No commercial building owner or facility manager in the Charlotte North Carolina area wants to think about the possibility of a catastrophic failure when it comes to a major building component like the HVAC system. But, the most experienced and thorough ones do, because the fact is, it’s far better to be prepared for the worst than to learn of a major disruption and not know where to start.

Preparing a solid strategy to determine exactly what needs to be done, and by whom, in case an emergency repair becomes necessary can mean the difference between hours and days of downtime. Depending on how your building is used, it can also mean the difference of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in lost time and productivity, or it can even determine whether or not precious inventory and equipment survive the situation.

That’s why it’s so important to develop a plan ahead of time and make sure everyone who needs to know is familiar with it and understands their role. Here’s how to create an emergency HVAC repair strategy without wasting hours or days hashing it out:

Step One: Safety first

The first and most important factor in your emergency repair strategy is to determine whether a given situation poses a safety threat.

For example, in your unique facility, is a temporary loss of adequate ventilation going to create hazardous conditions due to fumes or pollutants that can concentrate in interior spaces? Or, will a dramatic increase or decrease in the interior temperature cause equipment or chemicals stored in the building to become unstable or dangerous?

Obviously, the timing and localization of these dangers factor in, but if safety is a concern, your strategy needs to address the welfare of building inhabitants first and foremost, including an evacuation plan, and a means of verifying a headcount after everyone is out.

Step Two: Is it something you can handle on your own?

While we recommend extreme caution in taking on do-it-yourself repairs, some very minor issues may be quick and simple to fix. As long as your strategy identifies one or more individuals on staff who have the right information and the right tools on hand to handle something like a blown fuse or a minor short circuit, that could be your quickest and cheapest option for getting the system back up and running.

If you go this route, and it works, we still recommend having your commercial HVAC maintenance partner visit as soon as possible to perform diagnostic tests to determine what caused your minor issue. If you don’t, it’s likely it could happen again. There is also the possibility the minor issue is just a symptom of a larger problem that’s still progressing, which your HVAC company will need to review.

Step Three: If you can’t handle the repair yourself

In the overwhelming majority of cases, any issue that requires an emergency repair is going to be more serious than an in-house fix. Likewise, most commercial buildings simply don’t have knowledgeable and experienced staff on hand with the right tools to diagnose and repair every HVAC problem quickly and efficiently.

In all these cases, we recommend contacting the service provider that handles your HVAC maintenance and requesting a review of the problem and emergency repair. Be sure to look for reputable providers that offer 24/7 emergency service to ensure critical systems can be repaired as soon as possible. If your situation doesn’t necessarily require immediate resolution regardless of cost, you may be able to arrange for repairs to be handled during normal business hours at a lower overall rate.

If you’re currently working with AirTight FaciliTech, we can guarantee our skilled HVAC technicians are prepared to handle your needed HVAC repairs however and whenever they’re needed to make sure your building is operating with minimal downtime and maximum quality.

By covering these three simple steps in advance, your commercial facility can be prepared for an emergency HVAC repair situation, ensuring that the issue costs the least in lost productivity and damaged equipment. Want to learn more about how to plan for an emergency HVAC repair? Click the button below to find out how our Charlotte HVAC company can help.