GovWire

Information needed for maintenance planning

The estate might include buildings of different ages and construction types. These will all have different requirements and challenges for undertaking maintenance and repairs.

If a building is of historic interest or is listed in a conservation area there may be more stringent controls when carrying out maintenance work, which may require permission.

Accurate data about the condition of buildings is the starting point for longer-term maintenance planning. Youll need a variety of information about the estate, including:

• a plan of the buildings with useful information such as fire safety measures, location of hydrants, location of utility meters and incoming services
• a plan of the site with utilities information such as mains drainage, stopcocks, cabling and isolation points
• a breakdown of areas by use
• an inventory of important components and their life expectancy, such as boilers and pipework
• up-to-date statutory compliance records
• a schedule of maintenance contracts such as annual portable appliance testing (PAT), gas safety, boiler maintenance and fire measures
• building condition surveys (if available)
• asbestos register and asbestos management plan
• contacts for regular building works contractors and property services consultants

This information may already be held by your organisation. For example, for schools with a religious character, information may be held by the trustees of the school or the relevant diocese or other religious authority.

Maintenance planning

Planned and prioritised maintenance is an important part of strategic estate management. To support this, you should have:

• an overall maintenance plan for the estate
• a plan for day-to-day planned maintenance

These will help you develop an estate strategy and asset management plan.

As part of your planning, you should consider the cost-benefit of replacing items that incur significant and ongoing maintenance costs.

What to include

Your maintenance plan may cover a 3 to 5 year period but should schedule a list of works to be undertaken in each year. These should be based on the current condition of the buildings, identified from condition surveys.

Identify the main priorities for the estate, including:

• regular planned preventive maintenance works
• any planned capital or investment projects, such as window replacement

Timing works

Consider the timing for implementation of each project, as there could be cost implications.

Preventing disruption

A clear plan for managing any works will help to minimise risk and disruption to the running of your school premises.

All schools are different and will not have the same maintenance requirements.

You should consider what maintenance checks and testing regimes are required at your school. If in doubt, you should seek professional advice.

You may find it helpful to refer to other health and safety examples.

In addition to maintenance checks on building services, you may need to consider other activities such as:

• food hygiene and catering requirements
• maintenance of practical lesson machinery and equipment
• kiln servicing
• general health, safety and security management
• safety signage
• maintenance of CCTV and security equipment