Understanding Facility Maintenance, Importance and Function
Facility maintenance keeps a building and its systems safe, working and efficient. Learn its main functions, why it matters and what good software adds.
Key takeaways
- Facility maintenance keeps people safe, extends equipment life and lowers costs by fixing small problems before they turn into failures.
- Preventive maintenance means scheduled inspections, adjustments, cleaning and part replacements for HVAC, plumbing, electrical and structural systems.
- Plan some tasks by season, such as inspecting the roof before winter to avoid leaks from ice dams or heavy snow.
- Facility maintenance software brings work orders, equipment records, preventive maintenance schedules and reports into one place.
On this page
Facility maintenance is all the work that keeps a building and its systems safe, working and efficient: routine upkeep, preventive maintenance, repairs and planning for replacements. It matters because it protects the people inside, extends the life of your equipment and keeps costs down, since small problems get fixed before they turn into breakdowns, fines or closures.
As a facilities manager, you’re constantly juggling routine maintenance, repairs and upgrades to keep everything running smoothly. This article covers what facility maintenance includes, its main functions, and how digital task management and facility maintenance software help you keep up.
Understanding Facility Maintenance
Facility maintenance covers all the tasks needed to keep a building and its systems running smoothly. It’s crucial because proper upkeep keeps everyone inside safe, helps your equipment last longer and reduces overall costs.
Definition and Scope
There’s more to facility maintenance than meets the eye. It keeps operations running smoothly and extends the life of buildings and equipment. Facility maintenance teams often use software to manage work orders, track assets, schedule preventive maintenance and monitor overall performance.
Staying on top of these tasks keeps your facilities well maintained and working at full capacity. Within the scope of facility maintenance, several key areas need attention:
- Preventive maintenance: Regularly scheduled inspections and upkeep of all the systems in a building, including HVAC systems, electrical components, plumbing fixtures and structural elements.
- Reactive maintenance: Dealing with issues as they come up, to keep downtime short and the facility productive.
- Asset management: Tracking each piece of equipment from purchase to disposal, so you spend wisely and keep costs down.
Types of Facility Maintenance
Most maintenance work falls into one of four types. Knowing which is which helps you decide what to schedule, what to budget for and what can wait.
| Type | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Preventive | Scheduled inspections, cleaning and servicing before anything breaks | Servicing HVAC units and changing filters on a set schedule |
| Corrective | Fixing a problem found during an inspection or reported by staff | Replacing a worn door closer spotted on a walkthrough |
| Emergency | Urgent repairs when something fails and affects safety or operations | A burst pipe or a power failure |
| Deferred | Work that is postponed on purpose, usually for budget reasons | Repainting that is pushed to next year |
A healthy facility does most of its work in the preventive column. The more you rely on emergency repairs, the more you pay in downtime and rush fees.
Importance of Facility Maintenance
Inspecting regularly and repairing problems early minimizes the risk of costly downtime from unexpected failures. Following building and safety codes also keeps your facility in good standing with local authorities, so you avoid fines and penalties that could hurt your business.
To reach this level of maintenance, build a complete plan that covers every part of your facility, from HVAC systems and plumbing to landscaping and pest control. That takes strong organizational skills and an understanding of the specific needs of each area of your property.
Functions of Facility Maintenance
To run a well-maintained facility, you need to understand its two primary functions: routine maintenance and preventive maintenance. A water heater preventive maintenance checklist is a good example of what the second one looks like for a single system.
Let’s look at each of these and how they contribute to the overall success of your operations.
Routine Maintenance
Routine maintenance keeps your facility’s systems and equipment working efficiently for longer. It saves you time and money in the long run and keeps everything running smoothly for occupants and staff.
Regular inspections, cleaning and servicing of HVAC systems, plumbing, electrical components, lighting fixtures and other essential elements help prevent costly breakdowns and failures.
To get routine maintenance right, write a preventive plan that sets out how often each task happens and the steps involved. That may mean using a facility manager checklist during inspections, or booking regular service visits with professionals who specialize in specific systems.
Don’t forget seasonal work. Some maintenance tasks are best done at certain times of the year. For example, inspecting roofs before winter can save you from leaks caused by ice dams or heavy snow.
Preventive Maintenance
Being proactive with preventive maintenance saves time and money and keeps your building running smoothly and safely for everyone inside.
Preventive maintenance means regularly scheduled inspections, adjustments, cleaning and replacements that keep your facility’s equipment running efficiently. It helps you find potential issues before they turn into costly breakdowns or, even worse, accidents that cause injuries or property damage.
With a well-planned preventive maintenance schedule, you can:
- Minimize downtime
- Extend the lifespan of your assets
- Reduce energy consumption
- Provide a safe environment for occupants
Transition to Digital: The Rise of Facility Maintenance Software
As you manage the upkeep of your facilities, have you considered facility maintenance software? It brings work orders, inventory and preventive maintenance schedules together in one organized system.
What is Facility Maintenance Software?
Facility maintenance software makes it much easier to manage buildings, equipment and assets so they perform well and last longer. It lets you schedule preventive maintenance tasks, track work orders, manage supplies and produce detailed reports on the overall condition of your facilities. Automating many of these processes reduces human error and makes your operation more efficient.
A well-designed tool should be easy to use and offer options that fit your industry. Here’s a simple table of the essential components to look for:
| Feature | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Preventive Maintenance Scheduling | Automate routine tasks to reduce downtime and extend asset life |
| Work Order Management | Efficiently track progress on repairs and maintenance requests. |
| Inventory Management | Monitor stock levels to avoid running out of critical supplies. |
| Reporting & Analytics | Gain insights into trends to identify areas for improvement or potential cost savings. |
With facility maintenance software that includes these features (and more), you’ll be well equipped to manage your facilities effectively while keeping costs down and productivity up.
Key Features and Benefits
Now that you have a basic understanding of facility maintenance software, let’s look at the features and benefits that make it such a useful tool.
These systems help you organize maintenance tasks, improve communication and save time and money.
One of the main features is the ability to set preventive maintenance to repeat automatically, a core part of any maintenance scheduling software. That keeps your equipment in top condition, prevents costly breakdowns and reduces downtime.
These programs can also produce detailed reports on asset performance, so you can spot trends and make informed decisions about repairs or replacements.
A central system also simplifies work order management. Technicians can find the information they need quickly, get notified about new tasks and update job statuses as the work happens.
Another benefit is better control of spare parts. When you track how parts are used, you’re far less likely to run out of a crucial component when you need it most.
What to Look For in Facility Maintenance Management Software
The right facility maintenance management software organizes your maintenance work and helps your whole operation run more efficiently. Here’s what to expect from a complete system, and the benefits it brings.
Features Overview
A complete facility maintenance management software should give you the tools to organize your maintenance work and show you clearly what needs attention. Look for:
- Work order management, with priorities, due dates and a clear status for each job
- A record for each piece of equipment, with its service history and warranty
- Preventive maintenance schedules
- Reports you can share or export
Having all of this in one place lets you follow each asset through its life cycle, cut downtime and extend its useful life. One feature you’ll find especially helpful is setting a preventive maintenance schedule for each piece of equipment, such as every few weeks or on a set day of the month. Critical equipment then gets the proper care before problems arise, which saves you time and money on repairs.
A good dashboard also shows key performance indicators (KPIs) such as open and completed work orders and overdue maintenance, so you see your facility’s overall performance at a glance. As you get comfortable with these tools, your operations run more smoothly, and you’ll feel more confident handling whatever challenges a busy facility throws at you.
Operational Benefits
You’ll quickly see the operational benefits of facility maintenance management software, as your daily tasks become far more organized and productive.
Gone are the days of scrambling for information on equipment repairs or trying to remember when you last serviced an asset. With an organized, central system, you can pull up detailed records and history for each piece of equipment. That helps you make informed repair-or-replace decisions and keeps every component performing well.
Live updates on work orders show who is working on what, so you can plan effectively and put resources where they’re needed most. You also free up your team’s time when preventive maintenance repeats on its own schedule and a work order can be raised straight from the piece of equipment that needs fixing. Your team can then focus on bigger projects with confidence.
Conclusion
Facility maintenance plays a big role in keeping your property running smoothly. When you understand its importance and functions, you’re better equipped to protect your building, your people and your budget.
MaintainIQ’s facility maintenance software is built for operators who run restaurants, stores, hotels and other sites. It covers work orders, preventive maintenance by equipment, vendor and warranty records, and a dashboard that shows every location in one view, on the web and on iPhone, iPad and Android devices.
Helpful Resources
- Facility management, Wikipedia
- Facility Focus on Equipment Maintenance, Buildings.com
- The Facility Management Perspective, ISSA
- The Future of Facility Maintenance, Trends and Challenges, Facility Executive
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the concept of facility maintenance?
Facility maintenance is the upkeep of a building, its equipment and its infrastructure so everything stays safe, working and efficient. It includes preventive maintenance, corrective repairs and emergency repairs.
What are the types of facility maintenance?
The main types of facility maintenance are preventive, corrective, emergency and deferred maintenance. Each one covers a different need, from scheduled upkeep to urgent fixes.
What is the main goal of facility maintenance?
The main goal of facility maintenance is to keep a safe, efficient and comfortable environment for the people using the building, while getting the longest possible life out of equipment and infrastructure.
What are the key concepts of facility management?
Key concepts of facility management include strategic planning, space and asset management, health and safety, environmental sustainability and resource allocation.
What is the difference between facilities management and facilities maintenance?
Facilities management covers the overall running of a building, including operations and maintenance. Facilities maintenance refers specifically to the upkeep of the building and its equipment.