Word count without title and bio: approx. 1545
Implementing A Preventive Maintenance Program
by Doug Chasick, CPM®, CAPS, CAS, Adv. RAM, CLP, SLE, CDEI
The Apartment Doctor™
It’s that time of the year again; time for the “B” word – BUDGETS! Yikes, didn’t we just finish last year’s budget? Or did we just finish spending last year’s budgeted money? In any event, it’s time to sharpen our pencils and plan for the future.
And this is a great time to review your preventive maintenance program and make certain that you are doing everything possible to prolong the useful life of all the equipment, appliances, amenities and physical plant items that seem to cost more money every year! An effective preventive maintenance program accomplishes two goals:
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- By regularly inspecting and maintaining your buildings and equipment, you can PREVENT breakdowns. For example, regular inspections of your air conditioning units, filter replacements and coil cleanings all prolong the life of your HVAC equipment.
- You can make repairs at the earliest possible time to PREVENT more serious problems from occurring. For example, to identify and repair a small roof leak before it causes damage to the ceiling, carpet, furniture and resident in the apartment below!
A common example of preventive maintenance is changing the oil in your car. Every car comes with an owner's manual, and that manual contains a "schedule of recommended service." (It's not really recommended, it's mandatory, because if you don't do it, it can void your warranty!) By changing the oil at the recommended intervals, you will prolong the life of the motor.
If preventive maintenance is such a great idea, why doesn’t every property have a program in place? Do any of these sound familiar? "We just don't have the time." "We just don't have the money." "We just don't have enough people on staff." “We don’t have any time, money or staff!” These may all be true, but regardless of the reason that you don’t have a preventive maintenance program, you will inevitably have to make the time, find the money and hire the people to repair the results of NOT having a preventive maintenance program - does the phrase “Pay me now or pay me later” ring a bell? And unlike your car, which just leaves you stranded when it quits, a breakdown in an apartment will anger the resident, strain your staff and budget, and ultimately result in higher turnover (and by higher turnover I mean LESS CASH FLOW!)
If you agree that a formal preventive maintenance program is a necessity, here's how to get your program started.
1. IDENTIFY WHAT ITEMS NEED TO BE INCLUDED IN YOUR PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM, and
2. DEFINE, IN WRITING, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO EACH ITEM.
Here is a list of the most common items to include in your program and what should be done for each are:
- HVAC: Clean coils, change filters, oil motors.
- Rain gutters: Inspect for secure fastening and clean out.
- Roofs and Flashing: Inspect and repair.
- Water Heaters: Inspect, drain and descale.
- Fire Extinguishers: Inspect and recharge.
- Smoke Alarms: Inspect and test battery.
- Photocells: Inspect, test and clean.
- Storm Drains: Inspect and clean.
- Lawn Sprinklers: Inspect, test, replace heads, and reset timers.
- Exterior Doors: Inspect weather stripping, thresholds, hinges, door closers and locks.
- Parking Lot: Inspect for cracks and potholes.
- Balcony and Stairwell Railings: Inspect for secure fastening.
- Exterior of buildings: Inspect for wood rot, loose or damaged trim, paint deterioration and loose or damaged siding.
- Swimming Pool: Inspect filters and pumps, oil and adjust.
- Exterior, Common Area and Signage Lighting: Inspect and adjust timers or photocells.
Since each property is different, this is not a complete list. For example, a high-rise building will probably have elevators, fire sprinklers, and a central HVAC with a chiller tower. By doing a complete walk through of the property, you can create a list of everything that will be included in the program. To determine what needs to be done to each item to maintain it, talk to your suppliers and subcontractors who sold and installed each item. Service booklets with maintenance schedules and requirements are typically supplied with appliances and equipment.
3. DETERMINE, IN WRITING, HOW OFTEN THE ITEMS NEED MAINTENANCE.
Each item needs to be inspected regularly. Again, ask the manufacturer, read the service book, and talk to the subcontractors to come up with a schedule. Using the list above, add a “frequency” column:
ITEM FREQUENCY
- HVAC: Clean coils, change filters, oil motors. Q
- Rain gutters: Inspect for secure fastening Q
and clean out.
- Roofs and Flashing: Inspect and repair. S
- Water Heaters: Inspect, drain and descale. A
- Fire Extinguishers: Inspect and recharge. SR
- Smoke Alarms: Inspect and test battery. SR
- Photocells: Inspect, test and clean. Q
- Storm Drains: Inspect and clean. S
- Lawn Sprinklers: Inspect, test, replace W
heads, reset timers.
- Exterior Doors: Inspect weather stripping, SR
thresholds, hinges, door closers and locks.
- Parking Lot: Inspect for cracks and potholes. W
- Balcony and Stairwell Railings: Inspect for SR
secure fastening.
- Exterior of buildings: Inspect for wood rot, Q
loose or damaged trim, paint deterioration
and loose or damaged siding.
- Swimming Pool: Inspect filters and pumps, Q
oil and adjust.
- Exterior, Common Area and Signage Lighting:W
Inspect and adjust timers or photocells.
CODES: W=weekly, M=monthly, Q=quarterly, S=semi-annually, A=Annually, SR=ANYTIME A SERVICE TECHNICIAN IS IN AN APARTMENT!
One of the most cost effective ways to provide preventive maintenance (say that three times fast!) is to have your Service Technician perform a “mini-maintenance” on each apartment when they are completing a service request. After completing the service request, the Service Technician can check all faucets for drips, flush the toilets to see if they run, check all the window screens, graphite the locks, check the HVAC filter, etc. This “mini-maintenance” should only take five or ten minutes, and the inspection can be noted on the service request.
4. CREATE A WRITTEN SCHEDULE OF INSPECTIONS AND MAINTENANCE.
Now that we know what needs to maintained and how often it should be checked, we can create a schedule. The most commonly used preventive maintenance schedules list the items vertically on the left side of a 12 column pad, and then use each horizontal column to represent a month, giving you a form that can be used for annual, semi-annual and quarterly inspections. Make another form with a 13-column pad to get your weekly schedule. Make up one of each for the property and each building, listing all exterior and common area items. Create a second set of schedule forms for each apartment in each building, listing only the interior items. Put your "master copy" of each schedule in a safe place so you can make additional copies as needed.
Once the basic schedules are complete, bring them to a print shop and have them enlarge the schedules, printing them on heavy card stock, and cover them with acetate film so they could be written on and erased. (Make sure you use ONLY the erasable marker pen for writing on the film.) The schedules can be mounted on plywood and hung in the maintenance shop. Update the preventive maintenance “boards” by taking information from completed service requests. (NOTE: ANY WORK assigned to your service staff, ESPECIALLY preventive maintenance work, should be issued on a service request.
5. CREATE A WRITTEN INSPECTION/MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST.
The same schedules we just prepared would also be used as the manager's preventive maintenance checklist. The manager would update their schedule from the one posted in the shop, and then perform spot checks. Any work marked complete but not complete would be designated on a service request, and assigned. In addition, find out why the work wasn’t completed and address the problem immediately: Not enough staff, unusually high workload that month, staff needs training, etc.
6. CREATE YOUR BUDGET ON WHAT YOU ACTUALLY NEED, NOT A “RULE OF THUMB”
Most preventive maintenance programs fail because they run out of money: money for parts (inventory), money for replacement items and money for staff to perform the preventive maintenance work while keeping up with the daily maintenance work. I know it’s tough to do a zero-based budget, and you have a much better chance of success by budgeting what you need and then dividing that amount by the total number of units at the property to find out your “per-unit” cost than you do if you choose a “per-unit” cost and multiply it by the number of units.
Start by reviewing as much historical data as possible – 2 or 3 year’s worth of financial statements and invoices will be sufficient. What level of service do you plan to give your Residents? The answer to that question will dictate the quality and amount of inventory you need to budget for, as well as impact your maintenance payroll budget. Remember not to be penny-wise and pound foolish; the only thing worse than not showing up at the Resident’s apartment to fix something is TO show up and fix something – poorly, or with cheap parts – so that the Resident has to call you AGAIN to get it fixed AGAIN! (Which will probably mean they won’t renew again!)
When your staff is properly trained, you maintain an adequate, quality inventory and you regularly inspect and service all of the items identified as part of your program, you will save lots of money by PREVENTing replacements and additional maintenance, not to mention reducing Resident turnover!
Doug Chasick, CPM®, CAPS, CAS, Adv. RAM, CLP, SLE, CDEI, is The ApartmentDoctor™, restoring rental health to multifamily professionals for the past 38 years. A licensed real estate broker in Florida and Georgia and a Licensed Fair Housing Expert Instructor in Virginia, he’s based in Melbourne Beach, FL and can be reached by writing to or by visiting and
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