Hello everyone, My name is Erick Guerra, CEO of the Raitt Corporation. As an owner and manager of property in nine states, I have had my share of mishaps and successes when pertaining to the maintenance and repair of buildings and building systems. I am interested in the communities’ feedback on the questions you ask when establishing or evaluating the effectiveness of a preventative maintenance program (PMP). I served nine and a half years in the Unites States Navy and cannot begin to tell you the importance of such a program. Granted a military setting is different from a commercial high rise but nonetheless just as important. So, I have outlined some of the major categories in a building and some of the questions I ask and would like to hear what it is you consider when making PMP decisions. I hope this can serve as reference point and/or starting point for other community members? Roof 1. Is there a roofing asset management program in place? 2. Are PM procedures and inspections performed on the roofing system? 3. If so, how often? Mechanicals (HVAC, Boilers, Water Heaters, etc…) 1. Is a preventative maintenance program in place? 2. Are records being kept documenting repairs, maintenance, and inspections? Structural 1. Are visual inspections conducted on a periodic basis? 2. Are records being kept outlining modifications and changes being made to the building by the owner and/or tenants? 3. Are inspections being conducted to ensure safety and code compliance? Utilities 1. Are meters in an accessible area to building managers and/or staff? 2. Are visual inspections being conducted for cleanliness and functionality? 3. Is billing checked regularly for irregularities and/or unusual consumption? Respectfully, Erick GuerraRaitt CorporationRaitt Investments LLC
Hello everyone,
My name is Erick Guerra, CEO of the Raitt Corporation. As an owner and manager of property in nine states, I have had my share of mishaps and successes when pertaining to the maintenance and repair of buildings and building systems. I am interested in the communities’ feedback on the questions you ask when establishing or evaluating the effectiveness of a preventative maintenance program (PMP). I served nine and a half years in the Unites States Navy and cannot begin to tell you the importance of such a program. Granted a military setting is different from a commercial high rise but nonetheless just as important. So, I have outlined some of the major categories in a building and some of the questions I ask and would like to hear what it is you consider when making PMP decisions. I hope this can serve as reference point and/or starting point for other community members?
Roof
1. Is there a roofing asset management program in place?
2. Are PM procedures and inspections performed on the roofing system?
3. If so, how often?
Mechanicals (HVAC, Boilers, Water Heaters, etc…)
1. Is a preventative maintenance program in place?
2. Are records being kept documenting repairs, maintenance, and inspections?
Structural
1. Are visual inspections conducted on a periodic basis?
2. Are records being kept outlining modifications and changes being made to the building by the owner and/or tenants?
3. Are inspections being conducted to ensure safety and code compliance?
Utilities
1. Are meters in an accessible area to building managers and/or staff?
2. Are visual inspections being conducted for cleanliness and functionality?
3. Is billing checked regularly for irregularities and/or unusual consumption?
Respectfully,
Erick GuerraRaitt CorporationRaitt Investments LLC
Hi Erick,
Great post! The criteria listed and questioned you asked for a PMP are spot on. I might suggest quickly reviewing the web page below to fully flesh out your approach to enhanced O&M practices.
www.betterbricks.com/DetailPage.aspx
This particular resource - "Management Advice for Owners & Operators" - is a comprehensive guide that provides the business case, best practices for your O&M program and steps for improving your building's energy performance.
Hope this helps.
My name is Stephen Kleva, president and CEO of Insparisk, a national safety inspection company. We manage safety inspection for boilers, elevators, fire detection/suppression systems, building facades, HVAC equipment, and electrical panels. Our subsidiary City Spec, Inc. is the leading provider of inspections on low-pressure boilers within NYC.
I can offer our perspective on PMPs as they relate to mandated and voluntary inspection of equipment. In our experience in working in New York City for more than a decade, it is not uncommon for facility managers not to know which inspections are mandated, how frequently they must be performed or when they are due. This is one of the reasons NYC boiler inspection laws recently got stricter.
We have found several common causes and issues: 1) the laws pertaining to buildings and equipment can be very cumbersome, if not overwhelming, as they can be up to hundreds of pages long, 2) Fully understanding or interpreting the laws can be difficult, and 3) job turnover amongst facility managers makes it harder for inspection reminders to reach the right person.
We have found that technology can help track and manage information on inspections and preventative maintenance activities, which leads to data and information that is more easily accessible and more visible and can more easily support decision making. Inspection- and maintenance-related documents and information can be easily archived, located and retrieved, significantly reducing incidents of misfiled or lost documents.
A wide variety of applications and functionality is available at many price points today. Applications enable facility managers to better manage and verify their maintenance activities including repairs, routine inspections, and preventive maintenance and report them to other stakeholders.
Significantly, insurance companies, property owners and real estate managers benefit from a comprehensive electronic record of safety inspection and maintenance activities. If liability questions arise, electronic records enable audit trails and accountability that help decision makers/an organization defend itself by showing that all required maintenance was performed in accordance with manufacturer's specifications, legal requirements and on schedule.
Maintenance activities can easily be prompted, email reminders automatically sent to ensure that maintenance is performed according to schedule, management can monitor the status of activities, and communication amongst all relevant stakeholders is facilitated.
Hope our perspective helps. Let me know if you have any follow up questions.