Using a condition-dependent approach to maintenance to control costs and performances

By adopting a condition-depended approach to maintenance, facility managers can exercise control over the desired maintenance performance levels and costs. The practise of condition assessment by building inspectors yielded variable results due to subjective perceptions of inspectors. Nowadays well-trained building inspectors are able to manage condition surveys and provide property managers with objective, reliable information about performance loss and defects of building components. The implementation of various performance levels in planned maintenance requires not only the standardisation of the condition assessment method, but also the related planning methodology. This paper describes findings from research that examined the methodology of condition assessment of building components using a six-point condition scale in the Netherlands. We distinguish different categories of performance loss in maintenance and link that to different kinds of maintenance activities.