Technology-based multi-tiered building diagnosis framework

Purpose: A building deteriorates over time due to aging, wear and tear, and inadequate maintenance. Building diagnosis requires a sound knowledge of engineering, building defects, and detection tools to assess the condition of a building. The physical deterioration of a building reduces its ability to perform its intended function, while environmental deterioration influences the comfort and health of building occupants. This study presents a multi-tiered framework for the inspection of building elements and the environmental conditions of a building. Design/methodology/approach: A three-tiered building inspection framework is proposed in this study, which consists of the following: Tier-I—a preliminary inspection, Tier-II—a detailed inspection, and Tier-III—an expert investigation. Each tier of inspection assesses the severity of building defects using different technologies for different levels of inspection. Findings: Proposed multi-tier inspection framework is tested and implemented on a case study. Results were promising, with organized data management on a common platform for both physical and environmental condition inspection having the potential to save time. Originality/value: The application program developed for the implementation of structured multi-tiered building inspection provides better documentation and data management for building inspection data that can save time involved in manual data operations in traditional paper-based processes.