Preventative Maintenance
"Preventative Maintenance" is a concept that has been universally understood for years, accepted in theory but less so in practice. If you lack preventative maintenance, you must ultimately deal with the consequences - equipment failure, patron or staff injury that could have been prevented. For those of you who have an outdoor water park, pool, or spray park which is only open ten to twelve weeks of the year, there are forty weeks for preventative maintenance. As for indoor facilities, we see more and more facilities taking a one to two week shut down for cleaning and maintenance. A comprehensive preventative maintenance schedule could help prevent many equipment failures and or injury to a patron or staff member. Are you prepared?
Many believe a maintenance program only cover moving parts, but in fact, it covers all aspects of your facility, including both moving and fixed equipment. Let us take for example a pool ladder. A loose step can cause a twisted ankle or a pinched toe. Here is fixed equipment with no moving parts, yet it requires preventative maintenance. A thorough inspection was needed. In general, maintenance procedures fall into three major categories: inspection, service, and replacement.
- Inspection is the simplest of all. It takes the least amount of time and keeps you out of trouble as it is the first step in recognizing that a problem exists. Have in place a checklist for all mechanical equipment in the pump room, features in the pool, deck equipment, safety equipment, and locker rooms. Check for loose parts, unusual noise, or vibration. This can include removal of lids, cover plates, or disassembly.
- Service includes several aspects of maintenance, cleaning, lubrication, and adjustment of equipment. Some examples are diving board hinges, strainer baskets, pump seals, and heater elements.
- Replacement of certain parts should just have a replacement schedule. There is no need to wait until it springs a leak, or breaks. Examples of this are filter grids or laterals, solenoid valves, chemical feed pump tubes, or diaphragms, and chemical tubing.
Establishing a preventative maintenance system is no doubt a sizable endeavor, however, the rewards will be significant, including reduction in equipment breakdown, valuable time savings and even can provide the ability to reduce liability exposure. It is well worth the overall effort since a preventative maintenance system can reduce over-extended staff and can also result in proper budget management by giving you the ability to estimate equipment life and plan the actual cost of operation, resulting in a better way to plan in advance for operating expenses more accurately. Our Service Department performs preventative maintenance on the chemical feed system, pumps, gauges, and meters. Contact Aqua Pure today to speak with your Regional Sales Representative on how to get started.