Challenges facing University Estates and Maintenance teams

Universities are the most complex estates to manage. A red brick university would typically comprise of buildings dating back several hundred years, a random selection of buildings acquired over time to facilitate expansion of different departments, through to various developments, from modern, high tech buildings to now dated post war buildings.

The problem

The ability to standardise equipment across such a vast array of facilities is near impossible. The length of time it would take to install one specification across all sites would, in all likelihood, mean that a superior technology had to have come along in the interim. Also, the cost of going to the latest model, which may be a huge overkill for certain low use areas, may not be worth the investment.

University estates and facilities management teams will inevitably be left with the challenge of maintaining obsolete, inferior and a large range of equipment. Electric hand dryers are a great example. We have found during site surveys units over 30 years old, operating ineffectively, using huge amounts energy and creating poor hygiene hot spots (manual operation), alongside modern dryers and everything in between.

The solution

We take a pragmatic approach to reducing these headaches for the estates team.

1. We carry spares for over 70 of the most popular models supplied over the past 15 years
2. We offer a free identification service for hand dryer models and can provide spares prices on request
3. We assess the traffic of the washrooms that require new units or spare parts and give realistic return on investment for new equipment and lifecycle analysis vs repairing
4. We offer affordable on-site maintenance cover on all new units
5. We have modular units that can be disconnected without touching any wires or electrical components meaning they can be replaced by anyone with zero downtime.
6. Our models can adapt the noise output to allow a degree of standardisation moving forward i.e. no need for units with differing sound levels
7. We are the largest stockist and importer of different hand dryer models meaning we can provide the most appropriate options and best value.

If you would like any assistance managing your hand dryers across diverse estates please contact us on 0114 3540047. We are happy to carry out free site surveys to assess the value in updating equipment. All our information is transparent and can be backed up with clear data to allow your team to make the best possible decisions.