Preventive maintenance is key to severe weather resilience

The severity and unpredictability of weather has been increasing the risk of damage and disruption in municipalities and continues to impact municipal planning.

Municipal leaders and facilities directors face these growing threats while managing buildings with a wide range of ages, materials and methods of construction.

During a MIIA-led workshop at the MMA Annual Meeting in January, experts discussed the latest climate data, its impact on the property insurance market, and what municipalities can do now to assess buildings and be prepared.

Megan Hart, global head of analytics and collaborations at Aon, the leading risk mitigation firm, detailed how coastal flooding, extreme rainfall, wildfires, and extreme heat are all connected to climate change — and how rapid population growth in certain geographic areas makes them more likely to experience adverse events.

Ken Wertz, executive director of the National School Plant Management Association, discussed the importance of factoring in building design and construction during operations and capital planning, as well as staying on top of everyday maintenance. He underscored the high costs associated with deferred building maintenance — estimated at $542 billion for public schools across the U.S.

Stephen Batchelder, MIIA’s vice president of claims operations and risk management, noted an increase in convective storms throughout the Northeast, leading to more lightning strikes, power surges, and torrential rainfall that can overwhelm local drainage systems. Because of insurance market volatility, he said, it is critical for municipalities to focus on reducing risks and vulnerabilities.

Preventive maintenance
To be better prepared for weather-related issues, the towns of Cohasset and Foxborough have focused on various aspects of preventive maintenance, including new technologies and collaborative planning strategies.

In Cohasset, local leaders won a Green Communities grant to enhance HVAC systems across schools, upgrading from an outdated 20-year-old system. The higher-efficiency system allows for remote monitoring and temperature adjustments, helping to guard against pipe freeze-ups and related flooding.

Cohasset also participates in MIIA’s Hartford Steam Boiler Sensor program, which uses a mobile phone app to enable real-time, remote monitoring of onsite sensors that detect flooding and temperature variances. The sensor program has already paid off, by alerting staff to a leaky pipe in a crawlspace at the police station.

“When we can go in quickly and fix something within an hour,” said Facilities Director Nick Berardi, “it makes all the difference in preventing any further damage.”

Prone to power outages because of its coastal location and the recent increase in windstorms, Cohasset has also enhanced its generator program. The town repurposed what was once an old, full-building generator into a trailer-mounted portable power source, and sourced and secured a contract with a company that guarantees additional similar units will be available when needed.

Foxborough has had a permanent building committee in place for 30 years to review building designs and determine what works best for the community and for building resiliency.

School Building Administrator Bill Yukna said the committee, which includes architects, engineers, plumbers, and other skilled trades professionals, has been critical in making sound decisions and ensuring that building projects meet or exceed LEED and other standards.

“Every community should have this in place to keep projects on track, especially when things get complicated,” he said.

Foxborough’s facilities department focuses on regular, preventive maintenance such as clearing drains, trimming trees away from power lines, and inspecting HVAC equipment to ensure preparedness for storms, Yukna said. The town has also been progressive about getting generators outfitted on all buildings, so heating systems can run during power outages.

With risk management grants from MIIA, Foxborough purchased a drone system to help with roof inspections on inaccessible areas of some town buildings, as well as sensor systems to detect temperature changes and prevent water damage caused by burst pipes.

Best practices
Following examples from Cohasset and Foxborough, municipalities can incorporate technology and collaborative strategies into local planning to be better prepared for extreme weather — and for the changing landscape of the insurance market.

The following are some best practices:
• Embrace technology, and invest in monitoring systems that provide real-time alerts.
• Perform regular maintenance on a set schedule and with storm preparedness in mind.
• Upgrade HVAC systems and other infrastructure when possible, to energy-efficient and resilient alternatives.
• Leverage committees with diverse professional expertise to oversee infrastructure decisions and standards.

Visit the MIIA website for more information about MIIA’s risk management program and offerings.

Written by Jennifer Ranz