SIGNIFICANT METRICS AND PRACTICES FOR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT BENCHMARKING IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Benchmarking is an important tool for an organization to increase productivity in today's competitive environment. In view of the widespread acceptance of benchmarking, particularly in the West, the concept of benchmarking is relatively new in Singapore despite the quantum leaps in the economic progress in the recent years. The survey findings of this study provide a comprehensive framework of operation and maintenance benchmarks for facility professionals in Singapore. More specifically, it examines the costs and practices associated with janitorial, utility, and maintenance. In general, this study presents a bird's eye view on the topic of facility management benchmarking and offers insight on how organizations can uncover costs as well as make organization-wide improvements in facilities management performance. The survey finding revealed that Singapore has a lower cost in operating and maintaining a facility than the United States due to the advantages of a cheaper janitorial labour cost available in the region together with an average younger age of building stock which has resulted in the total cost of operations. The United States is more advanced in information technology as indicated in the study.