Building maintenance processes and practices: The Case of a Fast-Developing Country

by Abdul Lateef Olanrewaju, Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz

Building maintenance processes and practices: Facilities management (FM) is still at the nascent stage in Malaysia.

The oftrepeated remark among construction players is that Malaysia is good at building ‘world class’ edifices but poor at maintaining them.

Generally, from government bodies, corporations right down to the general public, the maintenance mentality is missing. But that is not to say, advances are not being made.

The Construction Industry Development Board has developed an Asset and Facility Management guide and competency standard for facility management contractors.

The Malaysian Association of Facility Management provides the platform for facility managers to come together and get their voices heard.

International conferences on FM continue to be held in Malaysia to elevate research and discourse on the subject.

In time, decision-makers in public and private bodies will come to realize the strategic importance of FM in its value adding capacity rather than burdensome cost element.

When that happens, new economic opportunities would expand for contractors and professionals alike, spurring additional economic growth to the nation.

Building maintenance processes and practices is timely in that it adds to the literature on FM in Malaysia, which at the moment is lacking.