Chapter 3

Maintenance Organisations
The context within which maintenance exists
8ulldlngs musL be consldered Lo be a faclllLy and or an asseL and Lhls requlres malnLenance Lo be
vlewed ln a wlder conLexL As we have seen varlous deflnlLlons of faclllLles managemenL have been
proposed lor example owell does Lhls ln a number of ways1
I 'lL ls concerned wlLh Lhe sysLemaLlc opLlmlsaLlon of our properLy and use of our
envlronmenL'
I 'laclllLles lannlng deLermlnes how an organlsaLlon's Langlble flxed asseLs besL
supporL achlevlng Lhe organlsaLlon's ob[ecLlves'
role of the facilities manager the efficient usage of buildings, such as space utilisation and energy
consumption.
Maintenance poIicy framework - haI 56-59
$ 3811 defines maintenance policy as a strategy within which maintenance decisions are
made. a set of ground rules for the allocation of resources between the various types of
maintenance action that can be taken.
n simple terms, the building cycle can be described in the following six stages:
I brief involves establishing a performance model for the building, as an essential
prerequisite for the proper and effective management of that building, including its
maintenance. The model sets a standard against which the performance of the building
in use can be measured
I design
I procurement
I construction
I commissioning
I operation.
Maintenance poIicy issues - haI 60-
Resource allocation
These resources may be in terms of finance, staffing (both managerial and operative) and time.
Generally, maintenance tends to compete on rather unfavourable terms for all of these, and for
finance in
particular
!erformance requirements
Execution of the work
A policy will need to be formulated to indicate how maintenance work is to be executed.
This will involve consideration of such factors as:
I Who executes the work?
I When is it executed?
How is it executed?
I How is it supervised and controlled?
I What is its relationship with other activities in the organisation?
/ministrative activities hal 61-
!osition of the maintenance /epartment within the organisation

The business organisation
Organisation theories

The buiIding maintenance organisation
Scope of the maintenance department hal 68
n general, each of the following phases must be considered in structuring maintenance
departments:
generation of maintenance work
execution of the work
control of operations
provision of feedback
financial control
evaluation of performance
%pes of maintenance /epartment
Types of maintenance department hal 69-70-
t is possible to produce a generalised classification of maintenance organisations according to
the degree of domination exerted by one or other of the parties involved in the process. Using
this approach, four main parties are identified:
I occupants or tenants
I the owners or client organisation responsible for managing the property
I the 'professional' maintenance team
I the maintenance workforce and their immediate supervision.

These parties are perceived as likely to have different, and perhaps conflicting, goals. Assuming
that organisations may sometimes be dominated by one party, 4 logical types of departmental
organisation are thus derived :
(1) Occupant dominant type
(2) Owner/client dominant type
The major goals here will be:
I maintaining the value of the property
I keeping costs as low as possible
I ensuring that properties are let or utilised as soon as possible.
(3) Professional dominant type
(4) Workforce dominant type
unctions of a maintenance department
/visor function -hal 71-
the development of the brief for new buildings, their design and procurement
I the production of as-built drawings and maintenance manuals
I the performance requirements of new buildings in general
I the provision of specialist advice, and other services related to the areas of adaptation,
refurbishment and extensions/modifications
I determination of standards to be achieved, and the setting of performance indicators in
relation to the primary needs of the organisation, e.g. quality and response times
provision of ongoing information on building condition, which in conjunction with
financial information may help senior management in budgeting decisions, and also on
decisions as to whether to repair, replace or renew
I ongoing information relating to maintenance costs, to assist in sensible financial
management
I advising senior management on the organisational needs of maintenance, to ensure
that an efficient organisation exists, with the correct relationship to the rest of the
organisation.




Organisational function -hal 72
This must be considered with respect to internal functions, and also with points of interface, both
within and externally, so that each of the following may be relevant.

(1) The formation of a basic internal administrative system that clearly defines:
I roles and responsibilities
I organisational interrelationships
I communication channels
I chains of command and patterns of accountability
I standard procedures.

(2) The defining of proper protocols for dealingwith external organisations, and other
departments within the organisation. Within this function careful consideration will need to be
given to the procedures for communicating information, whether written or oral. ncreasingly,
information technology is of critical importance when considering administrative and
organisational systems.
Operational function - hal 72-
The relevant operations can be classified under the following headings whether they are carried
out in house or by an external agency:
I identifying the work input
I programming the work
I ensuring the work is executed
I monitoring and controlling quality, cost and time
I authorising and arranging payment
I providing management information including feedback.

-hal 73-
The earlier reports identified a series of management problems that all stemmed
from what they considered to be an inadequate strategy for managing property. These
problems are listed below, and to some extent they may all impinge on maintenance
performance. The two that are highlighted in bold, however, are of prime
importance.
I inadequate management information
I no incentive to users
I failure to carry out property reviews
I opportunity cost of holding property not recognised
I confused objectives for tenanted/vacant property
I no co-ordinated maintenance poIicy.