Western Specialty Contractors’ Preventative Maintenance Strategy

Western Specialty Contractors created a comprehensive strategy for cost-effective preventive maintenance to share with property managers.

Common buzz-words in the construction industry include preventive and maintenance, and while the terminology is understood, few really understand how to make “cost-effective preventive maintenance” a reality for their facility. This type of maintenance is a fluid process that can have a huge impact on a property’s bottom line if done properly. The facility maintenance experts at Western Specialty Contractors, St. Louis, Missouri, have created a “7 C Strategy for Cost-Effective Preventative Maintenance” to help building owners and facility managers understand, and put into practice a cost-effective preventive maintenance plan of their own. If some of your property-managing clients need a nudge for proper maintenance of parking lots and drives, this strategy could help with their education.

Components and Conditions

A preventive maintenance program begins with making a list of a facility’s different components and gathering basic information on their conditions. Collecting this information is crucial for identifying maintenance needs and determining the amount of deferred maintenance needed. It will also help facility managers plan and prioritize projects and evaluate their costs. Tips for compiling the list include:

• Keep an accurate component inventory
• Make a plan for performing a condition assessment
• Conduct the assessment methodically
• Assign condition ratings for each component
• Decide on a regular frequency for assessments

Capacity and Costs

Preventive maintenance isn’t about big budgets or how much money is spent. To be cost-effective, it’s all about how the money is spent. Facility managers are encouraged to make a plan that targets their resources towards the highest needs. To make a great plan, facility managers need to develop the capacity for ranking maintenance projects and evaluating their costs by doing the following:

• Recognize that not all projects share the same importance
• Use an objective process for prioritizing projects
• Use life-cycle costing and other tools to evaluate total costs

Coordinate

When facility managers don’t have a plan, maintenance tends to be reactive instead of proactive. In other words, maintenance only happens when the need occurs, which typically results in higher repair costs and inconvenience. Coordinating long- and short-term maintenance plans together will help facility managers avoid costly reactive maintenance.

• Develop a long-term plan
• Develop a capital improvement program
• Establish a reserve account for maintenance
• Develop an annual work plan
• Link the annual work plan with the annual budget

Checklists

Once an assessment and inventory of all components have been made, the projects have been prioritized and their costs have been evaluated, now is the time to make checklists and mini-frameworks for staff to execute the maintenance plan. Start by doing the following:

• Develop checklists of tasks
• Determine the frequency for tasks
• Link preventative maintenance with everyday tasks
• Schedule a timeline
• Prepare procedures for managing the program

Contractors

No matter what the quality, performance characteristics and cost of a material or system, they are only as effective as the caliber of their installation. Even the best systems may prove worthless or ineffective if not installed and transitioned properly. Improper installation can lead to structural and interior damage that could result in lost revenue for the building owner. A critical aspect is contractors. It’s not about finding the one with the cheapest estimate; it’s about finding the right contractor for the project. The right contractor will make any project a lot less stressful.

When selecting a contractor, your client will consider the following, and you can help them see your skill set in these areas:

• Make a thorough review of whether they have the right experience and skills for the project
• Determine whether they have proper fiscal responsibility to complete the project and honor the punch list
• Create a qualification statement to pre-qualify contractors for projects

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