When planning the construction of a new retail building, there is a long checklist to consider: zoning, location, site utilities, financial capital and much more. Thinking about the building’s maintenance costs may not even make the list. After all, you need to finish building before you need to worry about how to maintain it, right?
Wrong. By planning for and addressing maintenance concerns early in the building process, property owners and general contractors can actually save a lot of headache and financial expense down the road. Be proactive now and it will pay off later.
Here are a few factors to consider during the planning stages that can help minimize future maintenance issues.
Design for automation
If you can build automation into the maintenance design of your building, you will be better positioned to make data driven decisions, identify needs and even spot repair issues before a major emergency.
Including smart technology in the retail build and connecting it to a Service Automation platform, enables you to accelerate response time and gain key insights that can make maintenance easier to control and predict. Being able to detect failures and abnormal responses in real time — and even automatically schedule a work order to service the problem -- is no longer science fiction. The technology exists, and it’s a great way to identify even minor issues faster than waiting for an annual inspection or hope for human intervention.
Emergency response preparedness & safety optimization
In any emergency, communication responsibilities and evacuation protocol fall to the facility management team. These emergencies could include fire, security breach, critical systems failure, or even a terrorist attack or active shooter. It is important to build in multiple exits with clear signage. You should also install alarms, sirens, or flashing strobe lights to alert occupants an emergency is at hand.
To safeguard from fire, fire doors need to be kept in place and closed at all times. Fire extinguishers, alarms and emergency fire hoses must be placed in obvious locations with clear signage indicating their use and purpose.
Including these protections will minimize costs and downtime in the event of an emergency.
Use LED lighting
Especially in large retail facilities, maintenance staff spend an exorbitant amount of time on a task often overlooked — changing light bulbs. You might not think it takes long to change a bulb, but that time adds up in a large facility.
Utilizing LED lighting in retail buildings is recommended whenever possible. It will not only save money on energy costs, but the bulbs will last longer. LED bulbs last 50 times longer than a typical incandescent bulb and two to 10 times longer than any other lighting technology.
Hire the right electrical contractor
Many of the potential maintenance issues you will face ultimately come down to the quality of the electrical contractor you hire for the construction of your building.
Do they have experience building retail spaces? Are their workers properly trained? Do they have a reputation of completing jobs on time, on or under budget?
The affiliated contractors that are part of Pennsylvania Electrical Contractor Solutions, or PECS, are committed to top craftsmanship on your retail build. These independent contractors are committed to training their workforce to ensure the work is done right the first time. This helps keep your project on budget. Hiring experienced electricians will also minimize breakdowns and other disruptions during construction.
Hiring a PECS contractor to wire your new retail building almost guarantees the work will be done right the first time. And it will also save on maintenance issues down the road.
Pennsylvania Electrical Contractor Solutions is a consortium of the region’s top electrical contractors who work in Schuylkill, Berks and Lancaster counties. Our affiliated contractors employ highly skilled and highly trained electrical workers, who work safely and have a proven record of completing a job on time and on or under budget.
