Maximizing Benchmarking Initiatives in the Built Environment for Sustained Continuous Improvement

While continuous improvement initiatives such as benchmarking have a history of utilization for general business objectives, their successful utilization in the built environment industries, such as construction and facilities management is not nearly as well documented or researched. This project identifies how the built environment fields are using continual improvement initiatives, evaluates how effectively these initiatives are being utilized, and identifies critical success factors for improving and leveraging these techniques to achieve the sustained continuous improvement initiatives that will be necessary to meet long -term sustainability goals in relation to the operations of the built environment. This project takes place in three parts; a case study of a novel way to benchmark and identify areas for improvement, a large-scale survey of how facility managers are using benchmarking and their involvement in benchmarking networks, and an analysis of the relationship of organizational learning culture and the role that it plays in facilitating and supporting benchmarking initiatives. This research provides the first-of its-kind survey and assessment of how practitioners in the built environment are utilizing benchmarking. The results of this project serve to assist facility practitioners in developing, leveraging, and strengthening their continuous improvement initiatives to sustain ongoing change critical for the success of long-term organizational goals related to the built environment lifecycle.