Assessment of Maintenance Strategies Adopted for Building Services Installations (BSI) in Higher Education Institution (HEI) Hostel Buildings in Nigeria

Inadequate maintenance strategies adopted for building services installations (BSI) in hostel buildings in higher education institutions (HEI) has diverse implications on the comfort, safety, convenience, health and well-being of occupants. This study identified the existing BSI in Federal Polytechnic Ede hostel buildings; assessed the maintenance strategies adopted in the maintenance of BSI in the study area; examined the factors influencing the maintenance strategies of the BSI. Data for the study was collected using quantitative and qualitative approach. Questionnaire survey was administered for 10% of the target respondents (60 questionnaires) and in-depth interview was conducted for hostel portals, administrators, works/maintenance unit and students that are drawn from the entire population via stratified and simple random sampling. Data collected were analyzed using, descriptive statistics (percentage and frequency) and RII. The study shows that 80-90% of installed BSIs such as telecommunication network, CCTV, waste water pipes, drainage pipes, lighting system and fire-fighting equipment are in severe conditions and 0-20% of the AC system, boilers and soakaway-pit are in bad condition. The study also shows that the maintenance practices adopted for BSI involves regular inspections of BSI was ranked 1<sup>st</sup> with RII (0.846), conducting reactive/corrective maintenance of installed BSI due to observed failures was ranked 2<sup>nd</sup> with RII (0.560), conducting regular cleaning and servicing of BSI was ranked 3<sup>rd</sup> with RII (0.52). The study further deduced that inadequate funding for carrying out maintenance operations of BSI was ranked 1<sup>st</sup> with RII (0.760), lack of implementable hostel regulations and policies for end users’ of the installed BSI was ranked 2<sup>nd</sup> with RII (0.733), and lack of training for skilled experts to monitor and carry out routine maintenance of BSI was ranked 3<sup>rd</sup> with RII (0.710). The study concluded that, the use of ICT based technology to monitor BSI using sensors/monitoring system and comprehensive maintenance programme are key to effective maintenance strategies in ensuring the proper functioning, longevity and improvement of BSI in hostel buildings. The study further recommended adequate funding for maintenance of BSI, policy implementation for hostel building end users and deployment of skilled experts for repairs and maintenance of BSI is crucial for the improvement of BSI in hostel buildings in higher institutions.