SEDL / STP / STP1029-EB / STP18948S

Total Functional Value: Facility Performance and Functional Use Costs

Ward, R
Research Affiliate, Laboratory of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Pages: 13    Published: Jan 1990

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Abstract

Potential improvements in facility performance, a multi-level performance “cascade” from the functional and environmental to the operating and physical systems, should be evaluated within a framework of relative economic value and resource allocation reflecting long-term cost/benefits. Some building systems directly affect functional performance and Functional Use Costs. Functional Use Costs are primarily human costs and constitute the largest component of total organizational cost. This paper develops a conceptual and representational tool, an economic framework expressing the relative affect of performance improvements on the Total Functional Value to the organization of the work environment. Two performance classes for elements of building systems are proposed in relation to their potential affect on Functional Use Costs. The economic value of a possible performance percentage improvement due to one class is much greater than that due to the other, and this sensitivity ratio can be quantified as a “Functional Use Ratio”.