Working in FM requires one to have skills in a broad range of disciplines, but meteorology is not something that typically comes up. However, following a summer of extreme weather, FM teams should be aware that a ‘Godzilla-level’ El Niño is set to cause potential disruption into 2027.
These climate events happen every few years, but this is predicted to be the strongest on record. Effects will vary by region, from higher temperatures and drought to heavy rainfall and flooding, while disruption to global supply chains could be felt much more widely. For those who haven’t already started, now is the time to get prepared in order to protect buildings and their occupants.
Review planned preventative maintenance
A good place to start is reviewing what planned preventative maintenance (PPM) is in place for each asset, especially those within HVAC systems which will be under more strain dealing with additional heating and cooling. CAFM software like QFM is especially useful for this, as it can populate PPMs in the schedule as required – but working around times when the team cannot access the asset for example weekends, during term time or in office hours. PPMs can be combined with other scheduled maintenance work to save duplicate visits.
With limited budgets and resources in place, it’s worth considering if some assets are more valuable than others and be maintained accordingly. Assets supporting busy, essential or safety-critical areas may justify full lifecycle support and optimisation because the consequences of failure are higher, whereas an aircon unit in a rarely used area could just be serviced in line with legal and statutory requirements to free up resources.
For UK organisations, SFG20 maintenance schedules can be linked to CAFM software to make light work of understand what maintenance different asset types need. Colour coding distinguishes statutory and legal tasks from business-critical, best-practice and discretionary work. Relevant schedules can then be added to the PPM programme and used to generate work orders, helping teams direct resources appropriately without overlooking essential maintenance.
Make sure the asset register reflects reality
Of course, effective PPM depends on knowing what assets are present in the first place.
SFG20’s State of Facilities Management 2026 survey found that only 15% of respondents had completely accurate asset registers. It also found that 38% either did not update their registers or did not know how often they were updated.
While these statistics are frightening, creating an asset register is not and is something your CAFM provider should be able to help with. It can be built in stages, rather than tackle the whole project in one go. FMs should decide what information is genuinely needed to support maintenance, compliance and lifecycle decisions. Trying to capture everything can result in a register that is too complicated to maintain and quickly falls out of date.
Unique identifiers, standard naming and accurate location data make assets easier to find and reduce duplication. Naming something ‘boiler’ isn’t specific enough to distinguish one asset from another or map it to the right maintenance schedule. Our article on creating an effective asset register offers further practical advice.
Good asset information will also provide a stronger foundation for using BIM data within maintenance management. A model may offer an intuitive visual representation of a building, but its operational value depends on the information connected to each asset. Consistent identifiers, classifications and maintenance records make it easier to connect CAFM and BIM data in the future.
Use asset performance to inform maintenance
PPM provides an essential baseline, but fixed calendar intervals cannot always account for additional wear caused by unpredictable conditions, such as those brought on by El Niño. Two identical chillers may have the same maintenance schedule even though one is located in a sunny spot and has to work harder.
Sensors can record operating hours, temperature, vibration, energy consumption and fault information, showing when performance is deteriorating or an asset is working harder than expected. FMs can then intervene before failure and plan the work for a time that causes less disruption to building users.
Predictive and condition-based maintenance do not replace statutory or necessary scheduled maintenance. They complement PPM by helping teams prioritise work according to actual condition and risk.
Prepare for disruption to replacement parts
Floods, droughts, storms and wildfires can disrupt transport and international supply chains. Longer lead times or shortages of specialist components could turn a manageable asset fault into a prolonged outage.
The UK Government has advised households to keep essential supplies for emergencies lasting several days. For FMs, the equivalent is not indiscriminate stockpiling, but identifying the spare parts needed to keep critical assets operational.
CAFM data can show which assets are most important to service continuity and which parts are used most frequently. Stock-management tools within systems such as QFM can record quantities and locations, monitor usage and set reorder levels. FMs can then balance the cost of holding a spare against supplier lead times and the consequences of being without it.
FMs cannot control how El Niño affects the weather, but they can make their buildings more resilient. Accurate asset information, risk-based maintenance, condition data and access to critical spares will all help reduce the likelihood that extreme conditions become an operational crisis.
