FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
An online tool recently launched by the team behind SFG20, the industry standard for building maintenance, can help facilities managers improve building services performance, cut long-term operating costs, meet low carbon targets, and ensure equipment performs well for its full intended operating life.
SFG20 Resource Modeller is targeted at one of the biggest challenges faced by commissioning teams: How to accurately estimate the long-term cost of maintenance. It is designed to accurately price the specific requirements of any building so FMs can find the most cost-efficient strategy for managing service and maintenance tasks.
SFG20 Product Director Paul Bullard said: “The complexity of estimating maintenance, particularly in large commercial new builds or refurb projects, has defeated many project teams. However, the financial and environmental impact can be colossal particularly as around 80 per cent of the total cost of a building is accounted for during its operational life.”
He said that key factors to consider include the quality of the building design, its location, the materials used, services installed, and size. However, in many cases the specific characteristics of the building are ignored, and the maintenance strategy is simply based on the total floor area.
Bullard continued: “Using floor area as a rule of thumb is usually little better than guesswork, particularly in multi-use buildings and specialist facilities where operating and occupancy patterns can be difficult to predict. This often leaves the building operator with an expensive legacy.
“The need for a tool that can eliminate much of that guesswork has been there for some time and we were delighted to be able to bring Resource Modeller to the market.”
SFG20 uses a ‘traffic light’ system to help users prioritise tasks. Red indicates maintenance essential to ensure legal and regulatory compliance; orange covers tasks that will help to maximise the operating efficiency of an asset, and green is for work that can ensure services are running at their optimum level to maximise their lifespan.
Once the user provides the Resource Modeller with a building’s details, such as its location, internal floor area and asset list, they can create their own bespoke maintenance plan and choose the maintenance schedules that are most applicable.
The time and skills needed to deliver the tasks and hourly costs are also calculated to help building operators manage resources and budgets. This also gives FMs the necessary data to explain their estimates to clients and defend expenditure.
The tool is aligned with the RICS new rules of measurement (NRM) and is suitable for a wide range of sectors and building types. Its standardised approach gives users access to a central hub of maintenance schedules and checklists to help ensure each building project is compliant with UK legislation.
With the current economic crisis resulting in higher prices and more of a squeeze on resources, FMs need to ensure that they have robust building and maintenance services in place to control costs and reduce the need for emergency repairs. When it comes to drainage and plumbing there are also the challenges of dealing with extreme weather, from droughts to flooding, the need to meet stringent regulations and to avoid causing environmental damage.
UK drainage specialist, Metro Rod, has launched a survey which explores the main areas of interest for FMs in maintaining drainage and plumbing, including how they currently assess their supply chains to ensure they’re working with partners that meet the highest possible standards and provide value for money.
The results will be published online so that you can see how you compare to others within the sector.
The survey should take just 5-10 minutes of your time, and as a thank you, you will be entered into a prize draw, where one lucky winner will be picked at random to receive a £100 Amazon voucher.
To take part click here.
