The physical space you operate out of is one of the most important corporate assets—if not the most important.
Whether your operations are based out of a sprawling office building or a simple studio, how your business space looks and feels plays a major role in helping you make an impression on your customers and creating an environment that prioritises the wellbeing of your teams and supports the work they do.
This is why, regardless of their size or scale, businesses across industries try to secure spaces that allow them to conduct their business operations without a hitch.
But, one thing that is likely to fall down the list of priorities when it comes to creating and building a welcoming and productive space is maintenance. Many leaders underestimate the importance of the fact that to ensure the business space looks and functions as it did on the first day, there has to be a continuous effort to maintain the space.
While it’s true that businesses employ cleaning crews to take care of their daily cleaning requirements, to ensure that your space is well cared for, you need to support your business with more comprehensive maintenance operations. This is because, regardless of how well your business hub is built or designed, it’s likely to develop structural and functional vulnerabilities over the course of its lifetime—vulnerabilities that integrated facilities management services can help address.
So, what are the most vulnerable areas in your commercial property and how do facilities management services help support them?
Given the traffic they get on a daily basis, it’s not surprising to know that entry foyers and doorways are one of the most exposed areas in any commercial space. Even in the current climate, where on-site transactions are limited and online interactions are preferred, these areas continue to receive high traffic.
As a result, these are the areas that tend to depreciate more quickly than other areas of your commercial space.
Integrated facilities management services can help you stay on top of this wear and tear and facilitate the upkeep of these areas. They can even coordinate the repair and service of escalators and lifts so that your customers and employees get the best experience possible when they’re on your premises.
These services also facilitate predictive maintenance, which helps avoid any major repairs or damage to your doorways and entry foyers.
While doorways and entry foyers experience accelerated depreciation due to high traffic and exposure to elements, the inverse is true for fire and emergency exits. This is because emergency exits are seldom used and are most likely to get overlooked during your routine cleaning and maintenance operations.
This is where integrated facilities management services can add value to your maintenance operations. By creating a maintenance schedule that covers all areas of your business premise, facilities management services providers can ensure that every part of your space gets the attention it needs.
This can help ensure that your fire and emergency exits remain accessible and clear at all times, which can be lifesaving during times of peril.
Windows and exhaust systems are essential to keeping your space feeling fresh and welcoming by letting in fresh air and light and cycling out hot air. Exhaust ducts are also critical for your HVAC systems to operate efficiently.
The problem is that window frames are very vulnerable to environmental elements and can develop leaks that let moisture into the walls. This may lead to your heating/cooling systems working extra hard to keep the temperature inside your business space pleasant. Clogged and dusty exhaust ways can also have a negative impact on the air quality in your space.
Here, facilities management service providers can support you with identifying any leaks and damages to your windows and window frames and coordinating repairs to fix these issues. They can also help you keep the exhaust ducts free of dust and prevent them from clogging up.
Waste disposal zones are vulnerable due to their very nature, which means any issues in your waste management process can lead to health and safety concerns.
For instance, if you’re running a business that handles hazardous substances, any mishaps in disposing of them could expose your customers and employees to toxins, which can lead to many health and safety problems and could even land you in legal trouble.
Luckily, reputed facilities management companies help you create the necessary workflows and protocols for handling commercial waste and hazardous waste to ensure that your space remains compliant with health and safety regulations.
Any business space—regardless of its size and nature—will develop vulnerabilities over its lifetime. The best thing you can do to protect your space and keep it maintained is to partner with facilities management companies.
They can support you with their experience and expertise in providing high-quality facilities management services; all you need to do is partner with the right service provider.