Facility maintenance is essential for ensuring the safety, efficiency, and reliability of your buildings and equipment. However, scheduling facility maintenance can be challenging, especially if you have multiple sites, diverse assets, and competing priorities. In this article, we will share some tips on how to plan and execute your facility maintenance schedule using a systematic approach.
The first step in scheduling facility maintenance is to assess your needs and identify your goals. You need to know what assets you have, what condition they are in, and what level of service they require. You also need to consider your budget, your regulatory compliance, and your stakeholder expectations. You can use various tools and methods to conduct a facility condition assessment, such as inspections, audits, surveys, or software. The outcome of this step is a list of maintenance tasks, categorized by their urgency, frequency, and complexity.
I look at the facility as a whole and then break it down into different sets of categories. each category is then broken down further into work packages. these work packages are then defined and also the necessary scope to maintain each work package is also described and the frequency of routine control checks and repairs are also attached basing on the standard or recommended specifications.
Do facility planned maintenance on business needs, quiet periods for sales such that customers are unaffected. Used to discuss this with accountants and sales directors, we used to take our power plant down in times when imported power was at lowest cost and our biggest energy machine was shut for maintenance aswell.
Une méthode s'appelle la gestion d'actifs. Pour couvrir les besoins en gros entretiens et CAPEX du plan 5 ans. Très structurée et engageante pour l'équipe maintenance du site.
To schedule facility maintenance effectively, create a maintenance calendar prioritizing tasks based on urgency and impact. Implement preventive maintenance, adhere to manufacturer guidelines, utilize softwares, consider seasonal variations, collaborate with stakeholders, plan for emergencies, maintain detailed records, regularly review and adjust the schedule, and invest in training for maintenance staff. This systematic approach ensures the upkeep and functionality of the facility's infrastructure and systems.
All buildings are unique. Assessing your facility maintenance needs begins with having a deep understanding of your facility, your building systems and sub-systems. A facility walkthrough, along with 'as-built' drawings and O&M's are a great way to get started with this process. Prioritizing maintenance tasks is imperative. For instance, fire life safety systems are of high importance, and these systems also intersect with HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems. Backflow device maintenance and testing also protects the public. Once you have prioritized your maintenance needs, you can evaluate your capability to perform the work 'in-house' (if you have the staff), or seek contractor support to perform the maintenance.
The next step in scheduling facility maintenance is to prioritize your tasks and allocate your resources. You need to balance the trade-offs between preventive, corrective, and predictive maintenance, as well as between routine, periodic, and emergency maintenance. You also need to consider the availability and skills of your staff, contractors, and vendors, as well as the impact of downtime, disruptions, and risks. You can use a matrix or a scoring system to rank your tasks by their importance and feasibility, and then assign them to your team members or service providers.
Corrective and emergency 'maintenance' fall under the 'repair' category. There is no such thing. If you are doing 'corrective or emergency maintenance', you are doing it as a result of a failure; most of the time on a piece of equipment that probably hasn't been maintained. Preventative and predictive maintenance are key to reduced equipment downtime. If a portion of your building systems have redundancy, preventative maintenance can be performed with ease, and with little operational impact. These tasks can be performed during normal operating hours. If systems do not have redundancy, or cannot be easily accessed, maintenance will have to be scheduled during a period when operations will not be impacted (i.e. water or electrical outage).
The third step in scheduling facility maintenance is to create your schedule and communicate it to your stakeholders. You need to define the scope, duration, and frequency of each task, as well as the roles and responsibilities of each party involved. You also need to coordinate your schedule with your operational activities, your project plans, and your external factors, such as weather, seasons, or events. You can use a calendar, a spreadsheet, or a software program to create and update your schedule, and then share it with your staff, contractors, vendors, and customers.
Very true. This is coupled up with identifying the resources needed like human resource, equipment, spares and materials to do the job. Identifying and assessing the risks through a risk matrix also helps you determine what is needed to execute the work appropriately including PPE, signage and any other necessary information.
You will also have to ensure that you have the necessary parts on hand for the equipment repairs that will be on your schedule.
You should always reference the equipment manufacturer's recommendations when determining maintenance intervals and tasks. By reviewing the manufacturer's O&M manual for each specific piece of equipment, you can easily develop a schedule for said equipment. Sometimes the manual may even point out some safety concerns in relation to the tasks; this is somewhat of a maintenance cheat-code (just read the manual, right?). Once you've done this, the information can be input into a CMMS. 'As-Builts' and electrical one-line diagrams are also good to add to CMMS for energy isolation/LOTO when performing electrical/mechanical related maintenance tasks. It is always good to understand the systems as a whole, and the risks involved.
The fourth step in scheduling facility maintenance is to monitor your progress and track your performance. You need to collect and analyze data on your maintenance activities, such as the completion rate, the quality, the cost, and the feedback. You also need to measure and report on your maintenance outcomes, such as the availability, the efficiency, the reliability, and the satisfaction. You can use dashboards, reports, or indicators to monitor and evaluate your progress, and then adjust your schedule or your resources as needed.
It is always good to start your maintenance with some readings. For example, if you are performing maintenance on a fan assembly, and the motor is on a VFD, take note of the data that is provided on the VFD display. Once maintenance is completed, document the data again. You should input this data into the CMMS. This gives you a benchmark, and the next time you perform maintenance you can review it. By using a CMMS, you can easily monitor your maintenance progress. Depending on the software that you use, you can even see all scheduled maintenance for the near future. This allows you time to do things like order material and plan ahead.
The fifth step in scheduling facility maintenance is to review your results and identify your improvement opportunities. You need to compare your actual performance with your planned performance, and identify the gaps, the root causes, and the corrective actions. You also need to recognize your achievements, celebrate your successes, and reward your team members. You can use surveys, audits, or reviews to assess your results, and then document your findings, recommendations, and lessons learned.
When working in a facilities maintenance team, it is always good to start each job with a brief. Discuss your goals for the day and what to expect; maybe even go through the steps of the job. By doing this, you may even find some issues that can be resolved ahead of time. At the end of the day, take some time with your team to discuss how the day went and what could've went differently. Somewhat of 'lessons learned'. This isn't to be done in a negative way. This is to allow each team member to voice their ideas and make recommendations. This encourages team growth and allows the team to have a voice. Any new ideas and changes to the maintenance procedure can be documented and changed.
The final step in scheduling facility maintenance is to update your plan and prepare for the next cycle. You need to incorporate your feedback, your learning, and your changes into your plan, and make sure it aligns with your current and future needs. You also need to communicate your plan to your stakeholders, and ensure their buy-in and support. You can use a checklist, a template, or a software program to update and maintain your plan, and then repeat the process as needed.
In my experience it has been essential to schedule maintenance activities during periods of little or no commercial activity, taking advantage of these times for stops for maintenance and execution of the necessary activities, thus minimizing the impact on sales and therefore on profits. income of the organization. In addition, it is necessary to consider execution priorities and align them with the organization's business plan.