10DBMC International Conférence On Durability of Building Materials and Components

LYON [France] 17-20 April 2005

The Factor Method – a simple tool to service life estimation.

P. J. Hovde
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
(NTNU)
Høgskoleringen 7A, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
per.hovde@ntnu.no

TT4-115

ABSTRACT

Over the last decade, there have been extensive research and development activities in many countries
regarding service life prediction (SLP) methods for building materials, products and components.
Internationally, the outcome of many of these efforts have been reported and applied within two
bodies, the working commission CIB W80/RILEM 175-SLM “Service life methodologies” and the
standardisation technical committee ISO/TC 59/SC 14 “Design life”.

Since 1999, the commission CIB W80/RILEM 175-SLM has been working on three state-of-the-art
reports describing three levels of SLP methods. These are probabilistic based methods, that are based
on probability and statistical data, simpler engineering methods based on a reference service life and
probability distribution functions of some key factor values, and the simple factor method that is based
on the same reference life and simple deterministic values of key factors. The Factor Method is
presented in the International Standard ISO 15686 Part 1. Increasing application of the Factor Method
over the last years has shown that there is an urgent need for input data, both for the reference service
life as well as rules for selection of the factor values. It has also shown that there is a need for the
Factor Method in its original version as a tool for simple service life estimates and to demonstrate
what are the main conditions influencing the service life.

This paper explains the Factor Method and refers to some of the work going on internationally
regarding the development and evaluation of the method. Further, the paper presents requirements of
design lives of buildings, building components and services, and explains the meaning of each of the
factors involved. The main part of the paper is to give some general examples of how to select
appropriate values for each of the factors of the Factor Method. Some tables are given to illustrate a
range of values in the interval 0.2 to 5, and under what circumstances different values may be chosen.
Tables show general conditions for selection of factor values, as well as basis for a more specific
selection of values for the factors A (quality of components) and E (outdoor environment),
respectively. Finally, the paper stresses the need for presentation of reference service life of building
materials and components, and for further development of the system of factor value selection as
mentioned above.

KEYWORDS

Service life estimation, Factor Method, factor values.

1. INTRODUCTION
 10DBMC International Conférence on Durability of Building Materials and Components
LYON [France] 17-20 April 2005

Over the last decade, there have been extensive research and development activities in many countries
regarding service life prediction (SLP) methods for building materials, products and components.
Internationally, the outcome of many of these efforts have been reported and applied within two
bodies, the Working Commission CIB W80/RILEM 175-SLM “Service Life Methodologies” and the
standardisation technical committee ISO/TC 59/SC 14 “Design Life”. This is further described in
clause 2.3. The scope of this paper is to present a tool for choice of practical factor values as input to
the Factor Method.

2. STATUS OF THE FACTOR METHOD

2.1 Definitions of service life

For the discussion of service life in this paper, the following definitions apply [ISO 2000]:

Design life: intended service life, expected service life or service life intended by the designer.

Reference service life: service life that a building or parts of a building would expect (or is predicted
to have) in a certain set (reference set) of in-use conditions.

Estimated service life: service life that a building or parts of a building would be expected to have in
a set of specific in-use conditions, calculated by adjusting the reference in-use conditions in terms of
materials, design, environment, use and maintenance.

2.2 Presentation of the Factor Method

Since the publication of ISO 15686 Part 1 in 2000, the Factor Method has gained increasing interest,
and it has been studied in many research and development projects. The method is becoming more and
more familiar to people being involved in studies of durability and service life of building materials
and components, and the number of publications presenting and discussing the method has been
increasing. However, as a basis for the further discussion, the method is also presented here.

An Estimated service life (ESL) of a material or component is calculated based on a Reference service
life (RSL) and a series of factors, A-G, by combining them as shown in equation (1).

ESL = RSL x A x B x C x D x E x F x G (1)

where A = quality of components

B = design level
C = work execution level
D = indoor environment
E = outdoor environment
F = in-use conditions
G = maintenance level

2.3 Development and application of the Factor Method

The Factor Method in its present form was first published in the international standard ISO 15686 Part
1 in 2000. The method is based on a similar method published in Japan some decades ago
[Architectural Institute 1993]. However, the Japanese method was some more sophisticated in the way
that the type, number and application of the various factors were altered dependent on the material or
component to be evaluated, or on the specific application of the actual material or component. This

TT4-115, The Factor Method – a simple tool to service life estimation. Per Jostein Hovde.
 10DBMC International Conférence on Durability of Building Materials and Components
LYON [France] 17-20 April 2005

may give more correct results for each situation, but it will also require more information about
various materials or components and the actual situation where they are to be applied.

ISO 15686 Part 1 gives a comprehensive presentation of service life prediction (SLP). In ISO 15686
Part 2 [ISO 2001], a procedure for SLP was presented based on alternative studies of climate exposure
and degradation of materials and components. This procedure is regarded to be the most extensive and
correct procedure to determine the Reference service life (RSL) of a material or component. The RSL
is the basic value for application of the Factor Method, together with specific values of the individual
factors included.

In 2004, CIB W80/RILEM 175-SLM published a state-of-the art report describing two alternative
versions of the Factor Method [Hovde & Moser 2004]. The first part of the report (Part A) presented
the background, development and evaluation of the Factor Method in its original version, whereas the
second part of the report (Part B) presented a more specific selection of factor values based on
statistical distributions of each of the factors. The scope of the latter part was to show how the Factor
Method could be applied as an engineering design method for SLP of building materials and
components. A brief summary of the state-of-the-art report may be found in separate papers, [Hovde
2002], [Moser & Edvardsen 2002], [Lacasse & Sjöström 2004].

Further, papers discussing the Factor Method may be found in journals and conference proceedings,
showing that there is an increasing interest in the method and need for practical tools for SLP.
Examples of such papers are [Teply et.al. 2003], [Cusamo & Lucchini 2003], [Re Cecconi 2003], [De
Pascale 2003], [Re Cecconi 2004]. Marteinsson [2003] has performed a more extensive study of SLP
and the role of the Factor Method in such work. He presents some examples of practical application of
the method, and he states that practical solutions of SLP have to be based on a good knowledge in the
field, but also on a sound working strategy, to ensure that different design scenarios can be compared
in a standardised and structured way. The Factor Method is a promising tool for such an evaluation
and comparison, but there is still a lot of work to do to establish the necessary input data for reference
service life and factor values, and to introduce the Factor Method into the design process.

Components
Design life of Inaccessible or where Major Building services
building structural replacement is replaceable
components expensive or components
difficult (incl.
below ground
drainage)
Unlimited Unlimited 100 40 25
150 150 100 40 25
100 100 100 40 25
60 60 60 40 25
25 25 25 25 25
15 15 15 15 15
10 10 10 10 10
NOTE 1: Easy to replace components may have design lives of 3 or 6 years.
NOTE 2: An unlimited design life should very rarely be used, as it significantly reduces design
options.

Table 1. Design lives of building components, services and buildings (years) to be selected for
different types of buildings [ISO 2000].

3 FURTHER APPLICATION OF THE FACTOR METHOD

TT4-115, The Factor Method – a simple tool to service life estimation. Per Jostein Hovde.
 10DBMC International Conférence on Durability of Building Materials and Components
LYON [France] 17-20 April 2005

3.1 Design life

In the planning and design process of a new building, design lives of components, services and the
whole building have to be chosen. In ISO 15686 Part 1, a table with proposal of appropriate design
lives is given. A similar table has been published by the European Organization for Technical
Approvals (EOTA) [EOTA 1999].

3.2 Reference service life

As mentioned in clause 2.3, the most comprehensive and laborious procedure for determination of
reference service life (RSL) is presented in ISO 15686 Part 2. This procedure is based on different
types of testing (field, laboratory), test houses, field investigations, etc. A procedure for provision of
RSL of a building material or component has been presented in a Draft International Standard [ISO
2004]

3.3 Evaluation of the factors

In a total determination of the service life, it is important to be aware of how the Reference service life
(RSL) as well as each of the factors are determined. Care should be taken to make sure that conditions
influencing the specific value of each of these parameters are not mixed and taken into consideration
multiple times. One example is the effect of incompatibility of materials (or a material and a surface
treatment), which may be taken into consideration in relation to factor A, F or G. If a specific factor
does not apply in determination of service life in a certain situation, the actual factor value is set to 1.0.

Factor A: This factor expresses the quality of the actual material used in a specific component. This
may be related to the material quality itself, or to treatment (surface, impregnation) in order to protect
the material against climate exposure (outdoor, indoor).

Factor B: This factor expresses the design level of the actual component or structure of a building. Of
special interest is how the component or structure are designed in order to be protected against weather
exposure, wetting and drying, etc.

Factor C: This factor expresses the skill of the construction workers, and to what extent the work is
done according to accepted procedures (drawings, standards, guidelines, handbooks, etc.).

Factor D: This factor expresses the indoor environment exposing the actual component or structure.
The factor usually does not apply for service life estimation of exterior materials, components or
structures.

Factor E: This factor expresses the outdoor environment exposing the actual component or structure.
It may be necessary to select different factor values for one specific climate exposure, depending on
the type of material applied (wood, concrete, metals, polymers, etc.). This is due to the fact that
different climate components (UV radiation, moisture, temperature, freeze/thaw) will be critical to
different materials.

Factor F: This factor expresses the in-use conditions of the actual material or component. Such
conditions may be general wear and tear, type of building where the material or component is applied,
etc.
Factor G: This factor expresses the extent of maintenance of the actual material, component or
structure. Poor maintenance may reduce the factor value to be selected, but in some situations also too
intensive maintenance (e.g. short intervals of painting of exterior wood panels) may reduce the service
life.

TT4-115, The Factor Method – a simple tool to service life estimation. Per Jostein Hovde.
 10DBMC International Conférence on Durability of Building Materials and Components
LYON [France] 17-20 April 2005

3.4 Selection of factor values

Much of the discussion and criticism of the Factor Method has been related to the fact that it is
necessary to select a specific value for each of the factors, and that the multiplication of all the factor
values makes the value of the Estimated service life (ESL) very sensitive to slight variations of each
factor value. This is discussed in more detail in Hovde [Hovde 2002].

Factor General conditions for selection of factor values

value A B C D E F G
5.0 Treated One Maintenance
material relevant with best
climate available
component procedures
is lacking
3.0 Excellent Very good
quality execution
level
2.0 Very good Mild Very good
quality climate maintenance
1,5 Good Good
quality execution
level
1,2
1.0 To be applied if conditions are similar to the RSL conditions,
or if a specific factor does not apply.
0,85
0,67 Reduced Bad
quality execution
level
0,5 Poor Severe Poor
quality climate maintenance
0,33 Very poor Wrong
quality mounting
and fixing
0,2 Material Extreme Lack of
not climate maintenance
applicable

Table 2. Guideline for selection of factor values (examples).

The studies of the Factor Method so far have proved that it is necessary to have simple procedures for
selection of factor values. One important aspect is then the relation to the actual design life as shown
in Table 1. A building may have a design life of 60, 100, 150 or even an unlimited number of years,
and it is not possible to prescribe the future conditions of such buildings in detail. For estimation of
service life of a material or component that is to have a rather short design life, it is important to be
able to obtain a value as correct as possible regarding the actual number of years. For larger design
lives, however, there will always be a number of uncertainties, and it is not necessary to estimate the
service life to the nearest year or even 5 to 10 years. Therefore, some general values for selection of
each of the factors should be developed, and they will be a practically applicable choice of values.
Examples of such values are given in Table 2. The table has to be further developed based on existing
knowledge, and it may be refined in the future based on further experience.

Factor A: Quality of components

Factor Qualities for selection of factor value

TT4-115, The Factor Method – a simple tool to service life estimation. Per Jostein Hovde.
 10DBMC International Conférence on Durability of Building Materials and Components
LYON [France] 17-20 April 2005

value Concrete Steel Wood Polymer

5.0 Stainless steel Heartwood
3.0 High strength Impregnated wood
concrete with Tropical wood
reduced porosity
2.0 Surface treatment, Surface treatment, Extra UV stabiliser
type A type A added
1,5 Concrete with low Surface treatment, Surface treatment,
w/c ratio type B type B
1,2
1.0 To be applied if conditions are similar to the RSL conditions,
or if a specific factor does not apply.
0.85
0.67 Sapwood
0.5 Concrete with high
w/c ratio
0.33 Incompatible Incompatible No UV stabiliser
surface treatment surface treatment applied
0.2 Concrete with high
w/c ratio and
reactive aggregate

Table 3. Guideline for selection of factor values in relation to material qualities (examples).

Factor D: Outdoor environment

Factor Outdoor climate conditions for selection of factor value
value Concrete Steel Wood Polymer
5.0 Dry climate, no Dry climate, no Dry climate, no
pollution pollution pollution
3.0 Dry climate Dry climate Dry climate
2.0 Low UV radiation
1,5
1,2
1.0 To be applied if conditions are similar to the RSL conditions,
or if a specific factor does not apply.
0.85
0.67 Freeze/thaw
conditions apply
0.5 Industrial High UV radiation
atmosphere
0.33 Marine climate Wet climate High UV radiation,
ozone
0.2 Severe freeze/thaw Severe industrial
conditions atmosphere

Table 4. Guideline for selection of factor values in relation to outdoor environment (examples).
Each value may be related to specific conditions for each of the factors. If the applicant of the Factor
Method has more specific information for one or more of the factors, it will be possible to select a
factor value from interpolation between the two nearest values given. The application of such pre-
selected values for each of the factors will also be a good basis for evaluation of the importance of
each factor and an important support in understanding the applicability, limitations and practical use of
the Factor Method.

TT4-115, The Factor Method – a simple tool to service life estimation. Per Jostein Hovde.
 10DBMC International Conférence on Durability of Building Materials and Components
LYON [France] 17-20 April 2005

The system of selection of factor values as shown in Table 2 is very general. It may be a first, crude
system for application to all types of materials and components in buildings. However, the practical
application of the system may reveal that it will be necessary to refine the system to take care of
different types of materials or components. This can be further developed as shown in Table 3 and 4.
The tables may be expanded for other types of materials or components, and similar tables have to be
developed for each of the factors A-G. When applying values as given in table 3 and 4, it is important
to be aware of the initial value of the RSL. It should be stressed that the text given in the tables 2-4 are
just examples. These examples have to be verified or ajusted, and further examples have to be stated
for the the empty boxes.

3.5 Estimated service life

Calculation of Estimated service life (ESL) is performed by use of the Factor Method as shown in
clause 2.2. Selection of appropriate values for Reference service life (RSL) and each factor,
respectively, may be done as explained in clause 3.2 and 3.3. For evaluation of the outcome of the
calculation, it is important to be aware of the description of ESL as given in ISO 15686 Part 1. ESL
does not represent an exact value of the service life, and the Factor Method merely gives an empirical
estimate of the service life of a building material or component.

4 NEEDS FOR INPUT DATA

The main parts of the Factor Method are the Reference service life (RSL) and the factor values. In
order to apply the method in a practical and reliable way, it will be necessary to establish data sources
presenting specific values for these parameters. RSL values have to be furnished by manufacturers of
building materials and components. In the future, publication of such values should be a regular part of
material or component data sheets etc. It may also be possible to publish more general data for RSL of
types of materials or components, as an input to a first calculation of Estimated service life (ESL). A
database for selection of factor values has to be developed as illustrated in clause 3.4. The
development of such a database should be a joint task for industry, testing and research institutes, etc.,
because it requires input data and evaluation of a variety of conditions and parameters.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The paper presents a new proposal for selection of input data for practical application of the Factor
Method. The proposal will be a support for users of the Factor Method in estimating the service life of
a building material or a component in the design and engineering phase of a building. The proposed
system also underlines the need for joint efforts to establish available data bases for Reference service
life (RSL) of building materials or components, as well as an appropriate range of values for the
different factors A-G.

REFERENCES

ISO 2000, ISO 15686 Part 1. Buildings and constructed assets – Service life planning – Part 1:
General Principles. International Organization for Standardization, Geneve, Switzerland.
Architectural Institute 1993, The English edition of Principal Guide for service life planning of
buildings. Architectural Institute of Japan, Japan.

TT4-115, The Factor Method – a simple tool to service life estimation. Per Jostein Hovde.
 10DBMC International Conférence on Durability of Building Materials and Components
LYON [France] 17-20 April 2005

ISO 2001, ISO 15686 Part 2. Buildings and constructed assets – Service life planning – Part 2: Service
life prediction procedures International Organization for Standardization, Geneve, Switzerland.
Hovde, P. J. & Moser, K. 2004, Performance based methods for service life prediction. State of the art
reports, Part A and Part B. CIB Report: Publication 294. CIB, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
ISBN 90-6363-040-9.
Hovde, P. J. 2002, The factor method for service life prediction. From theoretical evaluation to
practical implementation. Paper 232, Proceedings of 9th International Conference on Durability
of Building Materials and Components (9DBMC), Brisbane, Australia, 17.-20. March 2002.
Moser, K. & Edvardsen, C. 2002, Engineering design methods for service life prediction. Paper 222,
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Lacasse, M. & Sjöström, C 2004, Recent advances in methods for service life prediction of building
materials and components – an overview. Proceedings, CIB World Building Congress, Toronto,
Canada, 2.-7 May 2004.
Teply, B., Kersner, Z. & Rovananikova, P. 2003, Risk analysis using factor method. Proceedings,
International Workshop Management and Durability in the Building Process, Milan, Italy, 25.-
26. June 2003.
Cusmano, G. & Lucchini, A 2003, Implementing the Factor Method for service life estimation using
weighed-factors. Proceedings, International Workshop Management and Durability in the
Building Process, Milan, Italy, 25.-26. June 2003.
Re Cecconi, F. 2003, Service life planning: further development of the Factor Method. Proceedings,
International Workshop Management and Durability in the Building Process, Milan, Italy, 25.-
26. June 2003.
De Pascale, A. 2003, Proceedings, International Workshop Management and Durability in the
Building Process, Milan, Italy, 25.-26. June 2003.
Re Cecconi, F. 2004, Engineering method for service life planning: the evolved Factor Method.
Proceedings, CIB World Building Congress, Toronto, Canada, 1.-7. May 2004.
Marteinsson, B. 2003, Assessment of service lives in the design of buildings – Development of the
Factor Method. Licentiate thesis. KTH Research School – HIG Center of Built Environment,
Gävle, Sweden.
EOTA 1999, Assumption of working life of constructional products in guidelines for European
Technical Approval, European Technical Approvals and harmonized standards. EOTA
Guidance Document 002, European Organization for Technical Approval, Brussels, Belgium.
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Reference service life. International Organization for Standardization, Geneve, Switzerland.

TT4-115, The Factor Method – a simple tool to service life estimation. Per Jostein Hovde.