Asset management and maintenance
‘Hidden risks’ in legacy buildings
Andrew Steel, managing director of air hygiene and water treatment specialist, Airmec, considers some of the key priorities for estates and facilities teams managing older healthcare estates to ensure that both the buildings, and the plant and equipment within them, are maintained in a safe, fit-for-purpose condition. He stresses the need both for accurate and proper risk assessment – particularly when ‘legacy’ buildings have been regularly adapted, updated, or refurbished over time, and, equally, to maintain up-to-date and comprehensive asset registers.
F
acilities management is part of PFI agreements, with a new PFI-funded hospital’s Trust typically using the PFI facilities management company for all the buildings and grounds maintenance. The Trust may also indeed be bound to use the PFI non-clinical services company for services such as cleaning, catering, laundry and linen, car parking, security, switchboard services, and portering.
The lowest bidder will almost inevitably have won the PFI contract, and, for the provider to make it work, this means that FM services must be planned and delivered efficiently and cost-effectively. You do not need to dig too deeply in the news to find examples of failures in hotel and cleaning services. Shortfalls in delivering essential air and water services are thankfully rare, but again, delivering safe facilities to budget in these areas is certainly helped by having brand new infrastructure and, presumably, access to accurate records of every fixture and fitting – the reliable schematic asset register that is so often missing in older buildings.
‘Black holes’ in records In contrast, older buildings still being used for outpatient services or by partnership Trusts are likely to have a legacy of historical ‘black holes’ in the records, and the PFI provider’s facilities management arms often decline to bid for contracts to deliver services in them. It is not just a simple case of cherry picking: their processes and infrastructure are simply not geared to these jobs. Authorising Engineers and Designated Persons within Trusts’ estates and facilities management teams may find little understanding at board
An accurate record of ventilation systems and locations of fire dampers is essential. ‘A world apart’
level of the complexity, workload, and the costs, involved in keeping older premises safe. Take Legionella – for many healthcare estates and facilities managers a very major focus, and indeed fear. While newer buildings may have the advantage of zoned water systems and built-in flushing valves, systems in older buildings are often mysteries even to the people who manage them. There will be a history of refurbishments and minor works such that nobody really knows the system intimately, or could locate every pipe, outlet, and potential risk area. More worryingly, equipment may be found to be unfit for purpose or obsolete, making repairs and maintenance difficult. Authorising Engineers will already have this on their agenda, but Trusts may not be prepared for the financial implications.
A typical example similar to real-life situations we have experienced would be some 1,000 TMVs in an older building that is almost next door to the brand new general hospital with its enviable facilities, but a world apart. It has the legacy that typically comes from decades of organic change in the use of different parts of the building. In such an example, a large proportion of the TMVs (thermostatic mixing valves) may be either so old that no one knows their make or part number or, if they can be identified, the service kits cost three times their modern value. In the medium to long term, it can be cheaper to replace such components even if they are still working. Servicing intervals and procedures for TMVs are well documented, and ultimately carry the regulatory requirements of ACOP L8 and
Health Estate Journal 47September 2016
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