Every facility requires ongoing maintenance to remain safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. That said, the frequency and type of maintenance required varies from one facility to the next. Moreover, facility managers must consider what this maintenance will cost both in the short- and long-term. Determining these costs and finding the funds for them is a challenge, but one that can’t be avoided. With that in mind, here’s our advice on how to strategically budget for facility maintenance and repairs.
The first step to crafting a workable facility maintenance budget is getting a grip on your building’s condition and needs. Many of your assets will require regular or periodic maintenance – these represent known or fixed costs, making them relatively easy to calculate when budgeting. If, for instance, you hire power washing services to clean your building’s exterior twice a year, you’ll know what to expect (for the most part) in terms of both scheduling and cost. These recurring maintenance tasks are more widespread and frequent for older buildings, so your facility’s age and conditions must be taken into account as well.
The known costs mentioned above (e.g., power washing, maintenance painting, elevator maintenance, etc.) will make up a significant portion of your facility’s maintenance budget, but you must leave enough room to cover unexpected repairs and replacements. Put simply, your budget must include a contingency fund, so you’re not scrambling for resources in the event of a major malfunction. The exact size of this backup plan can be tricky to calculate. Generally speaking, it’s better to overestimate the funds you’ll need to handle these unknowns – that way, you’ll likely have enough to take care of sudden problems, and you may have money left over to save or spend elsewhere at the end of a given quarter or year.
When estimating both known and unknown maintenance costs for the future, it helps to peek into the past. Every period of time – whether monthly, quarterly, or annually – will feature a fair share of differences, but broader trends are bound to emerge as well. For instance, dig into your records to see what your previous commercial painting projects cost to come up with an average. Likewise, tally up the various unexpected repairs your facility had to endure over the past several years. Taking the time to crunch these numbers based on previous data will give you a strong basis for establishing your next maintenance budget. Of course, the only way to do this is to keep solid records. If you haven’t done a great job of logging previous maintenance and repair costs, it’s never too late to start. You’ll thank yourself down the road for doing so.
A budget is there to be used, but landing under budget is something to celebrate. So, no matter your facility’s maintenance needs, you want to keep costs as low as possible without sacrificing quality of work. As it turns out, the better job you do of maintaining your facility and its assets, the fewer costs you’ll incur in the future. Beyond this general cost-saving measure, it’s imperative to work with maintenance professionals that offer competitive pricing and quality workmanship.
At PAINTech, we’re more than just commercial painting contractors – we build collaborative relationships with our clients to save them time and money in the future.
Our professionals serve a number of commercial and industrial clients throughout Pennsylvania, The Main Line area, Delaware, Maryland, and Northern Virginia areas, working to make their facilities safer, more durable, and more inviting to all. Contact us to learn more about all of the services that we offer.
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