Surveyor element lifetime predictions and the anchoring and adjustment heuristic

The propensity for individual surveyors to be variable when estimating building element lifetimes has been noted in the literature. An experiment was conducted to investigate the particular 'rule of thumb' known as the Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic in relation to lifetime estimation. The results indicate that the heuristic could be a factor in the inaccuracy of element lifetime estimation by surveyors. The results have implications for Housing Association and Local Authority long term business planning