2134/34238
H. Keith Farmer
H. Keith
Farmer
Managing maintenance of multiple domestic accommodation
Loughborough University
2018
untagged
Built Environment and Design not elsewhere classified
2018-08-01 09:04:29
Thesis
https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/thesis/Managing_maintenance_of_multiple_domestic_accommodation/9456611
Buildings rarely fail within a short time of commissioning; most become unsatisfactory
gradually, over a period of many years, as the design becomes obsolete and/or inadequate
maintenance and improvements fail to keep pace with demand. Maintenance work is thus
necessary to keep a building in an acceptable minimum condition. The industrialised
building methods much used in the 1960s were frequently innovative and, at that time,
unproven methods of construction. When these are added to the list of 'traditional build'
failure contributors, the need for additional and regular maintenance is increased.
Various factors contribute to domestic accommodation buildings ceasing to be
Satisfactory—to fail in their purpose of providing a safe, warm and dry environment for
the occupants. To the layperson, bad workmanship by the builders, poor quality
materials, poor design and inadequate maintenance are common causes for complaint.
This research investigated the cost of maintenance for buildings of multiple domestic
accommodation, methods used to organise maintenance planning and budgeting, and
considered whether the use of industrialised building methods had affected that cost. The
current and anticipated future use of Planned Preventative Maintenance, together with
other management methods, as tools for minimising maintenance cost is also examined.
A method for introducing a system of planned preventative maintenance that is
specifically tailored to individual buildings from a common pattern was developed as an
output of this research.
'Designing out' the need for maintenance requires an understanding of maintenance
activity cost centres (i.e. where does the money go and what elements of maintenance
account for the greatest expenditure?). The way that building professionals perceive
potential maintenance cost requirements is therefore investigated and comparison made
with actual costs for the same elements of maintenance.