Commercial buildings require constant attention to remain safe, functional and presentable.

Broadly, maintenance falls into two categories: reactive maintenance and planned maintenance.

Both are necessary. The key is understanding when each should be used and creating the right balance between them.

What Is Reactive Maintenance?

Reactive maintenance occurs in response to an existing fault or failure.

A leaking pipe, damaged door, failed light fitting, broken glazing or electrical fault are straightforward examples.

The problem exists, and action is required.

For urgent issues, rapid response can be critical to protecting the property, maintaining safety and reducing disruption.

When Reactive Maintenance Makes Sense

Not every building component requires scheduled preventative maintenance.

Some items are relatively inexpensive, non-critical or unpredictable enough that repairing them when they fail can be perfectly reasonable.

Reactive maintenance is also unavoidable when damage occurs unexpectedly through accidents, weather, vandalism or equipment failure.

The problem arises when reactive maintenance becomes the entire maintenance strategy.

What Is Planned Maintenance?

Planned maintenance involves scheduling inspections, servicing, repairs or replacement before an asset reaches the point of unexpected failure.

This can include routine inspections, preventative servicing, scheduled repairs and works identified through previous maintenance visits.

Rather than asking, “What has broken?”, planned maintenance asks, “What is likely to require attention next?”

The Benefits of Planned Maintenance

A planned approach can provide several advantages for commercial facilities.

Work can be scheduled around business operations, reducing disruption.

Maintenance expenditure becomes easier to forecast.

Developing issues can be identified before they become larger repairs.

Assets may remain serviceable for longer.

Facilities managers also gain better information about the condition of their buildings and upcoming maintenance requirements.

Why You Still Need Reactive Capability

Even the best maintenance program can’t predict everything.

Unexpected failures will still happen.

That’s why planned maintenance should be supported by reliable reactive capability.

When an urgent issue occurs, facilities managers need a clear process for reporting the problem, getting the appropriate trade to site and receiving accurate information about what needs to happen next.

Finding the Right Balance

The best approach is generally not reactive or planned maintenance.

It’s both.

Critical and predictable assets can be proactively inspected and maintained, while a responsive maintenance team remains available for unexpected issues.

Over time, maintenance records can also reveal recurring problems and help determine whether repeated reactive repairs should be replaced by a more permanent solution.

A Smarter Approach to Commercial Maintenance

DBM provides both programmed and reactive commercial maintenance, allowing clients to develop a maintenance strategy suited to their properties and operational requirements.

With experienced project management, access to specialist trades and 24/7 emergency response, we help organisations address immediate problems while planning for what comes next.

Want to improve how your commercial property is maintained? Talk to DBM about combining planned and reactive maintenance into a practical long-term solution.