Computer Assistance in Managing the Maintenance of Low-Slope Roofs

Abstract

Computerized roof management systems (CRMSs) are developed to assist building owners in minimizing their expenditures on roof maintenance while improving the safety and serviceability of their roof stock. Current CRMSs have some limitations that affect their ability to efficiently represent roof data at different manageable levels and to accurately predict the service life of various roof components. A new CRMS, called CBROOF, is developed within the Building Envelope Life Cycle Asset Management (BELCAM) research project to overcome these limitations. CBROOF has an object-oriented conceptual model that supports the hierarchical decomposition of roofs and the representation of their data at different levels of detail. CBROOF also incorporates the use of the case-based reasoning (CBR) approach to predict the future condition of roof components based on the recorded condition of similar components. The design and implementation of the relevant modules of CBROOF are presented, and the CBR deterioration model developed for the service life prediction of built-up roof membranes is validated.