Relationship between quality of building maintenance management services for indoor environmental quality and occupant satisfaction

Two surveys were carried out to investigate the correlation between building maintenance management services for indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and occupant satisfaction. Each maintenance management organization manager was surveyed using the Evaluation Index of Maintenance Management Service Quality, created by Akira Takakusagi. Seven office buildings in Seoul, Korea were investigated in the first survey, and two buildings from the first survey were selected for analysis in the second survey. One is a building with good maintenance management services but low occupant satisfaction, and the other is an office building with low maintenance management services but high occupant satisfaction. From the first survey, we found that maintenance management service level was highly correlated to the level of management services provided, up to 60%. However, up from 60%, the correlation was dropped. To explain these results, two selected cases were investigated in the second survey. Results are; 1) Occupants in both offices reported equal levels of IEQ satisfaction, although the actual level of IEQ was lower in office E than it was in office B. 2) A comparison of the adaptive behaviors in the two offices showed that they were not significantly different, despite the different adaptive opportunities (operable window, personal temperature controller) between them. 3) Office E showed higher satisfaction with help desk services than did Office B. When occupants actively used the help desk, there was a positive effect on their satisfaction with the indoor environment. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.