Winter is coming, and for a few of us, it is already here. We are getting ready to deal with cold and snowy weather, but are the assets and facilities planned for? Not having an asset maintenance plan for the winter might make it even more frigid. You could lose assets, have them break down when you least expect them and have to pay a great deal to fix them. In this article, we will share a few asset maintenance tips to help you better maintain your assets for the upcoming winter.
Plan ahead for asset maintenance tips
Winter is when maintenance and service of assets need to be focused on more than at any other time. Asset Managers’ important support roles will not just help improve performance and ensure operations stay up and running but will also help meet higher levels of winter risk and health and safety compliance requirements. Once the temperature decreases, the assets work harder, so you must plan for maintenance.
Create an Asset Maintenance Checklist
The harsh winter will test your assets’ limitations. Computers can fail in extremely low temperatures. The additional weight of snow will test the wiring of your facility. New issues may emerge.
Before the next snowstorm, you can avoid these worries by going through your winter facilities management maintenance checklist and checking each item and asset carefully. Steve Fountaine, one famous facility executive, says the following actions should be at the top of your winter weather maintenance list.
- Verify the air conditioner, heater, and ventilation.
- Look for any signs of drafts, leaks, or cracks.
- Check for corrosion in the gas lines.
- Check the roof for damage.
- Equip doorways with absorbent mats.
- Prevent injuries by checking the grounds for hazards like dead or decaying trees.
Make Preventative Repairs Before Winter
It would help to create a comprehensive preventative maintenance plan to prepare your machinery for freezing conditions. An excellent place to start is by following the rules set out in the Neta Maintenance Standards (MTS), NFPA 70B, and NFPA 70E. But rather than maintaining any specific standard, you can apply preventive maintenance to the assets that tend to break down frequently and are essential for the winter.
In this situation, CMMS software can be a lifesaver. It will give you the necessary data that will help you figure out which assets need to be fixed before winter.
Keep your facility warm
The crew may not have a central indoor gathering area if your facility is out in the middle of nowhere. The importance of providing a warm place to rest during winter cannot be overstated. Any mobile office can be a comfortable break area for the crew when the weather outside turns cold. However, if the temperature inside a controlled enclosure drops below freezing because the heating system broke, expensive machinery could fail badly.
Prepare for emergencies
The final stage in getting ready for winter facility management maintenance is to review your emergency and disaster preparedness procedures. The disaster preparedness plan should detail who is responsible for regaining access to the system, turning off potentially dangerous utility lines, alerting the building’s residents, and communicating with authorities.
You should review each plan with your staff and have copies of the immediate disaster preparedness plans throughout the workplace, just in case. Locate a central area in each structure to keep physical copies of the disaster plan.
The maintenance of assets throughout the winter can be a significant source of anxiety. No one enjoys working in poor conditions. If something goes wrong, it might be disastrous for your business if employees are forced to endure the cold. Ensure your team is ready for the winter by adhering to these tried-and-true procedures. Consider using CMMS software to help you gather the information you need to save money and maintain assets more effectively. This will help you build your winter asset maintenance checklist and deal with other issues.
