What are the most common problems in summer facilities management for schools?
School's out for summer! While students are away, the facilities team can take advantage of the lower occupancy and schedule maintenance work to enhance school buildings. In this blog, we discuss the most common problems in summer facility management for schools and how to solve most of these common problems.
Summer is ideal for school facilities managers to review the grounds, assets, and building maintenance needs. These are the most critical things facilities managers should consider for making school buildings as safe and secure as possible for a successful start when students return in the fall.
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In this blog, we discuss the most common problems for school facility management during summer and how to solve them.
1. Deterioration of HVAC Systems
Deterioration and breakdown of HVAC systems are common problems in school buildings. Summer is the ideal time to reinspect HVAC systems.
As the temperatures increase, it is advantageous to schedule some time to inspect all HVAC systems. Doing this in the summer will ensure that your HVAC systems are in good working condition and ready to handle any additional workload that the summer brings for your facility management team.
- Check furnace system controls and thermostat
- Tighten electrical connections
- Lubricate moving parts
- Check the condensate drain for proper function
- Clean the air conditioning coils and evaporator
- Check the refrigerant level
- Clean or change the air filter
2. Forgotten Maintenance Procedures
Forgotten maintenance procedures are a common problem in school facility management. Therefore, summer is an optimal time to reexamine and reevaluate maintenance procedures.
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Summer is ideal for facility managers to evaluate, review and revise maintenance procedures. In particular, those scheduled during the summer months ensure that your facility management team addresses issues that might happen due to weather changes during the summer months.
In addition, it is crucial to ensure that the facility management team has procedures in place for outside activities that only happen during this time of year, such as maintaining the grounds and landscaping and caring for external building elements like parking lots and sidewalks.
3. Lack of innovation in new tech solutions
Another typical summer school facilities problem is not taking the time to evaluate newer technology to the market that dramatically improves efficiency, such as intelligent sensor solutions.
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For example, smart sensors in athletic stadiums improve operational efficiencies by using sensors to send data about water usage, concession sales, and even noise levels. Other schools are using intelligent sensors to manage the electricity, heat remotely, and cooling on campus by using WIFI to determine how many people are in a room and sending that data to the HVAC system to adjust based on that information automatically.
4. Not replacing air filters
Changing your HVAC air filters in your pre-summer inspection is a step in the right direction, and ensure the facility team is monitoring the condition of the air filters throughout the summer months.
Dirty filters reduce equipment efficiency and can result in poor indoor air quality. Still, they can also result in more severe issues – like poor heat transfer and dirty coils, which are much more difficult to replace than filters. Setting up automated preventive maintenance requests will ensure that this stays top of mind for your team.
Air circulating throughout the building is imperative during the summer, as it can directly impact building occupants' comfort. Therefore, evaluate your air-handling systems and conduct preventive maintenance regularly and frequently during the summer months. That way, you can ensure that air-handling systems work optimally and keep your buildings cool and comfortable.
5. Ignoring green spaces
Does your building have a green area for employees to enjoy? Make sure you focus time on activities to maintain this space. For example, cutting the lawn, pruning the bushes, and pulling weeds require using your resources. Including these maintenance procedures on your calendar can make it easier for your team to build into their day.
If your buildings and facilities have green space for employees and tenants, scheduling time for maintenance activities to care for these spaces properly is essential. For example, cutting the lawn, pruning the bushes, and pulling weeds require using your resources. Including these maintenance procedures on your calendar can make it easier for your team to build into their day.
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