Appraisal of the building maintenance management practices of Malaysian universities

This article presents the results of a questionnaire survey conducted
on the background information of an ongoing research. The article describes
the characteristics, size and strategies of university maintenance departments.
Questionnaires were administered on 50 university maintenance organizations.
With a 66 per cent response rate, the fi ndings suggest that though the expenditure
on maintenance is inadequate, poor management of the resource and maintenance
services are also contributing greatly to the poor service delivery, the spate of
maintenance backlogs and poor user satisfaction. On the basis of the outcomes of
the questionnaire survey and a literature review, a schematic value maintenance
management model is proposed for university maintenance organization. The
maintenance department should be regarded as a business unit. The signifi cant
impact it has on the university institution can be illustrated by reviewing it in terms
of characteristics. It should be strengthened by including it as one of the university
strategic business units. This will also make it more attractive and competitive.
The department should not be seen as an engineering-led unit, but as a business-led
unit so that it can be creative, innovative and competitive.