Mind the Cs of Preventative Maintenance

Seven strategies to create a cost-effective plan for your facility

The terms cost-effective, preventative and maintenance are all common buzzwords used in the facility services industry, and while many comprehend the terminology, few really understand how to make “cost-effective, preventative maintenance” a reality for their facility.

Cost-effective, preventative maintenance – including routine grease trap service, an annual site assessment and a drain line cleaning and jetting program – can have a huge impact on a property’s bottom line if done properly. Here are some strategies to help building owners and facility managers understand, and put into practice, a cost-effective preventative maintenance plan of their own.

Components and Conditions: A preventative maintenance program begins with making a list of a facility’s different components and gathering basic information on each of their conditions. Collecting this information is crucial for identifying maintenance needs and determining the amount of deferred maintenance needed. It will also help facility managers plan and prioritize projects and evaluate their costs.

Capacity and Costs: Preventative maintenance isn’t about big budgets or how much money is spent. To be cost-effective, it’s all about how the money is spent. Facility managers should make a plan that targets their resources toward the highest needs.

Coordinate: When facility managers don’t have a plan, maintenance tends to be reactive instead of proactive. In other words, maintenance only happens when the need occurs, which typically results in higher repair costs and inconvenience. Coordinating long- and short-term maintenance plans together will help facility managers avoid costly reactive maintenance.

Checklists: Once an assessment and inventory of all components is made, the projects have been prioritized and their costs have been evaluated, now is the time to make checklists and mini-frameworks for staff to execute the maintenance plan.

Contractors: No matter what the quality, performance characteristics and cost of a material or system, they are only as effective as the caliber of their installation and maintenance. Even the best systems may prove worthless or ineffective if not installed and maintained properly. It’s not about finding the contractor with the cheapest estimate; it’s about finding the right one for the project. The right contractor – like LES – will make any project less stressful.

Read more about each of the seven “Cs” here, then request a quote for the cost-effective, preventative maintenance program that’s right for you!

Credit: CMM.