After what for many has felt like both the longest and shortest year of all time, a brand new year has finally arrived. No one knows for certain what 2022 has in store for all of us, but a new year always presents a prime opportunity for making a fresh start. Even if you’re not personally interested in making any resolutions, it’s important to think of ways to improve your facility so you can enjoy a successful year to come. Of course, building maintenance involves many moving parts, so it’s not always easy to know which project to prioritize or why. While any improvement to your maintenance protocols is welcome, some adjustments will make a bigger impact this year and beyond.

With all this in mind, here are five key ways to cultivate a more appealing, safe, successful facility in 2022.

Five Ways to Cultivate a More Appealing, Safe, and Successful Facility

1. Give Your Building Exterior a Facelift

The outside of your facility is the first thing people will see before entering it. Even if the majority of your occupants see your building every day, these outward appearances matter. When faced with a fresh-looking workplace, employees may feel a surge in morale, and customers/guests will think more highly of your establishment right off the bat. Restoring your facility’s exterior can be as simple as hiring a pressure washing company to blast away dirt and grime that have built up over the past year (it’s usually best to do this in early spring). If you want or need to go further, however, you might also consider repainting your exterior surfaces, especially if you’re updating your branding in 2022. The direct face of your building might not be the only surface that requires your attention, either. More specifically, take a look at the signage surrounding your property – if things are fading or otherwise falling apart, it might be time to replace or restore these signs.

Whatever the case, refreshing your exterior surfaces will create a strong first impression for the new year, putting you on the right foot.

2. Show Your Landscape Some Love

As you’re examining your building’s exterior features, remember that your green spaces contribute to your property’s overall appeal as well. It can be easy to take your landscape for granted, especially when winter weather regularly bombards your lawn with snow. However, failing to care for these spaces can become a major liability. In addition to decreasing your facility’s curb appeal, a poorly kept landscape can lead to pest infestations, mold growth, health and safety hazards, and more. This new year, give your landscape the attention it deserves. At the beginning of the year, focus on snow removal to keep walkways clear and prevent major build-ups of moisture and ice. As winter comes to an end, hire landscaping professionals to prepare your green spaces for new growth (e.g., soil testing, fertilization, new installations, etc.). Continue working with landscape maintenance services throughout the spring, summer, and fall to keep your property’s exterior tidy and beautiful – as temperatures begin to cool once more, these services will prepare your landscape for winter’s return.

Facilities with healthy, beautiful landscapes attract positive attention and encourage more people to enter. These gorgeous green spaces also beautify the community as a whole, helping you secure your role in the local scene.

3. Re-Establish Your Commitment to Cleaning

It’s no secret that cleanliness is important for keeping occupants safe and healthy, protecitng your assets, and maintaining your reputation. As time goes on, however, various cleaning tasks can get put on the back burner, and those tasked with cleaning may take more and more shortcuts. If you truly want to give your facility a fresh start this year, it’s time to leave the past behind and forge ahead with a more optimized cleaning program. Some facilities might benefit from outsourcing their cleaning and janitorial services, while others may need to hire additional employees or re-train current ones. Whatever the case, a renewed commitment to cleanliness will include:

• Analyzing current cleaning protocols and products to find opportunities for improvement

• Prioritizing cleaning tasks and schedules (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, etc., areas of importance)

• Adjusting staffing, roles, and responsibilities as needed

• Investing in new cleaning technology and products to streamline operations, reduce emissions, and improve outcomes

4. Don’t Ignore Your Floors

Your facility’s flooring should be a major cleaning priority, but that’s not all. Although your floors are regularly underfoot and taken for granted, they can make a big difference in terms of your facility’s aesthetics, safety, and efficiency. Dirty, beaten up floors put your people at greater risk of slips, trips, and falls while simultaneously depressing your interior’s overall appearance. Conversely, fresh floors make spaces brighter while providing a safer surface for foot traffic and machinery to travel upon. In addition to regular cleaning, proper commercial floor care includes periodic maintenance such as stripping and waxing, deep carpet cleaning, tile and grout restoration, re-sealing, and so on (depending on the flooring material and its specific needs). Providing this level of floor care in 2022 will enhance the inside of your building on the whole.

5. Prepare for the Worst

No matter where your facility is located, it will have to contend with the ebbs and flows of its local climate. Throughout the year, the southeastern U.S. (where The Budd Group operates) experiences heavy rains, high winds, snowstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme heat, and more. Moreover, the entire world has been dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and future outbreaks of variants and other diseases are possible. Though the details vary from region to region and season to season, it’s important to prepare your facility for any and every potential disaster that might befall it. In order to give your facility the best shot at success in 2022, take the time to examine and update your current emergency preparedness protocols. Consider whether or not you have solid plans in place for emergency exits, sheltering in place, storm debris removal, transmissible illness prevention, and so on.

What Are Your New Year Facility Resolutions?

It’s officially 2022 – what better time to take stock of your facility’s strengths and weaknesses to ensure a more successful future? The Budd Group is here to help you secure this success with our wide range of facility support services, including comprehensive cleaning, maintenance, landscaping, and so much more. To learn more about our services and values, give us a call today at 800-221-8158!