Posted by tony on May 15, 2015 in blog
Strata corporations are responsible for upkeep and maintenance of the shared assets they manage. In order to have enough in the reserve fund to pay for the maintenance for the property, a strata should have a proper grasp on the different types of maintenance styles that exist and know when each is appropriate.
Corrective Maintenance
Corrective maintenance is what you need to do when something breaks; it is better known as repairs. When a part of the property has ceased to operate properly, it is necessary to do corrective maintenance.
Some stratas run the property in this manner. This model, called a Run to Fail (RTF) model means that there are no other types of maintenance done on the property. Problems are only addressed as things break.
Using this model has few benefits. There is less work to be done on a regular basis, so this reduces labor costs. It might even reduce the need to have repair staff on site. However, this can lead to neglect of the property. Parts of the property that are left to fail in this manner can also cause damage to secondary systems. Corrective repairs can also be more costly when they need to be taken care of.
Preventative Maintenance
Preventative Maintenance attempts to spread out the costs by planning activities on a regular basis. Assets are regularly inspected, cleaned and have adjustments made to them by knowledgeable staff. Since the maintenance is done on a schedule, assets will be addressed at a specific time, not when some type of event occurs.
This schedule attempts to head off equipment and asset failures by “preventing” the failures before they happen. By doing this secondary costs can also be reduced. A well maintained HVAC system will operate more efficiently and have reduced energy consumption costs than one left to its own devices.
Preventative maintenance can be labor intensive and might require having on site staff to perform the duties. While some failures can be prevented by using this schedule, others will occur regardless of the amount of upkeep that is done. In spite of this, there is a cost savings potential overall when using this plan over corrective maintenance schedules.
Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance attempts to forecast when an asset is going to fail. This is done by monitoring the asset and then using the data that is collected to prevent the failure before it occurs. If indications show that some type of action needs to be taken, say lubrication of an HVAC pump, then that is performed.
Instead of working on a schedule, maintenance is driven by indications given by the equipment. Some complex methods can be used to collect data including automatic and computerized reading of data.
Like the previous methodology, predictive maintenance can also keep equipment operating in a more efficient manner. This method is also less labor intensive than other systems, but carries a more expensive up front cost.
Depreciation reports are a good way get a handle on the condition of your assets and can be used as a tool for maintenance planning. Contact us today!
