SLAs - Property maintenance
The Barbican Estate Office (BEO) will provide a general diagnostic and repair service for the fabric and common parts of the residential areas of the Barbican Estate. The services provided fall into the broad categories of planned maintenance or reactive repairs and maintenance and will be delivered by staff employed directly by the City of London Corporation or by approved contractors.
The objective of the service is to provide an effective property maintenance service by maintaining the high amenity of communal areas, safe and reliable lift services, appropriate seasonal heating to all homes, a safe and hygienic waste disposal system and ensuring that all installations and equipment are maintained and conform to current safety standards and legislation.
Planned maintenance programmes will include, but are not confined to:
- yearly and five yearly inspections of electrical installations
- annual testing and inspections of fire and safety equipment and security cameras
- inspections of all cold water storage tanks in common parts
- asbestos management in common parts
These will be undertaken as the need arises and will generally fall into one of the categories shown in the table below:
| Category | Description | Eligibility* |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbing | Repairs to the common water supply i.e., from the mains to individual flat stopcocks, together with drainage from common stacks to the main sewer | Common Areas, Leasehold and Tenanted Properties |
| Drainage | Routine clearance and de-scaling of roof and balcony drains (annual programme) and the clearance of blockages on a reactive basis | Common Areas |
| Carpentry | General repairs to external windows and doors and, replacement of same as necessary | Common Areas, Leasehold and Tenanted Properties |
| Balcony and Roof Repairs | Repair to balcony and roof felt and replacement of broken slabs | Common Areas |
| Water Penetration | Remedial repairs where penetration has occurred from common services / balconies / roofs | Common Areas, Leasehold and Tenanted Properties |
| Water Penetration | Follow up redecorations following water penetration | Common and Tenanted Properties only |
| Redecoration | Redecoration of common areas as necessary between cyclical redecoration programmes | Common Areas |
| Metalwork | General repairs to common doors, door closers, balustrades, and privacy screens | Common Areas |
| Glazing | Replacement of defective double-glazed, sealed units to flats eg cracks in external glazing, defective vacuum seals | Leasehold and Tenanted Properties only |
| Glazing | Other broken glazing and privacy screens | Common Areas |
| Fire Equipment | Annual (rolling programme) testing of all fire equipment. Repair and replacement, as necessary | Common Areas |
| Lightning Conductors | Inspection and repair of any defects | Common Areas |
| Security | Repair or replacement of defective equipment | Common Areas |
| Electrical | Repairs to electrical services and equipment | Common Areas and Tenanted Properties only |
| Entry-phones | Repairs to entry-phone systems and handsets | Common Areas, Leasehold and Tenanted Properties |
| Heating | Specialist repairs to heating mats, cabling and controls, repair and replacement of storage heaters where provided by the BEO | Common Areas, Leasehold and Tenanted Properties |
| Lift Doors | Painting of External lift doors | Common Areas |
| Ventilation | Repair and replacement of ventilation fans, window vents and cleaning of ventilation extractors | Common Areas, Leasehold and Tenanted Properties |
*Eligibility definitions
- Common Areas: those areas that are accessible to all residents
- Leasehold Properties: those flats that are sold on a long lease
- Tenanted Properties: those flats that are rented from the City Corporation on a short-term lease
These will be carried out in accordance with the types, eligibility (by tenure) and priorities described in the Residents’ Information Pack (related link).
| Priority | Repair category | Response time |
|---|---|---|
| Priority 0 Immediate |
Repairs necessitated by an immediate threat to the health, safety and security of residents, visitors or staff. This category includes such items as broken glass in communal areas, clearing blockages or repairing leaks that are causing severe flooding, dangerous structure which could collapse, no electricity supply in tenanted property, no lights in shared areas | Four hours |
| Priority 1 Urgent |
Repairs necessitated by an imminent threat to the health, safety and security of residents, visitors or staff. This category includes such items as making safe any loss of heating cracked glass in communal areas, clearing blockages or repairing leaks which do not cause severe flooding, damage or disruption | 24 hours |
|
Priority 2 |
Repairs requiring attention to maintain the high standards of security, safety and comfort of residents, visitors and staff but which do not pose an imminent threat to health, safety nor security. This would include such items as repair or replacement of defective security equipment, repairs to entrance doors, etc, as long as these defects do not pose an imminent threat to the health, safety and security of residents, visitors or staff | Three working days |
| Priority 4 Low priority |
All other works such as cosmetic repairs to communal areas necessitated by wear and tear or repairs undertaken under other categories or those required to restore communal facilities to the recognised high amenity standards. These would include decorations necessitated by other repairs and routine maintenance tasks | 20 working days |
On-site Engineers will be available on a shift basis 24-hours a day, 365 days per year. They will be responsible for the initial diagnosis of faults and will, where possible, carry out immediate repairs in the following services provided to residents:
| Service | Response times |
|---|---|
| Heating systems | Total Loss: 24hrs Partial loss: three working days |
| Lighting - lamps | Where additional area lighting present: five working days Where no additional lighting present: one working day |
| Lighting - fittings | Where additional area lighting present: 20 working days Where no additional lighting present temporary lighting will be installed |
| Ventilation system failure | Five working days |
| Lifts | 24 hours |
| Entry phones | Five working days |
| Garchey maintenance | 24 hours (working week only) |
In addition, the on-site engineer will be responsible for:
- the monitoring and adjustment of heating systems to include individual heating adjustments and overall heating outputs
- dealing with emergency call-outs, including lift trappings, and any follow up work required
- drafting works specifications in co-operation with specialist officers in PS
- supervision of specialist contractors when on site and as required
- the testing and inspection of fire and safety equipment and security cameras under an annual rolling programme
The Garchey Maintenance Team will provide a set work programme of scheduled maintenance tasks and a reactive repair service to residents when required.
| Scheduled Tasks | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Supervision of rolling programme of contract cleaning of 150 Garchey pits | Daily and quarterly |
| Maintenance, servicing, and inspection of associated plant | Quarterly and annually |
Garchey engineers will be available to attend to problems within flats between 8am and 4pm. (Monday to Thursday) and between 8am and 3.30pm (Friday). The Garchey Manager is also available ‘out of hours’ and at weekends in case of emergencies.
Lift maintenance and repair services will be undertaken by a specialist contractor who will:
- provide lift repair and maintenance services with 24hr coverage, 365 days per year
- provide a lift engineer on site during normal working hours to carry out a rolling programme of routine safety and insurance inspections together with repair and maintenance tasks
- provide a response to lift trappings and lift failures. (The on-site Engineer will provide an initial response to 'out of hours' incidents)
- carry out emergency repairs as necessary and arrange and supervise any follow-up action
Lifts will be monitored remotely through the Electronic Monitoring System (EMS), which provides information on service intervals, repair times and contractor performance. Incidents involving health and safety concerns or where persons are trapped in lifts will be dealt with as emergencies and have a (non-contractual) target response time of 30 minutes.
General lift failures, where alternative lifts are available, will be attended to within 24 hours, or earlier, at the discretion of the on-site Engineer.
| Task | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Carry out cyclical safety and maintenance inspections for each lift installation as detailed in the contract and at the intervals shown | 4 weekly 12 weekly 24 weekly Annual |
| Provide written reports to the City Corporation for each inspection | As above |
| Replace defective parts at no extra cost (vandalism and misuse excluded) | As required |
| Carry out periodic insurance inspections and provide written reports | Periodic. Schedule subject to change |
| Carry out routine maintenance of each lift at specified intervals | Rolling programme |
| Undertake lift car inspections and report and arrange works to correct any defects | Bi-annual |
The City Corporation, in its role as Landlord, will provide electric under-floor heating during the “heating season” which runs from 1 October to 30 April.
The system is designed to provide heating to 15.60C/600F where external temperatures are down to 1.70C/350F. If external temperatures fall below this level the target internal temperature target may not be reached.
Energy inputs need to be consistent to maintain the efficiency of the system. There is a standard 9-hour off-peak charge period, which is augmented with a further 4-hour charge at off-peak rates, as required.
This category covers minor projects undertaken to ensure compliance with current health and safety standards. i.e., replacement of emergency lighting batteries or relining of water tanks.
Replacement of carpets in common areas will be undertaken through a rolling programme agreed in consultation with residents through individual House Groups. Repairs will be undertaken in accordance with the Property Maintenance Service Level Agreement.
The Barbican Estate Office will maintain accurate records of defects and incident reporting, complaints, call-outs, system performance and health & safety certification and these will be available for inspection by residents on receipt of a written request.
Performance against appropriate and agreed targets will be monitored and reported to residents through the Resident Consultation Committee at the scheduled meetings.