Serving People through Facility Maintenance

by Andrew Pust

An aspect of maintenance and repair that often affects the timing of the work to be done is the availability of parts and supplies. Several years ago it came to our attention that we were spending more on fuel and putting more miles on the camp vehicles than we had anticipated. We were averaging two trips to town a day for basic supplies. With a round trip to town taking between an hour and a half to three hours, we realized that we were not only putting a lot of miles on our vehicles and using a lot of gasoline but also losing a lot of work time. We decided to minimize our trips to town by opening a small, in-house, hardware store.

At the time, our closest hardware store was Last Chance Hardware located about fifteen minutes away. Because our goal was for our staff to shop at our store first, we named it First Chance. The original 8’ x 12’ room has been upgraded to more than 1000 square feet with over 700 different items in stock. The maintenance department manages the store, since most of its usage is intended to be for maintenance and repairs. We also encourage other departments to use First Chance, and we have a sign-out sheet at the door to charge things not being used for maintenance to the proper budget.

Before you write this venture off as too time consuming and complicated, remember that the size of the store isn’t the point. The idea is to keep on hand a sufficient supply of regularly used items so normal repairs can be made without needing to go any further than your maintenance shed or supply room to get the part. Having an organized place to find those things encourages you to actually use them. We have all looked at a pile of stuff that we are pretty sure contains what we need and have gone to the store anyway because it was quicker. The First Chance idea was such a benefit that we now have Slim Chance for basic office supplies.

Town Run is another helpful institution. One person is scheduled to take everyone else’s list to town on a particular day and purchase the items needed. At first, we did just one run a week. Now there are three a week during the summer and two the rest of the year. The biggest requirement here is planning ahead. If we know we will need something on Monday, it needs to get on the town list for the previous Thursday.

As much as possible, develop the use of maintenance supply catalogues. Shipping is free, and items usually arrive the next business day via UPS. Anytime I can save the town run person a stop by ordering by phone, fax, or internet, we both win. I know exactly what I am getting, and he gets home sooner. If you repeatedly order the same supplies, it is worth the time to create a database with items and catalogue numbers; then you don’t have to look up each item every time you place an order.

Also, make use of the commercial sales people at the vendors you use. You may have to open an account to make it work. You can call or fax a list to the store, and the items should be ready to pick up when you walk in the door; this saves time and prevents browsing and impulse buying. Once you develop a relationship with vendors, they will often give you a basic discount which saves you money as well as time. Remember, a little bit of graciousness and gratitude will make a lasting impression on vendors who are used to dealing with impatient and ungrateful customers.