Map Out your Property

Giving all staff on property a specific map that provides the location of critical equipment location is a must!! Having an uninformed staff is more than a liability it should be classified as criminal! In my humble opinion, everyone should know the following locations:

• Main electrical service disconnects
• Locations of all "common/public" area electrical sub-panels
• Main water service shut offs
• Fire risers
• Fire Extinguishers
• Fire Pull Stations
• Emergency Exits
• Fire Hydrants
• Main gas service shut offs

Here is an example of what I once created to help indicate specific locations. I think you would be surprised at how easy they are to create, how informative they can be and how impressed/genuinely great-full the rest of the staff will be towards your for having created such a helpful document. 

After having created a map, you should work with all departments to help create an "action plan," in the event of an emergency. I once read an article that interviewed all different types of survivors. When asked what they believed helped them "survive" a disaster, in this case a sinking ship, they all mentioned having formulated a plan in their mind prior to getting on the boat. The gentleman said, "as soon as I waked on the boat, I determined where the life vests were and which direction I would swim if the boat were to ever go down." 

Two critical components: 1) Identifying the life safety equipment 2) Having an action plan to implement.

I believe the same to be true in any environment. Creating an accurate map as well as developing and instituting an action plan with all member's of the staff is crucial. Not only will it help people feel more comfortable about work but, in the event you do have an issue, it will help reduce: fear, panic, confusion etc..

Make the information readily available, meet with a local fire station, have them walk your property, meet with neighboring properties. Do all you can and then, post the information in a conspicuous place for all to see. As Napoleon once said, " To have peace, prepare for war" 

If you need help with anything please dont hesitate to email. Have a great day.

-N

  

Know where you're spending your time

Another critical facet of the building maintenance industry is developing strategies to maximize your efforts and your time. Identifying correlations, annual items, one offs, timing and having the ability to categorize as many tasks as possible will ultimately result in a better use of time, manpower along with all resources involved. I know that there is nothing more impressive than having the ability to show your peers who, what where and why you ended up doing what you did and having the ability to back it up with imperical data. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words so you may as well paint the best pictures possible. It is not merely a CYA approach, but taking full advantage of the raw data you have collected over your tenure

This will help with:

• A PM schedule
• Making sure you hire the right people
• Assigning the right tasks to the right individuals
• Knowing your busy & slow periods so that you can perhaps plan additional work for those time periods
• Inventory control/management
• Predictive Maintenance
• Identifying any system issues
• General budgeting 
• Identifying weak points in your system,

Here are some examples of creating charts, graphs etc. I am happy to help anyone with anything they see on theses posts so please feel free to contact me for any additional information or if you would like a more detailed breakdown etc..

Building Maintenance Flowcharts

I think one of the most important tasks you can do in the maintenance field is to go over with your peers, employees and all co-workers about how the "work order" process works. This will help them understand your personal priority matrix in the maintenance department and will also clarify the process for you as well as everyone involved. It is important for not only you but everyone else involved to understand why you do specified tasks in a certain way. There is always room for improvement and going over these policy's procedures annually can help improve efficiency and eliminate any unnecessary steps involved in the process.

For me personally, it was an eye opener to a lot of internal departments. They now understand that our "priority matrix" is tiered in the following manner.
1. Actual Emergencies - i.e. Fire, water, no heat in the home, no water etc..
2. Issues that directly affect the home owner
3. Common area issues
4. Cosmetic work orders
5. Above and beyond work orders i.e. These are all work orders that start with the phrase, "Is it possible.."


Here is the flow chart I have created for our scope of work

Here is a sample work order that I have created as well. This is simply the paper copy that is filled out prior to being entered into our system. In our personal practice, it is more productive for us to fill out this before entering it into our computer system based on the size of our staff. I have also been involved in companies that strictly use the software side for work orders. It all depends so much on your personal circumstance. Don't be afraid to try new ways to accomplish your goals. 

Here is a rough schedule that I have used and have made accessible for any and all departments to view/comment on. Quite frankly, I welcome constructive criticism and am always striving to help any way we can as a department. I try to treat all of our documents as "living" things that continue to change and progress. After all, equipment fails, becomes obsolete, is replaced with newer designs that require different strategies necessary to maximize the efficiency of the property.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like full copies of any of the above items. 

nicholasutah@gmail.com

Building Maintenance 101

The purpose of this blog is really to start institutionalizing the standards that govern maintenance industry(or should I say the lack their of). All to often I have seen managers, technicians and other various parties involved in the maintenance process go about things the wrong way but, its not their fault because the simply didn't know better. Over the years of being heavily involved in this field with my various roles ranging from technician to manager, I have created a simple process that will allow all parties involved with building maintenance to co-habitat  more effectively and efficiently. I have had the great fortune and opportunity to be the building engineer for a premier community with over 50+ homes ranging in value from $3-$8 million and am excited to share my experience as well as learn from yours.

Where to begin! There are so many areas of this field that I can not begin cover them (nor do I want to) in one article. So I will begin, at the beginning! Lets start with the hiring process. Its not just people that make an operation successful but, the RIGHT people. Get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off.

One of the issues over the years that I have noticed is that a lot of individuals in the maintenance field tend to be overconfident...just a little..I think mainly because they are so used to being able to assess, diagnose and repair a lot of issues throughout their day that they pretty much feel adept to most situations. This can lead to a handful of bad situations, we wont cover them all yet, I think one of the largest and certainly most important is the ability to screen and interview candidates successfully.

One of the greatest joys I have had over the years has been the ability to assemble an A-Team of contractors, subcontractors and employees. I know that if my team can not perform a specified task that we have the ability to outsource it to a specialized tradesmen that not only meets or exceeds our working standards but who also fits our criteria as an employee. i.e. if they run into one of our homeowners they will look presentable and be willing to help etc. There is nothing wrong with knowing your limitations and most people interview very poorly. There are more people than you think that would be willing to help you out, and on top of it all, you are exemplifying a few things:
1. You want the best for your company
2. You are a team player and want to work with others in your company
3. Building up confidence in other co-workers by relying on their experience
4. Increasing interdepartmental communication

Those are just a few of the numerous benefits to name a few.

After all the maintenance creed has been "jack of all trades, master of none" I am always leery of the individual who is willing to tackle it all. While it is possible it is likely not probable to be GREAT at everything. I personally think it takes character and confidence in yourself to admit that you would not be the best person for the job at the very least it is humbling. So dont be afraid to ask for help, think of your position as a maintenance professional, if it were not for people asking for your help, you wouldnt have a job!!

So ask your General manager to sit in with you, the front desk manager etc.. Can you outsource the job posting to a recruiting firm ? I am certain you would not have to look far to find someone who could greatly increase your success in hiring the RIGHT candidate for your position.

In the event you decide to preform the tasks yourself, here is a link to some great interview questions.

http://bhuvans.wordpress.com/2006/08/19/50-common-interview-qa/