Last week, Mount Green officially launched its new In-House Maintenance Team to streamline our processes and increase Mount Green’s local capacity to complete maintenance and repairs within the team.
We’ve caught up with Ian Bailey, a Senior Maintenance Operative with 18 years’ experience in the sector, to gain an insight into what a typical day looks like for a member of the new team and what makes the job rewarding.
A typical day
Our phones ping with our first job of the day, and that’s where we head straight away. One job gets sent to us at a time, and once that’s signed off, the next one comes through. This way of working means there’s a lot of variety – and learning too. Even though we all specialise in certain trades, we’re each taking on a range of repairs, which is great for building experience.
Most days are spent out and about, but around once a month, the team gathers at the Mount Green office for a catch-up.
Most of the job involves plumbing issues, but is always varied and covers everything else from broken locks to fencing
An example of a recent plumbing job that went really well involved a tenant with a blocked bath. They’d been trying everything to fix it. I got in and unblocked it in half an hour. It’s good to be able to help – it just comes down to having the experience and know how
Since we’ve launched the In-House Maintenance Team, we’ve received some really good feedback from residents. They are really pleased with how soon we get out to them and get the job done from when they first report the repair. They are also happy with the quality of our work.
There are of course challenges too. Sometimes you get to a job and realise the work required is slightly different to what was reported and so perhaps you haven’t bought the right tools. It helps to come prepared with extra tools.
What keeps me motivated is that every day on the job is different. It keeps you engaged to not know what is coming next. And when you turn up, fix the problem and see the resident smile – that’s the best bit.