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The importance of strategic planning has been emphasized by specialists in every area of management. Strategic planning is described as a “smart practice” (Bryson, 2011, p. 17) and the way to deal with a situation with the purpose to achieve particular results. Strategies are based on knowledge and a profound understanding of issues that one deals with. School maintenance requires strategic planning because, when maintenance is merely about repairing what is broken, it will constantly interfere with education. School maintenance should be more than resource management: it is “about providing clean and safe environments for children” (U.S. Department of Education, 2003, p. xi), and also about arranging the space in a way that is suitable for learning. Although maintaining school facilities and grounds is a complicated process with numerous considerations, three main strategies can be recognized: preventive maintenance, external and internal communication, and involving all stakeholders in the facility maintenance.
Preventive maintenance proved its advantages over emergency maintenance and routine maintenance. What makes it different is that equipment is not replaced when it breaks down, but is attended on a regular basis according to a schedule. The long-term benefits of such an approach are the reduced risk of emergencies and a lesser amount of maintenance work overall, which is important because “the goal of maintenance is (paradoxically) to get out of the maintenance business” (Levitt, 2011, p. 6).
There are three stages of planning for preventive maintenance: auditing, scheduling, and arrangement (U.S. Department of Education, 2003, pp. 74-75). First, it is necessary to identify and list everything that requires maintenance. Second, a schedule should be composed to indicate how often and for which technical details each item on the list should be inspected. The way to do this is to consult specialists and check manufacturers’ manuals. Third, a system should be created to allow scheduled inspections without interruptions. It is a managerial task of creating conditions for the schedule to be accurately followed.
Another strategy to be employed by school maintenance planners is communication, both internal and external. Communication is not merely about emailing maintenance reminders to an electrician or a plumber. Communication as a strategy means organizing the maintenance work in a way that allows every participant to clearly see their role and connections to other participants. School maintenance work involves administration, professors, maintenance staff, and central office, therefore, to make this work efficiently, communication between these components “must be seamless and well documented” (U.S. Department of Education, 2003, p. 95). An example of internal communication is making sure that all the staff members are informed and instructed on how to initiate a work order request. External communication is maintaining contacts with everyone from outside of the school who is involved in planned maintenance work. The importance of communication has been proved by researches that showed how enhancing communication improves coordination among participants and thus makes the facility maintenance work more successful. For instance, the introduction of visualized 3D information models to facility maintenance in schools in Taiwan proved to be effective (Su, Lee, & Lin, 2011). People involved in facility maintenance work could see the connections between them and could manage and control the communication in a visible way. The result was the increased efficiency of their coordinated work.
One more strategy for school maintenance planners is involving more participants in the maintenance work. The main point of it is acknowledging that “keeping a school clean isn’t only the custodian’s responsibility” (U.S. Department of Education, 2003, p. 84). Everyone in a school should be engaged in one way or another in maintaining a clean, safe, and healthy environment, which is in everyone’s interest. Wang, Wang, Wang, Yung, and Jun (2013) point out the necessity of engaging facility maintenance in the design stage of construction. This is to emphasize that maintenance is an integral part of the facility’s operation. Therefore, it should not be limited to the activities of the facility management.
For example, in some schools there have been so-called “30-second rule” adopted, meaning that, for 30 seconds before leaving the school, professors and students, as well as staff members, clean the room they are in. This practice was observed to be particularly popular among many parents, who highly approved of their children’s obligation to clean up at school. In terms of involvement, it is also important to acknowledge that “[s]chools belong to their communities” (U.S. Department of Education, 2003, p. 86). Communities often make individual and group efforts to improve the schools where their children study. One of the forms of such improvement is contributing to school facilities. Facility maintenance planners and managers should encourage these initiatives and collaborate with their communities, but, at the same time, monitor every such activity to guarantee efficiency and safety.
Facility management is aimed at creating clean and safe conditions for learning. Properly handled, facility management in schools positively affects students’ achievements (Bowers & Urick, 2011). In order to make it successful, planners and practitioners should think and act strategically. Three particular strategies that proved their efficiency are involving more interested parties in the process, communicating with the property, and choosing preventive maintenance over other types of it.
References
Bowers, A. J., & Urick, A. (2011). Does high school facility quality affect student achievement? A two-level hierarchical linear model. Journal of education finance, 37(1), 72-94.
Bryson, J. M. (2011). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Levitt, J. (2011). Complete Guide to Predictive and Preventive Maintenance. New York, NY: Industrial Press.
Su, Y. C., Lee, Y. C., & Lin, Y. C. (2011). Enhancing maintenance management using building information modeling in facilities management. Web.
U.S. Department of Education. (2003). Planning Guide for Maintaining School Facilities (National Center for Education Statistics, National Forum on Education Statistics no. 347). Washington, DC: Author.
Wang, Y., Wang, X., Wang, J., Yung, P., & Jun, G. (2013). Engagement of facilities management in design stage through BIM: framework and a case study. Advances in Civil Engineering, 2013(2013), 1-8.
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