Usability and the Workplace
Issue 26 - Dec 06 / Jan 07

Most evaluations of a building’s performance either
compare to other buildings or seek to remedy problems at
a specific point in time. Prof. John D Gilleard of the Hong
Kong Polytechnic University suggests that measuring
‘usability’, or whether the building supports the purpose
of the organisations residing within it, could solve many
of these problems.

Many readers of RFP will be familiar with conventional approaches to measuring building performance. For example, the US Energy Star programme helps facility
managers assess how efficiently their buildings use energy, relative to similar buildings. Those rating 75 or higher may qualify for the Energy Star labelling. Nearer to home, HK-BEAM assists Hong Kong’s construction industry to measure, improve, certify and label the environmental sustainability of buildings.

Typically, building performance appraisal has focused on issues such as functionality, serviceability and accessibility. On the other hand, post occupancy evaluation (POE) seeks to relate building performance to design intentions. By
attempting to assess how well buildings match user needs, POE ideally identifies ways to improve building design ‘fitness for purpose’. POE generally uses direct user feedback as the basis for evaluating how buildings work.
POE is typically used to fine tune a new building, manage ‘problem’ buildings and assist with the remodelling or refurbishment of existing buildings.

However, both the assessment of building performance and POE tends to be after design and construction activities are complete, with little or no input during
the design phase. In addition, building performance measures and POE also tend to treat buildings statically, ignoring the dynamic nature of businesses and
organisations that inhabit the building’s space. This is in contrast to the occupying organisations, which consider buildings as workplace settings that are required to mirror the evolving nature of the organisation’s activities. Hence, to better understand workplace settings, the International Council for Research
and Innovation in Building & Construction (CIB) recently established working
commission W111- “Usability in the workplace”.

what is usability?
Usability means making products and systems easier to use, and matching them more closely to user needs and requirements. Usability is typically associated with web design, though the term has carried in to general use. Wikipedia describes usability in terms of “denoting the ease with which people can employ a particular tool or other human-made object in order to achieve a particular goal. Usability can also refer to the methods of measuring usability and the study of the principles behind an object’s perceived efficiency or elegance.” General applications of the term ‘usability’ relate to making products more efficient to use, for example, by being designed so that it takes
less time to accomplish a particular task or making it easier to learn - often by simple observation - which, in terms of human psychology, imparts greater satisfaction in use. International standard, ISO 9241-11 also provides guidance on usability and defines it as “the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use”.

Usability cannot be evaluated simply on the product but also in
how the product interacts with the users.

Usability cannot be evaluated simply on the product but also in how the product interacts with the users. In turn, the user also influences the product’s effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. For example, are they highly trained and experienced users, or novices? What are the users trying to do with the product and does it support what they want to do with it? Finally, the usage situation (or ‘context of use’) and how the product is being used are also important.

Recently, the W111 Usability in the Workplace group completed a usability study in Hong Kong. The project related to an operating room (OR) remodelling project undertaken at the Pamela Youde Nethersol Eastern Hospital (PYNEH) in Hong Kong. The W111 team based its investigation on interviews with PYNEY management and staff in the specialist medical department, both those who participated in the remodelling exercise and users who did not. The team had previously noted that strategic organisational change frequently requires the need to reconfigure space and the concept of usability has been shown to be a useful adjunct to traditional methods for determining success.

PYNEH Case Study
Hong Kong’s health services now face increasing demands for greater efficiency, higher resource utilisation and innovation. PYNEH opened in 1993 under the management of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. The
hospital is located on the East Side of Hong Kong Island. It serves a population of approximately 600,000. The hospital has more than 1,800 beds, 3,000 plus staff members and a total floor area of approximately 150,000 sqm on a land site of ten hectares. The mission of the hospital is, “to excel in the provision of holistic, patientcentred, quality health care through loving, dedicated and
cohesive team effort”. PYNEH acts as a role model in the healthcare arena following best practices, introducing new technologies and innovative projects in public hospitals of Hong Kong.

PYNEH recently pioneered a new operating theatre concept, the Minimal Access Surgery unit, by creating the first integrated OR for both endoscopic and
laparoscopic surgery in Asia. Attendant with the increase in laparoscopic surgery procedures, a whole array of equipment previously absent from the OR has
emerged, resulting in an uncontrolled proliferation of monitors, cables, tubing, and other equipment. These have typically been housed on large wheeled
carts, frequently overwhelming small operating suites that were not designed to accommodate this new technology. This can result in operative inefficiencies
and safety problems for patients and staff.



For example, the inability to place video monitors in the direct sight line of surgeons and OR staff may increase fatigue and potentially increase surgical errors. In case of emergencies, access to the patient by the anaesthetist and OR staff may also be suboptimal. Patient safety may also be compromised since
equipment controls are frequently near the sterile field, making it difficult for nursing staff to access control in a timely and sterile manner. Finally, the time spent in setting up for routine video procedures may affect the flow of OR schedules and decrease OR efficiency.

It was with this background that the PYNEH decided to reconfigure one of four ORs. However, the new OR faced a number of critical challenges. For example, during the five-month remodelling period, the other three ORs were required to function normally. In addition, the OR would be a unique facility in Asia with no known precedent. Hence the team had to adopt an “invent it as you go along” design methodology. Fortunately, the champion behind the work, Surgeon Li, was able to bring together a strong team representing the clinical staff, the facility management group, as well as, critically, the medical equipment supply company.



The FM acted as the day-to-day project leader. Li’s task was made easier by the unique culture of cooperation that developed between the surgical team and those charged with doing the work. Fortunately, the latter group was a relatively small team of individuals, who had long experience of working together. Their relationship was based on mutual professional respect, shared trust expressed through patience, politeness and a willingness to ask opinions of one another. The final outcome of the project has been a resounding success. This is evidenced by the staff nurses commenting that the OR reconfiguration had significantly reduced their physical stress when handling equipment,
had increased the OR equipment flexibility and most tellingly improved “quality patientcentral care through teamwork”.

All too often users have to adapt their working practice and operations to suit constraints imposed by the facility, rather than the facility adding value to their business. In the case of the PYNEH OR, the project was designed to meet the users’ objectives, i.e. providing surgeons and nurses with a meaningful, valuable and manageable workplace over which they have control, permitting them to operate at a lower level of stress, with increased efficiency of working and hence improved productivity. Designed from the inside, the project may be said to be a first for Hong Kong, a uniquely ‘usable’ space. The visiting W111 team drew parallels between the remodelling work at the PYNEH and a Swedish hospital project, the Örebro project. The team report concluded, “In both
the Örebro and the PYNEH case, a strong sense of a shared commitment was present. However, with the PYNEH project, the participants shared a common and strong working relationship, somewhat atypical for the Hong Kong hospital sector. On the other hand, the Örebro project followed long term official policy created through negotiation and legislation between the participants.” RFP

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