Construction and Maintenance of Fedha Plaza - Essay Example

Title: Construction and Maintenance (Student Name) (Course Name and Code) (Tutors’ Name) Institution 29 May, 2008. Introduction Effective maintenance and operational procedures are important in protecting the building, increasing its performance and lifespan. A combination of various factors may lead to sub standard maintenance or poor operation of building system. The factors that usually affect the nature of maintenance are the availability of finances and the quality that the contractors and the designers provide. The building owner or those who are associated with the building should be able to choose the right steps and ways to fulfill the aim of maintaining the building. The maintenance of Fedha Plaza in terms of its location and the type of materials that are used are analyzed, the causes and types of defects, requirements of the local authority, maintenance planning and the procurement plans are discussed. Type and location of the building The building under maintenance schedule is an occupational / residential come commercial. The building is a twenty stored building in which the upper nineteen floors are used for residential purposes while the ground floor and the first floor are used for commercial purposes. All the residential floors are constructed in such a way that it contains balconies and large windows. The building is located in a busy center. It is surrounded by roads and streets, at one corner there are the traffic lights. All the rooms within this building are inhabited and there is presence of many kids, and the commercial part contains a wide range of stores with different business types ranging from grocery, laundry shop, salons and barber shops, restaurants and other types of businesses. Materials / Technology used in building Building materials are all the materials that are used in the purpose of constructions. There are natural materials and man made materials that can be used for constructions. This building is constructed with both the man made materials and the natural materials. These materials include; sand, rocks, plastics, wood, concrete, brick and block, and metals. The walls are a combination of metal, bricks and concrete. The metals are used to increase the strength of the walls and support the storey building. It is also used in the stair case rails, doors, windows and plumbing. The internal doors are made of wood and the door frames are a mixture of wood, glass and metals. Also, some parts of the walls finishes are made of wood. Copper and aluminum materials are used in the lighting system and for the security purposes. The lighting is also supported by plastic materials in terms of the sockets and switches. The commercial part of the building contain extensive glass windows that span the total walls of the building and are supported by the metal bars. The residual part contains louvers windows with support of anti burglar rails. The floors are concrete finished with different type of decorations depending on the nature and use of the room. Tiles are used for roofing. A layer of iron sheets and polythene sheets are first placed before the roofing tiles. The iron sheets and the polythene sheets are used to prevent any moisture or water that man go through the roofing tiles. Major Defects and Causes of the Defects Defect is a shortcoming in terms of performance, function or user requirements that are found in the fabric, service and structure of the affected building. Few buildings are usually completed to an absolute perfection, but not every discrepancy in quality is considered a defect or a shortcoming by a court. Some examples of defects that are usually associated with constructions are water seepage, defecting plumbing, faulty drainage, settlement or movement and environmental hazards. All this defects are associated with the building (Fedha Towers). Most of the defects in this building are directly associated with the estate boom. The rapid pace of construction requires a lot of laborers and quality material which are expensive to obtain. Also, the associated company that constructed the house was under pressure to complete within the stipulated time with the low costs that they used. But, in general any defective building may result to serious loss to the owner of the building and the occupants. Another reason in occurrence of the defects on the building is due to the business occupations that are within the building and inside it. There is frequent blockage of the drainage and sewage pipes because of poor disposal of some trash. Also, the frequent changes in tenants and the business people leads to frequent changes in the settings of the rooms that may either be negative or positive. All these culminate to defects that at the end of the day make the building defective. Requirements of the Local Authority for Maintenance The local authority in their code and practice of maintenance and renovation act has the sole responsibility of monitoring all the buildings within their jurisdiction, and any shortcoming should be checked. They also penalize building owners who don’t have proper plan for maintaining of the building. The local authority bases the building maintenance in two categories; routing maintenance and the major maintenance. Routing maintenance is minor and consistent repairs that are accepted in the building code. This ranges from replacement of fixtures, replacement of window glass and cracks filling in the buildings to changing of the doors. On the other hand, the major maintenance is the total rehabilitation of the general building. This is either the total building or a specific part of the building e.g. a wall. Some of the conditions that the local authority requires for the maintenance are the notification to the considered tenants and the business owners. The people or the tenants who are in and within the building have to be notified in advance so has to prevent any effectuality. This also may include and emergency measures depending on the nature of maintenance. If the maintenance is major and the population of people is high the local authority are responsible to control the people traffic for free, this is if the building owner notices them on time and everything is arranged in advance. In terms of emergency needs the local authority are ready to provide any assistance that the building owner requires. Planning of the Maintenance Program During the life span of a building, maintenance should be scheduled in such a way that the building will last for a longer time and reduce the negative aspects that are associated with the defects. This also means that the effects and inconveniences that may be caused to the people who are within the building should be put into consideration. During the planning of the maintenance program, factors such as the emergency and operational problems should be factored. This will increase the flexibility of maintenance of the building. The building owner and the tenants within the building should collaborate in the maintaining of the building. There are some duties that the tenant should undertake in virtue of their contract. And, there are some duties that are specifically left for the building owner. Some maintenance factors such as if a window glass is broken, and the responsible person is the tenant then, the tenant is supposed to repair it with or without the knowledge of the building agent or owner. While other factors such as repainting the total building is supposed to be undertaken by the owner of the building. Also, the owner is supposed to meet all the conditions that are associated with drainage. There are some aspects that are supposed to be incorporated in the plan; frequency of maintenance, record of maintenance history of each part, priorities, contracted labor vs. in-house and the manufactures recommendations on the spare parts. Some of the optional factors that are associated with the buildings are the fire resistance measures. Some questions that are supposed to ask one self during routine checking of the doors and windows in the buildings are; whether the doors are smoke sealed?, are the exit corridors signs illuminated?, and are all penetrations in the walls sealed properly?. There are environmental hazards that are associated in the maintenance of the building and may result in safety and health needs of the occupants. Due to the cooking that is associated with the building, air ventilation should be given the higher priority. Poor drainage may lead to birth of pathogens which may lead to contamination diseases. In general the maintenance plan should meet the following points: Educating all the people who are involved with the building. A budget should be established for maintenance. Rules should be there on hiring of contractors. Encourage preventative maintenance plan e.g. periodic maintenance checks; Develop a work order system in tracking work orders, maintenance performance, and the costs for each piece of equipment that is involved. Equip the maintenance staff with the right maintenance and operation manuals. Ensuring the required spare parts is available. The right types of tools and materials and the expertise of the involved parties should also be checked. Technology frequently changes and materials and equipments that make solving of the work easier should be incorporated. An example is in the use of fire proof paints and materials in the finishes of the house. Building Procurement for the Maintenance Purpose Procurement is the method in which the maintenance materials and the services that are involved are obtained in the best available total cost of ownership. This yields to the right quality and quantity, at the right place and time. Since the buildings’ main aim is maintenance of the building the right procurement method is the indirect procurement. During any maintenance and procurement plans the building occupiers and other people who are involved should make good decisions by understanding the benefits that will be achieved. There are usually some perceptions that sustainable solutions during maintenance and procurement usually results to high capital cost. This if well monitored will result to the opposite and an advantage to the owner of the building. In an indirect procurement method the owner of the building directly buys specifically what is applicable to the current maintenance issue. Further, the owner of the building is able to manage all the resources that are used and each step that takes place in repairing the building. Conclusion After the construction of a building the building is supposed to be there for a long period of time or depending on the nature of its purpose. The Fedha Plaza is an example of a building that is supposed to be used for a long time and hence needs maintenance to fulfill this. Fedha Plaza has various maintenance issues that are supposed to be taken care of; drainage, movements and settlements and environmental hazards. These are some of the defects that are associated with most buildings and are usually caused by poor construction policy or natural factors; earthquakes and rain. The local authority is in charge in all the activities that are associated with the construction and maintaining of the buildings and the Fedha Plaza is not spared. The Plaza has to follow some rules and regulations so as to enable its maintenance with any inconveniences. The maintenance team should factor in various issues to make their plans successful. The maintenance team should plan all the activities that they are planning to carry out and in it are able to different the importance and ways in which the work will take less cost and result in high quality work. The indirect procurement is important since it is possible for the owner of the building to monitor how each step of maintenance is taking place. Reference Chanter, B. and Swallow, P. (2000) Building Maintenance Management. New York: Blackwell Publishing. Read More