BCM205-Constructions Methods III

BUILDING MAINTENANCE

Definition

A combination of any actions carried out to retain building, or restore it to an acceptable

condition. OR

Work undertaken in order to keep, restore or improve every facility, i.e. every part of the
building, its services and surrounds to a currently acceptable standard and to sustain the
utility and value of the facility

Reasons for carrying out building maintenance

i. To ensure that there is requisite cleaning and waste disposal to building

ii. to ensure that there is efficient energy management
iii. to ensure that building drainage system is in tandem with environmental
management regulations
iv. to ensure sufficient and sustainable replenishment of equipment and consumables
to ensure fire safety measures are up to task
v. to ensure that the building is in adherence to health and safety regulations
vi. to ensure that the building is secure and occupants enjoys security
vii. to ensure that there is proper space management and planning.

Maintenance cost trends

Maintenance work is usually more expensive than new work due to the following factors:

i. It is usually carried out on a small scale, leading to diseconomies of scale.

ii. There is a need to strip out existing work and generally prepare for repairs and
replacements.
iii. It frequently has to be carried out in confined or occupied places.
iv. It is very common for the cost of accessing a maintenance item to be several times
that of actually carrying out the repair.
v. The cost of making good and general clearing away is disproportionately high.
vi. It incurs substantial disturbance costs on the operation of the building and perhaps
lost production.

Building maintenance approaches

A generalized approach to building maintenance according to the degree of domination

exerted by one or other of the parties involved in the process, take the following dimensions.

i. occupants or tenants initiated

ii. the owners or client organisation responsible for managing the property
iii. the ‘professional’ maintenance team.
iv. the maintenance workforce and their immediate supervision.

These above parties are perceived to have different, and perhaps conflicting, goals.
Assuming that building maintenance may sometimes be dominated by one party.

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Characteristics of building Maintenance works.

i. The work is characterised by a large number of small jobs, and attempts to

programme individual jobs in minute detail, over more than the short term, are clearly
not realistic.
ii. The widely dispersed nature of much of the work is a major factor to be taken into
account when planning, as it has a major impact on efficiency and economy.
iii. Individual jobs are often simple in nature and in terms of sequencing, but there is
more of a need to consider logistics, rather than detailed working methods.
iv. A large proportion of very small jobs may require the presence of a number of trades,
the co-ordination of which is difficult. This makes the achievement of continuity of
work for individual trades difficult.
v. The work content of a maintenance item may be uncertain when an order or
instruction is given, and the extent of a repair may only reveal itself when the building
fabric is opened up.
vi. The adoption of a conscious policy for emergency items to be attended to, as part of
a planned visit to a location, underlines the need for flexibility.
vii. The most carefully constructed work programmes are subject to disruption from a
number of potential causes: withdrawal of resources to deal with emergency work,
climatic conditions
access problems, and budgetary setbacks.
viii. Emergency repairs present very specific problems owing to their unpredictable
nature, often allied with the need for a rapid response, thus creating very short lead
times.

Classification of maintenance
A classification of maintenance simply into routine or remedial, or planned and unplanned
categories is clearly of rather limited value. The Audit Commission considered a better
division of maintenance to be the following.

i. Strategic repairs and maintenance

ii. Tactical repairs and maintenance

Strategic repairs and maintenance

This represents work required for the long-term preservation of an asset, and includes
planned maintenance of the building fabric (decoration and routine replacement),
maintenance of engineering services installations and major repair items such as reroofing.
These are normally items that can be planned for because, to some extent, they can be
foreseen and budgeted for.

Tactical repairs and maintenance

These items relate to day-to-day work of a minor nature, in response to immediate need. The
Audit Commission point out that ‘tactical maintenance’ is not necessarily the same as
responsive maintenance, as some immediate response items are clearly of a strategic nature
– for example, a flat roof failure.

Types of Maintenance

i. Planned Maintenance - Maintenance carried out at predetermined intervals or

according to prescribed criteria, usually aimed at reducing the failure risk or
performance degradation of the equipment. The maintenance cycles are planned

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according to the need to take the device out of service. With this this type incidences
of operating faults are reduced.
ii. Unplanned Maintenance – Adhoc maintenance carried out to no predetermined
plan.
iii. Preventive Maintenance – maintenance carried out at predetermined intervals, or
corresponding to prescribed criteria, and intended to reduce the probability of
failure, or the performance degradation of an item
iv. Corrective Maintenance – maintenance carried out after a failure has occurred, and
intended to restore an item to a state in which it can perform its required function
v. Emergency Maintenance – maintenance that it is necessary to put in hand
immediately to avoid serious consequences
vi. Condition-Based Maintenance – preventive maintenance initiated as a result of
knowledge of the condition of an item from routine or continuous monitoring
vii. Scheduled Maintenance – preventive maintenance carried out to a predetermined
interval of time, number of operations, mileage, etc.

Maintenance cycle

The maintenance cycle of a building depends on the latter’s individual circumstances (e.g.
the use, classification and condition), expectations of users and their affordability, with
adjustments made in accordance with certain special conditions and expected standards.
Nonetheless, the maintenance cycles of facilities or structures crucial to the safety or hygiene
of residents and the public, or those whose inspection and testing are prescribed by law, e.g.
external finishes, fire safety provisions, fire service installations and facilities, electrical and lift
installations, etc., shall not be extended.

Facility Repair Work Life Cycle

External wall Paints Repainting 4 to 5 years

Periodic inspection Every year

External finishes
Thorough inspection 5 to 6 years

Periodic inspection Every year

Structural elements Thorough inspection 5 to 6 years

Structural overhaul Whenever necessary

Refurbishment/repair 3 years
Interior partition walls
Structural overhaul Whenever necessary

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Inspection and lubrication of water

Every month
Fresh water supply pumps and inspection of valves
system
Cleaning of water tanks and
3 months
inspection of valves

Inspection and lubrication of water

Every month
Flushing water supply pumps and inspection of valves
system
Cleaning of water tanks 6 months

Windows, external Inspection and reinstallation Every year

balustrades and metal
parts Repainting (for steel and iron parts) 2 to 3 years

Every 2 weeks or before

Inspection and cleaning of
and after typhoon/heavy
drainages and nullahs
Rooftop drainage rain
system Surface inspection of aboveground
sewage system for defects or Every year
overgrowth
Inspection and cleaning of
2 months
manholes
Surveying of underground drainages
Underground sewage
through surveillance cameras
system
(e.g. when frequent movements or 2 years
sedimentation of underground soil is
forecast)
Oiling and maintenance Every month
Lifts
Overhaul Every year

Electrical installations
Inspection, testing and certification
(Fixed electrical At least once every 5
by qualified electrical work
installations whose load years
contractors
exceeds 100 amps)
Inspection and reinstallation by
Every week
managing personnel
Implementation of overhaul and
Fire service installations
reporting to the Fire Service Every year
Department
Inspection of fire doors 1 to 2 days

Service risers of gas Inspection by qualified gas work At least once every 18
supply contractors months

Inspection by managerial personnel 1 to 2 days

Recreational facilities
Inspection by mechanical
Every year
technicians/professionals

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At least once after the

Inspection of aboveground commencement of the
drainages and protective coating monsoon season every
by managerial personnel year and after rainstorm or
typhoon
Slopes and retaining At least once after the
walls commencement of the
Routine inspection and
monsoon season every
maintenance
year and after rainstorm or
typhoon
Inspection by qualified
At least once every 5 years
geotechnical engineers
Alarms, public antenna systems and
6 months to 1 year
security systems, etc.
Others
Rooftops, floorings and finishes Every year

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