Whole Life Costing：A New Approach

Whole life costing has been a subject waiting to come of age for many years. What was previously of mainly academic interest is now becoming a key business tool in the procurement and construction of significant projects.

With the advent of PPP and in particular of PFI, details of the project life need to be assessed and tied in to funding and operation plans. Many of these projects run to millions of pounds and are of high political or social importance, so the implications of the life of materials is crucial. A fundamental requirement of these procurement routes has been that the whole enterprise should be included within the bid, so that a company takes on not only the construction but also the running and maintenance of any building.

Additionally as sustainability has emerged and grown in importance, so has the need for a whole life time costing approach, partly driven by governmental insistence. At the heart of sustainability is an understanding of what the specification means for the future of the building and how it will affect the environment. Whole life costing considers part of this and provides an understanding of how materials may perform and what allowances are needed at the end of their life.

This book sets out the practical issues involved in the selection of materials, their performance, and the issues that need to be taken into account. The emphasis, unlike in other publications, is not to formularise or to package the issues but to leave the reader with a clear understanding and a sensible practical way of arriving at conclusions in the future.

Peter Caplehorn is Technical Director of architects Scott Brownrigg in charge of technical standards across the company, on projects currently worth more than ￡2 billion in construction terms. He writes regularly for Building Magazine and for Grand Designs Magazine and lectures regularly on construction matters.

Part 1: Introduction 1. Whole Life Costing a Practical Approach 2. Why is it Important? 3. What Factors Affect It? 4. Current Methods Thinking and Systems Part 2: Relevance to Today 5. The Sustainability Question and the Context of Whole Life Costing 6. What Needs to be Taken Account? 7. How the Following Explanations Data Have Been Approached 8. Who Needs this Information? 9. How to Use it Effectively Part 3: The Building Process 10. Contracts and Their Requirements 11. PFI and Procurement 12. Clients Contractors and Consultants 13. Building Elements Part 4: Building Elements 14. Fabric 15. Structure 16. Materials 17. Finishes 18. Occupation Part 5: The Future