Building Preventive Maintenance

Think of building preventive maintenance like regular check-ups for your car. You wouldn't wait for your engine to fail before seeing a mechanic, would you?

The same concept applies to the health of the buildings you manage.

Table of Contents:

The Building Preventive Maintenance Basics
- Why Reactive Building Maintenance Falls Short
- Types of Preventive Building Maintenance
Preventive Building Maintenance Offers Real Benefits
- The Cost Savings Are Substantial
- Avoiding Crisis is Crucial
Creating a Custom Building Preventive Maintenance Program
- What systems and items need most attention?
Tailoring Preventive Maintenance by Building Type
- Schools and Educational Facilities
- Office Buildings
- Healthcare and Hospitals
Conclusion

The Building Preventive Maintenance Basics

Building preventive maintenance is all about taking consistent, planned actions. The goal is to keep building systems and equipment from failing.

It's far more cost-effective to address small issues before they escalate. Addressing issues early might mean fixing a loose floor board in the hallway, rather than needing to re-do all of the building's flooring because of a possible accident with injuries that costs 100x to 1,000x the preventative maintenance cost.

Why Reactive Building Maintenance Falls Short

Reactive maintenance only addresses problems after they happen. Waiting until something breaks leads to bigger, costlier fixes.

Reactive repairs almost always cost more. This can result in unscheduled downtime, which hurts building operations, employee safety, and efficiency.

Types of Preventive Building Maintenance

Several preventive maintenance approaches exist; each has trade-offs.

Time-based preventive maintenance focuses on scheduled work. It's performed on a set timeline, such as a planned schedule for maintenance tasks.

Usage-based preventive maintenance depends on how often the building equipment actually runs. Maintenance tasks trigger after a certain number of operating hours or production cycles.

Preventive Building Maintenance Offers Real Benefits

Proactive care protects a building’s value. Consider that regular care gives owners valuable records of proper upkeep. This history is a major selling point.

Routine maintenance also gives a building maintenance manager time to correct things. Problems can be spotted and dealt with during normal hours.

This cuts down on unplanned and very inconvenient disruptions that impact business continuity and cash flow. This improves the tenant experience when fewer things are out of service.

The Cost Savings Are Substantial

Preventive care often has surprisingly big financial upsides. The goal with a preventative maintenance plan is to predict and avoid disruptive breakdowns *before* things break.

Did you know some studies show that good preventive building maintenance can give up to a 545% return on investment? While it might be shocking to think that for every dollar invested, a property could possibly see more than five dollars in long-term returns.

It helps you protect a building asset in good working order.

Avoiding Crisis is Crucial

Nobody wants a sudden system failure. You don’t want any catastrophic collapses, which have happened, like at the Champlain Towers in Florida.

Predictive measures keep critical systems running. Proper building maintenance can make an owner or manager breathe a bit easier at night.

Preventive maintenance helps avoid costly repairs and keeps your critical assets functioning.

Creating a Custom Building Preventive Maintenance Program

Each property will have different things to pay more attention to and prioritize. So, you will want to first walk around, take inventory, and then design a solution that considers:

1. The age and condition of different building assets.
2. How often building features are used by tenants.
3. Prioritize and group maintenance tasks by equipment, system, or trade.
4. Be realistic about your maintenance teams capabilities and training.

What systems and items need most attention?

Several key areas deserve priority. It will pay to focus your effort and budgets in these ways:

1. Power Washing: Reduce damage by hiring a professional commercial power washing company. You will restore the original appearance of your facility and reduce the risk of someone getting injured. Additionally, you will remove mold, debris, and mildew, ultimately reducing maintenance expenses and improving areas where buildup may cause slipping hazards.  Create a lasting impression for your visitors by keeping your business’s exteriors clean.  Commercial pressure washing is a specialized process that uses high-pressure water jets to blast away dirt, dust, grime, mud, stain, mold, salt, and even chewing gum.
2. Post Construction: Post construction cleaning is a specialized cleaning designed for newly built or renovated spaces such as office buildings, retail locations, supermarkets, school facilities, and religious facilities. This service is a crucial final step in the construction or renovation process, primarily involving the thorough removal of debris, dust, and other construction-related residues. The goal is to prepare the facility for occupancy, ensuring it is safe, clean, and aesthetically pleasing.
3. Commercial Floor Waxing: BMI Janitorial restores your floors to their original appearance, creating a lasting impression. Floors tend to damage over time, which is why it is important to maintain and upkeep them regularly to prevent further deterioration and extend their lifespan.  We have been restoring and maintaining floors in New Jersey and surrounding areas to their original appearance for over thirty years. We offer complete floor cleaning solutions, including floor waxing, rebuffing, sealing, and routine cleaning. We cater to any commercial facility, using top of the line equipment and well trained staff.  Create a lasting impression with your facility.
4. Day Porter Services: A day porter acts as an essential part of your facility's upkeep, focusing on public areas to create a consistently professional and welcoming environment during business hours. Unlike traditional janitorial staff, who typically work after hours, day porters operate during business hours, allowing them to address immediate cleaning needs as they arise. This proactive approach enhances the appearance of your facility and contributes to the health and safety of employees and visitors alike.  ‍In addition to regular cleaning tasks, day porters ensure that restrooms are consistently refreshed and well-stocked, contributing to a positive experience for everyone in the building.
5. Commercial Floor Cleaning Services: Commercial floor cleaning services encompass a comprehensive range of specialized cleaning solutions designed to maintain and enhance the condition of flooring in various commercial environments. These services are essential not only for keeping floors clean and visually appealing but also for ensuring a safe and healthy workplace for employees and clients alike.  In many commercial settings, such as offices, retail spaces, and healthcare facilities, the cleanliness of floors directly impacts the overall perception of the business and the well-being of those who occupy the space. Regular cleaning helps prevent the buildup of dirt, allergens, and bacteria, which can pose health risks. Additionally, a well-maintained floor can reduce the likelihood of slips and falls, contributing to a safer environment.
6. Janitorial Services: Commercial janitorial services are professional cleaning and maintenance services provided to businesses and organizations to keep their facilities clean, hygienic, and presentable. These services are a range of tasks focused to maintain a healthy and productive environment for employees, customers, and visitors.
7. Commercial Carpet Cleaning: Commercial carpet cleaning services play a crucial role in maintaining the appearance and longevity of carpets in business environments. These services are designed to rejuvenate high-traffic areas, ensuring that your carpets not only look their best but also last longer.  ‍Over time, carpets in commercial spaces accumulate dust, mud, spills, and other debris due to the constant flow of foot traffic. This buildup can lead to unsightly stains and odors, which can negatively impact the overall atmosphere of your business.
8. Emergency Response: Our same day commercial emergency cleaners provide a unique service for businesses facing unexpected accidents. When accidents or unforeseen events occur, our emergency cleaning team is ready to respond fast, ensuring that your commercial space is restored to a clean and safe condition within the same day.
9. Disinfectant Cleaning Services: Commercial disinfectant cleaning services are an essential part of maintaining a fresh, clean, and safe environment in any commercial facility. This involves cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting surfaces and objects to remove up to 99.99% of pathogens, which is crucial for many reasons.
10. Restroom Cleaning: Commercial restroom cleaning services are specialized professional services that ensure your facility's restrooms are consistently cleaned, sanitized, and disinfected to prevent the spread of germs and maintain a high standard of hygiene. This type of service goes beyond standard janitorial cleaning tasks, involving a comprehensive and meticulous cleaning approach tailored to the unique needs of commercial environments.

A preventive maintenance checklist helps organize these maintenance tasks.

The Role of Technology in Modern Preventive Maintenance

Modern technology streamlines inspections and service in ways previous generations could not. For instance, tracking data and costs gets way simpler, especially for tracking preventive maintenance costs, with current maintenance software options.

Smart sensors track and deliver data to computers. Building engineers or owners can remotely access insights via various dashboards, seeing temperature trends, machine speed, or building vibration data, too.

The goal of many digital solutions is also to present preventive maintenance data as needed, as efficiently as is safely possible, too. Sensors do more with far fewer humans watching now.

Using Software For Smarter Building Management

Preventive tasks are only getting more advanced now. Computers are at work with current software to analyze preventive maintenance and related tasks, too, that involve scheduling.

Preventive maintenance software assists greatly in making this possible. The data that programs and building professionals review can inform various teams on the best choices and timing with building operations.

This technology aids in asset management and helps extend the service life of equipment.

Streamlined Scheduling: Automates the scheduling of maintenance tasks, reducing manual effort.
‍Improved Data Tracking: Provides real-time data on equipment performance and maintenance history.
‍Reduced Downtime: Helps prevent unexpected failures and unplanned downtime.
‍Cost Savings: Lowers overall maintenance costs by preventing major repairs.Better Resource ManagementOptimizes the use of maintenance teams and resources.

Tailoring Preventive Maintenance by Building Type

Different types of buildings naturally present different maintenance needs. This can sometimes seem to add major barriers, particularly when dealing with older systems, limited resources, and regulatory hoops. Let's run through it:

Schools and Educational Facilities

Many school buildings still used date back to midcentury construction or the 1950s. Older designs were definitely not thinking green when being planned originally, with considerations for energy usage in this original era not there like it might be for LEED-focused buildings.

Accessibility laws were also a much different time period for these places that require special systems and plans. A preventive maintenance program is crucial in higher education facilities.

Consider also various and historic structures, which may use vintage heavy timber, stained glass, or rare stone building methods. Many historical property owners still must apply to local, state, or municipal groups before starting, fixing, or modifying them as part of property compliance processes today.

Office Buildings

Most layouts here focus on regular proactive upkeep before a big disruption, say an existing tenant leaving and a new one soon starting. Often, these building teams oversee most work, although agreements sometimes ask occupants, as tenants, to coordinate and run needed jobs while inside.

Preventive maintenance in office buildings helps maintain a productive work environment. A well-defined maintenance program can improve property value.

Commercial properties, especially, benefit from consistent upkeep.

Healthcare and Hospitals

These sites can be sensitive in needing service due to all types of people around buildings. This will require a lot more communication and flexibility during repair time windows, as these can occur and last literally 24/7 at various places, like bigger hospitals, too.

Gas distribution equipment can also carry significant risk with failures, too, along with other health system power components, too, in many areas here. Proper preventive maintenance in healthcare ensures critical assets remain operational.

Maintenance services in hospitals must adhere to strict building codes.

Conclusion

Protecting property value doesn’t happen accidentally; that's not luck or hoping problems just resolve themselves without proper planning and consistent building preventive maintenance. Taking small, consistent steps to keep buildings cared for really is an intelligent plan.

It improves budgets over long terms by keeping properties always moving in all markets. Implementing a solid preventive maintenance program brings long-term cost savings and peace of mind.

Regular maintenance and being proactive with a strong preventative maintenance plan helps keep your buildings in good working condition for the extended future.

Why hire BMI Janitorial?

BMI Janitorial is a women-owned, minority business who uses specialized equipment to clean stubborn stains and surfaces that impact your brand's positive lasting impression. As an industry leader serving New York and New Jersey for over 30 years, we take pride in keeping up with updated cleaning techniques and employing certified technicians.