Back to Case Studies HQ			Borders Books: Searched for Excellence in Retail Facilities Management When Barry Strzala, Director of Store Services for Borders Books and Waldenbooks Company, sat down with Engineering Excellence, Inc. to develop a better preventive maintenance program for their 1,300 stores, the goals were simple: Comfort in the stores and long term cost reduction. Strzala, a veteran facilities director with more than 25 years experience, has learned that in managing mechanical equipment what you sacrifice early in the life of an HVAC unit often comes back to cost you in premature repair and replacement costs. "He was looking for a balanced approach to preventive maintenance," said Senior National Account Manager, Ann Moran of Engineering Excellence, Inc. "And that gave us enough room to recommend what was really needed." Being willing to look at preventive maintenance as part of a larger whole, one that has impact on energy costs, repair costs, and new equipment purchases is a prerequisite for companies wanting to see true cost reduction from their HVAC PM programs. "Together, we sat down and developed a comprehensive maintenance program aimed at meeting our service objectives within our budget," said Strzala. "The real question was could the maintenance budget really deliver the reduced service costs, extended equipment life, and energy performance we were counting on?" More importantly, could Engineering Excellence, Inc. deliver? While the Engineering Excellence approach seemed to have built-in documentation and validation assurances, how that would translate into benefits for Borders Books & Music remained to be played out. This was the challenge for Engineering Excellence, Inc.’s program developers. "After examining some of his stores," said Rick Evans, General Manager – National Accounts for Engineering Excellence, Inc., "we determined that years one and two would focus on assessing and upgrading existing equipment to deliver the performance necessary to minimize repairs and optimize energy savings." On all stores, we included high-pressure coil cleaning and annual belt changes; upgraded pleated filtration; and added proactive calibration measures to prevent costly breakdowns to assure comfort.   The Results After three (3) years of comprehensive preventive maintenance service from Engineering Excellence, Inc., the results are in. "Their preventive maintenance program has produced consistent results, allowing me to reduce my repair costs by 14 percent, and unscheduled services calls by over 30 percent," said a delighted Strzala. "I have more control over my equipment and more time to do my job." "What’s happened for Borders is typical for companies who make a commitment to doing preventive maintenance the right way," added Evans. "Companies that are willing to look at the total cost, like Barry was, are going to see the results." Engineering Excellence, Inc. believes that preventive maintenance should not be looked at as simply a one-year budget item. Instead, they believe that effective preventive maintenance programs should be three and four year endeavors that impact more than just the maintenance budget. "The decisions you make about the maintenance component of the program are what put an organization into a position to realize a lower overall cost – taking into account repairs, energy cost, and new equipment purchases," concludes Evans. Strzala echoes this point. "With the Engineering Excellence, Inc. approach to preventive maintenance, we’re spending a little more on maintenance, but gain it back in lower repair costs, better decision-making, lower energy costs, and a lot more efficiency in how we spend our time." While efficiency and time management are hard to quantify, Strzala cites other dividends he is receiving from the new program. "One of the benefits I am starting to realize in the fourth year of our relationship is that many of the stores that used to be problematic aren’t anymore," continued Strzala. "They really have helped a lot of stores reduce downtime and repair costs." The issue of "retail downtime" due to air conditioning (or heating) unit breakdown is a "worst case scenario" for facility managers. This problem can cost retailers literally thousands of dollars per hour. "Nobody likes to talk about downtime, because it is indirectly proportional to the number of buying customers in a comfortable store. It probably makes the best economic case for doing our kind of preventive maintenance. While we’re excited about the improved energy performance, the biggest benefit of a good preventive maintenance program is still the reduced repair numbers, improved productivity, reduced downtime, and preserving economic viability," said Ann Moran. When Mr. Strzala was asked to describe what he liked most about Engineering Excellence, Inc., his response was simple. "They’re honest and they do what’s best for Borders Group Inc.’s best interest." Engineering Excellence, Inc. is an integrated HVAC facilities management company that specializes in serving national retailing companies with preventive maintenance, information services, and a wide variety of programs that help improve efficiency, reduce cost, and preserve retailers’ store environments.