Short-Staffing Due to COVID

Use all 5 Senses, Share Building Information

COVID is having a profound impact on building knowledge among facilities teams, many of which are still onsite every day, but may be short-staffed.

Large campuses demand vast building knowledge, but when you’ve been assigned to an unfamiliar building, that can be a challenge.

So how are facilities teams mitigating risks when making rounds? Using all five senses is important.

Here are a few areas to pay attention to with fewer general office employees/staff/visitors onsite due to COVID.

• Keep an eye out for dripping pipes and water stains in ceiling tiles.
• Take note if you see an expired tag on a fire extinguisher.
• Tag and share zonal shutoff locations when you find them in ceiling panels.
• Let your HVAC guys know if you hear strange sounds coming from one of the rooftop air handlers when you are up there.
• Let someone know if the drains are starting to smell in bathrooms due to lack of use.
• Note any strong gas smell in kitchens that haven’t been used in months.

Mitigating risk by sharing information seamlessly can be accomplished by a using mobile-first technology from ARC Facilities which puts all your building plans, equipment details and emergency info into the palm of your hand so everyone has access to facilities information 24/7/365.

For more suggestions about key areas to keep on your radar, here’s a winter facilities checklist.