Willow Facilities

Close it properly. Document what you find. Fix what needs attention. And give yourself a head start on next season. As summer comes to an end, swimming pool operations begin to wind down. The furniture gets stored, the last swimmers leave, and eventually the pool equipment is shut down. But closing a commercial or community swimming pool properly is more than simply turning off the pumps and putting on the cover. For a facilities manager, the end-of-season shutdown is an impo

Facilities Insight is a new series of short, practical articles designed for busy facility professionals. Each one-minute read focuses on a simple observation, inspection tip, or actionable idea that you can put to use immediately. The goal is simple: read it, take action, and make your facility a little better today. Check out the first one, leave a comment and let us know what you think. End-of-Summer Maintenance: 5 Things to Check Before Fall Summer may not be over yet, bu

No building is perfect. Even facilities with strong maintenance programs can develop safety deficiencies over time due to aging infrastructure, normal wear and tear, deferred maintenance, or simple oversight. The good news is that most safety issues are preventable. Regular inspections and a proactive maintenance program can identify problems before they lead to injuries, regulatory citations, equipment failures, or costly repairs. A strong facility safety program is built on

Creating a Capital Reserve Study for a facilities maintenance department is a crucial step in ensuring that your facility operates efficiently and effectively. What Is a Capital Reserve Study? Every facility contains assets that will eventually need to be repaired, replaced, or upgraded. Roofs wear out, HVAC systems reach the end of their useful life, pumps fail, and building finishes deteriorate over time. A capital reserve study is a planning tool that helps you identify th

You will either schedule maintenance proactively, or the equipment will eventually schedule failures for you. The Reality of Maintenance Work Today Even facilities with strong preventive maintenance programs often struggle to consistently complete scheduled work. Limited staffing, tight budgets, aging infrastructure, and constant operational demands make it difficult to stay ahead. Then the unexpected happens. A pump fails. An air handler goes down. A leak appears. A tenant o

Maintenance can quickly become overwhelming when work requests are coming in faster than they can be completed. In many facilities, there is often more work to do than there is time in the day — or technicians available on the floor. Organizing incoming requests into a clear path for completion, based on true priority, can be a constant challenge. One of the biggest difficulties in maintenance management is what could be called emotional priority. Many requesters naturally fe