With the complex designs of today’s buildings posing a safety concern for cleaners, industry players welcomed the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) plan to roll-out a new design-for-maintainability framework, reported Channel News Asia.
With the framework providing a common set of ground rules, less experienced architects will get more guidance in designing buildings, with maintenance in mind, said Tang Kok Thye, an associate architect at ADDP Architect.
“The designs of today definitely look great, but (they) present a great challenge for the cleaning and maintenance team,” said Carmen Choo, key account director of UEMS Solutions, the facilities management firm that helps maintain the Esplanade.
“And what happens is ultimately, (the maintenance) team will be the ones taking over and maintaining the infrastructure.”
With this, a maintenance solutions company specialising in cleaning building interiors hope the framework will encourage the use of tiles instead of marble.
This comes as marble are harder to maintain since it requires special liquid surface cleaners for stains, while wet stains are also more difficult to detect on them – making it more prone for people to slip and fall, said A1 Cleaning Services co-founder Adelyn Ong.
“It’s easier to remove stains on tiles. They require only an ordinary floor cleaner to remove the smudges,” she added, noting that those wanting to have a “marble look” on their floors can install marble-like tiles instead.
This article was edited by Denise Djong.
