Residential communities especially Condos DO NOT take advantage of the information and metrics available today in getting control of their maintenance.

Many Property Managers do not fully understand what maintenance is.

It is NOT just fixing something when it is broken

Most Board of Directors DO NOT understand what is required in the maintenance of a community, they just see dollars being spent, not the saving resulting from those expenditures down the road.

Many companies and associations utilize the term Maintenance Manager, Facilities Manager and do not understand and are highly surprised when people apply and request high salaries.

The reason is within the title being proposed, first "manager" what the company or Association is seeking is a maintenance man not a manager, second is the term "Maintenance or Facilities" these are experts in the management and operations of very complex mechanical systems, EMS (energy management systems), ABS (Automated Building systems) this is where specific systems of a property are automated or BAS ( Building Automated Systems) This is where the entire building and all systems are automated. Are you hiring a Brain surgeon to medicate a bruised arm....No of course not, so why hire a $100K per year professional when your seeking a handyman. If your seeking a hire Maintenance professional than advertise for that quality of professional ( try: www.condospecialties.biz), there are many titles for the people and each designates a level of experience. Also do not refer to your custodians or housekeeping staff as maintenance employees, they are cleaning people Yes they maintain the interior or grounds but what is there function....Cleaning NOT repair.

Not only the mechanical systems, but the building itself, as well as the grounds, pools and related systems. These are educated professionals with numerous certifications and years of education.

Any Building or Property can use the services of a professional facilities expert, if you are considering a Preventive Maintenance Program, seeking a reduction in operating expenses, want better control of your maintenance costs, want the repairs completed properly the first time, than go to a qualified professional, just as you select a Doctor for a specific problem select your maintenance professional the same way. ( need assistance try:  www.condospecialties.com)

We have offered the chart below to assist you the Property Management Company or Association to see exactly where your dollars are going and how much is being spent on maintenance and operations. You may be surprised!!!!!

Benchmarking Your Maintenance Cost

Maintenance costs are usually the second largest single expense component for facilities... right behind Utility Costs. For some FM's they are the largest single expense. Facility Managers can have significant impacts on their operating costs by understanding how they are performing relative to others and what opportunities exist to reduce or control maintenance costs. The information you need to benchmark is the:

• Cost of your maintenance activities
• Facility areas normalized by types of space since there are significant differences in maintenance activity based on the function.

Step 1—Maintenance Benchmarking Definitions…

Maintenance Costs:

Building Maintenance is the preventive and remedial upkeep of building components i.e., maintenance work done as a normal part of building maintenance operations.

Standard Costs—Internal and Contracted—Include all costs whether there is a specific "Craft" sub-category listed or not. For most organizations, the sum of line D1 will equal the building maintenance budget.

Exceptional Costs—Internal and Contracted—includes major expenditures that are funded by the maintenance budget. For example, normal roof maintenance and repair would be included in "Standard Costs." However, replacement of a substantial portion of the roof would be included in "Exceptional Costs."

Step 2—How Do I Compare With Others…

Once this information is collected it is easy to normalize the data on a unit cost basis to determine how efficiently your maintenance services are provided. There are several ways to analyze the normalized data and we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Normalized Based on Gross Square Feet

• The median consumption is $1.69/GSF
• Note how consistent the normalized data is for these participants. About 80 percent have reported a cost of between $0.80 / GSF and $3.90 / GSF. There are only a few sites with very low or very high consumption rates.

But that is still quite a spread between the low and high cost sites and suggests there may be a better normalizing factor.

Normalized Based on Factored Gross Square Feet

• Each bar on the chart represents a site's annual maintenance cost on a factored gross square foot (FGSF) basis

• The median cost is $1.23 / FGSF
• Note how consistent the normalized data is for these participants. About 75 percent have reported a maintenance cost of between $0.70 / FGSF and $2.00 / FGSF. There are only a few sites with very low or very high costs and these are usually sites that have just started their benchmarking program.

Especially relevant is how much tighter the spread is between the low and high cost sites… only about $1.30 when normalized against Factored Gross Square Feet (FGSF) vs. a spread of $3.10 when normalized against Gross Square Feet (GSF).

We need to normalize the data against FGSF since the buildings in our study are all different… some include a floor of call center space that operates 24 X 7 while others may have some data center space with the associated high maintenance costs.

Step 3—Using This Information…

You've completed your maintenance data collection and performed the calculations. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself…

• Where do you stand on these charts? Are you above the median or below it?
• Could you explain to management why your positions on the charts is just right or needs to be changed?
• What are some of the reasons that explain your positions on the charts?

Step 4—Some Best Practices…

·  Look at your top non-scheduled, breakdown type, work requests and identify what could be done to reduce them. For example, our benchmarking participants report a significant reduction in the amount of hot and cold calls simply by creating a circulation space around the perimeter.

·  Look for improved technology to reduce your maintenance costs. Many of the same issues that you may evaluate to reduce energy costs also reduce maintenance costs. More efficient lighting, installation of variable frequency drives, installation of energy efficient chillers and high efficiency motors will reduce your costs.

·  Communicate the programs you are implementing with your occupants in a regular and routine way. A facility manager implemented a new building management system that allowed for temperature control from a centralized location. Complaints went up since the users thought no one was responding to their requests. A brown bag lunch program that explained how the system worked and displays in the Facility Management office was the solution to that communication problem.

Participants By Industry Type

Space Metrics

• Space Utilization 430 Gross Square Feet per Occupant
• Cost Metrics
• Utilities $2.17 / GSF
• Custodial $1.33 / Cleanable SF
• Maintenance $1.69 / GSF
• Parking and Paving $1529 / Acre
• Groundskeeping $3405 / Acre
• Security $0.73 / GSF
• Environmental Health and Safety $0.35 / GSF
• Fixed Costs (Includes: Building, pools, Spas, Leasehold Improvements, Furniture/Equipment) $ 3.71 / GSF

Where does your community fit in? ...........or does it!

You can convert this chart to Per UNIT costs a little more difficult initally, however you may find it better when addressing the community.
It is proven many times over that a site specific Preventive Maintenance Program will reduce operating costs, however it is not instant it takes years to see and document the results. A site specific preventive maintenance program is the optimum program, however it is custom build not an off the shelf generic program which is usless in our industry.
Our consulting company has worked with communities and have generated notable saving during the life span of a community, in some cases they have generated saving that have lead to a percentage rebate of association maintenance fees.
Based on the community, size, age, environmental conditions, present maintenance programs ( if any) and the interest and support of the Board we have seen costs like $1100 per unit reduced to a little over $500 per unit over a three to four year program. This is not to say every program will provide these results but there will be a reduction in costs, the goal is not the reduction but to enhance the longivity of the equipment (cost reduction), reduced down time, reduced unforseen failures, planned repair and replacement of major pieces of equipment or systems and more.

Regardless of Who you choose to provide your Preventive Maintenance Program , SSPM (Site Specific Preventive Maintenance) Pays, today, tomorrow and way into the future.