Summer workplace maintenance tasks your facilities manager should be doing

These summer workplace maintenance tips will take your business to new heights.

As a facilities management company, we work with clients in a variety of sectors year-round, and though it’s true that the winter months require more time and investment, there are still lots of jobs and responsibilities that must be fulfilled year-round – including some that are exclusive to the summer. Below, we’ve put together some summer maintenance tips for you.

Maintain your facilities

Working with a company that can actively monitor your facilities, machinery, and processes throughout the year can help to reduce potential challenges or downtime, and ultimately save you money in the long run.

Finding problems before they arise is better than having to respond to issues as and when they happen. In some sectors, particularly hospitality, retail, and tourism, summer represents the peak season, and facilities management teams can use this time to identify jobs that can be postponed until later in the year. For others, summer is a quieter time of year, and thus maintenance like plastering, painting, and renovating can be done between June-September to minimise disruption and prepare for the busier autumn.

Give your premises a deep clean

Although the priority for FMs over the summer months is to identify maintenance jobs and carry out necessary repairs, cleaning should also be a priority. As the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, we cannot afford to scrimp when it comes to hygiene and public health, so the summer represents a good opportunity to take a step back and review your current cleaning regime. For instance, if you know that staff are going to be off for several weeks on their summer holidays, summer can be used to deep clean offices, equipment and machinery, make changes to your building’s layout and infrastructure, and prepare for a return to work.

Window cleaning is all the more important in the summer to give a good impression to staff and customers, and there are lots of areas that can be spruced up during quieter times, too.

Spend time maintaining your grounds

Whilst grounds maintenance in the autumn and winter involves preparing for the colder weather and the potential of flooding and snow, summer represents an opportunity to invest in your outdoor spaces and give off the very best first impression when customers arrive at your site. Planting rose bushes, pruning trees, mowing the lawn, giving communal spaces like benches a lick of paint, and repainting car parking spaces are all jobs for the summer.

If you’re planning to make more permanent changes to your business in a post-pandemic landscape, summer is also a great time to install outdoor working areas like canopies and seating – WeWork has put together some great examples to give you some food for thought.

Review your security procedures

The brighter nights also represent an opportunity to review your company’s security and ensure you’re prepared for the season ahead. From the installation and maintenance of CCTV cameras to appointing a dedicated security team to monitor your business premises after dark, there are lots of things that you can do to protect your staff and company assets.

It’s also worth noting that security can become rather lax in the summer months; staff leave windows open during the day, doors are left unlocked for ventilation, and people want to get away early to spend time with their loved ones in the sun. Make sure you install fences to protect the perimeter of your premises, lock up laptops on an evening, use an alarm to be alerted to any intruders, review your WiFi to bolster security, and set up a staff training session to ensure that everyone is in the know and takes personal responsibility for security.

Whatever challenges your business may face this summer, depend on the team at Precision Facilities Management to help you. Call us on 0116 366 6508 today to get started.