Topic: Structure of a Maintenance Department

Currently have maintenance staff assigned to specific properties with the thought that they can do it all, service tickets to unit turns. This of course, leads to longer unit turns as the tech has to leave the turn to deal with the "call of the day". Curious if anyone is using a dedicated "Turn Crew", 2-3 techs with only one job...turn the unit as quickly as possible. Portfolio size would increase for each tech, but they would no longer need to work on turns. Any thoughts?

We have 328 units. 2 service techs, and 1 turn tech. On slower "service" days, the techs can work on turns, but we always have 1 dedicated tech that works on getting all apartments turned. We've found this has worked very well for us, as we can schedule the turn tech, and any other turn work that gets done is a "bonus" essentially.

Thanks so much for the input...appreciate the quick response!

Right now we have 131 units for one guy but we tend to do most of what we can in house. We schedule maintenance on a the next day at the end of the day unless it is an emergency. Someone calls today to say a closet door is off track, we set it for 4pm next day then work our way back. That way we can start early in vacant then by the end of the day residents are moving around. Best thing to do is resident retention though.

Thank you very much!

That is exactly what we do in the Texas market. We provide the full turn process (make ready, paint, carpet clean, and cleaning the units) for less than what it costs a property to staff a make ready tech, and the outside vendors required in 5 business days or less.

I love this thought process as there are a myriad of possibilities.

One possible consideration in this process is setting up and promoting an official line of succession. This means that new maintenance personnel starting out must go through the "turn-tech" position and the culture of the community is such that all promotions happen from within. In this way a team could hire inexperience and teach technical skills in vacant apartments at the same time developing future full service technicians by following up with communication skills. In a perfect world, this would lead to developing well rounded technicians that are trained in that culture, not trained by the "crisis of the day".

If the staff not assigned to specifically handle apartment turns needs a hand, then the extra set is there. (Kind of what Julia had said before.)

This would also be a good opportunity for the "slow times" (like there is a lot of that) the community would have technicians to perform Preventive Maintenance.

Oh wow half or better of my work orders are "post move in punch work" as I call it. Job security but no good in the long run.

We have turn guys and techs. Gets busy and techs do turns. But we have politics and politics with office people, super ect. Should start a thread about that.