Emergency services can quickly add up. Whether it’s because of overtime, material availability, or some other factor, providing emergency maintenance will always be more costly than scheduling service in advance. With that in mind, we’ve put together a few recommendations that can help reduce emergency expenses in your budget.

| DEFINE WHAT AN EMERGENCY IS

Each facility is different. What one considers an emergency, another may not. So take some time to plan out – and write down – what constitutes an emergency for the facilities in your portfolio. That way, you and your team have a set of guidelines to look at when deciding whether to spend the extra money on emergency services.

| GET AHEAD OF IT

This goes hand-in-hand with the previous tip. Scheduled maintenance is the absolute best way to prevent emergency costs from stacking up. Hourly charges for emergency services can be up to double the cost of those for scheduled maintenance. When an emergency does eventually happen, you don’t want to be left wondering if you could have prevented it.

| KNOW YOUR VENDORS

As a Facilities Manager, odds are you have multiple vendors for each service that you might need. It’s a good practice that can help you compare costs and choose the best options for your portfolio. But in an emergency situation, you won’t have time to compare the charges from each vendor. You need to act quickly, which is why it’s important to know your vendors well. Become familiar with both their standard and emergency rates so you don’t get stuck with any charges you weren’t expecting.

| BE SPECIFIC

Some emergencies don’t need to be fully repaired in the moment. They may only need to be brought under control so repairs can be scheduled for a later time. In those cases, be specific. Tell your vendors exactly what you want them to do. Otherwise, they might complete the full repair to avoid any liability issues.

| LEARN FROM IT

Let’s say you’ve done everything you can to prevent an emergency and you get stuck with one anyway. You can’t predict everything, it’s bound to happen. When it does, learn from it. Share that knowledge with your team so everyone can benefit and try to prevent it in the future. The only thing worse than having to complete an emergency repair is having to do it again.

A Quick Note:
As always, handle emergencies appropriately. If there are any life-threatening or utility issues, call the utility company or first responders.

AAA Facility Services provides construction, plumbing, electrical, and R&M services, including emergency coverage. Contact us today to learn more.