A structural model for cost effective building maintenance through design for maintainability

Abstract

Building maintainability is renowned in the lack of integration with building design. This has been seen as one of the major factors contributing to various problems facing the building industry, precisely the increasing building maintenance costs. Initial study and critical reviews on literatures reveals that there is a need to identify a comprehensive building design for maintainability criteria and indicators to reduce the overwhelming cost of building maintenance through mitigation of defects. To address the above issues, this research was carried to establish an exhaustive building design for maintainability criteria and indicators to achieve cost effective building maintenance. Total of nine design for maintainability criteria, thirty-eight indicators and eighteen cost effective building maintenance indicators were identified and validated in two phases of survey and analysis. In the first phase, Delphi survey was conducted and in the second phase Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique was used to validate, develop and determine the structural model of building design for maintainability for cost effective building maintenance. This research aims to address the long pending quest of incorporating maintainability during the building design phase and form as basis to promote facility management practices in the building design phase. The results of this research firmly established the structural relationship model among building design maintainability criteria and indicators to achieve cost effective building maintenance. The structural model developed through this research can greatly benefits and being a useful reference in the construction industry particularly for the architects and designers to incorporate maintainability during the building design phase to achieve cost effective building maintenance.