Knowledge and perception of operation and maintenance practitioners in Hong Kong about sustainable buildings

Purpose - To investigate the knowledge and perception of serving and prospective operation and maintenance (O&M) practitioners about the key aspects of sustainable buildings, and to study the contribution of the current education and training means to their knowledge level. Design/methodology/ approach - A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted on full-time practitioners attending continuous professional development (CPD) courses related to building services engineering (BSE) or facilities management (FM); full-time practitioners studying part-time on undergraduate BSE/FM courses; and full-time undergraduate BSE/FM students. A total of 168 responses were collected and analysed. Findings - The respondents were largely unaware of the initiatives for promoting building environmental performance and sustainability. Their knowledge level about sustainable buildings was generally low and bore little correlation with their work experience, attendance to CPD training and undergraduate studies that they attended. Good O&M for buildings was perceived by both O&M practitioners and building designers to be highly relevant to sustainable buildings. Research limitations/implications - Further research is required to study how the education and training means should be revamped and coordinated to tailor for the O&M practitioners. More stringent CPD requirements by relevant professional bodies would help motivate the practitioners to continuously acquire knowledge which is essential for making buildings sustainable. Practical implications - The findings have unveiled the need for tailor-made undergraduate and CPD training programmes to effectively enhance the knowledge of O&M practitioners. Originality/value - This paper presents an unpopular but important research which uncovered the state of knowledge and perception of O&M practitioners, who play a crucial role in realizing the goal of sustainable buildings.