CoVid-19 has forced most of the world into full isolation mode. As unfortunate as the situation is – having fewer people in your facilities can be an advantage for performing maintenance.
Disclaimer:
Like all CoVid topics we present on MCare, this article is not supposed to be considered official advice, but is for entertainment purposes. Please stay informed by consulting the official government websites. We've collected some links here.
The dominating topic this year for every facility manager has doubtlessly been CoVid-19. While we're all experiencing immense challenges and changes to how we work and live our daily lives, the lower number of people in facilities these days can have a few advantages for building maintenance.
Making the Best of it
Yes, the general situation is bleak. Between social distancing and other measurements to decrease infection rates, people are trying to do their best with what they have.
If your building is affected by the lockdown, the number of people in your facility has likely gone down significantly. That means certain facility maintenance tasks that require a shutdown (e.g. water, electricity, closure of areas) could be more easily executed right now.
The Karen Way
Let's look at the case of hypothetical Facility Manager Karen. She's the building manager of an office building in downtown Minneapolis and all occupants are currently working from home. Overall, this is a very stressful time for her. A third of her team members are in self-quarantine: two have symptoms, another just returned home from a stay in New York and doesn't wanna risk anything. Great job staying at home, folks!
As a responsible Facility Manager, Karen understands the importance of preventive and scheduled maintenance to continue – after all, nobody can predict for how long this situation will go on. She needs to schedule maintenance work and repairs on water pipes that were damaged during the winter. The additional leeway in scheduling – not having to adapt it to the opening hours of the offices – is currently a real benefit for Karen.
The repairs are considered essential – that and the safety of her crew are Karen's priority right now. Karen is able to set up a time the following week. All contractors are doing their best to respond quickly to repair requests – shout-out to them, as well! They abide by additional precautions for hygiene protocols (hand washing, disinfecting surfaces, etc.) and keep their space between each other.
Overall, Karen achieved several goals: everyone – contractors and her team – stayed safe and the essential maintenance tasks got done. The building's occupants will be able to move into a functioning facility once the lockdown is over.
(Tiny) crisis averted. Stay safe!
Other maintenance Tasks to consider Right now:
- Maintenance requiring water/electricity/building shutdown
- Deep Cleaning
- Fumigation and pest control
- Hardware and Software updates
- Plumbing
- HVAC maintenance
- Electrical Updates
- Window Cleaning
- Essential Ground-keeping and Landscaping
- Rearranging Paperwork & Documentation
- Alarm system check-ups
- Installing fixtures
- Painting
- Preventive Maintenance
Performing Maintenance During Down Time
This is the takeaway from Karen's story: assuming that your team members and contractors are able to safely work onsite, they will be faced with fewer distraction and less downtime which reduces time (and cost) spent on individual tasks.
Another plus point: you don't have to shut down public areas, office areas, etc. for maintenance purposes, reducing the impact on visitors and staff.
Scheduling, too, might be easier as you don't have to take into consideration building opening hours, daily work operations.
Keeping your Team and Facility Safe
Whatever maintenance you want to execute right now, please put your team's and the public's health first. Keep up to date on governmental regulations – the situation is changing constantly. And most importantly:
Stay safe!
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