5 Reasons to Outsource Facility Maintenance

by | Jan 29, 2018

Should you outsource facility maintenance or keep things in-house?

In today’s fast-paced world of business, management teams are under pressure to take predictive and preventative measures to keep the business running as cost-effectively and as efficiently as possible.

For this reason, it’s not uncommon for businesses to outsource facility maintenance tasks and processes. These can include electrical, mechanical and building systems, as well as security,  fire, and environmental services.

Although there are clear benefits to having a strategic facilities maintenance plan in place, many organisations simply lack the time and resources to carry out this essential function. This is why outsourcing your facility maintenance will:

  • Relieve this burden on your organisation.
  • Maintain your facility effectively and efficiently.

Here are five reasons to consider using an independent contractor to take control of your business’ full-spectrum facility maintenance.

What are the benefits of having an independent contractor?

#1: Free up resources

Using an in-house team to take care of your facility operations means that they will often have to deal with smaller, low-priority tasks rather than focusing on key business drivers. When you outsource facility maintenance, you can free up these resources, who can then concentrate on their more important responsibilities.

#2: Minimise downtime

We all know that any system downtime reduces productivity and profitability. From equipment to infrastructure, every business stands to reduce downtime when they outsource facility maintenance work. An external facility management team can be on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the year. The outsourced company will also have a service-level-agreement with set turnaround times, which ensures quicker fixes and can make all the difference when things go wrong.

#3: Increase system longevity

The experts of an outsourced team will help your business compile a preventative maintenance programme to suit your budget and your business. Having a clear facilities maintenance strategy will increase the longevity of your systems and the lifespan of your equipment, as well as keeping it running optimally so your business can do the same.

#4: Save money

There are a number of reasons why outsourcing your facilities management can save your business money:

  • As explained above, having a facilities maintenance strategy in place will keep your equipment running efficiently and extend its longevity, which means less money spent on replacing equipment more frequently.
  • You’ll no longer need to rely on the high call-out fees of different service providers when something goes wrong.
  • External contractors have invested heavily in their own staff, tools and training. Because this cost is split across all their clients, your business reaps the benefits of economies of scale.
  • The outsourced company will take on liabilities and risks personnel issues or equipment failure or personnel issues, helping you avoid unpredictable or sudden costs.

#5: Specialised expertise

A commercial facilities maintenance company is aware of the latest best practices, trends and technologies would help them perform their function efficiently and cost-effectively.

Having an external team of experts means that your business can benefit from specialised expertise in a number of different aspects of facility maintenance, all under one roof. Most providers will offer integrated facility services, which means that you have a single point of contact, simplifying and streamlining the service.

Outsource facilities maintenance and save your business money!

Outsource facilities maintenance for fast support and to prevent things from going wrong in the first place. What do you do when things go wrong in your building? Find a staff member who enjoys DIY? Call a maintenance man?

In today’s increasingly complex working environments, it’s simply not enough to act reactively when you have a problem. In this fast-paced age of efficiency, commercial enterprises pivot on their ability to keep operations running smoothly and with maximum efficiency. These days, competitive businesses focus on taking preventative measures to keep the organisation running smoothly, efficiently and cost-effectively at all times. And no matter the size of the business or the industry that you’re in, having a clear facilities maintenance strategy can result in far-reaching cost-savings.

Why implement a maintenance schedule?

  • Increase the lifespan of your equipment.
  • Keep your equipment running optimally so that your business can do the same.
  • Increase efficiency.
  • Prevent energy waste.
  • Give your business a competitive edge.
  • Reduce downtime.

Moving away from the reactive modus operandi

Although things can and will go wrong unexpectedly, implementing regular, scheduled and planned maintenance will help your organisation move beyond reactive maintenance to a preventative and proactive model of facilities maintenance.

With the increased digitalisation of business operations, today’s maintenance managers have more opportunities to use rich data to create predictive and preventative maintenance plans.

Why conduct proactive facilities maintenance?

  • Conducting routine maintenance saves money in the long run.
  • Emergency repairs and replacement can be costly.
  • Scheduled maintenance allows you to plan budgets and resources accordingly.

What is the impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) on facility maintenance?

More and more devices these days are connected to the internet, which means an increasingly complex environment for facilities managers. Complexity aside, the Internet of Things (IoT) offers multiple opportunities for facility maintenance companies to offer better services. This article explains some of the benefits associated with operating a connected facility.

Real-time intelligence

Devices connected via the IoT can send information to a central monitoring system accurately and in real time. This information can be used to:

  • Increase efficiency
  • Boost performance
  • Reduce costs
  • Create more streamlined working practices

Proactive monitoring capabilities

Of course, most facilities are set up with monitoring infrastructure, such as fire alarms. Most fire alarms use a hard-wired system to a monitoring station when there is potential fire danger, triggered by heat build-up or smoke. In an IoT environment, there is scope for more accurate detection. For example, the smoke or detector could alert nearby devices and check for any signs of fire danger in the vicinity, helping emergency responders identify the exact location of the fire or identify a faulty detector.

By detectors collectively monitoring heat levels, emergency responders will have more data on heat level and the spread of a fire. They will also be able to trigger preventative devices accordingly such, as closing automated doors or operating sprinkler systems. Measures such as these minimise collateral damage and danger.

Another example is the use of drones for security, building inspections and simple maintenance tasks.

Data collection and analysis

The more connected devices, the more data! Data can be collected and analysed to benefit of the management of the facility. By using the data to identify patterns and inefficiencies, the facility manager is able to make informed changes and decisions to create a more cost-effective and productive facility.

Connected for convenience

It’s not long before a large variety of devices will be connected to each other. The Internet of Things poses a number of exciting opportunities for facilities managers, who should keep a close eye on these developments.

Call in the facility maintenance experts

The team of experienced technicians and engineers at Smarter Business are here to ensure that all your business’s compliance, installation, and maintenance needs are taken care of. Contact us today to find out more about how we can take facility maintenance off your ‘to-do’ list: Contact Us

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