Category: Facilities Management

The True Cost of Deferred Maintenance

Every facility manager has the same problem: how to do more with less? Facilities managers are under constant pressure to lower the price of almost everything. That’s why they are always on the lookout for new ways to cut repair costs. While deferred maintenance might shrink short-term costs, it often causes wide-ranging long-term costs. Below are some of the true costs of deferred maintenance

Lower Equipment Effectiveness

One big hidden cost of deferred maintenance comes from its effects on equipment efficiency. When equipment isn’t properly maintained, this increases the amount of energy needed to make it work correctly. As a result, the equipment has to work harder—and use more electricity, which drives up costs needlessly.

System Failure

Prolonged deferred maintenance may result in entire system failure. In HVAC systems, for example, certain components need to be replaced from time to time. That unfortunately means that the immediate price tag of replacing these parts could seem like a huge expense, but continued use of damaged or impaired components can likely cause failures across the entire system.

Put simply, the faster you can do a repair, the better for your facility and your bottom line. Being proactive can radically grow the efficiency of staff, your facility and the long-term health of your facility’s valuable equipment. Abandoning preventative and routine maintenance can only lead to trouble down the road—trouble that will be way more costly than taking the proper measures to fix problems as they occur.

Want to know more about the dangers of deferred maintenance? Call the maintenance experts at MaintenX today!

Can You Automate Preventative Maintenance?

Today there are plenty of preventive maintenance tasks which can be automated. These tools can run programs automatically—and at specific times. In fact, you can easy set up your system to perform a whole swath of maintenance activities.

Automation Decreases Wear and Tear

Overuse of equipment reduces its working life. That means overloaded equipment needs to be replaced sooner than if it had been properly serviced. There are many ways equipment overuse can happen. Workers might, for example, use their favorite machines instead of others – shortening the life of some pieces of equipment while abandoning others for long periods of time, which shortens to life of all equipment.

Scheduling Maintenance, Automatically

When should a particular asset be maintained? Automation lets you to tailor your needed maintenance activities to your facilities specific needs.

Optimization

Drag-and-drop tools often found in maintenance software make allocating maintenance a breeze. But, did you know that these programs can also track your workforce’s Mean Daily Utilization Percentage and Maximum Daily Utilization Percentages? That’s right, you can see the specific output of individual workers with the click of a mouse. The Mean Daily Utilization Percentage helps you to understand the number of assigned work orders and their rate and speed of completion. The Max Daily Utilization Percentage, on the other hand, displays the number of hours scheduled maintenance hours on the busiest maintenance work days. By utilizing both of these factors, you will have the information you need to effectively maintain your facility for years to come.

Want to know more about automating your preventative maintenance? Call the experts at MaintenX today!

Why Reporting Is So Important

All businesses collect facility-related data—everything from financial figures, repair and maintenance costs, to reporting meeting room usage and logging employee requests. But why is this information important? And how can we better use it? We’ll discuss some of the reasons why reporting is important.

Know Your Audience

A good report depends on accurate data. How do you get accurate data? First, consider the report’s audience. Who will read this report? What information is most important? Think about the different ways each reporting method can be tailored to its specific purpose and the intended audience. This will make it easier for issues to be resolved, and for miscommunications to be minimized.

Facility Management Software

If you haven’t heard about facility management software yet, it’s a good time to study up, because there have been a lot of changes and there are many more to come.

By implementing software with reporting and analytics functionality, facility managers can start tapping into the endless stream of useful data available to help them craft constructive, innovative, and cost-saving changes that can revolutionize the way employees do their work and how workers can better relate to one another to do their jobs more effectively.

The Power of Information

Once you have the right information, given to you in a way you can understand at every level, you can then make the necessary changes to your facility’s processes and procedures to amp up productivity while reducing costs.

Want to know more about reporting and facility management solutions? Call the maintenance experts at MaintenX!

The Best Office Cleaning Products of 2018

When it comes to keeping your office clean, it’s a good idea to keep up with the latest trends. It might just increase the productivity of your maintenance processes and even save you on your monthly expense budget. Here are some of the best office cleaning products of 2018.

Lysol Disinfectant Cleaner

Lysol is a hospital-grade cleaning product which is a tried-and-true defense against infection and disease. This powerful stuff can get rid of dust, fungus, mold, organic matter, mildew, and viruses.

This cleaning powerhouse is a concentrated formula that can decimate harmful micro-organisms that cause illness. If preventing the spread of diseases in the workplace is a priority, Lysol Disinfectant Cleaner is your best defense.

Nitrile Gloves

When dealing with harsh chemicals or facing infectious surfaces while at work, nitrite gloves are the answer. You need to make sure to put on protective gloves when you need to come in contact with dirty—and potentially infectious—surfaces. Nitrile is a material which is perfectly suited for this task. It keeps germs out while cleaning and can be easily and safely cleaned.

Febreze

Even with regular cleaning, office and facility furniture can start to emit odors that can be off-putting as well as dangerous.

Many people try to mask odors with air fresheners. Sadly, air fresheners just add an overpowering scent to the air and don’t attack the problem at its source. To remove bacteria—the thing that’s causing the odor—you need to use a product which chemically breaks down the problem, not one that solely hides it.

Febreze Fabric Refreshener is different from other refreshening products because it is specifically formulated to eradicate strong odor from fabric by killing the bacteria which produces it in the first place.

The Importance of Disaster Recovery Plans

Do you have a disaster recovery plan in place in your facility? If not, you really should. Here’s why.

What is a Disaster Recovery Plan?

First of all, what exactly is a disaster recovery plan, anyway? A disaster recovery plan (DRP) is a thorough, documented process which aims to create a system meant to recover a business’s IT infrastructure in the event of a disaster.

The purpose of a disaster recovery plan is to make sure you are ready to deal with the aftereffects of service outages caused by an emergency (hurricane, flood, tornado, terrorist attack, snow storm, wildfire, etc.”) and to restore services to the widest extent possible in the shortest possible timeframe.

Effective Communication is Key

When a disaster occurs, your best defense is communication. A well-planned communication strategy is of the most importance. That’s because a truly effective disaster recovery plan puts all of your company’s employees on the same page and guarantees that clearly outlined procedures are enacted—enhancing and safeguarding all communication within your company during this crucial time.

Rely on your Backup System

Make sure that your backup is running correctly and make sure it includes a supplementary full local backup on all of your facility’s servers and any relevant data in your disaster preparation plan. Run them as far back as possible. Ensure that they’re backed up to a secure location which will not be impacted by the emergency.

Want to know more about disaster recovery plans? Contact MaintenX today!

Cheapest Places to Get an Office in the US

One of the hardest things for a new business is finding money to cover its start-up cost. That’s why fledgling companies oftentimes must get small business loans or seek capital from investors to get themselves up and running so they can make a profit.

For this reason, it’s crucial for new businesses to keep their costs as low as possible. Where you choose to start or continue your business is one of the most important factors, because rent prices vary wildly. Below are some of the cheapest places for a business to start or grow without breaking the bank on office rent costs.

Greensboro, North Carolina

The highest corporate income tax rate in North Carolina is a measly 5%, one of the lowest in the country. That’s probably one of the reasons Greensboro is such an attractive places in the U.S. to start a company. Rent in this area is cheap, even for the South, which, as you’ll see dominates this list.

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is Kentucky’s second largest city and one of the most highly educated in the U.S. Astoundingly, 40% of those living in Lexington have a bachelor’s degree. That’s probably why new businesses have a lot of options when looking for qualified employees to help their companies shine.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

One of the first cities in the country to invest in high-speed fiber optic internet service, Chattanooga has become very attractive to businesses. Chattanooga has some of the most affordable office rent rates in the U.S. A one year lease for 1,000 square feet of office space there would cost less than $15,000.

Most Expensive Places to Get an Office in the US

Knowing the rent prices in different cities can really inform your decision on where to start or move your business. Here are the most expensive places to rent office space in the US.

Honolulu, Hawaii

It might be a great place to vacation, but Honolulu is sadly one of the most expensive places for a business in the US. The state’s remoteness from the rest of the country creates high price tags for importing goods from the mainland.

Fairfield County, Connecticut

This one may sound strange to anyone not familiar with this small-town member of this list. But with major league companies like Xerox, Aetna, and countless hedge funds and other financial institutions calling Fairfield home, office rents have skyrocketed.

New York, New York

The Big Apple is a sprawling and bustling metropolis that attracts top talent in almost every sector imaginable from every corner of the world. But, as anyone who lives in NYC will tell you, all this opportunity comes with a steep price tag.

Most Expensive Office Space in the World

What is the most expensive city to rent office space in the entire world, you ask? Hong Kong tops the list, hands down. Hong Kong office rent prices have gone up by over 5% every year for over a decade. Limited availability coupled with the strong demand from Chinese companies is further potentiating these rising costs.

Want to know more about the best and worst places to start or move your business? Call MaintenX today!

Top 3 Workplace Injuries and How to Prevent Them

Workplace injuries are a fact of life in all work settings, but there are simple solutions that can prevent the majority of them. Preventing workplace injuries is essential for your employees’ health, but it also helps companies by improving worker productivity and morale while saving companies from preventable healthcare costs and even hefty lawsuit payouts.

Some industries are more prone to workplace injuries than others, but accidents can happen in any company. That’s why it’s important to do your best to prevent them.  Below are the top 3 workplace injuries and how to avoid them.

Slips, Trips and Falls

Slip, trips and falls are the three most common workplace injuries. In fact, they account for 1/3rd of all workplace injuries and can involve things like head and back injuries, broken bones, cuts and scrapes, sprains, and pulled muscles, just to name a few.

Common Causes of Slips:

  • wet or oily surfaces
  • spills
  • weather hazards
  • loose rugs
  • flooring lacking sufficient traction

Common Causes of Trips:

  • obstructed view
  • poor lighting
  • clutter
  • wrinkled carpeting
  • uncovered cables
  • uneven walking surfaces
  • drawers being left open

There are three keys to preventing workplace accidents due to slips, trips and falls:

  • proper housekeeping
  • quality walking surfaces
  • appropriate footwear

Employees should also be advised to take their time and pay attention to where they are going.  Workers should be encouraged to report dangerous conditions.

Want to know more about workplace injuries and how to prevent them? Contact MaintenX today!

What is the Difference between Energy and Utility Audits?

What are Energy Audits?

An energy audit typically involves a visit to your facility by a technician who assesses the efficiency of your facility’s energy consumption. This technician will walk around your facility, survey the property and point out areas where energy is being wasted.

An energy audit’s goal is to:

  • Create a reference point for efficient energy use
  • Gauge energy usage effectively
  • Benchmark consumption compared to other facilities operating in the same field and conditions
  • Find opportunities to reduce energy consumption and utility costs

What is a Utility Audit?

Electric and gas statements often contain billing errors. Utility bill audits can provide substantial monthly utility savings.

A utility audit is different from an energy audit in that a walkthrough of your facility is not required. Typical utility audits start with an preliminary review based on a facility’s recent utility bill. The technician will then look for billing errors, and then recommend a detailed audit, if one is needed. The audit process usually takes one to two days.

After the initial audit, the auditor will then:

  • Work with your utility provider to assemble relevant paperwork
  • Correct any billing errors
  • Request any required refund from your utility provider
  • Only get paid AFTER you’ve been credited with the refund

It’s essential that utility bill audits review all parts of a facility’s operations. This will maximize the benefits of the audit and save your facility the most money.

Want to know more about energy and utility audits? Call MaintenX today!

Tips for Managing Water Damage

Water damage can become a living nightmare for homeowners and businesses alike, and, if not dealt with quickly, the effects only become grimmer. From leaky faucets to hurricanes, water damage can cause damage to buildings and human safety. Below are some tips to help mitigate the damage.

Safety First

If the water damage is substantial, it is very important that you immediately disconnect the power, unplug electronics, and move furniture and other important objects to a dry area away from the affected parts of the building. The quicker you do this, the better the outcome for everything in the flooded area. Pull up all carpets and underpadding. Carpet can sometimes be salvaged, but the underpadding will need replacement.

Avoid More Damage

Water damage should be treated with urgency. Every minute the water remains, the more damage it will produce. It is often the case that a professional service will be needed to properly remove the water and dry the affected areas. Hire a professionally licensed contractor.

Flood Insurance

As floods become more and more frequent, flood insurance is becoming increasingly vital to homeowners and businesses. It is an unfortunate fact that many people assume that their home or property insurance policies cover them when a flood occurs, only to find out after the fact that this is not so. In this way, floods have the potential to destroy not only your property but your finances as well.  

For this reason, it is crucial for homeowners and businesses to:

  • Find out if your property is in an area where floods are more likely
  • Carefully review all property insurance policies
  • If flood damage is not covered in existing policies, get covered for flood insurance

Need more information about managing water damage? Call the experts at MaintenX today!