Facility Maintenance – What Is it and Why Is it Important?

There are three types of building maintenance classifications to choose from, depending on the type of building and its function. While industrial maintenance refers to the maintenance of manufacturing establishments, property maintenance deals with residential buildings.

Facility maintenance on the other hand refers to the maintenance of commercial buildings and goes beyond mere everyday operations or maintenance tasks, rather it encompasses the entire gamut of activities that keeps a building running efficiently on a day-to-day basis.

Facility maintenance managers such as Galaxy City considers all aspects of the business and will include internal and external personnel and look into maintenance inside, outside and around the building, to ensure every aspect of the building’s infrastructure is up to the mark to facilitate the optimal running of the business.

The primary task of a facility manager and his technical staff is to make sure that the building is clean, everything is in working order and it is a safe place to work for employees. A facility manager will liaise with janitorial staff, run periodic checks on security systems and equipment such as fire extinguishers and attend to the service of equipment.

Large businesses or organizations that occupy large commercial spaces like hospitals, schools and offices usually hire the services of a dedicated facilities manager. Outsourcing the responsibility has multiple benefits among which is the smooth functioning of the business without technical or infrastructural glitches resulting in downtime that in turn can impact revenue generation.

While large organisations employ dedicated facilities maintenance companies, medium to small organisations don’t. Instead, they ask someone within the organisation to look into maintenance in addition to another role they are responsible for. While this can be problematic in terms of time and resource management for the employee, it can also mean that they will not be able to effectively manage the maintenance of the building. Facility managers on the other hand will work with several internal employees and third parties to execute their tasks.

The importance of hiring a dedicated manager lies in the fact that an organisation’s physical infrastructure and operations support its business output in no small measure. A well-run workplace is an efficient and effective workplace. A facilities maintenance manager looks into the business’ operational aspects to ensure a safe, comfortable and efficient work environment for all employees, clients/customers, visitors and third-party workers like the janitorial staff. The second area a facilities manager looks into is the management of overheads to support a company’s business goals and objectives, be they revenue targets or KPIs.

Facility management usually goes unnoticed when everything is working smoothly and going according to plan, it is when there is a breakdown in the process that the importance of the facility manager is highlighted. It is this unnoticed smooth flow of the work environment, that facility managers strive to maintain and manage, that facilitates an efficient workplace. Hiring the services of a facilities maintenance manager is therefore well worth the time and cost.