If your building is undergoing (or will plan to undergo) an upgrade or repair of an essential building service that requires more than just a rough knowledge of the system (i.e. boiler, elevator replacement, facade, etc.) you’ll want to make sure that your Board brings in an expert to oversee from start to finish. While I pride myself on knowing a good amount about various systems in the building, I would be a fool to think that I can bring to the table what those who have been specializing in their respective fields can.

One of my clients will soon be upgrading their elevator controls (not a complete cab replacement) so they will be hiring a consultant who will visit the building to view the equipment that is currently on hand, draw up specs to bid out and then they will oversee the bid process and subsequent installation on-site. As a manager, I could ensure that they are on site and working, but if they are using a particular part that is not included in the contract I would have no idea. Oftentimes, the extra few thousand dollars spent now could potentially save the building from great harm and overpayment down the road.

If there’s on piece of advice from this post, it would be “don’t be cheap”. You get what you pay for. When we’re dealing with vital systems, there is no room for error.