Asset Management

Case Study

The Client

A leading UK property developer with an extensive portfolio of lifts and escalators throughout the UK was facing some severe challenges, which were having a negative impact on rent reviews and the letting of available space.

The Project

The project challenges could be summarised as follows:

1. Unreliable lifts and escalators

2. Lift and escalator maintenance that varied in quality

3. No sense of ownership and pride from maintenance companies

4. A maintenance contract that had now become outdated in regard to market requirements

5. Poor communication between maintenance providers and the property company

6. Atmosphere of distrust

These issues were compounded by the fact that nearly 20 companies were maintaining the lift and escalator portfolio.

In addition to this, as a reflection of the property company’s growth, there had been so many additions to the portfolio, that there was no accurate central database capturing all the lifts and escalators on the portfolio. Without this, management of the lift and escalator portfolio was hampered to such an extent that the cost of maintenance was uncompetitive.

D2E Brief

D2E International concluded that in order for all the key stakeholders to provide a lift and escalator service that would delight the tenants of the property developer, the maintenance contract would have to be rewritten in order to meet and exceed the demands of the tenants.

The starting point was to create a maintenance contract that would reflect the demands of today and tomorrow’s market. Starting from scratch and using a unique approach, D2E International, interviewed all the key stakeholders, including the maintenance providers to rewrite a maintenance contract. D2E International also researched best practices from around the world to introduce aspects to the new contract that had not been considered before. By using this approach, as opposed to a cut and paste exercise from maintenance contracts that had not changed for a very long period of time, D2E International were able to create a maintenance contract that was:

1. Measurable and performance related

2. Inputs that ensured improved reliability

3. Reduced the number of suppliers to make the portfolio easier to manage

4. Created a sense of ownership

5. Lines of communication became simpler and clearer

The other key conclusions that D2E International reached was that a central database entitled the Asset Register had to be developed. This captured all the key elements of the portfolio and was dynamic enough to easily allow for additions and deletions of buildings to the portfolio. This Asset Register allowed the Property Company to measure and manage their portfolio in a manner which had not been achieved previously.

The Outcome

The result of the improved maintenance contract and asset register is that initial savings of over 12% have been achieved. Additional savings are inevitable because the Asset Register provides a visible and easy means to ensure further analysis to allow this to happen. Added to this was a marked improvement in quality and performance.