I’ve lived in New England for the majority of my life. Known for its beautiful fall foliage, cold snowy winters, wet green springs (and the pollen that comes with it), and, of course, hot (often muggy) summer months. Just as we clean up leaves in November, another seasonal chore is the two times a year I get to lug my window air conditioners up and down from my basement at the beginning and end of summer. I follow a very specific process when installing and again when I am putting them away at the end of the summer.  I follow these specific steps/tasks for a few reasons…

  1. I try to streamline the chore as much as possible. Any time I cut out of chores equals more time to play baseball with my kids!
  2. I want to know exactly where parts and hardware are kept/stored so I don’t need to scramble for brackets and screws or jerry-rig my air conditioners into my window (look out below!!!).
  3. I like to know that when I install the air conditioners at the beginning of the summer I don’t need to worry about cleaning the air filter or any other maintenance (because I cleaned them when I put them away at the end of last summer). I can install it, plug it in, and then bask in the coolness knowing the air conditioner is operating at its best.

It’s about efficiency, consistency and process, which turns into saved time, less stress and fewer trips to my neighborhood hardware store to buy parts, or worse, a replacement air conditioner.

That’s my personal preventive maintenance process, and it turns out our clients at Building Engines from all industries (Commercial Office, Retail, Medical Office, Industrial, Long Term Care and Residential) have been using our preventive maintenance software very effectively to keep their building equipment running longer and more efficiently.

Our software allows us to look behind the scenes into the data, showing how our clients are utilizing our preventive maintenance system. Here are some takeaways from a month’s worth of preventive maintenance data and a great indication of our clients getting the most out of our software, saving time, money and equipment along the way.

  • The higher the volume of equipment, the more important the completion rate – with higher results (well over 90% completion rate in the Residential and Long Term Care industries).
  • The volume of fired preventive maintenance tasks is directly related to the higher completion rates by industry.
  • Best-in-class Commercial Office organizations have an average completion rate of over 75%.

I incorporate my own preventive maintenance plan at my house to save time and money (albeit on a small scale). Just imagine the time and money saved, along with the improved tenant satisfaction, for best-in-class organizations that utilize all the elements of Building Engines’ preventive maintenance software!