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Keeping It Clean: The Complete Guide to Parking Garage Maintenance & Sustainability

Posted on October 21, 2024 by anthony@the-robinson-agency.com

Parking garage maintenance is more than just keeping the structure clean. It’s about ensuring people’s safety, preserving a building’s aesthetic, and reducing costs while increasing the likelihood of return visits. The parking garage is your visitors’ first point of entry, from businesses to healthcare facilities, public buildings and more. You only get one chance at a first impression.

To ensure your parking garage cleaning services are optimal and sustainable, it’s best to take a data-driven approach to how often you should clean while being cost-effective and proactive. This guide will walk you through our recommended approach for your parking garage maintenance and how to identify the problems neglect can cause that professional cleaning can fix.

The Basics of Parking Deck Maintenance

Maintaining a parking deck starts with addressing daily use, fluctuating temperatures, and weather, all of which can damage the structure and compromise safety. Recognizing these challenges and implementing protective measures ensures longevity and security for users.

Environmental & Structural Challenges

De-icing salts during the winter, leaking oil fluid from a faulty oil filter, and carbon from vehicle exhausts can all weaken the concrete and structural elements, like steel reinforcements bars, necessitating regular through cleanings. Scheduling parking garage cleaning services, including regular pressure washing, helps to eliminate the contaminants vehicles track in, so that your parking garage will be functional for years to come.

The Financial Benefits of Regular Parking Garage Maintenance

If you want to extend the lifespan of your parking garage, allocating budget towards your parking garage maintenance is critical. This will ultimately save you money in the long term by preventing major damage and ensuring your parking area remains safe and functional no matter how busy it becomes.

Extending the Lifespan of Your Parking Deck With Preventative Maintenance

A parking garage’s aesthetic is a clear indicator of its health, and the right cleaning techniques can have a direct impact on extending the lifespan. A multi-story garage may suffer damage due to chloride buildup from road salts. Without regular cleaning, the salts can cause serious corrosion, leading to broken post-tension cables and delamination of the concrete slab, which can become major safety risks for tenants and visitors. Fortunately, a regular cleaning schedule with a meticulous provider like Valcourt can lead to those structural issues being discovered and brought to the property manager’s attention for repairs. Regular pressure washing can also help remove those harmful salts and contaminants, extending the garage’s lifespan while also making it look healthier.

Cleaning strategies should also factor in unique climate conditions. Coastal garages, like in Florida, are more prone to sand and water being carried in, so they require frequent sweeping, vacuuming, and pressure washing of the floors and drainage areas to preserve the aesthetic and make sure water can drain effectively from the garage. Garages in dry areas, like Arizona, may need regular cleaning and inspection to spot any cracking due to thermal expansion. Parking garage cleanings assist in detecting any damage early, and ultimately help avoid high-cost structural repairs.

Safety and Aesthetics – Why Cleanliness Matters

Parking garage cleanliness is about more than just about structural integrity. The pristine and professional aesthetic of well-maintained parking decks helps make people feel safe and comfortable, creating an inviting space for visitors. Regular maintenance also prevents hazards, like oil slicks or debris, while promoting a well-lit, orderly environment. This fosters trust and leaves a lasting impression on your visitors and tenants that can to a long way.

Impact of Cleanliness on Safety

The National Crime Victimization Survey notes that more than 1 in 10 property crimes occur in parking lots or garages. Maintaining your parking garage can help curb this trend. Proper lighting has not only been shown to reduce nighttime crime by up to 36% by giving the perception of safety by eliminating dark hiding spots for criminals, but it can also help visitors see spills, debris, or anything that can cause them injury.

Ensuring signage, mirrors, and stairwells are visible and functional will lower the risk of traffic collision by eliminating blind spots and helping visitors navigate around safely. Cleaning pipes and eliminating grease that’s built up from vehicle traffic can keep essential fire safety devices, like ventilation and fire suppression systems, from being clogged when they’re needed. All in all, regular parking garage cleaning can mitigate liability from any accidents, help you meet compliance requirements, and save money in fines.

First Impressions & Customer Retention

A sense of calm and trust usually comes over most visitors and tenants when they enter a well-maintained, clean parking garage because it’s their first impression of a business. The attention to detail conveys a level of professionalism and care.

Key Components of an Effective Maintenance Program

A successful parking garage maintenance program hinges on understanding the right frequency of service, applying proper techniques, and adhering to environmental standards. To make your parking garage cleaning more effective, follow these five keys that we recommend every facility manager to implement immediately:

Frequency of Cleanings: The frequency of the parking area cleaning depends on the garage’s climate, traffic, and time. Garages in temperate areas like Los Angeles need annual cleanings, while those in humid regions like Miami require semi-annual cleanings. You can also regularly clean throughout the year by focusing on one floor at a time if that works best for your schedule. Adjustments should be made based on vehicle traffic and weather exposure.
Cleaning Techniques: Pressure washing is ideal for removing grease, oil, and de-icing salts from large surfaces. Using a big ride-on scrubber can also help with cleaning large areas, helping visitors and tenants to navigate parking areas safely and efficiently.
Environmental Compliance: Follow the EPA’s Clean Water Act by reclaiming water used during cleaning to prevent contaminants from entering the draining system and avoid fines.
Safety Protocols: Conduct a pre-service risk assessment to identify areas to block off and protect workers and visitors. Document the cleaning process to comply with safety regulations and ensure accountability so nothing gets lost in translation. To minimize disruptions for tenants and visitors, schedule cleaning during low-traffic periods, and provide clear signage that lets people know where and when cleaning will be done.
Choosing a Vendor: Select a vendor with strong safety management, experience in customizing cleaning schedules, and an excellent track record. Using a single vendor streamlines operations, ensures consistency, and provides a single point of contact for your property’s cleaning needs.

Transform Your Parking Garage by Selecting the Right Maintenance Partner

Routine parking garage cleaning services impact more than just parking—they enhance safety, save building owners significant costs in the long run, and keep visitors comfortable with returning. Regular cleanings can also extend a parking garage’s lifespan by decades by making issues visible early.

Valcourt’s attention to detail with its parking garages cleaning services will make all the difference on the health of your parking garage. We’re well-equipped to handle any mess with our specialized pressure washer equipment, perfect for commercial garage cleaning services.

We also practice sustainable cleaning and ensure that your parking garage issues do not affect the surrounding environment. Our instant wastewater recovery system prevents cleaning chemicals and debris from entering local waterways, while also reusing the water after oil and sediments are internally removed.

We customize our cleaning services to fit your unique needs. Here are a few of the comprehensive parking garage cleaning services we offer:

Pressure washing facades, vertical and flat surfaces
Debris and cobweb removal
Detailed cleaning of pipes, mirrors and stairwells

A well-maintained parking garage can be a factor in your business’s success. Request a quote today to take the first step in transforming how people interact with your business.

Budgeting for Your Building: Part 3 – Rooftop Fall Protection

Posted on October 15, 2024 by a1_admin

Proactive safety measures do more than comply with regulations—they safeguard lives. Maintenance teams and contractors depend on the safety systems that building owners and property managers implement. By prioritizing safety within your budget, you protect people, reduce your liability, and make the most of your maintenance funds before they’re gone, ultimately enhancing your building’s operational stability.

Safeguarding Your Building by Prioritizing Safety Measures

Avoidable incidents, including the recent tragic loss of a business co-owner in Charlotte and the injury of a maintenance worker in Houston, highlight exactly how overlooking safety measures can result in devastating consequences.

As a building owner, it’s critical to understand that your duty to provide fall protection and adhere to OSHA’s General Duty Clause cannot be outsourced or delegated. For this reason, legal and ethical responsibilities for maintaining a safe environment free from recognizable hazards fall squarely on your shoulders. You can protect people by prioritizing safety, reducing liability, and enhancing your building’s operational stability.

Additionally, having proper fall protection systems in place, such as guardrails and anchorages, enhances safety and speeds up maintenance requests, providing quicker resolutions for tenants. For instance, an HVAC contractor can start work immediately when fall protection systems are already in place, eliminating the need for time-consuming setup and breakdown of equipment. Similarly, if there is a leak in the building, proper anchorage allows faster access and repair compared to using an aerial work platform, which requires more coordination and logistical challenges. By prioritizing safety, you protect people and reduce liability, streamline operations, and enhance your building’s overall efficiency.

The High Costs of Overlooking Safety Systems

The safety component is often overlooked or taken for granted when hiring a building service provider. It’s easy to assume the provider you hire is professional and skilled and that they bear the responsibility to operate safely. That’s only partly true. Safety is a burden both the provider and the building owner share.

Shared assurances are commonly required. The building owner must provide anchorage, load testing and certification of the anchorage. The maintenance technician is responsible for supplying proper equipment, ensuring trained staff, and implementing safe work plans. Failure to meet your obligations can lead to liabilities, higher costs, operational disruptions, and far worse.

Let’s examine the financial implications of not complying with OSHA’s regulations. Here are the levels of fines for OSHA violations as of 2024:

Serious Violations: Up to $16,131 per violation.
Willful or Repeated Violations: Up to $161,323 per violation.
Failure to Abate Violations: Up to $16,131 per day beyond the abatement date.

Fall protection citations are among the most common citations handed out, and for good reason. Falls from heights remain the most frequent cause of workplace fatalities and injuries. On top of fines, with some reaching seven figures, property owners could also face lawsuits and civil judgments for neglecting fall protection responsibilities. For these reasons and moral obligations, it pays to keep fall protection as a non-negotiable for your annual budget.

Maximizing Your Safety Systems Budget

A key aspect of creating a safety systems budget for your building is staying in lock-step with OSHA regulations since OSHA is the minimum level of safety required. OSHA will continue to ratchet up efforts to reduce tragic and avoidable falls from heights.

One example is OSHA’s recent National Emphasis Program aimed to raise awareness and reduce injuries and fatalities related to falls from heights. For these reasons, allocating unspent funds toward safety systems ensures you remain compliant and that you, as the building owner willfully took action to mitigate hazards.

Here are our recommendations to maximize your safety systems budget.

Rooftop Assessments: This assessment is the first step in the path to compliance. You can use our self-assessment tool to get started or reach out to us to schedule a professional site evaluation. If we identify any fall hazard risks, we will develop a straightforward, cost-effective plan to bring your building into compliance.

Fall Protection Solutions: We tailor our approach to rooftop safety to meet your building’s unique needs. The goal is compliance, safe facade access, and coverage for all potential fall hazards. A1 provides you with a complete turnkey service from design to installation and certification. Examples include:

Roof Hatch Guardrails— OSHA requires roof hatches to be protected on at least three sides by a guardrail and a self-closing gate. This way, no one can fall back down inside when the hatch is open.

Skylight Protection— Plastic and glass skylights must be protected. OSHA views all skylights as holes or openings where someone can fall through. A simple fix is a skylight cover or guardrails.

Guardrails— Any elevation change of 4 feet or more requires a guardrail or parapet wall that is 42 inches (± 3 inches) in height and able to withstand 200 pounds of force applied in a downward or outward direction. A counterweighted guardrail system can be an easy permanent fix without adding roof penetrations.

Ladders, stairs, and ramps— For rooftops with slopes or uneven surfaces due to architectural features, you may need to install stairs, ramps, or ladders to ensure safe access. If you have fixed ladders, whether inside or outside, leading to a roof hatch, OSHA regulations require specific safety measures to protect workers, especially at the upper levels of the ladder. These regulations include fall arrest systems and other safeguards to prevent falls from heights.

Roof Anchorage Testing, Certifications, and Inspections

If you have a roof anchor system, the end of the year is a good time to use the remaining budget funds and complete your annual anchorage inspection. By this time, window cleaners would have likely used the anchorage from the annual inspection 2-3 times throughout the year. Keep in mind that certification and testing are required every ten years and recommended every five years for adhesive anchors.

Rooftop Anchor Installations

A1 and third-party engineers work together to review your rooftop and, if needed, develop and design a compliant and functional anchor layout. An added benefit of working with A1 is that our team of experts is well-versed in working on high-rise buildings as well as OSHA’s Rope Decent Systems (RDS) and scaffolding requirements. We will design a functional anchor layout and leverage our trusted third-party engineers to verify anchorage points and ensure structural stability. This step is crucial for meeting the certification requirements (due every ten years) per OSHA 1910.27, as our engineers physically test anchors via pull test while reviewing structural attachment and structural analysis of the anchorage design.

This is a major safeguard with many components designed to allow for certifiable attachment points for workers to suspend ropes and safety lines. A Professional Engineer (P.E.) must examine the anchorage and structural attachment to your building to determine what can be considered a safe anchorage point. In some cases, structural elements like steel columns, concrete columns, or cooling tower supports can be evaluated for use as anchorage.

Our webinar highlights wise budget maneuvers to make as the year draws to a close to ensure a safe and compliant workplace for building service providers working at heights. These quick wins don’t just protect next year’s budget from being reduced; they protect you and those who work to keep your building in top shape.

Leverage A1’s Safety Systems Expertise

As you can see, prioritizing safety in your annual maintenance budget provides peace of mind and delivers value in terms of increased speed of service, increased tenant satisfaction, avoiding fines, achieving compliance, and overall worker safety. When you overlook these items, you put yourself and those who work on your building at risk.

Don’t leave safety to chance; take proactive steps to secure your building and protect those who work at heights. Contact A1 today to explore how we can help you achieve a safer, more secure environment for everyone involved.

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Winterize Your Property: Essential Waterproofing Tips for the Cold Months

Posted on October 11, 2024 by a1_admin

Winters are becoming increasingly unseasonable, and the data clearly reflects this trend. Last January set new records, with temperatures 2.29°F above the 20th-century average— the hottest January in 175 years of recorded history. Furthermore, 85% of Americans have recently experienced at least one unusually warm winter day.

However, it’s not the unseasonably warm weather that should be cause for concern. Whether you are a building owner or property manager, the significant temperature fluctuations from warm to cold pose a serious risk to your property, commonly referred to as the freeze-thaw cycle. Water infiltrates the smallest crevices in your building’s structure when temperatures alternate between wet and freezing conditions. Then it expands as ice, slowly but surely chipping away at brick and mortar.

Are you staying on top of this silent freeze-thaw destroyer? Your property may have even sustained damage without you even realizing it. In this article, we will discuss how to waterproof your building effectively before the next cycle hits.

The Freeze-Thaw Cycle’s Impact on Buildings

As winter approaches, water can become one of a building’s greatest threats. The freeze-thaw cycle transforms moisture into a damaging force capable of compromising even the most resilient structures. Here’s how this sneaky process works and steps you can take to safeguard your property.

Cracks, Expansion, and Structural Mayhem

Water seeps into tiny cracks in your building’s concrete or rock. When temperatures drop below 32°F (0°C), that water freezes and expands by 9%. It might not sound like much, but this expansion packs a punch, widening those cracks bit by bit. As the ice melts, water penetrates deeper, setting the stage for even more damage when the next freeze hits.

For buildings, this means weakened foundations, crumbling walls, and potential structural failure if left unchecked.

Waterproofing: Your Building’s Shield Against Nature

So, how do you fight back against the freeze-thaw cycle? Waterproofing creates a barrier that stops water from infiltrating your building’s vulnerable spots and cuts off the problem at its source.

Effective waterproofing also guards against mold and mildew growth, improving indoor air quality and creating a healthier environment. Plus, it’s a smart financial move— proper waterproofing can boost your property value by up to 25% and slash energy costs by 10-15%.

Various waterproofing methods exist to suit different needs, from membrane systems to cementitious compounds. The key is choosing the right approach for your building’s vulnerabilities, whether the foundation, roof, or perpetually damp areas below ground level.

How to Waterproof Your Building: 6 Winter-Ready Tactics

As the weather chills, it’s time to think about waterproofing your building for the impending winter. Consider the six practical strategies below to keep your structural integrity:

1. Conduct a Comprehensive Physical and Visual Assessment

Protecting your building from winter’s harsh elements begins with a thorough physical and visual assessment. Start by conducting a meticulous exterior inspection, using binoculars to examine every nook and cranny. Look for loose, spalling, or missing bricks, stones, mortar, and masonry. Don’t forget to check terracotta elements, cornices, windowsills, balconies, and railings. And while you’re at it, test all doors and windows for proper sealing and functionality. Finally, pay special attention to the roof and drain assemblies, as these are crucial in directing water away from your structure.

2. Perform Strategic Localized Facade Repairs

Once you’ve identified potential weak points, it’s time to perform localized facade repairs. While the end of the year can be challenging for large capital projects, it’s an ideal time for essential maintenance. Focus on replacing failed or deteriorating sealants at expansion joints, around through-wall penetrations, and window and door perimeters. Don’t hesitate to repoint and replace bricks as needed. These seemingly small repairs play a critical role in keeping moisture out of your building. Consider partnering with a trusted contractor and engineer to develop a comprehensive scope of work and phasing plan that aligns with your priorities and budget.

3. Proactive Maintenance for Parking Structures

Parking garages, often overlooked in maintenance schedules, endure significant wear during winter months. Exposed to snowplows, studded tires, and deicing chemicals, these structures require regular inspections and timely upkeep. A thorough examination should assess cracks in concrete or coating, blisters, delamination, leaks, expansion joints, drainage systems, and structural movement. Maintenance can range from general cleaning to remove debris that accelerates wear, to minor repairs addressing cuts, tears, and delamination in the base, intermediate, and top coats. High-traffic areas or zones prone to becoming slippery may need additional topcoats or enhanced texture to improve safety during wet conditions.

4. Winter Preparation and Snow Management

Preparing a parking garage for winter involves strategic snow and ice removal practices as excessive accumulation can overburden the structure beyond its design limits, necessitating careful removal. However, conventional metal blades and shovels risk damaging the traffic-bearing membrane, creating entry points for water and corrosive salts. So be sure to equip snowplows, buckets, and shovels with rubber blades and plastic runners and avoid metal implements entirely. Proper training of snow removal crews is essential to prevent inadvertent damage. Post-winter maintenance should also include thorough washing and sweeping to eliminate residual salts and sand that could erode the traffic coating over time.

5. Cold Weather Waterproofing Techniques

As temperatures drop, waterproofing efforts face unique challenges. Many sealants, coatings, and concrete products have specific ambient temperature requirements for installation, often exceeded by winter conditions. However, the industry has developed specialized low-temperature products, additives, and best practices to facilitate cold-weather work. When planning repairs or installations during colder months, careful consideration must be given to the type of work, ambient conditions (both temperature and moisture), and the potential long-term impact on the longevity of repairs. Adapting to these conditions is crucial for the effectiveness and durability of waterproofing efforts in challenging weather.

Proactive Planning for Future Capital Projects

Winter is the ideal time to start planning for next year’s capital projects. Spring is a peak season for construction and renovation, and contractors’ schedules fill up quickly. By initiating discussions, scheduling inspections, and planning assessments early, you can secure a spot on the calendar in advance and avoid the pressure of compressed timelines.

Planning ahead not only keeps your project on schedule but also provides the flexibility to complete it under optimal conditions. Waiting too long may push your project into next year’s winter months, which could potentially lead to weather-related complications. Contact us to start planning now and help ensure your property’s maintenance and improvement projects are executed seamlessly.

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