ELECTRICAL SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

Electrical maintenance is the upkeep and preservation of equipment and systems that supply
electricity to a residential, industrial or commercial building. It may be performed by the
owner or manager of the site or by an outside contractor. The work is commonly performed
on a schedule based on the age of the building, the complexity of the electrical system or on
an as-needed basis.
The main areas of general electrical maintenance commonly include the power outlets and
surge protectors, generators and lighting systems. These supply sources are checked for
structural integrity as well as internal stability. The maintenance plan normally includes the
regular replacement of burned out fluorescent and incandescent lights. Many building
managers in recent years have refitted their lighting systems with energy saving bulbs and
elements.
Preventive maintenance is also generally part of a buildings upkeep. This plan ordinarily
includes the scheduled inspection of large systems and equipment by a professional
electrician. The purpose of these periodic assessments is to fix small problems before they
escalate into large ones. This is particularly important at plants, hospitals and factories that
heavily rely on these systems for daily operations.
Electrical generators, switches and circuit breakers are regularly checked for solid
connections and intact wiring. If flaws are discovered, electricians normally make repairs.
Depending on the condition of the wiring, the repairs are typically made by splicing wires
together. In some situations, they are encased in metal tubing called conduit to protect them
from wear. Keeping the wiring in good shape ensures a consistent flow of power to heating,
ventilation and air conditioning systems.
To guarantee the steady, uninterrupted flow of electricity to buildings, electrical maintenance
is ordinarily performed by licensed industry professionals. These maintenance electricians
normally have building specifications, wiring and equipment diagrams, and blueprints at their
disposal to make sure they inspect all areas. They typically use a variety of hand tools,
including hand drills, pliers, wire cutters, screwdrivers, knives and conduit benders. Voltage,
amps and ohm meters are commonly used in the maintenance operations.
If there are specific areas of concern in a buildings electrical system, the maintenance crew
may use specialized testing methods and equipment to isolate the problem. Power
transformers are commonly analysed as well as substation components and the construction
of the sites transformers. The testing procedures generally require a good understanding of
switchgears and system design to comprehend how all of the electrical system elements
interrelate.

Electrical Maintenance
Lamp
Socket
Preventive
maintenance
Electrical Supply

Pie Chart 1: Statistic for Electrical Maintenance in HBP

The data shows that the biggest number that has been maintained in the buildings from 2012
until 2014 is lamp and continues with the problems of sockets, preventive maintenance and
the problems of electrical supply. Commonly, it is all about the maintenance electrician may
replace fluorescent lights. The appearance, functionality and useful life of the lighting may be
compromised by poor installation. Preventative services can extend the life of property which
could save a lot of money in the long run.
The second largest number that got repair is preventive maintenance. Actually, preventive
maintenance, where equipment is maintained before break down occurs. This type of
maintenance has many different variations and is subject of various researches to determine
best and most efficient way to maintain equipment. Recent studies have shown that
preventive maintenance is effective in preventing age related failures of the equipment. For
random failure patterns which amount to 80% of the failure patterns, condition monitoring
proves to be effective.

MECHANICAL SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

Many schools have failed heating, ventilating, and plumbing systems due to poor
maintenance or lack of maintenance, usually because the maintenance department is
understaffed, under budgeted, and overwhelmed. Often these broken down mechanical
systems are ripped out and replaced years before what their useful lifetimes would have been
with proper maintenance. In the meantime air quality, and comfort, ergo learning all suffers.
In the long run this needlessly raises the costs of owning and operating the schools.
The desirable goals of comfort, good air quality, and energy efficiency combine to drive up
the technical complexity of modern heating and ventilating systems. Gone are the days of a
single ventilation chase in the corner of each classroom with a chain operated damper. It is
interesting to note however that existing schools where these systems are still operational,
examples for not boarded over, are probably better off in terms of air quality than schools
with a modern but non-operational ventilating system.
A well designed mechanical system in our view is one where simplicity is one of the major
design goals along with energy efficiency, comfort and air quality. Some of this complexity is
inescapable, and it is unrealistic to expect the maintenance staff to be able to perform all
maintenance and repair tasks completely in-house. It takes many different engineers to design
the systems which go into every school building, how can the maintenance staff be expected
to fully understand each system? It is enough to expect that they know when the systems are
not operating properly and to know where to go for help.
Maintenance of mechanical is far different than housekeeping and it is important to
understand this difference and to know when to go to outside contractors for help.

Mechanical Maintenance

Aircond
Fire Safety System

Pie Chart 2: Statistic for Mechanical Maintenance in HBP

In HBP, the largest number for mechanical system maintenance is for air conditioning
system. Air Conditioning and heating equipment require regular maintenance to operate at
peak performance and operate smoothly and efficiently year-after-year. Without maintenance,
small problems can develop into serious ones and the systems efficiency can significantly
decrease. From the data of complaints, we can see that the problems of air conditioning are
about conditioned air leak out of ducts, not functioning, poor airflow and many more.
Other than air conditioning system, there is some minor maintenance which is fire safety
system. Generally, the causes for maintenance for fire safety system are the leaking from the
hose reels, the fire alarm panel is not functioning well and losing of fire extinguishers.
Moreover, the fire extinguishers also need to be maintained and check because sometimes it
might be expired date.

ANNUAL OVERALL MAINTENANCE COST

Maintenance Cost
30000
25000
20000
Maintenance Cost
15000
10000
5000
0
2012

2013

2014

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Building Maintenance performs general repairs to buildings and preventive maintenance of

systems and equipment. The maintenance department should focus on helping the School of
Housing Building and Planning to fulfill its mission of teaching, research and public
engagement. The department prioritizes its work with the mission of the school of HBP in
mind at all times.
The department need to work together with campus departments and colleges to assure that
the best environment for teaching and research is provided for. This department have not
funded for maintaining all the facilities on campus.
Basically, costs of replacement and repairs are costs of activities that are undertaken to take
into account the changes to particular elements, materials and structures. Reactive
maintenance activities are difficult to predict because it is almost impossible to anticipate all
possible failures. The number of these activities is large because reactive maintenance
activities cover the cost of repair and replacement of components and materials due to
failures and defects.
On the other hand, the potential cost savings can often be beyond the understanding or
comprehension of management. Many managers are in a denial state regarding maintenance.
The result is that they do not believe that repair practices directly impact an organizations
bottom line or profitability. More enlightened companies have demonstrated that, by reducing
the self-induced failures, they can increase production capacity by as much as 20%. Other
managers accept lower reliability standards from maintenance efforts because they either do
not understand the problem or they choose to ignore this issue. A good manager must be
willing to admit to a maintenance problem and actively pursue a solution.
To conclude, every building is different, designed for different uses and managed in different
ways. It is therefore essential to have a maintenance provider who can focus on those
maintenance activities that provide maximum value and have the necessary resources to react
quickly to your specific needs.

APPENDIX