4.1. Reliability Test
Table 2 depicts the test of assumptions on the adequacy of the matrix and the significance of the factors influencing the adoption of automation in the facility management of high-rise buildings in the study area. With a determinant level of 0.001, the prediction that the listed factors affect the adoption of automation in the facilities management of high-rise buildings in the study area is valid. More so, the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling of 0.770 is greater than 0.70; this indicates that enough items were predicted by each (principal factor component). Bartlett’s test also has a significant value of 0.000, less than 0.05, implying that the variables are correlated highly enough to provide a basis for factor analysis.
The results of the field survey are reported in this section; they were derived from the data collected and are presented in a way that was directly related to the goal of the study.
Table 3 reveals that 17 (41.5%) of the selected commercial high-rise buildings had a structured facility management department or unit, while 19 (46.3%) had a property maintenance or management department that carried out the typical duties of property managers. This supports the findings of [
8], which stated that facility managers of both public and private companies view facility management as a useful tool for managing their properties.
Also, one can infer from the result that ownership do not play a significant role in the choice of an organization in having a structured facility management department. The table also indicates the presence of an in-house facility management department in 21 (51.2%) of the sampled high-rise buildings; 10 (24.4%) chose a hybrid facility management method, while 10 (24.4%) embraced an outsourced facility management plan. Upon careful examination of the facility management strategy and building ownership, it can be observed that a greater proportion of public buildings (76.5%) have implemented an in-house facility management approach as opposed to outsourcing management. This suggests that rather than hiring professionals who are continuously updated about the latest advancements in the facility management field, public building operators would rather hire employees who will be treated like civil servants and may or may not comprehend the concept of a facility management department. This may account for the bulk of Nigeria’s public high-rise structures’ state of degradation [
19].
The information provided in
Table 4 indicates that security, building and ground maintenance, mechanical and engineering management, waste disposal management, and energy and environmental management services are the services considered paramount by most facility managers. Forty (40) out of the forty-one (41) responses provided security services, while thirty-nine (39) provided building and ground maintenance and cleaning and housekeeping services. The findings presented in this table show that the safety of the building and that of its occupiers are considered to be very important. This may be connected to the increasing level of insecurity of lives and properties in the country, thereby prompting individuals and corporate bodies to look after their own safety [
9]. More so, there is need to protect the building fabrics, since the owners of high-rise buildings either hold them as investment or as corporate real estate, hence the reason that building and ground maintenance and cleaning and housing services were rendered by facility managers in the study area [
10].
Table 5 presents facility management activities that were automated by facility managers. The information presented in
Table 5 below ranks security as the most automated service, with a relative importance index of 2.81. This shows that nineteen (19) out of the sampled 41 high–rise buildings used automated doors and CCTV cameras, while the rest made use of security personnel. Energy management, building management/maintenance, preventive maintenance, mechanical and electrical management, and location awareness/equipment inventory ranked second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, with relative importance indices of 2.68, 2.63, 2.59, 2.56, and 2.49, respectively. Considering the relative importance index of the above-listed facility management activities, one can conclude that automation is sometimes been used in the management of security service, energy management, building management/maintenance, preventive maintenance, mechanical and electrical management, and location awareness and equipment inventory. However, the overall level of adoption of automation in the study area can be said to be below average because the average cumulative relative importance index of the facility management activities is 2.11. Hence, one can conclude that facility managers in the study area seldom use computerized systems in carrying out facility management activities. This in contrast with the situation in countries that are technologically advanced. For example, the term “facility management” is being used in Malaysia only when a building is automatically controlled by a computerized software [
39,
40]. Although facility management practice was introduced into Nigeria almost at the same time as the Asian countries of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, and Japan, these countries have taken steps in developing the practice of facility management, research, and facility management education. This cannot be said of Nigeria, where advancement in the built environment is an imitation of Western technology and not as a result of technological development within the country. This corroborates the view of [
8].
Table 6 explain the importance of automation in facility management practice.
Table 6 shows that dependent variables in the table were transformed into a single variable to obtain the relationship between the relevance of automation and facility management activities and the level of their significance.
Table 7 presents the usual statistics for all the variables. Also, N is 28 because 13 participants are missing a score or more variables, i.e., 13 facility managers did not fill this section of the questionnaire. And since the regression model only made use of participants who had complete data for all variables, the 13 missing participants were excluded from the analysis.
Predictors: (constant), competitive advantage, improves load aggregation, cost and time savings, improves performance of the building, aids remote monitoring, reduction in omission and rework, ensures safety of occupants, minimizing errors, aids equipment diagnostics.
The R square for the model is 0.66, which implies that competitive advantage, improvement in load aggregation, cost and time savings, improves performance of the building, aids remote monitoring, reduction in omission and rework, ensures safety of occupants, minimizing errors, and aids equipment diagnostics have 66% significance on the use of computerized systems in carrying out facility management activities. This corroborates the works of [
1,
2,
3,
4] that facility management automation has a positive impact on cost and time savings, minimizing errors, and reduction in omission and rework. It is also relevant in determining the building operations and maintenance and forecasting and budgeting. Also, the 0.007 significance level of the model, which is less than the standard 5% significance level, shows that the model is significant; this is presented in
Table 8. It implies that the variables “competitive advantage, improves load aggregation, cost and time savings, improves performance of the building, aids remote monitoring, reduction in omission and rework, ensures safety of occupants, minimizing errors, aids equipment diagnostics” significantly influence the use of automation in carrying out facility management activities.
4.2. Regression Equation
The regression equation presents information on the
t value and the significance of each independent variable to the regression model. The information provided in the table indicates that only variable X
4 (ensures safety of occupants) has a significant influence on the adoption of the automation in facility management of high-rise buildings. However, the other variables will add a little to the prediction of the use of automation in the facility management of high-rise buildings.
Y = constant
X1 = reduction in omission and rework
X2 = aids remote monitoring
X3 = improves performance of the building
X4 = ensures safety of occupants
X5 = improves load aggregation
X6 = cost and time savings
X7 = minimizing errors
X8 = aids equipment diagnostics
X9 = competitive advantage