The qualitative managing of real estate is becoming more and more essential service.

Even though the capital market of office premises still belongs to the leaseholders because of the weak development of infrastructure, the demands of the customers are growing each year. The companies, which are ready to rent the classy real estate, want to get not only the repaired premises in the prestigious neighborhood, but also the service, which may guarantee, that their job won’t be interrupted by unpleasant surprises. Nobody is happy because of absence of heating system in winter, falling of tension in the electricity supply network, problems with sewerage system, after which the flows get into the sinks or lavatory pins. That’s why the demand on the professional managers, who work according to the west technology of buildings exploitation, has rapidly grown lately. The strategy of these managers is to avoid the emergency situations.

Concept Is a Solution

The demand on qualitative and technological services on buildings exploitation is becoming sharper lately. The owners and developers of office estate objects want to get the effective services, but lots of them don’t imagine some details of the services. At the same time a very few managers of companies, who work at the market of commercial estate, are able to professionally and fully do the services on the building exploitation. That’s why the players of market need the information about these services.

The services of cleaning companies are often needed right after the object is constructed and put into operation. It’s not completely correct, according to the opinion of specialists. Because at the preliminary stage of realization the commercial estate projects it’s necessary to create a concept of building exploitation.

Andrej Yarmolenko, the manager of objects of M+W Zander Facility Management UKR Ltd.:

— The estimation of the building should be done after corpus construction. From this stage, the project of assembling all the technical systems of the building is created. Considering the construction of the corpus, its specificities, used construction materials and functions of premises, the projects of system assembling are created, which ease their serving in the future.

Denis Kish, the general manager of Shaden Group:

— Certainly, the properly created conception will save the managing company from the majority of works concerned with building maintaining. For example: the cleaning after construction has to be considered in advance, otherwise it’ll be difficult to perform it.

Andrej Piliugin, the general engineer of Miraks Plaza Kiev (corporation Mirax Group):

—The conception is formed and worked through from the beginning of projecting. It means the technical building and task for projecting is formed according to the exploitation service. The further job is to consider and maybe correct the stage “project” and constant regulation of working documentation and construction according to the conception of exploitation.

The timely attraction of cleaning company and preparing of qualitative conception allow saving time, which is necessary for the realizing of indexes, written in business-plan.

Andrej Yarmolenko:

—If the cleaning company works at the object since its construction, the maintaining of the building will be easier. The specialists of cleaning company will know about the specificity of object even before the exploitation of it starts. They will learn its equipment and information about its suppliers. This approach allows serving the object unnoticeably for the customer and brings the process of interrupting the jobs to minimum.

The representatives of Mirax Group corporation add that the presence of good conception at the early stage of realization of projects gives a possibility to prepare the optimal ways of job organization. In this way, the possibility of minimizing expenses appears.

The preparing of conception is a job of cleaning companies’ specialists. The representatives of M+W Zander Facilities Management UKR notice that each valuable cleaning company has an engineering department and exploitation service in its structure. The employees of these departments create the conception of exploitation of building. In order to create this project, it’s necessary to have an executive documentation for building, budget and requirements of a customer. Some specialists also participate in the project. They supply it with necessary equipment: ventilation systems, conditioning systems, heating systems, sanitary engineering, heating equipment, systems of power supply and systems of continuity of service. In some cases the assembling of the systems is done by the intellectual systems specialists.

The representatives of M+W Zander Facilities Management UKR think that it’s inexpediently to order the preparing of conception from another company. If the cleaning company starts working at the stage of construction, it can create such project just by itself. The exceptions are the cases, when the cleaning company doesn’t have the specialists. In this case a subcontractor may be attracted. Anyway the supplier is still the same cleaning company. It allows saving the integrity of the suppliers, which saves the time of customer.

The specialists of Mirax Group have the same opinion.

Akeksej Piliugin:

—We have our own exploitation department in our company. The conception of the objects was created by its specialists. The structure of necessary information and type of specialists depend on the type and complexity of the object. The other structures aren’t attracted for preparation of such documents in Mirax Group.

The conception may cause the increasing of building profitability. The effective management and qualitative service increase the attractiveness of the object for leaseholders and contributes to reducing of exploitation expenses.

Denis Kish:

—The conception has qualitative and quantitative indexes. The proportions between different zones, number of stores, number of parking place, functions of leaseholders, the sphere of their business and requirements to the quality of premises are important here. The space should be comfortable and convenient for all participants, it has to create a pleasant atmosphere, where everything is planned up to the smallest details: recreation zones, project service, quality of premises cleaning, because cleanliness and comfort has already changed into the integral part of object functioning.

Andrej Yarmolenko:

—The presence of professional cleaning company at the object is a base of raising the rent. This is a world standard. Professionally created and realized project of building need less expenses on its service. This is a direct increasing of profitability. If it’s about the building project of A-class and the budget allows using of managing and protecting systems, the profitability of the building will be higher thanks to the control for the customers of electric power and gas by means of intellectual system. The leaseholder, which decide to rent a premise in the building, get regularly working supplying systems, which is another guarantee of the stability of business.

According to the experience of Mirax Group managers, the presence of proper conception reduces the expenses, increases the profitability, makes the service more effective, increases the attractiveness and reduces the cost of the object.

Guarantee from Problems

The base of professional exploitation of any real estate object is a daily complex maintenance of all engineering infrastructure. The problem is that the budget of exploitation is often limited and sometimes less that necessary. That’s why the specialists of exploitation service – their own or outsourced – should be able to make priorities in serving of engineering networks and systems of real estate object.

What may guarantee the perfect technical condition of the building? Which complex of prophylactic jobs should be laid into conception in order to minimize the risk of problems, concerned with the exploitation of building, and also their removing? Here are the opinions of experts about this matter.

Andrej Yarmolenko:

—The technical condition of building is defined by approaches to the creating of concept, building projects, quality of assembling and construction jobs, quality of putting of building and its systems into operation, quality of the following service. The list of the jobs is defined by requirements of producers, regulations created by them and experience of the cleaning company. To reduce the expenses on removing the problem of technological equipment breaking, it’s necessary to timely and strictly fulfill the regulative checking and serving of the equipment.

Aleksej Piliugin:

—The guarantee of perfect technical condition of the building may be a regular or timely control for the constructions and systems with taking of operative measures to maintain them in proper condition. Besides, it’s very important to do the prophylactic replacement of components, which have a set time of living.

The technical exploitation of buildings includes the serving of:

• Inner and external systems of electric, heating and water supply and water disposal
• Systems of ventilation and air conditioning and objects of engineering supplying
• Systems of chemical cleaning of water
• Inner systems of gas supplying
• Systems of outdoor lightning
• Systems of engineering protection of objects and territory
• Low-tension current systems and systems of structured cable lines
• Systems of fire, security and fire-security alarm, systems of automatic fire-fighting
• Systems of calculation, expenses and control of quality of electric and heating systems
• Systems of automatic regulation and management
• Objects of gas household
• Technical serving of elevators

Besides, the list of regulated jobs of technical serving of buildings includes:

• Control and regulation of heating systems
• Control and regulation of hot water supplying
• Control and technical service of pumps
• Control and regulation of heating system
• Control and checking of heating regulators work
• Technical serving of sanitary and technical equipment (bathrooms, removing of clogs, leakages in valving etc.)
• Filters cleaning
• Pressure testing of all pipes before seasons
• Checking of heat insulation of pipes and its restoring
• Technical maintenance of roof: cleaning from snow, ice and icicles
• Redecoration of doors, windows, locks, furniture, premises. Fitting the doors to the door-frame, strengthening of door loops, regulations of valving of windows, oiling of locks
• Redecoration of the floor, ceiling, roof with the area no more than 2 sq. m (without including the cost of materials)
• Small repairs (welding jobs) of metal constructions, supporting technological equipment

Denis Kish:

—The well-considered works of commercial real estate exploitation include cleaning and improvement of adjoining territory, providing of disinfection and deratization of basements and public premises, serving of parking etc.

The cleaning company provides the uninterrupted functioning of the object during the work hours, maintaining of cleanliness 24 hours, including holidays and weekends. The operative reacting for emergency situations: consequences of flooding, fires and natural disasters.

Which team of specialists should be hired to guarantee the uninterrupted functioning of objects?

Andrej Yarmolenko:

—The hiring of specialists depends on the type of equipment, which is used at the object, and on the spectrum of services done.

The standard team may consist of:

• Object manager, who is in charge for fulfillment of discussed relations with customer
• Manager of exploitation department, who is doing the technical managing and controlling the project
• Fridge equipment technician
• Ventilation equipment technician
• Power networks technician
• Low-tension current technician
• Maintenance and office workers
• Cleaning department
• Dispatcher service

The staff of technicians and the cost of exploitation and schedule of jobs fulfillment are created during the preparation of business offer. It’s a main conception of building exploitation.

The cost of building service consists of (according to the specialists of M+W Zander Facilities Management UKR) direct expenses of cleaning companies (specialists services, subcontractors services, materials cost, insurance of risks) and payment for the services (profit of cleaning company). The size of profit depends on the complexity and conditions of jobs, spectrum of services done, history of contracts with a customer.

Andrej Yarmolenko:

—Under the condition of concluding a contract for managing a building, the payment is usually done by single payment once a month. The additional jobs are paid after the doing the service. The timely attraction of professional cleaning company and creating of exploitation conception save time and money, provide a continuity of business.

Denis Kish:

—A uninterrupted functioning of the object is provided by:

• Serving and repair of engineering systems of power and electric supply, heating systems, water supplying, sewerage systems, ventilation systems, conditioning and low-tension current systems
• Providing of uninterrupted work of elevator equipment
• Assembling, setting and serving of secure and fire alarm system
• Programs, computer and appliances support
• Providing the efficiency of existing networks and assembling of the new ones
• Cleaning and improving of adjoining territory
• Disinfection and deratization of basements and public premises
• 24-hours access protection, parking serving, reception services etc.

Source: “Commercial property”