How to Create a Preventative Building Maintenance Plan

Designing and executing a comprehensive plan for preventative maintenance must be a top priority for your community. Detecting a problem before a critical failure, anticipating repairs and replacements, and most importantly, extending the life of almost every critical asset in your building are the primary benefits of having a good preventative maintenance plan.

Extending the life of major systems such as your plumbing or elevators, as well as being better able to predict when they need repair or replacement, will allow your community to budget more accurately and also to plan for capital expenditures. Preventing breakdowns lowers the possibility of losing services, which also helps keep residents happy.

How should you begin? It might seem a little overwhelming to keep track of all of the moving parts in a condominium and account for all of them, but good organization and planning will make it much easier to handle. Read on for five tips to help you do just that.
 

1. Start at the beginning

   Benjamin Franklin said, “A stitch in time saves nine.” Fixing little problems before they become big problems will save both time and money for your association. Take a walk through the building and take pictures of all of the systems, common areas, paving and painting. Note anything that needs to be addressed immediately. Create a spreadsheet of all the items that require maintenance and attach the images of them, if possible. Include notes of what needs to be done and when so that you have a clear picture of the work. Include how frequently systems have to be maintained.
    

2. Remember why preventative maintenance matters

   Why is preventative maintenance so important for your community? Mid-rise, high-rise and large-scale buildings require more care and maintenance in general, especially in preparation for changes in the season throughout the year and beyond. Your building has many complicated systems, and many items that must be regularly checked, serviced and adjusted. These systems include boilers, elevators, HVAC units, water filtration systems, plumbing and more. A property management company with in-depth experience in managing a high volume of condominiums will understand the importance of preventative maintenance, will have best practices to follow and will be ready to help you execute your plan so that you can begin to reap the benefits.
    

3. Schedule maintenance for the year

   Set a calendar for when items need to be checked and maintained, based on the frequency they need service: monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually. Work with the system manufacturers to identify suggested maintenance schedules for equipment to run at maximum efficiency. Then, put that plan into action. Find out if your property management company has a tool that can assist with the calendar management of your maintenance. FirstService Residential Connect, offered by FirstService Residential, will send reminders and notifications of when maintenance is due. It can also keep residents apprised of maintenance schedules for items like paving, window washing and painting common areas.
    

4. Focus on the benefits

   Your preventative maintenance schedule will allow you to begin to identify and anticipate repair or replacement costs throughout the year and for future capital expenditures. Regular, careful inspections and maintenance will help you ensure that the value of your property is maintained while also maintaining the most pleasant environment for your residents. Done correctly, preventative maintenance will have a major impact on cost control for your building.
    

5. Find the right partner

   The help of experienced professionals will make it much easier to create, implement and monitor a complete preventative maintenance schedule for your condominium. A respected property management company can create and execute your overall plan, but you will also need the enthusiastic commitment of an in-house maintenance staff, as well as outside expert service technicians and professionals with a deep understanding of specific systems.

Your entire community, from the board to your building’s maintenance staff to the residents, will reap the rewards of your preventative maintenance planning. For more information on how to put a preventative maintenance plan in place in your community, contact FirstService Residential, Georgia’s leading property management company.