Author: MaintenX

Spring is finally here! The flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, and the weather is slowly but surely getting warmer. It’s time for spring cleaning. Spring cleaning isn’t just for houses, though; it’s for business owners and facility staff too.

For commercial facilities, spring cleaning is done in places in your facility which don’t require regular cleaning but do occasionally need special attention.

The tips below will help freshen up your facility:

Dusting

Get out the ladders and dust areas like warehouse beams, light fixtures, ceiling corners and air vents. Cleaning these neglected areas can help lower allergen counts that can cause illness.

Windows

Windows have a huge effect on your facility’s appearance. Give them all a streak-free shine.

Floors

Regular floor maintenance takes care of visible flooring, but spring cleaning is the time to move away furniture to remove built-up dirt and dust from the entire floor surface. Cleaning these areas will give your whole facility a fresh, clean smell and a good-as-new appearance.

Pressure Washer

Sidewalks, parking lots, and other outdoor spaces can look pretty rough after a long, harsh winter. A buildup of dirt, sand and debris also can take away your facility’s shiny professional image. Pressure washing your sidewalks, walkways and walls will give your whole facility a new and upgraded appearance. First impressions are an important thing for a business. Ensure the outside of your facility is as spotless as the inside.

It’s important to keep your car battery working at peak performance. Below we’ll give you some tips to keep you from being stranded on the side of the road with a dead battery.

Battery Check

You can avoid a pricey service or tow charge by carrying out a simple 10-minute battery check.

You’ll need the following:

• A set of wrenches
• A post cleaner or side terminal
• A hydrometer
• A cable puller
• Clean, distilled water (if necessary)
• A clean shop rag

All of these are readily available at any auto parts store. You can also skip this battery service check if your mechanic performs it during your cars regular servicing.

Step 1: Clean the Cables

Clean any built-up corrosion from the top of the battery. After this, then clean any corrosion around the battery cables. Then disconnect the cables, starting with the negative one.

Next, loosen the battery cable clamp bolts and gently twist them.

WARNING: Never pry on battery posts.

With the cables detached, now clean off any remaining corrosion on the auto battery terminals and cables.

Step 2: Check Electrolyte Levels

If the battery requires water, use only clean, distilled water and be careful not to overfill the cells.

Gently pry off the covers of the battery cells. The water/acid mixture in the battery should be about 1/2 inch deep. If you find any cracks, you’ll need to replace the battery. If adding water, let the water mix with the electrolyte for a few hours.

Higher performing HVAC systems should be given special attention, they can have a huge effect on your facility and your bottom line.

More and more facility managers are looking for an environment that is cheap to operate, is more productive, and is more impervious to weather and IT security threats. HVAC systems have a big effect on the operating costs of a facility, its productivity, and its ability to keep operating during disastrous events.

Costs

Cost is a chief concern. Facility managers and business owners work hard to stay within budget. Professional engineering lowers costs and increases the life of facility assets.

With a higher efficiency HVAC system, you can make the size of the unit smaller. A smaller, more efficient unit naturally costs less than a larger one.

A filtration enhancement system reduces the amount of needed air. The size of the pumps can also be reduced, adding to the financial gain from reduced HVAC operating costs. A well-designed filtration system can give your facility better performance than older and bulkier systems. Spending more on high-performance equipment, high-performance filtration updates, and a well-designed HVAC layout can be a very cost-effective strategy for your facility.

Want to know more about high-performance HVAC systems? Call the experts at MaintenX today!

If you’re starting your CMMS conversion, these steps will help you to identify what it is that you need your CMMS software to do for you. Below are the things you’ll need to consider when choosing a CMMS program.

Goals

The first step when considering CMMS software for your facility is to spell out what you need it to do for your organization:

• Do you need preventive maintenance?
• Do you need it to keep up with your work orders?
• Is parts inventory management important to your organization?
• Do you need fleet management?
• What information do you need it to track?
• Do you have existing IT infrastructure for CMMS?

CMMS Team

Now that you know what is most important to you in a CMMS, get help from those in your team who are familiar with your facility’s existing maintenance processes. This will give you a better idea of your overall CMMS needs.

Consider Preventive Maintenance Needs

Ensure that your CMMS supports Preventive Maintenance. Can it handle inspections? Does it take measurements and then automatically generate corrective maintenance work orders?

Purchase Order Needs

The perfect CMMS solution for your facility should also be able to create purchase orders. Consider your purchase order processes and what you’ll need out of them.

Test the Software

When you have two or three CMMS systems you’re considering, ask for a demonstration from each of them. That way, you can test each one so you can find out which of them is a good fit for your organization.

Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) and Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software have an equivalent purpose. But are they the same thing?

Both of these solutions have the same goals: preserving, handling and defending facility assets by streamlining maintenance management. Both also move facilities from reactive maintenance to proactive maintenance.

CMMS came first. CMMS was used by large businesses to monitor their assets and maintenance. As the technology got better, there became a need to connect many facilities. EAM then appeared to do just that.

EAM software is effectively a more powerful type of CMMS. In a nutshell, EAM is a long-term, comprehensive system which includes CMMS functions.

The main functions of a CMMS include:

• Automating maintenance
• Managing facility inventory and documents
• Asset tracking

EAM can work with larger sets of users from many different places. EAM can also monitor all parts of maintenance strategy.

EAM can also perform:

• Life-cycle planning and analysis
• Maintenance monitoring
• Workflow analysis

Growth of CMMS

For over a decade, web-based cloud CMMS services have been steadily growing.

CMMS vendors have also devised modules to track data about an asset’s complete lifecycle. This gives facility managers and business owners the new ability to shift into more predictive techniques when making long-term facility management and asset procurement decisions.

To stay competitive in an ever-changing market, facility managers have started to use both types of systems in tandem.

WINT Water Intelligence was created to aid organizations with two goals: averting damage from water leaks and improving sustainability by decreasing a facility’s water consumption.

WINT utilizes artificial intelligence to do water flow tests and find leaks right at the source. It then relays this data into real-time alerts. It can even automatically shut off water to prevent damage. WINT provides thorough analytics, creates reports, and provides deep insights to prevent costly facility damage.

Water can cause a lot of damage to facilities and their valuable assets, not to mention destroy precious data and sensitive company information. An unforeseen pipe burst can irrevocably harm infrastructure and disturb facility operations while costing its facility and/or business tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is why WINT’s service is so revolutionary for facility management.

Machine learning constantly adapts to water usage patterns and then provides vital information and alerts to facility managers and building owners who can use this data to easily and quickly react.

About WINT Water Intelligence

WINT is passionate about conserving one of the world’s most precious resources, and the company is devoted to helping companies prevent the threats, expenses and waste connected to water emergencies. Using the power of artificial intelligence, the convenience of high-speed internet and cellular data connections and smart shut-off valves, Water Intelligence units allow for an all-in-one answer for many types of facilities and their management teams who seek to curb the fear of potential plumbing disasters while protecting this precious resource for the future.

The internet of things has led to more and more devices are connected to the Internet. Internet connections are now offered in sensors, speakers, cars and even kitchen appliances.

But is the IoT putting your organization’s systems at risk? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be a resounding “Yes!”

Smart buildings use technology to control processes like heating, lighting and access control. All of these avenues are possible access points for would-be hackers.

The Big Picture

There are a few areas that could allow hackers to take control of building systems. A hacker needs only access to a public IP address associated with the building. From there, hackers can access exposed ports on routers and bypass security to take control of the device, giving them complete access to facility data and the ability to remotely control almost any process.

The Danger

If compromised, smart-building devices could have a deep effect on your physical environment, allowing a bad actor to cause serious damage remotely.

Hackers could, for example, gain control of the facility devices which control server room temperatures, causing servers to overheat. Not only do these connected devices impact our physical surroundings, but they share connections with sensitive data accessible through IT networks.

Understanding the Risks

Normally, after a security vulnerability, affected code is investigated and devices updated with patches to prevent similar incidents from happening again. This has the added benefit of protecting other users with the same equipment from falling victim to attack – a little like how a vaccination teaches the immune system to repel future bugs.

Failure to act could have catastrophic consequences down the line for the business or businesses that occupy the building.

Aside from size and material type, several other factors can make a huge difference on the price of tile. Considering your options can give you the best deal.

Location, Location, Location!

Contractor fees for flooring installation vary widely based on your geographic location. Right out of the gate, you will pay more for tile if you live in a city with a high cost of living (New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.)

Who You Hire

If you want to save money, consider hiring a handyman. You might also be able to find a local contractor who specializes in tile installation.

Another option to consider is hiring an installer from a home improvement store. These stores have vetted these contractors and guarantee the quality of their work. You may also be able to get financing from the store.

Accessibility

How accessible the work site is will influence the end price tag. If you live in a small home that’s easy to get to, there shouldn’t be added charges. But, if you live in an apartment or a building with an elevator, the building contractor will likely charge you an extra fee for the added trouble.

Tile Type

Stone tile (marble, granite, slate, etc.) will be much more expensive than cheaper alternatives like ceramic tile. Stone is hard to work with; it requires specialized tools and specific know-how. Stone also needs to be sealed after it’s fitted. This all adds up to a pricier installation.

Growing pressure to not allow projects to fall behind schedule can lead to a frenzied and chaotic work schedule. Workers are doing their best to keep up the pace, but fatigue can make this not only impossible, but also dangerous.

The simple truth is that workers aren’t getting the amount of rest they need. This trend is also putting them at risk. Long commutes and lack of sleep lead to tiredness, which leads to increased rates of workplace accidents, health issues and more.

The Dangers of Fatigue

Fatigue usually results from mental or physical effort or from sleep disorders. Fatigue is scarily common, owing to factors like stress and sleep loss. A worker suffering from fatigue could experience reduced productivity, diminished decision-making ability and accuracy, irritability, anxiety, memory and concentration loss, confusion and exhaustion.

Not only will fatigued workers find it difficult to complete tasks, but they many find it difficult to pay attention to your facility’s safety rules.

Operational Cost

Regardless of the size of your company or facility, exhausted workers work more slowly, and this leads to missed deadlines. Proactive solutions are always cheaper than reactive ones.

Fatigue Prevention

Avoiding fatigue can be simpler than you may think. There are many programs to screen, test and treat workers suffering from fatigue. On the other side of this issue, employees should set aside time for between six and eight hours of sleep each night.

For facility managers and building owners who are unsure where to start with green leasing, a good first step is to evaluate relevant lease and commercial documents and compare them to the Green Lease Leaders recognition program metrics. If you’re not currently including sustainability-focused wording in your lease, the Green Lease Leaders criteria can be your guide.

Focusing on lease language may not sound cutting-edge, but the fact remains that it’s a smart vehicle for fostering a more engaged relationship between landlords and tenants that raises the starting point of the relationship. It adds enormous value by aligning main concerns and allows the acceptance of practices vital for supervision and for operating better-performing buildings.

Health and Wellness

Energy savings isn’t the only area that can be addressed by green leases. They can also incorporate health and wellness features by doing things like requiring indoor air quality plans during construction and adding measurement and verification tests for future tenants, as well as provisions for:

• Green cleaning
• Integrated pest management
• Health-conscious material selection

Focusing on health and wellness policies, programs, and amenities can help building owners gain and retain tenants. A focus on health and wellness is not just a short-term fad in the industry. Thoughtful investment in people and their health brings long-term value to tenants and businesses by increasing productivity, fostering teamwork, and safeguarding a pleasant workplace environment.