Unfortunately, proving the need for additional staffing is difficult without all of the facts and figures to make the case. Westerkamp says success in this effort often lies in having an accurate backlog and work measurement system to show where more employees are needed. Each 2,000 hours of work equals one person. You can say, 'I've got 10,000 hours of work to do. Growing demands It is necessary to regularly reassess staffing plans, and consult backlogs and equipment history records.
Workloads often change, especially as a result of facility expansion or renovation projects.
There are more areas we should be servicing and looking at whether we want to train someone on new technology or contract out. Westerkamp says that typically, maintenance and engineering departments have major weak spots because they too often do not have a handle on the workload, nor is there a well-documented backlog of labor hours of work to do broken down by trade. Setting the plan In most cases, managers are forced to develop a staffing plan that works best in their facilities, with the understanding that they will have to adjust those plans to meet changing demands and priorities. Courter says in his district of 23 schools, he assigns one multi-skilled maintenance worker to each school. In smaller school districts, multi-skilled people are the best.