Life cycle cost analysis of a built-in guide-type robot for cleaning the facade of high-rise buildings

Abstract

Cleaning the facade of high-rise buildings is a dangerous task that may cause workplace accidents, such as falls and collisions with the façade. Various technologies and devices have been conceived to address this problem, including a façade cleaning robot guided by built-in rails which was developed in South Korea. In this study, a life cycle cost (LCC) analysis was performed to verify the applicability and commercial feasibility of the robot in question. The LCC analysis results showed that the benefit/cost ratio, rate of return, and annual reduction in façade cleaning costs for the automated method were 1.97, 7.19%, and 49.21%, respectively. Thus, the developed robot was confirmed to provide high economic efficiency for high-rise buildings. In addition, a sensitivity analysis of the results to changes in the values of the main input variables was conducted to verify the reliability of the LCC analysis. The results of this study indicated that commercial application of the robot in consideration should improve the safety of façade cleaning work and have very positive economic, industrial, and societal effects.