Houselab Tech

The concept of building maintenance, like many others, has evolved over time. Today, it can be defined as "the combination of all technical and administrative actions carried out on a building with the aim of maintaining or restoring its elements and components to a condition in which they are able to perform the functions for which they were designed"(ISO 15686-1:2011).

In recognition of the importance of building maintenance, a comprehensive body of standards, technical guidance, and regulatory publications has been developed. Knowledge relating to construction techniques and technical solutions is supported by recognised technical documents such as the DTU (Documents Techniques Unifiés), international standards published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and European legislation, including the Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC).

At the European level, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), through Technical Committee 319 (TC 319) and its Working Group 7 (WG 7), is responsible for the development and publication of standards relating to building maintenance. The principal European standards relating to building maintenance include:

EN 13269:2006 – Maintenance – Guideline on the Preparation of Maintenance Contracts

EN 15341:2007 – Maintenance – Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

EN 13460:2009 – Maintenance – Documentation for Maintenance

EN 13306:2010 – Maintenance – Maintenance Terminology

EN 15331:2011 – Criteria for Design, Management and Control of Maintenance Services for Buildings

EN 15628:2014 – Maintenance – Qualification of Maintenance Personnel

EN 16646:2014 – Maintenance within Physical Asset Management

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has also played a key role in the development of standards relating to building durability and maintenance. Through Technical Committee ISO/TC 59/SC 14 – Design Life, established in 1997, ISO has developed a comprehensive set of standards addressing the service life of buildings and constructed assets, including aspects related to building maintenance and lifecycle planning. These topics are primarily covered by two dedicated working groups:

The work of ISO/TC 59/SC 14 – Design Life is primarily carried out through two dedicated working groups:

WG 4 – Maintenance and Life Cycle Costing

WG 7 – Condition Assessment and Feedback of Relevant Durability Data from Constructed Assets

The principal ISO standards relevant to building maintenance and service life planning include:

ISO 15686-1 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 1: General Principles and Framework

ISO 15686-2 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 2: Service Life Prediction Procedures

ISO 15686-3 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 3: Performance Audits and Reviews

ISO 15686-4 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 4: Service Life Planning Using IFC-Based Building Information Modelling (BIM)

ISO 15686-5 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 5: Life-Cycle Costing

ISO 15686-6 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 6: Procedures for Considering Environmental Impacts

ISO 15686-7 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 7: Performance Evaluation for Feedback of Service Life Data from Practice

ISO 15686-8 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 8: Reference Service Life and Service Life Estimation

ISO 15686-9 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 9: Guidance on the Assessment of Service Life Data

ISO 15686-10 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 10: Guidance on the Assessment of Functional Performance

ISO 15686-11 – Buildings and Constructed Assets – Service Life Planning – Part 11: Terminology