Properly maintaining your building, and upgrading certain features when necessary, is essential for protecting your investment and staying on top of little things that have the propensity to turn into major, costly problems. There are plenty of necessities that go into the upkeep of a building throughout the year, but when planned correctly, the benefits of regular maintenance far surpass the time and money you spend to keep the integrity of the building and functioning of its systems at their best.
Building maintenance can add a lot of value to not only the equipment being maintained but also to the value of the building. Maintenance is an important key to managing building expenses, which allows the business or owner to preplan or budget for those expenses. Also maintenance can give you a record of what the equipment has been doing to see if it would be more cost effective to upgrade rather than repair. Corwin Keller, Sr., owner of Ideal Heating & Air Conditioning, explains, “The reasons why properly controlling and maintaining a building’s heating and cooling systems are so important is because this serves to reduce the cost of energy usage, keep employees comfortable, reduce the amount of bad air in the building by circulating fresh outdoor air eliminating sick building syndrome, increase the lifespan of equipment, reduce the need for emergency afterhours calls, and reduce equipment downtime when repairs are needed. By utilizing Ideal Heating & Air Conditioning to perform routine maintenance on your facility the air circulating will be cleaner, motors will run at peak performance using less electricity, emergency repairs will be at a minimum, downtime due to repairs will be kept to a minimum, and you will have more of a fixed budget for routine maintenance. Additionally, when the need arises to replace existing equipment to more efficient equipment, the cost for replacement can be decreased by having the other equipment well maintained. This helps to ensure that all of your equipment will not go down at once, which can save the business owner and or property owner a lot, as well as allowing them to plan out future replacements by having a performance (maintenance) record of all of the existing equipment. This also affects budgeting for replacement and upgrades, as it gives you a more concrete idea of what to expect.”
Dave Toelle, Service Manager for Engineered Controls adds that when it comes to controlling the systems of your building on your own, many times it is difficult to give the proper amount of attention to maintaining the right temperature, lighting, and necessary safety precautions. Toelle advises, “Building systems that are properly maintained and controlled will enable you to focus on the core of your business while ensuring that everything is running efficiently. This also promotes longevity of equipment, protection of employees and equipment due to proper security measures, and energy efficiency which will result in minimizing operating costs and capital expenditures. Some common critical building systems are heating and cooling systems, data room environment systems, lighting systems, access control systems, security/surveillance systems, backup power systems, and fire alarm systems. While each of these systems can stand alone, integrating the systems that complement each other can reap benefits of a more efficient energy usage while still maintaining a safe and comfortable working environment. An example of a potential benefit of system integration would be to configure an area of your building for occupancy including temperature and lighting based on access to the building by a particular card holder. This example would save energy and equipment life by running critical systems only as needed based on actual occupancy not simply on a time schedule that may or may not be set correctly or a building running 24 hours a day. With our systems integration, alarms can be sent to alert the building operators or owners of vital equipment failures 24 hours a day.”
Building maintenance, and specifically pest management, should be viewed as a necessary and important factor in managing any structure. Truly Nolen Pest Control and Extermination Services provides all types of pest control and related building/property management services. Keith Kepplin of Truly Nolen says, “Keeping pests away from your workplace will ensure a much more pleasant and healthier environment. Some pests transmit disease and allergens and can be a source of regulatory trouble for certain establishments. Furthermore, no one enjoys living with pests and it certainly causes unnecessary stress. I have worked with many businesses who have waited until a pest problem was visible, and it is important to understand that this means the problem is already much bigger than you think. It is far better and less costly to proactively maintain pest management rather than wait for a big problem and risk disease, illness or regulatory violations. However, if you already have a problem we can provide intensive curative services right away and then maintain a program from there. Providing a healthy pest-free environment for workers, customers or residents is crucial. Plus, with Truly Nolen you can trust that a highly effective service is being provided from a green point of view. Also, effective pest/building management takes into consideration more than the structure itself. We provide a complete menu of services for pests, as well as other building services, such as a landscape management or our unique ice melt offering, all through our green philosophy using green products and service protocols. Truly Nolen’s unique layered approach recognizes this and provides a much more thorough approach with service protocols, which makes us a valuable partner for all owners, managers or residents.”
Debra Maxfield, owner of Stripe it Rich, LLC, also emphasizes that maintaining the entire property is important, both inside and outside. Maxfield states, “A well maintained parking lot is not only aesthetically pleasing to your customers, and shows your care and concern for the appearance of your property, but it also offers protection against any potential safety-related issues and huge costly repairs. Stripe it Rich will inspect your parking lot for these issues and provide their feedback as to any potential risks that exist or any areas that may lead to future repairs which can be expensive and inconvenient. Furthermore, we are concerned with giving you a budget you can live with and we work closely with our clients to protect and maximize your investment dollars.” She adds, “Maintaining any facility is often an arduous task. My best advice is to select the companies you trust, and who support you by providing excellent customer service, to get the job done.”
Keeping your employees healthy and safe is one of the main reasons why maintaining a clean facility is so important. However, there is a way to go beyond simply cleaning–which only temporarily gets rid of germs but isn’t preventative by any means—in order to protect the entire space permanently. American Water Damage is a company that provides air quality testing and mold mitigation services, but they also provide another very valuable service called the GermishieldTM process. Alan Freilich, owner of American Water Damage, explains, “Our main goal is to make sure that your building is safe from antimicrobials, which are small particles such as viruses, bacteria, mold spores, etc. Keeping the work environment free of these will help you to avoid losing productivity due to illness or symptoms of exposure, as well as provide a host of other health benefits for you and your employees. Our GermishieldTM process is completely safe and is a non-poisonous and non-leaching spray that is EPA approved. We use an Electrostatic Spray Applicator that can apply our protector to any hard or soft surface. The protector bonds permanently and does not leave behind any residue or change the appearance of the surface it is applied to. This means it will continuously eliminate antimicrobials on all surfaces and in the air for as long as the structure stands. This is great for all private or public spaces such as the break rooms, restrooms, computer keyboards, gyms, waiting rooms and all other surfaces in your building. It also helps to protect those in the workplace who are exposed to illness due to people who come in to work even though they are sick. Furthermore, this service is also rather inexpensive because of the cost savings and for the peace of mind that it ultimately provides.”
Another crucial component, and worthwhile investment, that provides peace of mind is a quality security or camera surveillance system. George Langabeer, owner of SilverHammer Surveillance, advises, “When choosing the proper security system for your building, there are many factors to consider and each has their own benefits. If you choose a system that involves surveillance cameras, there are benefits that a standard alarm system can’t offer. Thieves typically will avoid a building that has cameras. They don’t want their face or actions recorded. They also feel that they can beat response times for a standard alarm system and get away with items quickly. With cameras you also have the added optional feature, with a router and internet connection, to view your building via your laptop or smart phone. Seing your building in real time remotely definitely provides an added sense of security. With this feature, you can also monitor employees while you are away. If you are the victim of theft or other wrongdoing, what you have recorded on your DVR can be transferred to a disk and given to police for evidence in the report. This can also assist with insurance claims.” He adds, “To be most secure, combining an alarm system and camera system offers the most coverage. This gets you entry and glass break alerts while recording any situations that may occur. DVR’s can be set to record all the time, at specific times, or when there is motion. Cameras with infrared features can even record in the dark, and exterior motion lights are another way to deter trouble. Additionally I highly recommend that retailers should consider some type of product protection system, and all businesses should have a safety program in place that all employees are aware of.”
Proper building maintenance is crucial to your health and safety, as well as that of your employees, and it serves to protect your investment in not only the property, but also largely everything within the walls of the building itself. There are many local businesses and professionals that are dedicated to keeping your building well-maintained and are committed to staying on top of the seemingly never ending to-do list, no matter how major or minor the tasks may be. The important thing to remember is that prompt attention to issues that arise and establishing a regular preventative maintenance schedule will ensure smooth operations and will help you avoid a costly pile-up of problems that can quickly get out of hand.