For the vast majority of companies, maintenance is not core business, which begs the question why so many spend copious amounts of man-hours and cash doing it? In truth, most start maintenance out of necessity, assuming it will be easy, but instead discover it becomes a gargantuan, money pit of a task almost without warning.
To find out more, our Head of Energy & Service Julian Thorpe CMVP explains ‘what are the alternatives?’
Well, bureau services are becoming increasingly popular, demonstrating an easy way to manage maintenance in a professional way with good ROI. Moreover, companies can get back to concentrating on core business, redeploying resources to the greater good of the business.
Peace of mind
Implementing an expertly-managed maintenance programme eliminates unforeseen costs and ensures peace of mind. And we all want that, right? Bureau services are tailored to individual needs, operate 365 days a year, support a wide range of BMS front ends, and resolve 99% of issues by telephone/internet. Beyond a reduced/eliminated maintenance burden, there are also likely to be significant energy savings, ensuring that a bureau service contract overwhelmingly pays for itself.
As a further benefit, scheduled maintenance visits see field engineers armed in advance of the tasks that need addressing. This proactive, targeted approach resigns ‘stab in the dark’ maintenance to the history books.
Significant Savings
But how much can actually be saved, I hear you ask? Without further ado, in the case of over 80 cinemas in the Vue cinema chain, £550,000 a year is being saved in prevented callouts by using a bureau service from BG Energy Solutions.
BG also submits weekly reports to all associated maintenance subcontractors and regional managers. Reports are sent even if there are no faults as this instils confidence in a fully operational system.
Aside from maintenance, energy is another bureau-managed service, ensuring that energy is only consumed when necessary and not wasted on unoccupied space or out of occupancy. In addition, energy is conserved via optimum start/stop strategies along with continual monitoring and control. Bespoke Energy exception tools can be deployed tailored to individual customer requirements. For Vue, this equates to energy savings of 61% a year. As you can see, the savings begin to stack up fast.
Comprehensive Service
In short, those using bureau services enjoy prompt call-outs from experienced engineers, plus telephone/IP support, as well as pre-planned maintenance dates with early diagnosis of potential points of failure. Preferential hourly rates and discounted spare parts are also offered, as well as proactive visits to identify potential for energy savings and advantageous upgrades. All of this is backed with comprehensive engineer’s reports and even finance initiatives for maintenance and retrofit projects.
There is total transparency throughout; BG Energy software pulls plant performance information into a user-friendly ‘front end’ for facility staff. Authorised employees can access this information from anywhere, again saving time and money.
It’s well documented that at sites not monitored by a bureau, 75% of maintenance related issues result in calling out the mechanical contractor. This is a compelling fact that is prompting increasing numbers to seek out bureau services. Time to get with the program.