Properly maintaining your building, and upgrading certain features when necessary, is essential for protecting your investment and staying on top of little things that have the propensity to turn into major, costly problems. There are plenty of necessities that go into the upkeep of a building throughout the year, but when planned correctly, the benefits of regular maintenance far surpass the time and money you spend to keep the integrity of the building and functioning of its systems at their best.
NAI FMA Realty has a vast amount of experience with performing regularly scheduled building maintenance as their main focus is the care of their client’s properties. Scott Bahm, Vice President of Facility Maintenance for NAI FMA Realty, states, “It is crucial to have a knowledgeable and experienced maintenance professional available to keep up with the needs regarding your facility. I always recommend creating a building-specific preventive maintenance program to maximize equipment value and prolong the life of the buildings’ systems. We provide a complete line-up of facility maintenance services ranging from HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and general maintenance for 3.2 million square feet of property under contract. This includes tasks as simple as changing a light bulb to those as complex as balancing airflow or adjusting energy management systems. We currently have 13 full time and 4 part time associates in the division to handle these duties, and most of our full time associates carry a Fourth-Grade Engineer license and are experienced with all building systems. Our associates respond to service calls 24-hours a day, 7-days a week.” He adds, “As tenants expand or contract, these changes often require the building interior and systems to be reconfigured or upgraded. NAI FMA’s Contract Coordinator assures proper management of this process from complete building renovations to new carpet and paint for individual office space. We take building maintenance very seriously as we are not only protecting our client’s investment, but we are providing our clients with a quality space to do business and we want to ensure that everything is up to our high standards with respect to their property and service at all times.”
Although it is not the only aspect you should take into consideration, keeping your building clean and presentable is a major part of proper building maintenance. Jeff Fillmore, owner of J4K Cleaning, emphasizes, “Regular and proper cleaning is essential to protecting and preserving your building’s assets including carpets, floors and surfaces. Failure to do so can result in more costly expenditures later on when these assets need to be replaced before they normally would had they been cleaned regularly. We also assist companies by reporting any issues we may come across, such as a water leak, so it can be repaired before causing damage to the building. Our building service contractors also play a role in the security of the building by making sure doors are locked and alarms are set when leaving, and by reporting any suspicious activity. A clean, well maintained building is also proven to increase employee productivity and employees who work in a clean building are generally happier. Effectively, the right team of cleaners can actually help make your business more efficient and profitable.” He adds, “A clean, fresh appearance is more inviting for customers, which helps a business retain and increase its load of clients. Buildings that are cleaned by a qualified office cleaning service demonstrate to clients a concern for detail on the part of the companies housed therein, making these companies more attractive to prospective clients. Clean buildings project a first class image and improve the longevity of the building. A properly cleaned building also ensures a working environment free from contaminates. It provides a safer workplace and reduces the amount of sick time taken by employees working in the building.”
In addition to regularly scheduled cleaning procedures, an important part of maintaining your building is to make sure proper sanitation is sustained and any necessary steps to achieve this are met. Sniferz owner Jim Hunt explains, “Sniferz purchased BioSweep of Nebraska in 2013 with two goals in mind. First, the BioSweep Base treatment is the most highly advanced oxidation process in the world today which improved our decontamination effectiveness immensely. Second, BioSweep Surface Defense goes one step further by ensuring that surfaces remain sanitary for up to a year after application which provides long lasting peace of mind for our customers. Many businesses have a regular maintenance team which could include a cleaning service, an exterminator, a heating and air contractor, a carpet & floor cleaner etc. Few have considered a yearly or bi-annual deodorization and decontamination of their buildings’ interior along with long lasting microbial growth control for the most commonly used surfaces. Besides a cleaner, fresher smelling office, clinic or workout facility, the air handling system would be completely free of any kind of mold, mildew or other malodor. Maintaining a sanitary work or learning environment is not only more conducive to a higher level of comfort and better productivity, it could also lead to fewer employee illnesses and sick days which affects any business’ bottom line. In summary we live in a world of rapidly advancing medical technology but the fact is germs and microbes are quickly changing as well and many are becoming immune to our best antibiotics. Any business, school, church etc. with a high traffic flow should consider adding these treatments to their building maintenance program. Sniferz uses the BioSweep Base and BioSweep Surface Defense technology to instill confidence that your business is clean smelling, sanitary and has long lasting protection from infectious breakouts. Call Sniferz at (402) 429-9984 or visit Sniferz.com.”
Building maintenance and safety go hand in hand, and General Fire & Safety provides a variety of equipment and services to make sure both needs are met. General Fire & Safety provides a complete line of products to ensure that your building and employees are safe and compliant with all applicable laws, OSHA requirements and building codes, and also provides education and regular inspections and/or assessments to make sure your equipment is still fully functional and well maintained. For example, several vital safety features that every building is required to have by law, regardless of the number of employees or size of the facility, are a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit. General Fire & Safety not only offers many different options to choose from; their highly trained staff also provides education about use, maintenance and which will work best for your facility. Furthermore, maintaining the systems of your building is an important part of protecting your investment and keeping costs to a minimum. Controlling your security system, lighting and HVAC system through your smartphone, tablet or PC not only gives you access to adjust the system at any time but it also will save you a lot of money. AlarmLink USA provides custom security systems for all types of buildings that take into account controlling access to the building as well as its vital systems. Additionally, AlarmLink USA security systems can also incorporate smoke, fire, carbon monoxide, and medical emergency alarms in order to protect your building, the people inside at any given time, and all of the assets under that roof. RJ Lipert, owner of General Fire & Safety Equipment Company and AlarmLink USA, says “Our state-of-the-art systems are custom designed to fit your needs. We welcome residential, commercial and industrial clients and we are committed to the flawless execution of our systems. Ensuring that no damage is done or theft occurs from intruders is a big part of maintaining a safe, secure building. Additionally, you can view what is going on in your building at any time, from anywhere with a high-speed Internet connection at any time. As far as maintaining your security system, we perform annual inspections and we also recommend that a weekly inspection is performed by the owner of the building to verify proper communications and device functionality.”
Dave Toelle, Service Manager for Engineered Controls agrees that when it comes to controlling the systems of your building on your own, many times it is difficult to give the proper amount of attention to maintaining the right temperature, lighting, and necessary safety precautions. Toelle advises, “Building systems that are properly maintained and controlled will enable you to focus on the core of your business while ensuring that everything is running efficiently. This also promotes longevity of equipment, protection of employees and equipment due to proper security measures, and energy efficiency which will result in minimizing operating costs and capital expenditures. Some common critical building systems are heating and cooling systems, data room environment systems, lighting systems, access control systems, security/surveillance systems, backup power systems, and fire alarm systems. While each of these systems can stand alone, integrating the systems that complement each other can reap benefits of a more efficient energy usage while still maintaining a safe and comfortable working environment. An example of a potential benefit of system integration would be to configure an area of your building for occupancy including temperature and lighting based on access to the building by a particular card holder. This example would save energy and equipment life by running critical systems only as needed based on actual occupancy not simply on a time schedule that may or may not be set correctly or a building running 24 hours a day. With our systems integration, alarms can be sent to alert the building operators or owners of vital equipment failures 24 hours a day.”
When keeping up with maintenance, upgrading certain aspects your building often goes hand-in hand. One of the major concerns with upgrading is creating greater efficiency. There are numerous benefits to upgrading your existing inefficient windows with 3M Solar Control or Fasara Decorative Window Films from The Tint Shop. Some of the greatest features and benefits are:
• Glare and heat reduction, which increases the comfort of the building for all employees while reducing energy consumption and costs. 3M Solar Control Films can cut the glare coming through the glass by over 85%–sometimes around 95% with the right kind of glass and film combination. A great amount of glare entering a window causes people to squint as a natural reaction to decrease the amount of light entering their eyes. This can often cause some pretty severe headaches and discomfort, and everyone knows how much bright light hurts when you have a headache. According to Keith May, owner of The Tint Shop, heat reduction is probably one of the biggest reasons that people add window films. 3M Solar Control Films can be virtually clear, safe for all glass, and can reduce the heat coming through the glass by almost 70% while not changing the exterior or interior appearance of the glass at all.
• UV Protection. All 3M films block 99% of UV light entering through the glass, which will keep flooring, woodwork, decorations, drapes, blinds and other interior furnishings from fading. Also, blocking UV rays can make an employee working in front of a window much more comfortable, and therefore more happy and productive.
• Improved aesthetics. Have you ever driven by a large commercial building and seen blinds halfway down in some windows, paper taped to the windows in some places, or even framework or insulation showing through a window from renovation? May states, “Adding 3M Window Film from The Tint Shop to the windows in a building like this will make the entire building look more professional, neater, cleaner, more balanced, and adds consistency. Not to mention, the employees will no longer need to tape paper in the windows or lower their blinds to achieve a comfortable work space.”
• Decorative enhancement. Decorative or “Frost” Films are being utilized more and more in modern interior design for the glass in buildings and offices. May advises that this eliminates the “cubicle” effect where employees feel cages and cut off, while adding an open feel to the office or building. Clear glass doesn’t provide for privacy when it’s needed, and that’s where The Tint Shop and 3M’s Fasara line of Decorative Films comes in. Doing something as simple as adding a 36” wide band of frost film across the middle of a section of glass can give you the privacy you need without paying four times as much for etched or sandblasted glass. There are many styles, finishes and textures available in the 3M Fasara line for every taste and situation.
3M Window Films also come highly recommended by The Skin Cancer Association, ASID, and are Energy Star Rated. If you think 3M Solar Control or Decorative Window Films may be right for your building or office, we suggest doing a little research online first. You can visit The Tint Shop’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/tintshop.inc.68504 to check out their Photo Gallery of homes and buildings they have done, or better yet, visit 3M.com/windowfilms to get product specs, warranty info, and even test out their Window Film Simulator tool. But best of all, The Tint Shop offers free onsite estimates if you’d just like to know how much you may be looking at to improve the overall quality and comfort of your building or office. Or if you simply have a few questions you’d like answered before you set up an estimate, you can always call The Tint Shop at 402-466-1355.
Hannah Ahlstedt of Integrated Controls adds that properly controlling and maintaining a building’s HVAC system will increase the comfort and health for the occupants of the building. She adds, “Providing the right temperature, humidity and ventilation increases the productivity of the occupants and makes for a happier employee or tenant. A properly controlled and maintained HVAC systems is also much more energy efficient, which means reduced monthly operating costs for utilities. In addition, it also extends the life of the mechanical equipment and helps protect those valuable investments that were originally made when the system was installed. As each client has a different set of needs for how they want to run and maintain their building, Integrated Controls takes pride in offering tailored solutions for building management and maintenance and we strive to evaluate each client individually. At Integrated Controls, we take a ‘systems’ approach for maintaining your building. In other words, we are not only concerned about maintaining individual equipment or controls, but how everything works together as a system to provide the most efficient HVAC control possible.”
Proper building maintenance is crucial to your health and safety, as well as that of your employees, and it serves to protect your investment in not only the property, but also largely everything within the walls of the building itself. There are many local businesses and professionals that are dedicated to keeping your building well-maintained and are committed to staying on top of the seemingly never ending to-do list, no matter how major or minor the tasks may be. The important thing to remember is that prompt attention to issues that arise and establishing a regular preventative maintenance schedule will ensure smooth operations and will help you avoid a costly pile-up of problems that can quickly get out of hand.