Gain further value on buildings services

Citation

(2001), "Gain further value on buildings services", Facilities, Vol. 19 No. 13/14. https://doi.org/10.1108/f.2001.06919mab.015

Gain further value on buildings services

Keywords: Building industry, Engineers, Occupation costs, Research

A new publication that enables consultants or client advisers to predict their whole life costs has been published by Building Performance Group (BPG), a world leader in whole life performance of buildings. Called The Building Services Component Life Manual, it provides the likely performance data on a range of over 400 major services components, which can result in significant future reductions in operating and maintenance expenditure.

The manual is a definitive source of data on the durability and maintenance requirements of mechanical and electrical plant.

The focus on cost control has traditionally been in a project's construction with little or no consideration of maintenance and operation costs. A low durability component may reduce the capital cost but will require costly maintenance and several replacements through its life cycle. High durability building services, which perform consistently, can provide significant real savings to building operators and may prove the most cost-effective solution in the long term.

Typical plant specifications are ranked according to recognised benchmarks of quality and assigned life spans, which include adjustment factors for differing environments, use patterns and operating regimes. Summaries of typical inspection and maintenance requirements are provided, along with specification guidance and references to further detailed information.

This publication is set to address the current lack of robust durability data in the mechanical and electrical sector. The demand for this data has been fuelled by Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Prime Contracting initiatives in the public sector and by calls for wider take-up of whole life costing in both the public and private sectors.

The research was carried out by BPG under the sponsorship of Defence Estates, an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence. The two-year research initiative brought together building service specialists and other experts in the mechanical and electrical sector who contributed their expertise.

Chris Watson, managing director of BPG, commented, "An increasing number of people are questioning the cost of owning a building over its whole life and for them to make an informed judgement requires an understanding of how and when a component is likely to fail under a range of conditions. This new manual follows the publication of the HAPM Component Life Manual, developed for the social housing sector, and the Building Fabric Component Life Manual which covers components used in commercial and industrial buildings. It will extend the scope of whole life durability data into the field of building services."

For further information or to obtain a copy of the Building Services Component Life Manual contact Peter Mayer. Tel: +44 (0) 20 929 2889; E-mail: peter.mayer@thomasmiller.com