If you want to maximize the use of your critical equipment, you have to be able to identify the areas with the most inefficiency. One metric to help you do…
Some of the best practices your maintenance planners should use include: Basing decisions on data Prioritizing tasks with reliability in mind Making sure materials are available Getting…
If you’re looking for a way to advance in your career at your own pace, consider signing up for one of these online facility management courses. Here are the top…
Justifying maintenance costs can be more difficult than justifying buying a new asset, but it’s doable if we can make stakeholders understand the end value of maintenance work. 1. Explain…
If you’re not sure whether your maintenance technicians have enough to do each day, the metrics you’ll want to look at include your …
The best way to approach deferred maintenance is through rigorous planning. Deferred maintenance includes repairs and inspections that are backlogged due to limited budget or resources…
There are two ways to calculate OEE: a simple way and a more involved way. Put simply, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is a measure…
Several technical schools around the country offer certificates and degree programs for facility management. Here are the top ten: University of California, Riverside:…
“Siloed knowledge” is the knowledge that is passed around a facility by word of mouth alone, which means that the wealth of procedural knowledge and failure solutions doesn’t exist in…
An effective maintenance planner has clear communication skills, a sound knowledge of maintenance and workflow processes, and strong technology skills. They’re also focused on making sure…
To reduce the amount of reworked maintenance you’re redoing, you’d first have to look at what’s causing it. It might be tempting to think your team is just being sloppy,…
Maintenance managers must organize facility storerooms using the 5S methodology or a similar system that allows parts to be found quickly and efficiently. In many…
Workplace safety has become a key concern for most organizations, and for good reason. For the worker, the benefits of working in a safe environment is obvious – workplace…
A work request is submitted by your staff or customers to request that work be performed on an asset. A work order, on…
Organizing work orders is most easily done through a CMMS or work order management system. Computerized systems allow you to quickly sort work orders…
According to the SMRP Best Practices, a standing work order is a “work order opened for a specific period of time.. for recurring or short duration…
In most cases, poor productivity is the result of subpar planning practices. By improving your maintenance planning, you’ll enable your technicians to be…
Weekly maintenance meetings must have clear goals and an agenda going in, and assigned, measurable action items coming out. They should be short! If your team…
There are a few different ways to estimate maintenance budgeting for a facility per year – the two that we’ll discuss here are the replacement value of…
On-demand facilities management is a special subset of an outside contractor, focused on delivering facilities management support and services in temporary and unusual circumstances. Although on-demand facilities management is typically…
Like many questions, the answer to this one is that it really depends on a many factors. However, if you’re looking for a world-class benchmark, you can shoot for 4…
The answer to this question is a resounding, “YES!” The facility management field is changing rapidly, creating amazing opportunities for young people. In addition, the current facility management professional base…
If you’re in the market for maintenance technicians, you’ll want to find individuals who have a combination of technical skills, a desire to learn and grow, basic business knowledge, and…
Keeping a talented team of maintenance technicians requires a positive corporate work environment, a culture focused on meaningful training and development, and an ongoing battle of elevating…
The most important aspect of a 1-1 meeting is to simply have them. I hear through the grapevine that this is not standard practice for most maintenance departments, and…
According to the Brundtland Commission, sustainability is the “ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” As the…
Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) make it easy to measure a facility’s progress versus world-class facilities – without these figures, organizations lack a way of understanding their specific facility’s…
The questions you ask maintenance technicians during hiring interviews should cover these skill sets: Technical knowledge of mechanical and electrical principles Knowledge of safety standards (like …
Balancing maintenance workload is a tricky concept because it’s not always immediately clear where the issue lies – for instance, your technicians might complain that they are overworked, but that…
Investing in your maintenance team is a key part of keeping your facility running at its best. Training is a huge part of how technicians perform…