As we start making plans for the new year it is just as important to set goals and objectives not only in your personal life but in your professional life as well. Let’s see what happens to two different people in the building maintenance business and the decisions they make.
Two building engineers are walking down the street when they each decide they are hungry. The first engineer (we’ll call him Scott) is a seasoned senior building engineer having several decades of experience. The second engineer (let’s call him Bob) is a maintenance supervisor also having considerable experience.
They stop at two restaurants across the street from one another. Scott notices the casual dining family restaurant with a sign offering a 1/2 pound all beef patty bacon cheeseburger special for $9.99, and realizing the value and quality, steps inside. Bob, on the other hand, sees the gourmet burger restaurant on the other side of the street offering the same 1/2 pound all beef patty for $6.49 and decides it must be a better value for the price. Besides, it is a “gourmet” Burger, and it must be better, so he decides to go in. The casual dining restaurant offer is all inclusive, the gourmet Burger restaurant features an a la carte menu. Both of our building engineers have similar tastes and order identical burgers.
In the end, Scott pays $9.99 for his bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms and full condiments with a side order of French fries, adding a 20-ounce soda for $1, and after leaving a 20% tip his total bill came to $13.19. Bob selects the beef patty for $6.49, then pays extra for two cheese slices, strips of bacon, grilled mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mustard and ketchup, adding a side of French fries for $2.49 and a 20-ounce soda for $3.99. After leaving a 20% tip, his total bill comes to $22.16 for the identical meal.
The same analogy can be applied when selecting a preventive maintenance program for your building’s mechanical equipment. Understanding the value of not only a preventive maintenance program for your mechanical systems, but also for your roofing and building envelope systems, parking lots and most aspects of your daily building operations can never be understated. Most importantly, remember that you get what you pay for and just because the price may look good doesn’t mean it presents any actual value.
A proper maintenance program cost should reflect the appropriate services the vendor provides to properly run building mechanical equipment effectively and efficiently in order achieve not only the equipment’s life cycle expectancy but to lower operating expenses as well. Always compare the services you select against the manufacturer’s and BOMA’s standards and recommendations. Cutting costs and scaling down services may possibly almost halve the life expectancy of your equipment with higher operating costs along the way.
In our world, the value of being proactive versus reactive may sometimes have to be explained to a building owner as making more economic sense. The key is always quality service, however, looking at the example of the burger, above, a higher price for services doesn’t always correlate to better services so it is important to compare the performance of your service providers, not only against references from others, but also based on your own personal experience and instincts. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
With the start of this new year, remember ethics and integrity are important in all aspects on every level in our property management industry. And if the customer or the organization one works for doesn’t understand, be responsible and teach them. As true professionals this is not only our obligation but the right thing to do.