What Are The Best Times of Year to Perform Planned Maintenance Tasks?

A planned maintenance schedule is the best way to ensure your facility remains in working order all year round; it helps to avoid costly repairs whilst saving you and your employees time and money. Whilst there are a range of planned maintenance tasks which can and should be done year-round, some are more applicable to certain seasons and should be done at particular times of the year to maximise output. Let’s take a look at how to implement a planned maintenance schedule throughout the year.

Spring

Air Conditioning Maintenance

Inspecting, cleaning and repairing your air conditioning unit is essential during the spring as it will be put to the test and experience see increased usage during the summer months. Air conditioning maintenance should include:

• Cleaning and changing air filters
• Checking blower motors
• Cleaning all parts of the unit, including the condenser coil
• Checking the drainage of the condensate drain pan
• Securing any loose panels or guards
• Checking overall operation of the unit, and repair if needs be

Deep Clean

After a long winter, a deep clean may be needed to ensure that your facility is clean and hygienic for everyone in the premises. During the colder and wetter months, debris and dirt can often be transferred from outdoors to inside your facility so employing a professional team to carry out the hygiene services will help ensure that the whole facility is thoroughly cleaned.

Overall Inspection of The Building

Winter is a season of extreme weather; snow, ice and torrential rain to name a few. These external factors can cause lots of damage to your property, including a multitude of hidden issues. As soon as spring has sprung, your entire facility should be checked both inside and out for damage, and any problems addressed as soon as possible.

At MSL we can assist with ensuring you are implementing spring maintenance tasks; from performing air conditioning maintenance to ensuring hygiene standards are met.

Summer

To ensure your facility is comfortable during the warmer months it’s a good idea to undertake a number of precautions so your building is kept cool, your staff and customers happy and your business functioning. Summer and winter tend to bring about the most extremes in weather, which can have an impact on the fabric of a building. From cold weather freezing pipes to the warmer weather putting strain on air conditioning units, it is highly important to be ahead of your building maintenance to ensure safe and secure buildings.

 

Perform a Walkthrough

One of the first steps in implementing a summer maintenance checklist is to perform a building walkthrough, which should be conducted by someone within facilities management who can identify any potential issues.

The colder months may have caused unknown damage to your facility which could then become a cause for concern during summer, so this step is essential. A walkthrough will help you to assess and prioritise tasks throughout your facility.

Air Conditioning

Air conditioning units are integral, especially as the sweltering heat hits, so a broken unit will cause many problems. Not only will the working environment be unsafe, due to high heats, but you may have to shut down your entire business whilst the problem is fixed, or the unit replaced entirely.

Roofing & gutters

It is still vital to check your roofing & gutters throughout the summer months, as heavy rains and variable weather can affect your gutters and roof integrity. Drier periods of weather give time to inspect for any damages or clear any debris blockages which may have occurred and perform maintenance and repairs as necessary.

Air Filters

Regularly checking and cleaning the air filters around your facility and within your air conditioning unit will ensure that any build-up of dust and other pollutants are removed. This will help the air to flow freely around the building and will also ensure that your air conditioning unit is not working overtime, trying to circulate air efficiently. An overworked air conditioning unit not only increases the chance of breakdowns but also your facility’s energy use, which in turn will increase your bills.

Thermostat

Check and adjust all thermostat settings, making sure they are set at appropriate times for the summer months. Additionally, ensure all thermostats are working and reading correct temperatures so you are confident of your facility’s internal temperatures, and can adjust your air conditioning unit accordingly.

Energy Assessment

As mentioned, increased use of your air conditioning unit can also mean increased energy bills, especially if your unit is not running optimally. So, undertaking an energy assessment of your facility will help highlight any energy deficient hotspots, so you are able to make adjustments which will, in turn, help reduce your energy use and costs.

At MSL we offer an ESOS service. We can arrange for a registered “Lead Assessor” to carry out an ESOS assessment in line with the ESOS Regulations 2014. These assessments are audits of the energy used by your building and identification of cost-effective saving measures.

General Maintenance

Sometimes your facility might need a bit of TLC and in the summer, it is a great time to make sure you’re keeping up to general maintenance tasks. These can sometimes be overlooked but are an important part of any planned maintenance schedule and equally important during the summer months.

This can include a number of things, from cleaning to landscaping, all of which are important for both employee and customer satisfaction, as the look and feel of a facility can have an impact on the likelihood of returning customers in retail, or productivity for offices.

Prevention is the key. Investing in a planned maintenance service will ensure that your air conditioner is regularly checked, and any issues dealt with promptly. This will limit the chance of your unit breaking down, especially during the summer, when its use is often increased.

Our planned maintenance service offers you a bespoke maintenance schedule that will minimise breakdowns and failures. We work alongside you to compile an asset register and agree on the right level of maintenance for each facility, leaving you able to concentrate on the important things, like running your business.

Autumn

Winter Proofing

Use this season to prepare for the upcoming winter weather by winter proofing your business. This includes:

• Checking Heating and Water Systems – this includes checking the overall running of these systems, as well as ensuring the temperature is set at the correct amount for the winter months.
• Pipe Inspection – avoid your pipes bursting by paying attention to any damage or cracks before the cold hits.
• Snow Preparation – ensure you have suitable systems in place should extreme snow hit your facility, including snow shovels, de-icers and grit salts.

There’s no better time to start preparing for the cooler months than now. A boiler service in the summer will ensure you can relax throughout the colder months, with a reliable central heating system in your business premises. There’s nothing worse than turning on the heating in October when the temperatures drop only to find a fault in the system.

A faulty boiler can waste your money and could possibly start leaking dangerous carbon monoxide, causing serious health risks to you and your employees. Regular boiler servicing can prevent this from happening. You should arrange a yearly boiler service check to ensure that your boiler is running safely and efficiently.

MSL gas and boiler professionals are responsible for annual servicing, inspection and certification of all in service gas boilers and any other type of gas burning equipment.

Our Services Include:

• Gas safety Inspection and Certification
• Gas Appliance Servicing and Maintenance
• Energy Surveys and Efficiency Assessments
• Installation, Maintenance and Servicing of Commercial Gas Appliances

A recent case study shows how our experts decommissioned, removed and replaced a boiler in just three hours. Our 24/7 helpdesk can arrange this at a time that works around your schedule.

Winter

General internal and external maintenance

Due to the severity of the weather during this season, all aspects of your facility, both internal and external, should be regularly checked, especially directly after a very severe bout of weather has occurred. This will help reduce any issues, saving them from becoming bigger problems further down the line.

Having a planned maintenance schedule and employing a facilities management team to execute it can help save you time and money whilst ensuring that your facility remains compliant and in working order throughout the year. For more information on how MSL Property Care Services can help with year-round maintenance tasks, get in touch today.