTV system. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) which
contains the conventional terms exists in case of outsourced services in the case studies. The terms include but not
limited to the service, extent, period, mode of delivery, payment and mode of payment, frequency etc)
585
Table 1. Level of Satisfaction Derived on the Building

EKO COURT
COMPLEX NIGER TOWERS
SATISFACTION RESPONSE RANKING RANKING
LEVEL (F) (X) FX RESPONSE (F) (X) FX
HIGHLY SATISFIED 8 5 40 7 5 35
SATISFIED 37 4 148 24 4 96
FAIRLY SATISFIED 6 3 18 7 3 21
NOT SATISFIED 0 2 0 0 2 0
HIGHLY
UNSATISFIED 1 1 1 0 1 0
T0TAL 52 206 38 152
MEAN = 3.96 4.0
Source: Author’s field survey, July 2011
From the above Table 1, the residents of Niger Towers derived slightly and insignificant more level of
satisfaction than resident of Eko Court as reflected in the mean values (Niger Tower 4.0 and Eko Court 3.96). One
can deduce that there is no difference between the satisfactions derived from both estates in terms of facilities
management services. However, they are not highly satisfied, there is room for improved service delivery from the
providers.
Table 2. Level of Satisfaction of each Service as Provided

SERVICES WEIGHTED SATISFACTION LEVEL
EKO COURT COMPLEX NIGER TOWERS
WATER 3.96 4.58

ELECTRICITY 3.19 3.82
LIFT 3.77 4.58
CLEANING AND PEST CONTROL 3.85 4.63
REFUSE DISPOSAL 3.83 3.84
SECURITY 3.96 3.53
GENERAL REPAIRS 3.79 3.52
AGGREGATE MEAN 3.76 4.07
Niger Towers residents were more satisfied with 5 (water, electricity, lift, cleaning/pest control and refuse
disposal) out of the 7 services listed as reflected by the mean values. Eko Court residents are more satisfied with
respect to security and general repairs (Table 2). The distribution is not unexpected, more foreigners reside in Eko
Court and the security is expected to be good. Also Eko Court Complex was built three decades ago and has
experience renovations/repairs as against the Niger Towers that was built about seven years ago and which has
586
never experience any major renovation/repair work. This gives the Eko Court resident more ability to express
service delivery with regard to general repairs than the resident of Niger Towers. On the aggregate, Niger Towers
are better satisfied (see figures 1 & 2 also). In the context of the facilities management service delivery, 20
indicators of both services and attributes of service delivery (table 4) measure the performance using a four (4) point
Likert Scale measuring both customer expectations and perceptions. The satisfaction level of each service provided
in the case studies further confirmed that the service delivery in Niger Towers is better than in Eko Court as revealed
in Table 3 above. The mean values in five out of the seven variables are higher in Niger Towers than Eko Court. The
aggregate mean value in Niger Towers is 4.07 against 3.76 in Eko Court. The figure 1 below show the 3
dimensional chart view of the above table 2.
WEIGHTED SATISFACTION LEVEL (MEAN)
5
4
3
2 EKO COURT
1 COMPLEX
0
NIGER TOWERS
Figure 1: 3D chart view of weighted satisfaction level of each service for both estates
Table 3. Satisfaction in Respect to General State of Repairs of the Estates

SATISFACTION LEVEL RESPONSE (F) RANKING (X) FX RESPONSE (F) RANKING (X) FX
HIGHLY SATISFIED 6 5 30 18 5 90
SATISFIED 31 4 124 14 4 56
FAIRLY SATISFIED 15 3 45 6 3 18
HIGHLY UNSATISFIED 0 1 0 0 1 0
T0TAL 52 199 38 164
MEAN = 3.83 4.31
With a mean value of 4.31, the residents of Niger Towers are much more satisfied with general state of
repairs of the estate than the resident of Eko Court that has a mean value of 3.83. The percentage distribution of the
level of satisfaction to the general state of repairs of the estates is presented in figure 2
587
% Distribution of level of satisfaction of state

of repairs
59.61
47.37
36.84 28.85
11.54 15.79
0 0
Figure 2: Distribution of level of satisfaction of state of repairs

Table 4. Service Quality Score (Gap)
EKO COURT NIGER TOWERS
SERVICE/ATTRIBUTES MEAN -(E) MEAN - (P) GAP RANK SERVICE/ATTRIBUTES MEAN -(E) MEAN - (P) GAP RANK
WASTE DISCHARGE 3.31 3.02 0.29 1 ACCOUNTABILITY 3.39 3.18 0.21 1
DOCUMENTATION 3.21 2.88 0.33 2 TRANSPARENCY 3.39 3.11 0.28 2
RECEPTION 3.4 3.06 0.34 3 LIFT 3.45 3.13 0.32 3
ELECTRICITY 3.38 2.98 0.4 4 CLEANING 3.61 3.24 0.37 4
SECURITY 3.56 3.15 0.41 5 WATER 3.63 3.24 0.39 5
LIGHTENING 3.37 2.96 0.41 6 RESIDENT SATISFACTION 3.45 3.05 0.4 6
RESIDENT DATABASE 3.35 2.94 0.41 7 SECURITY 3.32 2.89 0.43 7
CLEANING 3.35 2.92 0.43 8 GENERAL REPAIRS 3.66 3.21 0.45 8
RESIDENT PRIVACY 3.83 3.4 0.43 9 TECHNICALITY 3.37 2.92 0.45 9
LIFT 3.4 2.96 0.44 10 ELECTRICITY 3.45 2.97 0.48 10
PROMPT RESPONSE 3.37 2.9 0.47 11 RECEPTION 3.71 3.18 0.53 11
ACCOUNTABILITY 3.56 3.06 0.5 12 PROMPT RESPONSE 3.47 2.92 0.55 12
RESIDENT SATISFACTION 3.4 2.9 0.5 13 WASTE DISCHARGE 3.61 3.05 0.56 13
WATER 3.31 2.75 0.56 14 24 HRS SERVICE 3.61 3.03 0.58 14
GENERAL REPAIRS 3.48 2.92 0.56 15 VALUE FOR MONEY 3.58 2.97 0.61 15
REFUSE DISCHARGE 3.42 2.85 0.57 16 RESIDENT PRIVACY 3.66 3.05 0.61 16
VALUE FOR MONEY 3.44 2.84 0.6 17 DOCUMENTATION 3.74 3.03 0.71 17
TRANSPARENCY 3.73 3.08 0.65 18 REFUSE DISCHARGE 3.34 2.61 0.73 18
24 HRS SERVICE 3.67 2.98 0.69 19 LIGHTENING 3.55 2.79 0.76 19
TECHNICALITY 3.52 2.82 0.7 20 RESIDENT DATABASE 3.66 2.68 0.98 20
AGGREGATE MEAN 3.453 2.9685 0.48 3.5325 3.0125 0.52

Source: Author’s field survey, July 2011 588
The gap in above Table 4 varies in respect of each attribute and service. The highest value of Gap Score in
Eko Court is 0.7 while that of Niger Towers is 0.98 out of the highest point of 4. It is found that in both estates all
service delivery rank above 75% of maximum expected delivery level. The Gap (Service Quality Score) was ranked
to identify which of the service does not go near the expectation of the residents and require improved service
delivery in each of the estates. Items that ranked 12 to 20 in case of Eko Court will require more attention while on
Niger Towers it is items numbered 11 to 20. This is deduced by taking services that has Gap value of 0.5 and above.
It is however noticeable that different services/attributes are affected in the estates. There is need for the service
providers to improve in such areas to be able to meet the clients’ satisfactory level/requirements. Expectation is
higher in Niger towers (that is, residents of Niger Towers have higher level of expectation in service delivery). This
is attributed to the established standard of similar facility provision by UPDC. The overall analysis shows that the
service provision is satisfactory.
For the goodness-of-fit test for this distribution, the critical value of Chi at 95% confidence level (0.05) in
the Chi – square table is 54.57. The calculated Chi square value is 3.12. The test statistic therefore falls within the
non critical region. This affirmed that Facilities management service delivery in public residential estate is not better
than that of private residential estates.
5. RECOMMENDATION
The findings from this research provide a number of managerial implications as well as a variety of
directions for the future research. On the basis of the findings of the study, the following are recommended for
quality service delivery.
5.1 Improve Standardization of Services

The diversity of services increased the difficulty of management control of the human factor in the service
quality, which requires that the level of service standard is raised. It is hereby recommended that irrespective of the
beneficiaries of facilities management services (public/private), standard quality services should be expected at all
time.
5.2 Customized Services

Another important measure to improve the service quality is customized service. Companies must provide
the customized service to their customers in order to improve customers’ perception of service quality.
Customization here means tailoring the service and service quality towards the need and expectation of the users –
residents.
5.3 Feedback
The facilities management services providers should always get feedback from the users to ensure
improvement in service delivery that will improve the clients’ satisfaction.
5.4 Service Recovery

When system failure occurs, the prompt response to restore same usually leads to higher degree of
satisfaction. Service providers should strive to provide customers with "zero defects" service.
5.5 Infrastructural Facilities

The government and all concerned public Agencies in Nigeria should deliver public infrastructures that will
enhance livelihood like stable electricity, fuel, road network and security among others. A situation where a standby
power generating set is devoted to power lift in high rise building with only six hours electricity supply to the
residents (with constant public power outages) is not acceptable. For every tower apartment in Nigeria, the
589
technology of solar panel installation and green building should be incorporated in the current wave of
sustainability.
6. CONCLUSION
Clearly, the measurement of service quality in the facilities management services should take into account
customer expectations of service as well as their perceptions of service. This agrees with Fatoye and Odusami
(2009) that to different criterion is attached different level of satisfaction by occupiers of residential houses.
Therefore the customers expectation of each criterion or indicator of satisfaction be identified and facility managers
are to strive to meet such expectation. By addressing the important questions, the facilities management company
can understand what service areas it should concentrate on to improve its service quality and customer satisfaction
effectively, while avoiding the investment of fund in providing service quality dimensions that may not pay off.
Improving dissatisfying factors should generally be a high priority for the facilities management company to pay
most attention, and have to implement the service recovery to reduce the customers’ feeling of service dissatisfied.
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Significant Indicators of Museum Indoor Environment and

Visitors’ Temporal Discomfort Symptoms
R. Sulaimana*, S. N. Kamaruzzamana, N. Mahyuddina, N. E. Myedaa, S. M. Zaida
a
Abstract
There are too few literatures which discuss factors of museum indoor environment on users’ preferences. The aim of this paper is
to investigate the significant indicators of those factors and visitors’ temporal discomfort symptoms. 567 questionnaires were
distributed at nine (9) museums. 46 items asked in the questionnaires were analysed with Principal Component Analyses to
identify the factors of ambient environment, exhibition environment and temporal discomfort symptoms. Results show that nine
(9) components had eigenvalues over Kaiser’s criterion of 1 and in combination explained 70.93% of the variance with all
Cronbach’s α > 0.8. Based on these factors, further research on museum indoor environment can be carried out with regards to
visitors’ satisfaction and users’ preferences.
Keywords: museum indoor environment, indoor environmental quality, satisfaction, discomfort, principal component anaylsis
1. Introduction
There are numbers of IEQ satisfaction models which have been developed in other type of buildings including
offices, residential, public buildings and educational institution (Cao et al., 2012; Lai, Mui, Wong, & Law, 2009;
Lee et al., 2012; L. T. Ã. Wong, Mui, & Hui, 2008; L. T. Wong, Mui, & Hui, 2006). Even though subject of studies,
methods and approaches were different, but the aim was to achieve building users’ satisfaction and acceptance on
the overall indoor environmental performance. Therefore, it is optimist that extending and adjusting these models to
suit museum environment is necessary. A visitors’ satisfaction model on the physical environment of a museum
was established which investigated the indirect effect of lighting and thermal environment on overall satisfaction via
fatigue as a mediating variable (Jeong & Lee, 2006). This model would have been more interesting and holistic if it
was supported with other indoor environment parameters.
2. Methodologies
The self-administered questionnaire surveys were developed based on previous research on IEQ performance and
users’ satisfaction (i.e. Fördergemeinschaft Gutes Licht, 2000; Jeong & Lee, 2006; Kamaruzzaman, Egbu, Ahmad
Zawawi, Ali, & Che-Ani, 2011; Lighting Research Center, 1998). Error! Reference source not found. elaborates
our main sections in the questionnaires. Based on critical reviews in Sulaiman, Kamaruzzaman, Salleh, & Mahbob
(2011), the evaluations of museum indoor environment in the gallery are based on visitors’ perception on the
exhibitions, IEQ and any prevalence of discomfort symptoms. Convenience sampling was used to approach any
potential respondents. 567 respondents answered the surveys but only 546 completed questionnaires were analysed.
The criteria used to select the respondent were reported in Sulaiman, Kamaruzzaman, Hanif, & Salleh (2013).
*Raha Sulaiman Tel.: +603-79676836 fax: +603-7967 5713.

E-mail address: rahasulaiman@um.edu.my
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To ensure that visitors’ focused and enjoyed their visitation, the research assistants (RA) distributed the
questionnaires at the exit of the galleries. Only those volunteers filled up the answers and submitted the surveys to
the RA. For the museums’ selection, non-random sampling was used. To ensure a proper selection was made,
comparable characteristics among buildings were purposively developed to define the limit of the study. The
selection was also reported in Sulaiman et al. (2013).
Table 10: Questions and list of parameters
Criteria Variable Measurement
1 Demography It asked about gender, profession, age, time to visit the whole gallery Nominal and ordinal
and time to visit one exhibit. Museum staff: It asked about their measurement
gender, profession, age, involvement with gallery area and collection,
time to carry out task in gallery area and working experience.
3 Exhibition environment Satisfaction on exhibit, exhibition, exhibits’ quality, labels, locomotor, Very dissatisfied (-3) to
circulation, rest area, exhibits’ density, visitors’ density, perceived very satisfied (+3)
learning, enjoyment and staying time
4 Ambient environment Satisfaction with thermal (temperature, air movement, and humidity), Very dissatisfied (-3) to
lighting (clarity, brightness, exhibits’ appearance, lighting uniformity) very satisfied (+3)
and indoor air quality (freshness, cleanliness, odour, dust)
5 Temporal discomfort Prevalence symptom of sinus and nose, eyes, pain and aches, throat, Unnoticeable (1) to very
symptoms skin breath and others noticeable (5)
3.1 Descriptive analyses
Of the 546 visitors whose questionnaires were analyzed, Museum A which located in the city centre of Kuala
Lumpur (46.7%) outnumbered other locations. These results were due to its characteristics as the main and premier
museum in Malaysia. There was no doubt that numbers of visitors were also higher than others.
Table 11: Descriptive statistics

Category Description Frequency Percentage (%)
Type of museum Museum A 255 46.7
Museum B 149 27.3

Museum C 20 3.7
Museum D 16 2.9
Museum E 38 7.0
Museum F 30 5.5
Museum G 13 2.4
Museum H 25 4.6
Total 546 100.0

Age 18-20 78 14.3
21-30 287 52.6
31-40 97 17.8
41-50 55 10.1
51-60 29 5.3
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Missing 2 0.4
Total 546 100.0
Gender Male 283 51.8
Female 261 47.8
Missing 2 0.4
Total 546 100.0
Among the adults as the targeted audience, the 20s (52.6%) are the major age group. This was followed by the 30s
(17.8%), the 18-20 (14.3%), the 40s (10.0%) and the over 50s (5.3%) age groups. The rank of each group were
found to be identical with the results of Jeong & Lee (2006). From these results, it can be concluded that the pattern
of adults visitors were largely among the 20s.
For the gender, male was the major respondents (51.8%) compared to female (47.4%). It shows that there is no
significant difference between them. Visitors among adult normally accompanied with their husband, wife or
friends. This might be the reason of having small variation (4.4%) between these two groups.
3.2 Factor analyses
Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were employed to do the data reduction and reducing the numbers of variables
(Statsoft Inc., 2013) by determining the importance of a set observed variables (Field, 2009). The PCA was carried
out with SPSS v.19.0 to identify the factors that are needed to explain the construct of ambient environment,
exhibition environment and the temporal discomfort symptom. The KMO and Bartlett’s test of sphericity and the
Anti-image values are between 0.8 and 0.9 which is great and the results show that the sample size is adequate for
factor analysis (
Table 12).
The PCA was conducted on the 46 items with orthogonal rotation (varimax with Kaiser Normalization). The
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measures verified the sampling adequacy for the analysis, KMO = .90 (‘superb’ according to
Field, 2009), and all KMO values for individual items were .93 which is well above the acceptable limit of .5
(Field, 2009). Bartlett’s test of sphericity 2 (1035) = 19523.42, p<.001, indicated that correlations between item
were sufficiently large for the PCA. Nine components had eigenvalues over Kaiser’s criterion of 1 and in
combination explained 70.93% of the variance. Given the large sample size (N=546), and the convergence of the
scree plot and Kaiser’s criterion at Error! Reference source not found. provides all the factor loadings after
otation. All variables are retained as their factor loadings were more than 0.4.
Table 12: KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. .899
Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 19523.418
df 1035
Sig. .000
3.2.1 Factor 1: Exhibition Environment
The factor 1 has an eigenvalue of 11.18 which explains 24.31% of the total variance. The variables are adapted and
modified from Jeong & Lee (2006). In contrast with their study, these analyses have grouped those variables within
the same factor as factor 1 which were asked in Section Two of the questionnaire. In Jeong & Lee (2006) they were
grouped into three factors and those were ‘exhibition environment’, ‘ambient environment’ and ‘museum size’. As
this research is discussed comprehensively on ‘museum indoor environment’, modifications to those variables were
necessary and adding more variables in the questionnaires was part of the contribution to the body of knowledge.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the existing three groups suggested by Jeong & Lee (2006) has become a
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comprehensive Factor One. In order to remain the factor which has been suggested by Jeong & Lee (2006), Factor
One will be named ‘exhibition environment’. The differences of Factor ‘exhibition environment’ between the work
of Jeong & Lee (2006) and this research is shown in Table 14.
Table 13: Rotated factor matrix (N = 546)
Variables Factor
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Exhibition environment Content of exhibition .793
Methods of exhibition .777
Quality of exhibition .773
Perceived learning .736
Perceived enjoyment .734
Density of exhibits .720
Explanations on exhibit .694
Locomotors accessibility .675
Total staying time .673
Circulation .625
Rest area .541
Density of visitors .523 -.439
Lighting Brightness of exhibits .842
Clarity of exhibits .823
Uniformity of lighting distribution .795
Lighting .784
Naturalness appearance of exhibits .728
Indoor air quality Odour .789
(IAQ) Cleanliness .755
Dust .718
Freshness .710
Thermal Indoor temperature .847
Air movement .837
Relative humidity .827
Nose, skin and breath Sneezing .799
Itchy nose .758
Runny nose .676
Itchy skin .652
Breathing difficulty .457 .632
Wheezing .465 .620
Rash .466 .538
Dry skin .494 .427
Emotion Tension/ Nervousness .881
Anxiety .855
Chest tightness .827
Stress .791
Fatigue .446
Eyes Tired eye .837
Blurred vision .792
Dry eye .780
Glare .630
Itchy eye .479 .523
Throat Cough .809
Sore throat .803
Head Dizzy .600
Headache .478 .520
Eigenvalue 11.18 2.21 1.66 1.43 9.43 2.65 1.77 1.24 1.07
(Explained by variance, %) (24.31) (4.80) (3.61) (3.10) (20.49) (5.75) (3.84) (2.71) (2.32)
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Total explained of variance
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a. Rotation converged in 8 iterations.
Table 14: Differences between the existing and modified factor ‘Exhibition Environment’
Characteristics Jeong & Lee (2006) This paper
Number of indicator 5 12
Eigenvalue 2.48 11.180
Total variance 22.5 24.310
Cronbach alpha 0.72 0.913
The modified ‘exhibition environment’ factor gives more comprehensive indicators with difference of 7; bigger total
variances difference at 1.81%; and more reliability at Cronbach α of 0.913. The range of the loadings reported in Jeong
& Lee (2006) were between 0.530 to 0.720. The respective indicators were rest area and method of exhibition. In this
paper, the suggested factor described their indicators in ranges of 0.523 to 0.793, slightly the same with the existing
factor. Density of visitor was the minimum loading and content of exhibition was the highest loading.
3.2.2 Factor 2: Lighting
Surprisingly, the indicators grouped in this factor were happen to be as the same indicators listed one after another in
the questionnaires, which were meant to measure the visitors’ perceived satisfaction on lighting performance of the
museum. Thus, to label it as ‘lighting’ will suit the factor very well. The visitor answered this part in Section Three of
the questionnaire. In Jeong & Lee (2006), illumination was the only indicator to identify visitors’ satisfaction on
lighting and it was part of the ‘exhibition environment’. Illumination was reported to be the second lower indicator with
0.68 factor loading. However, this paper has extended another five indicators to thoroughly explain the dimension of
‘lighting satisfaction’ in museum indoor environment. The suggested dedicated ‘lighting’ factor has an eigenvalue of
2.21, which explains 4.80% of the total variance.
The only indicator for lighting evaluation which was left out in Section Three was ‘glare’. This was noticed after
comparing the final results of this paper with Kesner (1997). Even though glare was not specifically asked in Section
Three, this indicator was used to identify the temporal discomfort symptoms of the visitors in Section Four:
Information on Sick Building Syndrome. Therefore, more or less this paper evaluated the same lighting performance in
museum indoor environment in the perspective of visitors’ satisfaction. Kesner (1997) came out with two factors with
regards to the evaluation on artificial lighting, constructed with a total of nine indicators. The factor loadings were in
range of 0.54 to 0.80. This paper has simplified those factors with only five indicators but with higher range of factor
loadings which was between 0.728 to 0.842.
The indicators for lighting were carefully selected from various sources of previous research (i.e. (Fördergemeinschaft
Gutes Licht, 2000; Kesner, 1993, 1997; Lighting Research Center, 1998; Oliveira & Steemers, 2008). Visitors’
behaviour affected from the intensity of the illluminance were also investigated in Bitgood & Loomis (1993), Bitgood
& Thompson (1987) and Bitgood (2009). Therefore it is optimist that this factor is fairly enough to explain the lighting
performance and its effect on visitors’ satisfaction.
3.2.3 Factor 3: Indoor air quality (IAQ)
Since the variables are intentionally concerns the quality of the museums’ indoor air, thus the factor is named as
‘indoor air quality’. The results show an eigenvalue of 1.66 (explained by variance at 3.61%) with their factor loading
is as high as or over 0.7. Surprisingly, the ambience of indoor air quality in museum environment in the perspective of
visitors’ satisfaction is scarcely being discussed in the literatures. Most of the previous researches were mainly focused
on the iaq of the showcase and their effects to the artefacts. It was reported that about 11 pollutants will give risk to
museums’ artefacts with the most common indoor generated gases that pose serious risk (Grzywacz, 2006). Meanwhile
for people, approximately 20 pollutants and their possible sensitivity/effect to people were reported in (Bluyssen,
2009).
The effect of iaq on museum visitors was reported in (Sulaiman et al., 2013) and results showed that dust was the
dominant iaq variables which correlate to the most of sick building syndrome/discomfort symptoms named as nose,
head, breath, skin and fatigue. Freshness was affected visitors’ health on head, while odours give effect on throat and
tiredness. Compared to this paper, odour was the highest indicator at factor loading of 0.789, cleanliness at 0.755, dust
at 0.718 and freshness at 0.710. Based on Sulaiman et al. (2013), dust was the significant indicators of iaq but this
paper presents more extensive significant indicators and those are the all four variables.
3.2.4 Factor 4: Thermal environment
In identifying thermal environment of museums, it has to follow strict indoor climate system. In some cases, the
climate system in the museum such as air conditioning will run continuously 24-hours. For visitors, comfort is largely
relying on the air T, air velocity, relative humidity and mean radiant temperature (La Gennusa, Lascari, Rizzo, &
Scaccianoce, 2008). As mean radiant temperature cannot be subjectively measured therefore only the first three were
included in the questionnaire.
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All those variables were successfully grouped together and is labelled directly as ‘thermal’. Eigenvalue of factor four is
1.43 and explains 3.10% of the total variance. Results shows that all indicators are significant with factor loadings are
in range of 0.8. The highest is indoor temperature at 0.847, followed by air movement at 0.837 and the lowest is
relative humidity at 0.827. Thermal comfort is one of the variables in ambient museum environment which contribute
to people’s emotional affect and fatigue. Previous results showed that it has indirect effect on their satisfaction (Jeong
& Lee, 2006). Therefore it is concluded that the three indicators have sufficiently support this factor.
3.2.5 Factor 5: Nose_Skin_Breath (NSB)
The factor 5 includes ‘sneezing’, ‘itchy nose’, ‘runny nose’, itchy skin’, ‘breathing difficulty’, ‘wheezing’, ‘rash’ and
‘dry skin’. The factor loadings are varies between 0.5 and 0.8. However, the total of variance is the second highest at
20.49% with the eigenvalue at 9.43. Nose and breath are closely related to the symptoms of respiratory system illnesses
(Maryn, 2010). But it is unknown how to connect ‘skin’ with those variables. As this is unexpected result therefore the
factor is to be named as the combination of all indicators which are ‘nose_skin_breath’ or ‘nsb’. As to date, there is still
insufficient literatures and discussion on the prevalence of discomfort symptoms on visitors due to those indicators.
There was relationship between nose, skin and breath as reported in Sulaiman et al. (2013) which they have strong
correlation with dust at p<0.001. While nose and breath were inter-related as the most common symptoms of
respiratory system illnesses (Maryn, 2010). Therefore, it would be fair enough as to indicate that factor 5:
‘nose_skin_breath’ has successfully been grouped by all eight indicators.
3.2.6 Factor 6: Emotion
‘Tension’, ‘anxiety’, ‘chest tightness’, ‘stress’ and ‘fatigue/tiredness’ are included in the factor six. Surprisingly,
‘tiredness/fatigue’ - the infamous symptom of decreased-attention-across-exhibit in museology - is the lowest factor
loading at 0.45; while the other four are between 0.79 and 0.88. However, as the eigenvalue of the factor is
considerable high at 2.21 and the total of variance is 4.80%; all indicators are to be remained until further deep analyses
will be carrying out in the next steps. The factor is labelled as ‘emotion’ since other than ‘chest tightness’, the other
four variables are mostly related to the emotional and psychological control of the visitors’ state of mind.
Further discussion on the lowest loading of fatigue is needed as it was widely been reported as the common phenomena
to the visitors while exploring the museum and they reported that it was due to the environment of the museum (S.
Bitgood, Patterson, & Benefield, 1988; Stephen Bitgood, 2009; Jeong & Lee, 2006; Legrenzi & Troilo, 2005; Rojas &
Camarero, 2006)
1) 3.2.7 Factor 7: Eyes
Factor 7 had successfully clustered all pertinent variables asked in the questionnaires which related to eyes discomfort
behaviour. Those items are ‘tired eye’, ‘blurred vision’, ‘dry eye’, ‘glare’ and ‘itchy eye’. Thus this factor is named as
‘eyes’. Their factor loadings are as high as or over 0.8 and had eigenvalue of 1.77, which explains 3.84% of the total
variance. By logical reasoning, people might assume that the discomfort of eyes is mainly due to the intensity of
illuminance in the museum. It is a myth that indoor environment of a museum is expected to have gloomy atmosphere
(S. Bitgood et al., 1988; Bonn, Joseph-Mathews, Dai, Hayes, & Cave, 2007; Goulding, 2000; Taha, 2008) which
caused visual discomfort. But bear in mind that the indicators of this factor is not only glare and tired eyes but also
itchy and dry eye.
3.2.8 Factor 8: Throat
‘Cough’ and ‘sore throat’ are the two variables clustered into the Factor eight with eigenvalue of 1.24 and 2.71% total
explained of variance. The factor has achieved minimum requirement for a factorial cluster with two indicators but with
high loading at 0.8 for both. Literatures and discussion on how museum indoor environment do affect visitors’
discomfort symptom on throat are still missing. However, throat is part of respiratory system and it is believed that it
does have relation with nose and breathe as reported in Maryn (2010).
3.2.9 Factor 9: Head
‘Dizzy’ and ‘headache’ are the two variables in the Factor nine. It has an eigenvalue of 1.07 which explains 2.32% of
the total variance. Factor loadings are 0.6 and 0.52 respectively. In Sulaiman et al. (2013), it was reported that head is
significantly correlated with dust at [ F (4,432) = 18.334]; p<0.001. It is expected that due to the poor performance of
the ambient and exhibition environment of the museum, visitors’ might feel dizzy and may cause headache to them.
Furthermore, these two indicators were the mostly reported as the unhealthy symptoms of head among people in
buildings (Fisk, Mirer, & Mendell, 2011; Gupta, Khare, & Goyal, 2007; R & Juliana, 2012; S.-K. Wong et al., 2009).
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3.3 Reliability analyses
Reliability is used to check the validity and ‘reliability’ of the scales used in the questionnaires as well as items in the
questions (Field, 2009; Piaw, 2006). Reliability values show the consistency of the measurement in the construct and it
is predicted that the results should be produced consistently with the overall questionnaires and within more or less
identical type of respondents (Field, 2009). The simplest way to check on questionnaires’ reliability in this research is
to use; 1) split-half reliability and 2) internal consistency approach. The tests were used to check all items asked in the
questionnaire forms which include 3 main parts; 1) exhibition environment, 2) ambient environment and 3) temporal
discomfort symptom. Results in Table 15 show that all indicators for the constructs of ‘exhibition’, ‘thermal’,
‘lighting’, ‘iaq’, ‘nose_skin_breath’, ‘eye’, ‘throat’, ‘head’ and ‘emotion’ have high reliabilities with all Cronbach’s α >
0.8.
Table 15: Reliability analysis on SPSS v 19.0

Constructs Cronbach Alpha, α No. of Items Deleted/ Acceptability
Total No. of Items
Exhibition environment 0.913 0/12 Very good
Ambient environment
Thermal 0.942 0/3 Very good
Lighting 0.939 0/5 Very good
Indoor air quality 0.910 0/4 Very good
Temporal discomfort symptom
Nose, skin, breath 0.891 0/8 Good
Eye 0.893 0/5 Good
Emotion 0.835 0/5 Good
Throat 0.847 0/2 Good
Head 0.836 0/2 Good
4. Conclusion
All indicators used in the questionnaires were successfully grouped into their relevant variables. Factor loadings for all
indicators are in acceptable ranges between 0.5 to 0.88. The total explained of variance for this PCA was also high at
70.93%. Therefore, it is optimist that the bigger picture of those factors named as ‘exhibition environment’, ‘ambient
environment’ and ‘temporal discomfort symptom’ have successfully been defined and characterised into these nine
factors.
This paper has contributed to the knowledge of museology by elaborating more on the terminology of infamous
‘fatigue’ which surprisingly became the lowest loading in factor ‘emotion’. The inclusion of Factor ‘iaq’ is also seems
to be a new paradigm in the perspective of ambient environment of a museum where previously vast discussion were
only focused on micro-climate of the showcase and display. The interesting part is the constructs of ‘temporal
discomfort symptom’ which elaborate more or less the same symptoms as sick building syndrome. However, due to the
exposure of the visitors in the museum environment; which of course shorter than 8-hours as in normal buildings, this
term is introduced to portray the duration of visitors spent in the gallery.
Acknowledgements
Grateful thanks go to the University of Malaya, Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, and staff of all nine museums.
These ongoing research is part of the PhD project ‘Risk of Environmental Changes in Historical Museum Building’,
partially supported by a University of Malaya Research Grant (UMRG), grant no RG117/11SUS established at the
University of Malaya, Sustainability Science Research Cluster
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building syndrome and perceived indoor environmental quality: A survey of apartment buildings in Hong Kong.
Habitat International, 33(4), 463–471. doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2009.03.001
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A Conservation Of Heritage Timber Building In Malaysia –

Masjid Lama Kampung Kuala Dal, Kuala Kangsar, Perak.
R. A. Rashid*, S. N. Harunb, E. D. Ismail, L. S. Safiee, S.Y. Said, N. R. M. Ariff a
a,
Centre of Studies for Building Surveying, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM Shah Alam, Shah Alam, 40450 Selangor
b.
Department of Town Planning, UiTM Sri Iskandar, 38000 Perak
Abstract
The conservation project of Masjid Lama Kampung Kuala Dal was done by the efforts of villagers and members of Al-Wahidiah
mosque who wants to see the preservation of the mosque so that it could be passed on to future generations. Located in Mukim
Padang Rengas, Kuala Kangsar, the mosque has its own uniqueness in terms of its design, architecture and natural building
materials. One of the interesting elements in this mosque are the ‘kelarai’ woven panels made from bamboo which is used as a wall
panel. In December 2008, the National Heritage Department under the Ministry of Information, Arts and Culture has undertaken the
conservation works towards mosque. The conservation project was completed in August 2009. The conservation of this mosque is an
effort by the National Heritage Department in order to protect and preserve the heritage for next millennium generations. Therefore
the objective of this paper is to identify the methods and techniques that has been used for heritage building conservation. The data
collection was based on conservation works that had been done at Masjid Lama Kampung Kuala Dal, Kuala Kangsar, Perak.The
findings were used to provide information and guidance for heritage building conservation efforts in Malaysia.
Keywords: Conservation;Conservation Practice;Heritage Building
1. Introduction
Conservation work means any action taken to prevent decay, and to prolong the life of our national architectural
heritage (British Standard Institute, 1988). The main reason for carrying out conservation works is to extend the
building life with the intention so that the heritage values and the history of the building could be maintained without
destroying or falsifying historical evidence. One of the uniqueness of the mosque is the material used which are from
natural wood and bamboo, thus making the mosque superior and special. Through preservation and conservation, this
heritage structure can be conserved and passes down to future generations. Masjid Kampung Kuala Dal or also known
as Masjid Ihsaniah Iskandariah is located in Kampung Kuala Dal, Padang Rengas which is about 4.8 miles from Bandar
Diraja Kuala Kangsar. The conservation project of this mosque is very interesting in terms of historical, physical and
emotional value. The duration of the conservation works takes about 8 months and was performed by Perunding Badrul
Hisham Arkitek and Kontraktor Asli Bina Jaya.
2. History and Architecture
Masjid Kampung Kuala Dal is situated in Mukim Padang Rengas, Kuala Kangsar, Perak. This mosque was built by
Sultan Iskandar Shah, the 30th Sultan in year 1936. Based on sculptured writings found at a plaque at the mosque, the
opening ceremony was held on Friday the 10 th of Zulhijjah, 1356 Hijrah corresponding to February 11, 1938 by Sultan
Iskandar Shah. The mosque was built by Sultan Iskandar Shah in conjunction to his vow. The Sultan made a vow to
build a mosque when one of his son had recovered from illness. The location of Kampung Dal was chosen because the
royal family often went for picnics at Lata Bubu, the Royal picnic area nearby the village.
1
E-mail address:
During that time, the Sultan felt sympathy to the villagers because they prayed in an old ‘madrasah’. Thus, the Sultan
decided to build the mosque at this location and when it was completed, he named it Masjid Ikhsaniah Iskandariah
(Sannadurai, 2006).
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The funding of the mosque was by the courtesy of Sultan Iskandar Shah which costs RM8,000 and was built on a
land which was given as charity by a nobleman known as Jurangan Abdul Syukur bin Mohamad Ali (Asli Bina Jaya,
2010). The construction of the mosques was headed by Chinese craftsmen and assisted by the villagers. These villagers
worked together in completing the Kelarai Tepas wall weavings and wood carvings. Skilled carpenters such as Panjang
Noh, Ngah Gadoh, Wan Ibrahim and Kulup Ngah are among the nine individuals who also contributed their skills and
expertise during the construction of the mosque. This mosque adapted the architectural features from the Istana
Kenangan in Bukit Chandan, and it was said that is was the idea of the Sultan itself.
Masjid Kampung Kuala Dal was constructed using wood frames consisting of two levels. The upper level is used as a
prayer room. Here, a chamber that faces the kiblah is also located. Meanwhile, the ground level is used for other
religious activities such as Quranic reciting classes and feast ceremony (Fig.1). The mosque is supported by eight
wooden pillars built from Kempas wood. Each pillar are lined with 50mm (1’6”) stone bases which are then concreted.
The wall uses bamboo kelarai panels with diamond/rubus patterns. The locals call it the three patterns because there are
three circles of kelarai motives for each panel. These kelarai wall are also known as tepas wall (Fig. 2). Each kelarai
panels are reinforced with wooden beams and decorated with patterns called ‘tampuk manggis’. The rectangle floor
plan and walls are divided into three parts according to the distribution of the column grid. At each corners of the
mosque, it could be seen that there are four towers protruding from the walls. The protruding spaces are square shaped
which measure 3’ x 3’ wide. The roof is shaped as a pyramid (limas bungkus) and the material used is zinc which is an
exclusive material during that time (Sannadurai, 2006).
The upper prayer hall which is located at the second level uses low window with two leaf doors for natural ventilation
and lighting. Each decorated windows are carved with filigree which also known as ‘tebuk terus tidak bersilat’,
patterned like bean shoots, the crescent moon and star. All decorative motives are made by local people. The use of
wood and the ‘jelaja’pattern can be seen at the top of the kelarai wall while on the window there are fixed wooden ram
created for ventilation. Most of the ceiling are made of wood. On the ground level, the kelarai wall panels is
interspersed with two leaf windows.
Fig. 1: Wooden frames building of Fig. 2 : Two leaf doors and windows
mosque
3.0 Building Condition Before Conservation
Masjid Kampung Kuala Dal is almost 80 years old. The building was abandoned and has not been used after a new
mosque Al- Wahidiah was built around 1980 (Asli Bina Jaya, 2010). The main defects of the building are broken and
decayed wooden structures, while the columns, joists and floor boards were also decayed due to termite attacked.
Besides that, defects such as faded paints were found at almost wall panels. During that time, these panels were covered
with moss and fungus. These defects caused the mosque to look old and in a very bad condition. Openings such as
doors and windows, the carvings on the wall was also broken , missing and decayed (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4).
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Fig. 3: Mosque being abandoned Fig. 4: Mosque prior to the conservation

since 1976 work in 2006
2. Methodology
The objective of this study was to obtain the methods and techniques of heritage building conservation that has been
practiced in Malaysia. This study was based on conservation works at Masjid Kampung Kuala Dal, Kuala Kangsar,
Perak. Masjid Kampung Kuala Dal is mostly made out of wood and bamboo kelarai wall panels. The building has not
been used and abandoned for many years without proper conservation works undertaken. The main damage to the
building is the decay of building materials especially to the kelarai walls. The conservation works that has been carried
out to this building were in accordance with the conservation procedures as required by the Department of National
Heritage. Work procedures are monitored and supervised by the appointed conservator. Every action taken were done
through basic procedures which are; recording the condition of every element and identify the original materials used
including techniques and construction method.
4.0 Building conservation
4.1 Conservation Principles
There are certain rules and principles for the conservation of heritage buildings. Before commencing any technical
work, the understanding of the concepts and principles of conservation is very significant. Conservation works of
heritage buildings are not only focused on the physical and technical aspects but most importantly is the knowledge of
the history of the building itself .In the context of the conservation of Masjid Lama Kampung Kuala Dal, the principles
by the National Heritage Department is to preserve the original structure as constructed in 1936 . This is in line with
the principles of the national and international conservation of “heritage originality"(Siti Norlizaiha, 2010) .
In order to realize this, the meaning of originality should be guided by the evidence of history, old photographs ,
architectural studies and information obtaines from the local people (Ku Azhar, 2003). The principle of originality
must be existence in building materials, originality in design and originality in building carpentry work . The purpose
of this principle is clearly emphasized in conservation work as to ensure the building is conserved as an existing and
not been falsified. The process in obtaining evidence of originality is done by the old records and documentations of the
building (Jabatan Warisan Negara, 2012).
4.2. Documentation
One of the main principles of the conservation of heritage building is the documentation of the building.
Documentation involves historical aspects of the building, records of the building condition, building design, building
materials and construction method. The recorded documentation material can be considered as part of heritage. These
materials are recorded and presented by a report and then stored in an archive for future reference. Conservation project
of the Masjid Lama Kampung Kuala Dal includes documentation such as as-built drawings, studies of wood types and
paint colour schemes. Documentation is very important in any heritage building conservation project as anything
recorded during the work progress, including the material will be a reference and guidance for future works if the
building is damaged or destroyed (Fig. 5) (Siti Norlizaiha, 2010).
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Fig. 5: Mosque after conservation complete
4.3. Conservation of Roof
The building conservation process started with building structure protection by using temporary roof and
reinforcing pillars and walls with scaffolding and wooden supports. Structural reinforcement is very important to
ensure the original shape or alignment of the building will not change from the original position. Temporary roof
installation was done in advanced to ensure the building is not exposed to leakages particularly to rain water during bad
weather condition (Fig. 6 and Fig. 7).
Fig. 6: Temporary roof and scaffolding Fig. 7: Temporary roof installation

during conservation works undertaken
4.4. Conservation of Kelarai Wall
The type of bamboo used for weaving kelarai is the oil bamboo. This material resources are available in Arau,
Perlis and the weaving process of Kelarai wall was made by Puan Meriah Ahmad who runs a weaving workshop under
a craft program sponsored by the Department of Agriculture of Perlis state. Bamboos were cut in sizes of 0.5m and
soaked in water overnight or more to clean off sticky dirt and rubber around the bamboo stick. Then they were hung to
dry. The bamboos were later sliced into thinner pieces using the slice machine. For woven Kelarai wall making, the
outer skin side of the bamboo slices were taken as the texture as they were softer and more suitable for weaving
compared to the fibrous inner side. The outer bamboo skin side matched the mosque original wall. Bamboo pieces in
0.5m long and 0.2mm thick sizes were woven in Rubus patterns which are also referred as ‘Three’ by the locals
because there are three circles on each motif (Fig. 8 and Fig. 9).
Fig. 8: ‘Kelarai’ wall during conservation Fig. 9: New ‘Kelarai’ wall painting in the
workshop
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4.5 Conservation of Doors, Windows and Carvings
The mosque window openings were of long ornate window with grilles at the bottom. Ornate carvings were
formed with plants motifs. Apart from that, a window, wood lattice, trim panels, roof eaves and facia board were also
carved with an interesting patterns. The types of wood of ornate carvings on mosque buildings are of meranti wood
while the window are from nyatoh wood.
Conservation work of openings and wood carvings started with recording the carvings and carved panel size, as
well as making paint colour test. All ornates and carvings on the building are painted with the Kelarai wall colour
scheme.
Fig. 10: Carving works by local craftsmen Fig. 11: Ornamented new door panel
5.0. Conclusion
In conclusion, the mosque conservation project has been implemented successfully. The project started in
December 2008 and completed in August 2009. There were few issues occurred in this project such as difficulty in
getting the original material for the bamboo wall panel. This issue took quite some times to resolve in spite of time
constraints as treating the old Kelarai as well as weaving the new Kelarai were time consuming and very complicated.
However, this issue was take as a challenge and became impetus for the contractor in finding resources needed for the
conservation of the mosque. Fortunately, a number of Kelarai woven workshops were found. This project has also been
of great benefit, especially in the acquisition and development of the culture and tradition of the local community in
introducing the Kelarai weaving heritage of the state of Perak. This includes the methods and techniques of
construction which can be learned and passed down through the younger generations.
Conservation project of Masjid Lama Kampung Kuala Dal has achieved the goal of heritage building
conservation. Through this conservation project, another old building has been preserved as historical heritage for the
present and future generations. This project has changed the look of the building that was once so dilapidated and
barely recognizable. The new look of the building was so eye-cathing with the bright yellow painted colour. The
conservation works undertaken has highlighted the architectural details of the building such as building shape, wood
carvings and woven Kelarai wall. In addition, the Kelarai wall was carefully painted in white, yellow and black making
the building look like a patterned paint wall surface which is one of the greatest element of the mosque. It is hoped that
this building will be preserved and maintained properly in the future.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Universiti Teknologi MARA, UiTM for the Research Intensive Fund (RIF) to carry
out this research.
References
Abdul Halim Nasir (1984), Masjid-masjid di Semenanjung Malaysia, Berita Publishing Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur
Asli Bina Jaya (2010), Laporan Akhir Cadangan Kerja-kerja konservasi Masjid Lama Kampung Kuala Dal, Kuala
Kangsar, Perak.
Visu Sannadurai, ed. (2006), Landmarks of Perak, RNS Publication, Kuala Lumpur
National Heritage Department. (2012). Warisan Kebangsaan. Retrieved 02/05/2012 https://www.heritage.gov.my
British Standard Institute. (1998). BS7913: A Guide to the Principles of the Conservation of Historic Buildings.
London: British Standard Institute.
605
Jabatan Warisan Negara. (2005). Akta Warisan Kebangsaan (Akta 645), Kementerian Kebudayaan Kesenian dan
Warisan, . Kuala Lumpur: International Law Book Services.
Jabatan Warisan Negara. (2012). Garis Panduan Pemuliharaan Bangunan Warisan. Kuala Lumpur: Jabatan Warisan
Negara.
Ku Azhar, K.H. (2003). Seni Bina Bangunan Kayu: Rekabentuk dan Implikasi Beban Kos Penyelenggaraan: Universiti
Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang.
Siti Norlizaiha et. al (2010). Pemuliharaan Bangunan Bersejarah. Shah Alam: Pusat Penerbitan Universiti Teknologi
Mara (UPENA).
606
Implementation of Green Building Projects in Malaysia: Issues

and Challenges
S. Sharifa b , S. N. Kamaruzzamanb, M. Pittc ,

a
Public Works Department, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
c
University College of London, UK
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to highlight issues and challenges in the Implementation of Green Building Projectsin
Malaysia.Addressing all the challenges and issues in Implementation of Green Building Projects in Malaysia efficiently and
positively is very important in implementation and execution of the green projects in Malaysia. Based on the literature, 6 challenges
have been identified as the major contributor or issues to the Implementation of Green Building Projectsin Malaysia. The challenges
and issues that are intended to berevealed such as National Guidelines in execution and implementation green building project from
design, supervision and maintanence, public perception and awareness, participation of stakeholder, government enforcement,
change management in construction industry and high initial project cost.This paper hopes to initiate a new perspective in smooth
and effective implementation of Green Building Projects in Malaysia by mitigating the challenges and issues in implementing it.
Keywords: Green Building, Green Building Projects, Implementation ,Challenges
1. Introduction
The construction industry is regarded as an essential and highly visible contributor to the process of growth of one
country. Nevertheless, the adverse impacts to the environment lead to a growing realisation and acceptance throughout
the world that there is a need for a more responsible approach to the environment. A strategy for sustainable
construction is a significant milestone on the road to a more socially and environmentally responsible. It creates a
framework within which the industry can make a strong contribution to the better future. Building sustainably has many
merits but applying this concept is not easy as it requires changes to the old ways. Delivering sustainable construction
requires action from all engaged in constructing and maintaining the structure or building including those providing
design, consulting and construction services (Atkins, 2001). To increase the consideration to sustainability, the
construction practitioners must be willing to change their behaviour in exploring new territory and willing to adopt new
products, ideas and practices (Ofori et. al., 2000). Because of the merits and the growing interest on building
sustainably, the race is now on for researchers and construction practitioners worldwide to put their best foot forward
and initiate actions to reduce the negative impacts of development and sharpen their competitive edge. As global
interest on sustainability has steadily blooming, Malaysia should not fell shortin its attitude on sustainability and
sustainable construction. Malaysia needs to demonstrate that it can abide by this new interest and can compete in the
global market. Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Haji Mohamad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak has announce
Malaysia commitment in United Nations Climate Change Congress 2009 (COP 15) in Copenhagen on 17 December
2009 that during 2020 Malaysia will reduce carbon emission rate up to 40 % from the current rate on 2005. In addition
to the Prime Minister commitment green building initiatives in Malaysia is a concern that has received bigger attentions
from government agencies, private organizations and the public at large for almost a decade now. The launch of
National Green Technology Policy (NGTP) in 2009, focus on green buildings has intensified with the promotion of
application of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE), as well as the green building index .
1
E-mail address:
The building which we live, work and play interact with our environment, affecting storm water runoff, energy and
water consumption, transportation patterns, and indoor air quality. Recognition of the role that buildings have in our
environment has let to significant efforts to design, build and maintain more sustainable structures (Parris, 2010). Green
building practices practice includes environmentally responsible and resource efficient, promote building practices that
conserve energy and water resources, preserve open spaces, minimise the emission of toxic substances, harmonise with
the local climate, traditions, culture and the surrounding environment, sustain and improve the quality of human life,
maintaining the capacity of the ecosystem at local and global levels. Benefit of green building to the environment is
save energy use at 24% up to 50%, CO² emissions 33% up to 39%, water use save 40% and solid waste reduction of
70% for each green building (Turner, C. &Frankes, M (2008). Instead of benefit to the environment, green building
also contributes to the building stakeholders by enhancing health and productivity, reduced environmental impact,
environmentally effective use of materials, lowering electric and water utility costs and gives long term economic
return. In relation to the tittle, the main purpose of this paper is to highlight and identify the issues and challenges
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involve in the Implementation of Green Building Projects in Malaysia and addressing the challenges and issues
effectively and positively.
2. Issues and challenges in Malaysia 1: Lack of National Guidelines in Green Building Projects Implementation
and Execution.
There is difficulty to justify Implementation and Execution of Green Building Projects from design, supervision and
maintenance. Existing guidelines and Code of Practise on Energy Efficiency and Renewable energy to achieve low
carbon building in the market such as MS1525, Dasar Teknologi Hijau and Development and publication of EE in
Buildings Guidelines does not cover the strategies or method to implement green building for project in Malaysia.
According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, green building or sustainable building (sustainable building)
refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's
life-cycle: from design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. Besides that; Green Building
Index, Green Pass and pH JKR which is the rating tool and does not cover method and procedures to implement Green
Building Projects from designing stage, supervision and maintenance.
The existing guidelines and rating tool also does not integrate the design process, project management procedures,
maintenance procedures with government policies or local authority guidelines and requirement. The existing
guidelines and rating tool also does not gives clear role on project manager in managing the building projects. Besides
that, choosing the suitable rating tool for the projects and adapting it to the green building projects implementation is
another issue that should be address systematically in addition to implement green building projects in Malaysia. Two
approaches to measure the “greenness” of a building is by measuring the level of energy consumption and usage per
square metre of the building. A building is then labelled as Low, Zero or Green Energy Buildings. The measurement
uses the balance or equation between reducing energy demand for a building with its optimisation of renewable energy
resources that could be exported into external grids. On the other hand, Low and Zero Carbon term uses carbon
emission calculation for a building, which largely relates back to energy consumption( M .S, Tan & Leong ,
2013).Certification systems varies and have separate versions such as types of building, standards or legislation and
weightage or requirements. The book ‘Malaysia’s Vision 2020’ published in 1993 defined national ambitions and
future opportunities for us and to consider long-term strategies to assist the achievement of national goals. One of the
basic visions that emerged is for the country to be ecologically sustainable. This basic vision has become an impetus
towards sustainability agenda in the country. The issue of sustainable development has emerged as one of the top issues
in the Eight Malaysia Plan (2001 – 2005). According5to the plan, the government gave high priority to research and
development as one of their strategy for sustainable development (Eight Malaysia Plan, 2001). Section 19 of the Plan
was devoted to integrate environmental consideration into development planning. During that period, concerted efforts
were expected to intensify in order to improve energy efficiency, forestry, waste and environmental management. A
national guideline in implementation and execution of green projects in Malaysia is important in addition to achieve
ecologically sustainable as stated in Malaysian’s Vision 2020. Malaysia’s framework for sustainable development
started when the following policies had been formed (Chua et al.,2011)
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YEAR POLICIES/ PROGRAMMES
The 3rd International Building Control Conference 2013 AGENCY
FUTURE CIDB
Green PASS (Green Performance Assessment System In Construction)
 In consulationphasewith stakeholders
 Developed by Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB)
 Covers construction phase and operational phase of the building.
 Construction phase 5 elements- assessment of the construction site, building
materials, energy, water and waste.
 Operational phase 3 elements - building indoor environmental quality (IEQ),
energy and water
2012 PWD
PWD Green Rating Scheme (pH JKR Malaysia)
 Rating tool for government buildings
 5 criteria - Energy efficiency, Indoor environmental quality, Sustainable site
planning & management, Materials & resources, Water efficiency
2011
Low Carbon Cities Framework & Assessment System MEGTW
 Covers four aspect of township – Environment, Infrastucture,
Transportation & Building
 Low Carbon Building: 5 criteria – Energy (EE+RE), indoor environment
quality, site construction management, materials, water management
 PILOT projects – Miri City Council, University of Malaya, PulauSahbesar
in Kenyir, Port Dickson Municipal Council and Hang Tuah Jaya in Melaka
Green Township – Putrajaya&Cyberjaya
Green Neighbourhood Guidelines
 Promoted by Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHLG)for local
MEGTW
council enforcement use in evaluating plan submission in line with LCCF
MHLG
with 4 criteria - Smart Location, Neighbourhood Pattern & Design, Green
Infrastructure, Green Communities Network
Building Sector Energy Efficiency Project (BSEEP)
 5-year project - collaboration between United Nations Development
Program (UNDP), Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the
government (Public Work Department (PWD) as the implementer
PWD
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2010 National Energy Efficiency Master Plan Study 2010 MEGTW
 Replacing Incandescent to Compact Florescent Lamp (CFL)
 Replacing Inefficient Refrigerators with 5-star Refrigerators,
 Raising Air Conditioner Temperature to 25°C,
 Replacing T8 to T5 lamp for Government Offices
 Energy Auditing for Commercial Buildings
 Economic Transformation Programme
 Energy Performance Management System (EPMS) for government entities
2009 National Green Technology Policy MEGTW

 National Energy Centre (PTM) restructuring to Malaysian Green
Technology Corporation (MGTC),
 Green Technology Financing Scheme(GTFS) (2010 -2015)
 Approved GT Value for Financing (RM): 1,118,895,495.00
 Balance of GT Value for Financing (RM): 2,381,104,505.00
 Green Township in Putrajaya and Cyberjaya,
 International Greentech and Eco Products Exhibition and conference
Malaysia (IGEM).
National Policy on Climate Change
MNRE
Green Building Index (GBI) private
 Developed by Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) and the Association initiative
of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) supported by Malaysia Green
Building Confederation (MGBC). Separates between Residential & Non-
residential – the non-residential rating tools are customised by nature of
whether they are commercial, industrial or institutional - including the
Industrial Rating Tool
 6 criteria measuring energy efficiency (EE) – indoor environment quality,
sustainable site and management, materials and resources, water efficiency,
and innovation
2001- 2008 The Efficient Management of Electrical Energy Regulation 2008

 Uniform Building By-Laws (UBBL) (1984), amended 2007
 Code of Practice on EE and Use of RE for Non-residential Buildings –MS
1525: 2001, revised 2007 – by SIRIM
 Guidelines for Conducting Energy Audits in Commercial Buildings (2004)
 Design Strategies for Energy Efficiency in New Buildings (Non-Domestic)
(2004)
2000s National Policy on the Environment (2002)

-  The Electricity Supply Act 1990 and the Electricity Supply Act (Amended)
1970s 2001
 Four Fuel Diversification Policy (1981)
 National Depletion Policy (1980)
 National Energy Policy (1979)
Table 1 : Various building related policies and initiatives championed by the government together with various
stakeholders.
Source: Suhaida M .S, Tan K.L & Leong Y P( 2013).
In addition, National Guidelines that consists of integration rating tool with the existing government policies,
government guidelines and local authorithy guidelines and requirement, project managers roles and responsiblity that
includes the whole project cycle from design, supervison and maintanece is required for the smooth and systematically
implementation of green building projects in Malaysia.
2. Issues and challenges in Malaysia 2 : Public Perception and Awareness
Awareness among public about Green Building and its contribution to the environment is still at minimum stage.
Awareness of implementation of green building by the public will created industry drive and demand for green building
projects in Malaysia. This will result in the increase of demand for sustainable building. Recycling, reduce and reuse
are promoted everywhere by the government and non- government organisations and energy saving is the main
achievement that create public awareness. Public is not aware of the importance of the implementation of Green
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Building. These issues create challenges in the demand of green building projects in Malaysia. Public should be expose
and educate about the importance of green building and its contributions to the environment to create bigger demand on
the implementation of green building in Malaysia. Shafii et al.(2005) point out one of the impediments to developing
sustainable development in Asia is lack of people awareness.
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std.Deviation Skewness Skewness

statistic Std.Error
Awareness of 167 1 5 2.75 1.112 .140 .188
professionals
about the green
building
Company 167 1 4 2.23 1.045 .332 .188
commitment to
green building
The level of 167 1 5 2.36 1.131 .772 .188
developing
green
building in
Malaysia
Table 4.Professionals awareness, Company commitment and level of green building
Source: Samari, Godrati, Esmaeilifar, Olfat&Shafiei( 2013).
The level of general awareness about sustainable buildings and their benefits among the construction professionals is
low (below moderate). Table 4 shows construction industry suffers lack of expertise’s knowledge in terms of green
building; consequently it will lead to a low level of implementation of green building concept in construction projects.
4. Issues and challenges in Malaysia 3: Participation of stakeholders
Exposing and educating stakeholders about importance of green building projects and its effect and contribution to the
environment is importance in addition to enhance stakeholders interest and participation of stakeholders in
implementation of green building projects in Malaysia . The more interested stakeholder in the implementation of green
building project result in higher demand of implementation of green building projects in Malaysia. Participation of
stakeholders in the implementation of green building projects is crucial in indentifying suitability of the green building
design with the building usage, function and operations. lman (1996) classified participants by reference to the
characteristics and motivations of participants whether they volunteered to attend, invited, appointed, encouraged or
coerced into participation. Their participation would affect the perceived legitimacy of contributions toward decision.
According to Soh and Yuen (2005) individuals and groups may participate for various reasons such as to develop skills,
gain experience, to influence decision making process and to empower themselves. Without the participation of
stakeholders in the implementation of green building projects, many importance criteria, usage, function of the green
building will be left out in the implementation of green building projects. Hendriks (2002) study differentiate between
individuals and interest groups roles where the latter refer to as stakeholder groups, pressure groups, lobby groups,
representatives organization – is to identify important public issues,provide information to ordinary public and to
legitimize the planning process and outcome.Therefore,stakeholders must be equipped with green building knowledge
in addition to participate and gives importance input in implementation of green building projects in Malaysia .
Common issues and challenges in implementation green building projects from stakeholder perspectives is
implementation cost is expensive, difficult to justify especially government building, difficult to implement especially
the criteria which are not relevant to the applicants and difficult to monitor the real performance.Shafii et al.(2005)
point out one of the impediments to developing sustainable development in Asia is lack of demand.
How do you describe your company commitment to green

building
Very low Low Moderate High Total Mean
Firm contractor Count 39 13 0 0 52 1.25
Category % within 75.0% 25.0% 0% 0% 100%
firm
category
consultant Count 0 39 0 78 78 2.50
% within 0% 50% 0% 100% 100%
firm
category
611
developer Count 12 0 0 25 37 3.02

% within 32.4% 0% 0% 67.6% 100%
firm
category
Total Count 51 52 39 25 167
% within 30.5% 31.1% 23.4% 15.0% 100%
firm
category
Table 7. Cross tabulation between firm categories and company commitment

Value dfAsymp.sig.(2-sided)
Pearson Chi-square 210.924ª 6 .000
Likelihood Ratio 237.493 6 .000
Linear-by-Linear 67.526 1 .000
association
N of valid Cases 167
a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 5.54
Table 8. Chi-square tests
Table 7 and 8, Chi –square= 210.924, P= 0.00, there is statistically significant association between firm categories and
company commitment. Based on the firms’ category, developers (mean 3.02) have more commitment to green building
concept .Although, this commitment is slightly higher than moderate, it might be effective to stimulate consultants and
contractors to be more obsessed with environment as they can ask consultants and contractors to practise
environmentally friendly in their projects.
Table 9 below illustrates that constructions companies(1: contractor, 2: consultant, 3: Developer)have low interst in
taking part in green projects.Forasmuch as construction companies are important deriver for developing green building,
it can be conclude that constructions companies are not willing to participate in green projects. This is regarded as
another major obstacle facing the development of green buildings in Malaysia.
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent
Valid Contractor 26 15.5 15.6 15.6
Consultant 52 31.1 31.1 46.7
Developer 13 7.7 7.8 54.5
Goverment 76 45.5 45.5 100.0
Total 167 100.0 100.0
Table 9. Major role in developing green building in Malaysia
5. Issues and challenges in Malaysia 4: Change from conventional construction project management to
sustainable construction project management.
Changing from conventional construction project management practices to green building/sustainable project
management practices is another challenges for implementation Green Building Projects in Malaysia. Many of project
managers and project team having difficulties to adapt and refuse to accept change to sustainable /green project
management practices from conventional practices that have been used for decades. Nicholas (1994) suggested that the
role of project manager is central to a project. Without the project manager, there would be no project. He summarised
that the project manager is the glue that holds the project together. The literature emphasises the knowledge, skill and
characteristics of project managers but these are not linked to or explained in terms of how these can influence the
delivery of project success—and especially how project managers would be able to select appropriate combinations of
knowledge, practice and behaviours that would support project success. As has been said by Pich, Loch, and De Meyer
(2002, p. 1008), ‘No conceptual model currently exists that enables project managers to understandwhy different
612
approaches exist, which one to choose, and when’. None within the control ofthe project manager distinguish which
levers project managers can pull to increase thelikelihood of achieving a successful outcome for their project, or factors
outside the controlof the project manager. Nowadays project manager carry out not only traditional duty of project
management but also manage the sustainable project management (Hwang & Ng, 2012). Project manager and project
team is the key factors to ensure the success of implementation green building projects. Inability project managers and
project team to accept change to sustainable/green project practices from conventional creates an impact to the
implementation of the green building projects in Malaysia. Project manager and project team must be flexible and open
to change from conventional to sustainable/green project management practices.
6. Issues and challenges in Malaysia 5: High cost for project implementation
Implementation of Green Building Project required high cost compare to the conventional projects. In addition, many
stakeholders/ agencies prefer implementing conventional project to green building project. Stakeholder and public
should be educate about Return Of Investment that green building provides in the future. Savings in electrical
consumption and water usage is part of the ROI of green building provided for the user and stakeholders. Government
Financing or budget for implementation of green building project should be distributed and promoted to all government
agencies and semi-government agencies in addition to enhance demand on implementation of green building projects in
Malaysia. Allocation and distribution of government green building budget to all government agencies and semi-
government agencies help to lessen the high cost impact in implementation of Malaysian Green Building Projects.
Shafii et al.(2005) point out one of the impediments to developing sustainable development in Asia is higher cost .
7. Issues and challenges in Malaysia 6: Goverment enforcement
Besides of the government support and initiatives, enforcement is another key factors to enhance the implementation of
Green Building Projects in Malaysia. Using government enforcement leads to success of Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Dato’ Sri Haji Mohamad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak commitment in United Nations Climate Change Congress
2009 (COP 15) in Copenhagen on 17 December 2009 . Government enforcement helps to regulate the implementation
of green building projects in all construction projects in Malaysia. In addition to the environmental issues that
Malaysia and world will be facing in the future, government enforcement in implementation of green building project is
crucial. The role of the government changing the current market mechanism, changing market dynamics by providing
incentives, regulations and standards and raising awareness and demonstrating proof of concept. Many experts
(Atsusaka, 2003; Samari,2012) believe that the role of the governments in promoting green building is undeniable and
effective. Davis (2001) believed that most important barriers to green building development is builder incentives.
Energy saving and worker productivity are popular benefit of green building.
These benefits have positive effect for final owners and impose extra cost for builder. Hence, cost effective is the main
obstacle to green building development. According to the previous research, experts believed that government has
important role to promote green building ( Varone et al.,2000; Fisher et al.; 1989; Sutherland, 1991; Golove et al.;1996;
Ofori, 2006). In Malaysian construction context, government plays a significant role to promote green building.
Government is the key player in term of promoting green building in the construction industry by variety of
instruments. Regulatory instruments and incentive instruments are the main tools for governments to develop green
building (Yung et al;2002).
8. Conclusion
According to Samari et al:2013, table below shows barriers and challenges in green building projects implementation in
Malaysia. From the result, it shows that lack of credit resources to cover up front cost, risk investment, lack of demand,
higher final price is the most critical barriers and challenges in implementation of green building projects in Malaysia.
Here it is proven that cost in project implementation creates the most challenges and issues in green building
implementation in Malaysia. Meanwhile, lack of building codes and regulation is at rank 5, lack of public awareness is
at rank 13 and lack of government support is at rank 7 in the barriers result shown in the table. This indicates building
codes and regulation, public awareness and government support creates challenges and contributes to issues in green
project implementation in Malaysia.
Code Barriers
B1 Lack of building codes and regulation
B2 Lack of incentives
B3 Higher Investment Cost
B4 Risk of Investment
B5 Higher final price
B6 Lack of credit resources to cover up front cost
B7 Lack of Public awareness
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B8 Lack of demand
B9 Lack of strategy to promote green building
B10 Lack of design and construction team
B 11 Lack of Expertise
B12 Lack of professional knowledge
B13 Lack of database and information (case study)
B14 Lack of technology
B15 Lack of government support
Table 11: Barriers

Code Rank Range Minimum Maximum Mean Medan Variance Skewness
Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Std.Error
B1 5 4 1 5 3.44 4 1.477 -.416 .188
B2 11 4 1 5 3.05 3 1.280 .171 .188
B3 10 4 1 5 3.06 3 .984 -.159 .188
B4 2 4 1 5 3.68 4 1.449 -.717 .188
B5 4 4 1 5 3.58 4 1.471 -.521 .188
B6 1 4 1 5 3.80 4 1.762 -.606 .188
B7 13 4 1 5 2.59 3 1.134 .451 .188
B8 3 4 1 5 3.61 4 1.784 -.829 .188
B9 9 4 1 5 3.10 3 1.657 -.283 .188
B10 8 4 1 5 3.13 3 1.344 -.002 .188
B11 14 4 1 5 2.67 3 1.114 .257 .188
B12 6 4 1 5 3.21 3 1.239 -.132 .188
B13 15 4 1 5 2.44 2 1.609 .439 .188
B14 12 4 1 5 2.83 3 1.506 -.198 .188
B15 7 4 1 5 3.14 3 1.047 -.314 .188
Table 13: Barrier’s descriptive statistics

As Malaysia heads towards a more comprehensive implementation of green building projects. All parties must work
together and gives full commitment, by maturing fast enough and addressing all the challenges effectively and
positively. The implantation of green building projects requires strong support from all the stakeholders, government
and the public itself. The awareness campaigns need to be intensified to educate and gives knowledge about the
importance of the green building projects and its benefit to the environment in addition to restore the world for future
generations
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Analysis of the Determinant Factors Development of Maintenance

Culture in Malaysian Local Authorities
S. I. A. Sani a, A. H. Mohammed a, M. S. Misnan b
a
Faculty of Geoinformation & Real Estate,Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru,Malaysia
b
Faculty of Built Environment,Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru,Malaysia
Abstract
Malaysia is a fast growing developing country and its vision is becoming a developed country with a first class infrastructure.
Towards this vision, the assets and facilities were developed, owned or leased by public sector especially buildings, constructions
and infrastructures to fulfill administrative and social needs as well as economic responsibilities to general public. In Malaysia,
public asset and facilities is owned by three major levels of government, which are the federal government, state government and the
local government also known as local authority. Between these three forms of government, Local Authorities hold a large number of
facilities that place demands on resources. They have a responsibility to use and maintain a wide range of property assets including
classified and heritage buildings, single purpose facilities and state of the art multipurpose facilities. Over the years, the local
authorities in Malaysia currently have been soundly criticized by public caused poor maintenance culture. The assets especially
public buildings and infrastructures are not maintained properly. Thus, developing the maintenance culture is essential to increase
the awareness about maintenance activity on public facilities and assets in Malaysian Local Authorities. Regarding this scenario, the
purpose of this study is to determine the determinant factors affecting development of maintenance culture identified based on the
review of previous research. As a guide to achieve the research objective, a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the
significance of ten determinant factors identified in the research study and their related affecting to development of maintenance
culture in local authority as a respondent in this research. The collected data was then analyzed using quantitative approaches such as
mean analysis, relative important index as well as others.
Keywords: Maintenance Culture, Determinant Factors, Facilities and Asset
1. Introduction
Malaysia is a fast growing developing country and its vision is becoming a developed country with a first class
infrastructure. Towards this vision, the assets and facilities were developed, owned or leased by public sector especially
buildings, constructions and infrastructures to fulfill administrative and social needs as well as economic
responsibilities to general public. In implementing the national development of the First Malaysia Plan up to the Ninth
Malaysia Plan an amount of RM416 billion from the total amount of RM694 billion dollars provided for the
development programme was used to build the physical infrastructure/facilities (Shaziman, 2009). Similarly, in the
2010 budget an estimated 16-20 billion dollars was allocated for infrastructure and basic facilities, including buildings,
in the interests of the community (Mohd Najib, 2009). Physical infrastructure is also considered as a public facility that
serves as a facility available to the public. In addition, public facilities are a major part of investment in national
development programmes, and therefore, they are a national asset that must be maintained and their physical condition
preserved. The process to preserve and maintain an asset/facility requires maintenance work as an effective tool in
functionality and prolongs life and assets due to the nature that is prone to deterioration caused by time and weather.
Maintenance is an important aspect affecting the development of the country. According to Lee (1987), maintenance is
responsible for the harmonious environment of the whole country, and reflects the well-being of the country.
1
E-mail address:
The environment depends on the quality of facilities, which must be in good condition because they reflect the social
values held by society, the level of national prosperity and attitude towards care of public facilities. Furthermore, the
development of a country is not regarded as successful if the awareness and focus on the maintenance of public
facilities is inadequate and not properly implemented. In contrast, a country's development is considered successful
when the importance of maintenance is understood by the entire communities (Olufunke, 2011). According to Horner
et al. (1997), maintenance is a major activity in many countries. In addition, facilities/assets have a life like a human
life cycle. Therefore, they are susceptible to deterioration and damage if the measures of prevention, protection and
conservation are not undertaken, and hence, need maintenance work for a longer shelf life. Improvements need to be
taken immediately as well as from time to time to prevent damage and reduce maintenance costs (Florence 2011).
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In Malaysia, three levels of government which are the federal government, the state government and the local
government also known as local authority have responsible toward providing facilities to the community. Every year
the various types of facilities which encompasses buildings and infrastructure such as office buildings, roads, bridges
and others were developed by the government has proved that the government is really committed in executing its
responsibility of providing all the facilities for community and social to achieve the Malaysia vision to become a
developed country by the year 2020 (Shardy, 2011). Between these three forms of government, local authorities hold a
large number of facilities that place demands on resources. Between these three forms of government, local authorities
hold a large number of facilities that place demands on resources (Zaherawati et. al, 2011). They have a responsibility
to maintain its public infrastructure facilities to ensure performing well up to public satisfaction level (Hamimah et al.,
2012). However the local authorities in Malaysia have been soundly criticized for poor maintenance of public
infrastructure. Numerous comment and argument from various parties in daily barrage of questions and complaints
directly in the press about poor and incompetent condition performance of local authorities facilities. For example, the
Ministry of Housing and Local Government has received between 2400 and 4500 maintenance complaints each year
over the last five years (Chuan, 2008) in (Idrus et. al, 2009). Insufficient attention to maintenance has resulted in public
facilities being in poor condition in terms of the physical structure that have suffered damage and deterioration through
lack of repair (Judin, 2007; Annies, 2007). This tarnished of local authorities’ image as delivery public service provider
service delivery to the community. Many factors contribute to the poor maintenance of asset and facilities but the
critical factor is the lack of awareness among the local authorities’ staffs in Malaysia. In other words, this problem is
due to the lack of maintenance culture of assets and facilities. Thus, developing the maintenance culture is essential to
increase the awareness about maintenance activity on public facilities and assets in Malaysia local authority. The
developing a strong of maintenance culture in Malaysia as one of the many issues that has been concerned by public to
enhance and provide the public safety and convenience. Malaysia is known as a country that prides itself in the
provision of First World infrastructure but not in terms of its maintenance of these facilities (Lee Lam Thye, 2008). The
maintenance culture is necessary to improve the skills, tenacity, and diligence in maintenance work.
2. Objective of Study
The objective of this study is to develop and validate the determinant factors development of maintenance culture
identified based on previous research. As a guide to achieve the research objective, a questionnaire survey was
conducted to investigate the significance of 10 determinant factors identified from previous research and to identify the
key determinant factors development of maintenance culture from the perspective respondents from Malaysian Local
Authorities. Therefore, this finding can contribute the endeavours for improving the quality of maintenance activities to
the public assets and facilities in Malaysian Local Authorities through developing of maintenance culture.
3. The Need for Maintenance Culture Development in Sustaining Malaysian Local Authorities Asset/facilities
Sustainability of capital investments of any nation has been a major and global dialogue most especially in
developing countries where infrastructural development is still at the infancy. This is because most of governments’
expenditures and investments focus on infrastructural development even though the challenges in developed nations are
sustainability (Odediran, 2012). Malaysia is faced with the challenges of sustaining and maintaining inadequate
infrastructure especially for the local authority. The local authority ownership and operation of public utilities does not
have to result in inefficient operation and low level of service, but it’s always been. Local authority is faced with the
challenges of sustaining and maintaining infrastructure. The challenges faced by the local authority are inefficient
operation of public utilities and low level of service delivery. According Odediran (2012) one of the ways for
sustainability is the maintenance of existing stock of infrastructural facilities and services. Maintenance according to
BS 3811 is the all technical and associated administrative actions intended to retain items in or restore it to a state in
which it can perform its required function. Maintenance also defined work undertaken in order to keep, restore or
improve every facility, to an acceptable standard and to sustain the utility and value of the facility. The existing
maintenance failure indicates the need for a paradigm shift/change to the adoption of a maintenance culture in Malaysia
to reduce the maintenance problems and improve the performance of maintenance. It is time that maintenance became a
practice/way of life/culture and that the importance of maintaining the facilities/assets is realized to improve the skills,
hard work and diligence in maintenance. Culture is what is contained in the individual results of the experience through
social interaction with the surrounding community. This is because the culture is basically a set of unwritten rules that
guide human behaviour through belief in the interpretation of data received and then translated by the action. The
maintenance culture is one of the fundamental ways of ensuring the optimum utility of available resources (Echendu,
2013). Maintenance culture is defined the values, way of thinking, behaviour, perception, and the underlying
assumptions of any person or group or society that considers maintenance is a matter that is important (priority) and
practices it in their life. When a person or group has maintenance culture, they would have the attitude to maintain,
preserve and protect public facilities. The attitude in question is that towards maintenance work, which is embedded in
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each individual or group, although, in practice, maintenance tasks have been programmed, planned and scheduled, it is
only when one understands the responsibility entrusted to implement it that creates a proper awareness of maintenance
work and whereby it is done automatically, spontaneously without direction and thought (Suwaibatul et al., 2012).
According Saidin and Samidah (2012) Maintenance culture began with the formation attitude, a change in mind set
and the way the work of an organization. Although practically maintenance and renovation planned, programmable
been allocated and scheduled, organizations involved in the implementation of maintenance work should strive to show
a strong commitment to keeping the asset and government facilities. Developing this culture is not a simple matter; it
takes times to develop maintenance culture and occurs in response to changes to the individual himself. Most people
take for granted this simple thing. Besides that, culture is not something people are born with, but it should be learned
from a young age. Each person will change because the culture does not exist naturally but is formed through a learning
process as a result of interaction between individuals or groups and inherited from generation to generation. Thus it is
not something that is impossible to implement if the strategy development mode maintenance culture is known to be
performed.
4. The Determinant Factors Affecting Development of Maintenance Culture Briefing
Ten determinant factors have an impact on the developing of maintenance culture were identified from the previous
research. The ten determinant factors of maintenance culture are leadership; communication; motivation, reward
systems and recognition; empowerment; involvement; policy system, strategy and work planning; teamwork; training
and education, organizational culture (Suwaibatul, 2011: 2012). The ten determinant factors are explained in the
following sections:-
b. Leadership
Leadership as “the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do
it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives” (Gary Yukl, 2006).
Leadership is based on the commitment of the top management acting as internal resources to expedite the attitude a
person has to perform and understand the maintenance tasks very well.
c. Communication
Communication is the transfer of information from one person to another that involves the exchange of facts, ideas,
suggestions and emotions with two or more people. Additionally, it also involves the interaction of stimulus meanings
through giving and receiving messages.
d. Rewards and Recognition
The rewards and recognition would only be effective if it is meaningful and given an acknowledgment to the work
produced It is what is received by an employee as a reward for the work they have done. The recognition is defined as
some sort of public acknowledgement for superior performance on quality activities and rewards are benefits such as
salary increases, bonuses and promotions due to an individual’s performance on improving the quality aspects of his or
her job.
e. Teamwork
Team work may conceive a team to be a distinguishable set of two or more people who interact dynamically,
interdependently, and adaptively toward a common and valued mission, who have each been assigned specific roles or
functions to perform, and those who have a limited life-span membership’ (Salas et. al,1992).
f. Training and Education
Training is the development of attitudes, knowledge and specialized skills required by the employees to perform
their duties properly (Mahmood Nazar, 2005). Education was for the promotion of learning and as an added value to
the generic knowledge to the development of individuals and organizations (Mohd Hizam and Zafir, 2002).
g. Motivation
Motivation is considered as the process of shaping a person’s personality can be encouraged to act in a certain goal.
Motivation can be created such as recognition, reward systems, and support by management commitment, individual
motivation. The motivation can be given in terms of training and education, the involvement of top management,
performance measurement and the encouragement, and support.
h. Involvement
Employee participation in the organization is a process that demands the workers participating in actions and in the
organization. Involving individuals in each maintenance activity is necessary to ensure that each individual clearly
understand the maintenance tasks imposed upon them. The combination of employee involvement and top management
is able to develop a maintenance culture.
i. Empowerment
Empowerment is the process of delegating decision-making authority to lower levels in the organization. Employees
are encouraged to take the initiative and expand their scope. Empowering employees is essential in order to create
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commitment in the minds of the employees for this purpose, and also stated how to achieve the goals and targets which
are set ambitious but realistic.
j. Policy systems, Strategy and Work Planning
The policies and strategies that comprised the mission statement and slogan must be used to promote communication
media, for example posters, exhibitions, and other internet to every member in the organization (Sadus and Griffiths,
2004). The role of this factor as a policy system to comply with all regulations due to work is a program of policies,
standards and the belief that the rules must be followed by an individual in an organization to achieve goals.
k. Organization Structure
The organization structures is a framework of rules and power relations that exist formally to control and
coordinating human action and motivate individuals to achieve the organization’s goals. It typically hierarchical, which
an organization arranges its lines of authority and communications, and allocates rights and duties and has been
illustrated by the organizational chart.
5.Research Methodology
To achieve the objectives of this study, questionnaire form were used to gather data quantitative and also order to find
opinions of determinant factors development of maintenance culture. The questionnaires contained three sections. The
questionnaire contained 10 statements to be scored on a likert scale of 1-5 that are related to collects the respondents’
opinion based on their level significance determinant factors development of maintenance culture. The proportionate
stratified sampling random technique has been used in order to get the most efficient representation population of the
local authority in Malaysia. Finally, the 660 questionnaires forms the questionnaire was designed were then distributed
to the 22 local authorities in Malaysia in order to collect all the relevant data. The respondents who answer these
questionnaires must be directly involved with the maintenance works or responsible for overseeing the execution of
maintenance works, which are namely management level and the technical staffs. The data collected were analysed
using statistical tool. The collected data from the completed questionnaires was analysed using various relevant
methods such descriptive statistics was used to analyse the demographic data of the respondents and factors
maintenance culture while Relative Importance Index (RII) was used to analyse the respondents’ scores of the factors
maintenance culture. In this study, an ordinal measurement scale 1 to 5 was used to determine the effect level.
Respondents were asked to score factors affecting residential building according to the degree of importance; where 1 =
least important; 2 = not important; 3 = neutral; 4= important; 5 = very important. The relative importance index (RII) is
given by equation (1).
Relative importance index (RII) = Σw

AN
Where w is the weighting given to each factor by the respondents and range from 1 to 5, ‘A’ is the highest weight (i.e. 5
in the study) and N is the total number of samples.
6.Result and Discussion

6.1. Demographic Respondents
6.1.1. Response Rate
From a total of six one hundred and sixty (660) questionnaires were sent to 22 local authority in Malaysia, three
hundred sixty five (365) questionnaires were returned, making a total response rate 55%. This response rate was finally
achieved after several efforts were made in terms of personal contacts and follow-up calls. All the questions were
satisfactorily completed by respondents and usable for data analysis.
6.1.2. Working Experience
Based on the survey, the respondents for local authority in Malaysia had different experience in maintenance field.
The 39.2% of the respondents have only 1 to 5 years working experience in maintenance field, followed by 23.8%
respondents have 6 to 10 years working experience, 24.9% respondents have 11 to 15 years working experience and
then 12% respondents have 15 to 20 above years working experience.
6.2. Data Analysis for Determinant Factors Development of Maintenance Culture

The study presents the analysis of the 10 determinant factors of development maintenance. These factors have been
identified their significance with mean score and ranked according to their relative importance Index (RII). The result is
presented in Table 1. Table 1 respondent response to the factor of maintenance culture scored on the degree of
importance.
621
Table 1. Respondent response to the factor of maintenance culture scored on the degree of importance Name of the table
No. Standard RII Rank Level Important
Factors Score Mean
Deviation
1 Leadership 4.61 0.510 0.922 1 Very Important
2 Involvement 4.49 0.587 0.899 3 Very Important
3 Communication 4.50 0.582 0.899 3 Very Important
4 Training and Education 4.45 0.594 0.890 5 Very Important
5 Teamwork 4.53 0.576 0.906 2 Very Important
6 Motivation 4.38 0.637 0.876 6 Somewhat Important
7 Policy systems, Strategy and Work Planning 4.47 0.581 0.893 4 Very Important
8 Rewards and Recognition 4.21 0.748 0.841 8 Somewhat Important
9 Empowerment 4.19 0.710 0.837 9 Somewhat Important
10 Organization Structure 4.19 0.657 0.855 7 Somewhat Important
Survey results have shown that the listed ten factors are important to be implemented in developing a successful
maintenance culture based on the mean score each factors are above 4.0. It’s mean that the mean score are range
between 4 point (important) and 5 point (very important) likert scale. However, the importance of each of these factors
should be prioritized to identify the key determinant factors of maintenance culture. Based on this RII, the analysis
outputs found that there are 6 factors that can be determined as the key determinant factors of development
maintenance culture. These factors indicate are categorized a very important factors in developing of maintenance
culture. The first most important factor is leadership with RII of 0.922. Teamwork was ranked second with RII of 0.906
followed by communication and involvement which was ranked third with RII of 0.899. The Policy systems, strategy
and work Planning factor was ranked fourth with RII of 0.893, followed by training and education was ranked fifth
with RII of 0.890. Figure 1.0 below shows level of importance and ranking for each of the factors maintenance culture:-
Figure 1. Ranking ten of the factors maintenance culture

The findings of this study indicate that leadership is most important factor in the successful development of
maintenance culture. This finding was corroborated by other previous studies in safety culture field which the
leadership as the main influential factor in developing culture. Leadership is an essential part of the process of
management and it is also an integral part of the social structure and culture of the organization. Leadership is related to
the commitment from top management as the most important in determining the direction of the organization to ensure
that planned objectives were achieved successfully. Commitment from top management is based on those who act as
internal resources influence the attitude a person has to perform and understand the maintenance tasks well. Leaders are
the keepers and guardians of these attitudinal norms and the learning system. Leaders need to know that their response
will be watched widely and closely, and will send a very powerful message within the organization about its
maintenance culture. Therefore leader behave as role model to influence the behavior or motivate their followers; they
become admired, respected, and trusted to work together to achieve organizational goals more effectively. When
leaders are committed to maintenance aspects, it provide adequate resources which supports the development and
implementation of maintenance activities and also provide a work plan that is easily understood and followed by
everyone in organization.
7.Conclusion
In conclusion, the maintenance culture is important as a basis for reducing the maintenance problems that occur
today. It is time that changes were made to the attitude and mindset in managing of public facilities in making
maintenance as a way of life or practices to be implemented and its importance understood for the success of national
development. Change the basis of the existing lack of maintenance culture by adjusting and changing the actions,
beliefs, thought patterns, attitudes or behavior and values over time in each. This is because the culture is not something
people are born with, but it should be learned from a young age. Each person will change because the culture does not
exist naturally but is formed through a learning process as a result of interaction between individuals or groups and
622
inherited from generation to generation. Effort to change the culture is something that is difficult and takes a long time
to implement, as culture is naturally resistant to change, however, when the culture is successfully established it will be
a practice that is endorsed by the whole society and the culture will remain.
Maintenance culture is needed in Malaysian Local Authority. The effectiveness of maintenance depends on human
factors to increase knowledge and experience of workers in solving problems. Thus, the internal environment between
management and staff must exist through sharing of ideas, beliefs, and values for each other. The development of
maintenance culture can change traditional maintenance work based on reactive activity to productive activity. From
this study six factors that contribute to successful developing maintenance culture, which include leadership,
communication, teamwork, training and education, policy, strategy and work planning and involvement.
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Arazi Idrus, Mohd Faris Khamidi & Olanrewaju Abdul Lateef. (2009). Value –Based Maintenance Management
Model for University Buildings in Malaysia-A Critical Review. Journal of Sustainable Devolopment, 2(3), 127-133.
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Manusia. Kuala Lumpur. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
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Perkhidmatan Awam di Malaysia. The Professional Jurnal of Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia, 47(1), 16-25.
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Satisfaction Perception of Outdoor Environment by the

Occupants of Low-cost Housing: A case study of Flat Taman Desa
Sentosa
M. F. Mohameda,55*, T. M. Iman Pratamaa, W. F. Mohammad Yusoffa, S. N. Ramana
a
Department of Architecture, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
High-density low-cost flat housing is an initiative by the Malaysian Government to help low income group to own a home in urban
or suburban areas. One of the early objectives of this housing type is to overcome the squatter problems in urban areas such as in
Kuala Lumpur. As the country progresses towards being a developed nation, the quality and standard of living of its people have also
improved.Low-cost flat housing initiative has also gone through changes to provide better living quality. However, there is a
perception that this housing type has alower quality of outdoor environment, especially if compared tothe other type of high-density
housings, particularly to those which are categorized as gated community. This paperdiscusses on the occupants’ satisfaction
perception of outdoor environmental quality (OEQ) of aselected high-density low-cost flat housing located in the state of Selangor in
Malaysia. The objective of the paper is to obtain the level of perception by the occupants of low-cost flats on the OEQ. The
methodologies used in this study are site observation and questionnaire survey, which were conducted simultaneously. This study
found that the OEQ in the low-cost flat has generally fulfilled the five out of 6 elements of OEQ. The only element that found to
have poor perception is the level of safety.
Keywords:Low-cost flat; Housing; perception; outdoor environmental quality (OEQ)
1. Introduction
According to the National Housing Company Malaysia (Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhador SPNB),a
government-owned company under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, it defines the low-cost house
under its program as a house with built-up area of 700 square feet (50 square feet more than the previously introduced
three bedroom low-cost flat) and priced from MYR35,000.00 in Peninsular Malaysia (or from MYR50,000.00 in East
Malaysia or Malaysian Borneo)(Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad 2013).
The People Housing Program (Program Perumahan Rakyat) is a program under the National Housing Department of
Malaysia (Jabatan Perumahan Negara, 2013)which provides low-cost housing. Under this program, the selling prices
of low-cost houses are MYR30,000.00 or MYR35,000.00 in peninsular Malaysia. Multi-storey low-cost housing
between 5- to 18-storey with the minimum floor area of 700 square feet are built under this program. Each unit is
provided with a living room, a dining room, three bedrooms, a kitchen and 2 bathrooms.
An important indicator of housing quality and condition which affects theoccupants’ quality of life is residential and
neighbourhood satisfaction(Idrus & Ho, 2008). Therefore, ensuring occupant’s satisfaction in housing is critical to
obtain good quality of life.In the context of low-cost housing, with thelimitationsdiscussed previously, the risk of poor
OEQ in this type of housing is much higher compared with the others, particularly with gated community. The
importance of outdoor environmentin low-cost housing is more critical where the indoor space limitation may
encourage the occupants to spend more time outside with various activities, especially to children and teenagers.
The outdoor environment such as in housing estates have unique and natural characteristics, which are very
important to support children’s development. This is crucially important in low-cost flat where the indoor spaces of
their home are limited, thus children tend to spend more time outside, particularly, at the children playground. It is
common to find unsupervised children playing at the low cost flat’s playground, especially after afternoon school.
Away from supervision of their parents or elder siblings, this could lead to unnecessary incident or even kidnapping to
occur. Therefore, for the health and well-being of the occupants, especially for children who grow up in low-cost flat, a
good outdoor environmental quality (OEQ) is very important.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +60-10-4033121; fax: +60-3-89118302.

E-mail address: mdfarid@ukm.eng.my
625
Among all types of high-density housing, low-cost housing is always associated with poor quality of outdoor
environment. This is due to various factors such as low quality of workmanship,minimum quality of materials, poor
maintenance, lack of facilities, lack of security as well as minimal car parks. For example, an authority’s
requirements(Jabatan Perancangan dan Desa Negeri Selangor, 2010)on the lowest parking spaces and highest
maximum development density compared with other types are some of the contributing factors. These minimum
requirements lead to insufficient parking spaces and large ration of occupants to the area of open spaces. On the other
hand, the developers of low-cost housing also tend to only comply with the minimum standard requirements by the
related authorities. The major factor contributing to this is the financial limitation as a result of below cost selling price.
Being the only housing project that is sold below construction cost with ready buyers, the quality of any development
of low-cost housing is potentially compromised, thus could also lead to a poor OEQ.
However, do the occupants of low-cost flat actually have the poor perception of OEQ in their neighbourhood? In
order to comprehend this, a study needs to be completed to understand the perception of the occupants of low-cost flat
on OEQ. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the satisfaction perception of outdoor environment quality
by the occupants of high-density low-cost housing. Understanding the perception of the flat occupants is important to
help designers or planners to design a better high-density housing, particularly low-cost housing.
BonaiutoF, Fornara, &Bonnes (2006)had categorised four features to investigate residential environmental quality:
architectural/town-planning features, functioning features, context features and neighbourhood attachment. Under these
features, there are a total of 20 perceived residential environmental quality indicators. Using BonaiutoF, Fornara,
&Bonnes (2006)as a general reference, for the purpose of this limited study, five indicators wereto be evaluated
(landscape quality, level of design user-friendliness, safety within the neighbourhood, provided facilities, and
occupants’ involvement in the society of the housing) plus a question on overall outdoor environmental quality.
It is important to note that, this is a pilot study that only focuses on a single low-cost housing development. This
pilot study is part of a larger study which looks into the sustainability of high-density housing in Malaysia. Since this
study only focuses on single development, the immediate subsequent study will look into at least another two similar
types of housing so that it could further support the initial findings of this pilot study.
3. Methodology
The methodology adopted for this study is a combination of site observation, and questionnaire survey. The site
observation was completed prior to questionnaire survey where the authors experienced the outdoor spaces of the low-
cost flat housing. The objective of the site observation wasto have a general perception of the living condition within
the low-cost flat. Once the site observation was completed, the questionnaires' survey was distributed to the occupants
while having informal discussions with the occupants. The purposes of the informal discussion with the occupants was
to explain the questions and to have better and clearer description of the neighborhood and their perception.
The questionnaires' survey consisted of two sections, i.e. (a) questions on demography and information on the flat,
and (b) questions related to the perception ofoutdoor environmental quality. The questions related to demography
werequestions concerning respondent’s profile, which are gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, duration of stay, total of
occupants, and monthly income.The second section consists of six questions. The questions related to outdoor
environmental qualitywere concerning overall outdoor environmental quality (OEQ), landscape quality, user-friendly
level (for children, disabled, and the elderly), safety level, provision of public facilities, and community involvement in
social activities.
The answers were rated using a 5-point Likert scale: 1-very unsatisfied, 2-unsatisfied, 3-neutral, 4-satisfied and 5-
very satisfied.The survey covers 45 respondentswhowere selected randomly. The survey was completed within four
days, from21stJune until 24thJune 2013. Out of the 45 respondents, 25 respondentsweremales and 20 werefemales.Of
these, 32 were married while the others were single. Out of 45 respondents, 60% or 27 respondents have livedwithin
the neighborhood for more than five years. For the occupancy numbers of the flat, the survey indicated that 34
respondents have three to five persons living together, and 11 respondents have more than five members. In the case of
the age of respondents, 14 respondents weree below 25 years of age, 29 respondents were between 25 to 45 years old
and 2 respondents were above 45 years old. All the respondents were of Malay ethnicity and, according to interviews
with two locals, almost all of the residents are Malays as the low-cost flat is on a Malay reserve land.
3. Case Study
The investigated low-cost flat (Taman DesaSentosa Flat) is situated in the Sepang District of Selangor, Malaysia. It
is approximately 30 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. It is neighboring to Bandar
BaruBangi, and its distance to the Bandar BaruBangi’s commercial district is approximately 7 kilometers. The overall
residential development at the site has seven residential blocks (see Figure 1) which consist of 3 blocks of medium-cost
626
apartment (the three blocks at the top) and four blocks of low-cost flat (the four blocks at the bottom). This study only
focuses on the low-cost flat where the total number of units is 280. The development is located at a less-developed area
close to a planned township of Bandar BaruBangi. The flat is close to a river on the south-east side and surrounded by
lush greenery.
Figure 1: Aerial view of TamanDesaSentosa Flat (extracted from https://maps.google.com/)
The layout pelan of one of the four low-cost blocks is shown in Figure 2a. Ithas a typical typology of low-cost
housing, which is commonly found in Malaysia. The overall layout of the flat is simple, thus may contribute to cost
saving.The block has two rows of flats with air-wells corridor and two stairs at each end. Each row has 6 units making
each floor to have 12 units. It is a five-storey walk-up apartment, thus the block has 30 units. The provision of air-well
contributes towards better ventilation for each unit as well as providing additional daylight along the internal corridor
and into the flats. In the case of the floor plan of each unit flat, the layout is simple that all spaces are located within a
rectangular frame (Figure 2b).
(a) (b)
Figure 2: (a) The layout plan of one of the apartment blocks;(b) Flat unit floor plan
Among the public facilities provided for the residents are a prayer hall, public toilet, multipurpose hall, kindergarten,
waste chamber andplayground (see Figure 3). It is important to note that the management of the low-cost flat is not
under the local authority (the Sepang Municipal Council) as the residents have opted for self-maintenance through the
resident association. However, the collection of garbage is still under the responsibility of local authority. All facilities
are functioning, however, the maintenance of two facilities (public toilet and multi-purpose hall) is poor.
627
(a) (b)
(c) d)
(e) (f)
Figure 3: Facilities: (a) Muslim prayer hall, (b) public toilet, (c) multi-purpose hall, (d) kindergarten,(e) waste
chamber and (f) playground.
In the case of the provision of parking spaces which is low, there are various initiatives by the local residents to
solve this issue. One of the solutions is to provide new motorcycle parking close to their building blocks. In addition,
the residents have also allowed motorcycles to be parked within the internal corridor (Figure 4a); however, the owners
are not allowed to bring in motorcycles with running engine to avoid noise. According to the locals interviewed, the
main reason for allowing motorcycles to access the corridor is due to many cases of motorcycle theft, and this option
helps to reduce theft. In the case of insufficient car park, the parking spaces have been extended to the soft landscape
next to the building blocks (Figure 4b). It is also observed that buses are parked outside the perimeter of the housing,
with provided bus waiting areas such as in Figure 4c.
(a) (b)
(c)
Figure 4: (a)The photos of internal corridor with parked motorcycles, (b) extended parking spaces on soft landscape
and (c)bus waiting area
628
Figure 5: Overall Outdoor Environmental Quality (OEQ)
As stated earlier, the objective of this study is to obtain the perception of OEQ by the occupants of low-cost
flats,where one question is on the perception of overall OEQ, while the other five questions are on the significant OEQ
indicators. The first question in the second section of questionnaires is theoccupants’ perception of the overall outdoor
environmental quality (Figure 5). The survey found that 55% (25 respondents) gave neutral perception of the outdoor
environment quality. 31% (14 respondents) felt satisfied with the outdoor environment quality, followed by 7% or a
total of 3 respondentsfelt very satisfied. Only 7% or 3 respondents chose unsatisfied. The outcome of the first question
suggests that the residents are generally satisfied with the overall outdoor environmental quality.
Figure 6: Landscape Quality
Landscape is one of the key elements to achieve good OEQ of which it should be clean and neat. For the question
related to landscape quality (Figure 6), the survey found that 47% or a total of 21 respondentschose neutral, while 38%
or a total of 17 respondentschose satisfied. 2 respondents stated very satisfied, 7% or 3 respondentschose poor
perception;and 2 respondentswerevery unsatisfied with the landscape conditions.This is similar to findings during the
site observation, where the cleanlinessof landscape is good, though generally, the landscapes are not attractive.
Figure 7: Level of User-Friendliness (for children, disabled, and elderly)
On the user-friendliness (Figure 7)of the flat design such as on accessibility by elderly; and safety for residents’
activities (Figure 6), it wasfound that 56% or a total of 26 respondents chose a neutral perception, while 18% (8
respondent) selected satisfied. 12% or 5 respondents chose very satisfied; and 12% or a total of 5 respondents chose
unsatisfied. Finally, only 1 respondentchose very unsatisfied. Even though only 6 respondents had chosen either
unsatisfied or very unsatisfied, it may not suggest that staircase as the only option to upper levels is sufficient, rather it
may suggest that the respondents feel satisfied with the overall design of the low-cost flats for the price they paid.
629
Figure 8: Security Level
On thesecurity issue (Figure 8), the interview with the respondents indicated that the main concern is theft. This
includes motorcycle theft. This finding is supported by the questionnaire survey. The survey shows 31% (14
respondents) selected unsatisfied, followed by 8% (4 respondents) chose very unsatisfied. 45% (19 respondents) chose
neutral. For satisfied and very satisfied, only 8% or a total of 4 respondents chose each of them. The perception on
security issue is the worst compared to the previous three questions but still the number of respondents who chose
unsatisfied and very unsatisfied were small compared to others. This finding suggests that thesecurity issue is an
important issue to the residents in low-cost housing. This could be due to lack of security in the area where security
fencing is not provided as well as personnel to supervise the security of the resident.
Figure 9: Provision of Public Facilities
For the provision of public facilities (Figure 9), this survey found that 45% or 20 respondents chose neutral, and
29% or 13 respondentsselected satisfaction, followed by 18% (8 respondents) chose very satisfied. 8% or 4 respondents
chose unsatisfied, and none chose very unsatisfied. These findings areinteresting since based on the site observation,
facilities such as multi-purpose hall is poorly maintained where it can be clearly observed that some of the doors,
windows and lightings are broken. This is also similar to a poorly maintained toilet. Hence, the findings suggest that
some of the residents were not concerned much about appearance of the buildings as long as it is functional. The
findings also prove that the residents are willing to adapt to their environment, for example, the originally provided
parking spaces are insufficient; however, the residents have solved the issue by allowing additional motorcycle parking
and allowing soft landscape to become parking areas (Figure 4b).
Figure 10: Community Involvement in Social Activities

630
In the case of community involvement in social activities (Figure 10), 33% (15 respondents) chose neutral, 47% (21
respondents) expressed satisfaction, followed by 20% (9 respondents) selected very satisfied with community
involvement at the flats. None of the respondents chose unsatisfied and very unsatisfied. This finding suggests close
relation between the residents, and it also shows high tolerance between the residents and their willingness to get
involved in local community activities. This situation may be the results of the decision by the residents not to pay
maintenance fee to council thus all maintenance costs (excluding rubbish collection) have to be borne by the residents.
Therefore, the only option to maintain their flats are through good community cooperation.
5. Conclusions
This study concludes that the outdoor environmental quality in these low-cost flats is generally acceptable by the
occupants of the low-cost flats, where the worst perception is onsecurity issue, which can be potentially solved with
security fencing and appointment of security guards.
Nevertheless, these findings do not necessarily describe the actual needs of the residents. For example, even though
perception on the provided facilities and the user-friendliness of the flat design is positive, the reality at the site
suggests that these factors need a great improvement. Thus, further investigation is required to better understand their
responses. For example, a study to answer these questions: does these positive findings on Outdoor Environmental
Quality (OEQ) are as the results of the residents being in low income group and easily being satisfied due to their
financial situation? Or does the findings in this pilot study is valid to describe the occupants’ perception of OEQ?
It is also the limitation of this study that only a single type of low-cost flat have been chosen for survey. Therefore, it
is the attention of the authors to extend the research to include another two low-cost flats within Selangor. Hopefully,
by the completion of the subsequent research, the outcomes could better describe the occupants’ perception of outdoor
environment of low-cost flat and support the current findings.
6. Acknowledgements
This research was funded through the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2012/TK07/UKM/03/3) of
Ministry of Education of Malaysia; and the Incentive Grant for Young Researchers Grant (GGPM-2012-029) of
UniversitiKebangsaanMalaysia.
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Bonaiuto, M., Fornara, F., & Bonnes, M. (2006). Perceived residential environment quality in middle- and low-
extension italian cities. Revue Européenne de Psychologie Appliquée/European Review of Applied Psychology,
56(1), 23-34.
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Paper presented at the Seminar of Sustainable development and Governance, Japan.
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Selangor. Selangor: Jabatan Perancangan dan Desa Negeri Selangor.
Jabatan Perumahan Negara. (2013). Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR). Retrieved 02.10, 2013, from
http://ehome.kpkt.gov.my/main.php?Content=vertsections&SubVertSectionID=263&VertSectionID=17&CurLocati
on=91&IID=&Page=1
Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad (2013). SPNB - Housing for all. Retrieved 20.10.2013, 2013, from
http://www.spnb.com.my/bm/corporate/faq.htm#top
631
Occupants’ Satisfaction Perception of Indoor Environment of

Low-cost Housing: A case study of Flat Taman Desa Sentosa
M. F. Mohameda,b,56*T. M. Iman Pratamaa,W. F. Mohammad Yusoffa,b
a
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor,
Malaysia
b
Sustainable Construction Materials & Building Systems Research Group (SUCOMBS), Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
Low Cost Flat Housing is the housing for low income group with one of the initial objectives is to overcome the squatter problems in
Malaysia. It began with a flat which has two bedrooms in each unit, until the Malaysian government has imposed the minimum
number of bedroom for low-cost flat, which are three bedrooms. The three bedrooms flat has to fit the floor area of 650 square feet
(recently revised to 700 square feet).Small floor area which comes with small budget allocated for construction, could lead to poor
indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in low-cost flat. If this occurs, the poor quality of indoor environment can affectthe life of the
occupants. This paper discusseson theoccupants’ satisfaction perception of IEQ of a selected low cost flat in
KampungTerasJernang,Selangor. The methodologies used in this study are site observation and questionnaire survey.This study
concludes that the IEQ in the selected low-cost flat has acceptablyfulfilled the needs and quality required by the occupants.
However, there isa factorthatthe building occupants have expressed poor perception,which is the noise pollution associated with the
sound produced by the motorcycles parked close to their flat units.
Keywords: Housing; perception; indoor environment
1. Introduction
Among all high-density apartment building types with three bedrooms, low-cost flat has the lowest total floor area
with the minimum floor area of 650 square feet. Currently, the minimum floor area for three bedrooms low-cost flat has
been increased to 700 square feet(Kementerian Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar, 2013). With such a
small floor area that provides three bedrooms with its other essential spaces of a home, each space has a very limited
floor area, thus could results in poor indoor environmental quality. But, it is not just the limited floor area that could
affect the quality of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of low-cost flat; among other factors are workmanship, plan
layout, opening size and quality of materials.
Sincea low-cost flat is the high-density housing type that only complieswiththe minimum standard requirements by
the authority, the risk of poor indoor environment quality is much higher compared to the other types. Therefore, it is
common to have a general perception that the IEQ of a low-cost flat is poor. However, does this perception is accurate
among the occupants of low-cost flat? In order to investigate this, a study is completed to achieve the objective of this
paper, which is to obtain the perception of the occupants of low-cost flat on the indoor environment. This study is a
pilot study on the larger study of the sustainability of high-density housing in Malaysia. This pilot study only focuses
on a single low-cost flat housing, prior to subsequent study on another two low-cost flat housings, all located in Bandar
BaruBangi, Selangor, Malaysia. The subsequent study will compare various apartment layouts, thus would better
describe the general perception of the occupants of low-cost housing on indoor environment.
2. Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)
People spend most of their time indoors. Australians and Americans typically spend approximately 90% and 92% of
their time indoors, respectively(Australian Government, 2001; Bernstein et al., 2008). Building occupants respond to an
indoor environment through diverse stimuli, which can be visual, auditory, psychological, physical, dermal, olfactory,
and respiratory. Therefore, for the health and well-being of the occupants, a good indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is

E-mail address: mdfarid@ukm.eng.my
632
important. IEQ is the product of various factors, and it therefore involves multidisciplinary approaches to solve
problems related to IEQ, such as Sick Building Syndromes (SBS) which “may involve a multidimensional spectrum of
impacts: social, political, health, and economy” (Spengler, Samet, & McCarthy, 2001).
In order to investigate the indoor environmental quality of any spaces, various factors shall be considered. The
criteria for IEQ can be divided into five areas: thermal comfort, indoor air quality (IAQ), acoustic comfort, visual
comfort and spatial comfort (Woo, 2008). IAQ and thermal comfort are particularly important contributors to the
indoor environmental quality. Therefore, ensuring that they are acceptable is essential in any building for the
habitability of a space. This is especially the case in residential buildings where the occupants spend most of their time.
Therefore, it is crucially important that a thorough study to be completed on the IEQ of the low cost housing type as it
has the highest risk on poor IEQ.
3. Methodology
The methodology adopted in this study is a combination of site observation, and questionnaire survey. The initial
stage isa site observation where the authors experienced the spaces within the flat, and thendiscussed on the layout. The
objective of this method is for the authors to have general perception of the living condition in a low cost flat. Later,
with an experience being in the low cost flat, the questionnaire survey was conducted while having informal discussion
with the occupants.
The questionnaire survey consists of two sections: (a) questions on demography and information on flat, and (b)
questions related to the perception ofthe indoor environment. The questions related to the indoor environment are
questions concerning the room size, flat layout, ventilation, temperature (thermal), lighting and noise. The answers
wererated using a 5-point Likert scale: 1-very unsatisfied, 2-unsatisfied, 3-neutral, 4-satisfied and 5-very satisfied. The
survey covers 45 respondents, which was selected randomly. The respondents’ ages are various, in which 14
respondents are below 25 years old, 29 respondents are between 25 to 45 years old and 2 respondents are above 45
years old. Out of the 45 respondents, 25 are males and 20 are females.In term of marital status, 32 respondents have
married, whereas the other 13 respondents are still single. Meanwhile, it is also found that 60% of the respondents have
been living in the flat for more than five years. In term of the occupancy number, it is found that 34 respondents live
with three to five family members, whereas the other 11 respondents have more than five family members in their
houses. The survey was completed in four days, which wasfrom 21stto 24thJune 2013.
4. Case study
Figure 1: Aerial view of TamanDesaSentosa Flat (extracted from https://maps.google.com/)
The investigated low-cost flat (Taman DesaSentosa Flat) is situated in the Sepang District ofSelangor, Malaysia. It is
located approximately30kilometers from Kuala Lumpur,the capital city of Malaysia. It is neighboring to Bandar
BaruBangi, and its distance to the Bandar BaruBangi’s commercial district is approximately 7 kilometers.The overall
residential development at the site has seven residential blocks (see Figure 1) which consists of 3 blocks of medium-
cost apartment (the three blocks at the top) and four blocks of low-cost flat (the four blocks at the bottom). This study
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only focus on the low-cost flat where the total number of unit is 280. Among the public facilities provided for the
residents are praying hall, multipurpose hall, kindergarten and playground.
a. b.
Figure 2: The layout plan of one of the apartment blocks (a); Flat unit floor plan (b)
The selected block out of the four low-cost blocks as shown in Figure 2a has a typical typology of low-cost housing,
which is commonly found in Malaysia. The overall layout of the flat is simple, thus may contribute to cost saving. The
block has two rows of flat units with air well corridor, and a staircase at each end (Figure 2a). Each row has
sixunits,thus making each floor to have 12 units in total. It is a five-storey walk-up flat;hencethe block in Figure 2a has
60 units. The provision of air-well contributes to better ventilation and daylight penetration for each unit.
The floor plan of each unit (Figure 2b) also has a simple layout where all spaces are located within a rectangular
frame. The plan layout is also typical, which is commonly found in an apartment building, where the living/dining
room is accessible directly from the entrance door. The kitchen is located next to the entrance door, but it is only
accessible from the living/dining room. Generally, this layout is a comfortable layout where the private areas (toilet,
shower room and bedrooms) are separated from the less private spaces (dining and living room).
In the context of natural ventilation, the layout allowsgood cross ventilation for the living/dining room as well as the
kitchen. In term of natural lighting, it is found that the living room, bedroom 1 and bedroom 2 have direct daylight
penetration; whereasthe kitchen, toilet, shower room and bedroom 3only have secondary daylight via the provided air-
well. Thus, it results in less natural lighting and darker condition compared to the other spaces.
Figure 3: Clothes werehanged on windows for drying.
Due to the limited floor area, the space for laundry drying is not adequate, where only a small balcony is provided
next to the kitchen. Besides laundry drying, this space isalso used for other purposes such as storage, extended kitchen
as well as locating a washing machine. In Malaysia, it is uncommon to have a dryer, especially in a low-cost housing.
As a result of these various factors, some of the flat owners hang their laundry on windows (Figure 3), thus results in
poor view and interrupted natural lighting and ventilation.
The aim of this study is to identify the satisfaction level of the residents of low-cost flats in Taman DesaSentosato
the environment inside their houses. In addition, the availability of input from the respondents will indicate whether the
634
quality of the indoor environment of their houses has met their requirements. Hence, the occupants were asked with
some questions regarding to their perception of the room size, room layout, ventilation, temperature, lighting and noise
disturbance.
Figure 4: Satisfaction levels tothe room size.
The first question in Section B is theoccupants’ perception of the room size provided at the flats (Figure 4).
Onlyfourrespondents (8%) gave poor perception of the room size, whilst 62% or a total of 28 respondents felt neutral.
Meanwhile, 30% or 13 respondents felt satisfied with the size of the internal spaces they occupied.The results
alsoindicate that the occupants’perception of the room size was positive where around 92% expressed either neutral or
satisfied, thus did not complain on the size of the room. Two possible reasons for thesefindings are they have become
accustomed to the condition of the rooms,as well as they feelgrateful to live in or own the flat though their incomes are
low. It is found that 74% of the respondents have household income of less than MYR2000.
Figure 5: Satisfaction levels tothe room layout
This study also found that 51% (23 people) of the respondents felt neutral with the plan layout of their houses,
followed by 33% (15 people) who felt satisfied. Interestingly, 12% or a total of 5 respondents felt very satisfied with
the layout of their houses. This shows that the plan layout of the low-cost flat fulfills the needs of the occupants. The
possible reasons for these findings are due to the layout arrangement whichallows adequate natural lighting and
ventilation, as well as successfully differentiates between the privateand semi-private spaces.
Figure 6: Satisfaction levels tothe ventilation
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In the case of perception ofthe ventilation performance (Figure 6),25 respondents(55%) chose neutral score, while
13 respondents (29%)and 5 respondents (12%) chose satisfied and very satisfied scores, respectively.However, there
were also respondents who felt unsatisfied and very unsatisfied to the natural ventilation of the houses. Nevertheless,
these numbers were very low compared to those who felt neutral and satisfied/very satisfied. The informal interviews
with some respondents suggested that the reason toa large number of respondents felt satisfied with the ventilation
performance is due to the presence of wide openings, which provide good natural ventilation.
Figure 7: Satisfaction levels tothe indoor temperature
Regarding to the temperature for thermal comfort (Figure 7), it is found that21 respondents (47%) gave a neutral
perception of temperature in their flat units. Meanwhile, 15 respondents (33%)were satisfiedwith the indoor
temperature, 3 respondents (7%)were very satisfied, and only 6 respondents (13%)chose unsatisfied score. The finding
is almost similar to the perception of ventilation, where 87% of the respondents had chosen neutral, satisfied and very
satisfied. This suggests that the thermal comfort of the flat units is acceptable to them.Even though only a very small
number of respondents chose either unsatisfied or very unsatisfied for the ventilation and temperature, the percentage of
respondents who installed air-conditioning system in their unitswere 22% (10 respondents). However, the percentage is
still low compared to those who relied on mechanical fans and natural ventilation. This number suggests that majority
of the respondents still do not feel the need to spend money on the air-conditioning system.
Figure 8: Satisfaction levels tothe day lighting
A total of 26 respondents or 58% of the occupants gave a neutral perception of the day lighting in their houses.
Meanwhile, 22% (10 respondents) gave satisfactory perception, and followed by 18% (8 respondents) who felt very
satisfactory. Generally, it can be concluded that most respondents either did not concern on the quality of day lighting
in their houses, or they were satisfied with the current lighting. This finding suggests that the current indoor lighting is
acceptable to the occupants. The contributing factors could be the provision of large windows on both sides of the unit,
as well asa shallow depth of planlayout, which is only 7 meters. The shallow plan layout allows more penetration of
day lighting into the indoor spaces.
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Figure 9: Satisfaction levels to thenoise disturbance
The survey also found that 45% or a total of 20 respondents gave a neutral perception of noise disturbance.
Meanwhile, 18% or a total of 8 respondents gave satisfactory perception; followed by another 8% (4 respondents) who
expressed very satisfied to the noise interference. On the other hand, there were 22% (10 respondents) who felt
unsatisfied with the noise in the housing and 7%(3 respondents) who feltvery unsatisfied. This amount is greater than
the respondents who expressed satisfied or very satisfied with the noise issue. From the authors’ observationand
informal interviews, it is certain that the main reason behind this issue is due to the noise pollution from the
motorcycles that had been parked close to the units.
6. Conclusions
The study concludes that the indoor environmental quality in the selected low-cost flatis acceptable by the residents.
This is apparent from all findings, except the noise factor. Therefore, if actions are to be made to improve the quality of
the indoor environment for the selected low-cost housing, the priority shall be given to the control of noise pollution,
particularly the noise caused bythe illegally parked motorcycles.It is also important to note that even though the study
shows that most of the residents are either being neutral or satisfied/very satisfied, this finding may not exactly describe
the real quality of the indoor spaces, unless proper measurements are made.
The reason for the positive outcome could be due to the adaptation of the residents to the indoor environment of
their flat units, thus making them to feel neutral or comfort. Therefore, it is important in the future to conduct proper
measurements to the indoor environment of the flat units. There is also a limitation in this study whereonly a single
type of low-cost flat had been chosen for the survey. Hence, the authors intend to extend the research by including
another two low-cost flatswithdifferent plan layouts, but still within Selangor. Hopefully, by the completion of the
subsequent research, the outcomes could better describe the occupants’ perception of indoor environment of low-cost
flat.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded through the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2012/TK07/UKM/03/3) of
Ministry of Education of Malaysia; and the Incentive Grant for Young Researchers Research Grant (GGPM-2012-029)
of UniversitiKebangsaanMalaysia.
References
Australian Government. (2001). State of knowledge report: Air toxics and indoor air quality in Australia. Canberra:
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
Bernstein, J. A., Alexis, N., Bacchus, H., Bernstein, I. L., Fritz, P., Horner, E., . . . Tarlo, S. M. (2008). The health \
effects of nonindustrial indoor air pollution. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 121(3), 585-591.
Kementerian Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar. (2013). Dasar Rumah Mampu Milik Wilayah
Persekutuan (RUMAWIP). Putrajaya: Kementerian Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar.
Spengler, J. D., Samet, J. M., & McCarthy, J. F. (2001). Indoor air quality handbook. London: McGraw-Hill.
Woo, J. H. (2008). A conceptual framework for comfort evaluation focused on occupants' responses in work
environments. Paper presented at the Indoor Air 2008: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Indoor
Air Quality and Climate, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Defining Facilities Component for Sustainable Learning

Environment: A Case Study on Smart School in Malaysia
N.F. Bahardina57*, M.N. Baharuddin b, H.Hashim c, I.M. Ali d
a,b,c,d
Department of Building Surveying, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,Universiti Teknologi MARA (Perak), 32610 Bandar Baru
Seri Iskandar Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
Smart school intends to make a radical transformation to the education system in Malaysia by adapting innovative technologies in
the learning method. Thus, sufficient facilities are essential to optimise the reliability and consistency to meet the end-user’s
expectations in the preliminary stage of ages in order to achieve smart learning purposes. This paper presents the research on
defining the user need’s correlation with the facilities component incorporating with the enhanced education system in order to
develop a basic framework that would assist in the choice of facility and strategic FM programmed for effective reformatory in
Malaysia smart school building.
Keywords: Facilities management;facilities component;smart school
1. Introduction
Facilities are the key resources for all types of building in any organization including school. In school building, the
facilities may differ to others whereas the aim is to provide a comfortable environment in which to cultivate students.
Here, the major role will be played by the facilities management (FM). Smart school system is an effort by Malaysia
government to cultivate and encourage innovation and creativity through knowledge among the youngster. The learning
concept will focus on turning students into knowledge consumer with skilled and independent abilities in terms of
intellectual and physical. Classroom practice include with a lot of collaborative activities by using multimedia
courseware and presentation.
1.1 Facilities Component
Facilities component aims to provide end-users with a comfortable, effective and quality environment with
minimum resources (cost-effective and human services) to enhance organizational effectiveness and successfully
implement multi-disciplinary activities. Baldry (2003) emphasizes that the importance of alignment between facilities
components and user’s need and objectives with the core business will interact on changes likely to occur in the future.
According to the research done by Leung (2003), the component of FM in school plays an extensive role in a way to
provide a good quality of school environment.
School facilities are concerned about more than just resource management. It is about providing clean and safe
environments for student. It is also about creating a physical setting that is appropriate and adequate for learning. The
smart school is dedicated to provide comprehensive, through and high quality of education to achieve all knowledge
and skills necessary to function in an ethnically diverse world. This smart school system has been conceptualized to
prepare future generations for the challenges of the knowledge-based economy. The need on conducive school facilities
relies on support from the facilities component and these services must gain a high level of acceptability by the student
and teacher.
Facilities component are identified in two categories which are hard facilities and soft management. A hard facility
referred to management and maintenance of property, while soft management includes the management of support
services (HSsin, 2001) cited by Leung (2003).
Table 1: The Hard and Soft Facilities Component

Component Description
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6012-933-1066; fax: +605-3742477.

E-mail address: nurfa644@perak.uitm.edu.my.
638
F1 Space allocation The planning and control of space for personal and team work (Mark, 2002)
F2 Seat Pattern The pattern of seat which leads to allow physical proximity and greater
communication among teacher and student; ex; island pattern (Sheila,2008)
F3 Flexibility The physical arrangement which support teaching and learning with different
activities and lesson. (Leung, 2003)
F4 Colour A pleasing and visually appealing environment for productivity (Tucker, 2002;
Leung,2005)
F5 Decoration Displaying students’ work can motivate and develop self-esteem which can
acknowledge the student success; ex; bulletin boards, plants, poster. (Smith,
2007)
F6 Furniture The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of
fatigue ; ex; an adjustable armchair allows the height of a chair to be adjusted,
thus facilitating users’ comfort. (Leung2005)
F7 Lighting Appropriate lighting system can increase the response level, task performance
and productivity. (Fung, 2005)
F8 Ventilation Appropriate ventilation system can provide quality indoor air and improves the
working productivity of end-users. (Riley, 1992).
F9 Density Accommodation numbers of students (Smith, 2007)
Unwanted sound may lead to disturbance (Leung et al, 2005)

F10 Noise
Ambient temperature which refers to the air temperature in the immediately
surrounding environment directly affected by the air condition system, warm
bodies of the students and the level of natural light in the room (John et al,2003;
F11 Temperature Mohammad,2008)
Smart school concept fully functions with the information technologies and
needs for equipment stability. (Hsin, 2001;Jensen,2010)
F12 Technical Support
Appropriate arrangement to provide safety from sloppy connections of cables
and wires may result in accidents and injuries. (Michael, 1998).Safeguards for
F13 Safety & Security the property due to lose. (Laird,2004;Teo, 2002)
Hygiene in terms of cleanliness should be taken seriously into consideration to

prevent from health problem and comfort ability of the student and teacher
F14 Hygiene (Leung, 2005)
1.2. Smart School Features
The smart school criteria niche to meet the variable factors, including space management, comfort ability, school’s
appearance, safety and security and maintenance as the reference in providing a comprehensive answer on facilities
components to facilitate a smart learning environment.
Table 2: Smart School Features

Features Variable Description
Space Management Spaces for individual and group work, size of space
to accommodate facilities and student, different
area to pursued different learning activities,
physical layout allowed for new methods and
teaching practices, space to work and moving
around during lesson between teacher and student,
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sufficient technologies, internet accessing, physical

facilities for student with special needs which
create an in dependable environment among student
Comfort ability Air circulation, space temperature, sources of
lighting (natural and artificial), and furniture layout
create a conducive learning environment
School Appearance Visual appearance and areas for displayed learning
material.
Safety and Security Secure locker for student, safety fitting for cables
and wires.
Maintenance Physical condition, technologies, integrated system
in managing school
Source: Education Technology Division, Ministry of Education
2. Problem and Issues
İn recent years, Malaysia give a full effort and initiatives in educational system including school facilities. The
development of design and technical aspects of facilities concentrated to school builiding mostly neglecting the actual
needs of end-users; student. (Gopalakrisnan, 2003; Ahmadi, 2000). Managing the facilities for school building is
highly large and complex but threw the defining facilities component and development of framework model will
helped to develop a standard facilities that can be adopt as a reference for conducting the facilities management in
school building.
3. Methodology
A questionnaire was designed based upon literature and previous research done to get the correlation
generally between the facilities component and smart school features as shown in Table 3. There are five (5) main
sections in the questionnaire survey namely space management, comfort ability, school’s appearance, safety and
security and maintenance. Each part addressed one and more facilities components selected as referred to the
literature review respectively. A survey questionnaire was conducted at five (5) smart feeder schools to gain insight
into the user’s need correlation with the listed facilities component in smart school. The questionnaire aims at
identifying current needs concerning the component that suit with the learning environment in smart school where the
improvement can be achieved for better practices at three (3) main locations consisted of classroom, media centre and
laboratory. The reply to each question is encoded in number to make it quantifiable for easy analysis. The number 1-4
is to represent from most agreeable to most disagreeable. Scoring of the questionnaire was calculated by percentage
and the agreeable result will be the key component of facilities of the selected space as to be the reference in
developing the conceptual framework for facilities in smart school. The intention of the study is to provide a
comprehensive answer on components and conceptual framework in smart school learning environment. In order to
fully understand the results of the questionnaire survey, the structured interviews was done to MEDEC smart school
supervisory staffs and Ministry of Education (Teacher Education Division, Communication, Multimedia and
Technology Division, Educational Technology Division and Educational Planning and Policy Research Division)
respectively. A total number of five (5) interviewees were selected with different discipline and position which
involved directly in smart school project in each selected case study building.
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Table 3: The Correlation between Facilities Component and Smart School Features
4. Analysis and Discussions
4.1. Questionnaire Result
4.1.1. Classroom
The result indicated that space allocation (F1), seat pattern (F2) , flexibility (F4), colour (F4), technical support
(F12) and security and safety (F13) are the components that influence the overall need’s of respondent in the
classroom by indicate the percentage of agreeable responds. This shows that the environment (comfortable
atmosphere, space management and safety and security) in the classroom directly affects the learning environment. In
the smart school, ‘supplementary facilities’ such as personal computer with Internet accessed are the facilities that
must be provided in each classroom, while the seating and allocation of space for individual and group (space
management) arranged in flexibility manner to encourages attention, ease the discussion and coordination within a
group and thus improves the student’s preferences and goal achievement. Sufficient Innovative technologies provided
and functioning such as projector and projection screen provide opportunities for students to view real pictures, gain
practical experience, and enhance their creativity. In the other hand, the others component such as density, noise,
ventilation and others were all mentioned by the respondents with a lower percentage but it did not affect on the
overall perspectives on needs with facilities components in the classrooms.
4.1.2 Media Centre
Space allocation (F1), flexibility (F3), lighting (F7), furniture (F6), colour (F4), decoration (F5), seat pattern (F2),
technical support (F12) and safety and security (F13) are the facilities components due to the respondent need’s for
media centre. Sufficient sources of lighting, comfort and attractive furniture and a good space allocation are needed to
establish a comfortable and stress-free atmosphere where students can read and search for information. The findings
also revealed that colour and decoration have the impact on the respondent perspective of needs in the media centre.
The end-users (teachers and students) did not generally consider on the noise disruption, ventilation and hygiene
because they satisfied with the design of noise barriers and the ventilation system in the space.
4.1.3. Laboratory
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Nine (9) facilities components affected the overall perspectives in the laboratories namely as space allocation (F1),
flexibility (F3), colour (F4),seat pattern (F2), density (F9), lighting (F7), safety and security (F13), technical support
(F12) and furniture (F6). The importance of identified component in laboratories, specifically science laboratories
cannot be ignored by the respondents. Since laboratories had become part of the daily learning activities of the
respondent, the result were taking into consideration in terms of the arrangement of seats and suitability of furniture,
density of students’ seating and review the sources of lighting in order to ensure safety, improve visual comfort,
motivate creativity through the environment of lab where as hands on activities was the main part of learning.
4.2. Correlation between User’s Need and Management Perspective
The comparison between the perceptions from the professional involved with the finding revealed from the
questionnaire survey is also included in the analysis in a way to get a better result. In general, they believed that
physical environment influences (both positively and negatively) students learning process. The end users (teacher
and student) and interviewees had different opinions about the facilities components. The interviewees explained that
there was no standard design for smart school based on specific requirements and limitations. However, the end-users
expectation may not always be met due to the size of the approved budget, the space available and so forth. In
addition, the sufficiency and quality of the facilities and furniture provided are dependent on the size of the approved
budget.
Therefore, the end-users needs always be the consideration by the team. Although all the respondents agreed that
ventilation is an important component that can affect student’s concentration and health, the end-users did not
considered on the designs of ventilation either artificially or naturally, even on the noise reduction and disruption
from outside and inside of the spaces. The interviews had different opinion which they thought that noise level is
preliminary to measured in a way to enable elimination of disruption to teaching and learning. Moreover, sufficient
space and lighting in a room allows a better seat allocation and provides a comfortable learning environment.
However, the respondent from the questionnaire analysis finds the end-users was provided with personal lockers for
their belongings but the felt unsafe to leave their belongings in the lockers. The end-users also preferred on the
traditional row format of seating rather than in a group format and they can accept on moving the furniture for
different learning activities because it encouraged social interaction between others. The interviewees have different
point of view on the security of storage facilities. The end-users and interviewees made similar comments about
density, temperature and colour and decoration. If a room has a high density, it reduces the width of aisles between
desks and a slightly cool temperature can lead to more effective learning in the spaces. The end-users also believed
that colour and decoration in the classroom can enhance student interest on learning activities.
5. Conclusion
As a conclusion, the objectives of the research are achieved in ascertaining the correlation between facilities
component and the user’s need. Objectives are met by analyzing the case studies on the facilities component. It has
been clearly identified the extent of the practices by using the selected facilities component. As a result of reviewing
the information gathered through interview and questionnaire on the component, it can be concluded that the
implementation of facilities component in smart school covers the full spectrum of its major activities which
addressed the facilities that have relationship between the users. Through the overall perception of the end-users,
facilities management was incorporating with the enhanced quality of educational environment. Different location
required different components of facilities management. However, there was a similarity of component between the
location such as space allocation (F1), flexibility (F3), seat pattern (F2), colour (F4), safety and security (F13) and
also technical support (F12) were found to be the key components in all locations identified
5.1 Conceptual Framework
The recommendation on the proposed conceptual framework on for smart school is to ensure assisting in the
choice of facility for effective reformatory on smart school building. The proposed framework will only focus on
the facilities management components in each space identified. The significant areas considered in the framework
are as follows:
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Preliminary Study On Building Conservation And Regeneration

of Historic Areas in Malaysia: Brickfields
S.Y. Said*, R. Abdul Rashid, N. R. Muhamad Ariff a
a,
Centre of Studies for Building Surveying, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM Shah Alam, Shah Alam, 40450 Selangor
Abstract
Brickfields is an historic area in Malaysia well known for its cultural heritage. The composition of the multi-ethnic groups in
Brickfields represents the situation of most of the historic cities and areas in Malaysia. The area was chosen for the pilot study to test
the research methodology because it is an historic area that is currently undergoing transformation to adapt it to modern demands,
without compromising the heritage legacy. Furthermore, the area has many contested issues such as the extent of the protection of its
heritage and represents the current dilemma faced by many historic cities and areas in Malaysia, in embracing the modern world.
Keywords: conservation; regeneration; heritage; legacy; modern
1. Introduction
The state of conservation practice and the fate of historic buildings and cities reflect the critical issue of the value of
heritage in Malaysia. The idea of safeguarding heritage has been far behind the agenda of the government until recent
years. This has resulted in physical and cultural heritage loss. The consciousness of the importance of heritage has
triggered the implementation of the National Heritage Act 2005 which focuses on safeguarding the nation’s heritage.
The implementation of the act, however, has been late when compared to the poor state of built heritage in Malaysia.
There has been redevelopment projects carried out in some of the major tourist cities in Malaysia in order to bring in
more income. This redevelopment activity often leads to the extensive demolition of the historic buildings and
architectural features of the area. Nonetheless, in some places such as George Town, Taiping, Melaka and Kuala
Lumpur, the recent redevelopment has considered the preservation of historic buildings in the area to complement new
design schemes and in order to retain the character of the place.
In Malaysia, urban conservation, which is classified into three components; building conservation, area conservation
and cultural conservation, ‘is fast gaining momentum, particularly in cities with outstanding historical, architectural and
cultural heritage’ (Mohamed et al., 2001: p172). However, ‘heritage cities in the developing nations, including
Malaysia, currently face intensified urban problems as a result of rapid population growth, economic development and
population growth (Mohamed et al., 2001: p176).
1.1 Brickfields
Brickfields is an historic area in Malaysia well known for its cultural heritage. The area is listed under the Tertiary
Heritage Zone by Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL 2008). Situated opposite Kuala Lumpur Sentral (the main
transportation hub), Brickfields has now become a favourite place for residence as it is a gateway to the foremost
transportation hub in the country.
Many redevelopment activities have taken place in the area to supply the demand for modern living by the residents.
Nonetheless, with the imposition of laws regarding the conservation of historic buildings, it is interesting to study the
approach taken for development. This chapter discusses the history of Brickfields, its development from the colonial
period until now, followed by the analysis of the findings from the field study.
1.2 Heritage appreciation in Brickfields
Although Brickfields is significant for its Indian settlements, many other religious buildings exist in the area; it has
for example a concentration of Christian churches: Orthodox Syrian, Evangelical Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist and
Anglican (Lovell 1993). All the churches are built in close proximity. The plausible explanation for this is the influence
of British missionaries in India and others brought to the neighbourhood by the Singhalese and Indians.
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For this study, a mixed-used method covered all the themes designed, based on the aims and objectives. The
research methodology used at this stage was tested for its significance in order to establish the best methodology to be
used in stage two of the research. The survey was conducted using three methods which were: interview, survey
questionnaire and townscape survey. The research was divided into three themes which were physical, social and
economic. All the methodologies applied during the survey were built up using these themes (Table 1)
Table 1: Methodologies applied in thestudy using research design themes
Aim: To examine the relationship between conservation and METHODOLOGIES

regeneration in the redevelopment scheme for historic cities
THEMES Interview Survey Townscape Secondary
Questionnaire Survey data
Physical
-building condition
-conservation work
-development composition (old & new)
Social
-societies’ perspectives on conservation
-usage of historic buildings in everyday life
-safety
-cleanliness
-main users of the area
Economy
-reusing historic buildings
-economic state after regeneration
To test the theory and methods, an historic area of Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur was selected. The area has an
important historic significance in the history of Kuala Lumpur. Brickfields represents a multicultural community in
Malaysia and the historic buildings are very similar to the ones in the case study areas and other historic cities in
Malaysia. The redevelopment of the area has been carried out several times,
Table 2: Summary of methodology used in the pilot study and the respondents to the study.
Methods Respondents
Interview Local Authority: Aznida Azlan, Architect, Urban Design and Heritage Unit, Kuala Lumpur City
Hall.
Federal Agency: Kamarul Baharin, Director of Registration of Heritage and Enforcement,
Department of Heritage, under the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture.
Local residents: SK Naidu (Neighbourhood awareness), Sandrasegaran R., M.Ramoo,T.S.Maniam,
Supra. All the local residents of Brickfields pre and post independent. (Focus group)
Townscape Survey Divided into 4 zones, each zone represents 25% of Brickfields scores
Survey Questionnaires 70 respondents consisting of users, residents and traders (out of targeted 100 survey questionnaires)
3.0 Findings
Observation of the number of historic buildings left and their present condition, illustrates the evidence that the
conservation of historic buildings there has helped the transformation of the area. The development of the neighbouring
area of KL Sentral (Figure 1) which includes the introduction of many new buildings and the intermodal transportation
hub brings people and businesses to the area. This area became more accessible and it helps in supporting the cultural
events conducted here. Nonetheless, Brickfields is known for its congested traffic area, because of these activities.
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Figure 1 : Neighbouring high rise buildings of KL Sentral , view from Brickfields
Figure 2: Brickfields, view from KL Sentral
In June 2010, the ‘Little India’ Project was launched to transform Brickfields into a tourism centre. The project
was under the Ministry of Federal Territory and Urban Wellbeing and the sum of RM35 million (£7M) was allocated
for this redevelopment (Moses 2010). The first phase was scheduled to be completed in October 2010, and the Prime
Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, was invited for the launching of the area on 9 th November 2010 (Achariam
and Daim 2010).
The project aims to transform Brickfields into a cultural enclave with a multi-storey car park, an up-market Indian
bazaar, souvenir centres and a food court. The new look will feature an entrance archway located at the tail end of Jalan
Brickfields and the Brickfields Police Station, a fountain will be constructed at the junction of Jalan Travers and
Brickfields (Bavani 2010). The proposed three storey Indian bazaar at the end of Jalan Tun Sambanthan will house
tailoring and beauty services, henna paintings and many things related to Indian culture (Bavani 2010).
Nonetheless, issues regarding the survival of historic buildings remain unsolved. The famous 100 Quarters
residents, whose premises were listed as historic buildings were asked to move out and were relocated to make way for
redevelopment (Achariam 2010). The quarters will be developed in phase two of the project; however, it is not yet
known what kind of redevelopment will take place. Furthermore, it has been learnt that if the proposal is approved, the
developer will tear down the quarters to make way for a modern hawker centre, a multi storey car park and a bazaar
(Achariam 2010).
Figure 3 : 100 Quarters has been conserved to go with the new image of Brickfields
It is, however, a debatable issue, since the building is listed as a heritage building by the City Council. On the other
hand, from the observation made during author’s recent visit to Brickfields in 2010, the first phase of the
redevelopment project has completed, and the 100 quarters were restored along with other historic buildings along
Jalan Tun Sambanthan (Figure 3). Looking at the stage of the conservation work carried out; there is no indication of
the building are to be pulled down in the next stage of the development scheme.
3.1 Building use
From the observations made during the pilot study carried out in Brickfields, and from indications in the structure
plan (DBKL,2008b), most of the upper floors of the shophouses in Brickfields, have been converted into many
different uses such as premises for private colleges and offices. The strategic location of the area is an advantage. This
is evident from the questionnaire survey conducted during the pilot study which verifies the fact that 45.1% of the users
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of the area are employees and 21.1% are students (Table 3) and 52.1% of users come to the area to work, while 14.8%
come to shop (Table 4).
Figure 4: Buildings in Brickfields area served as classrooms, offices and accommodation, and businesses and stores.
Table 3: Economic activities of the users of Brickfields area
Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Employed full time 32 45.1 45.1
Self-employed/freelance 17 23.9 69.0
Unemployed/seeking work 3 4.2 73.2
Retired 1 1.4 74.6
Looking after family/home 3 4.2 78.9
Full time college/university student 15 21.1 100.0
Total 71 100.0
Table 4: Daily activities of the users of Brickfields area
Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Shopping 10 14.1 14.3
Leisure 3 4.2 18.6
Working 37 52.1 71.4
Meeting 8 11.3 82.9
None the above 5 7.0 90.0
mixture of above 1 1.4 91.4
business 1 1.4 92.9
Study 4 5.6 98.6
Working and meeting 1 1.4 100.0
Total 70 98.6
Total 71 100.0
While the upper floors of the buildings are mostly used as classrooms, offices and accommodation, the ground floors
house the businesses (Figure 5). Most of the shops are convenience stores and the majority sell Indian cultural items,
ranging from traditional dresses to prayer paraphernalia (Figure 6). These businesses contribute to the overall income of
the area and are the heart of Brickfields.
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Figure 5: The busy five foot ways of modern shophouses in Brickfields
Figure 6: Shops selling Indian cultural items

3.2 The protection and conservation of the historic buildings
In terms of the protection and the conservation of historic buildings, this neighbourhood can be proud only of
some individual historic buildings such as the famous hostel; the Vivekenanda Ashraman built in 1904, the 104 year
old Sri Kandaswamy Temple of Singhalese architecture (not gazetted as a heritage building), a 50 year old Three
Teachings Chinese Temple and colonial government quarters of 100 Quarters that are well maintained.
The majority of the other buildings in the area have been built since 1970. No other historic buildings survive. The
absence of a comprehensive law governing the conservation of buildings that are less than one hundred years old, and
before the introduction of the National Heritage Act 2005, is one of the contributing factors to the loss of many historic
buildings of the area.
Figure 7: The shophouses at Jalan Scott, Brickfields. Only the front façade of the top floor of the premise in the centre of the three two storey
shophouses remains.
Table 5: The townscape survey of Brickfields area
Building
Category Physical Social Conservation Overall
condition
Zone 40 20 20 20 100
A 25.8 11.6 15.8 4.8 58
B 28 9 14.3 5.8 57.1
C 28 11 15 10 64
D 34 15 19 11 79
Total 115.8 46.6 64.1 31.6 258.1
Overall
score for 29 12 16 6 64.5%
Brickfields
Brickfields scores an overall score of 64.5% in the Townscape Survey assessment carried out, where the highest
score is for physical characteristics and the lowest for conservation (Table 5). The regeneration schemes provide
opportunities for businesses and contribute to the enhancement of the neighbourhood with new buildings. The social
characteristic is used as an indicator of how well the buildings stimulate the users, and shows that some of the
neighbourhood is being well used, but not the historic buildings.
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As an historic area, Brickfields has lost its tangible heritage (the built form) which was demolished and replaced
by new build. However, it has maintained its intangible heritage (the cultural heritage) that made the neighbourhood
well-known. This has become an added value to the area and attracts tourists. The area’s regeneration scheme helps in
offering suitable space for more businesses but the conservation of historic buildings is not a factor in the success of
the scheme.
Brickfields is listed as a Tertiary Heritage Zone that is defined in the Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 (KLCP 2020)
Draft as ‘the more recently developed shophouse areas such as PWTC/ Chow Kit, Pudu, Brickfields and Sungai Besi
that mainly contain buildings of little or no historic significance’(DBKL 2008). Requirements in these areas will be the
least stringent and aimed primarily at maintaining the shophouse ambience, scale and urban continuity. Alterations and
additions to designated heritage buildings, as well as new developments in the Tertiary Heritage Zone which are not
shophouse areas, will be subject to review by the Design Review Panel (DBKL 2008).
Nevertheless, the townscape survey shows that the KLCP 2020 helps in preserving the identity of the place, which
is primarily the shophouses, but not in a way that has promoted good conservation schemes as part of the regeneration
of the area. The development allowed that the area, as defined by the plan, must consider the ‘character area’ of
Brickfields which are the shop houses and Indian cultural heritage (Azlan, 2009).
The townscape survey conducted during the field study reveals that not all the shop houses were well maintained,
let alone preserved. Many 19th Century shophouses were left derelict (Figure 8). In contrast, some have been very well
conserved, for example the Wei Ling gallery (Figures 9 and 10), which is located near to the derelict buildings shown
in Figure 19.
Figure 8: A derelict 19th Century shop house at Jalan Scott, Brickfields.
Figure 9: The exterior of Wei Ling gallery(highlighted in blue dotted box)
Figure 10: The interior of Wei Ling gallery
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4.0 Conclusion
The results of the pilot study show the poor state of historic buildings in the area and the incompetence of the
relevant authority to ensure the survival of the buildings. The dilapidated pre-war buildings and evidence of
demolished and replaced buildings also contribute to the loss of heritage values in the built environment context. The
redevelopment schemes carried out over the years focus on constructing and designing new buildings, whereas the old
shophouses are left to decline.
Although designated as a heritage zone, the identity of the area is defined by its cultural, not its architectural,
heritage. Nonetheless, being the cultural centre of many heritages, in a multi cultural society, religious and cultural
buildings are maintained and well preserved; this conservation work was usually privately funded. The study also
reveals the importance of the cultural context in heritage conservation to be considered in formulating the criteria for
successful regeneration schemes of historic cities in Malaysia and Asia as a whole. This consideration was noted and
applied when carrying out the second stage of the study.
Redevelopment project by DBKL has produced major changes to the area in the one year period. Phase One of the
proposed redevelopment or revitalisation scheme had physically transformed the area. The makeover has enhanced the
identity of Brickfields as ‘Little India’ and has given a new identity to the place (Figures 11and 12).
Figure 11: New gateway to Brickfields, view from Kuala Lumpur. Uniform decorated lamp posts provide new identity to the area.
Figure 12: Paved, decorated road along Jalan Tun Sambanthan. The arches on the sides of the roads are painted in bright colours representing Indian
culture, while pavements were decorated with floral patterns representing kolams or rongalis of Indian arts
During the study, cleanliness was addressed as a major issue in the area. Garbage was left unattended on
pavements, parking areas and on roads (Figures 13 to 16). It has created an uncomfortable ambience for the visitors
and has affected the scores for physical assessment, for which impression of the state of cleanliness (in view) of the
area is one measure. This variable was important to determine the civic consciousness, and part of the attitude survey
of the residents, on the well being of their area.
Figures 13 and 14: Garbage in yellow bags and general litter was everywhere to be seen in Brickfields. It created a negative identity to the area.
651
Figures 15 and 16: Unkempt streetscape at parking residential area.
Despite all the beautification and the revitalisation works that had taken place, the recent visit to the area shows this
issue has not been resolved. Garbage was left on the pavement at Jalan Chan Ah Tong (Figure 17), and was visible
from the main road to Brickfields. This would represent a negative image for the area. Therefore, a good garbage
collection system is proposed to be implemented to control this situation. Attractive streetscape reflects the type of
society who lived there.
Figure 17: Garbage was left on the pavement of the main road to Brickfields, at the junction of Jalan Tun Sambanthan and Jalan Chan Ah Tong.
The results from further regeneration and revitalisation schemes for Brickfields are awaited. It is hoped that the
project will transform the place physically and address all the issues of conservation and cleanliness discussed earlier.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Universiti Teknologi MARA, UiTM for the Research Intensive Fund (RIF) to carry
out this research.
References
Achariam, N. (2010). Make quarters heritage site. The New Straits Time.
Achariam, N. and N. Daim (2010). Little India to be completed by October. The New Straits Time.
Babbie, E. R. (2008). The Basic of Social Research. USA, Thomson Wadsworth.
Bavani, M. (2010). Big Plan in Store for Brickfields area. The Star. Kuala Lumpur.
Daim, N. (2010). Street in Brickfields stay in two ways. The New Straits Time.
DBKL (2008). Draft Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020, DBKL.
Gullick, J. M. (2000). A history of Kuala Lumpur 1857-1939 / by J.M. Gullick. Selangor : Academe Art & Printing
Services.
Lovell, J. (1993). Brickfields, Badan Warisan Malaysia: 183 to 189.
Moses, B. (2010). Changing faces of Brickfields. New Straits Time. Kualal Lumpur.
Ramsayer, C. (1991). Brickfields, Badan Warisan Malaysia: 1 to 7.
Shull, C. (1985). Brickfields, Badan Warisan Malaysia.
Sommer, B. and R. Sommer (1997). A Practical Guied to Behavioural Research. Oxford, OUP.
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Defining The Critical Success Factor In FM Malaysian

Healthcare Sector
M.K.Ghania,58*, Z.A.. Hamid b, I. Ibrahimc, S.N. Kamaruzzaman d and Z. N.Musae
a,b,c
Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM), IBS Centre, 1 st Floor, Block E, Lot 8, Jalan Chan Sow Lin, 55200 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
d,e
Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Abstract
The International Facility Management Association defines Facility Management (FM) as a profession that encompasses multiple
disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology. FM is relatively
new in Malaysia, perhaps it still at the infancy stage. Presently, the adoption and practice FM in Malaysia is predominantly focused
on multinational company (MNCs) and also little bit on the government side. FM in healthcare is one of the factors to be
considered. In 1996, the government privatized the non-critical support services in government healthcares to three FM companies.
It was the biggest FM contract by the government at that time. FM in healthcare need to be given priority compared to other sectors
because it’s dealing with human life. This research focus on key problems and challenges involving FM services in healthcare. The
key problems and challenges in healthcare identified via a focus group of two organisation. The research looks into the phenomenon
of local hospital. The respondents were divided into two groups as a Group A and Group B. Each group consisted of representative
from different organisations. This study gives critical success factor that can be shared by most parties in healthcare today and will
enhance service deliver in facilities management healthcare.
Keywords: Facilities management, healthcare, challenges, key problem, critical success factors
1. Introduction
Facilities Management (FM) is defined as a support function (UCL, 1993; Alexander 1996) to organisations but its
role in the maintenance of building facilities and in property management are also critical and demanding (Sarshar,
2000; Underwood and Alshawi, 2000; Barret, 1995). FM is viewed as being divided into two entities based on these
two aspects, which show the importance of the project life-cycle because they are inter-related and share information
from the project brief to the design life of the building. The existence of facilities management is to support the
activities of the organization which is the core in achieving organizational goals. In the field of facility management,
there are four main factors which are people, process, technology and also premises. Egan (1998) recognised the
need for construction and facilities managers to work together as part of an integrated team to improve
results to reduce maintenance expenditure. Issue of FM in Malaysia had taken place since 2007 when such failure
government-owned building happened by unprecedented failures. It has caused an alarming situation for construction
and maintenance industry. Thus prompted government to take action swiftly and relook back to the current practices in
managing maintenance and facility in government buildings (CIDB, 2011). The resolutions from the emerging issues
have been addressed in National Asset and Facility Management Convention (NAFAM) year 2009. Among the major
issues highlighted are there is no integration of physical planning on asset development which causes major losses of
government resources. The return of investment is also uncertainty to industry in the provision and management of
government assets. The issue of ad-hoc of management that led to shortening life span and decrease level of reliability
of function is also being addressed (CIDB, 2011). Thus government required a sustained approach; comprehensive
facilities management system should be developed and put into practice. One of the ways that Government should look
is on the strengthening procurement system right from the beginning.
Facility management is important for all organizations especially in healthcare. Healthcare is considered as a very
important institution for people and had been recognized providing medical care for people. The service delivery and
performance in healthcare and healthcare sector required most sophisticated approach compared with other
organization. People would always express their views in media with regards to the quality services rendered by
healthcare. The issue of service quality and performance are plaguing among the healthcare throughout the country

E-mail address: khairolden@cidb.gov.my/ihfasuziella@cidb.gov.my
653
over the years. According to Ruslan (2007) the key issue currently plaguing FM in Malaysia is low service quality and
performance. In fact, KPMG (2005) found that quality performance of reputation is the main key factor which
enhanced an organization’s ability to secure new work. Therefore, it stated clearly in healthcare’s vision and mission is
to provide a high top quality of services and keep improving customer satisfaction from time to time.
2. Related Works
2.1 Facilities Management Concepts
According to Bernard William Associate (1994), FM is a process where an organization provides and maintains
services in a great quality environment by using the appropriate cost to meet the needs of the organization. Its means
the costs incurred in the organization need to be adjusted to actual needs. According to IFMA (2005), FM is a
profession that includes the integration of activities of different disciplines to ensure functionality of the environment
with the integration of people, places, processes and technology. However, such criticism is given by Lindholm (2005)
definition and scope of FM to date still remains debatable and it depends on local culture, the importance of
organizational and personal interests. According to Nourse (1990), FM is units are often neglected strategic planning
and to emphasize the important factor. The early definition, (Becker, 1995; Cotts and Lee, 1992) suggests that FM is
only concerned with the “hardware” such as buildings, furniture and equipment at the workplace. Hamid (2005)
defined FM into two groups, the first group is focus on description of the physical workplace which has a direct link
with design and construction related activities and second group is focus on services and performance in the
organisation. Table 1 and table 2 show the definition s relating to each of these perspectives.
Table 1. FM definition focus on the physical workplace (Hamid, 2005)
FM Definition
1. FM – a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people,
place process and technology (IFMA, 2003).
2. FM – the integration of multi-disciplinary activities within the built environment and the management
of their impact upon people and the workplace (BIFM,2003)
3. FM – an integrated approach to operating, maintaining, improving and adapting the buildings and infrastructure of an organization
in order to create an environment that strongly supports the primary objectives of that organization (Barret, 1995).
4. FM refers to building in use, to the planning, design and management of occupied buildings and their associated building systems,
equipment, and furniture to enable and(one hopes) to enhance the organisation’s ability to meet its business or programmatic
objectives (Becker, 1995).
5. FM is the practice of coordinating the physical workplace with the people and work of the organization, integrates, the principles
of business administrations, architecture, and the behavioural and engineering sciences (Cotts and Lee, 1992).
6. FM has been described as a hybrid management discipline that combine people, property and prosess management expertise to
provide vital services in support of the organization (Then, 1999).
7. At a local level, the strategic objective of FM is the effective management of facility resources and services in providing shells of
support to us all; support to the operations of organizations, their working groups, project teams and individuals. So, the primary
function of FM is resource management, at strategic and operational levels of support (Nutt, 2000).
8. FM is the integrated management of the workplace to enhance the performance of the organization (Tay and OOi, 2001).
Table 2. FM definition focus on the services and performance (Hamid, 2005)
FM Definition
1. FM – the process by which an organization delivers and sustains support services in a quality
environment to meet strategic needs (Alexander, 1996; CFM, 1996).
2. FM – a management function that improves and supports the primary process/core business of an
organization by delivering all needed facilities (CEN/TC 348 “Facilities Management”, 2004).
3. FM – an integrated approach to planning and delivering the agreed services that support an
organization’s primary activities. This includes developing and implementing policies, standards, and
processes that enable the organization to adapt to change and to improve effectiveness (EFM, 2004).
4. The primary function of FM is resource management, at both strategic and operational levels of support
654
and is defined as “the management of facility resources and services in support of the operations of an
organization” (UCL, 1993).
2.2 Critical Success Factor in FM Malaysian Healthcare
According to IFMA (2005), Facilities Management is a profession that includes the integration of activities of
different disciplines to ensure functionality of the environment with the integration of people, places, processes and
technology. They conclude that all facilities management given before to take all dimension and scope of Facilities
Management to form conducive and productive work place. This statement will be used as a basis in the critical success
factor in FM healthcare sector.
Figure 1. Ilustration of Facilities Management

(Source: IFMA, 2005)
3. Analysis
This study involved two sectors of healthcare which is Hospital X and hospital Y. Each group consisted of
representatives from different organizations using selection criteria suitability of the research objectives as described at
Table 3. Facilitator was appointed to record the discussion that had been done and draw conclusions from the results
discussion.
Table.3 Allocation of participants in each group
Group A Group B
Hospital X representatives
Hospital Y representatives Hospital Y representatives
Facilitator Industry representatives
Facilitator
Based on the analysis, the key problem and challenges divided to 4 categories. The following is a key problem and
challenges for the people, process, financial and technology.
i) People
a) Overlapping of functions
b) Aligning strategic decisions from top management with FM requirement in the healthcares
c) Succession planning to replace retiring or outgoing staff as part of the career development programme in
the healthcares
d) Recognition and accreditation of FM training and competency programme module for the healthcares
e) Staff/public has a lack of awareness of health, safety and environment issues in the work place.
f) Misconception about FM not providing value for money services
g) Improper schedule maintenance i.e ‘Run to failure’ attitude (breakdown maintenance)
h) Benefit of FM is seen as value for money but difficult to quantify
i) Management pay insufficient attention to FM services because they are seen as a non core function in
healthcares
j) Lack of understanding about FM functions
k) Preference for specific equipment by some Medical Officers (MOs)
l) Lack of staff competency to meet challenging and complex situations in performing specific tasks in
healthcares
ii) Process
655
a) Lack of knowledge and management skills among leaders and peers, with a need for team building and
establishment of a training programme
b) Insufficient reference in Asset and Facilities Manual (AFM)
c) FM is perceived as a support service and not central to the organisation
d) No strategic and transformation planning in FM
e) Lack of standard, statutory and mandatory requirements to implement FM function
f) FM is positioned at lower non strategic level with insufficient corporate recognition
g) FM function and process are performed on ad hoc and operational basis
h) FM is not integrated with core management functions in healthcares
i) FM policy changes when new management takes over
j) Selection of criteria for outsourcing FM services are not clearly defined
k) Obliged to select lowest bidders for FM activities
l) Decisions on technical FM matters are not made by competent managers
m) Contracts are being awarded without setting proper performance measurement criteria
n) Lack of guidelines for performance measurement
o) Unclear supervision and monitoring process guidelines
p) Lack of records and historical data (record keeping)
q) Bureaucracy
r) Excessive workload and insufficient competent staff trained in FM
s) The involvement and participation of stake-holders is not holistic resulting in the user’s requirements not being
met
iii) Financial
a) Budget constraints in maintenance

b) Low priority given by finance to the annual FM programme
c) Rigid financial planning means ad-hoc development
d) Unattractive Return on Investment (ROI)
e) First class infrastructure , third world mentality
f) No lifecycle cost analysis consideration for all assets
g) Cost of maintenance and services is not standardized (eg; lift, etc.) with need to open up monopolistic
practices
h) Financial benefits of practising FM are not clear in healthcares
iv) Technology
a) Integrated Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (ICMMS) for finance, staffing, procurement, and
inventory are not widely accepted
b) Unorganised FM related data for management and technical purposes. Uncertainty with data accuracy and a
slow record updating process
c) High cost for maintenance and licensing of software
d) Multiple level of accessibility to the ICMMS
e) Difficulties in adopting fast technology growth in IT
Even though FM exists to support the core business, it always faces difficulties. Participants from industry and
healthcares were requested to prioritize the issues and challenges in FM services based on their professional
experience and knowledge. Industry representatives stressed finance as top priority. Their reason was that they
need sufficient funds to run their businesses. They subsequently ranked ‘process’’, ‘people’, ‘technology’ and
‘place’ in descending order. The industry’s perspective on the priority of the issues is summarized below.
Industry’s Perspective on the Priority of the Issues

1st Priority: Financial and Monetary Source
a) There are always budget constraints for maintenance in the annual budget
plan for healthcares
b) In conducting FM programmes, there are issues around awareness and
competency training for staff which the government does not consider as a
656
priority, especially when it comes to allocating budgets

c) Only a small amount of the budget is allocated for ad-hoc projects
d) Management tends to believe that FM provides an unattractive Return on
Investment (ROI)
e) There is no-life cycle cost analysis when considering assets.
f) Services are not standardized for maintenance (e.g for lift or escalator)
which can lead to monopolistic tendencies
g) Management do not see any benefit from practicing FM in healthcares
2nd Priority: Process

a) There is a lack of knowledge and management skills among leaders and peers which require a
training programme to build knowledgeable teams
b) There is insufficient reference to Asset and Facilities Manual (AFM)
c) FM is perceived as a support service rather than central to the organisation
d) There is no strategy and transformation planning in FM
e) There is a lack of standards, statutory and mandatory, to implement the
FM function
f) FM is viewed non strategically
g) FM function and process are performed on an ad hoc and operational basis
h) FM is not integrated with core functions in healthcares
i) FM policy changes when there is new management
j) The selection of criteria for outsourcing FM services is not clearly defined
k) Management is obliged to select lowest bidder for FM activities
l) Decision-making on technical FM matters is not performed by competent
managers
m) Contracts are awarded without setting proper performance measurement
criteria
n) There is a lack of guidelines for performance measurement
o) The guidelines for the supervision and monitoring process are unclear
p) There is a lack of record and data collection
Hospital X’s Perspective on the Priority of the Issues

1st Priority: People
a) Overlapping of functions between technical and non technical (hard and soft) in FM
b) Senior management’s strategic decisions must be aligned with FM requirement in the healthcare
c) Succession plan to replace retiring or outgoing staff as part of the career development process in the
healthcare
d) Recognition and accreditation of FM training and competency program/ module for healthcare
e) People/public are inadequately informed about the health, safety and environment issues in their work
place
f) Misconception of FM not providing value for money services
g) Improper schedule maintenance i.e. ‘Run to failure’ attitude (breakdown maintenance)
h) Value for money benefit of FM is difficult to quantify
i) Management pay insufficient attention to FM services because they are seen as having a non core function
in healthcare
j) Lack of understanding of FM functions
k) Preference for specific equipment by some doctors
l) Lack of staff competency to meet challenging and complex situations or to perform specific tasks in
healthcare
2nd Technology
a) Integrated computerised maintenance management system (ICMMS) for finance, staffing, procurement,
and inventory is not widely accepted
a) Unorganised FM related data for management and technical use
b) Uncertainty on data accuracy coupled with slow updating
c) High cost for maintenance and licensing of software
d) Multiple level of accessibility to the ICMMS
657
e) Difficulties with adopting new technology in fast growth IT sector
4. Discussion
After analysis of all the group discussion it was clears that there are a number of factors which need to be considered in
terms of FM implementation in healthcares like Hospital X and Hospital Y. The study identified five main factors:
people, process, place, technology and finance. These factors are critical to the successful implementation of FM. The
proposed strategic FM key success factors framework is depicted in the Figure.
Critical Success Factors

in FM Healthcare Sector
PEOPLE PROCESS PLACE TECHNOLOGY FINANCIAL
Continuous Restructuring Space Integrated Value

Training Management System for Money
Competency Integrated Sustainable Data Life Cycle

Management Analysis
Leadership Consolidation Infrastructure

Support
Process
Coordination
FM
Profession/
Carrier
Path
Service Quality
Regulation
Figure 2. Critical Success Factor in FM Healthcare
5. Conclusion
This paper tries to describe how facilities management in healthcare is very important to ensure all organization
running smoothly. The output showed that the facilities management in healthcare is not efficient and effective. The
major issues and problem is from people factor, financial factor and technology factor. The respondents from industry’s
perspective on the priority of the issues are financial and monetary source and also process. The Hospital X’s
perspectives on the priority of the issues are people and technology. However, after the analysis of all the group
658
discussion it was clears that there are number of factors which need to be considered in terms of FM implementation in
healthcares like Hospital X and Hospital Y. There are five main factors which are people, process, place, technology
and finance. The critical success factor of people includes continuous training, competency, leadership support and FM
profession or carrier. There are six criteria critical success factor of process which are restructuring, integrated,
consolidation, process coordination, service quality and regulation. For criteria critical success factor of place are space
management, sustainable and infrastructure. Besides that, the criteria for critical success factor of technology including
integrated system and data management. While, the value for money and life cycle analysis are criteria for critical
success factor of financial. Therefore, these factors are critical to the successful implementation of FM.
Acknowledgements
The research project is fully funded by Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) and
Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM). The authors would like to thank the Malaysian healthcare
officers for their kindly co-operation and also all the support received from relevant parties especially FM practitioners
from government agencies and private sectors till the success of this research. Moreover, the authors are also grateful to
the anonymous referees for helpful comments and numerous suggestions to improve the paper.
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659
Latent Defects: Approaches in Protecting House Buyers’ Right In

Malaysia
U. K. Zolkafli a,, Z.Yahyab, N. Zakariac, F. W. Akashahd, M. Othmane, A. Alif and H.
Sallehg
a,b,c,d,e,f,g
Fakulti Alam Bina, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur
Abstract
The aim of this research is to identify suitable approaches in order to create awareness of the house buyers on how to prevent
economic loss due to latent defects. Semi-structured interviews with fifteen respondents had been conducted. Findings showed that
there are three suitable approaches namely Collateral Warranty, Latent Defect Insurance and Contract Act (Rights of Third Parties)
that can be applied. However, the applications of these approaches are significantly low or none exist in Malaysia. Steps that should
be taken include create awareness among house buyers regarding their rights and expose them to the benefits of the recommended
approaches.
Keywords: Collateral Warranty; Contract Act; Economic Loss; Latent Defects; Latent Defects Insurance.
1. Introduction
It had been reported that defective workmanship of housing units had topped the list of complaints received in the year
of 2000 to 2005 by the monitoring and enforcement division of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. (The
Sun, 14 Dec 2005). According to Olanrewaju et al. (2010), design and construction defects are those that are caused
due to wrong methods of construction, poor materials and bad labour practices. Defective building means a building
that is not performing according to design. Defects liability period of twenty four (24) months is provided under the
Sale & Purchase Agreement (SPA) where the developer is required to repair and make good, at his own cost and
expenses, any defects that become apparent within the period.
According to Sufian and Ab. Rahman (2008), the defects liability period is quite long and this may give quite
comfortable protection to purchasers, however there would be a problem of latent defects which may occur only after
two years. The deputy president of Federation of Malaysian Consumer Association (Fomca), N. Marimuthu, most
defects are undiscoverable until the defects liability period is over. Cama (2004) agreed and pointed out that most
construction defects are latent which could only become apparent at some date later. He defines that latent defects are
those hidden defects that would not be discoverable until a period of time later. Some defects are caused by the
designers (latent defects), while some caused by the constructer (patent defects). Latent and patent defects are often in
relation to new buildings (Olanrewaju et al., 2010). Unfortunately, for latent defects, there would not be any remedies
provided for house buyers under SPA unless it involves structural failure. It is certainly unfair for the house buyers to
bear the cost suffered, especially in circumstances where the defects appear right after the defects liability period ends
or where the defects may be due to the negligent of construction parties, i.e. contractors, architects, engineers etc.

E-mail address: nurfa644@perak.uitm.edu.my.
Therefore, in countries such as UK, there are approaches being adopted in protecting the rights of house buyers in
respect to latent defects. Among the approaches are Collateral Warranty, Latent Defects Insurance and the Contracts
(Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. Although the approaches are able to protect the rights of house buyers, the
application of such method is not apparent in the Malaysian housing sector, as found by Ng (2007). In Malaysia the
rights of house buyers are accompanied by certain limitations and such methods are not effectively adopted, resulting in
unguaranteed protection of house buyers. The application of the alternatives is perceptible in other countries, but
unapparent in Malaysia. Why is this so? Therefore, this paper seeks to address the following issues:
a) Are the approaches in protecting house buyers’ rights needed in Malaysia?
b) How do these approaches play their roles in helping house buyers when latent defect is found in a building?
c) Why are these approaches not adopted in the Malaysian housing sector?
660
d) This paper aims to identify suitable approaches that may protect house buyers from economic loss from latent
defects. In order to achieve the aim, the following objectives must be accomplished:
e) To identify approaches in protecting house buyers’ rights to recover pure economic loss resulting from latent
defects;
f) To analyse factors which hinder the application of the approaches; and
g) To recommend avenues to introduce and promote the approaches in Malaysia.
2. House Buyers’ Right & Limitations
Current limitations of legal rights available against latent defects to house buyers ought to be fully understood in order
to recognise the necessity of the approaches.
2.1 House Buyers’ Rights & Limitations under Contract.
Legal rights are created by the acts of agreement between two parties of the contractual arrangement (Cornes, 1994).
House buyers who purchase a new premise from the developer will establish a contractual relationship with the
developer via the SPA. Hence they will have contractual rights upon the developer in the event of defects within the
defects liability period which is generally 24 months as stated in the SPA. Generally, there is no automatic right for
house buyers to claim against developer for such latent defects when they are discovered. Nevertheless, as recognised
by The Consumer Association of Penang that the developer might still be liable to defects which appear after the
liability period due to provisions of clause 14 of SPA which states that “the Building shall be constructed in good and
workmanlike manner….”. Hence, if the building is not in a good condition for living in, the developer may still be
liable for the defects even though the defects liability period is over. However, such a ground is only convincing if the
defects are serious like structural defect. Additionally, it is essential to understand that the rights discussed by The
Consumer Association of Penang are contractual rights. Only first-hand house buyers who have contract with the
developer are able to enforce the contractual rights.
2.2 House Buyers’ Rights & Limitations under the Limitation Act (Act 254)
Another circumstance faced by house buyers relating to latent defects is when the defects liability period is over;
consequently, developer will claim that, they are not liable to the defects. Housing developers may assume that they
cease to be liable for defects which appear after the defects liability period as per provisions in the SPA. But the truth is
Limitation Act (Act 254) provides house buyers with “contractual” and “tortuous” rights to bring their action within six
(6) years from the date on which the cause of action accrues (Robinson, Lavers, Tan & Chan, 1996). The limitation
period may work well in other commercial area, but in the case of housing, the defects or damages may be undetected
for years and such limitation period presents potential injustice to house buyers. By the time the defects or damages are
discovered, the claim may be statute-barred by the Limitation Act (Act 254). For instance, house buyers may discover a
defective foundation long after the date the foundation was laid.
2.3 House Buyers’ Rights & Limitations under Tort
Chappel (1994) defined tort as a civil wrong act conducted by the wrongdoer which will allow an aggrieved party to
obtain remedies through the law of tort. With respect to the housing industry, if defects in buildings happened as a
result of a civil wrong or so called negligence by construction professionals in which they ought to have reasonably
foreseen that their decisions or actions during or prior to the construction process would have affected the house buyers
in the event of the defects, such a defect give rights to the house buyers to obtain remedies through negligence in the
law of tort. However, in order to bring an action in tort, it requires the house buyers to have suffered a recognised
damage which was caused by the wrongdoer (Ahmad & Hingun, 1998). Harrison (1988) has categorised damage as
personal injury, property damage other that the “thing itself” and economic loss. The pendulum of recoverability of
purely economic loss under tort has swung from a position where the law did not permit such recovery in tort for a
defective building to a position where it could be allowed and yet back to its original position (James, 2002).
The research was conducted in two stages; data collection and data analysis, and has employed two methods namely
desk research and fieldwork research for each stages. Semi-structured interview was chosen to collect the primary data
661
in this research. Fifteen respondents were selected from Klang Valley area. The interview session was targeted at four
categories of respondent who are the players in the event of defective buildings. Four respondents were representatives
from House Buyers Association (HBA), four developers, four lawyers and three architects.
Table 1 – Profiles of Respondents
Item Respondents Category
1. Respondents A, B, C and D House Buyers Association (HBA)
2. Respondents E, F, G and H Developer
3. Respondents K, L and M Architect
4. Respondents N, P, Q and R Lawyer
The reason for targeting different category of respondents was to obtain diverse views and perspectives from the
industry on the subject matter of this research. This interview allowed the respondents to give opinion and views on the
position of house buyers against latent defects and at the same time reduced the possibility of non-related information
to the research. The interview questions consisted of four sections which were designed according to the objectives of
the research. It was based on three common types of answering method; selective based, open-based and rating based
basis. The drawback of using qualitative interview approach was that the research could be relying too much on
respondent’s self experiences. The interview was conducted in four sections; A (Demographic Data), B (Respondents
Experience in Defective Building), C (Respondents Experience in the Approaches) and D (Respondents Perception
towards the Approaches), with a total of eleven questions.
For rating-based question, Likert-type (five-point scale) scales with important anchor – rating 1 represented the Least
Important to rating 5 representing the Most Important – was adopted in the research. Rating-based questions was
chosen because of the nature of scalar approaches which can provide interval data that can be used in a variety of ways,
such as the calculation of mean scores and standard deviations.
4.0 Result And Discussion
Undoubtedly HBA, who is familiar with this issue were able to provide more reliable answers in achieving the
objectives of this research. The other categories of respondents were selected based on the their knowledge on legalities
relating to latent defects in order to provide better insights considering this research needed legal knowledge input. The
developers were selected based on the availability of legal advisors in a housing corporation; lawyers were selected
based on reviewed of local published columns or articles which were relevant to defective buildings; and architects
were selected based on the list of arbitrators provided by Board of Architect Malaysia.
Since the research had adopted selective, open and rating-based questions, the analysis for each type of question was
different. Selective-based questions was analysed by calculating the percentage. While for open-based question, which
had adopted the semi-structured qualitative interview approach, the analysis was on contended and non-measurable
data. Sekaran et. al. (2010) has identified three categories of methods to analyse such data of qualitative approach. It
included language-based method, descriptive or interpretative method and theory-building method. Descriptive or
interpretive method was selected for this research where the method attempts to develop a comprehensive view of the
subject matter from the perspective of the respondents (Creswell, 2009) which is appropriate for the research.
On the other hand, rating-based questions had been analysed using the ‘mean score’ method to establish the relative
importance and relevance of the opinions respectively. When a particular opinion had been given a rate, the following
calculation had been used to determine the relative ranking of that opinion among the respondents.
MS = ∑(fxs) , (1 ≤ MS ≤ 5)
N
Where s= score given by the respondents ranging from 1 to 5, where 1 represents the least relevant and 5 represents the
most relevant.
f = frequency of response to each rating (1-5)

N = total number of respondents
4.1 Adoptable approaches in protecting house buyers’ rights to recover pure economics loss resulting from latent
defects.
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Collateral warranty, latent defects insurance and the contracts (right of third parties) act has been in practise in
Malaysia throughout the respondents’ experience.
4.1.1 Collateral warranty
HBA, who frequently handle and help house buyers to deal with developers when necessary, did not however came
across projects where collateral warranty was adopted in Malaysia. While all respondents from the survey category of
developer, who are generally the party demanding for collateral warranty also had never been experienced in the
provision of collateral warranty in Malaysian projects. The warrantor, the architect who plays a role to provide
warranty as pointed out by all respondents of this category, also had never encountered collateral warranty being
applied in Malaysian projects. Finally, the lawyers, party who are involved in preparing the documentation of collateral
warranty, expressed the same. It can be concluded that the documentation of collateral warranty in Malaysia is
significantly low or none. However, it was recognized by Respondent Q that a similar form of collateral warranty was
drafted by Public Works Department (PWD) which industry players did not realize that it is in nature a collateral
warranty. The warranty is in the form of “Letter of Indemnity from Nominated Sub-Contract to the Government”. Yet
such collateral warranty agreement binds only the nominated sub-contractor and the government and does not relate to
the house buyers.
4.1.2 Latent Defects Insurance
Findings revealed that all respondents had never come upon any Latent Defects Insurance provided in Malaysian
projects. There were seven respondents who were concerned about the issue of quality in Malaysian construction which
echoed the view of insurance companies in their disinterest to insure latent defects. When insurance companies offer
the policy they will certainly want to safeguard their interest in the first place. Their concern is that by providing Latent
Defects insurance the door will open to masses of claims from house buyers considering that the quality of
workmanship in Malaysia is questionable. A good example according to respondent R when the Malaysia government
once tried to implement the insurance for abandoned project and it’s turned out that the insurance companies in
Malaysia were not prepared to take the risk yet. There was an additional view from Respondent B that a list of insured
item could be clearly identified in the insurance policy in order to sweep away the concern of the insurance companies.
By doing so, the rights of house buyers are being secured while on the other hand, interest of the insurance companies
would also be taken care of.
4.1.3 The Contracts (Right Of Third Parties) Act
Results from the survey showed that there was no similar legislation in Malaysia which legislate the rights of house
buyers, except in common law. Respondent F and Respondent G viewed that rights of house buyers had already been
governed under common law, where in the event of latent defects; house buyers have their tortious rights to issue a
claim against potential wrongdoer such as architects, engineers and so forth. Both respondents added that with the
presence of the Act, it would legislate the rights more firmly. But, if the defect does not cause any personal injury or
property damage to things other than the premise, the recovery of pure economic loss suffered by house buyers for
example rectification cost would be hard to be established in court as opined by nine (9) of the respondents.
Respondent F countered this view that such purely economic loss is recoverable in Malaysia court, but subject to
proving causation link and reasonable test between house buyers and potential defaulting parties. Respondent C
reviewed that Malaysia has the Contract Act 50 to govern the system. However, the act is too general and does not
specifically protect rights of the third party house buyer. Nevertheless, Respondent Q stated that, there are lots of
uncertainties within the Act which in turn restrained the application of it. Respondent Q raised a few issues. Firstly, will
the Act be subjected to the Malaysian Limitation Act (Act 254) in limiting the period of time a house buyer could bring
up their case? The limitation Act (Act 254) generally provides that both contractual and tortious act should not be
brought up after six years from the date on which the cause accrued. The second concern expressed by Respondent Q
and Respondent B was that the Act seemed to be open-ended to all third parties concerned which are not practical. The
unlimited class of third parties will cause negative response from the industry’s players to embrace it into the industry.
One respondent from the category of developer opined that such Act is in fact a good measure to allow house buyers to
directly sue against the potential contract breaker without having the needs to go through the developer and it would
definitely reduce cost and time. The findings of the interviews are summarised in Table 2.
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Table 2 – Respondents Experience in the Adoptable approaches in Protecting House Buyers Rights in Malaysia
Approaches Findings Further Comments

Collateral All the sixteen (16) respondents did Respondent Q recognized similar form of collateral warranty was drafted by
Warranty not come across with project where Public Works Department (PWD) which generally not being realized by the
collateral warranty being adopted. industry that it is a nature of collateral warranty. The form was the “Letter of
Indemnity from Nominated Sub-Contract to the Government”
Latent Defects All the sixteen (16) respondents had Respondent B suggested that a list of insured item could be clearly identified in
Insurance never come upon any Latent the insurance policy in order to sweep away the concern of the insurance
Defects Insurance provided in companies. Respondent R was in the opinion that the insurance companies in
Malaysian projects. Malaysia are not prepared to take risk yet.
The Contract This act is absent in Malaysia’s Respondent F and Respondent G viewed that rights of house buyers have already
(Rights of Third legal system. Result from the been governed under common law.Respondent F said that such purely economic
Parties) Act survey shows that there is no loss is recoverable in Malaysia court, but it is subject to causation link and
similar legislation in Malaysia reasonable test between house buyers and potential defaulting parties. Respondent
which legislating rights of house C reviewed that Malaysia has the Contract Act 50 to govern the system. However,
buyer, except in common law the act is too general and does not specifically protect rights of the third party
(house buyer).Respondent Q stated that, there are lots of uncertainties possessed
by the Contract Act 50 which in turn restrained the application of it.
Table 3 : Factors hindered the application
Total No. of
(after testing)
Respondents
Factors Hindered the
Response
Application Ratings
Ranking
Ranking
Average
(Mean)
1 2 3 4 5
No % No % No % No % No %
1. Uneducated house buyers 3 20 1 7 0 0 3 20 8 53 15 3.80 3 3
2. House buyers' reliance on court
3 20 5 33 0 0 5 33 2 13 15 2.87 5 6
3. Limitation of professional's
knowledge on the availability 4 27 2 13 4 27 3 20 2 13 15 2.80 6 5
4. Negative response of
consultants to bear extra liability 0 0 0 0 3 20 6 40 6 40 15 4.20 1 1
5. Absent of pressure from house

buyers 6 40 0 0 2 13 2 13 5 33 15 3.00 4 7
6. Costly 2 13 0 0 3 20 1 7 9 60 15 4.00 2 2
7. Intensive documentations
involved 4 27 4 27 4 27 2 13 1 7 15 2.47 7 4
4.2 Factors Hindering the Application
From Table 3, it can be seen that the means obtained were closely related. It is apparent that the “negative response of
consultants to bear extra liability” had been perceived as the most important factor in encumbering the application. This
is followed by “costly”, “uneducated house buyers” and “intensive documentation involved”. The least contributing
factor is the “absent of pressure from house buyers”.
All of the respondents concurred that the mind-set of consultants who do not want to extend their liability is the main
contributing factor to the relatively low or none application of the approaches in Malaysia. Respondent B said “I’m in
the opinion that consultants will not be interested in the implementation of the Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act
since it will extend their liability. The implementation is still uncertain.” The statement given by Respondent Q was
also in-line with Respondent B.
As being concerned by almost all of the respondents, the “costly” issue in providing these approaches had ranked as
second contributing factor which impedes the application. There were total 90% of the respondents rated the factor as
the most significant factor with the rate 5. Even though the cost would be borne by the warrantors or developers who
demanded for it, nonetheless, the cost will subsequently flow back to house buyers in the chain as mentioned by
Respondent L and Respondent M. Respondent P said “Adoption of the approaches will obviously increase the house
price due to the increase in the amount of contract. In this country where the consumers are very much sensitive in
664
price, I believe that such an increase in cost will make the house buyers to have second thought without having weight
the benefits provided by the approaches.”
Predictably, “uneducated house buyers’ had ranked in the top three positions. 53% of the respondents gave a rate of 5
to this factor. Respondent B mentioned several times “Our house buyers don’t have knowledge on their rights; they are
naïve, scarce and ignorant in defective issue. For latent defects, the buyers think that they have no rights to issue claim
against developer. In fact, they have rights under Limitation Act (Act 254) and also common law.”
The factor of “intensive documentation involved” perceived the lowest average mean of 2.47, yet following the testing
of its significance, it was proven that this factor was in fourth position. In other countries where collateral warranty is a
norm in the industry, its disadvantage of intensive documentations had always be ground where industry players try to
avoid it mentioned by Respondent F.
Next the factor “limitation of professional’s knowledge on the availability was one of the bottom three factor,
contributing to the low or none application in Malaysia. An average of 2.80 score had been obtained from survey.
Respondent F particularly criticized that it is true if the consultants did not aware of the availability, they may not be
able to consider applying it. However, more noteworthy was that albeit the awareness present, yet due to the first factor
“negative response of consultants to bear extra liability”, they will not offer to provide the approaches themselves.
However, Respondent M reflected that if the practice of the industry had been such a way where the approaches were
being commonly adopted in construction projects, consultants would have no choice but adopt the approaches in order
to secure their business.
The second less contributing factor hindered the application of approaches as being tested in the “house buyers’
reliance on court”. The hypothesis of this factor is that, when the house buyers relied upon court, subsequently they
would think that such alternatives were unnecessary to be adopted. However, Respondents P opined that in Malaysia,
the reliance on court was significantly low. Unlike other countries, the people are very defensive on their rights and
would likely to bring the matter before court..
Finally the least contributing factor hinders the application of collateral warranty, latent defect insurance and the act in
Malaysia was the “absent of pressure from house buyers”. Since there was no initiative from the house buyers
themselves to strive for the application of the approaches in Malaysia, developers and consultants certainly will not
burden themselves to apply the approaches. In addition, Respondent P expressed that house buyers could actually exert
political pressure to the government if they stand together fight for it.
Other factor found from the survey was mentioned by Respondent E which commented that one significant factor was
where the related bodies or associations, such as consumer associations, were not functioning well in the industry to
rise up the issue concerned. Respondent R who had the same view further expressed that if the issue was silent in the
society, there will not be awareness arose concerning the issue. In addition Respondent R added that such association
were not exerting pressure to the government to enforce the approaches in Malaysia was also one of the factor hindered
its application.
Table 4 : Avenues to Promote The Application

Total No. of
Respondent
Response
Avenues to Ratings
Ranking
Ranking
Average
testing)
(Mean)
Promote the 1 2 3 4 5
(after
Application No % No % No % No % No %
s
1. Educated house buyers

0 0 0 0 1 6 4 27 10 67 15 4.60 1 1
regarding their rights
2. Expose house buyers to
the benefits of the 1 7 0 0 2 13 5 33 7 47 15 4.13 2 2
application
3. Provide incentive to
encourage application 5 33 1 7 2 13 2 13 5 33 15 3.07 6 6
4. Establish associations to
3 20 2 13 1 7 3 20 6 40 15 3.47 4 4
rise up the issue
5. Enforcement by law.
1 7 2 13 2 13 2 13 8 53 15 3.93 3 3
6. Top industry players take
3 20 3 20 1 7 2 13 6 40 15 3.33 5 5
the lead.
4.2 Avenues to Promote the Application

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The avenue of “educated house buyers regarding their rights” ranked in the highest position where 67% of the
respondents considered that in order to promote the application in Malaysia, the industry must first educate the house
buyers concerning their rights to recover pure economic loss in the event of latent defects. Respondent L stated
“Knowledge is very vital. The problem with house buyers in Malaysia is that they do not know their rights.”
Respondent C said “It is essential for the house buyers to understand what rights they hold, specifically for latent
defects, instead of being misled by the developer”.
47% of the respondents agreed that one of the most important step to be taken was to “expose house buyers to the
benefits of the application”, which ranked in second position. Respondents J and Respondent H believe that the
education of house buyers must accompanied with exposing them to the methods adopted in foreign countries so that
they would be able to take the lead by enforcing the government or industry to implement the approaches into
Malaysia.
The third ranking was “enforcement by law” which gained an average rating of 3.93. Eight (53%) respondents rated it
with the rate of 5 as essential step to promote the application in Malaysia. Respondent P and Respondent R opined that
with the political pressure from the society, either from the house buyers themselves or perhaps non-government bodies
such as HBA or consumer association would be able to exert pressure to the government to consider the enforcement.
While Respondent F and Respondent G pointed that if the application of the approaches was made by law, then the
developer and consultants would have no choice but to follow it. Nevertheless, Respondent R and Respondent B further
criticized that in Malaysia even though the approaches may be successfully enforced in law, however, the issue would
always returned to “no one is enforcing it”.
Meanwhile, all respondents in the survey agreed that establishing associations were essential to rise up the awareness of
the society on the issue concerned. But, few respondents pointed that there were actually associations present but the
role is not being significantly played. For instance, respondents from the category of developer criticized that Real
Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia (REHDA) should play more significant role to raise the issue as
the opined that it was unfair for the developers to pay the consultants. On the other hand, Respondent R opined that it
was essential to have associations to raise the issue in newspapers, journals and articles as they were the players who
understand the issue better than the house buyers did.
“Top industry players take the lead” score the mean rating of 3.30 where six (40%) respondents gave rating of 5 to its
contribution of promoting the application in Malaysia. However few respondents pointed that instead of relying on the
top industry players including developer and consultants to take the lead, house buyers should break new ground to
demand for the approaches in Malaysian construction industry.
The least important methods in promoting the application was “provide incentive to encourage application”.
Respondent F and Respondent G viewed that unless the incentive given is worth of its value, developer or consultant
will not be motivated to apply it either.
5.0 Conclusion And Recommendation
Three significant approaches have been surveyed namely the collateral warranty, latent defects insurance and the
Contract Act (Rights of Third Parties).The responses received reflected that the application of these approaches is
significantly low or none in Malaysia although they are needed. Alternatively the research has significantly determined
several innovative approaches in helping house buyer to recover their pure economic loss in relation to latent defects.
Firstly the enforcement of Certification of Compliance and Completion (CCC) would enable the house buyers to obtain
their remedies from the Principal Submitting Person (PSP) which is generally the architect or engineers who owe a duty
to the house buyers in certifying the premise. A few proactive approaches have been suggested with the intention to
improve the quality and standard of workmanship in Malaysia in which will subsequently reduce house buyers’ risk
towards latent defective building. Firstly ‘build and sell' or ’90:10’ systems must be promoted in the industry system
where the quality of premise has to be improved by the developer in order to secure its marketability. Next, there
should be regulation or law governing the performance, standard of quality of work and behavior of contractor.
In respect of latent defective premises, albeit the house buyers may suffer only pure economic loss, i.e. cost of
rectifying the defects, which does not amount to any personal injury nor property damage other than the building itself,
it is still unjustifiable for the innocent house buyers to be burdened with such loss suffered resulting from latent defects
which could only become apparent after some time and beyond defects liability period. As the findings revealed that
position of house buyers in recovering their pure economic loss in relation to latent defects is unstable is unstable,
hence, there must be a insurance and the approaches which adoptable to help the house buyers in such circumstances.
The three approaches discussed: collateral warranty, latent defects insurance, and the Contract Act 1999, must be
promoted into the industry in Malaysia.
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Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Teh Poh Chuan as the research assistant for this research.
References
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Burns, A. (1996). BUILD Insurance and Warranties – A Better Form Of Protection Than Bonds And Guarantees? Construction Law Journal, 380 –
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Cama, J. (2004). Who Pays to Fix Building Defects? American Systems USA Inc. Berrymans Legal Consultants
Chappel, F. (1994, September 6). Legal Liability and The Role Of Professional Indemnity Insurance. The Structural Engineer, 72, p. 291
Cornes, D. L (1994). Design Liability in the Construction Industry. Great Britain : Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Harrisosn, S. (1988). Professional Liability of Architects and Engineers. New York: Wiley-Interscience Publications.
Holmes , P., MacGregor, E. (2002). What is Collateral Warranty. London: Thomas Telford
James, M.F. (2002). Construction law : Liability for the construction of defective buildings. (2nd ed). Great Britain: PALGRAVE
John W. Creswell (2009). Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. Third Edition. US. SAGE Publications In.
Levine, M., Gloyn, W., and Robinsosn, R. (2002). General insurance. London: Thomas Telford
MacMillan, C. (September 2000). A birthday present for Lord Denning: The Contracts (Rights of Thirds Parties) Act 1999. The Modern Law
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Merkin, R. (2008). Privity of Contract: The Impact of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999, London: LLP
Ng, S.Y. (2007). Collateral Warranties in the Malaysian Construction Industry; The Liability Jigsaw is now complete. University of Malaya :
Unpublished Bachelor Thesis
Powell-Smith, V (1994, December). Construction Professionals: Their Liability, Malaysian Law News, 10 – 13
Robinson, N.M., Lavers, A. P. Tan, G. K., and Chan, R. (1996). Construction Law in Singapore and Malaysia, Singapore: Butterworths Asia.
Taylor, J. (2008), JCT Building Contracts; What’s New? Journal of Building Appraisal, 3 (4), 259-266
Sekaran. U, Roger Bougie (2010). Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach. Fifth Edition. UK. John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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Study on Space Audit Definition and Objectives in Management

of Public Higher Education Institution in Malaysia: A Review
W. S. Z. Wan Hamdan a59*, M. Y. Hamidb , N. A. M. Radzuanc A.M. A.Shahd ,
N. Mahmoode
a
PhD student, Built-Environment Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM Malaysia)
b,c,d,e
Faculty Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA,Perak. Malaysia
4&5 Amas FM Consultant Sdn Bhd (Malaysia)
Abstract
In the past three decades, there has been a raft of research on space management in higher education institutions,
especially in space audit for discovering performance of the optimization on academic space. The aim of this paper is
to present a synthesis of various studies from 1980 to 2012 on understanding the definition and meaning of space audit.
It inclusive of the objective space audit in higher education institutions context and included theoretical review, and
empirical articles, both quantitative and qualitative. Literature was chosen to illustrate the breadth of knowledge
available about the space management and the impact on the higher education institution's organization. A greater
emphasis was placed on literature that addressed the relationship between space management and facilities
management that influence higher education institutions management operation and activities. The aspects considered
in the review included the general space audit definition, space audit definition in a higher education context, and space
audit objectives from various sources to summarize findings into one acceptable result for references and further action
in the future.
Keywords: Facilities Management, Public Higher Education Institution, Space Audit , Space Management
1. Introduction
Space is a resource serving university programs. It is owned by the university and administered by colleges and
departments. In order to ensure effective and equitable utilization of space, the college has guidelines governing the
allocation of space to departments and programs. Space needs fluctuate as programs grow and decline or new programs
are created. We expect and encourage cooperation between programs within and between departments in meeting space
needs that arise. Individuals, programs, and departments do not have a “right” to any particular space. The college
administration will exercise its responsibility to reassign space as necessary to meet changing needs. In exercising this
responsibility we will seek the cooperation of the units involved (Cornell, 2002).
In summary, to determine space management performance in higher education institutions in Malaysia, the related
parties who involve in managing space, especially for academic purpose, must deeply understand the basic definition
and purpose of space audit in higher education institutions for easy determine existing performance and operating
strategic plan of space management in the future.
2.1 Facilities Management
According to Hamid (2007) with refer to previous author (BSI,2007; Price,2001; Grimshaw,1999), find out that, until
now, there are no standardise commonly-accepted or agreed definition of Facilities Management. However, for this
paper, the FM definitions that will be implemented are in EN15221: Part 1, 2006, ‘Facilities management: terms and
definitions’ as the ‘the integration of processes within an organisation to maintain and develop the agreed services
which support and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities’ (BSI, 2007). The above definitons is used as

E-mail address: author @ email address
668
Facilities Management Standard by European Country and from the definition, the researcher conclude with table out
the facilities management model together with the relation of its primary processes and support processes
(Hamid,2008a).
One of the most important developments within universities over the last decade has been the growing recognition of
the strategic importance of facilities management (Barrett & Baldry, 2003). According to Hamid (2008b), The Higher
Education Funding Council for England has adopted a facilities management approach for support services, to integrate
the strategic, tactical and operational management objectives of higher education institutions. The facilities
management department must understand the impact of their decision in terms of today’s and tomorrow’s context and
must be related to the achievement of the university’s mission and objectives (Hamid, 2008a). The facilities
management profession should understand the nature and culture of the university organization, understand the
complete functioning of higher education, its economics, its processes and its purposes. Lavy (2008) describes that in
the current situation, most of the facilities manager in universities face to face challenge of planning and adapting
existing buildings to fulfil the educational requirements and maintaining them in order to attain the longest and most
cost effective life form the facilities. Levy 2008 refers to Kowalski (1983), discover that, educational facilities in the
United State are not only facing deterioration due to aging problem, but also think in creatively adapting in an attempt
to maintain with technological and societal change.
From this observation; it can conclude that, Facilities Management more functions as main support activities of the
provider or supplier in the contribution managing process primary activity in achieving a strategic business goals within
the organization. Therefore, without or in denying focus on facilities management, it will influence negative impact to
strategy and strategic goals of a business organization. Same goes to higher learning institution, facilities become a
major element in determining the success of strategic planning business organization, especially academic and research
activity in achieving a world class standard higher learning institution in the globalization market. However, academic
and research activity cannot achieve world class standard facilities without securing space usage adequate. Space usage
or space management is the major element in achieving effectiveness, efficiency and sustainable facilities management.
Space is one of the most important elements in facilities management due to the facilities management integrated
concept has four importance component. Four component facilities integrated concepts are people, process, information
and place which refer to space management. Lack of focus seriously in space management in higher education
institutions, will affect not only on facilities management operation but also high risk in term of organizational costly
losses. Therefore, facilities manager or any related parties, who direct or indirectly involve with space and facilities
management, must have deeply understood about space management, especially on higher education institution that
owned massive and biggest of space number
Figure 2.1 : The Integration Concept of Facilities Management
People Place
Facilities
Management
Process Technology
Sources: IFMA, 2010
2.2 Definitions of Space Management
What is the space management and why it is important for colleges and universities? Management space has been
defined as "an art and science that maximize the value of existing space and minimize the need for new space"(Hier TC
& Biddison GB, 1996). Space management is important for colleges and universities because it is the largest asset
management services financial management system and also has a high investment value (Hier TC & Biddison GB,
1996). Space is also one of the most valuable resources on campus and high value that must be managed well to
accommodate the needs of the high competition among institutions of higher learning (Holley & Harris, 2008).
669
Space management is not only important for financial reasons; the study also found that the space also affects
individual responses psychological / physical in terms of their attitudes and behavior (Graetz, K.A., & Goliber, 2002).
In particular, the physical environment affects how people interact (Davis, 1984), how students learn (Chism &
Bickford, 2002), how students decide where to register (June, 2006), and how knowledge is growing (Holley & Harris,
2008). Space not only affects the individual, but also how the use of space can give a true picture direction and
priorities of the institution (Fink, 2004), represents the values of the institution, and changing the culture of the
institution (Harris & Holley, 2008).
Figure 2.2 : The Theoretical Framework for Space Management Definition
Sources Statement
Report of space management in higher “The ability to assign space to a specific user and /or for specific use.”
education, Newcastle University, 2001
Best, Langston & Valence , 2003 “The delivery of space services and the management of the completed space plan.”
Langston & Kristensen , 2002 “Traditionally thought of as the skill of maximizing the value of existing space and minimizing the
need for new space, and is usually adopted when the outlay required to upkeep facilities is predicted
to cost more than the capital resources available in the future.”
Hier & Biddison, 1996, P.17 “The art and science of maximizing the value of existing space and minimizing the need for new
space”
Space Management Guide, Department “Space management is an important part of facilities management and it is a process of projecting
of the Army, Washington Dc, 1987 space requirements, identifying deficiencies, and allocating available space to users in an equitable
way, monitoring use, assisting users with space usage problems, and resolving space problems.”
Hamdan.W.W.S.Z, Hamid,M.Y, “space management can be understand as a process of skill colobaration of art and sciences of
Radzuan, NA, 2012. maximizing the value, functionality, and usability of existing space and minimizing the need for
new space through projecting space requirements, identifying deficiencies, allocating available
space to users in an equitable way, monitoring use, assisting users with space usage problems, and
resolving space problems in fulfill facilities management strategic to support the core business of
the organisation.”
Australian Association of Higher Space management is about using standards and benchmarks and planning models to measure how
Educational Facilities Officers, AAPPA well space is being used and to plan for future needs.
2001
Sources: Author (2012)
2.3 Space management in the context of public higher education in Malaysia
Space management is a collaborative process skill in the art and science of maximizing the value, functionality and
usability of the optimal space create additional space requirements to a minimum. Space management is the most
important aspect of public management of physical resources. Space management is considered important not only in
terms of optimization, but also related to the cost of maintenance operations. But the cost implications associated with
physical resources to the public is great (MOHE,2012). Thus, the physical space should be managed efficiently to help
the government in the optimal management of expenses and effective in order to enhance the implementation and
achievement of the goals of the university. Space management must also be consistent with the Government Asset
Management Policy and the demands of society, including those who are interested. In line with the introduction of the
Government Asset Management Policy, it needs proactive steps to review and recommend the establishment of Best
Practice Management of public space as public space management guidelines in Malaysia. (MOHE, 2012).
3. METHODOLOGY
Literature was selected based on various sources that closed related to space management in higher education
institutions. Papers were drawn primarily from those published between 1970 and 2012 and included theoretical,
review, and empirical articles, both quantitative and qualitative studies. Literature was chosen to illustrate the breadth
of knowledge available about the space management and the impact on the higher education institution's organization.
A greater emphasize was placed on literature that addressed the relationship between space management and facilities
management that influence higher education institutions management operation and activities. The aspects taken into
consideration in the review included the general space audit definition, space audit definition in a higher education
context, and space audit objectives from various sources to summarize findings into one acceptable result for references
and further action in the future.
670
4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Space Audit
A Space Audit looks at an overall area or site and identifies where there may be problems, where you may have spare
space, or areas that are overcrowded and then offers solutions to improve the office environment. Everything from
heating, lighting, air, space, circulation, furniture, access and density are considered and a report can be produced with
proposals of how to get the best from your space. A Space Audit can be particularly useful to a Facilities Manager as it
can highlight potential problems and tackle them before they hit. For example it could identify a lack of expansion
space for a growing team and offer a solution before being told by a team that have hired extra staff that they have
nowhere to locate them.
In understanding more deeply about the space audit in facilities management in higher education institutions, the
fundamental of auditing process must clear understanding through definitions that are important to auditing. Costello
(2003) stated that definitions of auditing is “a systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence
regarding assertions about economic actions and events to ascertain the degree of correspondence between those
assertions and established criteria and communicating the results to interested users.” Costello (2003) explains more
detail each of the auditing definition statement, however only two (2) component of definition auditing that have
relevancy with space audit that as follows:-
1. Systematic Process
As a systematic process, auditing is a logical, purposeful, structured approach to decision-making; it is not an

unplanned, haphazard process.
2. Objectively Obtaining and Evaluating Evidence
Auditing involves the collection of evidence. Evidence represents the information collected by the auditor that
will affect the auditor’s decision process.
Although evidence it may be more or less conclusive in nature, the process of collecting and evaluating evidence
should be objective. Based on Castello (2003) definitions about auditing, it is a significant and close relationship with
the auditing process of building space facilities. It cause of the similarity elements of the space management definitions,
state that, “a process skill of art and sciences of maximizing the value of existing space and minimizing the need for
new space through projecting space requirements, identifying deficiencies, allocating available space to users in an
equitable way, monitoring use, assisting users with space usage problems, and resolving space problems in fulfill
facilities management strategic to support the core business of the organisation”(Wan Hamdan,2012).The close
relationship between definition auditing and space management are the element of process monitoring use of existing
space in determine the space utilization in achieving maximizing the value of existing space.
Therefore, without process of auditing approach such as reviews, reassessment, revalue, evaluation, revise, re-measure,
verification, inspection, examination, vetting, checking, investigation, appraisal, and scrutinize, it will difficult to
determine the optimal of building space facilities usage in higher education institutions and forecasting the new
requirement of space in economical approach. The important reason of auditing process in building space facilities in
higher education institutions is minimizing space problems in fulfill facilities management strategies to support the core
business of the organization.
4.2 Definition of Space Audit in Higher Education Institutions
Space audit is quite new in higher education institutions since for the past early years 2000. Not many researches had
been done space audit studied since that until now. This is because many researchers are more focusing on facilities
management fields in higher education institutions. However, since the global economic environment drastically
changes in 20th century with the rapid development of information technology, many institutions organization body,
especially higher education. The implication from these scenarios, higher education institutions changing the direction
of the strategic management from expandable infrastructure asset to optimization facilities asset. At these moments,
671
many higher education institution's reassessment existing facilities infrastructures to determine the efficiency of
facilities usage especially space management. In determining the effectiveness and efficiency optimization space, a few
higher education institutions produce space audit guidelines for the process of space management performance.
Previously only a few researcher or organization body defines about space audits.
Michigan State University (2003) stated that, space audits are “a comprehensive review of currently assigned space for
a College.” It shows, space audit is an all-inclusive detail action process in assessing, revise, evaluate and verify the
existing data or information about the assigned space on campus. The Analysis phase of the Audit is a comparison of
space utilization and distribution based upon departmental personnel rosters, Space Inventory data, and nationally used
formulas and standards, which measure adequacy and effectiveness of space use in colleges and universities (Michigan
State University, 2003). However, not at all space being revised, due to the Michigan State University space audit
definition are more focusing on assigned space only (not included non-assigned space). Eventually, a space audit
process must be included as a whole features of space in determining entire space management performance of asset
facilities in higher education institutions.
Figure 4.1 : The definition of Space Audit
No. Definitions Focusing / Critic Sources
1 A Space Audit is a comprehensive review of currently Extensive examination and verification on http://opb.msu.edu/facilities/Manualof
assigned space for a College existing assigned space in campus. Not overall BusinessProcedures/FPSM_PoliciesPro
space being revises, but assigned space only. cedures_PartBSpaceAuditAnalysis.asp
(Michigan State University, 2003)
2 A comprehensive review and evaluation of a room’s Extensive examination and verification on http://www.txstate.edu/effective/upps/u
physical characteristics and academic or existing space in campus, with focusing on pps-01-03-01.html
administrative attributes. physical space characteristic and academic or (Texas State University, 2012)
administrative features.
Focusing only on physical space condition with
academic or administrative elements. Lack on
revise and determine space capacity, utilisation,
and equilibrium component that evaluate
overall space management performance.
3 Space audits are based on space utilisation survey Explanations more on space audit resources http://www.stellae.com/stellae_space_a
data, and related information from college and data. uditing.html
university management systems. Only reviews on space utilization data and (Stellae timetabling & space
other information from universities consultants, 2013)
operational system.
Not specifically showing and explain on space
audit component that evaluate overall space
management performance.
Not specifically showing and explain on space
audit areas that evaluate overall space
management performance (assigned or non-
assigned space)
4 To ensure that departments have the accommodation Explanations more on general purpose of http://www.strath.ac.uk/estates/space/s
they need to function efficiently Space Management space audit and showing relationship with urveys/
and Planning have initiated a rolling programme of Space Management and Planning and Space (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow,
space audits to promote the progressive adoption of Management Policy Document. 2010)
good practice in space use in accordance with the Not specifically showing and explain on
Space Management Policy Document. space audit component that evaluate overall
space management performance.
Not specifically showing and explain on
space audit areas that evaluate overall space
management performance (assigned or non-
assigned space)
Sources: Author (2013)
Texas State University (2012) mentions that, space audits are “a comprehensive review and evaluation of a room’s
physical characteristics and academic or administrative attributes”. Its explain that space audit is a very detail
examination and verification process on existing space on campus, with focusing on physical space characteristic
including academic or administrative features related. However, these definitions are focusing only on physical space
condition with academic or administrative elements associated. A few researchers and institutions body determine that
there are other component in determining space management performance assessment through space audit process. The
components are capacity load (AAPPA, 2000), utilization (Abdullah, 2012), and equilibrium (University of
Bradfourd,2010) of space in higher education institutions. Lack on revising and determine space capacity, utilization,
and equilibrium component, it will make difficulties in determining overall space management performance.
672
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow (2010) also discuss in detail about space audit but do not produce specific
definition of space audit in higher education institutions. However, its stated that space audit in generally as “to ensure
that departments have the accommodation they need to function efficiently Space Management and Planning have
initiated a rolling programme of space audits to promote the progressive adoption of good practice in space use in
accordance with the Space Management Policy Document”. The main purpose of space audit is to certify that existing space
successful fulfil the requirement function of organization with implementing effective approach and procedures of
space management policy. It shows that, space audit in space management of higher education institution is the very
important element in achieving strategic management planning and goals of the organization.
Stellae, (2013) also defined space audit as “a space audits are based on space utilization survey data, and related
information for college and university management systems”. It can be understand that, space audit process must be
depending on space utilisation report information data with including other information that related from overall
university management systems. Space utilisation assessment are capability determine the effectiveness of space usage,
but it did not cover-up overall performance of space management due to more focusing on space usage but other
indicator component that also very relevant in determine space management performance such as space capacity, space
physical condition, and equilibrium (balance) of space (AAPPA, 2000; Abdullah, 2012; University of
Bradfourd,2010) Stellea space audit definition also not specifically showing and explain on space audit areas categories
that evaluate overall space management performance (assigned or non-assigned space).
These four definitions of space audit in HEI statement shows that is “a process of comprehensive examination,
assessment, reviewing and verification on capacity load, utilisation, physical condition and equilibrium space related
data or information of existing assigned or non-assigned space inventory in academic or administrative aspects.”
The information obtained from a space audit is used to update the university’s building and room inventory. An audit
can include room-specific tours to confirm that space is used as designed, is occupied, and to assess the quality of the
space and physical conditions of each room. The audit will note vacant space or other exceptions. Space audits provide
information for the assessment of space allocations, prospective planning to accommodate changing situations and
realignment of program priorities Texas State University (2012).
4.3 Space Audit Objective
In searching the literature about the objective or purpose of space audit in higher education institutions, not many
researchers in space management in higher education were focused on it. However there are several sources of
references that can be used as a guideline in established the best practices for the objectives of space audit in higher
education. Figure 4.2; show that there were six main references that related to the objectives of space audit in higher
education institutions and mostly in the form of policy and guideline document from the university and consultant
specialize in space management. Five (5) universities (UK, US & Canada) and one consulting firm specialize in space
management & timetabling from the UK, have established objective of a space audit in higher education, which can be
used as a guideline for developing objectives of space audit in public higher education institutions in Malaysia.
Figure 4.2- The Literature Review Objective of Space Audit in Higher Education Institutions
Stellae University of York, McGill University, Canada, Murdoch University, University of California, University at
timetabling & UK (2002) 2004 Perth, Australia, 2009 Santa Cruz, US, 2002 Buffalo, US,
space 2010
consultants, UK,
2013
estimate space To ensure teaching Identify problem areas, and to obtain utilisation data To obtain verification of Verification of
requirements on space booked is being opportunities for more for: utilization. unit articulated
the basis of used as booked and to effective space use; -computer laboratories, utilization
recognised identify room users -media rooms, patterns
performance who regularly reserve -research and ancilliary
criteria for the space and fail to use it. -laboratories,
sector and agreed -teaching laboratories,
efficiency levels; -meeting rooms,
-post graduate office space
and
-general teaching space
Recommend To assess the Verify the accuracy of current The data was used to To develop sufficient Compilation of
strategies to utilisation of different building plans; Confirm and compare against data from information to address information to
improve space types of rooms and describe actual space use; prior audits so as to space concerns as address space
efficiency based different zones in update identify utilisation trends expressed by concerns
on the analysis of order to drive strategy the University database and changes in usage campus entities. expressed by
current utilization on how space is patterns. campus
673
levels; developed across constituents;

campus, and to
support the
construction of the
teaching timetable.
Assess the Identify future needs in terms To identify specific rooms Resolution of
possible of space and services for (or groups of rooms) for space needs
implications of teaching and research Capital Planning and
estimated space Space
requirements on Management staff to focus
possible property on for addressing room
strategies. utilization issues.
Develop a strategic facility To develop a database of Development

development plan, to meet room utilization of a room
those needs information (additional to utilization
the utilization database for use
information obtained in planning and
through the facilities space managing
inventory process) for use spaces.
in
planning and managing
spaces.
Determine entitlements, based

on MEQ, COU, and Planning
Office space norms.
Therefore, from six (6) main references objective of a space audit in higher education that been analyze, as a result,
studied were determine six factors objective of a space audit in higher education institutions to become a framework
model that appropriate for implementing by the public higher education institution's organization in Malaysia. Figure
4.3; show the analysis result of objective of a space audit in higher educations from six main references.
Figure 4.3 – Objective of Space Audit Framework Model for Public Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia
Bil Objective Focusing
1 Update space database information usage for reorganizing space - Database Information
entitlements (ownership) plan - Space Ownership
2 Analyze space optimization efficiency level for outline space - Optimal Level
requirement category - Space Requirement Category
3 Investigation space management issues for enhancement and - Space Management Issues
recommend a strategic space management plan - Strategic Space Management Plan
4 Evaluate booking compliance effectiveness for improving the - Space Management Booking System
effectiveness of timetabling schedule - Timetabling Schedule
5 Examination utilization level and pattern space usage of strategic - Space Utilization Level and Pattern Usage
facility development plan - Strategic Facility Development Plan
6 Assess and analyze the physical space condition for intensifying - Physical Space Condition
maintenance management strategy plan - Maintenance Management Strategies Plan
4.3.1 Update space database information usage for reorganizing space entitlements (ownership) plan
Auditing not only for measuring performance but also for updating data and information related to space
management in higher education institutions. Most of university that been references (McGill University
Canada, 2004; Murdoch University Perth, Australia, 2009; University of California, Santa Cruz, US, 2010;
University at Buffalo, US, 2010) for analyses objectives of space audit, agreed that updating database and
information of space management in higher education one of the main objectives in space audit. And it must
be applied in frequently with according systematic scheduling by the parties involve in the higher education
institution's organization in a certain period of time such as monthly, quarterly or annually.
The main purpose of updating existing database and information of space management in higher education
institutions is to reorganize space entitlement or ownership strategic plan. Facilities or property management
department, whose most responsible, parties in managing space in the higher education institution's
674
organization, had difficulties determine existing ownership space, especially for lecturer rooms due to
transferring academician room not concurrently with updating a database lecturer room. Therefore, updating
database space management through space audit must be implemented and practices by the management of
higher education institutions.
4.3.2 Analyze space optimization efficiency level for outline space requirement category
Optimization spaces are most important factors to determine space management performance efficiency in
higher education institutions (Fusch.D, 2012). Analyses space optimization efficiency level can achieve
through space audit practices by the relevant parties, who’s responsible in managing space in the higher
education institution's organization (McGill University Canada, 2004; Murdoch University Perth, Australia,
2009; University of California, Santa Cruz, US, 2010; University at Buffalo, US, 2010; University of York,
UK, 2002; Stellae timetabling & space consultants, UK, 2013).
The main purposes of analyses space optimization efficiency level through space audit are to determine space
requirement category. For examples to determine whether from analyses space audit result the suggestion
space management are more to fulfill for students or academician and staff requirement accommodation.
4.3.3 Investigation space management issues for enhancement and recommend a strategic space management
plan
Identify current issues in space management in higher education also one of the objective of space audit
(University of California, Santa Cruz, US, 2010). The purpose of auditing is diagnostic, i.e. to discover, check,
verify and control some or other process/resources in an organization (J.A.Boon, Hanneri Botha, 2003) . In
space audit activity, there are various beneficial from it through a variety of processes such as review, revises,
inspection, assessment, evaluates, inventory, examination and appraisal of space management in higher
education institutions. From this activity, the higher education institution's management can rectify problems
and issues that arise in the main operations of the organization.
The main purpose of investigating and rectifying space management issues is to identify and propose a
strategic space management plan in higher education institutions. Preparing strategic plan in space
management need to investigate the problem and issues in managing space in higher education institutions
(McGill University, Canada, 2004; University of California, Santa Cruz, US, 2010; University at Buffalo, US,
2010).
4.3.4 Evaluate booking compliance effectiveness for improving the effectiveness of timetabling schedule
Identifying level of booking system performance in space management in higher education institutions is also
one of the main purposes of space audit (University of York, UK, 2002). Most of the higher education
institutions have their own space management, booking systems, especially for the academic space. However,
how far the space management booking systems are on respectable efficiency, it must be re-examining by
space audit process. Finding from analyses audit data, will show the level efficiency of booking systems in
space management on higher education institutions.
Therefore, from the booking systems analyses data, it can give impact and produced effectiveness of
timetabling space usage in higher education institutions. It is because, without good and efficiency space
management booking systems it might stretch negative influence to the management such as crucial, critical,
and difficulties situation in prepare and produce the practical and effective of timetabling schedule for all
space, especially academic space.
4.3.5 Examination utilization level and pattern space usage of strategic facility development plan
Space utilization also the important aspect in determining the efficiency of space management in higher
education (McGill University Canada, 2004; Murdoch University Perth, Australia, 2009; University of
California, Santa Cruz, US, 2010; University at Buffalo, US, 2010). Space utilization also is part of a space
audit assessment process in determining space management performance in higher education institutions.
Therefore, space utilization is a one of the main objectives of space audit in higher education institutions.
675
The main reason for implementing space utilization evaluation is to identify and determine the current pattern
of space usage in higher education institutions for forecast strategic facility development plan. Mostly, space
utilization relating with existing occupancy and frequency space, especially for academic purposes that always
face a critical moment at a certain session on the academic schedule.
4.3.6 Assess and analyze the physical space condition for intensifying maintenance management strategy plan
Good physical condition is the most critical and important thing to ensure that the space can be fully
functional. To determine space physical in good condition and functional, it must be investigated through a
space audit inspection survey at all aspects of the physical building space, i.e., column, beam, floor (structural
building) and door, window, ceiling, lighting, electricity etc. (non-structural building). Without space in good
condition, the space might fail to function and cannot be utilized by any parties that want to use it. Therefore,
space condition assessment also one of the most important purpose of space audit in higher education
institutions (University of York, UK, 2002).
Assessment and analyses physical space condition not only determine the functional space but also give a
closed impact of the strengthening maintenance management plan in higher education institutions (McGill
University, Canada, 2004). Form space audit condition assessment, a variety of benefits can be succeed, for
such as, updating space function and usage drawing plan once have changing, forecasting maintenance
budgeting, forecasting planned maintenance schedule and program, determines maintenance work
prioritization.
5. CONCLUSION
Space management is a vital component in managing infrastructure facilities of higher education institutions due to the
significant main role is to maximizing the existing usage of building space infrastructure and minimizing new
development of building space. Therefore, the beneficial impact of space management not only contribute high space
utilization and minimizing on new development, but also the conduciveness of space, functional, effective and
efficiency of timetabling schedule, appropriate and flexibility of space usage and also economical of maintenance cost.
However, in achieving all the beneficial impact of space management, it must be measured for determine level of space
performance through space audit assessment. The space audit assessment definition from the discussion can be stated as
“a process of comprehensive examination, assessment, reviewing and verification on capacity load, utilisation, physical
condition and equilibrium space related data or information of existing assigned or non-assigned of space inventory in
academic or administrative aspects in higher education institutions.” Therefore the significant of space audit are the
information obtained from a space audit is used to update the university’s building and room inventory. An audit can
include room-specific tours to confirm that space is used as designed, is occupied, and to assess the quality of the space
and physical conditions of each room. The audit will note vacant space or other exceptions. Space audits provide
information for the assessment of space allocations, prospective planning to accommodate changing situations and
realignment of program priorities. The main purpose of space audit is to analyze existing performance of space
management to predict and determine space management strategic plan for the future in long term programed of higher
education institutions. Without reviewing and revise the space management operation, it's difficult to forecast the
effective and efficient of strategic planning and decision making for space management in the future.
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Cornell, U. (2002). Space Management Guidelines- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. New York, United State.
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Graetz, K.A., & Goliber, M. J. (2002). The importance of physical space in creating supportive learning environments.
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677
The Core Services of the Facilities Management Based Company

in Malaysia
Z. A. Zawawi a60*, F. Ismail b, N. Kamaruddin c, M.N. Kurdi d, M.N. Shuib e, I. Yusof f
a,b,c,d,e,f
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,Universiti Teknologi MARA (Perak), 32610 Bandar Baru Seri Iskandar Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
Many questions rose on defining the implementation of Facilities Management (FM) in Malaysia. To date, the FM player only
provided services sufficiently without the desires to enhance their services by taking into account the standard of practice which
should form the basis. The extent of the services in Facilities Management based companies in Malaysia is not known and this
paper aimed to identify within the context. The scope of study is limited to respondents in Klang Valley area. Literature review is
used as a basis and questionnaires survey distributed to 20 companies, representing 56% of the total FM companies in Klang Valley
are used to capture the data. The senior management level is assessed to represent. The results revealed that the implementation of
facilities management services is limited, but still evolving. The majority of the FM based companies provides facilities services
under the category of building operation and maintenance as their core business and procured them by in-house. The core services
comprise of Electrical System, Cleaning, mechanical, HVAC system, plumbing & Sewerage , Fire Protection, Landscape, Lifts
and Escalator, Security & Safety, Parking Management, Consultancy & Advisory Services, Waste Management, ICT System, Pest
Control, Energy Management & Conservation, Building Audit Services, Customer Care Management, Transition Management,
Catering &Vending Services. Based on what FM can offer, there is the necessity to reinforce the awareness to ensure continuously
improve the management of national assets and facilities.
Keywords: Facilities Management Practices, Core Services, Operation, and Maintenance
1. Introduction
The facilities management is a fairly new profession in the private sector. It has emerged to become the fastest
growing profession in the real estate and construction sector. In practice, facilities management can cover a wide range
of services including real estate management, financial management, change management, human resources
management, health and safety and contract management, in addition to building maintenance, domestic services (such
as cleaning and security) and utilities supplies (Atkin and Brooks, 2000).
The definition and scope of FM remains a contentious issue and the definition depend on the local culture,
organizations interests and people’s personal interests. Thus, Facilities Management is of interest to Malaysia in its
quest to achieve its vision of 2020. What appears to be inhibiting development is a lack of understanding of the role of
FM and some conflict between professions disciplines as to which one should be recognized as licensed proprietor
(Hamilton, 2006).
The awareness on the importance of FM is often not being discussed, whether in the public sector or private sectors
(Noor & Pitt, 2010). Kamin (2007) therefore stated that in Malaysia, R&D in issues regarding development of FM is
inadequate and limited, thus suggested further research undertaken.
Preliminary desk-study shows evidence that FM services contract awarded by the government to the locals.
However, the extent of the services in Facilities Management based companies in Malaysia is not known and this paper
aimed to identify within the context.
2. The Review on Facilities Management
Over few years, facilities management has grown as a business discipline and also as a scientific discipline, slowly
finding and anchoring its position among the organizations’ business processes (Sapri & Pitt, 2000). Globally, Facilities

678
Management is in many respects still a relatively developing business which started to develop as a cohesive concept as
early as the 1980s (Moore & Finch, 2004).
Like other countries in South East Asia, Malaysia shares a similar approach to FM. However, there is limited
understanding and practice of FM benchmarking in the South East Asia region (Moore et al., 2004). Nonetheless,
Hamilton (2006) had a notion that adoption of the Western methods for application cannot be simply done in Asia
without careful assessment of the Asian context, particularly for developing countries.
An organization core and non-core facilities are identified based on its nature of business, goals and objectives,
and users’ requirements. Procurement of quality facilities usually transpires at strategic, tactical and operational
level in order to achieving quality facilities towards achievable vision, mission and objectives. Since FM within
organization covers a wide range of activities, therefore several of the facilities which are non-core, usually outsourced
or contracted-out by the organization. Also, it can be procured in-house or by combination of in-house and out-source.
a. The Facilities Management Service Provisions
In defining facilities management it is useful to identify those activities which can be considered under the banner
of ‘facilities management services’. The Centre for Facilities Management (CFM) identifies six categories of services,
namely; Building Operation and Maintenance, Information Technology and Telecommunication, Support Services,
Transport and Transition, Infrastructure Management and Environmental Management.
Building Operation and Maintenance is the second largest contracted out area and has the largest proportion of
contracted out activity in comparison to in-house activity. This reflects the large number of suppliers in the industry.
Bobenhausen (2009) explained that the operation and maintenance (O&M) includes all aspects of running a building
over the course of its useful life. One goal of effective O&M is to achieve the intent of the original building design
team, so that building systems deliver services to building occupants. O&M is also the discipline through which long-
term goals of economy, energy efficiency, resource conservation, and pollution prevention can be achieved, while
meeting the comfort, health and safety requirements of the tenants.
2.1.1 The Development of Facilities Management in Malaysia
Although FM is prominent in Western Europe, US and Japan, it is still relatively new concept in Malaysia (Hamid,
2004). Moore & Finch (2004), found that Malaysia has successful examples of the development of FM, where there
would appear to remain a general lack of understanding, and consequently progress, of the key drivers which continues
to hamper the successful development of FM. Noor and Pitt (2008) declared that the earliest privatization of FM service
contracts were implemented in the public health services by the Ministry of Health and followed by the Federal
Government Buildings located at all states in the country. Whereas in the private sector, Telekom Malaysia was leading
Government Link Company (GLC) to outsource the FM services for all non-telecommunication facilities in the
Peninsular Malaysia.
In the year 2002, the International Islamic University of Malaysia (UIA) implemented a comprehensive facility
management outsourcing service contract for the Gombak Campus and later migrated to the Kuantan Campus. The
Northen University of Malaysia (UUM) however chose to implement a co-sourcing approach in delivering a
comprehensive FM program in managing the main campus in Sintok, Kedah. During the same period, the Public Works
Department had also implemented Comprehensive Facility Management Service contracts in managing Putrajaya
Federal Government Buildings. These were some of the prominent government-owned facilities which were operated
and maintained by FM service providers in the form of outsourcing service contract. The FM service provider is a one-
stop centre for the asset owner to get all support services with a well defined agreed service levels and customer’s
expectation requirements (Noor and Pitt, 2008).
In 2007, the First National Asset and Facility Management Convention (NAFAM) were held in August to address
the current issues and future challenges in managing national assets and facilities. This convention showed that the FM
profession has evolved and adapted to meet the demands of a fast growing built and human environment industry.
Agreeing to an annual NAFAM, the Prime Minister (former) has urged both the public sector and private sector to
come up with a more effective and efficient procedural framework in order to continuously improve the management of
national assets and facilities. This convention was a major revolution to the future changes with regards to the
perception of FM professions and practices in Malaysia (Sulaiman et. al., 2008). NAFAM has organized to address the
issues raised and set to meet the following objectives:
o To create awareness on current issues and challenges in managing government assets

679
o To assess the strength and weaknesses of current system, its effectiveness and efficiency
o To explore ways to minimize and improve the quality of government assets
o To formulate a blueprint or master plan for centralized national asset and facilities management
Acknowledgement to these efforts, the Facilities Management industry in Malaysia currently has developed to a
stage where the aspiration and expectation of the industry has grown in tandem with the higher demands and needs of
facility stakeholders. At present, there are two established associations known as Malaysia Association of Facility
Managers (MAFM) and Malaysian Asset and Project Management Association (MAPMA) formed by interest group
representing FM stakeholders in undertaking the promotion and development of Asset and Facility Management
initiatives (Noor and Pitt, 2008).
The respondents were chosen to represent the samples of the study. They were initially determined before the
questionnaires were distributed. The respondents are only limited to those within the peripheral of Klang Valley. This
is due to the socio-economic conditions present in the area, within which most of FM organizations operate.
Twenty (20) companies, representing about 56% from total facilities management based company within Klang
Valley area are the samples of the study.
The questionnaire requires information about the demographic background of respondent and the company’s
nature of the business. The questions also focus on soliciting the services offered and the nature of the procurement
approach adopted. The category of the services provided within the FM services is also determined through the
question posed.
The analysis of the questionnaires has generated fundamental outcomes on the core services offered by the FM
based companies in Malaysia.
The demographic of the respondents revealed that, despite the six designations offered in the questions, there is
other background identified. Thus, shows the range of different disciplines involved within this area service business.
This is so portrayed in the concept that facilities management propagated by Sapri & Pitt (2000) as the actions (process)
by which organizations deliver and sustain quality services in built environments (space) to meet strategic needs of
stakeholders (people), it ensures buildings, system supports and core operations contribute to business achievements
despite changing conditions
The designation of the respondents is majority (20%) Facilities Engineer (Mechanical), followed by Facilities
Manager and Assistant Facilities Manager (15%) respectively. The Maintenance Manager, Facilities Engineer (Civil),
Facilities Engineer (Electrical) and Technician represent 10% and the remaining 10% of the respondents are
represented by Project Executive and General Manager. Thus, the choice of the senior management level as the targeted
respondents is justified.
In terms of the background education, is represented by 15% each from Building Surveying, Construction Project
Management, and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering fields. In addition, 30% are from Real Estate Management.
The remaining 10% of the respondents comprise of Facilities Management and Building Services Management
background.
The majority (40%) of the respondents has between three to five years’ working experience in this field, followed by
25% who have between six to ten years’ working experience. In addition, the respondents who have between one to
two years working experience and more than ten years working experience is represented by 15% of the respondents
respectively. The remaining 5% of the respondents have working experience between six months to a year. Thus,
shows the availability of the business establishment in the country.
The nature of the facilities management services offered and the procurement method differ from one to another.
Table 1.0 shows the ranking of the services provider as core and non-core business within their organizations.
680
Ranking Core Non-Core

1 Electrical System Waste Management
2 Cleaning Services Parking Management
3 Mechanical System Catering & Vending Services
4 HVAC System Security & Safety
5 Plumbing & Sewerage Transition Management
6 Fire Protection Services Landscape Services
7 Landscape Service Mechanical System
8 Lifts & Escalator Plumbing & Sewerage
9 Security & Safety ICT System
10 Parking Management Lifts & Escalator
11 Consultancy & Advisory Services Cleaning Services
12 Waste Management Building Audit Services
13 ICT System Consultancy & Advisory Services
14 Pest Control Electrical System
15 Energy Management & Conservation HVAC System
16 Building Audit Services Pest Control
17 Customer Care Management Energy Management & Conservation
18 Transition Management Customer Care Management
19 Catering &Vending Services Fire Protection System
Table 1.0: Organization’s core and non-core business in ascending priority
Table 1.0 shows that while operating as Electrical, Cleaning Services and Mechanical system as their core facilities,
Waste Management, Parking and Catering & Vending Services is also in operation respectively as the non-core facility.
An organization core and non-core facilities are identified based on its nature of business, goals and objectives, and
users’ requirements. Core facilities are facilities which directly support the business whilst non-core facilities are the
facilities that indirectly support the business. Hence, any activities which do not contribute to the income of the
organization should be considered non-core; does not lie at the heart of the raison of the organization (Williams, 1994).
The essence of FM is to focus on its core business or activities which form as essential part of the end-product, by out-
sourcing its non-core activities in order to promote the achievement of an organization goals and objectives.
Facilities management within organization covers a wide range of activities, therefore several of the facilities which
are non-core, usually outsourced or contracted-out by the organization Hence, Table 2.0 shows the ranking of
services in practice chosen to b e procured either in-house or outsource.
Table 2.0: Procurement method uses in ascending priority

Ranking In-House Outsource
1 Electrical System Waste Management
2 Mechanical System Security & Safety
3 Cleaning Services Landscape Services
4 Plumbing & Sewerage Parking Management
5 HVAC System Fire Protection System
6 Landscape Services Lifts & Escalator
7 ICT System Catering & Vending Services
8 Lifts & Escalator Electrical System
9 Consultancy & Advisory Services Mechanical System
10 Waste Management Plumbing & Sewerage
11 Security & Safety HVAC System
12 Parking Management Cleaning Services
13 Transition Management Pest Control
14 Energy Management & Conservation Building Audit Services
15 Customer Care Management Transition Management
16 Fire Protection System ICT System
17 Pest Control Energy Management & Conservation
18 Building Audit Services Consultancy & Advisory Services
19 Catering & Vending Services Customer Care Management
681
In addition, it also revealed that most of the respondents are the FM companies which offered multi services
covering wide range of activities for any development facility. This is supported by the fact that the majority (65%)
had obtained government contract for facilities management. On the other hand, the remaining of 35% from the
respondents had never procured the government contract for facilities management. The respondents unanimously
(100%) agreed that Building Operation and Maintenance is the vital expertise in FM services currently. This is
represented by 55% strongly agree and the remaining 45% of the respondents agree with the statement. This current
phenomena of the FM companies practices show that the FM profession has evolved and adapted to meet the demands
of a fast growing built and human environment industry.
5. Conclusion
Facilities management in Malaysia has started as early as 1990s in which during this period, an integrated property
management and maintenance services were commonly known to be as facilities management. In addition, FM in
Malaysia is growing under the shadow of property management and often interpreted as maintenance management.
Nevertheless, it is justified that the Building Operation and Maintenance category is the primary areas of facilities
management in practice.
The core services covers wide range of facility comprising of ; Electrical System, Cleaning, mechanical, HVAC
system, plumbing & Sewerage , Fire Protection, Landscape, Lifts and Escalator, Security & Safety, Parking
Management, Consultancy & Advisory Services, Waste Management, ICT System, Pest Control, Energy Management
& Conservation, Building Audit Services, Customer Care Management, Transition Management, Catering &Vending
Services.
Even though the survey revealed that FM in Malaysia is developing more on theoretical rather than practical, but
the engagement of the majority on government contract shows positive development on areas of facilities
management. The government requires them to provide the expertise in more than one service with the minimum
three to five years experience in their respective fields. To carry out the government contract, the contractor should
aware that they are bound to perform the services according to the provision of the said contract and complied
with the standard specified in the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) provided.
Judging on the concept that FM can offer based on the literature worldwide, there is the necessity to reinforce the
awareness to ensure significant contributions both the public and private sector to come up with a more effective and
efficient procedural framework in order to continuously improve the management of national assets and facilities.
References
Atkin, B. and Brooks, A. (2000). Total Facilities Management, Second Edition, Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Bobenhousen, C.C., (2009). Sustainable O&M Practices. Viridian Energy & Environmental, Inc.
Hamid, Zuhairi (2004). Steps in Developing Strategic System Planning for Facilities Management. Construction
Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM), CIDB Malaysia.
Hamilton, B. (2006). Overview and Trends in Facility Management, University Technology MARA.
Hamilton, B. (2006). The Significance of Facilities Management, University Technology MARA.
Moore, M. and Finch, E. (2004). Facilities Management in South East Asia. Facilities, 22, 259.
Noor, M. and Pitt, M. (2008). Defining Facilities Management (FM) in the Malaysian Perspective.
Noor, M. & Pitt, M. (2009) A Critical Review On Innovation In Facilities Management Service Delivery. Facilities, 27,
211-228.
Sapri, M. and Pitt, M. (2000). Performance Mesurement in Facilities Management; State of Knowledge. Heriot-Watt
University, Edinburgh, UK.
682
Perception Study on Workspace for Government

Office in Malaysia
E.M.A Zawawi a61*, S.N Kamaruzzamanb, N.D.M Dahari c, R.A Rashidd
a,c,d
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam ,Selangor, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Built Environment,Univerisity of Malaya, Lembah Pantai,Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Abstract
Nowadays, office workspaces consist of four (4) different generations; Veterans, Boomers, X-ers and Millenial, which different
generation have different preferences. It is essential as Facilities Management Manager to understand the effects of the workspace
design satisfactions on the generational of office employee and to improve the office working spaces. This research is focused only
for government offices building in Selangor which consisted of ten (10) departments. This study aims to investigate the office
workspace configuration that has been implemented in government offices as this influence the satisfaction of the employee and the
organisation as a whole a long with creating better office workspace in reaching suitable office workspace. The study is a cross-
sectional survey that used self-administered structured questionnaire to the target population of employees. Out of the one hundred
and ninety (190) questionnaire administered, one hundred and eighty six (186) questionnaire were obtained constituting 98% for
analysis. Non-parametric of SPSS approach was used to analyse data such as cumulative percentage of Demographic variables,
percentage of the elements of workspace design (usability, flexibility, controllability and suitability), the level of employee’s
satisfaction and the mean rank of the preference of crucial choices in creating better office workspace (Location, Use, Layout,
Appearance, Support Spaces and Standardisation). The study develops understanding of which elements of satisfactions of
workspace design and the crucial choices in creating better office workspace in providing satisfying design features. The study
thereby provides advice for facility management decision making.
Keywords: Workspace; office, facilities management, satisfaction level
1. Introduction
Nowadays, the workplace has undergone several transformation towards meeting the 25th century. The workplace is
made from a numbers of planned zones and workspaces. Mostly, workers spent about eight (8) hours at their
workplace more than spending their time at home. It is essential as Facilities Management (FM) Manager to
understand the effects of the space management and planning on the office employee and to improve the office
working spaces. It is said that employee function within their office working spaces must be study to ensure the
workers are productive and high morale. When asking to list the crucial factors which contribute the workspace
evolution, many would agree that technology has done many ways on how employee’s work as stated by Leete
(2003). This is supported by Tyler (1997) which office working spaces design is transform to suit the cordless port
and wireless. This evolution of technology allows the worker to be more mobility and virtuality like work at home.
Furthermore, the modern furniture has responded to this transformation in workplace with the creation of modular
furniture systems which are more flexible, easy to assemble, electrified and customizable (Fanger, 2012). But
according to Lindahl (2004) found that permanent desk and workstations only be given to those who only occupy
them throughout of eight (8) hours working day. He also found that, the qualities of work environment become poor
and reflected to the moderately of focusing at the place of work. This is concerned by Sule (2007) which physical
workplace is the top three of workers’ productivity such as employees comfort, access to people and equipment,
privacy and flexibility.
This research is aim to study and analyse the office workspace configuration that has been implemented in
government offices as this influence the satisfaction of the employee and the organisation as a whole and as well as to
create better office workspace in order to enhance the employee’s productivity and morale.
2. Space Management
Over the years, many organisations have been trying new designs and techniques to construct office buildings, which can
increase productivity, and attract more employees. Many authors have noted that, the physical layout of the workspace with
efficient management processes is a key role in boosting employees’ productivity and improving organisational performance
(Uzee, 1999; Williams et al., 2000; Leaman and Bordass, 2003)
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A workplace is basically made up of a number of planned zones and workspaces. Space planning, as a discipline, forms a
major part of the Facilities Manager’s responsibilities (Steiner, 2005) which he explained that it is a continuous process
resulting from dynamic organisational growth and churn as well as the emerging new work-styles in today’s global economy.
Whether it is a brand new operation, full office relocation or a part re-organisation, a sensibly planned and implemented
workplace can have a reflective impact on the performance of an organisation.
Space use and space planning as recognised by Yang, and Chen (1999) as areas that can be further improved. Space utilisation
rates have not significantly improved over the last decade across the sector as a whole, and space management measures are
not always particularly effective. They stated that the estate itself can also have intrinsic constraints, such as poor condition,
unsuitable space, designed for different styles of workspace use and research processes, which can influence space use and
management.
There is evidence for good correlation between space use and quality of space. McGregor (2000) explained that there are five
key areas of focus for improving space management. These are: information, innovation, design, communications and
management techniques. A series of detailed measures have been provided under each of these headings, which should help
organisation further improve space management.
It is found that there are many criteria needed in the process of creating better workspace in office. The criteria were then
summarising as in Figure 1. In general the study will involve a survey on workspace configuration of the occupants in office
towards their satisfaction level. This is including suitability, flexibility, usability and controllability. The Crucial Choices part
will not be presented in this paper .
Figure 1: Summary of research study
A cross-sectional survey that used self-administered structured questionnaire was used to the target population of
employees in government office in Selangor. Out of the one hundred and ninety (190) questionnaire administered, one
hundred and eighty six (186) are usable questionnaire were obtained constituting 98% for analysis. Non parametric of
SPSS approach was used to analysed data such as cumulative percentage of Demograhic variables, percentage of the
elements of workspace design (usability, flexibility, controllability and suitability), the level of employees’
satisfaction and the mean rank of the preference of crucial choice in creating better office space.
There are 10 department involved in this study. To provide in-depth understanding in Government office workspace, the
study of the current office workspace configuration has been made through Government Guidelines and Regulations of
Panduan Pengurusan Pejabat No. 5 Tahun 2007 which is stated in Bil.5, Per. 1.19 – Ruang Pejabat specifically explained in
Surat Pekeliling Am Bil.14 Tahun 1982 – Perlaksanaan Pejabat Pelan Terbuka (MAMPU, 2012) and Guidelines for Building
Room Area for Office (UPEN, 2008). Through the study, as stated in the government guideline mostly all the government
building offices in Malaysia have already adapted this concept of open plan offices as stated by the Surat Pekeliling Am
Bil.14 Tahun 1982 – Perlaksanaan Pejabat Pelan Terbuka (MAMPU, 2012). However, to identify that the department in
government office in Selangor are implemented; the observational method is carried out in this study. As stated by the
guideline, office workspace configuration is highlighted as the most crucial aspect in order to meet the targets of the
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organisation. One of the targets is to provide a high productivity of government employees.
However the survey covered aspects of workspace layout, workspace size, surface area, usability of furniture, flexibility of
furniture, availability of furniture, meeting room, access to breakout/special space, and access to shared equipment.
4. Data Analysis and Finding
As mention in Section 3, data collection covering aspects of workspace layout, workspace size, surface area, usability of
furniture, flexibility of furniture, availability of furniture, meeting room, access to breakout/special space, and access to shared
equipment. Data was collected by distributing set of questionnaire to the occupants in the office. Out of the 190 questionnaire
are sent out, 186 questionnaire were returned representing 98% of response rate. The characteristic of respondent are
presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Demographic profile of respondents
4.1. Assessment on workspace configuration and satisfaction
The workspace layout is rate by all departments with an average rating which the figure 2 stated that almost to S-shape with
only differences between the departments. While the rating profiles of Department Road lean towards a positive rating, while
Department of Bahagian Senggara Persekutuan Negeri show slightly weaker results. Comparing the profiles of other
Department of Administrative and Finance, Department of Corporate, Department of Architect, Department of Pendidikan dan
Pengajian Tinggi, Department of Electrical, Department of Mechanical, Department of Contract and Quantity Surveying as
well as Department of Building suggest that the workspace layout can improve satisfaction of the employees.
Figure 2: Workspace Layout Figure 3: Workspace size
Figure 3 discussed that the size of the personal workspace is rated by all departments between positive and indifferent.
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While Department of Road, Administrative and Finance as well as Department of Mechanical and Electrical is more
towards upper percentile and rate this aspect with a positive rating, however other Department still rate their positive rating
but towards and indifferent ratings. The findings for the size of the personal workspace suggest that Department of Bahagian
Senggara Persekutuan Negeri, Department of Architect and Department of Corporate which are currently occupying the
department demands of the workspace size are related with the satisfaction of workspace design.
Figure 4 explained that the ratings of the workspace surface area produce similar profiles as the size of the personal
workspace. Overall ratings of the workspace surface area for all departments are again the most satisfied with their current
workspace surface area and suggesting that this aspect in is generally affect the preferences of the employees satisfactions
and needs.
The rating for the usability of furniture produces an average rating which mostly all departments are leans towards the
positive side. As stated in Figure 5, Department of Road and Department of Mechanical produce the best rating profiles
which are nearly to 5 scale points. However, all profile lines are close together with percentiles and medians on the rating
scales. Department of Bahagian Senggara Persekutuan Negeri and Department of Architect are suggesting that the usability
of furniture is related positively with aspect of satisfaction of workspace design.
Figure 6: Flexibility of furniture Figure 7: Availability of furniture
The satisfaction with the meeting rooms is rated positively for all departments but weaker for Department of
Electrical. It is rated poorly by subjects in Department of Ukur Bahan. All other rating profiles show indifferent
assessment of this aspect. This could be due to space constraints or due to lack of demand analysis before the update
measures were planned.
The profiles of the assessments of satisfaction with the social spaces show a similar pattern as the profiles of the rating
of meeting rooms (Figure 8). The profile for Department of Electrical indicates that this aspect was addressed very
successfully in the design of the current office workspace design in access to breakout and social space. This is
resulting in 80 per cent of the subjects rating of neutral satisfaction with this aspect.
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Figure 8: Access to meeting room
Table 5.2: Descriptive Statistic of satisfaction of current office workspace
The analysis of the result in table 2 shows that usability of workspace design for workspace area (8.18) is a most
aspect related with satisfaction of the current office workspace compared with the workspace size (8.04) and
workspace surface area (7.69). Flexibility of the availability of furniture (6.98) is affected the satisfaction of the
employees but the usability of furniture (6.97) is also affected the satisfaction as well as the availability of the
furniture (6.38). Usability elements of satisfaction of the workspace design is related to the access to meeting room
(7.58) and less affected by the access to breakout space/ social space (6.92) and shared equipment (6.61).
Controllability is also the elements of the satisfaction of workspace design which related to the positive rating of the
availability of suppress unwanted noise (5.73), ability to avoid visual/ audio disturbance (5.73) and access to quite
spaces and privacy (5.34). From the overall descriptive statistic shows that the employees are more concerned about
satisfaction of the workspace area.
5.Conclusion
This research uses votes collected from the questionnaire survey on the topic area of satisfaction of current office
workspace and creating better office workspace. The votes are collected as answers to the question on “How satisfied
are you with these aspects of your current workspace?” on a five-point scale between 1 for “Very dissatisfied” and 7
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for “Very satisfied”. For quantitative assessment the cumulative frequency is used while the results are discussed
qualitatively using the values depicted and shape of the curve as indicator for the rating.
The overall results of this research shows that the elements of the satisfaction of the workspace design is relatively
related with the satisfaction as well as preferences of the crucial choices is highly related with the creating better office
workspace.
There is still need more research with this focus on needs and preferences of office workspace of different generations.
It should however, be said that this research has few limitations that have to be taken into account when generalising
the results which understanding on generational differences and the crucial choices in creating better office workspace
requires longitudinal studies. Additionally, this research only focus on the employee’s feedback of their satisfactions on
the current office workspace configuration and their preferences of the crucial choices in creating better office
workspace, and the impact of these issues were not included in the study.
Acknowledgements
This research is funded by University of Malaya, Malaysia.
References
Leete, L. (2003). The changing workspace – Trends. BNET Business Network. Retrieved on 10 October 2011,
Steiner, J. (2005), the art of space management: Planning flexible workspaces for people. Journal of Facilities Management, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 6-22.
Stephanie Fanger (2012). Workplace Configuration, How office design affects employee morale and productivity. Retrieved on October 28, 2012 at
FMJ website: http://www.fmlink.com/article.cgi?type=Magazine&title=Workplace%20Configuration& pub=FMJ&id=43250&mode=source
Sule, A., (2007) Defining spaces. Times Journal of Construction and Design.
Williams, B. and Roberts, P. (2000). The developing role of the intelligent client. In World Work Place: The evaluation of thought on the modern
workplace. Proceedings of the EURO
Tyler, G. (1997) Perspective: Welcome to the office hotel. Management Development Review, vol. 10, no. 4/5, pp. 145-147.
Yang, M.-H. & Chen, W.-C. (1999). A study on shelf space allocation and management. International Journal Production Economics. 60(61): 309
317.
Leaman, A, Bordass, B (1993), Building design, complexity and manageability, Facilities, 11(9), 16-27.
McGregor, W., (2000) "The future of workspace management", Facilities, Vol. 18 Iss: 3/4, pp.138 - 143
Lindahl, G. A. (2004). The innovative workspace: an analytical model focusing on the relationship between spatial and organisational issues.
Facilities, vol. 22, no. 9/10, pp. 253-258.
Uzee, J (1999), the inclusive approach: creating a place where people want to work. Facility Management Journal of the International Facility
Management Association, 26-30.
688
Stabilization of Landfill Soil with Agricultural Waste

M. N. Rahmata62* N. Ismailb
a
Department of Construction Management, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA 40450 Shah Alam
b
Building Surveying Department, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA 40450 Shah Alam
Abstract
Laboratory investigations were carried out to establish the potential utilisation of Malaysian Agricultural wastes Palm Oil Fuel Ash
(POFA) and Rice Husk Ash (RHA) in stabilizing Teluk Kapas Landfill soil. POFA is a waste material from Palm Oil Industry and
RHA from Paddy Industry in Malaysia. Currently, the disposal of these ashes from a burning process to heat up boiler and generate
electricity is a problem to both industries, and hence an environmental pollution concern. The main aim of this research was to
investigate the potential of utilizing POFA and RHA as sustainable stabilizer material as partial replacement of traditional one.
Landfill soil on its own and combination with laterite clay soil were stabilised using POFA or RHA either on its own or in
combination with Lime or Portland Cement (PC). The traditional stabilizers of lime or Portland Cement (PC) were used as controls.
Compacted cylinder test specimens were made at typical stabilizer contents and moist cured for up to 60 days prior to testing for
compressive and water absorption tests. The results obtained showed that landfill soil combined with laterite clay (50:50) stabilized
with 20% RHA:PC (50:50) and POFA: PC (50:50) recorded the highest values of compressive strength compared to the other
compositions of stabilizers and soils. However, when the amount of POFA and RHA increased in the system the compressive
strength values of the samples tends to increase. These results suggest technological, economic as well as environmental advantages
of using POFA and RHA and similar industrial by-products to achieve sustainable infrastructure development with near zero
industrial waste.
Keywords: Soil, Clay, Stabilization, Sustainability, POFA, RHA
1. Introduction
Traditional soil stabilization using lime or cement is well established. Although this type of stabilization is very
popular and has been successful in the past, there is a need to look for other alternative technologies which are more
environmentally friendly and economical. Lime is an expansive material and is difficult to work with. This is similar to
the manufacture of cement which leads to environmental pollution. The CO 2 emitted from the manufacturing process is
the major influence on climate change due to the enhanced greenhouse effect. At present the used of lime or cement
are slowly be taken by the industrial and/or agricultural waste by-product which proved sustainable and provides cost
effective methods to improve the engineering properties of low load-bearing or problematic soils. Industrial Resource
Council (2012) reported that soils stabilized with industrial waste materials have been extensively tested and do not
have any adverse environmental impact and consequences. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of using
agricultural wastes Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) and Rice Husk Ash (RHA) as stabilizer for soil stabilization and as
partial replacement of traditional binder lime or PC. As the palm oil industry is continuously expanding in Malaysia,
the production of waste from the process are also increasing especially the palm oil fuel ash (POFA), waste that
generated from the burning process of empty fruit bunches, fibres and kernals. POFA are not reusable and normally
dumped as waste without profitable return (Saifuddin et. al, 2010; Sumadi and Hussin, 1995). On the other hand, Rice
Husk is another agricultural by products obtained from food crop of paddy. Estimation of for every 4 tons of rice
milled, 1 ton of rice husk is produced. Burning of rice husk generates about 15-20% of its weight of ash. The normal
method of conversion of husk into ash is incineration. Rice Husk Ash (RHA) being very light is easily carried by wind
and water in its dry state. It is difficult to coagulate and thus contributes to air and water pollution. Additionally
cumulative generation of ash requires large space for its disposal. Previous researchers found that high percentage of
siliceous materials in RHA indicates it has potential pozzolanic properties. In Malaysia most of the agricultural waste
ended up in landfill. These wastes which possess pozzolanic properties have a potential to be use as an alternative to
soil stabilization or concrete as traditional binder. Another serious problem faced by many municipal in Malaysia is
solid waste landfill. Most of the open dumping area has no post closure maintenance would possess serious hazards to
the surrounding communities due to differential settlement of the waste soil. Estimation of settlement for municipal
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +06 016 3151747; fax:+06 03 5544 4244.

E-mail address: drnidzam04@yahoo.com
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solid waste is critical to the successful site operation and the future development. This problem could be an opportunity
to other people. Contaminated area may be restored by rebuilding a new area such as playground, football field or low-
cost housing area if possible. This abandoned landfill site could be re-engineered either by mechanical or chemical
stabilization techniques for redevelopment (Pauzi, et. al., 2011). Therefore the aim of this research was to investigate
the potential of Pofa and RHA as stabilizer in soil stabilization as a partial replacement of traditional binder lime or PC.
The objectives of this paper were to determine the potential of POFA and RHA on the stabilization of landfill soil and
also to access the engineering properties of stabilized soil.
2. Experimental Procedures
a) Target Material
i) Landfill soil - The landfill soil was taken at Teluk Kapas (Figure 1), a municipal solid waste landfill. It was shut
down in the year of 2007 due to close to water intake points. As the solid waste discompose, it influenced the
properties of the soil. The properties of surface soil at landfill area generally depend on type of waste being
dumped on the landfill. As mentioned by Agamuthu and Khan, (1997) municipal solid waste is highly
heterogeneous and the composition is depends on the living standard, type of housing, seasons and country which
include cultural habits of individuals. Municipal solid waste includes waste from residential, commercial,
institutional, and some industrial sources (EPA, 2010).
Figure 1: Teluk Kapas Landfill site
ii) Laterite soil - is well known in Malaysia and Asian countries as a building material for more than 1000 years.
It is a highly weathered material, rich in secondary oxides of iron and aluminium or both and hence its colour is reddish
brown (Hegde & Daware, 2010). Laterite soils are formed by the rock layer breaking down which leaching soluble
ingredients of soils and leaving behind clay minerals (kaolinite), gibbsite (Al 2O3·3H2O), goethite (HFeO2),
lepidocrocite (FeOOH), and hematite (Fe2O3) (Maiti et al, 2012.) According to Eisazadeh, Kassim & Nur (2012) a
reddish laterite soils which rich in (hydr) oxides known as laterite clay. The iron (hydr) oxides present in the soil
environment coated and bound the clay particles together. The properties of laterite clays generally depend on the
geographical location, extent of lateralization and the chemical and physical composition of the parent rock.
b) Stabilizer
i) Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) - According to Abdullah et al. (2006) palm oil fuel ash is a by-product produced in
palm oil mill. POFA generally is a product of palm oil husk and palm kernel shell which are burned as fuel in the boiler
of palm oil mill. Generally, after combustion about 5% palm oil fuel ash by weight of solid wastes is produced (Sata et
al, 2004). POFA usually have varies in tone of colour based on the carbon content in it. The colour may vary from
whitish grey to darker shade. Based on the previous research done Galau (2010), he found that the physical
characteristic of POFA is very much influenced by the operating system of the palm oil factory.
ii) Rice Husk Ash (RHA) - Rice is an agricultural crop that continues to be an important source of food and nutrition
in Malaysia. The total area planted with paddy in Peninsular Malaysia is 454 917 ha, which constitutes 61.3 percent of
total paddy plantings in the country. According to Johan et al. (2011), rice husk is an agricultural by product from rice
milling. During the paddy milling, about 78 percent of weight is received as rice, broken rice and bran while the other
22 percent of the weight of paddy is received as husk. The Rice Husk Ash (RHA), which is developed from the
burning of the rice husk at a certain temperature, has been used for cementing material and also has good adsorptive
properties.
ii) Portland cement (PC) and Lime – PC and lime were used as control stabilizers. PC had long successful history in
stabilizing both granular and fine-grained soils, as well as aggregates and miscellaneous materials. A pozzolanic
690
reaction between the calcium hydroxide released during hydration and soil alumina and soil silica occurs in fine-
grained clay soils and is an important aspect of the stabilization of soils. (Little et al, 2000). Lime is used extensively
for the stabilization of soil, especially soil with a high clay content where its main advantage is in raising the plastic
limit of the clayey soil. When added to clay soils, lime reacts with water in the soil and reduces the soil’s water content.
The oxide composition of target material and stabilizers are presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Oxide composition of Clay, POFA, PC and Lime

Oxide composition Laterite Clay POFA RHA PC Lime
CaO - 11.30 2.42 64.64 74.23

P2O5 16.71 - - - 0.08
MgO - 3.55 1.71 2.06 0.74
CaSO4 - - - - 0.12
Fe2O3 29.40 5.73 0.26 3.36 0.17
Al2O3 24.31 - 0.65 5.60 0.11
SiO2 21.55 52.50 82.40 21.28 0.14
SO3 3.98 0.82 0.52 2.14 -
N2O 0.07 - 0.30 0.05 -
CO2 3.65 0.10 - - -
LOI - - 10.09 0.64 24.4
Table 2: Mixed composition of target material and stabilizer subjected to compressive strength test.
Target Stabilizer Ratio Dosage Compressive Water
Material (%) (%) Strength Test Absorption
Test
Lime 100 20 √ √
PC 100 20 √ √
LFs (100%) POFA:Lime 50:50 20 √ √
POFA:PC 50:50 20 √ √
RHA:Lime 50:50 20 √ √
RHA:PC 50:50 20 √ √
Lime 100 20 √ √
PC 100 20 √ √
LFs + Clay POFA:Lime 50:50 20 √ √
(50:50) POFA:PC 50:50 20 √ √
RHA:Lime 50:50 20 √ √
RHA:PC 50:50 20 √ √
c) Specimen preparation
For the purpose of sample preparation, it is necessary to establish the target dry density and moisture content values.
Proctor compaction tests were carried out in accordance with BS 1377 (1990) Part 2, in order to establish values of the
maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture content (OMC) for LOC. From the test, the MDD value of 1.42
Mg/m3 and OMC value of 24% were established. Using these parameters, the bulk density of test specimens of
dimensions 50mm diameter and 100mm in length was established. Allowing for about 10% material waste during the
mixing operations, cylinder test specimens using different materials ingredients were calculated weight 380g, thus
maintaining the same density for all test specimens irrespective of their particular mix compositions. Strength
development was established as determined by the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) at the two curing ages of 7,
28 and 60 days. Three cylinders per mix proportion were subjected to unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test in
accordance with BS 1924-2 and the mean strength determined (Figure 2).
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Figure 2: Steel mould, plunger and UCS test machine
3. Result and discussion
i) Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS)
The effect of various stabilisers on the strength characteristics of landfill soil were studied by assessing the strength
development for 3 curing periods. Three samples were tested for each blended soil mixtures and the mean value taken.
Figure 3 shows the effect of traditional stabilizer Portland Cement (PC) and Lime as a control on the strength
development for landfill soil. The overall strength for stabilized specimens increases as the curing period increases
from 7, 28 to 60 days and when percentage of stabilizer increase from 10% to 20%. Generally higher dosage of lime or
PC (20%) gives higher strength value throughout 3 curing period. Stabilized landfill on its own at 60 days curing with
20% stabilizer, both PC and lime recorded almost the same strength value about 145 kN/m 2. When landfill soil were
combined with clay at 50:50 ratio mixed with PC and lime at 10% and 20%, the strength is higher than when landfill
were stabilized alone. Again, 20% dosage of stabilizer recorded higher strength at all curing period. Same with
stabilized landfill, 60 days of curing marked highest value for both stabilizer about 340 kN/m2.
Landfill soil (LFs) + stabilizers (Lime or PC)

400
LFs LFs + clay (50:50)
350
300
Compressive strength (kN/m 2 )
250
200 7 days
28 days
150 60 days
100
50
0
LFs + 10%L LFs + 20%L LFs + LFs + LFs-Clay + LFs-Clay + LFs-Clay + LFs-Clay +
10%PC 20%PC 10% L 20% L 10% PC 20% PC
Figure 3: Compressive strength for stabilized landfill soil with Lime or PC
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LFs + stabilizer LFs-Clay (50:50) + stabilizer

1200 1200
(a) (b)
1000 1000
Compressive strength (kN/m2)

Compressive Strength (kN/m2)
800 800
600 7 days 600 7 days

28days 28 days
60 days 60 days
400 400
200 200
0 0
10% Pofa- 20% Pofa- 10% Pofa- 20% Pofa- 10% RHA- 20% RHA- 10% RHA- 20% RHA- 10% Pofa- 20% Pofa- 10% Pofa- 20% Pofa- 10% RHA- 20% RHA- 10% RHA- 20% RHA-
Lime Lime PC PC Lime Lime PC PC Lime Lime PC PC Lime Lime PC PC
Figure 4: Compressive strength for (a) stabilized landfill (100%) with blended stabilizer and (b) Landfill soil + Clay
(50:50) with blended stabilizer
Figure 4(a) shows the strength development when landfill soil on its own were stabilized with agricultural waste POFA
and RHA combined with either lime or PC at 50:50 ratio, 10% and 20% dosage (POFA:PC/POFA:lime and
RHA:PC/RHA:lime). At 10% stabilizer content was not sufficient to boost the strength development for both POFA-
lime and POFA-PC, which recorded lower strength development compared to when 20% stabilizer was used. The
combination of PC to POFA or RHA as stabilizer gives higher strength in this system to compare with when lime were
used to combine with POFA or RHA. The highest strength value was recorded when landfill soil were stabilized with
20% dosage of RHA:PC at 60 days of curing which is 560 kN/m2. Whereas when landfill soil were stabilized with 20%
dosage of Pofa:PC the strength were only 270 kN/m2.
Figure 4 (b) shows the effect on strength when siliceous material clay was mixed with landfill soil at 50:50 ratio. It can
be seen that the strength of the stabilized specimen increased as the curing period increase. The overall strength values
recorded were higher than the system without incorporating clay. As for previous system, the 20% stabilizer dosage
gives higher strength development for all curing period compared to 10% stabilizer dosage. The combination of
RHA:PC marked the highest strength values which is 1105 kN/m2 compared with POFA:PC which is 574 kN/m2 were
recorded at 60 days of curing period. Lime did not perform well in terms of strength development when combined with
either POFA or RHA.
The combination of Landfill soil and Clay gives better compressive strength values compared with when landfill soil
were stabilized alone. It is proved that with adding clay which contain siliceous matter, the pozzolanic reaction and
cementitious compound increased and gives better bonding between soil particles, and thought to be due to increased
pozzolanicity of the system related to the system stabilised without siliceous material clay. Results from the
experimental shows that the compressive strength values increases when the amount of stabilizers and curing period
increased. As being proved by several researcher (Munhuntan and Sariosseiri, 2008; Kassim, 2009) in their research,
the increasing amount of cement, lime and curing time affects the values of compressive strength of stabilized soil.
When PC were blended with RHA at 50:50 ratio, the strength development is continuous throughout the 60 days
curing. This is perhaps because RHA contains a large amount of silica (see table 1) which has high potential to be used
as cement replacement (Tangchirapat et. al, 2003). It is generally recognised that the principal cementitious product of
pozzolanic reaction is calcium-alumino-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H).
ii) Water Absorption
This test was to determine the percentage of water absorb by the stabilized specimens by total immersion of the
samples into the water after being cured for 28 days (see Figure ). Readings were taken for 8 days consecutively. Figure
6(a) and (b) shows the percentage of water absorption of stabilized specimens. From the observation, generally in all
systems the percentage of water absorption increases rapidly within the first 3 days of immersion. The rate of
absorption became slow and levelled off on day 4 and onwards which is between 8% - 10% absorption. Landfill soil on
its own when stabilized with combination of lime to POFA or RHA attained lower percentage of water absorption
compared to when PC were used to incorporate with the agriculture wastes. When landfill soil were combined with
siliceous material clay, the absorption rate is comparable with the previous system. This system recorded that stabilized
POFA-Lime at 20% absorb the highest amount of water (about 10%) compared to other stabilized specimen.
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Figure 5: Sample were immersed in water for absorption test
LFs + 20% stabilizer LFs + Clay (50:50) + 20% stabilizer

12 12
10 10
Rate of Absorption (%)
Rate of Absorption (%)
8 8
6 6
4 4
20% Pofa-Lime 20% Pofa-PC 20% Pofa-Lime 20% Pofa-PC
2 2
20% RHA-Lime 20% RHA-PC 20% RHA-Lime 20% RHA-PC
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Days of soaking Days of soaking
Figure 6: Rate of water absorption for (a) Stabilized landfill soil with 20% blended stabilizer and (b) Stabilized Landfill
soil-Clay (50:50) with 20% blended stabilizer
4. Conclusion and recommendations
Based on the laboratory results obtained, it suggested there are potential for the use of agricultural waste POFA and
RHA as blended binders for soil stabilization and partial replacement of cement or lime. The main focus for this
research was on the engineering performance, as established using unconfined compressive strength and water
absorption upon soaking. The following conclusions are drawn from this investigation.
(a) The composition of POFA:PC (50:50) and RHA:PC (50:50) at 20% dosage recorded the highest compressive
strength of stabilized soil when clay were incorporated with landfill soil at 50:50 ratio.
(b) However when landfill soil on its own were stabilized with all blended stabilizer, the strength recorded were half
of the strength achieved when clay were incorporate in the system.
(c) The result shows that POFA and RHA are capable to replace certain amount of cement and lime in soil
stabilization but not in a large scale. RHA are more favourable stabilizer in terms of strength development when
combined with PC. The ratio of lime and PC must always be the dominant ingredient for stabilization.
(d) Incorporation of agricultural wastes POFA and RHA as stabilizer, tend to absorb high percentage of water
compared to control specimen. This shows that although the addition of POFA or RHA assist to increase the
compressive strength of stabilized soil but it has a lower durability compared to lime or PC stabilized soil
Acknowledgements
The authors would also like to thank Universiti Teknologi MARA, for the Research Intensive Faculty Fund (RIF),
Project Code: 600-RMI/Dana 5/3/RIF (209/2012) for sponsoring this research.
694
References
Abdullah, Hussin, Zakaria, Muhamad, Hamid (2006). Pofa : A Potential Partial Cement Replacement Material In
Aerated Concrete. Proceedings Of The 6th Asia-Pacific Structural Engineering And Construction Conference (Apsec
2006), 5 – 6 September 2006, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Agamuthu and Khan (1997). Effective Solid Waste Management In Malaysia. Ecotone Management Sdn Bhd
Eisazadeh, Khairul Anuar Kassim, Hadi Nur (2012) Solid-state NMR and FTIR studies of lime stabilized
montmorillonitic and lateritic clays. Journal of Applied Clay Science. Volumes 67–68, October 2012, Pages 5-10
Galau (2010) Characterization Of Palm oil Fuel Ash From Different Mill As Cement Replacement Material. Bachelor
Degree Dissertation, University Technology Malaysia (UTM)
Hegde and Daware (2010) Effect of Alternate Wetting and Drying on Laterite and Their Engineering Behaviour, Indian
Geotechnical Conference, GEOtrendz December 16–18, IGS Mumbai Chapter & IIT Bombay.
Industrial Resource Council (2012). Soil Stabilisation

http://www.industrialresourcescouncil.org/Applications/SoilStabilization/tabid/443/Default.aspx
Kassim (2009). The Effect Of Catalyst On Soil Stabilization By Application Of Lime, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,
RESEARCH VOTE NO: 78104
Little, Males, Prusinski and Stewart (2000). Cementitious Stabilization. Millenium Report Series, The Journal Of The
Transportation Research Board, Washington DC
Muhunthan and Sariosseiri (2008). Interpretation Of Geotechnical Properties Of Cement Treated Soils. Research
Report FHWA Contract DTFH61-05-C-00008
National Lime Association (2001), Using Lime for Soil Stabilization and Modification,
Www.Lime.Org/Documents/Publications/Free.../Fact-Soil-Stabilization.Pdf
Pauzi, N. I., Omar, H., & M. Yusoff, Z. (2011). Geotechnical Properties of Waste Soil from Open Dumping Area in
Malaysia. Retrieved 12 2011, from www.ejge.com/2011/Ppr11.090/Ppr11.090alr.pdf.
Safiuddin, Jumaat, Salam, and Hafizan ( 2010) Best Use Of Palm Oil Fuel Ash. Retrieved on 20 April 2012 from
Http://Theindependentbd.Com/Paper-Edition/Others/Freeforall/12019-Best-Use-Of-Palm-Oil-Fuel-Ash.Html
Sata, Jaturapitakkul, and Kiattikomol (2004). Utilization Of Palm Oil Fuel Ash In High Strength Concrete. Journal Of
Materials In Civil Engineering. ASCE (16) 623-628.
Sumadi and Hussin (1995). Palm Oil fuel Ash (POFA) as a Future Partial Cement Replacement Material, Housing
Construction. Journal of Ferrocement. Vol.25 (1).
Tangchirapat., Tangpagasi, Waew-kum and Jaturapitakkul, C. (2003). A New Pozzolanic Material from Palm Oil Fuel
Ash. KMUTT Research and Development Journal 26, pp. 459–473
[1]
695
Determining Cultural Heritage Value of Historical Building in

Malaysia for The Purpose of Conservation
M. Abu Bakar a63*, A. H. Nawawi a , N. F. Zahari a
a
Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, MALAYSIA
Abstract
Civilization has seven main pillars; social structure, stable food supply, religion, government, writing, technology and CULTURE.
In the path of being a modern and developed nation, it is far more than important to preserve our culture. Good culture, not bad
culture. As we know, historical buildings in Malaysia must be preserved too since they are parts of our culture. It shows our cultural
heritage values so as morale values. It shows that “what are left” or “what are borrowed” by our ancestors are conserved properly.
Burma gained its independence thanks to the disrespectful of British invaders to respect the Burmese culture. From there we know
that culture must be preserved and be taught through generations. So how about buildings? Along the Chow Kit Road there is a
kampong house in between shop lots, but does that mean it is conserving historical building? If soon “The Bridge of Sudirman” in
Chow Kit Road to be torn, will it be loss of a cultural monument or just another forgotten Jalan Ampas? We may think it is merely a
pedestrian bridge that is rarely used due to habits of the users to jeopardize their life walking under the bridge, but in the next 100
years, our offspring may be missing something that used to gather the entire nation, regardless of race and social background to
watch Sudirnan singing. The footage of the concert might not be in the National Archive and youngsters nowadays are imagining
how the day was since there is no actual recording available even on Youtube. Back to the building aspect, in the next 50 years
Petronas Towers will be historical buildings. Are they going to look obsolete in the future? Some may think by demolishing
historical building is inevitable and some may think they should be there and always be there. Hitler destroyed at most parts of
Europe, but after he invaded France, he was stunned and mesmerized by the beautiful ambiance of Paris and he could not destroy
Eiffel Tower just like he destroyed Holland. There is Culture Heritage Value (CHV). How about CHV in Malaysia?
Keywords: CHV
1. Introduction
Cultural Heritage Value (CHV) has always been the reason underlying heritage conservation. It is self-evident that no
society makes an effort to conserve what it does not value. Why, then this current interest in values? Until recent times,
the heritage field was relatively isolated. In recent decades, the concept of what is heritage has evolved and expanded.
In this changed environment, the articulation and understanding of CHV have acquired greater importance when
heritage decisions are being made about what to conserve, how to conserve it, where to set priorities, and how to handle
conflicting interest. (Marta de la Torre & Randall Mason 2002)
Cultural Heritage will address the changing definitions of cultural heritage and the significance of how we define it.
Cultural heritage is broadly interpreted as anything that is of some cultural importance, whether it be art, literature,
music, archaeological sites, sacred artifacts, historical artifacts, natural formations, or ancients remedies.
Though some contemporary commentators may limit cultural heritage to things that are truly connected to specific
cultures, both in origin and purpose, this article will adhere to a broader definition of cultural heritage, through the
discussions on the definition of cultural heritage. The author will explore some of the commonly perceived differences
between Western and non-Western attitudes to cultural heritage. The purpose of this discussion is to identify where the
real differences are significant enough to prevent agreement on the normative relevance of cultural heritage. Although
arguments have been put forward in support of the psychological and aesthetic value of the conserved environment,
there is still very little certain knowledge of people’s conscious commitment to building from the past or those being
constructed today. As such, conservation remains shackled by the stigma of subjectivity and accusations of elitism. An
understanding of how people look at, make sense of generally feel about the conserved environment would appear to be
a crucial prerequisite in a coherent- theoretical basis for conservation policy and practice. (Setha M.Low 2004)
There are many buildings built in British colonization in Malaya since 18th century and became priceless heritage in
Malaysia. Some of them were more than 100 years old. Most of the buildings were still in good shape and condition but
part of these ancient buildings were also deteriorated and not functioning or even destroyed. Since then, the government
realized that action had to be taken in order to protect all these heritage buildings, monuments, statues and sites for
future generation and to be an attraction to outsider (tourists) to visit Malaysia, and contribute to national economy. So
forth, the government has recently regulated the National Heritage Act 2005, which supersedes the previous Antiquities
Act 1976 and some other Acts that are being used or applicable as references for conservation works.
There is no dearth of definitions of cultural heritage, at least if we consider cultural and cultural property as essentially
the same thing. Most official documents and commentators utilize and define the term “cultural property”* rather than
“cultural heritage”. Following the lead of two prominent in two prominent international writers in this field.* In
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 0000000; fax:+6000000 .

E-mail address:.authors@com
696
keeping with my desire to consider a broad cross-cultural notion of cultural heritage, cultural heritage is defined as an
individual or group creation of either a tangible or intangible* good which, by virtue of creation process, customary
use, historical event, or simply geographic proximity, becomes an important expression of human or cultural life. In
short, cultural heritage is very large category of tangibles and intangibles including things that seem to have no intrinsic
beauty but serve a valuable cultural purpose and things that are stunningly beautiful but have very little cultural
connection. This definitions of cultural heritage is broader than most, not in the type of things it covers but in the fact
that it includes things that have no immediate or strong connection to a particular group*
The Value theory holds that something has intrinsic value only if it can be said to have value independent of our
personal or collective value assessments.* In context of CHV. Value can be accessed through three separate
components, the architectural value (AV), historical value (HV) and cultural value (CV). This component appears
subset to the CHV.
In order to understand the concept of CHV you must understand the three components as mentioned above.
The aim of this research is to propose a framework of CHV in the conservation work in Malaysia. It is facilitating these
research aims that the following objectives of the study have been drawn up. These as follows:
1. Review the current practice of CHV from other countries for conservation work in historical building
2. To develop conceptual framework of CHV for the purpose of conservation work of historical buildings in
Malaysia
3. To validate CHV for conservation work in historical building in Malaysia
To understand the importance of CHV, we must first understand the meaning of Cultural Heritage. Cultural heritage
("national heritage" or just "heritage") is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society
that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.
Often though, what is considered cultural heritage by one generation may be rejected by the next generation, only to be
revived by a succeeding generation.
Heritage has been defined as
 ‘… an expression or representation of the cultural identity of a society in a particular period’ (Koboldt 1997, p.
68).
 Throsby viewed historic heritage as contributing to a community’s ‘cultural capital’ which: “… we might define
… specifically in the context of immovable heritage, as the capital value that can be attributed to a building, a
collection of buildings, a monument, or more generally a place, which is additional to the value of the land and
buildings purely as physical entities or structures, and which embodies the community’s valuation of the asset in
terms of its social, historical or cultural dimension.” (Throsby 1997, p. 15)
 The definitions of cultural value heritage (CHV) totally subjective for every country and the definitions are
definitely have different perceptions following the expression of people for their cultural history. The statement
exactly can to prove when the CHV is defined as the acts as an historic record and tangible expression of a
people’s identity. It also reflects the diversity of our communities sustains our urban values and allows future
generations to connect to the collective history (Chu and Uebegang, 2002).
 In the Spain and United States, the definition of CHV on their countries are slight different because the CHV will
be presenting to identify the asset of heritage are worthy to preserve or not based on the cultural value. It defined
cultural heritage as entire set of goods, real property, tangible and in tangible assets, national assets which have
great historic, artistic, scientific and cultural value which are worthy of preservation by nation and people (Bedate,
Herrero and Sanz, 2004).
Physical or "tangible cultural heritage" includes buildings and historic places, monuments, artifacts, etc., that are
considered worthy of preservation for the future. These include objects significant to the archaeology, architecture,
science or technology of a specific culture. Heritage can also include cultural landscapes (natural features that may
have cultural attributes). Recently, heritage practitioners have moved from classifying heritage as natural as man has
intervened in the shaping of nature in the past four million years.
"Natural heritage" is also an important part of a culture, encompassing the countryside and natural environment,
including flora and fauna, scientifically know as biodiversity. These kinds of heritage sites often serve as an important
component in a country's tourist industry, attracting many visitors from abroad as well as locally.
The heritage that survives from the past is often unique and irreplaceable, which places the responsibility of
preservation on the current generation. Smaller objects such as artworks and other cultural masterpieces are collected in
museums and art galleries. Grass roots organizations and political groups have been successful at gaining the necessary
support to preserve the heritage of many nations for the future.
Significant was the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage that was adopted by
the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. As of 2008, there are 878 World Heritage Sites: 678 cultural, 174
natural, and 26 mixed properties, in 145 countries. Each of these sites is considered important to the international
community.
A broader definition includes intangible aspects of a particular culture, often maintained by social customs during a
specific period in history, including the ways and means of behaviors in societies, and the often formal rules for
operating in a particular cultural climate. These include social values and traditions, customs and practices, aesthetic
and spiritual beliefs, artistic expression, language and other aspects of human activity. The significance of physical
artifacts can be interpreted against the backdrop of socioeconomic, political, ethnic, religious and philosophical values
of a particular group of people. Naturally, intangible cultural heritage is more difficult to preserve than physical objects.
CHV (Cultural Heritage Value) is a framework which can be used to identify and put into quantifiable value. This thus
helps us to determine of the proper actions/results to be taken in order to preserve or conserve the site.
697
Its common understanding that cultural heritage represents the cultural identity and the conserving it is undeniably is of
an utmost importance. Through the history and legacy brought forth from our heritage, we then can understand better of
our roots, of who we are and help us to better understand ourselves as an individual, a community, a race and a nation.
In Malaysia alone, we are a multiracial nation, and through it comes many mixed cultural heritages which has been
passed down from generations beyond let it be for the Malays, Chinese, Indians, the Colonial races (British,
Portuguese, Japanese and many more). This mix cultures/races of the past and present hold the true identity of what it
means to be a Malaysian. Through CHV, we can now find ways to protect our cultural heritage.
It may ponder the potential benefits for community and owner through aesthetics, financial, preservation of community
heritage contribution, contribution to historic streetscape, neighborhoods etc, educational, tourism, option values,
bequest values and existence values.
Cultural heritage monuments and buildings may generate benefits in the way they are utilized (e.g., as a home, a place
of business or, as in the case of public buildings, such as courthouses, in the provision of a community service). Beyond
this use-value, there is also the potential for historic heritage places to generate cultural benefits. The Burra Charter,
developed by Australia ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), relates the heritage value of a place
with the ‘cultural significance’ of a site (Marquis-Kyle and Walker 2004).
According to the Charter, these cultural values are important because places of cultural significance enrich people’s
lives, often providing a deep and inspirational sense of connection to community and landscape, to the past and to lived
experiences. They are historical records that are important as tangible expressions of Australian identity and
experience. Places of cultural significance reflect the diversity of our communities, telling us about who we are and the
past that has formed us and the Australian landscape. They are irreplaceable and precious. (Australia ICOMOS, sub.
122, p. 6)
In Malaysia the culture is the complex of spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterise a
society or social group (Serageldin, 1999). Culture has been valued, nurtured and transmitted since the beginning of
humanity, but only recently have attempts been made to understand it with the tools of economic analysis (Hezri and
Hassan, 2004). It can be summarized, if the people (focus in Malaysia) are great to conserve and preserved the heritage
monument or building without to analyze the significant and benefit for the country, maybe it will give some effect to
development for certain area in Malaysia. It can be described when the certain heritage building not worthy to preserve
still in maintaining then the new development becoming restriction, it will produce the problem for the future. This is
strong evident or reason why CHV need to apply in Malaysia as a framework to identify the benefit cultural heritage
especially for economic value.
Cultural heritage plays an important role in forming our sense of self and identity. It sustains our values and
communities, and allows us to share a collective history. For this reason, it is an invaluable public asset that represents
the “social capital” of a city. The management of heritage conservation is a vital part of maintaining and enhancing this
“social capital”. Well-managed conservation efforts not only enhance the quality of urban life, but also contribute
significantly to the international competitiveness of a city.
Ismail Serageldin, 1999 And Adnan A. Hezri, M. Nordin Hasan, 2004 has defined and place specific criterias for the
application of Cultural Heritage Values in Malaysia which are as follows:
i. Culture is the complex of spiritual, material, intellectual and
 emotional features that characterize a society or social group.
ii. It includes not only arts and letters but also the beliefs,
 traditions, value systems, modes of life and fundamental
 rights of human beings.
iii. Culture has been valued, nurtured and transmitted since the
 beginning of humanity. But only recently have attempts been
 made to understand it with the tools of economic analysis.
Environmental Impact Assessments and sustainable development of CHV is important. Thus far, there has not been any
clear and consistent description. However, Ismail Serageldin, 1999 And Adnan A. Hezri, M. Nordin Hasan has stated
that:
1. Cultural heritage problems are qualitatively similar to problems encountered in conserving environmental assets.
2. Analysis of the costs and benefits of protecting environmental assets has been at the heart of much of
environmental economics.
3. Many of the services provided by environmental assets and by historic cultural heritage may not enter markets or
do so only indirectly and imperfectly. And
 many benefits are wholly intangible.
4. Moreover, the benefits provided by cultural heritage sites are conceptually similar to those provided by, for
example, national parks.
3. Methodology
The case studies include buildings in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Muar, Malacca and Penang. The framework was proposed
using the combination of methods from others countries practicing. It is divided into two aspects; TASK and TOOL.
The task of the Cultural Heritage Value (CHV) includes the definition and criteria, guidelines concept and objectives of
CHV, significance or pivotal of CHV, direct and external benefits, cost of using, general issues and challenges,
Environmental Impact Assessment and application method while, the tool of the Cultural Heritage Value (CHV) is
includes support program and initiatives, method of CHV, goal of CHV and maintenance of the CHV.
Combination of practices from other countries (Task)
i. Definition and criteria of Cultural Heritage Value (CHV)
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The definition and criteria of the cultural heritage value practice are combination of several countries
practices; United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Malaysia, United States, Australia, Norway, Thailand and New
Zealand. All of the definitions and criteria of these countries are based on structure, materials, art,
monument, real property and tourism asset. It also brought the criteria that heritage is important to the
community, town and cities. The definition also includes the related of tangible and intangible and the
criteria also responsible of conservation for the tourism. It also related the life of people, identity group and
social process.
The implementation of the Malaysia context is defined as structure and responsible of conservation for
tourism as the tourism assets, tangible and intangible forms bequeathed by the past on the definition and
criteria, studies of economic value, heritage is valued not intellectual enterprise and intended criteria apply
equally within economic and value.
ii. Guidelines, Concept and Objectives of CHV
The guidelines, concept and objectives of Cultural Heritage Value (CHV) also taken from the practices of
Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, France and Canada. These guidelines, concept and objectives reify a
particular version of heritage, equal representation of the major ethnic group, chronological and
geographical concept and process of the protection includes strengthen public and private mechanism and
increase interest in heritage. The combination of the all guidelines, concept and objectives were resulted the
implementation to Malaysian basis. It includes Significance or Pivotal of CHV, Direct and External benefit and
Quality of CHV and Cost of Using CHV
iii. Significance or Pivotal of CHV

The significance or Pivotal of Cultural Heritage Value (CHV) are also taken from the practices of Hong Kong,
Singapore, United States, Norway and Australia. It refers to the determining the heritage value of the
particular site, determining in strategy of development, enrich people lives connection, aesthetic and artistic
heritage element, tourism industry, improving economy and substances of social psychological, remark to
avoid the misunderstanding and also to provide public contributions. All of these aspects were combined for
Malaysian implementation such as:
a. To determine heritage value of the particular sites like aesthetic and artistic heritage element and
substances of social psychological.
b. To enrich people lives connection that can provide public contributions on multivalent heritage.
c. To determine the strategy of development that can boost the growth of the economy of the nation
iv. Direct and External benefit and Quality of CHV
The direct and external benefit and quality of CHV also taken from the several countries such as Hong Kong,
Singapore, United States, Australia, Norway and Italy. The direct and external benefits accommodate the
locals with the knowledge, tourism value and socio-cultural. It is also related to the consumption of
externalities, improve domestic economy and approach the cultural heritage management and conservation.
v. Cost of Using CHV

The cost of using CHV is based from the model of Australia and Italy. It depends on the more easily,
economic terms and opportunity cost and budget cultural institution needs complementary and measuring
public subsidies. In Malaysian context, the budget needs to be provided in the public or government subsidies.
vi. General issue, condition and challenges of CHV

The general issue, condition and challenges of CHV are taken from Australia, United States, Singapore, Spain,
Norway and Thailand. The item such as challenges on the individual valuation, aggregating the responses,
aggregating indigenous and noon indigenous responses, lack of consistency. It also related on the value
assessment and conservation policy has been quite effective in enhancing ethnic
Combination of practices from other countries (Tool)

i. Support Programme and Initiative
The significance or Pivotal of Cultural Heritage Value (CHV) is taken from the practices from Hong Kong,
Singapore, United Kingdom and United States. The support programme that use in practice is the
incorporation of a consensus building process that engages the public in one formulation of policies and
decision making. The current practices also enhanced education on heritage conservation, promotion of
community, tourism development efforts and social science tools might play useful role on completing
economic technique.
ii. Method of CHV

The method of CHV that used in currently practices is based on Malaysia itself, United States, Norway,
Thailand and Netherland. The methods that currently used are Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and
Choice Modeling (CM), Hedonic Pricing Method, Travel Cost Method, Market Price method, replacement
method and benefit transfers. It also used of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, cognitive approach
and methodologies strategies. The combination of all methods will be selected to implement in Malaysia
context such as Hedonic Price Method, Travel Cost method, Market Price method replacement method and
benefit transfer.
699
iii. Goal of CHV

The goals of CHV are refer to the cultural destination management, financing cultural heritage and resource
allocation. It refers to the United States that is the one of the countries implement the goals of CHV. It is also
to be implemented in Malaysia Context that includes the cultural destination management, financing cultural
heritage and resource allocation.
iv. Maintenance of CHV

The maintenance of CHV is referring to the Canada, United Kingdom and Spain. The maintenance used in the
current practice is maintaining the heritage culture for identify purpose, motivation for maintaining the
heritage culture psychological attitudes about the important of maintaining heritage culture, maintained and
viewed as a matter of choice on the part of the ethnic group member and change in the quality of the site.
Research Strategy
The research strategy is to get the information about the importance of Cultural Heritage Value (CHV) from the expert
view includes Contractor, Architect, Heritage Department and Local Authorities. The strategy of the expert view is
based on below:
i. Contractor
The contractor is related to the contract of the conservation work on the historic building. The contractor needs to
understand the cultural of heritage value to the historic building. This value can make the contractor to know the
suitable methods of the cultural heritage value in Malaysia context. The contractor also involved of the operational
control of the conservation part that so important to make sure the value is based on the building condition. The
contractor also undertakes accredited cultural heritage training. This requirement will be stipulated in license
conditions based on the practices of others countries. The contractor also needs specialized study, evaluation and
intervention methods and philosophy, adaptable to each individual case and they also need have capability of
working in multi-disciplinary teams, more diversified than in current construction, involving architects, engineers,
conservators/restorers, chemists, mineralogists, historians, and so on. The contractor supposed to have technical
knowledge of traditional and contemporary building systems and materials.
ii. Architect
The Architect will refer to the holistic and aesthetic value of the historic building. The Architect will look the value
in terms of the aesthetic value and the design of the building.
iii. Heritage Department
The role of The Heritage Department is to organize the promotion of the preservation and conservation at Malaysia.
They are the responsible body to urge public and private owners to conserve and preserve historic buildings and
environments. In addition, we promote their sympathetic adaptation to new uses, so as to ensure their future
viability and relevance. This board is focus on the value of the conservation method of the building in Malaysia.
iv. Local Authorities

On the local authorities’ parties, it refers to the development of the conservation area. The local authorities will be
responsible on development and regulation of the conservation area through the implementation of development
and enforcement of the current and after development on the conservation area.
Method of Analyzing Research Findings

The methods of analyzing on this research are descriptive statistical analysis by employing the frequencies and cross
tabulation method. The qualitative data obtained from the questionnaire survey is analyzed by using the Statistical
Package for the Social Science (SPSS). The questionnaires that are collected will be analyzed to take opinion and
analyzed the importance of the Cultural Heritage Value (CHV).
Respondent Sampling
The questionnaire survey will be provide to the expert view that experienced in the conservation terms such as
Conservator, Architect, Contractor and Lecturer. This entire respondent is the conservation practitioner that expert on
the conservation aspect.
Perception Survey of the Expert View

 Questionnaire Designation
The questionnaire designation on the questionnaire survey is referred to the understanding of the expert
view. The designation is based on the matrix classes that have been summarized from all countries. The
designation is more to the importance of the Cultural Heritage Value.
700
4. Conclusion
Although it has frequently been stated that interest in conservation has probably reached its apogee, whenever a new
campaign of listing or relisting historic buildings begins, a new round of controversies is sparked off and widespread
interest in conservation issues is revitalized. Over time, the threshold of historic significance creeps slowly forward,
and the listing of historic buildings continue commensurably, with currently a lot of buildings and some of conservation
areas protected nationally through government legislation
References
[2] Marta de la Torre & Randall Mason 2002

[3] Setha M.Low 2004
[4] the National Heritage Act 2005
[5] Koboldt 1997, p. 68.
[6] Throsby 1997, p. 15
[7] Chu and Uebegang, 2002.
[8] Bedate, Herrero and Sanz, 2004.
[9] Charter, developed by Australia ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites),
[10] Marquis-Kyle and Walker 2004
[11] Serageldin, 1999.
[12] Hezri and Hassan, 2004
[13] E.Avrami 2000: R.Mason 2002
[14] Setha M.Low 2004
701
The Influence Factors Of Positive Growth Of Malaysian Built

Heritage
M.A.A. Rahman a,64*, Z.A. Akasah b, M.K. Musa c, M.L.A. Jeni d
a,c,d
Faculty of Engineering Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia
Abstract
Acknowledgement of the UNESCO on the Malaysian government efforts in conserving and preserving national heritage by listing
out Malacca and George Town as the world heritage site has opened the eyes on many. The societies nowadays realize the need and
importance of inherit the irreplaceable heritage from the past. If not for the efforts of the former to ensure the buildings remain then
we may have lost over the past years. This paper discusses on the scenario of conservation practice of old buildings that have
become part of the present Malaysian heritage which briefly touched on the factors that influence positive growth of preservation
practices today. Also discussed in this paper is proposed strategy to empower and enrich this preservation activity in the future.
Keywords: Heritage buildings; influence factors; maintenance; Malaysia
1. Introduction
Fieldan [1] said that heritage building have its own uniqueness in terms of architecture, history, culture and building
skills and not to forget its emotional value that arouse from the society’s observation. These heritage buildings also
have its own value and identity that are synonym with historical development of our country [2]. Based on that
instance, these buildings have been preserved for the next generation.
Even though it has been a decade since our country freed from colonization but the effect of it can still be seen until
today. This can be seen by the existence of old buildings like Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Kuala Lumpur), Stadhuys
Building (Malacca) and Kapitan Keling Mosque (Penang) which is still used to this day. The success that we have
today is a result of several positive factors of preservation efforts in the past.
It is the responsibility of today's generation to continue and to pass on what belongs to the next generation. Fracture
grows gone changed but the change is not the same as the gone.
2. Current scenario of Malaysian’s built heritage
It is said that Malaysia has over than 35,000 of old buildings stocks which some of them has been preserved as a
heritage buildings and the rest still yet to be preserved [3]. This amount is not high as another developing country. As a
developing country, Malaysia is one of the popular destinations chosen by tourist every year. The uniqueness and
beauty of the heritage architecture is one of the products that should be extruded by tourist
The building stock that still exists until today is the result of colonial legacy. Most of these buildings have been well
preserved so that future generations can appreciate it. Various efforts and plans were made by both government and
heritage bodies to ensure these buildings remain conserved [4].

E-mail address: ashrafr@uthm.edu.my
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In 2008, Malaysia has made a name on the world heritage list when Melaka and George Town declared as a
UNESCO world Heritage Site. This success has placed Malaysia as a competitive country globally. This success also
shows that conservation efforts carried out showed excellent results. The success achieved must be continued for future
generations.
Figure 1: The examples of Malaysian uniqueness heritage architectural of shop houses and government building.
3. The factors of Malaysian built heritage positive growth
Positive growth and development of the country especially in the architectural heritage preservation and
maintenance efforts in the late 70s and early 80s was driven by several factors, including social factors, political
factors, planning factors and legal factors. These factors are seen as the trigger for a series of successes in extending the
life of the architectural heritage of the country and has successfully listed Malacca and Penang in the UNESCO world
heritage map
3.1 Social factors
The existence of social groups and heritage organizations in the '80s like Badan Warisan Malaysia (BWM), which
was established in 1983 and the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) in 1986 and supported by the Department of Museum
Malaysia (formally known as Department of Museum and Antiquities) has contributed to an increasing demand for the
conservation and maintenance of old buildings, especially in early developed cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang and
Ipoh. Since the existence of these groups and organizations, many buildings in the post-independence era has been
successfully restored. In addition, the appearance of small clusters of various ranks and disciplines including
academics, thinkers and heritage activists such A. Ghafar Ahmad and Syed Ahmad Idid have contributed to the
important discoveries, particularly in the listing of the stock of old buildings in Malaysia at that time. The contribution
of these early pioneers also contributed to the production of scientific publications and materials issues through
research and development that has been conducted and the materials are also a major medium in the process of
knowledge transfer.
3.2 Legal factors
Despite the years of independence the country has existed Ordinance Antiquities and Treasure Trove Act 1957, but
the act made to control and preserve the old building is less successful because the focus at the moment is more
oriented toward efforts to unite the people [5]. Only after 1976, when the Antiquities Act 1976 passed by Parliament,
then work towards protecting old buildings reflecting a rally. Among them was gazetted more than 20 old buildings as
historic buildings under the act [6]. Similarly, other laws intended to preserve old buildings, especially those have more
than 100 years as the Kuala Lumpur City Planning Act, 1982, Town and Country Planning Act 1976, Local
Government Act 1976 and the latest of National Heritage Act 2005.
3.3 Political factors
The positive growth of the preservation activity of heritage buildings in Malaysia was also influenced by political
factors. Excessive building stock when the country is driving the rise in the world in need of repair, renovation and
improvements that are more suited to the modernized partly as a political and administrative centre of the country.
Growth and resurgence of urban centres that are not only seen as social needs but also on the importance of proper
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political timeline also be important in order to maintain the architectural heritage following the re-use of old buildings
as government offices and other uses.
3.4 Planning factors
Development constraints due to limited land resources in focus areas have contributed to the preservation activities
and maintenance of heritage buildings. Following to the acts and legislation that protects the interests of the old
buildings is the long development effort to replace this with new development cannot be done easily even though the
position of the old buildings are located in or near major centres [7]. Planning requirements as outlined in the Garis
Panduan Pengekalan Bangunan di dalam Kawasan Pusat Bandar Kuala Lumpur 1996, also enrich the architectural
heritage of this number and showed a significant increase in the retention of early shop house architecture.
4. Proposed strategy in future
Several strategies have been recognizing as the steps to empower and to enrich the preservation activity in future.
Among the strategies proposed are;
i. The policy that involve in preserving the heritage building must be consistent in the guidelines. The
aim is to educate the public, legal authorities and guideline, establishment of the permanent
heritage zone and to obey preservation procedures.
ii. To establish and increase the cooperation among all parties those are involved in preserving the
heritage building. Information to the public about awareness of preserving the heritage building
needs to be carried out all over the country.
iii. To increase awareness among the players who are involved at the management and
implementation level by giving training and education.
iv. Adequate and on-going financial support to the management for conserving and preserving the
heritage building.
5. Conclussion
This paper has identified the factors that influence the positive growth of preservation activities in Malaysia. The
factors are includes of social factors, political factors, planning factors and legal factors. Several efforts to strengthen
and enrich the future conservation efforts also proposed to ensure this legacy remains for the next generation.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to express utmost gratitude to the Faculty of Engineering Technology, University Tun
Hussein Onn Malaysia and to all colleagues for having provided support and valuable advice in carrying out the study.
References
[1] Fielden, B.M. (2003). Conservation of Historic Buildings (3rd Ed). United Kingdom: Architectural Press.
[2] Yahaya Ahmad (1996), Some aspects of building conservation in Malaysia, Pustaka Kajian Pemuliharaan
Bangunan, Universiti Malaya.
[3] Syed Zainol Abidin Idid (1995). Pemeliharaan warisan rupa bandar: Panduan mengenali warisan rupa bandar
berasaskan inventori bangunan warisan Malaysia. Badan Warisan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
[4] Mohammad Ashraf Abdul Rahman, Zainal Abidin Akasah and Siti Nor Fatimah Zuraidi (2012), The Importance of
On-going Maintenance in Preserving Heritage Listed Buildings, International Journal on Advanced Science,
Engineering and Information Technology, Vol.2 (2012) No. 2, pages 83-85, ISSN2088 5334
704
[5] Mohd. Rizal Mohd Yaakop (2007). Dasar Keselamatan Dan Pertahanan Malaysia: Warisan Penjajahan Dan Era
Pasca Kemerdekaan, JEBAT. Malaysian Journal of History, Politics and Strategic Studies, 34 . pp. 17-28
[6] Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, and Mohamad Fauzi Sukimi, (2007) Bandar sebagai cermin identiti bangsa:
perbandingan awal antara Jakarta dan Kuala Lumpur. AKADEMIKA, 70 . pp. 3-19.
[7] Siti Norzilaiha Haron (2004). Amalan Kerja Pemuliharaan Bangunan Bersejarah Di Malaysia, Universiti Sains
Malaysia. Phd Thesis
705
Analysis of Critical Factors and Difficulties in Maintaining

Historical Building - A Current Implementation
M. N. Baharuddina,65*, N. F. Bahardina, R. A. Rashidb, H. Hashima, I. M. Alia
a
Department of Building Surveying, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, University Teknologi MARA Perak,Malaysia
b
Centre of Building Surveying Studies, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, University Teknologi MARA Shah Alam,Malaysia
Abstract
Historic buildingis one of the highly valuable assets to the country especially in a way to shows its history for the next generation
instead to make a profit through the excellent promotion in tourism purpose.The Malaysian Government has allocated a huge of
financial support in order to conserve and preserve the historic building. However, the majority of the historic building is still in
‘poor’ condition without any improvement regarding to the pro-active approach.This paper presents part of this research which
investigates the key components consists of issues and difficulties in term of critical factors. The findings reveal that there are
several difficulties in maintaining a historic building. The identification of key components will facilitate the stakeholders to focus
on the variable and resources to make the success in maintaining and managing the historic building.
Keywords: Historic Building; Maintenance Management for Historic Building; Critical Factors; Key Components
1. Introduction
Historic building is actually bringing a significance value to the country especially in a way to shows their history
for the next generation instead to make a profit through the excellent promotion in tourism purpose. In the context of
Malaysia, the historic building based on Kuala Lumpur City Council (1996) as cited in Aksah (2009), shows that the
historic building can be classified into six (6) categories which are shop houses, commercial building, religious
building, private houses, palaces and institutional buildings. According to Hamirudin and Ghafar (2009) most of
heritage buildings are enriched with architectural and historic significance by several architecture styles inclusive of
traditional Malay architecture, the Portuguese architecture, the Dutch architecture and the British architectures which
consist of Moorish, Tudor, Neo-Classical and Neo-Gothic styles. The majority of the buildings are worthy to be listed
or gazette as a Heritage Building under National Heritage Act 2005 (Hamirudin and Ghafar, 2009). Meanwhile,
Bahardin (2008) found that, there were many buildings that built before World War II (Pre-War building) in Kuala
Lumpur. She added the types of the building consist of shop houses and single building whichhave much quality and
uniqueness in architecture styles. Therefore, Idid (1995) in his study emphasize that almost 20,787 unit of historical
building built between 1800 until 1948 in Malaysia which are classified as a ‘Pre-War building’.Since historic assets
are identified as a National Heritage, it should be undertake properly either it is tangible and intangible heritage. With
regards on this act, the historic building which is listed under National Heritage Building will be governed by Act 645,
National Heritage Act, 2005. The provision of this Act will be aid the Ministry in order to ensure the continuous
preservation of the building will be successfully done by authority. According to this act, the building has not
exceeding 100 years also can be classified into National Heritage act as long as it will bring a cultural significance to
the country. The existence of this act can be minimizing the number of building demolished by other parties and more
effective (Bahardin, 2008). According to Fielden (2003), the term of historic building can be simplify as, ‘an historic
building is one that gives us a sense of wonder and makes us want to know more about people and culture that
produced it’. He added, it has architectural, aesthetic, historic, documentary, archaeological, economic, social and
even political and spiritual or symbolic values; but the first impact is always emotional, for it is a symbol of our
cultural identity and continuity as a part of our heritage.If it has survived the hazards of 100 years of usefulness, it has
a good claim to being called historic’.
* Corresponding author. Tel.:+605-374 2283; fax: +605-374 2244.

E-mail address: mohdn468@perak.uitm.edu.my.
706
It is important to conserve, preserve and maintain the building since it will bring a valuable values and sense of
identity in this country.Nevertheless, some of the historic building in Malaysia still in ‘poor’ condition which is at a
risk from defects and not properly cared (Kamal et-al, 2008). The high cost of repair and maintenance of the historic
building give some restriction and challenging in order to ensure the historic building is in a good condition. The need
for regular maintenance is vital for any buildings for both historic and non-historic building in order to prolong the
building life and function (Morris, 1877). Meanwhile, Kerr (1996) also emphasized that ‘of all the processes of
conserving heritage building, maintenance is the single most important processes’. Based on British Standard, BS:
3811; ‘Maintenance is work undertaken in order to keep or restore every facility, for example every part of a site,
building and contents, to an acceptable standard’. The sensitiveness of each element in the historic building elements
needs a proper maintenance management approach to be practice as to ensure the originality of the building.
2. The Importance of Maintenance for Historic Building
The significance of the building maintenance for the historic building has been established in almost documentation
and legislation whether at international and Malaysia level. It is a very importance process since through the
appropriate maintenance process; it may prolong the building life and avoid damages on the building elements and
components especially for certain elements which have been gazette under National Heritage Act. According to Kerr
(1996) stated that, maintenance for historic building is a very significance process and ‘as the most important
conservation process and whether the building is architectural, mechanical or botanical, preventive is better than
cure’. With regards on that, the implementation of the maintenance process will reduce the cost of repair and any side
effects especially for the historic building. The best way to maintain the historic building is by using pro active method
or preventive method which gives more benefit rather than condition based approach which repair the components or
element based on complaint. It strongly agreed by Brereton (1991) as cited in Idrus et-al (2010), which pointed out that
‘unnecessary replacement of historic building, no matter how carefully the work is done, will have an adverse effect on
the quality of the historic building and will seriously diminish its authenticity and reduce its value as a sources of
historical information’. It is clear that most of the historic building has a cultural significance which must be retained
maximally. In addition, the historic buildings also have a significance attraction to the foreign tourist. Most of the
foreign tourists are attracted to these building due to the cultural uniqueness coupled with high historical and
architectural value (Idrus et-al, 2010). With considering a huge revenues being generated from foreign tourist visit to
Malaysia combined that these heritage building provide a sense of identity and continuity for future generation, it can
be strongly recommend that the country historic building deserve the best concept of maintenance as to prolong the
building life and generated more income to the government in line with the concepts ‘Heritage Buildings as a Tourism
Booster’.
According to Forsyth (2007) maintenance is regarded to be the most realistic and philosophically appropriate for
conservation method. It was strongly agreed by Idrus et-al (2010) which stated that regular maintenance is critical to
the survival of any building regardless it was a historic or non-historic building. In general, the survival of any building
is depends on its maintenance which have been executed earlier by the building owner and responsible body. Therefore,
maintenance is the process by which the building are kept viable for the benefit to the user and with the properly
executed, it will avoid and prevent the historic building deteriorate (Fielden, 2003). Maintenance for historic building is
very important procedure in a way to preserve and conserve the historic building. With referring to Dann and Cantell
(2007) as cited in Foster and Brit (2009), pointed ‘maintenance is still accepted as the best suitable way and
sustainable to conserve the historic building’. The Venice Charter in International Council on Monuments and Sites
(ICOMOS), 1964 also pointed out the same opinion which stated that, ‘it is essential to the conservation of monuments
that they be maintained on a permanent basis’. Thus, English Heritage as cited in Foster and Brit (2009) suggests that
the best means of ensuring the continued preservation of a building is to carry out regular maintenance. With referring
on the scholar’s and writers earlier, it can be summarized that the effective way to ensure the historic building are well
taken and conserved, the maintenance approach are strongly encouraged to be implemented. Therefore, Maintain Our
Heritage (MOH), 2004, as cited in Foster and Brit (2009) indicating that ‘much of the need for capital expenditure on
the historic environments is the result of poor maintenance’ as shown on the Figure 1.
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Figure 1: The cost incurred in planned and unplanned maintenance

(Maintain Our Heritage, 2004 as cited in Foster and Brit, 2009)
Maintain Our Heritage, 2004 also claimed that the maintenance is ‘all too often responsive, not pro active, not
systematic, a low, not a high priority and in many cases, in not happen at all’. Thus, with referring to the graph, it can
be concluded that, the reactive maintenance or condition based maintenance is not cost effective rather than
implementing a pro active or preventive maintenance. It should be a pro active maintenance in order to ensure the
historic buildings are well maintained and preserved. In the context of Malaysia perspective, the government through
the responsible authority and their agency should be alert with this situation and need to increase the awareness
amongst the owner of the building and their caretaker to changes the emphasis in maintenance which from condition
based to the preventive maintenance.
2.1 The Principle of Maintenance for Historic Building

According to Fielden (2003) stated that maintenance and preservation of historic building is very skilled and needs
responsible and competent craftsmen or any specialist to manage and control the process. The historic building which
have a lot of significance value to the country are need to be preserve appropriately in aligned with the tool or principle
for maintenance which is ‘minimal intervention’. It is clear that retaining historic building elements are leads to the
retention of cultural significance with the most suitably method to achieve and undertake maintenance on a minimal
intervention basis (Foster and Brit, 2009). They added, the primary objective of minimal intervention is to restrain
decay without damaging the building character and prevention on the unnecessary disruption. It was agreed by Brereton
(1991), which stated that minimal intervention also can be considered as ‘as much as necessary’ and ‘as little as
possible’ by Feilden (2003). In other hand, the maintenance principle according to English Heritage as cited in
Bahardin (2008) includes the purpose of repair, the need of repair, avoiding unnecessary damage, analyzing historic
development, adopting proven techniques, truth to material, removal of damaging previous alteration, restoration of
lost features and safeguarding the future.This principle should be treated as a compulsory guideline and procedure as to
ensure the uniqueness and quality of the building will be assured.
2.2 The Implementation of Maintenance for Historic Building
According to Chambers (1976) in his book, Cyclical Maintenance for Historic Building as cited in Fielden (2003)
stated that the scientific building maintenance is starting with daily routines and working upwards. His books are deals
with maintenance survey, supervision, work records, staffing, all matter relating to organizing a maintenance
programme for building to ensure it will keep in acceptable standard. He suggested that, the maintenance techniques
should be based upon the preparation of a maintenance manual which is sophisticated document as to guide a
maintenance work. The implementation of maintenance approach should be based on the maintenance programme. By
having a good maintenance, it will ensure the successful maintenance work for historic building. According Fielden
(2003) pointed out; the maintenance department should carry out the maintenance survey as to seek as much as more
valuable information in the historic building. He added, the maintenance for historic building should be ideally be
tackled by routines of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual and quenquennial inspections, followed
by the reports since its building is a ‘special case’ and should have its own checklist and schedules based on the
content and specific environmental and structural problems. Then, based on the report which has been provided at the
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initial stage, the maintenance supervisor should investigate and analyze the report especially in terms cost of repair that
may indicate which items are deteriorating rapidly. He added, the whole maintenance operation is thus based on the
survey assessment of frequencies of workloads and on responsible feedback from the staff. With regards on this
initiative, the systematic maintenance will be established and the maintenance work will facilitates the initiation of
major repairs, reconstruction and restoration and the most significance things is to prepare a planned preventive
maintenance for the historic building.In establishing a maintenance strategy, it is desirable to have categories of repair
work as defined for the log books, so that the performance of the historic building of similar types can be compared on
a statistical basis.
2.3 The ‘Best Practice Approach’ for Historical Building Maintenance
Maintenance management process for historic building is very significance especially to maintain and preserve the
built heritage with properly manner. With regards on that, RICS (2009) has outlined a several ideas which can be used
as a key ideas as to implement the best practice of maintenance approach for historic building as listed below;
Table 1:Maintenance of Best Practice Approach (RICS, 2009)

Maintenance Management
Characteristic of Best Approach
Area
- Conservation principles should be the overarching intellectual
framework which informs the culture an implementation of
maintenance. Maintenance should primarily be concerned with the
1) Corporate objectives and protection and enhancement of cultural significance.
maintenance strategy / policy
- Maintenance management goals and the purpose of the maintenance
management function should be explicitly integrated with wider
corporate goals.
- Assessments of cultural significance are fundamental to the appropriate
management of Listed Building (including their maintenance) and
2) Management processes,
conservation plans and should be implemented through appropriate Management Plans. The
management plans. principle of minimal intervention should inform and be reinforced by
such Management Plans.
- Maintenance programming should place the emphasis on cyclical
preventive maintenance tasks and be driven by the overarching goal of
3) Programmes and minimal intervention.

Prioritization - Assessments of cultural significance should be central to the
prioritization of maintenance activity.
- A range of inspection at varying frequencies should be carried out.
These should be tailored to the significance and vulnerability of the
4) Condition surveys, inspection element or material.
and stock data.
- Condition surveys should provide an assessment of condition, identify
the optimum moment for intervention, and aid the prioritization of
actions and planning for the future.
- Information on building condition should be stored on an integrated
database. It should be easily retrievable and easy to handle for both
tactical and strategic purposes.
5) Information Management - System should be in place which enable information about building
condition provided by users other than those directly related to the
maintenance department (e.g. visitors) to be incorporated into
maintenance information database.
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- Budgets should reflect and be informed by the maintenance policy.

- A mechanism for feeding back information about maintenance
6) Financial management and
performance measurement performance to managers and other interested parties should be in
place.
Generally, this document will be used as a guidance document in order to investigate a critical factors and
difficulties at the implementation stage.
3. Problems and Issues
The survival of any building especially historic building is underpinned by regular maintenance. According to
Morris (1877), regular maintenance is critical to the survival of any building, whether it heritage and non heritage
building. He added, regular maintenance is essential and ‘the most practical and economic form of conserving heritage
building’. Kerr (1996) also emphasized that ‘of all the processes of conserving heritage building, maintenance is the
single most important processes’. Historic building are considered as an asset to country and need to give special
intervention in a way to ensure a cultural significance and ‘historic value’ on the building are still preserve. This is why
the best maintenance concept for historic building would be as a critical factors and key element as to keep the building
at acceptable standard. Recently, some of the building are well maintained by the authority while the rest, are still in a
dilapidated condition. Ghafar (1994) as cited in Kamarudin (2008) said that, Malaysia faces several problems in dealing
with historic building, which is lack of technical knowledge in dealing with repairing and maintenance at historic
building. Moreover, Kamal et-al (2008) reported in the research conservation of heritage building in Malaysia which is
focus on the building condition, found that, out of 209 historic building that has been surveyed in the research at Kuala
Lumpur, Ipoh, Georgetown, and Banda Hilir, Melaka indicated that 39% of the historic building surveyed was in poor
condition, 83% of the historic building surveyed has signs of building defects and 74% of the historic buildings
surveyed has not being conserved and maintained properly which would be attributed by other factors for instance lack
of effective and efficient maintenance for historic building. In addition, there are insufficient guidelines and rules to
guide focus on maintenance management at historic building. At the moment, there is no specific approach; guidelines,
procedures and regulation that have been listed in order to keep maintain the historic building in Malaysia. There is
crucial need to manage the critical factors and difficulties in order to preserve and ensuring the best maintenance
concept for historic building. The critical factor is defined as the factors which contribute the ineffective result and
achievement towards successful building performance. Therefore, with considering on the situation, the critical factors
should be overcome as to ensure the successful of maintenance program for historic building.
This research is to determine the key components in maintaining historic building in the context of pre-war building
in Kuala Lumpur. The objectives of this research are firstly, to identify the factors that contribute to success in
maintaining historic building, secondly, to investigate the current implementation of maintenance management level for
historic building among their caretaker and thirdly, to analyze the critical factors and difficulties in the context of
current implementation of maintenance management level for historic building. For this paper, the second and third
objective is discussed. A total of eleven(11) respondent were interviewed out of twenty three (23) numbersof building
were selected under National Heritage Act 2005 Act 645 which is located in Kuala Lumpur. With regards on this
research, the numbers of building have been identified based on the updated list which has been gazette by National
Heritage Department on 10th May 2012.The twelve (12) historic building was excluded in this research since this
building did not meet the criteria and requirement in this research for instance the changing in ownership status and
others. This research are more focusing on the building was erected before 1939 and also called ‘pre-war buildings’
rather than the fairly new one historical building such as Parliament of Malaysia building which was built in 1962.
According to Kamaruddin (2008), the selection of the pre-war building bring more challenges and problems since this
building was getting old and face a lot of difficulty in terms of defects, maintenance, conservation and structure of the
building itself. The selection of the respondent to be interviewed as to acquire informationwould be the ‘person in
charge’ or ‘responsible person’ for the maintenance operation in the selected building as to acquire more relevant data
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for this research. Therefore, the person in charge would be interview based on the formulated question which was
prepared earlier in a way to gain a primary data or sources.
5. Findings and Discussions
5.1 Demographic Profile of Respondents
In general mostof the respondents who are person in charge on that particular buildingcan be categorized into two
categories which are technical and non-technical background. Normally, most of the caretaker for the historic building
does not have any technical knowledge regarding to the maintenance for historic building. Therefore, most of the
historic building did not manage by appropriate person which has widely knowledge and experience in maintenance for
historic building. As a result, the majority of the buildings are still in obsolete without any improvement especially in
their maintenance programme and planning. The significance of well understanding the nature and cultural significance
of the historic building is vital before any action be taken such as building inspection, specification and intervention to
the building.
Table 1.1: Demographic Profile Tabulation

Buildings Current Respondents Academic Background Experiences
Former KL Municipal Building and Town Hall (PanggungBandarayaya) Architect (DBKL) Architect 11-15 years
KL Railway Headquarters Building Act as H.O.D Facilities Maintenance Civil Engineering >15 year
KL Railway Station Act as H.O.D Facilities Maintenance Civil Engineering >15 year
KL Textile Museum ( Former PWD Building) Curator Anthropology & Sociology 6-10 years
General Post Office Building Technical Assistant (T.A)/Building Event Management 1-5 year
Residency Building Charge man (Maintenance Manager) Electrical >15 year
Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) Historic Studies 1-5 year
Sultan AbdSamad Building Technical Assistant (T.A)/Building Event Management 6-10 years
St John Secondary School Teacher Non-Technical 1-5 year
Rubber Research Institute Malaysia Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) Civil Engineer 6-10 years
KL Library (PejabatPengawalPos Wilayah K.L) Chief Executive Officer Historic Studies 6-10 years
5.2 Heritage Building Profile
Recently, most of the heritage buildings are still used by the government and private organization. The utilization of
the historic building will bring a significance value to the country especially in a way to support a government initiative
which is ‘tourism booster’ among the visitors (Baharuddin, 2012). As stated previously, the criteria of the case study
selected in this building is more focusing on the pre-war building which is erected before 1939 since this building will
bring a significance value towards this research.
Table 1.2: Heritage Building Profile
Buildings Year of Built Gazetted Date Current Use

Former KL Municipal Building and Town Hall (PanggungBandarayaya) 1896 2007 City Hall Theatre
KL Railway Headquarters Building 1914 2007 KTM Office
KL Railway Station 1892 2007 KTM Railway
KL Textile Museum ( Former PWD Building) 1893 2007 Textile Museum
General Post Office Building 1904 2007 MOTAC Office
Residency Building 1888 2007 Memorial TAR
Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall 1910 2007 Chinese Society
Sultan AbdSamad Building 1894 2007 MOTAC Office
St John Secondary School 1904 2012 Secondary School
Rubber Research Institute Malaysia 1936 2012 Office
KL Library (PejabatPengawalPos Wilayah K.L) 1899 2012 KL Library
5.3 Establishment of Maintenance Strategy & Policy
Based on the interview that have been doneeight (8) out of eleven (11) respondent interviewed reported that their
organization have a maintenance strategy and organization goals for the building. With regards on this section, the
respondents had referred to different reason. Two interviewees from Sultan Abdul Samad building and Old General
Post Office building claimed that, they have a maintenance strategy as to improve a maintenance aspect in particular
building by creation a development units which responsible to manage the numbers of complaints by the user. In
addition, six (6) numbers of respondents which are Textile Museum, Town Hall, KTM Railway, KTM Headquarters,
Rubber Research Institute and KL Library stated that, they also have a maintenance goal through execution of planned
maintenance programme which are believed to reduce the cost of repair especially for old building. Meanwhile, three
(3) other interviewees which are Residency building, Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall and St John Secondary School
711
disclosed that they implement rectification and ad-hoc approach in a way to manage the building condition. With
regards on the analysis, it can be simplified that most of the respondents have a better understanding in the context of
maintenance purpose since the maintenance goal and strategy is vital especially in a way to sustain a current condition
of the building. However, all the respondents agreed that maintenance for historic building is more difficult in the
context of establishment of maintenance strategy rather than other building.
5.4 Management Process & Planning
The consensus of the respondents stated that there is no general guidelines and regulation which prepared by
responsible authorities regarding to the maintenance for historic building. Most of them added, the National Heritage
Department only established a conservation plans and guidelines which involve all the custodian of historical building
are not allowed to renovate and upgrading the existing building without permission. This is very worrying considering
the fact that maintenance for historic building is crucial aspect in a way to prolong the building life as well as to care
the significance value to the country. In fact, based on the interview with National Heritage Department, there is still no
a guideline or procedures regarding to management process and planning in the context of maintenance aspects for
historic building in Malaysia.
5.5 Maintenance Planning, Programme and Prioritization
A total of six (6) respondents disclose that they have developed a maintenance planning and programme by focusing on
the certain element which are mechanical, electrical and civil works. Nevertheless, the respondents reveal that there is
lack of maintenance programme and planning undertake to the historic building especially to manage with the certain
sensitive element on that particular building. Meanwhile the rest of the respondents claimed that they do not have any
maintenance planning, programme and prioritization since most of the maintenance works was delegates to the out
sourcing contractor. In addition the consensus of respondents also agreed that the maintenance planning concept will
develop based on the data information obtained from the previous inspection. They also agreed that ‘financial issues’ is
the most important element when dealing with historic building.With regards on the analysis, most of the respondents
should be trained properly and well understanding on the maintenance for historical building principle which in line
with the concept of ‘minimal intervention’ as to assured the quality and continuity of the significance element.
Recently, only four (4) respondents reveal that they have been implementing the concept by appointing the specialist
contractor for cleaning aspect which has experienced in maintaining historic building. As been informed, they have a
special methodology and ‘special treatment’ when cleaning a significance features such as decorative element as to
give a maximum protection for the building.
5.6 The Execution of Building Evaluation and Inspection
The consensus of the respondents agreed that the primary objective execution of building evaluation and building
inspection is vital in maintaining historic building by giving a several reason. A total of five (5) respondents which are
KTM Railway, KTM Headquarters, Textile Museum, St John Secondary School and KL City Gallery give a
justification is due to the most important aspect which is safety and health issues while the rest which are Sultan Abdul
Samad, Old General Post Office, Town Hall, Rubber Research Institute stated that the rationale of performing building
evaluation and inspection is for discover the current building condition status. However, while referring to the two (2)
respondents which responsible for Residency and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall they explained that the primary
objective is to make a necessary correction for that particular defects. With regards on the analysis, it was found that
most of respondents aware with the importance of building evaluation and inspection in a way to manage the historic
building but it are subject to the functional of the building. In that case, a total of five (5) respondents give a similar
justification based on the current use of the building which been transform into museum since they are dealing with the
public as well as visitors. According to Maintenance Best Practice Approach by RICS, 2009, person in charge should
have an initiative as to implementing the a range of building inspection at varying frequencies as to monitor closely the
performance of the historic building since it is highly valuable asset to the countries.
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5.7 Maintenance Information System
According to the interview, a total of seven (7) respondents which are KTM Railway, KTM Headquarters, Textile
Museum, Sultan Abdul Samad, Old General Post Office, Town Hall, Rubber Research Institute revealed that they have
take an initiative to keep maintenance record for that particular building as to monitored the general building condition
while the rest of respondents stated they did not implement any efforts to keep the maintenance record. Disclosed
further, the rest of the respondents explain that they will store information regarding to major conservation and
refurbishment works in the historic building. With regards on analysis, it can be concluded that the majority of the
respondents well informed the benefit of having the good maintenance record. Nevertheless, as been informed by the
majority of respondents, the maintenance information or ‘data storage’ data is still on the manual arrangement by using
‘filing’ system. Based on the interview by KTM Railway and KTM Headquarters person in charge, the way of the
‘filing’ system had resulted unsystematic approach in a way to manage the historic building. Most of the file is missing
and unarranged due to several reason such as change of responsible person that manage the file or else. Based on the
RICS, 2009, the requirement of having good information management that inclusive of ‘maintenance database’ for each
particular historical building is crucial since the maintenance record will aid the National Heritage Department to
identifying the authenticity of each material and element. In addition, the implementation of installation the integrated
software which linked with the e-complaint system will bring a systematic approach for the new era of maintenance
field.
5.8 Financial Factors
Recently, the consensus of the respondents disclosed that there is no funding allocation by the government solely for
the maintaining and managing historic building. Meanwhile, with referring to the respondents of Sultan Abdul Samad,
Old General Post Office, Textile Museum, Rubber Research Institute and Residency, most of budget allocation is
coming from the ‘PerbelanjaanMengurus’ which is the ‘typical terms’ for managing the government assets. In other
hand, Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Town Hall, KTM Railway, KTM Headquarters, St John Secondary School and
KL City Gallery disclosed that financial support in maintaining the operation of this particular building has been
manage by their own initiative without any contribution by government especially from National Heritage Department.
With regards on the analysis, the provision of financial support especially allocation for ‘Special Project’ such as
heritage building should be give as a main concern since the policy by the government as to embracing the cultural
significance of the countries. In fact, based on RICS, 2009 stated that the budget should reflect with the maintenance
policy for each building. Ultimately, the government through responsible authority should concern with this scenario
and the necessary action should be taken in a way to enhancing the good maintenance approach for historic building. In
other hand, the terms of ‘maintenance’ and ‘repairing’ purpose also should be distinguished since it will bring a
different perception. According to Dann and Worthing, 2005, ‘Maintenance’ works is important in protecting cultural
significance in the building and if it is properly implemented, it will be minimize the cost of repairs while ‘repair’
works defined as to prolong the life and element of the building and therefore very significance for the long term
protection for the building. In practice, most of the maintenance organization does not aware between the both terms.
This is why the maintenance planning should be in line with the financial support as to give more impact towards
maintaining in historical building.
6. Conclusion
As a conclusion, this paper summarizes the findings on the second and third objectives which are to investigate the
current implementation of maintenance management level for historic building among their caretaker and to analyze the
critical factors and difficulties in the context of current implementation of maintenance management level for historic
building. In general, the current implementation revealed that there several difficulties and critical factors that
contribute to unsuccessful maintenance management for historical building in Malaysia. Based on this research, it was
found that the most critical factors and difficulties in maintaining historic building consist of;
a) Lack of Maintenance Staff Training & Expertise

It was found that, the maintenance staff training and expertise is the most important component in the maintenance
management for historic building. As observed previously, most of the respondents do not have any technical
knowledge in order to manage and plan the inspection strategy towards this particular building. Furthermore, the
lack of maintenance staff training and expertise also noted that the majority of the historic building had been
outsourcing their maintenance tasks to the contractor. More so, there is less of maintenance organization formed at
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each of the historic building. As to improve the maintenance performance, the maintenance organization is crucial
to formed as to ensure the maintenance activities will be running smoothly and efficient.
b) ‘Just in Time’ or Unplanned Approach

It was noted that, the unplanned approach is the main approach adopted in the most of historic building
interviewed. In addition, the majority of the historic building respondents only take an action whilst the elements
of the building become failure and malfunction. There is lack of planned maintenance approach adopted for the
historic building unless for the certain criteria which are mechanical and electrical works. It also found that, there
is lack of strategic plans implemented in the maintenance approach for historic building. The majority of
respondents do not know the importance of strategic planning in a way to achieve the ‘value for money’ concept.
c) The Absence of Guidelines regarding to Maintenance for Historic Building

It was found that, there are no specific guidelines, procedures, method and system established by National
Heritage Department or any authorities regarding to this issues. The consensus of the respondents interviewed
stated that they do not know and experienced to maintain and manage the historic building with the specific
procedure.
d) Lack of Financial Support

It was noted that, the main issues of the maintenance for historic building is financial support. All the respondents
stated that, the financial support is fundamental element in order to ensure the cultural significance will be preserve
and conserve appropriately. In addition, the allocation for financial budget is only distribute to the selected
historical building only (Abd Rashid, 2008).
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Degree Dissertation, Building Surveying Department, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,
UniversitiTeknologi MARA.
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Dissertation, Building Surveying Department, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,
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Dissertation, Facilities Management Post Graduate Studies Department, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and
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Conservation’, Blackwell, Oxford.
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pp. 91-100.
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Forsyth, M. (2007), ‘Understanding Historic Building Conservation’. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK.
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BengkelMenanganiMasalahPemuliharaanBangunan Lama Di Malaysia Kota Ngah Ibrahim, Taiping, Perak
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Malaysia’, retrieved on 16 September 2011 from CIPA Symposium, October 11-15, 2009, Kyoto, Japan,
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Perception of Occupants’ of Super High-Rise Building on the

Usage of Lifts for Evacuation: A Preliminary Study
M. S. Azmi b, F. W. Akashaha 66*, C. K. Khoo c, M. R. Baharomd
a,b,c,d
Centre for Construction, Building and Urban Studies (CeBUS), Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Abstract
Evacuation from super high- rise building is impossible to be done within the specified time limit under the conventional context-
staircases evacuation, and will consume at least two hours for total evacuation. Since the past 30 years, researches were carried out
to study the possibility in lifts evacuation. Although the technological advancement made has made it possible to use lift during
emergencies, the occupants’ perception on this issue seems neglected. This paper examined perception of super high-rise building’s
occupants on the usage of lifts for evacuation through questionnaire survey in one selected super high-rise buildings in Kuala
Lumpur. The survey focuses on two important considerations of the occupants’ perception, that are (1) demographic and (2)
knowledge on fire safety procedure and usage of lifts during evacuation. The finding showed that 28 out of 65 occupants (43%)
believed that the lifts can be used during evacuation, and provided the lifts are ready technically. A concluding section draws out the
recommendation that need to be adhered for lifts to be used for building evacuation during emergencies, making up as second
alternatives besides conventional evacuation through staircases to increase life safety.
Keywords:elevators; evacuation; lifts; human behaviour; high rise; buildings
1. Introduction
Throughout the world nations are currently on a race in constructing super high-rise buildings. Since 1950s, the
rapid urbanization in big cities has attracted huge and continuous migration of people from rural into the urban area.
The urbanization resulting in increasingly demand for floor area and led to the construction of high-rise buildings (Ma et
al., 2012). However the construction of the super high-rise buildings has resulted in the rise of safety concerns (Pang and
Chow, 2011). Evacuation from those buildings becomes a major concern to the authorities, for instance the fire
departments and the occupants as well (Shields et al., 2009).
In this paper, the authors examined the perception of occupants using the lifts to evacuate from a super high-rise
building in Kuala Lumpur. The analysis discovered the key issues on the occupants’ readiness to use the lifts based on
their demographic and safety culture.
The findings were used to provide a feedback to the board of management of the building and fire department.
Thisis to obtain information on the occupants’ perception towards lifts usage for evacuation from high-rise building. In
fact, this will also improve the fire safety training initiatives and fire -fighting plan and rescue operations for super
high-rise buildings.
In the context of studying the human perception, authors analysed the questionnaire distributed to occupants of a
super high-rise building in Kuala Lumpur. Analysis was made based on two main parts that are; 1) respondents’
demographic and 2) respondents’ knowledge on fire safety procedure and usage of lifts during evacuation. Both parts
provide significance information about human perception towards the usage of lifts in evacuation.
The following section will explore the definition on super high-rise building and lift evacuation together with some
previous researches on possibility in implementing the lift evacuation.
2. Lift evacuations
There is no officially accepted definition on super high-rise buildings (Cai and Chow, 2011a). A building is categorised
as a super high-rise as it reaches 300 meters height as defined by Council on Tall Building and Urban Habitat
(CTBUH)(Weismantle, 2013). Emporis definedsuper high-rise building as a skyscraper which is a multi-story building
with minimum architectural height of 100 meters (Emporis, 2013) while Aecom (2013) defined it as the buildings that rise
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 3 7967 6874; fax:+60 3 7967 5713.

E-mail address:.faridakashah@um.edu.my
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above a city prevailing’s skyline. In Singapore, the super high-rise building is defined as the building with more than
40 stories in height (SCDF, 2013).
In Malaysia, there is no definition of super high-rise building but, in the UBBL 1984 high-rise building is defined as
building with height more than 18.4 metres (1984). Combining all the definitions stated above, there are 2 buildings that
fulfill them; the Petronas Twin Tower (452 metres) and Menara Telekom (310 metres) and both are located in the
capital city, Kuala Lumpur (CTBUH, 2012).
Several strategies have been developed to overcome the safety concern in super high-rise building. For example, the
refuge floors or staging area (Lay, 2007). However, this strategy is not favoured as the occupants are not willing to wait
for an unspecified time for rescue team to come and rescue them (Cai and Chow, 2011b)especially after the quick collapse
of the World Trade Centre tragedy in 2001 (Averill et al., 2012).
b. Lift evacuation as necessary alternative
Lift has been designed to be used during emergency by the fire fighters and the disabled people since 1980’s (Koshak,
2005). In normal circumstances, once the smoke detectors activated by smoke the lifts will be put under Fire-fighters
Emergency Operation (FEO) and recalled to designated floors (usually ground floor / floor led to final exit). Occupants
are not allowed to use the lifts for evacuation but the protected staircases. Then the fire lifts can be re-activated by the
fire-fighters using special keys so that they could transport their fire-fighting equipment to fight the fire in higher floor
level (Bukowski, 2012, Siikonen and Sorsa, 2011).
The evacuation using staircase will consume a lot of times (Cai and Chow, 2011b), up to two hours to evacuate a super
high-rise building (Chow, 2011) is exposing the occupants to another major safety concern, for instance the terrorism
attack which require immediate evacuation from the building.
Therefore further researches were carried out in searching for any possibilities in minimizing the amount of time
taken to evacuate high-rise buildings (Bukowski, 2007, Averill et al., 2012) Moreover, the tragedy of 9-11 has helped
intensified research on this issue e.g. Proulx (2005b), Bukowski (2007), Kinsey et al. (2009), Sekizawa and Nakahama (2011), Zu-ming et
al. (2011) among others. The alternative they looked for is the evacuation lift.
Besides the possibility in reducing the evacuation time, some studies were carried out to explore the different aspects
to support the lift evacuation; in term of the human factors and fire safety system. Andersson and Jonsson (2011) analysed
risk perception on evacuation from high-rise buildings while Kinsey et al. (2012) looks into the aspect of human factors
that lead selection of lifts or stairs to evacuate from the building. On the other hand, Cai and Chow (2011a) are focusing on
the fire safety requirement on the lift systems for evacuation while Ma et al. (2012) conducted the experimental study on
super high-rise building evacuation in China.
The above-mentioned examples further highlight the importance to explore lifts evacuation as a necessary
alternative for super high-rise building.
2.2 Lift evacuation for super high-rise building
The BurjKhalifa, Dubai is one of the super high-rise building that uses lifts evacuation as part of its evacuation
strategy during fire and emergencies (EmaarProperties, 2013). It currently holds the title “world highest building”
In South East Asia, Malaysia’s Petronas Twin Towers is another example of super high-rise buildings that that
implement lifts evacuation as part of its emergencies evacuation strategy (Ariff, 2003). However, the lifts evacuation
is not for the usage of the whole occupants of the building. But those located at the 42nd floor and above (Ariff, 2003,
Bukowski, 2010).
2.3 Lift evacuation and occupants’ perception
Human behavioural is an aspect that is crucial to be taken into consideration while examining the possibility in lifts
evacuation. Failure to address that may negatively affect the evacuation process. For example the inability in using the
lifts with proper procedures, insufficient attention by the fire wardens (occupant which are assigned to undertake the lift
evacuation process of occupants (Proulx, 2005a). The responsibility of the fire wardens is very vital in the non-permanent
residential buildings which was highlighted by Bukowski (2012) because they play vital roles in leadership, informing and
guiding the occupants in evacuation although there are some challenges in appointing fire wardens in residential
buildings (Barber, 2009).
On the other hand, if the lifts have been used frequently in the daily life, either residential or office buildings,
evacuation will not bring problems to the disabled for instance the blind people which is eliminate the needs from fire
services to assign resources in evacuation assistance (Bukowski, 2012).
Although lifts evacuation said to be an essential alternative in evacuating occupants of super high-rise buildings, the
authority should pay more attention to the safety features of the lifts. This aspect should be looked into so as to increase
717
the occupants’ confident in relying upon the lifts for evacuation. Even the lift malfunction can be happened under
normal operational condition occasionally, it is hardly to convince the occupants to use them during fire (Chien and Wen,
2011). They will perceive the lifts usage as a non-viable alternative.
Besides the normal day’s breakdowns, the possible technical problems that might cause breakdown or disturbances
during fire emergencies shall be looked into as well in case lift evacuation is widely used. For instance, water damage
due to sprinkler water, reliability of the electrical supply system e.g. backup generator set, etc(Bukowski, 2005, Klote et al.,
1992).
On top of that, the public generally, were taught and trained that no lifts should be used during fire emergencies
(Klote et al., 1992). Therefore the responsible parties e.g. fire services should convey proper message and awareness to the
public whether lift evacuation is allowed in the case of special buildings like super high-rise buildings.The evidences
presented above further highlight the importance of understanding occupants’ perception and behaviour on this issue
together with some issues that required further attention before implementation of lifts evacuation.
2.4 Aim and objectives of the research
Other than the safety and reliability aspects of the lifts and the design of the building, occupant perception and
behaviour are needed to be analysed as well. Occupant demographics and the behaviour during emergency will likely
affect their decisions on choosing the means of escape to evacuate the building (Heyes, 2009). Stressful conditions during
emergency may increase the difficulties to occupants in finding their way out and may eventually cause casualties (Pan
et al., 2007).
Human perceptions in lifts evacuation and the lifts’ malfunction incident will lead to loss of occupancy confident
and further influence occupants’ decision in using the lifts for fire evacuation (MailOnline, 2010, Klote et al., 1992,
Bukowski, 2005). Apart from the above, it is interesting to note that not only demographic, perception and behavior
that need to be studied but also the safety culture (Malik et al., 2013) of occupants in the building.
This research aims to provide a solution whether the occupants inside the super high-rise buildings are ready to use
the lifts to evacuate during emergency based on their demographic and safety culture. In next section, an explanation on
the methodology will be presented.
5. Methodology
In analysing the human perception, authors analysed the answer provided by respondents based on the questionnaire
distributed to occupants of a super high-rise building in Kuala Lumpur. Analysis was based on main parts that are; 1)
respondents’ demographic; and 2) respondents’ knowledge on fire safety procedure with the usage of lifts during
evacuation. Both parts lead to information about human perception towards the usage of lifts for evacuation.
One of the super high-rise buildings in Kuala Lumpur had been selected as the case study. A set of questionnaire,
was devised to be distributed randomly to the occupants of the building regardless of gender, age, floor where they are
working, familiarity towards the building and experience with the evacuation drill inside the building. In total there
were 70 questionnaires distributed and 65 of it were returned to be analysed.
Next sub-section provides an explanation on the questions included in the questionnaire. Relevance of each question
in the survey form towards the perception of using lifts also included.
3.1 Analysis of occupants’ perception
This section explains the questions included in the questionnaire together with its relevance in examining
occupants’ perception on the usage of lifts for evacuation.
The questionnaire was devised to explore; 1) the demographic factors; and 2) knowledge on fire safety procedure
with the usage of lift. The questionnaires consist of three parts that are: 1) occupants information; 2) knowledge on fire
safety; and, 3) knowledge on usage of lifts during emergency evacuation. There were 70 questionnairesdistributed
randomly to the occupant and 65 questionnaires returned for analysis that produces a return rate of 87 per cent.
The analysis shows 42 (65 percent) of the respondents are female and another 23 (35 percent) are male. The age
ranges from 18 years old to 60 years old with the distribution of respondentsas follows; two (three percent) less than 21
years old, 34 (52 percent) between 21 to 30 years old, 17 (26 percent) between 31 to 40 years old, five (eight percent)
between 41 to 50 years old and seven (11 percent) more than 50 years old. The floor where they are working is shown
in Table 1.
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Table 1.Respondents’ working floor inside the building.

Working Floor (Range) Number of Respondents
1st – 10th Floor 8 (12 percent)
11th – 20th Floor 4 (6 percent)
41st Floor and above 45 (70 percent)
Further asked in the first part of the questionnaire is the common use of access by respondents to the respective
floor where they are working. Eight (12 percent) respondents answer stairs, another 58 (88 percent) by lifts.
In second part of the questionnaire, respondents are asked about their knowledge on fire safety and the usage of lifts
during emergency evacuation. Then, from the analysis, the perception of respondents towards the usage of lifts is
derived.
Analysis on the second part of questionnaire indicates that 61 (94 percent) of the respondents are aware with the
building’s fire emergency procedure while another four (six percent) does not have any idea about it. Knowledge on
emergency procedure will help to support the way decisions and reaction been made.. Equal numbers of respondents
answered that they have experienced with evacuation drill in the building.
Next, question move to the occupants’ knowledge and perception on using lift for evacuation.With an improvisation
of the current lift system, 28 (12 percent) respondents believe that the lifts can be used for evacuation, while the other
37 (88 percent) respondents think otherwise.. In addition to that, respondents were also asked to choose whether to use
lifts or stairs to evacuatefrom the building. Provided the lifts are safe and viable to be accessduring normal and
emergency time. For this question, only 23 (35 percent) respondents choose lifts to evacuate and another 42 (65
percent) respondents will remain using the stairs for evacuation.
In response to the question on changes of the buildings’ safety management policy, where the fire wardens are
required to strictly guide and monitor people to use the lifts 51 (78 percent) respondents agree and will follow the
instruction to use lifts, while another four (22 percent) will remain with stairs. It is further found that, with the liftthat
are technically safe and a stricter safety management policy, there are numbers of respondents that still not confidence
with the lifts reliability.
In the last part of the questionnaire, respondent are being asked on factors that influences their choices in choosing
the means of escape during evacuation. 47 (72 percent) respondents choose safety as the factor not to use lifts for
evacuation, five (eight percent) due to following orders from fire warden, three (five percent) respondent choose to
follow others to evacuate and the remaining ten (15 percent) come out with no prominent factor.
6. Analysis and discussion
a. Demographic factors
Different buildings contain different type of people. Occupant’s age, gender ratio, floor where they are working in
the building are varies, thus making the behavioural analysis of occupant hard to predict (Li and Zhu, 2013). Individual
characteristic will produce an individual type of behaviour in evacuation. Among 65 respondents, 42 of them are
female and another 23 were male. This gender ratio is important to be considered as it influences the average speed
movement during evacuation. Previous study by Yang et al. (2012) shows that male average speed movement is relatively
faster rather than female .
Age factor can be associated with two different outcomes that are; 1) average speed movement and 2) maximum
walking time before stopping. Result from the analysis shows there are seven respondents who are more than 50 years
old, make this group age the third highest group with 11 percent out of total numbers of respondent. Movement
limitation associated with age had been summarised by Ayis et al. (2007) and Spearpoint and MacLennan (2012). The
research shown that the average speed of movement will decrease through the occupant’s age and so do the maximum
walking time during evacuation.
Besides sex ratio and age group, the means of access to the floor where the respondents working also need to be
considered. This analysis will be under the familiarity of the respondents towards the building. Response from all 65
respondents shows that 8 of them are using stairs to reach their working floors, while another 58 respondents use the
lifts. Kobes et al. (2009) explain that the familiarity towards building is important in supporting respondents to evacuate
the building. Occupants of a building tend to use the same route they used for exits in case of emergency. On the other
hand, occupants who are not familiar with the building may need to rely on the building emergency team to lead their
way out. This eventually increases the time taken for evacuation.
Floor where the respondents are working, also need to be taken into account. Working floor is considered a travel
distance that the respondents need to go through to evacuate. According to research by Peacock (Peacock et al., 2010),
719
evacuation of respondents fromhigher floor may results in congestion at the staircase which result to tiredness and
decrease in the speed movement while evacuating.
b. Knowledge on fire safety and lift usage during evacuation
Emergency evacuation procedure is important for all occupants inside a building. This knowledge will help to make
sure occupants know what to do during any occurrence of emergency. From 65 respondents, 61 of them know the
emergency evacuation procedure, while the other four does not have any idea about it. This result was supported by the
respondents answer on their experience in evacuation drill. The fire and emergency related training and knowledge will
mostly influence three aspects of evacuation, that are; 1) the respondents response time when hearing fire alarm, 2)
route choice during evacuation and 3) choice of exit when the nearest one are congested (Li and Zhu, 2013).
With pre-assumption on the lifts that are technically safe to be used during evacuation, most of the respondents are
still not yet convinced that the lifts can be used for evacuation. Only 28 respondents believe the lifts that are technically
safe can be used for evacuation. This reflects the theory of human perception that had been taught and trained not to use
the lifts during evacuation. The rules that had been enforced for almost three decades hardly been changed (Klote et al.,
1992).
More than half respondents still unconvinced that the lifts can be used during evacuation. Several influences had
obstructed them from decidingon using lifts for evacuation. The most prominent factors are; 1) safety reasons (72
percent), 2) following instructions from fire safety officers and fire wardens (eight percent) and 3) choose to follow
others on finding the way to evacuate (five percent).
Based on analysis respondents will choose safety as the top priority in finding their way out of the building.
Certainly, they will not gambling their life for something that is perceived to be unsafe under fire condition.
7. Conclusion and recommendations
This paper presented an analysis of data collected from questionnaires survey in one of the super high-rise building
in Malaysia. The survey been done to gain an understanding on the perception of occupants regarding the usage of lifts
in evacuation process. The analysis focused on two main parts that are; 1) respondents’ demographics; and 2)
respondents’ knowledge on fire safety procedure with the lift usage during evacuation.
Out of 65 respondents, only 12 percent believes that the lifts are safe and viable to be used during emergency. This
further proves argument brought up by Klote et al. (1992). It is believes that the effect of instruction on the restriction
telling occupants not touse lifts during emergency proves to be hard to remove from the occupants’ thought. With
several significant numbers of researches that have proven to improved technical aspects of the lifts, the perceptions are
still not changed much.
However, there is a method in order to make lifts as a viable alternative for evacuation of super high-rise buildings.
This can be done by re-organize the safety instructions made by the building management and the fire wardens. Two
third or 66 percent of the respondents are willing to use the lifts to evacuate if they are given direct order from the fire
wardens, and the lifts that convincingly exhibits its safety in any emergency situation. These factors need to be taken
into consideration in drawing up the fire management procedures for buildings especially in the event where lifts
considered being part of the evacuation strategy.
Data from this research provides occupants’ view on the issue regarding the lifts usage for evacuation in super high-
rise buildings. However, further research on the issue of lifts evacuation which in line with the recommendation made
by Kinsey et al. (2012) should be made. This basically will highlight the fact that research focusing on the influencing
factors in choosing means of evacuation need to be intensified.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank support extended by the University of Malaya through UMRG (Project No.:
BK024-2011B; RG180-12SUS).
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Teaching Space Utilisation in Higher Institution – A Literature

Review
N. Kamaruddina,67*, Z. A. Zawawib, M. K. Kurdic, M. N. Shuibd, N. Jaffare, I. Yusoff
a,b,c,d,e,f
Universiti Teknologi MARA (Perak), 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
Teaching space is an important element to the higher institution. Thus, it needs to be managed effectively and efficiently to meet
institution’s aim and objectives beneficially in producing a quality graduates. Facilities management have a big role and
responsibility in providing and managing the space in order to make teaching space to be fully utilised. However, many institutions
face the same problem where the teaching space is under-utilised due to many factors. This research concentrates on the teaching
space in higher institution with the purpose to overview and understands the important of space management and to identify the
factors that could influencing the utilisation of teaching space in the context of literature review. From the outcome of this study, it is
found that space management is a vital need to university in pursuance of fully-utilised teaching space. Furthermore, it is discovered
that there are seven factors which influence the teaching space utilisation in higher institution. Therefore, a good management of
teaching space with taking consideration on these factors will provide conducive learning environments and possibly will achieved
university aim and objectives.
Keywords: Teaching Space, Space Utilisation, Space Management
1. Introduction
The establishment of a university is aimed at providing education and to produce high quality students. In this
context, good facilities and support services are needed to achieve afore said objectives. The main support services that
should be provided include teaching spaces, libraries, lecture halls, hostels, transportation, parking space, and so forth.
These facilities are crucial in order to offer a maximum comfort to the user and at the same time student will benefit
from the conducive learning environment. However, these facilities should have good management and planning
otherwise it will not be fully utilised. Space management is one of the major responsibilities by the Facilities
management department to ensure that any required space is available for students, lecturers and staff and are used
effectively and efficiently in Higher Education Institution point of view. One of the most crucial spaces that need to be
managed is the classroom. According to Beyrouthy, Burke, Landa-silva and Mccollum (2009), teaching space in
universities is a scarce resource.
However, Beyrouthy et al (2009) also claimed that some studies have revealed that in many institutions it is actually
chronically under-used. Teaching space is an important resource to the institution for the student and community,
which is why it must be used optimally. According to Young (2003), designing a secure learning environment begins
with effective space planning. A well-planned space will creates a secure learning environment, facilitates learning and
foster social interactions among students, faculty and staff. Moreover, having a well-planned teaching space will not
only provide comfort to students but also must be flexible to allow any kind of learning activities which can be well
conducted.
According to Sabha (2004), space can be underutilised and environment of learning could be affected when the
classroom is inappropriate and not manage wisely. Therefore, facilities management in public institution needs to
strengthen the strategy in managing the space by having a space management policy and guideline.
* N. Kamaruddin. Tel.:+6-012-6579612; fax: +6-05-3742244.

E-mail address: nadia092@perak.uitm.my.
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2. Space Management in Higher Education Institution
Space is one of the top ten issues in higher education institutions over the world in term of scarcity and affordability
(Marmolejo, 2007). Thus, space need to be assessed in order to identify the scale and form required to meet curriculum
requirements (Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, 2002). Furthermore, Higher Education Funding Council
of Wales (HEFCW) (2002) illustrates Figure 1 below that shows the key inputs to the space need process, which
include course curriculum, learning support, space management, institution management and support requirements.
These five key inputs are necessary to be examined and understood in order to produce meaningful outputs and usable
components.
Course
Curriculum
Support Learning
Requirement Support
Business Led
Space Need
Institution Space
Management Management
Figure 1 Inputs to space need assessment process

(Source: HEFCW, 2002)
From the Figure 2.1, it is observe that space management involvement in assessment of space need. This shows space
management is a very important component in higher education institution to manage the space efficiently and
effectively.
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3. Space Guideline and Policy
According to AMA (2009), space guideline is important that help managers and designers by supporting strategic
decisions on new buildings, ongoing space management, the setting out of principles for a fair and logical distribution
of space. Furthermore, the author also added that space guidelines also help by supporting sustainability and provision
of environments conducive to learning in both traditional and non-traditional modes of pedagogy.
Figure 2 Space management system

(Source: University of Bradford, 2005)
Figure 2 shows a diagram of University of Bradford (2005) space management system which help then plan,
manage and review their space provision. As shown in the diagram, involvement space management policy is important
in order to manage the space effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, space management policy is a guide for facilities
management in managing space resources.
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4. Utilisation of Teaching Space in University
According to Second edition of Australian Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (APPA)’s Space
Planning Guideline (2008), space is one of the major assets of higher education institutions, and on average it
represents around 20percent of the costs of operating an institution. Space need to be maintained, otherwise it could not
be used efficiently and effectively. Everyday, teaching space in particular will be occupied by students and a lot of
teaching activities will be conduct. Thus, maintenance is important to maintain and sustain the quality. According to
Dillon and Ponczek (2005) high classroom utilization and faculty productivity are not ends in themselves.
Furthermore, they added that the goal as aforesaid is to ensure the resources are used in the most effective way to
provide a quality educational experience to our students. Facilities Management of Queensland University of
Technology (2009) has also the same thought and agreed with the statement. They also believe that space need to be
managed efficiently and effectively 10 it will produce a good return to the institution. Space Management Principles at
UC Santa Cruz (2002) reveals in the reports that the campus must manage its space resources with the utmost care. This
is due to the campus does not currently have sufficient space in terms of quantity and programmatic suitability to meet
the needs of all its academic programs and student including administrative services. The report also added that the
issue arise was due to the increasing enrolment of students.
In contrast, Beyrouthy et al (2009) claim that many institutions is actually chronically under-used. Furthermore,
Beyrouthy at el (2009) study indicates that rooms are occupied only half of the time and even when in use they are
often only half full. They believed it is related to the under pressure of space managers due to the lack of understanding
within space management.
However, student attitude should also be considered as a factor to indicate the under utilise of teaching space. This is
because according to Space Management Group (2006), space utilisation is usually defined as a measure of how rooms
and spaces are being used both in terms of how often rooms are used and, when they are in use and how many people
are in them. This shows that student is one of the factors in utilising the space. Moreover, with a good environment of
teaching space, absence rate of student could be decrease and at the same time increase the utilisation of the space.
Beyrouthy at el (2008) universities have to carry out space planning to provide appropriate space for changes in
curriculum structure and to adjust to changes in projected student numbers. Moreover, the author added that space
planning also need to achieved a good value for the cost of space resources, yet allows academic service quality to be
maintained.
In addition, UC Santa Cruz (2002) said that within the planning process, space is considered as much a campus
resource as faculty, staff, or support dollars. The author also suggests that campus space resources should be used in the
best possible manner, keeping in mind that the campus, in approving a campus program, pledges itself to commit
resources to sustaining that campus program.
Space utilisation is about how effective and efficient the space is being used. Thus, space utilisation is a strategically
important space management measure. According to Space Management Group (2006) effective utilisation of space
also creates a good match between space needs and space provision, and contributes improving the staff and student
experience. Of course, with a great environment and good quality of
facility of the teaching space that fit-the-purpose could enhance student excitement in learning and getting the
knowledge.
The problem of teaching space utilisation addresses the task of making effect ye use of teaching space within
distributed college environment (Richards, Das, El-Kholy, Liatsos and Harrison, 1996). Problem of teaching space
utilisation may involve scheduling timetables and allocating resources for various teaching activities such as lectures
and tutorials which this can be consider as flexibility. According to Harrison (1997) the teaching space utilisation
problem is how to make more effective use of the teaching space available in each department within college. The
space is controlled by each individual department which the amount and type of lecture space available varies between
departments. Thus some department has more than enough lecture space, while others may be short of it.
Simmon and Fisher (1999) in an age where space management and space utilsation are under very close scrutiny the
world over, this innovation is somewhat “against the grain”. It might be seen by some as extravagant or elitist. What is
happening here is a critical understanding that the learning outcomes are important in measuring the effectiveness of a
learning programme. Of course these outcomes are also highly dependent on the learning processes. So it is not
necessarily simply a question of how efficiently the space is used. According to Fair (2008) if classrooms are outfitted
726
to include all necessary features to support teaching and learning, they are more likely to be used to their fullest extent.
A complete space need assessment exercise would normally involve assessing the teaching, research, staff and support
space requirements of all departments, both academic and non-academic.
The context of space in relation to buildings is illustrated in Figure 3
Strategic Management of the core business

facilities
planning
Means to support the business

(resources)
People Property Technology
Physical assets
Built Movable assets

assets
Value
Process Maintenance and Asset management

operations
Space
Utilisation
Figure 3 Building and space in the context of facilities management

Source: D.S.S. Then, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, 1994
727
5. Factors Influencing the Teaching Space Utilisation
There are many factors influencing the space utilisation in teaching space. According to UK Higher Education Space
Management Group (2006) the factors that may affect to depressed the utilisation is the teaching and learning trends,
which does not provide a detailed information about the subject in order to justify the availability on what space is
needed. Same goes to the other authors’ point of view, which can be referred at Table 1. In that case, teaching space
should be designed to be more flexibility in order the space can be adapt with any types of teaching trends. Moreover,
the author also claimed the higher the rate of utilisation, the less space that is being provided; the lower the rate, the
greater the space being provided for every m2 in use. Thus, the space needs to be managed effectively in order to avoid
unutilised issue.
Table 1 presents the summary of factors which influence the teaching space utilization from several authors.
Table 1. Factors influencing the teaching space utilisation
Authors / Factors Flexibility Location Design Furniture Size of room Technology Facilities
Richards, Das,

Choi, El-Kholy,   
Liatsos and
Harrison (1996)
University of
Nevada (2003)     
Space Management
 
Group (2006)
Beyrouthy, Burke,
Landa, McCollum,  
McMullan and
Parkes (2009)
Scotland’s College    
(2010)
Most of the authors agreed that room size profiles and space type mixing are the factors which influence the
teaching space utilisation. Moreover, Parkes et. Al (2009) adds that a poor room size profile will lead to poor
utilisation. In practice, this can arise because of changes in teaching practices. A teaching facility might have been
designed for the case of a few large lectures, but teaching practices can be changed to use many small lectures and
tutorials.
According to University of Nevada (2003) there are five factors which influence the utilisation of the teaching space in
higher education institution. The factors are under each of these headings:
i. Classroom size
Very small and very large classroom generally generate poor utilisation. It concern on overcrowd and over supply of
facilities. This situation would disturb concentration and may discomfort the students in the class.
ii. Location
The closer a classroom to the centre of a campus, the better the utilisation rates. Moreover, the classroom which is
isolated or hard to find should be equip with a good signage and code. Otherwise the space is probably under poor
utilisation
iii. Technology
High technology classrooms generate only marginally better utilisation rates. Furthermore, the choice of a classroom is
the availability of technology in that particular classroom. Thus, the availability of technology is important.
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iv. Furniture
Availability of furniture is important in teaching space. Furthermore, there are other factors such as durability, comfort,
material, adaptability and design aesthetics should be considered in order to provide a conducive learning environment.
v. Condition
The better conditioned classrooms tend to generate better utilization rates. The classroom will be often used if it in a
good condition.
Higher institutions are often challenged with inefficient class scheduling and classroom sizes that do not fit
academic pedagogies or course registration profiles. Before making decision to build a new instructional space, it is
recommended to leverage its current condition. In order to do so, it is important to create the classroom space that best
fits the institution enrolment profile. Furthermore, enhance learning environment by providing a sufficient facilities
with new technology of teaching aids, comfort furniture and great ambience in terms of wall colour scheme. These
would develop the students and lecturers enjoy learning and teaching in the classroom.
6. Conclusion
It is found that many considerable researches have been done in the past related to utilisation of teaching space in
higher educational institution. The research is more likely focus on utilisation problem mostly regarding on distribution
of the classroom and timetabling problems. However, the purpose of this research is to fill in the gap of the previous
studies. Effective utilisation is not only in the matter of the teaching space were distributed, but it is important to
understand the current condition of the teaching space whether it is sufficient or in the other hand.
The study concludes that there are seven factors that influence the teaching space which obtain from literature
review. Moreover, most of the management of each university gave a consideration on the factors as aforesaid to ensure
the teaching space is fully utilised. Effective utilisation of space will creates a good match between space needs and
space provision which helps to improve the staff and student productivity. Furthermore, a good learning environment
would give a comfortable and make the learning process even more interesting and productive.
Proactive management of space is important and must be carried out. This requires the academic community to fully
understand the benefits that can be gained from effective space management. Thus, space utilisation could be achieved.
Moreover, it could give benefit of a good value for the cost of space resource, yet allows academic service quality to be
maintained.
References
Beyrouthy, C., Burke, E., Landa, Silva JD., McCollum, B., McMullan, P. & Parkes, AJ. (2009) Towards improving the utilization of university
teaching space, Journal of the Operational Research Society. Vol. 60, 01.2009, p. 130-143.
Beyrouthy, C., Burke, Edmund K., Landa, Silva JD., McCollum, B., McMullan, P. & Parkes, AJ., (2008). Conflict inheritance in sectioningand space
planning.
Beyrouthy, C., Burke, Edmund K., Landa, Silva JD., (2007). Improving the Room-Size Profiles of University Teaching Space.
Fair, S. (2008). Campus Collaboration to Improve Classroom Environment & Utilisation.
Harrison, C. (1997). Distributed Optimisation.
Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, (2002). Space Management a Good Practice Guide.
Marmolejo, F. (2007). Higher Education Facilities: Like Issues and Trends PEB Exchange, University of Arizona, United States.
Richards, B., Das, S., Choi, H., El-Kholy, A., Liatsos, V. & Harrison, C. (1996). Distributed Optimisation: A Case Study of Utilising Teaching Space
in a College.
Space Management Group, (2006). UK Higher Education Space Management Project, “Impact on space of future changes in higher education”.
Then, D. S. S. (1994). Heriot-Watt University, Edunburgh.
University of Nevada. (2003). Instructional Space Utilization Plan Report.
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Significance of Building Surveyors in Quality Assessment System

in Construction (QLASSIC) Implementation in Construction
Project
N. Ahzahara , I. B. Zakaria b, M. S. Hasbullahc, H. Hashimd
a,b,c,d
,Department of Building Surveying, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,,
Universiti Teknologi MARA (Perak), 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
Construction Industry Board of Malaysia (CIDB) has introduces Quality Assessment System in Construction (QLASSIC) as an
independent method to assess and evaluate the quality of workmanship of a construction work based on approved standard.
QLASSIC enables the quality of workmanship between construction projects to be objectively compared through scoring system.
QLASSIC has been implemented in tremendous construction project all over Malaysia. Based on this positive development,
QLASSIC needs experts to regulate the practice of it. Hence this paper will address the significance of building surveyor
participation in QLASSIC implementation in a construction project. The data are collected by literature review, questionnaires and
interview session on the selected construction project. Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software (SPSS) is used for data
analysis based on frequency and average index analysis. This study is succeeding in providing the current scenario of involvement of
Building Surveyors in QLASSIC implementation. From the analysis, 59.4% respondents have agreed that Building Surveyors are
competent to be Building Inspector in QLASSIC assessment. The involvement of Building Surveyors in QLASSIC implementation
will enhance and become an added value to the profession itself.
Keywords: QLASSIC, Building Surveyor, building inspector Quality Control, workmanship
1. Introduction
Quality can be defined as ‘meeting or exceeding the needs of customer’. In construction, quality can be understood
as defect free building where all the workmanship and material is up to standard in order to satisfy clients need.
Material and workmanship is collaborative elements in producing building elements and both of them need to be
controlled and assured to meet the top quality. Besides, both material and workmanship standard was agreed in the
contractual form which also known as Tender Document. In workmanship, the quality is measured due to individual
skill to undertake and finish the work up to required standard. Some position required professionally competent person
as to fulfil professional responsibilities. In Malaysia, workmanship is closely related to labour skill to undertake certain
work such as craftsmen who are executed to undertake timber work where the general labour unable to undertake and
meet the quality. Therefore in order to assess the workmanship quality, Construction Industry Board of Malaysia
(CIDB) has introduces Quality Assessment System in Construction (QLASSIC) as an independent method to assess
and evaluate the quality of workmanship of a construction work based on approved standard. QLASSIC enables the
quality of workmanship between construction projects to be objectively compared through scoring system.
Therefore based on this positive development, QLASSIC implementation needs experts to regulate the practice
of it. This paper will describe the significance of building surveyor participation in QLASSIC implementation in a
construction project.
2.1 Building Surveyor
A building surveyor is a professional trained in understanding and interpreting building law. He or she is
authorised to assess building plans with a view to ensuring they are compliant with the Building Regulations. In
addition to having recognised qualifications, a building surveyor must be registered and must have appropriate
insurance. In Malaysia, the Building Surveyor act is still not approved by the parliament but it has been established and
drafted in the 2009. The Code of Practice are been established to standardise building survey report also known as CP
BS 101.
730
As stated in Building Surveyor Act 2009, the building surveyor scopes of work are as follows :
1. Maintenance Management
- Scheduled Building Maintenance
- Preventive and Predictive Maintenance Services
- Building Asset Audit
- Maintenance Cost Estimates
- Documentation for Maintenance Works
- Maintenance Management Audit
2. Space and facilities management

- Space Inventory
- Space Analysis
- Space Audit
- Space Scheduling Audit
- Space Allocation
3. Building performance assessment

- Identify and evaluate critical aspects of building performance systematically.
- Identify problem areas in existing buildings
- Test new building prototypes
- Develop design guidance and criteria for future facilities.
4. Building life cycle assessment and redevelopment

- Life cycle assessment
- Refurbishment proposal
- Building fabric, services & facilities assessment
5. Building condition inspection and monitoring

- Building Dilapidation Survey
- Building Pathology/Forensic and Defects Remedies Services
- Building Condition Monitoring and Assessment
- Building Conservation and Restoration Services
- Building Heritage and Monuments Maintenance
- As Built/Measured Drawing and E-Plan Management.
6. Building risk assessment

- Building Fire Audit
- Fire Control And Preventive Assessment
- Building Safety And Health Assessment
- Construction Site Condition Assessment
- Building Insurance Assessment
- Insurance Claims And Damage Recovery Services
Construction quality inspection mutually inspected by the one with experience with building quality. Building
surveyor in Malaysia must definitely practice Professional Code of Practice Building Surveyor or known as CP BS 101
and possessing skills in Building Assessment Rating System or BARIS. In BARIS, through inspection on particular
building, Building Surveyor must able to rate the building with statistical numeral approach and finally put that
building into score. Same as QLASSIC approach which requires the assessor to put the whole construction site with
statistical by the sampling method. Then, it comes out with a percentage as the project quality score. But, the scopes of
building surveyor work in construction interrelate with QLASSIC may be integrate as follow:
- Building condition inspection and monitoring

Surveyors will identify defects in the building and monitor it. Analysis will be made on findings,
prognoses it and finally proposing the best remedial work on that defect. Same goes to QLASSIC where
only observation and testing on sampling made to determine the building score. Buildings surveyors has
this skill in defining the construction defects as they identify defects in existing buildings.
- Prevention future defects in buildings.
731
One of building surveyor expertise is on maintenance management or facilities management. They were
trained to rectify and manage the building in case of any defect occur and long term prevention work.
They also do planning and programming the maintenance work. Thus, ability to visual building defects in
the future is one of their main skills that may benefit into analysis on QLASSIC score.
2.2 Involvement of Building Surveyor in Quality Assessment System in Construction (QLASSIC).
The involvement of building surveyor in QLASSIC can be recommended as their expertise to predict the future
defect of the building, analysing defect and recognise the wear and tear element in a building. Thus, their participation
during the construction stage can be recommended, but, their position during can be discussed as follow:
a) Quality manager (QAQC)

On behalf of the contractor, Building Surveyor can participate in Quality Department as managers.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control work requires skill in determining the output of the all the
resources in construction process to produce high quality of product as according to the specification.
b) Project/construction manager
Building Surveyor also can act as Project/Construction manager on behalf of contractor or independent
consultants which providing services in project managing. With skill and experience of building surveyor
in construction field, they can manage the project. Accreditation from the CIDB should be obtained first.
c) Building Inspector
As an independent building surveyor consultant, they may provide the service as Building Inspector of
QLASSIC. After going through few assessments and course held by CIDB, qualified building surveyor in
QLASSIC assessment may act as Building Inspector.
d) Quality Assessor
Quality Assessor is also independent consultants who act on behalf of client. Whereby, if the client wants
to know the state of their construction quality, they may appoint quality assessor in order to know it.
Besides, quality assessor also may act on behalf of contractor as to assure their quality level.
e) Site Supervisor
Site supervisor is a subordinate position in contractor organisation where they supervise all the
construction work to met stated specification.
f) Clerk of work
Same goes to site supervisor, but clerk of work usually work on behalf of consultants which has area of
expertise such as civil and structure or architectural. They will determine the contractor quality of work
and may report it.
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Conceptualization
Conceptualization was aimed at understanding the importance and basics of the work to be carried out. The
objectives of the project would be set. The problem and the significance of this project would be state. Then literature
review would be undertaken and investigated thoroughly.
Literature Review
The main aim in carrying out the literature review is to gather the information and be more understanding on the
topic of this research. Relevant journals, paperwork, thesis, articles and book that related to the topic had been looking
for and would help in carrying out literature review.
Questionnaire
A questionnaire was prepared and distributed to 22 respondents around Perak State. The respondents are mainly
construction management team implementing QLASSIC in private or public project. An interview session also had
been to obtain their opinions and experiences to some related study.
Data Analysis
The collected data were analyzed using the Statistical for Social Science (SPSS). Frequency analysis is obtained
from the SPSS output and average index method is adopted for analysis from the result of frequency analysis. The
frequency and the percentage will be representing in the form of table, bar chart and pie chart.
4. Result, Analysis and Discussion
4.1 Recognize the Establishment Building Surveyor Profession
25
20
15 Yes
10 Not Sure
No
5
0
Aware to Building Surveyor profession establishment
There are 59.4% or 22 number of respondents are aware to Building Surveyor profession establishment in the
construction industry. Then 21.6% or 8 numbers of them are totally don’t know about building surveyor and 18.9% or 7
numbers of them are not sure about it. This data is from the questionnaires collected. Nowadays, the building surveyor
roles are recognised by the industry as proven by the data collected.
4.2 Recognize the Building Surveyor Scope Of Work
25
20
15
Yes
10 Not Sure
5 No
0
Aware to Building Surveyor Scope of
Work
From the data collected from the questionnaires, there are 59.4% or 22 numbers of respondents are aware to the
building surveyor scope of work, 18.9% or 7 numbers of them are not sure about it and 21.6% or 8 numbers of them are
733
absolutely had answered no. Instead of recognizing the establishment of building surveyor in industry, the scope of
work or building surveyor also recognised by the respondent as proven above.
4.3 Building Surveyor as Building Inspector in QLASSIC
25
20
15 Agree
10 Not sure
5 No
0
Building Surveyor as Building Inspector in
QLASSIC
With the majority of 59.4% or 22 numbers of the respondents who are agreed to Building Surveyor to be Building
Inspector in QLASSIC followed by 32.5% or 12 of them are not sure about it and 3 of them or 8.1% of them are not
agree with that. From the respondent understanding about building surveying, most of them agreed that building
surveyor to act as building inspector in QLASSIC practices because they feel that building surveyor is qualified to
undertake those job.
4.4 Building Surveyor Participation in QLASSIC
Building Surveyor Participation in

QLASSIC
Clerk of WorkOthers
3%
Site Supervisor 3%
8% Project/Constru
Quality
ction Manager
Manager
0%
(QAQC)
16%
Quality
Assessor
21%
Building
Inspector
49%
From all 22 data collection through questionnaires 49 % choose building surveyor to be Building Inspector as
participation in QLASSIC which is majority, followed as Quality Assessor by 21 %, then as Quality Manager (QAQC)
by 16%, after that as site supervisor with 8%, lastly as clerk of work and others by 3%. None of the selected or agree if
building surveyor being Project or Construction manager. Instead of others, they are confident that building surveyor
are able to be Building Inspector in QLASSIC and will deliver the task successfully
734
5. Conclusion
From the data collected, it can be conclude that building surveyor are competent to be the Building Inspector for
QLASSIC practices. This is based on the respondent’s respond to the question where 59.4% of them are agreed if
building surveyor be the building inspector for QLASSIC and by giving another choice of position, 48.6% of them are
choosing building surveyor to be building inspector in QLASSIC. They are aware to the building surveyor scope of
work which is 59% of the know it. The particular building surveyor scopes of work are related to the quality of
construction especially on defects diagnosis and rectification work to the defect which makes them qualified to
undertake the job as Building Inspector in QLASSIC. In fact, there are professional building surveyor consultants
providing service as building inspector in QLASSIC.
From the respondents view, the theory and practical on industry trend should be simultaneous, and then high
quality of graduates can improves the industry. Thus, the balance between theory and practical in Building Surveying
course should be obtained. Any update about construction industry should be acquired by the academic field. Although
building surveyor profession is accepted by industry practitioners, they should improve the academic to be
simultaneous to the industry need.
References
Schexnayder & Mayo, (2004), Construction Operation Manual, London, McGraw Hill.
Consruction Industry Development Board (CIDB) (2011), Kajian Impak QLASSIC. Retrieved September 2012 from
http://www.cidb.gov.my/presentation/2009/qlassic/qlassic.htm.
Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS) What Is Building Surveyor, Retrieved from,
http://aibs.businesscatalyst.com/fabs/about_building_surveyors, 1st November 2012.
Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), (2006), Construction Industry Standard (CIS 7:2006) (Quality Assessment System for Building
Construction Work).
735
Usability of Leftover Space Underneath the Flyover in A

Community Area
N. Qamaruz-Zamana68*, S. M. S.S. Batchab, Z. Aliasc & A. F. Bakrid
a,b,d
Centre of Studies for Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA,40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia
c
Centre of Studies for Construction, Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA,40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia
Abstract
Flyovers, overpass and bridges are common view in today’s cities with the advancement of highways and mass transit system for
commuting. Whilst the flyovers becomes a connector on its surface, the spaces underneath becomes a separator that cuts the
connection of its surrounding areas. In the city where land is expensive and scarce, this vast amount of leftover spaces usability
might end up either positively utilized by the surrounding community or negatively abandon and poorly occupied. This paper
discussed on the usability of the leftover space underneath the highway flyover by local community in Sungai Penchala where a once
leftover space is used to benefit the community. The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship of the physical
environment and the activities in leftover spaces that leads to positive space utilization. The research was done through methods of
“photographic essay” investigating on the life of leftover spaces and “documenting activities” included notes on leisure, temporary
living and social encounters. Results revealed that the form and design, community involvement and location are a contributing
factor to the outcome of how the leftover space will turn out to be. The human nature or behavior is also part of how the leftover
space develops. The environment and activity manipulates each other so when one changes, the other changes as well. Leftover
space is a huge opportunity from the result of a development if it is being managed by the right group of people or community
Keywords: leftover spaces; physical environment; physical activity; human behaviour
1. Introduction
Nowadays, leftover spaces are prominent in numbers resulted from rapid urbanization as development of buildings over
buildings, roads, bridges, and parks are increasing day by day to meet the demand of urban population. Post
constructions of the rapid urbanization that includes highways, bridges, overhead mass transit sometimes creates
abandons of leftover spaces underneath it, usually unintentionally. Leftover spaces could happen near developments or
even highways and abandoned buildings as mentioned by NH Qamaruz-Zaman, Z. Samadi, N. F. Azahari (2012).
Leftover spaces can either be utilized to its fullest potential or neglected fully depending on how it fits within the urban
fabric. Mossop (2006) suggested that leftover spaces are a process of infrastructure building with a purposed function
creating a leftover space and resulted in inconsiderate human experience.
The leftover spaces are commonly occupied by the marginal people in cities where land value is demandingly high.
These leftover spaces becomes the shelter for the homeless or the outcast, becomes the area that most public would
avoid hence increase the feeling of unsafe. In rare condition, the leftover spaces are being utilize to the benefit of its
surrounding community as such demonstrated in Underpass Park, Toronto Canada, Flea Market, Wallace USA and
Street Children Home in Caracas, Venezuela as mentioned in Time Out Hong Kong (retrieved on September 10, 2013
from http://www.timeout.com.hk/big-smog/features/57756/under-the-bridge-a-space-conundrum.html)
Activities and public involvement are necessities that occur within the urban realms, influenced by the attraction of
the urban space as mentioned by Gehl (1980). In leftover spaces, activities that occur are most likely influenced by the
public users either negatively or positively. Factors influencing the usability of leftover spaces may include
geographical location, form, design and accessibility. Due to the loose ownership of a leftover space, physical activities
will build on their own by the community that slowly integrates the leftover space with what their surrounding lacks in
necessities. This research is conducted to identify the influence of physical environment on the usability of leftover
spaces with activities that in a community setting that produces positive ambiance to a once leftover space.
Under the highway flyover of Sungai Penchala is chosen as a case study as this area is unique on the diversity of
activities that occurs. In this research, graphical aids such as photographs and video recording snapshots will be
included as aids to the study and reference. All the relevant data collected will later be further expanded based on the
research methods.
* NH. Qamaruz-Zaman Tel.: +0060355437842; fax: +0060355444353.

E-mail address: nurul954@salam.uitm.edu.my.
736
1.1 Physical Environment, Human Behaviour and Physical Activities
“The environment is a series of relationships among elements and people and their relationship are orderly” (Krupart,
1985) adopted by NH. Qamaruz-Zaman (2005). Rapoport (1977) categorized environment in two ways – “organizing in
space, time, meaning and communication” and “ settings or cultural landscape made up of fixed, semi-fixed and none-
fixed features”. According to Bronfenbrenner (1979), it is proper before anything else to the study the interactions
between people, people with settings and vice versa. A research should not be focused on only just the one environment
but expand to the study of “people-people”, “people-environment” and “environment-environment” Bronfenbrenner
(1979). Based on the key terms and definitions, the physical environment has high influences on the human behaviour
as the people interaction itself is part of the mix.
Human behavior is a unique understanding of the human temperament. It is unique because each person has their
own unique trademark. Human behavior is basically an exploration of the different characteristics of an individual.
Behavior can be defined by any action that a human does including thinking, feeling and seeing Ziesel (1984). “Groups
of people ranging from couples to families to communities to nations also exhibit human behavior” Charles H. Zastrow
(2012). Behavior can be associated with the surroundings or the environment. Studying and observing the human
behavior allows possibilities to attain information how the human character and the environment manipulate each other
and the relationship sustains them, on how individuals integrate themselves into spaces either predictable or not and
how the environment presents opportunities for the behavior Zeisel (1984). It is clear behavior is not a fixed subject and
it will change according to different spaces and environment, where if there is a modified environment, there will be
unpredictable behavior because of the incongruity of the existing environment or it is not as conducive as hoped NH.
Qamaruz-Zaman NH (2005).
Physical activity develops from human behavior. It is studying of the activities done by the people concerning the
environment surrounding it. Like physical environment, physical activity also covers “walking”, “cycling”,
“exercising”, “transportation”, “active transport”, “physical inactivity”, and “sedentariness” Klaus (2007). Activities
happen only if the environment is conducive to allow it, Gehl (1980). To ensure an activity occurs naturally, an urban
space has to be “loose”, created by activities that can generate social encounter usually through leisure and
entertainment as mentioned by Karen (2006). Activities that take place are when the exterior conditions are inviting
with good weather. The relationship of the activities and the physical planning are important and they usually depend
on the exterior physicality Gehl (1980).
1.2 The Relationship of Physical Environment and Physical Activities
The physical environment has different effects on behavior that certain behavior is a result that comes from the
possibilities indirectly from the environment as mentioned by Rapoport (1977). It is always the case where if the
behavior changes the environment changes or vice versa. This is because the physical environment and activity are
always connected to each other. Any outcome of behavior will bring life to the environment where the environment
will change according to the behavior (Bashri, 1990) adopted from NH Qamaruz-Zaman (2005). Each of these
elements is capable of manipulating each other. The environment can pose constrain to the physical activity by the way
that it is structured by either giving the people more or fewer opportunities to attempt physical activity as outlined by
National Research Council (U.S.), Committee on Physical Activity (2005).
1. Introduction of Case Study
The case study adopted is underneath the Sprint Highway or The Penchala Link flyover near Taman Tun Dr.
Ismail Federal Territory Of Kuala Lumpur. The new link connects Lebuh Raya Damansara-Puchong (LDP) in the west
to Jalan Bukit Kiara at Mont Kiara in the east SPRINT (retrieved from http://www.sprint.com.my/enhancement_completed.php) .
The location is roughly at the intersection of Sprint Highway and Jalan Sungai Penchala in between Exit 22 and Exit
23. The closest landmark is the Muhibah Seafood Restaurant which is 1-minute drive from the site.
737
Figure 1 and Figure 2: The Case Study Location.

Source: map/google.com.my
2. Findings
The finding of this research generally outline the activities that occurs underneath the highway flyover of Sungai
Penchala and further discuss the physical environment as well as the rationale of the activities location from the
observer point of view.
3.1 Café and Food Stalls
Figure 3: Warung Cherry, Figure 4: Apek Corner

(source: S. Sultan, 2013)
Under the flyover, there are a total of 3 cafes. All three cafes are located directly underneath the flyover where Warung
Cherry having two restaurants and a few stalls, as well as Apek Corner on the opposite side. Warung Cherry has a
longer operational hour compared to Apek Corner. Warung Cherry operates from 12 noon till 2 am. The food offered to
range from mix-rice to fried food. Apek Corner on the hand operates from morning till late evening. The changing of
operation time on both cafes ensure continuous of activities and eliminates competition in business. Food stalls are
located in front of both cafes along the road. The food stalls offers food such as the Malay “kuih” and tidbits.
3.2 Business and Services
738
Figure 5 and Figure 6: Up-close of the services offered such as car wash and work repairing. Figure 7: Car wash service
main entrance, view of back of Apek Corner from the service area. (source: S. Sultan, 2013)
Next to Apek Corner, a car wash service is available with repairing work such as air-cond repairing. The service’s main
entrance is next to the Apek Corner restaurant and goes all the way down the slope as seen in figure 7.
3.3 Sports and recreational activities
Figure 8: Paintball area opposite the Apek Corner Restaurant.

(source: S. Sultan, 2013)
Opposite the Apek Corner restaurant, there is a paintball area which operates during weekends. Even though not
connected to the café and isolated, it is still a huge space on its own.
3.4 Cultural Activities
The cultural activities are held in the “Warung Cherry” café itself where there is a readily built stage with a great view
to the audience and customers to sit and enjoy the performance. The show however is not on every day basis and
usually on Friday nights. The cultural activities such as dikir barat and others that involve Malay traditional instruments
and traditional influences take place at the stage area.
Figure 9: The Stage area in Warung Cherry, Figure 10: Dikir Barat performance
(source: S. Sultan, 2013 and NH Qamaruz-Zaman, 2012)
739
3.5 Activities and Its Physical Environment
Figure 10: Types of activities and its location under the flyover indicated on the map
Figure 11: Sectional view of activities under the flyover
Location: A
Activity: Cultural Activities - Cultural performance involving singing and music
Figure 12: The Stage for cultural activities and performance is slightly hidden from the view of the street, thus creates
the sense of semi-public area for the community.
The cultural activities happen within the café of “Warung Cherry Tom Yam Seafood”. Located slightly inwards of the
café, at first glance it is not very visible to the passerby. Performances are held on a built stage that is surrounded by
comfortable sitting area. The area is quite spacious considering the stage is right at the end of the flyover. However due
to the fairly immense height, it gives the space a spacious feel. No matter how or where the space is, if the space is
contributing enough, activities can happen as mentioned by Gehl (1980) that activities happen only if the environment
is conducive to allow it.
740
Location: B
Activity: Cafes and Stalls - 2 cafes of the same name. Namely, Warung Cherry and next to it Warung Cherry Tom
Yam Seafood
Café Level
Ground Level
Figure 13 and Figure 14: Warung Cherry Tom Yam Seafood and Warung Cherry
Warung Cherry Tom Yam Seafood and Warung Cherry are strategically adjacent to the road that goes under the
flyover. However they are not of the same level. It slopes upwards gradually from the road right towards the end of the
café/flyover as seen in the images. Even though there is a slope, the cafes still exist because it was manipulated well to
suit the environment. The height gives an advantage to the activity. The environment doesn’t present itself as an
obstacle but rather as an opportunity and the community manipulated it well, as mentioned by Zeisel (1984). It is how
individuals integrate themselves into spaces either predictable or not and how the environment presents opportunities
for the behavior.
Location: E
Activity: Cafes and Stalls – Apek Corner and Stalls
Figure 15: Apek Corner Café arrangement where the height is greater than Warung Cherry.
Café “Apek Corner” is the on the same level as the road. At the end of the café it starts to slope but doesn’t affect the
café in any way since the heights are already great.
Location: C and D
Activities: Stalls - Stalls selling various Malay “kuih” and tidbits (keropok and snacks)
741
Figure 16 and Figure 17: Rows of stalls on both sides of the road.
Food Stall C is located right in front of “Warung Cherry” café while Food Stall D is located in front of “Apek Corner”
Café. Both food stalls are on the same level as the road. In between the café and the road is a wide pathway, hence the
gap is utilized by the community to open up stalls along the road as seen in the image. The stalls however are not too
close to the road so safety is secured. Even with that little gap, and its underneath the flyover, it still provide an
opportunity for an activity. As mentioned by the National Research Council (U.S.) Committee on Physical Activity
(2005), the environment can constrain the physical activity by the way that it is structured by either giving the people
more or fewer opportunities to attempt physical activity.
Location: F
Activities: Business and Services - Car wash service and repair work.
Limited height
Figure 18: Car wash and repair beside the Apek Corner Café.
The car wash service is located next to the “Apek Corner” café. It is an unused ample space but with a minimal height
because of the flyover structural support. With the given non-conducive space, the community took the opportunity and
manipulated it with a very useful activity. No space was left to waste.
Location: G
Activity: Sports and Recreational - Paintball activity during the weekend.
Figure 19: Paintball Area

742
The paintball activity area is isolated from the café by a slope but is directly visible from the opposite “Apek Corner
Café”. This ensures the safety of the public from extreme paintball activities but at the same time allows for natural
surveillance of the otherwise neglected area. It is a wide stretched of space with generous height for this kind of
activity. It is a suitable choice for the community to manipulate the environment for that activity. One side of the
flyover starts to slop downwards slightly while the other maintains a great height for a few meters distance. According
to Karen (2006), to ensure an activity to occur naturally, an urban space has to be “loose”, created by activities that can
generate social encounter usually through leisure and entertainment. Judging by the space, it is loose and fitting for a
paintball activity. Not only it generates a good social encounter, it makes use of the space beneficially without it being
turned into an anti-social and dangerous space.
4.CONCLUSION
Post construction of highways, overpass, flyovers and bridges sometimes produces leftover spaces underneath it.
Leftover spaces are actually unique spaces that can be an alternative to creating functional and usable space in the city
or a community area. However, in order to ensure usability of leftover spaces, its physical environment must be
conducive to allow appropriate physical activities to take place. The form, design, height and width of the leftover
space, community involvement and location are the contributing factor to the outcome of how the leftover space will
turn out to be. The human nature or behavior is also part of how the leftover space develops. The environment and
activity work hand in hand at the same time manipulates each other. When one change, the other changes as well. All in
all, if being occupied by the right group of people or community, a leftover space is a great gift from the result of
development.
The construction of highways and flyovers serve the function to connect different areas and bypassing the traffic on the
ground level. However, the post construction of these infrastructures resulted in network of leftover spaces beneath it.
These spaces are rarely being used by the public but mostly are being decorated with landscaping and sometimes
become the venue of vandalism and crime. On the other hand, there are increasing use and optimization of these spaces
that becomes public spaces for the surrounding community. This paper recommends further study to be carried out on
the usability of spaces under the flyovers that benefits the community and in future, the infrastructure building should
also consider the usability of spaces underneath it.
Acknowledgements
In preparing this paper, many people are in contact, from various walks of life. They have contributed towards
understanding and provided new insights. First and foremost thanks to Almighty Allah S.W.T for the health and
strength for this paper to be completed. Our highest appreciation goes to family members, parents, friends and
Universiti Teknologi MARA for the continuous support and encouragement.
References
[58] Gehl, J. (1980). Life Between Buildings, New York.
[59] Qamaruz-Zaman, N., et al. (2012). Opportunity in Leftover Spaces: Activities under the Flyovers of Kuala Lumpur. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences 68(0): 451-463.
[60] Mossop, E. (2006). Landscapes of Infrastructure In The Landscape Urbanism Reader.
[61] Fein, Z. E. (2011). The Aesthetic of Decay: Space, Time, and Perception.
[62] Karen, F. Q., Stevens. (2006). Loose Space: Possibility and Diversity in Urban Life: Routledge
[63] Qamaruz-Zaman NH. (2005). Behavior Characteristics Of Public Open Space In Town And CIty - A Case Study Of KLCC Urban
Park.(unpublished dissertation,Universiti Teknologi Malaysia)
[64] Rapoport, A. (1977). Human Aspects of Urban Form
[65] Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design.
[66] Ziesel, J. (1984). Inquiry by Design: Tools for Environment-behaviour Research (Illustrated,reprint ed.): CUP Archive, 1984.
[67] Charles H. Zastrow, K. K. K.-A. (2012). Understanding Human Behavior in the Social Environment (9 ed.): Cengage Learning.
[68] Klaus, G. M., Adrian E. Bauman, PhD, Mark Petticrew, PhD. (2007). The Physical Environment and Physical Activity: A Critical Appraisal of
Review Articles. 32(5), 361 - 369.
[69] National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Physical Activity, H., Transportation, and Land Use, National Research Council (É.-U.).
Transportation Research Board, Institute of Medicine (U.S.). (2005). Does the Built Environment Influence Physical Activity?: Examining The
Evidence, Issue 282: Transportation Research Board.
[70] SPRINT (2013). Completed Enhancements from
[71] http://www.sprint.com.my/enhancement_completed.php
[72] http://www.timeout.com.hk/big-smog/features/57756/under-the-bridge-a-space-conundrum.html
743
The Implementation of Performance Measurement System

(PMS): Malaysian Facilities Management (FM) Industry
N. E. Myedaab,69*, S. M. Zaidb, R. Sulaimanb, N. Mahyuddinb,
a
Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London, WC1H 0NN London, United Kingdom
b
Abstract
Performance Measurement System (PMS) is an effective performance measurement tool and technique that is being widely
implemented in the global industries. Literature has suggested the significant contributions of its implementation in
enhancing the strategic service delivery and performance. However, there is little study undertaken to explore the PMS
implementation in Facilities Management (FM) industry, particularly focusing on Malaysia. This study explores the PMS
practice among FM practitioners and their knowledge in Performance Measurement (PM) generally. Findings from this
study also proposed the 20 contributing factors that the FM practitioners believed are the barriers in implementing PMS.
This research also suggests the future research opportunities in developing a PMS framework that can be used as guidance
for FM service delivery in Malaysia.
Keywords: Performance Measurement System; Performance Measurement; Facilities Management; Srategic Service Delivery; Performance;
Malaysia
Introduction
Performance Measurement (PM) is synonym with the process of quantifying action, where measurement is the
process of quantification and action correlates with performance (Neely et al., 1995; Parida and Kumar, 2006).
Similarly, it is also defined as the process by which a company manages its performance, in which it should be in line
with its corporate and functional strategies and objectives (Bititci et al., 1997). Kagioglou et al. (2001) believes that
PM can be used as a tool in determining how successful organisations or individuals have been in attaining their
objectives and strategies. This is as it enables managers to make decisions based on facts rather than on assumptions
(Parker, 2000). An operational performance measurement system (PMS) also acts like an early-warning system where
it gives an indication for problems and areas for continuous improvement; therefore it has been given a prominent place
in most organisations (Parida and Kumar, 2006; Martinez, 2005; Baldwin et al., 2001).
In literature, PM is a subject that is often discussed but rarely defined, however it has become a very popular
research topic since 1980s (Tangen, 2003). Since then, it has received considerable attention and that remarkable
progress has been made over recent years. Measurement in particular, is an area that has been discussed increasingly
over the past few years with the familiar perceptions like “ you can’t manage what you can’t measure” and “what gets
measured gets done” (Amaratunga, 2000). Measurement is seen essential in providing feedback, builds understanding
and encourages intrinsic motivation rather than a tool for top-down management control (Meekings, 1995). Meekings
(1995) further added that the recognition of measurement in the world industry has shown that the focus was on
systematic thinking, fundamental structural change and organisational learning, instead of mindless target-setting,
continual fire-fighting or the rigorous allocation of blame. Based on the important element of measurement, PM is
often seen as an effective tool to increase the competitiveness and profitability of manufacturing companies through the
support and encouragement of productivity improvements. According to Cain (2004), PM is used as the first stage of
any improvement process, which benefits the end users with lower prices and the organisations with higher profit
margins and at the same time, enhancing the product quality, and PM with appropriate metrics can quantify both the
efficiency and effectiveness of action (Neely et al., (1995).
1. Performance Measurement System (PMS)
PMS has started around the 1860s and 1870s (Kaplan, 1984). They were first developed based on simple yet
straight-forward objectives that were to monitor and maintain the organisational processes aiming to achieve the goals
* Nik Elyna Myeda Tel.: +603-79672455 fax: +603-7967 5713.

E-mail address: elyna@um.edu.my
744
and objectives of the organisations (Nanni et al., 1990). It is also seen as the comparison of results against expectations
with the implied objective of learning to do better (Rouse and Putterill, 2003). PMS are compared in terms of how
easily they are derived from strategic objectives, how easy they are to understand and also whether they help provide a
long-term view of performance (Tangen, 2003). However, there are negative effects from PM that are based on
complicated and excessive performance measures (Martinez, 2005). This has caused problems with investment and the
commitment of people involved through the consumption of a lot of time and the limiting of the freedom of managers
due its rigidity and inflexibility. Therefore, a PMS that has sound and appropriate performance measurements is most
likely to maximise potential positive benefits. According to Tangen (2002), in order for PM to be effective, the
measurements must be derived from strategic objectives to ensure that employee behaviour is consistent with corporate
goals. They also must provide timely, relevant and accurate feedback, from both a long-term and short-term perspective
and should be undertaken in ways that are easily understood by those whose performance is being evaluated.
1.1 PM in Facilities Management (FM)
Previous research normally focuses only on the content of strategic PMS for other industries in general, but
not specifically on Facilities Management (FM). The requirements identified for effective measures of PMS are mostly
suitable to cater for manufacturing industries. In 1998, Cotts defined Facilities Management (FM) as a managerial
practice that integrates the principles of business administration, architecture, and the behavioural and engineering
sciences to ensure effectiveness of all these procedures. It exists to support the core business that is the preliminary
goal-seeking activities of the enterprise (Amaratunga, 2000). She further signifies the role of FM in facilitating
organisational performance and thereby in providing competitive advantage is widely acknowledged. FM is gaining an
increasing importance in the sector of business process outsourcing, but stemmed from the practitioners’ experience,
there is a lack of a significant theoretical foundation based on empirical evidences about the PM (De Toni et al., 2007).
PM indicates where the organisation is heading; therefore it is also perceived as the language of process for one
organisation (Rose, 1995). Performance relates to building’s ability to contribute to fulfilling the functions of its
intended use (Williams, 1993). In order for PM to function effectively, the emphasis must be given to the organisation,
process and also job or performer itself (Rummler and Brache, 1995). However, Pintelon and Van Puyvelde (1997)
argue that for service operation, the performance will depend on the perspective applied for instance accountants will
think of maintenance in term of costs, top management often is only interested in budget performance, engineers will
focus on techniques, production will see performance in terms of equipment availability and support responsiveness.
Despite the different perspectives among the management personnels and officers involved, it is observed that
companies using an integrated balanced performance measurement system perform better than those that do not
measure their performance (Kennerly and Neely, 2003; Lingle and Schiemann, 1996). FM can be strategic in managing
business support functions and operational, concentrating on the detailed operational activities of the organisation
(Baharum and Pitt, 2009). It also embraces every part of organisation activities, and can be seen as a series of inter-
related activities involving the co-ordination of all efforts relating to planning, designing and managing an
organisation’s physical resources (Becker, 1990). Facilities represent a substantial percentage of most organisation’s
assets and their operating costs; thus it is hardly surprising that performance appraisal in FM is becoming a formal and
regular part of the FM process (Amaratunga and Baldry, 2000).
2. Research Approach
2.1 Research Aims and Objectives
There is a lack of systematic process for determining appropriate measurements where an exploratory
approach to the area of PM in FM organisations was preferred one as the problem of lack of construct validity is
general rather than specific (Amaratunga, 2000). Hudson et al., (2001) also believes that current research in the general
area of PM is inadequate in respect of the specific SME context. Most research in FM focuses on the role of the
corporate real estate function, outsourcing decisions or more general management issues (Kadefors, 2008). Previous
studies in performance tend to measure profitability, economics and environmental issues and recently issues on
sustainability but there is lacking of studies that focus on performance purely from the FM perspective (Enoma and
Allen, 2007). There is a causal link between FM practices and performance, prompting the evaluation researchers to
question whether performance evaluation does in fact add value and enhance organisational performance (Amaratunga
and Baldry, 2000). There is also limited KPIs that can be used in FM, the framework tested based on the measures from
other indicators are too general for FM service specification (Enoma and Allen, 2007). Managers may need to take a
745
wider look at the stakeholders of the organisation, and their various priorities, for a richer understanding of these
ambiguous concepts (McDougall and Hinks, 2000). Although the area of PM is not new, the constructs are neither
well-established nor standardised across and even within FM disciplines giving an abundance area for investigation.
Therefore, there is a need to determine, verify and integrate the axioms of modern PM in the context of FM
Amaratunga (2000).
This research aims to explore the PMS in FM particularly in the context of Malaysian industry. Therefore, it seeks to
understand the current knowledge and implementation of PMS by the FM to get an overview of the PMS
implementation by the FM practitioners.
2.2 Methodology
A questionnaire survey was conducted to the FM practitioners in Malaysia, with 37 respondents responded to
the survey that comprises of both structured and open-ended questions. The, respondents were asked on the background
information, and their knowledge in FM, Strategic FM and also the implementation of PMS in FM. The PMS section
seeks to investigate the implementation of PMS by the respondents and its background; the service improvement
resulted from the PMS and also to get the respondents’ opinions on the barriers or problems in the implementation of
PMS. The questionnaires survey adopt both attitude rating scales that is simple attitude scaling (i.e Yes, No and Not
Sure) and Likert Scale ranging from very negative to very positive is used to allow respondents to indicate their level of
agreements/ perceptions (i.e Highly Disagree to Highly Agree).
3.1 Respondents Background
A total of 37 responses were received from the online survey including 2 of which are incomplete. All 35
respondents of the survey are from Malaysia and are all FM practitioners with 3 different job titles; FM executives
(60%), FM manager (28.6%) and also FM assistant manager (11.4%) as stated in. Most of them work in a large
(48.6%) and medium organisations (40%) while only 11.4% were in small organisations. The majority of the FM
practitioners have been involved in FM industry for more than 3 years (71.5%).
3.2 Strategic FM
Respondents were also requested to select the level of FM implementation being practised by their respective
companies. 63% of them are using Operational FM while only 37% are using Strategic FM .This shows that traditional
method is still widely adopted in Malaysia. Further analysis on the 13 respondents that are practicing Strategic FM
shows that majority of them (69%) agree that strategic FM improves their service quality and 62% of them strongly
agree that Strategic FM helps to prioritise FM needs. In spite of this, majority of them (62%) stated that their
companies do not adhere to Strategic FM standards or guidelines when practicing FM as shown in Table 1.0.
Table 1. Results on variables tested for Strategic FM
Variables Highest Selection (%)
Strategic FM improves our service quality Agree 69%
Strategic FM helps to prioritise FM needs Strongly Agree 62%
My company adheres to Strategic FM standards/ guidelines when practising FM Disagree 62%
Pearson Chi-square test was used to analyse the differences within the organisation types on the implementation of FM
Strategies (p>0.005). In summary, more than half of the respondents from the majority of large companies do not have
FM strategies (Refer Table 2). For those that do have FM strategies, they are mainly from medium and large size
companies and mostly have been using them for more than 5 years. All FM practitioners from this group also agree that
FM strategies help to enhance their service delivery and 56% of them believe that FM strategies contribute to the
success of their clients’ corporate missions. On the other hand, a small fraction (13%) of them signifies that the FM
strategies practised do not integrate with their clients’ corporate objectives/ strategies. This accords closely with Barret
(2000), where he stated that there is a gap that fails to link FM strategies with client’s strategies and FM companies
have to rectify the situation in order to deliver a service that meets the clients’ objectives.
Table 2. Results on the implementation of FM strategies
Does your company have any FM Strategies?(n=35) Yes No Not Sure
Organisation Type Large 7 9 1
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Medium 8 5 1
Small 1 3 0
Total 16 17 2
3.3 Performance Measurement System (PMS) in FM
It was found that a large amount of respondents (60%) have no implementation of Performance Measurement
System (PMS) for their FM service delivery as indicated in Table 3. One survey participant responded that the reason
why PMS is not implemented is to avoid a high key performance indicator (KPI) in the service performance.
Table 3. Results on the implementation of PMS for FM
Does your company implement any PMS for FM? Percentage(n=35)
Yes 40%
No 60%
Further analysis on the respondents that implement PMS shows that half of the respondents (50%) agree that
their PMS is in line with the client’s corporate objectives (Refer Table 4). Similarly, 43% of them agree that their
performance measures are designed based on the FM strategies and that the FM performance has improved since the
implementation of the PMS.
Table 4. Results on respondents’ level of agreements on the PMS implementation and improvement
Measurement Variables Highest Selection (%)
Implementation Our PMS is designed based on the FM strategies Agree 43%

Our PMS is in line with the client’s corporate objectives Neutral 50%
Improvement Our FM performance has improved since the implementation of the PMS Agree 43%
3.4 Barriers/Problems in Implementing PMS

Respondents were also asked to select the problems that they face in implementing PMS or for those that do
not implement PMS, the barriers that they perceive are the potentially hindering the implementation of PMS in the FM
service. Table 5 shows the list of barriers/ problems in implementing PMS based on the ranks voted by the respondents.
The proposed variables are derived from literature review and categorised into 4 elements namely Management,
Employee, Formulation of Measures and also the Service Direction.
Table 5. Problems or barriers in implementing PMS

Rank Variables Problems/ Barriers in Implementing PMS
1 Service Direction  More focused on short-term decision making
2 Service Direction  Rely on software as solution
3 Service Direction  Lack of strategic planning skill

4 Formulation  No proper sample or guidance
5 Formulation  Problems identifying suitable measures
6 Formulation  Difficulties in evaluating the relative importance of measures
7 Service Direction  Lack of awareness and understanding on the importance
8 Management  Unclear of objectives and benefits
9 Management  Inadequate training and support
10 Management  Manager’s resistance
11 Management  Lack of senior management commitment
12 Employee  Employee resistance to change
13 Employee  Staff turnover and problems in reallocating new roles
14 Employee  Reluctant to invest time and energy
15 Employee  Lack of clarity/rationale
16 Formulation  Striving for perfection
747
17 Formulation  Unclear of the process and procedure involved

18 Employee  Employee fear of status affected or stressful work conditions
19 Management  Organisational fears
20 Service Direction  Priorities in other management aspect
21 Others
[Management]  Time and energy consuming for managers to focus on
 Burdened with current workload
 Need support from top management
[Employee]  Time consuming to train employees
[Formulation]  Do not know where to start/ starting point
 Lack of resources
[Service Direction]
 Not clear of the long-term goal
Results from Table 5 signify that the top three problems identified in the implementation of PMS are rooted in
Service Direction where most of the respondents are more focused on the short-term decision-making or goal only
rather than considering the long-term goal. They were also more reliant on the software tool as the problem solution
and most importantly they believed that lack of strategic planning skill in planning for the performance monitoring and
evaluation is also the problem and barrier in implementing PMS. The respondents also provided some problems that are
not listed but which they believed are among the contributing factors, for instance they believed that it is both time- and
energy-consuming for managers to focus on the implementation of PMS and also to train employees. They also
believed that they were much burdened with current workload and PMS is not something that they would want to look
into. They further believed that the top management needs to give full support for the PMS implementation to ensure its
effectiveness.
As for the formulation of measures, they had no idea of where to start and how to work on designing a PMS
considering the lack of resources that they have. One of their responses was also that they were not clear regarding the
long-term goal of PMS and the long-term benefits behind its implementation. In general, it can be seen that the lack of
strategic planning, service direction and management skills and goals are the factors that hamper the implementation of
PMS for FM in Malaysia. The scenario fits with the slow progress of FM development in Malaysia, where there is a
lack of guidelines and procedures towards enhancing standard service delivery. The implementation of PMS as a
strategic step forward is considered new and alien to the FM service sectors there, as the industry is still immature.
4.0 Conclusion
The overall survey findings show that FM industry in Malaysia is still not fully developed and yet to be up to
par with FM industries in other countries. With majority of the FM practitioners are still implementing operational FM
and no performance measurement system in their practice, the future of this industry in Malaysia is hard to be
predicted. The industry appears to be passive as there is little development in FM industry since the first statement in
2001 by the then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi on the need of change in the
providing good services and improve the upkeep of buildings. Similarly, the implementation of PMS is relatively low
among the FM practitioners. In spite of that, the practitioners that implement PMS understood the importance of having
the PMS that is line with the FM strategies and corporate objectives. They also show positive feedback in seeing the
improvement and benefits with the practice of PMS in their daily service delivery. Based on the results derived from
the pilot study, this research will take a step forward in exploring the appropriate performance measures for FM
targeting for each FM service aspect. This study will also look at the possibility in designing and developing a
performance measures framework based on the literature review and data collected from FM service companies in UK
where the industry is progressive. The PMS Framework in FM that will be developed at the end of this research is
anticipated to improve the current development of FM in Malaysia particularly in the context of PM implementation
and FM profession and service delivery.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Prof Michael Pitt from University College London; Bartlett School of Graduate Studies,
University College London; University of Malaya; and Ministry of Higher Education for the cooperation and
arrangements made in conjunction with the conduct of this research. The cooperation given by all the FM practitioners
participating in this research is highly appreciated.
748
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749
Tenant Affordability and its Relationship with Rent Arrears

N. A. Salleh 1*, N.A. Yusof , N. Johari and Y. Talib
School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang Malaysia
Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak, Seri Iskandar Campus, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
Rent arrears are liabilities borne by the housing management resulting from failure of tenants to pay rent as per tenancy agreements.
Rent arrears are perceived to be due to lack of affordability faced by tenants. This study was undertaken to investigate the variables
in affordability factors significantly influencing prevailing rent arrears. Data was obtained through questionnaire distribution on 350
Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh (MBI) public housing tenants using the strata sampling technique. This study found that only ethnic group
variables significantly influenced the prevailing rent arrears. The study’s findings proved that different ethnic groups faced different
housing costs liabilities attributable to different socioeconomic status.
Keywords: Rent Arrears; Tenant; Affordability; Housing management and Ethnic group variables
1. Introduction
Housing is a medium in macroeconomic development and a tool for poverty eradication. Unfortunately, access to
housing ownership has eluded the lower income groups, most evidently among those living below the poverty line.
Affordability is a contentious issue in decision-making regarding home ownership; being the most controversial issues
in the housing policy of almost every country (CM Hui, 2001). Thus, policies, guidelines and legislation play critical
roles in ensuring that housing is affordable to the lower income groups (Salleh & Lik Meng, 1997).
Home ownership is one of the objectives of the housing policy formulated by the government. However since not
everybody can afford to own a house, renting a house is the closest alternative available to those less fortunate in their
quest for a dwelling. Housing affordability is not merely home ownership but also involve tenancies (Md Sani, 2006).
Higher affordability has enabled procurement of better housing to those with better access to housing market. Thus,
housing affordability is the main obstacle to housing for the poor (Yates & Wood, 2005).
Rent arrears amongst lower income tenants are usually attributed to affordability issues. Rent arrears are debts
incurred by the tenants to the management due to late payment of rent (Ford & Seavers, 1998; Sethu, 1986). Rent
payment must be made as specified by the tenancy agreement signed by both parties at the onset of the lease. Default
on rent payment will result in rent arrears (Sethu, 1986).
The aim of the present paper is to study the variables under affordability factors that significantly influenced rent
arrears amongst tenants of public housing in Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh, Malaysia (Ipoh City Council, Malaysia).
* Nor Aini Salleh Tel.: +6-05-374-2279; fax:+6-05-374-2244.

E-mail address:noraini@perak.uitm.edu.my.
2. Framework on Affordability Theory towards Housing
Affordability reflects the challenges faced by every household in balancing the real cost or potential cost of their
housing and non housing expenditures against income limitations placed upon the household (Stone, 2006), and has a
close relationship with household income (Gilderbloom, 1985).
750
In defining affordability, the United States has imposed a 28% limit on gross household income to be allocated
towards the payment of housing (Fiscelli, 2005). Similarly for rental households, as long as the rents charged by the
landlords do not give undue rental pressure and tenants are still able to obtain their other needs, housing affordability
issues will not occur.
Hence tenant’s affordability is defined as 30% of income received used towards rental payment (Fiscelli, 2005;
Chaplin & Freeman, 1999). Kutty (2005) also viewed housing affordability as a rental liability to the tenant or a cost
liability that must be borne by the owner. Fiscelli (2005) and Kutty (2005) concurred with Thalmann’s (1999) views
that tenants’ housing problems are apparent through high rental obligations. Lower income households and high
housing costs entitle them to housing benefits. Households have to occupy small sized and low quality dwellings as a
trade-off for their lack of affordability in obtaining suitable and comfortable housing (Lerman & Reeder, 1987; Murray,
1997).
Various methods have been introduced by past researchers to measure housing affordability levels among
households which is generally used to analyse the financial ability displayed by households (Lux, 2007). The use of
affordability measurements presents various benefits not only to policy makers but also greatly aids households in
determining their housing entitlements (Hulchanski, 1995). Monthly housing costs that must be borne by house owners
differ from monthly housing costs borne by tenants. According to Chi and Laquatra (1998), housing costs for owners
comprise four important components namely housing instalment cost, energy and utility costs, property taxes and other
operational costs. On the other hand, housing costs for tenants consist of only two important components which are
tenancy contract and energy and utility costs (Chi & Laquatra, 1998). Affordability measurement must be handled with
care to avoid inaccurate measurement which will impact tenants adversely. In these cases, the government have found
that these tenants can afford housing; in fact their affordability lies well below the affordability line identified. It is
therefore important to consider housing assets and not only housing per se in making affordability measurement (CM
Hui, 2001).
The measurement most often used by past researchers to measure housing affordability amongst tenants is the Rent
to Income Ratio measurement and the Residual Income Method measurement (Bramley, 1992; Bramley & Karley,
2005; C.M.Hui, 2001; Chaplin & Freeman, 1999; Hancock, 1993; Lerman & Reeder, 1987; Mostafa et al., 2006; Stone,
2006; Thalmann, 1999).
The Rent to Income Ratio measurement is done by using the following formula:
Rent – Income Ratio = Rent/ Net Income
While the Residual Income Method measurement is based on the following formula:
Residual Income = Total Household Income – Housing Costs – Non Housing Costs
Should there still be a residual income; the household is deemed free from affordability issues (Stone, 2006).
The variables usually used by past researchers to measure affordability among tenants are as follows:
(i) Household Type

Households with a higher number of children bear higher housing costs compared to households with lower
number of children (Chi & Laquatra, 1998; Mostafa, Wong & Hui, 2006) as are households with children compared to
childless households (Chaplin & Freeman, 1999). Different familial structures reflect different affordability levels for
example singles households are not the same as households with families. Adult children staying with their families are
believed to help the family earn more income (Linneman & Megbolugbe, 1992). Hence Hancock (1993) in his study
has classified working children under a separate unit from parents when analysis was made, while children still
dependent on their parents were considered as one unit with the parents. He reiterated that values for housing and non-
housing vary depending on size and age of household group consumption. The larger the household is, the bigger the
house required and the higher the income needed to achieve the same level of welfare enjoyed by a smaller household.
Meanwhile Chi and Laquatra (1998) in their study found that households headed by women, senior citizens and
single mothers bear higher housing costs liabilities. Chi and Laquatra (1998) also proved that race and ethnicity of
households indicated differing housing costs liabilities whereby black and Hispanic households faced housing problems
and problematic neighbours. These formed two out of five indicators used to study households’ lack of affordability in
the United States.
(ii) Household Income

A household is said to be having affordability issues when there is a lack of adequate income to be used for
household expenditures and other needs besides housing. Debates on affordability measurement usually centre on
accurate measurement of resources obtained by households ie whether income should be calculated on gross or after tax
751
deduction to yield net income; and how calculation of sources of income should be carried out. Hancock (1993)
theorised that income measurement should be made based on net income that can be expended by the household after
all taxes have been deducted and housing benefits have been factored in as income. Housing benefits are subsidies
given to deserving low income households to aid in housing costs and not to be used for other needs.
According to prevailing economic theories, the concept of income must be calculated to include non-financial and
future incomes (Hancock, 1993). A study conducted by Hulchanski and Michalski (1994) found that 5 economic circles
whereby households obtain their resources (in cash or non-cash) to fulfil their needs are through (a) local economy,
internal households (b) informal economy, familial expansion and close relationships (c) social economy, neighbours
and group-based communities and agencies (d) formal economy, based on formal markets and (e) state economy,
governments. Whenever faced with financial problems a household will source out space to replace it with non-cash
income; such dependency can be done through the creation of an intensive socioeconomic network (Hulchanski dan
Michalski, 1994).
(iii) Household Expenditure

Household expenditure may be categorised into two basic categories namely housing expenditure and non-housing
expenditure. According to Ho and Chiu (2002), non-housing expenditure for households in Hong Kong includes
transportation, shoes and clothing, fuel and electricity and food. Health services were not included as they were
provided by the government. Stone (2006) indicated that a standard low budget non housing expenditure for two adults
and two children in the United States includes food, household fittings and operations, transportation, clothing,
medication, childcare and other goods and services.
(iv) Type of Work

The type of work done by a household has a close relationship with the level of education enjoyed by the
household which resulted in lowly paid jobs being secured (Mohd Taib, 1993). A study undertaken by Sulong (1984)
on public housing in Terengganu found that households that defaulted on their monthly housing instalment consist of
those working as labourers, drivers and self-employed due to lower levels of education obtained. An empirical study
carried out by Gray et al. (1994) have proven that tenants’ economic status influences rent payment made for public
housing in England. Households who work as lower skilled labourers can only support a small sized household if there
are two members of the family working otherwise they will have to settle for a lower quality housing or both (Gyourko
& Linneman, 1993).
(v) Level of Education

A higher level of education guarantees a good job. When a household has a good job the salary obtained is able to
guarantee a better quality life (Norazmawati, 2006). Lerman dan Reeder (1987) found that households that are not
highly educated face problems of affordability. Murray (1997) proved that households with lower level of education
face difficulties procuring standard quality housing as they have to spend the bulk of their income on housing. Morgan
(1965) reported that households with formal education tend to own expensive housing relative to their existing income.
Findings from a study by Gyourko dan Linneman (1993) showed that it was difficult for a lower educated and lower
income American to own his dream house due to increase in house prices and decrease in wages recived. Thus those
who are higher educated tend to secure more stable jobs and hence better income (Lee & Liu, 2002).
(vi) Dwelling Location

Dwellings located in urban areas are far more expensive than dwellings located at the outskirts of the city in terms
of both house prices and rentals. A good location comprises community facilities in the vicinity, proximity to markets,
shorter distance between the workplace and the dwelling and ease to find public transportation (Mostafa, Wong, & Hui,
2006). Therefore, locational characteristics were combined to evaluate effects on housing affordability. From all
practical aspects, rental differences between one estate to another is determined by factors such as location,
transportation linkages, the estate’s facilities and environment (Eddie Chi Man Hui, 1999). Studies done by past
researchers have shown that households living in urban areas bear higher housing liabilities (Chi & Laquatra, 1998;
Lerman & Reeder, 1987). High rentals and high prices of houses located in urban areas were trade-offs made by the
lower income groups in choosing houses located far from their workplaces in urban areas. Kutty (2005) concluded in
his study that economic sector development, migrational patterns, changes in housing policy and other factors have
caused discrepancies in house prices and house rentals. He has therefore recommended that it is critical to study
household geographical distribution. Findings of his study indicated that poverty rates among households differ
according to region.
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3. Methodology
This study’s population comprises tenants of all 1,008 tenanted public housing units under Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh
(MBI). The list of tenants occupying the public housing was provided by MBI’s public housing management. Hence
this study’s sample forms a portion of the housing unit tenants chosen by the researcher through two tier strata
sampling. The sample was stratified into type of housing and type of tenants whether those facing rent arrears or not
facing rent arrears. This study employed face-to-face self-administered questionnaires using pencil and paper. The
questionnaire was broken down into a few main sections namely Section A: Tenant Background; Section B:
Information on Tenant’s Affordability; Section C: Satisfaction towards Housing, Environment and Management; and
Section D: Rent Arrears amongst Public Housing Tenants. Section A aims at scrutinising information on the
background of heads of households renting at public housing. Section B studies the level of affordability among tenants
at public housing while Section C aims to investigate the level of satisfaction towards housing and the services
provided by the public housing management. Section D was formulated to look into detail matters regarding rent
arrears faced by tenants.
A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed to the selected sample. This study successfully achieved return
questionnaires totalling 301 samples giving a response rate of 86%. The rest of the questionnaires were not returned
due to absence of tenants at home, the occupant not being the real tenant, tenants too scared to admit they were facing
rent arrears and tenants’ refusal to cooperate with the researcher.
The data have been analysed using the study’s statistics to study the variables under affordability factors
influencing the prevailing rent arrears. The analysis of the findings of the study may be summed up in one main table
showing the socioeconomic status of the respondents:
Table 1: Socioeconomics status of the public housing tenants

Variables Number Percentage
Marital Status
Single 50 16.6
Married 182 60.5
Widow 58 19.3
Widower 6 2
Divorced 5 1.7
Ethnic Group
Malays 53 17.6%
Indians 79 26.2%
Chinese 138 45.8%
Others 31 10.3%
Education Level
Never Attended School 44 14.6
Primary School 110 36.5
Secondary School 139 46.2
College 6 2
Others 1 .3
Total Number of Households
1 39 13
2 71 23.6
3 80 26.6
4 49 16.3
5 28 9.3
6 23 7.6
7 6 2
8 5 1.7
Number of Working Households
0 27 9
1 134 44.5
2 103 34.2
3 30 10
4 5 1.7
5 2 .7
Number of Non-Working & Non Schooling
Households
0 100 33.2
1 128 42.5
2 60 19.9
3 11 3.7
5 2 .7
753
Type of Work
Labourers 97 32.2
Self-employed 55 18.3
Technical 15 5
Support Staff 46 15.3
Pensioners 21 7
Others 61 20.3
No Data 6 2
Source of Income
Wages, Salary, Bonus 230 76.4
Pension 9 3.0
Housing Aid 1 .3
Others 61 20.3
Total Household Income (RM)
0-300 19 6.3
301-600 53 17.6
601-900 77 25.6
901-1200 53 17.6
1201-1500 58 19.3
> 1501 41 13.6
Table 1: Socioeconomics status of the public housing tenants (continue)

Variables Number Percentage
Housing Costs
100-200 267 88.7
201-300 34 11.3
Non Housing Costs
100-200 20 6.6
201-300 16 5.3
301-400 34 11.3
401-500 38 12.6
501-600 44 14.6
> 600 149 49.5
Dwellings Location
Kinta Heights 84 27.9
Jalan Bijih Timah 23 7.6
Jalan Silang 11 3.7
Sungai Pari Towers 50 16.6
Waller Courts 133 44.2
Total 301 100
4.1 Socioeconomic status of respondents
The majority of tenants at MBI public housing are married making up 60.5% (182 tenants) and only a small number
are singles (16.6%), widows (19.3%) or widowers (2%); and divorced (1.7%). This reflects MBI’s rental policy of
encouraging more married people to apply as MBI public housing tenants. Findings of the study revealed that the
majority of tenants at the public housing own small live-in households. Families having households of 3 members make
up the highest number at 26.6% (80 families), followed by those with households of 2 members at 23.6% (71 families).
16.3% (49 families) of households comprises 4 members, 9.3% (28 families) has 5 members and 7.6% (23 families)
consists of 6 members. Only a small number of households were made up of 7 and 8 members ie at 3.7% (11 families).
Those who were widows or widowers without any children make up 13% (39 persons). Most of the households at the
MBI rental public housing have only one member who works representing 44.5% (134 families) followed by those with
two working members at 34.2% (103 families). This study also found that there are public housing tenants who have at
least one member who is not working and not schooling at 42.5% (128 families). This is followed by families with two
dependents totalling 19.9% (60 families). Only 2 families (0.7%) have the highest number of dependents of 5. In
addition to that, the study’s analysis also found that 33.2% of tenants (100 families) do not have a non-working and
non-schooling member. This analysis shows that there are 100 families (33.2%) that do not have a non-working and
non-schooling dependent member such as a live-in senior citizen or small children. The number of families without
neither working nor schooling households totalled 62.1% (187 families). This means that these families have school-
going children. As compared to households who do not have non-working or non-schooling dependent members, it is
perceived that families having school-going children bear a heavier burden. About 51 families (16.9%) have one school
going member. Only a small number of families have school going members of between 2 to 6 members (63 families).
By ethnic group, the majority of MBI public housing tenants is made up of Chinese tenants (45.8%), Indians
(26.2%), Malays (17.6%) and followed by other races which are made up of Punjabis and Indian-Muslims at 10.3% (31
754
persons). The findings of this study differ from those of Mohit et al.’s (2010) and Husna and Nurizan’s (1987). Their
studies at low cost public housing in Kuala Lumpur found that the Malays made up the majority of tenants followed by
the Chinese and Indians. In comparing the three largest racial groups at MBI public housing namely the Chinese, Indians
and Malays, the Malays formed the lowest number of tenants. This is because Malay tenants are generally more
comfortable living in the rural areas (Jamaluddin et al., 2004, pp 18). The Malay population in Ipoh prefer to live in
Malay kampungs located in the vicinity of Ipoh city such as Kampung Kepayang and Kampung Manjoi (MBI, individual
interviews, 4th March 2010).
In terms of level of education, the majority of tenants have a low level of education whereby 36.5% (110
respondents) only finished primary school education and 46.2% (139 respondents) had secondary school education. 44
respondents (14.6%) never went to school and only 2% (6 respondents) were college educated and one obtained
community religious education. Past research has generally shown that the majority of public housing tenants in
Malaysia have only basic primary and secondary school education (Salleh and Yusof, 2006; Agus, 2001, pp 138-139;
and Jamaluddin et al., 2004, pp 15-16); similar to Amerigo and Aragones (1990) findings in Madrid. These findings are
concurrent with this study’s findings.
Most MBI public housing tenants work as labourers (32.2% or 97 persons) reflecting their level of education
(Norazmawati, 2006). The categories of labourer include lorry drivers, onion peelers, daily wages coffee shop waiters,
recycled material collectors, car park attendants, babysitters and daily laundry women and house maids. Self-employed
tenants comprise those in business and seamstresses represented by 18.3% (55 persons). Technical jobs consist of
tenants working as mechanics, plumbers, blacksmiths, draughtsmen and masons. Those working as clerks, payroll hotel
waiters, head salesmen and assistant cooks were put under support staff category and made up 15.3%. There are 7%
pensioners; other jobs (20.3%) consist of tenants getting financial aid from close relatives, children or the Welfare
Department.
The sources of income for MBI public housing tenants are classified into four main categories namely wages,
salary or bonus, pension, housing aid and others (Md Sani, 2006). The study’s findings show that the main sources of
income for tenants lie in the wages, salary and bonus categories ie for 230 families or 76.4%; concurrent with Rent and
Rent’s (1978) findings.
The highest level of household income is between RM601 to RM900 per month by 77 families (25.6%) followed
by between RM1201 to RM1500 per month (19.3%). Only a small group of families have household incomes of
between RM0 – RM300 per month making up 6.3% (19 families). There were also about 13.6% (41 families)
households with incomes exceeding RM1501 per month. Thus it can be concluded that the household income for MBI
public housing is between RM600 to in excess of RM1500 per month.
Most of MBI public housing tenants (267 families or 88.7%) bear housing costs of between RM100 to RM200 per
month while 34 families (11.3%) bear housing costs of between RM201 to RM300 per month. Liabilities relating to
non-housing costs have been classified into six categories namely RM100-RM200, RM201-RM300, RM301-RM400,
RM401-RM500, RM501-RM600 and exceeding RM600 per month (for 149 families (49.5%)). These findings
concurred with findings of a study undertaken by Agus (2001, pp 149) among prospective buyers of low cost housing
developed by Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) where in general, households spend between RM500
to RM1000 for food, clothing, education, electricity, water and gas bills and on other needs. Only a small number of
families spend between RM100 – RM200 ie a total of 20 families (6.6%).
Locationally, most MBI public housing is located in Ipoh city centre and consists mainly of multi storey flatted
housing. Since rental of these public housing is based on Ipoh City Council By-Laws (Council-owned Buildings) (as
amended) 1997,the rental of these public housing units are not influenced by the location of the premises; only
differentiated by the number of rooms each housing unit. The quality of the housing unit depends on the public housing
area provided by the management as each housing area is developed in different year. The measurement of housing
quality and its influence on rent arrears was tested under measurement of tenant satisfaction level.
4.2 Rent Arrears by Ethnic Group
Although the Chinese make up the largest ethnic group renting in MBI public housing, analysis results show that
the Indians make up the majority ethnic group having rent arrears problems at public housing. This study found that out
of 138 Chinese respondents only 55 respondents face rent arrears problems. Analysis shows that out of 79 Indian
selected respondents, it was found that 60 respondents faced rent arrears problems while only 19 respondents have
never faced rent arrears throughout their tenancy at MBI public housing. 36 Malay respondents faced rent arrears
problems out of the overall total represented by 53 respondents. This means that only 17 Malay respondents do not
have rent arrears problems. Table 2 shows rent arrears by ethnic group.
755
Table 2: Rent Arrears by Ethnic Group

Facing Arrears
Ethnic Group Never Faced Have Faced Percentage Have Faced Arrears
Malays 17 36 20.45 %
Indians 19 60 34.09%
Chinese 83 55 31.25%
Others 6 25 14.20%
Total 125 176 100%
4.3 Analysis of Relationship between Tenant Affordability Factors with Rent Arrears
The dependent variable for this study is whether or not there is an incidence of rent arrears. Independent variables for
this study are types of household, ethnic groups, levels of education, types of work, household incomes, household
expenditures and types of public housing. Since the dependent variable for this study is dichotomy data, the logistic
regression binary analysis method is the most suitable method to be employed (Wood, 2006).
The analysis was done with the aid of SPSS version 12.1 software. The rent arrears dependent variable consists of
two categories which are: never incurred (0) and have incurred (1) as shown in Table 3. Table 4 shows there are 295
study samples and 6 missing cases.
Table 3: Code for Dependent Variable

Dependent Variable Value
Never Incurred 0
Have Incurred 1
Table 4: Study Sample

No Weightage Case N Percentage
Selected Case Inclusive of Analysis 295 98.0
Missing Cases 6 2.0
Total 301 100.0
Unselected Case 0 .0
Total 301 100.0
The logistic regression analysis results are divided into two steps i.e. (a) step 0 (null model) and (b) step 1 (model
with predictor). Table 5 shows that 58.6% of the respondents were classified to have been observed and predicted to
have incurred rent arrears while the model with predictor in Table 6 indicates the real classification of respondents
achieved was 69.5% i.e. 74 respondents were observed to have never incurred rent arrears and were predicted to have
never incurred rent arrears. 131 respondents that were observed to have incurred arrears and predicted to have incurred
arrears in rent payment.
The Omnibus test as shown in Table 7 is the null hypothesis testing result where the beta multiplier is zero and this
result has caused the hypothesis to be rejected because the p value equals zero. The Hosmer and Lemeshow test (Table
9) shows an insignificant Chi value-to the power of two (X² = 9.101, df = 8, p = 0.334) with a significant level p=0.05.
These findings indicate the compatibility of the model with the data collected in the study (Tabachnick & S.Fidell,
2001, pp 519). Meanwhile Table 8 shows Cox and Snell’s R value to the power of two ie 0.206, indicating that there
was only 20.6% improvement on the model with predictor as compared with the null model.
Table 5: Classification (a,b)

Observed Prediction
Facing Arrears
Never Faced Have Faced Real Percentage
Step 0 Facing Arrears Never Faced 0 122 .0
Have Faced 0 173 100.0
756
Overall Percentage 58.6
Table 6: Classification (a)

Observed Prediction
Facing Arrears
Never Faced Have Faced Real Percentage
Step 1 Facing Arrears Never Faced 74 48 60.7
Have Faced 42 131 75.7
Overall Percentage 69.5
Table 7: Omnibus Test

Chi-power Df Sig.
Step 1 Step 67.983 33 .000
Block 67.983 33 .000
Model 67.983 33 .000
Table 8: Model Summary Table

Cox & Snell’s R to the Nagelkerke’s R to the Power of
Step -2 Log likelihood
Power of Two Two
1 332.112(a) .206 .277
Table 9: Hosmer and Lemeshow Test

Step Chi-Power Df Sig.
1 9.101 8 .334
Table 10 shows the final results for independent variables used to predict affordability factors influencing rent arrears
amongst tenants at MBI public housing. Analysis results revealed that only one independent variable influences rent
arrears prevailing amongst tenants and that was ethnic group variable. This finding was supported based on descriptive
analysis explained earlier which also found that although Chinese ethnic group make up the highest number of tenants
at MBI public housing as compared to Indian, Malay and other ethnic group tenants; Indian tenants were found to be
the highest number incurring rent arrears.
Table 10: Variables in Equations

VARIABLE B S.E. Wald Df Sig. Exp(B)
SStep 1 (a) Type of work 2.874 5 .719
Type of work (1) -.358 .412 .755 1 .385 .699
Type of work (2) -.064 .558 .013 1 .908 .938
Type of work (3) -.574 .459 1.561 1 .211 .563
Type of work (4) -.698 .672 1.078 1 .299 .498
Type of work (5) -.053 .432 .015 1 .903 .949
No. Of schooling household 1.584 2 .453
No. Of schooling household (1) -.951 .756 1.584 1 .208 .386
Total income 2.753 5 .738
Total income (1) -.737 1.450 .258 1 .611 .479
Total income (2) -1.247 1.345 .860 1 .354 .287
Total income (3) -1.236 1.330 .864 1 .353 .290
Total income (4) -.854 1.276 .447 1 .504 .426
Total income (5) -1.179 1.089 1.172 1 .279 .308
Housing costs(1) -.485 .533 .828 1 .363 .616
Non housing costs 7.981 5 .157
Non housing costs (1) .503 1.280 .155 1 .694 1.654
Non housing costs (2) -.163 1.277 .016 1 .898 .850
Non housing costs (4) 1.209 1.125 1.156 1 .282 3.352
Type of housing 3.463 4 .483
Type of housing (1) .181 .386 .220 1 .639 1.198
Type of housing (2) .470 .478 .967 1 .325 1.600
Type of housing (3) .784 .850 .850 1 .356 2.190
Type of housing (4) 1.025 .609 2.831 1 .092 2.788
Ethnic group 23.312 3 .000
Ethnic group (1) .763 .603 1.602 1 .206 2.146
757
Ethnic group (2) -1.227 .447 7.524 1 .006 .293

Ethnic group (3) .461 .473 .951 1 .329 1.586
Non-working non-schooling
-.765 .885 .747 1 .387 .465
household(1)
Total household 2.673 2 .263
Total household (1) -.332 .362 .843 1 .358 .717
Total household (2) .798 .642 1.543 1 .214 2.221
Level of education 1.495 4 .828
Level of education (1) .492 .450 1.194 1 .275 1.635
Level of education (2) .631 1.078 .342 1 .558 1.879
Level of education (3) .045 .346 .017 1 .896 1.046
No. Of working household(4) -.085 .633 .018 1 .893 .918
Constant 3.110 1.557 3.988 1 .046 22.417
The last column of Table 10 indicates that the odds of Chinese tenants defaulting in rent payment are 2.15 times
higher as compared to tenants from the other ethnic groups. For Malay tenants, the odds of defaulting in rent payment
are approximately 1.6 times higher than the other ethnic groups. However, the odds of defaulting in rent payment for
Indian tenants are 0.293.
5. Conclusion
This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on rent arrears and tenant affordability. Past studies have
focused on the rent arrears and management factors (Cameron & Gilroy, 1997; Nixon & Hunter, 1996), causes of rent
default in broader context (Moss, 2003), measuring affordability in public housing rents (CM Hui, 1999) thus,
providing only a limited understanding of the extent of variables that influenced rent arrears amongst the tenants. The
present study revealed that ethnic group variables have made a significant effect on rent arrears prevailing in MBI
public housing. At the same time, this study supports findings of a study conducted by Friedman and Rosenbaum
(2004) in the United States. The study done by Friedman and Rosenbaum (2004) was a comparative study between
owners and tenants. Their study proved that ethnicity also influenced housing affordability. The migrant population
comprising Hispanic and black households tend to occupy high density housing as compared to white and non-white
Native Americans. This was due to the lower socioeconomic standing among blacks and Hispanics. Besides that,
studies carried out by Mimura (2008), Kutty (2005), Boheim and Taylor (2000), Chi and Laquatra (1998) and Lerman
and Reeder (1987) also found that different ethnic groups and races faced differing housing costs due to their differing
socioeconomic status.
This study on the other hand, revealed that variables such as household structure, type of work, level of education,
type of housing, household income and household expenditure on housing costs and non-housing costs do not have
significant influences on rent arrears prevailing amongst tenants in MBI public housing. The implication of this study’s
findings indicated that there is a small number of tenants from the Indian ethnic group facing rent arrears due to
affordability factors caused by a low socioeconomic standing. The housing management ought to closely look into this
problem to identify the root cause of the problem and what form of aid can be offered to these problematic tenants. It is
high time that the public housing management play a more significant role by providing job opportunities for tenants
facing affordability problems by channelling information to the relevant authorities thus indirectly raising the tenants’
economic standing and reducing their dependency on the government (Lane, 1995).
Nonetheless, the present study has several limitations among which, the researchers were unable to control the
respondents’ thoughts, whether the information channelled to the researchers were genuine answers. For example
information on income received by tenants and also the study’s limitations that only focused on the tenants and not on
the public housing management.
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Certificate Completion And Compliance (CCC) For Building

Certification In Malaysia:Literature Review
R. Zakariaa1*A. I. C. Anib and A. S. Alic

a,b Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor
cCentre for Construction, Building and Urban Studies, Faculty of Built Environment, University ofMalaya, Kuala Lumpur
Abstract
Certification of buildings is one of the conditions set by the government to ensure that buildings are constructed to achieve the
required standards. This intended to safeguard the interests of the parties involved, especially the buyers. To improve public service
delivery while not ignoring the interests of those involved, government held a new system for new building to obtain theirbuilding
certification. The new system used calledCertificateCompletion and Compliance (CCC) where the appointed professionals were
commonly known as Prinsiple Submitting Person (PSP), which will issue the certificate of the building.
This study is to look at the existing literature related to building certification using PSP services under this CCC method. Literature
from both local and overseas were revied in this paper. The authors intend to collect data from respondentsthat is the architects of
337 people and covers 12 local authorities in Selangor (first developed state in Malaysia). All types of buildings involved in this
study. This study uses quantitative methods and qualitative questionnaires through interviews with respondents. All data were
analysed by descriptive and inferential statisticsapproach.
Keywords: Building control, building certification, CCC method
1. Introduction
Building control is a process in which the buildings had been constructed and implemented in compliance with the
provisions of by law specified. Through the control of the early stages of a building construction project is expected to
avoid problems such as damage to buildings, sewers, safety, comfort and environment (Malaysia 2007e). Building
control is also a system to ensure that the design and construction of new buildings and additions of existing building
space, renovation of existing buildings or the transfer function is carry out in accordance with the national standards set
such as in the Uniform Building By-Laws 1984.
In the implementation of building control, basically it involves organisations, developers and work on site either before,
during and after a project was initiated (Izyan 2006). Local Authorities (LA) in their respective areas to enforce
building control early in the development of a project, ie the stage when a Development Order (DO) and building
approvals to be given on the buildings to be set up during production certificate stating that the building was eligible or
may be occupied (Ireland 2000).
2. Importance of the Building Control Building Certification
In the aspect of building control, building certification is one of the conditions set by the government to ensure that
buildings are constructed to achieve the required standards. This is intended to safeguard the interests of the parties
involved, especially the buyers. In Bangalore, the provisions of the National Building Code Of India, states that any
building that does not have a building certification is considered to be illegal building and cannot be occupied.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6-00000-0000; fax: +6-00-0000-0000.

E-mail address: author@email address.
760
The strict enforcement of building control is inevitable phenomenon from time to time in India (India 2005).
According to Jenna (2010), building control that carried out by LA is to ensure that all building works must obtain
certificates and this not only applied for new buildings but to all construction works in the event of any changes
happenedto a building
3. Building Certification and CCC Definition
3.1 Building Certification
Saleh (2010) defines building certification is a written document issued by the local authority stating that the building
or facility in the state that can be occupied or used in compliance with the building code and public health. While Ralph
(2008) defines building certification is a document that states that the inspection has found the project was implemented
in accordance with local building codes and other regulations. Thus the building can be occupied and used.
3.2 CCC
Under the Building Regulations, Market Alternatives and Allodial Policy, also defines a Certificate of Completion is a
written certificate stating that the construction work has been completed and complied with the conditions stipulated in
the permit granted (United 2003b). This means that the building was rendered uninhabitable. MPSP (2007) defined that
the CCC is a certificate that verifies a building is safe and fit for occupation and this certificate will only be issued after
construction complied with the provisions of the law, approved building plan and also the conditions set by local
authorities in the approval of the building plan.
4. Justification for building certification
Table 1 shows the briefly overall literature justify the importance of building certification in building control and
information relating thereto.
Table 1: Justification Interest In Building Certification Building Control

Building Control
No Year Reference Building Certification Statement
Justification
Success of a project is when it acquired verification
1. 2008 NAHB By-law
and certification (certificate) from the authorities.
Certification is necessary for each facility that is
2. 2009c John used in the building is especially risky buildings Safety
such as schools, hospitals and so on.
Satisfaction inhabit a building that is when it is
3. 2009 Richard safe and comfort to be occupied. Safety and Comfort
The building has a certificate or certificate showing

4. 2009 Dave Safety
that they are building a strong and high investment.
Building certification issued to certify the building
5. 2010 Malcolm had to comply with building codes and is safe for By-law and safety
occupation.
The permit holder must make application for final
building certificate (certificate) whether for new
6. 2010 Jenna Compliance
construction, building addition or renovation of
buildings
Building owners can only occupy or use the
7. 2011 Alison building was purchased, after getting clearance By-law
certificate from the authorities.
5. Building Certification under the CCC Method
In New Zealand, under the Building Act 2004, states that building owners must make an application for the CCC.
However, an agreement can be made between the owner of the building to the professionals (for the building)
761
appointed for the CCC from the LA (New Zealand 2005). Dorian (2007) stated that in Honolulu,the CCC method is a
certification made by the building professional implemented due to lack of staff in the Division of Planning and Permits
(PBT) in the city. According to Dorian again the professional services given enable local governments to save costs and
manpower. Robbins (2005) and Neuman (2006) states that under the CCC method, the professionals who have been
authorized to issue building certificate may allowed legal action against them should they fail to carry out that
responsibility.
This assertion is supported by Lisberg (2008) stating in the event PSP fail to meet its obligations in accordance with
applicable rules and laws, the professionals appointed to return the license granted for the issuanceof building
certificates. In Australia, Parramatta City Council, using the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment
Act 1979 and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000 states that anyone appointed as a PSP
under rule CCC shall make inspections on projects undertaken by the truth approved development (Susan 2007). John
(2000) stated the CCC will be approved and issued by the Architect or Engineer after inspection to ensure that the
construction work carried out has been completed and comply with the approved plan specifications.
According to Kale et al. (2002) states that every architect who has been appointed to create a whole and complete
examination of all stages of construction and corrections if there are any non-compliance before recommending or
issuing building certificate (CCC). This supported by Kevin (2006) stating that the architect responsible for ensuring
that all contractors involved in the project complies with all building codes and laws that applied prior to building
certification issuance. Both of these statements are supported by Joseph (2008) for the production of the CCC,
appointed professionals should ask the contractors to make all the adjustments on the construction work that does not
comply with the conditions of approval may be issued before the CCC. Anthony and Gregory (2004) stated that when
CCC liable for architects, it can speed up the application process without having to wait for LA to make inspections on
projects. Anthony and Gregory added that CCC method is able to improve self-regulation of the professionals
appointed other than that this method can reduce the workload of local authorities.
For the avoid any doubt on the construction work carried out, the building owner may appoint a third party,
Professional Architect or Professional Engineer to verify or certify the construction work. CCC basically done by
Professional Architect or Professional Engineer is authentic and accepted (John 1993). Nuala and Gabriel (2008) states
that in implementing a project is not necessarily a Professional Architect or Professional Engineer who will issue the
CCC but the appointment of the person shall be qualified, skilled and know about the whole project. Apart from
Professional Architects and Engineers Professional, other professionals that can produce CCC is Quantity Surveyor and
Building Surveyor but they must be registered with their respective professional organizations (Nuala & Gabriel, 2008)
In Bengalaru and Mumbai, India, CCC shall be certified by an architect or engineer registered or Building Supervisor.
With a certificate issued by the professionals, this allows the building owner enter or occupy the building (Feng et al.
2010). In America, Patrick (1979) states when all the construction work had been completed at the site, the contractor
shall notify the Building Inspector (PBT) to examine the work of the CCC for production purposes. If a registered
architect or engineer who made the inspection, the Building Inspector (PBT) shall receive the CCC issued by them and
do not need to make further checks. Sidney (2006) says that any project that is involved with government contracts
whether local authorities, State or Federal Government are still need to comply with the format used by the government
contract as requirements specification, change directions, schedules, efidavit and various guidelines and regulations
apply.
Compliance to ensure the withdrawal of all CCC by Architect to be easier and smoother. John (2001) noted that before
an architect can issue the CCC, the Project Architect shall ensure that all repair work has been done according to the
prescribed period of time and have been satisfied with the repair work carried out by the contractor. John further
explains that to ensure the building could be handed over in good condition and can be used as intended design.This
assertion is supported by Triant and Dennis (2009) to the state before the CCC could be issued, the professionals
involved should monitor and advise contractors who involved in compliance with local laws covering equipment and
building materials used. Table 2 provides a comprehensive literature related methods in the CCC building certification.
Table 2: Literature CCC Method in Building Certification.
No Reference Place Method of CCC Statement
New Building owners need to make an application for the CCC to make the
New
1. Zealand agreement between building owners with professional (in the building)
Zealand
(2005) appointed.
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Robbins With the CCC method, the professionals who are authorized to issue
(2005) dan building certificate may be legal action against them should they fail to
2. -
Neuman carry out that responsibility.
(2006)
Under the CCC method, recommendations made by the professional
Dorian
3. Honolulu building due to lack of staff and the local authority is able to reduce energy
(2007)
costs and local authority staff.
Lisberg Any appointed professionals will return the license issuing certificates In
4. -
(2008) the event of failure of a building.
Susan The main certifying appointed under rule CCC shall make inspections in
5. Australia
(2007) accordance with the approved development consent.
CCC will be approved and issued by the Architect or Engineer after making
6. John (2000) - sure the construction work performed is completed and approved
specification.
Kale et al. Architects appointed to examine the totality of all the construction and
7. -
(2002) correction of non-compliance before the CCC issued.
Architects are responsible for ensuring that all contractors involved in
Kevin
8. - building codes and comply with the law by building certificate (CCC) is
(2006)
issued.
The professionals appointed shall require contractors involved to make
Joseph
9. - corrections on work that does not comply with the conditions of approval
(2008)
may be issued before the CCC.
Anthony CCC method can speed up the application process and the CCC will
dan improve self-regulation as well appointed professionals can reduce the
10. -
Gregory workload of local authorities.
(2004)
Building owner may appoint a third party, Professional Architect or
Professional Engineer to verify or certify the construction work and CCC
11. John (1993) -
basically done by Professional Architect or Professional Engineer is
authentic and admissible
In addition to the Professional Architect or Professional Engineer issuing
Nuala dan
CCC are eligible professional lian do as Quantity Surveyor and Building
12. Gabriel -
Surveyor with a condition of registering with the respective professional
(2008)
organizations.
Bengalaru CCC shall be certified by an architect or engineer or registered Building
Feng Liu et
13. dan Supervisor to enable building owners to enter or occupy the building.
al. (2010)
Mumbai
In addition to Building Inspector (PBT), if a registered architect examine
Patrick the work of building the Building Inspector (PBT) shall receive the CCC
14. Amerika
(1979) issued by them.
Any of the projects involved with government contracts whether local
Sidney authorities, the State or Federal Government to comply with various rules
15. -
(2006) and regulations that apply to ensure that the withdrawal of the CCC by the
Architect to be easier and smoother.
Before CCC released, Project Architect shall ensure that all repair work is
done in accordance with the time period specified and are satisfied with the
16. John (2001) -
repairs done by the contractor to ensure the buildings are delivered in good
condition and can be used.
Triant dan The professional shall monitor and advise contractors involved in
17. Dennis - compliance with local laws covering equipment and building materials
(2009) used.
6. Building Certification In Malaysia
Building certification is one of the branches of the building control where it is a document of certificate issued by the
parties to confirm that a building constructed regardless of whether new, additional buildings or the like have been
eligible to be used or occupied (Izyan 2006). Referring to the provisions of section 70, the Street, Drainage and
Building Act 1974 (Act 133) if a project is to be implemented, it must obtain prior approval from the DO authority of
local authorities.
763
After the DO is obtained, the developer will submit building plans to the local authorities for approval before any
construction work undertaken construction site (Malaysia 2007b). Finally, after all the on-site construction work was
completed in accordance with the conditions of approval and the provisions of the law, then the developer must apply
for a certificate of building certificates from local authorities to enable the purchaser or owner of the building to occupy
the building. The above process is a process of building control that must be adhered to by the parties that want to
execute a construction project to safeguard the interests of the buyer. This to ensure that the buyer not to purchase the
building that is not perfect and does not comply with the rules and regulations
7. Scope of Study
Selection of research area is the state as it is the first developed state in Malaysia recognized (UPEN 2005) and to
evaluate the effectiveness of CCC services method in developed state. All categories of buildings involved in this study
as there was no difference in the processes and procedures involved. CCC's are the same for all building categories.
Forthe selection of respondents represented by the CCC, the PSP as the executor of the CCC and local authority
monitoring as CCC (MHLG 2007e).
8. Method of Study
Research strategy used in this research is in the form of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative methods
(questionnaires) to obtain feedback from respondents, while the qualitative confirmation of the feedback received
through the distribution of questionnaires. Researchers used sampling of respondents because their total population
considered large (Sekaran and Bougie 2010). Besides, the researchers also used the mailing method because it is simple
and appropriate as the number of respondents is large (Sarantakos 1988).
9. Conclusion
Through literature review carried out found that the building certification was important in terms of safety for future
building occupants. A building that has been obtaining certification indicates that the building was fit for use and
occupation. As such, the government in providing the best service besides protecting the interests of the public, the
CCC method was introduced. All parties involved either directly or indirectly should know their role in providing the
best service. This is because if there are those who ignore their responsibilities and building certificates issued without
compliance with approval conditions can have adverse effects on quality and safety of building.
The literature review also showed that foreign countries are also very concerned about certification of every building
constructed. This can be seen when the action is on the PSP that fail to discharge their duties properly, including the
action interesting issue certificates of building licenses granted. There was a significant difference between the
responsibilities of the PSP in the countries that use the PSP (professionals) to issue building certificate. In essence the
responsibility and role of the PSP is to regulate or ensure that a building has complied with all conditions of approval
before they can issue the building certificate.
The PSP also responsible to ensure that the contractor involved in a project to make repairs or corrections if there are
conditions attached to non-compliance. After the repair or correction PSP must once again examine the work that has
been carried out correctly. If the PSP was satisfied with the work, the compliance certificate for the building can then
be issued. In this way the occupier or owner of the building got a quality building as well as their safety is more
assured. However,to maintain the quality of their services, the PSP should always work ethics as a system of
professional practice as well as good work. By keeping the two of these things can keep the PSP's performance in
carrying out their responsibilities.
References
Alison, D. (2011). Construction Project Management: A Complete Introduction. San Francisco. Kirshner Publishing
Company Inc.
Anthony, S. & Gregory, S. (2004). Architect’s Legal Handbook: The Law For Architects. Ed. ke-8. United Kingdom:
Elsevier Ltd.
764
Dave, P. (2009). Building Performance and Occupant Satisfaction Tied to Green Investment in New Report. New York:
PR Newswire.
Dorian, D. (2007). Should Architects Self-Certify Building Plan?. New York: NY Daily News.
Feng, L., Anke, S. M. & John, F. H. (2010). Mainstreaming Building Energy Efficiency Codes In Developing
Countries: Global Experiences And Lessons From Early Adopters. Washington: The World Bank.
India. 2005. National Building Code Of India.
Ireland. 2000. Ireland Building Regulations.
Izyan, F. M. 2006. Kawalan Bangunan Dari Perspektif Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan. Tesis Sarjana Muda. Fal, Senibina,
Perancangan Dan Ukur, Universiti Teknologi Mara.
Jenna, M. (2010). Building Permit Supplemental Instructions for Final Certificate. Bostan: McGraw Hill.
John, G. 2009c. Overview of The Certificate of Occupancy/Completion Process. American Society of Home Inspectors
Reports, year 2009.
John, J. P. (1993). Construction Contract Law. Canada: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
John, R. C. (2001). Architects, Engineers And The Law. Ed. ke-3. Sydney: The Federal Press.
John, W. R. (2000). The Language Of Real Estate. Ed. ke-5. Dearborn: Financial Publishing
Joseph, A. D. (2008). The Architect’s Handbook Of Professional Practice. Ed. ke-14. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons
Inc.
Kale, C. M., Shah, M. G. & Patski, S. Y. (2002). Building Drawing: With An Integrated Approach To Build
Environment. Ed. ke-4. Bostan: Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing.
KPKT. 2007a. Pelaksanaan Kaedah Pengeluaran Perakuan Siap Dan Pematuhan Oleh Para Profesional. Ed. ke-2.
Lisberg, A. (2008). “Building Department To Crack Down On Outlaw Architects”. New York: Daily New.
Malaysia. 2007a. Akta Jalan, Parit Dan Bangunan 1974. (Akta 133).
Malaysia. 2007b. Undang-undang Kecil Bangunan Seragam 1984. (P.W.5178/85).
Malcom, T. 2010. What Is A Certificate Of Occupancy?. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-certification-of-occupancy.htm (6
Januari 2011).
MPSP. 2007. Apakah Yang Dimaksudkan Dengan ‘Perakuan Siap Dan Pematuhan?”, tahun 2007.
NAHB Research Centre. 2008. Project Certification Overview. Washington DC.
Neuman, W. (2006). Brooklyn:Architect Settles Charges. New York: The New York Times.
New Zealand. 2005. Building Officials Guide To The Building Act 2004. Department of Building and Housing.
Nuala, C & Gabriel, B. (2008). Conveyancing (Law Society Of Ireland Manual). Ed. ke-4. United State: Oxford
University Press.
Patrick, W. C. 1979. Research And Innovation In The Building Regulatory Process. Proceedings Of The Third Annual
NBS/NCSBCS Joint Conference Held. hlm. 103-106.
Ralph, W. L. (2008). Construction Of Architecture From Design To Built. Canada: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Richard, E. & McGraw-Hill C. (2009). Building Performance And Occupant Satisfaction Tied To Green Building. New
York: PR Newswire.
Robbins, T. (2005). Too Tall In Park Slope. New York: The Village Voice.
Saleh, M. (2010). Construction project Scheduling And Control. Ed. ke-2. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Sarantakos, S. (1988). Social Research. New York: Palgrave.
Sekaran, U. & Bougie, R. (2010). Research Methods For Business: A Skill Building Approach. Edisi ke-5. New York:
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Sidney, M. L. (2006). Project Management In Construction. Ed. ke-5. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.
Susan, T. (2007). Planning Australia: An Overview Of Urban and Regional Planning. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Triant, G. F. & Dennis, L. (2009). Managing Aviation Projects From Concept To Completion. Farnham Survey:
Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
United State. 2003b. Building Regulations, Market Alternatives And Allodial Policy.
UPEN (2005). Selangor Maju 2005: Konsep Yang Menjadi Realiti.
765
A Study of Vibration Impact from Driven Pile Activity on

Different Distance
A. A. Musira, A.l N.A. Ghanib, N. A. Karimc, N. Tutur d and J. N. Yunuse

a,c,d,e
Faculty Of Civil Engineering, Uitm Pulau Pinang, Pulau Pinang 13500, Malaysia
b
School Of Housing Building And Planning;USM, Pulau Pinang 11800, Malaysia
Abstract
Piles is one of important structure members that function to resist vertical, lateral and uplift load and it is used to support many
major structures such as buildings and bridges. It is known that pile driving activity creates vibrations in the ground and may affect
nearby building and structure. However, the factor of different pile installation distances remain as interesting subjects for studies.
The effect of hammer driven piles installation were studied using laboratory scale model. The main effect was studied in which the
vibration creates by three different distances of driven. The result indicates that the nearest distance of piling activity produced
higher vibration.
Keywords: Pile, Piling Vibration, Building, Diastance, Laboratory Model;
1. Introduction
Piles are structural members of timber, concrete or steel that are used to carry both or single vertical and horizontal
loads into or through a soil stratum. In construction, it is known that pile driving activity creates vibrations in the
ground and may affect nearby building or structure. Usually, piling cause noise, vibration, settlement or heaving close
to the site. The effects are dominated by the energy introduced into the subsoil, the distance from the source and
because of subsoil condition. Settlement quickly occurs in non-cohesive soil. Propagation of vibrations to the
surroundings depends on the weight of the ramming equipment, impact velocity, impact duration, shape of the pile,
surrounding and underlying soil, cross-sectional area of the pile, straightness of the pile and eccentric or oblique strokes.
Piling and sheet piling work on construction sites affects the environment in different ways depending on geological
conditions.
It is expected that vibration level associated with pile driving may vary with distance from the pile driving site. This
is because the resulting wave is of periodic nature which is highly attenuated after short distance and harmonic
frequencies are low vibration level. Ground vibration generated by construction sources consists of transient vibration
and steady state vibration. Transient vibration is the single event or sequence vibrations. Each transient pulse of varying
duration decaying before the next impact occurs. For example air, diesel or steam impact pile drivers by dynamic
compaction of loose sand and granular fills by highway and quarry blast. Abdel-Rahman [1] surveyed and concludes
that the force vibration caused by pile driver, double acting impact hammers operating at high speed and heavy
machineries affect surrounding buildings. It causes or propagates crack and failure.
Energy that is produced by pile driving and spread into the ground travels from the pile to structures within. The
amplitude of this vibration depends on many factors. The energy propagating away from driven pile depends on pile
driver and the pile type itself [2]. Massarsch and Fellenius [3] described three types of ground waves created by pile
driving namely surface wave, spherical wave from the pile toe and cylindrical wave from the pile shaft. The main thrust
of this study is to compare the vibrations impact on different distance from driven pile that affect surrounding building
or structure by means of laboratory model.

Corresponding Author. Tel: 600-000000 Fax: 600-000000
author@com.my
766
Over the years, several researchers ([2], [4], [5], [6] and [7]) have used scale model to carry out experiments related
to piling. In this study, it is expected that relationship of the distance can be established. The empirical relationships can
then be used in the actual operational condition as preliminary strategy to reduce or eliminate pile driving effects on
nearby building or structure.
2. Material /Method
2.1 Container
Laboratory scale model was used to carry out experiments. A suitable sand container was fabricated to be used as a
testing ground. The laboratory testing container was scaled from real construction site with 1:20 scale. This box was
filled with river sand as soil. The size of container is 1.35 meter for the length, 1.0 meter for the width and 0.6 meter
from the depth. Figure 1 show the testing container used in this study. The size of the container is designed to
accommodate dimensional similitude of a model building structure. Similar container size has been used before by
other researchers as described in previous paragraph.
Figure 1: Sand container
2.2 Building/Structural Model
Model of building was built by using stainless steel bar. This model was scaled as 1:20 from 3 storey building and
the height of the model building is 0.9 meter. The width and the length of the building is 0.3 meter. Stainless steel were
cut into pieces and welded to the shape of skeleton building structure. The foundation of this building is raft foundation.
The model of the building is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Building Model

2.3 Pile
Piles used for this study are squared piles with 150mm x 150 mm .The size of pile was scaled down to 7.5mm x
7.5mm and the pile shoe scaled to 20 mm .The assumed length of piles is 6m on site and it was scaled to 300 mm for
the model. There are three piles for the size and will be allocated at different distance.
767
Figure 3: Equivalent 150mm square Pile of 7.5mm x 7.5mm
Figure 4: Pile arrangement at various distances from building
2.3 Pile driving hammer
On site hammer weight considered for this study is 1 ton and it was scale down to the ratio 1:20. The model
hammer weight now becomes 120 gram. The dimension of container is 50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm and filled with sand
to the required weight. Hammer weight will be released at 150 mm height to the top of pile. Vibration at nearby model
building were recorded when the hammer reach the pile. Hammer weight and hammer drop distance are constant
throughout this experiment.
Figure 5: Hammer system
Figure 6: Use of special casing to make sure hammer drop on top of pile.
768
2.4 Testing Procedure
The steps conducting this experiment were explained further as below:
1) Two vibration transducers (accelerometer) were connected to the top and bottom of building and also connected to a
dynamic data-logger as it will record the vibration data in computer.
2) Pile with the size 7.5 mm x 7.5 mm was positioned at point three. Pile was aligned at the centre of building as
measured before. Pile was braced by formwork to make sure pile still standing correctly during driven activity.
3) When pile is ready, the hammer will be aligned with the pile. A casing with 150 mm height was installed to make
sure hammer drop distance is constant and the hammer will be drop just over the pile. It also to make sure there is no
disturbance from others such as wind or any movement.
4) The vibration data will be recorded for every 10 mm penetration of pile to the sand.
5) Formwork was divided into parts. After 50 mm penetration, part of formwork will be dismantling to hammer pile
again.
6) The process will be continued until pile penetrated up to 250 mm. The steps will be repeated to the other pile for
point 2 and point 1.
Laboratory testing model result is based on vibrations occurs during pile driving. This result involves the analysis
and discussion of comparison of vibration impact on nearby building based on three different distances which are 900
mm, 600 mm and 300 mm from the building. The scale used is 1:20 and it means the real distance from buildings is
18 m, 12 m and 6 m on site.
3.1 Effect based on driving for the 300mm,600mm and 900mm distance.
Figure 7: The vibration against penetration on top of building for different distance (7.5 mm x 7.5 mm)
Figure 7 shows the vibrations produced by pile activity at different location. These vibrations were measured on
top of nearby building. From the graph, it shows there were some superposition of vibrations produced by driven pile
activity between point 1 and point 2. It also shows the nearest distance produced highest vibration to the building.
769
Figure 8: The vibration against penetration on bottom of building for different distance (7.5 mm x 7.5 mm)
Figure 8: shows the value of vibrations at the bottom is higher than on top of building. It state that the nearest
distance which is 300 mm produced higher vibrations followed by in the 600 mm and 900 mm. The highest value is at
point 3. The value of recorded is 5656.212 mV/g at 23 cm depth of soil. In general, driven pile produced higher
vibration at early penetrations. It was decreasing in the middle and increased again toward end of penetrations.
Table 2 (a): The comparison on the effect based on of 7.5 x 7.5 mm piles (vibration level in mV/g)
7.5 x 7.5 POINT 1 POINT 2 POINT 3
Top 1810 1560 4394
Bottom 2037 3119 5656
Table 2 clearly indicates that the vibration level from various pile sizes increases as it moves closer to the model
building. The risk of driving piles next to a building may vary according to the types of structure and method of piling
but in general vibration will be higher nearer to the building. BS 5228 [10] states that one of the factor affecting
vibration level at a distance due to piling is distance between source and receiver. The closer the source the higher
vibrations occurred.
4. Conclusion
It is known that pile driving activities creates vibrations in the ground. Those vibrations may affect the nearby
structures or disturbed people in the neighbourhood of pile driving activity. In this study, the result naturally shows that
the nearer distance cause higher vibrations compared to the one further from the building. British Standard (BS 5228)
(1992) states that one of the factor affecting vibration level at a distance due to piling is distance between source and
receiver. The closer the source the higher vibrations occurred.
In general, driven pile produced higher vibration at early penetrations. It was decreasing in the middle and increased
again toward end of penetrations. This is because the ground vibrations is higher towards deeper penetration. It
probably pile penetrated an intermediate hard layer. The vibration even stronger than the case when pile penetrated the
basement hard layer towards the end of piling. This is because the source was closer to the surface [8].
Besides the factor of distance, there are other factors contributed the effect of driven pile to existing building such
as type and condition of soil, location of water table, hammer weight and type and adopted driving practice [8].
Further study is required to identify a matrix of pile type, sizes and suitable distance for use in practical selection of pile
size in works associated with pile installation near existing building or structure.
References
Abdel-Rahman, S.M (2002), “Vibration associated with pile driving and its effects on nearby historical structure”. In:
Proceedings-Spie the International Society for Optical Engineering, 2002, USA. 1251-1258
Woods, R. C. and Sharma V. M. (2004), “Dynamic Effect of Pile Installation on Adjacent Structures”, A. A. Balkema,
India.
Massarsch, K.R. and Fellenius, B.H. (2008). “Ground Vibrations Induced by Impact Pile Driving.”, In Proceedings of
6th International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 2008. VA USA.
770
Dowding, C.H. (1996) Construction Vibrations, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall

Pak, R. Y. S. and Guzina, B. B. (1995), Dynamic Characterization of Vertically Loaded Foundation on Granular Soils,
J. Geotech. Engrg., 121(3),274-286.
Ali, H., J. Castellanos, Hart, D. and B. Nukunya (2003), Real Time Measurement of the Impact of Pile Driving
Vibrations on Adjacent Property during Construction, TRB Annual Meeting.
Teh, M. (2010), Flac 2D Analysis of a Single Pile under Lateral Loading, Unpublished Master Thesis, UiTM.
Selamat, M. R., Ramli, N. A. and Abdul Aziz, H. M. (2004), “Pile Driving Tests for Mitigating Structural Damage due
to Ground Vibrations”, Proceeding 3rd National Conference in Civil Engineering, Copthorne Orchid, Tanjung Bungah,
Malaysia.
Huybrechts, N., Legrand, C. and Holeyman, A. (2002), “Drivability Prediction of Vibrated Steel Pile”, International
Conference on Vibratory Pile Driving and Deep Soil Compaction, Swets & Zeitlinger, Lisse
British Standard BS 5228-4 (1992), Noise Control on Construction and Open Sites-Part 4: Code of Practice for Noise
and Vibration Control Applicable to Piling Operations.
771
A Comparison of The Green Building’s Criteria

A. Y. Bahaudina, E. M. Eliasb, A. M. Saifudinc
a, b, c
School of Technology Management & Logistics, College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, MALAYSIA
Abstract
Designers and clients alike are now emphasising on how to make their buildings green. Currently a lot of green councils worldwide
are dealing with innovative ways to implement energy efficient new buildings. They have adopted various criteria and rating systems
in an endeavour to classify buildings that contribute to environment sustainability, efficiency and users health. The aim of the paper
is to present an overview of the criteria adopted by selected green building councils. This paper discusses five of the rating systems
available in terms of their similarities and differences and proposes a new framework based on the project life cycle for the
development of the green building criteria. Criteria during the construction phase of the building is certainly lacking such as
pollution control in terms of CO2 emission, dust, and other pollutants.
Keywords: criteria, framework, green building, project life cycle, rating system
1. Introduction
Business organizations, governments and people around the globe have been implementing approaches to make our
planet as ‘green living’. They have replanted thousands of trees, control greenhouse gases, earth hour campaigns, and
innovation adoption via hybrid cars, reuse materials, wind and solar energy exploitation. The broad definition of
green living is any of human actions or activities that results in a positive impact, to any amount, on the
environment and the Earth which can reduce their endurance to support future generations. The goal of green
living is to preserve and improve the health of human being as well as the ‘Earth’ from the harmful
environmental pollutants and emissions. People are now talking of how to make their buildings green. They want to
have a place like a house or work in the building which has less negative impact to environment such as CO 2 emissions
and pollution. That is because buildings have a significant and continuously increasing the impact to the environment
through CO2 releases (Montoya, 2010). They also created the most waste, use most of non-energy related resources,
and as a source of major pollutions (sound, air and water). In the UK for example, in 2010, a survey have concluded
that buildings contributed to about 50% of UK’s CO2 emissions and another 7% due to new building construction
(NBS, 2011). In addition, about 10% of the global economy involves the construction and operations of buildings
which are using 17% to 50% of the world’s natural resources that can cause the most extensive environmental damage
(US Dept. of Energy, 2003). Hence, buildings and building construction are not only damaging to the environment but
to the people who live inside as well. For example, the building interiors subject the owners to indoor air quality
environments that affect people’s health, safety, welfare, and performance.
The selection of building materials also plays an important role for a more sustainable building. It is suggested that
if buildings are made from timber for example, it will reduce almost 50% of CO2 emissions (Thomark, 2007). Thus, it
becomes one of the important criteria for developing an efficient building where materials that easily contribute to CO 2
emission can be controlled. Currently, most green councils worldwide deal with innovative ways of creating energy
efficient new buildings also known as green buildings. Green building is a set of practising human activities to increase
the efficiency in which the buildings use and harvest energy, water, and materials. The goal is to reduce the building’s
(and its operations) impacts on human health and conditions as well as the environment, through a better positioning,
design, construction, operation, maintenance, and the complete building life cycle. Generally, all green buildings are
designed to save energy and resources, to use the right materials (economical, recycled, strong, etc.) and to minimize
the emission of toxic substances throughout its life cycle. A green building can also reduce the undesirable human
impacts on the natural surroundings, building materials, building assets, and enhances human health and the natural
environment (Okhovat et al., 2009). All these can be achieved through several important stages;
 Resourcefully using energy - solar, electricity, water, lights, and other resources,
 Shielding inhabitant fitness,
 Improving workers’ productivity, and

Corresponding Author. Tel: 604-928 7170 Fax: 604-928 6860
b.yusni@uum.edu.my
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 Managing waste, pollution and environmental degradation.
1.1 Methodology
In general, the data collections for the study were through qualitative approaches where logical analysis and face-to-
face interviews (semi-structured) were carried out. Online journals, websites and articles were gathered on related
issues relevant to the study’s objective and became the initial method to collect data. The priority is to focus on the five
countries that implement the green building rating systems for non-residential new construction namely Malaysia,
Singapore, USA, Indonesia and South Korea. These rating systems were analysed based on their criteria in terms of
similarities and differences. Face-to-face interviews were also conducted on three respondents from three different
organizations; the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Malaysia (KeTTHA), the Malaysian Green
Building Index (GBI), and the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS). This paper is aimed to widen the
criteria for the green rating tools to the life cycle of the building by proposing new criteria. From the analysis, this
study will propose new criteria in addition to the current available criteria for green buildings. At present, there is no
common standard set of criteria for the rating of green buildings where each country has their own rating systems, even
Malaysia has more than one rating tools developed by various organisations. Moreover, the criteria developed are
mostly applicable to the current building in operation and not taking into account the planning, design and construction
phases for criteria development.
This paper is organized as follows; the initial sections consist of the introduction to green buildings, the definition,
aims and the methodology. Later sections discussed about the green building’s definition and the rating systems from
five countries. The findings section will analyse the similarities and differences of the green building rating systems
and the conclusions proposed a new framework consisting of new criteria.
This section presents the definition of green building and investigates green building criteria as adopted by major
green building councils.
2.1 Definitions
The US Green Building Council (2003) defines ‘Green Building’ as: “To significantly reduce or eliminate the
negative impact of buildings on the environment and on the building occupants. Green building design and construction
practices address: sustainable site planning, safeguarding water and water efficiency, energy efficiency, conservation of
materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality”. Other definition is proposed by GBI (Malaysia) which
states “A Green building focuses on increasing the efficiency of resource use – energy, water, and materials – while
reducing building impact on human health and the environment during the building’s lifecycle, through better sitting,
design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal. Green Buildings should be designed and operated to reduce
the overall impact of the built environment on its surroundings.”
By improving on the efficiency of active systems through mechanical and electrical equipment plus with a proper
sustainable maintenance administration, significant reductions in consumed energy can be realized. Examples are
mechanical ventilation for roofs and windows for fresh air intake and stale air expulsion; electrical usage can be
reduced by selecting efficient appliances and lamps; incorporating day-lighting strategies that reduce the need artificial
light such as photovoltaic components, automatic electricity cut-off systems and wind generator.. This can lead to
reduced CO2 emissions and increase long-term savings for the building owners.
2.2 Green Building Councils – The criteria and rating systems
World Green Building Council (WGBC) is an alliance of 80 national Green Building Councils worldwide and serve
as the largest international organizations that influence the green buildings marketplace. The mission is to facilitate
worldwide nations to transform building construction from the conventional practices into a more sustainable and green
approach through market driven mechanisms. Two of the important global issues that they have addressed are related to
the climate change and CO2 emissions. In addition, a WGBC function is to support the adoption of market-based green
building through some criteria and rating systems. Some of the established criteria and rating systems around the world
are: (i) LEED (US), (ii) Green Star (Australia and New Zealand), (iii) GBI (Malaysia), (iv) Green Mark (Singapore),
(v) KGBCC (South Korea), (vi) CASBEE (Japan), and (vii) Green Ship (Indonesia). However this study will focus
only on GBI, Green Mark, KGBCC, Greenship and LEED.
2.2.1 GBI (Green Building Index)
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The GBI is officially launched on August 2008 by PAM (the Association of Architects, Malaysia) and exclusively
designed for tropical climate (hot and humid condition). The GBI Non-Residential Rating tool evaluates the sustainable
aspects of buildings that are commercial, institutional and industrial in nature. This includes factories, offices, hospitals,
universities, colleges, hotels and shopping complexes. In the GBI rating (see Table 1), more focus is placed on energy
efficiency (35 points) and indoor environmental quality (21 points) as these have the greatest impact in the areas of
energy use and well-being of the residents and users of the building. GBI looks into six main criteria as follows;
 Energy Efficiency,
 Indoor Environment Quality,
 Sustainable Site Planning & Management ,
 Materials & Resources,
 Water Efficiency, and
 Innovation.
The total points for all criteria is 100 and to achieve the points, building company will comply with necessary
possessions so that the building will likely be more green environment-friendly. In addition, under the GBI assessment
framework, some points will also be granted for achieving and integrating environment-friendly features which are
above current industry practice. Based on scoring, the building will be awarded Platinum, Gold, Silver or GBI
Certified. Table 1 illustrates the scores and ratings for GBI.
Table 1: GBI Scoring and Rating Award For
Non Residential-New Construction Building
Criteria Scoring Total Score Rating Award

Energy Efficiency 35 86 and above GBI Platinum
Indoor Environmental Quality 21 76 to 85 Gold
Sustainable Site Planning & 16 66 to 75 Silver
Management
Material and Resources 11 50 to 65 Certified
Water Efficiency 10
Innovation 7
Total 100
2.2.2 Green Mark
The Green Mark is introduced in January 2005 by Singapore’s Building Construction Authority. The objective is to
establish the construction industry towards producing a more environment-friendly building. It is also to promote
sustainability in the built environment and increase environmental responsiveness among developers, designers and
builders. Among the benefits of Green Mark include:
 Facilitate reduction in water and energy bills,

 Reduce potential environmental impact,
 Improve indoor environmental quality for a healthy and productive workplace, and
 Provide clear direction for continual improvement.
Green Mark is a green building rating system which evaluates a building for its environmental impact and
performance. It provides a comprehensive framework for assessing the overall environmental performance of new and
existing buildings. Under the assessment framework for new buildings, developers and design teams are encouraged to
design and construct green, sustainable buildings which can promote energy savings, water savings, and healthier
indoor environments. As for existing buildings, the building owners and operators are encouraged to meet their
sustainable operations goals and to reduce adverse impacts of their buildings on the environment and occupant health
over the entire building life cycle. The assessment criteria cover the five key areas:
 Energy Efficiency,
 Water Efficiency,
 Environmental Protection,
 Indoor Environmental Quality, and
 Other Green Features and Innovation.
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The assessment identifies the specific energy efficient and environment-friendly features and practices incorporated
in the projects. Points are awarded for incorporating environment-friendly features which are better than normal
practice. The total number of points (190) obtained will provide an indication of the environmental friendliness of the
building design and operations. Depending on the overall assessment and point scoring, the building will be certified to
have met the Green Mark Platinum, GoldPlus, Gold or Certified rating (see Table 2).
Table 2: Green Mark Scoring and Rating Award For

Energy Efficiency 116 90 and above Green Mark Platinum
Water Efficiency 17 85 to 90 GoldPlus
Environmental Protection 42 75 to 85 Gold
Indoor Environmental Quality 8 50 to 75 Certified
Green Features and Innovation 7
Total 190
2.2.3 Green Ship
Participation of Indonesia in implementing green building principles was mainly through public and private sectors,
associations and academic institutions. Indonesia by practice focuses on both newly-built and old buildings. The
application of green building principles that been carried out have reflected some sort of benefits towards lower
operating, lower energy and less waste. Basically through Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI) having objectives
in promoting the implementation of green building principles for all building sectors in their country, and one of the
efforts is by developing a rating system “Greenship” kind of certification for buildings to achieve a green standard. The
Greenship has been launched in 17th June 2010 and it is one of the kinds rating to establish and used to benchmark the
environmental capability or performance of different buildings. The assessment criteria cover the six key areas:
1. Appropriate Site Development,

2. Energy Efficiency and Conservation,
3. Water Conservation,
4. Material Resource and Cycle,
5. Indoor Health and Comfort, and
6. Building Environment Management.
Table 3: Greenship Scoring and Rating Award For


Energy Efficiency and Conservation 26 80 and above Greenship Platinum
Water Conservation 21 60 to 79 Gold
Appropriate Site Development 17 50 to 59 Silver
Material Resource and Cycle 14 40 to 49 Certified
Indoor Health and Comfort 10
Building Environmental Management 13
Total 101
The total rating for the Greenship is 101 and most important criteria are energy efficiency and conservation which
carry 26 points. Thus the building will be awarded Platinum, Gold, Silver or Certified depending on total points from
those six criteria (see Table 3).
2.2.4 KGBCC
The first initiative of green building systems for office and residential buildings in South Korea had begun between
years 1997 to 2000. Then in 2001, the system has enhanced into Green Building Certification Criteria (GBCC) by
Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) which based on green building tool. Now, the KGBCC has extended its
areas to include the semi-residential buildings, office buildings (public and private), commercial buildings and re-
modelled buildings. One of the main reasons why South Korea is highlighting on green buildings is because the
country has the lowest rate of energy efficiency consumption. They had 0.351 per US$1 as compared to Japan (0.106)
and UK (0.152) (see Figure 1). Currently, KGBCC focuses on four main criteria (see also Table 4):
 Land Use and Commuter Transportation,
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 Energy Resources Consumption and Environmental Loads,

 Ecological Environment, and
 Indoor Environment Quality.
Fig 1: Comparison of Energy Efficiency
Table 4: KGBCC Scoring and Rating Award For


Land Use & Commuter Land Use 7 85 and above KGBCC Best
Transportation Transportation 5 65 to 84 Excellent
Energy Resources Energy 23
Consumption & Material Resources 21
Environmental Loads Water Resources 14
Environmental Pollution 6
Loads
Management 10
Ecological Environment Ecological Environment 19
Indoor Environmental Indoor Environmental 31
Quality Quality
Total 136
All the criteria have been established for numerous types of buildings either for Non Residential New Building and
Residential New Building. Two most important factors for the KGBCC are Energy Resources Consumption and
Environmental Loads (74 points) and Indoor Environmental Quality (31 points). The total points for all criteria is 136
points and only two rating awards offered; 85 points above will be awarded KGBCC Best and between 65 to 84 points
can be credited as Excellent.
2.2.5 LEED Green Building Rating System
LEED is a highly quantified and systematic approach to buildings of all types. Because it has accomplished so
much and been so broadly accepted, LEED is becoming the standard by which many green buildings are measured.
LEED quantifies a building's performance in the following major categories as shown in Table 5. LEED operates
through the U.S. Green Building Council and takes a much broader "triple bottom line" approach considering people,
planet and profit, not just energy use. The triple bottom line factors in the economic, environmental and social issues
present throughout the entire building process from concept, design, development and future operation.
Table 5: LEED Scoring and Rating Award For

New Construction Building & Major Renovations
Criteria Scoring
Energy & Atmosphere 17
Water Efficiency 5
Sustainable Sites & Transportation 14
Indoor Environment Quality 15
Material & Resources 13
Innovation & Design Process 5
Total 69
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3.0 Findings
The results of this study can be summarised in Table 6 and Table 7 which shows the percentage utilisation of the
green building criteria by various councils and a comparison of the green building criteria respectively. It is clear from
Table 1 that Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency and Indoor Environment Quality are the most vital elements (as they
are being referred to by all the councils) to be considered in the green building criteria development by the councils
under consideration, followed by Site Planning & Management, Materials & Resources, Environmental Protection and
Innovation. Energy Efficiency encompasses design and performance, commissioning, monitoring, improvement &
maintenance with a 38% maximum score for GBI, 61% for Green Mark, 26% for Greenship, 17% for KGBCC and
25% for LEED. Water Efficiency includes water harvesting and recycling with a 12% maximum score for GBI, 9% for
Green Mark, 21% for Greenship, 10% for KGBCC and 7% for LEED. Indoor Environment Quality takes into account
air quality, thermal, lighting, visual and acoustic comfort, and verification with a 21% maximum score for GBI, 4% for
Green Mark, 10% for Greenship, 23% for KGBCC and 22% for LEED. Materials & Resources include reused, recycled
and sustainable materials and resources.
This criterion also takes into account waste management and green products. GBI allocated a 9% score for these
criteria with Greenship’s score of 14%, KGBCC’s score of 4% and LEED’s 19%. Site Planning & Management criteria
encompass facility management, transportation and the reduction of the heat island effect. GBI allocated a 10% score
for these criteria with Greenship’s, KGBCC’s and LEED’s score of 17%, 7% and 10% respectively. These two criteria
however are not applicable for Green Mark’s assessment for green buildings. The distribution of scores for other
criteria by the councils under study is illustrated in Table 7. It can be seen (from Table 7) that energy efficiency is the
most influential criteria (36.4%) followed by indoor environment quality (14.3%) whilst transport and land use are the
least influential (with only 2% and 1% utilisation respectively) criteria for the assessment of green buildings as
allocated by the councils under study.
Table 6: Percentage Utilisation of the Green Building Criteria
Criteria
Energy Water Indoor Site Planning & Innovation Materials & Environmental
Efficiency Efficiency Environment Management Resources Protection
Quality
100% 100% 100% 80% 60% 80% 60%
Criteria
Transport Land Use Ecological
Environment
20% 20% 20%
Table 7: A Comparison of the Green Building Criteria by Various Green Building Councils
Criteria GBI Green Mark Green Ship KGBCC LEED Total

Energy Efficiency √ (38) √ (61) √ (26) √ (17) √ (25) 36.4%
Water Efficiency √ (12) √ (9) √ (21) √ (10) √ (7) 11.2%
Indoor Environment Quality √ (21) √ (4) √ (10) √ (23) √ (22) 14.3%
Site Planning & Management √ (10) √ (17) √ (7) √ (10) 8.4%
Innovation √ (10) √ (4) √ (7) 3.2%
Materials & Resources √ (9) √ (14) √ (15) √ (19) 9.9%
Environmental Protection √ (22) √ (13) √ (4) 10.2%
Transport √ (4) √ (10) 2.0%
Land Use √ (5) 1.2%
Ecological Environment √ (14) 3.2%
Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Note: Numbers in brackets are percentages.
GBI and LEED developed six (6) criteria that are similar but differ in emphasis (scores or points). GBI places more
emphasis on Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency and Innovation whereas LEED places more emphasis on Site
Planning & Management, and Materials & Resources. Both GBI and LEED placed equal emphasis on Indoor
Environment Quality. Green Mark opted out Materials & Resources and Site Planning & Management criteria (as
noted previously) but included Environmental Protection (22%) which is only second in emphasis to Energy Efficiency
(61%). Environmental Protection is also included in the Greenship and KGBCC assessment for green buildings but
Innovation is not applicable. KGBCC introduces other criteria such as Transport, Land Use and Ecological
Environment which are not considered by other councils in this study.
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4.0 Discussions and Conclusions
The various criteria discussed for the assessment of green buildings however are mainly focussed on the actual
completed building (operations and maintenance phase). No doubt these criteria are of greatest importance to the
current building but consideration must also be given to the planning, design and construction phases that the building
has gone through. In other words, the assessment should also take into account whether the building has been subjected
to green planning, design and construction or whether the building has gone through a green project life cycle. If
criteria are to be developed for the planning, design and construction phases, the operation and maintenance phase of a
building, however, will still carry the most weightage towards the assessment for a green building. Figure 2 shows the
life cycle of a building and its impact on the environment. The construction phase will no doubt contribute the highest
intensity of impacts to the environment, and this should be taken into account and also into the assessment of green
buildings.
From the discussion of the rating tools and criteria in Section 2.0, the only criterion that has relevance to the pre-
operational stage of a building is Materials and Resources where emphasis is on recycled, reused sustainable materials
and green products during the construction phase. Sustainable purchasing policy and the storage and disposal of
materials are also part of the criteria which is mostly adopted by the councils under study. However the authors feel that
more criteria should be developed for the planning, design and construction stages of a building life cycle in the
assessment for green buildings. Criteria during the construction phase of the building, for example, is certainly lacking
such as pollution control in terms of CO2 and CO emissions, wastage, dust and other pollutants. The equipments, plant
and machineries that were employed during the construction phase of a building project will definitely contribute to the
pollution of the environment during that particular period of time. A method of construction that favours the reduction
of pollution (air and noise) to the environment will definitely make a building more sustainable for example a bored-
pile construction method as opposed to a driven- pile one. Hence the method of construction should be a criterion in the
rating system. The same goes to the machineries utilised during construction, whether they are subjected to adequate
maintenance procedures or not.. Value engineering can also contribute towards a more sustainable building and by
incorporating a criterion for value engineering in the planning and design phases the negative effects to the
environment can be minimised and controlled. Building aesthetics is secondary but effects to the environment, wastage
and disposal of wastes (during the entire life cycle of the building) are important criteria that are vital for a building to
be classified as sustainable. Excessive wastage of materials will result in increased pollution Therefore it is necessary to
include a criterion to measure wastage during construction. Figure 3 shows a framework based on the project life cycle
where criteria are developed.
Fig 2: Environmental Impact Intensity & Criteria Development during the Project Life Cycle.
All respondents interviewed agreed for clients to acquire green building accreditations for their buildings. And this
is even more relevant before construction and during the early stages of the project life cycle, but costs seemed to be
the main barrier to its implementation. Furthermore there are a number of other green building rating tools recently
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developed by organisations in Malaysia such as Green Pass (by the Construction Industry Development Board, CIDB) ,
Green Re (by the Real Estate Housing Development Authority, REHDA), Penarafan Hijau (Green Ranking by the
Public Works Department, JKR) besides GBI. Therefore the awareness in the concept of sustainability in buildings in
Malaysia is increasing and some of these organisations are willing to have discussions for the possibility of integrating
some of these rating tools.
Fig 3: Criteria Development: The Green Building Criteria Framework
References
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a LEED-based green buildings ratings system in Columbia. Journal of Building and Environment. Vol. 4, pp. 1162-
1170.
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building.co.uk/environmental_impact.html. (Accessed 23 November 2011)
Thomark, C. (2007). Energy and resources, materials choice and recycling potential in low energy buildings.
Proceedings of Portugal SB07, sustainable construction, materials and practices. IOS Press, pp. 759-766
Tony Arnel (2011). Green Buildings. Available at: http://www.greenbuildingindex.org/why-green-buildings.html, (Accessed 25
November 2011).
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2011).
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November 2011, 13.14pm
Okhovat, H., Amirkhani, A., and Pourjafar, M.R. (2009). Investigating the psychological effects of sustainable
buildings on human life. Journal of Sustainable Development. Vol. 2, No. 3, pg. 57-63
Roodman, D.M. and Lenssen, N. (1995). A building revolution: How ecology and health concerns are transforming
construction. WorldWatch Paper, no. 124, pg. 5. World watch Institute, Washington DC.
Preston (2009). New AES Wind Jet 5 Small Wind Turbine Installed In Kansas City. Available at:
http://www.jetsongreen.com/2009/11/aes-windjet-5-vawt-small-wind.html (Accessed 30 Nov 2011)
US Green Building Council (2003) The Impact of LEED TM 2.1 On Wood Markets. Available at:
http://www.awc.org/pdf/TheImpactofLEED.pdf (Accessed 23 March 2012)
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Identification of Factors that Affect Affordable Housing

Performance Measurement
A.M.J.Esruq-Labina*, A.I.Che-Ania, N.M. Tawila, A.R. Musaa, M.A.Othuman Mydinb
a
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Malaysia
b
Abstract
A home is one of the basic human needs, thus a new concept known as Grow Home has risen. This concept was established to
encourage more families to buy their own houses. The Grow Home concept is based on the notion of affordable housing. This paper
aims to explore a proposal for affordable housing measurement with six assessment components. In other words, this work intends to
study factors that can affect affordable housing assessment. In this paper, we investigated the 20 criteria for affordable
housingassessment given by Mulliner and Maliene in their study. Then, we rearranged these criteria into five components, and added
the Grow Home component. Each component has different criteria.Finally, six affordable housing measurement components are
identified, namely, income ratios, loans and accommodations, facilities and services, safety and comfort, quality management, and
Grow Home. These components are also considered as main factors that directly affect affordable housing. This study aspires to
contribute to existing literature by proposing six assessment components as a measurement of affordable housing.
Keywords: housing, affordable housing, Grow Home, evolving home, performance criteria
1. Introduction and Background
A house is one of the basic human needs; most daily life practices of people occur at home.Kelletta&Mooreb (2003)
defined four dimensions of a home. The first is social dimension which involves social interactions among family
members and people outside the family. The second is activity pattern dimension which is significant in the process of
producing local space or the development of a home (Case, 1996). The third is material dimension which refers to the
physical location of theresidence. A residence itself and the material objects inside it can have value for their practical
uses or as emotionally attached items (Mallett, 2004). Finally, the role of time is important in understandingand
explaining meanings attached to a residence (Mallett, 2004;Taylor, 2003). To satisfy the humanneed for a home,a
diverse range of concepts has risen to make houses more affordable to families and individuals; and one such concept is
Grow Home.
Grow Home aims to build houses for sale which can be afforded by low-income families. According to Friedman
&Cammalleri (1994),Grow Home is a slim façade, three-storey townhouse that is 4.3 meter wide,with an area of
approximately 92.9 square meters. A buyer purchases a Grow Home with a finished first floor and specifies its layout
in advanced.A Grow Home contains a kitchen, a bathroom, and a living area. One or more upper floors are left
unfinished and bare at the time of purchase. Afterwards, as space requirement of the homeowner increases and his/her
financial circumstance improves, the owner can finish construction of the upper floor/s (Friedman &Cammalleri,
1994).Given that the main goal of Grow Home is to make houses more affordable for families, the following section
explains the meaning of Affordable housing.
Corresponding Author. Tel: 600-000000 Fax: 600-000000

author@com.my
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2. What is Affordable Housing?
Affordable housing is a concept which is used to explain socioeconomic anddevelopment environments, and which
aims to confirm if housing provided for families can be afforded byeach income-earner cluster, that is, low, middle, or
high income-earner cluster.Aside from its relationship to different aspects of residences and localities through
infrastructure and community facilities, affordable housing is also related to the ability of a family to pay for their
house(Tawil et al. 2011).
According to Yang&Shen (2008), affordable housing is a feature of housing facilities which is related tocustomer
ability and the desire to own or buy houses. Furthermore, the aforementioned authors defined affordable housing as a
connection between housing and people. Affordable housing reflects spending to purchase a house, which is achoice
made by a family between housing and non-housing-related spending.
The concept of affordability has three perspectives, namely, repayment, purchase, and income affordability (Gan&
Hill,2009). Differences among these perspectives are shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Discrimination among affordability perspectives
Perspective Discrimination
Repayment affordability Studies burden imposed on a household with regard to repaying mortgage
Purchase affordability Studies whether a household is capable of borrowing enough funds to purchase a
house
Income affordability Measures ratio of house prices to income
Affordable housing is measured for different purposes, such as to describe housing of a typical family, analyze trends,
compare different household types, administrate rules defining individuals who can access housing subsidies, as well as
for definition, prediction, and selection (Hulchanski, 1995).
Mulliner&Maliene (2012)listed 20 criteria with which affordable housing can be assessed comprehensively and
sustainably. These criteria were validated by professionals from the United Kingdom. However, in the present study,
we developed a proposal to divide these 20 criteria into five affordable housing measurement components, which are
explained in the discussion section of this paper.
3. Methodology
Secondary data on affordable housing measurements were collected from literature review. Affordable housing and
Grow Home were defined through critical review of literature. This paper is based on the 20 criteria for affordable
housing assessment provided by Mulliner and Maliene. We rearranged these criteria that indirectly affect affordable
housing by examining each of their functions. Subsequently, we adopted the study of Friedman &Cammalleri (1994)
and considered Grow Home as aaffordable housing assessment component.
4. Discussion
As stated earlier, this paper is basedmainly on the 20 criteria for affordable housing measurement provided by Mulliner
and Maliene, in addition to the 5 criteria of Grow Home given by Friedman and Cammalleri. We summarized the 25
criteria and proposed six affordable housing measurement components, namely, income ratios, loans and
accommodations, facilities and services, safety and comfort, quality management, and Grow Home. These components
directly affect affordable housing, whereas the 25 criteria have a direct relationship with the six assessment
components, and affect affordable housing indirectly.
4.1. Income ratios

The component income ratios involve house price in relation to income, and rental cost in relation to income. Various
studies discussed the income ratio component. For example, affordable housing is definedas a ratio of property value
over the yearly gross income of an individual, with a ratio of 2.5 as the yardstick. In reality, this ratio does not only
differ greatly among cities but also among professions; income affordability mainly uses price-income Ratio (PIR) asa
measurement. The Final Report published by The Chinese Academy of SocialSciences Institute of Finance and Trade
Economics and The Institute of PublicAdministration (1996) explainedthat ratios ranging from 2:1 to 7:1 are
appropriate, whereas Yuan(1998) argued that a ratio between 2:1 and 6:1, depending on the concerned city and
location, asappropriate (Mak et al. 2007).
4.2. Loans and accommodations

The component loans and accommodations contain interest rates and mortgage availability, availability of rented
accommodation (private and social), availability of low-cost home ownership products, and market-value home
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ownership products. Lau & Li (2006) stated that a certain degree of non-housing consumption exists, such as for food,
clothing, entertainment, transportation, loan repayment for automobiles and personal loans, and so on.
The government should design a proposal for people to live in a place of their preference; however, such proposal is not
favoured by the government. The designation of strategic market areas, which are often sub-regional in scale, requires
that the problem of little affordability should be addressed (by opening land for growth or by providing bonus social
housing) through a useful market. Considering that travel time from employment areas to housing search areas is
adequate, responding to increasing prices in a village by providing more housing areas in a nearby town is reasonable
(Gallent & Robinson, 2011)
4.3. Facilities and services

The component facilities and services include access to employment opportunities, public transport services, quality
education (i.e., schools), shopping facilities, health services, early childhood care services, leisure facilities, and open
green public spaces.
According to the Center for Transit-Oriented Development and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (2006)
relationships between housing and location provide a more meaningful measure of affordability. These organizations
assessed affordability by investigating cost of housing, and location efficiency by measuring transportation prices
related to the place. Current planning and housing policies focus on improving houses with facilities through more
extensive functional areas to strengthen aforementioned patterns (Hoggart& Henderson, 2005). Aside from possible
dislocation between homes and jobs, the worsening condition of social systems will also have a considerable impact on
inhabitants and communities. Moreover, developments often do not respect life cycle of societies, thus damaging
relationships between the young and the old, and among family members (Kasarda & Janowitz, 1974).
4.4. Safety and comfort

The component safety and comfort include safety of a community, incidence of crime, and presence of environmental
problems. Yates & Milligan (2007) noted that a decrease in affordability consequently affects households, such as
polarization of cities and social cohesion, workforce market productivity, and economic performance, along with
environmental concerns. Environment can be classified into four types, namely, physical, social-cultural,
psychological, and physiological.
One of the needs of an individual or a family is safety. This need affects housing design; in several countries, a large
amount of funds are spent for security purposes. Gallent& Robinson (2011) and Barton et al. (2003) suggested that
affordability affects social organization of areas as well as safety at different spatial scales, depending on how it is
measured. Easy-to-explain safety results may lead to social consequences that are difficult to justify for governments
which aims to deliver social equity within socially stable communities.
4.5. Quality management

The component quality management involves quality of housing, energy efficiency of housing, waste management, and
deprivation in the area. Quality management is related to conditions of the surrounding, such as population density,
light, air, energy, waste, and other houses conditions associated with housing. Quality management is influenced by
different variables such as engineering practices, social environment, and behavior of the residents. Furthermore,
quality management respects the relationship between the function of a place and human needs (Gallent& Robinson,
2011).
4.6. Grow Home

The component Grow Home includes land properties such as size, location and price, number of workers needed to
build the house, Grow Home options, unfinished levels, and family type. Grow Home becomes affordable in several
ways; for example, by reducing costs of land when Grow Home units are built on small lotsor by reducing per unit hard
infrastructure costs by up to 60% when a small lot size and high area density are used, compared with single houses on
regular lots. Furthermore, a small building area decreases the number of workers needed to construct a house.
Different options are available to homeowners in customizing their Grow Home unit, thus allowing them to make
trade-offs between amenities and their budget. However, each unfinished floor in a Grow Home unit decreases building
prices. Finally, a Grow Home unit has one-third the area of exterior walls and one-half the roof area of a conventional
detached house; consequently, 40% of heating price is reduced in a Grow Home unit compared with a conventional
detached house (Friedman &Cammalleri, 1994).
The price of a Grow Home unit depends on its location and size, whereas the size depends on the household type, that
is, whether the household is composed of a young couple with or without children, a single parent, or a single
individual.
Grow Home units are affordable to very low-income households, considering that monthly payments can be less
than the rent that a household will pay, whether in urban or suburban areas. The dense mass of a Grow Home unit
makes it ideal for infill and small lot applications; moreover, it can also be built as a stand-alone house in new
subdivisions (Friedman &Cammalleri, 1994).
782
Table 2 summarizes participation of the researchers in affordable housing measurement components and the Grow
Home component, which are collected from related literature.
Table 2 Affordable housing measurementcomponents.
Component Sub-Component Author

Income ratios House price to income ratio CLG (2007), Whitehead et al.
(2009),Gan&Hill (2009)
Rental cost to income ratio CLG (2007), Whitehead et al. (2009)
Loans and Interest rates and mortgage Yates & Milligan (2007), Robinson et al.
accommodations availability (2006)
Availability of rented Maliene&Malys (2009), ODPM (2005),
accommodation Winston (2010)
Availability of low cost home Maliene&Malys (2009), ODPM (2005),
ownership products Winston (2010)
Availability of market value home Maliene&Malys (2009), ODPM (2005),
ownership products Winston (2010)
Facilities and services Access to employment. ODPM (2005), Winston (2010), Fisher et al.
(2009)
Access to public transport CTOD & CNT (2006), CLG (2007), ODPM
services. (2005), Winston (2010)
Access to good quality education Fisher et al. (2009), Zhu et al. (2005), CLG
(school) (2007), ODPM (2005)
Access to shopping facilities ODPM (2005), Zhu et al. (2005)
Access to health services CLG (2007), ODPM (2005), Zhu et al.
(2005)
Access to early years child care ODPM (2005)
services
Access to leisure facilities ODPM (2005)
Access to open green public CLG (2007), Maliene&Malys (2009), ODPM
spaces (2005), Winston (2010), Zhu et al. (2005)
Safety and comfort Safety- incidence of crime Maliene&Malys (2009), ODPM (2005),
Winston (2010)
Presence of environmental Maliene&Malys (2009), Winston (2010),
problems Howley et al. (2009)
Qualitymanagement Quality of housing Maliene&Malys (2009), Winston (2010)
Energy efficiency of housing Maliene&Malys (2009), Winston (2010)
Waste management Maliene&Malys (2009), Winston
(2010),ODPM (2005)
Deprivation in area HM Government (2005), PMSU (2005)
Grow Home Land properties Friedman&Cammalleri (1994)
Number of worker Friedman&Cammalleri (1994)
Grow Home options Friedman&Cammalleri (1994)
Unfinished levels Friedman&Cammalleri (1994)
Family type Friedman&Cammalleri (1994)
5. Conclusion
This study rearranged the 20 criteria provided by Mulliner and Maliene in their study into five components. The latter
could be used as affordable housing assessment components, and thus, could contribute to literature on this field.
Moreover, the Grow Home component, which is a new concept that considerably affects affordable housing, was
included.
In conclusion, six affordable housing measurement components were identified, namely, income ratios, loans and
accommodations, facilities and services, safety and comfort, quality management, and Grow Home. Grow Home issues
could likewise be used as a cost-saving options to make housing more affordable. These issues are related with house
quality, options (outline) and size, and land properties, such as location and price. A lower land price and a smaller
house size consequently reduce the number of workers required to construct a house, and thus, decreases house price as
well. As a result, the house will be more affordable for prospective buyers. This paper complements previous studies
with a strategic view in rearranging affordable housing assessment.
783
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784
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785
Review of Natural Ventilation Enhancement through Openings

and Apertures In Hot-Humid Climate
A. Aflaki 70a, N. Mahyuddinb ,. Z. A. M.Awadc , M. R. Baharumd

a, b, c, d Center for Urban Conservation and Tropical Architecture (UCTA), Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia
Abstract
High temperature and humidity oblige occupants to use mechanical ventilation to regulate indoor temperature in tropical climate.
Therefore, energy consumption becomes a challenge facing the designers in primary steps of design. Natural ventilation known as a
passive design strategy in buildings is one of the innovative techniques in modern building to reduce operation costs and energy
consumption. Although the advantages of natural ventilation are proved by previous studies, few studies have been done on
application of openings and apertures designs to maximize indoor air velocity inside the buildings. This study reviews different
ventilation methods and techniques which have been applied through openings to identify the most effective architectural elements
for adequate ventilation inside the buildings. Comparison of study results shows that building orientation accompanying with
apertures size are effective design strategies and techniques to increase indoor air ratio. Finally, the study recommends various form
of openings and different form of louvered windows as research gaps for further investigation.
Keywords: Natural ventilation, passive cooling, windows and apertures, hot-humid climate
1. Introduction
Today’s, there is high demand on consumption of energy to respond to overheated indoor temperature of buildings
especially in tropical climate. Statistics from World business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) reveal
that buildings consume more than 40 percent of world energy use to regulate indoor thermal condition (WBCSD,
2008). As a matter of fact, specific concern on conservation of energy in the building sector is considered by scholars to
reduce negative consequence of high energy consumptions such as global warming. As a design alternative, Passive
cooling systems are specific strategies in buildings to decrease energy load. The term “passive cooling” was clearly
defined by Jeffry Cook in 1989 as any building design technique which transfers indoor heat to outdoor. Cook (1989)
summarizes all passive cooling researches in their studies where passive cooling techniques are categorize into four
major methods including; radiative cooling, evaporate cooling, heat avoidance and ventilation cooling. Although these
strategies have been tested in buildings, few researches have been done on application of ventilation opening through
the window and aperture. Therefore, current study focuses on ventilation cooling or establishment of natural ventilation
in buildings to finalize the natural ventilation methods and architectural elements for acceptable air velocity inside
buildings. As a review paper, improvement of natural ventilation through specific elements will be suggested for
further researches.
2. Research Methodology and Material
This section provides an overview of the approach and methodology used to identify the relevant literature from the
peer-reviewed research literature and a select number of web-based and practice literature.
2.1 Approach and Methodology
A structured approach was used to determine the source of materials for review. The peer-reviewed literature was the
main source of information and data application of natural ventilation through ventilation openings especially in
tropical climate.
70
Corresponding author: Tel No:+60104318707
Email address: ar.aflaki@siswa.um.edu.my
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1) 2.2 Peer-Reviewed Literature: Search and Review Strategies

Searches for peer-reviewed journal articles and dissertations were conducted using the University of Malaya online
databases in the area of sustainability and renewable energy. These searches are outlined below. The Google Scholar
search engine was also used to conduct more general searches. All searches were limited to research with humans,
published in English (Table 1).
Table 1 Data bases, terminology and amount of selected articles
Data based search Terminology in abstract Articles selected
Natural ventilation, passive cooling in buildings, 65

Ovid with all search engines tropical climate, natural ventilation operation, heat
Science direct, Sage, Ebrary library avoidance technique
center, Sage research method,
Scopus, Springer link and web of
science
ISI web of knowledge Natural ventilation, passive cooling in buildings, 33
tropical climate, natural ventilation operation, heat
avoidance technique
Google scholar Natural ventilation, passive cooling in buildings, 28
avoidance technique
All university of Malaya data bases Natural ventilation, passive cooling in buildings, 18
avoidance technique
Key criteria were used in the decision tree for selecting articles in the literature review. We located each document and
reviewed the abstract or entire document if there was no abstract to determine if the document met our key criteria. It
consists of data bases which have applied natural ventilation inside the buildings.
Once abstracts had been identified as relevant to the criteria and worthy of further exploration, the full article was
accessed. The articles were skimmed, after which a further selection was made based on criteria including the terms
discussed in the literature review outline and proposal. As well, articles were included if they were relevant to natural
ventilation.
3. Review of Literature
1. Comparison of passive cooling strategies in tropical regions
Abrams (1986) and Cook (1989) summarize all passive cooling researches in their studies where passive cooling
techniques are categorize into five major methods including; radiative cooling, evaporate cooling, heat avoidance,
earth coupling, ventilation cooling. For hot and humid climate, high amount of humidity and cloud cover in the sky
decrease the rate of heat transfer and most of the time heat trap inside the building and cause uncomfortable thermal
condition. Evaporate cooling is another sufficient technique which is used by designers in hot-arid climate.
Unfortunately the high amounts of humidity in tropical climate persist against application of this strategy. (Yellot,1989,
Cook, 1989,). Refer to Balaras in 1996; all strategies to avoid building from solar radiation can be included into heat
avoidance techniques. Appropriate shading especially for apertures, building orientation, vegetation surrounding
building and relevant materials for façade is some intelligent strategies to prepare comfortable indoor temperature.
Figure 1 shows some strategies which are applicable in tropical climate where high amount of solar radiation is not
preventable.
787
Figure 1 Heat avoidance techniques in building
Ventilation cooling has been established in design of building in tropical climate to create at least more tolerable indoor
environment if not perfectly comfortable. Review of studies show that thermal comfort in tropical climate can be
achieved by application of ventilation cooling. Based on Chandra’s claim, air exchanges at 5-500 air changes per hour
is necessary to comply thermal comfort within building (Chandra, 1989). Refer to literatures, it can be realized that heat
avoidance and use of natural ventilation for cooling are more applicable and feasible to attain indoor thermal comfort in
hot and humid climate. This implies that reducing building surfaces perpendicular to solar radiation and applying
natural ventilation system in buildings are the main design strategies to decrease the humidity and temperature levels
hence reducing the demands for energy usage.
2. Advantages of natural ventilation application on built environment
There are so many advantages on usage of natural ventilation inside buildings. Study by Kubota et. Al (2006) in
Malaysia approves that natural ventilation application through buildings decreases energy consumption and green gas
emissions. Also, their study reveals that acceptable indoor temperature can be achieved in naturally ventilated
buildings. Comparison study on application of natural and mechanical ventilation in building shows that high level of
environmental quality and occupant control could be achieved in naturally ventilated spaces (Dear and Brager, 1998).
Health cost saving is another advantage of using natural ventilation. A comparison study by Brager et. Al in 2009
reveals that health cost saving will be increased up to 18% by application of natural ventilation in mixed mode systems
(naturally and mechanically ventilated systems).
In another study, the intensification of natural air through sick office buildings condition saves up to US$30 billion in
the USA (Fisk, 2002). This concept is similar to residential building where studies indicates that high indoor air quality
and thermal comfort improvement can be achieved by application of fresh natural ventilation in residential blocks
(CHPS, 2002). In overall, natural ventilation as a passive cooling strategy in building is an opportunity to improve
associated issues related to mechanically ventilated buildings where thermal comfort satisfaction and indoor air quality
modification can achieve with lower operation costs (Wang, Wong Nyuk, & Li, 2007). Figure 2 summarizes some
advantages of natural ventilation in buildings based on previous literatures.
Figure 2 Advantages of natural ventilation application in buildings
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As a complementary strategy with natural ventilation, heat avoidance is a design strategy in tropical climate which can
be applied to reduce cooling load in buildings. Many scholars declare that heat avoidance strategy could increase
sufficiency of natural ventilation inside the building (Halwatura, R. U., & Jayasinghe, M. T. R. 2007, Sadineni, S. B. et.
Al, 2011, Y ld z, Y., & Arsan, Z. D, 2011).
According to the literatures, it can be finalized that ventilation cooling is the most applicable strategy to reduce
temperature and humidity in tropical environment. However, it cannot neglect the heat absorption and especial attention
needs to be done on application of heat avoidance techniques to increase the power of natural ventilation in buildings.
3. Alternative methods for natural ventilation application
Air pressure ventilation and stack ventilation are considered as applicable methods for establishment of natural
ventilation through buildings in previous studies. Overall, building surfaces are the main factor on creation of air
pressure ventilation. In detail, air flow is blocked by windward side of the building and creates more pressure. On the
other side of the building, called as a leeward side, the pressure is much lower than the windward side. Therefore, the
wind flows from the higher pressure to the lower pressure (Szokolay S.V., 1986).
The patterns of airflow through the building can be divided into single and cross ventilation. Single side ventilation
occurs in same openings in the same side where the inlet and outlet for airflow are appointed in one side of the
building. In opposite, cross ventilation is where the inlet and outlet are appointed in different side of building façade
(figure 3). Therefore, the wind comes in through the openings from the windward side, flows through the building and
exhaust from the opposite openings in the leeward side (Givoni, 1994). These strategies and air velocity patterns are
applied by scholars to increase the air flow ratio inside the building. Szokolay (1986) and Givoni (1994) established
cross ventilation pattern in their studies to achieve acceptable indoor thermal condition in tropical climate.
Architectural elements play an important role on air flow pattern. It means that these elements can deliver the outdoor
wind into the indoor environment if they design accurately. Building corridors as an architectural element act as a
channel to prepare cross ventilation in the buildings. As declared by Mohamed and Tahir in 2008, indoor corridors
deliver outdoor wind by difference in air pressure. Also, study by Zhou, J., et al (2008) indicates that air pressure
created by building corridors can be intensified by application of other passive design techniques in buildings.
Figure 3 Cross and single ventilation through building
Stack ventilation as another air flow pattern in the building is the vertical movement of the wind (figure 4). Thermal
force or stack ventilation occurs due to different densities between cool and warm air. Also, it happens in the regions
where the there are more discrepancies between day and night temperature (Evans, M. 1980). For stack ventilation
effectiveness, study by Ismail and Abdul Rahman in 2010 shows that the differences in height between apertures and
temperature differences between indoor and outdoor of building are imperative factors.
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Figure 4 stack ventilation pattern in building
Wind catcher as a famous architectural element is established in many traditional buildings to offer acceptable indoor
condition by stack ventilation. It delivers vertical air into the building and replaces hot air with cool air. The fresh air
comes from the building façade flows through the building can be discharged by wind catcher (Ghiaus, C. and F.
Allard, 2005). Along this process, comfortable indoor condition could be reached while the hot air replace with cool
and fresh air (Jafarian, S., et al., 2010).
Researches through the traditional buildings indicate that cross ventilation and stack ventilation are established on
vernacular architecture to minimize uncomfortable condition inside buildings (Siew, C.C., et al., 2011). However,
specific focus on studies in tropical regions proves that cross ventilation is more applicable than stack ventilation in hot
and humid climate where the difference between indoor and outdoor temperature ratios is almost trivial (Givoni, B,
1994).
In sum, it can be declared that architectural elements and techniques play an important role on preparing sufficient air
flow inside the naturally ventilated buildings. The main consideration of this study is on opening and apertures design
and techniques to offer more air flow inside buildings. Further study will indicate how these techniques modify indoor
temperature in hot and humid climate.
4. Discussion
A sufficient air flow inside the buildings depends on the architectural elements which induce outdoor wind into indoor
environment. Review of previous studies is one of critical ways on judgment of more applicable techniques and
elements. Understanding of this matter helps designers to reduce the usage of mechanical ventilation through the new
buildings.
Previous studies on application of natural ventilation in buildings concentrate on different elements and techniques to
maximize air flow inside buildings. However, main focus of current study is on application of ventilation apertures
through building. Analysis of those studies is presented in different tables for better comparison among the variables
and results of the different studies in various hot-humid regions. Air flow through the ventilation opening is divided
into two tables where table 1 and 2 show establishment of cross ventilation and stack ventilation through the openings
respectively. Furthermore, table 3 presents some studies which established ventilation openings accompanying with
such façade components to enhance natural cross ventilation.
A short review among elements in the table 1 indicates elements such as window type and configuration, adequate
layout of building, window position and louver angles are some measurable variables in the ventilation openings
section. On the other hand, the table 2 present ventilation shafts and proper size of stacks as main components for stack
ventilation. Finally, the table 3 shows Complementary concepts where combination of ventilation opening and façade
components variables makes a basic structure. For instance, combine effects of balcony and design of openings in study
by E Priqanto et al. in 2003 prepared solid elements to increase cross ventilation through building.
Table 1 Researches on cross ventilation through ventilation openings

7. Researcher(s) 8. Architectural elements 9. Evaluation 10. Results of study
for N.V achievement criteria
11. Burrnet, et al,  Relevant direction to 12. Cp(distribution of 13. The optimum orientation of
2005 prevailing wind, wind pressure the building to the
 Accurate aperture coefficient on prevailing wind is y=30^.
location in building building envelope) For all angles (y),front side
and P maximum flats has highest P value
790
potential for N.V close to 2.84
14. Proper cross ventilation (p=

1.63) could be achieved for
head flats where y is equal
to 0^, 45^ and 90^.
15. For central side flats,

potential for cross
ventilation could be
reached up to 1.57 while
the y is 15^, 30^, 60^ and
75^.
16. Chandrashekara,  Louver angles 17. ASHRAE 55 18. Louver angles effect on the
2010  Environmental standard, indoor direction and amount of air
condition, outdoor air air velocity to flow inside the building.
speed outdoor air
velocity ratio 19. Thermal comfort in
naturally ventilated units is
changed while louver angle
of 45^ has effect on air flow
direction and louver angles
of 0^, 15^ and 30^ have
more influence on air
velocity volume through
indoor environment.
20. Gao, 2011  Apertures shape and form 21. Mean age of air 22. Window openings in
 Building direction velocity and opposite directions or
 Prevailing wind in location sensitive analysis perpendicular to each other
for maximum ventilation
23. Natural ventilation

performance was most
sensitive to change of
windows positions, followed
by building orientation and
doors positions.
24. Sahabuddin,  Cross ventilation 25. Field study, 26. Wide plan layout for more
M.F.M, 2012 application thermal comfort external surface for
 Door and window size and indicators ventilation in tropical
position climate is compulsory.
 Layout and shape of
architectural plan 27. Louver windows above
panels are suggested for
maximum pressure and
consequently better
ventilation. Perpendicular
windows for more cross
ventilation
Table 2 Researches on stack ventilation through ventilation openings

28. Researcher(s) 29. Architectural 30. Evaluation 31. Results of study
elements for N.V criteria
achievement
32. R. Priyadarsini et  Evaluation of passive and 33. Thermal 34. Active stack (application of
al, 2004 active stacks Comfort small fan on top of stack)
791
 Proper size and position of indicators could achieve sufficient

stacks ventilation and comfort
 Active stacks by different temperature in compare to
speed test passive stack.
35. When the door closes, air

velocity increase up to 550%
and maximum velocity
achieve up to 0.67m/s. this
amount is approved for small
size stack. Clearly larger stack
in size could reach higher air
velocity inside the room.
36. Prajongsan, et al,  Outdoor wind speed and 37. Comfort hours 38. Proposing ventilation shaft is
2012 direction (TEM) among an effective wind induce
 ventilation shafts year ventilation and it increases
comfort hours from 37.5% in
reference to 53.6% in test
room. This extension of
comfort hours can save
2700kWh of electric energy
consumption per residential
unit.
Table 3 Researches on cross ventilation through ventilation opening and façade components
39. Researcher(s) 40. Architectural 41. Evaluation 42. Results of study

elements for N.V criteria
achievement
43. Al-Tamimi, 2011  Thermal insulation inside 44. Energy 45. For decline of cooling energy
the outdoor walls indicators load, thermal insulation achieves
 Shading strategies on top maximum reduction from 10.2%
of apertures to 26.3%.External integrated
shading has limited effects on
cooling load
46. Passive concepts are relevant

strategies to reduce cooling load
in tropical climate
47. With every 10% increase in
window to floor ratio, cooling
load increase by 1.3%.
48. Prianto, E. 2003  Integrated design of 49. Average 50. Using balcony increase air
openings, internal velocity velocity and modify indoor
dissection and balcony coefficient in thermal comfort however
different increasing its ceiling has no more
locations in effect on indoor temperature.
living room Pivot windows with 45^ angle
has significant effect on indoor
air velocity in compare to 30^
angle.
51. Application of louver window at

ceiling and floor level with the
angle of 45^ could reach comfort
level under activities of 1 and
1.25 met.
792
Review of previous studies declares that building layout, size and location of apertures, windows and doors, building
orientation, and some vernacular elements are most applicable architectural variables in categories of ventilation
opening. By comparison of results and outcomes of researches in tropical climate at the last column, it is proved that
following componenets are most effective elements and techniques on application natural ventilation (N.V);
 Louver angles in apertures
 Window to wall ratio and window to floor ratio
 Building position and orientation
Furthermore, evaluating elements for N.V enhancement in different studies indicates that variables which are listed
below are some essential variables which rarely have been evaluated in previous studies.
 Different shapes of louvers for maximum ventilation
 Different shape and form of apertures for maximum discrepancy on pressure
It can be claimed these variables as research gaps in the field of ventilation through the aperture and openings for
further researches.
Moreover, findings from tables specify most prevalent indicators and standards for evaluation of ventilation. Based on
these studies, assessment is carried out frequently and repeatedly by predicted mean vote (PMV), ASHRAE standards,
mean age of air velocity, indoor to outdoor air velocity ratio and average velocity coefficient. It can be inferred that
these indicators have been experienced and validated in preceding works and could ensure and certify results of future
researches.
5. Conclusion
The study has conducted on previous researches to understand the significance of natural ventilation application in
tropical climate and also to ascertain cooperation of architectural elements with air velocity to modify temperature
inside the buildings. By comparison among different passive cooling techniques, the research approve that natural
ventilation is most relevant and sufficient strategy for tropical climate.
Analysis of natural ventilation application in buildings introduces stack effect and wind force as two main concepts for
operation of air movement where the difference in temperature and height are two significant factors on efficiency of
stack ventilation. However, the difference in pressure and openings perpendicular to each other are effective variables
on application of wind force concept. Researches on these variables declare that these concepts will be applicable
through architectural elements such as openings. Architectural elements through ventilation openings are studied to
clarify effective variables for maximum ventilation. By comparison of results, it is proved that Building layout, size and
location of apertures, ventilation shaft especially active stacks, window to wall ratio and window to floor ratio and
building orientation are most effective passive design strategies on application natural ventilation (N.V). Furthermore,
in assessment of N.V efficiency, standard and indicators such as predicted mean vote (PMV), ASHRAE standards,
mean age of air velocity, indoor to outdoor air velocity ratio and average velocity coefficient is established frequently
and can be used as validated indicators.
Finally, the evaluation of variables for N.V enhancement in different studies indicates that variable such as different
shapes and angles of louvers for maximum ventilation and different shape and form of apertures for maximum
discrepancy on pressure are some crucial factors which can be considered as research gaps for further investigations.
References
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793
Identifying the Contractor’s Level of Awareness on

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Management Systems in
I.F.M.Kamara,71*, N. S.Lopb, N. M. Sallehc, S. Mamterd, H. A.Suhaimie

a,b,c,d
Department of Quantity Surveying, Faculty of Architecture Planning and Surveying,
UiTM Perak,32610 Bandar Baru Seri Iskandar, Perak,Malaysia.
Abstract
In general, the term of safety and health is important especially in construction industry. Occupational Health and Safety
Management Systems is part of the overall management system that facilitates the management of the OS&H risks associated with
the business of the organization. This includes the organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures,
processes and resources for developing, implementing, achieving, reviewing and maintaining the organization’s OS&H policy. The
purpose of this research is to determine the level of awareness of contractors on OSH management systems. The research
implemented are through literature review and a questionnaire survey. A total of 34 numbers of class A contractors in Kelantan
registered with Pusat Khidmat Kontraktor (PKK) were randomly selected. Data was collected using self-administered
questionnaire.The findings indicate that most of the Class A Contractor in Kelantan aware that the occupational safety and health
management system are important and should be practiced to achieve zero accident and death on site.
Keywords: Occupational Health and Safety Management System, Awareness, Contractors.
1. Introduction
A management system is a proactive process with an organised set of components which enable an organisation to
accomplish a set of goals. Management systems usually focus on continuous improvement using the plan-do-check-act
model (Miriam, 2011).
Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems is part of the overall management system that facilitates the
management of the OS&H risks associated with the business of the organization. This includes the organizational
structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing,
implementing, achieving, reviewing and maintaining the organization’s OS&H policy. Besides that, the management
system specific to occupational health and safety is comprised of four interrelated components. These include
management leadership and employee involvement, worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control and safety and
health training (OSHA, 2008). OHSMS are performance oriented as opposed to compliance oriented.
In Malaysian construction industry, the accident rate is the highest compared to other developing countries. The
rapid growth of the construction sector coupled with the rise in the number of fatalities within the sector over the last
ten years has brought into focus the hitherto low priority placed by the stakeholders on Occupational Safety and Health
(OSH) management systems.
Even though the studies of (OSH) management systems have found that the implementation of (OSH) management
systems by the construction participants in Malaysia still at the infant stage, but the level of awareness amongst the
specific construction participants is still not yet identified. Hence, a further research will be carry out in order to find
out the level of awareness that affect to the level of application and practice of (OSH) management systems for the
construction project by focusing at Kelantan State only. This research only focuses on the identifying level of
awareness on (OSH) management systems amongst contractors in Kelantan State.

794
2. Elements of the OSH Management System
• Recognition of integral part of business performance.

• Compliance to legal requirements.
• Continual cost-effective improvement performance.
• Adequate and appropriate resources.
• Setting and appropriate OHS objective.
Policy • OHS management as prime responsibility of line
management.
• Understanding, implementation, and maintenance at all
levels.
• Employee involvement and consultation.
• Periodic review.
• Training for employees.
• Responsibilities
Organizing • Organization arrangements
• OHS documents
• General
Planning and • Risk assessment
implementing • Legal and other requirements
• OHS management arrangements
Measuring • Qualitative and quantitative measure

performance • Proactive and reactive performance measurement
• Conduct by competent persons periodically

Audit
• Result communicated to all relevant personnel.
Figure 1.1: OHS management system elements of the BS 8800: 1996
• Overall performance of OSHMS
Initial and • Performance of individual elements
periodic status • Audit findings
• Identify action to remedy any deficiencies.
Figure 1.1: OHS management system elements of the BS 8800: 1996
Based on the Figure 1.1, it shows that OHS management system includes to the whole organisation system which
comprises to the six (6) main elements; policy, organizing, planning and implementing, measuring performance, audit
and initial & periodic status. This research is only focuses on the policy and organizing elements. The other elements
will be done on further research.
i) Policy
The OS&H policy shall:
a) be appropriate to the nature and scale of the organization’s OH&S risks,

b) include a commitment to continual improvement,
c) include a commitment to at least comply with current applicable OH&S legislation and with other requirements to
which the organization subscribes,
795
d) be documented, implemented and maintained,

e) be communicated to all employees with the intent that employees are made aware of their individual OH&S
obligations,
f) be available to interested parties, and
g) be reviewed periodically to ensure that it remains relevant and appropriate to the organization.
In implementing OSHMS, the companies should be obliged and compliance to legal requirements. Many employers
have not established comprehensive accident prevention policies but instead concentrate on maximizing profit. They do
not emphasize on safety because they do not know how high the actual cost of an accident is until it occurs (Abdul
Rahim et. al., 2008). According to Charles, the company should formulate and practice the Safety and Health
management policies within the organization. Continual training and education are therefore indispensable to keep their
knowledge updated on the relevant S&H issues (Charles, 2007). According to Construction Occupational Health and
Safety Management System (COHSMS) Guidelines by JCOSHA, to avoid and eliminate accident and workplace
hazard, the contractors should establish and implement procedures for education and training of their employees about
OSH.
ii) Organizing
The organization shall construct a list that include all work hazards, risk assessment of each hazard and the required
measures for controlling the risk of each hazard. The list shall at least include:
a) Hazards reported by the manufacturers of all material, equipment, and tools used at the organization.
b) Hazards reported by workers
c) Hazards identified by incidents/accidents
d) Hazards identified by any non-conformances to safety standards, regulations or other requirements.
The safety management system, after being developed at the corporate level, should be communicated to the project
managers, supervisors and workers level. Measures should be taken to raise the awareness of workers and motivate
them to take responsibilities of their own safety (Charles, 2007).
iii) Planning and implementing
Organizations adopt a planned and systematic approach to policy implementation. It is include the management
arrangement such as organization activities, adequate and appropriate resources, measuring performance and audits.
The organization shall establish and maintain documented procedures for the ongoing identification of hazards, the
assessment of risks, and the implementation of necessary risk-control measures. The scope of these procedures shall
include routine and non-routine activités, activities of all personnel having access to the workplace (including
subcontractors and visitors) and facilities at the workplace, whether provided by the organization or others.
iv) Measuring performance
Under this element is about the method of monitoring and measuring the OSH performance. It describes the purpose
and types of monitoring such as proactive monitoring and reactive monitoring. Performance monitoring and
measurement shall:
a) be used as a means of determining the extent to which S&H policy and objectives are being implemented and risks
are controlled,
b) include both proactive and reactive monitoring, and not be based only upon work related injury, ill health, disease
and incident statistics, and
c) be recorded.
The monitoring shall provide:

a) feedback on H&S performance,
b) information to determine whether the day-to-day arrangements for hazard and risk identification, prevention and
control are in place and operating effectively, and
c) the basis for decisions about improvement in hazard identification and risk control, and the S&H management
system.
v) Audit
796
An OSH audit is far more comprehensive than the measurement of a simple parameter or a routine safety inspection.
The organization shall establish and maintain an audit program and documented procedures for periodic S&H
management system audits to be carried out, in order to:
a) determine whether or not the H&S management system:
 conforms to planned arrangements for H&S management including compulsory requirements,
 has been properly implemented and maintained, and
 is effective in meeting the organization’s policy and objectives,
b) review the results of previous audits.
c) provide information on the results of audits to management.
vi) Initial and periodic status review
The initial status review will provide information on the current system where enable the decision can be made based
on its scope, adequacy and implementation. Besides that, it is also act as a baseline for the progress that can be
measured. Further, the periodic status review will determine the outcome of the systems implemented and identify the
necessary cause of action to be taken to improve any deficiencies.
3. The Level of Awareness of Contractors on OSH Management Systems
The safety and health management is important and must be applied in construction site. Ignoring safety can result
in accident and ill-health which not only losses of the profits but it also crippling of the company. Furthermore,
providing a safe and healthy workplace is one of the most effective strategies in for holding down the cost of doing
construction business. Accidents cause not only delays in operations and project deliverables but also directly and
indirectly incur costs (Ahmadon Bakri et. al, 2006).
According to Master Plan for Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Industry (2005-2010), the number of
fatalities encountered in the construction industry is alarming. Out of the total of 73,858 industrial accidents reported to
SOCSO by the year 2003, 4,654 were recorded in the construction industry. From this figure, almost 2.0 percent or 95
cases resulted in death, while 12.2% or 566 cases resulted in permanent disabilities. There many issues involved in
implementing safety and health management in construction project.
Almost all of the occupational injuries are preventable through measures including strengthened safety regulations,
safety training, better planning and engineering controls, awareness, and cooperation among industry stakeholders.
Such efforts should focus on high-risk areas for construction workers (Tony Baxendale et. al., 2000).
Besides that, efforts to increase awareness of employers, employees and the general public on the need for a safe
workplace with no health hazards require diligent efforts and the participation of numerous parties (Rosli, 2008).
Effective safety can only be achieved when there is a proper management of the interaction between technological
systems and people. Accidents in the workplace do happen when the “people” elements tend to engage in safe and
unsafe behavior according to their interpretation. The prime motivation of safety culture is the recognition that attitudes
and behaviors of employees are crucial to safe behavior at work (Hassan A. et. al., 2009).
Awareness of contractors on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) management systems also one of important
things to be consider to make sure all of projects can be done successful without any problems such as accidents and
injuries at construction site. The lack of awareness of contractors on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH)
management systems in construction capable contribute to the accident at construction site. Many of the injuries at the
workplace are a direct result of the attitude and actions of the individual themselves (Hassan A. et. al., 2009). Besides
that, the high rates of injury are primarily due to inadequate or non-existence of an OSH management systems. Many
occupational accidents and injuries are due to a breakdown in the existing OSH management system (Ahmadon Bakri
et. al., 2006).
Awareness of contractors on OHS management systems in construction industry are still in unsatisfactory record. It
is because the OSH management system is a neglected area and a function that has not been pursued systematically in
the construction industry (Ahmadon Bakri et. al, 2006). Furthermore, the most critical hazards on construction sites are
lack of safety-forward attitudes, a lack of awareness of safety regulations, poor safety awareness of projects managers
and a lack of knowledge (Samaneh Zolfagharian et. al., 2011).
Due the above problems, this research will be done to study the level of awareness of contractors on Occupational
Safety and Health (OSH) management systems in construction industry. Many occupational health and safety
professionals believe that the application of effective occupational health and safety management systems will lead to a
better OHS performance (John Lin et. al., 2001).
4. Methodology
797
4. Methodology
This research will involve compilation from primary and secondary sources, which some are featured for literature
review and obtain the data. The secondary data consists of information that was retrieved from journal, magazines,
references books, articles, websites and other sources of information. The process of collected the primary data which
through the questionnaire distribution. At least 50 questionnaires distribute to class A contactors in Kelantan that
registered with Pusat Khidmat Kontraktor (PKK). Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The data
collected from questionnaire survey was then analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
The questions asked in the questionnaire are based on a likert scale and open ended question. Likert scale
questionnaire require each respondent to rate the statement on a 5-point. Such as scale 1 = least important, scale 2 = not
important, scale 3 = average, scale 4 = important, and scale 5 = very important.
Table 1 shows that, the highest percentage of respondents answered this questionnaire are from the company
established for 5-10 years which represent 35.3% (12). While the lowest percentage is the company establish for a
period less than 5 years which represent 2.9% (1). It is due to the fact that, they were new in the construction industry,
so that they have a reason for not complying with the OSHA provisions because they have less knowledge about safety
in construction industry.
Responds that obtain from distribute the questionnaire is 100.0% answer yes that their company have experience
with safety and health regulations. From the analysis that shows in table 2, it can be conclude that most of the
respondents are aware and have an experience with the OSHA regulations. Means that, there are no reasons to ignore
the compliance of safety and health regulations at construction site and they have to give full commitment to comply
with the OSHA provisions.
Table 1: Years of establishment of companies

Size of company Total Percentage
Big Medium Small
Years Less than 5 years 0 0 1 1 2.9%
5-10 years 0 11 1 12 35.3%
11-15 years 1 9 0 10 29.4%
Over 15 years 7 4 0 11 32.4%
Total 8 24 2 34 100.0%
Table 2: Company experience with Safety and Health regulation

Company Yes 34 100%
Experience with
Safety and Health No 0 0%

regulation
Focus on policy
Table 3 shows the level of awareness of contractors on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems
(OHSMS) in construction industry that focus on policy. Based on the table, most of them aware training for the
employees are very important (4.50). In order to minimize the risk of accidents and hazards, the well trained is
important to provide to the workers especially to the new workers.
798
It followed by the compliance to legal requirements with score means (4.32). Based on the result, the respondents
say that compliance to legal requirements is important. While, the respondent’s aware that adequate and appropriate
resources are also important with score means (4.29).
The lowest level of awareness of contractors on OSHMS is employee involvement and consultation regarding
Safety and Health Management System with score mean is (4.05).
Table 3: Level of awareness of contractors on OSHMS focus on policy
No Statement Mean Std

1 Training for employees 4.50 0.826
2 Compliance to legal requirements 4.32 0.638
3 Adequate and appropriate resources 4.29 0.906
4 Equipment inspection and maintenance 4.26 0.898
5 Practices the Safety and Health Program 4.18 0.904
and continuous monitoring
6 Employee involvement and consultation 0.819
3.76
Focus to organizing
Table 4, shows the level of awareness of contractors on OSHMS focus to organizing. The highest score means
(4.26) of the respondents aware and agree that cooperate in the event of any problems on site are important. It is
important in order to minimize risk and accident on site. Furthermore, the respondents also aware that the workers need
to have knowledge to use all equipment are important with score means (4.24).
Further, having effective communication also is important. The result in table shows that highest percentage is 55.9%
of the respondents respond that it is important to be practice in the organization. Besides that, from the result that found
out 50.0% of the respondents responds that organizational rule that serve as a guidelines to employee behaviour on an
activity that is frequently a very critical risk are average.
Table 4: Level of awareness of contractors on OSHMS focus to organizing
No Statement Mean Std

1 Cooperate in the event of any problems on 4.26 0.666
site
2 Workers have the knowledge to use all 0.654

4.24
equipment
3 Having effective communication 3.94 0.736
4 Have a good organizational 3.94 0.600
5 Have proper Occupational Safety and Health 0.684
documentation 3.68
6 Organizational rules 3.53 0.706
6.Conclusion
The aim of this research paper is to determine the level of awareness of contractors on Occupational Safety and
Health (OSH) management systems.
The findings have demonstrated that most of the Class A Contractor in Kelantan aware that the occupational safety
and health management system are important and should be practiced to achieve zero accident and death on site. Only a
few contractors in Kelantan that still underestimate and not concerned about the importance practice of OSHMS in
799
construction industry. Overall, the safety and health awareness can be improved among the contractors. Besides that,
the contractors are required to comply with contract specific OHS requirements.
References
Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid, Muhd Zaimi Abd Majid, Bachan Singh (2008). “Causes of Accidents at Construction Sites”, Malaysian Journal of
Civil Engineering 20(2): 242 - 25.
Ahmadon Bakri, Rosli Mohd Zin, Mohd Saidin Misnan & Abdul Hakim Mohammed (2006), Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Management
Systems: Towards Development of Safety and Health Culture.
British Standards Institution (1996). “Guide to Occupational Health and Safety Management System. London, BS 8800”.
Charles Y.J. Cheah (2007). “Construction Safety and Health Factors at the Industry Level: The Case of Singapore”’ Journal of Construction in
Developing Countries , Vol . 12, No. 2, 2007.
Hassan Ali, Nor Azimah Chew Abdullah, Chandrakantan Subramaniam, (2009). "Management practice in safety culture and its influence on
workplace injury: An industrial study in Malaysia", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 18 Iss: 5 pp. 470 – 477
John Lin, Anthony Mills, (2001). "Measuring the occupational health and safety performance of construction companies in Australia", Facilities,
Vol.19 Iss: 3 pp. 131 - 139
Master Plan for Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Industry (2005-2010)
Miriam Koesterich (2011). “Review, Assessment and Prioritization for an Occupational Health and Safety Management System in a Veterinary
Teaching Hospital Using the ANSI/AIHA Z10 Standard”.
OSHA.(2008). Formaldehyde. Retrieved by http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document. Accessed 15 November 2012.
Samaneh Zolfagharian, Aziruddin Ressang, Javier Irizarry, Mehdi Nourbakhsh, Rosli Mohamad Zin (2011). “Risk Assessment of Common
Construction Hazards among Different Countries”.
Tony Baxendale, Owain Jones (2000). “Construction design and management safety regulations in practice - progress on implementation”,
International Journal of Project Management 18 (2000) 33-40
800
CCC Method: The Rules Of Professionals As A Building

Certifier
R. Zakariaa, A. I. Che Anib, A. S. Alic
a,b Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor
c Centre for Construction, Building and Urban Studies, Faculty of Built Environment, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur
Abstract
In order developers handing over a building to the client, the building must comply with the various rules and procedures set by the
respective local authorities. Before submission for CCC can be carried out by the developer, it is necessary to get a certificate of
completion for the building construction. For this purpose, a more effective system introduced by the Malaysian government namely
the Certificate Completion and Compliance (CCC). This system used respective professional services to recommend the issuance of
building certificates for the building to be occupied. Under this approach, professional architects and engineer have been identified
by government as a profession who is responsible for overseeing the entire project's development and building that resulting in the
issuance of CCC. Appointed architect or engineer called the Principle Submitting Person (PSP).This research uses qualitative
method involving seven local authorities as respondents based on the "Snowball Sampling". This approach asked the last
respondents' opinions on who are the next respondent that are appropriate for interview. The selection of respondents in a row
expected to acquire direct information for the subject issue. PBT of Selangor and Malacca only (developed states) was selected and
all types of buildings involved in this study. Reliability and normality tests of the variables showed normal distribution and a high
level of reliability (above 0.8). Research results obtained through interview revealed that all respondents agreed that the
implementation of the new system CCC is rather effective than the old system. However, to achieved the CCC goal comprehensively
the PSP appointed needs to maintain their work ethic and a best practice in ensuring the service provided could be able to satisfy all
stakeholders.
Keywords: CCC Method, Building Certification, Professional
1. Introduction
The Government has introduced a new system after it was decided in the meeting of the Cabinet held on June 21, 2006,
CCC's issued by the Professional as replacing Certificate of Occupancy or better known as Certifacate of Fitness
(hereinafter referred to as CF), formerly issued by the Local Authority (hereinafter referred to as LA) (Frank 2007).
The professional in question is the “Prinsiple Submitting People” or more commonly known as PSP (hereinafter
referred to as BSE).
The introduction of the new certificate is made after taking into account the strengths and weaknesses based on study
conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (hereinafter referred to MHLG) together with the parties
directly involved or with an interest in the construction industry (2007e MHLG ). The purpose of the study is to get
feedback from LA on the effectiveness of services provided by PSP under CCC method.
Certificate Requirements for Each Building
George (2004) noted that the purchase of a building to produce high cost then with the certificate to ensure that the
quality of the building being purchased are reasonable and adequate to the costs incurred. However, John (2009b)
further explain that before issuing any certificate of the building, the building inspector from authority need to visit and
check on site to the schedule in order to ensure that the construction work carried out in accordance with the approval.
Although the certificate will not be issued an assurance or guarantee that a building been constructed perfectly in all
aspects, but at least it could be confirmed that the building was constructed according to the terms, provisions of the
law and procedures.

E-mail address: author@institute.xxx
Definition of Building Certificate
801
Joyce (2008) defines "certification" as a certificate while "building" is defined as a building. With other words building
certification is a certificate for a particular purpose issued by certain parties on the structure erected. Denis and William
(2007) defines as a building certification documents issued by the authorities stating that all structures built is safe for
occupation and the construction and repair has been carried out in accordance with the approval granted building
permits.
CCC definition
Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) (2004) defines the CCC as a certificate issued by the professional under a self-
certification approach after all the construction work completed and comply with design, plan and all documents have
been submitted and approved by the local authorities. Hevesi (2000) defines the CCC method as a license or
authorization given to the professionals to certify all components involved in the construction process. Denise and
William (2007) also defines the CCC as a document issued by the Architect, Engineer or qualified parties acknowledge
that the projects undertaken are completed and comply with all building plans and specifications approved.
Provisions of Law
Building certificate is part of the construction process to ensure that its own building plans and construction work
undertaken to comply with a prescribed norm under the provisions of the applicable law in a country (Australia 2007).
In Malaysia, the matters set forth in the building certification under the Law of the Uniform Building 1984 (PW
5178/85) and the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Act 133) (Malaysia 2007e, 2007b). Under clause 25 (1) (Act
133), states certificate of completion of a building shall be granted if: -
(A) current qualified people have recognized the work carried out in Form E as set out in the Second Schedule to these
Bye-Laws that they have supervised the construction of the building, and their knowledge and belief the building has
been constructed in accordance with these by-laws and any conditions imposed by the local authorities and they agreed
to accept full responsibility on the parts related to them and their local council or an officer authorized in writing by
him for that purpose have examined the building.
(B) all necessary services, including access roads, landscape, parking, drainage, installation of sanitary equipment,
water and electricity, fire lifts, fire hydrant, etc. if required, the requirements of the sewage and garbage disposal were
available.
Issuance of Certificate of Building By Professionals
In Malaysia under the CCC method is for the professional development project to be undertaken are the architects who
act as the PSP. Implementation of CCC aims to improve public service delivery as well as protect the interests of the
buyer of the building. Under the CCC method uses self-certification approach in which only one party responsible
professionals appointed to oversee the project's development than before, while so the project could be delivered to the
buyer. Apart from this method to ensure more responsible architect of performing his duties and not wash his hands
after the building is completed. The issuance of CCC is liability for architects and this indirectly can speed up the
production process without having to wait for CCC inspection made on the project by the local authorities (Anthony
and Gregory 2004). Apart from that according to them further apart CCC method can reduce the workload of local
authorities it will improve the professional self-regulation to be appointed.
The issuance of building certificate by professionals that implemented in Honolulu (CCC method) becasuse of the lack
of staff in the Division of Planning and Permits (PBT) in the city (Dorian 2007). The professionals who have been
authorized to issue building certificate may be legal action against them should they fail to carry out these
responsibilities and must return the license granted to issue building certificate (Lisberg 2008). To ensure that the
CCC's business becomes easier and smoother every architect who was appointed to be responsible to ensure all
contractors involved must comply with all conditions of approval before the certificate can be issued building (Kevin
2006).
Feng et al. (2010) state that professionals did issue a building certificate may enter or occupy the building. Project
Architect shall ensure that all repair work has been done according to the regulations and have been satisfied with the
repair work that is done then the certificate can be issued (John 2001). This is to ensure that the building is to be
delivered in good condition and can be used.
Efficacy variables PSP Services Under the CCC method
802
Through literature review found that there are two major factors and 12 sub-factors were identified which may impact
the issuance of certificate of PSP in this building. Factors and sub-factors are shown in Table 1: -
Table 1: Factors and Sub-Factors Variables Effectiveness PSP Services

No VARIABLE THROUGH LITERATURE REVIEW
Factor Sub-Factor
1 credibility of PSP - Ainon dan Abdullah (2008); and Kirk and David (2008)
2 Work Ethics Knowledge And Expertise of PSP - David and Andrew (2010)
3 Baharuddin (2007) conflicts of Interest - Ahmad and Rosman (2003) dan Wan (2004)
4 dan Azmie (2008) Ability PSP Faced Problems - Richard dan Susan (2006)
5 Accountibility of PSP - Holly and Vessela (2009)
6 Birokrasi - Michael (2010)
7 Organization and Management Company of PSP - Sharifah and Hardiman (2007)
8 Working System Regulation - Azlan-Shah et al. (2010) and Norman and Shamble (2009)
9 Theo & Martinus Documentation - James and Nigel (2007)
10 (2008) dan Norhani Financial - Simon (2009) dan George (2008)
11 et al. (2009) Information System - Nigel dan Ellen (2007)
12 Process Dan Procedur of CCC - Stuart (2008)
2. Methodology
The scope of the study covers the state of Selangor and Malacca as both a developed state in Malaysia (UPEN 2005,
EPU 2010). Since there is no difference in the process and procedure of issuing the building certificates then study takes
into account all categories of buildings. For the selection of the respondents as it is made up of local authorities monitor
the CCC (MHLG 2007e) and the local authorities assess the services provided by the PSP. Research strategy used in this
research is in the form of qualitative methods. Qualitative methods to select the feedback from the respondents by
interviewing respondents directly.
Sekaran and Bougie (2010) stated that interviews with respondents could involve more difficult questions and could be
explained in more details. Researchers contacted the selected respondent and make an appointment to do the interviews.
The qualified and appropriate respondents were identified based on suggestion made by the current respondent. This
method are normaly known as "snowball sampling" Moleong (2010).
Data Analysis
Table 2 shows in detail the quantitative results obtained through interviews.
Table 2: Quantitative Results through Session Interviews

Feedback
Scale Comment
Variable N 1 2 3 4 5
CCC accelerate the 7 - - - 2 5 - No need to wait for reviews of other agencies.
production of - The certificate issued by the parties PSP (Developer)
building certificates
CCC is more efficient 7 - - - 7 - - The PSP must carry out their duties professionally and
than CF responsibly as to issue certificates of CCC buildings
make it more efficient.
PSP power lead to 7 - - - 5 2 - PSP is empowered to regulate the entire project

enactment of a - PSP is more in accordance with the developer without
conflict of interest considering the interests of buyers.
and bureaucracy
803
Work ethic and job 7 - - - 3 4 - Adopting a system of ethics and work will ensure that
system guarantees the work complies with all processes, procedures and
service kualitt PSP conditions of approval.
Credibility influences 7 - - - 6 1 - PSP which has only served to confirm the credibility of
the quality of the PSP what is on site.
work from the safety - Ordered sub-contractors to make corrections to the
and comfort approved compliance.
PSP knowledge and 7 - - - 2 5 - Using the knowledge and expertise that is certainly able
expertise influence to produce the best quality buildings.
the safety and - With the knowledge and expertise of the PSP can
comfort ensure the safety and comfort of buildings constructed.
Conflicts of interest 7 - - - - 7 - This is because the PSP without the responsibilities
may affect the safety according to the rules and conditions of the approval.
and comfort - When developers give priority to profit and PSP
developer directions to set aside the interests of the
buyer because the power in the hands of a certificate
certifying the PSP.
Failure PSP solve 7 - - - 6 1 - As an example problem is not enough materials or
project problems substances used are not according to specifications but
affecting the safety the project is still ongoing. This affects the quality of
and comfort the constructed building and compromise the safety
and comfort of the building.
Accountability PSP 7 - - - 1 6 - Without the accountability of a PSP is unable to
guarantee safety and perform his duties properly and with quality.
comfort - By having an accountability PSP perfectionist work.
This guarantees the security and comfort of buildings
constructed.
Bureaucratic factors 7 - - - 4 3 - When there is bureaucracy disrupted the smooth
affect the implementation of the PSP work as necessary in
implementation of accordance with the developer without complying with
the PSP work the terms and conditions approved. This happens
because the power to issue building certificate in the
hands of the PSP and PSP are appointed and paid by
the developer.
Organizational charts 7 - - - 1 6 - Complete organization chart and the smooth
and management management of the company can help PSP to focus
company focused on fully on his duties.
PSP PSP help of his - Not being able to force PSP organizational charts do
duties work outside their fields due to lack of staff or PSP had
to do too much work on at any one time. This cause
cannot be given full attention by the PSP on such an
arduous task.
Perfect quality 7 - - - 7 - - Documentation of something important in the
guarantee construction of buildings as reference materials for
documentation evaluation.
project from the - Documentation is not complete, causing many matters
safety and comfort cannot be referred to and PSP had to take time to make
sure certain things. If the incorrect reference made as
an example of reference materials used then it certainly
affects the safety and comfort of buildings constructed.
Financial guarantee 7 - - - 4 3 - Finance plays a very important role to ensure a quality
high quality buildings building.
constructed from the - This lack of financial cause a lot of materials used is
safety and comfort insufficient, poor quality and did not follow the proper
specifications. If this happens so delicately constructed
building definitely are not safe and comfortable to be
occupied.
804
Extensive use of 7 - - - 5 2 - The use of a comprehensive information system on a

information systems development project can provide the best of facilities.
to ensure the safety This is due to a construction process that is complex
and comfort of and PSP requires an information system for storing all
buildings constructed the latest information and data safely and orderly.
- With the use of advanced information systems also can
help PSP in designing buildings easily and perfect.
This can save a lot of time is required if doing it
manually.
Interfere with the 7 - - - 3 4 - PSP should be careful and take a long time to ensure
process and that all processes and procedures are fully complied
procedures CCC PSP (unranked certification process). Because there are so
focus on safety and many processes and procedures to be followed in the
comfort of buildings fraud resulted in compliance with established processes
constructed and procedures to make it easier.
- When fraud happens, the quality of buildings
constructed are not guarantee the security and comfort
for the occupied.
[1] strongly not influence [2] not influence [3] neutral [4] influence [5] greatly influence
3. Conclusion
From the study it shows that the respondents are more likely to say the CCC method implemented by the
government is better than the old system. By using the services of professionals (architects) as the body responsible for
issuing certificates of buildings to ensure they did not wash his hands after the building is handed over. Architects had
been appointed as the PSP (producer of building certificates) are the perfect choice as they are overseeing a project
from before, during and after the project is to be delivered to the buyer.
However, for the goals of the implementation of this method is achieved by fully CCC PSP appointed to provide
quality services to ensure that all processes and procedures and requirements are followed. Through literature review,
there are variables that need to be give more attention by PSP in processing CCC application. The variables consist of
two main factors, namely the work ethic and work systems, respectively 5 and 7 supported by other sub-factors. All
these variables found to be significant to the effectiveness of the PSP under this CCC method.
The success of CCC method is entirely depend on PSP whereby they needs to play their role as the prefessional
responsible for the overall project undertaken undoubtedly a result of building quality built and ensure the safety and
comfort of building occupants. Thus by keeping the work ethics as professional architects and comply with the
prescribed system of work is certainly the quality of their service is always maintained.
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Ainon, M. & Abdullah, H. (2008). Teori & Teknik Ucapan Berpengaruh. Selangor: PTS Professional Publishing.
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projects in malaysia. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering 9 (2): 323-329.
Azmie, M. Z. (2008). Sopan Daripada Perspektif Pengurusan Organisasi. Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Publications & Distributors Sdn.
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Mempertingkatkan Sistem Penyampaian Perkhidmatan Kerajaan-Penambahbaikan Urusan-urusan Pemajuan Serta
Penyenggaraan dan pengurusan Hartanah. Anjuran Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan. pusat Bandar
Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, 14 April.
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806
Managing Key Performance Indicator (KPI) As a Method of

Facilities Management Performance in Higher Learning
Institution
H. Hashim a,72*, N. Kamarulzaman a, S.Z. Hashim a
a
Building Surveying Department, Faculty Architecture, Planning and Surveying, UiTM (Perak), 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
Abstract
Having a performance indicator or quality objectives has bring some benefits not only to FM personnel and organization as a whole
but also to clients, designers, consultants, contractor and subcontractors where they can consider how their organization compare to
the data that will have been collected from a large number of organizations. In order to identify the relationship and the
implementation of FM performance in higher learning institution in Malaysia, this research has been carried out and three (3) public
universities was selected as case studies. The objective of conducting the research is to assess the current practice of Facilities
Management performance according to the maintenance standard through Key Performance Indicator (KPI) implementation.
Analysis for the research comprises of comparative and descriptive approach as well as qualitative and quantitative analysis which
are based on case studies, interview and questionnaire. The findings revealed that Key Performance Indicator (KPI) practices in
these three universities are systematically established, implemented and enforced in full scale-basis. The information is obtained
from FM personnel in multiple disciplines where the results are thoroughly analyzed and the opinions are encouragingly gathered
from respondents. From the findings, the author believe that this research would provide better understanding and perception to the
readers on the KPI implementation in Malaysia higher education properties and the extent of its benefits as well.
Keywords: Key Performance Indicator; Facilities Management; Performance; Higher Learning Institution
1. Introduction to Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
Oakland (1999) stated that whilst critical success factors are crucial in terms of setting direction for everyone in the
organization, they can, without specific targets to be achieved, be seen to be ‘loose statements’. Furthermore, these
targets that are commonly known as key performance indicators (KPIs) represent the measures of progress in
achievement of critical success factors. Normally the KPI’s criteria are setting in the area of client satisfaction (service
& product), defects, safety, predictability (cost & time), construction (cost & time), productivity and profitability.
According to the Construction Best Practice Programme, anyone can use these KPIs includes clients, designers,
consultants, contractor and subcontractors can consider how their organisation performed against the comparative data.
The methods of conducting the case studies are primarily based on feedbacks questionnaire and interviews. The
questionnaire is designed for facilities staff to look on their understanding, opinion and interpretations about subject
matter. 30 prospective respondents (from each case study) were selected randomly involved from whole section / unit
under the department from top to bottom by assume that all respondents are well known about the operation and
organisation. Semi structured interviews were used to the facilities director, manager, engineer and technical staff
where it involve the use of some pre-formulated questions, but there is no strict adherence to them. The selection of the
interviewees was based on their position and function who are closely related to the strategic and operation, managing
the maintenance standard and involved in KPI implementation as well.

807
3. Case Study
The selection of case study are basically based on public university, at least 20 years’ of operation and located at
Klang Valley area. Three (3) universities being selected are as follows:
a. Case Study No.1: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
Insert The Department of Development Management (JPP) UKM does not have a specific Key Performance Indicator
(KPI) parameter in assessing the performance management. However, they are governed the Quality Objectives as
their indicator and setup the goals according to the different division that can be tabulated as follows:
Quality Objective Nos. 1: is specific to development division
Quality Objective Nos. 2: is specific to maintenance division
Quality Objective Nos. 3: is specific to service division
Quality Objective Nos. 4: is specific to administration division
Quality Objective Nos. 5: is equivalence deemed to all division as well
The meaning and reason of the Quality Objectives implementation by (JPP) UKM is almost similar to the Key
Performance Indicator (KPI) approach due to its resulted the benefits in motivate workers to achieve the best quality of
work and significantly improve the performance of work process. Therefore, the measurement thus can be easily made
since the quantified values are given. As such, the title may so called differ but the application and purposes is same.
Table 1: Quality Objectives of Department of Development Management (JPP) UKM

Nos. Area Objectives
1 Development Division To complete 60% of project development within the construction period as per fixed
in the contract.
2 Maintenance Division To respond to all complains within three days after complain is received.
3 Service Division Ensure 80% of service preparation is completed in full within the agreed period.
4 Staff Training Management Ensure training is provided to all staff at least once in each year.
5 Customer Feedback Ensure the customer satisfactory index is achieved at the minimum of 80%.
Source: Department of Development Management (JPP) UKM
Referred to the quality objective were shown that it is really fair and square for the division to perform their own target
to disclose the parameter objective. Moreover, it does not too extensive and forcedly since the rate imposed in the
objectives is reasonable and the numbers of itemized is very small (two objectives only is for each division).
In attempt to avoid any delay in the development and construction of campus facilities, the organization aims to have at
least 60% completion of project development within the construction period as per fixed in the contract. While, for the
maintenance division is hope to resolved complains received from at least 3 days without looking at their range of
ordinary events occurred. If the event is abnormal like emergency for example utilities (electricity & water) breakdown,
it must be rectified within 24 hours. While if the order is define require a resources to be long term delivery, then it
must be consulted with the customer to agree with the time taken. The service division is responsive in dealing with the
infra, landscape, event management and so on. Thus, it should have at least 80% of service preparation is completed
in full within the agreed period.
Due to the personnel performing work is affecting product quality; it shall be competent on the basis of appropriate
education training, skills and experience. Thus, the management is sets out one of the main areas to be focus is about
the staff training. Regarding the customer feedback, the satisfactory index is calculated based from the level of
satisfaction scale that were used in the customer feedback form. There were four (4) scales to be rated such are 1 –
Strongly Unsatisfied, 2 – Not Satisfied, 3 – Satisfied and 4 – Strongly Satisfied. The area of item to be rated is meant
for the staff behavior and attitude (integrity, skill, on time resolve the issue, work meet the customer expectation and
warm service). The minimum 80% is minimum satisfactory index that sum out from the various numbers of dealing
operation which customer having contact to organization like maintenance purpose, development, site visit, payment,
meet the maintenance staff, quotation, tender & document arrangement and others.
In order to fulfill the end user requirements and giving the best quality over the service provided, the Department of
Development Management (JPP) UKM is established the Customer Charter. The customer charter is develop against
the principles of service delivery, payment, project management elements of scheduling, cleanliness and comfortable.
There are six (6) subject matters that are clearly addressed as the following:
1) Ensure all the supplies, facilities and services provided in good quality.
2) Ensure all payment confirmation is made within two weeks.
808
3) Ensure all information and maintenance reflects reliability.

4) Ensure no repetition of complains.
5) Ensure all projects run according to schedule.
6) Ensure the campus environment is clean, cheerful and comfortable.
Out of above points found that the item no. four (4) is a major challenge to the organization to avoid any repetition of
same complains comes around. It caused from the numbers of factor ordinarily due to the breakdown communication
where the end user are didn’t inform the status of particular job reported, the customer complain are wrongly
interpreted, the end user do not understand the work process and the status of work is late updated into the system and
many more.
1.1 Case Study No.2: Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
Development Office & Asset Management UPM does not own specific KPI, however they have using a set of Quality
Objectives to assess FM performance. The Quality Objectives of Development Office & Asset Management UPM is
striving to achieve few objectives that underline as follows:
1) Planning and provide a physical and infrastructure includes transportation plan in order to fulfill the UPM
development requirement as a “University of the MSc” with emphasize on the economic cost, quick possible
time frame and best quality and design.
2) Planning and provide UPM property development planning as it tend to fulfill the future university
requirement.
3) Manage the maintenance of UPM existing physical facility and infrastructure in order to remain in a good
condition and avoid uncertainty event.
4) Manage property inventory and value the requirement of new buildings and manage design, construction and
effective procurement costing.
5) Enforce the function of campus authority so that the physical development can be executed in proper
sequence, safe and comply with regulation on requirement of environmental preservation.
6) Manage the project funding and UPM development budget.
Hence, the management has decided to detailed up the areas of performance to be measured according to the division
that under the Development Office & Asset Management in order to be in line with objectives setting. The Quality
Objectives is specifically spell out according to:
1) Section A: Project Management (Tender / Procurement)
2) Section B: Regular Maintenance
3) Section C: Periodic Maintenance
4) Section D: Procurement
5) Section E: Asset Registration
6) Section F: Staff Training
It does covered from the whole division scope of work includes project management division, maintenance division,
administration & finance division and quality assurance unit as well. The detail areas of measurement are described as
follows:
1.2 Case Study No.3: Universiti Malaya (UM)
Insert Department of Development & Asset Maintenance (JPPHB) UM believe that out of four (4) division that exist
under the organization, the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is tend to fall into two (2) division only where so called
main contributor of department activities which are (maintenance management division) and (administrative &
planning division). The other two divisions are project development division and off-campus development &
maintenance division. Although it does not have a specific KPI for each of all division but the result is come from a
total coordination, standardization and authority. The KPI of JPPHB is designed as per below to achieve the objective
and organization mission:
809
Table 2: KPI of Department of Development & Asset Maintenance (JPPHB) UM

KPI KPI for JPPHB 2010 Target
Quality Infrastructure & 1 Maintenance for JPPHB repair works done regarded as 90%
Facilities satisfactory i.e 3 and above on a scale of 1 to 6.
2 Receiving problems associated with completed Less than 5%
maintenance / repairs jobs.
3 Number of months taken from the inception to the award of Not exceeding 8 months
tender of project (inception stage includes approval of
scope, budget and site).
4 Percentage of applications & request for jobs made through Not less than 90%
SAP (Sistem Aduan Penyelenggaraan) attended and acted
on within 7 days.
Source: Department of Development & Asset Maintenance (JPPHB) UM
The KPI above is emphasize on four (4) subject matter that are very close to the customer’s involvement. The areas are;
rating graded by the customer from maintenance repairing work, quality of work to be met with client expectation with
try to eliminate the repetitive complains, uncompleted of works and so on, the contract & tendering process and the last
one is action taken from the request ordered.
Through the data recorded as at August 2010 were found that the level of attainment of above KPI can be described as
follows:
KPI No. 1: There were 99.9% from total maintenance repair works that execute until August 2010 is satisfied the
customer. It must be among this range of scale (Scale 3 – 6). The scale can be rated as: Scale 6 –
Very Good, 5 – Good, 4 – Very Satisfied, 3 – Satisfied, 2 – Average and 1 – Not Satisfied.
KPI No. 2: As at August 2010, it has only 0.88% problems that arise after the completed maintenance or repair
jobs carried out. It called as ‘repetitive problem’.
KPI No. 3: The time taken to process the tender starting from inception stage until award the tender of project is
more than 8 months.
KPI No. 4: The statistic number shown that 93.29% of total application and request for work order until August
2010 is attended and acted by the responsible personnel in charge.
In summary, there are 3 KPI are successful achieved the target (KPI No.1, KPI No. 2 & KPI No.3) whereas 1 KPI (KPI
No.3) is does not achieved the target at all. The management of JPPHB should review the current procedure and
approach in processing the tender from inception stage until the tender awarded by not exceeding more than 8 months.
Since almost all mentioned KPI are dealing with the customer, the organization of (JPPHB) is consolidate 7 areas of
human behavior for the JPPHB staff that simultaneously needed, there are greeting, love, smart, fast, perfect, sensitive
and smile.
2. Findings & Analysis
In relation to KPI implementation, four (4) area of assessment were tested and the result are tabulated according to
Likert Scale using; (1 – Strongly Disagree, 2 – Disagree, 3 – Fair, 4 – Agree, 5 – Strongly Agree).
810
Table 3: The Highest Score By Respondent’s Feedback

Description Highest Score
UKM UPM UM
Area 1:
Reason in Formulating KPI in Facilities / Maintenance Department
a To improve productivity 4 4 4
b Quality improvement in management 4 4 4
c Trend current market 5 3 4
d To focus more on core competencies / business 4 4 4
e To increase the believe from customer 4 3 4
Area 2:
Importance Criteria in KPI Parameter
a Respond Time 5 5 4
b Action Time 5 5 4
c Health & Safety Environment 4 4 4
d Condition Audit 4 4 4
e Customer Service Rating 4 4 4
Area 3:
Difficult Aspect in Managing KPI
a Limited Resources (Man, Money, Material, Method, Machinery) 5 5 5
b Different Expectation from one to another in determine the level 5 5 5
of quality of works
c Communication breakdown / Non-clarity of instruction given / 5 5 5
Progress does not well communicate
d External Factor that Interrupt to Take Action 5 5 5
e Human Behaviour Factor (Accountability) 5 5 5
Area 4:
Priority to the Type of Assessment
a Condition Audit 4 4 4
b Contractor Performance Evaluation 4 4 4
c Space Audit 4 4 4
d 5S & Housekeeping Audit 4 4 4
e Customer Satisfaction Survey 4 4 4
Table 3 above shown that majority of respondents from whole case study realize that KPI is formulated with rational
reason, understand the importance of KPI parameter, aware on difficulties in managing KPI and giving the prioroty to
certain important assessment.
3. Conclusion
Out of 3 selected universities, UM has using Key Performance Indicator (KPI) as their main methodology in assessing
the FM performance while UKM and UPM are using the Quality Objectives to assess the FM performance. As
observed, either KPI or Quality Objectives, the implementation and the process are similar due to both has the
qualitative list of criteria and quantitative targets to achieve. In addition, the purposes of the establishment of KPI and
Quality Objectives are same whereby it is useful to measure the performance and compliancy. Based on above
justification, all selected case study has fulfill the requirement in having a standard target in assessing the FM
performance at their organization. As observed, the criteria those being stipulated by most of organization to be
assessed are action time or respond time, maintenance customer feedback, health safety & environment, outstanding
work order, project management process, general procurement, asset registration and a lot more. Some of organization
is formulating the performance indicator in general surfaces whereas some of them go beyond the basic which details
specify each division targets. The differences approach basically influences by the different philosophy of each
organization. In avoid putting a burden on the staff, the management has to be more rationalize in formulate the
performance indicator. It can be concluded that the FM performance management is aggressively implemented on full-
scale basis by FM personnel and their management. It shall be part of organization achievement and can be used to
assess the staff performance as well.
Acknowledgements
Sr. Mohd Hanafi Moghni (UiTM), Pn. Fazidah Yusof (UM), Ir. Abd. Ghani Wahab (UKM), En. Mohd Faudzir Abu
Bakar & En. Haji Ismail Mat (UPM), En. Khairul Anuar Zakaria & En. Ilias (UIA), Cik Zainorhalimahtun Zainudin
(UPNM), Pn. Fazilawati Bt Zaini (UPSI), Ir. Mohd Rayme Anang Masuri (UTeM) and all staff, students and public
who involved directly and indirectly in assistance and respond the survey.
811
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The 3rd International Building Control Conference 2013

A Discussion on Methodologies to Measure the Perception of

1.1. Research Background

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6-032-616-5181; fax: +6-032-697-7430.

1.2 Green Roof Systems (GRS)

1.3. Implementation of Green Roof Systems (GRS) in Malaysia

Table 1. Implementation of Green Roof in Malaysia.

The Influence of Work Adjustment of Malaysian Expatriate

Keywords: Expatriate; adjustment; preparation; construction.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +6019-5582282; fax: +605-3742244.

Table 1 : Past studies on work adjustment variables.

3.2 Respondents’ Demographic

3.3. Factor Analysis and Reliabilities

4. Findings and Discussion

Items Factor Loading Alpha

Factor 1 Work Environment

Factor 3 Task Satisfaction

Work Adjustment Reward

Table 3. Means and Standard Deviations of Work Adjustment

Factor Mean Factor Variables Mean SD

Work Environment 3.82 Tasks in the new post 4.12 .63

4.1. Work Environment

4.3 Task Satisfaction

Noe, R. A. (2007). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. USA: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Building Information Modeling (BIM): A New Paradigm for

R. Takim a, M.Harris a* A. H. Nawawi a

4. Determinant factors of Technology Acceptance

4.1 Categories of technology adoption

4.2 Factors influencing the choice to adopt

Figure 1: Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989)

4.3 Mediating factors to technology implementation

Negative N Determinant Factors

Private Organisation Awareness, Regulate,

N Negative Public Organisation

CIDB UKAS eMOST/UMP GWS (Vendor) EC (vendor)

Suggestion To explore on the The concept of Specialised training Majority of To suggest a

Energy Efficiency Architecture in Certified Green Building,

Figure 1: Breakdown of air conditioned office energy consumption

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 05 3742289; fax: 053742244.

d) Load on the services

The research objectives of this study are:

i) To identify passive design concept implemented in green building.

Figure 2: Cost transfer between elements of normal building to green building

Figure 3: The Diamond Building, Putrajaya

A. 7.0 Finding Analysis

7.2.1 Window / tilting façade

7.2.2 Roof light

Figure 12 : Atrium daylight Figure 13 : Inside view at atrium

7.4 Sunken Garden

Chor , C.H (2011, Oct 4) Berita Harian .

Malaysia Productiviti Corporation (2010).Sustainable Development Initiatives in Malaysia. Selangor:Malaysia

Pembangunan Kerangka Teori Punca Kelewatandalam Projek

Rajah 1. Sistem Konversi Terbuka Drewin (Drewin, 1982).

5. Dapatan & Perbincangan

Rajah 2. Kerangka teori kelewatan

Rajah 3. Punca kelewatan dalm pembinaan berdasarkan kategori

Greenwood, D. J., Osborne, A. N., & Aggiag, M. A. (2001). A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF

Aiding Decisions for Selecting Appropriate BIM Software in

Keywords: Construction Project, Building Information Modelling, Decision Support;

* Corresponding author. Tel.:+604-928 6867 ; fax: +604 928 6906.

2. General Aspect of Project Life Cycle

3. Design Phase and BIM

4. Decision Making for Selecting BIM software