I got a letter in the mail a few weeks ago from my health care provider. The fine physicians, statisticians, and financiers at BlueCare Network wanted me to have my cholesterol tested. Apparently they have decided it costs more to take care of someone once they are sick than it does to invest in a little preventive maintenance.

Sound familiar?

Honeywell has been prescribing this same philosophy for quite some time. Its Global Service Response Center (GSRC) provides “maintenance, health, and wellness of the systems it services.” The multi-functional support center offers service dispatching and installation scheduling; remote HVAC and energy diagnostics and troubleshooting; and a help desk.

“Emergency calls cost a lot more than a standard service call,” said Tom Sumner, head of the GSRC, during a breakout session at the annual Honeywell Users Group (HUG) meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Addressing the preventive maintenance of the built environment is the focus of the GSRC, one that should save its customers money. Consider it health care for a building.

Thankfully my cholesterol is normal and my doctor will not be haranguing me to eat more fiber during my next scheduled visit.

I benefit from this health status report, and end users will benefit from knowing how healthy their building or residence is as well.

Let the U.S. government and the American Medical Association duke out “socialized health care” and federal budgetary woes. For now, try a preventive maintenance stance with your customers and see what they think about saving money.