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