For many people, July and August mean one thing — rest, relaxation, and hard-earned holidays. But is that possible for facility managers and their technicians? Often, the answer is, realistically, no.
Summer means heavier usage of key equipment and infrastructures — hotels, pools, air con units, etc. — but also coincides with staff taking time off. Increased work demand, decreased team availability? If you don’t have a functional preventive maintenance plan in place, on top of all these factors, well… good luck putting your feet up. Chaos ensues.
What should be a time for family, friends, and blow-up loungers with iced margaritas can often become one of the more stressful periods in the calendar. But it doesn’t need to be that way, and the good news is, with just a few simple tweaks, including a proper structured plan for preventive maintenance on an intelligent maintenance management tool, summer operations can be a breeze.
The benefits of preparing your maintenance operation for summertime
Before walking you through the practical steps, let’s cover some of the concrete benefits to having your FM operation properly prepared for summertime:
- Lower costs
Example: An amusement park with a properly prepared maintenance operation will reduce the number of failures and cut downtime, meaning they won’t need to close the park, lose days of revenue, upset clients, or cover unexpected costs.
- An efficient, streamlined team
Example: A large shopping centre sees its maintenance team cut by half during the summer months due to holidays. Thankfully, management scheduled a check-up on all assets before people went on holiday to prevent the risk of failure. All this information is registered on a platform that shows all asset information and historical work to staff, meaning remaining staff can work autonomously, even without their colleagues in the office.
- More reliable systems for workers and users
Example: A restaurant has peaks of business during summer evenings, and therefore knows that assets, like the electric circuits, will experience surge usage at certain points, with many utensils used at once. By doing asset check-ups before this busy period, you prepare the circuit and reduce the risk of a power cut.
- Increased capacity to respond to the unexpected
Example: A hospital with smoothly running FM services in a popular seaside resort would be able to adapt and respond quickly to a surge in demand. This could be due to a greater number of people in the area during the summer months or an exceptional event, such as a major road accident.
- Enhanced reputation
Example: A hotel with excellent shower pressure in rooms, a constantly clean swimming pool, and perfect air-con will provide a better guest experience than one without these things. Guests will leave happier, which prompts them to write glowing reviews online, boosting your company’s reputation.
Your maintenance checklist for a summer without surprises
So, what do you need to do to keep your FM operation afloat during the high season? Well, this checklist is a good starting point. Aided, of course, by an intelligent, collaborative platform, why not consider adding these suggested steps to your maintenance plan?
1. Check your HVAC systems
Did you know a 2022 study, published on the Facilities Net portal, found that 60% of HVAC system failures during the summer are down to a lack of proper maintenance? Just imagine what those breakdowns mean for busy, crowded places: stifling heat, sweating customers, and frayed tempers. No manager wants to face that situation, do they?
Your Essential HVAC Summer Checklist
To help you steer clear of these headaches, here are the main things to check:
- Air Filters: Do they require a quick clean or a complete replacement?
- Coils: Inspect for cleanliness, and check the fins for any damage or dents.
- Condensate Drain Pan: Check it’s spotless to prevent any water build-up.
- Refrigerant Gas: Check the level and top it up if required.
- Electrical Connections: Verify they’re all secure and in good nick.
- Thermostat: Test it to ensure it’s working correctly and showing accurate temperatures.
- Ductwork: Check cleanliness levels and the insulation, looking out for any leaks or damage, then repair as necessary.
- Drainage System: Confirm pipes are clean and unobstructed, and take action if it’s not.
- Outdoor Unit: Ensure the external condensing unit is clean with nothing blocking the airflow; inspect the condenser coils and clean them if needed.
2. Check your lighting
Lighting accounts for a significant chunk of a building’s energy consumption. During the summer, lighting needs can shift considerably compared with winter; some spaces will require more power (swimming pool lighting), while others will need much (outdoor areas) . Taking the time to adjust to these changes is crucial.
As well as planning to get the most out of increased natural light and updating, we recommend trying the following:
- Overall system condition: Check all switches and identify any flickering or blown bulbs for replacement.
- Bulbs and fittings: Make sure to remove any accumulated dust, dirt, or insects from all light fixtures, both inside and outside the building.
- Energy efficiency: Evaluate the type of bulbs currently in use. If applicable, replace fluorescent or halogen bulbs with LEDs. Also, consider installing dimmer switches to reduce light intensity in less busy areas.
- Recording and reporting: Update inventories with correct unit counts of bulbs and fittings; schedule replacements/interventions; communicate improvements and actions to the person in charge of energy consumption in your building — that’s useful data!
3. Check outdoor spaces and facilities
Guests at your hotel are there to relax and have fun, not to worry about tripping on an unexpected hole in the paving, getting itchy after their dip in the pool, or getting stung by wasps. Get your outdoor spaces up to standard, namely terraces, gardens, and leisure facilities. Include them in your summer preparation plans by scheduling the following tasks:
- Roofs, Terraces, and Balconies: First, inspect their general condition and cleanliness. Clear any blockages from chimneys, gutters, and drains. You’ll also need to check the thermal insulation and the state of the insulating materials, along with the safety of all fixings and support elements. Finally, look out for any nests, pests, or invasive vegetation, and install animal access barriers if required.
- Swimming pools: Start with a thorough general clean. Then, inspect the filters and pumps, cleaning, repairing, or replacing them as necessary. It’s vital to check and adjust the water’s chemical levels. You should also inspect the pool’s structure, lining, and equipment, such as diving boards, ladders, showers, and lighting. Finally, review all safety devices and confirm they comply with current legal standards.
- Outdoor Paving: Check the non-slip condition of all outdoor paving. Be sure to look for and fix any obstacles, such as holes, broken slabs, slippery leaves, or fallen branches.
- Gardens: Start by inspecting and adjusting the irrigation system. You’ll also need to identify and eradicate any pests. It’s crucial to remove weeds, dry leaves, and dead branches to reduce flammable material and lower the risk of fire. Finally, check all outdoor signage and garden furniture.
4. Check maintenance procedures
Summer presents unique maintenance challenges that need addressing. It’s advisable to review your maintenance procedures before the sun and busy periods hit in full force. Keep an eye out for:
- Assets are at risk of prolonged exposure to sunlight
- Assets at risk of increased wear and tear due to increased usage
- Issues with your supply chain, due to suppliers going on holiday too.
Extra Tip: If you’re using a maintenance management software – or even better, if you’re an Infraspeak user – you can effortlessly retrieve previous years’ plans, automatically schedule new tasks, and track results through detailed reports. The outcome? Enhanced efficiency, consistent service levels, guaranteed compliance, and optimised resources!
Intelligent facility management for a maximised summer season
What we’ve discussed so far are the essential tasks and interventions needed for a smooth, drama-free maintenance operation throughout the summer. You can continue with the status quo, but why not make the summer peak months effortless by choosing a smart, flexible, and collaborative Facilities Management platform?
6 Infraspeak capabilities to get your FM operation summer-ready
- Planner App
With intelligent scheduling and resource management, the Planner App will become your command centre this summer. Schedule all preventive maintenance, recurring tasks, and use it to anticipate typical seasonal activities (like those mentioned above) before anyone heads off on holiday. It allows you to assign work orders directly to available technicians and maintain real-time control over the entire operation.
- Infraspeak Direct Page™
The increased number of users in your facilities inevitably leads to more issues that need a swift resolution. With the Infraspeak Direct Page™, reporting becomes effortless, and sorting them is automatic.
This means anyone—a guest, tenant, or cleaning staff member—can immediately and intuitively log a fault using a simple interface accessed via a QR code. In a hotel, for instance, this significantly reduces the workload on reception staff, and even on the facility manager (who might actually get to enjoy their holiday!). Plus, faults get resolved much quicker.
- Infraspeak Gear™
Automating workflows is a real lifesaver for managers swamped with admin, especially during the summer when staffing might be lower and services are stretched. With Infraspeak Gear™, you can automate tasks that increase during this season, such as scheduling cleaning or notifications, and alerts based on asset status.
Another huge help is the automatic assignment of work orders. This happens based on the availability and specialisation of your technicians and suppliers. You can even set up automatic escalations if an urgent task isn’t accepted within a set timeframe.
- Real-time reports and personalisable dashboards
Having a clear overview of your maintenance operation is essential. This is particularly true if you’re managing remotely or will be away, but still need to stay on top of your team’s activities at all times.
With Infraspeak, you can monitor in real time work order statuses and track peaks in service requests for specific areas or assets, all in real time. You’ll receive instant alerts about things like air conditioning failures or facilities being overused, for instance. This lets you quickly redistribute resources or anticipate upcoming needs. Best of all, you can do all of this from anywhere, on any device – even your mobile phone.
- Asset management
Infraspeak centralises all asset data, including user manuals and a complete history. This means whenever there’s a fault, your technician can easily access all the information needed to quickly diagnose and carry out the repair.
Even new staff, or those covering for colleagues, will be able to respond efficiently and autonomously, as they have access to everything they need to know before intervening.
- Preventive maintenance management
With Infraspeak, it becomes much simpler to keep things running smoothly, especially during peak times when facilities are bustling and you might have fewer staff. That’s because it allows you to easily set up and schedule regular preventive maintenance for all your critical assets, covering everything from HVAC systems and pool pumps to kitchen equipment and more.
Feeling calmer about heading off on those holidays now?
As you can see, it’s entirely possible to transform the challenging summer period into one of operational efficiency and confident management. Infraspeak is more than just software; it’s the platform that empowers FM teams to get ready without any fuss, keep operations running smoothly even when people are out of the office, and most importantly, relax knowing everything’s under control!
