Building Repairs – be proactive, save money

In a previous blog we said “The American expression “the best offense is a good defense” perfectly sums up the principle of preventative, planned maintenance. Advance planning keeps costs down and helps keep your building running smoothly and efficiently.” Taking a proactive approach to maintenance may be a more involved process than just reacting as problems occur because it focuses on anticipating issues that might arise and identifying when a problem might occur.

Owners and facility managers who react to problems as they occur routinely pay up to 30% more annually for maintenance than those who implement a planned proactive maintenance programme. While it may seem counter-intuitive, per job pricing should not always be the primary consideration when choosing a maintenance provider. Focusing instead on the lowest cost for the lifecycle of the building components, roof, windows and doors amongst others will show a long term saving as problems will be spotted enabling repairs to be carried out rather than full scale replacement. This is particularly true in areas such as heating and ventilation systems. These increasingly complex systems are also becoming far more reliable then older systems, but do need regular proactive inspection, cleaning and repair, to control the potential spread of Legionella amongst other things. The National trust has one of the largest building stocks in the country and would be lost if they did not keep up a programme of proactive maintenance at all its properties. As we live in a part of the country with one of the highest percentages of properties over a hundred years old and a large proportion of those are listed being proactive with your maintenance plan make the difference between a measured manageable cost and a sudden bill that can have a serious impact on your business. Of course all these issues are magnified for a business managing multiple properties.

Working with a professional multi trade provider will enable you to get a clear view on the requirements of your building and the systems that work within it. As well as the cost savings mentioned above, if an emergency or reactive repair is required familiarity with your building, people and working practices will mean the contractor will have the knowledge to carry out the work speedily and with the minimum of disruption. They won’t be looking for stop-cocks or trying to understand which circuit breaker isolates what system. Talk to Express Property Services about how we can help you manage the maintenance of your properties.

Categorised in: Maintenance contracts, Property maintenance

This post was written by Express Property Services