Maintenance agreements are more than just inspections. In addition to serving as a way to keep HVAC systems running more efficiently, these agreements also have a bigger purpose – they provide an opportunity to ensure compliance and safety.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued 23 citations to U.S. HVAC companies from Oct. 2022 to Sept. 2023 for noncompliance with the agency’s industry safety standards. While we can assume that keeping employees and customers safe is a top priority for businesses, hidden dangers can be lurking unbeknownst to the business owner. A preventative maintenance agreement that offers routine inspections of HVAC systems can give owners the peace of mind that they are doing what they can to achieve that goal.
Leave it to the experts
Businesses in a variety of industries have much to focus on, and staying up to date with safety regulations can sometimes be daunting. Working with a company like Medford Wellington, which places a great emphasis on workplace safety, can ease that task.
We make it a point to turn all field employees at Medford into experts who are knowledgeable about the rules and regulations of governing agencies. There is a great importance placed on training our teams, making sure they understand workplace safety and following those rules. In fact, we have a dedicated safety team and strive to instill these values into the culture of our company.
These efforts are twofold. We not only want our employees to be safe when out on a job site, but we also want them to show our customers how they, too, can identify issues and learn from them so that their workplaces are as safe and compliant as possible.
Passing on knowledge
There are many unfortunate things that can happen in an unsafe work environment including falls, exposure to harmful chemicals, and other accidents. Our goal is to prevent those things from happening to our employees or those of the business with which we are working.
When we are onsite, we always make it a point to identify unsafe conditions of which they themselves may not be aware. Our team is trained to issue a “Stop Work Authority” should they encounter unsafe conditions and propose corrective actions to the customer in order to prevent business interruptions along with costly workplace accidents that can result in city, state and federal fines, insurance claims or, in the worst-case scenario, loss of life.
A preventative maintenance agreement allows our experts to be on-site at regular intervals where they can become aware of any safety issues. This can help the company address those matters efficiently and effectively, rather than unknowingly making fixes that could be even more dangerous and out of compliance.
Bottom line
A preventative maintenance agreement can ensure better air quality and a longer-lasting system. But the real benefit lies within the exchange of information because of the agreement. The result is the promotion and value of workplace safety for all involved.