DIY In The Workplace?

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Phil The Main Editor

This time I am having a general rant about equipment efficiency and whole -life costing principles.  As practical people, Engineers will have considered doing some do-it-yourself (DIY) in the home and most will have actually done some in their lives. It could be something as simple as tiling the bathroom, a new “heart transplant” for an ageing heating system or a major self-build house project.

This is all very laudable and other, less practical people, will be envious of the expertise involved.  What is more it saves the householder money.  Now is the same true for businesses?  Recently, I came across a business (who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons)  that liked to do everything themselves “to save money” as the Managing Director proudly said.  This had, over the years, become the company style.

Whilst visiting one day,  I happened to pop into the company’s factory boiler room and I couldn’t believe my eyes.  Apart from the squalor, the additions and repairs to the heating system over the years had the effect of rendering the boiler very nearly useless and potentially dangerous.   When I asked the boss what was going on there, he said that he had some years ago moved to an in-house solution and stopped using external contractors to look after their building services.   He said that he had saved a packet on maintenance fees.

He used some of his engineering staff to look after the services on an ad hoc basis.  It wasn’t appropriate at that time to say anything other than I thought that the heating system was dangerous and needed expert attention.   On delivery of this news, the atmosphere went decidedly chilly and I left.   This made me wonder how prevalent this practice is.  I would love to be a fly on the wall at a board meeting where the Financial Director reports his services costs,  querying why they are so high and where can we save money.

With this in mind and moving on to industrial heating installations, it is amazing how many businesses do not realise the benefit of whole-life costing when it comes to reviewing their heating and air-conditioning installations.  When does a heating system need replacement?  Certainly not when the replacement parts cannot be sourced any more 15 years down the line.

Like any piece of fixed machinery that needs servicing over its life, it is a good plan to work out how much it costs over an expected life span including its funding costs, capital write-down values, maintenance costs and major overhaul costs at planned intervals as recommended by the manufacturer.  There is always a time in the is plan when it is cheaper to replace it rather than to “run it into the ground”.

Taking the above example, that company certainly did not use whole life costing in assessing their overall costs.   What the MD saved on external servicing costs, he certainly lost many times more over the years in energy costs and lost productive time by factory operatives spending time on the heating system instead.

Moving on to energy efficiency, why are new build warehousing and small to medium sized industrial units still using traditional boiler and air-conditioning installations when it is clear that more innovative solutions are available?  These include ground-source heat pumps, air source heat pumps and photovoltaic solar electricity are available; the latter being the subject of government payback on the excess electricity generated.

The answer may, of course, be related to the fact that such units are often spec-built to the minimum capital cost with little regard to the user companies’ costings.  With such a disconnect from a whole-life costing point of view, it is little wonder why the practice continues.  Improvements only come, it seems if the building regulations demand better standards.

Concerned Engineers should, perhaps, lobby for greater regulation in this regard to ensure that spec-built properties must be equipped with the latest and most efficient system available.  Alternatively, we should be looking for longer-term involvement of the developer of these units for continuity of cost planning to ensure that cost savings are planned and benefits shared.  What do you think?

Hasta la vista.