Preventative Building Maintenance and Preventative Property Maintenance Sydney
Simply put, Preventative Maintenance is scheduled checks (Programmed Maintenance) done regularly over time.
These checks are essential to ensure your real estate assets can have issues identified and corrected to avoid deterioration and save money in the long run, protecting your valuable real estate, strata, hotel or commercial assets.
Preventative Building Maintenance checks are performed regularly (in a scheduled cycle) from a checklist of assets and equipment, fixtures, appliances and hardware, ensuring the safety and function of facets and the whole of your property.
A lack of Property Maintenance and Preventative Maintenance not performed regularly can severely affect you financially.
Keeping things in good working order and condition ensures a longer life cycle of your building and, always, happier owners and tenants who occupy them.
These property maintenance checks also relate to Commercial Property Maintenance as buildings, factories, and warehouses often need similar Preventative Maintenance Cycles.
There are 6 types of Property Maintenance in the Building Industry we have identified and utilise in our WPBS Services systems.
All these following maintenance systems are common practice in various industries:
- Condition Based Maintenance
- Corrective Maintenance
- Reactive Maintenance (also known as Break-Down Maintenance)
- Preventative Maintenance (also known as Proactive Maintenance)
- Risk-Based Maintenance
- Predictive Maintenance
All of the above come into play at one time or another in a buildings life cycle and the property management of residential, commercial and industrial buildings (including factories).
1. Condition Based Maintenance Sydney
The first two relate to works in response to inspections, i.e., Condition Based Maintenance, and the finding of faults in response to tenants or managers noticing defects and issues at sites. While we are on jobs, we can also diagnose issues and predict failures and things in need of attention, in the near or far future.
To some extent, Predictive Maintenance loosely falls into this category as it can be performed during a routine inspection (see the explanation below).
These inspections often result in building maintenance and do not necessarily fall into the preventative maintenance category as faults and things in need of repair are already found present, not having been anticipated.
2. Corrective Maintenance Sydney
When a property manager sends us to a job we are usually performing Corrective Maintenance, that is maintenance tasks where we need to identify, isolate and rectify problems. For example, a water leak in a wall and/or a ceiling.
Corrective Maintenance aims to restore something to an operational or functional condition.
An example of this would be a flip mixer set that needs replacing or a showerhead being replaced, as another example.
Often when we are fixing a leak, our plumbers perform tests on pressure and plumbing services where they may need to adjust or replace parts or plumbing.
This, then, specifically, can move into a Preventative Maintenance area as we do not want this particular issue or fault to occur again. We need to STOP it occurring. Therefore this is Preventative Maintenance as well in the job’s timeline.
3. Reactive Maintenance Sydney
The third, Reactive Maintenance, can apply to air conditioners that have broken down or water heaters that no longer work. An oven, IXL light or a ceiling exhaust fan in the bathroom, are other examples. These problems with a property fall into Reactive Maintenance. As we have stated above, this is also sometimes called Break-Down Maintenance.
The asset is already offline, broken, damaged or has failed and needs to be fixed or sometimes replaced to restore or reinstate it to its original condition or to regain the full function is provided at the property.
A dishwasher that needs replacing is an example; a new dishwasher means an automated process to wash the dishes, hence, regaining the ability or function to wash dishes automatically, not manually.
4. Preventative Maintenance Sydney
Preventative Maintenance (or Preventive Maintenance) includes a series of inspections scheduled in a cycle, regularly recurring, to find potential issues that can be anticipated and prevented over time.
Examples of Preventative Maintenance are:
- sliding balcony wheels wear and tear
- wall and ceiling paint peeling or discolouring over time
- carpets are worn and torn over time (has a life expectancy of approximately 10 years)
- Flexi-hoses (which should be replaced every 5 years)
- door locks not closing properly or aligning to be shut safely
- window locks not functioning and locking properly
- sliding window wheels wear out over time also
- door closers where the spring inside needs readjusting over time as constant use sees the spring beginning to be misaligned and the door will get stuck more often
- wheels in sliding wardrobe doors are regular wear and tear items as they are used almost daily
- shower screens (if frameless) the hinges always need adjusting as the shower screen moves with the expansion and contraction of the building
- semi frameless sliding shower screens have wheels which need to replaced every 1-2 years, depending on the frequency of use
- range-hood filters (even though these are the direct responsibility of the tenant they often fail to do this) should be added to a Preventative Maintenance Schedule depending on the frequency of use we feel every 3-6 months depending on the frequency of the property inspection the property manager conducts or the Preventative Maintenance Schedule the Preventative Maintenance Company performs.
- We have been directly involved in insurance claims where fires have resulted from the filters being full of fats and oils acting as dangerous accelerants
- stove grill to be maintained and cleaned regularly and made free of fats and oils (again the direct responsibility of the tenant)
- air conditioning filters need cleaning every 3-6 months depending on the frequency of use
- smoke alarms should be checked in a 6-month cycle as best practice
- smoke alarms have a life expectancy of approximately 10 years
- Smoke Alarm FAQ here (Fire and Rescue NSW)
- building Fire Safety for NSW information here (Fire and Rescue NSW)
- exit signs and emergency lighting in common areas that are entry and exit points on strata lots, commercial premises, industrial complexes, need to be checked as part of the fire inspection every 6 or 12 months depending on the fire routine inspection per company
- this may also be relevant to some residential for mixed-use, or residential and commercial premises (i.e. retail at the base of the building and units on top of any number)
- roof gutter cleaning every 3-6 months depending on roof traffic (roof traffic in this respect means the number of trees and the kind of tress immediately surrounding the roof area and how often the trees drop leaves)
- this also is a preventative measure as you are already up on the roof and can check for any broken roof tiles or if roof sheeting has failed or if there are any loose or missing screws or roof flashing not secured or incorrectly installed
Over time, buildings move with expansion and contraction. As this is a natural part of a building’s aging process, a Preventative Maintenance Cycle of checks needs to be put together to ensure that everything is in good working condition or is ‘made good‘ by finding issues during regular checks.
Mentioned in the next point, Preventative Maintenance involves scheduling anticipating potential danger to persons or property is Risk-Based Maintenance. This should be a crucial element of your Preventative Maintenance Plan.
5. Risk-Based Maintenance Sydney
Fifth, we have Risk-Based Maintenance. Risk-Based Maintenance goes hand in hand with Preventative Maintenance Schedules. This system prioritises those things in your property that carries the most risk to safety or occupancy or structural integrity, etc.
Risk-Based Maintenance helps define a systematic approach to Preventative Maintenance. It helps control the budget and tends to the most crucial things first in the cycle and helps you predict where your spending will be more concentrated, allowing you to forecast and financial plan to your budget to manage to spend now and in the future.
Examples of Risk-Based Maintenance are servicing fire alarms in a cycle, ensuring basement sump pumps are in working order to avoid flooding of lower basement levels during storm surges and heavy rains and also ensuring fire control systems are working order, etc.
Specifically for Building Maintenance in our area of trades, examples of Risk-Based Building Maintenance would be:
- Structural walls with failing structural integrity posing a significant threat to persons and premises
- Ceilings in danger of collapsing through water leaks
- Dangerous electrical faults (for example, exposed wires, broken and cracked power points and light switches which need replacing immediately to avoid serious injury or death)
- Faulty appliances which could pose an electrocution threat
- Water leaking into light fittings from the above unit or broken roof tiles if on the top floor or if this is a house, the same applies
- in this instance, it is imperative that power is isolated and switched off before any tradesman commences works
- Gutters not being cleaned because water overflows and can potentially penetrate the roof space and into rooms with the possibility of causing extensive damage
- Breaking occurrences where the front door no longer secures the property
- temporary make-safe solutions can be boarding up the door opening or installing a temporary door until the proper door replacement is done as soon as possible
6. Predictive Maintenance Sydney
Predictive Maintenance is often performed as a consequence of, or hand in hand with, all the maintenance systems mentioned above.
Checks are performed regularly as part of a Property Manager’s, Strata Manager’s and Asset Manager’s job.
Whether a discovery in a routine real estate property inspection, a new fault notified by an owner/tenant with a real estate or strata, or issues found during routine Preventative Maintenance checks in a hotel or commercial operation by Operations Managers, Asset Managers and staff, all performing visual and physical checks on-premises, potential ongoing issues or new issues can be identified and ‘predicted’ as a ‘probable’ issue developing in time.
Often Property Managers and Operations Managers cannot comprehensively identify faults, issues or problems as they do not have adequate building maintenance training.
Here are two great articles with case studies outlining the benefits of predictive maintenance, including predictive maintenance for commercial enterprises by Australians:
- Predictive building maintenance saves costs, time.
- Why predictive maintenance is a game-changer for commercial properties
It is the role of a Professional Preventative Maintenance Company to determine the condition of buildings, fixtures, appliances, etc. and then set estimates when they may fail or be at the end of their life cycle and need replacing; hence the ‘Predictive’ or forecasting element in this system of maintenance, i.e., Predictive Maintenance.
These checks comprise the backbone of a Preventative Maintenance Plan, Checklist and Schedule.
WPBS Services Has A Comprehensive and Tailored Property Maintenance Management System
WPBS Services is a Preventative Maintenance Company in Sydney and has a Comprehensive Property Maintenance Management System including regular Preventative Maintenance Checklists. We have the ability to manage the whole process for you so you can focus on the things that are important in your days, weeks and months.
- We create the Preventative Maintenance Schedules for you and manage all Reactive Property Maintenance and repairs for your building or buildings on one site or across multiple sites
- Our Programmed Maintenance supports all Managers across Real Estate, Stratas, Hotels, Commercial and Industrial clients
- We schedule and coordinate regular Preventative Maintenance Inspections on behalf of all Managers with our expert team
- We quote, seek approval and carry out repairs as part of our Reactive Maintenance resulting from issues found during Scheduled Preventative Maintenance Checks
Our Programmed Property Maintenance is planned to meet your specific requirements, whether you have one site or multiple sites.
We work closely with you to ensure the plan is comprehensive & happens regularly, usually every 3-6 months or 12 months depending on the age of the building.
We will develop a set of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for evaluation and tracking with all Corrective Maintenance and Reactive Maintenance repairs included.
How A Preventative Maintenance Cycle Managed By WPBS Services Helps You
- You will always know when we are going to be onsite, when the inspections are due and when they are carried out
- You will receive reports and notifications of issues found to be actioned/approved
- We will provide photos and clear reports stating the issue/s, the diagnosis and recommended actions for correction of any found issues (Corrective Maintenance and Reactive Maintenance)
- Our process is entirely transparent and you remain informed during the whole process however we manage everything in the process for you to reduce your workload and stress
- No matter how many sites we manage for you, our industry software will always show you our Scheduled Preventative Maintenance Cycle and you will always be reminded when it is due
Property Maintenance and Preventative Maintenance for Hotels, Real Estates, Stratas and Commercial Businesses By Westpoint Building Services
- You can read more about our specific building maintenance services in Sydney for Hotel Maintenance in Sydney here.
- You can read more about our specific building maintenance services in Sydney for Real Estate Property Maintenance, Strata Property Maintenance and Commercial Property Maintenance here.
- You may also enjoy reading our Sydney Building Maintenance and Sydney Property Maintenance articles here.