Facility Defect and Cost Reduction by Incorporating Maintainability Knowledge Transfer Using Maintenance Management System Data

Abstract

Facility maintenance is critical to the proper function and utilization of facilities and fit and function are highly important to dormitories. This study analyzed 39,093 work orders from a US Air Force Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) in order to holistically reveal the most common dormitory facility defects and their associated costs and the effect of preventative maintenance. Actual deficiencies and concrete costs can motivate owners, designers, and facility managers (FMs) to incorporate maintainability in early planning and design stages to reduce the overall life-cycle costs of the facility. The study found that most maintenance costs were associated with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), water and gas systems, and architectural finishes and paint. The study also found that the total cost of the average work order was primarily influenced by labor costs. Critically, this study quantified the correlation between preventative maintenance (PM) and corrective maintenance (CM) and emergency work order labor hours, finding that PM was inversely related to CM and emergency labor hours. Finally, this paper suggests ways to improve maintainability decision-making in design, and operations and maintenance.