When it is important to keep a building in good repair, to provide adequate financial for future cyclical or major repairs, and to ensure that the maintenance funds or service charges are used wisely, then a planned maintenance programme is required.

Orpwood Associates have prepared maintenance programmes for many residential apartment blocks and institutional buildings. Commonly extending over a 10-year period, the preparation of the plan commences with a detailed survey of the property, usually accompanied by the inspection of the communal building services such as lifts, hot and cold water supplies, heating, ventilation and drains by specialist contractors.

Following the inspection, the cost of each repair is estimated and prioritised in respect of their urgency, their overall effect on the building and its occupants, and the availability of funds. A programme of repairs is then prepared, taking into account such matters as the frequency of cyclical repairs, the need to make maximum use of scaffolding, and the need to avoid undue fluctuations in the service charge or annual expenditure budgets.

The preliminary programme is then discussed with the clients, to ensure that their own priorities and management criteria are taken account of and then a final programme is produced on an Excel spreadsheet, enabling the programme to be revised on an annual basis as repairs are carried out, quotations received and substituted for estimated figures, or to adjust for changes of inflation in building costs.

The plan can also incorporate advice on compliance with new statutes, health and safety issues, and energy saving proposals.

Once the plan is adopted, we can also assist with its implementation, either by recommending suitable contractors or preparing specifications for the work, obtaining tenders, and carrying out the contract administration process.