Start with an asset inventory, not a contract
A plan built from a template rarely matches the building. Walk the floor and list what is actually there. Record the air conditioning units, plumbing points, doors, joinery, finishes and any plant the office relies on. Note the age and condition of each item and gather any service history that exists.
At the same time, collect the contracts and warranties already in place. Many offices pay twice for the same item because nobody checked what an existing agreement already covers.
- Air conditioning units, with counts, age and service history
- Plumbing points and visible condition
- Doors, joinery and hardware
- Finishes that wear, such as paint in corridors and reception
- Existing maintenance contracts and original warranties
Separate warranties and defects from maintenance
A maintenance plan is not a repair fund for problems that predate it. Record pre-existing defects honestly and route them to whoever is responsible, whether that is the landlord, the original contractor or a warranty holder. Items still under original warranty stay with the warrantor.
This separation protects the budget on both sides. The care provider is not quietly absorbing defect correction, and you are not paying a maintenance fee for work someone else owes you.
Set frequencies from use, not habit
How often each item needs attention depends on how the office is used, not on what another office does. Air conditioning servicing follows run-hours and manufacturer guidance. Deep cleaning follows footfall. Pest control follows the conditions of the building and its surroundings. Painting touch-ups follow where people actually brush past walls.
Write the frequency next to each asset group and be prepared to adjust it after the first few review cycles. A plan that never changes is usually a plan nobody is reading.
Decide what stays with your own team
Not everything belongs in an external plan. Daily tidying and IT configuration usually stay in-house. Physical cable tidying should be coordinated with your IT team rather than done around them. Specialist systems belong with qualified specialists under their own scope.
Being explicit about what is excluded matters as much as the inclusions. Major replacements, full repainting, central building plant and specialist systems are normally agreed separately, with their own quotations.
Put the calendar and the fee in writing
A plan becomes real when it is an annual calendar with a written fee. The calendar shows which visits happen when. The fee states what each visit covers and what the service limits are. Attendance hours and response arrangements for urgent issues belong in the same document, so nobody assumes round-the-clock cover that was never agreed.
If a provider will not put the scope and the fee in writing before work starts, that tells you something useful about how the relationship will run.
Review the records and adjust
Every completed visit should leave a job record. Over a quarter or a year those records show which assets consume the most attention, which frequencies are wrong and where a replacement would be cheaper than continued care. Use the review to adjust the calendar rather than renewing it unchanged.
This is also the point where a care plan connects to wider workplace questions. If the records show a floor that is consistently uncomfortable or expensive to cool, a separate assessment of comfort, cooling and running costs may be the right next step.
Where we work
Outtabox Workplace Care covers offices in Abuja and Lagos, including offices we did not design or fit out. If you are putting together a maintenance plan and want a view on scope, send us a short description of the office and we will tell you whether a care plan is the right fit.
If you are putting together a maintenance plan for your office, request a care assessment and we will confirm the scope in writing.