We were brought to help this financial research firm because of problems with the previous maintenance company. Lombard’s facilities manager found that she had to spend a great deal of her time chasing up the maintenance company to complete routine activities. Even the annual testing of fire extinguishers wasn’t done automatically. What’s more, their regular maintenance man was often called away to attend other clients, with no notification being given. It was very difficult to keep track of the time that he owed them, or to find out what they were being charged for.

This company installed a water-cooling tower, which treated the water for the whole building’s air conditioning, at great expense. However, because no routine maintenance was done, the tower was closed down by environmental health officers as there was a risk of it spreading Legionnaire’s Disease. As a result, there was no air conditioning for several months.

When we were brought in, we began by doing a due-diligence inspection of every asset in the building. Among many other problems, we found that the air-handling units – that should have provided clean air for the whole building – were black from lack of cleaning and maintenance.

This inspection allowed us to identify every piece of work that was necessary and to devise a preventive maintenance plan. We gave our client a clear, itemised quote for the work, and a realistic quote for the regular maintenance. After the initial work was done, our client saw that the regular maintenance meant that call-outs and emergencies stopped happening. The difficulties and discomfort staff had suffered under the previous contractor disappeared. And executives no longer had to devote their time to managing the maintenance contractor: what was agreed was simply done.

Because of the way we work, Lombard’s maintenance costs are much more predictable, which makes budgeting easier. What’s more, all the cost figures that they need are available instantly online, because of our eMaint system. They can even check the precise cost and maintenance history of any asset in the building – and any scheduled work.