The Importance of Technical Maintenance Planning & Implementation to Facilities Management
White Paper
David Mcilraith
April, 2004
While the term Facilities Management can mean many things to different people and
organisations, it is always important to remember the management of the technical aspects of a facility that can sometimes be pushed aside in the daily grind of Facilities Management, and responding to the internal or external clients’ needs.
The daily grind often means reacting to the client’s “political” requirements and the areas of greatest immediate concern. Whilst non technical day to day issues such as cleaning and security can be very important to the client and its operations these should not overshadow the need for effective and legally compliant ongoing technical maintenance management.
If we don’t ensure the technical aspects remain a high priority and allow them to be pushed down the priority list, the Facilities Manager can often revert to reactive maintenance practices and end up constantly playing catch up. This results in circumstances where issues can not be rectified easily, or cost effectively, or within an acceptable time frame.
About the Author
David Mcilraith is the Operations Manager of Integrated Technical Management Pty Ltd. David Mcilraith has over thirty years experience in the Engineering and Facilities Management fields, from a practical trade base to Marine Engineer and National Facilities Manager. David holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Facilities Management from RMIT and his previous responsibilities have included the operational and strategic management of critical and commercial facilities including large national portfolios.