Maintenance

The first thing that parents, guardians and potential students will notice about your school is its physical state, neatness, and appearance. Keeping a great appearance entails:  

• Planned preventive maintenance tasks (cleaning, painting, servicing/repairs, etc.)

• Carrying out regular surveys, visual inspections, and equipment condition evaluations

• Maintenance of grounds (lawns, shrubs, trees, flowers…)

Managing vendors and contractors 

For larger schools with multiple buildings, it’s likely that management will need external support to fulfill their maintenance obligations. An effective way to get more work done efficiently is to use subcontractors, suppliers, and outsourced service providers. Managing this requires:

• A good maintenance contract

• Centralized vendor information

• Issuing work orders and tracking progress from start to finish

• Tracking vendor performance, as well as costs associated with each vendor

Schools have many of the same hazards encountered in commercial and residential buildings. Health and safety in schools is generally regulated by the state department of Education. 

State and local authorities use the resources provided to improve safety on their own premises by:

• Undertaking risk assessments 
• Monitoring the need for repairs 
• Providing adequate ventilation
• Prohibiting asbestos usage
• Providing treated water
• Appropriate waste disposal

The Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies regularly provide guidance for security at schools. In the context of maintenance, key considerations for security include:

• Suitable security methods (barriers, guards, CCTV cameras, etc)
• Emergency lighting and alarms

Depending on the state or school district’s regulations and guidelines, the details might differ, but the basic elements of emergency preparedness are the same. These elements include:

• A written emergency program to ensure the safety of students, staff, and visitors during and after an emergency
• A functional and frequently tested alarm system
• Checking and removing any hindrances to emergency drills and quick evacuation (e.g.obstructed or locked fire exit doors or burnt-out emergency exit lighting) 

Kids and teenagers are not the most responsible of people. We know, a shocker! 

School facilities have to withstand decades of wear and tear associated with crowds of students, many of which do not have enough respect for school property. Combine that with tight maintenance budgets and, with enough time, large-scale deterioration of school infrastructure is inevitable.