With potentially hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, it would be foolish to jeopardize the health of your commercial property.

On the surface, every building owner and facility manager would agree with that statement, but some still fail to prioritize building maintenance as a means of optimizing performance and extending the life of building systems.

Here are four valuable reasons why investing in building maintenance services generates positive ROI over the life of a commercial property:

1. Planned maintenance costs less than emergency repairs

As is the case with your car or any other complex mechanical system, conducting routine maintenance helps prevent catastrophic damage from worn, aging parts. With few exceptions, the cost of maintenance is far lower than the cost of repairs and replacements necessitated by unexpected failure.

For example, if one of your vehicle’s universal joints is beginning to wear, inspecting and replacing it will cost around $200 in parts and labor. Ignoring it, on the other hand, could end up in a wheel ripping off the car while it’s traveling at 65 mph on the highway, resulting in tremendous damage and even injury or death.

In a commercial building, the same principle applies: planned maintenance on the HVAC system components, inspections, and optimization all serve to identify and resolve potential problems before they result in catastrophic failure, which could require unexpected and costly replacements, or even dangerous conditions.

And the cost of routine maintenance is far less than the cost of repairing or replacing equipment that has been allowed to degrade to the point where it no longer functions properly. To learn more, get the facility manager's guide to planned maintenance for Chicago buildings. 

2. Planned maintenance boosts system efficiency

Energy costs are a constant concern for commercial building owners and facility managers alike. Beyond dollars and cents, however, there is also ongoing concern for the environment. Both from a regulatory standpoint, and in an effort to do the right thing and improve how the organization is viewed in the community, a focus on energy efficiency is critical.

By investing in planned system maintenance, any equipment and control inefficiencies can be identified and rectified. Likewise, ongoing monitoring of the system’s usage allows for fine tuning controls and other factors that can boost efficiency even more.

The end result is a system running at optimum efficiency at all times, which saves money on energy while simultaneously lessening the building’s impact on the environment.

3. Planned maintenance improves the system’s overall performance

While energy efficiency is of vital concern, the most efficient system in the world isn’t going to help anyone if it leaves tenants and employees in the building uncomfortable.

An effective commercial HVAC system needs to properly balance efficiency and performance to ensure everyone affected by it is comfortable and productive. Doing so results in higher productivity from employees, and may help reduce sick time, turnover, and other costs generated by uncomfortable working conditions.

Planned system maintenance helps achieve and maintain that balance effectively. Combined with regular monitoring, necessary adjustments can be identified and handled quickly and efficiently, so they don’t affect performance adversely.

4. Planned maintenance promotes safety

Closely related to comfort level and system performance is the safety factor.

When an HVAC system is not operating properly, it can result in poor air quality, potentially dangerous temperature extremes, and even catastrophic failure resulting in leakage, fire, or explosion.

In all these cases, the health and welfare of tenants and employees is at stake. There’s simply no excuse for allowing people to be in harm’s way if it can be avoided.

Planned maintenance can identify problems and rectify them before they safety becomes an issue. Through routine planned maintenance, the facility’s air quality can be maintained, ageing parts that could potentially cause water leaks or fire hazards can be replaced, and potentially dangerous pressure situations that could lead to explosion can be identified and mitigated.

All-in-all, the positive results of investing in planned maintenance of a commercial HVAC system far outweigh the relatively low cost. If your current system is not covered by a routine maintenance service plan, contact us today to discuss your options. We’ll give you the peace of mind that comes with boosting efficiency, performance, and safety for your facility.