How To Test The Quality Of Your Preventative Maintenance

by Phoenix Energy Technologies on Apr 27, 2020

In our post Be Strategic with Your Building's Scheduled Maintenance, we looked at the benefits of moving beyond arbitrary PM schedules and how using your building's data can help you spend money wisely. We now look at how you can use building data to see how well PMs are being carried out.

Efficiency Readings Before and After PMs

You can remotely measure the quality of your PMs by validating efficiency readings before and after the PM has been carried out. Depending on what data points you have, you can look at things like the flow across filters or delta T readings. You should see a change from the readings taken before the PM vs. after. Obviously, readings should be optimized following preventative maintenance.

Look At The Repairs That Occur In Between PMs

When you look at the data, you can assess the repairs and service tickets that took place in between PMs at a location. This helps you analyze if your techs are performing thorough checks. And with the data, you can weigh all the factors in making these assessments. Is the equipment in question aged? Are there demographics of the building (its environment, its traffic, etc.) that could be impacting equipment performance?

Maintenance Program Options & Implementing A Predictive Program

Building Data Helps You Compare Properly

Data lets you compare apples to apples. You would expect more service calls on a building that is 12 years old vs. 6 years old. You would expect more HVAC calls if your building is near Cottonwood trees, which can wreak havoc on systems. You need all the pieces to paint an accurate picture. The more data you have, the more proactive and discerning you can be.

These "building demographics" can be put into an algorithm that lets you quickly assess upgrade and replacement suggestions. For example, your locations may be within 10 miles of an airport or near salt water and the wear on those systems can be higher.

You can also use the data to determine if parts and equipment replacement recommendations are necessary or are just revenue opportunities for a vendor. For example, just because a pulley is rusted does not necessarily mean it needs to be replaced. If the issue is not impacting systems or safety, you can make the call to not spend money on upgrading or replacing. And you can do this remotely with the right system, pulling data in from across all your buildings.

When you dig deeper into building data, into such things as what replacement parts are being ordered, you can start to look at what is actually being done to your equipment to keep it running. You can weigh this information with manufacturer maintenance suggestions. This helps you manage PMs proactively, evaluate technicians, and helps you bring down the cost of repairs because now, your spend is going exactly where it should be going.

How We Help

We have been providing smart building solutions for grocery, retail, theaters, and other sectors with maintenance and energy-saving goals for over 15 years.

We can help you get the data to be more proactive with maintenance across your portfolio, without the need for any additional hardware installation. We help building and energy managers capture data from their sites and optimize equipment efficiency that reduces energy costs, decreases repair and maintenance spend, and lowers capex by extending the life of assets.

Please reach out to us to see how we can help you better manage your building maintenance costs!