Housekeeping departments face downtime, repair and replacement costs when equipment wears out or breaks. But performing routine maintenance on floor care equipment can help extend the life of buffers, sweepers and scrubbers.

Frequent inspections and routine maintenance of equipment can determine whether the machine will last years or months.

“I can tell you that there are customers calling us every day for parts on machines over 30 years old,” says Dave Hamilton, manager of technical services for Nilfisk-Advance, Plymouth, Minn. “I can also tell you that I saw a machine last week that was only 14 months old, just a little over one year, and it was ready to be scrapped because it wasn’t maintained.”

Check on the power source
Not only can regular maintenance extend the life of your equipment, but it also can ensure the safety of your employees. A common source of operability and safety problems is the power — the cords and batteries. Working with any electrical appliance, particularly in conjunction with water and cleaning solutions, increases safety risks. And according to Hamilton, some of the most common problems he’s seen are power-cord related. Cords get run over, pulled against corners, shut in doors, stretched, crushed and mutilated, creating a fire hazard. In addition, the pins on the plug can be bent or even shorn off, increasing the chance for electric shock.

Hamilton recommends that cords and plugs be inspected every time a machine is used. Before and after use, the outer jacket of the cord should be checked for cracks, breakage, fraying, wearing, kinking or pinching. The plug should be checked to ensure that all three pins are intact and in good condition.

Another electrical safety issue that arises with floor machines involves the improper use of extension cords. Most machines come with 50- to 75-foot cords, so the use of an extension cord might not be necessary. When using an extension cord, it is important to be sure to use a cord that is rated to handle the power drawn by the machine.

Another mistake floor equipment owners and operators make is taking batteries for granted. Once a week, inspect the cable connections for weakness or corrosion. According to Hamilton, it’s pretty easy to tell if you have battery connection problems.

“You’ll see a big mushy, ugly-looking thing,” he says. “[The corrosion] is a chemical reaction and that creates a mucky green or brown mass.”

At the same time, check the water level in the battery. To Hamilton, a former service technician, this seems like common sense, but the frequency with which he sees the water-level problems suggests otherwise.

“I’ve seen machines come in for repair simply because [owners] never, ever checked the water level,” he says. “Some of those batteries haven’t lasted more than three months.”

Most batteries, depending on their size, should last at least 12 months if they are properly maintained, he says. Some larger batteries can last up to three to four years.

Watch the parts that move
Beyond checking power-related parts, Hamilton suggests that users take a look each week at all the moving parts of their equipment: belts, filters, gaskets, squeegees and brushes. Make sure there are no rips, tears, leaks or clogs. Also be sure that the brush bristles are not worn or bent.

Gear-driven machines should be checked for oil leaks. An easy way to check for leaks is to occasionally examine the spot where the machine is stored. Also, check the brushes. An oil stain in either area could indicate wearing or breakage of the gear case.

Manufacturers of carbon brushes and drive motors rate the parts for a certain number of hours of use. It’s best to follow manufacturer guidelines and replace the parts accordingly.

One of the most important maintenance tasks is also one of the most costly if you neglect it. Users never should consider their work complete until they have cleaned and emptied the machine’s tanks. Think about what can be (and is) picked up by machines.

“Make sure whatever you’re cleaning up isn’t still in the machine — you know, peas, carrots, stuff like that,” Hamilton says. “That’s as much to keep the machine from producing an offensive odor as anything else.”

— Caryn Gracey is a free-lance writer in Milwaukee.

Planning for Maintenance Is Essential
When Michael Hanson became manager of the custodial services department for San Francisco’s City Hall, he began to hear complaints about floor-care machines immediately. Determined to provide his crew with equipment in the best working condition, he brought his vendors in and had every machine overhauled. At that point, he learned that his department’s maintenance procedures needed to be overhauled, as well.

“We got everything in working order, then we started a quarterly maintenance program,” he says. “I knew from experience that if you don’t do preventative and routine maintenance the machines break down a lot more and it’s not doing me any good if the machines aren’t working.”

Hanson had one of his repair vendors come to his facility and teach his crew how to maintain each machine. In addition, Hanson asked the vendor to create a maintenance checklist for each machine and put the lists in the equipment closet with each machine. Each custodian is responsible for the daily maintenance of the machines they use. They check the spark plugs, cables, cords, pads and oil.

Once a month, supervisors inspect each machine. Machines also are sent out or set aside for vendor maintenance on a fixed schedule, depending on the manufacturer’s specifications. When the machines were overhauled at the start of Hanson’s tenure as manager of the department, he had time meters put on the propane buffers. When a machine reaches 50 hours or three months of use, it goes in for routine maintenance.

The new system including maintenance assignments makes it easier for Hanson and his crew to know who is responsible for the maintenance of each machine. In addition, understanding what is needed to maintain the machines and knowing how to do it gives his crew a sense of responsibility.

“When they come in, they say ‘my machine’,” Hanson says. “And since we started this new maintenance program we haven’t really had any issues with machines needing extra repairs and things like that.”

— Caryn Gracey




POSTED ON: 2/1/2003