Real Estate

Safety Comes First – Facilities Maintenance

Facilities maintenance refers to the range of disciplines that are part of maintaining a building or other property. This includes taking care of the locks, working elevators, electricity, plumbing, heating and cooling of the building and anything that comes up in ensuring that everything in the building works properly. Facilities professionals take care of all technical issues that the occupants of the building don’t want to have to worry about. This makes it an extremely valuable service.

Often in an office or residential building there will be a facilities manager on staff, who usually will live on site for maximum availability. Facilities maintenance may be necessary at any time of day or night, for example, if someone is locked out of the building or gets themselves stuck in an elevator. In a less dramatic turn of events, maintenance is also needed on a day to day level, such as cleaning.

If changes or renovations to a building are required, this can fall under the category of facilities maintenance. A building may need to be gutted and updated to meet safety requirements, or aesthetic changes may be wanted. This normally occurs with changes in flooring, such as the installation of new carpeting or the replacement of old carpeting in favour of hardwood or tiles floors. With changes in real estate trends, maintenance can make or break a sale and make more attractive for its current occupants.

It’s also important to stay on top of facilities maintenance for health reasons. Especially in damp climates, mould and mildew can take over a home, creating a range of health problems. Regular cleaning helps prevent this, but at times more extreme procedures will be essential, such as taking out mould-infested walls and redoing them with mould-resistant materials and drywall. This is true for houses that have lead paint or asbestos. There is no reason to live with such health hazards in the home.

In retail settings, facilities maintenance takes on an extra value, because in retail or office settings the occupants are trying to wow the clients or customers with a clean, modern, and inviting space. This requires the height of cleanliness and the security that everything in the building is in working order. For this reason, usually a retail store or similar type of building will have their own facilities manager as part of the working staff, similar to the facilities arrangement in an apartment building.

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