Motivation for the development of an information management framework for
Healthcare Facility Management
Arundhati GHOSH
1
and Allan D. CHASEY
2
1
PhD student, Del E. Webb School of Construction, School of Sustainable
Engineering and the Built Environment, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering,
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; email: aghosh9@asu.edu
2
Program Chair & Professor, Del E. Webb School of Construction, School of
Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Ira A. Fulton Schools of
Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; email: achasey@asu.edu
ABSTRACT
Facility information is created and continually developed over the lifecycle of
a project influencing the current and future conditions of some aspect of the facility.
Typically, the information handed over to the owners is in the form of paper-based or
digital documents that include the requirements as specified in the contract. Databases
such as a Building Information Model (BIM) have enabled the easy accumulation and
preservation of data from various phases and sources in the projects lifecycle, which
are delivered to the owner, sometimes as a single information model. In an ideal
situation, it is expected that the availability of the digital data will enable the Facility
Management (FM) team to retrieve any information they require at any moment,
increasing their daily productivity. It is now possible to access real-time information
from the model and the facilities database on hand-held devices. While the aspect of
reducing time to increase efficiency has been addressed in previous research,
knowledge about the semantics and structure of the information required during the
execution of a work order is also essential and needs to be addressed. In order to
understand this information requirement, the authors began the process by studying
the information networks of existing healthcare facilities. The literature review and
subsequent discussions with healthcare facility owners, operators and managers
establish the need and motivation for the development of an information management
framework. This paper discusses the preliminary review of literature, the
development of a research method based on grounded theory (GT) and the design of a
data collection tool.
INTRODUCTION
Owners of all types of facilities share a common thread in their organizational
goals; ensuring that the facility is performing to the designed intent and the services
are being delivered effectively to the user. The day-to-day management of the facility,
including the operations and maintenance, contribute to this goal. The role of the FM
team is to operate and maintain the building throughout its lifecycle after it is handed
over by the contractors. While the most common objective is to optimize operational
costs, the facility manager is also responsible for ensuring people and processes
benefit by their efficient management of systems (Lavy & Shohet, 2004). To achieve
these objectives, at a minimum, the team requires easy access to up to date and
appropriate facility information that includes information from previous phases of the
1901 Construction Research Congress 2014 ©ASCE 2014