Why you should outsource your electrical maintenance services
Whether you’re a dedicated facilities manager, or a business owner who must very much be all things to all people, there exists one universal question about premises electrical maintenance: does it pay to outsource, or should such services be kept strictly in-house?
This common consideration usually involves some pondering of the current skills of in-house staff, and it most always involves a question about budget and which may be the most cost effective option. Unfortunately however it seems that for many the misconception is that outsourcing is expensive, and that it is both cheaper and more convenient to either train in-house staff, or delegate misleadingly important tasks down the management chain.
With all of this in mind we wanted to debunk a few facilities management myths and clarify far too many misconceptions that surround outside maintenance companies; and to this end here are 8 un-negotiating reasons why it really is best to outsource your maintenance services. Check out the electrical maintenance services we perform.
1. You can solve issues that may be both big and small
An electrical maintenance company can cope just as well with the changing of a lightbulb as they can with vitally important large repair jobs. This ensures that your staff aren’t distracted and taken away from their roles to deal with frequent small tasks, nor are they tied up for days on end with tasks that are both larger and more demanding upon their limited maintenance skills.
2. You, your staff and your company as a whole can focus on the important stuff: such as making money
Unless you have an in-house, extensive maintenance service department, undertaking tasks ranging from cleaning right through to building painting may see your staff taken away from their roles. This in itself can present a serious problem to the everyday working of your business and, rather than your carefully crafted departments working together seamlessly to cope with everyday operations as well as driving the business forward, you instead face the prospect of continually moving staff around to meet shortages.
3. You can look forward to jobs being tackled promptly
Outsourcing your electrical maintenance service needs mean that you have experts who on-hand quickly. In the majority of cases this will usually be within a predefined time, with maintenance staff reaching your site to tackle that job quickly and getting your facilities back up and running with the most minimal disruption.
4. You can be safe in the knowledge that fully trained staff are handling jobs that they truly know how to do
Electrical Maintenance tasks around your premises will differ in the health and safety issues that they present and for anyone less than the fully professionally trained this can literally present life and death situations as well as hidden dangers.
Choosing to outsource your maintenance repairing services ensures that your premises is looked after by staff who truly know what they’re doing and the ways in which they can work in complete safety.
What’s more if your business is accredited with the meeting of certain standards you can ensure that these standards are protected through electrical maintenance service companies that undertake thorough health and safety assessments on a frequent basis.
5. You benefit from staff who come with complete tool boxes, along with the right work wear and equipment
Specialist electrical repairing service companies hold all the equipment required to cope with any and every maintenance need that you could ever list. Their staff come with kitted out toolboxes as well as wearing the right protective work wear to undertake their tasks. This then means that your jobs needn’t wait whilst someone pops out to purchase that particular light fitting, screwdriver or cleaning product and it also means that your staff aren’t put into dangerous situations by knowingly using incorrect tools and equipment for unsuitable tasks.
6. You can budget more confidently and benefit from set costings
Maintenance services can be notoriously tricky to plan ahead for with any sort of accuracy and what’s more there are a whole range of unpredictable maintenance tasks that can upset the balance sheet.
When you choose a maintenance company you benefit from reduced material costs (as their wholesale priced material savings are passed onto you) and, as many can provide a comprehensive range of pricing structures (including set monthly charges) planning ahead financially can be made a whole lot easier.
7. You can look forward to reduced downtime of equipment, making your equipment and staff more profitable
The importance of efficient maintenance can be the literal difference between profit and loss. This is best demonstrated by the metric that most companies use in at least some department, and that is the metric of downtime. Without a maintenance company you can be looking at downtimes that seemingly become ever larger, however with a dedicated maintenance company you benefit from an outside company that has the dedicated job of ensuring that you’re back in business in as short a time as possible.
8. Maintenance service companies can undertake a plethora of tasks which may roll numerous providers into one: saving you both time and money
Good commercial electricians provide a wide range of services that can role many service providers into one. This then may not only help you save by effectively bulk buying, but it also allows you to save on soft costs, such as you staff’s time in searching for various contacts, paying numerous invoices and dealing with far too many companies.
Generic examples of the electrical maintenance services that such a company may provide include:
– Planned Preventative Maintenance Contracts
– Fixed Wiring Testing
– Building painting
– Light maintenance
– PAT Testing
– Fire Alarm Maintenance
– Cleaning services
– Tool room services
– Emergency Lighting Maintenance
– Thermographic Surveys
– Vehicle repair
– Load Monitoring
– Installation of equipment
– Design of new facilities
Key questions to pose to a potential maintenance service provider
With so many benefits to outsourcing your maintenance needs you may now want to know how to go about this, and what types of questions you may need to ask of such a company. To this end the following ten questions should serve as all you need to know about the capabilities of the company you’re considering.
1. How do you recruit your maintenance technicians?
This question will provide you with insight as to the calibre of staff that the company in question provides. It will also ensure that you’re not outsourcing to a company that acts as an outsourcer themselves.
2. Do you provide any idea of guaranteed savings?
This question will largely depend upon your maintenance needs, and will not apply in all situations. That said if you currently face consistent maintenance outgoings for materials then this should be more than feasible.
3. Do you provide any metrics upon which we can base your performance?
Relevant metrics may be used within your departments right now, a prime example of which when dealing with certain systems is that of downtime.
4. Do you operate based upon a continuous improvement model?
Continuous improvement models focus in on four stages that promote long-term thinking, the elimination waste, the ongoing training of staff and a continuous commitment to improvement and learning.
5. Will you provide ongoing training to your employees?
Ongoing training for electrical maintenance staff is essential if they’re to be kept up-to date with the latest tools, technologies and safety guidance that protects them whilst on your premises.
6. Do you have guidelines as to when we should expect your technicians in an emergency or relatively urgent situation?
Knowing when maintenance staff may arrive at your premises is essential when faced with an emergency, and most companies should be able to provide you with at least a limited idea of how quickly their staff can respond to your call.
7. Are your maintenance services your core business? Or does it serve as an aside for your main business?
Many companies tack on maintenance services as an additional extra that they really know very little about. So asking about how they approach their maintenance arm of the business is therefore essential for choosing a company that are maintenance specialists, rather than part timers.
8. Do repairable parts come under the set pricing, or can you provide a comprehensive idea of costings?
Each maintenance company has their own approach to pricing and, depending upon your specific needs, they may be able to provide you with a full idea of costing upon which to weigh up your options.
9. Do you have any past or current client testimonials that I may read?
Asking for previous customer testimonials is an excellent way of gaining insight into why other businesses choose and continue to use the company in question. These testimonials may therefore be freely available upon the maintenance company’s website, or you may need to enquire about them.
10. Is your company accustomed with the accreditation’s that we hold, and the ways in which we must operate to maintain them?
This last question may or may not be relevant, depending upon whether your company does indeed hold accreditation’s such as ISO 19011, ISO 14001 or any other such standard.
One Way cover a plethora of electrical maintenance services for commercial and industrial clients who each have facilities with unique demands; from providing solid services to substation control buildings right through to ensuring robust maintenance for retail units.
We are NICEIC approved, committed to uncompromising customer services and serious about providing comprehensive services that keep our clients safe and their commercial properties maintained. We are the go to company for flexible maintenance services.