ISO 15686-5
ISO 15686-5, developed by the International Organization for Standardization, provides internationally recognised guidance on lifecycle costing for buildings and constructed assets.
Part of the wider ISO 15686 series on service life planning, this standard focuses specifically on the principles and methodology for evaluating the total cost of an asset over its entire life. This includes capital costs, operation, maintenance, replacement, and end of life considerations.
ISO 15686-5 supports consistent and transparent lifecycle cost analysis across projects, organisations, and geographies. It is widely used by clients, consultants, and asset owners to inform design decisions, procurement strategies, and long term asset management planning.
As construction increasingly shifts towards sustainability, efficiency, and long term value, ISO 15686-5 plays a critical role in enabling informed, data driven decisions that balance cost, performance, and environmental impact over time.
Key Highlights
International standard for lifecycle costing of built assets
Covers capital, operation, maintenance, and end of life costs
Supports service life planning and long term asset management
Enables consistent and transparent lifecycle cost analysis
Widely adopted across global construction and infrastructure projects
Aligns with sustainability and whole life value objectives
ISO 15686-5 aligns directly with Sterling’s Lifecycle module and its approach to integrated cost and carbon estimating across the full asset lifecycle.
Sterling enables organisations to apply ISO lifecycle costing principles within a modern SaaS platform, linking early stage estimates to long term asset performance.
Key areas of alignment include:
Lifecycle cost and carbon estimating, supporting whole life value analysis
Integration of capex and opex, enabling more informed design and procurement decisions
CROME alignment, covering Capital, Renewals, Operational, Maintenance, and End of Life
Scenario modelling, comparing options based on long term cost and carbon impact
Data driven forecasting, linking initial estimates to operational performance
Benchmarking opportunities, enabling comparison of lifecycle performance across projects
By combining ISO 15686-5 with Sterling’s SaaS platform, organisations can move from static lifecycle assessments to dynamic, continuously updated models that support better long term decision making.
Access ISO 15686-5 via the International Organization for Standardization: https://www.iso.org/
