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Service Quality Indicators: Auditing systems in

office buildings in Ahmedabad

Jigar Chavda

Guide: Prof. Nimitt Karia

Research Methodology:

The research was based on understanding the key factors that an individual uses to judge the facilities

in an office building. Here the individual can be classified into the following categories:

The End User (employees of the offices)

The Client (the owner of the office/ tenant)

The Builder

The Facilities Manager

The Broker

The research tools used for the survey were in the form of questionnaire, semi structured interviews

and a scenario building exercise.

Questionnaire:

The questionnaires were designed in two parts and aimed at facilities managers and end users

respectively.

Part 1:

This questionnaire was designed to understand the basic facilities that are provided in office buildings.

It included the quantitative aspects of utilities and also the qualitative aspects of the management of

the utilities. The Questionnaire was aimed at the Facilities Manager. It included closed ended

questions in order to get a comparative for the parameters that are set to measure the quality of

services in the office buildings. The open ended questions give a list of utilities that are provided apart

from the ones mentioned in the questionnaire, also these questions were aimed at understanding the

management structure and the management of the provided utilities.

The Questionnaire covers the following heads:

1. General data

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2. Building fabric and construction

3. Building occupancy

4. Housekeeping

5. Utilities

a. Water supply management

b. Drainage connection

c. Rainwater harvesting and recharge

d. Storm water

e. Waste collection and management

f. Electricity

g. HVAC

h. Fire fighting measures

i. Information technology

j. Landscaping and parking

k. Refurbishment, retrofitting and new requirement

Part 2:

This questionnaire was aimed at understanding the end user perspective for the services provided and

which services are important according to them. The questionnaire is based on open ended and closed

ended questions. The open ended questions were aimed at the utilities the end user uses, whereas

the closed ended questions were used to gauge the satisfaction level of the end user with the provided

utilities.

Semi Structured Interviews:

The interviews were designed in order to get an understanding of the current practices of facilities

management in office buildings. The interviews were conducted with facilities managers. There were

a set of questions aimed at understanding the facilities provided and how these facilities are managed.

The questions also enquired into how the performance is measured for FM in the office buildings and

if there were any set parameters for the same.

The Brokers were interviewed in order to get an understanding of the current market scenario on the

services provided in the office buildings and the requirements that a client sets in order to purchase/

lease/ rent the property. These interviews gave an insight on the evaluating criteria that is informally

set for the office buildings by the client.

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The Builders were interviewed in order to understand how the project was conceived and what the

service provided in the office building were.

The Client (Office owner) were asked about the parameter that played a key part in decision of

choosing the office space.

Scenario Building Exercise:

This research tool was used to understand the issues faced by the end user on a day to day basis during

the working hours in the office building. It also highlights the facilities used by the end user during the

working hours and what is the satisfaction level based on the quality of service provided and the

quality of space.

The questionnaire in this tool is partly based on the DOI questionnaire for end user satisfaction where

the answers lie in between strongly agree to strongly disagree and excellent to very bad.

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Sampling:

The office buildings chosen would be of the same scale and type. These offices will be located in

different zones of the city.

Sampling for stake holders:

Facilities Manager:

To understand each building chosen the FM Head was interviewed and questionnaire was filled

through the interview.

One from each building chosen.

Client:

Depending on the occupancy of the building a random sample will be done based on the location of

the office in the premises.

Minimum of 4 offices based on the location in the complex. (North, South, East and West)

End User:

A random sample will be selected from the office buildings based on the location of the office in the

complex and the floor of the office occupied.

Minimum 3 from each floor and each direction.

N

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Interviews:

Facilities Manager (Expert Interviews)

What is FM? How do you define FM?

What is the scope of FM in India?

What are the facilities that are provided in office buildings?

What are the key parameters based on which one can judge the service quality of the office buildings?

How is service quality measured in the office buildings? Are there any set procedures for the same?

Builder

What is the current status of FM in office buildings?

Do you integrate FM with the building from the very 1st stage?

What are the key parameters that are considered when a site is chosen for an office buildings?

What are the facilities provided for office buildings?

What are the post occupancy services that you offer the clients?

Client

What is your occupation?

What is the office size?

What kind of office space do you require?

What are the basic criteria's that qualify an office space?

Did you own an office space before this space? If yes why did you shift?

Did you involve your staff while choosing the office space?

How content are you with the office space?

Do you have a Facilities Management team for the current office space?

What are the Facilities offered to you in the current setting?

What are the Facilities that you would want apart from the existing ones?

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What is the annual costs attached to the office space in terms of maintenance? Break up and for what

services?

What is the kind of parking space allotted to you? Is there a separate visitors parking?

Broker

How are you connected to builders?

What is the process of buying an Office Space?

What are the key facilities that a client looks at while buying the office space?

What are the major properties/areas in the city where there are office spaces?

How do you prioritize on the office spaces that you have to show the clients?