detritus like leaves and moss or with subsurface roots and drainage systems. When FM managers try to apply a rigid internal culture to external environments, the mismatch can result in a bit of culture shock.
Embracing agility for winter
preparation This disconnect can be especially evident when planning for winter. We’ll often have clients ask for exact dates for when grass cutting will cease or when specific winter tasks will begin. However, external maintenance must be dictated by natural conditions, not fixed calendar dates.
Given the breakdown of the neat four-season pattern, a truly effective winter preparation strategy must rely more on natural triggers. Let’s look at a few key events and aspects to consider:
The first frost and leaf fall: Everything goes dormant when the first frost hits. Deciduous trees react by dropping their leaves, making leaf collection the primary task that guides teams into winter. In ideal conditions, clearing leaves by Christmas creates a 'blank canvas' so that hard winter works can commence without obstruction. This is a case in point regarding unpredictability, we can often find ourselves still clearing leaves into the New Year.
Reactive site management: Because weather is so unpredictable, ground teams must operate with an agile mindset. They may arrive on-site with a predetermined checklist of tasks, but that list changes the moment they step out of the van and assess the live conditions and receive on site client requests that supersede the planned requirements. If November is unusually hot, teams can still actively spray weeds because the plants are still growing and capable of absorbing the treatment.
Timing specialist winter works: Certain maintenance jobs cannot be deferred until the depths of winter – but even so, it’s the specific conditions that matter. For example, line-marking and permanent pothole repairs should be completed before harsher conditions set in and often the timings are determined by the products being used. Manufacturer specifications, guarantees and aftercare requirements often prevent laying these materials in freezing or wet conditions. This means that
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an FM provider can’t simply schedule these repairs during a hard frost without risking immediate failure or limiting the lifespan of the repair. Other tasks, like jet washing bus shelters or road sweeping, are better avoided in sub-zero temperatures to avoid leaving hazardous frozen pools of water creating unnecessary further issues on site.
As our seasons become more extreme and unpredictable, rigid maintenance schedules are even less appropriate in outdoor FM. To successfully manage and prepare external environments for winter, clients and FM providers must shift away from the regimented internal mindset.
However, doing so can feel risky – especially when discipline and order can be key to managing budgets and contractor activity. An agile mindset that delegates more decision-making powers to outdoor FM experts can seem like losing control. Squaring this circle demands another mindset shift. It means trusting your grounds teams and contractors to step away from the 'turn up and do' approach to acting with the right level of flexibility and autonomy to properly deliver year-round care of sites - all while keeping visibility and accountability.
In other areas of business, there’s an ethos of 'trust, but verify'. This can be applied to grounds maintenance too: Adopting this approach means working with trusted, dependable partners that have the right depth of horticultural and outdoor maintenance experience and that also have robust reporting and communication processes to ensure transparency and effective budget oversight.
Some of this involves better technology: leading outdoor FM providers such as OUTCO deploy the latest technologies such as client apps and portals to provide an unprecedented level of visibility to simplify management of reactive works and dynamic situations on the ground. But no matter how things change, we know that some things remain the same. You’ll always need great people on the ground you can trust your sites to. By finding the right combination of mindset, management tools and experienced people, you can be sure that your outdoor spaces remain safe, healthy, and properly maintained no matter what the climate does.
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