Best Practices to Support Operation & Maintenance in Cold Climates
Cold Climate Engineering is on a crusade to improve Operation and Maintenance (O&M) in all cold climate communities. Our environment and remoteness are unique and as such, our approach to designing and maintaining infrastructure is also be unique.
The “Best Practices To Support Operation and Maintenance in Cold Climates” is a multi-discipline document that the culmination of the knowledge provided from several Operation and Maintenance Best Practices workshops that CCE has completed throughout the State of Alaska since 2016. In all, it includes input from over 200 professionals including Facility Managers, Designers, Project Managers, Contractors, Manufacturers and Building Owners. It is a living document and will be updated periodically as more information is made available.
Document Layout
This document is separated by major construction systems including:
• General Building Operation (items that apply to all construction trades)
• Site and Landscaping
• Building Envelope
• Finishes, Furnishings, and Floor Plan
• Structural Systems
• Mechanical Systems
• Electrical Systems
Within each construction system, the document is further separated into three subcategories:
• Scheduled O&M Tasks: This section focuses on the daily tasks of the Facility Operations Team. These are the regularly scheduled activities that will prolong the life of the systems, reducing both short term and long-term operational costs.
• Capital Improvement Tasks: This section highlights where capital funding is best applied to reduce long-term operational costs and improve User well being. An example of a recommendation from this section is the replacement of fluorescent light fixtures with LED light fixtures.
• Design Practices to Support O&M: This section includes recommendations on how to design and specify products and systems in a way that will facilitate maintenance and reduce the long-term operational costs of the facility.
Expanding the Body of Knowledge
We would greatly appreciate any additional recommendations for this document! Either email us a marked up PDF of the document or send us an email with your recommended additions and/or modifications.
Want to hold your own Best Practices workshop? We’ve included a How-To document to facilitate running a workshop including PDF on how we run our workshops. It is a great class to have at a conference, in-house training seminar, or even a work session with a new client to better understand their maintenance priorities. Email us if you have any questions about this process as well as to receive pre-written course descriptions and AIA credit forms.
If you do run a workshop, we would GREATLY appreciate receiving the knowledge that was shared so that we can incorporate it into the main document.
Dedicated to the Public Domain
These documents are Dedicated to the Public Domain. You are encouraged to share it with peers, clients, consultants, contractors, and the general public. The intent of the document is to improve Operation and Maintenance in communities across the Arctic. However, the document and verbiage included cannot be duplicated or used for profit.