Topic wise notes as per new NCHM-JNU syllabus (for B.Sc HHA & M.Sc HA) are are now available at our new website hospitality.institute
Visit Now
Select Page
1st Sem Hotel Engg. Notes

Maintenance in the Hotel Industry: Importance, Organization, and Comparisons

by

Last updated: 3 July 2023

Maintenance is an essential aspect of the hotel industry, ensuring the smooth functioning of the equipment and infrastructure, and hence enhancing the guest experience. In this blog, we will explore the role of maintenance, its importance, organization chart, and comparisons between preventive and breakdown maintenance.

What is maintenance?

Maintenance is a crucial function in the hospitality industry, as it ensures the upkeep of the physical assets of the hotel, including equipment, buildings, and grounds. It is essential to ensure the guest experience is positive, and the hotel operates efficiently.

Importance of maintenance

The maintenance department is critical in the hotel industry, and its success relies on its ability to collaborate with other departments. The maintenance department works closely with the housekeeping, food and beverage, and front office departments to ensure the equipment is operational and well-maintained. This collaboration is essential, as it ensures that the guest experience is not hampered by equipment issues. In addition, maintenance helps the hotel reduce operational costs, as preventive maintenance reduces the need for significant repairs and equipment replacement.

Types of maintenance

The four most common types of maintenance in the hospitality sector include routine, preventive, breakdown, and development maintenance.

Routine Maintenance

Routine maintenance is a type of maintenance that is carried out on a regular basis to keep equipment and infrastructure functioning optimally. It includes cleaning, lubrication, tightening loose fittings, and regular checks for signs of wear and tear. Routine maintenance can be conducted by the hotel staff or outsourced to a third-party service provider. This type of maintenance is essential to prevent equipment breakdown and increase its lifespan.

Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is a proactive approach to maintenance that involves conducting regular inspections, servicing, and replacement of components to prevent equipment failure. Preventive maintenance is conducted based on a schedule and is designed to minimize equipment downtime and reduce repair costs. It is a cost-effective approach as it reduces the need for significant repairs and equipment replacement.

Breakdown Maintenance

Breakdown maintenance is a reactive approach to maintenance that involves repairing equipment after it has failed. Breakdown maintenance is typically more expensive than preventive maintenance and can result in equipment downtime, leading to a negative guest experience. Breakdown maintenance can be necessary in some situations, but it is not as cost-effective as preventive maintenance.

Development Maintenance

Development maintenance involves modifying or upgrading equipment to meet the changing needs of the hotel. This type of maintenance is conducted to ensure that the equipment can function optimally and meet the evolving requirements of the hotel. Development maintenance can be expensive, but it is necessary to ensure that the hotel remains competitive and meets guest expectations.

Organization chart of maintenance department

The maintenance department organization chart comprises a maintenance manager who oversees the entire department. The manager is responsible for developing the department’s strategies, budgets, and supervising the maintenance staff. The maintenance staff includes the chief engineer, maintenance supervisors, technicians, and craftsmen. They are responsible for the daily operations of the maintenance department, including preventive maintenance, breakdown maintenance, and repair work.

Duties and responsibilities of maintenance department

The maintenance department has several duties and responsibilities, including:

  • Developing a preventive maintenance program for all equipment and facilities.
  • Responding to emergency repair requests.
  • Conducting routine inspections to identify issues before they become significant problems.
  • Ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations.
  • Maintaining accurate records of all maintenance activities.
  • Ensuring that all equipment is functioning optimally.

Conclusion

In conclusion, maintenance is an integral part of the hotel industry, and its success relies on the department’s ability to collaborate with other departments. Preventive and breakdown maintenance have their advantages and disadvantages, and a balance between the two is essential. The maintenance department organization chart comprises the maintenance manager, chief engineer, supervisors, technicians, and craftsmen, and their duties and responsibilities are significant in ensuring the hotel’s success.

How useful was this post?

5 star mean very useful & 1 star means not useful at all.

Average rating 3.4 / 5. Vote count: 19

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you! 😔

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Syllabus BHM106

01 Maintenance

  1. Introduction
  2. Preventive and breakdown maintenance, comparisons
  3. Role & Importance of maintenance department in the hotel industry with emphasis on its relation with other departments of the hotel.
  4. Organization chart of maintenance department, duties and responsibilities of maintenance department

02 Fuels used in the catering industry

  1. Introduction
  2. Types of fuel used in catering industry; calorific value; comparative study of different fuels
  3. Calculation of amount of fuel required and cost.

03 Gas

  1. Introduction
  2. Heat terms and units; method of transfer
  3. LPG and its properties; principles of Bunsen burner, precautions to be taken while handling gas; low and high-pressure burners and their corresponding heat output
  4. Gas bank, location, different types of manifolds

04 Electricity

  1. Introduction
  2. Fundamentals of electricity, insulators, conductors, current, potential difference resistance, power, energy concepts; definitions, their units and relationships, AC and DC; single phase and three phases and its importance on equipment specifications
  3. Electric circuits, open circuits and close circuits, symbols of circuit elements, series and parallel connections, short circuits, fuses; MCB, earthing, the reason for placing switches on the live wire side.
  4. Electric wires and types of wiring
  5. Calculation of electric energy consumption of equipment, and safety precautions to be observed while using electric appliances.
  6. Types of lighting, different lighting devices, incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps, other gas-discharged lamps, illumination, and units of illumination.
  7. External lighting
  8. Safety in handling electrical equipment

05 Water systems

  1. Introduction
  2. Water distribution system in a hotel
  3. Cold water systems in India
  4. Hardness of water, water softening, base exchange method
  5. Cold water cistern swimming pools
  6. Hot water supply system in hotels
  7. Flushing system, water taps, traps and closets.

06 Refrigeration & Air-conditioning

  1. Basic principles, latent heat, boiling point and its dependence on pressure, vapour compressor system of refrigeration and refrigerants.
  2. Vapour absorption system, care and maintenance of refrigerators, defrosting, types of refrigerant units, their care and maintenance.
  3. Conditions for comfort, relative humidity, humidification, dehumidifying, due point control, unit of air conditioning
  4. Window type air conditioner, central air conditioning, preventive maintenance
  5. Vertical transportation, elevators, escalators

07 Fire prevention and fire fighting system

  1. Classes of fire, methods of extinguishing fires (Demonstration)
  2.  Fire extinguishers, portable and stationery
  3.  Fire detectors and alarm
  4. Automatic fire detectors cum extinguishing devices
  5. Structural protection
  6. Legal requirements

08 Waste disposal and pollution control

  1. Solid and liquid waste, sullage and sewage, disposal of solid waste
  2.  Sewage treatment
  3. Pollution related to the hotel industry
  4. Water pollution, sewage pollution
  5. Air pollution, noise pollution, thermal pollution
  6. Legal Requirements

09 Safety

  1. Accident prevention
  2. Slips and falls
  3. Other safety topics

10 Security

11 Equipment replacement policy

  1. Introduction
  2. Circumstances under which equipment are replaced.
  3. Replacement policy of items which gradually deteriorates
  4. Replacement when the average annual cost is minimum
  5. Replacement when the present cost is minimum
  6. The economic replacement cycle for suddenly failing equipment

12 Audio-visual equipment

  1. Various audio-visual equipment used in hotel
  2. Care and cleaning of an overhead projector, slide projector, LCD and PowerPoint presentation units
  3. Maintenance of computers
  4. Care and cleaning of PC, CPU, Modem, UPS, Printer, Laptops
  5. Sensors – Various sensors used in different locations of a hotel – type, uses and cost-effectiveness

13 Contract maintenance

  1. Introduction
  2. The necessity of contract maintenance, advantages and disadvantages of contract maintenance
  3. Essential requirements of a contract, types of contract, their comparative advantages and disadvantages.
  4. Procedure for inviting and processing tenders, negotiating and finalizing