Selection criteria of building material for optimising maintainability: Fid-Bau Portal

Selection criteria of building material for optimising maintainability

Kanniyapan, Gunavathy / Nesan, Lenin Jawahar / Mohammad, Izran Sarrazin / Keat, Tan Say / Ponniah, Vignes

Highlights • Structural relationship model between maintainable building material selection criteria and building maintainability. • Criteria of TPM, DD, MPM, CPM, ME and SB are the most significant ones for optimising building maintainability. • It is advocated that these sets of criteria need to be used in selecting materials for achieving building maintainability.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to investigate the principles and criteria that govern selection of building materials in achieving building maintainability. The methodological approach used findings generated from extant literature to establish a set of principles and respective criteria for selecting building materials in respect of their influence in achieving building maintainability in post construction (occupancy) period. Further, a modified Delphi method, comprised of a series of questionnaire surveys among the sample of experts drawn from relevant fields including architecture, maintenance, structural engineering and so on, was conducted and the data obtained from which were used to reveal the relationships between the criteria and building maintainability. This paper presents findings on material selection criteria and their relationship to building maintainability. A structural relationship model showing the relationship between maintainable building material selection criteria - attributed to respective principles - and building maintainability is presented. Principles like “Technical Performance of Materials”, “Documentation and Details”, “Mechanical Properties of Materials”, “Chemical Properties of Materials”, “Material Economy” and “Social Benefit” have been identified as the most significant ones for optimising building maintainability in general. It is advocated that these sets of criteria attributed to respective principles need to be formally used in selecting materials for achieving building maintainability. This research is context-bound exclusively to the Malaysian construction industry. Its wider implications need further investigations. This study contributes to the building industry and maintainability research in at least one significant aspect that it widens understanding on maintainability criteria to be considered in selecting maintenance friendly materials and their influence in partially achieving post construction maintainability. The model presented in this paper would enable decision makers to ascertain, during the design phase, what maintainability principles and criteria would require more attention than others to achieve building maintainability.