Citation: Villa, V.; Bruno, G.;Aliev,
K.; Piantanida, P.; Corneli, A.;
Antonelli, D. Machine Learning
Framework for the Sustainable
Maintenance of Building Facilities.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 681. https://
doi.org/10.3390/su14020681
Academic Editor: Jaejun Kim
Received: 30 November 2021
Accepted: 5 January 2022
Published: 8 January 2022
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sustainability
Article
Machine Learning Framework for the Sustainable Maintenance
of Building Facilities
Valentina Villa
1,
* , Giulia Bruno
2
, Khurshid Aliev
1
, Paolo Piantanida
1
, Alessandra Corneli
3
and Dario Antonelli
2
1
Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering , Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy;
khurshid.aliev@polito.it (K.A.); paolo.piantanida@polito.it (P.P.)
2
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Gestionale e della Produzione, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy;
giulia.bruno@polito.it (G.B.); dario.antonelli@polito.it (D.A.)
3
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Architettura, Università Politecnica delle Marche,
60121 Ancona, Italy; a.corneli@univpm.it
* Correspondence: valentina.villa@polito.it
Abstract: The importance of sustainable building maintenance is growing as part of the Sustainable
Building concept. The integration and implementation of new technologies such as the Internet of
Things (IoT), smart sensors, and information and communication technology (ICT) into building
facilities generate a large amount of data that will be utilized to better manage the sustainable
building maintenance and staff. Anomaly prediction models assist facility managers in informing
operators to perform scheduled maintenance and visualizing predicted facility anomalies on building
information models (BIM). This study proposes a Machine Learning (ML) anomaly prediction model
for sustainable building facility maintenance using an IoT sensor network and a BIM model. The
suggested framework shows the data management technique of the anomaly prediction model in the
3D building model. The case study demonstrated the framework’s competence to predict anomalies
in the heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) system. Furthermore, data collected from various
simulated conditions of the building facilities was utilized to monitor and forecast anomalies in the
3D model of the fan coil. The faults were then predicted using a classification model, and the results
of the models are introduced. Finally, the IoT data from the building facility and the predicted values
of the ML models are visualized in the building facility’s BIM model and the real-time monitoring
dashboard, respectively.
Keywords: Internet of things (IoT); sustainable buildings maintenance; management; smart buildings;
artificial intelligence
1. Introduction
The environmental impact of buildings is astonishing. Every year, building construc-
tion consumes 25% of world wood harvest, 40% of materials entering the global economy,
3 billion tons of raw materials transformed into foundations, walls, pipes, and panels,
and 50% of copper utilized in the United States [1]. Building construction accounts for
half of the worldwide output of greenhouse gases and acid rain agents. Buildings, as a
critical component of a habitat, have an influence on their local and surrounding areas,
which can have unintended consequences for people and the community. Addressing the
sustainability in building can significantly reduce these negative effects [2].
In Europe, the building maintenance industry accounts for the same amount of build-
ing production as the new construction market. Due to the aging buildings, the maintenance
industry grows at a rate of 1.5 percent each year [3]. The size and expansion of the existing
market needs a greater focus on sustainable building maintenance [4].
Sustainable buildings may ensure that their constructions and services are suitable for
living, working, and other daily activities [5]. Building maintenance is essential to ensuring
Sustainability 2022, 14, 681. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020681 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability