ABSTRACT
After a building has been delivered to the owner at the conclusion of construction, its life is only just beginning. The majority of a facility’s impact from an energy and water standpoint occurs during its operational life. Similarly, the majority of its solid waste impact occurs at the conclusion of its service life. Although these phases have not historically been the focus of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, they are critical in today’s project environment where extended responsibility is becoming more common in the form of design-build-operate-maintain (DBOM) contracts. Even in the absence of such an agreement, the contractor’s liability and reputation are contingent upon the continuing performance of a facility. The following sections describe best practices for sustainably operating and maintaining a facility after occupancy and for disposing of the facility at the end of its life-cycle.
