What is a Multi-Year Maintenance Plan (MYMP)?

Every building needs maintenance, that makes sense. But how do you plan that so it doesn’t come all at once? Of course you don’t want to wait for the building to collapse and you’d rather not be faced with any surprises. But you also don’t want to carry out unnecessary maintenance or handle too early. The solution? A Multi-Year Maintenance Plan.

MYMP meaning

What is an MYMP? A Multi-year Maintenance Plan, abbreviated MYMP, is a plan that describes which maintenance activities are required to keep a building or complex in good condition. The plan maps out for a period of several years (usually 5 to 10 years) which maintenances must be carried out, what the costs are and when this maintenance will take place.

What is an MYMP? A Multi-year Maintenance Plan, abbreviated MYMP, is a plan that describes which maintenance activities are required to keep a building or complex in good condition.

What is a Multi-Year Maintenance Plan used for?

An MYMP is mainly used by Owners’ Associations (Dutch: VVE), housing corporations and property owners. A multi-year VVE maintenance plan is used to gain insight into the maintenance needs of a building or complex, and to control the costs of maintenance. The plan helps to draw up a realistic budget and to make well-founded choices about which maintenance should be carried out and when. This way you can avoid unexpected costs and unpleasant surprises.

What should be described in an MYMP?

An MYMP must contain an overview of all parts of a building or complex that require maintenance. In addition, the plan must contain a breakdown of the maintenance activities, a schedule of when the maintenance will be carried out and an estimate of the costs.

Inventory of building parts

Before the Long-Term Maintenance Plan can be drawn up, an inventory must be made of all building components that require maintenance. Consider, for example, window frames, facades, roofs and installations. It is important to make a good and detailed inventory, so that no maintenance activities are overlooked.

You preferably store this inventory and the rest of the MYMP in a Common Data Environment (CDE) or Document Management System (DMS), so that the information is not lost and is available at all times.

The drafter of the plan, often the VVE or an expert who works on behalf of the VVE, housing corporation or property owner, looks at the current state of the building components and what maintenance is required in the short and long term.

Schedule maintenance activities

You then classify the maintenance activities based on priority. We look at what work is required for each building component, and at what frequency this maintenance must be carried out. You must take into account the condition of the building components, the expected lifespan and the costs of maintenance.

This way you know exactly what is being maintained, when and by whom.

Programming

In this part of the Long-Term Maintenance Plan you make a schedule for the implementation of the maintenance activities. You determine in which year the maintenance will be carried out and what the expected costs are. The priority in activities and the availability of budget and personnel are leading in this. You could plan the planned work using construction software, so you know exactly what is being maintained, when and by whom.

Budget

Finally, a realistic budget must be drawn up for the costs of maintenance. The budget must take the priority of the maintenance activities and the costs of materials, labor and any rental of equipment into account.

How do you make a Multi-Year Maintenance Plan?

Drawing up an MYMP is different from making a shopping list. In other words; it can be quite a complicated job. It is therefore advisable to have this done by a specialist agency. They have the knowledge and experience to properly carry out the inventory, layout, programming and budget. If you make a Long-Term Maintenance Plan yourself, then at least have it read over by an expert, such as a construction consultant.

The benefits of an MYMP

The preparation and implementation of an MYMP has several advantages. For example, it can help to save costs, because there is a plan. As a result, you run into surprises less often and you know exactly what to expect when. You have mapped out all the building components of a building or complex, know which materials have been used and what their condition and expected lifespan are. This way you can better make a correct budget. In addition, you prevent the risk of a building becoming decayed, because all work and maintenance are neatly planned in the long term.

Just as you regularly go to the dentist and have your car inspected every year, buildings also need periodic maintenance.

In summary: this is why you want to use a Multi-Year Maintenance Plan

Just as you regularly go to the dentist and have your car inspected every year, buildings also need periodic maintenance. Doing nothing and waiting for something to break or cause a leak is not an option. To prevent you from being surprised by things that require maintenance, it is useful to make a multi-year maintenance plan. This way you know for sure that all maintenance and checks will take place and when. No part is skipped and you have insight into the state of your building(s). Moreover, you can spread the costs so well. In short; a Multi-Year Maintenance Plan provides insight, overview and predictability. And who wouldn’t want that?