Maintenance costs are to be expected if you run a school. The more complex your facility, the more buildings and grounds you have to maintain. While it's not realistic for school maintenance costs to go away entirely, you can often reduce them through careful planning and preparation. In this post, we have five tips that will help reduce the costs of your school maintenance.
1. Create a backlog of work
Prioritisation is the key to any set of maintenance projects. Not only should you be aware of what work needs to be done, but you also need to have a good idea of when to do that work.
Some of your maintenance and repair priorities will be obvious. Others (especially preventative maintenance tasks) are less so. Here are a few questions you should ask when setting those priorities:
- Which problems are deteriorating the fastest?
- Which problems have the greatest chance of doing further damage in the future?
- What is preventing your students from using the school's facilities as intended?
The answers to these questions will guide you in deciding what repairs need to be done now and which ones you can defer. If you would like to learn more about setting up a school maintenance program, check out our First Response Maintenance Solutions guide to school building maintenance.
2. Implement an asset management system
Another one of the keys to staying on top of your school maintenance costs is integrating an asset management system into your workflow. Whether you choose to implement this system manually or use a software solution, tracking important data allows you to schedule preventative maintenance instead of emergency repairs. It also allows you to work these repairs into your facility's annual budget.
At a minimum, your asset management system should be able to track:
- When each asset was installed
- What maintenance and upgrades have been done
- How long the asset is projected to last
Some asset management software includes QR codes that you can use to track other inventory and supplies, as well. If your school provides electronics to its students, consider investing in software that does this.
3. Leverage economies of scale
Hiring a single company to complete multiple tasks in your school maintenance program can be an absolute game-changer. Instead of having one company for roofing, another for HVAC maintenance and a third for landscaping and grounds maintenance, you can build a relationship with one group of experts. This doesn't just save your school headaches in the long run. It also saves time and money: you only need to do one initial orientation to your grounds instead of several.
If you want to take full advantage of these economies of scale, your school doesn't have to be of a certain size. Every school, large and small, has a constellation of maintenance and repair needs. Learn what your most pressing needs are, and select a contractor that can fit all of them.
4. Use experienced contractors
The more experience that your team of contractors has with the type of work they will be doing, the more benefits you will see. Experienced contractors truly understand the intricacies of the systems they work with. This enables them to complete their work more quickly and efficiently. They can also provide an accurate estimate of the costs involved with your project. They will know what measures will genuinely cut costs and which ones will end up costing your school more in the long run.
Ask your contractors how long they have been in the business and how many jobs like yours they have seen. Also, find out what industry certifications they have.
5. Consider a long-term maintenance contract
Partnering with a maintenance company over the long term is another excellent way to reduce the costs of your school maintenance program. If you run a school, regular maintenance and upgrades are critical to your success for a few reasons, which we have discussed in a prior blog post on the topic.
Having a contract for ongoing facility maintenance and repairs will bring you peace of mind. It's also likely to save your school money. This is a case where prevention is always better than a cure, and taking on a contract for long-term work is the first step toward that prevention.
At First Response Maintenance Solutions, we are proud to provide school maintenance programs to schools across the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and Brisbane. We are Queensland's top specialists in small and medium commercial building repairs, from painting to plastering and even electrical and roof repairs. If you want to learn more about our services or get a free, no-obligation price quote for your school, feel free to contact us.