With a new year upon us, we recognize most of our current and future customers across Chicago are working hard to finalize their 2018 operational budgets and capex planning for their commercial facilities.

This brief guide should help make that effort successful, as it covers why a planned maintenance program for the building’s commercial HVAC system deserves to be part of that discussion.

Why is planned HVAC maintenance so important?

Controlling costs while getting the maximum value from your HVAC system is a tough balance to reach. A strategic planned maintenance program is a necessary component of every successful commercial building owner’s annual budget.

A custom-designed planned maintenance program will:

• Extend the lifespan of your equipment

• Improve energy efficiency

• Reduce emergency repairs and costly downtime

• Enhance worker productivity

But, an effective maintenance program has to go beyond having a staff member run through a weekly to-do list. Rather, an entire year’s schedule of inspections, tests, and optimization is what’s needed. And, that’s best handled by trained and experienced professional HVAC technicians.

With professional help, your planned maintenance program can go beyond just keeping the system running, turning it into a strategic tool that can aid in capex planning.

How does planned maintenance impact capex planning?

For commercial buildings, a major HVAC repair or replacement project is likely one of the most expensive and time-consuming jobs you can take on. If you’re a building owner who’s concerned about the budget, you should be making every effort to avoid a major replacement or retrofitting project, or at least delay it as long as possible. And, while it’s true that every system will eventually reach the end of its useful lifespan, planned maintenance can go a long way toward delaying the inevitable.

That’s because a well-maintained system is regularly cleaned, lubricated, charged, and inspected to make sure it’s operating efficiently and effectively. Additionally, a well-maintained system is far less likely to suffer from catastrophic damage, unexpected downtime, or to require emergency repairs, because every time a technician visits the facility, they assess the current system health and projected lifespan. And here’s where planned maintenance truly optimizes your capex planning:

If the system is going to need major replacements, upgrades, or repairs, you’ll know about them long before they become critical. In fact, with a routine maintenance program in place, you can reasonably expect a 2 or even 3-year planning horizon for eventual large projects. Or, you could choose to space out a number of small steps to handle the necessary work over time.

How will you invest in 2018?

It’s wise to view the creation of a planned maintenance program for your commercial Chicago HVAC system as an investment rather than an operating expense. While it makes sense to reserve a portion of the budget for unexpected repairs, planned maintenance offers a much higher ROI. And, when a capital expenditure eventually becomes necessary, you’ll be able to strategically plan ahead for it, rather than scrambling in an emergency situation.

We want to keep your commercial HVAC system performing at its best year after year, and to help simplify and improve your annual capex planning. Contact us to discuss more about your HVAC needs and learn how a partnership with Midwest Mechanical can fit into your 2018 budget.