Improving the maintainability of buildings in Singapore

Maintainability of building has been identified as one of the key areas in which the construction industry in Singapore must achieve significant improvement. However, maintainability is generally given little attention in many developing countries. This leads to financial losses in many respects to the client over the life of the building and inefficient use of the asset. This paper reports the results of a study that identified the key aspects that would enable and motivate Singaporeʹs construction industry to achieve improvement in the level of maintainability of buildings. An industry wide survey was conducted and two key factors were identified, using factor analysis, which would enable Singaporeʹs construction industry to enhance the level of maintainability in buildings. The two factors are developing knowledge on maintainability and setting a benchmark for maintainability. However, the reluctance of the different parties to assume further responsibilities and liabilities would create an obstacle to achieving such improvements.