Preventative Maintenance in Recreation Facilities

By Vince Kreiser

The operation of a well-organized and maintained recreation facility can prove to be a much more enjoyable situation for all involved. To get a successful and continuous preventative maintenance (PM) program underway takes some effort and commitment from the entire team. The time invested in the process however, will pay off for patrons, managers and staff alike. A well-maintained recreation facility provides a pleasant atmosphere for recreation activities to take place, while at the same time being a great place to work.

A facility will operate more efficiently if the maintenance operations are well planned. Stocking of spare parts can be done more accurately and adequate staffing levels can be maintained much easier. Most staff feel more at ease when working in a planned sequence rather than running all over the place constantly “fighting forest fires”. By setting up a proper PM program, maintenance requirements can be confidently mapped out for the coming year. Some “flex-time” should be built into the PM program as emergency breakdowns will take place, even in the most well-maintained facilities. Taking the time to at least explore the use of some sort of asset/maintenance management computer software in the facility might prove to be a useful thing to do while working on this issue.

Better Facility Operating Procedures

As part of a successful PM program proper written operating procedures need to be created for all areas of the facility. The staff working in a particular facility should be involved in this process to capture and better document this important information. In a number of cases some very experienced operations’ staff have all of these procedures “in their heads” whereas the newer staff members would really benefit by an exchange of this information.

Improved Equipment Records

The process of documenting equipment records should start from when something is first purchased and only finished when it is de-commissioned and no longer being used at a facility. Proper records should be kept on all pieces of equipment at the facility. This includes things like: date of purchase, date installed/first used, supplier’s contact information, model and serial numbers, warranty information, written operating and maintenance requirements, parts lists, maintenance logs, etc. This information can be contained in a hard copy binder or file format or separate computer files for ease of use. Having this information on hand can be very important for both managers and staff alike in the day-to-day operation of their respective facilities. It can also be a real source of frustration for staff members when trying to do some maintenance work on especially older pieces of equipment and having no reference material to guide them. For some reason, fond(?) memories of trying to do repairs on any sort of rusty and/or hard to reach liquid circulation pumps comes to mind in this instance!

Investigate the Causes of Equipment Breakdowns

Even the best maintained recreation facilities will have equipment breakdowns from time to time. Before any repairs are done a few moments should be taken to try and investigate the cause(s) of the breakdown first. This knowledge may allow a better quality of repair to be done which may prevent a repeat occurrence in the near future. Also, a bit of extra effort put in to fix something right versus simply putting a “band-aid” on it “for now” will save some staff frustration when this same item needs attention again in a short period of time. Consulting with fellow members of your respective professional association(s) in the midst of this work could prove to be a real benefit in seeing what others have done in the past in similar situations.

Sharing Information About the Facility Budget

For some staff members at a recreation facility the only word that they associate with the word “budget” is the word “no”! Managers tend to get upset when staff appear to waste products/materials and/or break/lose tools in their daily work. With limited or no knowledge of the financial aspects of the operation who can fault them for their lack of fiscal buy-in? I would encourage more transparency in this area. Sharing information on the various aspects of the facility budget and how it was arrived at could be a very good topic for an upcoming operations’ staff meeting. Managers may be pleasantly surprised that the staff could have some “positive suggestions for change” to future facility budgets after a session like this.

Better Interactions Between Operations’ and Programming Staff

In order to run a successful recreation facility, both the operations’ and programming staff have to operate together as a single team. Sometimes there is a real gap between the two “sides” which can lead to concerns and confusion especially during special events. This can be alleviated with good communication skills and the requirements to hold the events discussed in advance with compromises made if the need arises. Skilled managers are able to draw from the strengths of all staff members and bring them together to provide for an enjoyable experience for the customers who use the facility.

Development of Responsibilities, Expectations and Standards

In order to hold the staff accountable for their responsibilities, the expectations for the staff must be linked to a set of work standards. Many problems between management and staff can be avoided when these standards are established cooperatively and made known to all staff who will be following them. Proper shift routines should also be set up for the operations’ staff so that daily items receive adequate attention. Ensure that each shift has specific duties to complete so that nothing is overlooked due to assumptions such as, “I thought Joe was going to do it”.

In addition to daily shift routines, operations’ staff at a number of ice arenas have also been assigned specific dressing rooms and bleacher sections. Assignments related to these areas are “medium” maintenance items and include such things as: graffiti removal and shower scrubbing in the dressing rooms, acrylic spectator shielding and/or tempered glass cleaning and mopping in the bleachers. As with shift routines, this work brings a level of responsibility to each staff member and provides management with a direct method to monitor work performance.

An effective record-keeping process will assist a manager to monitor the productivity of operations’ staff over time. It also provides some degree of legal protection to the organization in the event of accidents. All members of the operations’ staff should be expected to participate in this process in order to log the work completed on their respective shifts.

Active Supervision of the Staffs’ Work Performance

Staff supervision is critical to ensuring that they are accountable in their work. It is a difficult job sometimes, because some staff do not appreciate the feeling of being constantly directed by their managers. In addition, managers must pass along directives from their supervisors that may be unpopular with the staff. The way that managers interact with people can have a direct impact on the behaviours of their staff, so they need to understand the impact of their decisions on employees’ attitudes.

When I worked as a manager, I found that I had to consciously take time away from my desk to stay in touch. I also found it refreshing to get out of my office and see what was actually taking place in the various areas of the facilities that I was responsible for. Once in a while I would “jump in” to lend a hand to a staff member who needed it and they seemed to appreciate the extra assistance for the short period of time.

When managing people, managers need to offer praise or recognition to those who perform well in their work position. In the midst of a busy work day one can forget to offer praise and simply expect the work to be done, never acknowledging the person who has taken the time and effort to complete the task. Sometimes the best form of praise for staff members is delegating a job to them and then getting out of their way so that they can complete the task.

Besides praising staff, at the other end of the continuum is dealing with the disciplining of staff. This managerial role was one that I did not enjoy very much but considered necessary for the efficient and effective operation of the facilities. I found it sometimes difficult to ensure a smooth disciplinary process was followed. Many of the staff who worked at the facilities were on rotating shifts and sometimes could not be contacted in a timely manner. Coupled with this situation was having to make a judgement on the infraction and then deciding on the type of penalty or penalties to be administered. Sometimes when working with staff, managers need to treat mistakes as a learning tool, rather than as something that warrants a good talking-to. Learning from mistakes can be a powerful experience for both managers and staff, and can sometimes be a positive component in the overall evaluation piece.

Proper Tools to do the Job

In my dealings with operations’ staff members over the years, many have expressed the desire to go above and beyond what their job description requires. One of the ways successful managers can help to facilitate this situation is by giving their staff the proper tools to do the job. It can be as simple as providing the right style and size of broom to sweep things up in the close confines of bleacher style seats, to buying more sophisticated items to build up the facility tool cribs. The staff however, have to do their part as well by ensuring all of the tools are handled safely and put back in the appropriate places after they are done. Nothing is more frustrating than buying something new and then finding out that it has been lost or broken after only a few days.

Improved Training of Managers and Staff

The training requirements for working in recreation facilities have changed in the past number of decades. These changes have necessitated the creation of many opportunities in the field to deliver training to the various managers and staff members. Managers can use this as a way to improve team work and enhance skills depending on which avenues they want to explore for their overall training needs. I found in a couple of situations that having many members of our staff team taking a course together lead to some mostly positive outcomes for those involved. The first one included a required first aid course. A second more interesting one was when the local fire department dropped by the facility to actively involve the staff in putting out a variety of fires using their portable burning barrel. Besides the knowledge gained in both of the courses, participating in these sorts of interpersonal sessions can perhaps help people to see their fellow group members in a different light. It is going to be very interesting to see what sort of training budgets will be available in the field going forward as we come out of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Summary

I have been in and around recreation facilities for most of my life. Throughout this time, I have witnessed many positive aspects relating to their operation, while at the same time hearing the desire by some people to make constructive improvements that will benefit all involved. Although the task of starting to work on a preventative maintenance program seems quite daunting at the beginning, the efforts put in will prove more than worthwhile in the long run.

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Vince Kreiser retired from the position of Program Coordinator and one of the Instructors for the two-year Recreation Leadership Diploma Program at Langara College in Vancouver, BC after 30 years. In addition to his work at the College, Vince has conducted workshops, seminars and courses throughout Canada and the U.S.A. relating to facility management and operations. Prior to coming to the College he was the Assistant Manager Facilities Operation (Production) for the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, BC. Part of his responsibilities included assisting in the management of the Pacific Coliseum which at the time was the home for the Vancouver Canucks of the N.H.L. He was awarded a Life Membership in the Recreation Facilities Association of BC in 2018.