IT support for contractor monitoring of refurbishment projects

Book chapter, 2017

Refurbishment activities comprise a high proportion of construction industry output in most developed countries. There is no international consensus among statisticians as how to define refurbishment or renovation of buildings (Mansfield, 2002). The UK Office for National Statistics publishes data indicating that the volume of ‘repair and maintenance’ corresponded to about 60 per cent of new work during 2014 and 2015. ‘Repair and maintenance’ was roughly equally divided between housing and non-housing, and it is probable that much of this was refurbishment. There are no obvious reasons why ongoing investment in existing buildings should decline and the potential for increasing environmental sustainability by improving energy performance in the building stock remains considerable. The EU Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU) adopted in 2012 includes a requirement for member states to develop long-term renovation strategies for their national building stocks.