There are facility maintenance projects that can be done by the in-house maintenance crew rather than the industrial coatings contractor. These are often small jobs that are better performed by the facility’s resident crew for the reason of keeping the cost of the said jobs to a minimum.
It is up to the building owner to make the decision of who will do the job – the in-house maintenance crew or an industrial coatings contractor. The main basis for the decision, however, must always depend on the expertise of the maintenance engineering staff who will do the maintenance project.
Why? The skills, or lack of it, of the in-house maintenance crew is a big factor to the cost that the project will incur, as well as to the quality of the finished work. When the maintenance staff has the proven expertise to complete the job on time, in good quality, and at the same time meeting regulatory standards for the project, then the job can be done in-house.
Small jobs like floor resealing in a small warehouse will require only a small maintenance crew and a weekend to complete. Safety standards will still be met as there are no hazardous materials to be applied in the project. In this case, the in-house maintenance team can capably handle this job with little risk and significant savings.
One disadvantage of in-house maintenance, however, is the lack of a guarantee as to the quality of the finished product. Unlike with industrial coatings contractors, if the job does not meet quality standards, it falls to the building owner to shoulder the cost of re-doing the job. But this problem can be prevented if the facility manager has determined even before the project started that the in-house workers have the necessary skills and tools to do the job.
