Modern Building Services

MODERN BUILDING SERVICES MARCH 2023 17 FEATURE WORKING BUILDINGS Lease Agreement FMs and landlords should consider which of the following options best suits their building and its use, which will form the starting point for the Lease Agreement: Landlord takes full responsibility for HVAC system: This situation can be written so that the landlord can pass on any costs to the tenants through a regular service charge or maintenance fee. Tenant takes full responsibility for HVAC system: This may be a suitable option if each rental unit has its own HVAC system. However, it could put landlords at a disadvantage at the end of a tenancy if proper maintenance has been neglected. Shared responsibility for HVAC system: Rights and responsibilities clearly defined in Lease Agreement. Improve transparency Commercial buildings are becoming increasingly advanced as they are adapted to meet modern requirements, with continuous innovation in construction materials, automated building controls and smart technologies. The essential building services that run through these properties are complex and require a wide variety of contractors and sub-contractors to ensure maximum performance and operational efficiency. If things go wrong and the Lease Agreement is unclear, landlords and FMs can end up shouldering the cost of putting things right. In the case of closed-circuit HVAC systems, inefficiencies or damage can cost millions to rectify; old- school methods of water sampling do not give the required insight or transparency. Alongside the Lease Agreement, remote HVAC monitoring technology can pinpoint accountability and help FMs avoid costly litigation for issues they did not cause. We have seen many cases over the years where issues caused by tenants have been blamed on facilities managers, who do not have the right data to rebut the claims. The best way to mitigate this risk is through 24/7 monitoring, which collects key readings every 15 minutes and ensures landlords and FMs have data to showwhen a problem started and often the root cause can be identified. Crucially, this approach also means that landlords and maintenance teams are alerted to problems much earlier when corrosion is just a threat. In many cases, damage can be prevented and maintenance costs saved. Take back control HVAC monitoring can be used at any phase of a building’s life, including: Pre-commission cleaning: During construction, remotemonitoring technology tracks water quality during fit-out, speeding up the PPC process and reducing uncertainty for landlords at handover. HVAC Health Check: A one-off health check where the technology is installed onsite for a fixed period, anywhere from two weeks to several months. This is a good option for landlords taking on responsibility for a new building, providing them with instantaneous access to critical data. Ongoing maintenance: Throughout a building’s life, remote monitoring technology provides real-time alerts to maintenance teams when significant changes occur. These changes can be attributed to planned or unplanned events, improving clarity, transparency and control. Long-term savings In one example, we worked on a building where unnecessary interventions and a lack of maintenance on behalf of the tenant resulted in remediation works to the cost of £300,000, a bill that could easily have landed in the building operator’s lap. However, in this instance, the client had installed real-time corrosion monitoring; a technology that tracks parameters that indicate early corrosive conditions in real-time, including dosing levels, unplanned events such as water loss, pressure and temperature every 15 minutes, 24/7. Using data collected from the unit, the tenant was found to be at fault and the cost of remediation work passed on. In this case, the cost of themonitoring systemwas £2,500 per year, resulting in significant savings for the building owner. Knowledge is power Closed circuit water systems are hugely complex and the consequences of inadequate water systemmanagement can be disastrous, with the price of downtime, replacement and litigation potentially running into the millions. Improving control and transparency is a critical step in mitigating hefty maintenance costs and litigation. The ability for landlords to hold real-time data, literally in their hand, provides the best possible insight into the health of their HVAC system, providing the opportunity to make informed service interventions, minimise unplanned callouts and reduce maintenance costs in general. When things go wrong, as they inevitably will, being in possession of a wealth of cumulative data ensures that root causes can easily be identified and blame attributed to the right party with the costs passed on accordingly. The value of evidence in this process should not be underestimated. By avoiding legal disputes, landlords can not only save money, but also ensure their reputation stays intact, disruption is kept to a minimum and business continues as normal. More information can be found at www.gwtltd.com