Facility Maintenance for your organization’s or client’s facility or property in Honolulu, Hawaii is vital to the commercial asset.
Keep your valued investment safe and well-maintained with maintenance – sometimes referred to as engineering – services by Servi-Tek Facility Solutions professionals.
Understanding Commercial Building Maintenance
The facility maintenance personnel working in this sector must often make decisions based on economic factors.
For example, in approaching an equipment failure, a choice may involve whether to repair or replace it.
Other common considerations that factor into decisions include safety, downtime, and ownership strategy of the commercial property.
Work of Commercial Building Maintenance
Facility maintenance professionals employ many different strategies and best practices to maximize efficiency, reduce costs, enhance safety and minimize disruptions.
Some common examples include condition monitoring, preventative maintenance, and predictive maintenance.
Day-to-day types of work conducted range from basic repairs and upkeep, responding to emergencies, maintenance to extend the useful life of equipment and systems and, importantly, servicing the needs of the property’s employees or tenants.
Determine Budget
Part of your comprehensive strategy involves creating a budget for your building maintenance program.
This should involve allocating funds among the various line-item expense categories and putting it all in writing.
This budget will provide your building maintenance or engineering team costs guidelines and allow for comparisons versus actual expenditures.
Common Building Maintenance Challenges
The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates the number of structures classified as commercial buildings has exceeded five million nationwide.
Structures in this category include retail, offices, educational institutions, churches, medical facilities, libraries, museums, warehouses, correctional facilities, and more.
Building owners and facility managers face maintenance challenges that vary based on the structure’s age, design, mechanical equipment, and much more.
Some primary maintenance concerns can arise in the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, fire protection, plumbing, and electrical systems, along with energy consumption.
Making Your Property Safe
Mitigating risk and insuring your property’s occupants are safe are key functions of a facility or property manager’s duties.
Direction for these parameters is filtered-down to facility maintenance or engineering services for the implementation of necessary initiatives and repairs.
Life Safety
Those responsible for commercial facility maintenance must comply with the latest life safety guidelines and governmental codes.
For example, fire alarm systems must conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act, along with local ordinances and fire codes.
Outdated or poorly maintained components within an electrical system may make the property susceptible to hazardous conditions.
Maintenance professionals must also be aware elevators, emergency generators, and auxiliary lighting, among others, are key components of a facility’s or building’s life safety protocols.
BE PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES WHEN PERFORMING HONOLULU BUILDING MAINTENANCE
OSHA requires many businesses to develop a written Emergency Action Plan (EAP).
All staff – and property occupants – must be educated on key emergency management procedures.
Permits and Inspections
Commercial facilities and buildings must have proper governmental inspections performed and possess applicable operating permits.
An example is required periodic elevator inspections and permits, although variances are depending on the type of property and municipalities involved.
Importance of Efficiency and Preventive Maintenance
Experts recently estimate that roughly 18% of all energy consumed across the country in was attributed to commercial buildings.
A greater percentage of this usage is the result of a property’s HVAC and lighting systems.
Depending on the nature of the property and its operation, energy consumption may be single largest operating expense.
Consider having an audit or evaluation to determine the energy efficiency of your facility or building.
An audit may reveal startling results that suggest obsolete technology, needs for maintenance, and inefficient patterns of energy usage.
Air-Conditioning Maintenance
With the year-round warmth of the climate in Hawaii, having a functional and efficient air conditioning system is vital.
Heating, ventilation, and cooling systems (HVAC) are needed to sustain comfortable temperatures, reduce humidity, and maintain indoor air quality.
Some examples of the preventative maintenance tasks to be completed include:
- Seasonal cleaning and assessment of outdoor parts of the system
- Monitoring refrigerant levels and recharging if necessary
- Inspection of belts, blowers, ignition system, evaporator coil, etc.
- Regularly checking and changing air filters
- Checking thermostats, drip pans, and drain lines each month
Schedule Preventive Maintenance
The Certified Commercial Property Inspectors Association recommends that facility and maintenance professionals remain committed to preventive maintenance.
This is a proactive, formal approach to ensuring the assets of a building are functional. The goals of this concept include:
- To lengthen the lifespan of systems and equipment
- Prevent failure of equipment
- Minimize unexpected downtime
- To reduce costs by repairing minor defects before they become major expenses
Preventive Maintenance Data
A building maintenance inventory involves identifying and documenting equipment or systems such as motors, pumps, HVAC, roofs, etc.
The property or facility manager of large commercial property will rely on this data to ensure the commercial asset is being properly maintained.
Gathering critical information that relates to these components, is equally as important.
Each piece of equipment that will require maintenance should have documentation of the condition, warranty expiration, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) service guidelines.
You should also have notes regarding the expected lifespan of the equipment.
This engineering data will be the foundation for the creation of a building maintenance schedule or preventive maintenance program.
Software technology for centralizing this collection of data in the form of preventive maintenance programs.
Commercial Building Maintenance Software
In creating a preventive maintenance schedule, you must determine which preventive maintenance software to utilize.
The software will provide a centralized and fully integrated maintenance checklist and schedule for tasks to be performed.
A maintenance schedule is an outline defining the frequency or intervals when tasks are performed such as weekly, monthly, or annually.
Work orders will be generated identifying the specific equipment or systems, along with specific building maintenance tasks required to be performed.
With the adoption of this software system, the facility manager or property manager can better manage all of this information.
Also, other staff members involved in these activities can have real-time access to the data and schedules.
These systems generally have excellent reporting capabilities for analysis.
Upgrades to Your Property
Engineering and facilities services play an integral role in significant renovation projects.
Often, renovations are a smart alternative to relocation or constructing a new property.
Perhaps the building is no longer suitable or conducive to the operation in terms such as design, capacity, or efficiency.
Perhaps a renovation is considered when a capital improvement project occurs, such as the installation of new elevators or HVAC cooling towers, or chillers.
Contract vendors may perform this work in conjunction with your building maintenance team.
Major demolition and improvements to a particular section of a property or tenant suite are fairly common as areas are repurposed or tenancy changes occur.
Building maintenance works closely with the contractors performing the work as integration into the property’s existing systems will likely be required.
TALK TO US REGARDING HONOLULU BUILDING MAINTENANCE FOR YOUR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
Professional vendors of engineering and facility maintenance services, such as Servi-Tek Facility Solutions, are an effective option for property owners or their commercial real estate representatives.
We create an organized assessment of systems including the HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems for evidence of risk.
The information is used for creating a customized maintenance plan that minimizes costs, reduces risk, and maximizes efficiency for the physical plant.
Provider of Engineering and Commercial Facility Maintenance
Servi-Tek Facility Solutions is a full-service provider of facility maintenance and janitorial services.
We offer specific expertise in all aspects of our business and place a high priority on transparent relationships with our valued clients.
We have many years of successfully providing facility maintenance for commercial assets in various commercial buildings and types.
Our goals include lowering operating costs and increasing the value of the property.
Servi-Tek’s skilled, locally-based professionals are always available to handle your needs, from basic maintenance functions during business hours to infrastructure improvements to after-hours emergency response.
We encourage you to contact one of our professionals to review your facility or property and obtain a quote.
