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41 results for “Maintenance”
How Well Do You Really Know Your Building?
Why buildings cannot be judged by appearance alone and what comprehensive assessment involves.
What Is Building Intelligence?
Understanding the framework for evaluating buildings across safety, compliance, resilience and sustainability.
How Organisations Assess Buildings Before Leasing
The systematic process corporate occupiers use to evaluate potential office and facility buildings.
What LEED Assesses — and What It Does Not
A balanced examination of LEED certification scope and its relationship to broader building assessment.
What Documents Should Every Commercial Building Have?
A guide to essential building documents and why they matter for safety, compliance and assessment.
A Building as an Interconnected System
Buildings are not collections of independent parts but interconnected systems where changes in one area may affect many others. Understanding these relationships is essential for sound decision-making.
Understanding the Building Lifecycle
Every building passes through distinct phases from conception to eventual demolition. Each phase presents different risks, responsibilities and information needs.
Building Age and Deterioration
All buildings deteriorate over time. Understanding common deterioration mechanisms helps stakeholders plan maintenance, anticipate repairs and assess residual life.
Planned vs Reactive Maintenance
The difference between fixing things when they break and maintaining them before they fail has significant implications for safety, cost and building longevity.
Condition vs Compliance
A building may be in good physical condition but non-compliant, or compliant on paper but deteriorating. Understanding the difference is essential for proper assessment.
Safety vs Certification
Holding a certificate does not automatically guarantee safety, and the absence of a certificate does not necessarily mean a building is unsafe. Understanding this distinction matters.
Why As-Built Information Matters
As-built drawings and records document what was actually constructed, which may differ from the original design. This information is essential for safe maintenance, renovation and assessment.
Fire and Life Safety in Buildings
Fire and life safety encompasses detection, suppression, compartmentation and egress. Understanding these interconnected elements is essential for protecting building occupants.
Electrical Safety in Buildings
Electrical systems are critical to building function and safety. Understanding key electrical safety considerations helps stakeholders identify potential risks and maintain safe installations.
Mechanical Systems and HVAC
Mechanical systems including HVAC are among the most complex and costly building systems. Understanding their assessment helps stakeholders manage performance, cost and occupant comfort.
Lifts and Vertical Transport
Lifts are safety-critical systems that require regular inspection, testing and maintenance. Understanding lift safety considerations helps building stakeholders manage these important assets.
Facade and Roofing Systems
The building envelope — facades and roofing — protects against weather, contributes to energy performance and affects occupant comfort. Understanding envelope assessment is important for building management.
How to Evaluate Potential Office Buildings
Selecting the right office building requires systematic evaluation across technical, compliance, commercial and operational dimensions. A structured approach helps organisations avoid costly mistakes.
Pre-Lease Due Diligence
Pre-lease due diligence is the systematic process of investigating a building before signing a lease. Understanding what to examine and why helps organisations protect their interests.
Construction Stage Assurance
Monitoring quality during construction helps ensure that the building is built as designed and that problems are identified before they become hidden behind finishes.
Landlord and Tenant Responsibilities
Clear allocation of responsibilities between landlord and tenant is essential for building safety, compliance and maintenance. Ambiguity in this area often leads to gaps.
Corporate Minimum Requirements for Buildings
Many organisations establish minimum requirements that buildings must meet before they will be occupied. Understanding common corporate standards helps building owners prepare for corporate tenants.
Security and Operational Resilience
Building security and operational resilience protect people, assets and operations. Understanding what to evaluate helps organisations ensure their buildings support safe and reliable operations.
Governance, Reporting and Auditability
Good governance ensures that building performance claims are backed by evidence. Understanding governance, reporting and auditability helps organisations build trust and demonstrate accountability.
Essential Building Documents
Every commercial building should maintain a core set of documents that support safety, compliance, maintenance and assessment. Understanding what documents are essential helps stakeholders identify gaps.
OPEX
Operating Expenditure — the ongoing day-to-day costs of running a building: utilities (electricity, water, gas), maintenance labour and materials, cleaning, security, management fees, insurance, and consumables.
PPM (Planned Preventive Maintenance)
Scheduled maintenance activities performed at regular intervals to prevent equipment failure, extend asset life, and maintain safety compliance — as opposed to reactive maintenance performed after a breakdown occurs.
CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System)
Software specifically focused on maintenance operations — scheduling planned preventive maintenance (PPM), managing reactive work orders, tracking spare parts inventory, and recording maintenance history for building assets.
LOTO (Lock Out Tag Out)
A safety procedure that ensures hazardous equipment is properly shut down, isolated from all energy sources, and locked/tagged before maintenance or servicing work begins, preventing accidental re-energisation.
KPI
Key Performance Indicator — a quantifiable measurement used to evaluate the performance of building operations against defined targets. Building KPIs cover energy, maintenance, comfort, safety, cost, and service quality.
O&M Manual
Operation and Maintenance Manual — comprehensive documentation provided by equipment manufacturers and contractors covering the installation, operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and spare parts for building equipment.
FCI (Facility Condition Index)
A ratio that compares the cost of deferred maintenance and repairs to the current replacement value of a building, expressed as a percentage. Lower is better.
CAFM (Computer-Aided Facility Management)
Software used by facility management teams to manage maintenance work orders, asset registers, space allocation, lease administration, and compliance tracking across building portfolios.
LOTO (Lockout/Tagout)
A safety procedure that uses physical locks and warning tags to ensure hazardous energy sources are isolated before maintenance work begins. Each worker applies their own lock to prevent unexpected energisation.
PCA (Property Condition Assessment)
A systematic evaluation of a property's physical condition, identifying deficiencies, deferred maintenance, and capital expenditure requirements over a specified period.
NFPA 10 - Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers
Selection, installation, inspection, maintenance and testing of portable fire extinguishers.
NFPA 25 - Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems
ITM requirements for sprinkler, standpipe, fire pump, fire hose and water supply systems.
ASHRAE 100 - Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings
Energy efficiency requirements for existing buildings including operations, maintenance and management.
Fire Safety Plan NOC
No Objection Certificate from the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) confirming the building has an acceptable fire safety management plan. Covers evacuation procedures, fire warden assignments, fire drill schedules, fire safety equipment placement, and emergency contact arrangements. Distinct from the construction-stage Fire NOC (which covers design) and the annual Fire Licence (which covers ongoing system maintenance and readiness).
Shopping Centres
Shopping centres are multi-tenant retail complexes with high public occupancy, complex fire-safety requirements, multiple means of egress, centralised building management systems, common-area maintenance obligations, and shared infrastructure including HVAC, fire suppression, vertical transportation and car parking.
Residential Towers
Residential towers are high-rise buildings housing multiple dwelling units, with assessment priorities centred on structural adequacy for seismic and wind loads, fire safety for sleeping occupants across many floors, vertical transportation reliability, water supply and drainage for high-rise conditions, and common-area maintenance responsibilities between management and unit owners.