The maintenance management of buildings and structures is a quintessentially important issue that must be given due consideration by all parties involved at any stage in a structure's life cycle. Building maintenance is also inextricably linked to facilities management and an in-depth knowledge of both areas of science is a prerequisite requirement of any construction, civil engineering or building services graduate/professional. This second edition of Building Maintenance Management by Chanter and Swallow reinforces the need to better manage built environment resources and provides a lucid, yet comprehensive and informative, guide which has been brought up to date with the very latest developments in this area of science. Given the relative importance of this subject, it is surprising to note the paucity of other textbooks available in this field of science.

The text is split into nine chapters which span over 317 pages (inc. appendices and index). Key topics covered include: maintenance organisations, the nature of maintenance work, planning, contracts and the ubiquitous area of information management but from a maintenance perspective. Since the publication of the first issue new topics have been added, such as facilities management, whilst other areas have been substantially revised, for example maintenance organisations and the execution of maintenance.

An important aspect of this textbook is the ability of the authors to impart their extensive knowledge of practical building maintenance management to both contractor and owner. This is achieved through detailed discussion, comparative analysis and worked examples. For example, in the chapter covering the execution of building maintenance, the authors compare and contrast the rationale for the employment of Direct Labour Organisations (DLOs) on maintenance contracts and proffer arguments for and against their employment. Elsewhere in the text, the authors ponder the inextricable relationship that exists between design and maintenance and provide reference to the wider field of facilities management; a recurring theme within this second edition. The text throughout is complemented with both useful and insightful figures, tables, charts and statistics that augment the narrative and enable a deeper understanding of a given topic area to be acquired. More importantly, the textural flow of the book is logical and enables a novice to understand key issues or a more experienced practitioner to 'dip-in' as and when required.

Reading this textbook was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Because it is written and published to a suitably high standard it consequently maintains (pardon the pun!) reader attention and interest. A broad spectrum of learners, ranging from undergraduate students to professionals completing Continual Professional Development (CPD), will find this book an invaluable reference resource.

Dr David J. Edwards,

Senior Lecturer,

Loughborough University

D.J.edwards@lboro.ac.uk