How Can Tru-Serve Use Facility Maintenance Skills For Inspections?

Our technicians have experience and knowledge of the components an inspector will want to check. Using a combined 100 years of facility maintenance experience, we walk through your building as if we were the inspectors, making notes of potential hazards, red flags, and needed building repair items. Done ahead of time by someone experienced can save incredible amounts of time and money, and making a passing grade on the real inspection that much more likely. We know the common areas that healthcare facility maintenance staff members typically overlook, and we check every nook and cranny.

Where Should Healthcare Facility Maintenance Staff Put Their Attention?

To adequately prepare for an upcoming inspection, be aware of any renovations or completed or in progress construction since the last visit. Ensure that proper safety precautions are in place, including hard hat wear, that the work is within code, and that fire exits are available. For the rest of the building, we check to make sure that exit doors, pathways, and stairways are not blocked. Sprinklers should all be in working order. Emergency lighting should be in place, operational, and tested monthly (with documentation.) Food preparation areas should be clean and safe, including adequate fire extinguisher access. Elevators should be in working order, within code, and inspected regularly. Any chutes should be in working order, including both laundry chutes and trash chutes. Fire drills should take place regularly to show that all staff members are aware of proper procedures.

Facility Maintenance Typically Needed For Utilities

Part of inspections includes checking all of the utilities and equipment. In many cases, this is where healthcare facility maintenance services are most often needed. Is your generator working properly? Are heating and cooling systems in proper working order, with preventative maintenance performed regularly? Is the healthcare facility maintenance crew doing proper electrical systems repairs and checks? Some equipment needs specialized attention, and Tru-Serve has the experience and knowledge to deal with that equipment properly.

Review A List Of Recommended Building Repair Tasks

Tru-Serve can get right to a building repair, or we can present a list of recommended maintenance items for approval. Any task we complete will be done within code, and we will also look for ways we can make your equipment run more efficiently, break down less frequently, and generally, save you money. Our goal is to be your partner in facility maintenance, and to form a lasting, loyal relationship.

How Does Tru-Serve Differ From Other Twin Cities Building Repair Companies?

Our technicians have over 100 years of combined experience. This means that no matter who you meet from Tru-Serve, they know what they’re talking about when it comes to maintenance solutions. Yes, other companies may boast well-trained staff, but ours also maintains the same ethical and moral standards as our company itself. We treat your home, building, or facility with the care and respect that we would as if it was our own. When we charge a two-hour minimum for a visit and have completed the requested building repair in just a half an hour, we ask you what else we can do to help.

Building Relationships, Planning Maintenance Solutions

Your company and your needs are unique from every other client we have. You may need us as your emergency crew, or your only crew. No matter what, our promise remains the same: we will provide you with quality facility maintenance, along with exceptional customer service. Why are we so dedicated to this? Tru-Serve doesn’t want to just be the company you call when no one else can come. Tru-Serve wants to be the first phone call you make. In order to do that, our goal is to get to know you, your company, and your expectations.

Does Tru-Serve Offer Services Other Than Just Building Repair?

Tru-Serve can drop in to fix a machine that’s broken, fill in for a janitorial staff member who is ill, or work regularly for you. However, we also offer a service to provide you with comprehensive maintenance solutions planning, built to keep your equipment well-maintained. This service also allows us to ensure that you’re on a proper preventative maintenance schedule, and to suggest other things you can do to optimize production and lower operating costs. Plus, we mow lawns, we clean, and we help companies prepare for audits or inspections. You have plenty of other administrative issues to address without worrying about building maintenance, or when the boiler might break down. Tru-Serve offers you a source to have all of your facility maintenance concerns addressed with one phone call, along with the peace of mind to know that whatever it is, we’ll do it right.

We Know OSHA, ADA, And Joint Commission Requirements

If you don’t have the time to read through regulatory requirements, and have an inspection looming, Tru-Serve can help. We walk through your facility, and ensure the proper precautions and procedures are in place to help you avoid issues with any of the above safety agencies. We also ensure that any other task we do is completed safely, and within compliance of applicable government agency mandates.

What Can Double Coverage Do For Your Healthcare Facility Maintenance Crew?

Tru-Serve proudly provides double coverage for every healthcare facility maintenance contract we commit to. What does this mean? Simply put, it means that when you need one of our guys for a job, you’re really reserving two. For instance, if the original crew member we send to you gets ill, injured, has a family emergency, or is otherwise indisposed, we have a backup crew member ready, trained, and waiting to take his place. This means no extra phone calls, and no scrambling to find a replacement. You can’t find a more reliable source than Tru-Serve!

Double coverage also means that during times of installation of new equipment, new office space, renovation, remodeling, or reorganization, you can allocate one of our team members to his regular job, and the ‘backup’ as additional labor. In addition, our double coverage guys are just as fully trained and prepared for your job as any of our other staff members. They want to work, and will even look for potential hazards or impending breakdowns, so that you’re aware and preventing major issues ahead of time.

Custom Healthcare Facility Maintenance Services For Your Needs

Maybe you think you don’t need double coverage, because you only need one guy for one problem. That’s okay, because we have a backup lined up anyway, all the time, just in case. Because our commitment to you is exceptional service, and because we stand behind our guarantees, our double coverage serves as our contingency plan. What other company do you know of that can provide you with a second, fully trained professional tradesperson to jump in within minutes of a phone call? It’s this trustworthy service that has us listed as a top choice for healthcare facility maintenance in the Twin Cities.

No matter the size of the job, Tru-Serve is here to serve. We offer free consultations to determine if we’re the right fit for what you need. Our Vice President of Operations, Troy Norberg, will personally meet with you to discuss what you need, when you need it, and how you want it done. Our pricing is less than half of what similar, “big” specialized trade companies can offer. And when we say our pricing is based off of a two-hour minimum? That means our guys will ASK for other things to repair or check to fill up the two hours you’re already paying for. This is the type of service the industry has been asking for, and we listened

Compare The Cost Savings

If you were to hire a full time maintenance person to address your sprawling commercial property, would that one guy be highly trained in every aspect of facility maintenance and repair? Probably not. Would he be willing and able to not just ensure major systems are running properly, but do the landscaping, complete any remodeling jobs, change a lock, paint, and prepare for an upcoming safety inspection? Probably not. This is why many companies are seeing that it’s worth it to their bottom line to outsource commercial property maintenance.

Consider the cost savings between paying a full time employee, versus having one or two technicians come two or three times a week for a couple of hours per visit. The facility manager leaves a punch list of items to be completed during that visit. Tru-Serve professionals arrive, complete the items on the list, and will also do routine system checks. Before leaving, they ensure windows and doors are secure, leaving the property safe. This system also allows them to bring back needed repair parts on the next visit, saving costly afternoon trips to the hardware store.

Less Expensive Emergency Facility Maintenance

If a water heater suddenly begins to gush, or a boiler overheats, the first instinct is to call a trade contractor. With Tru-Serve, you already have trained professionals at your fingertips. What’s even more convenient? They already know your property, know your equipment, and have access to get in, meaning you get an instant response without having to attend the call. Because Tru-Serve guarantees top-notch service, you can rest easy, knowing that the job will be done right. Not to mention, the cost savings truly add up with shorter repair times, quicker response times, and more skilled team members.

Customized Commercial Property Maintenance

Tru-Serve can be as involved or hands-off as you would like. Our VP of Operations, Troy Norberg, meets with every new client to determine exactly how the working relationship will proceed. We can be your ‘backup’ team, or we can be your only team. Our services are completely customizable to your facility. And because we pride ourselves on exceptional service, we not only fix what you’ve asked us to, but we also look for potential problems, so that you have the knowledge and the power to fix something before it becomes a major expense. Whether it’s a one-time visit or a long-term contract, Tru-Serve is dedicated to forming a trusted relationship with each and every client.

Building Maintenance Outsourcing During Peak Periods

Summertime is prime time for residential property maintenance staff, as many tenants choose to move during the nicest season of the year. While this gives managers an opportunity to fill empty units, it also creates additional work to renovate and prepare vacated units for new residents. Existing maintenance staff may feel pressured and overworked, trying to keep up with their regular duties on top of tenant turnover tasks. It would not be cost-effective to hire permanent staff when the need for additional help is temporary. Outsourcing the additional labor to trained professionals, like those from Tru-Serve, can result in more work being completed faster, equaling significant cost savings.

Tru-Serve Building Maintenance Services: When You Need Them

When you call Tru-Serve, you know what you’re getting. For significantly less than you’d pay a larger company, you can quickly source additional labor for a set, agreed-upon cost. The professionals that arrive are fully trained at their jobs, and can efficiently execute any lists of tasks you may have. Many managers need additional manpower during the start of either the heating or cooling season, when residents are first using their heater or air conditioner. Rather than use costly specialists, consider the cost savings in outsourcing to a company like Tru-Serve. One phone call means that all building services are covered, no matter how minute.

Outsourcing A Key Strategy For Remote Owners

Investment properties can be very lucrative, when handled properly. But it can be expensive and frustrating to handle the multitude of building service issues that can arise, especially from afar. Hiring an experienced property management and maintenance company can allow you to reap the benefits of owning investment property without the hassle of the day to day problems. A single monthly invoice covers all services, making accounting a breeze. Your tenants stay longer, as their complaints are answered and resolved quickly, and they have only a single number to call for service. When the time comes that a resident does move on, outsourcing truly proves its worth by allowing you to transition to the new resident with ease.

Tenant turnover is a costly part of owning or managing properties, but with the right strategy, can be managed quite efficiently. The right outsourcing property management company not only lowers the incidence of tenant turnover, but can also be hired to expedite the process. The cost savings is significant, with less vacant time and fewer calls to specialists for things like HVAC or trade repairs.

Taking a closer look at the costs to hire and train new employees can be staggering.  To calculate employee turnover, a manager should consider costs due to the employee leaving, recruitment costs, and training costs.

Outsourcing building maintenance lets owners and managers control operating costs, trim down capital expenses, and reduce the need to hire and train onsite staff. Plus, the outsourced company can easily change as the needs for facilities maintenance change—either an increase or a reduction in trained professionals.

Apart from saving money and reducing employee turnover, outsourcing provides many benefits such as saving time, 24/7 service, staffing flexibility, full range of services, qualified professionals all the time, documentation for work done, ability to handle large projects, control of operational costs, no worries about vacation coverage, workers’ compensation and insurance coverage provided by outsourced firm, level of consistency, reduced risk, and quick return on investment.

We recently conducted a water consumption assessment at an apartment complex with 21 units. Between kitchen and bathroom faucets and showerheads, we found an average water consumption of 5.9 gallons per minute per unit at this apartment complex. By replacing aerators on the fixtures, we were able to reduce that to about 3 gallons per minute per unit, which adds up to about 60 gallons per minute of water saved.

Taking the appropriate precautions to ensure a building is safe will prevent future liabilities. All it takes is one problem or accident on your property to hurt your business. Keeping a commercial or apartment building in safe condition requires an eye for detail. Having a checklist like the one below is helpful, but recognizing when a light needs replacing or a deck railing needs restoring will go a long way in maintaining a property that keeps tenants out of harm’s way. Here is my checklist for keeping a building more protected and secure.

Check Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide Monitors. Every six months all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors should be checked. In August 2009, Minnesota passed a law that requires all multi-family dwellings have CO detectors near all bedrooms. Also, be sure to check with the city where the property resides as each city ordinance could be different.

Check Fire Extinguishers for Expiration Date. Fire extinguishers are commonly placed near kitchens or in hallways in case of small fires. Many times they are overlooked on safety checklists, but shouldn’t be. A monthly check of fire extinguishers should include checking that the pin is in place, the pressure gauge is in the “ok” position, the hose is properly attached, that there are no dents or leaks, that it is mounted on the wall at the appropriate height, and that extinguisher has not passed the expiration date.

Test Emergency Lights. During the stormy season, emergency lights can be triggered on when the power goes out, even for a moment. This draws power from the backup batteries and can drain them over time. It’s a good idea to check them regularly and to note each testing date. Just as important, check the lit exit signs monthly.

Check Exterior Lights. Many exterior lights are set with timers or use a photo cell to come on when it gets dark out. Troy routinely checks these by putting a glove over the photo cell to check the light during the daytime. Lights on timers should be checked and adjusted when needed.
Keep Hallways Clear. For easy evacuation, hallways must remain clear. Many times tenants will want to place artificial trees, floor mats, or other items in the hallways. A simple walk-through of the building can ensure that all hallways are free from items.

Check Windows and Doors. Windows and doors should be checked for safety and security routinely. Ripped or loose screens can be hazardous and should be repaired. Building owners and managers should be aware of where all doors are located and that all locks are in working order. At times, tenants can prop open doors for easy access; for the safety of all tenants, these doors need to remain closed and locked. Sliding glass doors can also be secured with strong wooden dowels or metal bars in the track so the door can’t be slid open.

Ensure Decks and Railings are Secure; Grills Prohibited. Another overlooked safety risk in multi-family dwellings are decks and railings. Many times rugs or indoor-outdoor carpeting is placed on the deck, which rots out the wood over time. Any rotten wood or loose railings should be replaced. Grills are prohibited on apartment decks by law; a routine check of all decks can prevent deadly fires.

Keep Property Grounds Free from Debris. Finally, the exterior property should be safe too. Ensure that cracks in sidewalks and driveways are repaired and that fallen tree branches are cleared away.

Want more information? Need help with building maintenance? Call me at 763-208-7851 to learn how Tru-Serve can help.

In April and May a building enters a “free cooling” period, or a time when there’s no need to heat or to cool the building. This is the perfect time to inspect and maintain your air conditioning for the warmer months ahead. AC systems require maintenance to continue operating smoothly and efficiently throughout the summer months.

When coils, filters and blower components are dirty they slow airflow and reduce the AC system’s ability to cool, which can impact how efficient the system runs. Airflow problems can diminish the system’s efficiency by up to 15 percent.

A thorough cleaning and tune-up of your air conditioning system should be done annually in the spring. Depending on how much the system is run during throughout the summer months, monthly filter cleaning or replacement may be needed.

Spring is also a good time to clean and make necessary repairs to the boiler too.

Tru-Serve’s Springtime Maintenance Checklist:

• Clean the evaporator and condenser air conditioning coils.
• Ensure the circuit breakers to the AC system are working
• Clean or change filters.
• Check belts for wear and replace if necessary.
• Clean and adjust blower components.
• Check the refrigerant level and adjust if necessary.
• Turn the air conditioner on to ensure it is working.
• Properly shut down the boiler.
• Once the hot weather is here, check the filters monthly and adjust the humidity control if condensation appears on windows and walls.

When dealing with large commercial and residential properties, air conditioning maintenance should be done by qualified service professionals. For property managers juggling a number of maintenance activities at once, an outsourced building maintenance team may be the answer. Tru-Serve offers outsourced facilities maintenance services that include air conditioning and boiler maintenance.

Outsourcing lets owners and managers control operating costs, trim down capital expenses, and reduce the need to hire and train onsite staff. Plus, the outsourced company can easily change as the needs for facilities maintenance change—either an increase or a reduction in trained professionals.

I talked with Lindsey Heritage, the property manager at Winnetka Village Apartments. Tru-Serve has been providing outsourced services to her since 2003.

Why does she outsource her facilities maintenance? “Outsourcing our facilities maintenance saves us money. We had a light installation project that would have taken two full-time employees 60 hours to complete. Tru-Serve came in and finished the project with a high quality of work and in record time.”

We like to work together with facility managers with the same goal in mind to save money, get the job done quickly, and extend the life of the building’s equipment. Outsourcing doesn’t remove the facility manager from the process. Many times a facilities manager asks us to cover for vacationing or sick employees. That’s a function we can easily and quickly fill.