Equipment cataloguing management overview
Cyclical maintenance comprises the regular servicing of all mechanical and electrical equipment at regular pre-defined intervals, in line with best practice and government legislation. The testing and servicing of gas appliances and electrical installations not only extends their life span and upholds required safety standards, it also provides a valuable source of data to help inform the projected renewal of these components, with all service history readily accessible through individual asset records. Due to the specialist nature of servicing works, housing organisations often establish a series of measured term partnering contracts to provide the required maintenance over a number of years. Depending on the housing type and installation characteristics, such maintenance would include electrical systems testing, lightning conductor integrity checks, gas boiler servicing and safety checks, lift servicing, door entry systems, etc., each at a frequency governed by statutory requirements. Whilst there is no statutory obligation for social landlords to have professional checks carried out on the electrical appliances or systems within a rented property, they are required under law to ensure that all such equipment is safe.
It is important, therefore, that all items of equipment - gas or electric - with any level of regular servicing requirement or safety inspection check are catalogued for each asset, along with the recording of appropriate identification details - make, model, serial number and reference code - that will enable each component to be matched to the manufacturer's servicing requirements. Each item of equipment is linked to a specific categorisation type, ensuring that equipment-specific servicing plans are mapped correctly to the individual assets. Equipment location details are also stored, such that the attending service engineer is provided with all relevant information to conduct an efficient and timely cyclical maintenance visit. To establish a baseline of service history, the end user is able to capture the details of previously completed visits, including the outcome and any safety notices or special recommendations. In circumstances where a tenant has purchased their own gas appliance, the social landlord is only responsible for the interconnecting gas pipework and not the appliance itself; hence it is possible to identify all tenant-owned equipment items that exist within each asset. Similarly, any items that have been diagnosed with irreparable faults can be marked as decommissioned.
Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of equipment cataloguing management, including: