Examines tested techniques that can keep a school's carpeting in good condition. Cleaning with hot water extraction, removing spills and spots, handling emergency cleanups, and cleaning soft surface flooring are addressed. (GR)

Advises schools on keeping roofs healthy, thereby saving costly repairs to both the roof and the entire building. Discusses inspections, preventive-maintenance programs, weather, and when to re-roof. (EV)

Provides 11 suggestions that can make a college or university's window replacement project less complex and more easily completed. A window selection guide is included. (GR)

Presents advice from three university maintenance directors on what they see as the most important parts involved in keeping floors in top shape. Training, staff motivation, flexible scheduling, and proper use of supplies are addressed. (GR)

Shows how a work program can help determine staffing needs as a starting point for solving maintenance delays. Steps for developing a work program are provided. (GR)

Explains why upgrading a school's pools can help reduce maintenance costs and make safer facilities. Three top engineering issues in older pools are addressed: recirculation, filtration, and dehumidification. Concluding comments discuss procedures for establishing safe swimming. (GR)

Going through the building process could take up to five years--five of the toughest and most satisfying years of an administrator's career. In going through this process, one can learn a great deal about the community and staff involved, and about onself. But even when the building project is completed, there is still work to be done: now is the…

Colleges are focusing increased effort--and money--to improve the physical condition of existing facilities and address a huge backlog of deferred maintenance. According to "American School & University's" 36th annual Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Cost Study, the median college spends 16.4% of total college budget on M&O, up from 11% the year…

The roof management program at the University of Wyoming involved a consulting firm that provided a computer analysis of the condition of each roof on campus and trained university personnel to act as inspectors in the future. (MLF)

A new lighting system at a Wisconsin elementary school involved replacing all the incandescent fixtures with either fluorescent, mercury vapor, or high-output fixtures. Group lamp replacement procedures instead of spot relamping are expected to save labor costs. (MLF)

Planning maintenance operations for the seasons ahead results in financial benefits. (Author/MLF)

Schools in Wilton (Connecticut) cut electric consumption 39 percent by replacing existing lamps with new types of energy saving lamps. Fuel oil consumption dropped 53 percent largely through attention paid to the operation of boilers and oil burners. (Author/MLF)

A facility assessment system is used for an annual objective appraisal of how well the school district is accomplishing its maintenance objectives, and as a planning tool for allocating its scarce resources. (Author/MLF)

The productive college/university cleaning operation is based on a general division of responsibility that divides the work in general terms among the operating units, and a detailed operational level division of responsibility that spells out services and their frequencies. Examples are given. (Author/MLF)

Investment in efficient, high-speed machines is a step toward greater productivity in school maintenance. (Author/MLF)