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How To Make Common Maintenance works in Hotel guest rooms

The Housekeeping department often takes the first step to maintenance functions for which engineering department is ultimately responsible. There are three kinds of maintenance activities:

1) Routine Maintenance

2) Preventive Maintenance

3) Schedule Maintenance

Routine Maintenance:

These are activities those which relate to the general up-keeping of the property, occur on a regular daily or weekly basis, and require relatively minimal training or skills. These are maintenance activities which occur outside of a formal work order system and for which no specific maintenance records are kept.

Examples:- Sweeping carpets, washing floors, cleaning readily accessible windows, cutting grass, cleaning guest rooms, replacing burned-out light bulbs etc.

Many of these routine maintenance activities are carried out by the housekeeping department and no job order is send to the engineering department.

Preventive maintenance:

Preventive maintenance consists of three parts: inspection, minor corrections, and work-order initiation. Inspections are performed by housekeeping staff in the normal course of their duties. 

Examples:- Room attendants and inspectors may regularly check guestrooms for leaking faucets, cracked caulking around bathroom fixtures, and other items that may call for attention by engineering staff.

Attending to leaking faucets and improper caulking around sinks and tubs can control maintenance costs by preventing greater problems, such as ceiling or wall damage in the bath below.

Communication between housekeeping and engineering should be efficient so that minor repairs can be handled while the room attendant is cleaning the room.Preventive maintenance by its nature sometimes identifies problems and needs beyond the scope of a minor correction. These problems are brought to the attention of engineering through the work order system.

Scheduled Maintenance:

Scheduled maintenance activities are initiated at the hotel based on a formal work order or similar document. Work orders are a key element in the communication between housekeeping and engineering. 

Example: when a member of the housekeeping department fills out a work order form, one copy is sent to the executive housekeeper and two copies to engineering. The chief engineer gets one of these copiers and gives the other to the maintenance staff assigned to the repair. 

A Sample work order form can be found here: Work order form

The maintenance staff will indicate the number of hours required to complete the work, any parts or supplies required, and other relevant information. When the job is completed, a copy of the trades person's completed work order is sent to the executive housekeeper.