Existing Buildings

Building Documentation is often considered a necessity by Contractors but it can be a job saver to a Facilities Manager. The Facilities Manager needs documentation to be accurate, robust and searchable.

He has two priorities with the Building Files:

  • Firstly in a planning phase - plan the preventative maintenance and when many certifications need to be renewed of both the building and plant. To find out the information on each peace of plant his source is the building documentation files.
  • Secondly is a reactive phase - when a piece of plant or part of the building is in breakdown or fault the FM needs to understand what and why and how to repair the item. This important information needs to be readily at hand to pass on to the technicians who will carry out the repair.

Why does this information need to be readily at hand? Health and Safety is the key reason - to ensure all persons that work on the maintenance and repair of your building are aware of the procedures, process and risks involved and so to minimise the likely impact.

Searching through arch lever files for a distribution board location or a water stop when it’s dark or water flooding in is no help. A quick search engine is needed by the FM to rapidly search and pass on the key information to the people who need it.

In these days of multi site management, carrying all the information you need is near impossible in paper form but we can when we have access to the Internet and your electronic data on building documentation is available on laptops, IPAQs or phones. 

All of that help needs the initial step of digitising the building documents and storing them on a database which is searchable, storable and transportable.

The Construction Company has no contract with the Facilities Manager but when the FM needs to plan and extension or a refurbishment he will use the same builder when he has confidence in him, so good electronic data will bring the construction company more long term business.