Operation & maintenance

To operate efficiently a building must have a good operating and maintenance program,
How a building is operated can save up to 20% on energy bills,

1. Operation & Maintenance

2. Introduction To operate efficiently a building must have a good operating and maintenance program , How a building is operated can save up to 20% on energy bills ,

3. Problem It is now widely recognised that the operating and maintenance of the building represents the greatest expense in owning and operating a facility over its life cycle . Many existing buildings are serviced by contractors who were not involved in the design process of the system or do not have the inherent knowledge to know how the system is supposed to operate.

4. Problem Buildings originally had hand over files which included O&M Manuals, these are often misplaced and very rarely updated as changes are made to the building systems. People rarely read these manuals and make adjustments to the systems based on gut feel rather than on the methodology the system was designed to operate.

5. Costly problems Clients accept Service and Maintenance contracts without understanding what they include for, or should include for and are reliant on the sales person . Existing buildings may not have supporting documentation like the Operating and Maintenance Manual which detailed all of the required maintenance procedures and commissioning set points.

6. Costly errors Repairs are often carried out and parts replaced with generic or similar parts which do not operate as efficiently as the original parts. Systems become inefficient due to the well intentioned adjustments made by the service contractor who is not aware of the original design intent.

7. Solution No two buildings are alike and it is impossible for any service contractor to fully understand every different control system, be factory trained on all major equipment and have all the latest state of the art tools to suit each piece of equipment. To reduce these problems BD&O have developed a Best practice operating and maintenance procedure and schedules for all building services systems.

8. Conclusion A good O&M Program can result in • energy efficiency, • energy demand reduction • enhanced equipment performance and reliability • longer life cycle and • better occupant comfort The O&M Program is like a business plan without which the business can’t stay on target,