Keeping your commercial real estate (CRE) property in top performance condition means scheduling regular preventive maintenance tasks. It also means knowing what metrics to monitor in order to gauge the success of your maintenance performance. With these metrics in hand, your property can begin to improve net operating income (NOI), equipment lifespans, and much more.
We breakdown the specific metrics you should be measuring to ensure your preventive maintenance program is in top performance condition. Plus, we even include how measuring these metrics can impact your capital expenditure (CapEx) rates.
6 preventive maintenance metrics
Preventive maintenance is crucial to keeping your property in good condition and avoiding costly repairs in the future. Here are the six things you should measure to ensure your preventive maintenance program is performing:
1. Frequency
This metric tracks how often preventive maintenance is performed on various systems and components of the property. Regular frequency ensures that potential issues are discovered before they become problems.
2. Cost
The total cost of preventive maintenance provides insights into the cost-effectiveness of the program. This metric can be broken down into costs for labor, materials, and any outsourcing.
3. Downtime due to maintenance
It’s important to minimize the impact of maintenance on the building’s operations. By tracking downtime, you can aim to schedule maintenance during off-peak hours.
4. Equipment life
Preventive maintenance can extend the useful life of equipment and systems. By tracking how long equipment lasts before it needs to be replaced, you can assess the effectiveness of your preventive maintenance program.
5. Number of breakdowns
The number of unexpected equipment or system breakdowns can indicate how well the preventive maintenance program is working. A low number of breakdowns can suggest that preventive maintenance is effective.
6. Emergency repair costs
The costs of emergency repairs can be compared with the costs of preventive maintenance. If preventive maintenance reduces the costs of emergency repairs, it demonstrates the financial value of the program.
The impact on CapEx rates
Healthy preventive maintenance performance not only reduces operational costs but it can also lead to better management of CapEx rates. Here’s how:
- Extended asset life: Regular maintenance can extend the lifespan of building systems such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing, elevators, etc. This defers the need for system upgrades or replacements, thus reducing CapEx.
- Reduces unexpected repairs and replacements: Preventive maintenance identifies potential issues before they escalate into major problems that require substantial repair or replacement. Avoiding these emergency situations can save significant CapEx funds.
- Planning and budgeting: A good preventive maintenance program provides better predictability about when systems or equipment will need to be replaced. This allows for improved planning and budgeting for CapEx expenses, spreading them out over a longer timeframe.
- Efficiency improvements: Preventive maintenance can lead to efficiency improvements in various building management systems, which may reduce the need for expensive upgrades aimed at achieving the same goal.
- Property value: Regular maintenance can help preserve or enhance your property’s value. This can reduce CapEx by minimizing the need for major renovations or improvements needed to attract tenants.
Why you need accurate metrics to measure performance
When you know what metrics to track and monitor for your CRE property’s preventive maintenance performance, you can begin to improve processes and bring revenue back to your buildings. Having a better understanding of your preventive maintenance program can also help you catch inefficiencies in your building before they become a major problem. Because ensuring equipment is running in top shape will save your property time and money in the long run.
Want to learn about other metrics your property teams should be measuring? Download the free guide, “Metrics that matter for modern property management.” You’ll find invaluable information on metrics and measurement that will help to bring your property to the next level.
