Comparing the Similarities between Facility Engineering and Health Care
Paul Faleschini serves as an Engineering Manager in UG2’s Northern California region. In a recent article of Facility Management Journal, he shares the striking similarities between Facility Operations & Maintenance (O&M) teams and health care workers.
In “The Doctor is in: O&M Health Care for Buildings”, Paul outlines the importance of attention to detail, preventative maintenance, and wellness checks when it comes to managing facilities. Just like people, buildings need to be in a healthy condition to run optimally. It is up to Operations & Maintenance teams to act as doctors and diagnose issues before they cause irreversible damage or setbacks.
Paul highlights key best practices to follow:
Daily Wellness Checks
The first step in ensuring building health is to perform daily system inspections. Facility engineering teams should encourage senior staff – similar to a doctor with the most experience – to take the lead. With experience, comes knowledge, and senior O&M engineers are able to quickly and accurately detect potential problems. It’s also important to include lighting fixtures in these inspections since lighting can drastically affect the mood and productivity of occupants.
Breathability
In order to have a healthy building, Paul emphasizes that healthy air is crucial. People’s attention to air quality is even more prevalent since the emergence of COVID-19. Facilities should hire a professional air quality partner to perform assessments annually, similar to your yearly physical. Remember, restrooms should also be included in the process. Many facilities cut exhaust to lower costs, but this can lead to health problems.
Preventive Measures
Whether it’s drinking enough water, choosing healthy foods, or exercising, people take various measures to avoid illness and to stay healthy. Paul explains that in a similar manner, preventative maintenance is necessary to avoid equipment failures, which can a domino effect.
Pay attention to systems that can cause potential issues:
Sewage
Sewage systems are likely the most frequent disruptive failure due to both frequent usage and the number of items people flush down toilets and sinks. O&M teams often avoid restroom maintenance due to its unpleasant nature, but being proactive can save money and time. Routine maintenance should involve checking waste ejector systems and P-traps, cleaning drain lines, and annual hydro-jetting.
HVAC
According to Paul, HVAC systems are probably the second most common disruptive failure. Variables like changing occupancy and temperature changes can present risks. Be sure to clean air filters regularly, use the highest MERV rating , and program the right amount of air changes. Don’t rely on technologies like UV lighting to sanitize because they aren’t 100% proven effective.
Fire, Life & Safety
If fire lines are not properly cared for, the risks can range from disruptive to deadly. Unnecessary evacuations, flooding, and equipment damage could occur without proper attention.
That is why Paul stresses the need for O&M teams to create and follow schedules that align with industry standards, Preventative Maintenance (PM) recommendations, and other recommendations from civil authorities. Documentation and trending data are both important for keeping building systems healthy and at their peak performance. Ensure daily PM inspections are thoroughly documented by the O&M team.
Urgent Care
We can’t predict every health issue that will take place in a facility. That’s why problems need to be quickly but accurately diagnosed so an action plan can be put into place.
Diagnoses
Getting the right diagnosis is important for both people and building equipment. The majority of building systems use a building management/automation system (BMS/BAS) which provides performance data in real-time. If the system alerts engineers of poorly performing equipment, an inspection can take place using electrical meters, pressure gauges, and other tools to find the route of the problem. This could involve using a megohmmeter to inspect the motor windings of an electric motor or checking the refrigerant level of a poorly performing HVAC system.
Second Opinions
Just like a medical diagnosis, a second opinion can be quite helpful when attempting to pinpoint a problem and come up with a cure. Seeing the equipment issue in person and having a team of experts is key. This is especially true now that a lot of building systems are automated. Sensors don’t always detect what someone can see first-hand.
Palliative Care
When people are sick, they often find that their treatment can be very costly and the same applies to equipment. In many instances, O&M teams are faced with the choice of repairing equipment or letting it run to fail. This decision depends on the facility’s needs, the equipment’s expected life expectancy, usage trends, budget, and availability of parts. Paul stressed that if the decision is to run the equipment to fail, the safety and comfort of occupants need to be the top priority.
Investing in Wellness Makes Business Sense
When the pandemic forced many employees to work from home, it created a strong preference to not come back into the office, even when the risk of COVID-19 lessened. For many people, it felt safe and comfortable. Unfortunately, building management is still struggling to attract people to return to an in-person environment. Healthy buildings and health-related amenities are a huge deciding factor for tenants and employees.
FM teams know that keeping systems and buildings healthy leads to comfortable and safe work spaces which in turn, attracts occupants. One study even showed that tenants pay 4-7% more for healthy certified spaces.
All in all, when a facility is in poor health, it affects both people and businesses. Paul explains that O&M teams should view themselves like doctors for buildings. Following these best practices will ensure they are being proactive about maintaining the health of their facilities.
Want to learn more about healthcare for buildings? Access the full article here or contact UG2.
RESOURCES
andrewjensen.net/how-office-lighting-affects-productivity
health.ucsd.edu
Pew Research article