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What is the importance of Facility Maintenance?
The importance of #Facility-Maintenance reduces to the maximum the accidents, failures and imperfections in a machine and generates more benefits for the company because you help their machines to last a long time
#facility #maintenance
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Gary’s Answer
Hi, personally I think facility maintenance is very important. It can be a lot of different jobs depending on who you work for, some maintenance people will manage, clean, repair and maintain an actual facility while some may take care of certain parts or equipment in the facility. I used to help manage the National Guard building when I was in the military, I ordered supplies, facility equipment, food and worked security when someone rented out the building.
good luck
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Mike’s Answer
I have used this analogy to express the importance of properly maintaining facilities, you wouldn't buy a new car and drive it while never opening the hood (or having someone knowledgeable do so).
The more you do to maintain your facilities the longer they will remain functional and safe.
If you fix a roof leak for example, when it is first discovered and relatively small, it is a inexpensive and minor maintenance issue.
However, if you ignore that same leak while it is small and only address it after it has grown, you may experience structural as well as cosmetic damages, and the cost of repairs will be compounded exponentially.
Some of the issues that if remedied while they are small, may end up causing fines, life safety or other penalties in addition to the cost of the repairs themselves.
The more you do to maintain your facilities the longer they will remain functional and safe.
If you fix a roof leak for example, when it is first discovered and relatively small, it is a inexpensive and minor maintenance issue.
However, if you ignore that same leak while it is small and only address it after it has grown, you may experience structural as well as cosmetic damages, and the cost of repairs will be compounded exponentially.
Some of the issues that if remedied while they are small, may end up causing fines, life safety or other penalties in addition to the cost of the repairs themselves.
Updated
Micah’s Answer
Facility maintenance is important for a number of reasons. Here are some examples in no particular order:
It extends the life of an asset. Let's use a car as an example: If you purchase a new car and expect it to last 150,000 - 200,000 miles, you can do that with proper maintenance like changing the oil, replacing the tires, etc. Same with a building. If you have a piece of equipment that is designed to last 15 years but you never perform preventative maintenance on it, it could potentially fail in half the time.
It saves you money in the long run. Look at the example above. Your piece of building equipment costs $50,000 and is designed to last 15 years. You put a maintenance program in place that costs $1,000 per year. Your total cost over the life of the asset is $65,000. If you do not maintain the equipment and it lasts only half of it's expect life, you would spend $100,000 ($50k x 2) over 15 years. This is putting this in the simplest of terms and actually becomes more complex to calculate when you factor in protecting life, property and operations, complying with codes, protecting productivity, factoring in potential energy losses, and the time value of money.
Next, you're making repairs on your own terms. If you never inspect the tires on your car and have adopted the mindset of "run to fail", you will at some point experience a blowout when you least expect it and maybe at an inconvenient time like when you're on your way to that important job interview or a first date. And the blowout may result in an accident causing even more damage to your vehicle or even YOU. With proper maintenance, you significantly increase the likelihood of identifying issues before equipment failure and can address it on your own timing. For building maintenance, if equipment fails in the middle of a busy working day, it can result in lost productivity and lost revenue for your employer. Having a maintenance program in place can significantly reduce the likelihood of this and allow you to address repairs during off-hours.
Health and safety! Properly maintained facilities can reduce worker sick time by improving the conditions within the space. From indoor air quality to water quality to lighting and more, these all play a factor in our overall health.
I also like to think about employee moral and workplace satisfaction. What would it feel like to work for a company where equipment is always broken? Where the A/C is always failing or cannot reach desired set points? Where half the light bulbs are burned out? Where the floors are filthy from lack of proper maintenance? I can go on and on. How productive would you be in that environment and how committed would you be to helping your employer achieve it's mission? Does it become just a job at that point and not your passion for achieving the mission? On the flip side, if your employer provides and exceptionally maintained workplace that still looks new in years 3, 5, 7, 10 and so on, productivity will increase and you are more likely to help your employer achieve it's mission.
I hope this helps you! The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) provides a great course on Operations and Maintenance. Check it out if your interested in learning more. Facility Management and the many disciplines that support it are great career opportunities to pursue if your interested.
It extends the life of an asset. Let's use a car as an example: If you purchase a new car and expect it to last 150,000 - 200,000 miles, you can do that with proper maintenance like changing the oil, replacing the tires, etc. Same with a building. If you have a piece of equipment that is designed to last 15 years but you never perform preventative maintenance on it, it could potentially fail in half the time.
It saves you money in the long run. Look at the example above. Your piece of building equipment costs $50,000 and is designed to last 15 years. You put a maintenance program in place that costs $1,000 per year. Your total cost over the life of the asset is $65,000. If you do not maintain the equipment and it lasts only half of it's expect life, you would spend $100,000 ($50k x 2) over 15 years. This is putting this in the simplest of terms and actually becomes more complex to calculate when you factor in protecting life, property and operations, complying with codes, protecting productivity, factoring in potential energy losses, and the time value of money.
Next, you're making repairs on your own terms. If you never inspect the tires on your car and have adopted the mindset of "run to fail", you will at some point experience a blowout when you least expect it and maybe at an inconvenient time like when you're on your way to that important job interview or a first date. And the blowout may result in an accident causing even more damage to your vehicle or even YOU. With proper maintenance, you significantly increase the likelihood of identifying issues before equipment failure and can address it on your own timing. For building maintenance, if equipment fails in the middle of a busy working day, it can result in lost productivity and lost revenue for your employer. Having a maintenance program in place can significantly reduce the likelihood of this and allow you to address repairs during off-hours.
Health and safety! Properly maintained facilities can reduce worker sick time by improving the conditions within the space. From indoor air quality to water quality to lighting and more, these all play a factor in our overall health.
I also like to think about employee moral and workplace satisfaction. What would it feel like to work for a company where equipment is always broken? Where the A/C is always failing or cannot reach desired set points? Where half the light bulbs are burned out? Where the floors are filthy from lack of proper maintenance? I can go on and on. How productive would you be in that environment and how committed would you be to helping your employer achieve it's mission? Does it become just a job at that point and not your passion for achieving the mission? On the flip side, if your employer provides and exceptionally maintained workplace that still looks new in years 3, 5, 7, 10 and so on, productivity will increase and you are more likely to help your employer achieve it's mission.
I hope this helps you! The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) provides a great course on Operations and Maintenance. Check it out if your interested in learning more. Facility Management and the many disciplines that support it are great career opportunities to pursue if your interested.