News analysis with BESA


Energy and safety worries turning up heat on maintenance


Rising energy prices and an increased focus on keeping people safe and well in buildings is radically changing the way many clients look at how they plan and cost maintenance


W


hile some still think it is OK to fi le facilities management under ‘discretionary expenditure’ and look to


make cutbacks, more are starting to recognise it as an extremely valuable route to longer term savings that can also help them comply with increasingly stringent legal obligations. The unprecedented combination of energy


becoming a real source of concern to fi nancial managers and a laser like focus on occupant safety via the new Building Safety Act is creating unique circumstances for an FM ‘bounce’. However, many building owners and managers


are uncertain about how to put a proper FM strategy in place. Lack of awareness, information and expertise means businesses are missing out on energy savings and performance improvements. The government has launched a ‘public


information campaign’ designed to help people cut their energy use by 15% and the Chancellor announced an additional £6bn from 2025 for energy effi ciency measures in his autumn statement, but speed is of the essence as many businesses are facing real fi nancial hardship this winter.


Advantage


New research from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) found that UK businesses and homeowners are already missing out on over £3bn worth of savings every year which they could take advantage of immediately if they give a bit more thought to what is already happening in their buildings. The ‘Powering Energy Effi ciency’ report published


in collaboration with the pump manufacturer Grundfos found that 14% of businesses have either never had a boiler service or have not had one in the last fi ve years, despite three-quarters of business owners saying they wanted to make their heating system energy effi cient. 20% of business owners admitted they had not had an energy effi ciency audit for more than fi ve years – many had never had one. Only 37% of the 500 business owners contacted


for the report said they checked their eligibility for business grants and only 32% would seek advice on how to improve energy effi ciency. Instead of improving


building performance, some are looking to reduce overheads by cutting staff numbers and wages, with others making more people work from home. This represents a huge, missed opportunity. Around 80% of a building’s total costs are accounted


for during its operating life with only 20% from construction. However, the industry has struggled to accurately predict lifetime maintenance costs or plan them in a way that extracts best value for the end user. Much of this must be done retrospectively and the new pressure on operating costs is creating increased demand for detailed ‘in use’ audits. The market for UK building maintenance is estimated at over £60 billion/per annum, but a lot of that money is not being properly targeted to reduce running costs and carbon emissions, and not enough being spent on keeping buildings operating safely and effi ciently.


There is a lot of ‘guess work’ involved and many


FM strategies are simply based around the size of the building or its fl oor area – rather than on the systems that are actually installed and in use. The engineer’s traditional ‘rule of thumb’ plays far too big a part today despite the availability of sophisticated digital tools that can create a much more accurate picture of where energy savings can be made, and safety strategies created. Even a basic analysis of the building services


will identify where small improvements can make a signifi cant diff erence – and some of those steps are completely free. Turning down thermostats and heating fl ow temperatures, having boilers and other plant serviced, improving insulation, and replacing ineffi cient lightbulbs with LEDs are all quick and easy measures, but while some users are embracing this approach enthusiastically, many more are not.


8


January 2023


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