Lighting, like other facilities, is a business essential, but it can also sometimes feel like drain on resources.
People want to feel free to focus on their core operations, without the distraction of dealing with the unexpected, when it comes to maintenance issues for external lighting.
One ideal solution is fixed cost maintenance.
Reactive and Preventative Maintenance
Broadly, there are two forms of lighting maintenance: reactive and preventative.
With reactive maintenance, it is a case of only fixing things when they go wrong. This may seem, on the surface, an attractive option. You simply call out a local contractor when a lamp fails and have it replaced.
However, while this may seem straightforward enough on small scale, it may turn out to be something of a false economy.
For example, individual call-out rates can be high. Also, what is the guarantee that your chosen contractor will be able to visit and carry out the work within a tight time-frame?
In these kinds of situations, the obvious solution might be to wait until more than one lamp fails, and then call out an engineer, to try and make the whole process more cost effective.
But is this the case? For some external lighting, there could be safety issues if more than one lamp is out of action. In a commercial setting, lighting failure can impact on productivity.
A lack of sufficient lighting can put off customers, or even attract criminal activity.
In other words, reactive maintenance may not be the most economical option at all, if the consequences will cost more in the longer term – including the potential reputational cost should there be an accident, or the premises appears to be not sufficiently secure.
Preventative Action
Planned preventative maintenance means ensuring you have the right level of support for your external lighting.
This marks a shift in the whole culture of maintaining external lighting and facilities, and it recognises the importance of maintaining a lighting system.
From a facilities management viewpoint, having a contract in place for preventative maintenance ensures business continuity while allowing for a more streamlined management of daily tasks.
Essentially, it means knowing that the lighting is taken care of, with a contractual commitment to maintaining the system through scheduled visits, but also the service provider being on call to replace lamps as required.
Alongside these benefits is a consistency of service, providing, of course, you choose the right contractor.
The Benefits of Fixed Cost Maintenance
A fixed cost maintenance contract essentially combines both reactive and proactive maintenance for external lighting in one package.
Generally, when it comes to external lighting expenses, these come in three ways: the cost of replacing lamps and fittings; the cost of the labour involved in doing the work; and the cost of ensuring regular maintenance.
Altitude Services’ fixed cost maintenance packages address all three issues and ensure that you can easily manage your lighting budget.
What it means is that pay a fixed annual cost, which includes all the maintenance of your external lighting. There are no hidden extras for labour or parts.
Furthermore, you are also linked to a maintenance hotline, so if there are any issues with your lighting, we can address them within three to five working days.
External lighting is an essential part of the working infrastructure. It informs business strategies, affects productivity and impacts on people’s health and wellbeing.
Don’t leave your lighting maintenance to chance. Contact Altitude Services to find out how we can help you.
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