Fabric maintenance is an extremely important part of helping facilities managers (FMs) to remain compliant. But what legislation do FMs need to adhere to? And how can Elogs Facilities Services help? In this article, we’ll uncover how fabric maintenance activities support compliance, as well as how Elogs Facilities Services can be an invaluable tool for FMs.
Why is fabric maintenance important?
Building fabric maintenance is particularly important in helping businesses to ensure compliance and meet health and safety standards. Fabric maintenance covers the areas of your building that aren’t viewed as specialist, electrical, or mechanical. It encompasses a wide range of works, including but not limited to lighting, windows, floors, carpentry, and more.
Facilities Managers (FMs) have a responsibility to keep their properties safe so to protect occupants and remain compliant. Fabric maintenance can have a serious effect on the success of your business, as well as the compliance of your properties and assets.
How does fabric maintenance support building compliance?
Although fabric maintenance works are often classed as ‘minor’, they are vital for ensuring building safety and compliance. Building compliance encompasses many different aspects of a building, including asbestos, gas and water, fire safety, electrics, structural integrity, and more. So, if your properties fall into disrepair, or equipment is not adequately maintained, you could put your tenants and workers at risk.
Through fabric maintenance, you can prevent unexpected equipment failures which makes it easier to remain compliant with government legislation and regulatory standards. So, as an FM who manages commercial or residential properties, fabric maintenance is crucial.
Elogs Facilities Services manages your fabric maintenance requirements efficiently, cost-effectively, and to the highest quality. We use Prosure360, a supplier management software, meaning that our supply chain is made up of verified suppliers and contractors. This means you can have peace of mind that all fabric maintenance jobs will be completed to a high standard by qualified and appropriately insured professionals.
What building legislation is currently in place?
Getting to grips with the latest legislation is vital for facilities and property managers. With regulations always changing, it is crucial that FMs take control of their buildings and ensure safety and compliance at every step. So, what legislation do FMs need to know about?
The Building Safety Act 2022
The Act was brought in after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 and requires building managers and FMs to stay vigilant in keeping their properties compliant. The Building Safety Act 2022 is a significant piece of legislation, which has introduced changes to the way that building safety must be approached for in-scope buildings.
The Fire Safety Act
This Act is another one that was born out of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The legislation amends the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which aims to ensure the safety of people in domestic premises.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 expands the order’s scope to include common areas of shared blocks of flats. Additionally, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduced new obligations for high-rise residential buildings. Since the Act applies to most buildings and structures, facilities managers must ensure that their premises meet the required standards.
The Health and Safety at Work Act
Although this Act is targeted at employers, it also affects facilities managers and building owners. For landlords and FMs who look after commercial buildings, they have a duty to protect its occupants by keeping the building safe and helping it remain compliant. The Health and Safety at Work Act requires FMs to continually ensure a healthy and safe working environment for building occupants.
Often, this involves carrying out regular maintenance work and conducting risk assessments to identify potential hazards.
Why should facilities managers care about building compliance?
On top of avoiding legal pitfalls, remaining compliant also has a wealth of benefits for FMs and their respective businesses. By ensuring building compliance with fabric maintenance, FMs can:
- Boost their professional reputation within the industry.
- Improve health and safety of building occupants.
- Reduce risk of legal ramifications.
- Enhance relationships within the supply chain.
- Drive efficiency and productivity.
- Minimise risk of expensive repairs.
- Optimise buildings for peak performance.
- Decrease risk of financial loss.
So, what actions should facilities managers take to keep their buildings compliant?
What do facilities managers need to do to remain compliant?
Preventative maintenance.
By implementing preventive fabric maintenance, FMs can avoid equipment breakdowns which will reduce the likelihood of compliance breaches. Facilities Managers should incorporate fabric maintenance into their Preventative Planned Maintenance (PPM) activities because this will help prevent a build-up of repairs.
Carrying out preventative fabric maintenance allows you to address potential compliance issues before they even arise. Preventative maintenance is far more effective than reactive maintenance because it allows you to prevent future problems with your assets or equipment. This means you can avoid unexpected, expensive emergency repairs and extend the lifecycle of your assets, as well as adding value.
By scheduling maintenance activities in advance, maintenance problems are less likely to occur. This proactive approach will help you cut costs and improve health, safety, and compliance across your business.
Documentation access and management
Data compliance involves demonstrating compliance through reporting and standardising data related to compliance. Facilities managers can mitigate data risks by using facilities management systems to capture and report on relevant data.
Elogs Facilities Services is backed by our CAFM+ Service Desk, which can be an extremely useful tool for managing and sharing critical facility related data. Elogs CAFM stores all your documentation, tracks actions, and allows you to see comprehensive audit trails so that everyone stays informed.
Ultimately, this means you can see what equipment has been serviced and when, the service history of your assets, any supplier requests. With Elogs CAFM+ Service Desk, you have full visibility of your buildings. This means it’s much easier to secure and share sensitive information.
Regular property checks
Routine fabric maintenance checks are essential for identifying and addressing serious health and safety risks. Without regular property checks, buildings could become unsafe, putting the health and wellbeing of occupants in danger. It’s also important to note that, without sufficient building maintenance, you could also damage your professional reputation.
Facilities Services keeps your assets and equipment in check, enhancing the overall health and safety of your properties. This ensures that you remain compliant and reduce any risks to tenant and occupant safety. By providing a reliable supply chain of verified service providers, your business can also reduce risk of accidents, poor workmanship, and reputational damage.
We have unrivalled experience in helping organisations ensure they are safe and compliant with all things related to fabric works. Elogs Facilities Services will enable you to save time because you won’t need to find a reliable contractor or constantly raise invoices and oversee payments.
Are all your buildings safe and compliant? Ensure that your properties are adhering to the latest regulatory standards with Elogs Facilities Services!
