Assessing the effectiveness of maintenance practice, in caring for historic buildings

Trevor J. Francis*, Andrew J. Geens, John Littlewood

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Building maintenance constitutes a significant component of the construction expenditure of many advanced nations and critical to the sustainability of most built assets; yet there appears little retrospective analysis of just how effective is the delivery of this support service to the care of U.K. historic buildings, or what quality standards are implicitly accepted by those tasked with responsibility for the function. Despite numerous reports having been produced on maintenance practice, over the past three decades, standards of service delivery appear highly variable. This present study reports on assessments made of a sample of eighty case-study buildings (all designated of historic or heritage value). The buildings were evaluated by a detailed observation process as part of a stock condition survey and then condition rating their principal elements and components, against pre-determined criteria. The research method used observations, digital photography and a standard pro-forma template from which it generated quantative data that assessed the quality of maintenance care provided. Analysis of results emanating, indicates wide ranging disparities in the standard of delivery afforded to certain facilities. The aggregate average score of the sampled buildings reported herein, was only 52.3% (expressed as a percentage). Whilst the sample studied cannot claim to be comprehensive, it has generated data that indicates maintenance practice can be improved considerably.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAssociation of Researchers in Construction Management, ARCOM 2011 - Proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference
Pages901-910
Number of pages10
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2011
Externally publishedYes
Event27th Annual Conference of the Association of Researchers in Construction Management, ARCOM 2011 - Bristol, United Kingdom
Duration: 5 Sept 20117 Sept 2011

Publication series

NameAssociation of Researchers in Construction Management, ARCOM 2011 - Proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference
Volume2

Conference

Conference27th Annual Conference of the Association of Researchers in Construction Management, ARCOM 2011
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityBristol
Period5/09/117/09/11

Keywords

  • Asset management
  • Building conservation
  • Condition surveys
  • Maintenance management

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