Don’t Wait ‘Til It’s Too Late!

Most maintenance and engineering managers face the quandary of too many problem roofs for the money available. The problem might well be a lack of money, but it could also be the lack of a coherent roof management plan.

Most managers in commercial and institutional facilities agree that regular inspections are an essential part of a roof asset management program. They also recognize and agree with the basic roof management tenet that regular inspections and routine maintenance reduce ownership costs, reduce leak frequency and severity, extend roof life, and reduce management inefficiencies.

But, in practice, by the time many organizations think about starting a roof management plan, they need a roof-replacement program. The obligation to fund and implement roof replacements has supplanted the opportunities to maintain and repair. If organizations can extend the life of each built-up roof under management one year, they break even on the roof-management plan costs. If they can extend each roof by two or three years, the plan can reduce roof expenditures by a multiple of its costs.

So why don’t all organizations have a viable inspection and maintenance plan for their built-up roofs? Is it inertia or a fear of the unknown? The reasons are hard to fathom, but what is certain is that some plans never get started. Also certain is that even a minimal plan is better than no plan. The best advice for managers is to start now.