For years, the vehicle maintenance industry has stressed the importance of well defined and managed preventive maintenance programs. The impetus for these programs has been proven cost savings and extended vehicle life. This same industry, however, along with many industries, have rarely considered preventive maintenance as a viable program for the facilities in which they operate. The truth is that such programs result in the same types of cost savings and extended life when applied to facilities.

Facility Maintenance Programs Developed

It is disappointing for me as a facility designer to conduct a one year follow-up inspection of a newly constructed maintenance facility and find its condition reflects that of a five to ten year old facility. The major reason for this condition is the lack of a defined facility maintenance program. The current political climate is forcing a change, however, in that transit authorities are being required to be more conscious of the long-term use of operating dollars and the responsible use of capital dollars. Recent philosophical changes at the Federal Transit Administration have resulted in closer scrutiny of the use and upkeep of facilities and equipment funded with federal dollars.

This change in attitude has opened the door for the development and implementation of facility maintenance programs for newly designed and constructed vehicle maintenance facilities. PB has worked with transit operators throughout the country in developing two types of programs—one is manual, the other is automated. The basic platform is the same for both types. It contains maintenance procedures for the architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and equipment elements (See box).

The facility maintenance program combines all of the standard minimum service requirements and intervals of the manufacturers’ warranties with daily maintenance and inspection requirements into a single database. The data are manipulated to generate a daily maintenance schedule for the facilities. Daily activities can be grouped by either maintenance element (architectural, mechanical, etc.) or facility section (administration, shops, etc.).

If an operation uses general facility maintenance personnel, it is often more effective to group activities by element thereby allowing the staff to concentrate on one type of work at a time (e.g., changing all filters.) If the operation is staffed with specialists, it is more efficient to concentrate activities in facility sections. (e.g., all administration area activities on one day)

Regardless of the method of scheduling, the program defines which activities should occur each day. It also provides time for the completion of unfinished previous day activities and any unscheduled maintenance that may arise.

PB’s Automated Systems Offer Full Facility Maintenance

All of PB’s automated systems have been developed in conjunction with transit authority management information system (MIS) personnel. They are an extension of the manual system, but allow more efficient manipulation of the data and provides easier management. It should be noted that several basic facility maintenance modules have been developed in conjunction with vehicle maintenance management software. These packages do not offer a full architectural, engineering and equipment look at facility maintenance.

It has been our experience that the minimal investment required for development and implementation of facility maintenance programs is easily justified when compared to the decreased operating costs and extended facility life that result. Our challenge has been to get the message across to maintenance facility managers.