Infrastructure Maintenance Strategy for Steel-Framed Industrial Buildings in the Kaduna Industrial Corridor

The industrial corridor of Kaduna State in the North West geopolitical zone hosts a concentration of steel-framed manufacturing, processing, and warehousing facilities whose structural maintenance performance directly affects production continuity, worker safety, and asset value retention. This study develops and evaluates an infrastructure maintenance strategy for steel-framed industrial buildings in the Kaduna Industrial Corridor, drawing on condition assessment data from twenty-two facilities and stakeholder consultations with facility managers, structural engineers, and the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency. Structural condition assessments were conducted using an adapted version of the Structural Maintenance and Asset Reliability Tool, examining primary frame members, secondary structural elements, connections, cladding attachments, and corrosion protection systems. Maintenance histories were reviewed and maintenance cost data collected over a five-year period. Results indicate that only seven of the twenty-two facilities had formal maintenance strategies, and the remainder operated reactively. Atmospheric corrosion affecting primary steel frame members was the most prevalent defect, present in eighteen facilities, driven by the highly industrialised atmospheric environment. Facilities without maintenance strategies showed average annual unplanned downtime of 34 days attributable to structural maintenance issues, compared to 8 days for facilities with formal strategies, representing significant production losses. The lifecycle cost analysis demonstrated that proactive maintenance strategies delivered a net present cost saving of 42 percent over a 20-year horizon compared to reactive maintenance. The study proposes a five-tier maintenance strategy framework calibrated to facility age, occupancy class, and structural system type for adoption by Kaduna State industrial estate managers. Keywords: infrastructure maintenance strategy, industrial buildings, Kaduna, steel frames, lifecycle cost.