VOICES | WILL BORTHEN Getting under the skin of statutory maintenance Building owners, occupiers and managers risk non-compliance if they do not monitor maintenance activities closely, says Sodexos Will Borthen O perating buildings and delivering maintenance services not only comes with the responsibility to ensure systems are functioning effectively and efficiently, but also to make sure they are safe, and building occupants are not put at risk. Failure to undertake appropriate maintenance activities can result in severe injury or loss of life, so legislation has been put in place to protect against this. Maintenance services could include the inspection and testing of lifts, fire alarms, sprinklers, water tanks, cooling towers, and so on. The legislation is supported by Approved Codes of Practice, guidance, regulations or standards, which determine the frequency of maintenance tasks and the competency required for those doing the work. Further guidance can be found in Guide M: Maintenance engineering and management (bit.ly/CJOct22WB1) which is due to be updated this year. Defined roles and responsibilities ensure there is accountability for the management and delivery of statutory maintenance. It is common for owners and occupiers to outsource planned maintenance activities; however, it should not be assumed that this means all responsibilities are discharged to the service provider. As duty holders, it is vital that owners, occupiers and managers have a good understanding of the statutory and mandatory maintenance requirements, and have a reliable and definitive way to monitor the compliance of their buildings and the competence of their supply chain. A well-established performance method for maintenance contracts is to measure and report on the number of planned statutory and mandatory tasks due, and whether they were completed on time. On the face of it, this seems like a suitable approach and as long as all of the tasks are completed on time, the building would, logically, be compliant. However, this only focuses on the completion of one stage of the process, when there are actually several stages that need to be completed. Insufficient visibility of the full end-toend maintenance process means owners, occupiers and managers are often unknowingly at risk of non-compliance. This watermelon effect presents the compliance position as green on the outside, but, below the surface, the unreported and actual position is entirely red and non-compliant. As shown in Figure 1, a typical maintenance task such as an annual boiler inspection will require an Systems can help monitor performance, but they often dont give the full picture, which can lead to a false sense of security Appropriately evidence the completion of the maintenance Understand the quantity, type and location of all assets Know the required frequency of maintenance, and the next due date WILL BORTHEN is head of asset management at Sodexo, Property Professional Services Figure 1: Stages of a typical statutory maintenance task to ensure compliance Complete the required maintenance on all relevant assets Complete the relevant remedial works identied Appropriately evidence the completion of remedial works 20 October 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Oct 22 pp20-21 Maintenance compliance / Exyte.indd 20 26/09/2022 14:29