Comprehensive maintainability scoring system (COMASS) for commercial buidings in tropical climate of Singapore

SUTAPA DAS

Publication

Comprehensive maintainability scoring system (COMASS) for commercial buidings in tropical climate of Singapore

SUTAPA DAS

Abstract

Dearth of holistic grading system to integrate design-construction-maintenance guidelines and their maintainability impacts causes prevalent and recurrent defects. Proposed COMASS is a decision-enhancement tool applicable for part or whole of a new or existing building to select the best strategy. Data was collected through casestudys, surveys and face-to-face interviews of facility managers. 'Defect Library' is analysis of causes and criticality of 319 types of observed defects for nine major building elements using FMECA. A total of 731 defect-mitigating checklist factors along with scoring logic constituted 'Maintainability Handbook'. Using objective and subjective parameters, AHP integrated building elements using 12 sets of relative weights for various location-height combinations. Values were coherent with expertsb subjective opinions. Predictive accuracy of COMASS was found satisfactory through operational validity and sensitivity testing via Monte-Carlo simulation for a hypothetical multi-tenant office tower at CBD. A user-friendly online application was also developed. The generic method can be applied for other building types or climates and aspires to improve the maintainability profile of buildings significantly.