LIFE-CYCLE ASSET MANAGEMENT OF MEP SYSTEMS IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS: RELIABILITY, COST OPTIMIZATION, AND OPERATIONAL CONTINUITY

Abstract

Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems determine whether commercial buildings remain safe, comfortable, energy efficient, and available for business. Their management is frequently fragmented among design teams, contractors, facility managers, finance departments, and specialist service providers, creating weak information continuity and short-term maintenance decisions. This review analyzes life-cycle asset management of MEP systems through three linked objectives: reliability enhancement, cost optimization, and operational dependability. A structured review of recent research, international asset-management standards, and facilities-management studies was organized around lifecycle stages, criticality, reliability-centered maintenance, life-cycle costing, resilience, and digital information systems. The synthesis shows that effective management begins before commissioning, when maintainability, asset data, redundancy, access, and operating requirements can still be influenced. During operation, risk-based criticality, condition evidence, failure history, service-level consequences, and whole-life cost should jointly determine maintenance and renewal priorities. Digital tools such as BIM, CAFM, IoT sensing, analytics, and digital twins improve decision quality only when asset identifiers, responsibilities, data governance, and work processes are consistent. The paper proposes an integrated framework that connects strategic objectives with lifecycle gates, reliability analysis, cost evaluation, continuity planning, and verified performance outcomes. The framework assists commercial-building owners in balancing expenditure with risk while protecting necessary services and long-term asset value.