Abstract
Accessibility to buildings’ envelope depends on efficient inspection and other maintenance actions of their components. When access to these components is not planned, special means of access are required to carry out the maintenance work. Means of access, besides having a fundamental role on the quality of maintenance works of building envelope components, also represents a considerable part of the maintenance costs. Thus, to optimize costs and resources in maintenance plans, assessment of the impact of the means of access on maintenance costs is crucial. For works in height, there are several alternative means of access. The choice of the most adequate solution is strongly linked to the characteristics (e.g., architecture, height) and constraints (e.g., users, surrounding space) of each building, the maintenance needs of the envelope, and the time and funds available for the intervention. Therefore, in this study, a sensitivity analysis to understand how the cost of means of access can influence the maintenance costs is carried out. Moreover, the optimisation of maintenance activities in façade claddings is also analysed. This study intends to assess whether it is advantageous to consider permanent means of access during the design phase or opt for temporary means of access. In a first stage, the impact of six temporary means of access (supported and suspended scaffolds; articulated booms; telescopic booms; scissor lifts; and rope access) on the maintenance plans developed for the six types of claddings (ceramic tiling systems—CTS, natural stone claddings—NSC, rendered façades—RF, painted surfaces—PS, external thermal insulation composite systems—ETICS, and architectural concrete façades—ACF) is examined. The impact is estimated through a stochastic maintenance model based on Petri nets. After that, a sensitivity analysis and a multi-criteria decision analysis are performed. Based on the results, general recommendations are presented concerning the maintenance strategies to adopt in the cladding solutions analysed. The results reveal that planning the means of access during the design stage can be economically beneficial for all buildings’ envelope components.
Highlights
In the building management field, an adequate degradation condition can be achieved but maintaining this degradation condition over time is another matter
If the use of temporary means of access is indispensable, the results suggest that selecting rope access and/or suspended scaffolds are the most advantageous alternatives
If the building configuration requires the use of means of access, the results suggest opting for rope access in the case of carrying out cleaning operations and replacing the painted surface and suspended scaffolds for the other types of maintenance activities
Summary
In the building management field, an adequate degradation condition can be achieved but maintaining this degradation condition over time is another matter. While there are building envelope components that are accessible (e.g., windows frames or even roofs), external façades usually require special means of access to carry out the maintenance works [2]. These are not commonly designed to provide safe access to maintenance workers. There are no research studies that quantify the economic impact of temporary means of access during the service life of building components. Concerning accessibility, the studies only suggest that this impact is real and significant to put into practice maintenance strategies during the life cycle. The high initial costs of these solutions can be amortized over the years because there are no expenses with the non-predicted temporary means of access
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
