Key performance indicators for the maintenance of public hospitals buildings in the Gaza Strip

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the maintenance of public hospital buildings in the Gaza Strip. Design/methodology/approach – Four KPIs were identified and evaluated in this paper: building performance indicators (BPI), maintenance efficiency indicators (MEI), annual maintenance expenditure (AME) and urgent repair request indicator. Twenty-one buildings in 13 public hospitals in Gaza Strip Governorate were taken as the sample of this study. Findings – The results indicated that the European Gaza hospital has the highest BPI score (81.66) and the Dorra hospital has the lowest BPI score (68.26). The findings revealed that the average AME for all hospitals was $13.8/m2 which is considered to be below the standard level of expenditure. The MEI for Gaza public hospital buildings was found to be equal to 0.3 which indicated low level of maintenance expenditure. Research limitations/implications – Unavailability of certain data, lack of maintenance documentation and comparison difficulty between the Gaza Strip and Israel due to political, cultural and financial situation were some of the limitations of this study. Practical implications – The Ministry of Health (MoH) can utilize the results of this study and consider it as benchmarking for maintenance management in public hospital buildings. This can improve the current maintenance situation which ultimately will improve the health-care situation in Palestine. The Palestinian MoH should look for external funding to increase the AME, as well as aim at increasing the MEI. Social implications – The health-care situation in Palestine will be improved. Originality/value – This study is considered the first study to identify and assess the KPIs in the Gaza Strip. KPIs will assist the MoH to compare the actual and estimated performance in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and quality of workmanship.