Offices

Below is a list of the typical types of plant that you might expect to find at the above:

Refrigeration Plant
Hot Water Heating/Supply Systems
Window Cleaning Equipment
Passenger/Goods Lifts
General Electrical/Mechanical Plant e.g. Motors, Pumps
Electrical Installations e.g. Fixed Wiring

The following is an extract from HSB Equipment Connection (c) Copyright 1997, The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. All Rights Reserved.

Office Buildings (Owner, Not Tenant)

Process Overview

This occupancy is intended for Owners only who lease space to non-manufacturing occupancies. These locations are typically multistory buildings used to carry on general business, professional activities, and customer services.

Tenants may include various offices, marketing operations, restaurants, or other non-manufacturing occupancies. Vehicle garages may be incorporated within the building. Exposures will generally be found in electrical power supply and distribution, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and transport systems (elevators and escalators).

Note: This Occupancy does not include locations with leases to tenants who carry out production and/or manufacturing facilities.

Critical Equipment Exposures

Boilers / Pressure Vessels: Boilers providing steam and hot water should be normally of a standard type and accessible for repairs / replacement in basement or ground floor machinery rooms. Upper floor machinery rooms are acceptable so long as elevator size and capacity allows for replacement of the units.

In some cases in larger urban areas, in lieu of heating boilers, the insured may obtain a steam supply through pipes from an outside vendor located in a building remote from building in question. If that is the case, exposure is proportionately reduced.

Air Conditioning, And Ventilation: Central air conditioning (AC) systems or units are used to supply chilled water to the various floors. The size of the air conditioning equipment necessary can be roughly calculated using one ton per 300 Sq. Ft. of floor space. There should be sufficient installed spare capacity to minimize business interruption exposure. Rooftop units and upper floor machinery rooms are acceptable as long as elevator size and capacity allows for replacement of the units. Cooling towers located on Rooftops can pose additional exposure for repair / replacement. All upper floor equipment poses the possibility of water damage. If steam turbines are used to drive A/C compressors, exposures are significantly elevated.

In some cases, in larger urban areas, in lieu of A/C systems, the insured may obtain chilled water supply for cooling through pipes from an outside vendor located in a building remote from building in question. If that is the case, exposure is proportionately reduced.

Electrical Power Supply & Distribution: The building owner is almost always responsible for the incoming power supply and the distribution substations. Larger buildings may have large incoming transformers, and newer buildings may have sophisticated power quality control equipment, especially if the tenants use a number of computers or other electronic equipment.

Business Interruption: Business Interruption exposures can be substantially increased if equipment accessibility is hindered in any way, if a single large unit is used instead of multiple smaller units, or if there is no installed spare capacity.

Maintenance & Plant Engineering: The location should have an in-house maintenance staff, or a contracted plant maintenance organization that functions in a similar manner. The use of maintenance service contracts that covers both preventive and corrective maintenance is desirable.

Cut-away sketch of typical office buildings / offices