A maintenance program is a partnership between a shopping centre and the company engaged for building maintenance. It outlines scope, responsibilities, costs and scheduling. The goal is to protect commercial property and prevent small issues becoming expensive problems.

A well-defined maintenance program should make sure both parties are aligned on expectations and goals. It also:

• Prioritises customer and tenant safety
• Preserves property value
• Saves money by reducing reactive repairs
• Ensures safety and compliance
• Creates documentation that maintains accurate records
• Offers an opportunity to accurately budget
• Keeps a property attractive and appealing

Taking a proactive approach, rather than reactive, means you can anticipate needs and prevent issues, rather than simply reacting to breakdowns. The people maintaining your shopping centre should know the history of the property and the movement and footfall of tenants and customers, even the impact of weather on your location.

On the other hand, reactive repairs are only performed after something breaks down. This can be expensive and disruptive.

Less emergency repairs means saving money for the other parts of running a shopping centre.

Why it’s Important To Invest in a Structured Maintenance Program

Assets need to be well-maintained and serviced on a regular basis. It saves money in the long term to extend the life span of these assets.

The types of maintenance covered include:

• Electrical 
• Landscaping 
• Life safety systems 
• Bathrooms and plumbing 
• Fire safety 
• Structural maintenance 
• Lifts and escalators 
• Windows, floors and doors 

Maintenance Plan Goals

Satisfaction: The plan should consider the experience of customers when they visit your shopping centre. If a shopper is inconvenienced, they may look for another place to shop. If a tenant isn’t happy, they may look for another premises.

Compliance: Accurate documentation is essential for tracking maintenance history and planning future inspections and work. It helps with audits and provides valuable data for insights and improvements. Documentation also demonstrates compliance with safety regulations.

The Right Repairs at the Right Time 

A maintenance schedule includes an outline of which asset needs to be inspected or serviced, how often and by whom. The goal is minimal disruption and maximum efficiency. This is achieved through KPIs (key performance indicators) like minimising downtime of equipment, and fast response time to repairs.

Each part of your shopping centre will need a different frequency of inspections and maintenance. For example fire safety systems require regular inspections and testing but painting may only need attention every few years.

Maintenance providers keep the lights on, the music playing and the air flowing. First impressions are important as customers notice peeling paint, a dirty window, a broken toilet, an out-of-service elevator. A well maintained shopping centre improves the experience for everyone.  

Some of the most common maintenance jobs include:

• Electrical: Electrical systems are one of the most critical parts of a maintenance plan. These include taking care of HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) units and making sure safety systems work in an emergency. Smoke detectors, sprinklers and all the equipment involved in fire safety come under this category, too.
• Plumbing: Checking and maintaining water supply – pipes, taps and bathrooms – keeps the water running where it needs to run, and keeps out leaks.
• Landscaping and gardening: The outside of a mall usually needs landscaping and gardening. Maintenance providers mow lawns, trim hedges, plant plants and weed weeds. Pathways need to be well-lit and safe from hazards. This helps create a welcoming and accessible exterior for shoppers.
• Parking: Carparks sometimes need potholes filled or lines repainted. Carpark maintenance includes speed bumps, gates, emergency signage and traffic-controlling elements.
• Exterior: The exterior of a building needs regular attention. Window washing to keep glass crystal clear. Power washing to remove dust and debris. Peeling paint, cracks and leaks should be dealt with before they become a problem. Exterior signage should be clean and clearly visible. If a vandal has tagged a wall, graffiti should be removed and protective coating may be added.
• Infrastructure: Maintenance is also essential to keep behind-the-scenes infrastructure working. This includes planning inspections and maintenance for loading docks, trash compactors, waste management. Staff areas also fall into this category.

Taking care of the common jobs allows you to stay ahead of health, safety and legal compliance. A maintenance plan ensures your shopping centre remains safe for the long term, while preserving property value.

Finding the right provider is about forming an ongoing relationship with an organisation that understands the unique needs of your business. An all-in-one solution provider like First Response is a good place to start.

Key information to consider:

• Availability: A good provider can be available for emergency repairs and one off projects but a long-term partnership allows a provider to avoid unnecessary costs, delays and disruptions. 
• Reputation: Look for a company with a good reputation and ask them lots of questions. Do your due diligence. A provider should be happy to provide qualifications, references and show you the state of other buildings they maintain. A proven track record is important.
• Experience: Do they have experience with shopping centres of similar size, complexity and scope?
• Range of Services: Ensure the provider offers the full range of services you require. Is there any area of your shopping centre that needs a specialised provider? Ask about First Response's exclusion list of maintenance jobs and we might show you a blank piece of paper. We can tackle nearly any task.
• Flexibility and Transparency: Keep an eye out for inflexible contracts. Are there hidden costs? How about an exit clause? Have you talked about emergency repairs? What about liability insurance? Take a close look at the shopping centre maintenance contact.
• Reliability: Are the contractors reliable, well trained and high calibre? They should be qualified, insured and police checked. Verify their knowledge of relevant regulations and compliance.
• Pricing and Budget: Is the provider’s pricing the right fit for your budget? Finding the right provider is crucial to staying within budget. First Response offers competitive pricing and flexible solutions to meet your needs. Predicable pricing allows for accurate budgeting.

Choose a maintenance provider that can adapt to your changing needs and scale their services as required.

There are two different approaches to managing a maintenance plan. Should you work with a network of individual contractors for specific projects or invest in an ongoing relationship with an all-in-one provider? Both approaches have merits and challenges.

Benefits of Individual Contractors 

Specialisation: A significant benefit is a specialised skillset. For example, an individual contractor may specialise in elevators and only elevators. Or a cleaning company, might have an ethical focus on eco-friendly products that are important to your ethos. There is flexibility to choose contractors based on an alignment of values or budget constraints.

Flexibility: You can pick and choose who is doing what work and when.One-off projects have no long-term commitments. This means you can switch contractors as needed.

Disadvantages of Individual Contractors

This approach comes with disadvantages, too. Usually the shopping centre needs to employ a project manager to coordinate all the individual contractors. This can create an administrative burden for scheduling, communication, accounting and quality checks. Conflicting contractor schedules can lead to delays.

Inconsistency: There can also be variation in skill levels and work ethic. This can lead to inconsistent standards.

Documentation: It can be challenging to keep and organise accurate records and documentation. This could cause accountability issues. If something goes wrong, it can be difficult to determine who is responsible. 

Contractors have to keep documentation but there are many different ways to do this. By having many different contractors, you could create a situation where each contractor has a different documentation style. This can cause headaches when it comes to making sense of the paperwork and invoices.

No Long-Term Investment: Importantly, there is no incentive for proactive and preventative maintenance. The contractors are not invested in the long-term success of the shopping centre.

Benefits of All-In-One Maintenance Providers

• Easy Communication: There is a single point of contact for retail property maintenance. There is someone to call if something goes wrong. An All-In-One provider like First Response will understand the history of building and scope of the project involved. 
• Experience and Expertise: An all-in-one provider comes with an entire team with experience and expertise. This creates consistent and reliable quality. Even when different equipment has different needs. Not all assets wear and tear at the same pace. Expertise understands the perfect balance, never under-repairing or over-repairing. 
• Reduced Cost: An all-in-one service provider can help you stay within budget. They have economies of scale, meaning they get lower prices on materials and services due to their larger size. Financial forecasting is easier with a single contract that has clear pricing and planned preventative maintenance. 
• Availability: A comprehensive maintenance program can aim to fix existing problems but also focuses on proactive and preventative maintenance. This helps avoid expensive surprises. But if urgent repairs are needed, there is a fast response time. One team, one schedule to reduce the amount of different people that need to be on site.
• Accountability: Documentation is the unsung hero of maintenance. It allows for compliance checks, informed decision-making and a clear pathway for accountability. If something goes wrong there is one company to hold responsible.

Disadvantages of All-In-One Maintenance Providers

All-in-one providers offer a wide range of services that include costs for management and administration. This can seem like higher overall cost compared to individually negotiated contracts, but there are significant savings by being able to prevent equipment downtime and emergency repairs.

Some providers have less specialisation in niche areas. This depends on the size of the team and company. First Response has a wide range of experts that can handle specialist services.

Selecting a maintenance provider is more than just hiring a service. It’s a strategic partnership that can improve efficiency, tenant satisfaction and long-term value. Here are a few things to consider: 

• It is important to look for a provider with a proven track record with a similar size and complexity as your shopping centre 
• Is the team experienced with retail facilities management? 
• Are there glowing testimonials and other clients you can speak to? Ask for direct contact information of current or past clients and conduct thorough reference checks. Check online reviews and industry forums for feedback
• Does the provider offer the full spectrum of services that your shopping centre requires?
• Clarify the exclusion list: if there are tasks this provider doesn’t handle, then how will they be addressed?
• Ensure the maintenance strategy aligns with your shopping centre’s long-term goals. Does the plan align in areas like energy efficiency, sustainability, and tenant satisfaction? 
• Can the provider adapt its services to accommodate future expansion or renovations?
• How will the maintenance team communicate with you and your tenants?
• Will there be regular reports on maintenance activities?
• How often will you have meetings?

First Response has proven experience with shopping centres. Our maintenance programs are comprehensive, and we customise them to the unique needs of your commercial property. Please get in touch, if you would like to ask any questions or talk to any of our existing clients.

We're ready to handle any shopping centre maintenance program, regardless of size or complexity. We bring expertise and quality, each and every time.

Our Services Include:

• Regular preventative maintenance to keep everything running smoothly.
• Dependable response time for emergency repairs. We are committed to being there if and when something goes wrong.
• We customise our maintenance packages to the unique needs of your shopping centre.  

We understand maintenance is about more than repairs. It's about forming a partnership to protect the longevity of your shopping centre and prevent costly downtime. 

Get in Touch

Ready to get proactive about shopping centre maintenance? We are the experts. Contact us to schedule a free site assessment.