Seeing to the needs of an entire retirement village can be a daunting task. With a million and one things on your mind at any given moment, fretting about whether Mrs Smith’s water pipes will leak again this summer is a thought you’d rather avoid. With a long to-do list looming over your head, it’s crucial to think ahead and be proactive. As such, the importance of preventive maintenance cannot be overstated.
When it comes to the upkeep of your village, you can implement preventative measures to ensure that you are never caught off guard again. Preventative maintenance can help save you money and stress, and improve the overall lifespan of your village buildings and assets. Below, we outline the importance of preventive maintenance and how it can benefit your village:
It increases the longevity of your assets and avoids large-scale repairs
Building materials are an expensive investment. Period. They can also deteriorate over time regardless of the quality of the assets you acquire, which means that somewhere along the line you’ll have to reinvest to repair these materials. However, with frequent maintenance, your buildings, paints and other structural materials are likely to last longer. Inspecting your buildings regularly, refilling small cracks as they start showing, replacing old hinges and performing ongoing painting maintenance can ensure that your buildings not only look better, but also prevent further damage, increasing the lifespan of your building materials and assets and avoiding large-scale, disruptive repairs further down the line.
It’s a money-saver that helps to free up cash flow
As the saying aptly goes, ‘prevention is better than a cure’. Forking out a large sum of money to conduct repairs every time something becomes dilapidated is not financially feasible. This puts strain on cash flow that could be directed elsewhere in the village. Factoring in a smaller monthly fee to have a trustworthy contractor maintain your village property is a far cry from paying a few million dollars for a massive one-off fix that could have been avoided.
It improves the overall safety of your village
There’s no doubt as to the importance of preventive maintenance in helping facilities managers maintain a safe environment. Old or run-down building materials can pose serious safety threats to village residents. A loose roof tile can damage personal property, and in the worst-case scenario, result in severe injury. Of course, you want to provide an environment where the village residents feel safe at all times, knowing that only the best quality materials are being used in the upkeep of their personal and surrounding properties. Constantly inspecting and looking for any building flaws and repairing them can be the difference between an unfortunate accident and a happy community.
When planning a painting project for your aged care or retirement facility, it’s paramount that you and your contractors minimise disruptions and look out for the health and safety of your residents and staff. Download our Guide to Painting Aged Care & Retirement Facilities to learn how to safely and successfully manage your next project.
Higgins Coatings is a premier contractor for painting and refurbishment services throughout Australia. We understand the specific needs of retirement living and aged care facilities and can help you turnover rooms and units within your facility quickly and safely. Higgins has an ISO tri-certification accreditation in safety, quality and the environment. Contact us today for a quote
Originally published 26 November 2015. Updated 12 April 2022.