3 Reasons Facilities Teams Need HVAC Manufacturer's reps

Every single commercial building contains an impressive infrastructure that many building occupants take for granted. The facilities team manages not only one of the largest assets in an organization, but also the hefty operating budgets that go along with it. Facilities management teams consistently juggle people, processes, technologies, and equipment to ensure that every commercial building is safety, efficient, functional, and comfortable. These unsung heroes function like masterful conductors to ensure that all building systems work harmoniously together. They directly contribute to the bottom line by tirelessly examining operational efficiencies, managing risks, and promoting sustainable solutions.

Facilities management encompasses planning, design, construction, leases, building occupancy, operations and maintenance, furniture, and cleaning. Additionally, facilities teams are heavily involved in health and safety, organizational communication, leadership and strategy, emergency preparedness and more. According to Statista, the global outsourced facility management market is worth around $548 billion. That’s more than Sweden’s GDP and larger than New Zealand’s and Greece’s GDP combined.

 There’s a lot riding on the shoulders of facilities managers. Fortunately, there are trusted partners they can rely on to help ease the burdens of cost control, resource management, and improving system efficiency. Most facilities teams rely on HVAC manufacturer’s reps when they need to find parts for broken equipment or upgrade system components, but there are other ways that reps can step in to help lighten the load for facilities teams.

1. Improving overall system efficiency: Great manufacturer’s reps don’t just sell equipment. They employ seasoned engineers who can assess systems and make suggestions that can help you improve overall system efficiency. As you might expect, there is a lot of engineering involved in initial system design. As technology improves, HVAC equipment manufacturers implement changes in equipment that could significantly impact system performance and efficiency. While a large capital expenditure for new equipment may not be in the budget, there could be some smaller adjustments or upgrades to implement to improve system performance. Improving HVAC system efficiency can result in lower energy costs for heating and cooling, , improved airflow, noise reduction, and, perhaps most important, increased building occupant comfort.
   
   
2. Cost control: Budgets are always a focus for every operational team and everyone should be concerned about controlling costs. Maintaining building comfort in the dog days of summer and the frigid days of winter can get pricey if you don’t focus on keeping those costs down, especially when you consider that HVAC systems consume about 30% of the total commercial building energy consumption, according to data from the US Department of Energy. Fortunately, there are few ways that reps can help you ensure that your HVAC system costs don’t soar.
   
   Sometimes, the best way to control ongoing costs is to invest in a system upgrade to take advantage of newer higher efficiency technologies. However, if that isn’t in the short-term budget, you can ensure that your buildings have energy management and control systems to help provide long-term energy and cost savings by decreasing overall energy consumption.
   
   Another critical component of cost control is following manufacturer recommended guidelines for system maintenance. Your rep can ensure that your facilities teams have access to the latest recommended schedules.
   
   
3. Resource management. A trusted rep can help you determine when it’s time to plan to make equipment upgrades to ensure that your HVAC system doesn’t leave you in the lurch with, say, unplanned downtime for your air handler smack in the middle of summer. If your commercial HVAC system is aging or if your predecessor chose less-than-reliable system equipment, a rep can assist you in current system analysis and, if necessary, equipment selection.

Facilities management is not always a small feat and those who do it are often visionaries and skilled project managers . It’s important, however, to remember that you don’t have to do everything on your own. You can rely on trusted partners to provide additional expertise to ensure that your facilities run as efficiently as possible for the long-term health and safety of your building occupants.

If you’re interested in learning more about how HVAC manufacturer reps can help you reduce the weight of facilities management, please contact us.