Developing a Novel Grading System for Building Health Assessment

Abstract Urban decay in many cities, including Hong Kong, has been exacerbated by aging buildings and building neglect. Proper maintenance is essential to ensure building safety and health. A building assessment is necessary to evaluate building conditions, helping stakeholders make informed decisions about repair and maintenance. However, existing building assessment methods have several limitations, such as inefficient evaluation process and ambiguous grading system. This paper aims to develop a new grading system for assessing building health, using Hong Kong as a case study. In the first phase, a hierarchy framework for a building health assessment (BHA) is adapted from the existing Voluntary Building Assessment Scheme in Hong Kong. This framework consists of four categories: building maintenance elements, environmental protection measures, building maintenance and management practices, and value-added services and facilities. Under these categories, there are 11 first-level BHA components and 52 second-level attributes. A questionnaire survey with 50 industry practitioners was conducted to evaluate the importance of these components and attributes. In the second phase, the methodology for evaluating and determining the weight of each BHA component and its attributes, along with a single building health index (BHI), was developed using tools such as fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, fuzzy measures and integrals, and weighted sum methods. In the third phase, a web-based BHA grading system was created and verified through two case studies and a focus group meeting. This study develops a novel mechanism that integrates the individual BHA items into a single BHI and classifies building health levels. The newly developed web system allows building inspectors and owners to access assessment outcomes and corresponding maintenance recommendations. The BHI can be used to benchmark the conditions of different buildings and to provide a regional-level overview of building health, enabling policymakers to prioritize major and minor maintenance needs and allocate necessary resources accordingly.