All facilities, if left unattended, begin to wear over time and fall into disrepair. This is not different for churches. Unlike most facilities, a church deals with many other variables that make maintenance difficult. Most church employees either work voluntarily or part-time. This means that there is a shortage of qualified staff to maintain a church correctly.
Noting the unique challenges, a church faces when conducting maintenance activities, we have to be creative. Providing cost-effective and efficient maintenance solutions will be the best option. Here is a three-step strategy to be used in a church to ensure proper maintenance.
Step 1 Develop a Maintenance Plan
A maintenance plan is the most basic and efficient aspect when developing a church facility management plan. While this is just as true with a church, certain assets and equipment naturally require more care and attention than others. They will need to be replaced frequently or refurbished regularly. While other things need an annual inspection. A comprehensive maintenance plan will address this by providing an overview of asset requirements and developing a schedule.
Maintenance plans also provide another vital benefit, a strategy. With a maintenance plan in place, all church employees. Including full-time, part-time, and even voluntarily will have a better understanding of their roles and requirements.
Maintenance plans can be utilized to educate employees, which leads to a productive and proactive workforce.
Step 2 Implement a CMMS
If you are unfamiliar with what a CMMS is, then let me explain. CMMS is a computerized maintenance management system. This system provides a platform for improving the efficiency of maintenance processes and storing maintenance information. Many systems, like https://www.facilitron.com/facility-owners/work-order-management/, are tailored for sectors that include churches and schools.
Why is CMMS required for church maintenance? CMMS are providing advanced features and competitive prices. Implementing a CMMS to execute the maintenance plan developed is an intelligent move. Especially as CMMS is used to make the best use out of limited resources. While limiting the number of resources used.
How can CMMS be utilized in conjunction with the maintenance plan:
- Populate CMMS with the data from the maintenance plan and allow schedules to be made easily.
- Work orders from the maintenance plan, or unforeseen breakdowns, can be assigned easily to employees.
- Progress made on maintenance can be monitored.
- Securely store maintenance plans.
- Develop reports through the system.
- CMMS can be operated on mobile phones, so employees can download the app onto their phones and understand what is going on.
CMMS will offer the church maintenance team the following benefits:
- Reduction in the maintenance backlog. It is often the case with nonprofit organizations and churches that use voluntary staff, that tasks will pile up. CMMS allows employers to reduce the maintenance backlog. With a platform to collate all the outstanding maintenance tasks by assigning them to employees.
- Increase the lifespan of assets. This is very important in a church, where a large portion of their income is through donations. They cannot be wasteful. CMMS ensures products and equipment, such as speakers, microphones, and chairs, will have a long life span through preventative maintenance.
- Reduce costs. As assets are maintained they will be operable for longer. This saves costs as purchasing new equipment will not be necessary. Unnecessary expenses can be a problem when the budget is limited. CMMS can store inventory information. This means that double purchases will not be a problem.
- An increase in equipment reliability. This is an overlooked benefit for churches but still an important one. Equipment malfunctions during a service can be very problematic. A CMMS system will help avoid this. Church staff can be sure that the equipment is operating at peak condition. Nothing will disrupt the service.
Step 3 Empower Staff
For a church, an organization that relies on several voluntary staff, it is vital that all who work there are empowered. The employee works more efficiently when they have some sense of freedom to do their jobs. By ensuring the staff is well trained, leaders within the church can be sure that they will complete their tasks effectively.
It should be stated that training staff is not enough. Empowering staff with training is a good foundation, staff should be provided with the right solutions and tools to do their job.
Providing staff with the following resources will help them:
- Internet connectivity. With CMMS being able to operate on an employee’s mobile, it is vital to provide them with internet access. This means that employees can access all the benefits and gain the assistance they need from the CMMS.
- Maintenance tools such as paintbrushes, screwdrivers, and other equipment so they can complete work orders.
- Clear channels of communication. Within the church, it can be confusing with so many different types of staff. By maintaining open communication channels, and allowing staff and volunteers to discuss what it is that they need assistance with, the whole project will prosper.
With all churches varying in size and scope, it is difficult to provide a plan that fixes all the maintenance issues encountered. But by implementing the three steps, the church will have a good foundation for its maintenance process.