Deferring Maintenance

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As work orders and preventive maintenance schedules are created, it is typically the job of the Facility Manager or Director of Facilities to decide which work gets completed and which gets added to the maintenance backlog. These tasks are then scheduled once resources are available, or until the task becomes critical due to safety concerns or a high risk of potential breakdown.

Knowing, tracking, and planning for deferred maintenance is critical to ensuring facilities remain safe and operational. While some deferred maintenance is perfectly healthy for most organizations, as that list grows, tasks and work can begin to fall by the wayside and increase the risk to the organization.

Despite this large maintenance backlog, millions of people visit national parks every year. They may have to deal with the occasional road that is extra bumpy or a campground that could use renovating, but with a well thought-out and time-tested deferred maintenance management plan in place, visitors can continue to use the parks and enjoy the natural beauty of this country.

The size of the deferred maintenance may seem astronomical compared to yours, but the challenges faced by the National Park Service that contribute to this growing list such as aging facilities and a lack of funding are most likely very familiar. hbspt.cta.load(2095256, 'aae2c012-0e7a-4320-af72-33959ef800ae', {\"useNewLoader\":\"true\",\"region\":\"na1\"});

Every year, billions of dollars in needed maintenance repairs to facility assets are deferred. Inadequate funding is the most often cited reason for deferring maintenance, closely followed by insufficient staffing. But there are other factors.

Maintenance managers and personnel may not fully understand all of the tasks that are necessary to properly maintain building assets. Assets may have been installed in a way that makes maintenance difficult or impossible. And those setting the budget may not understand the full cost of deferring maintenance.

Studies of organizations show that on average, for every dollar \"saved\" by deferring maintenance, there comes a four dollar increase in future capital renewal costs. Those are the direct costs for that specific asset. There are additional indirect costs that may have an even larger impact. Over the life of that asset, those additional costs may total more than 15 times what would have been spent on the maintenance had it not been deferred.

If managers are to be successful in changing the culture that results in deferring maintenance, they must present a case that lays out all of the costs of deferred maintenance, from emergency repairs to collateral damage.

With reactive maintenance, the asset picks the time when it needs emergency service or total replacement. This can cause disruptions during peak occupancy periods or complete shutdowns of portions of the facility. When this happens, the maintenance department is under pressure to fix the issue, even if it requires the use of overtime for maintenance personnel or contracting with outside services.

All building assets have a finite service life. While there are many factors that impact the actual service life in a particular application, one of the most important is how well it has been maintained. Without proper maintenance, the service life of practically all facility assets will be shortened.

The same thinking applies to building mechanical systems, where a very common practice is reactive or run-to-failure maintenance. Consider building HVAC and domestic water pumping systems. A typical centrifugal pump in these applications requires periodic lubrication, inspection of seals, vibration monitoring, alignment checks, and other routine maintenance tasks. A well-maintained centrifugal pump can easily operate for 20 to 30 years. That same pump under run-to-failure maintenance practices can fail in as little as five years.

The impact on energy efficiency resulting from the deferral of maintenance is most noticeable with building mechanical systems. Proper maintenance of these systems is particularly important if energy costs are to be minimized.

For example, if boilers are to operate at peak efficiency, there are a number of maintenance tasks that must be performed on a regular basis. The boiler must be tuned regularly to ensure that the proper amount of air is being introduced. Too little air and the fuel is not fully oxidized. Too much air and heat are lost up the stack.

Deferring maintenance on a wide range of building assets can cause harm to employees and visitors. Some are obvious, like failed floor tile that poses a trip hazard. Others may be less obvious, like the buildup of mold behind water damaged walls. Skipped or irregular cleaning of building HVAC systems can lead to the buildup of mold, mildew, and pathogens within the systems that then are distributed throughout the building. Even simple things, like door closers that are not properly adjusted, can cause injury should the door slam closed on a person's hand.

Deferred maintenance can also lead to compliance issues with local code and regulatory officials. Spot inspections or complaints from building occupants can lead to failed compliance inspections, fines, and bad public impressions. In more severe cases, they can lead to mandated shutdowns of the facility until items have been corrected.

The impact of deferring maintenance is not limited to just that asset. Often, it extends well beyond. Consider the situation of a failing roof. The roof has been leaking and in need of replacement for some time, but funds are not available. So maintenance personnel make patches to the areas where leaks are reported. But in spite of their efforts, additional leaks will occur and some may go unreported. Additional repairs are made, and while the leaks may have been temporarily stopped, they will have caused collateral damage.

Collateral damage can turn a single, maintenance issue into a nightmare. Not only will the organization have to pay for correcting the original maintenance issue, they will have to pay for repairing or replacing all other assets damaged, and they will have to do so on an emergency basis further increasing costs. If the collateral damage is serious or extensive enough, managers may lose the use of the impacted space for an extended period of time while materials are ordered and repairs made, yet another cost increase.

If facility managers are to be successful in reducing the total cost of deferred maintenance, they must build and present their case to those controlling their budget. They must present sound evidence that supports the budgeting of maintenance projects today, rather than deferring them to some future time.

How big is the deferred maintenance issue in your facility Numbers talk. Remember you are competing with other departments for a limited pot of funds. Start with an assessment of the facility, including mechanical and electrical systems, the building envelope, the building interior structures and finishes, and the building site. The facility assessment should evaluate the condition of each of the assets and identify any deficiencies. Rate the critical nature of the asset and the seriousness of each deficiency. Finally, develop a budget for its repair or replacement, along with an estimated timeframe for the work.

Having a list of needed repairs along with projected costs isn't enough. In most cases, there will be so many items and they will be so costly that those who set the budget may choose to ignore them, thinking maintenance is just crying wolf. To help present your case, give them examples from the past that show how deferring a particular repair or replacement action resulted in additional repair costs, disruptions to operations, or compromised safety. Presenting solid data that shows the scope of the issue and how it has impacted the organization in the past will strengthen your case.

Compelling research shows that delaying maintenance can increase future costs and capital expenditures by as much as 600%. Despite the extraordinary consequences of delaying important repairs, deferred maintenance is common inside facilities and manufacturing plants. It also contributes to safety hazards, energy inefficiency, and reputational damage for organizations.

Deferred repairs are often put into a maintenance backlog that creates a vicious cycle. As necessary upgrades are postponed, system failures start increasing at a greater volume and frequency. This puts maintenance teams in a mode of reactivity with less focus on preventive maintenance.

Increasing preventive maintenance tasks (PMs) is a surefire way to prevent emergency maintenance and deferred maintenance from getting out of hand. Investing in a CMMS enables easy PM scheduling with calendar views and automated reminders. It also comes with advanced features that include customized checklists and runtime-based PMs based on meter readings.

Getting additional budget is easier if you can show where your current budget is allocated. After you implement a system that helps you show this, you need to convince higher-ups that increasing short-term profits or budget savings costs more in the long run. Industry-wide benchmarks show that deferred maintenance compounds by 7% per year.

Securing budget should not be a one time exercise. Getting other departments involved in your maintenance operations and strategy on an ongoing basis goes a long way. A survey by UpKeep shows that maintenance teams that have procurement interact with their CMMS are 28% more likely to secure additional budget.

In 2017, the NPS said deferred maintenance totalled $11.6 billion. Repairs and maintenance were delayed for everything from bridges and tunnels, to monuments and amphitheaters. However, the NPS says its receiving additional funding in 2019 to reduce deferred maintenance to a manageable level.

Also referred to as backlog maintenance or demand maintenance, deferred maintenance is planned or unplanned mainten