Author: MaintenX

How Facilities Managers Can Create Safe Environments

For any facility manager, the safety of all of those who work inside the facility should be a high priority. It is important for employees to be able to work in an environment that is as safe as possible. It is just as important for patrons, customers or clients to be safe when visiting a company’s location. At the very least, safety procedures are required to pass audits from numerous government and other agencies. But, how can facilities managers ensure safe environments for all inside?

There are two major ways to increase the safety of a facility and create a safe environment for all. The first is to foster strong communication between managers and employees. Some of the most common workplace injuries can be easily prevented by employees by simply following the recommended safety protocols. However, if these protocols are never communicated to employees, or employees are not properly educated about the intended safety measures, injuries will still occur. Being able to not only relay safety information, but also reinforce it, goes a very long way to creating an overall safe environment in the facility.

Secondly, a safe facility environment can be strengthened by eliminating obstructions and hazards. Some of the biggest dangers in a facility come from faulty equipment that breaks down at inopportune times and causes its operator to be injured. To remedy this, and prevent future problems from arising, it is important to perform regularly scheduled maintenance on all facility equipment to ensure that they are all in proper working order.

The safety of employees should be a top priority for all facility managers and it can be achieved through proper communication and maintenance of all equipment. If you would like to implement a customized preventative maintenance program, we at MaintenX can help by sending our own trained team of technicians to your site. To learn more about the services we offer, please call us at 855-751-0075.

Making Sure Your Facility Will Beat the Summer Heat

The summer heat can be brutal on your company’s building or facility. With the summer season upon us, it’s important your facility can withstand the increase in temperature. Here are a few tips to ensure your building doesn’t sweat through summer.

  • Service Air Conditioners

As temperatures increase, so does your facility’s need for air conditioning. You’ll definitely want to prevent any Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) unit breakdowns during the summer months. Be sure to have a licensed professional clean your system to ensure it will withstand the summer months. Also, change your air filters to make sure your unit is working at peak performance levels.

  • Check for Air Leaks

After ensuring your air conditioner is in good working order, you’ll want to make sure you are getting the most out of your company’s cool air. Check windows and doors for cracks, dents or damages. These issues will allow cold air to flow out and hot air to flow in. These problems can be fixed with caulk or weather stripping.

  • Maintain Landscaping

Although landscaping doesn’t appear harmful, roots from growing trees and shrubs can threaten pipes and paved surfaces in the heat of summer. Keep an eye out for cracks in your pavement that might need to be repaired.  

  • Inspect Wood

In addition to heat, summer also typically brings heavy rains. You will want to conduct a thorough check for any wood damage around windows, doors and other framed areas. Summer rainfall can make these damages worse.

  • Prevent Humidity

In most climates, summer is packed with ridiculous levels of humidity. Equipping your facility with humidity sensors can prevent mold from growing within your building. This investment can also help to prevent electrical shortages.

The summer heat can greatly impact your building. With these helpful tips, your facility will be more than prepared.

How Long Will Your Commercial HVAC Equipment Last?

It should be no surprise to a business owner that a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is essential to maintaining a comfortable environment in a commercial building. Since it is so important to your operations, especially for those doing business in more extreme climates, it is also important to know how long your HVAC equipment will last you. So, what’s the lifespan of a typical commercial HVAC system?

On average, most commercial HVAC systems have a lifespan of 10-15 years. The lifetime of your system will vary depending on the type of equipment you have and how frequently it is used. Some of the other key factors that influence your HVAC equipment are the efficiency of design, how the system was implemented, and the interior climate of the structure, such as dust levels.

However, there are several simple actions you can take to extend the life of your air conditioning unit. And it all starts with proper maintenance of the system, which is crucial to maximizing the lifespan of your equipment. Change your air filters monthly to increase your system’s performance. Another important preventative step is to make sure your drain pan and condenser coils are clean. You should also run a cup of bleach down your condensate drain from time to time to clean it and avoid clogs.

It is important to have skilled technicians working on your HVAC equipment. At MaintenX, we train and dispatch our own team of professional technicians so your HVAC system is in the best hands. To learn more about the services we offer for HVAC equipment installation and maintenance, please call us at 855-751-0075.

Common HVAC System Problems

A proper Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is an essential component to any company or commercial building. This is especially true with summer in full swing. Any business owner or facility manager know that business operations can’t continue if an HVAC system breaks down. To prevent this from happening to your facility here are some solutions to common air conditioning problems.

Dirty Filters

A dirty filter filled with air contaminants can have a terrible impact on your HVAC system. To ensure your air conditioning unit is functioning at its peak performance, change you air filters every month, or at least every 90 days. This will prevent your air conditioning motor from having to work twice as hard to combat all those contaminants, which can shorten the life of your unit. This is an easy and quick solution to a common air conditioning problem.

Electric control failure

If the fan and compressor controls start to malfunction on your system, this may be a sign the wires in your unit have begun to corrode. This failure is often the result of turning your air conditioning system on and off. To prevent this from happening in the future, don’t turn your system off when the facility is closed for the night. Instead, increase your thermostat by a few degrees to save on your electricity bill.  

Clogged Drains

It is not uncommon for your drain to get clogged with dirt and debris. To prevent this from happening in the future, pour bleach down your condensate drain once a month. This mixture will help break up blockages and clean your system thoroughly.

Dirty A/C Coils

Another important part of maintaining your air conditioning unit is cleaning your A/C coils. When your system’s coils are not properly maintained, you will lower comfort levels in your building and have a hefty electric bill. The dirt buildup on your condenser and evaporator coils can negatively impact the performance end efficiency of your system. In addition to wiping them down yourself, have a professional thoroughly clean your coils during your annual maintenance meeting.

With these helpful tips, you’ll be sure to have a fully functioning air conditioning unit and prevent problems from occurring in the future.

What You Need to Know about Replacing your HVAC Equipment

If your system is 10 to 15 years old and has begun to experience some maintenance problems, it may be time to replace your Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) unit. When looking to replace a system that heats and cools your business, you want to make the right decision. Consider these questions when selecting an HVAC system to best suit your company’s needs.

How Big of a System Do I Need?

You want to ensure you pick an HVAC system that will get the job done effectively in your space. Too small of a unit will not deliver an adequate performance, but too big of a unit will offer poor temperature control with a big price tag. Be sure to ask your contractor the appropriate size system you need in your facility.

Do I Replace All my HVAC Equipment Together?

The answer is yes. When replacing a system entirely, you want to ensure all of the moving parts of your system work together in harmony. Although only replacing a heat pump, piping or furnace appears as a more economical solution, new parts working with old parts can affect performance. It’s also important to replace your indoor unit and outdoor unit together too.

How Do I Maintain My New System?

Scheduling preventative maintenance on your air conditioning system is crucial to maintaining your new unit. Your facility manager will conduct regularly scheduled inspections to stop problems before they happen. Proper preventative maintenance will also include changing air filters, cleaning drain pans, wiping down condenser coils and sealing ductwork. All of these action items will keep your air conditioning unit running at peak performance.

Installing a new air conditioning system is an important task. You want to make sure you get a unit that will be effective and efficient in its intended space. With these questions in mind, you’ll be sure to find an HVAC unit that performs perfectly for your business.   

 

Key Areas to Maintain in a Commercial Property

In addition to high customer traffic and strong sales, it’s also important for a commercial property to have proper facility maintenance. A building that is well-maintained will attract customers and help you increase your bottom line. Here are a few tips for maintaining the key areas of your commercial property.

Exterior Maintenance – The exterior of your commercial property is very important. Maintaining a nice-looking facility is crucial for making a strong first impression on customers, patrons, and tenants. Landscaping and outdoor lighting can make a huge difference when it comes to curb appeal. Be sure to avoid overgrown shrubbery and yellowed and dirty light fixtures. Over time, these exterior finishes can hurt your company’s curb appeal. Sidewalks should not have any large cracks or safety hazards either. Make sure to regularly power wash the exterior and repaint when needed.

Restroom Maintenance – The maintenance of your commercial property’s restroom is a key area to maintain. Not only is a clean environment crucial for the health and sanitation of your employees and customers, it’s important to have a spotless bathroom to demonstrate your company’s commitment to cleanliness. Also, you may consider installing features such as automatic sinks, touchless toilets, and hand-dryers to eliminate the spread of germs. These additions will also help you save money, and show to your customers that you care about them.

Interior Maintenance – Whether you own a restaurant, office space or retail store, you want to ensure your customers are experiencing a tidy atmosphere while visiting your facility. Maintaining a comfortable store floor or workspace will not only increase the productivity of your employers, it will also leave a lasting impression on your customers. Carpets should be cleaned, wood and laminate floors should be buffed and tile should be mopped regularly. Your facility’s Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning unit should also be working at peak efficiency to make customers comfortable. It’s also important to have no chipped paint on the walls and no dust on surfaces.

There are many aspects to maintaining a facility. With these helpful tips, you’ll be able to create a clean and inviting facility that will make a fantastic first impression on your patrons.    

Facilities Maintenance Changes You Should Make During the Summer

Each season presents its own unique set of challenges for facility managers and business owners. The summer months are no exception and there are certain maintenance changes that you should take into consideration as we head into the warmest time of the year. Due to the summer’s heat, there should be a stronger focus on certain aspects of the facility’s maintenance than others. Here are a few tips for your facility during the summer:

One of the most important summer facility maintenance tasks is servicing the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) unit. Summer is the time to change air filters, clean condenser coils and tune up the system, making sure they are all in good condition. You’ll want to make sure preventative maintenance is completed to avoid a broken air conditioner on a hot summer day. It is also important to not turn off your air conditioning unit, even when the building is unoccupied. Completely shutting off your system can lead to increased humidity and mold. This is something you’ll undoubtedly want to avoid.

Due to hot temperatures and strong sun rays, the exterior of your building can take a brutal beating. Summer can be a great time to address all the exterior needs of your facility such as painting, roofing, and landscaping.

Another important maintenance task to complete during summer is plumbing and water-using appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, and water filtration systems. As the temperatures begin to climb, water usage tends to increase. With your water systems getting more use, you’ll want to make sure they are working at peak performance to prevent a breakdown. Have pipes water jetted to remove blockages, have sinks and toilets inspected to make sure drains are unclogged. This summer maintenance will make sure your facility stays flowing smoothly.  

Summer presents intense temperatures that can increase the maintenance your facility needs. With these helpful tips, you’ll be able to beat the summer heat and make sure your facility stays in top shape.

School Maintenance During the Summer

With school out for the summer, it’s time for custodial crews and facility maintenance teams to start cleaning, and complete repairs and construction projects. Now is also the perfect time to focus on prevention to increase energy efficiency in your school’s building. Use this summer season to prepare the facility to conserve more energy (and save more money) and have it running in tip-top shape for when school starts.

Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) unit maintenance – Summer is the time to make sure air filters are changed, condenser coils are thoroughly cleaned and drain pans are properly drained. Another important tip is to not completely turn off the air conditioning unit for an extended period of time. Although it’s okay to increase the temperature when the facility is not occupied, completely shutting off the HVAC system can lead to heavy humidity and moisture in the space, resulting in mold.

Flooring maintenance – Floors, whatever the material, can take a beating during the school year. Summer months are the perfect time to steam carpets, buff linoleum floors and polish wood floors. You also have the opportunity to protect the floors with sealants and other products to prepare them for the next school year.

Window maintenance – In addition to removing all of the fingerprints and dirt particles that have gathered on or near windows, summer is also the time to repair them.       

Security and fire systems – Now is also the time to test security systems and fire systems. All of the emergency related equipment should be tested inspected.

Class might not be in session during the summer months, but technicians are still hard at work prepare the grounds for the next year and prevent larger problems from arising. With these helpful tips, your school will be ready when the kids return this fall.

Developing Your Maintenance Schedule and Budget

Preventative maintenance and routine maintenance are both important to a business to ensure it stays in tip-top shape. These maintenance plans can prevent costly breakdowns of equipment and keep systems working at peak efficiency. Figuring out a schedule and budget for preventative and routine maintenance is easy with these helpful tips.

The first thing to do when developing your maintenance schedule is to itemize each piece of equipment or system in the facility that requires maintenance. This will allow you to manage what needs attention systematically and will allow you to prioritize maintenance duties to make sure they fit within your budget. This list should include each piece of equipment, what type of maintenance needs to be done, and how often. For example, there may be some parts of the facility that need to be serviced once a year and others once a month.

It is also important to decide the dollar amount your company is willing to spend on these programs ahead of time. By knowing and understanding the planned budget, you can make the most economical choices to maintain your facility. After crunching the numbers, you will also have a better understanding of what items take priority. In order to make the most of your budget, here are a few maintenance items that are crucial to every facility:

Carpet Cleaning – It is important to have carpet cleaning on your company’s facility maintenance list. Carpets are prone to trapping in air pollutants in their fibers. This can lead to a buildup of unhealthy allergens and contaminants, which can harm air quality. Thankfully, having your carpets steamed and cleaned is not a major expense.  

Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) unit check-up – You air conditioning unit is crucial to your business. Without it, employees and customers would be extremely uncomfortable, requiring you to close company doors until its fixed. By having a regular HVAC unit check-up on your maintenance list, air filters will be regularly changed, condenser coils will remain clean and your system will continue to work at peak performance. This will make sure you maintain high air quality and save you money.

Bathroom Sanitation – Bathroom sanitation is a no-brainer. Your company restroom, especially if it is a public restroom can be an epicenter for germs and bacteria. Having a professional steam clean your bathroom can help to remove water buildup, soap scum, and other bacteria.  

With these helpful tips, you’ll have a fantastic facility maintenance schedule perfect for your budget.

The Impact of Facilities Management on Business Performance

When you think of all the roles that a facility manager has— maintaining building operations, making repairs, and managing technicians— it’s easy to forget another important role they hold. Facility managers have a major impact on the business performance. Here are a few ways facility managers can affect your employees and bottom line:

Layout

The layout of an office or facility can contribute to the productivity of the space. The positioning of the equipment, desks or machinery is up to the facility manager and can affect production. For example, the location of the company printer can determine whether it is easy to access or only creates loud disturbances to nearby workers. The layout of a building or workspace has the potential to increase interactions between coworkers and management, not to mention increase the ease of daily tasks.

Lighting

Natural sunlight has been known to have major impacts on people. Dark and dim spaces are not optimal for accomplishing work. Having a space with skylights or large windows to let in natural light can have a major impact on productivity. This can also help with energy costs since office lighting will not be as crucial on sunny days.

Temperature

Facility managers can boost employee morale and productivity by making them more comfortable. A large portion of an employee’s comfort can be determined by the temperature of the space they are working in. By simply resetting the thermostat by a few degrees, productivity can change drastically.  

Cleanliness

Facility managers are often responsible for keeping the office clean too. It’s no surprise that a dirty or dusty office space deters works for accomplishing tasks. A sparking office of facility encourages employees’ productivity and can have a big influence on business.

As you can see, facility managers play a very important role in creating a workplace culture that either helps or hinders productivity. The true role of these individuals is to create a space to help people accomplish success.