Type of Building Services

What are building services? Why is it important?

A building accommodates for those who are living or working. To provide a better living or working space for them, building services are convenient. Without it, the building itself alone cannot provide safety, comfort and function on their own. Therefore, building services exist together with the building to provide a comfortable space, safety, convenience and a healthier living environment.

The occupants and tenant occupants and tenants rely 100% since buildings provides lightings, spaces, water & air quality, convenient power, communication capability, ventilating, air conditioning and reliable systems for life and property protection

Who handles overall building services?

The building services are monitored by building managers. They look into details on the building health closely since their role is to make sure the whole building is efficaciously function.

The different types of building services offer various function helping the building to work. Building services includes the HVAC, site drainage, gas supply, plumbing, fire protection, electrical power, lighting and vendors. These services are categorized into four main categories which are the mechanical system, electrical system, building operation system and vendor management services.

1) Mechanical System

Air conditioner technician checking air conditioner operation

Mechanical system engage a great part in providing various services. It is anything that involves moving matters such as water, electricity and gas. The building services which falls under this category are HVAC systems, site drainage, gas supply, plumbing, elevators and fire protection. This system is one of the system that building spent money on for an increasing energy cost. Nonetheless, having integrated designs will lead to low cost operation, trouble-free maintenance, and improved comfort.

HVAC SYSTEM

Radiating great air circulation and regulated temperature within the whole building provides the occupants to have a comfortable, liveable and healthy environment from toxic gaseous in hazardous area. The tenants and occupants can easily complete their daily tasks quickly with the pleasant surroundings workplace and living area.

SITE DRAINAGE

It is one of the signs that the building is damaged and need fixing whether it is from wiring, plumbing or drainage problem if water puddles are seen blatantly outside or inside of the building. Not only that, the prolonged presence of moisture surrounding the building increase risk of building to damage faster. During rainy days, guttering and downpipes helps the building from damages which is by transferring the rainwater into the drains. However, taking good care of it is still not enough if the site drainage is poor. It leads to building cracking and this is one of the signs the foundation and footings of building are in danger.

GAS SUPPLY

In a building, nitrogen and oxygen gases are supplied to the building. These gases are for occupants’ use for fuel and lighting purpose. The gas are hazardous and poisonous when it is in a gas form, hence, it is taken care of properly and with precautions

PLUMBING

Supplying fresh water to the building is done through pipe distributions, vent pipes, sanitary sewers, building drains and plumbing fixtures. Various of plumbing services provides supply of water to the building for drinking purpose, toilet use, cleaning and cooking.

ELEVATORS & ESCALATORS

Moving to multiple floors of a building has never been easier with the ease of use of the “slow moving stairs” and lifts which transport people vertically. This require less physical effort rather than climbing up the stairs and the only the difference is just by using electricity.

FIRE PROTECTION

In case of any state of emergency, the building has prepared beforehand to provide safety to the occupants of the building. There are fire safety features such as the fire sprinkler equipment, fire extinguishers, fire alarm, fire suppression systems, emergency lighting and ventilation systems provided in the building. These will help the occupants to escape safely from the building and put out fire to minimise damage during fire incident.

All these systems must run together with each other fluidly so that the building functions persistently.

2) Electrical System

A selective focus shot of a modern lamp with a light bulb inside the building

Electricity is a daily necessity as it generates power to electrically powered equipment, bringing the building into life. The equipment such as air conditioner, fans, kitchen appliances, lighting brings a liveable environment.

ELECTRICAL POWER

The amount of electricity used by all of the electrical equipment in in building determines how much of electric has been used. Therefore, electrical power use throughout a building is controlled and monitored so that it is safely distributed. Typically, low voltage is used compared to a higher voltage.

LIGHTING

Different space areas require different types and right amount of lights to serve the purpose of room and feel. Ambient indoor lighting can be ideal for living room and bedroom which give calm and relaxation to the mind and body. Task lighting illuminates the room or certain parts of the room to get the work done such as in the kitchen and reading room.

3) Building Operation System

It can be tough to monitor and manage each of systems within the building all at once. A system called Building Operation System (BOS) facilitates and organizes building automation and process along with connecting the different building systems (access control, audio-video, BMS, security, etc.). For example, building automation give alerts on air pollutants issues and levels of ventilation. However, many challenges are yet to be overcome. Since BOS is complex, it requires skills and know-how.

Credit: Building Operating System – What you need to know – Catenda

Our Solution:

4) Vendor Management System (VMS)

This system allows organizations to handle and manage their vendors or suppliers. It includes activities such as selecting or choosing vendors, negotiating purchase contracts, controlling, and managing costs, ensuring quality and timely delivery, and reducing vendor-related risks.

How does it work?

The VMS can be access through the HAUZ portal. By using HAUZ, we provide convenience through real-time monitoring and cost management of the facility operations and maintenance via an all-in-one solution. We streamline every manual tasks with digital adoption so that every works or tasks can be done rapidly and effortlessly through the HAUZ dashboard.

The importance of monitor and track vendor productivity and efficiency during their contract terms are very important. Out of many types of vendors, one of it is a manpower-intensive vendor that is known as service and maintenance providers. They deliver services such as security, cleaning, landscaping and facility technicians. The manpower provider needs to:

Insure whether their working hours are planned as scheduled since it will affects the operation cost for paying bigger manpower if tracking is not implemented
Ensuring service provider are providing manpower that with valid permit; and
Monitoring daily activities to ensure productivity during their service at the building

Here is an illustration of building management structure:

How we do it?

Handling vendors or suppliers become cost-effective and efficient through A.T.M.R:

To get better overview of data and insights of the building, it can be done through the HAUZ dashboard:

Our benefits:

Reduce 45% of operations cost
Minimize time taken for data collection and report gen; and
Increase visibility and accuracy of internal & external facility ops

Keen to know more on how real-time team updates could boost productivity and lowers the building operation cost?

Visit us at hauz.com.my to reach out to our team.

4 Challenges faced by Building Managers

A building manager is someone who handles the overall operations of a building, making sure the building is running smoothly at all times. A building manager also ensures the occupants or tenants of the building are safe as well as satisfied with the quality of service. They convey regular maintenance strategies, building repairs, building improvements and monitor all running systems such as the HVAC, plumbing, electrical, safety and much more.

All these tasks and segments involved in building functionality are managed by just one person; the building manager. It is safe to say then, that being a building manager is no walk in the park. Trying to hit KPIs while managing the multiple services of a building on the daily would be quite the challenge even if you are a highly skilled individual and an efficient multitasker. So what exactly are the parts that make being a building manager such a difficult task, here are some of the biggest challenges they face at the job.

The 4 common challenges faced by building manager:

Controlling Costs and Managing Time

One of the extreme pain points for building managers is staying within allocated budget while maintaining the image, safety, security and services of the establishment. The managers could be closely following a daily work schedule until an unexpected problem arises from the occupants or the machinery of the building itself. As an example, the management could be incurring higher costs through inefficient energy usage like an increase in utility bills caused due to forgotten overrides in the HVAC system. In majority of cases, these unplanned situations easily disrupt a carefully laid out budgeting strategy resulting in a lot of back and forth between the higher management. Thus why, task prioritisation, time management through scheduling and proper cost planning becomes the core of the building manager’s role.

Why does it matter? Controlling both cost and time will:

Aid in tracking work progress and KPIs (key performance indicators) and take corrective action if costs rise too high.
Retain expected profit margins.
Set clear expectations and prevent scope creep.
Attain transparency and clarity with management, stakeholders, and clients.
Generate useful metrics for handling upcoming projects.

Keeping Accurate and Organized Building Records

Various kinds of building records pile up from day to day such as rental payments, maintenance records, occupants reports and complains or paperwork needed for submitting or responding to claims. Building managers need to be meticulous in organizing by putting them into different files and labels to distinguish the different types of records.

Not only that, the building records needs to be protected very well. The records need to be carefully taken care of from heat, water or air damage. Getting the physical records damaged will cause the information on it to be unreadable; worst, wiped out. Besides, valuable records has the potential to be stolen. Therefore, it needs to be kept safe in a locker. The more amount of physical records are needed to be kept, the more physical spaces are needed. Hence why some building managers prefer to keep their documents online as it is more safer and is well protected from physical damages. Cost saving is added as a bonus.

Reducing Downtime and Extend Asset Lifespan

Doing preventative maintenance is usually very recommended by many since it is one of the best way to maintain the asset performance at a peak condition but there are some downsides to it. It is not budget control friendly to building managers since it requires a lot of manpower. The cost could become higher resulting from over maintenance. On the brighter side, preventative maintenance can make the assets go on a longer run for a long time.

Lacking Right Software Tools

The inability to understand and less knowing on how the building system works can make matters worse. Building managers should have sufficient knowledge about building management so that they would recognize the software tools they need to use to make them to work productively as well as reducing work time, enhancing productivity.

As an example, HAUZ app allows to plan or schedule shifts and tasks beforehand, real time overview live updates on team activities which includes equipment tracking, scheduling daily inspections and shifts, task management and workforce analytics. Other than that, it can generate reports which help to observe things that need improvements. There is no manually inputting, submitting, and recording data which is quite an inefficient way of completing your work management duties.

Meanwhile, the HAUZ dashboard can help building managers to:

keep track all operational activities, task completion and real time updates of the team
monitor and maintain assets lifespan
assign or plan schedule shifts (e.g., regular maintenance schedule)
maintain clear communication with the team

Having all of these features is a great start for building manager to ensure that work order is organized and receive information faster. Thus, challenges that building managers face can be overcome by investing to hire qualified skilled workers and also use the right software tools.

Reference:

3 Common Facility Maintenance Challenges and How to Solve Them – Industry Leader in Facility & Maintenance Management Software | Landport

4 Biggest Building Maintenance Challenges and Solutions | Buildings

The Essential Tools and Qualities Needed to be a Great Building Manager – BuildingLink International (buildinglinkau.com.au)

View of ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACED BY GOVERNMENT OFFICE BUILDINGS IN PERFORMING MAINTENANCE WORK (utm.my)

Roles of Building Manager

For almost all buildings, there are spaces and offices that can be rented out, the responsibility of which falls under the building management. In specific, the building manager.

Without a building manager, it is difficult to ensure smooth daily operations of several commercial properties such as office buildings, hotels and resorts, warehouses, shopping malls, restaurants, and healthcare facilities.

Photo by Nur Athirah Hamzah on Unsplash

The presence of a skilled building manager helps retain the property value of these buildings on the market, boost reputation and customer trust, increase building lifespan and create safe spaces for the public. It’s no easy task and comprises of careful planning of budgets, regularly managing maintenance and repair activities, monitoring safety and emergency plans, working with vendors for effective safety, cleaning and security of the property as well as ensuring the property follows all the applicable regulations.

In certain cases the building managers may share duties with property managers. However, property managers only deal with the business aspects but not the physical maintenance of the building.

The 5 Key Responsibilities of a Building Manager:

(1) Safety Procedures & Emergency Plans

Emergency situations always happen unannounced and can range from natural disasters to flooding, fire, security intrusions and critical system failures. These situations could endanger the public, the tenants and the workers in a building. Thus the building managers have a huge role to play here by making sure that building inspections are done frequently and proper lighting, signage, disability access is in place together with fire prevention systems and overseeing security processes.

It is not enough to only have safe building properties. Building managers also have to draft and update emergency plans and evacuation procedures. Educating the employees about safety and security is also needed so that they could help in assisting with emergency response and evacuations to prevent the situation from growing out of control.

Worker repairing ceiling air conditioning unit

(2) Manage building maintenance and repair activities

Managing building maintenance and repair activities can be broken down into three processes; planning, procurement and inspection. Planning is done to identify problems that may happen in the future and what could be done to prevent them. This would also involve creating strategies like preventive and predictive maintenance.

Procurement is the process of finding suppliers for materials, equipment, labour and other resources needed for maintenance and repair such as monitoring HVAC repairs, landscaping, cleaning of windows & doors, painting and pool management etc. The building manager has to verify that suppliers have the necessary licences or certificates as stipulated by the laws or regulations that apply to their industry (e.g., construction contractors).

The last process is inspection, routine checks are run on the building to make sure the space is secure before people or other elements of the built environment occupy them (e.g., trees).

All three of these processes fall under the hat of a building manager, alongside their duty of monitoring building maintenance budgets and making arrangements on building improvements. With an efficient strategy for each of these processes the likelihood of unplanned downtime or any of the equipment going offline is drastically reduced leading to an increase in output and productivity of the whole space.

(3) Manage and directing ground staff activities

Building managers much like most managers, don’t work alone. They have a team that helps run the space and monitor the building’s overall condition. Building Managers supervise ground staff, maintain payroll records, evaluate employee performance and provide direction, correction, or additional training to establish proper maintenance of the building. One of the best ways to make sure the maintenance staff are doing their jobs is by establishing a clear line of communication. Having regular updates and a platform to cross-check work progress helps to avoid any form of discrepancy and miscommunication while having the whole team on the same page, understanding exactly what needs to be done and what their set KPIs would be.

(4) Resolve tenants or occupants issue

Being a building manager can be quite a challenge at certain times. A lot of different kinds of situations or problems may occur such as leaky pipes in the occupants’ space, electrical surges or other maintenance related issues, physical intrusions and so on. When dealing with tenants and occupant related problems especially, building managers must have a list of records and history of the tenants (e.g rent payments), previously resolved complaints, highlighted problems, and requests. This guarantees that all issues that may arise are dealt with professionalism, resolved quickly and increase customer satisfaction as well as trust in the building itself.

(5) Manage insurance claims

When there are incidents such as natural disasters, fire accidents, water damage, failure of machines, injuries or any emergencies, the occupants are directly affected and would suffer from losses. The first thing that needs to be done is capturing a photo of the incident as evidence to help document the damages for the filing of an insurance claim with an insurer. Building managers must handle all the insurance coverage and compensation claims. Other claims such as health insurance or auto insurance claims also need to be handled, depending on what type of building it is. The building manager works with the insurance company to check that all relevant parties are notified when a claim is filed.

Looking at all the major roles that building managers play, it’s safe to say that their job is no walk in the park and is a huge responsibility that directly affects the safety and security of many. That being said, here’s a list of top 7 skills required to be a good building manager.

Excellent organizational skills
Project management skills
Problem Solving
Detail Orientation
Customer Service Experience
Strong Leadership Skills
Maintenance Experience

If a building manager neglects their role or in cases where a building is not regularly maintained and cared for, several incidents could happen. Neglecting routine maintenance, for example could lead to the building becoming run down and eventually losing customer reliability, running out of business.

Lack of routine maintenance also affects security and safety. The tenants of the structure could be in danger if it is not maintained strictly. Additionally, it might be expensive to offer tenants compensation claims, bill for repairs, and replace damaged or malfunctioning equipment if several instances take place.

A great building manager will plan and strategize all processes efficiently, whether it’s maintenance planning, workforce management, operational tasks or resolving occupant issues. However, it might be overwhelming to manage all of the tasks single-handedly and manually within an allocated time. Among the greatest hurdles is getting everything sorted such as the paperwork, the records, the budgeting and then reporting to the upper management. This is why majority of building managers opt for systems or software to help them achieve KPIs by reducing the time taken for the processes and the cost incurred while increasing productivity.

The HAUZ solution helps building managers to do just that through features that allow real-time monitoring of the building, incident reporting, tracking of routine maintenance, asset management, workforce analytics, vendor management, effective financial planning and much more on a single platform. The most beneficial of all would be the ability to access various kinds of reports and generate them instantly. Having all this would reduce valuable time and unplanned costs, ultimately producing a well-maintained, innovated space for the public.

References:

Building manager – Designing Buildings

Building Manager Job Description Sample – Hiring UK EN Merchandise (monster.co.uk)

Building Manager – Nawawi Tie (ntl.my)

What Does A Building Manager Do: Job Description, Duties and Responsibilities – Zippia

Category: Article