Maintenance costs of all types of buildings are most often ignored since they are incurred in the future. Potential investors are interested in capital costs—construction costs—while maintenance ...costs are considered as unimportant in the life cycle of a building. If there were a larger number of maintenance cost estimation models, it would be possible to estimate these costs and present them to potential investors more easily, thus making it easier and more effective to apply life cycle cost methods. A study on the characteristics and costs of the maintenance of sewer systems in the Republic of Croatia was conducted, wherein questionnaires were sent to companies operating public sewer systems. The data requested in the questionnaires were general data on enterprises, maintenance, data on sewer systems, quantities of sewer discharge, sewer pipes and data on maintenance costs of sewer systems. It was established that it is possible to use linear regression when creating a model for estimating the maintenance costs of a sewer system.
This paper is part of broader research aimed at determining the relationship between energy performance and energy costs as a part of the operational and life cycle costs in school buildings in the ...Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), as exceptionally important social and public buildings. The research was conducted by statistical analysis of data collected from documents of detailed energy audits (DEA) for 185 school buildings in FBiH in relation to construction periods. The paper analyzes the characteristics of buildings such as construction period, building envelope characteristics, climatic conditions, efficiency of installed space heating system, number of users and heating mode. The aim of this research was to determine the energy performance for the existing state and to compare them with the allowable values in accordance with the applicable legal regulations. There is a performance gap between predicted (calculated) and measured (actual) delivered energy for space heating. This research shows poor energy performance and provides a basis for developing strategies and plans to improve energy efficiency. The results of the energy performance of school buildings in the FBiH are the first step towards the development of a model for predicting energy costs.
This study deals with the condition examination of elementary school buildings in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia. For schools to be functional and of high quality, adequate maintenance is ...mandatory. Therefore, school maintenance programs need information on the building's condition based on systematic and comprehensive assessments as a primary input. This study aims to establish a framework for assessing the condition of school buildings, based on which information can be obtained quickly and practically regarding the condition of all critical facility elements. To this end, a database on schools and their conditions was created. The conditions of school buildings in terms of damage and defects and their causes were determined. Descriptive and inferential statistical operations were performed on the collected data. A condition assessment of the buildings was performed using a questionnaire survey among the principals, based on the school buildings division model developed in this study; the model presents building elements and a systematic visual condition rating scale. According to the available data, this is Croatia's first condition assessment on elementary school buildings. The main results show that on average, the examined schools are in good condition. Moreover, according to the results, the school building condition is most affected by dilapidation and lack of financial resources.
Costs of maintenance and operation are important part of the Life cycle costs. This paper describes development and validation of a new model for predicting average annual costs of maintenance and ...operations for the University buildings in Osijek with similar building characteristics. The model is developed based on historical cost data records obtained from 13 University buildings in Osijek for time period of 12 years starting from 1998. The model was tested at two new sets of data, in buildings outside of Osijek. The proposed operating and maintenance costs model requires reduced amount of data for predicting annual maintenance and operations costs of University buildings of similar building characteristics and highlights statistically significant data required for costs prediction. The model contains only few elements but yet can predict operating and maintenance costs. The proposed model enables maintenance and operations cost estimates already at the initial design phase.
Due to their educational purpose, impact on users and quality of education, school buildings are vital institutions in the community, and their adequate maintenance should be mandatory. Studies ...conducted around the world point to specific inadequacies that occur in the school maintenance segment, however studies that examine the entire maintenance management process in detail are rare. With such studies, it is possible to observe all components of maintenance and its management in the observed buildings, it is possible to get a detailed insight into the present inadequacies and problems, and give the best possible answer to them. Observing the territory of the Republic of Croatia, it was noticed that there are no adequate databases on school building maintenance. Given all the above, this paper aims to establish a methodological framework and analyze the entire maintenance management process in Croatian schools to detect potential inadequacies, reveal problems, and identify areas for action to improve maintenance performance and carry out maintenance more efficiently. The current maintenance management process of elementary school buildings in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Republic of Croatia, was examined based on the developed methodological framework. Data on the management process were collected through a questionnaire survey among school principals. The questionnaire was compiled based on an extensive literature review. Maintenance performance through management functions was investigated, namely: maintenance planning, maintenance organization, maintenance directing, and maintenance controlling. Important management factors within each of the mentioned functions were observed. The data analysis revealed specific inadequacies and problems in the maintenance process, and it was shown that maintenance management is not entirely effective. Recommendations were given to improve the current situation. In this way, it is possible to quickly and easily examine the entire management process and identify measures that need to be introduced in schools to improve their business in the maintenance segment. The developed methodological framework can be applied to schools from other areas as well as to other types of buildings.
This paper presents the results of statistical analysis of collected data on the characteristics of envelope elements, as one of the key factors influencing energy consumption and costs, of school ...buildings (primary and secondary schools) located in the south region of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SR FBiH). The shares of the areas of walls, floors, ceilings and openings in the total area of the envelope, as well as thermal characteristics expressed through the heat transfer coefficient or U-value, were analyzed. This research was conducted by collecting data from detailed energy audit documents on a sample of 47 school buildings located in SR FBiH, which has a Mediterranean or sub-Mediterranean climate. The average envelope U-value is 1.88 W/m2K, and the results of this study indicate very poor thermal characteristics of the existing condition of individual elements of the envelope, expressed by U-values, which are several times higher than the allowable values.
This paper aims to examine the opinions of the main recognized stakeholders in the maintenance of school buildings (i.e., the construction experts within the founders’ organization, the school staff, ...and the students), compare their views on the maintenance priorities, and identify certain differences. These data provide information about user needs, can help school founders make maintenance decisions, and are the basis for developing a new, balanced system of maintenance priorities. In the research, the survey questionnaire method was used to collect the data, whereby three groups of stakeholders evaluated the priority of eliminating certain defects in school buildings on a 5-point scale. For the purposes of the questionnaire, a model of 32 defects of the school buildings was created. In the questionnaire, 76 experts, 338 school staff, and 297 students participated. The research is limited to the Republic of Croatia. By conducting non-parametric statistical tests (Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney), it was shown that there were statistically significant differences in the stakeholders’ attitudes towards most maintenance priorities. There were also defects where statistically significant differences were not recognized, namely, regarding faulty lighting fixtures, faulty toilets, faulty sinks, faulty space cooling systems, faulty space heating systems, and faulty hot water heating systems. According to the experts, it is most urgent to remove faulty electrical installations, while according to the school staff, the highest priority is faulty sewage installations. The students believe that the priority is faulty toilets. The lowest priority is removing damage to the external environment (experts) and the facade (school staff and students).
This paper reviews the recent literature on skill and labour shortages in the labour market with special emphasis on the construction sector in the European Union Member States, foreseeing the ...Construction 4.0 era. The free movement of people is one of the rights of all citizens of the EU which also includes the free movement of workers. Labour shortages in the EU are expected to increase in the future due to a declining population and an ageing workforce. In order to recognize and forecast labour shortages, EU Member states use a variety of instruments but they do not answer as to whether it is possible to use migrant labour to appease those shortages. There are several systems used to classify labour shortages in the EU Member states. Most of the countries classify labour shortages in relation to different sectors or occupation groups as well as by skill levels, but in some Member States, classification is made according to the type of employment. Instruments used to measure labour shortages significantly differ from country to country. Several criteria are used for creating lists of shortage occupations and most of the criteria include demand side and supply side criteria. A majority of the Member States are facing labour and skill shortages in various sectors and the construction sector is not an exception. As total employment in the construction sector decreased, so did the share of employed migrants. Labour shortages in the construction sector can be eased by the availability of a labour supply willing to accept unqualified and low-paying jobs. The construction sector seeks low-, medium-, and high-skilled individuals and is most likely the sector where most of the incoming migrants will be working, which has an impact on the development and implementation dynamic of Construction 4.0.
The work of workers is still dominant in the realization of most construction projects and therefore has a great impact on the productivity of contractors and, thereby, on the sustainability of ...realization of the goals of contractors and clients. This article provides an overview of the results of more than 100 studies from the previous decade on the impacts of factors related to the personal attributes of workers on the productivity and performance of construction projects. Based on the reviewed literature and semi-structured interviews with experienced professionals in the construction industry, the relation between worker characteristics and other influences on labor productivity is defined and a list of worker characteristics suitable for research in Croatia is compiled. A survey of 262 workers, engineers, and managers from construction industries of Croatia’s eastern region, Slavonia and Baranja, showed that the worker characteristics that most influence labor productivity are experience and dexterity. It was also noticed, with a high correlation between the different groups of respondents, that physical strength and morale and morality of the workers were rated as highly influential, while education level was rated as the least influential. The research results are useful because they indicate the possibility of significantly improving the productivity of construction contractors by selecting workers with appropriate physical abilities and cognitive and non-cognitive skills, as well as developing a suitable system for training and motivation of employees.
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