Shop Organization
In order to be more efficient and proficient in our daily jobs as maintenance professionals on property, one of the best things you can do for yourself, for your own sanity, for your own mental health is to keep your shop clean and organized. Yes, nothing is more frustrating than working on something.
Um, uh, say you're working on a dishwasher and you don't have the part that you need, but you know, you have one in the shop, so you tell the resident, Hey, left something in my shop. I'll be right back. You take off, you run down of the shop and you can find what you're looking for. You know it's there because you ordered it or your supervisor ordered it, uh, but you just cannot seem to locate it.
Have your shop organized. A lot of your suppliers will provide you with bins and labels and, uh, some companies even color code, those LA labels. Um, and I suggest you try to find a way to, um, categorize your parts based on how or whatever company you use. They all have a color code system. Um, blue for plumbing, yellow for electrical, or lighting orange for HVAC, I think.
Um, but have a clean organized shop so you can find the parts you need when you need to find them. I can't tell you the number of times I, I've been working at a sister property and I've gone to look for something and just. Can't find it. And, uh, it's always okay, I couldn't complete that work order because I couldn't find the part.
And then, you know, somebody who may work there regularly is like, oh, well it's over here on, on this table underneath all of these drip pans or whatever. You know, just do yourselves a favor. Keep your shop clean and organized. Be able to find something instantly as you walk in, uh, as you're looking for it.
You, you don't need to be wasting time. Looking for parts and it would just make your life so much easier if you know where to go rather than getting stressed and worried about time and worried about the resident. I gotta get back. I gotta get back. Keep it clean, keep it organized. Um, also follow your company's policies and procedures on how you should, uh, keep material for your shops.
Um, I'm a fan of using the trash can. If I take a part off of something and I do not know if it's good or bad, I do not keep it. I throw it away. So, um, get rid of the junk. Get rid of the junk, uh, clean up the space. Have, have space to move around. Have space for storage if you need it. But, um, don't be a hoarder.
Get rid of the stuff. If you don't know if it's good or bad, oh, we'll just use it next time and see what happens. No. No, that's just more time and more trouble that you're putting yourself through. So keep your shops clean and organized. Get some bins and labels. Categorize your parts. Make your life so much easier.
