A list of 'various split units'
You have won a maintenance contract for a group of buildings. The client hands over the previous contractor's asset list: a spreadsheet with some model numbers, some serials, some rows that say 'various split units, 3rd floor'. The plant on the roof does not match the list. Some units have been replaced, some added by tenants, one condenser serves an indoor unit that was removed years ago.
You priced the contract from that list, and your PPM plan starts next month.
Why inherited lists are wrong
Asset lists decay. Units get replaced on breakdown and nobody updates the list. Tenants install their own systems. The previous contractor may have kept records well, badly, or in a system you cannot access. Handover is often a spreadsheet exported at the last minute.
- Units have no labels, so engineers cannot match them to rows.
- Serials and refrigerant details are missing for many units.
- Indoor and outdoor units are not linked to each other.
- Locations are described vaguely, such as 'roof'.
- Records of previous F-gas checks are not handed over or cannot be matched.
What a bad starting list costs
PPM visits that take longer than priced because there is more kit than expected. Engineers wandering a building to find units. F-gas check intervals set on guesswork. Disputes with the client about what is in scope. And every future report inheriting the confusion.
The first few months of a contract set the tone. Starting with a proper register is the easiest way to look competent to a new client.
The takeover survey we build
- We load whatever list you inherited as a starting point, one row per claimed asset.
- Engineers walk each site with the survey app, floor by floor and roof by roof. For each unit they find, they fix a durable QR label, match it to a row or create a new one.
- The app asks for make, model, serial (by photo, read automatically where legible), refrigerant type, charge from the rating plate, location with a floor plan pin where available, and which outdoor unit serves which indoor units.
- Rows from the old list that nobody finds are flagged for a person to confirm as removed.
- Differences between the inherited list and what was found are summarised for a scope conversation with the client.
- The finished register feeds your PPM planner, F-gas records and reporting, and future engineers scan the QR label to see each unit's history.
| Asset detail | Inherited list | After the takeover survey |
|---|---|---|
| Identification | Row with no label | QR label on the unit |
| Serial and model | Often missing | From rating plate photo |
| Refrigerant and charge | Missing or guessed | Recorded from the plate |
| Indoor to outdoor links | Not recorded | Linked in the register |
| Scope differences | Found gradually | Summarised for the client |
Scope changes are a commercial conversation between you and the client. The survey gives you evidence for it.
A contract that starts on firm ground
PPM visits are planned from a register that matches the building. Engineers scan a label and see the unit's details and history. The client sees a clear picture of what they own, often for the first time, and scope differences are agreed early with evidence rather than argued later.
Pricing the next contract also improves. Once you have surveyed a few takeovers properly, you know how far inherited lists usually differ from reality, and you can allow for it in tenders rather than discovering it after award.
When you next bid for a similar contract, the takeover survey approach is something to describe in the tender.
Does this sound like your last takeover?
- The inherited asset list did not match the plant on site.
- Units have no labels linking them to your records.
- Serials and refrigerant details are missing for many assets.
- Scope disagreements came up months into the contract.
- Engineers spend time finding units on unfamiliar sites.