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Preventive Maintenance
by Wynne Whyman, M.A., M.S.S
Camps and conference centers usually perform preventive maintenance (PM)
on their climbing walls. Logs are kept for the number of hours each rope
has been used. By monitoring the log, ropes are replaced before they fail.
Daily, staff visually check the ropes before they are put in use. They
also regularly check, tighten, and if necessary, replace the climbing
holds. An outside professional inspects the wall annually. However, camps
and conference centers can become stymied when it comes to implementing
a preventive maintenance plan for their site, facilities, and equipment.
First, it is not a simple checkbox on a "to-do list" where
you can take an afternoon and finish the task. Preventive maintenance
is a way of doing work — a continual process. Using the climbing
wall example as an analogy, you can apply similar preventive maintenance
methods to your site/facilities.
Determine Life Expectancy
For a climbing wall or any ropes course, industry standards are in place
for the ropes' life expectancy. Similarly, the building/construction industry
is a good baseline, e.g., the average life expectancy for an asphalt-shingled
roof is twenty years. A second place to find life-expectancy information
is the description or warranty from the purchase, e.g., a water heater
is described as a "fifteen-year tank." Last, by using your property
records, you can look at the history and predict, "Since this building
has additional use, the paint on the walls will only last eight years,
instead of ten years."
Schedule Inspection Intervals
Many variables (including temperature, use, materials, climate, maintenance
performed, etc.) determine the actual life of an item. It is critical
to know the frequency in having it visually checked and sometimes tested.
For the climbing wall, an outside professional inspects it annually. For
site/facilities, maintenance staff consult each state's regulations and
the ACA Standards. However, these are usually considered first steps.
For example, the camp/conference center staff may have identified in their
risk management plan a unique circumstance with the location of a well
near an agriculture site (possible nitrate/nitrite contamination) and
determined that more careful monitoring was necessary than what the state
or ACA required.
At least annually, the maintenance staff or property manager needs to
take a walk-through of the entire operation to visually check the condition
of foundations, drainage, utilities, buildings, etc. He/she can also take
digital pictures to update the property portfolio. The camp administrator
needs to walk with the maintenance staff or at least review the written
report to better understand the condition and the work necessary for the
coming year. For example, even though a roof may be expected to last twenty
years, a yearly inspection may reveal unknown damage from wind or hail.
Another source to use to help monitor the changing condition of your camp/conference
center is camper/guest observations. Add a question on the checkout or
evaluation form about your site/facility.
Utilize Expert Inspectors
A qualified professional needs to inspect the climbing wall annually.
Likewise, with site and facilities, professionals are also essential.
Depending on the skill sets required and the type of area, inspectors
are a combination of internal staff, hired external professionals, and
regulatory agencies. As with any expert, make sure you know their background,
certifications, insurance coverage, skill sets, and understanding of camp/conference
centers. You have a lot invested in their report.
Plan Maintenance Intervals
For the camp's climbing wall operating procedures, specify how often
the staff will inspect the holds, etc. Similarly, your facilities and
other equipment require maintenance intervals. Performing regular maintenance
checks at specific intervals can extend the life of the equipment, prevent
it from failure, and help to ensure that it will perform under peak conditions.
The owner's manual has the schedules you need. If you can't find all of
them, ask a volunteer to track them down by contacting the company or
by searching on the Web. An easy way to keep track of monthly maintenance
intervals is to set up an Excel spreadsheet. Each piece of equipment will
have several items. The items can be organized by different intervals
(four times per year, two times per year, annual inspection, etc.).
Establish Written Logs
Written logs tell you the history of the rope at the climbing wall.
For site/facilities, written logs detail the breakdown maintenance, the
preventive maintenance, and the inspections performed on an item. It's
excellent management to be able to view the record of a piece of equipment
and know that you've replaced a part three times in the past year. Logs
show trends or potential problem area(s). Also, logs are critical to share
information between staff, especially during staff transitions. And of
course, logs are critical for risk management.
Replace Items Before They Fail
In the climbing wall example, the climbing ropes are replaced before
they fail. While most site/facility failures are not as directly obvious
as a rope breaking and potentially injuring a child, they still can be
life threatening. For example, propane gas leaks are dangerous. Components
need to be replaced before they fail, using the standards in the field.
How much of your budget should go towards preventive maintenance? While
there is no standard in the camp industry, schools are spending 1.5 –
5 percent of the building's replacement cost, depending on the building
condition and complexity of the building. Applying what the schools have
reported to spend, if your buildings are valued at one million, then $15,000
– $50,000 needs to be spent on preventive maintenance.
It's very easy to say, "I'll get to it next week." The weeks
turn into months, and time slips by. The first place to begin focusing
on preventive maintenance is in the area of time management — figuring
out where you are spending your time, and purposefully scheduling time
for preventive maintenance. By spending time on preventive maintenance
now, you can save time on corrective maintenance in the future.
Preventive maintenance is a different mindset where the focus of site/facility
activities is in scheduling and planning: "Every year we will flush
the waterlines," and "Compressors will be regularly serviced
based on manufacturer recommendations." That's quite different than
a reactionary focus: "Repair the waterline." "Remember
to get the compressor part while you're in town," Or worst yet, "Put
a project off until it really needs to be looked at." In the long-run,
preventive maintenance wins. If it's not broken, fix it.
Corrective or Breakdown Maintenance
Corrective or breakdown maintenance, sometimes referred to as emergency
maintenance, means fixing nonworking or failed items due to regular use,
malfunction, defect, neglect, or vandalism by cleaning, adjusting, repairing,
replacing, restoring, etc.
Preventive Maintenance
Servicing land and ensuring that equipment and facilities are in satisfactory
operating condition by providing for systematic inspection, detection,
and correction of incipient failures either before they occur or before
they develop into major defects is called preventive maintenance. Some
definitions include the phrase "regardless of its condition at the
time." Preventive maintenance is intended to extend the useful life
of site and facilities and reduce the need for major repairs. The service
intervals may be monthly or only once every two years.
For example, the owner's manual of a car may state the replacement interval
for the timing belt is every 60,000 miles. If you replace it around 60,000
miles before it breaks, this is preventive maintenance. If it breaks at
70,000 miles, it is corrective maintenance.
Upgrades are another form of preventive maintenance, which entail changing
some aspects of the design to improve conditions or eliminate continual
repairs. Upgrading can include some remodeling projects for functionality,
rather than expansion.
Originally published in the 2004 May/June issue
of Camping Magazine. |
