An interesting topic to consider, is the impact the Coronavirus is going to have on buildings, and their infrastructure for the facility managers.
There is no doubt that on an economic and financial level, the real estate sector will be affected by the current situation and will most likely suffer a black period before being able to recover.
However, in order to accelerate the recovery it is necessary to focus our efforts on the buildings and the infrastructure surrounding them, so that we can forecast future costs accordingly.
What changes does the coronavirus bring to building management? In our article this week we tell you in which main areas the consequences of covid-19 will imply added costs.
With people working from home or remaining in states of self-isolation and quarantine, the way people live has changed dramatically in a very short period of time. These changes imply both building occupants way of living, and important adjustments to be made from building owners and facility managers.
We give you the two main areas that the real estate sector together with the building managers will have to adapt to the “Next Normal”.
Maintenance of the building
An important point in the management of buildings is the repair and maintenance that is done in them. Whether it is the elevator, the boiler, the HVAC system, or the plumbing, buildings need a powerful and efficient maintenance system. Since occupants have been using their residences more than ever these past two months, repairs and maintenance could be something that increases in cost and frequency as well. Therefore, it will be essential to take these fluctuations into account when preparing cost forecasts for your buildings in the coming months.
It’s probably a good idea to expect the amount and the cost of repairs and maintenance to increase, as there will be more wear and tear than ever before, and a need to reinvest or fix the buildings themselves. As the number of people within the building stays high, there’s also going to be a higher amount of electricity being used, meaning more pressure on the circuit boards within the building to maintain its performance. Depending on the building and the power capabilities, some might need to repair or upgrade these systems.
In our previous article, we also explained what the new health regulations would be to prepare your buildings for the “Next Normal”, implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Such measures will involve additional costs for proper implementation and sometimes radical changes in the building infrastructure.
General and administrative services
With occupants staying inside the buildings more, using the supplies within the buildings and staying put for the time being, the amount of supplies needed and the cost of running the General and Administrative aspects of buildings is going to increase as well: more trash bags, plastic gloves, masks and many hand sanitisers will have to be provided.
To reduce the costs of general spendings in your buildings, we recommend you to save money where we know it can be done efficiently and fast: saving on your energy bills through an optimised energy consumption in your buildings (HVAC, electricity, gas, water). There are many tools that can provide you with real time data to improve your ROI and reduce costs.
DEXMA Platform is a SaaS Energy Management Solution that can help you reach this goal. Invest your budget where it really matters: the safety and wellbeing of your occupants. You can access the DEMO here.
The way each building is going to manage the increase in usage will be versatile. In fact, some will need improvements, others will be able to weather the storm with what they already have in place, and some may need major renovations.
The type of building, the quality of its infrastructure, and how it is being managed will impact how your building makes it out of the “coronavirus storm”.
Running buildings and the associated cost is already changing. As there are more sanitary needs and more people utilising the buildings than they were before, owners and facility managers will need to adjust and to adapt, implementing sometimes drastic changes to the infrastructure of their buildings.
It is also interesting to contact real estate analysts to get a deeper analysis of the way your buildings performed before the coronavirus, compared to the way they are now. The information they would provide could help you understand better how to keep afloat during the hard times.
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