A person working with service-life planning of a design object is faced with the problem of estimating the service life of its components. Even if there are certain reference service life (RSL) data of a component available, such RSL data, it can rarely be used satisfactorily. This is because the in-use conditions specific to the design object usually are different from the reference in-use conditions, i.e. the in-use conditions under which the RSL data are valid.
In order to determine an appropriate estimated service life (ESL), it is necessary to modify the RSL by taking into account the differences between the object-specific in-use conditions and the reference in use conditions. The factor method described in BS ISO 15686-8 provides one systematic way of carrying out this change. It is necessary that any possible alternative method of determining the ESL from the RSL also be based on similar information on in-use conditions.
BS ISO 15686-8 gives guidance on RSL issues and a means of determining the ESL through application of the factor method. The guidance for reference service life is structured into discussions regarding:
- Provision of RSL data using existing general data
- Selection of RSL data or general data
- Formatting of general data into RSL data records.
Manufacturers of building and construction products usually know about the service life and durability of their products. However, such information is only occasionally made public, normally in product declarations, other documents, company websites and/or databases. This standard aims to motivate manufacturers to compile their knowledge and provide service life data following the guidelines and requirements stated.
