21 Sep Budget forecasting for roof maintenance
How to ensure your facility stays in top shape for the new financial year
With the new financial year underway, it’s the ideal time to consider your budgetary allocations for facilities maintenance – and in particular roof maintenance.
It’s a common issue for many of R&BS’s clients, who often face the mammoth task of prioritising works amongst multiple large facilities – without having any current information about the condition and prospective longevity of their roofs.
There are several core factors to consider when you’re allocating funds to roof maintenance and assessment. These include:
- Your site’s maintenance history
- The time remaining on the current warranty (if any)
- Anticipated weather patterns – such as periods of heavy rain
- Existing maintenance strategies
- Planned refurbishments, and
- Changes to the building’s utilisation.
It’s important to consider these issues thoroughly when sourcing a reliable roof maintenance contractor.
In this news post, the expert facilities maintenance team from R&BS explore the ways you can source the right contractor for your needs, and ensure your roof maintenance budget is accurate for the financial year ahead.
How a roof assessment can assist with budget forecasting
As a building owner or facilities manager, you’re no doubt aware of the need not to make assumptions about your facility’s integrity based simply on its outward appearance. Issues with roof integrity can be deeply ingrained in a building’s structure, and may not be immediately apparent.
Additionally, with modern buildings commonly featuring solar panels, roof-top gardens, and extensive plant installations, it is impossible to simply conduct a visual inspection of any roof and ascertain a budget projection with any degree of accuracy.
For these reasons, forecasting roof maintenance expenses based on a generic assessment (or from unqualified service providers) is not recommended. This can lead to costly and unexpected repairs.
Instead, you should obtain a comprehensive roof assessment from a dependable contractor, as a critical step in creating a maintenance budget forecast that’s both reasonable and reliable.
Choosing a reliable roofing maintenance contractor
Arranging a comprehensive inspection of your existing facilities can be nerve-wracking, particularly if you’re in the position of having to try the services of a new and untested contractor.
A key method of determining a roof maintenance contractor’s suitability is longevity. If a contractor hasn’t yet been established for longer than their warranty period, it is best to use caution when considering their recommendations!
Many budgets rely upon major maintenance services occurring irregularly, which is why an unreliable warranty may cause your costs to balloon unexpectedly. You should ensure that any warranty offered is guaranteed by the contractor, in addition to the manufacturer. This is critical when maintaining a reliable maintenance budget.
For larger organisations, investigating a contractor’s service record is also an important step in determining suitability, particularly if the works you’re requesting are likely to be large or take place across multiple sites.
Contractors should be capable of providing you with multiple references at short notice. If the maintenance contractor cannot provide references, or if the references dispute their service claims, it’s best to find an alternative provider.
Ensuring compliance from your roofing maintenance provider
Compliance is key when making a final decision on engaging a service provider, particularly if the maintenance works required are likely to be high-risk.
At a minimum, contractors should be capable of providing you with:
- Templates for all safety documents pending site-specific copies, including:
- JSHIDs
- Safe work method statements (SWMS)
- an HMR, and
- Any other documents critical to site safety, including safety, environmental and quality policies.
- Consider whether you want to review a contractor’s privacy and communications policies
- Evidence that trained safety personnel, including first-aid staff, will be present on-site throughout the works.
- Compliance material including, but not limited to, public liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, vehicle/fleet insurance, and insurance covering tools and equipment. A maintenance contractor should be capable of readily supplying certifications for all staff, including basic white cards.
Compliance requirements aside, as a facilities manager or building owner it’s important that you feel confident in the proposals set forth by a maintenance contractor, both in terms of set costs and variations. That’s why it’s important to verify how unexpected delays will be addressed, how long they may take, and how much they may add to your budget.
It’s reasonable to request a photographic survey with all proposals you receive. Along with the process of reviewing the document with the contractor, this will allow you to gain a comprehensive picture of the required works. It can also help you to identify any loopholes in the proposal which may need to be closed.
Above all, you should ensure that any maintenance contractor you retain will not only guarantee their work – but will have the time and resources to follow through on any such guarantee.
In order to ensure your budget stands the test of time, seek consultants and contractors who:
- Have a demonstrable history within the roofing industry
- Can offer comprehensive roof maintenance schedules and scopes of work
- Are compliant with relevant health and safety standards, and
- Will take the time to discuss their findings with you, and any other relevant stakeholders (such as your in-house architects and/or engineers).
Always question potential service providers as thoroughly as possible. Those with the capacity to provide the services they are offering will be able to answer any question you may care to ask – and will be happy to do so!
Get expert advice on budget forecasting for roof & facility maintenance
Before you choose a roof maintenance contractor, talk to the expert team at R&BS. We offer your business a complimentary, no-obligation 30 minute consultation with our experienced consultants before you commit to a comprehensive roof assessment for your business or facility.
To request your business’s free half hour consultation, call R&BS now on 1800 550 037 or fill out the contact form below for a fast response.