As Facility Services Division Manager, Graydon Braley Ensures Properties Stay in Top Shape
Routine preventative maintenance, emergency service, and special renovation projects are often a big part of budgets for assisted living facilities. Any delays in service or maintenance affect not only your bottom line but also the quality of life of your clients and staff. Vanguard Building Solutions keeps your facility running smoothly and within budget.
At the helm of the company’s Facility Services division is Graydon Braley, who has almost four decades experience in the commercial and industrial construction industries. He’s worked with lighting, HVAC, indoor air quality, building automation, and more.
Along the way, he’s built great partnerships which Vanguard clients can leverage for optimal, cost effective facilities management. Below we outline what these services entail and hear from Braley how property managers from Houston, TX, to Chicago keep properties running efficiently with his help.
SEE MORE: Industry Spotlight: Assisted and Independent Living
What Does the Facilities Division Do?
As Vanguard built its niche in the assisted living industry, it noticed a need for professional maintenance services. Their Facilities Services Division began with a handful of properties in the Northeast, and now covers properties from Florida to Chicago and east. The division takes care of a property’s entire mechanical needs including plumbing, HVAC, indoor air quality, electrical, standby generators, and even walk-in coolers and freezers.
“Historically, you’ve got a maintenance guy in these facilities, but in many cases, they don’t have extensive technical experience,” explained Braley. “It’s more like a guy that can cut some keys and put up some paint on the wall, so we created the division to fill the more complex problems.”
Property managers can use an app, email, or call the office for service. Through the app or email, they can attach pictures and include a short description of the issue. During days, nights, and weekends, Braley and his service coordinators take care of the toll-free inbound line.
Vanguard also advises its clients on potential upgrades. Since they know the systems well, it’s easier to isolate issues. They also built the trust needed to convince clients to invest a lot of capital in improving a water heater or upgrading the lighting fixtures.
“We assist the owners by helping them decide when to put repairs in the system,” said Braley. “We’re there for the long haul. We want to be a trusted partner and have a fiduciary responsibility to treat their funds as carefully as we would our own.”
What Are the Benefits of Working With Vanguard?
Vanguard becomes a properties’ one-stop-shop for all mechanical needs, big and small. Once a client submits an issue, Vanguard finds the proper vendors and sends technicians.
“It gives them a lot of peace of mind because they don’t have to worry about dealing with vendors and a bunch of subcontractors,” said Braley. “With my forty years of experience, I can talk to vendors and save the facility time and money since they don’t have to deal with bids. We speak the language and minimize the challenges that go along with finding the right contractors.”
One of the more immediate benefits of the service is what Braley calls ‘triaging’: working with the client to see if they can resolve any issues without a service visit. For example, determining if a leak is due to plumbing or the HVAC system can save a service call to the wrong contractor, and oftentimes we are able to walk the client through an issue to a solution.
“I think that’s one of our most valuable services,” said Braley. “We provide them with somebody that becomes a sounding board and can work with them directly to address their concerns and offer as much help as possible.”
How Do Clients Pay for This Service?
The Facility Services are part of an administrative agreement that includes preventative maintenance for the buildings’ mechanical systems, including plumbing, HVAC, controls, water chemistry and generators for example. Vanguard takes the cost of all those services, wraps them up and charges a monthly fee. If Demand Service assistance is needed for something like a broken pipe or a malfunctioning AC unit that would be billed separately.
Does Vanguard Send Their Technicians?
Vanguard uses third-party vendors vetted by Braley and his team relying on their years of experience to find the best vendors for property managers.
“Oftentimes, price is not a good indicator of quality,” said Braley. “We look closely to see who’s going to benefit our client and who’s not. We want to ensure we’re getting a good return on investment. After talking to someone for a few minutes, I can usually tell if they’re somebody we want to do business with or not.”
Regular maintenance and upgrades keep your property functional, efficient and compliant with local codes. But why take on that burden by yourself? Explore our facilities services and how to add them to your property by calling or filling out our contact form.