Do you conduct regular audits of your property and building to assess performance, production, safety, efficiency, and more? If you do, you are likely conducting those audits during business hours, but studies suggest that night audits are better for business.
There are several reasons that night audits make more sense for your building and incorporating them into your maintenance program can help you achieve better efficiency and have a better handle on the status of your building and equipment.
A different perspective
Night audits allow you to identify challenges or issues that only occur at night, shedding light on opportunities for improvement you might not observe during the day. You may find that you have more time to address these issues, too, and implement solutions, when you are not dealing with your day-to-day responsibilities at the same time. So you may well be able to conduct a more efficient survey at night, minimizing your labour and time.
Less disruption
Auditing during the day often means a need to stop work and that means unnecessary disruption to your business, like checking on heating and cooling, or lighting, for example. When you can conduct assessments without interrupting your workflow, you limit the effects on your business. As well, it makes for a better audit if you can get the job done without customer or staff interruptions, something you may be able to avoid outside of regular working hours.
Improved safety
If you have areas that require heights or heavy equipment, a night-time audit may limit the risk to your team. With less traffic and distraction, you can better assess the risks at your building, while minimizing the risk to others. This allows you to conduct a rigorous assessment of your processes and equipment, adopt preventative and corrective measures, and proceed as safely as possible.
Reliable scheduling
Your days are filled with a million things to do, and often scheduled or regular audits get delayed in favour of something more pressing. When your audits are scheduled at night, you can avoid most emergency disruptions, scheduling conflicts, and getting off track. Regular assessments mean increased efficiency, safety, and fewer budgetary surprises, so it’s important to stay consistent with your auditing schedule and conducting them after-hours may make that easier.
Auditing your building’s performance is important, so conduct those assessments when it works best for your business – and that may mean adding night audits into your regular maintenance schedule.
