Maintenance for Building Services

Have you considered what can happen without good maintenance? When you think about maintenance for building services, consider the broader scope. This includes everything from upkeep, cleaning, landscaping, systems repairs, to the critical behind-the-scenes jobs to have functional buildings.

Table of Contents:

The Scope of Maintenance for Building Services
- Roles and Responsibilities in Building Maintenance
- Proactive Steps in Building Maintenance
- Different Industries That Need Building Maintenance
Planning and Implementing Effective Maintenance Programs
- Maintenance Schedules and Frequencies
- Certifications for Building Maintenance Workers
- Remaining Informed in Building Trades
Challenges and Benefits with Building Systems Maintenance
- Leveraging Technologies
Conclusion

The Scope of Maintenance for Building Services

Building maintenance services keep occupants working safely and comfortable. People often don’t think about a maintenance team’s day-to-day work. Maintenance technicians have the tasks of fixing, upkeep, maintaining systems and other general facility responsibilities.

Tasks, like replacing HVAC filters, are often taken for granted. Workers depend on clear walkways in the winter. In summer, they trust that a cooling system will be functioning properly.

Here’s a closer look at how building maintenance management influences building operations. Effective building maintenance relies on regular, repeated work. By remaining proactive, facility managers can avoid unexpected shutdowns.

Roles and Responsibilities in Building Maintenance

Smaller facilities sometimes have one worker do building services. But most places have individuals doing tasks and assigned responsibilities.

The people on maintenance teams need information access to work instructions and preventive maintenance tasks. The schedules that maintenance teams adhere to and understanding tasks and SOP's matter. Using work order management software, you can assign tasks that provide SOP's to guide people.

Here are common roles in a maintenance structure:

1. Maintenance Manager/Supervisor – Supervisors review incoming work orders. Then, work through objectives to work priorities for that week. People in this job field will examine, do staffing and review completed jobs.
2. Maintenance Technician – Techs repair systems in a building, which need specialized expertise. These skilled people could repair electrical, HVAC or plumbing systems. Maintenance technicians may be assigned jobs with work orders using a CMMS.
3. Janitor – Janitorial teams clean and help keep occupants safe.

Buildings with a large footprint may add roles to deal with more maintenance activities. Other maintenance tasks are grounds work, specialized repairs or electrical system troubleshooting.

Proactive Steps in Building Maintenance

Effective preventive maintenance isn't merely reacting when things break down. Instead, think through taking a strategic method with steps for work and maximizing things.

Think about setting up processes with systems and tools for steps. With technology, steps are streamlined using one software solution.

1. Access SOP's via a phone.
2. View patterns for energy management with jobs.
3. Manage many systems.

Different Industries That Need Building Maintenance

There are different sectors and regular building needing maintenance. Companies of every type need well-maintained buildings. Regular building maintenance teams are important to facilities, which keep their spaces safe and useful.

Industries practicing building maintenance regularly are:

1. Manufacturing: Factories have assets in buildings that need upkeeping and meet standards for safety.
2. Retail: Businesses and shopping malls get large foot traffic daily. Spaces stay clean with building services that focus on the image the facility projects.
3. Food services: Places that sell or give out food deal with sanitation issues. They manage maintenance issues while running systems, dealing with health risks.
4. Education: Schools and teachers depend on structures that offer good places to study in.
5. Healthcare: Hospitals have facilities for healing people that meet requirements of privacy laws.
6. Government: Public facilities like libraries, benefit when upkeep is tracked across facilities. Buildings are managed by resources with building care with a long-term outlook.

Planning and Implementing Effective Maintenance Programs

How do building teams deal with maintenance requests, and deal with them?

Consider an incident, like the Champlain Towers collapse in Florida. There were damaged supports for structural use due to deferred fixes.

Without set standards, local agencies, like towns, struggle to maintain public spaces. Thinking through processes and regular maintenance will let teams to react when emergency maintenance jobs arise.

A strategy starts by assessing conditions of your building and systems within it. Here's a simple 3-step process to start that you may want to think through:

1. Assessment: What are the building and things that go into building functionality? Do this step to spot weaknesses and maintenance requirements.
2. Prioritization: When there is a walkthrough, you'll see tasks to fix. Decide and rank priority levels to focus where to start.
3. Prioritization: When there is a walkthrough, you'll see tasks to fix. Decide and rank priority levels to focus where to start.

Maintenance Schedules and Frequencies

Preventive maintenance tasks for preventative fixes are done in line with specific routines. Routines are made by looking at best timing based on inspections.

Frequencies are scheduled in various frequencies of the tasks for repairs:

1. Daily: Cleaning, checking for risk.
2. Weekly: Cleaning hard surfaces, running checks on fire alarms, changing air filters.
3. Monthly: Check for water problems and unwanted insects.
4. Quarterly: Repair parts for the elevator or backup power and running a check on building systems for sprinklers.
5. Yearly: Evaluate the structural systems, upgrade safety for emergency plans.

Having maintenance checklist for work is crucial. Review needs based on building age. Do frequent inspections to view jobs early and before the time a serious problems occur, have workers and jobs handled.

Challenges and Benefits with Building Systems Maintenance

Running a facility is challenging. Thinking with foresight prevents surprise fixes that come from poor maintenance and bad strategy for a system of operations. You can gain systems management and planning by learning to schedule preventive maintenance. And look at things as opportunities for system maintenance for building services, instead.

Well-kept buildings make building occupants in spaces trust facilities, that buildings meet needs. Without regular work for predictive maintenance purposes, structural risks increase and cause more money, costing more for a property over time.

Well-kept buildings make better experiences. Also, studies show that an environment that is taken care of has benefits for retaining talent. Similarly, a well-maintained building reduces educator turnover by 25%.

Conclusion

Maintenance for building services seems like it should be easier, but it does take effort. With strategic jobs in maintenance scheduling tasks for the operations for buildings, systems improve building processes. When buildings get the correct strategy and resources, they stay healthy and serve needs.

Ongoing attention is important and teams that deal with problems, will have risks and form building failing before it's time. Taking routine maintenance routines using ways to handle issues for structures that require building maintenance is crucial. Learning through associations and facility leaders and finding systems or processes can let a facility meet its goals and corrective maintenance activities.

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.