Wall finish selection in hospital design: a survey of facility managers

The effects of lamp types and surface reflectance combinations on the subjective perception of a simulated lit hospital ward environment

Purpose

Good illumination creates an aesthetic environment that may positively influence patients’ well-being and provide comfort to the hospital staff. This study aims to focus on exploring the energy efficiency of lighting and subjective perception of the lit environment in a hospital ward to assess quality indicators of ambient lighting conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The existing conventional tubular fluorescent lamp–based lighting system in the surveyed patients’ ward was retrofitted with light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires to explore illumination and energy parameters. Thereafter, a software lighting model was created, simulated and analyzed. A Web-based survey with five bipolar adjective pairs in a semantic differential scale was conducted with 48 participants to record and analyze their subjective responses pertaining to the variations in lamp types and surface reflectance combinations.

Findings

The findings imply that the LED tubular lamp–based illumination was deemed more adequate compared to other lamp types and the effects of variations in room surface reflectance combinations on the participants’ responses were statistically significant at α = 0.05 level. The simulated horizontal work plane average illuminance level varied from 131 to 171 lx, mean room surface exitance (MRSE) levels remained between 30 and 90 lm/m2 and overall uniformity of illuminance remained between 0.5 and 0.7.

Originality/value

In a hospital ward illuminated by LED tubular lamps, variations in room surface reflectance combinations for a constant luminous flux package output from the lamps may affect the subjective perception of users and the correlation between horizontal work plane average illuminance and MRSE is found to be highly linear (coefficient of determination > 0.97).

The effects of location and layout of offices on perceptual evaluations of users

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on determining the effects of location of closed offices on the front facade, rear facade and side facade plans and the indoor layout (left and right users’ cabinets) on perceptual evaluations of users of physical environmental factors.

Design/methodology/approach

For this purpose, the responses of 54 academic users who use the Gazi University Technology Faculty Taskent Building offices were taken with the help of a survey.

Findings

As a result, it was determined that office users on the front and side facades generally perceived more positively the offices’ environmental factors than office users on the back facade. In addition, it was determined that offices with storage cabinets located to the right of users (Type A) were perceived more positively than storage cabinets located to the left of users (Type B). On the other hand, it was determined that users between the ages of 25–45 who used closed offices generally perceived the physical environmental factors of offices more positively than users between the ages of 46 and 65.

Originality/value

Especially the location of the building, the landscaping, the plan of the rooms and the landscape to which they are directed are major design decisions that cannot be controlled by employees. Therefore, it is necessary to know the positive/negative effects that may occur during use before making design decisions.

Hospital flooring safety and health: knowledge gaps and suggestions

Fall incidents are a leading safety concern in the hospital industry. Whereas roughening the floor surface can reduce fall risks, there remains unanswered controversies between achieving and maintaining hygienic cleaning efficiencies and adequately addressing conditions of flooring safety. Thus, the current study critically overviews the status of research and accepted practices on hospital flooring safety and healthy controls. Salient literature was identified by searching keywords and phrases within the databases of PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Scopus and ScienceDirect to find answers for the major questions on hospital floorings. A comprehensive review analysis identified that underlying causes of hospital fall incidents and flooring-attributable infectious illnesses mainly comprised floor types and materials, cleaning chemicals, materials and methods, maintenance and slip-resistance properties. Findings from this study suggest several major actions to advance hospital flooring safety and health research and practice.

Floor finish selection in health-care facilities: a systematic literature review

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify, analyze and discuss floor finishes used in health-care facilities and their selection criteria in the form of advantages and disadvantages. The authors also identify the top three health-care floor finishes and selection criteria based on the literature review results. Although flooring materials have a considerable impact on the life-cycle cost and indoor environment of health-care facilities, what criteria may be used for such flooring choices is not thoroughly studied.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed a systematic review of the literature on certain flooring systems currently used in health-care facilities and the criteria applied for their selection. Peer-reviewed studies and articles published after Year 2000 consistent with the research design were included.

Findings

Sixteen different selection criteria that influence the choice of floor finishes in health-care facilities were determined and discussed. The results show that the top three-floor finish materials preferred in health-care facilities are sheet vinyl, rubber and carpet, and the top three selection criteria for floor finishes are indoor air quality, patient safety and infection control.

Originality/value

The results of this study will assist building owners, architects and interior designers with implementing an informed design decision-making process, particularly in relation to floor finish selection. The findings will also provide guidance to floor finish manufacturers to improve their products based on facility managers’ preferences.

Floor finish selection in the design of healthcare facilities: a survey of facility managers

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to create a knowledge base for decision-making in healthcare design by seeking, analyzing and discussing the preferences of facility managers of healthcare facilities regarding floor finishes and their selection criteria. The goal is to enable a simplified and holistic selection of floor finishes based on multiple criteria. The authors studied floor finish selection in three healthcare units: emergency, surgery and in-patient units.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors completed a literature review to identify types of floor finishes currently used in healthcare facilities and the criteria applied for their selection. Using the literature survey results, a questionnaire was designed and administered to healthcare facility managers. The descriptive statistical analysis and the Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests were used for reporting and analyzing the survey data.

Findings

The top five floor finishes used in the healthcare sector were identified as vinyl flooring, vinyl composite tile (VCT), rubber, linoleum and ceramic flooring. The top five selection criteria for floor finishes were durability, infection control, ease of maintenance, maintenance cost and user safety. The non-parametric test results show that the floor finish rankings and selection criteria were similar in the three healthcare units under study.

Originality/value

The most significant contribution of this research is to the design decision-making process of healthcare facilities. These results offer an understanding of what floor finishes are preferred by healthcare facility managers and why. This knowledge is crucial for designers and facility managers to make informed choices and floor finish manufacturers to keep their product line relevant to the industry.

Recurrent embodied energy and its relationship with service life and life cycle energy

Purpose

– The recurrent embodied energy (REE) is the energy consumed in the maintenance, replacement and retrofit processes of a facility. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the relationship of REE with the service life and life cycle embodied energy. The amount of variation in the reported REE values is also determined and discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

– A qualitative approach that is known as the literature based discovery (LBD) was adopted. Existing literature was surveyed to gather case studies and to analyze the reported values of REE.

Findings

– The reported values of REE showed considerable variation across referred studies. It was also found that the reported REE values demonstrated a moderate positive correlation with the service life but a very strong positive correlation with the life cycle embodied energy of both the residential and commercial facilities.

Research limitations/implications

– This review paper pointed out the importance of the maintenance and replacement processes in reducing the life cycle energy use in a facility. Future research could focus on performing case studies to evaluate this relationship.

Practical implications

– The findings highlight the significance of REE in reducing the life cycle energy impacts of a facility. As facility managers routinely deal with maintenance and replacement processes, they hold an important responsibility of reducing the life cycle energy.

Originality/value

– The findings of the paper would motivate the facilities management professionals to prefer long service life materials and components during the postconstruction phases of a built facility.

Wall finish selection in hospital design: a survey of facility managers

OBJECTIVE

This paper seeks to analyze healthcare facility managers' perceptions regarding the materials used for interior wall finishes and the criteria used to select them. It also examines differences in wall finish materials and the selection process in three major hospital spaces: emergency, surgery, and in-patient units. These findings are compared with healthcare designers' perceptions on similar issues, as currently documented in the literature.

BACKGROUND

Hospital design and the materials used for hospital construction have a considerable effect on the environment and health of patients. A 2002 survey revealed which characteristics healthcare facility designers consider when selecting materials for healthcare facilities; however, no similar study has examined the views of facility managers on building finish selection.

METHODS

A 22-question survey questionnaire was distributed to 210 facility managers of metropolitan, for-profit hospitals in Texas; IRB approval was obtained. Respondents were asked to rank 10 interior wall finish materials and 11 selection criteria for wall finishes. Data from 48 complete questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric statistical analysis methods.

RESULTS

The study found no statistically significant differences in terms of wall finish materials or the characteristics for material selection in the three major spaces studied. It identified facility managers' four most-preferred wall finish materials and the five-most preferred characteristics, with a statistical confidence level of greater than 95%.

CONCLUSIONS

The paper underscores the importance of incorporating all perspectives: facility designers and facility managers should work together toward achieving common organizational goals.