The pilot phase of a new programme to improve the quality, consistency and reliability of the information that we hold about the assets (from lifts, boilers and air conditioning equipment, to fire extinguishers and emergency lighting test switches) in the University of Cambridge buildings has been successfully completed.
The Asset Digitisation Programme will also:
- Increase the transparency and visibility of the data by providing full access to this information to building managers so they can better manage the spaces they look after
- Review and reset the condition of each building by identifying outstanding or persistent maintenance issues and developing plans to tackle these
- Work together with those who manage and work in each building to produce new Planned and Preventative Maintenance (PPM) schedules individually designed to respond to building requirements and meet the needs of building users
- Better control and co-ordinate future estate maintenance activity and projects in each building
The pilot focused on 20 buildings, including the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Zoology Building, the Electrical Engineering Division building, and the Chemistry of Health building. The team will survey all the remaining buildings in the University estate during the first half of 2024 and will soon be contacting the Departmental Administrators and Building Managers for each building to work with them to agree an approach and schedule that works for them. Surveyors will then carry out the asset review, working with each building to ensure that this is done at a time and in a way which causes minimal disruption.
Andrew Smart, Director of Estates Operations, said. "More accurate and reliable asset information, that is stored and managed digitally, will deliver a range of benefits, including the development of an improved Planned Preventative Maintenance Programme (PPM) to ensure that all buildings are well-maintained, compliant and safe, and to develop plans to decarbonise our buildings.
"We know that a one size fits all approach will not work for the university’s estate. For each building in the pilot, we will review the asset data with the Departments and Building Managers to check its accuracy and completeness. We will then work with them to agree clear responsibilities for activities in each building, ranging from a weekly fire alarm test to an annual gas boiler service."