Winter weather in Central Indiana can put commercial buildings under serious stress. Freezing temperatures, snow, ice, wind, and rapid temperature changes can increase the strain on HVAC equipment, plumbing systems, building controls, drains, and other critical facility systems.
For facility managers, the best time to address winter problems is before temperatures fall.
A proactive maintenance plan can help reduce emergency repairs, protect equipment, control energy costs, and keep employees, customers, tenants, and visitors comfortable throughout the heating season.
Inspect and Service Heating Equipment
Your heating system becomes one of your facility’s most important assets during winter.
Before cold weather arrives, boilers, rooftop units, furnaces, heat pumps, pumps, motors, belts, burners, filters, and controls should be inspected and tested.
Facility managers should also pay attention to warning signs such as unusual noises, inconsistent temperatures, poor airflow, short cycling, or unexpected increases in energy use.
Preventive maintenance can help identify worn components and operating problems before they result in a breakdown during extreme cold.
Protect Plumbing from Freezing
Frozen pipes can quickly become a major facility emergency.
Inspect piping located near exterior walls, loading docks, warehouses, mechanical rooms, and other unheated or exposed areas. Pipe insulation should be checked, damaged insulation replaced, and known leaks repaired before freezing temperatures arrive.
Outdoor water connections and other seasonal plumbing equipment should also be prepared for winter.
Small plumbing problems should not be ignored. A minor leak in the fall can become a much larger problem once temperatures drop below freezing.
Review Building Automation and Controls
Building automation and control systems play an important role in maintaining comfort and managing energy use.
Review heating schedules, temperature setpoints, occupied and unoccupied settings, thermostats, sensors, alarms, and equipment sequences before winter.
Proper scheduling can help avoid heating unoccupied areas unnecessarily while still maintaining appropriate temperatures throughout the building.
VASEY Commercial Facility Solutions provides building automation and controls services designed to help facilities operate efficiently and reliably.
Inspect Drains and Sewer Systems
Winter preparation should extend beyond HVAC equipment.
Commercial drains and sewer systems operate year-round and can create major disruptions when problems are ignored. Slow drains, recurring backups, damaged piping, and other drainage problems should be addressed before winter conditions make repairs more difficult.
Preventive drain and sewer maintenance can help reduce the risk of unexpected shutdowns and emergency service calls.
Check Commercial Refrigeration and Kitchen Equipment
Restaurants, schools, healthcare facilities, foodservice operations, and other businesses may depend heavily on commercial refrigeration and kitchen equipment.
These systems still require regular maintenance during the winter months. Refrigeration equipment, kitchen systems, plumbing, drains, and related mechanical components should be included in the facility’s overall preventive maintenance plan.
VASEY provides service for commercial refrigeration, kitchen equipment, HVAC, plumbing, and related building systems.
Look for Comfort Problems
Facility managers should walk through their buildings before winter and look for areas that may become uncomfortable as temperatures fall.
Are some rooms consistently colder than others? Are employees using portable heaters? Is airflow weak in certain areas? Do temperatures vary significantly throughout the day?
These conditions may indicate problems with airflow, controls, HVAC equipment, or ductwork.
Correcting comfort problems early can improve indoor conditions while reducing unnecessary stress on heating equipment.
Review Your Emergency Plan
Even properly maintained equipment can experience unexpected problems.
Facility managers should know who to contact if heating, plumbing, refrigeration, or other critical systems fail. They should also identify which systems and areas are most important to business operations.
Having an emergency plan established in advance can save valuable time during severe winter weather.
Make Preventive Maintenance a Year-Round Priority
Winter preparation should not be a once-a-year reaction.
A structured preventive maintenance program helps facility managers regularly inspect, test, clean, and maintain building systems throughout the year. Potential problems can then be corrected before they lead to costly failures.
VASEY’s proactive preventive maintenance programs are designed to improve reliability, reduce breakdowns, improve comfort, lower operating costs, and provide more predictable maintenance expenses.
VASEY also offers its Guaranteed Lifetime Protection program, which provides a more comprehensive approach to maintaining covered equipment and managing long-term facility costs.
Prepare Before the Temperatures Drop
The worst time to discover a heating or plumbing problem is during the coldest week of the year.
For commercial facilities throughout Central Indiana, fall is the time to inspect equipment, protect plumbing, review controls, correct known problems, and establish a winter maintenance plan.
VASEY Commercial Facility Solutions provides HVAC, plumbing, sewer and drain, building automation, refrigeration, mechanical, and preventive maintenance services to help facility managers prepare their buildings for winter.
Prepare before the cold arrives. Schedule a facility maintenance review with VASEY Commercial Facility Solutions and make sure your building is ready for winter.
