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Dutch standard for condition assessment of buildings

Purpose – This paper aims to provide insight into the use of a standard for condition assessment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a literature review, an analysis of the development, content and practical use of the Dutch Standard for Condition Assessment of Buildings, and the findings of several research projects about condition assessment and maintenance planning by Dutch housing associations. Findings – By using the standard for condition assessment, building inspectors can provide property managers with objective data about the condition status of building components. Aggregated condition data could be used for setting condition targets for built assets and for benchmarking. It is anticipated that as a result of the standardisation, condition surveys will become more reliable and as a consequence more popular among large-scale property owners. Research limitations/implications – The standard has been introduced recently. At present there is little experience of the use of (aggregated) condition data for maintenance planning and benchmarking built assets. Practical implications – The standard is a tool to assess the technical status of the properties to underpin the long-term maintenance expectations. Condition assessment is not meant for preparing the annual maintenance budget and planning of the work. Supplementary information is needed in the phase of preparing for the execution of remedial work. Originalit

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

By adopting a condition‐dependent approach to maintenance, facility managers can exercise control over the desired maintenance performance levels and costs. The practice 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 in 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 the findings from research in the Netherlands which examined the methodology of condition assessment of building components using a six‐point condition scale. Different categories of performance loss in maintenance are distinguished and linked to different kinds of maintenance activities.

Cost savings from performance‐based maintenance contracting

New procurement approaches combined with performance-based building approaches should reduce costs, but empirical qualitative and quantitative studies are lacking. Performance-based maintenance contracts give maintenance suppliers incentives to improve their way of working. Innovative, cost-effective solutions that meet the performance criteria can be achieved, especially if the principle of whole-life costing is being adopted. Indirect cost savings are expected as well. It enables maintenance contractors to assume responsibility for certain activities for which they are better equipped to perform than their clients. A calculation model was developed that calculates the net present value of the direct (product) and indirect (transaction) costs at project level for a competitive maintenance tendering approach and for performance-based maintenance contracts. The fi ndings show that performance-based maintenance contracts reduce both direct and indirect costs compared to a competitive tendering approach. Essential preconditions are an early supplier involvement and longer term contracts, giving opportunities for maintenance product and maintenance process improvements.

Systems approach and performance measurement by social enterprises

Purpose – This paper intends to ascertain a general guideline for performance measurement and management by social enterprises, combining public and private tasks.Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual systems approach is used as a framework. Maintenance service delivery by Dutch housing associations is used as a case study to show how the conceptual systems approach to performance measurement can be helpful to address the managerial problems of social enterprises, the actors involved and the possible consequences of new policies and interventions.Findings – The system approach to performance measurement has the tools to bring transparency to the aims and means of the various participants in the production process of social enterprises having complex aims and tasks both in the market and in the public domain. The identification of key performance indicators, as well as the input, throughput, output and outcome indicators, ensures the effectiveness and efficiency of the internal business process and ...

Procurement of Dutch housing associations' technical management services

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a systematic connection between the special institutional environment of the Dutch social housing sector, public tasks for the social housing sector, the organisational goals of housing associations, and their procurement strategy for technical management services.Design/methodology/approach – Based on expert interviews, expert meetings and a literature review, a conceptual model is created that helps focusing the procurement of technical management services.Findings – For social enterprises such as housing associations, just as all for‐profit enterprises, the determination of strategic organisational directions is essential for success. The literature review revealed few possible strategic focal points for housing associations: financial performances and social performances. The procurement of technical management can contribute shaping these performances. Making the right choices in the supplier selection, based on the strategic focal direction of housing association...

Competences of maintenance service suppliers servicing end-customers

Service‐led construction projects imply major changes in methods and work processes for contractors and a need to reorganize the contracting company. A major change within a performance‐based approach is that contractors act as maintenance‐engineering consultants to clients and as service providers to end‐customers. Offering new services demands additional resources, skills and competences of contractors. In performance‐based maintenance partnerships contractors have the responsibility for the agreed performance of building components and clients’ and end‐customers’ satisfaction during the entire contract period by handling planned and reactive maintenance. End‐customers are particularly concerned with reactive or daily maintenance. Satisfaction is affected by the result of maintenance and especially the maintenance service delivery process. Maintenance contractors need knowledge about concepts such as whole‐life costing, key performance indicators and service levels, and need communication and empathy skills, especially in dealing with end‐customers.

Performance-based-maintenance: a comparative study between the Netherlands and Israel

Traditional maintenance contracts using the unit price system and prescriptive specifications are simple in their structure and implementation. Implementation of prescriptive-based specification reduces though the flexibility of the procurement and limits the possibilities of the contractor to improve the in-sight operation. Furthermore, the management of the contract faces difficulties such as poor performance of the buildings and ineffective contract management. Performance-Based-Maintenance (PBM) attains an alternative means for outsourcing of maintenance. The objective of the study was to comparatively assess the state-of-the-art of PBM between the Netherlands and Israel, with the focus on performance of public facilities and cost of the service. Pilot studies, carried out in the Netherlands and Israel, reveal that PBM attains high potential of cost-savings (20%) and improved performance. The paper concludes with provision of a future bidding system for PBM contracts.

Facility Management, Outsourcing and Contracting Overview

The discipline of facility management has basically originated from the experience of the field and most of the business models are driven from the American market. The majority of surveys agree that organizational objectives vary according to different business environments. The link between a given company and its facility management department has been studied in details with a widespread agreement on the importance of tailoring to the specific context the facility management organizational model and the approach to the relationships with suppliers. In Europe two Technical Committees of the Comite Europeen de Normalisation (CEN) are currently adding to the body of knowledge terminologies, guidance to prepare agreements, control systems for maintenance management and directions of development. On the basis of findings coming from both the literature and the standardization state of the art, the framework reported here has been focused on the multi-service result-oriented approach. The standpoint if the framework is in the early recognition that the main problem in the field implementations of result-oriented approaches lies in determining whether the expected results have been achieved or not; then, given that two key tools are available, i.e. the service level agreement and the reporting system, the framework suggests a new organizational and managerial structure, even simpler than the traditional (i.e. not integrated) one and whose kernel is based on the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) approach early introduced by six-sigma.

Project delivery methods in European social housing energy renovations

Purpose – The aim of the present study was to characterize the main project delivery methods that are used for the renovation of social housing, and to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of their application for energy renovations in order to assist social housing organisations in making an informed decision on the choice of a project delivery method that suits their organizational context.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a literature review, five case studies of renovation processes by five social housing organizations in four EU countries, a questionnaire completed by 36 social housing organizations from eight EU countries, and a series of 14 interviews with energy renovation experts from ten EU countries.Findings – Four main project delivery methods were identified: iterative minor renovations, design‐bid‐build, design‐build and design‐build‐maintain. Design‐build‐maintain has the maximum potential to deliver energy savings because it facilitates collaboration between the vario...

Embedding energy saving policies in Dutch social housing

Purpose – Many studies on policy implementation have emphasized the difficulties of putting policies into practice. This paper presents several ways in which Dutch social landlords incorporate their energy saving policies in their “regular” housing management, such as planned preventive maintenance, renovations and other physical improvements.Design/methodology/approach – Several housing associations were selected that have formulated an energy saving policy and that have at least some experience in implementing these policies into projects. Interviews were held with managers of asset and maintenance management and with policy staff of housing associations. The extent to which the policy ambitions, both at the portfolio level and at the project level are carried out, and in which way these ambitions are embedded in the organisations’ regular working processes are investigated. Also, the main stimuli and barriers for the implementation of the energy saving policies are identified. Special attention has bee...