Services

Emergency Maintenance in London

What is emergency maintenance?

Emergency maintenance is when repairs are required immediately or within 24 hours period because the problem is dangerous, has the potential to harm or stops the business from functioning.

What is classed as an emergency?

Examples of emergencies include floods, bare electrical wires, power failure, unable to access any rooms on the key fobbs, broken front doors, windows smashed and hanging signage.

How does being called out for an emergency work?

As soon as you place the call our alarm bells start ringing. We immediately contact our local handymen to see if they are close to the venue and how quickly they can assist. Once we have allocated the emergency to our nearest person, who has the qualifications, to assist, then they will make their way to the emergency as quickly as possible. Their main aim is to prevent the emergency getting worse, stop the emergency continuing if possible, assist in recommending an action plan to sort out the emergency and doing their best to arrange future works to correct any issues occurring from the emergency.

For example, if there was a flood from a burst pipe, the person who arrives has a main priority to stop any further water coming from the burst pipe, this may mean stabilising the burst pipe to stop the water flow, then once that is complete they can turn their time to arranging to get the burst pipe replaced and dealing with any subsequent issues such as replacing floor tiles and mopping up the water mess.

These subsequent issues may be dealt with straight away or may be arranged at a more convenient time for the business.

What happens once the emergency is solved?

Once the emergency is solved then our team will work on any peripheral issues that are caused by the emergency, they will also contact you and your team to ensure that you are satisfied that the emergency has been contained and is not providing any further issues.

Why should I call C|S|M when I have an emergency?

The simple answer to this question is that C|S|M have the experience and knowledge to be able to provide you with a seamless service. Why not give us a call and discuss your business and then add our number to your telephone directory for emergency call out. 01442 244117.

Handyman services

What is a handyman?

A handyman or handyperson as they are now known is a member of the C|S|M team that can perform a variety of tasks in terms of office, commercial and building maintenance.

Can I have a handyman visit for a one off task?

Yes, C|S|M offer a handyman in London service for many clients. As we have so many handymen in London everyday, it means that we can ensure that there is always a handyman nearby to be able to assist with individual tasks such as fixing a leaking toilet, or mending a broken lock. We have been asked to complete many reactive maintenance tasks, so by now, nothing phases us.

Why should I consider a regular handyman / handyperson?

You may not have considered a regular handyman in terms of regular property maintenance, but many of our clients have found this service extremely beneficial as they don't have to call every time they need a task completing. Our clients already know when a handyman service swill visit their premises, so they make a list of tasks in advance for the handyman to complete. A regular handyman can visit daily, twice a week, once a week, bi-weekly or perhaps once a month. The regularity of this visit depends on your businesses building maintenance requirements.

What are the benefits of using an external company for regular handyman services?

The benefits of using C|S|M as a regular handyman or handyperson service means that as a company you do not have to employ your own handyman for your property maintenance. This saves you the need to pay National Insurance, deal with holidays, pensions, sickness, updating qualifications and supplying tools and materials. C|S|M can worry about all of those elements, letting you get on with what you do best. C|S|M ensures that all our handymen are fully trained, provided full uniform and the right equipment and tools to complete the jobs you require. Our administration team are available at the end of the phone to assist you, whatever your property maintenance requirements maybe, meaning you don't have to search around on the internet for different companies.

What types of tasks does a regular handyperson do?

The list of tasks that C|S|M handymen services complete in London can be found under our list or works, but to list a few; broken locks, painting, hanging whiteboards, re-lamping, fixing wall scuffs, checks on doors and taps and mending broken tiles are all tasks that our regular handymen will take on.

How do we communicate with the regular handyman to tell them what needs to be completed?

C|S|M operates various communication methods with our clients to ensure that our regular handymen know what tasks they will be completing each week. Some use our IMS (information management system) that allows our clients to enter a task as and when they come up, so when it comes time for our handyman to visit, he or she has a list of tasks to complete in advance. This pre-determined list means that the handymen can pre-order materials and ensure they have the correct tools, ultimately saving time and cost for our clients.

Other clients provide a list by email 48 hours in advance of the handyman completing their regular visit. This ensures that the handyman is aware of their tasks and is able to prepare for their visit.

Why choose C|S|M to supply a handyman service to our company?

C|S|M offers many clients maintenance and handymen service in London and many other main cities in the UK. We service our clients needs to ensure that their buildings are kept maintenance free. Using our regular maintenance or regular handyman service ensures that buildings are kept fresh and helps reduce the risk of emergency maintenance being required.

What happens if one week we don't have any maintenance issues for our regular handyman?

There are many things a regular handyman can complete, one of these is regular checks of the building helping to keep maintenance issues from developing. Our handymen are all trained in checking business premises from top to bottom for leaks, wall scuffs, potential door hanging and lock problems and can perform a full check during any spare time that they have. They can also assist in terms of compliance during any spare time, ensuring that emergency lighting works, identifying if PAT testing is required, examining fire extinguishers and checking if they are out of date etc. and that servicing contracts are up to date etc..

Where do you offer a handyman service?

C|S|M provide regular handymen services to clients all over the UK. The majority of work is focused in London, but we also work in the major cities such as Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Reading and we are always happy to expand our offering to other locations in the UK.

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Pre-Planned Maintenance

What is Pre-planned maintenance?

Pre-planned maintenance can also be referred to as Pre-Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM), Scheduled maintenance or simply planned maintenance. It is the process of ensuring that you have service agreements in place for any of your assets in your business. Asset registers are often used to ensure that this planned maintenance is completed at the right intervals. It also refers to preventing possible future issues, such as blocked drains and air conditioning issues by cleaning and servicing them to keep them well maintained resulting in fewer reactive maintenance issues occurring.

It's a bit similar to taking a flu jab. If you take a flu jab you wont catch flu, but if you don't have a flu jab you are taking the risk that something may go wrong and you may end up with flu and then you will have to face the consequences of being ill and having to take reactive medicine. It's the same in maintenance, preventative maintenance can stop things going wrong, and if you don't do it, you may be lucky and things may not go wrong, but that is a risky strategy, because if something does go wrong, then reactive maintenance is required which is often more costly.

Why do I need Pre planned maintenance?

Pre planned maintenance is necessary in any retail, restaurant, healthcare, dental, office and educational building to ensure the continuation of business without interruption. Pre planned maintenance can be completed at your convenience, rather than as an emergency or re active maintenance that must be fixed as a priority, where the issue itself determines the timings and cost.

What does pre planned maintenance involve?

Pre planned maintenance often involves pre determining a set list of issues that need to be completed, for example, air conditioning services, drainage clearance, pipe cleans, boilers serviced, cookers, dishwashers, heaters, re-lamping, clearing gutters, re painting windows, doors, checking door mechanisms and locks. This list would be agreed with each individual client as each property maintenance requirements are different. The C|S|M team then turn up at your convenience or at a regular time or annually to complete this planned maintenance.

Will it disrupt my business?

No, C|S|M will operate at a time that is convenient to you. We can work around your busy times or work out of hours if it works better for your business.

What are the advantages of pre planned maintenance?

The advantages of pre planned maintenance are that it ultimately saves a company time and money, let alone the hassle factor of emergency and re active maintenance.

Why should I employ C|S|M to complete my pre planned maintenance?

C|S|M have both the experience and knowledge to be able to assist you with your pre planned maintenance. We can not only assist in creating a list that will assist your business to manage it's assets and keep re-active maintenance to a minimum, but we can also complete the works as if we were the elves in night, leaving you to get on with what you do best.

One of the main advantages of pre-planned maintenance is that it ensures many laws and regulations are met in terms of building compliance. Below is a table of works that can be completed as part of on going pre-planned maintenance and the law or regulation that is related to.

To download a copy of this table please click here.

Where does C|S|M work?

C|S|M work all over the UK, in all of the major cities. The majority of our work tends to be focused in London, and as a result of this we have many handymen and maintenance professionals readily available to assist you.

Compliance Maintenance &Testing

What is compliance testing?

Compliance testing is about ensuring that your business is compliant with all of the laws that surround commercial buildings and premises. This largely involves keeping your employees safe through compliance maintenance.

Why do we need compliance testing?

Compliance testing is an essential part of your building maintenance requirements. It ensures that the building is safe and legally compliant. It is your responsibility to keep your team safe. You wouldn't let them drive a company car without insurance, so it is key to keep your building compliant too.

What is involved in compliance testing?

It is a series of tests. Typical tests include:

Emergency light testing - Flick test and Dead test.

Fire Risk Assessments - Ensuring your team remain safe in the event of a fire

Water Treatment: Hygiene - testing for Legionella. Temperature - ensuring hot water does not scald your employees.

Fire Extinguishers - Checking the expiry dates and testing.

PAT testing: Ensuring electrical equipment is tested annually.

5 year fixed wiring inspection - Ensuring the electrical wiring has not been compromised.

Why should I get C|S|M in to complete my compliance testing?

C|S|M have worked for many years with many clients ensuring that their premises remain compliant. Many of our clients book us in for an annual visit to ensure most of these tests are completed in one day.  C|S|M are dedicated to maintenance in London and the major cities of the UK. We work in commercial maintenance and pre planned maintenance and have both the knowledge and experience to make your buildings safe and compliant.

What would happen if we were found not to be compliant?

The main way in which you would be discovered to be none compliant would be if there was an accident with one of your employees on your site. A serious accident has to be reported to the HSE, which ultimately results in an investigation, should you be found not to be compliant in any of the regulations in reference to protecting employees, you may be prosecuted and fined.

The table below demonstrates which laws are applicable for compliance in commercial premises. Not all partsof maintenance are related to a law, but it is important to consider some of these elements in regular maintenance as the table suggests.

To download a copy of this table please click here.

Small Works

What are small works?

Small works are projects in your business that need completing that are too large for a handyman and too small for a full fit out team. They typically range anywhere from £500 to £50,000. The extent of the works depends on the businesses requirements, but typical small works completed by C|S|M include office reconfiguration, room re-decoration and installing air conditioning. It really can be anything that concerns building or refurbishment in your premises.

When should I consider getting small works projects completed?

The thing with small works is that unless it is urgent, you can fit the works in and around your business. It is best to choose a time that is not too busy for your business and if this proves to be too difficult our team can always come in and work out of hours to ensure minimum disruption to your work.

Do I need permission for small works?

Permission is dependent upon what works you are completing and if you have a lease, what is in the lease to allow you to alter the building. It may also be dependent upon building regulations if the changes affect the structure of the building or planning permissions may be required if the building is listed or if external changes are required, for example changing the main signage of a retail outlet or changing the shopfront.

What type of works fall into a small works category?

The list of small works is almost endless, but good examples of recent small works that we have completed include: reconfiguring an office, installing a tea point, painting an office, re configuring the lights in an office, repairing the ceiling in an office, several floor box moves, moving office furniture, repainting a shopfront, flooring repairs, suspended ceiling changes, installing CCTV, fitting TV's or projectors in several rooms and building a new bar.

How do I get a quote for my small works project?

That's the easy part...Just give us a call on 01442 244117 or use this form to drop us a line and we will come out and meet with you to discuss all of your small works requirements.

Why would I contact C|S|M to complete my project?

C|S|M have a vast amount of experience in terms of small works. We have worked with many clients completing many different small work projects.

How long does a small works project take?

Of course that is dependent on the project that we are completing, we will sit with our clients and discuss their requirements in terms of timing both in relation to dates and hours to ensure that business downtime is kept to a minimum and that the works are completed as soon as possible to allow you to continue with what you do best.

Dilapidations

What are dilapidations?

Dilapidations refers to the condition of a commercial property during the term of it's lease. It can also be referred to as disrepair.  During a tenancy landlords may agree a schedule of dilapidation, list of maintenance or outstanding repair and decoration with the tenants. This is a list of works that ensures that the tenant maintains the building in a good state of repair.

Before a tenant takes out a lease, it is necessary to agree the type of repairs that the tenant will be required to complete. Tenants may be offered a full repairing and insuring lease (FRI), in this lease a tenant is responsible for all of the internal and external repairs including the building structure. This requirement means you must hand the building back in exactly the same state that you were given it.

Failure to complete the dilapidations during the lease agreement may result in a reinstatement cost assessment from the landlord - specifying how much you have to pay to ensure the building is handed back as it was received. You may be liable for any damages that have resulted in your tenancy to the landlord.

Whether you are are investor or an occupier, dilapidations is an important part of your lease agreement and should not be under estimated in terms of financial significance.

When do I need to complete them?

It is always best to agree of Schedule of condition when you first sign up to a lease. This Schedule of condition will determine what you need to complete when you return the building. Dilapidations have to be completed before the building is returned to the landlord. If they are not completed and the result is remedial works that the landlord has to complete then serious financial implications could be incurred.

If you are provided with a Schedule of condition or schedule of dilapidation then you can pre-empt what is required in terms of the lease and you can ensure that by implementing pre planned maintenance or planned preventative maintenance these costs are kept to a minimum as you maintain the building works throughout the lease. This will help to keep the costs of the dilapidations down at the end of the term and prevent costs escalating as problems develop over the term of the lease.

How can I minimise the costs of dilapidations at the end of lease?

The simple answer to this is pre planned maintenance. By continous maintenance throughout the lease term you will keep dilapidation costs and time to a minimum and will reduce any nasty surprises at the end of the lease.

Should my Landlord be paying for these repairs?

It is all dependent on the type of lease that you have. A full repairing lease requires the tenant to complete the dilapidations and the landlord will expect the tenant to pay for the repairs, but a non repairing lease means the landlord is responsible for all repairs.

When should I complete dilapidations?

The best time to complete these dilapidations or any repairs that occur are steadily throughout the lease, otherwise it may come to the end of the lease and there may be some dispute as to what is required in terms of dilapidations. When you move out of the building you must leave the building as you found it, so if you put in meeting rooms or offices and kitchens then these will need to be removed, this may also mean ceilings and floors need repairing etc..Fortunately you now know a company that can help you with all of this...C|S|M.

Why should I talk to C|S|M about my dilapidations?

Because we are a fast and experienced team who can put your building back exactly as it was left and complete any necessary repairs easily and cost effectively. Why not give us a call and we can help you keep the landlord happy.