Building fabric maintenance is a crucial aspect of property management that involves the upkeep and repair of a building’s structural elements. This includes components such as walls, roofs, floors, windows, doors, and other architectural features that make up the physical structure of a building.
Essentially, fabric maintenance refers to the ‘fabric’ of a building which could include anything related to its functionality and appearance. Building fabric maintenance generally covers the areas of your building that aren’t viewed as specialist, electrical, or mechanical.
Effective fabric maintenance is essential for preserving the value, functionality, and safety of a property.
Why does building fabric maintenance matter?
Effective building fabric maintenance offers several key benefits:
Asset Preservation: Regular maintenance extends the lifecycle of buildings and preserves their market value.
Cost Reduction: By addressing minor issues early, fabric maintenance prevents more serious and costly damages in the future.
Safety Assurance: Well-maintained buildings are safer for occupants, reducing the risk of accidents and health hazards.
Aesthetic Appeal: Consistent upkeep enhances the visual appearance of a property, contributing to a positive image and attracting tenants and investors.
What is reactive fabric maintenance?
Reactive fabric maintenance is an approach that addresses repair and maintenance issues as they arise. This process involves taking action only after a failure has been detected or is imminent in a property.
Pros of Reactive Maintenance:
Initial cost-savings: By dealing with maintenance problems as they come up, reactive maintenance ensures you only spend money on what you need to.
This can result in initial savings on building maintenance costs.
Simplicity: Reactive fabric maintenance can be easier to implement, particularly in smaller property management businesses.
Easy for minor fixes: It can be difficult to plan for fabric maintenance issues and they are often small or minor. So, reactive fabric maintenance may be a more practical choice for some businesses as it deals with minor repairs.
Cons of Reactive Maintenance:
Higher long-term costs: Neglecting regular maintenance can lead to more severe issues and costly repairs in the future.
Increased downtime: Unexpected failures can result in longer periods of inoperability, affecting business operations.
Reduced asset lifespan: Without regular care, building components may deteriorate faster, requiring premature replacement.
What is planned fabric maintenance?
Preventative fabric maintenance, also known as planned maintenance, involves carrying out regular maintenance works on properties to prevent a build-up of repairs. This proactive approach aims to fix issues before they become major problems.
Pros of Preventative Maintenance:
Cost-effectiveness: By addressing minor issues early, preventative maintenance can significantly reduce long-term repair costs.
Extended asset life: Regular care helps building components last longer, maximising the return on investment.
Improved safety: Routine inspections and maintenance reduce the risk of sudden failures that could pose safety hazards.
Enhanced property value: Well-maintained buildings typically have higher market values.
Cons of Preventative Maintenance:
Higher initial costs: Implementing a preventative maintenance program requires upfront investment in planning and resources.
Potential over-maintenance: Without proper planning, there’s a risk of performing unnecessary maintenance tasks.
How can planned fabric maintenance support health and safety?
Preventative fabric maintenance plays a crucial role in ensuring the health and safety of building occupants. By regularly inspecting and maintaining building components, potential hazards can be identified and addressed before they pose significant risks. For example:
Structural integrity: Regular checks can detect early signs of structural weaknesses, preventing potential collapses.
Fire safety: Maintenance of fire-resistant materials and escape routes is essential for occupant safety.
Indoor air quality: Proper maintenance of ventilation systems and building envelope can prevent mould growth and improve air quality.
Trip and fall prevention: Regular inspection and repair of flooring, stairs, and walkways can reduce accident risks.
Without routine fabric maintenance checks, you might miss serious health and safety risks. This means your buildings could become unsafe. Without sufficient building maintenance, you could also damage your professional reputation. To keep investors and other key stakeholders on side, you need to demonstrate your commitment to health and safety through regular fabric maintenance.
Ultimately, both planned and reactive fabric maintenance can be useful in ensuring effective facilities management. A balanced approach that includes planned fabric maintenance while maintaining the capacity for reactive repairs is often the most effective strategy.
How to incorporate fabric maintenance into a PPM Schedule
To effectively manage building fabric maintenance, it should be integrated into a comprehensive Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) schedule.
PPM planners are responsible for developing and implementing maintenance schedules to proactively address potential issues and ensure the smooth functioning of buildings. By implementing a well-structured PPM schedule that includes fabric maintenance, property managers can ensure the longevity, safety, and value of their buildings while minimising unexpected breakdowns and costly repairs.
By ensuring regular fabric maintenance, your business reduces the likelihood of equipment breakdowns and future repairs. This means you’ll be less likely to lose value across your properties and gives you the chance to extend the lifecycle of your assets. Businesses that ensure efficient building fabric maintenance can preserve the market value of their properties.
In many cases, you can increase property value by doing fabric works such as decorating, landscaping, and new walls and brickwork. Routine fabric maintenance can also be a great way to attract new investors and tenants, which in turn can boost revenue and cash flow.
How can Elogs Facilities Services support fabric maintenance?
Elogs Facilities Services manages fabric maintenance requirements efficiently, cost-effectively, and to the highest quality. We undertake both planned and reactive fabric maintenance, for several clients in the UK. In fact, we even helped JLL boost productivity, streamline fabric maintenance management and gain total visibility of their supply chain.
When it comes to facilities management, managing fabric maintenance across multiple locations can be a daunting task. Many organisations find themselves juggling different suppliers and contractors across various regions, leading to inconsistencies in service quality, invoicing nightmares, and compliance headaches.
Elogs Facilities Services has massively improved performance, not just in terms of streamlining our supply chain, but also our own people—this has all come out the work we’ve done using Elogs Facilities Services.
Richard Curnow, Head of Partner Performance & Optimisation, JLL PAM
That’s why Elogs Facilities Services covers the entire UK with a network of verified suppliers and contractors. This means that, whether your properties are in Scotland, Wales, or anywhere in England, you can rely on a single point of contact for all your fabric maintenance needs.
To ensure the quality of suppliers and contractors, our supply chain is made up of approved contractors who serve all areas across the UK. This currently consists of 89 SSIP approved suppliers, across all construction trades, from specialist roofers to painters and decorators.
We approve all our contractors using our integration with Prosure360, an advanced supply chain management system. Not only that, but we can get anywhere in mainland UK within 4 hours to all critical jobs.
With Elogs Facilities Services, our clients can set their preferred Service Level Agreement (SLA) in terms of reactive attendance and completion.
Elogs Facilities Services is also backed by the Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk which gives our clients total visibility of their buildings, enhanced communication with audit trails and job tracking from implementation through to client invoicing.
Elogs Facilities Services is a powerful tool which allows facilities managers to:
- Maximise efficiency.
- Improve employee utilisation.
- Take control of your workday.
- Reduce the administrative burden involved in fabric maintenance.
- Enhance relationships with supply chain.
Make planned and reactive fabric maintenance simple with Elogs Facilities Services!
