What is maintenance
BMI defines maintenance as all planned and reactive maintenance including internal and external decorations, and fabric and services maintenance. The maintenance of services and equipment that is independent of the buildings such as telephones, refrigerators, cookers and process plant is excluded. Improvements and adaptations and major refurbishments are also excluded.
Sector performance
In its UK construction market development report Q1.2001, MBD identified maintenance as a growing sector — it has even developed while other sectors within construction moved into cyclical decline. In relation to the construction sector as a whole, 1996 output in the repair and maintenance sector increased by more than the market average to 55.9 per cent, the highest level recorded within the review period. In 1999, the proportional importance of the sector to total construction output declined to 50.7 per cent.
Factors affecting maintenance costs
The figures and charts extracted from the BMI report show the differing maintenance costs between buildings with different user function. However, the report also points out that factors other than use will affect maintenance costs - for example size, shape, layout, design and specification, intensity of use and location.
Generally cost per unit area falls as the building size increases. This is partly because as size increases there is usually a decrease in wall to floor ratio, reducing the enclosing elements to be maintained. Also, larger premises justify bulk buying. Shape also affects wall to floor ratio — the more complex the shape, the more enclosing units are required per unit of floor area.
Design and specification is a factor because easily maintained materials and components will —obviously —reduce costs.
A building that is used intensively tends to require more maintenance than one that is not. A factory in operation 24 hours a day will need more maintenance than one that is used for less time.
As with all property matters, location will affect the cost of carrying out a maintenance contract. The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) has issued a map showing regional pricing levels.
The BMI report breaks down maintenance into three major elements: decoration, fabric maintenance and services maintenance. However, BMI notes that the ratio of the costs between the elements will vary as:
- decoration costs are frequently lower, and are dependent on the frequency of repainting and on the areas needing decoration
- fabric costs depend on the wall to floor ratio, density of partitioning, the standards of fitting and the intensity of use
- services maintenance depends on the heating/air conditioning.
Maintenance prices outstrip costs
According to BMI, the rate of maintenance costs slowed in the third quarter of 2000 — although it is still above the level of inflation. The annual rate of increase fell from 4.2 per cent to 3.6 per cent in the last two quarters of 2000. It is expected that the annual increase will remain below four per cent during 2001, although wage rises may push this to above four per cent in 2002. BMI has assumed that; NHS maintenance workers' pay increases 3.5 per cent in April 2001 and April 2002, local authority maintenance workers' pay increases 3.2 per cent in April 2001 and April 2002, building workers' pay increases 5.5 per cent in June 2001 and 8.9 per cent in June 2002, plumbers' pay increases four per cent in August 2001 and August 2002, electricians' pay increase 10.3 per cent in January 2001 and 4 per cent in January 2002, heating and ventilation workers' pay increases 5 per cent in September 2001 and 16.2 per cent in October 2002 and the cost of materials will rise by 2.3 per cent by the end of 2001 and 2.7 per cent in 2002.
Annual maintenance expenditure
The report contains figures which represent an average annual expenditure on maintenance for an 'average' building of each type. The information generally relates to historic expenditure and for some organisations, especially in the public sector, reflects how much they have been allowed to spend rather than the amount they might consider to be more appropriate. However, in order to give a picture of how maintenance spend increases over the years, BMI has analysed the costs of maintenance for a primary school over 20 years. This data is for one particular school and actual values may vary quite substantially between schools of different construction and sizes. The chart was originally produced to show the approximate distribution between the different cost elements and to show that some cost elements are fairly consistent over the 20 year period while others are more cyclical.
Maintenance operatives' wages
Wage levels of maintenance staff have a major impact on maintenance costs. In its national salary survey in January 2001, the Reward Group produced average hourly wages for various maintenance workers.
Basic labourers received £6/hour, semi-skilled labourers £6.60/hour, electricians £8/hour, general fitters £8.33/hour and plant maintenance fitters £8.31/hour.
Source
The Facilities Business
Postscript
BMI special report 299 — review of maintenance costs 2001 is available as part of the BMI bulletin service, or individually, priced £50.
Tel: 020 7695 1500 fax: 020 7695 1501. The BCIS location factors report is reproduced in Appendix 4 of the BMI special report 299 — review of maintenance costs 2001. MBD's UK construction market development report costs £395. Tel: 0161 247 8600, fax: 0161 247 8606, web site www.mbdltd.co.uk
The Reward Group: 01785 813566