Regular maintenance is crucial for the smooth functioning of buildings and commercial estates and for averting costly repairs, but what is the most cost-effective way of implementing a building maintenance strategy? Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) is a proactive approach to building facilities maintenance that seeks to identify and target faults before they occur. In this article, we’ll investigate the benefits of PPM, as well as how to develop a successful PPM strategy for your building or estate.
What Is Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM)?
PPM is a proactive maintenance strategy that involves regular inspections of your electrical and mechanical systems, scheduled maintenance, and timely repairs to keep your estate in good and efficient functioning order. Rather than waiting for something to go wrong, PPM focuses on resolving the root issues that often escalate into faults. The actual shape of a PPM strategy will reflect the needs of your building and your infrastructure – such as cleaning or changing air-conditioning filters at the correct interval, and replacing minor components, in order to avoid blockages and overheating. In this way, PPM saves you time and money on lifetime repairs, and can also optimise your energy efficiency, improving output and reducing power consumption.
Benefits Of PPM – Why You Need It
Implementing a personalised PPM strategy can bring numerous benefits to your organisation.
- Firstly, it can save you money by helping avoid costly breakdowns and repairs – which you would otherwise have to deal with reactively.
- Secondly, PPM can improve safety and comfort for your building users and employees by ensuring that systems and equipment are always working safely and reliably. For example, regular checks on fire alarm systems can help prevent false alarms, while air-conditioning maintenance can help sustain optimal air quality.
- Thirdly, PPM can help prolong the lifespan of essential building systems and equipment, reducing the need for premature replacements.
How To Develop A Successful PPM Strategy:
Phase 1: Predictive Maintenance:
The first step in developing a PPM strategy aligned with the needs of your estate is to conduct a thorough inspection of your building or wider facilities to identify potential risk factors and latent issues. Predictive maintenance uses sensors and other methods to analyse data from equipment and systems to identify where issues may occur, and predict when maintenance may be needed. This can involve monitoring the performance of equipment over time, analysing data from equipment logbooks, or even conducting regular infrared scans. This helps you identify usage and performance patterns and schedule maintenance tasks proactively at an appropriate and convenient time.
Phase 2: Preventative Maintenance:
Regularly scheduled preventative maintenance tasks, such as replacing filters, cleaning ducts, and lubricating components, will help you avoid a wide range of mechanical and repair issues. Working with a building maintenance specialist, such as Lowe & Oliver, can help ensure that all tasks are performed in accordance with manufacturer guidelines, with full service and labour guarantees.
Phase 3: Corrective Maintenance:
Despite your best efforts, breakdowns can still occur, so it’s important to have a plan in place for corrective maintenance – fixing problems as soon as possible when they happen. Corrective maintenance involves addressing problems as they arise to avoid further damage or safety risks. This can involve emergency repairs, such as fixing leaking pipes or replacing broken windows, and should be scheduled as soon as the problem is discovered and performed by qualified professionals to ensure long-term quality.
Phase 4: Risk-Based Maintenance:
Risk-based maintenance involves assessing the level of risk associated with each system or asset and prioritising your maintenance tasks accordingly. For instance, critical systems such as your emergency lighting and fire alarm network should be given a higher priority than non-critical systems. This helps you focus your resources on maintaining the most important systems and equipment first, lowering your overall operational risk level.
Next Steps – Flexible Building Maintenance Support Services From Lowe & Oliver
To find out more about our building and facilities maintenance support services, please click here, or call 01865730881 today to contact one of our team directly.
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