At MaintenX, we talk a lot about reducing maintenance costs for facility managers. In most preventative maintenance plans, there is an underlying goal of reducing expenses as maintenance efficiency improves. But this does not mean that your maintenance budget should continue to decrease indefinitely. In fact, as your systems and equipment age and as different outside contributors change, you can and should expect your maintenance budget to increase. Here’s why:
Preventative maintenance reduces cost by preventing emergency repairs and extending the service life of certain parts and pieces of equipment. It does not, however, decrease the overall need for maintenance as a system ages. The older a piece of machinery, the more maintenance it will need to continue performing at an optimum level. This means that maintenance budgets should increase as the system gets older — the difference is that it won’t do so as rapidly as it would if no preventative maintenance was performed.
Think about the maintenance of your car. You expect repair costs to go up as the car gets older, even if you are diligent about oil changes and tune-ups each year. This doesn’t mean that your preventative maintenance schedule isn’t effective — it just means that your car needs more TLC as it reaches the end of its service life.
The same logic applies to your facility equipment, but unfortunately, upper management has the tendency to cut maintenance budgets regardless of the age or shape of facility equipment. This actually leads to increases in emergency costs and the need to replace aging systems earlier. With another piece of equipment, this logic would never be followed through (as you would never budget less on car repairs for an older model than you would your brand new ride), and yet this is often par for the course for facility maintenance departments.
As the facility manager, it is essential to advocate for maintenance budget increases when you need them. Whether it is because of an aging system, increased labor costs, or supply shortages, you need to adequately provide the resources for your facility to thrive. This ensures that over the course of several years, even decades, your maintenance department is meeting their goals and can help prevent the truly costly maintenance services like early replacement of assets and emergency services for total shutdowns.
MaintenX can help you prioritize your maintenance and prevent these costly repairs with our comprehensive preventative maintenance services. Contact us to learn more about what our maintenance team can do for you!
