Maintain Before Malfunction

If you’re managing a large team of cleaning staff, with multiple sites to monitor, chances are the equipment being used is being put to the test day in, day out. Working equipment is essential for keeping cleaning standards high and getting the work done on time.

But what happens when something breaks? Have you considered the impact it could place on your business and your staff?

Regular maintenance of your cleaning machinery should be a must-have, not a maybe. We’ve given you some ideas to make sure that your prepared and aware of problems should disaster strike.

A risk assessment doesn’t have to be all about dangers to people. It can also provide you with helpful insight into potential hazards to your equipment too. Look at the manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations and take those into account when you’re creating your risk assessment. Are their suggestions based on occasional use, or industrial? Where do you use your equipment? If it’s inside, what could impact its performance? If it’s outside, what effect will the weather have on it? Will it need to be maintained more due to any of these factors? Doing a thorough risk assessment will help you to draw up a maintenance schedule that will hopefully stop any machine malfunctions before they happen.

Just like a service log for your car, keep track of when your equipment is serviced/a problem occurred and what action was taken. This will be helpful when planning your maintenance schedule – if you’ve got a piece of machinery that’s in need of frequent repairs, is it time to replace it? Or perhaps it’s not being used properly, so some staff training would be beneficial? A detailed log will help you plan for maintenance and keep an eye on the costs of equipment that is starting to become a drain on your finances.

Some machinery requires maintenance that only qualified specialists can do. But are there others that your staff can be trained in to help keep costs low and get things fixed quickly? Perhaps it’s a case of frequently changing vacuum cleaner filters that get clogged? Or changing mop heads on cleaning machines to reduce dirt build up? These are things that can easily be managed by your staff with the correct training.

With all the information you’ve collected, create a maintenance calendar so that you know when your equipment and machinery needs servicing or checking. Circulate it to your cleaning staff and highlight who’s responsible for organising it or carrying it out – clear communication will mean that nothing is missed and you’ll have fewer problems to solve. 

 

If all of the above seem like they could be time consuming or costly, it’s worth considering the impact to your business if equipment does break. Time spent fixing or sourcing a new solution could increase staff costs due to delays and lead to potential loss of income.  All things to bear in mind compared to the ongoing cost of correct maintenance.