Jay Pearlman: Take Advantage of the Data You Already Collect

Jay Pearlman

Facilities managers and sustainability staff members can use common management tools to support sustainability planning. My previous post discussed using the project (or deferred maintenance) backlog as a way to contribute years of accumulated facilities knowledge, planning, and expertise to the process. But it’s also important to have regular discussions about ongoing facilities-management issues and how everyday activities affect sustainability. In particular, you can mine your work-order or computerized maintenance-management system for valuable insight into issues that may otherwise go unmentioned around the sustainability table.

Computerized maintenance-managment systems record, manage, and track work orders within facilities departments. At many institutions, they also track labor hours, material costs, and inventories—making them a data source ready to be exploited.

In general, they keep track of a few basic types of work. Daily service refers to routine repairs or service calls reported by customers. These do not add value to the facility, but simply fix things that are not functioning properly. Planned maintenance and project work orders, on the other hand, actually add value. Like changing the oil on your car, good maintenance practices prolong the lives of systems. 

So where should you start? First, think broadly when you think about sustainability. An action that saves energy is of course viewed as sustainable, but from a facilities perspective so is a project that frees labor resources or extends the life of a building system. Mine your maintenance-management system to show areas of concentrated daily service calls. These often center on aging systems and equipment in buildings—the systems that disproportionately drive up utility costs and consumption.

Are there a lot of “hot/cold” calls from one building? Does a plumber spend two days each week in one basement? Start discussing how to fix the root causes of these issues, instead of providing bandages. This could save energy and carbon, but also release labor resources that can be used for more planned maintenance or project work. Create a cycle of sustainable actions using data that you have at your fingertips. 

Finally, celebrate your successes. Show the increased amount of stewardship and planned maintenance you have done as a result of decreased daily service needs. Translate these actions to concrete examples to show how systems last longer, reduce waste streams, and preserve raw materials. One of the best ways to illustrate the benefits of improved maintenance of mechanical systems is to point to drops in energy consumption: Your monthly utility report can be used to show the impact you’re having.