SUMMER MAINTENANCE
PRISTINE PROPERTIES AND PERFECT PLANTING
Throughout the year, the changing climate brings new challenges for facilities and, now that summer is almost upon us, the season brings a new list of maintenance tasks, Adam Ralph, GRITIT Landscape Director explains.
Getting properties in pristine condition is important for a company’s image and can also be a health and safety
requirement. The warm
weather is ideal for scheduling exterior painting and maintenance, while bright sun can increase the need for window cleaning, and seasonal pest problems may also need to be addressed.
In the recent period of austerity, we have seen ongoing budget cuts in both the public and private sectors that have resulted in many organisations reducing spend in ‘non essential’ areas. Green outside spaces often fall into this category. However, if the pathways and borders to your premises are full of weeds, the flowerbeds are overgrown, the hedges are unkempt, or the grass is untidy, this will not create an impressive view to customers, visitors or staff. The exterior of the building is one of the first things people see, and FMs would not dream of allowing front-line reception staff with dirty uniforms to welcome staff.
Quality green and open spaces are not only a positive in terms of reputation and providing clear evidence of a business’ green credentials, they are also proven to improve staff health and wellbeing, reducing stress and improving creativity and cognitive function. Procuring the right grounds maintenance (GM) contractor and managing quality standards are essential from the outset to ensure FMs establish the optimum working
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relationship and achieve added value from their provider.
At this stage in the year, most businesses will have taken on their GM contractors for the next 12 months. The terms and conditions will have been agreed, risk assessments carried out and method statements written up to provide a cost-effective service that supports the organisation’s health and safety and environmental policies.
An effective set of KPIs not only enables quality standards to be measured and managed, it allows FMs to identify any issues and to provide corrective action and reallocate resources as well as setting strategies. KPIs should not be so numerous that they become difficult to manage, and should create improvement, rather than simply highlighting a problem. Clear communication of your KPIs with your GM provider is vital from the start of the contract, as are regular meetings to discuss these. This will create an environment for proactive account management and innovation, as well as building trust in the relationship. KPIs must always be directly related and encourage the supplier to contribute to the organisation’s key objectives.
Technology is important for generating reporting data for proof of service, ensuring that the job is being done on time, at the right time, every time. But it is also evidence of whether the maintenance strategies are effective, or whether these can be improved to increase service quality or better allocate resources.
www.gritit.com/our-services/ ground-maintenance
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL GROUNDS
MAINTENANCE:
• ensure that you have carefully selected your GM provider in a thorough procurement process in advance of the summer months
• ensure that your GM supports your organisation’s environmental policy, contributes to workplace wellbeing and supports the wider environment
• create an effective set of KPIs to measure quality: pick out standards from your maintenance specification and use these as the indicator, for example, grass should be evenly cut and the sward length does not exceed 60 mm or new growth on hedges does not exceed 300 mm
• clearly communicate KPIs to your service provider and arrange regular review meetings to discuss and rectify any issues
• always ensure that KPIs are directly related to business objectives
• encourage innovation and use of technology to support strategic GM
• look around six months ahead, planning priority maintenance tasks, such as planting, tree surveys or works and pitch renovations that should be carried out in autumn/winter
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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