In episode 94 of Asset Champion, host Mike Petrusky, speaks with Corey McKnight, Director of the Winchester Parking Authority and Facilities Director, about his career journey as a facility manager, and the challenges he faces in his dual role for this historic city in Virginia. They explore the current trends in the world of asset management today. Plus, Corey shares his experiences and reflects on the value and importance of building relationships, communication, and the ability to improvise and adapt to complex situations.
Agenda
- Discussion on the importance of relationships in facilities and asset management
- Impact of supply chain issues on their work
- The role of technology in facilities and asset management
- Planning for capital expenditures
- Advice for professionals in the field
What you need to know: Facilities and maintenance takeaways
Takeaway 1: Building relationships is key to successful facilities maintenance
In the sphere of facilities maintenance, it’s not just about maintaining physical structures, but also about maintaining relationships. Building trust and partnerships with staff, vendors, and contractors is a key factor to success as they can learn from each other, and it helps in achieving goals more effectively.
McKnight emphasizes the importance of developing relationships. He states, “I always try to develop relationship with work staff, vendors, and your contractors. I always feel like it’s a partnership. Yes, I’m paying them to do the job, but I want to trust them, and I want them to trust me.”
“You can learn from them as much as you can teach them,” says McKnight. “Developing relationships and partnerships to me has been one of my key factors in my FM role.”
Takeaway 2: Capital planning for asset maintenance and repairs
Forecasting and planning for the replacement and repair of assets over a five-year span is a crucial part of facility maintenance. It helps in identifying which assets need to be replaced and when, and this can ensure efficient use of funds and minimize disruption in services.
McKnight shares his experience on long-term planning: “We try to forecast at least five years out to see what needs to be replaced. Carpet at the police department, water heaters, chillers, boilers. It’s a never-ending cycle of equipment replacement and repairs.”
He highlights the importance of considering the life span of the assets and the maintenance required over time when planning for their replacement.
“You have to gauge the age of this or how much maintenance have you done on it, over its life expectancy, and then try to figure out over the next five years where is our best value to spend our money,” says McKnight.
Takeaway 3: Embracing facilities management software for improved efficiency
Digitization and the use of technology not only improves efficiency in facility maintenance operations but also aids in maintaining a record of assets. From digitizing blueprints and manuals to using software for work order management, technology has become an indispensable tool in facilities and asset maintenance.
“So now, as we’ve been doing these construction projects and as we’ve been developing these partnerships with local businesses, until we got our own scanner, we wanted to be able to digitize all of our blueprints and all of our O&M manuals so that everyone can reference them.”
He also highlights the use of technology in the parking authority side of his role: “When I started with the parking authority side, I’d like to think they were ahead of the game. On the maintenance side, we were making YouTube videos of repairs for themselves. They had their own little YouTube channel.”
Asset management insights
- Relationships are crucial in facilities and asset management. Trust with vendors and contractors is key to successful operations.
- Supply chain issues have significantly impacted the industry, affecting everything from cleaning supplies to maintenance parts to vehicles.
- Technology and digitization are important tools in managing facilities and assets. They are used for everything from work order management to digitizing blueprints and manuals.
- Planning for capital expenditures involves forecasting at least five years out to determine what needs to be replaced and when.
- The industry is constantly evolving with new challenges and opportunities arising, requiring professionals to adapt and learn continuously.
Listen to the full podcast here.
Go deeper. Dive into more episodes of Eptura’s Asset Champion podcasts.
By Jonathan Davis
Jonathan writes about asset management, maintenance software, and SaaS solutions in his role as a digital content creator at Eptura. He covers trends across industries, including fleet, manufacturing, healthcare, and hospitality, with a focus on delivering thought leadership with actionable insights. Earlier in his career, he wrote textbooks, edited NPC dialogue for video games, and taught English as a foreign language. He holds a master's degree in journalism.
