Managing maintenance of multiple domestic accommodation

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.