What does your facilities management data reveal?
Whether your facility uses manually-intensive, paper-based logs or a digital tool to track data, chances are that data contains a goldmine of information you can leverage to save your facility precious time and resources. The right data allows you to ensure that your procedures are efficient, safe and cost-effective.
Do you want your data to show you the money? This article will lay out four key areas to look into to see where you could save some cash. We’ll also discuss how to ensure you are collecting the right data in the first place so you can continue to ensure your facility runs as efficiently as possible.
1. Custodial Staffing
Maintenance consumes roughly a quarter of your custodial payroll spend. Along with routine repair and upkeep, these activities may include:
- Monitoring environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, water leaks, etc.
- Maintaining event logs and updating service records
- Conducting safety checks in remote areas of the campus
- Creating incident, compliance and regulatory reports
Research shows that one large district will spend $327,600 for custodians to monitor, log and report — and that’s a conservative estimate!
2. Food Storage
Much of the waste on campus food is due to portion policies, ill-timed lunch periods, and picky appetites. Some of the waste, however, results from food stored at the wrong temperatures. The ingredients that go into a K-12 school lunch cost, on average, $1.70 per meal. Based on 30 million lunches, that’s approximately $51 million. This doesn’t include school breakfasts or meals served in post-secondary campuses nationwide.
When refrigerators fail, it’s not just the price of a hamburger patty that alarms school management. The CDC estimates that 48 million people each year are sickened from food. Foodborne illnesses are not just responsible for upset stomachs and diarrhea — sometimes they are deadly.
3. Medication Safeguarding and Storage
Of the 73 million children living in the U.S., nearly 19% require some type of medication. Some medications, such as insulin and liquid antibiotics, need refrigeration. Medication stored at the wrong temperature, just like food, must be discarded. Refrigerated or not, schools must also take measures to prevent theft. Prescription drugs, such as Ritalin and Adderall, are often targeted for theft due to their high resale value.
In Virginia, an unscrupulous school employee stole student medications, replacing them with anything from Aleve to generic sedatives. Unfortunately, these are not isolated occurrences. In addition to the cost of replacement, there is also the liability a school could incur if a student misses a dose or receives counterfeit medication.
4. Environmental Hazards
Even a small, undetected water leak can create a hazard. A school in Portland, Oregon learned that lesson firsthand when mold and mildew caused by a leaky roof forced them to vacate. A month later, and relieved of $1.4 million in roof replacement costs, they were able to return to the elementary school.
Mold and dampness in buildings is linked to respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma, targeting the most vulnerable students. During the pandemic, too, it’s not hard to imagine that such an outbreak could mimic COVID-19 symptoms, triggering a wave of concern throughout campus.
Better Data, More Money
There is money in the numbers — the intelligence you gleam from data can drive better decisions, helping:
- Reduce the amount of time spend on monitoring, reporting and other non-value-added tasks
- Eliminate food spoilage due to malfunctioning refrigerators
- Store and safeguard student medications
- Detect water leaks before they cause significant damage
The facilities staff cannot be everywhere all the time. So, how do you address these matters in the most cost-effective manner possible?
The Right Facilities Management Data Drives Cost-Effective Solutions
Primex OneVue has solutions that save schools time and money. OneVue Sense offers a selection of sensors that provide the data you require. For example:
- OneVue Temperature Sensors provide 24/7 assurance that student medications are stored at the appropriate temperature and humidity levels.
- OneVue Contact Closure Sensors detect the opening and closing of refrigerator and cabinet doors, providing an alert that can help prevent unauthorized or unscheduled access.
- Water Leak Sensors protect your campus from undetected moisture.
- OneVue Temperature and Humidity sensors can ensure your campus stays at a safe temperature level to minimize the spread of infection and maximize student and faculty comfort, without running up unnecessary heating/air costs.
Primex OneVue Suite Provides Optimal Data Control
Primex OneVue Monitor pulls it all together, synthesizing valuable information from the sensor data across your campus. This puts all of the data required for critical facilities decisions at your fingertips. You and your staff share a systematic view of the campus from any web-enabled device, whether on site or from home. With its robust reporting capabilities, you can produce compliance and regulatory reports in minutes. Plus, OneVue Monitor alerts your staff by email, text or phone when something goes wrong.
If you’d like to learn more about how Primex OneVue can help you save money, please contact us today.
References:
https://www.salary.com/research/salary/alternate/custodian-salary
https://schoolnutrition.org/aboutschoolmeals/schoolmealtrendsstats/#5
https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/foodborne-germs.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6938291/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/virginia-school-aide-sentenced-stealing-students-pills-69385203
https://www.primexinc.com/blog/dont-let-water-cause-a-school-closure