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Assessment of Maintenance Practices in Public Buildings

Abstract

Maintenance is essential to preserving the functionality, safety, appearance, and service life of public buildings. Facilities such as government offices, educational institutions, healthcare centres, and civic buildings accommodate large numbers of users and require regular maintenance to remain operational and suitable for their intended purposes. However, inadequate maintenance practices can result in deteriorating building components, service failures, uncomfortable indoor conditions, and increased repair costs. Assessing existing maintenance practices is therefore important for understanding the condition and performance of public buildings. This study assesses maintenance practices in selected public buildings, with emphasis on the methods, frequency, effectiveness, and organization of maintenance activities. It examines the maintenance of building components such as roofs, walls, floors, doors, windows, ceilings, plumbing systems, electrical installations, mechanical services, and external facilities. The study also considers the extent to which maintenance activities are carried out through preventive, routine, corrective, or emergency approaches. The research evaluates the procedures used to identify building defects and determine maintenance requirements. Attention is given to maintenance schedules, inspection practices, record keeping, response time to reported defects, availability of maintenance personnel, and the provision of maintenance budgets and materials. The study also considers whether maintenance activities are undertaken systematically or primarily in response to visible failures and occupant complaints. These factors provide an indication of the effectiveness of existing maintenance management systems. In addition to technical assessments, the study considers the experiences of building users and facility managers. Occupants may encounter problems such as leaking roofs, damaged finishes, faulty lighting, blocked drainage, inadequate ventilation, malfunctioning sanitary facilities, and deteriorating external spaces. Such conditions can affect user satisfaction, productivity, safety, and overall perception of the building. Feedback from occupants and maintenance personnel can therefore provide useful information for identifying recurring deficiencies and evaluating the effectiveness of current maintenance practices. The effectiveness of maintenance practices may be influenced by several factors, including funding availability, institutional policies, procurement procedures, technical expertise, building age, accessibility of building services, and availability of spare parts and materials. Public buildings may also experience challenges associated with high occupancy, intensive use, delayed decision-making, and inadequate maintenance documentation. Addressing these factors requires a coordinated maintenance framework that emphasizes regular inspection, preventive interventions, effective record keeping, and timely response to defects. The study aims to assess existing maintenance practices in public buildings and identify areas requiring improvement. The findings are expected to assist building owners, facility managers, government institutions, architects, and maintenance professionals in developing more effective maintenance management strategies. Improved maintenance practices can contribute to longer building service life, reduced deterioration, better user comfort, improved safety, and more efficient use of public resources. The study therefore emphasizes the importance of planned and preventive maintenance in achieving sustainable performance of public buildings.

Keywords: Public buildings, Building maintenance, Maintenance practices, Preventive maintenance, Corrective maintenance, Facility management, Building performance, Maintenance management, Building defects, Maintenance planning, Public facilities, Building service life, Facility condition, Maintenance efficiency.