When working in estate management any estate or house manager can tell you the position is primarily keeping up with a large amount of details and hoping you don't drop the ball on an important action item! Often people assume all of these details are glamorous and luxurious items such as fine art, & wine cellars., etc. While of course caring for these items is a part of curating a fine home, the larger part of the position is actually facility management over the mechanical systems of the property.
Facility Management is a title used in corporations and public companies as a position who looks after the physical space so that the work of the company can continue uninterrupted. This is also true of a privately managed residence. HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, etc. all play an important part of the overall maintenance of the estate, and ignoring any one of these systems can be a costly mistake that can ruin the fine finishes, fixtures, equipment, and collectables that are within the property walls.
It is vital to have a comprehensive overview of all the mechanical systems of a residence, and have detailed information on all the "moving parts" of each system. This is important for several reasons. For one, the owners should be able to have comprehensive knowledge of the inner workings of their property, and not intrust it to any one vendor. When the owners/house mangers fully know and understand all of the details of each mechanical system they are not beholden to any one vendor that may take advantage of them. Also, by fully understanding all the mechanical workings of each system the owners/house managers are able to catch mistakes that vendors may make, or are more aware of the maintenance process rather then leaving it to outside persons that are not as invested in the process. Not only are there hundreds of details for a single property, but when multiple properties must be maintained under the same estate the job becomes overwhelming if there is not a solid system in place for keeping track of such items! Mechanical details can fall through the cracks, causing costly mistakes that can be hundreds of thousands of dollars or more!
Take for example as simple thing like HVAC filters. There are hundreds of varieties and several major manufacturer of systems and filters, and simply by noting which ones are required for the facility the owners/house managers can supervise the installation by the vendor more accurately, or even avoid costly mistakes and time wasted if the wrong ones are brought to the site for the maintenance appointment! By having these simple, but critical details in a log or mechanical maintenance manual the owners and house managers can better control the maintenance at the residence and protect the time and dollars spent keeping the systems in perfect working order.
Facility Management is a huge undertaking, and requires detailed planning of routine maintenance, scheduling such work at proper times that does not interrupt the flow of the family, keeping track of all the details that go along with each task and the parts required to perform the task successfully, and even informing the vendor of what historical work has occurred on the mechanical system to avoid unnecessary expense and time investigating a concern. All of these steps are crucial to effective facility management, and a mechanical details log or manual is a large part of keeping all of those items well organized. If you would like Luxury Lifestyle Logistics to come and do a facility management assessment of your estate operations, please contact us to schedule a complementary consultation.