As we head into the heating season, it is a good time to remind commercial and multifamily building owners to get their HVAC maintenance done. This semi-annual check is not just a nice-to-do; it should be part of any company’s business continuity plan. In this blog, we are going to look at commercial HVAC maintenance services and why it should be viewed as part of your business continuity strategy rather than just a service that you occasionally book.
What is Business Continuity?
Now, some of our readers might not recognize the phrase business continuity. It simply means a company’s ability to maintain its mainline operations during a disruption such as a power outage, part scarcity or any other potential issue on the shop floor and return to normal operations as quickly as possible. Most business continuity plans account for things like power outages, extreme weather, and emergency communications, but more and more companies are realizing that the facility's physical environment also matters for resuming normal operations.
What does an HVAC failure do to your building’s operations?
More than a few things can happen during an HVAC failure that affect business continuity, so planning for it and maintaining your equipment is so important. Depending on your specific building, heating and cooling setup and the niche that you work within, an HVAC failure may affect:
Your Building
This includes the building's overall temperature; without a working HVAC system, the elements will start to play a role, and your building's temperature will rise or fall over time. It will also affect the building’s air quality, as the air is no longer circulating or being filtered by the heating and cooling system, which in turn can affect your employees' health and safety, especially if you are running a manufacturing line or doing work that causes a lot of dust or airborne debris.
Your Machines
If you run a busy shop with a lot of moving parts, a prolonged HVAC outage can wreak havoc on your machines and electronics. These machines and servers run hot and need plenty of cool air to operate at ideal temperatures. Without it, key components can be under major strain, which can lead to breakdowns and long-term damage which will cost your business hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per day.
Your Internal Safety Regulations
Additionally, HVAC outages can affect the safety and code-related requirements your building or industry may have. We have seen issues with building pressure, exhaust requirements, and internal safety or facility standards affected by a prolonged HVAC outage.
How Does HVAC Maintenance Play a Role?
As any good business continuity plan can tell you, keeping key parts of your business in working order helps ensure you don't have to enact a continuity plan during an outage. That is why HVAC maintenance should be part of your plan and help your building avoid moving to a continuity plan when a simple maintenance service could have saved you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in downtime.
How Preventative Maintenance Can Improve Your HVAC Systems Reliability
A commercial HVAC unit runs almost year-round. Whether you are cooling in the summer or heating in the winter, a large building needs a commercial unit that can meet your comfort demands. However, these systems are also exposed on your roof or behind your building and must handle debris, extreme temperatures, moisture, snow, ice, rain, and anything else Mother Nature can throw at them. So, when you combine the demands of running continuously year-round with the exterior environment, preventative maintenance becomes essential to ensure these machines can keep heating and cooling your space. Proper preventative maintenance could include:
- Inspecting the unit's electrical and mechanical components, including belts, contactors, motors, and fans.
- Inspecting the heat-transfer surfaces and connected piping.
- Inspecting the heating, combustion, and ignition components of the unit.
- Testing the safety controls, sensors, gauges, thermostats and running complete diagnostics on the unit.
- Checking the exterior unit for corrosion, rusting, unusual wear or physical deterioration.
Preventative maintenance is about more than just checking off a few boxes and moving on. Instead, on a commercial unit, our thorough inspections allow our seasoned commercial HVAC technicians to spot issues and take corrective action to prevent complete failure. Plus, with detailed service and maintenance records, we can help your property manager plan ahead for larger repairs and replacements, and work with you to determine life cycle changes and source a suitable upgrade for your specific heating and cooling needs. Simply put, if you run a business and have a commercial HVAC system, maintenance is key to avoiding continuity issues in case of an outage.
