LANDSCAPE & GROUNDS MAINTENANCE
There is nothing like making a good first impression, and as a business, one of the ways to make a huge impact on how clients, visitors and staff view your company is to improve the presentation of your building and your outside space.
No matter how large or small, you can enhance your outside area, often for less investment that you think. But doing the best job possible is vital.
When we assess how to design and refurbish an outside area we believe it is essential to reflect the values of the client. We try to understand what they are striving for when it comes to creating an impact and experience for their end users. Therefore, strong communication and understanding the brief are key to a project's success.
WELLBEING There has been a substantial amount of research showing
a link between our natural environment and the positive impact on mental health, healing and general wellbeing. The World Health Organisation identifies stress and low physical activity as two of the leading contributors to premature death in developed nations.
“GREEN SPACES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR COGNITIVE RESPITE.”
Encounters with nature help alleviate mental fatigue by relaxing and restoring the mind. Within built environments, parks and green spaces are essential settings for cognitive respite. Having quality landscaping and vegetation in and around the workplace is a sound investment - giving staff and visitors the opportunity to be at one with nature, and take some time away from the busy working environment. Both visual access and being within green space helps to restore the mind's ability to focus; it is proven to improve job performance and to help alleviate mental stress and illness.
With this in mind, successfully designing and maintaining outside space is rarely as simple as just cutting the grass and pulling weeds. Considerations also need to be made for:
• Risk management – the need to have in place effective procedures to ensure that any risks to service delivery, persons on site and the public are managed and that the correct processes are in place to avoid all identified risks. Whether this is to look after landscapers working on site, or winter gritting teams - helping to ensure a site can be accessed and is made safe is essential
• Skilled resources – using a labour force that has been competently trained and is qualified to carry out the particular work. As each site will differ in its requirements, thorough induction training is paramount to ensure the approach is correct from the outset. Cutting corners is not an option.
• Management – the management team needs to buy into the grounds maintenance activity, from initial mobilisation and planned property maintenance, to quality control. Having effective hands-on management and a dedicated team encourages ownership, familiarity and consistency of work.
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• Planning the planner – what is required and when, the PPM scheduled over the year is the back bone of the client's quote or tender, and may extend beyond regular landscape maintenance. For example this could include litter picking, pond maintenance, installation of bat boxes, specialist weed spraying, chewing gum removal, gritting and snow clearance.
More regular inclusions would be grass cutting, shrubbery maintenance, weed spraying, tree maintenance, leaf clearance, strimming, hedge cutting, and edging.
However, extensive the planned maintenance work, realistic planning and reporting will determine how successful the service delivery is deemed.
We believe it is necessary for the labour force to be 'always connected' via a PDA, which effectively manages and records completion of the daily maintenance work, from landscaping to winter gritting. Reporting should be provided in real-time and administered from a central office; with this system it is possible to ensure that any change to the planned maintenance work is communicated seamlessly, for example where grass cutting is delayed following heavy rainfall and requires re-booking; this way KPIs are effectively monitored and reported.
SUSTAINABILITY It is impossible to write about our natural environment
without thinking of sustainability. The use of eco-friendly bio-degradable products is far more ‘the norm’ than 10-15 years ago, alongside local sourcing (both products and labour). Investing in a bio-diversity report and taking a long-term view on actions and suggestions will only enhance your outside spaces. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best, so reviewing planting schemes and incorporating composting and mulching all go a long way to improving sustainability.
CHANGING SEASONS As the seasons change the focus shifts, sometimes quite
dramatically, on what needs attention in the grounds. Come winter it is important not to neglect the necessity to be proactive in dealing with frost, ice and snow on the ground, and managing the impact of adverse winter weather.
As in all, preparation is key and working to make sure roads, car parks and pathways are effectively treated ahead of cold weather can protect your company from unnecessary claims. The majority of claims made are by employees, therefore protecting them helps to protect your business. We have to remember that while staff are likely your biggest cost, they are also your biggest asset.
We have been providing grounds and winter maintenance services for over 17 years. A contributing factor to our repeat business and sustained growth over this period has been our ability to deliver a reliable and excellent service, supported by a flexible and robust staff base. We are passionate about the work that we do and firmly believe that a little goes a long way when it comes to enhancing your outside space.
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