What a good BMS planned maintenance schedule looks like

Most BMS maintenance contracts are priced on visit frequency and delivered as a walk round. A useful one is priced on outcomes, and you can tell the difference from the report.

Controls drift. Setpoints get nudged, schedules get overridden for a one off event and never reset, sensors fall out of calibration, and alarms get muted because nobody has time to chase them. Maintenance exists to pull all of that back.

Quarterly

• Review and clear the alarm log, closing out repeat offenders rather than acknowledging them
• Check for manual overrides left in place and return them to auto
• Verify occupancy schedules against how the building is currently used
• Confirm backups of strategies and graphics are current and stored off the supervisor

Biannual and annual

• Sensor calibration checks on key space, flow and outside air sensors
• Valve and damper stroke tests to confirm full travel and correct fail position
• Plant sequencing and rotation proven under real load
• Panel inspection, thermal check and firmware or software patch review
• Energy trend review with a short written summary of what changed and why

The report is the product

A visit sheet with ticks is not evidence. Ask for a short report per visit listing what was found, what was corrected, what remains open and what it will cost to close. Over a year that document becomes the case for your next capital bid.