Preventive maintenance. It’s defined by the Business Dictionary as the “systematic inspection, detection, correction, and prevention of incipient failures, before they become actual or major failures.” It’s immediately apparent why this is so important to keep such a strategy in place. If you don’t, the contrast to this action is corrective maintenance, and that can be much more time consuming and costly than doing what is necessary to try and prevent issues from the outset.
If you have yet to put such a plan in place, there is a strategic way you should go about it. Here are the 5 preventive maintenance tips you should keep in mind:
- Create a checklist. First and foremost, you will want to create a list of all the items that need to be included on your regular preventive maintenance schedule. Items will include roofing, HVAC, plumbing, weather seals, foundation, and much more. However, there will be variations in frequency. Your HVAC won’t need to be checked as frequently as the playground equipment. Multihousing News has created a detailed checklist that breaks down a list of items and categorizes them according to frequency. See the list here.
- Make a schedule. Now that you have a list and you can see the recommendations for frequency, create a detailed schedule for you and your staff, and then put it on your calendar. Use the alarm feature on your smartphone or tablet if need be so nothing goes overlooked.
- Establish assignments. Know who is responsible for each inspection from the beginning. Monthly items may be equally split among responsible staff members. However, for the items requiring professional inspection services, such as is needed for the foundation, you will want to make those reservations ahead of time. The last thing you want is to get stuck in a queue for a month or two and have an emergency pop up in the meantime that could have been avoided with earlier detection.
- Take notes. Keep a detailed log of what has been done and when. If services are hired, then keep receipts and transaction notes created by the inspector.
- Use your reinforcement. Don’t forget that a lot of preventive maintenance help can and should come from tenants. Just to be clear: you should never allow tenants to assume such a task for management. However, tenants have the ability to detect and report incidents or issues as they occur within the unit. Leaks, cracks, mold, and fire detector issues are just a few of the things they’re able to keep an eye on for you and report when needed. Make sure these instructions are included in the contract and pointed out (frequently, if needed).
If you would like some help creating your strategy or would just like someone to take all the worry off your hands, the professionals at Class A Management are happy to help. We have been providing these services to properties across Texas and beyond for nearly 3 decades and we’d like the chance to partner with you. Call us today at 817-295-5959 or send us an email to info@classamanagement.com.