Editorial

This issue of Facilities begins with a paper from Northern Ireland by Kane et al. on the subject of accessibility. It provides a useful insight into disability issues and the role of different agencies. What is clear from the study are the benefits of incorporating accessibility issues in maintenance strategies. Moreover, it illustrates the increasing demands on facilities managers to operate in a multi-agency environment involving planning authorities and local interest groups. Accessibility is about perceived as well as actual obstacles to mobility. The evidence from this research highlights the importance of addressing perceived obstacles by consulting directly with users.

The privatisation of prisons and remand centres has been a subject of considerable controversy and debate in many countries. The paper by Love et al. highlights the potential benefits of adopting the build-own-operate model in this sector. It is no longer seen as an experimental approach but an established approach that can yield significant cost savings. Increased competition is also stimulating increased efficiencies by the public agencies as well. The paper itself restricts its attention to the cost implications of privatisation - it would be very interesting to see a further article that examines the qualitative implications of privatisation.

How do you measure an organisation's intangibles and intellectual assets?This is the question posed by Amaratunga et al. in their paper on the assessment of facilities management performance. The business score card method,originally put forward by Kaplan and Norton in the Harvard Business Review,is described as a possible method. It is now an established method in many industries and provides a tool that is closely tied to business objectives. The facilities management profession is clearly in need of such an approach that is capable of highlighting many of the hidden impacts of facility decisions.

In the paper by Wyatt et al. an argument is developed that service-life planning must take explicit account of environmental sustainability. This encompasses both supply chain and waste streams. A method for undertaking a performance-life audit is described that can provide a framework for such a planning process.

Finally, the paper by Ahmadi et al. describes some of the management considerations of telecommuting. The increasing pressures from federal, state and local governments to improve air quality has prompted companies to identify groups within their workforce where telecommuting might be adopted. What are the implications for health and safety? How does the workforce remain motivated? How is information security achieved? These are just some of the issues raised in the paper.

Edward Finch