FM and clinical employees' involvement in the design of eight Norwegian hospital projects

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to gain insight in how the involvement of facilities management (FM) and clinical employees are practiced in new Norwegian hospital projects and to study the benefits and lessons learned from the involvement. Design/methodology/approach This study is conducted by cross-sectional case studies of eight hospital projects by using a literature review, interviews and document studies of FM and clinical employees and project leaders (PLs) among Sykehusbygg. Findings The service design approach with a structured interaction between the PL’s of Sykehusbygg, and the different disciplines of clinical employees and FM specialist was rewarding and efficient. The facilitator role of Sykehusbygg is essential to manage such a broad and complex involvement process using a wide range of various techniques at the different stages of the projects (dialogue meetings, review meetings, workshops, post-it notes, 2-D drawings, mock-up and 3-D models, as well as virtual reality (VR) and Building Information Modeling technology). The clinical employees’ framework is stronger and much more structured than the involvement of FM competences through the different stages of the projects. The property management competences were involved at the early concept phase and design phase, whereas the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) competences were getting involved through the construction and commissioning phase. The value of FM involvement in all stages of the project is seen beneficial, particularly when the FM specialist become a part of the design team and located physically at the same place. The main reported benefits of early FM involvement are cost-effective technical solutions and installations, less design flaws and improved functionality, as well as a stronger ownership and mutual respect between the clinical and FM disciplines. However, not all hospital organizations see the benefits of the FM involvement of all stages, as they are driven by reducing capital cost. In one of the new projects, other ways of involving the FM competences were tested. Additionally, particularly for the O&M competences, a dialogue meeting with a clear focus of sharing experiences with different technical solution was found rewarding in terms of cost benefits. Research limitations/implications This study does not consider the social impact of the choices made in the design phase. The findings also indicated a certain development of the FM involvement. This is not studied in two of the newest projects where they are still in the design phase and the FM role was not interviewed. Practical implications The PL role is important as a facilitator role of the involvement process. Social implications A dialogue meeting with a group of O&M people was found rewarding and valuable for knowledge sharing. This methodology can be further developed and tested, as this group of stakeholders is not always available for giving input in the project. Originality/value The value of this study is the description of the interaction between the PLs and the hospital organization in the eight projects and lessons learned by the involvement of FM competences and clinical employees.