Preventive Maintenance is not as sexy as constructing a new building; it’s more like the ongoing care you devote to keep a marriage going. Making something last longer by taking care of it saves money, keeps things valuable and enables you to rest easy knowing that it won’t shut down or spontaneously break up with you…. pun intended. As with relationships, building components start out new and nice to look at, and then over the years they can get a little run down and start to not work as well as they used to. I’m not saying that every building component is going to put on weight and become lazy — but they will start to run themselves down if not given their scheduled tune up and maybe some flowers now and again. There’s something to be said about an old furnace that works day in and day out and doesn’t cost you anything, except your attention.

To avoid the relationship rut between you and your building equipment, here are some easy tips to keep things spicy and working the way they should:

1. Consider All of Your Building’s Systems and Their Needs

Whether you are coming into a brand new building or a building that has seen better days, the same premise follows: all building systems need attention. For every building system there is a suggested maintenance schedule that is usually provided with the warranty information. If you can’t find the system information because it has been lost in the shuffle, then start fresh today. Bring in the necessary maintenance staff or contractor who will provide a service to maintain the system. Knowing what you know now, start building the relationship between you and your HVAC system, your chiller and your fire alarm system and everything else in your building; you will be surprised what you get back when you nurture your building relationships.

2. Commit to a Preventive Maintenance Plan

Starting a preventive maintenance plan is the responsible thing to do for you, your tenants and your building. With everything else going on with the building, it is essential that you write down and regularly update the schedules checking off inspections and maintenance completion. This will provide you with a record for your reference. This comes in handy if you are fixing the equipment prematurely or are having a continual problem. This documentation can provide due diligence to have the equipment replaced or fixed at no cost to the building or at the very least it will provide an accurate history. Having all your maintenance records stored in the same place also helps when transitioning a new piece of equipment or even a new staff person. When your records are organized, you’ll be better prepared when training new people coming into your workplace.

3. Stay Faithful and Reap the Rewards of a Healthy Relationship

To keep everyone happy and healthy, maintaining building systems allows tenants and staff to live and work in a comfortable environment. There is nothing worse than having the heating system not work in the middle of winter. Having hot water to take a shower and heat in the winter are all apart of maintaining the building standards. The tenant’s quality of living is affected by the building systems. When tenants are happy, your life is easier. There are fewer complaints and less maintenance calls. If you start being proactive with a preventive maintenance plan instead of being reactive, than you can better manage your time and keep the tenants smiling and paying rent. You also avoid spending money on costly emergencies when equipment breaks down.

Cultivating a happy, healthy relationship with your building is the right thing to do for you, the tenants and your building. Using these tips will help you control costs better, invest your capital reserves more effectively and avoid unhappy surprises. Remember: if you ignore your building and don’t treat it right, don’t be surprise if something breaks up or down on you the Friday before a long weekend!

Preventive Maintenance Resources

Through SHSC Technical Services, housing providers in Ontario have access to services that support their preventive maintenance plans, including:

• General appraisals of your building’s physical condition
• Reviewing and interpreting of Building Condition Audits and Energy Audits
• Arranging new Building Condition Audits and Energy Audits
• Priority setting of capital work
• Establishing capital plans

The Asset Management Centre also offers a Preventive Maintenance workshop. To find out more about these offerings, contact SHSC Customer Care at 1-877-733-7472 or customercare@shscorp.ca

Image Credit: Melissa Goldstein

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how lucky I am to experience being both a resident and a change agent in my neighbourhood of Alexandra Park. As our neighbourhood goes through community consultations, design charrettes, and meetings related to the Revitalization of Alexandra Park, I reflect on how working with communities has allowed me to meet great people, learn new things and has given me the great feeling of knowing that I’ve made a difference in someone’s life.

My real-life experience working in my own community and several other communities combined with my background in Urban Planning has strengthened my belief of the importance of an inclusive, bottom-up, participatory approach to developing and strengthening communities.

Building strong communities means going beyond “bricks and mortar” to ensure individual well-being, economic and social inclusion, financial and environmental sustainability, and building on the capital that already exists.  A comprehensive, inclusive approach must be taken in order to ensure healthy communities and shared ownership.  Working with communities is something I truly value and I’ve learned some simple lessons I’d like to share.

I’ve compiled a list of 10 tips that I’ve found to be effective in building strong relationships within communities.

1. Introduce yourself in a friendly way:

• Let people know who you are, where you’re from and why you are there; be yourself

2. Take your time and observe your environment:

• When you are in a new environment, take the time to understand your surroundings. This is important to getting to know the people you are working with

3. Use connecting language and tone:

• Use language that is clear, straightforward  and easily understood by everyone

4. Look for informal leaders in the community:

• Take advantage of this asset. Informal leaders already have the trust and respect of the community, even if they don’t have a formal role

5. Learn from local expertise:

• Though you may be a subject matter expert for the project, be sure to incorporate the knowledge and strengths of the people you are working with – you can learn from the experiences they share with you

6. Work with the community:

• It’s a partnership, where everyone is equally valued
• Have an idea of what you will be working on, but leave room for the community to plan with you
• If there are aspects of the project you want to include, ensure that the people you are working with are onside
• Make sure you are all working together with mutual intentions
• If your partners want to make any changes, be flexible and work together to find alternatives

7. Ensure everyone feels that their voices are heard:

• It’s important to pay attention and listen actively to your partners; wait for them to finish speaking before voicing your view

8. Be honest, accountable and well-intentioned:

• Be truthful and straightforward with your ideas and keep in mind that you will be held accountable for the ideas and actions you put forward

9. Value working with communities:

• Recognizing the value and importance of working with communities depends on  your genuine support and understanding of the positive benefits

10. Use professional judgment:

• Working with communities requires professional judgment; while theory is important, unforeseen circumstances may require that you be practical and use good judgment and common sense to deal with difficult matters as they arise

These tips work. Using them can save time, improve relationships, ensure a seamless and successful partnership and create positive successful outcomes for everyone involved!

As a veteran of nearly 30 years working for various purveyors of customer service – hotels, retail, food & beverage and social housing – I am constantly on the lookout for examples of good service; the kind that tells me that a company cares enough not only to train their employees, but to recruit the right folks to begin with.

Sadly I am often left disappointed. And I don’t think I’m alone. From the hotel receptionist who does not make eye contact, to the bank teller who can’t seem to smile, to the store clerk who has no clue where that particular electrical widget is located – and makes no effort to find out, it can feel like customer service has gone the way of the dinosaurs.

Download the PowerPoint

But I don’t think it has for two reasons:

• First, everyone (even people who deliver poor service) knows and appreciates exceptional customer service and its attributes – empathy, listening skills, not interrupting the customer, and follow-through.
• Second, businesses run the risk of damaging their reputation and their bottom line by delivering poor customer service. Take for example the DoubleTree Hotel and the damage their reputation sustained when two disgruntled business travelers documented their experience with a (hilariously funny) Powerpoint presentation. It was sent to their contacts via e-mail with a cover note encouraging them to share it with friends. It eventually was sent to hundreds of thousands of people; reported on in USA Today, NBC and elsewhere; and the Hilton hotel chain’s management (DoubleTree’s parent company) had to do massive damage control costing hundreds of thousands of dollars (see the second entry for details)

So what do you do?

In an article on Customer Service Manager, Bill Hogg offers these 10 tips to frontline workers:

1. Treat your customers like human beings.
2. Go beyond the minimum to make your customers love you.
3. Don’t make excuses. If it’s your fault, say so.
4. Don’t take it personally!
5. Listen to your customers. Don’t assume you know what they want.
6. Always pay close attention to what you’re promising, and don’t let a customer talk you into the impossible.
7. Think about what you’re promising.
8. Allow the customer to feel like a priority.
9. Get to problems right away.
10. Follow up!

For further details, you can read the full article. Hogg also has a blog on customer service worth checking out – which has entries in different categories, including ‘customer experience stories,’ ‘employee engagement,’ ‘tips and techniques’ and more.

Attending conferences can be great learning and networking experiences, but they can also end up being a missed opportunity, expensive and a waste of time. With the 2010 ONPHA (Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association) Conference coming up on November 19, here are some tips to help you get the most out of your conference experience.

Prior to Attending a Conference

• Book a room at the conference’s preferred hotel: If you’re coming from out of town, this will enhance your opportunities to meet new people, network and expand on your learning beyond the sessions.
• Don’t forget your business cards: Business cards help other attendees remember you, and provide them with a way to maintain contact after the conference is over.
• Be prepared to provide an overview on your organization: When you are at the conference, you are a representative of your organization and, as such, may be asked to informally summarize your organization’s core mandate or speak to its current business activities. You can prepare yourself by reviewing key business materials produced by your organization (e.g. its website, strategic plan, annual report, overview presentations).

At the Conference

• Are you going for professional development or on behalf of the organization? There is a difference in terms of expectations on what you’ll bring back. With the latter, you will likely be expected to report back to your colleagues. Take notes, pick up materials from information sessions and plan your report back. This might take the form of a short email, a lunch and learn session, or a powerpoint presentation on the conference highlights.
• Don’t travel in a herd: Though it may feel comfortable to stick together with colleagues, you should try to make a conscious effort at splitting up so you take advantage of the opportunity to network and have discussions with others.
• Remember that the presenters aren’t the only source of learning: Pay attention to those who ask questions at the conference sessions. You may want to approach them after to continue the discussion. Conferences are as much about learning from peers as they are from the presentations.
• Attend the receptions or meet and greets: This is a great way to network, and continue discussions from the sessions you attended. While these functions are informal, it’s important to maintain a professional demeanor since you are representing your organization.
• Collect business cards and write down on them a line or two about your interaction with the person: This will give you the opportunity to follow up after the conference. A quick note on the back of the business card will remind you who the person is and help them remember you.

After the Conference

• Debrief with other colleagues that attended: Meet with your co-workers who attended sessions you were not present at, so you can share and discuss what each of you learned.
• Follow up with people you met at the conference: ‘Loose’ connections are often the most helpful because they don’t know the same people you know and may have business insights you don’t have access to. Consider maintaining your connections with business social networking sites like linkedin.com
• Share knowledge with colleagues that didn’t attend: To maximize the knowledge you gained at the conference, consider preparing a report or presentation on what you learned.

Keep these tips in mind when attending your next conference and you will take full advantage of your time while you’re there.

With rising energy costs, more and more people are becoming worried about their utility bills. Are you one of them?

The social housing sector is a large consumer of electricity, natural gas, water and materials. In fact, the sector spends approximately $400 million a year on utilities and these costs are rising.

In response to these concerns, GLOBE recently launched the Sustainability Toolbox: a free, interactive online tool that focuses on no-cost and low-cost ways to run a more profitable and sustainable business.

When you download the Sustainability Toolbox, you will find some easy solutions for keeping utility costs down both at home and at work. It comes down to following three basic rules:

1. Use efficient technology.

• Replacing or buying new equipment or appliances? Choose the most efficient models available. Look for the EnergyStar logo – it’s an easy way to recognize the most energy-efficient choices!
• Replacing toilets, taps and/or showerheads? Install low-flow models to reduce your water use by 25%-50%.
• Not ready for big upgrades? Faucet aerators are inexpensive and easy to install, and will reduce water use without affecting water pressure.
• Change your lightbulbs! CFL bulbs are up to 75% more efficient and last up to 10 times longer – you’ll not only save energy, but maintenance costs as well.
• Get automatic results. Occupancy sensors and/or motion detectors will optimize lighting and fan use and reduce waste. Programmable thermostats allow for comfort and convenience while managing energy used to heat and cool the area.

2. Make sure that the equipment you have, works the way it’s supposed to!

Maximize efficiency by making sure to follow operations and maintenance recommendations.

• Clean and/or replace furnace and exhaust filters regularly.
• Improve circulation: make sure that nothing blocks radiators, registers or vents.
• Repair leaky toilets, faucets and showerheads immediately. A leak of one drop per second can waste as much as 10,000 litres of water a year!
• Insulate and seal windows and doors against drafts. Caulk all cracks and gaps in and around windows, doors, baseboards etc.

3. Stop wasting!

• Turn lights and electronics off when not in use.
• Don’t heat or cool unoccupied space.
• Use cold water to wash your clothes, and only wash full loads of laundry.
• Don’t leave the tap running when washing dishes or brushing your teeth.
• Reduce the amount of garbage you produce. Compost and recycle as much as possible. Keep hazardous materials out of landfill.

To maximize results, it is important to follow all three of these guidelines – neglecting one will reduce the effectiveness of the other. So if you want to take a bite out of your utility bills, remember that a building includes more that just walls, roofs, doors and windows – it also includes the people who live and work within it. How each part of a building interacts with each other (including residents and staff) will define just how sustainable – and cost-effective- your operations will be.

Looking for more useful tips and tools? Visit the GLOBE website to get your FREE copy of the Sustainability Toolbox. Download here

If you have ever had to deal with overflowing garbage bins, trash blowing around buildings and related residents complaints, you know that this is not only unsightly – it can also be costly and time consuming. Reducing and recycling are not just trends or nice ideas, they are ways to lower operating costs and improve living and working conditions.

Sioux Lookout recently demonstrated how community-led efforts can help solve big problems. This north-western Ontario town of 5,500 recently became the first community in Ontario to move towards the outright banning of plastic bags, a ban that started with a citizens’ environment committee and a survey by high school students.

Why are plastic bags a problem?
The chemicals used to manufacture disposable plastic bags are toxic to both people and the environment. The phthalates used to stabilize and soften plastic are known endocrine disruptors. Vinyl chloride is a proven carcinogen and can also cause liver, kidney, and brain damage.

Although these bags are designed to be disposable, they are highly resource-intensive to manufacture, process, transport and dispose of – especially given that they’re intended for single use. But even if you re-use a disposable bag, most will still end up in landfill, where they can take up to 1,000 years to break down. Like plastic garbage patches in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the bags may be out of sight, but their negative impacts to the environment, the economy and human and animal health persist long after they’ve been used.

Other Jurisdictions
To date, Sioux Lookout is among only a handful of global leaders in their move to ban the bag.

In March 2002, Bangladesh banned plastic bags in its capital after they were found to have been the main culprit during the 1988 and 1998 floods that submerged two-thirds of the country. Discarded bags were choking the drainage system. Notably, the ban has produced an unexpected positive economic effect: the revival of the jute bag industry. Jute grows abundantly in Bangladesh and requires a lot less energy to process than polyethelene.

Also in 2002, Ireland introduced a PlasTax of about $0.20 per bag. The money raised from the tax is put into a “green fund” to further benefit communities and the environment. The result has been that consumption has decreased by more than 90%, thanks to an intensive environmental awareness campaign, which made the carrying of plastic bags socially unacceptable.

The Power of Community
In the cases of Ireland and Sioux Lookout particularly, engaging the community proved to be critical to the success of the ban and its environmental and economic outcomes.

What does this mean to people in the housing sector? Well, there are many simple and inexpensive actions which you can take to lower costs and complaints in your buildings and improve health, comfort and maintenance. GLOBE’s Community Champions program, recently recognized in the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario’s recent annual report as a notable initiative, educates and enables the residents themselves to become agents of change in their own communities.

In addition, GLOBE’s soon to be released Sustainability Toolbox is a “starter kit” to identifying opportunities which will provide you with sector-specific examples of improvements that you can make to increase the efficiency of your operations.

To find out more about it, email us!

• Replacing roofs is an excellent opportunity to improve energy efficiency
• Using light coloured shingles, surface coating and gravel can further add to your energy savings
• ENERGY STAR® cool or reflective roof products reduce the amount of heat transferred into a home
• Strategically planning and timing your projects together will help you achieve maximum savings
• Roof replacement time is the best time to consider a renewable energy system

An important part of any housing providers’ energy efficiency program is ensuring that major appliances are as efficient as possible. One way of achieving that outcome is to switch to ENERGY STAR® appliances.

One of the biggest consumers of energy in the home is the fridge. Although energy savings are attained at the unit level when an old unit is replaced by an ENERGY STAR® unit, the story does not end there.

Unless a fridge is taken off the market and out of use through a decommissioning process, the energy saved in one place is used in another. That means that from a community standpoint, and when it comes to reducing the effects of Global Warming, the goal has not been accomplished.

There are also other important considerations to take into account. Reducing waste streams headed for landfill is an important outcome as is reducing the amount of hazardous waste entering the atmosphere. Of these materials, one of the most dangerous in terms of environmental hazards is Fluorocarbon refrigerants.

Fluorocarbon refrigerant contained in air conditioners and refrigerators can be extremely harmful to the environment. 1kg of refrigerant emissions (R410a) has the same greenhouse impact as two tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is comparable to the equivalent of running your car for six months.

A technician that holds a Refrigerant Handling License has the training and skills to minimize the emissions of these refrigerants to the atmosphere. It is an offence for anyone else to handle fluorocarbon refrigerants.

According to the OPA, a proper decommissioning process ensures that more than 95 per cent of materials from all old, inefficient fridges, freezers or air conditioners are recycled.

In many jurisdictions decommissioning is mandatory in any incentive program. SHSC supports the decommissioning of appliances in all replacement programs.

What follows is a step by step description of the decommissioning process.

Step One

Cords are cut and thermostats are broken to disable appliances. At the processing plant, refrigerators are placed onto one of five lines of rollers. As many as 300 refrigerators can be loaded at one time. The bar code of the fridge is scanned, recording that the unit has been received and decommissioned.

Step Two

All loose plastic and aluminum is removed and separated. Plastic is later baled or crushed and recycled. Aluminum and copper are salvaged from each air conditioning unit. Specialized hoses are then attached to extract the propellants — commonly known as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which can be harmful to the environment. The process for freezers varies slightly. Their mercury switches are removed. (More propellants are housed in the insulating foam than in the refrigerator lines; both sources are disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.)

Step Three

A hole is drilled in the back of each refrigerator’s compressor. The refrigerators are placed onto a “Tipper Table” so that all of the compressor oil can be collected and properly disposed of. At this point, units with polyurethane foam insulation have their compressors removed; the units insulated with fiberglass are left with the compressors inside to be baled later. Air conditioners have their covers and PCB capacitors removed and disposed of properly before they are sent on for baling.

Step Four

The units arrive at the baling machine, which crushes the remaining metal, i.e., the “shell” of the refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners.
Refrigerators are crushed four at a time into “blocks”. Refrigerators and freezers with foam insulation are baled and taken to a steel mill, where they are destroyed. Units insulated with fiberglass are baled and sent to a shredder. The material is reused.

Outcomes

Reusing, recycling, and disposing of the various components of the retrieved units means less landfill. Each refrigerator has about four kilograms of foam insulation. About 10 to 15 per cent of the weight of the foam insulation is comprised of CFC-based blowing agents. The destruction of these CFCs prevents 1.8 – 2.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere. Most of the steel produced through the decommissioning process is used to make reinforcing bars for bridges (rebar) and other useful materials.

• Damage to buildings under construction and the materials that go into construction are not usually covered by property insurance
• As a member of the SHSC Group Insurance program however your policy does provide coverage for physical damage to property under construction up to a limit of $500,000 on any one project to existing properties
• This saves you money because contractors can eliminate the cost of this insurance from their bids
• For coverage of projects estimated at more than $500,000 you can purchase a dedicated Builder’s Risk Insurance Policy through SHSC Group Insurance
• Wrap-Up Liability Insurance can also be purchased through SHSC to provide liability insurance for everyone involved in the project

Planning a Renovation, Retrofit or Regeneration Project? Make Sure you Have the Right Insurance Coverage

Are you planning a project as part of the Social Housing Renovation and Retrofit Program? SHSC can help with your insurance needs, which will be above and beyond the regular requirements of your day-to-day operations.

Typically, damage to buildings under construction and the materials that go into the construction are not usually covered by property insurance. However, as a member of the SHSC Group Insurance program your policy does cover physical damage up to a limit of $500,000 on any one project for changes, alterations, repairs or additions to existing properties. This is important to know as your contractors can eliminate the cost of this insurance from their bids and save you money. To make sure this cost does not get reflected in your bid, we can provide standard wording to exclude this insurance from your contract.

If you need coverage for a project with a contract price of more than $500,000, you can purchase a Builder’s Risk Insurance Policy through SHSC Group Insurance. This may be a good option to consider, as purchasing this policy through the group may be more cost-effective than getting the contractor to buy this coverage through their own broker.

You may also want to consider purchasing additional Wrap-Up Liability Coverage, which is not included in the standard policy of the SHSC Group Program. Wrap-Up Liability Coverage provides liability insurance for everyone involved in the project – building owners, consultants, contractors and all sub-contractors – for injury or damage to property of third parties. By purchasing this coverage yourself you will know the insurance limits everyone in your project carries and will be confident that all parties, including sub-contractors, are adequately insured.

• Replacing roofs is an excellent opportunity to improve energy efficiency
• Using light coloured shingles, surface coating and gravel can further add to your energy savings
• ENERGY STAR® cool or reflective roof products reduce the amount of heat transferred into a home
• Strategically planning and timing your projects together will help you achieve maximum savings
• Roof replacement time is the best time to consider a renewable energy system

Replacing a roof due to damage and/or age presents an excellent opportunity to improve energy efficiency, comfort levels for tenants, reduce operating costs and C02 emissions which cause Global Warming.

In the case of a sloped roof aim for a minimum of R40 or, preferably, R50. Insulation will not meet its maximum effect in an attic setting unless the attic is properly sealed and a continuous vapour barrier has been installed.

For a flat roof aim for a minimum of R30. This may not always be achievable because of other structural issues such as rooftop mechanical rooms, roof access points and ridge height, but it is important to instruct your contractor to achieve as high a level as possible.

Further savings can be achieved by using light coloured shingles, surface coatings or gravel. These materials reflect heat during summer months rather then absorbing it as dark coloured materials do. An energy efficient roof should reflect a high percentage of solar energy and radiate away energy (heat) after it is absorbed. ENERGY STAR® cool or reflective roof products reflect more of the sun’s rays, lowering a roof surface temperature by up to 100 degrees, and reducing the amount of heat transferred into a home. The ENERGY STAR® program presently considers reflectance only, not emittance. A Roof’s emissivity relates to how quickly it releases heat it has absorbed. Because of this property cooling costs are reduced. This measure also helps to reduce “heat island effect”, a contributor to global warming, particularly in dense urban areas.

As with every energy efficient retrofit measure, maximum results are achieved by combining efforts. The savings gained by a well insulated roof are leveraged by caulking and weatherstripping the building envelope which, in turn, maximizes the efficiency of the HVAC system or, in the case where a system is being replaced, can result in a smaller, less expensive replacement.

Roof replacement time is also the best time to consider a renewable energy system. Because Solar systems have a life span of at least 20 years and, in the case of Solar PV, Solar Thermal and Solar Air roofing, a considerable portion of the cost is installation on the roof, a new roof gives a much greater degree of certainty that these systems will not need to be removed for re-roofing.

Combining all of these measures will result in a healthier, more comfortable building, reduced operating costs, a revenue stream (in the case of Solar PV) from the Feed In Tariff (FIT) and a greener community.