EMV 4236: Building Maintenance

Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Definition of A building and Building Maintenance

A building is defined as any roofed structure that encloses space and is intended for
use as a shelter (for people, animals, or property) or for recreational, industrial,
commercial, or other functions.

Building maintenance is the practice of keeping the building in a proper and

acceptable condition and preserving/protecting it from failure in order for the building
to perform a required function that meets the business needs of the occupier.

1.2 Definition of Common Terms Used in Maintenance:

Assignment: Define each of the following maintenance related concepts:

 Refurbishment
 Renovation
 Rehabilitation
 Conversion
 Demolition
 Retrofit
 Façade Retention
1.3 Source/Options of obtaining Property Maintenance service
 Outsourced property maintenance service providers
 In-house property maintenance Team

N.B: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of the above

sources/options?

Advantages of outsourced property maintenance service providers

 Contracting property maintenance service provider saves significant time and

effort in taking care of every detail, no matter how minor it may be.
 If the property is rented by several tenants, having a property maintenance
crew in place presents an enormous advantage for prospective tenants
 Contracting professionals to do the job they are trained to do is cost effective
since it saves the owner from the cost of purchasing all necessary cleaning
tools and equipments which may be substantial.

Disadvantages of outsourced property maintenance service providers

Advantages and disadvantages of In-house property maintenance Team

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Group Assignment:

Choose a building of your choice within the University Campus, carry out a
comprehensive survey and inspection, prepare a detailed report that indicates all the
building defects and suggest the best possible measures to solve the defects noted
(15 marks).

QUIZ No: 1 (5 marks) 24th February, 2016

1 (a). Differentiate between Conversion and Demolition as the common terms used
in maintenance. (1 mark)

(b). Mention any Two (2) advantages and any Two (2) disadvantages of each of the
following options of obtaining property maintenance services

(i). Outsourced property maintenance service providers (2 marks)

(ii). In-house property maintenance Team (2 marks)

Chapter Two: Principles and Importance of Building/Property Maintenance

2.1 Building/Property Maintenance Needs

The prime aim of maintenance is to preserve a building or property in its initial stage,
as far as practicable, so that it effectively serves its purpose.

Some of the main purposes of maintaining a building or a property include:

 Retaining value of an investment

 Maintaining the building or property in a condition in which it continues to fulfil
its function
 Presenting a good appearance that is for aesthetic reasons

2.2 Key Criteria Influencing the Building/Property Maintenance Decision

These key criteria include but not limited to the following:

 Cost of maintenance works

 Age of the building/property
 Availability of physical resources
 Urgency to carry out maintenance works
 Future use
 Social considerations

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2.3 Reasons for carrying out Building/Property Maintenance

Property owners, property managers or occupiers may need to carry out

maintenance of their buildings/properties mainly because of the following reasons:

 Physical integrity. To keep the building/property in good working order so as

to minimise disruptions and downtimes.
 Risk Management. To keep the building/property in a state of good repair for
the occupiers’ or visitors’ health and safety.
 Aesthetic Preservation. To prevent the building/property from deteriorating
in appearance and to prevent it from becoming bad looking.
 Maximum Returns. To ensure that the building/property achieves its full
potential service life
 Fiscal Responsibility. To leverage efficiencies that can be reflected on the
owner’s balance sheet
 Duty of care. To satisfy a legislated duty that is owed to owners, occupiers
and visitors of the building/property
 Duty to mitigate. To prevent unnecessary damage to the building/property
that may result from premature failure.

Chapter Three: Building Maintenance Approaches and Types of Building

Maintenance

3.1 Role of Building Maintenance Officer

The key roles of a building maintenance officer include:

 Maintenance reporting
 The establishment of condition standards
 The costing, planning and implementation of maintenance works

3.2 Building Maintenance Approaches

3.2.1 Reactive Maintenance Approach

Definition: Reactive maintenance also known as breakdown maintenance refers to

where maintenance and repairs are done when an asset, machine or equipment has
already broken down.

Purpose: Reactive maintenance focuses on restoring the asset, equipment or

machine to its normal operating condition. The broken down asset is returned to
working within service specifications by replacing or repairing faulty parts and its
components.

Effect: Emergency repairs cost 3 to 9 times more than planned repairs, so

maintenance plans that rely on reactive maintenance are generally the most
expensive. Breakdown maintenance is so expensive because shutdowns happen
during production runs (instead of pre-scheduled maintenance shutdowns during
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downtimes); because expedited shipping for spare parts costs much more than
regular shipping; and because maintenance staff is often forced to work overtime to
repair machinery.

Advantages of Reactive Maintenance

 Lower initial costs. As your systems are new, they require little maintenance
so you save on parts and emergency labour.
 Requires fewer staff – Complex repairs tend to be outsourced reducing the
need for internal staff.
 No planning needed – Technicians repair equipment when it fails. As fails
are unpredictable, no time is spent planning the repairs.

Disadvantages of Reactive Maintenance Approach

 Higher maintenance costs and difficult to control budgets – As

equipment failures can be unpredictable, labour and spare parts may not be
readily available so organizations may end up paying a premium for
emergency parts shipping, travel time and out of hours support.
 Shorter life expectancy of assets – Reactive maintenance does not keep
the systems running in optimal “as new” condition. Over time, systems that
have been maintained deteriorate faster so don’t maximize their initial capital
cost investment.
 Safety and environmental issues – When work is scheduled, technicians
have time to review the standard procedures and safety requirements to
complete the job correctly. Technicians tend to take more risks when
maintenance work is reactive as they are under pressure to get systems
running without delay.
 Time consuming – Reactive repairs tend to take longer due to a number of
factors including time to diagnose, travel time, time to pull parts from stores or
emergency order, time to pull correct manuals and schematics etc.
 Sporadic equipment downtime – planned maintenance can be written into
the production schedule whereas unplanned repairs can happen anytime.
Also, there is the uncertainty around the length of delay due to the repair.
 Inefficient use of resources – Technicians spend time running around
looking for the correct manuals and schematics, ordering the right parts etc
trying to diagnose and fix the issue.
 Interferes with planned work – Emergency repairs are usually prioritized at
the expense of planned work. Planned work may be pushed or cancelled
completely.
 Collateral Damage – A minor issue could quickly into a major system repair.
If your engine is low on oil, it could result in a completely seized engine. I
personally had a water leak that spilt onto an electronics cabinet, causing tens
of thousands of dollars in damaged electronic boards.

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  Indirect costs – Unplanned downtime can lead to late orders if equipment
cannot be returned to production in time. This can damage reputations and
impact revenues.
 Repeat issues – Reactive maintenance does the bare minimum to get the
system up and running again. If not repaired correctly, the issue could reoccur
and cause more downtime.
 Higher energy costs – If you don’t service your car, it burns more fuel! When
equipment is not properly maintained, it uses more energy. Doing simple
things like greasing moving parts or changing filters can reduce energy
consumption by 15%.
 Asset availability problems

When Should Reactive Maintenance Be Used?

Reactive maintenance should only be performed in the following circumstances:

 Should be performed on components that are inexpensive

 Should be performed on components that are easy to replace

 Where the failure does not cause collateral damage in the system

 Where the cost of reactive maintenance is not greater than preventative

maintenance.

 Reactive maintenance is also ideal for business that cannot plan work due to
the nature of the industry. An example would be satellite communications. It is
too costly to send technicians into space to perform regular preventive
maintenance.

3.2.2 Proactive Maintenance Approach

Definition: Proactive is a preventive maintenance strategy for maintaining the

reliability of an asset especially machines and equipments.

Reliability is the ability of an item to perform a required function under a stated set of
conditions for a stated period of time.

Purpose: The purpose of proactive maintenance is to view asset failure and similar
problems as something that can be anticipated and dealt with before they occur.

Proactive maintenance consists of:

 Preventive maintenance
 Predictive maintenance

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 Proactive maintenance focuses primarily on determining the root cause of asset
failure and dealing with those issues before problems occur.

It is often seen as a cost effective practice since it allows a company to avoid

asset failure and solve issues before they become problems

Home Assignment

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Proactive maintenance

approach

3.3 Types of Building Maintenance

Planned maintenance

Unplanned maintenance

Preventive maintenance

Corrective maintenance

Emergency maintenance

Condition-based maintenance

Scheduled maintenance

Routine maintenance