Creating a Safe Learning Environment Through Facility Maintenance & Management

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One of the most important components of a person’s ability to learn is their environment. Whether it’s a young child or an adult college student, the facility in which they’re being educated directly affects their ability to learn. As a facility manager, it’s important to take the necessary steps to ensure that you’re creating a safe learning environment through facility maintenance and management.

Here are a few tips and tricks to help you make sure that your facility is well maintained and managed in the hopes of it being perceived as a safe learning environment.

Air Quality

While air quality is important to consider on all levels, it can actually have a direct effect on a person’s ability to learn. If your facility has poor indoor air quality, it could lead to students having irritated eyes, upper respiratory infections, headaches, and even sleepiness—not exactly a recipe for improved learning.

You can take several steps in your facility maintenance and management plan to increase the quality of your air. One involves having clean floors. While mopping and vacuuming can be effective, one way to stop allergens and other harmful materials is through floor mats. Large floor mats placed outside and inside can catch some of these materials and prevent them from entering the air. Be sure to have the floor cleaned at least twice a week. If you’re using a vacuum, it’s always a good idea to clean out the filter regularly.

Cleaner Restrooms

The quality of air in restrooms can be questionable. Humidity and moisture tend to build up in bathrooms, which then can result in mold and fungus. While air fresheners in your facility maintenance plan can be useful for combating the odors in the bathroom, the culprit may be your stalls and partitions.

Bathroom partitions are constantly subjected to moisture and humidity, mold can eventually grow inside the stalls, which will continuously drop the air quality. By, Investing in HDPE (high-density polyethylene) stalls  it can  help to prevent the growth of mold. HDPE is resistant to moisture and a more durable material than those found in most stalls.

Reducing Graffiti

While art is important in a person’s education, said art should only be placed on a designated canvas. Graffiti is a common scourge to facility surfaces like lockers and bathroom stalls. Painting over the graffiti is a common answer to the problem, but not only will it invite more graffiti, the paint could put VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions into the air.

In this instance, using HDPE lockers for your facility maintenance and management plan has numerous benefits. The material is resistant to graffiti and scratches, so it doesn’t require you to repaint it. Any drawing or writing can be easily wiped away without having to risk the air quality during graffiti removal.

Better Ventilation

It’s always good to check the ventilation system to make sure that everything is working properly. Discomfort can be a huge distraction when trying to learn, so providing a comfortable environment is crucial. Make a point to continuously check your heating and ventilation systems to ensure that they’re performing as expected without any waste in energy.

We hope that these facility maintenance and management tips will help to promote a safer learning environment in your school or facility. If you want to learn even more about how you can create a safe learning environment, check out our Hiny Hiders case study and learn how HDPE bathroom stalls helped the Dallas Independent School District.

How Is HDPE Made?

HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is one of the most durable and versatile thermoplastics in today’s market. It’s used for a variety of different materials like bottles, automotive parts, furniture, and different construction products. HDPE is even recyclable. But despite HDPE’s versatile and efficient nature, how is it made?

The Process of Making HDPE

HDPE is made under controlled conditions by applying intense heat to petroleum. This process, also known as “cracking,” helps create ethylene gas. During its production, the gas molecules will attach to form polymers, which then produce polyethylene.

After this process, the polyethylene will have a sludgy appearance, but after it’s put through a series of molds, it forms into granules. Once the molding process is complete, you’ll have a strong polymer material that can have a variety of uses and applications in your home or facility.

HDPE Uses and Applications

Because HDPE is a versatile material, there are a number of uses for it. Most notably, it’s used for bottling. Due to its durable construction and recyclability, it’s one of the most sought-after materials for liquid containers. It’s also used to house hazardous materials and agrochemicals.

HDPE can be made into strong and long-lasting furniture. HDPE also has important use and application within commercial building design. Due to its chemical properties, HDPE materials are resistant to temperature, moisture, and scratching and dents. This makes it an ideal material for lawn furniture, commercial lockers, and commercial bathroom stalls.

Why Is HDPE Better Than Other Materials?

Other materials like Phenolic Plastic and Solid Color Reinforced Composite (SCRC) are often brought up as durable and versatile materials used for bathroom stalls or partitions. However, when it comes to comparing these materials to HDPE, there’s not really much of a competition. HDPE is more resistant to microbes while providing a stronger surface. It even has a stronger screw retention than Phenolic Plastic or SCRC, meaning that whatever is built with HDPE will be more structurally sound than items made from Phenolic Plastic or SCRC.

The great thing about HDPE material is that it never needs to be touched up or repainted, resulting in less volatile organic compound emissions. These carbon-based chemicals can easily evaporate into the air at any temperature, and when inhaled, can result in health complications. Items made with HDPE can help improve air quality because the material resists mold, fungus, and bacteria. SCRC and Phenolic Plastic materials can absorb mold, resulting in odors and lesser air quality.

When it comes to sustainability, there’s no question that HDPE has a strong lead over the others. HDPE is 100% recyclable and made from post-consumer content. SCRC and Phenolic Plastic aren’t made from post-consumer materials, and therefore can’t be recycled.

 

Do you want to learn more about the many benefits of choosing HDPE over other materials? Check out our eBook, Sustainable Building Products: How to Make Your Facility Eco-Friendly from Top to Bottom.

Daily Facility Maintenance Checklist: Keep Your Facility in Tip-Top Shape

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Your facility is a representation of your business, so why wouldn’t you want it to speak volumes? Future employees, visitors, and clients will walk through the doors and immediately take notice of issues that could sway their opinions. Staying on top of daily facility maintenance is crucial in keeping your facility in tip-top shape.

We’ve compiled this facility maintenance checklist that can be used daily to help spot any potential issues within your facility. You’ll also learn some helpful tips and tricks to make your facility’s clean and inviting appearance last longer.

  1. Take Preliminary Steps Toward a Cleaner Floor 

    One of the first items that should be at the top of your maintenance checklist is cleaning your facility’s floors. Dirty floors are an eyesore. They stick out immediately. The good news is, there are some steps you can take to help avoid tracking in dirt and waste.

    Welcome mats are highly effective in reducing the amount of dirt that makes its way into your facility. It’s smart to have a welcome mat outside the entrance. You’ll also want another mat inside the foyer or lobby to help collect more dirt. Using an exterior and interior mat, you’ll help keep your floors cleaner longer, and potentially reduce maintenance costs.

  2. Keep Storage and Lockers Clean 

    If you have cubbies, lockers, or general storage compartments, you already know how dirty they can get. When they’re constantly being opened, dirt tends to build up, which makes those lockers and cubbies unsightly.

    Whether these compartments get scuffed up or drawn on, you’ll want to ensure that you can keep them as clean as possible. The type of material you choose can play a big role in facility maintenance. For instance, (HDPE) plastic lockers are resistant to scratches, dents, and even unwanted graffiti. Due to its high durability, HDPE never needs to be repainted, resulting in less volatile organic compound emissions that could be harmful if inhaled. It’s also one of the easiest plastics to recycle, so by installing these HDPE compartments, your facility takes a big step toward sustainability.

  3. Spruce Up the Bathroom 

    The next item to address on your maintenance facility checklist is the bathroom. It’s one of the most visited rooms in your facility, and with that much foot traffic, you’ll need to take some steps to ensure a pleasant experience for everyone. It’s always wise to keep plug-in air fresheners on hand, but how are your stalls holding up? This is another area where materials matter, especially when you consider the threat of rust often faced in commercial restrooms. Materials like steel or wood are prone to damage when they encounter moisture. However, other materials like HDPE are completely rust and mildew resistant.

  4. Keep Maintenance Cleaning Materials Stocked 

    Things like cleaning materials, toilet paper, and paper towels should always be on hand with plenty of backup to accommodate higher than anticipated volume. You also want to make sure your waste baskets and trash cans are easily accessible and not tucked in the corner. If they’re easy to get to, waste is more likely to make it in the trash without winding up on the floor.

    By utilizing this facility maintenance checklist daily, you’re on the way to keeping your facility in tip-top shape. If you’re interested in learning more about bathroom cleaning and care, learn more in our article regarding how to care for your commercial bathroom vanities.

In addition, you can download our free eBook, Commercial Restroom Cleaning Checklist, here:

 

How to Conduct an Effective Facility Audit for Your School

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As a school facility manager, it’s important to perform routine facility and safety audits so the students, faculty, and staff can enjoy a comfortable environment while you ensure that everything is up to code. Learning how you can improve your facility or update your systems is crucial.

Here are a few helpful tips to show you the proper facility audit procedures.

Facility Audit

There are many factors at play when it comes to conducting a facility audit. The audit will require time and resources but only to ensure that everything is running as efficiently as possible. Whether you have an outsider come in to inspect or the school district has a professional at their disposal, it’s important to have an updated inventory checklist on hand so the process can be as efficient as possible. The facility audit is performed to gauge the status of your facility and determine if any updates or repairs would be necessary.

Necessary Inspections

When you’re conducting a facility audit, you should have your inventory checklist with the equipment and the date that said equipment was manufactured and installed. This will help the auditor determine the life cycle of the equipment and systems in your facility. By providing the auditor with the necessary resources, the actual audit should be fairly easy to compete.

Facility Audit

The auditor will carefully inspect your HVAC system to determine its quality and effectiveness and if it requires any repairs to pass inspection. If you’ve kept up with routine maintenance, this shouldn’t be a problem. Your water system will also be inspected to ensure the water quality and the functionality of the pumps and pipes.

The grounds of your facility will also be carefully inspected. The auditor will look for any damage to the exterior of the building as well as the quality of the parking lots. The auditor will also assess the landscaping and athletic fields to ensure student safety.

Areas to Focus On

Every facility or school has its weak spots, or areas that require a lot of focus and perhaps even maintenance. Bathrooms can be one of these areas, as several factors can contribute to a less-than-adequate audit. Air quality is an important aspect in the bathroom audit, so as a facility manager, you should take steps to ensure that everything is acceptable and up to par.

Bathrooms can be a breeding ground for mold and fungus, which have a negative effect on the air quality. Due to the overwhelming moisture and humidity, several components of your bathroom can be susceptible to mold growth. Your bathroom stalls and partitions may have mold sprouting inside them, so think about replacing these stalls with a more durable material like HDPE (high-density polyethylene), which is resistant to moisture, scratches, and even graffiti.

If you’ve kept up with your facility’s systems in terms of maintenance and repairs, you should expect good results from an audit. However, a variety of measures can help you to achieve a great audit. You may even want to consider some renovations. Learn more by downloading our eBook The Complete Guide to Renovating Your School’s Locker Room.

Operation and Circulation Restroom Design

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There are numerous considerations when designing a commercial restroom. How many users do you anticipate will use the facility? Is there ample space for two lanes of traffic flowing in and out of the restroom? How many stalls do you really need? All these questions have to do with operation and circulation restroom design, and they should be answered by the architect, designer, or contractor.

If you’re not sure what to look out for during your next bathroom build, check out the helpful tips below.

The Entryway

The entrance to your restroom is one of the most important aspects. Bathrooms with a door should have the door opening out instead of in to the bathroom. This prevents guests from feeling cramped or possibly even being hit by the door when someone else attempts to enter. This is especially important if the sink or hand drying station is near the doorway.

Labyrinth entrances are a great alternative because they void the need for a door altogether and help promote a safer and more sanitary environment. When constructing the entrance, be sure to leave enough space for two guests to walk side by side. This allows users to enter and leave at the same time without bumping into each other.

Flow of Traffic

Now that we’ve covered the entrance, it’s a good time to talk about the general flow of traffic in your new restroom. Designing a restroom really starts with understanding how you want guests to use the restroom. For instance, you don’t want people to have to double back to get from the sink to where they can dry their hands. In fact, it’s a good idea to have the hand drying station positioned near the exit (as long as the door doesn’t open into that space) so users can wash and dry their hands before touching the door handle.

Most commercial restrooms are designed with the first user action located furthest from the entrance and the last intended action located closest to the entrance. So ideally, toilets and bathroom stalls should be located in the back of the restroom, the hand washing area somewhere in the middle, and the hand drying station near the entrance.

Number of Expected Users

Understanding the number of people you expect to use the restroom at different parts of the day will dramatically change how it’s designed. For example, a restroom in a small café might get away with having only two toilets, while a large law firm might need 10 times that amount.

Knowing the peak usage times and number of people using the restroom will also help you understand your needs when it comes to other fixtures like sinks, hand driers, mirrors, and even trash receptacles. After all, if your cleaning crew only comes once a day, you want to make sure that the trash receptacle is large enough to handle daily use without overflowing.

Maintenance Needs

The last consideration when thinking about operation and circulation restroom design is how often you plan to have your restroom serviced and cleaned. It’s a good idea to look for restroom materials that offer exceptional durability and relatively low maintenance requirements. This can include premium faucets, fixtures, bathroom partitions, or vanities.

Green Buildings: Common Construction Problems and Solutions

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Far from a fad, green building and green design have entered the mainstream. What was once a novelty for designers and architects has now become a staple in the industry. Some of what’s helped to make green buildings so popular is their ability to solve some of the most common construction problems, especially those having to do with energy and water consumption.

In this post, we take a close look at the types of construction problems that can be solved by building green.

Energy Loss through Heating & Cooling Systems

One of the most common construction problems has to do with wasted energy. Architects and contractors are tasked with creating a facility that can optimize energy use. This can be especially difficult with heating and cooling units when doors are frequently opened, letting in outside air. Windows can also be a source of energy loss, allowing air to seep in through cracks or gaps.

To help the HVAC system run more efficiently, you can use energy-efficient windows, which lock in air and block outside air from entering. You can also create a double door entrance to prevent outdoor air temperatures from affecting the indoor climate control system.

This method uses one door that leads from outside into a small room. This climate-controlled room has another door that leads into the rest of the building. This prevents untreated air from rushing into the building or treated air from rushing out every time the door is opened.

Would you like more information about making your building more green friendly? Download our FREE eBook Sustainable Building Products: How to Make Your Facility Eco-Friendly from Top to Bottom.This free guide will teach you about using recyclable materials, reducing harmful emissions, and much more. 

High Water Consumption in Restrooms

Water consumption is another primary concern when creating a new building, especially if you’re responsible for the building’s future operational costs. Bathrooms are notorious for consuming high volumes of water. Using green building design, you can help to reduce the amount of water used.

This can be achieved by installing low-flow toilets or urinals, which use no more than 1.6 gallons of water with every flush. Similarly, low-flow faucets in the restroom can help to minimize water waste when guests are washing their hands without reducing the effectiveness of the sink itself.

Wasted Energy in Unoccupied Spaces

Facilities waste large amounts of energy (and revenue to pay for that energy) due to lighting unoccupied areas. An easy solution for this common construction problem is to install motion-activated lighting that’s on a timer. This is perfect for buildings that have areas staffed 24 hours as well as areas that are only occupied for part of the day.

These automatic lights replace traditional switches, so there’s no risk of someone accidentally leaving the lights on in an unused area, and it ensures that the lights are only running when needed.

 

Why Choose LEED Certified Green Building Materials?

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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has become the standard for green building certifications. Their in-depth program looks at a facility from the planning stage all the way through everyday operation. It’s no secret that LEED certified buildings enjoy lower energy costs and other savings, which is why so many businesses are now interested in having a green-friendly building.

One of the best ways to earn certification is by choosing LEED certified green building materials. These materials are taken into consideration when a building is being scored for certification.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at some of the benefits of choosing LEED certified materials.

LEED Certified Buildings Are More Attractive to Buyers

If you’re in the business of commercial real estate, you know just how popular green buildings have become. Facility owners and administrators are drawn to the potential energy savings as well as the positive environmental impact that sustainable design offers. Using LEED certified building materials can help your building be more attractive to buyers interested in an eco-friendly facility.

For more information, download our FREE eBook Sustainable Building Products: How to Make Your Facility Eco-Friendly from Top to Bottom.

Better Indoor Environment for Staff and Guests

Certain materials can be harmful and contribute to poor indoor air quality (IAQ). Poor IAQ has been tied to low attendance, illness, and other negative effects. Materials that are certified by LEED are approved for having low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. These emissions can be anything from dust particles to harmful fumes from heavy-duty paints.

By using these materials in your facility, you can improve the health of your staff, improve productivity, and reduce the rate of absenteeism.

Energy Efficiency = Potential Savings Each Year

One of the biggest draws of LEED materials is their ability to reduce a building’s energy and water consumption. This, in turn, can reduce the annual cost of operations, which means more money in the pockets of building owners, their projects, and their teams. But how exactly do these materials cause a drop in energy use?

Low-flow toilets, for example, use a fraction of the water with each flush as traditional toilets. Similarly, low-flow faucets help to reduce the amount of water wasted when guests wash their hands.

Meanwhile, materials like HDPE bathroom partitions can help to reduce the water, chemicals, and energy needed to clean the bathroom because the material resists graffiti, bacteria, and other concerns. Being easy to clean is a great benefit of the material in addition to its low maintenance needs.

Easier to Build and Sell

According to the US Green Building Council, “Green homes sell at higher prices and faster than comparable, conventional homes.” That’s about all the incentive that most designers need to shoot for LEED certification with their next build. Not only that, but the group also found that the cost to build one green home usually matched or was less than that of a conventional home. So as you can see, there are plenty of reasons to choose LEED certified green building materials.

Questions to Ask When Hiring an Architect

Although not every construction or renovation project requires an architect to be brought on board, having one can certainly help to make sure that your plans go off without a hitch. But when shopping for an architect, how do you know that you’re enlisting someone who has the right skills and training for the job?

To help, we’ve come up with some of the key questions to ask when hiring an architect.

What Services Do You Offer?

This might seem like a silly question if you’re not familiar with how architects work, but it’s an important one to ask upfront. For the most part, the architect is responsible for schematic design, design development, and creating construction documents.

However, architects can also help you with bidding and negotiations with contractors as well as supervise the project to ensure that everything is being built according to the original plans. So be sure to ask your architect which services they offer and if they’d be OK with only providing the service you need.

How Much Experience Do You Have with This Type of Project?

It’s not usually a good sign if an architect has zero experience with the type of project or renovation that you hired them to take on. So unless you’re comfortable with your building being the guinea pig for them, it would behoove you to find an architect that’s familiar with the work.

Are You Familiar with Wood Frame Construction and Basic Structural Engineering?

The bids that contracts give you will depend largely on the schematics and blueprints designed by the architect. Some architects go into great detail explaining each specification and how every structural component will be created. This helps the contracts better understand any possible issues with the design and allows them to give you a more accurate bid.

On the other hand, vague blue prints or designs that haven’t been thought through will likely cost more to build. So an architect that has experience with wood frame construction and basic structural engineering could potentially save you the headache and cost of issues down the road.

Do You Have Experience with Green Building or Affordable Design?

Whether you’d like to lower your initial costs or the building’s environmental impact, working with an architect that’s experienced in green building or affordable design has its benefits. You can also ask if they carry LEED Credentials. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Can You Design on a Budget? Is My Budget Realistic?

Some architects are true dreamers. They care more about getting published and winning awards than keeping your project under budget. It’s important to make sure that you and your architect are on the same page in terms of budget. It’s also good to find out whether what you’re asking for is even doable.

Follow these questions and you’ll be well on your way to hiring a great architect for your next project. Contact Scranton Products for all your locker and bathroom partition needs!

Facility Design May Have an Impact on Human Error in Hospitals

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When most people consider the type of care they’ll receive at a hospital, they look to the qualifications of the doctors and nurses or the access to cutting-edge medical equipment. However, one thing that virtually no one thinks of is the design of the facility itself, which is a huge oversight according to scientific research that suggests facility design may have an impact on human error in hospitals.

In this article, we explore the research and discuss how you can utilize design strategies to effectively reduce the possibility of human error.

How Can Hospital Design Promote Human Error?

So you’re probably wondering, how can the design of a building actually lead to human error? While the answer could easily be covered by volumes of books on human psychology and cognitive ability, it would suffice to say that a confusing or unintuitive design lends itself more to cultivating erroneous behavior. This could be something as simple as designing patient room doorways that are wide enough for hospital beds to fit through so patients don’t have to be taken off the bed and transported by other means.

Another common design flaw is lighting. Having adequate lighting in treatment areas is important for doctors and medical professionals to diagnose and treat patients accurately.

Designing to Reduce Human Error in Hospitals

One way to design your hospital so it reduces the risk of human error is to create a well-organized and intuitive facility. Wide hallways, for example, make it easy for many different people and equipment to be moved without causing a blockage. Double automatic doors are also helpful for allowing patients to be moved in their beds from one section of the hospital to another.

Another important factor of design includes standardization, which can improve efficiency. Having rooms with a standardized layout and keeping medical supplies and equipment in the same places means that staff will be able to find exactly what they need no matter which room they’re in.

Facility Design

Designing with HDPE

Choosing materials for your hospital is almost as important as choosing the design plans. For many, the invention of high-density polyethylene has created a new standard for health-conscious building materials.

In addition to resisting dents and rust, HDPE is easy to clean and resistant to bacteria—big news for healthcare facilities. What’s more is that the durability of HDPE helps to keep annual operational costs low. Plus, many HDPE materials are LEED certified, so you can rest assured knowing that they’re safe for your staff and your patients.

HDPE is used in a variety of applications, but it’s most commonly used for lockers, bathroom partitions, vanities, and changing compartments within the healthcare industry.

To learn more about HDPE and bacteria in your hospital, check out this blog post: How Your Hospital Locker Rooms Could Be a Breeding Ground for Bacteria.

Planning Guide for Maintaining School Facilities

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Keeping your school looking and running in good condition is a full-time job. However, the job shouldn’t be left to one person but rather a team of dedicated employees who will help you see to it that the school is properly maintained year after year.

To make sure that your team is set for success, we’ve created this helpful planning guide for maintaining school facilities. By following the information covered in this guide, you’ll be sure to create a well-thought-out plan for your facility’s maintenance needs.

Planning for Success

If you’re going to build a maintenance plan that actually helps move the important projects forward, then it has to be part of the school’s master plan. This master plan discusses all the goals, objectives, and needs of the school, from new textbooks to new locker rooms.

Making the school’s maintenance needs part of the facility’s overarching plan is important for assuring that funding is received from the school district. It’s also the best way to make sure that maintenance needs are seen and reviewed by the decision makers of your institution. School facility maintenance plans can even help to enhance students’ education.

Planning Guide for Maintaining School Facilities

Who to Add to Your Team

Collaboration during the planning phase is an integral part of your school’s maintenance plan. Not only will you likely be exposed to new ideas and ways of thinking, but you’ll also increase the likelihood that decision makers will buy into your plans by making them part of the process early on.

When deciding who to add to your team, consider any stakeholder with a sense of ownership in the facility. This might be members of the school board or the school district. Or it could be the school’s administrators or instructors. Oftentimes, the type of project you’re planning will determine who you’ll add to your team during the planning process.

Budgeting and Planning

Making sure that you budget for maintenance and any planned renovations or construction is important. Your school’s maintenance and operations budget will cover the expense of any existing facility or equipment. If you wish to construct an additional building or renovate an existing area, those funds should come out of capital project funding, not the existing operations budget. Otherwise, you run the risk of neglecting your current facility while resources and staff are channeled to the new construction or renovation project.

Using Data

Data is a powerful and often essential tool for maintenance planning. Otherwise, you’ll be mostly guessing what your school will need and how much it may cost to fulfill those needs. For example, by using real data about annual enrollment rates, you can properly plan for maintenance needs in the future as the student body either increases or decreases.

One example of how using data can be important for your school has to do with enrollment rates and lockers. By analyzing year-over-year enrollment rates, you can predict how many lockers your facility will need to accommodate all students in five or even 10 years. This gives you more time for planning and executing the plan before student enrollment exceeds the number of available lockers.

Follow these helpful tips when planning for maintenance at your school facility and you’ll be sure to create a successful plan.