How do you prioritize facility repairs?

1 Assess the impact

The first step to prioritize facility repairs is to assess the impact of each issue on your facility's performance, safety, and compliance. Impact refers to the potential consequences of not fixing the problem, such as loss of revenue, damage to assets, injury to staff or customers, or violation of regulations. You can use a scale from 1 to 5 to rate the impact of each repair, where 1 is low and 5 is high.

2 Assess the urgency

The second step is to assess the urgency of each repair, which means how quickly it needs to be addressed. Urgency depends on factors such as the severity of the problem, the availability of alternative solutions, the demand for the affected service or space, and the expectations of your customers or clients. You can also use a scale from 1 to 5 to rate the urgency of each repair, where 1 is low and 5 is high.

3 Create a priority matrix

The third step is to create a priority matrix, which is a simple tool to visualize and compare the impact and urgency of each repair. You can use a grid with four quadrants, where the horizontal axis represents urgency and the vertical axis represents impact. Then, you can plot each repair on the grid according to its ratings, and assign a priority level based on its position. For example, repairs that are both high impact and high urgency are in the top right quadrant, and they are the highest priority. Repairs that are low impact and low urgency are in the bottom left quadrant, and they are the lowest priority.

4 Communicate your priorities

The fourth step is to communicate your priorities to your stakeholders and contractors, so that they understand the rationale behind your decisions and the expectations for each repair. You can use the priority matrix as a visual aid to explain the criteria and the ranking of each repair, and to justify your resource allocation and timeline. You can also use the matrix to monitor the progress and status of each repair, and to update your priorities if new issues arise or existing ones change.

5 Review your priorities

The final step is to review your priorities regularly, to ensure that they are still relevant and accurate. You should check if there are any changes in the impact or urgency of each repair, or if there are any new issues that need to be added to the matrix. You should also evaluate the results and feedback of each repair, and see if there are any lessons learned or best practices that you can apply to future repairs. By reviewing your priorities, you can improve your facility management performance and quality.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?