It’s Facility Maintenance Month. With spring weather finally here, now is the time to assess your facility to ensure your supplies are stocked, preventative maintenance projects are addressed, and operations are running smoothly during peak production. We have compiled key focus areas for facility maintenance and essential MRO supplier resources that can assist in developing a winning game plan.
As you assess your facility maintenance projects, there are a number of ways tasks can be bucketed. Oftentimes, financial investment, strained internal resources and staffing can drive the prioritization of facility maintenance projects. Consider these focus areas to develop your facility maintenance projects and seasonal checks, armed with the supplies and support you need, to maintain your facility and make smart MRO inventory investments. Facility maintenance has a huge impact on safety, cleanliness, efficiency, and ultimately the bottom line.
Stock the Essential Facility Maintenance Items
Start with the basics. Which projects are seasonal routines that can be accomplished by in-house staff and which require specialized services that need to be outsourced? Take inventory of your current supplies and identify any seasonal tools or grounds equipment that may need to be purchased. Always keep stock and replenish your frequently used facility maintenance items like material handling carts, hand and power tools, fasteners and hardware and cleaning and janitorial products.
Spring is also a time for seasonal facility replacements and safety testings such as fire alarm testing and replacing batteries, fire extinguisher checks, air filter replacements, and HVAC testing. Maintain consistent and clear records of equipment and service checks for proper safety and inspections by utilizing repair and maintenance tags.
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Don’t Spring a Leak
The warmer months are also a time to assess the overall condition of your facility. Have an older facility? Keep a watchful eye for older building systems that often require more maintenance and take an extra hit in colder climates. A regular maintenance schedule can significantly extend the life of your building by performing preventative maintenance checks.
Check outdoors for signs such as loose plumbing fixtures, signs of any water damage, proper pressure and temperature. A seemingly small leak can add up quickly with older plumbing systems, and become worse during the freezes and thaws that happen during the seasonal changes.
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Put the Spotlight on Your Building
Spring is the perfect time to tackle certain outdoor facility maintenance projects too. Replacing outdoor lighting fixtures with high-performing LED lights or a facility lighting retrofit can have a big impact on energy usage, security, productivity and savings.
Proper outdoor facility signage also reinforces safety, security, parking and traffic control.
Don’t forget to take a look at refreshing your facility entryways too with fresh floor mats, floor care, and ensuring a tight perimeter seal for mosquito and pest control during the summer months.
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Reduce the Clutter and Think Green
A well-managed supply room helps maintain organization within your facility and can reduce your budget. Do a spring clean out and trade up your power tools, clean up and restock your janitorial carts, heavy duty hand cleaners, cut-resistant gloves, cleaning supplies, and recycle any items possible. Some supplier programs also offer services that can support facility maintenance like waste and recycling services, or PPE recycle through The RightCycle Program. Make greener choices from the start by selecting eco-friendly facility products that are not only sustainable but also cost-effective.
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Facility maintenance plays a key role in business operations. Keep it running smoothly this season by stocking the right MRO supplies, performing preventative maintenance and selecting the best-match supplier partner programs to deliver cost-savings on key facility maintenance products.
Contact us to learn more about our indirect category management and MRO programs for facilities supplies and services.
