Building facilities maintenance resilience to extreme weather in Hamilton

Traditionally, Hamilton's approach to maintaining its 497 facilities across 17 different asset types relied on routine schedules and guidelines, including preventive maintenance. However, this strategy proved costly and often led to extended facility downtime. With the escalating frequency of extreme weather events attributed to climate change, there's an urgent need for a paradigm shift.

Projected climate data for the next 30 years in Hamilton, based on the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC) utilizing the Representative Concentration Pathway - High Carbon emissions scenario (RCP8.5), paints a concerning picture:

Mean temperatures are expected to rise by 2.1°C, with a staggering increase of 131.25% in very hot days.
This rise in temperature and the number of warm days will likely lead to a heightened demand on HVAC systems.
Precipitation levels are projected to increase by 6.4%, resulting in more rainfall and overall precipitation throughout the year, which could adversely affect roofing and drainage systems, along with other outdoor assets.

SOLUTION

In response, our strategy is centered on transitioning from traditional preventive maintenance to a predictive model. Our solution involves a user-driven framework for short and long-term forecasting, aimed at optimizing maintenance practices to reduce both downtime and costs.

For short-term forecasting, we utilize the OpenWeather API, while long-term projections are drawn from PCIC's High Carbon Emission (RCP8.5) model. These forecasts are then compared against weather thresholds established by Environment Canada. We further refine our approach by incorporating a weighted matrix of assets, considering factors such as user age group and weather conditions, both indoors and outdoors. Additionally, we evaluate and rank assets based on their Facilities Condition Index (FCI).

The result is a comprehensive list of at-risk assets, allowing for targeted maintenance efforts to bolster facility resilience in the face of increasingly extreme weather patterns.