Archive for the Building Engineer Category

Getting commercial buildings winter ready is no small task. When your scheduled ongoing maintenance is up to date, you’re less likely to encounter many problems in the fall. Preventative maintenance, or PM, will make winter preparations more efficient. Is your facilities manager stretched too thin? Getting Commercial Buildings Winter Ready Your facilities manager’s checklist for maintaining the building will be extensive. Before the snow flies, you must take care of all preventative maintenance indoors and on the grounds. A professional should inspect the roof for any cracks or loose flashing and remove debris. Many larger commercial buildings have their HVAC

Building Maintenance Systems, Inc. (BMSI) knows limiting water consumption in commercial buildings is vital. Gone are the days of gross negligence, where sidewalks and parking lots get watered unintentionally. Initially, a leaking faucet may not look like a big deal. However if there are numerous leaks on the property, the water consumption will increase quickly. This increase is difficult to describe in terms of dollar amounts. There are several factors that will determine loss or savings gained by maintaining strict water conservation efforts, such as the region, the specific efficiency measures implemented, and the scale of water consumption. However, in

Theories on the labor shortage are complicated. What is crystal clear is there has been a widespread shortage of qualified workers in every field since the pandemic. There are eleven million job openings and only six million unemployed workers. Indeed lists 2,530 job openings for building maintenance alone in the DC area. Office buildings were fully occupied pre-pandemic. We assumed if four people could run a building, then two could manage a building at half occupancy. Unfortunately, staff can get spread too thin. Labor Force Participation Edelberg from the DC-based Brookings Institution attributes the unprecedented decline in the national labor

Who needs Universal CFC Certification, and why is it important? What is CFC Certification? The odds are that a CFC Certified technician has worked on equipment in your home or office building. The EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, has developed four certification levels for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning, HVAC. Technicians can get different types of certifications based on what kind of equipment they’ll be servicing. The EPA offers the CFC, or EPA 608 certification, to technicians who have passed rigorous tests. The test encompasses numerous rules and laws about handling dangerous HVAC chemicals. Technicians must handle the refrigerant in heat

Businesses and institutions with backup generators need them to be operational at all times so that you can turn them on at a moment’s notice. Preventative maintenance is an essential part of readiness. Many backup generators are primed and ready to go, with fuel left in them. They will start immediately when you power them on, restoring power to the business until the power grid is operational. Bad fuel can not only prevent a backup generator from running; it can actually cause harm to the internal generator parts if run through the generator. Fuel testing and sampling are a vital

So, you’re looking to become a building maintenance engineer. But what do they actually do? Becoming a building maintenance engineer takes many skills, and you’ll have to earn qualifications. A building maintenance engineer ensures the proper installation of equipment and building systems and performs routine monitoring and maintenance to ensure they run optimally and efficiently. Another name, which is fitting for a building maintenance engineer, is a reliability engineer. Overview of Disciplines and Responsibilities The building maintenance engineer should also be proficient in electrical engineering and project management. The maintenance engineer’s responsibilities include: Creating schedules for preventative maintenance Troubleshooting hardware

Are you interested in becoming a Building Operating Engineer? When choosing a Building Operating Engineer career, you must begin as a Building Maintenance Technician. Check out how your career would progress in the industry. Reach out to us for resources and information. Building Maintenance Technician The Building Maintenance Technician works directly with the building engineering staff and property management team in commercial and government buildings to assist and complete various tasks. Some tasks we will expect you to perform are: Completing work orders Performing inspections and remedying as necessary Keep records and reports up-to-date Recommend necessary maintenance operations Manage BMS

Far too many responsible commercial building maintenance operators in the United States perform maintenance reactively rather than proactively. By being proactive, you can get ahead of maintenance issues to prevent bottlenecks that can ruin productivity and client/tenant satisfaction. Being proactive in your building maintenance saves you money and improves your business’s efficiency. Here are some building maintenance best practices that can help you be proactive rather than reactive. Data Collection The first step in proactive commercial building maintenance is gathering data and assessing downtime’s actual cost. Knowing how much an hour of downtime costs can put reactive building maintenance into

Whether it’s during the summer when most occupants are on vacation or during a global pandemic, there are times when commercial buildings have reduced occupancy. Facility managers and commercial building owners can use several strategies to optimize their buildings during these times to ensure operational efficiency while maintaining occupant safety and continued service. Consider these cost-saving measures to optimize your buildings during reduced occupancy. Take Advantage Reduced Occupancy With fewer people in the building, now may be the best time to complete maintenance tasks and perform upgrades. Consider installing UV lighting disinfection in the HVAC system to clean the air

When you own a commercial building, there are maintenance tasks. These must be completed daily, weekly, monthly, twice per year, and yearly. Having a building maintenance inspection checklist for each set of tasks makes it easier to stay up-to-date on preventative maintenance. Performing these tasks regularly can alert you to minor problems before they become more significant problems, which usually come with a higher price tag to fix. Here are some tasks to include in your monthly building maintenance checklist for your commercial facility in the Washington, D.C., area. HVAC Is there adequate access to all systems for maintenance? Replace

A building maintenance schedule checklist is an invaluable tool that ensures your building continues to run safely and efficiently for your tenants. Regular inspections and maintenance will prevent minor issues from turning into serious—and costly—problems down the road. But when should you perform commercial building maintenance for your Washington, D.C. facility? Here are some things to have on your building maintenance schedule checklist. We’ve arranged them by season. Spring Building Maintenance Inspection Landscaping Clean out debris and dead plant matter from beds and landscaping areas Fertilize and perform the first mow of the season Create watering schedule/set up sprinkler system

At the height of the Coronavirus pandemic, facility owners and managers had to scramble. Maintaining a Coronavirus free environment was a priority. Now that we’re almost two years in, we know more about the virus and how to combat it in buildings. The more Coronavirus strategies you have in your arsenal, the better. You can use these strategies all year long. This will help ensure tenants and visitors feel safe in your commercial buildings. Today’s strategies focus on building HVAC systems and internal and external doors. Coronavirus Free Strategies – Commercial HVAC Systems The COVID-19 Coronavirus and other airborne diseases

Winter is coming to the Mid-Atlantic region! Before winter settles in for good, you should prepare your commercial buildings for the change in seasons. Even if your commercial buildings aren’t sitting empty for the winter, there are a few reasons you should consider winterizing them. Why You Should Winterize Your Commercial Buildings Preventative Maintenance Plans Regular cleaning, calibration, and inspection can ensure your systems are operating at their peak efficiency at all times. If you don’t already have a preventative maintenance plan in place, now is one of the best times to do so. Inspections and regular maintenance can prevent

For many businesses, backup generators are an investment worth making. Winter is fast approaching and the threat of bad weather is right around the corner. Power outages are happen a lot in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Types of Commercial Building Backup Generators Commercial buildings over 3 floors must have a standby backup generator in the state of Maryland. The code calls for an emergency generator for specific locations where you must maintain power at all times, like: Airports Government buildings Nuclear power plants Hospitals Nursing Homes Generators are fueled by natural gas or diesel. Importantly they are equipped with