Improvement of Existing Public Office Buildings in Nigeria from Users’ Perspective Using Lean Thinking – A Pictorial View

Subject Areas : Urban Design

Adegbenga Adeyemi ¹ , David Martin ² , Rozilah Kasim ³

1 - Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Environmental Technology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria.
2 - Professor, Faculty of Technology Management and Business, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, 86400 Johor, Malaysia.
3 - Associate Professor, Faculty of Technology Management and Business, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, 86400 Johor, Malaysia.

Received: 2015-10-28 Accepted : 2016-04-04 Published : 2017-12-01

Keywords: Sustainable Improvement, User Requirement, Lean Thinking, Job Productivity, Design Features,

Abstract :

This paper gives a pictorial view of the relevance of lean thinking, particularly the applicationof muda as a supplement to the sustainable improvement diagnosis technique of existing public office buildings,for a fuller assessment of users’ requirement in Nigeria. The impact of perceived muda was related to the triplebottom line of sustainable development on perceived job productivity and design features and estimated from endusers’perspective, using diagnostic POE as data acquiring tool, while the confirmatory analysis was done throughAMOS, SPSS and MS Excel to explain the relationship between the different variables. The findings showed thatmuda is inherent in public office buildings and it has highly significant causal effects of 0.66 and 0.76 respectivelyon perceived job productivity and design features; it also has strong effect sizes of 44% and 58% in explaining boththeir variances respectively. The result revealed that users require more improvement in facilities as against spatialplan and structures, while there is a medium and positive correlation of 0.48 between perceived job productivity anddesign features implying that improvement in design features will consequently lead to improvement in perceivedjob productivity. The study concludes that lean thinking is relevant to building improvement and could serve as goodsupplement to the current improvement diagnosis of existing public office buildings, but not as a substitute sincedata were only collected from users who are not able to provide the required technical data that would otherwisewarrant use of equipment.

References:

Adams, K. A. & Lawrence, E. K. (2015). Research Methods, Statistics and Applications. Los Angeles: SAGE Inc.
Adeyemi, A., Martin, D. & Kasim, R. (2014). Application of Lean Thinking to the Built Environment in Developing Nations for Sustainability. Journal of Environmental Design & Construction Management, 2(3), 1-17.
Adeyemi, A., Martin, D. & Kasim, R. (2015). Research Framework for Identification of Waste and Inefficiencies in Existing Public Office Buildings in Developing Nations for Sustainability. British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 5(1), 60-75.
Arge, K. (2005). Adaptable Office Buildings: Theory and Practice. Facilities, 23(3), 119-127.
Awang, Z. (2015). SEM Made Simple. Selangor: MPWS.
Birkeland, J. (2012). Design Blindness in Sustainable Development: From Closed to Open Systems Design Thinking. Journal of Urban Design, 17(2), 163-187.
Brandon, P. & Lombardi, P. (2010). Evaluating Sustainable Development in the Built Environment. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Bullen, P. A. & Love, P. E. D. (2010). The Rhetoric of Adaptive Reuse or Reality of Demolition: Views from the Field. Cities, 27(4), 215-224.
Bullen, P. & Love, P. (2011). A New Future for the Past: A Model for Adaptive Reuse Decision-Making. Built Environment Project and Asset Management, 1(1), 32–44.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
De Vaus, D. (2001). Research Design in Social Research. 1st ed. London: SAGE Publications.
Dennis, P. (2007). Lean Production Simplified. 2nd ed. New York: Productivity Press.
Deuble, M. P. & de Dear, R. J. (2012). Green Occupants for Green Buildings: The Missing Link? Building and Environment, 56(1), 21-27.
DeVellis, R. F. (2012). Scale Development: Theory and Applications. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550.
Fenno R. (1986). Observation, Context, and Sequence in the Study of Politics. American Political Science Review, 80(1), 3-15.
Finch, E. (2010). Lean Facilities Management - Transplanting a Manufacturing Approach? Paper presented at ARVO workshop, Aalto University, Espoo, 22 June.
Genre, J. L., Flourentzos, F. & Stockli, T. (2000). Building Refurbishment: Habitat Upgrading. Energy and Buildings, 31(2), 155-157.
Georgiou, J. (2010). Verification of a Building Defect Classification System for Housing. Structural Survey, 28(5), 370-383.
Gohardani, N. & Bjork, F. (2012). Sustainable Refurbishment in Building Technology. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 1(3), 241–252.
Haddad, H. M. (2010). A Framework of Sustainable Design for the Region of Palestine. The Pennsylvania State University: Master’s Thesis.
Haynes, B. P. (2007). Job productivity: A Theoretical Framework. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 9(2), 97–110.
Haynes, B. P. (2008). The Impact of Office Layout on Productivity. Journal of Facilities Management, 6(3), 189–201.
Hui, E. C. M., Wong, J. T. Y. & Wan, J. K. M. (2008). The Evidence of Value Enhancement Resulting from Rehabilitation. Facilities, 26(1/2), 16–32.
Ilozor, B. D., Okoroh, M. I. & Egbu, C. E. (2004). Understanding Residential House Defects in Australia from State of Victoria. Building and Environment, 39(3), 327-337.
Israelson, N. & Hansson, B. (2009). Factors Influencing Flexibility in Buildings. Structural Survey, 27(2), 138-147.
Itard, L. & Klunder, G. (2007). Comparing Environmental Impacts of Renovated Housing Stock with New Construction. Building Research and Information, 35(3), 252-267.
Jiboye, A. D. (2009). The Challenges of Sustainable Housing and Urban Development in Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Research and Policies, 4(3), 23-27.
Jylhä, T. & Junnila, S. (2013). Learning from Lean Management – Going Beyond Input-Output Thinking. Facilities, 31(11), 454–467.
Jylhä, T. & Junnila, S. (2014). The State of Value Creation in the Real-Estate Sector – Lessons from Lean Thinking. Property Management, 32(1), 28–47.
Lamb, R. G. (2011). Make the Case for 'Lean Thinking' in Maintenance. Hydrocarbon Processing, 90(11), 69-71.
Love, P. E. D. & Bullen, P. A. (2009). Toward the Sustainable Adaption of Existing Facilities. Facilities, 27(9), 357-367.
Ma, Z., Cooper, P., Daly, D. & Ledo, L. (2012). Existing Building Retrofits: Methodology and State-of-the-Art. Energy and Buildings, 55, 889–902.
McGrath, J. (2012). Difference between Repairs, Maintenance and Improvements. Switzer Daily. Retrieved June 9, 2013, from http://www.switzer.com.au›TheExperts›John McGrath.
Mickaityte, A., Zavadskas, E. K., Kaklauskas, A. & Tupenaite, L. (2008). The Concept Model of Sustainable Buildings Refurbishment. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 12(1), 53–68.
Miller, E. & Buys, L. (2008). Retrofitting Commercial Office Buildings for Sustainability: Tenants’ Perspectives. Journal of Property Investment & Finance, 26(6), 552–561.
Monfared, I. G. & Sharples, S. (2011). Occupants' Perceptions and Expectations of a Green Office Building: A Longitudinal Case Study. Architectural Science Review, 54(4), 344-355.
National Population Commission NPC (2012). www.population.gov.ng (accessed 13th July, 2013).
Nicholas, J. & Soni, A. (2006). The Portal to Lean Production: Principles and Practices for Doing More with Less. Boca Raton: Auerbach Publication.
Nwokoro, I. & Onukwube, H. N. (2011). Sustainable or Green Construction in Lagos, Nigeria: Principles, Attributes and Framework. Journal of Sustainable Development, 4(4), 166–174.
Ohno, T. (1988). Toyota Production System. Portland: Productivity Press.
Pallant, J. (2011). SPSS Survival Manual. 4th ed. Crow’s Nest: McGraw-Hill.
Power, A. (2008). Does Demolition or Refurbishment of Old and Inefficient Homes Help to Increase our Environmental, Social and Economic Viability? Energy Policy, 36(12), 4487-4501.
Reed, R. G. & Wilkinson, S. J. (2005). The Increasing Importance of Sustainability for Building Ownership. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 4(7), 339 – 350.
Schipper, T. & Swets, M. (2010). Innovative Lean Development. New York: Productivity Press.
Shipley, R., Utz, S. & Parsons, M. (2006), Does Adaptive Reuse Pay? A Study of the Business of Building Renovation in Ontario, Canada. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 12(6), 505-520.
Shrestha, H. D., Yatabe, R., Bhandary, N. P. & Subedi, J. (2012). Vulnerability Assessment and Retrofitting of Existing School Buildings: A Case Study of Aceh. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 3(1), 52–65.
Teo, E. A. L. & Lin, G. (2011). Determination of Strategic Adaptation Actions for Public Housing in Singapore. Building and Environment, 46(7), 1480–1488.
WCED, U. (1987). Our common future. World Commission on Environment and Development Oxford University Press.
Wilkinson, S. J., Reed, R. & Jailani, J. (2011). User Satisfaction in Sustainable Office Buildings: A Preliminary Study. In PRRES 2011: Proceedings of the 17th Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Annual Conference. Pacific Rim Real Estate Society.
Womack, J. P. & Jones, D. T. (1996). Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Organization. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Wood, B. (2006). The Role of Existing Buildings in the Sustainability Agenda. Facilities, 24(1/2), 61–67.
Wood, B. & Muncaster, M. (2012). Adapting from Glorious Past to Uncertain Future. Structural Survey, 30(3), 219–231.
Reuters. (2014). Retrieved 15th April, 2014 from www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/11/thinksecurityafrica.
Yin, R. (1994). Case Study Research. Design and Methods. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.