Facilities Management

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To protect property values, association boards and managers must maintain certain elements of the community.  To recognize the community association maintenance needs and provide for adequate maintenance of the association's physical asses a facilities management system is needed.

Facilities Management System

• Identify the physical assets to maintain
  • Review governing documents for maintenance requirements
  • Inventory all common real property and common personal property
• Analyze the assets' maintenance needs
  • Conduct a site visit of the property
  • Examine building plans or specifications
  • Review any reserve studies
  • Review all maintenance records
  • Interview board members, employees, or contractors
  • Review product or equipment manufacturers
• Develop maintenance management controls
  • Maintenance Calendar
  • Maintenance Record
  • Site Visit Checklist
  • Site Visit Report
  • Work Order / Response Form
• Establish five basic maintenance programs
  • Routine Maintenance
  • Preventative Maintenance
  • Emergency Service Maintenance
  • Requested or Corrective Maintenance
  • Scheduled Replacement
• Evaluate your maintenance system and efforts
  • Follow up with residents on requested maintenance
  • Review financial reports
  • Review all work orders
  • Inspect the maintenance work performed
  • Monitor "call-backs" or repeat work orders

Association boards and community managers often wonder how to write appropriate bid specifications and draft effective contracts.  The answer is not simple.  Solid bidding techniques are built on research and hard work.  The board and the manager must find a list of quality companies, decide what needs to be done, what to do if a worker is injured on the job, how to ensure the job is done right, how to pay for the work, and who signs the repair contract.  

• Bid specifications and contract negotiations are the key to a successful repair or maintenance job.
• The first step in maintenance or repair contract negotiation is to determine the association's responsibilities and to decide whether to handle the work in-house or to hire a contractor.
• Written specifications should state clearly what will be done, by whom, when, where, time limitations, materials used, and payment method.  Detailed, inclusive specifications help ensure that the job will be completed satisfactorily.
• Once the specifications have been determined, send bid invitations to five or six companies.
• Use on-site inspections and question/answer sessions with the bid prospects to ensure the contractor understands the work to be done.
• Regularly inspect the work in progress.  Do not pay for work that is not performed according to the specifications.  When possible, only pay for completed work.