" alt="">Some building operators will scrunch their nose up at the cost of maintenance contracts and the services that they think they don’t need.
However, whether you’re managing an office building, a manufacturing plant or retail unit, it is worth investing in the initial cost of facilities management to keep your asset in effective working order.
Why? Emergency repairs.
Think of the cost of unexpected emergency repairs and the disruption it can cause.
As an example, a plumbing survey may detect faults within the system which can then be scheduled for repair. Though this may be costly itself, it’s much wiser to know about these problems before they cause major problems. In this example, a fault in a plumbing system could cause mass disruption across a facility, including the need for repairs for water damage which would significantly increase restoration costs.
Disruption to operations can also be more harmful than the actual repair work needed. Imagine you own a shared office building full of tenants that had to be evacuated because of a gas leak, burst water main or power cut. Who knows how much downtime your building may require, and therefore the management of the aftermath. Angry clients demanding compensation? Ruined client relationships?
Don’t get us wrong, sometimes these things are unavoidable, but you can be doing a lot of things to reduce the likelihood of these surprise emergencies. Like getting your building services regularly serviced, cleaned and upgraded.
Services such as HVAC units and boilers need a regular service and cleaning to be able to operate efficiently. Your building can have the most efficient and sustainable services running through it but leaving them unmaintained can cause them to become out of action or inefficient in doing their jobs.
Similarly to how a car gets its annual MOT, buildings need checking to see how systems are operating so that early signs of disrepair can be identified and flagged to the maintenance staff. And like cars, it is also worth getting the repairs done early before you break down on a motorway or cause further damage to the vehicle.
Effective facility management is a key strategy for reducing operational costs while ensuring smooth business operations, minimising the risk of unexpected repairs. Whether managing an office, manufacturing plant, or retail space, organisations can achieve significant savings and disruption by optimising and maintaining assets.