Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) for Commercial Buildings

Planned preventative maintenance (PPM) is scheduled servicing of building plant on a defined frequency - to SFG20 in the UK - so equipment is maintained before it fails rather than repaired after. A Rossair PPM contract bundles the planned schedule, statutory compliance (F-Gas, LRA, EICR) and 24/7 reactive cover with a 4-hour emergency response, across London, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Manchester.

SFG20

Every schedule built on the UK PPM standard

1:3-5

Cost ratio - planned vs reactive maintenance

4-hour

Emergency response bundled into every contract

20+ yrs

Chichester College Group - 11 campuses, one contract

Understanding Planned Maintenance

Planned maintenance, often referred to as preventive or scheduled maintenance, involves regular, pre-arranged checks and servicing of equipment to ensure they function optimally and to prevent potential breakdowns.

What a planned preventative maintenance schedule includes

A PPM schedule lists every maintainable asset in the building, what needs doing to it and how often. Typical frequencies for a commercial building look like this - the exact tasks come from SFG20 and the asset’s condition and use.

SFG20 task grades: what you must do and what you choose to do

Planned, reactive and predictive maintenance compared

Reactive maintenance waits for something to fail, then fixes it - cheap until it isn’t, and typically three to five times the cost of planned work. Planned preventative maintenance services equipment on a fixed schedule so most failures never happen. Predictive maintenance uses BMS data and condition monitoring to time interventions more precisely. Most commercial estates are best served by PPM as the base, reactive cover for what still goes wrong, and predictive methods on critical plant.

How a Rossair PPM contract is set up

1. Site survey: An engineer walks the building and records every maintainable asset and its condition.
2. Asset register and SFG20 schedule: Each asset is mapped to its SFG20 tasks and frequencies, with Statutory, Mandatory and Optional items shown separately.
3. Itemised proposal: Priced bottom-up from the schedule, so you can see exactly what you are paying for and adjust the Optional tasks to budget.
4. Mobilisation: A named account manager and named engineers, visit dates booked for the year and 24/7 reactive cover switched on.
5. Reporting: A report after every visit, a 24-hour job report after reactive calls, and a compliance pack ready for audits and inspections.

Why is Planned Maintenance Imperative for HVAC Assets?

1. Extended Equipment Life: Regular checks and timely interventions ensure that minor issues are caught before they escalate into major problems.
2. Enhanced Energy Efficiency: A well-maintained HVAC system runs more efficiently.
3. Reduced Downtime: Planned maintenance drastically reduces the risk of unforeseen breakdowns, ensuring seamless operations.
4. Safety Assurance: Faulty HVAC systems can be a health hazard, potentially releasing harmful gases or causing fires.
5. Cost-Effective: While planned maintenance involves an upfront cost, it is often more cost-effective in the long run.

Mechanical and Electrical Service: An Integrated Approach

Trust in our dedicated mechanical and electrical service to protect, optimise, and extend the life of your HVAC assets.

Where we run planned preventative maintenance contracts

Planned preventative maintenance in London and the M25 runs from the Aldgate office - see London building maintenance. Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire and Sussex are covered from the Basingstoke HQ, where Rossair has been headquartered since 1973 - see building maintenance Hampshire and air conditioning maintenance Hampshire. Manchester and the North West run from the Manchester base. The maintenance patch is deliberately tight: it is what makes the 4-hour emergency commitment deliverable.

When plant has already failed, the reactive side of the same team handles it - see commercial HVAC repair (24/7 for contract clients). And for the HVAC-specific service detail behind the schedule, see commercial HVAC maintenance.

In Conclusion

Planned maintenance is more than a tick-box exercise - it’s a strategic investment in the longevity, safety and efficiency of every building service asset you own. Done properly, it costs less than reactive failure, drives energy savings that often outweigh the contract fee, and produces the documented evidence trail your auditors, insurers and regulators expect to see.

Service

Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) for HVAC and building services

Standard

SFG20 task grades (Statutory / Mandatory / Optional)

Statutory frameworks covered

LRA, F-Gas, EICR, Gas Safe, Fire Safety Order

Reactive cover

Bundled - 24/7, 4-hour emergency response

Typical cycles

AC biannual, ventilation quarterly, boilers annual, BMS annual review

Energy savings from PPM

Typically 15-30% recovered on neglected systems

Records

Asset register, visit reports, F-Gas leak records, EICR, compliance pack

Multi-site

One account manager, consolidated SFG20 across sites

Named long-term

Chichester College Group (11 campuses, 20+ years)

In trade since

1973 (52+ years)

Coverage

London + M25, Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire, Sussex, Manchester

Telephone

01420 566822