After months of planning and building out your new office (with your project manager of course), you have finally settled into your new surroundings.  Your staff has brand new furniture; there’s fresh paint on the walls; new carpeting was installed and you’re finally up and running.   Moving to a new office is an exciting experience.  Keeping up with its maintenance afterwards, well…not so much.

By following simple guidelines, you can ensure your office space maintains that clean office feel.

GENERAL CLEANING TIPS

• Wall Scuffs – Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is magical.  Lightly wiping your walls of dirt and scuffs with this product will keep them looking clean. This can be used on furniture, systems furniture and just about anything.
• Carpet – If your flooring was laid with carpet tile, make sure your general contractor leaves excess carpet so you can easily replace damaged or stained carpet.
• Lights – Have all light fixtures wiped down annually.  A dirty fixture reduces light output.

ROUTINE MONTHLY MAINTENANCE CHECKLISTS – All these items require regular maintenance on some periodic basis.

• Check bathroom supplies
•  Check ceiling tiles for staining which could indicate leaks
• Create janitorial audits for light bulbs, etc.
• Restroom items:
  – Fixtures
  – Partitions – Check if loose or corroded
  – Soap Dispenser
  – Paper towel dispensers
• Check the batteries on bathroom aerosol dispensers
• Key management (desk and office)
• Check Kitchen appliances
  – Microwaves
  – Refrigerators
  – Toaster ovens
• Coffee machines and water coolers (both water bottle and bottle-less type).
• Checking for ceiling tile staining, could be a roof or sprinkler pipe leak.
• Replace all burned out light bulbs. Make sure replacement bulbs are of the same wattage and color temperature.

CREATE MONTHLY SAFETY INSPECTION CHECKLISTS

• Check Fire Extinguishers
• Test Emergency Lights
• Check Exit signs
• Have sprinkler system inspections
• Ensure chemicals are properly labeled and stored
• Check and clear blocked exits
• Check and clear blocked electrical panels
• Proper storage practices (no items stored within 18” of the ceiling), etc.

ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE
Go into the Circuit Breaker and do an amp draw test on each circuit and document the results.  Sometimes end users will over populate a circuit with portable heaters or other personal devices.  These circuits trip and everyone on the circuit has their PC shut down, all because someone has an illegal heater.  This is not only a pain in the neck but a safety hazard.

Providing completed copies of these checklists to insurance companies, fire marshals and government agencies helps inspections go  a lot smoother.

IMPLEMENT A WORK REQUEST SYSTEM
Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) can be purchased or made by your IT people.  They range from a few hundred to several thousand depending on what the requirements are.  The facilities team needs feedback from the staff as to what their needs are.  Once the staff know their requests are being completed, they will generate more requests and the system should catch most of the issues the employees are aware of.