CLASS NOTES

Introduction
The Built Environment
The built environment is the human-made surroundings where people gather to live, work and play.
It encompasses both the physical structures where people do these activities and the supporting
infrastructures, such as transport, water and energy networks. The built environment is a product of
human labour and imagination. The built environment is created using resources from the natural
environment so that the needs of human beings can be satisfied.

Figure 1: Nairobi built environment

In the field of social science, the term built environment refers to the man-made features that provide
the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from buildings to parks, roads to bridges etc. It has
been defined as the space where humans live, work and recreate on a day-to-day basis.

In the field of public health, the term built environment has been expanded to include aspects like
healthy food access (clean surrounding), ease of walking and cycling. In this field, the built
environment is constructed in an effort to improve the well-being of the community.

Hence the emergence of green cities and smart cities. A green city (a.k.a. a sustainable city, eco-city)
is a city whose design considers the environmental impact and is inhabited by people who are
dedicated towards using minimal resources as input and outputting minimal waste that pollutes the
environment. This involves the use of renewable energy sources, recycling waste, efficient use of land
and its resources so as to create the smallest ecological footprint. What is the meaning of an ecological
footprint?

Within green cities are green buildings. Green buildings are sustainable meaning that they are built in
a way that depletion of natural resources is avoided in order to maintain an ecological balance. Below
are some of the guiding design principles of green buildings:

• Conservation – use what you need

• Efficiency – use your resources efficiently e.g. using raw materials that’s close to site. This
saves energy and time used for transportation
 • Recycling – recycle all waste, build from recycled materials and build from recyclable
materials
• Renewable resources – rely on renewable resources (sustainable energy systems) e.g. solar,
wind for energy, biomass etc.
• Restoration – when building, help restore the natural environment e.g. rain water harvesting.
• Healthy – build a place that is healthy for all
• Minimal impact – In the end the building should have minimal negative impact to the
environment, neighbours, people etc.

Figure 2: Green building concept

A smart city on the other hand is an urban development vision to integrate technological systems
(sensors, transport, energy, water, waste management systems etc.) with ICT in a secure manner to
enable a city to manage its assets efficiently leading to better quality of life of its citizens. Through the
use of sensors, data can be collected from citizens and devices in real-time and relayed for processing
and analysis. An example are sensors that collect air samples to monitor air quality. Another example
are your GPS-enabled phones are being used to provide information about traffic which Google maps
uses to provide you with traffic feeds. One can also come up with an idea of creating a mobile App
that enables you to take a pic of a garbage site and sending it to the Nairobi County offices for action.
Figure 3: Smart city components

In conclusion, the built environment has an impact on human wellbeing. Its structure, form and
function, as well as the quality of its natural environmental assets, determine its suitability for living
in. The built environment also puts pressure on natural resources, mainly through the use of land,
water and energy resources, as well as through the waste that is generated from activities taking place
within it and because of these repercussions caused by the built environment, we are trying to
mitigate them by building green and smart cities.

Overview of facilities and infrastructure in the built environment

What is a facility? A facility can be defined as a place, amenity, or piece of equipment that is provided
for a particular purpose. In our context, we especially focus on buildings such a university campus, a
sports facility, a medical facility, an amusement park, a nuclear facility etc. Facilities create a conducive
environment for the society to engage in the day-to-day tasks with ease. Without facilities, life would
be tedious and this means tasks will take a long time to complete.

The term infrastructure can be defined as the basic physical and organizational structures and services
(e.g. roads, bridges, electric lines, water and sewer network, drainage, telecommunication network,
waste management etc.) that is required for the operation and the functioning of a (community)
society or enterprise. They are the fundamental structures and systems serving a country, city or an
area of jurisdiction and they are there to ensure economic growth. For instance, industries require a
steady supply of energy for the machines to run and ensure steady production of goods. After
production of goods, a good transportation channel (e.g. railway, waterway, roadway, airway etc.) is
necessary for the goods to be delivered to the market within the shortest period of time. In case of
any complaints or queries, a reliable communication network is necessary for the customer to liaise
with the producer.
Need for facility and infrastructure management
Before we can identify the need of facility and infrastructure management, let’s first of all go through
the definition.

Below are some of the definitions of Facility Management (FM) as derived from some websites:

• All services required for the management of buildings and real estate to maintain and increase
their value.
• The means of providing maintenance support, project management and user management
during the building life cycle.
• The integration of multi-disciplinary activities within the built environment and the
management of their impact upon people and the workplace.

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA), the world’s leading FM professional body,
defines FM as, ‘A profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built
environment by integrating people, place, process and technology.’ Facilities management entails a
number of professions embedded in one to achieve its goals.

Figure 2 summarises the definition given by IFMA. Facilities management covers multi-disciplinary
activities within the built environment and the management of their impact upon people and the place
of work.

Facilities management is multi-disciplinary in nature, where facilities managers have to deal with the
challenge of integrating principles of organization from professions such as business administration,
architecture, engineering, social and behavioral science.

Successful facility management leads to work places which better support the flow of productive
processes while adding value (by regular maintenance for example) and decreasing costs (by out-
sourcing for example). The aim of facilities management should be to raise efficiency of the
management of space and related assets for people and processes as well as to optimize running cost
of building, in order that the mission and goals of the organization may be achieved to the best
combination of efficiency and cost. Improper or inadequate facilities management decreases the life
span of the facilities.

The scope, range of services, activities, responsibilities, skills and knowledge of facility management
are all intended to better incorporate existing organisational factors.

Figure 4: Triangle of P's and FM (Source: IFMA)

Facility and infrastructure management is more often an unseen industry. It ensures that buildings
and services operate safely and efficiently to allow people to go about their activities (work, play,
recreation, exercise etc.) without having to worry about how the building functions and if it is well
maintained.

In the facility management industry, people work around the clock to ensure the facility is safe and
well maintained. They ensure the building elements are well maintained, the lights work, air
conditioning is comfortable, work spaces are clean, waste is collected, security devices are working,
fire alarms are working, door lock are working etc.

The industry is more often taken for granted and often we don’t notice the services that ensure
everything is working efficiently and safely. For instance, a security is hired to ensure the campus is
secure from intruders, day and night. We have cleaners who make sure the classes and furniture are
cleaned on a daily basis. We have electricians who ensure the light bulbs are functioning. All these
duties require a Facility Manager for co-ordination and oversight. The Facility Manager is responsible
for outsourcing services from other companies and making sure contractual obligations are adhered
to. He/she is also responsible for creating work order schedules that ensure certain elements of a
facility are well maintained. He/she also has an inventory of the various components of the facility
that eases his/her tasks in developing maintenance schedules.

Facility Management Systems

Development
Facility management systems have developed over the last few decades. Facility and facilities
management has its origins dating back to the US in the 1970s when out of the ‘maintenance, servicing
and cleaning’ role, which was the building caretaker’s domain, emerged managers to oversee these
roles as well as managing leasing and workplace design for the fast-growing accommodation portfolios
of businesses in the telecommunications, banking and media sectors. This ‘facility manager’ role
contrasted with the ‘facilities management’ operation, which at this time was a collective term for an
external company managing the outsourced non-core administrative operations of a larger
organisation.

The 1980s was a decade of rapid growth. International Facility Management Association (IFMA) was
formed in the US and later in the UK, AFM (Association for Facility Management) and IFM (Internal
Facility Management) were formed, subsequently merging to become British Institute of Facility
Management (BIFM) in 1993. In 1988, Facility Management Association (FMA) Australia was formed
and similarly a European network of academics, users and associations – Euro FM was formed.

FM associations and groups have been formed across Europe and in Japan, Singapore, South Africa,
UAE and Brazil, so that the FM ‘movement’ is now truly global. As a result, there is a widening
understanding of the contribution FM makes to occupational efficiency and productivity in different
regions, with the profession at different stages of development in each country.

The expansion of FM-related associations has been accompanied by a proliferation of training and
qualifications at all levels, to meet the growing demand for well qualified facilities management
professionals. Across the world, there are a number of university-related courses which offer FM
degree/master status qualifications and alongside those are the variety of courses and qualifications
run by the FM bodies, which provide focused technical and professional qualifications.
Characteristics
There are 3 distinct characteristics of FM:

1. FM as a being a support role within an organization or a support service to an organization

2. FM is linked strategically, tactically and operationally to other support activities to create
value
3. Manager within FM must be equipped with knowledge of facilities and management to carry
out their integrated support role

FM emphasizes on the importance of integrative, interdependent disciplines whose overall purpose

is to sustain an organisation in the pursuit of its business or objectives. This means that FM should be
able to accomplish the following:

• Support people in their work and other activities

• Enhance individual well being
• Enable the organization to deliver effective and responsive services
• Allow for future change in the use of space
• Provide competitive advantage to the organization’s core business
• Enhance the organization’s culture and image

Classification of FM works
FM can be classified into 3 distinctive groups, mainly:

1. Strategic FM
2. Tactical FM
3. Operational FM

Strategic FM focuses on the receptiveness of the facility to the organization and business challenges.
It focuses on the organization’s long-term planning and clear justification of its potential direction,
which will contribute to the success of the organization. Strategic FM entails the following:

• Formulating and communicating facility policies

• Planning and designing for continuous improvement of service quality
• Identifying business needs and user requirements
• Negotiating Service Level Agreements (SLA)
• Establishing effective purchasing and contract strategies
• Creating service partnerships
• Systematic service appraisal, quality, value and risk assessment

Tactical FM focuses on the organization and administration procedures. It involves monitoring,

controlling and managing the operational FM; in order to ensure that the operations are well
performed in accordance with the organization’s requirements.

Operational FM covers all types of daily and routine services on the workplace. It is also concerned
with the effectiveness of the service functionality in an organization.
Figure 5: Classification of FM tasks (Akhlangi, 1990)

Capabilities
Here we shall look at the scope of services encompassed by FM. FM encompasses a wide range of
services. It covers all aspects of:

• Property and space management

• Environmental control
• Health and safety
• Support services

It requires that appropriate monitoring and control centers are established in the organisation.

FM has capabilities to cover services that involve:

• Heating
• Cleaning
• Security
• Ventilation
• Air-conditioning
• Electrical, building and plumbing services
• Landscaping
 • Car parking
• Energy management
• Waste management
• Sustainability management
• Real estate management
• Human resource management
• Contract management
• Pest control etc.

Functionality
The main function of FM is to support the organization’s core business or activities for improved
economic outcomes. Effective facilities management focuses on corporate asset management to add
value to core business activities and provide enabling environment for offering superior service quality
in support of business operations.

FM can be seen as a field that incorporates many diverse functions including:

• Master space planning/ Layout and design

• Space inventory
• Space and furniture standard settings
• Project management
• Programming/scheduling requirements
• Financial control (Budgeting and forecasting)
• Purchasing
• Construction management
• Ongoing maintenance management
• Real estate strategy
• Site management
• Overall system coordination
• The use of ICT in making FM activities efficient

Advantages of Facility Management

Facilities management is actually a great savings for your company. Here are the advantages of
Facilities management:

1. Cost Savings: Buildings and land are usually the second largest expenditure of any business (second
only to labor). By effectively implementing sound facilities management practices, a business can save
millions annually. These measures include keeping all building systems and equipment up to date and
running efficiently and maintaining security. This will save the company money in the long run by
reducing utility costs, eliminating expensive emergency service calls and lawsuits.

2. Customer satisfaction: While many people would not admit it, they are far more likely to visit (and
revisit) a company that takes pride in its appearance. By keeping the site well maintained, a company
shows that it pays attention to detail and will go the extra mile.

3. Occupant retention: It is far easier to keep an occupant than to find a new one. By paying attention
to occupant and visitor concerns about such things as room temperatures, building owners and
managers show they want to keep them satisfied.
4. Code compliance: As we all know; today’s society is more litigious than ever and government
standards are always changing. An effective facilities management system, by documenting
operations, can serve as evidence that your company is striving to provide a safe environment. This
documentation can be very important if a lawsuit were to arise.

5. “Green” image: Not only is eco-friendly facilities management important for conserving natural
resources and reducing pollution, today it can be a major selling point. While it will likely be the main
drawing card for attracting customers, pointing out that your company strives to maintain “green”
operations in its building and grounds will impress potential customers.

6. Personnel retention: Everyone is more productive when they work in a safe, comfortable
environment. By using effective facilities management, you can control labor costs because your staff
will be working at its best. You will be better able to attract and retain the best employees.

7. Safety: No one wants to be in a workplace under constant threats, whether it be from accidents,
thefts or violence. Establish and maintain effective and up-to-date facilities management. You’ll sleep
better at night knowing your staff, occupants and visitors are as safe as possible. That peace of mind
is worth any perceived additional cost.

8. Health-care costs: As you know, businesses lose millions each year in sick time and health care
costs. Effective facilities management may prevent sick building syndrome, eye strain, carpal tunnel
syndrome, back pain and a host of other ills. This may save health care costs and employee downtime.

9. Resale value: If and when the time comes to sell your facility, you will likely get a far better price if
you can show you have well-maintained buildings and grounds. You may also be able to sell quickly
because you won’t have to go through a frantic process to “stage” the property – it will already be
ready to show.

Facility Management Strategies

There are 3 strategies in FM and they are as follows:

1. Out-sourcing
2. In-housing
3. Out-tasking

Out-sourcing

Outsourcing facilities management means when companies contract out facilities management, a
contract usually arises between the client’s long-term strategies and the supplier’s incentive to
provide quality service.
Outsourcings in facilities management includes contracting an external company who is experienced
in facilities to carry on the entire facilities management process.
It gets rid of the internal staff and all delivery depends on the company that is out-sourced.
In-housing

In-house facilities management can be defined as a service that is provided by dedicated employees
by the client organization, where monitoring and control of performance is normally conducted under
the terms of conventional employer/employee relationship, although internal service-level
agreements may be employed as regulating mechanism.

Out-tasking

There’s a difference between out-sourcing and out-tasking. Outsourcing is where the entire facilities
management process is giving out to an external company whereas out-tasking major part of the
facilities management is contracted out and an in-house team is maintained which is responsible for
the entire process. This is one of the most used facilities management process today.

Outsourcing vs in-house FM

Benefits of outsourcing

Process improvements and strategy development. Consulting firms provide subject-matter expertise
and best practices for the facilities maintenance category. They dedicate resources to researching,
reviewing and implementing latest and greatest advancements in the space. At the very least, a fresh
perspective on the category can bring to light process improvement opportunities for your
organization. Even more so, a well-developed strategy can transition a company from a reactionary
model to a proactive cost-saving, value adding model driven largely by a preventative maintenance
program.

Implementation of reporting and asset management. While your company may lack the internal
resources and bandwidth, facilities management firms can fully invest the resources required to
develop and maximize value through reporting and asset management software. A consistent and
accurate risk assessment profile will allow an organization to accurately budget for capital work and
minimize failures/emergency situations that lead to costly downtown and premium service rates. The
consultants’ familiarity and ownership of these software systems ensures information from
contractors will be submitted in a manner that can be entered, such that once updated, the software
systems will be continually built with clean data.

Preventative maintenance program development. Preventative maintenance as opposed to

reactionary service provides cost savings due to a number of factors. Preventative maintenance
minimizes downtime, promotes energy efficiency, limits expensive emergency repairs, and maintains
manufacturer warranties on products and equipment. A consulting firm can implement the necessary
organization and uniformity from multiple preventative maintenance programs with numerous
mangers and fragmented data to one holistic program. This consolidation of facility equipment and
warranty data in one place benefits the customer company on a day-to-day basis as this database
cleanly houses relevant information about the facility.

Cost and single point of contact. The cost savings from the transition to a consultant go beyond the
RFP process and benchmark against historic rates. Hiring a consultant presents soft dollar savings
internally from payroll, time keeping, human resources, and benefits. In addition, there are soft-dollar
savings presented from the reduced need to execute procurement initiatives for the facilities
maintenance categories and fewer invoices to process. Finally, a consulting solution provides the
benefit of a single point of contact across an organization.

While there are some significant benefits, outsourcing facilities management does have drawbacks.

Challenges of outsourcing

Higher cost to transition. Once the consultant solution is implemented, a company faces a much
timelier and expensive process in changing away from this solution. Any change would then have a
much bigger impact on category as a whole as suppliers across all facilities operations are subject to
change. Under a consulting model, change would cause a widespread disruption in services.

Loss of control. Electing to utilize a consultant to manage facilities maintenance may be cost-effective,
but the customer company sacrifices the ability to directly handle the workforce. In addition, unique
customer requirements and dissatisfaction with work performed become more difficult to
communicate (here, the outsourced company ignores in-house solutions).

Supply market risks. Consulting firms tend to run into the risk of selecting an incompetent supply
despite going through a thorough tendering process. The supply might lack the resources to complete
the job. The supplier’s commitment might be questionable, availability unreliable, continuity not
assured etc.

Redundancy in management roles. Along with high turnover, adding a consultant is effectively adding
another cog in the machine. With an additional moving part, there’s a greater chance of
miscommunication and delays in execution. Adding duplicate roles eases the burden on internal staff
by simply communicating with account managers at consultant firms, yet this individual is then, in
many ways, just repeating that step with the contractors.

Response time. The added layer of communication will inevitably slow down response time for urgent,
emergency repairs. This can be mitigated by retaining relationships with local suppliers and/or training
an in-house team to handle emergency and other small repairs.

Data security. Data security is crucial for a company. You don’t want your data to fall in the wrong
hands. When a company outsources another company to work on the ICT system, then extreme
measures ought to be taken to avoid access and retrieval of company data.

Benefits of in-housing

Understanding organizational culture.

Full control.

Easy communication.

Safeguarding of information.

Fast response time.

Reduced staff turnover.

Examples of Facility Management Case studies

Take away CAT: Choose a Facility Management case study of your choice and write a paper giving the
background of the case study, problems solved and benefits of the particular case study. This
assignment will comprise of 30% of your final mark.

3D Documentation
For ease in management of facilities, documenting the facility, as-built, is crucial. This involves
capturing the current state of the facility and storing the data captured in various formats. As-built 2D
drawings have been used to document facilities and construction projects such as buildings, roads,
water utilities etc. Nowadays, the geometrical dimensions of these utilities can be captured and stored
in a digital environment using systems like GIS. Within these systems, 3D models of the utilities can
also be stored. We shall take a look at various techniques to capture and store geometry and attributes
of facilities.

Automated Mapping
Automated Mapping is a subset for GIS which is associated with public utilities like gas, electric, water
and telecommunications. The process involves users digitizing utilities for ease of management and
analysis of the asset performance. The mapped data is stored in a GIS database which maintains the
graphical and attributes of the mapped utilities.

AM has two major components, the graphical component and the database component.

Graphical component: Deals with graphical data which can consist of different types of real world
entities or objects represented graphically by geometries (lines, polygons, points). For example, a
street or road can be graphically represented by a linear geometry or a line. Other types of graphical
objects can be individual symbols representing single location point objects like road markers. Areas
are often represented by polygons especially for objects like boundaries. The system allows the user
to configure different geometry styles for different type of real world objects. There are tools available
within the system to digitize or create the graphical objects.

Database component: Mainly deals with the database part which stores the attribute data for the
real-world entities that need to be captured or managed as a part of the digitization process. This
attribute data is often stored in an underlying relational database (data is organized into one or more
tables/relations of columns and rows with a unique key identifying each row). A database table often
represents a single real-world entity or object and will be used to store relevant attribute data. The
database component is often linked or associated with the graphical component to complete a GIS
system.
Figure 6: Mapped water utility for Kisumu Water for asset management

How would you use GIS in property management?

Close range imaging techniques

Close range imaging techniques involves image capture of a scene/object that is less than 300 m from
the camera. The images are captured from terrestrial devices like hand-held cameras, smartphones,
cameras mounted on tripods. Aerial devices like UAV. The images can be captured for various
purposes but in our case, we are interested in capturing the geometry of a scene accurately. This
requires us to apply photogrammetric principles in image acquisition and processing.
Photogrammetry is the art and science of obtaining precise mathematical measurements and 3D data
from 2 or more photographs as long the photographs are captured with sufficient stereoscopic
overlap.

For a long time, photogrammetry was considered as a science practiced by few people due to the use
analogue methods for image acquisition and processing. Nowadays, computers and new technology
is being for image acquisition and processing. Automation has made it possible for a wide range of
users to develop photogrammetric end products for various applications.

In order to extract a 3-dimensional product of a scene, the following conditions need to be met:

1. Stereoscopic image pair (two or more overlapping photographs) of the object to be captured
2. Known accurate x, y, z coordinates for at least 3 control points well distributed in the
overlapping area of the photographs
3. Camera calibration parameters of the camera used to capture the images
Figure 7: Illustration of how 3d information is extracted from a pair of overlapping images

If the 3 conditions are met, then a 3D model of a scene can be generated. For instance, if you wanted
to generate a 3D model of a building, then you will be required to capture images around the building
in a manner that all the building exterior elements will be captured so as to avoid data gaps when
integrating your images. This can be achieved by using different platforms for image acquisition e.g.
you can use handheld digital cameras to capture the lower parts of a building and a UAV to capture
the higher parts of the building.

Figure 8: Generation of a 3d model from terrestrial photos

Another source of close range images is the use of thermal imaging cameras which have sensors that
are sensitive to the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum with are invisible to the naked
eye. Why?

Thermal images reveal areas of heat making it an effective way to identify the sources of heat loss
within, say, a building. Thermal imaging cameras can be used to:

• See air spaces around windows and doors

• Discover if insulation is missing
• Check for leaks
• Detect electrical faults etc.
Figure 9: Detecting heat loss from a building

Integration of spatial and other data

Data integration is the process by which different sets of data are made compatible with each other.
These data sets may or may not be defined in the same geographical reference system.

Other spatial data sets apart those acquired through close range imaging techniques and GIS data sets,
are as follows:

• Point cloud data from LiDAR

• Building Information Modelling (BIM) models
• CityGML

In order to have a rich source of data, it might be beneficial to integrate these data sets. Let’s briefly
discuss the above-mentioned data sets.

Point cloud from LiDAR

A point cloud is a set of data points in some coordinate system. In a three-dimensional coordinate
system, these points are usually defined by X, Y, and Z coordinates, and often are intended to
represent the external surface of an object. Point clouds may be created by 3D scanners which use
LiDAR technology.

LIDAR—Light Detection and Ranging—is a remote sensing method used to examine the surface of
the Earth. LIDAR data is often collected by air. Nowadays, LiDAR is also collected by terrestrial
scanners, mobile mapping devices and hand-held scanner.
Figure 10: Point cloud data set from LiDAR

Building Information Modelling (BIM) Models

Building information modeling (BIM) is a process involving the generation and management of digital
representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. Building information models
(BIMs) are files which can be extracted, exchanged or networked to support decision-making
regarding a building or other built asset. Current BIM software is used by individuals, businesses and
government agencies who plan, design, construct, operate and maintain diverse physical
infrastructures, such as water, refuse, electricity, gas, communication utilities, roads, bridges, ports,
tunnels, etc.

BIM tools provide information-rich models of the built-environment with the capability to incorporate
a variety of as-built building and equipment information.

The richness and reliability of the information provided by BIM allows facility managers to populate
and edit the FM database in a faster and more accurate way.

The database includes information about the maintenance operations, scheduled parts replacement,
and work orders for every piece of equipment. Linking FM-related information with the building model
(e.g. spaces, geometric properties, and functional requirements) can help better visualize the FM
process and ensure rapid response to clients’ needs.

While GIS systems mainly focus on outdoor environment, BIM technology is available to register
objects inside of a building. FM workflows require work both inside and outside buildings and across
the entire supply chain. Integrating BIM and

GIS in a spatial data framework can provide an effective way to apply geospatial analysis and
visualization to FM processes that occur inside and outside buildings.
Figure 11: A BIM model of building facility

CityGML
CityGML is an open standardized data model and exchange format to store digital 3D models of cities
and landscapes. It defines ways to describe most of the common 3D features and objects found in
cities (such as buildings, roads, rivers, bridges, vegetation and city furniture) and the relationships
between them. It also defines different standard levels of detail (LoDs) for the 3D objects, which allows
the representation of objects for different applications and purposes, such as simulations, urban data
mining, facility management, and thematic inquiries.

Figure 12: CityGML data set

Decision Support and 3D visualisation
A decision support system (DSS) is a computer-based information system that supports business or
organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations, and planning
levels of an organization (usually mid and higher management) and help people make decisions about
problems that may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance—i.e. Unstructured and
Semi-Structured decision problems. Decision support systems can be either fully computerized,
human-powered or a combination of both.

Three fundamental components of a DSS architecture are:

• the database (or knowledge base),

• the model (i.e., the decision context and user criteria)
• the user interfaces.

DSS can be used by Facility Managers in their day-to-day activities of Facility Management.

Positive and negative effects of modernization

Modernization has become an integral part of society because it is necessary for the economic
development of the people. As a result, we can see lots of cities proliferating across the countries
located in different continents. They are connected by broad roads crisscrossing the land, however,
increased modernization or in other words, urbanization entails own advantages and disadvantages.
They are as follows:

Positive and negative effects of modernization.

Positive effects of modernization:

Enhanced medical facilities: The immediate impact of modernization is felt on the general health of
the population. Due to the presence of hospitals and qualified doctors, medical help is accessible to
people. Surgery and medicines available at the local hospital can treat patients suffering from varieties
of diseases.

Smart cities: Modernization is responsible for creating smart cities wherein close circuit TV cameras
are installed at every road intersection to monitor the traffic. They house educational institutions of
higher learning that impart rational and scientific thinking. Students graduating from the universities
and colleges participate in research and business to improve the quality of life of the people. Smart
cities are equipped with modern transport system such as Metro trains carrying millions of passengers
from one place to another. Efficiency is the concept used in enhancing the quality of the life of the
citizens.

Quality of communication: Modernization has played an important role in the invention of the
internet. People can communicate with each other through smartphones and tablets. They are able
to access the website and gain information about the distant countries and tourist spots. Aviation
technology has led to an increase in air travel with tourists flying from one continent to another.
People engaged in manufacturing and services get employed in huge numbers.

Negative effects of modernization:

Change in culture: Increased modernization has led to the creation of new technologies that go a long
way in changing the socio-economic structure of the society. People by nature tend to maintain the
status quo which is challenged by the new generation. New ideas lead to a novel outlook on life
however they are opposed by the traditionalists leading to conflict in the society.
Deforestation: Increased urbanization has led to the cutting of trees and forests resulting in the
disappearance of the greenery. Wild animals are losing their habitats due to modernization as they
attack humans encroaching into their areas. Balanced approach is the need of the hour or else the
whole planet will become uninhabitable in the future.

Pollution: Clearing of the forest has resulted in the loss of trees which in turn increased pollution level
of the environment. Moreover, the setting up of manufacturing industries has worsened the problem.
Countries have introduced legislations but they are not effectively implemented because of corruption
and economic problems.

Income disparity: Modernization has led to a huge gap between haves and the have not’s. As a result,
a certain section of the population is agitated with the economic policy of the governments leading to
a rise in crime and the political movements.