> to help engineers, contractors and clients improve the Clients rarely
certainty that what they build today “will still provide
think about
the services it was designed for in 30 years’ time”.
“PFI [the Private Finance Initiative] has many faults,
whether they
but at least it has got people thinking about how the can afford to
building will operate 35 years in the future,” Davies
run a building
adds. “That means getting to grips with how things
can be recycled and reused.”
– they just
He points to the example of the service modules at decide if they
the Millennium Dome in London, which had been
can afford to
specifically designed to sit outside the main structure
and to be sold on and reused two or three years after
build it. Often
they were installed, because that was the life expectancy the most trivial
of the Dome in its original form.
details can have
Davies says that the Treasury is currently reviewing
its ‘Green Book’ to include more guidance on whole
a profound
life performance work. In addition, the Office of impact on the
Government Commerce (OGC) has stated that it
long-term cost
intends to improve the public sector approval process
by insisting on a WLC approach and data.
of operating a
“This could turn out to be something of a silver lining facility
during the recession, because there will be increased Derek Clements-Croome, CIBSE Whole Life Performance group
interest in whole life cycle issues as new build slows
down,” Davies says. learning environments throughout their whole
“Clients rarely think about whether they can afford operating life.
to run a building – they just decide if they can afford CIBSE Guide M is a useful tool that can help
to build it. Often the most trivial details can have improve methods for costing and evaluation to support
a profound impact on the long-term cost of operating a WLC approach, says Davies, who adds that best-
a facility. For example, the design of the junction value procurement would need the traditional supply
between the floor and the walls can have a big impact chain approach to be “knocked on the head” – which
on how easily rooms can be cleaned.” means getting people to take time out at design and
construction stages to consider how the building would
Mindset work and adapt in the future.
This kind of thinking may require a radically new However, the traditional ingrained approach to
mindset. School building designers may need to construction is just one of the significant barriers to a
understand more about ventilation issues, for example, WLC approach being widely adopted that still remain.
so they can ensure the buildings remain effective Others include the fact that it is still not requested
by many clients; there is a lack of data to help with
evaluation, and a lack of monitoring and target setting.
Owner/operators typically work on three to five-year
budgets, which is not conducive to a WLC approach.
However, some powerful market forces are moving
in the right direction. In these increasingly risk-averse
times, the insurance industry and building funders are
looking to reduce their exposure to risky investments,
and so are inclined towards properties that have been
fully assessed and evaluated.
In June 2008 the Westminster Sustainable Business
Forum produced a report, in which it outlined the
importance of defining sustainable procurement
and getting the budget right. The report says that
government procurers should show leadership and
measure the success and value of whole life design –
using tools that already exist, such as BREEAM.
Andrew Green from Faithful & Gould – part of the
Atkins Group – says that industry has struggled with
whole life costing because it has little expertise in that
area.
“We are practised in and have standards for capital
costing – so when in doubt we will naturally regress to
56 CIBSE Journal March 2009 www.cibsejournal.com
CIBSEmar09 pp54-57 Costing.indd 56 5/3/09 14:15:54
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76