Implementing engineering asset management standards (PAS-55) in information management evaluation: Case study in Hong Kong

Abstract

A number of facility management companies manage commercial buildings that are owned by the Government and private companies in Hong Kong. To ensure the performance in better quality, most of them have obtained different quality recognitions such as PAS 55 standards. However, in many companies, the organizations or building departments do not pay much attention on performing the criteria stated in the standards. They just follow the rules but there are no specific rules or procedures for performance evaluation. In this research, we investigated the implementation of the standards in asset information management that was performing in Hong Kong and conducted comprehensive analysis for current operating situation in asset information management. A structured questionnaire was designed and data was collected from 30 Operation and Maintenance (OM) departments for commercial buildings. These buildings are owned by the Government and private companies. The users of buildings include public services, commercial and banking business, residential tenants, industrial sectors and composite services in Hong Kong. The answers generated from the questionnaire reveal the real situation in implementing the standards of PAS-55, especially in asset information management. The answers show different performance levels for different kinds of buildings. The evaluation results point out that different types of buildings have different strategies in adopting the standards. From the data analysis, it reveals that there is a substantial gap exists between the adoption of standard implementing and the significance level claimed by the users in some cases. Hence, a gap analysis was conducted for these special cases. Furthermore, the relationship between the significance level in implementing PAS 55 and the determining factors in asset information management section was explored.