Strategies to overcome barriers to public facilities management

Abstract

PurposePublic facilities in most part of the world, including South Africa, are poorly managed due to factors including inadequate funding and poor implementation of systems. This study seeks to develop strategies that would help to overcome the barriers to managing public facilities.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted an exploratory research design. A semi-structured interview was used to collect qualitative data from the respondents. Purposive sampling was used to select the organizations whereas quota sampling was used to select the participants. The collected data were analysed by means of the thematic analysis technique.FindingsThe study found that 6 main strategies (i.e. adequate and capable human resources, provision of maintenance equipment and systems, adequate budget provision, amendment of procurement systems, root out corruption and effective organization structure) could be implemented to overcome public facilities management challenges.Research limitations/implicationsThe data were collected from only one province in South Africa. However, the findings may be applicable to other provinces since most of the provinces in the country share similar characteristics.Practical implicationsThe Department of Public Works and other public institutions could use these strategies to mitigate the barriers to public facilities management. This will help to improve the facilities management systems leading to enhanced facilities' value.Originality/valueStudies on challenges of public facilities management abound; however, approaches and strategies of dealing with these challenges have not received much attention. This study has identified strategies that could help mitigate the challenges associated with public facilities management. Thus, the findings of this study contribute to the body of knowledge on strategies of mitigating public facilities management challenges.