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Whether they are natural or manmade, disasters can have a huge impact on your facility’s infrastructure, profitability, and your ability to do business at all. If facility managers and business owners don’t want to fall victim to these risks, they will need a plan in place before disaster rears its head.

If your facility does not already have one, make sure to create a disaster preparedness plan to protect your facility’s assets and the people who work within its walls. Here are some steps you should take to evaluate threats to your business and keep your facility and assets safe in an emergency.

Assess Potential Threats to the Facility

It is very important that you craft a disaster preparedness plan for your facility. Start by thinking about those potential situations that could pose a risk to facility occupants, such as a fire, flood, or other major weather disaster.

Look out for less Obvious Disasters

Does your facility have protections in place against the threat of cyber-attacks? Do you have an active company-wide safety protocol in case an active shooter situation occurs?

Considering the range of disasters facing your facility can be very distressing. In reality, though, different scenarios each pose different levels of risk to your facility, depending on your location, industry, and other factors.

Want to learn more about how to keep your facility safe? Call MaintenX today!

Fires in your facility are devastating events and can cause many problems. Not only are the lives of your facility’s occupants jeopardized, but valuable facility assets can be damaged or destroyed.

While putting out a fire is essential, the water damage that results will be a financial burden on companies and facility managers. Water can also destroy a facility’s walls, equipment, and carpets.

Sprinkler systems within your facility can reduce damage, in contrast with water hoses. When a fire has been put out, business owners and facility managers alike should take all appropriate steps to handle the situation.

Once the fire has been put out, enough time has passed and your facility is safe to re-enter, calling the insurance company should be your highest priority. They may advise a visitation by an adjuster before repairs on your facility begin. Business owners are usually quite good at understanding what is and is not covered by their facility’s insurance policy. If you don’t know the particulars, it’s vital to make sure you understand.

Your facility may be out of commission for a long time, depending on the scope of the damage, but it is important to take steps to ensure that you can get back to business as soon as possible.

Want to know more about how to deal with fires? Call MaintenX today!

Your building is important to your business, but so are the people who occupy it, so their safety is of the utmost importance. That’s exactly the reason that fire safety and prevention are top priorities. Follow the following fire safety tips:

Prevent Fires in your Facility Before they Happen

The very first step to fire safety for your business is to stop fires from occurring. While it may not always be under your control, there are a few things that can be done around your facility to help keep your precious property and its even more precious occupants safe:

• Don’t overload electrical outlets, and make sure to use the correct plugs (three-prong plugs in three-prong outlets)

• Repair damaged outlets, cords, cables, etc.
• Keep combustible items like trash and recycling away from electrical equipment
• Keep all of your facility’s equipment dry, clean and well-ventilated
• Make sure all electrical equipment is Underwriters Laboratories (UL) listed (or listed by another nationally recognized lab)
• If your facility includes equipment like space heaters, make sure to always keep them away from anything flammable
• Keep your facility’s portable generators outside

Readiness and practice are both key in the event of an emergency in your facility, so consider sending periodic emails and having regular meetings on fire safety and exit strategies as an added precaution.

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An old facility can cause a lot of headaches for facility managers. For many aging facilities, their various internal systems are often new additions that need to be customized to the individual system and existing structures.

That’s why careful planning is needed in order to balance facility managers’ objectives about interior systems like:

• HVAC
• Electrical
• Plumbing
• Structural systems
• Information and communication equipment
• Conveyance systems

Because new mechanical and related systems, like electrical and fire suppression, can use up a lot of a building’s square footage and budget, decisions need to be made in a cohesive and coordinated way.

The interiors of older buildings should be considered when installing newer systems in your facility. This can be a complex issue to resolve. But with proper planning and a clear objective and budget, it can be implemented in a way that saves you money while improving the environment for your facility’s occupants.

Changes can have a large impact over time for both your facility and occupants. This is why care must be taken during the initial stages to avoid the gradual loss of integrity of underlying structures and infrastructure. 

A facility’s upgrade plan should respect the integrity and specific design intent. Building updates should be installed to avoid damage to the building and its older structures and materials.

Preventative maintenance can help facility managers ensure that their facility’s HVAC system continues working while prolonging the life of their equipment. That being said, unforeseen problems happen and if a facility manager sacrifices staff and maintenance costs to deal with these issues, it can be both expensive and time-consuming. Below are some tips for helping you craft a facility maintenance strategy utilizing reactive and preventative maintenance techniques.

Make a Plan and Stick to It

One thing that facility managers should keep in mind: responding to emergency situations should only take up a small percentage of a facility maintenance technician’s daily work.

It’s also important to remember that breakdown maintenance repairs cost a lot more in the long-term than planned repairs do.

One strategy that facility managers can use for dealing with unexpected issues is to make sure to come up with strategies for how to deal with their facility’s reactive maintenance needs. It’s a good idea to assign a single employee who will handle reactive maintenance issues. That way, you have a dedicated worker who can keep an eye out for any issues that could cost you more money in the future if not taken care of proactively.

Make Sure to Be Prepared

No matter what your facility’s maintenance plan may be, be sure you are always prepared for unexpected issues that could arise at any time. If you have the right tools on hand, this will benefit your facility and your bottom line.

Want to know more? Contact MaintenX today!

As temperatures get more extreme across the globe, it’s getting more difficult for facility managers to save money while cutting down on CO emissions. Humidity is also an important factor to consider for facility managers; as moisture levels rise in your facility, they can lead to a bevy of serious problems for the health of your facility’s occupants and your company’s equipment and infrastructure. That’s why facility managers need to make a point to keep their facility’s humidity level in check to keep occupants comfortable and safe from issues like toxic molds and dangerous floors.

Keep a Watchful Eye Out

Facility managers need to include a system of routine checks for cracks and any other openings that could potentially leak air into and out of their facility. Maintenance staff should also make a point to look for issues like:

• Condensation on facility windows
• Mold on walls and in corners
• Bad odors

Check if the Humidity is too Low in your Facility

If humidity is too low in a building, there are a lot of available solutions. For facilities where low humidity could hurt occupants, install an overhead misting system.

Want to know more? Call MaintenX today!

You might be surprised to learn that the average facility’s HVAC system accounts for over 50% of its energy use. Hot air leaking into your facility can waste facility managers a lot of money. It’s a huge expense and facility managers that costs are the most important thing when maintaining a maintenance and repair budget.  So how can facility managers cut down on expenses related to air leaks? Here are some tips on how to make sure your facility stays cool and doesn’t hurt your facility budget.

A lot of heat is lost through small cracks and holes throughout your facility. Take time to ensure that your facility is completely insulated from leaks. This will substantially cut down on your facility’s yearly energy usage.

The Importance of Proper Sealing 

Making sure your facility is properly sealed from the elements will save your company a lot of money.

Make Sure to Consider the Caveats

Failure to correctly seal and insulate your facility and its various assets lets cool air leak out. This can result in your HVAC unit working harder for longer.

When your facility is properly sealed, there is less chance of cool air escaping from the building. Your facility’s HVAC system will then not have to work as hard, which will keep occupants cool and save your facility money.

Want to learn more about how to save costs in your facility? Call MaintenX today!

Managing HVAC equipment for a facility can be stressful. Facility managers are often faced with problems from aging systems to surprise maintenance issues. Read these tips to ensure your facility’s HVAC equipment can perform for many years to come.

Asset Management Assessment

Unintended repairs and their attendant costs can cause many financial problems for a facility. That’s why you should take advantage of an asset management assessment. Asset management assessments consist of a thorough evaluation of your facility’s equipment, such as:

• Chillers
• Boilers
• Pumps
• Air handling units
• Various system controls

Once the assessment is done, the service company will provide you with a report detailing repair needs, maintenance fluctuations, and replacement requirements.

Yearly Maintenance is Very Important for Facility Managers

Prolong the life of your facility’s most important equipment while cutting costs by taking advantage of a maintenance plan that’s personally tailored to your facility. Applying a practical method will make sure your facility’s HVAC systems keep running smoothly and effectively. Getting a good maintenance agreement can help make sure your facility is fully and legally covered in the case of an unexpected HVAC emergency.

Technician Training is Important for Facility Managers

Making sure your technicians have appropriate and thorough training is vital to the life and performance of your facility’s HVAC system. 

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When you have heating and cooling issues, it’s hard to find a technician to do HVAC repairs inexpensively. Luckily, you can find reasonably priced quality services for your HVAC if you do your due diligence. Below are some tips for hiring the right HVAC technician.

Check their Licensing

It’s a big no-no to hire an HVAC technician who isn’t licensed; in fact, it is illegal for someone to offer HVAC services without a license. Make sure you check their license before hiring anyone.

Importance of Insurance

To qualify for a license, HVAC techs need to have basic liability insurance, which protects you from accidental damage. Bonding is also important an important factor to consider; it ensures that the contracted work will be finished in the event that the service company closes.

Importance of Proper References

Ask an HVAC technician to give you references who can vouch for the quality of their services. If a technician hesitates to give you proper references, they’re probably not worth your time or money.

Make Sure to Get Estimates

HVAC repair, replacement, and installation can be a costly process, so get an estimate first. How else can you comparison shop?

Want to know more about HVAC service? Call MaintenX today!

It’s typical in facility maintenance that sometimes problems are ignored. It might be a short-term solution, but these problems can add up to a lot of extra costs in the long-term. HVAC systems are often the main victims of this phenomenon. Air balancing is a good way to tackle issues like:

• Condensation
• Hot/cold spots
• Humidity

Facility Managers need to find the root cause of these issues. Use the air balance tips below to gain some perspective on the issue.

What is Balanced Airflow?

In most cases, airflow going into a building should be a little stronger than the air going out. Air is being introduced into the building by an outdoor fan, providing fresh air by replacing the old and resulting in a beneficial building pressure. If the reverse is true, however, then you will see negative building pressure, which is usually the main culprit of HVAC problems in facilities.

This brings us to an important thing about air balance: airflow needs to be tested for performance.

What are Air Tests?

Air balance testing services involve checking the performance of HVAC airflow. Once tested, the HVAC systems are adjusted so the air brought into a facility is stronger than the air pulled out of the facility. This creates a comfortable environment for occupants.

Want to know more? Call MaintenX today!