Property Managers Archives

When you call for heating and cooling help, it’s not uncommon to see your technician taking notes while merely looking at equipment. And yes, visual checks can be a starting point, but when it comes to ensuring the health of your HVAC system, it’s almost always necessary to go further. Here’s how a combustion analysis goes beyond the standard visual check to discover the true status of your heating system.

What is a Combustion Analysis?

A combustion analysis is a series of tests that are performed to measure the efficiency of your gas furnace; it can also bring important safety considerations to light. By measuring the Oxygen (O2), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), and Carbon Monoxide (CO) levels in your HVAC system, we can determine where there are deficiencies, let you know how you can lower utility costs, mitigate safety issues, and give you a road map for future maintenance.

picture of a gas furnace combustion analysis

Could It Be a Combustion Problem?

If you’ve got a persistent HVAC problem, it’s likely that this isn’t the first time you’ve had to make a service call. But it’s possible that a previous maintenance visit – or visits, for that matter – didn’t give you the answers that you needed. A combustion analysis goes in-depth to help diagnose the hairline cracks or leaks that are impacting the efficiency and safety of your system. Do any of these symptoms sound familiar to you?

The space isn’t heating properly. If locations from essential community spaces to classrooms don’t seem to be heating properly, whether that’s manifesting in uneven distribution of air or what feels like too much or too little of the desired conditions, it could be an issue with your O2/CO2 levels. A combustion analysis can give you more insight into why this is happening, and how urgent the issue at hand is.

It’s too drafty. If your building only seems to give you the chilly half of what you’d expect from a full-service HVAC system, and draws comments and concerns from occupants, then it could be time for a combustion analysis. An underlying issue with a gas furnace can be smoked out with a combustion analyzer that will take the internal temperature from the flue pipe, and make sure everything is within recommended limits.

Utility bills are too high. This means the gas furnace isn’t operating efficiently. This could be happening for a number of reasons and combustion analysis can help rule some of them out. Sometimes, it may even help us figure out that it’s not the system, but rather system controls that need to be reprogrammed.

How Can I Be Sure That My Building is Safe?

Once you complete the combustion analysis, you’ll know if there are any issues related to over-firing, under-firing, smoke spots, condensation and heightened risk for leaks. Your HVAC maintenance team will also take factors like ambient air temperature and stack temperature into consideration, and look for high flame temperatures and effective air-fuel mixing as signals of a healthy heating system.

Are you concerned that your service visits have resulted in visual checks with little to no proof of what work was done, and why conclusions were made? We’ve seen this happen all too often. Give us a call or contact us to see if you qualify for a no-cost site visit.

You can save with mass system replacements.

Many older, garden-style apartment complexes run on outdated heating and cooling systems. Inefficient and often expensive utility costs put you at a competitive disadvantage. To make things worse, the time and cost of repair and maintenance are burdensome. Trimark Mechanical offers a variety of cost-effective solutions that not only reduce operational headache, but make older complexes more competitive in the rental market.

Does your HVAC equipment require more than 3-4 service visits per year?

Do feel like every spare moment gets hijacked by unexpected maintenance issues? Many property managers lose productivity and precious budget dollars to needy HVAC equipment. Older HVAC systems face recurring issues that are due to both age and out-of-date technology. Service visits can suck hours, sometimes even days, out of your schedule.

Are you losing tenants because your heating and cooling systems are out of date?

One of the most common questions tenants ask before signing the dotted line is: how much do utilities average? If you avoid answering this question, it’s a sign your HVAC system is hurting your competitive edge. At the very least, it’s not doing you any favors. Aside from controlling monthly costs, tenants demand to have more control over their environment. Gone are the days when temperamental old units would be “good enough.”New technology gives tenants total control over their environment. Finally, the popularity of green and LEED-certified buildings shows property managers that sustainability is becoming key. If tenants can have it all they’ll take it: low utility costs, total control, and reduced environmental impact.

How much can you sacrifice the bottom line?

Increased costs and lost revenue make for a very bad mix. Since maintenance costs and large-scale replacements invariably come out of different budgets, it might be time to think strategically about replacement. Some utility companies even offer incentives for residential properties to switch to updated, energy-efficient systems. You may be surprised at the cost-savings associated with bulk replacement. Let our team perform a cost analysis on your property to determine the impact on your budget of replacement versus maintenance.

Here’s how mass replacements help save money for a typical air conditioning unit for a 2-bedroom apartment:

Was your current HVAC system built with redundancies? If you’re uncertain, contact us today at 703.891.4600. You may qualify for a no-cost site inspection.

A slew of calls from disgruntled tenants on the first 90-degree day of the season is any facility manager’s worst nightmare. Keeping your building comfortable is a top priority. You don’t have time for critical HVAC issues that have been overlooked by sloppy “visual checks.” No matter what you’ve been told, there’s no way to properly diagnose HVAC concerns just by looking at the equipment.

A great mechanical services firm won’t skip over the details. At Trimark Mechanical, our methodical, proactive maintenance keeps your space comfortable while saving money and avoiding costly, unexpected repairs.

Consider a task as seemingly simple as coil cleaning. Kathleen Gaw, General Manager of Trimark shares how oversight can cause major issues:

“Coil cleaning is a major maintenance issue for many property managers. Coils get dirty and blocked over time. However, many low-cost service contractors often exclude this item from maintenance contracts to keep costs down. The fact is, coil cleaning needs to be done at least once a year. If coils aren’t cleaned annually, other major components are greatly stressed, frequently to the point of failure.”

That’s not the least of it. Thorough inspection, including basic testing, is required to determine the condition of each of the major components. Compressors, motors, and solid state boards can’t be visually checked for proper operation. Trimark tests and records readings of each of these components, comparing the result to the manufacturer’s specifications.

Asset managers know that a reliable HVAC system shouldn’t come at the expense of premium square footage. What they may not know is that retrofitting a facility doesn’t have to be a long, complicated, and costly project. At Trimark Mechanical, we specialize in a number of modern solutions that not only preserve space, but create a comfortable environment without large, upfront expenses.

Four Reasons to Update Your Systems

Modern HVAC systems, like the modular split system, utilize technology that makes managing comfort in your facility straightforward and simple. Here’s how:

Zone-controlled temperatures can keep everyone more comfortable. Some people like it hot, some like it cooler. You can deliver fine-tuned comfort in your building with the zone controls available in a modular system.
Take back valuable space. With a footprint that’s a fraction of the size of its predecessors, modular systems can free up square footage for other uses.
Save money by avoiding an oversized system. Modular systems can be right-sized to your needs today, and can scale in the future. This means you can lessen your expenses over the entire system lifecycle and add to the system when the time is right.
Earn points toward LEED certification. We’re familiar with the efficiency and control requirements to help you qualify to earn up to two points toward LEED certification.

A property manager’s worst nightmare is a mechanical problem that causes a major disruption to service, severe damage to the facility, and/or a decreased perception of value to current and prospective tenants. Commercial office buildings that close due to a mechanical failure cost the tenants revenue and can result in serious financial and reputation repercussions for the building owners and its managers.

Silent Building Killers May Not Be Obvious

Most of the time, building killers are NOT the obvious problems associated with mechanical failure. The true building killers are the underlying systemic causes—the silent killers—namely:

Lack of predictive maintenance
Lack of planning
Lack of communication

Following are case studies to help you understand how you can help prevent your buildings from
falling prey to the silent building killers.

Silent Killer 1: Lack of Predictive Maintenance

Many building managers believe that preventive maintenance is all they need. The reality is, predictive maintenance will be more cost effective.

Preventive maintenance means developing a schedule based on a quantifiable use or the passage of time, like changing a car’s oil every 3,000 miles or three months. It generally requires the equipment to be shut down.

Predictive maintenance, on the other hand, is designed to help determine the condition of in-service equipment in order to predict when maintenance or replacement should be performed. Tasks are performed only when warranted in order to allow convenient scheduling of corrective maintenance, and to prevent unexpected equipment failures.

When you know which equipment needs maintenance, work and costs can be better planned. In other words, unplanned stops are now planned ones. Advantages include increased equipment lifetime, increased safety, ability to plan for technicians and spare parts, and less negative impact.

“The industry as a whole has moved away from preventive maintenance as businesses try to trim budgets, but because you can’t prevent equipment from ever failing, a building manager is asking for trouble without regular predictive maintenance,” observes Russell Rowzie, CPM, principal at Trimark Mechanical, a leading plumbing and HVAC mechanical services company.

Case Study: Blocked Water Pipe Destroys Two Sump Pumps

The Old Town section of Alexandria, Virginia has a very high water table, requiring local businesses to maintain functioning sump pumps. In this instance the client was a large commercial underground parking garage. Their sump pump stopped working and the facilities manager contracted its immediate replacement.

When Trimark Mechanical replaced it, the new sump pump quickly burned out. Trimark investigated and discovered a sediment buildup so severe that the 6”-diameter ejection pipe was completely blocked due to years of buildup and neglect.

Trimark’s service technicians replaced more than 50 feet of blocked pipe and installed a new sump pump. The final cost came to more than $40,000. The parking garage now contracts with Trimark Mechanical to clean the drain pipes annually at a cost of about $1,000 per year.

In this case, the disaster was not a flooded garage; rather, it was the high cost of neglect. Predictive
maintenance could have averted the much larger mechanical failure at a considerable savings.

“We find that after property managers have hired Trimark to fix a disaster or a near disaster,
they become big believers in predictive maintenance, and wish they had put regular maintenance
in place to prevent the problem in the first place,” Rowzie says.

Silent Killer 2: Lack of Contingency or Proactive Planning

No piece of equipment lasts forever. It’s a fact of life. Eventually it will break down, possibly causing
damage to the property and facility, but certainly causing inconvenience for all parties.

You can’t control when equipment will fail, and it could happen at the worst possible moment. The HVAC system could shut down during a heat wave or polar vortex. A tenant’s office could flood just before a crucial meeting.

Expect that equipment will fail at some point, and plan accordingly, whether through contingency planning or proactive planning.

Case Study: D.C. High Rise Leaks Water and Money

In a Washington, D.C. high-rise building the copper piping has thinned over time, and periodically sprouts leaks. Repairing one of these leaks requires shutting off the water and draining the building from top to bottom—a process that can take 8-10 hours—meanwhile inconveniencing tenants and costing the building owner every time it occurs.

A proactive solution would be to replace the entire piping system rather than continue repairing pipes on a piece-by-piece basis, which is what Trimark Mechanical recommended. They are working with this client to plan the replacement and finance the capital expenditure.

Contingency Planning vs. Proactive Planning

Replacement helps in other ways as well. If an HVAC system is old, it may be difficult to locate replacement parts or have them fabricated, resulting in an emergency repair that takes even longer. Contingency planning allows you to keep replacement parts on hand; proactive planning means phasing in the replacement of outdated systems before they fail.

Building in Redundancy

In many buildings, if one system goes down, the entire building goes down. To prevent this, another
method for anticipating future equipment failure is to build redundancy into the system. If two pieces of equipment perform the same function, each will last longer and can provide a fail safe should one piece break down.

Ideally, when equipment fails, tenants should not notice a disruption in their daily routines and services. Redundancy makes that possible. While many newer buildings are constructed with inherent redundancy, older buildings tend to rely on one boiler or chiller for the entire building. If you plan ahead for equipment failure, you can build in redundancy.

Case Study: Angry Tenants, Thousands of Dollars Lost, and a Tarnished Reputation

A 40,000 square-foot office building was served by a single 30-year-old air handler via a giant blower. A main component had deteriorated to the point where it couldn’t run without damaging other parts of the HVAC system, and in the heat of summer, it failed. It took a week for a local fabrication company to create a replacement part, during which time the building’s tenants lived without air conditioning.

Sixty spot coolers were placed throughout the building—at a cost of several thousand dollars—but were still unable to cool the building to a comfortable temperature. Angry tenants who suffered through the miserably hot week broiled, and thought they should not have to pay rent for that week. In response, the rent was reduced, at an additional cost to the building owners.

At this time, the building owners are planning a replacement of the existing HVAC system with a two-piece system during a time of the year when the work will be minimally disruptive to tenants. The building’s management team is working with Trimark Mechanical to phase out antiquated equipment and infrastructure throughout the building, and addressing necessary upgrades in wiring and other issues.

Silent Killer 3: Lack of Communication

A property manager is an intermediary, working as a conduit between the mechanical company and the building owners and tenants. Therefore it is absolutely essential that the property manager remains informed throughout every step in the repair or replacement process.

Trimark Mechanical is adamant about communication, and uses iPads and other advanced technologies to keep clients informed about any and all developments. This is critical because it allows the property manager to communicate the state of the building and its issues to property owner and tenants, make informed decisions about the property, and plan for the future.

“It really makes no difference if WE know that repairs are going well and as planned if we don’t
communicate that to the property manager,” Rowzie says. “How will the property manager
know that he doesn’t have to worry, and how can he inform the owners and tenants likewise? On
the flip side, if we run into unexpected challenges, we must also keep the property manager
informed so he can communicate this to his stakeholders and manage their expectations. It is our
job to help the property manager do his job.”

Communication Isn’t Just Between the Contractor and the Client

Lack of communication doesn’t just happen between the contractor and the client. In can also occur
internally between your field staff and your office staff, which can delay routine maintenance or needed repairs. As an example, a building’s onsite field maintenance staff may note that something isn’t working at its peak efficiency, but because the office staff is incentivized not to budget or spend “unnecessary” money, there is a lack of urgency. Because urgency isn’t communicated to a higher management level, the needed replacement or maintenance is deferred, potentially causing bigger trouble down the line.

“We make it our commitment to open the communication channels so that everyone understands
the ramifications of either taking or not taking an action,” Rowzie says. “Everyone involved in
the decision-making process needs a complete understanding of the cost/benefit analysis and the
consequences of any and all decisions.”

“We make every effort to communicate with the responsible parties to help them understand the
whole picture. We’ve heard far too often that important decision makers ‘Didn’t know,’ or
‘Didn’t understand the seriousness of the issue.’ That complaint occurs when decision makers
are not fully briefed.”

Case Study: “What We’ve Got Here is a Failure to Communicate”

A commercial office building in Reston, VA did have redundancy in its HVAC system, so when one part of the HVAC system went down, the second system should have kicked in. However, the building’s management had not budgeted to maintain the second cooling tower for the back-up system, so it wasn’t functional. Clearly there was a miscommunication and misunderstanding about the importance of the backup system, resulting in inconvenience for both the tenants and management, and additional expense.

Trimark Mechanical was called in and replaced the two bad motors at a cost of $15,000 each. With both systems up and running, the building owner now understands and appreciates the value of redundancy and a mechanical services company that excels in effective communication.

Action Items

To avert silent building killers, keep tenants happy and protect your bottom line:

Contract for predictive maintenance
A building manager will never regret performing routine, regular maintenance that will keep small issues from turning into big ones. Tenants will always appreciate that a backup HVAC system kicked in on a frigid winter morning.
Plan today for equipment failure tomorrow
Partner with a professional mechanical services company that emphasizes the importance of predictive maintenance and helps you plan for future mechanical needs.
Demand clear, ongoing communication
Building owners and property managers will always be grateful for updates in the midst of a mechanical failure informing them of a problem’s magnitude and the steps being taken to resolve it.

Many property owners are aware of the “big” building killers such as mechanical failures, but unaware of these silent killers that can be even more deadly to any building’s safety and operations. To keep your property safe and functioning properly, partner with a mechanical services company that can help you develop a predictive maintenance schedule that works for your needs, help you plan for now and the future, and help you communicate with your staff and ours.

At Trimark Mechanical Services, we’re proud to bring you helpful information and professional service, and to be your mechanical services partner.

Budgeting: Avoid Surprises with the Right Partner

Budgeting can be a bore if you haven’t considered how to use it to plan for growth. Budgeting for HVAC maintenance and repair? Let’s just say, we understand that there are more exciting ways to spend your money. Still, a good mechanical services company will fix what’s broken, and a great one will become your trusted partner in budgeting for next year and beyond. Here are a few things to consider when laying out your budget for the next fiscal year:

Track, Report, and Analyze Expenses

Before you begin budgeting for next year take a step back and take a look at the last year. Here are a few useful questions to ask yourself:

Did we do a good job tracking and categorizing expenses? If this is an issue, you may want to start budgeting by cleaning up your record-keeping process.
Are we utilizing a system that makes reporting easy? Excel sheets or worse yet, a paper ledger, don’t make for the smartest budgeting tools.
Can we gather insight from last year? If you’re doing things right, your previous year will help guide decisions for the upcoming year.

Having your budgeting system honed is the best way to help with the next fiscal year’s budget. The good news? When it comes to tracking your HVAC expenses, Trimark Mechanical keeps a detailed history of all activity from installation and one-time repairs to ongoing maintenance costs.

Make Sure You’re Budgeting for One Time and Ongoing Costs

Ongoing costs such as maintenance and cleaning are relatively easy to budget for as long as you take into account any business changes. For example, growth or a change in workforce can make an impact on ongoing costs. If you’re growing, more than likely you’re using more space or using your space differently than before. You may need to increase budget for ongoing HVAC system repairs.

On the other hand, one-time expenses like repairs or replacement costs for obsolete equipment, can be a little trickier to estimate.

Here’s how Trimark Mechanical can help plan for 2018:

	Budget maintenance expenses.
	Avoid surprise equipment replacement.
	Find the smartest way to use this year’s remaining budget.

Don’t hesitate to call in an expert to assess one-time expenses. Firms looking to develop a long-term relationship will help you price out repairs and replacements at little to no cost to you.

Don’t Let Emergencies Catch You Off-Guard

Inevitably, emergencies happen. If you don’t have a contingency fund for unanticipated expenses it’s time to start one.

Make Friends with Technology

The right technology can streamline the budgeting process. There are a variety of budgeting tools that can help you track, report, and analyze expenses, in turn helping you make smarter decisions for your facility.

Technology That Brings You to the Site

Trimark Mechanical uses technology to bring you to the site. We show you what needs to be done, what was done, and what should be done to keep systems running well. This means that you can:

Easily verify repairs are complete. Through before, during, and after images, we keep you fully informed, right from your inbox.

Safeguard your valuable time. Unexpected repairs can take your attention away from other pressing matters. Our predictive maintenance and account history tools work to reduce the risk of costly surprises and prolonged equipment downtime.

Have it your way. Notifications aren’t one-size fits all. Do you prefer receiving emails, phone calls, or both? We work with your preferences and not the other way around.

Our goal is to create a comfortable environment in your building through a seamless, thoughtful, technology-driven process.

Plan for Growth and Competitive Advantages

The savviest of asset managers combine goals for growth with the budgeting process. Here are a few things to consider if your business is in a growth phase or you’re investing in competitive advantages:

Taxes
Obviously, as your business grows, so will your tax liability.
Insurance
It’s likely that your liability will increase as your business expands.
Capital Expenditures
Growth is often accompanied by more capital investments.

Additionally, businesses looking to create a competitive advantage should budget for it. Those advantages don’t just crop up out of thin air!

How High-Performance HVAC Affects Your Competitive Edge

Comfort and Control Over Environment
Cost Savings From Increased Energy Efficiency
Less Downtime During Repairs
Reduced Risk System Failure

Are you ready to start budgeting for the next fiscal year? It’s easy to let fall go by without thinking about the upcoming year. Have a qualified mechanical services firm assess your maintenance costs and estimate the life of your existing equipment. Give us a call at 703.891.4600. You may qualify for a no-cost site inspection.