Run to Fail Maintenance
Maintenance Contracts, A guide to best practice for procurement (BG 66/2016), written by Karl Godfrey and Martijn Groen and published by BSRIA in November 2016, states: ‘Run to Fail Maintenance (RFM) means that maintenance is only carried out when an asset fails. This is commonly applied to buildings that are due to be, or have been, vacated. It may also be viable when there are budgetary pressures that need to be complied with. It needs to be recognised that this will impact the assets’ operational lives and will lead to higher maintenance costs if the assets need to be brought back to the appropriate standard. Performing statutory maintenance is still required under an RFM regime.’
--BSRIA
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- BSRIA articles.
- BSRIA definitions.
- BSRIA.
- Condition monitoring.
- Design for maintenance.
- In-house or outsource maintenance.
- Maintenance and operational strategy.
- Maintenance.
- Planned preventive maintenance.
- Predictive maintenance.
- Proactive maintenance.
- Reliability centred maintenance.
- Scheduled maintenance.
- Unplanned maintenance.
Featured articles and news
Level 6 Design, Construction and Management BSc
CIOB launches first-ever degree programme to develop the next generation of construction leaders.
Open for business as of April, with its 2026 prospectus and new pipeline of housing schemes.
The operational value of workforce health
Keeping projects moving. Incorporating unplanned absence and the importance of health, in operations.
A carbon case for indigenous slate
UK slate can offer clear embodied carbon advantages.
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.
Plumbing and heating for sustainability in new properties
Technical Engineer runs through changes in regulations, innovations in materials, and product systems.
Awareness of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
What CBAM is and what to do about it.
The new towns and strategic environmental assessments
12 locations of the New Towns Taskforce reduced to 7 within the new towns draft programme and open consultation.
Buildings that changed the future of architecture. Book review.
The Sustainability Pathfinder© Handbook
Built environment agency launches free Pathfinder© tool to help businesses progress sustainability strategies.
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation a win for Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University.





















