Month: September 2013

Prepare Boilers and Heaters for Winter in 4 Steps

Boiler

BOMI, the international institute for property and facility management education, has released a handy list of boiler/heater checks and inspections that should be on every facility manager’s schedule this fall. Boilers and electric heaters require thorough checks and cleanings to ensure that they will function properly through the winter—failures in these systems can be extra problematic in the midst of snow and ice, and facility equipment and tenants don’t typically respond well to prolonged exposure to cold.

Thankfully, the worst of these problems can be easily avoided by implementing BOMI’s suggestions. And if your company uses a CMMS/EAM platform like ManagerPlus, integrating them will be easy.

Here’s how to implement BOMI’s winterization tips for boilers and electric heaters in four easy steps: Continue reading “Prepare Boilers and Heaters for Winter in 4 Steps”

Thinking about installing a green roof? Don’t let maintenance fears deter you

Grass

Green roofs are rapidly becoming one of the most popular trends for facilities around the world. In North America, the rate of yearly green roof installation has jumped from 2 million square feet in 2004, to some 18 million square feet in 2011—a nine-fold increase. This impressive growth rate is linked to the high ROI associated with the lower energy costs, cooler buildings and reduced carbon emissions that green roofs can produce.

Yet growth would likely be even stronger if there were a way to eliminate concerns over the additional maintenance costs that many companies fear green roofs would require. In reality, upkeep for green roofs actually isn’t necessarily more difficult or costly than it is for traditional roofs, provided that it is consistent and timely.

Here are a few tips for keeping green roofs in top condition:

+Ensure maintenance is consistent and timely. The return on investment for a green roof is a function of its condition. Organic material must be cared for on a regular, predictable schedule in order to maximize the benefits of installing it in your roof. For normal roofs, lapsed maintenance tasks, checks, and inspections won’t necessarily result in catastrophic problems, provided that they are addressed within a reasonable amount of time. An organic roof, on the other hand, needs consistent, timely care in order to prevent serious problems from developing. Maintenance management software makes it easy to ensure that these routines are followed by centralizing information and keeping maintenance workers accountable. Continue reading “Thinking about installing a green roof? Don’t let maintenance fears deter you”

Prevent High Temperatures from Melting Productivity

Are your facilities’ HVAC systems functioning properly? If not, heat could be reducing productivity at a rate of 2% percent for every 1.8 degrees increase in temperature. At this pace, a difference of just 5 or 10 degrees could have a substantial impact on output–temperatures in the triple digits could be cutting into productivity by more than 30%.

Diagnosing the problem typically isn’t the main challenge—employees don’t generally have a problem alerting management to boiling temperatures. But by then, productivity has already been lost and is likely to remain low until the problem is fixed, which could take several days, or perhaps even weeks, depending on whether maintenance is well organized and efficiently managed. Continue reading “Prevent High Temperatures from Melting Productivity”

The Value of Using EAM Software for Standardization

In part one of this series, we explored benefits such as common reporting metrics, information, and easy access to information as key reasons to pursue standardization. In part two, we round off the list with more mission-critical objectives that can be achieved by standardizing asset-related processes with EAM / CMMS software.

Continue reading “The Value of Using EAM Software for Standardization”