Imagine if we could predict and prevent every unexpected failure in our building systems. This ability would save us countless headaches and cut costs—especially when budgets are tight.
Facility maintenance costs are expected to rise by 17% between 2024 and 2029 in the UK, exceeding market inflation. Though driven mainly by rising labor costs, this increase makes it imperative for building and facility managers to optimize their strategy and spending.
Although we don’t have a sixth sense for detecting water pipe leaks or insulation wear-and-tear, there is a way to prevent unexpected failures and avoid costly repairs—through preventative maintenance.
What is a Preventative Maintenance Program?
A preventative maintenance program consists of strategies to prevent building issues and maximize the ROI of maintenance costs. This program also outlines schedules for each maintenance task, whether for residential, industrial, or commercial property management.
Businesses often leverage specialized software like Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) to create and manage these programs. The goal is to minimize the rate of unexpected failures and the costs associated with reactive maintenance and unplanned downtimes.
[ Source: Ponic Tab Energy ]
Types of Preventative Maintenance
There are three main groups of preventive maintenance methods:
- Time-based preventative maintenance occurs at predetermined intervals, usually recommended by equipment manufacturers and local regulations.
- Usage-based preventative maintenance sets preventative maintenance schedules while accounting for the time the equipment is in operation and the time between maintenance events.
- Predictive preventative maintenance uses a more data-based approach. It requires an automated tool that collects information from sensors and IoT devices alongside the data and variables used in time-based and usage-based methods. This tool then analyzes the data and automatically generates alerts or work orders for inspections, upgrades, or repairs.
For example, Wint Water Intelligence’s solutions can combine AI and IoT technologies to provide the data necessary for predictive, preventative maintenance of the water systems of commercial and multifamily residential structures.
[ Source: Reliability Academy ]
Why Adopt a Preventative Maintenance Program for Your Building
Ideally, every building should have a preventative maintenance program that ensures regular monitoring, adherence to regulations and expert recommendations, and optimization of maintenance interventions. Some of the key benefits of implementing a preventative maintenance program include:
1. Overall Cost Savings and Reduced Downtime
Thanks to this proactive approach, you can dramatically lower the expenses associated with unplanned downtime, emergency repairs, and potential long-term repercussions. For example, an undetected water leak will raise your buildings’ utility bills and cause catastrophic collateral damage in the form of extensive water damage. Predictive maintenance has been proven to slash maintenance costs by 12%, increase uptime by 9%, and extend equipment lifespan by 20%. Plus, it ensures you get the most value from your buildings and equipment.
2. Enhanced Safety and Tenant Comfort
Proactive maintenance measures avoid unplanned downtime and tenant discomfort. For example, HVAC system malfunctions can reduce the air quality for your residents and guests while potentially posing a fire hazard that must be addressed immediately.
3. Operational Efficiency and Sustainability
Adopting a comprehensive preventative maintenance program can enhance operational efficiency and sustainability efforts. Since well-maintained facilities are less wasteful in energy and water consumption, they promote sustainable building practices, lead to cost savings, optimize resource utilization to ensure smooth operation, and dramatically reduce a building’s carbon footprint.
[ Source: SelectHub ]
6 Essentials for a Preventative Maintenance Program
Preventative maintenance programs are only effective when customized to the specific building or structure. When designing your preventative maintenance program, consider a few things.
1. Choose the Technologies to Utilize in Maintenance Planning
Software platforms like computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), facility management applications, and water intelligence systems like that offered by Wint Water Intelligence are the basis for an effective preventative maintenance program.
When selecting which solutions to integrate, prioritize scalability, automation features, user-friendliness, and interoperability with other platforms and tools. For example, when it comes to water damage prevention, accounting for weather and environmental factors like seasonal trends via weather APIs can help adjust your preventative maintenance schedule.
2. Set Preventative Maintenance Program Goals and KPIs
Any successful preventative maintenance program needs concrete goals and KPIs that can be tracked. Clearly define what you seek to accomplish in your program and include the metrics to measure it.
Common goals include reducing repair costs, extending asset lifespan, enhancing tenant satisfaction, or increasing power and water consumption efficiency. In terms of KPIs, some standard metrics to consider are the mean time between equipment failures, Planned maintenance percentage (PMP), Preventive maintenance compliance (PMC), Scheduled maintenance critical percentage (SMCP), and Mean time to repair (MTTR).
[ Source: FieldCircle ]
3. Inventory and Catalog All Relevant Assets
Next, take stock of your assets and maintain an up-to-date inventory of all the structures and equipment that require scheduled maintenance. These may include elevators, electrical systems, HVAC systems, water supply and sewage systems, fire protection systems, and other types of machinery.
Catalog your inventory according to type (such as equipment or infrastructure) and maintain consistent record-keeping. Your database should include all the relevant information about each asset entry, such as make, model, serial number, installation date, specifications, location, or unit number.
4. Prioritize Assets According to Operational Impact
Take a risk-based approach to prioritize tasks and allocate resources effectively. Create an asset hierarchy to identify the assets most critical to operations and pinpoint their interdependencies. For example, water supply issues may impact pool maintenance, outdoor irrigation, and other systems necessary for building operations.
This assessment will also help you predict the monetary implications of specific asset issues.
5. Establish a Preventative Maintenance Schedule and SOP
A data-driven schedule ensures the timely and cost-effective execution of maintenance tasks, including regular inspections, updates, and decommissioning of equipment that has become too costly to maintain.
Some tasks must be conducted on-site, which often increases their overall cost. Thankfully, sensor and IoT technologies can aid in remote monitoring and control maintenance activities with minimal disruption.
To ensure consistency in preventative maintenance procedures, create a standard operating procedure (SOP) for each category, asset, and task in your program. Your SOP should include checklists on performing each maintenance task, its cadence, who is responsible for it, and any other relevant documentation to ensure compliance.
Of course, you must ensure that everyone on the maintenance staff and building management team is well-versed in the SOPs relevant to their expertise and responsibilities.
[ Source: Scilife ]
6. Review and Improve Your Preventative Maintenance Program
To maximize your preventative maintenance program, treat it as a living, working document with consistent measurement and adjustments. With your KPIs and goals documented and known to all relevant team members in your facility, you can solicit feedback and expand your data sources to analyze trends and optimize processes continuously.
Enhance Preventative Water System Maintenance with Wint
Waiting for disaster to strike is never the best course of action. Preventative maintenance programs can help you avoid machinery and material failure, minimize downtime, and optimize maintenance procedures and decision-making.
Water systems are essential in all building types—commercial, residential, and industrial—so they should be a core part of your preventative maintenance program. Advanced technology solutions can help you maintain your water systems effectively.
Wint Water Intelligence is an AI and IoT-powered platform that enables you to detect and prevent leaks in your property at the source in real-time, optimize water consumption, and obtain the data and the analytics you need to know to report on your water maintenance activities.
