We continue to develop thanks to the specific requirements of our clients

Few companies know their customers’ needs as well as SK Facility. For more than ten years, it has been taking care of industrial halls and other buildings in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, using the latest technology and cutting-edge knowledge of legislation and construction processes.

“Our goal is for clients to be able to fully devote themselves to their field of work and not have to deal with construction, maintenance, protection, or defects,” says Katarína Pilátová, director of SK Facility, one of the established companies in the market in the field of facility management, administration, and building maintenance.

In its early days, SK Facility took over the management of HSF System’s buildings. It gradually expanded both its services and its client portfolio and now manages more than 120,000 m². However, the symbiotic cooperation between the construction company HSF System and SK Facility within the PURPOSIA Group holding brings benefits to both investors and, above all, end clients. 

You often offer your services during the construction process. How exactly does your involvement in the construction process benefit the customer or contractor?

It is definitely an advantage because we know the supply chains and, thanks to this, we are able to resolve any defects during construction and deal with subsequent complaints or repairs relatively quickly. We contact the suppliers of components directly, which shortens the complaint process, and we also know the interdependencies of construction processes and the overlaps between professions.

What defects can occur during construction and how do you prevent them?

When our sister company HSF System is building, we carry out a series of inspections during the construction process. For other buildings, clients usually have to rely on the experience and quality of the construction company, but there is almost always a certain risk of defects arising during the construction process. In particular, checking roofs from the very beginning of construction is very important and can significantly reduce subsequent damage. Covering foils are laid on roofs, and several errors can occur, especially during welding. We know how to eliminate these defects. We use several techniques and devices to test the roof cladding, from spark testing and moisture detection using defectoscopy to checking T-welds using needle or vacuum testing, which allows us to check the tightness of the weld and detect even microscopic leaks using negative pressure. These can then cause leaks into the building over time. In addition, roof construction takes some time, during which moisture or any dirt can get into the joints. Therefore, once the roof is finished, we check it with a drone equipped with a thermal camera, which can detect such damaged areas based on temperature differences. However, every method has its limitations, so it is important to combine various preventive checks, including human inspection. If this is neglected at the beginning, subsequent repairs are very time-consuming and costly.

These are all preventive measures. What do you generally focus on most when it comes to preventing defects?

Facility management as a whole involves providing various preventive services. Our goal is to enable clients to fully devote themselves to their field of work without having to deal with construction, maintenance, protection, or defects. Prevention primarily involves regular servicing of various equipment, regular building inspections, and we also ensure all legislative requirements such as inspections and checks resulting from legislative requirements or manufacturer requirements. Last but not least, there is building safety, where we ensure regular inspections by fire technicians and occupational health and safety officers so that in the event of a fire, all escape routes and routes to fire-fighting equipment are accessible. This is so that the client knows that they must not block these routes in any way, so that all equipment is accessible in the event of a fire or any other accident, even though we do everything we can to ensure that nothing like this ever happens.

HSF System was your first major customer and started out on hall construction sites, but gradually the construction portfolio expanded to other buildings. What is the composition of the managed buildings today? Does it also include apartment buildings?

Currently, we mainly take care of logistics facilities, warehouses, shopping centers, and sports halls in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. These are mostly huge halls belonging to various investors and contractors, not only our sister companies such as the aforementioned HSF System or the ANTRACIT development group. As for apartment buildings, they fall under different legislation and their maintenance differs from that of industrial or commercial buildings. At the moment, we do not have any apartment buildings in our portfolio, but we are not opposed to this in the future.

What does it involve to take care of, for example, a department store where there is a lot of foot traffic?

With this type of building, it’s all about how the building looks to customers at first glance, so we take care of the surfaces and their appearance, but we also have to maintain accessible space for logistics and supplies. We also have to respond very quickly to any fault or customer request, as any repair or downtime is a major problem. In addition, these are buildings with a high turnover of people, where there are greater security requirements. For these retail buildings, we are therefore always prepared to find a temporary solution if repairs cannot be carried out overnight, for example when we are waiting for a spare part or an expert. However, we always emphasize maintaining safety and preventing further damage. We are able to minimize such risks.

Your services are gradually expanding from Slovakia to the Czech Republic. How demanding is it in terms of personnel and capacity? Do you plan to expand your operations to Austria, where one of the HSF System group companies is also based?

It is no problem for us to take care of clients anywhere in Czechia, and we will be happy to acquire new customers there. Thanks to HSF System, the transition to the Czech market was relatively natural. We are not opposed to entering the Austrian market in the future. On the contrary, we would be happy to do so. Our experience shows that monthly inspections of the property are sufficient, which also saves the client money. However, we are able to visit the properties on a weekly basis if necessary and provide a full range of services in accordance with the lease agreements, including billing for services, allocation of energy costs or remote energy readings, monitoring of CO²  in the air with automatic ventilation, or anything else the client needs or requests. Thanks to a wide variety of sensors and software, we are able to detect any accidents or malfunctions almost immediately. We are constantly developing thanks to the specific requirements of our clients, and we always strive to find the most suitable solution for their needs.