Cost-Effective Plan for Commercial Property Maintenance

What is commercial property maintenance?

Commercial property maintenance covers all the tasks and services required to keep your property functional and in excellent condition. Consistent upkeep and maintenance keeps your property safe, professional and valuable in the market.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; with a comprehensive maintenance plan and management of upkeep, you can reduce the risk of safety issues, emergency repairs and ongoing damages. Commercial properties can see high-traffic, varied clients and serious investment. You want to cover all your bases, especially if you’re considering an investment in a commercial property.

Types of commercial property maintenance

Not all commercial property maintenance is the same, so that an effective maintenance system will account for the various kinds of upkeep required for any property. Any asset requires a dedicated management system to ensure ongoing value and profitability.

Each type of commercial property maintenance covers a particular scope and intention, but an owner or manager must understand the unique set of circumstances of your property. This doesn’t mean you’re on your own to create a new commercial property maintenance schedule. All properties share necessary requirements, and your plan must cover all facets to keep your property in excellent condition.

How can you decide what level of maintenance your commercial property requires, in addition to the costs, frequency and scope? Needs will change depending on the kind of property you manage/own!

Some key questions to ask:

• What area does it service, and how is it used?
• What kind of tenants do you have?
• How does your building appear? (Windows, gardens, lobbies etc.)
• Where are the high-traffic areas?
• What are the safety concerns?

These answers and understanding of your commercial investment will enhance your property maintenance plan and response to reports and condition concerns.

Preventative Maintenance

These include safety inspections and scheduled servicing for essential services, such as HVAC, fire alarms, electrical systems and plumbing. Failure of any of these systems can be a costly drain on your budget and interrupt your property's day-to-day function.

Preventative maintenance is designed to reduce the risk of these issues occurring. Inspections and services can catch system changes and replace components before they become costly problems.

Corrective Maintenance

Corrective maintenance is the most variable type, as it addresses immediate issues that interrupt the function and safety of your commercial property.

Variation is not a word anyone wants to hear, as it represents risk and unpredictable problems. The frequency of corrective maintenance boils down to ‘when it’s needed.’ This can be a few times a year or every two weeks. It also has varied costs: sometimes low, sometimes high.

Even issues such as small leaks require attention; an unaddressed leak can balloon from an annoyance to an expensive problem.

Predictive Maintenance

Corrective maintenance can be costly, and as predictive maintenance tools continue to develop, investments in technology can benefit commercial property maintenance.

Predictive maintenance uses data from previous issues and repairs to predict when systems may fail. This includes early warning signs of issues or alerts when circumstances could cause a problem. These data models develop over time and rely on historical data and sensors in equipment, such as HVAC and plumbing systems.

How does this differ from preventative maintenance? Predictive maintenance shares historical data with preventative maintenance and, in addition, uses sensor equipment to provide real-time feedback about a system. These sensors are designed to detect and measure what human technicians can’t and can catch changes as soon as they occur.

Routine Maintenance

Routine commercial property maintenance is the work necessary to keep your property running smoothly each day. It includes tasks focused on the general upkeep of your commercial property, such as landscaping, window cleaning, sweeping, mopping, garbage disposal, and basic plumbing and electrical work.

These are consistent, ongoing costs that ensure your commercial property is in excellent condition and functions smoothly. Depending on the task, these jobs can be done daily, weekly or bi-weekly.

Commercial property maintenance costs

Investing in commercial property means you want your costs lean without sacrificing the benefit of consistent upkeep.

Some costs are consistent and easily tracked/budgeted, while others are variable and unpredictable. Understanding these expenses and reducing the risk of high, sudden costs is essential to keeping your maintenance lean and balanced.

• Preventive maintenance costs

These costs are typically consistent as they cover scheduled and regular maintenance/servicing from technicians. Depending on the system and your contracts, these costs can be monthly or quarterly.

• Corrective maintenance costs

Corrective maintenance costs are highly variable. They can range from low, like leak repair, to high, like large-scale mold removal.

The volatility of corrective maintenance costs is why preventative and routine maintenance is essential for a healthy investment.

• Utility costs

Your commercial property can’t function without essential utilities! Consistent utility services affect the day-to-day functioning of your property, and interruptions can impact your regular revenue.

• Administrative costs

Keeping track of your commercial property maintenance and relevant schedules is a job in itself and requires the use of software, systems, and dedicated management. Admin costs can cover a manager and assistant(s) to handle maintenance management, ongoing fees for software and tenant liaising staff for reports/complaints.

• Lost revenue

The flip side of commercial property maintenance is failure to address maintenance issues and requirements. Poorly managed or implemented maintenance can lead to revenue loss from commercial clients and customers, further damaging your ability to maintain your property and retain/increase its value.

5 Tools for Commercial Property Maintenance

Managing a commercial property isn’t easy. Balancing investment returns, building value, and tenant needs can sometimes be too much for one’s plate.

From the needs of commercial property managers and owners, tools and software have emerged designed to tackle the unique needs of your property. These tools can streamline clunky processes, boost contractor management and shave off your commercial property maintenance budget without sacrificing effectiveness.

Property management software

If you own/manage a single property or multiple, tailor-made software can streamline the efficiency of all management aspects, including commercial property maintenance. With management software, commercial property admin and everything else is condensed into one centralized app.

Building automation systems

Building automation systems (BAS), also known as building management systems or building energy management systems, are centralized management systems that your commercial property can use to automate essential systems throughout the building.

Automation of climate, electrical, lighting and security systems can streamline many processes throughout your commercial property, increasing the efficiency of your current setup and reducing energy consumption.

Work order management software

Effectively managing commercial property maintenance requires the services of in-house or contracted maintenance and repair teams. No matter the size of your property, implementing work order management software ensures you and your employees can notify, communicate and organize maintenance work.

With work order management software, you can manage your current maintenance needs and respond rapidly and effectively to corrective maintenance needs and immediate issues.

Inspection and compliance tools

Consistent routine and preventative maintenance will reduce the risk of emergencies and interruptions to building functions. Compliance tools found in management software can remind your management team of overdue services, provide schedules for necessary inspections and be an all-in-one reports and documents manager for open, pending and completed maintenance.

Mobile maintenance apps

Access all necessary software and tools from your phone with mobile maintenance apps designed to handle management essentials. Simpro’s Maintenance Planner is the perfect example, with features designed to seamlessly manage maintenance services, add essential data and provide robust reporting.

Thanks to the power of these apps, you can streamline your commercial property maintenance from any device, reduce downtime and keep essential functions running.

Manage commercial property maintenance at scale with Simpro

Effective commercial property maintenance is essential for the continued value of your property and the day-to-day functions that bring in revenue. Are you managing a small commercial property or want to invest in the market?

You’ll need the right tools to assist with all property management and commercial property maintenance levels—software that scales with your business, number of properties and service agreements. Simpro is here to streamline your operations and stressful admin.

Try a Simpro demo and discover how we can boost your business!