Essential guide for office and lab building management 

Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) is a proactive commercial property management strategy that schedules regular Electrical, Plumbing, Gas and Air Conditioning and Ventilation maintenance to prevent equipment failures, aiming to reduce reactive maintenance costs and extend asset longevity. PPM’s also enable companies, landlords and letting agents to demonstrate legal compliance with regards to fire, electrical and gas safety, among the many statutory safety checks that are required by law. 

Investing in a PPM contract will prevent problems with fire safety, mechanical and electrical assets from occurring in the first place, or at least identify them early so they can be fixed before they cause damage or become expensive to repair. A maintenance schedule is there to combat issues such as ageing and dangerous equipment, unplanned downtime, and unexpected maintenance costs. 

What is a PPM schedule?

PPM maintenance services will form part of an annual PPM schedule to illustrate condition, defects and costs. This data will have come from various site visits and will include information regarding routine inspections, testing of electrics etc, on a regular basis by specially-trained engineers and technicians.  

This annual maintenance service and resulting PPM schedule will enable a business to review the current condition of their real estate assets, enabling them to plan necessary sustainable investments to ensure each element of their building performs as intended, now and in the future. 

Who are PPM’s managed by in a business?

For large offices and labs, this is often managed by a facilities manager or a facilities management team, who will manage the annual contract, organising the many specialists and sub-contractors required for fire safety and electrical testing. 

Smaller offices and commercial properties often don’t have dedicated facilities or buildings managers, so the management of a PPM schedule may sit with an office or operations manager within the business. PPM contracts are often outsourced to expert maintenance companies, to ensure smooth running and continued quality service in line with legal compliance. Outsourcing not only saves time, but ensures maximum availability of specialists for when companies need it. 

What does a PPM contract include?

All PPM contracts are tailored to a business’s specific needs, based on their size, assets and specific legal requirements if they operate in an industry such as life sciences or the technology sector.

To give you an idea, here are some of the aspects a PPM contract might include: 

1. Routine Mechanical and Electrical Maintenance:

This includes statutory maintenance to comply with building and health and safety regulations. For example: 

• Gas Services Management – Boiler and Heating Systems Certification 
• Fire Safety & Security (Fire risk assessments and weekly testing plus bi-annual servicing of fire alarms, smoke dampers, fire dampers etc)
• Testing & Inspection of Electrical Systems e.g. Emergency Lighting certification (annual 3 hour soak test and monthly flick tests) and CCTV inspection (intruder alarms, access control)
• Management and Treatment of Water Systems e.g. L8 risk assessment (Hot and Cold Water Safety, Legionella Testing and Inspection)
• Management of Pressure & Aircon Refrigeration Systems e.g. Air Conditioning TM44 Inspection
• Air source Heat Pumps installation and maintenance
• Lifting Equipment 
• Maintenance (temperature checks, flushing outlets, weekly tests)
• Portable (PAT) and Fixed Appliance Testing
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (TM44 checking building every 5 years) – annual tests, distribution board checks (electrics)
• Lightning Conductor Inspection and Testing
• Asbestos Risk Assessment
• Lift Inspections- servicing and lifting operating and lifting equipment regulations) (LOLA) 

2. F-Gas Compliance

For heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, compliance includes: 

• Maintaining an on-site F-gas register/log book.
• Labelling condenser units with gas type, quantity, Global Warming Potential (GWP), and CO2 tonnage.
• Proper documentation of refrigerant movement  

3. Emergency breakdowns 

PPM contracts can save you thousands on Emergency call outs for breakdowns relating to mechanical and electrical components including air-conditioning, plumbing etc. However on an agreed SLA basis you can also benefit from Emergency breakdown cover, as issues can still arise, which will be tailored to your needs as a business. 

4. General Building Maintenance

Some companies will have a range of trades to support wider ongoing building maintenance which may include: 

• Painters and Decorators
• Small construction works e.g. partition walls, plastering
• General handy man service (1 day a week or half a day a month to keep on top of minor issues) 
• Soft services – gutter cleaning, pest control etc 

The benefits of PPM for your business

Considering the legislative and maintenance services included in a PPM there is no doubt it’s essential for any business to consider. This regular maintenance of commercial properties, consisting of checks, minor component replacements, and non-urgent repairs, prevents larger problems within your building from occurring, saving you money, time and inconvenience for your tenants and/or staff. 

A well-managed PPM schedule will protect not only the value of your building, but also the wellbeing and safety of your staff, and reduce unnecessary expenses from reactive maintenance costs. 

How can we help? 

Here at COEL we offer all the above as part of our PPM Contracts. If you’d like to find out more about what we can support your business with and the price of an annual PPM service contract, please fill in the below: