With the economic problems in the US starting to hit the UK, customers are trimming budgets and cutting right back but what they shouldn't do is cut corners on service and maintenance says John Wright, EWS general manager.
'FM manager's trying to minimise their service and maintenance obligations are putting their employees at risk and it is a false economy that could seriously backfire' warns John.
John is particularly concerned that the predicted warm summer is likely to exacerbate problems. The likelihood of a system failure is far greater when temperatures rise.
Many air conditioning systems are only designed to cope with temperatures up to 28ºC or 30ºC maximum, but when temperatures touch 32ºC or more, systems struggle to deliver enough cooling either because they fall short of the specifications in a bid to cut costs or service and maintenance has been neglected.
By investing in a robust planned preventative maintenance programme customers can minimise the likelihood of failures as our engineers can flag up design, installation and other potential problems early on and rectify them before they become a major problem in the summer months. Engineers and support teams can also advise and help engineer a solution.
The F-Gas regulations are already increasing workloads for engineers up and down the country but EWS is doing everything it can to alert all its customers to the requirements of the legislation so that customers can plan accordingly and not be caught out and breaking the law.
John Wright says that although companies are looking to run leanly they are aware of their health and safety obligations and that that the real problem is that far too many view maintenance as a seasonal activity. 'The trend for boilers to be maintained in the autumn or later and air conditioning systems when temperatures start to increase is illogical.'
'Investing in a PPM programmes ensures that your plant is well looked after all year round. Relying on a reactive strategy is a short term fix and can prove costly in the long term.'
Despite EWS' warning some customers will continue to give maintenance a low priority. Although 2008 is expected to be a tough year financially, cutting back on essentials such as service and maintenance or leaving it to chance could see some companies paying a very high price.
EWS
01732 868682