The Work Of A Building Manager In Building Management

By Jamal D White


Property management has many sub branches and one of them is building management. Building management deals with supervising hard and soft structures of a built structure. This ensures security, health, safety and maintenance are at a satisfactory level. A building manager thus has the responsibility of ensuring environmental safety and health procedures are compliant with the law.

Catering for occupants and visitor safety is one of the top most priorities. The manager ensures disability access requirements are in place and that the emergency and exit doors are visible and well lit. Appropriate and necessary information and evacuation procedures posted on signs and maps must be checked. Making sure that custodians keep visitors and occupants safe and clean the interior floors is also some of their duties.

A building manager also has to oversee if security and fire systems are in place. This includes checking the security systems, security staff and fire prevention systems. He may supervise security staff directly or interrogate the security chief staff. He makes sure the security and fire systems are operational and may hire experts to evaluate their conditions occasionally. He can also recommend necessary changes.

It is important for electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems are fully operational. A building manager thus has maintenance staff who undertake the necessary repairs of the building. If it is a residential building, the manager is inclined to respond to the requests made by tenants for the repair of various things within the building.

The janitorial and landscape staff members are also the responsibility of the building manager. Janitors who do daily cleaning are supervised alongside the groundskeepers who ensure that the lawns are well maintained. A building manager hires the employees who may wash and wax the floors, as well as clean the bathrooms. If there are no employees, it is the responsibility of the manager to find suitable people.

In the event of an accident in the building, it is upon the building manager to investigate the cause of the accident. They may hire experts to give them detailed accounts of what happened and he can determine the necessary precautions that will be put in place. In addition, he can also make necessary upgrades that will make the building safer and more comfortable.

The number of staff has to be adequate and well trained if emergencies should they occur. Sufficient fire wardens and evacuation officers are appointed to ensure emergency drills are undertaken. All this is done by the building manager. They also make changes in staff such as firing incompetent people and hiring to inadequately staffed departments. In case of an emergency, the manager should also ensure sufficient first-aiders are around.

Appointments for inspections of the building are a key responsibility. The safety of the building is determined by the control and safety inspections. Additionally, for a departmental plant, engineering insurance inspections are carried out to establish the eligibility for an insurance cover. Hence a building manager has his hands full to ensure the safety of the building they manage.




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