Context-Sensitive Maintenance Management using Mobile Tools

To address the essential elements of building maintenance, the use of mobile technology to assist in the decision making processes of Facility Management (FM) is rarely exploited. The operation and maintenance (O&M) phase of a building life-cycle (BLC), which research has found accounts for between 50-70% of professional involvement over the BLC, is the main focus of the research. One of the key aims of this phase of a BLC is the optimisation of energy consumption and this is achieved through careful monitoring of performance levels and effective maintenance of building services. Research estimates that energy savings of between 15-40% can be achieved through closer monitoring and supervision of energy use. This paper introduces the research of the ITOBO project and how to achieve improved building operation through the integration of Data Warehousing technology to provide an Information Technology platform for building performance monitoring and maintenance. A context sensitive mobile application was developed to provide FM personnel access to building maintenance data of UCC’s Environmental Research Institute building.