Maximizing Holiday  Shutdowns

Your warehouse or industrial facility is a considerable investment for your business, so taking care of it is essential for productivity and longevity. Regular maintenance is the best method for protecting your investment, but finding the time during busy operating hours is difficult and inconvenient. However, there is one time of year when businesses across the country take a well-deserved break – the winter holidays!

Businesses that do not cater to the holiday shopping season often shut down industrial facilities and warehouses to save money when employees take time off to celebrate the season with family and friends. However, it’s also the perfect opportunity to tune up your investment with necessary maintenance items.

Holiday Shutdown Industrial Maintenance Checklist

Not sure where to start? No problem. We’ve compiled this convenient checklist to guide you through the annual shutdown maintenance items to tackle. Since many of the tasks are in high-traffic areas, scheduling maintenance when operations are dormant is ideal. Not only will it eliminate operational disruption, but it will also allow for time for drying, curing, or whatever else is involved with maintenance upkeep.

Repaint Worn Out Floor Markings

Floor markings in warehouses, factories, and other industrial facilities are regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and improve safety and operational efficiency. Over time, floor markings succumb to wear and tear and may fade. One of the many advantages of shutdown maintenance is the opportunity to refresh these critical floor markings to ensure compliance.

Repair Any Leaks & Repaint Water-damaged Surfaces

Warehouse and industrial facilities often operate 24 hours a day with several shifts, which means plenty of wear and tear over time. Water systems and pipes, especially in harsh climates, can leak and cause damage to surrounding surfaces. During a company holiday shutdown, scheduling leak repairs and repainting any water-damaged surfaces will give professionals plenty of time and space to work uninterrupted.

Restore Rusted or Corroded Metal Surfaces

Water damage isn’t exclusive to walls, and over time, water and humidity can also rust or corrode metal surfaces. Since heavy metal industrial equipment is especially susceptible to rust, regular maintenance is essential for proper operations and safety. So be sure and include metal surface repair and restoration with your annual shutdown maintenance.

Repaint Any Surfaces With Fading or Peeling Paint

Maintaining your wall and surface paint will keep your functional space looking and feeling fresh. Since painting requires dry time and may carry fumes, it’s best done over industrial holidays when the area is empty. Not sure if your space is ready for repainting? This article includes professional tips, including early signs that the warehouse needs repainting, preparing industrial areas for repainting, and more.

Power Wash High Traffic Surfaces

Dirt and grime build over time, both inside and outside your building. Power washing exteriors and high-traffic areas will keep your commercial space looking and feeling pristine. Power washing may also be necessary before repairing. Planning this maintenance during industrial work shutdown will ensure the process is safely executed without interruption.

Reapply Epoxy Floor Coating

Epoxy floor coatings are a resilient solution for reinforcing and preserving concrete surfaces while brightening facility floors with an attractive, durable glaze finish. However, even tough epoxy coating can wear down over time and – depending on the floor traffic – will need reapplication about every 2-3 years to maintain integrity. Since epoxy application demands sufficient time to dry properly between the installation of coats, maintenance should occur during dormant periods like a company holiday shutdown.

Advantages of Shutdown Maintenance

Industrial businesses rarely experience operational shutdown, except during widely celebrated and nationally recognized holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. These two holidays have long been observed by the majority of the population and provide a rare opportunity to schedule facility maintenance without interruption.

We’ve mentioned many advantages of scheduling this work over the holiday season, like less human traffic and dormant machinery. However, another advantage is time. Everything we have included with this annual shutdown maintenance checklist requires time to execute and cure or dry. Allowing proper time will ensure everything is ready to go when operations resume.

However, another significant advantage for scheduling maintenance during industrial holidays is professional access to these services. Most professional painting and maintenance repair companies will call the fall and winter months their “off-season”, which means lighter schedules. Therefore, finding a qualified professional service to repaint walls and floor markings or restore epoxy flooring may be easier than in the spring or summer when schedules are traditionally busier.

Protecting your most significant investment is critical. As the holiday season inches closer, now is the time to schedule the industrial shutdown work your facility needs. PPD Painting in Chicago and Cincinnati provides high-quality, professional commercial painting and epoxy floor coating services for the industrial market. We will work with your company’s holiday shutdown schedule to maximize the time you need to check off all of your maintenance projects.

Contact us today to schedule the annual shutdown maintenance your facility may require over the industrial holidays.

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