Every place of business needs space for employees and visitors to park, which makes the parking lot one of the more important considerations when managing a commercial building. Property managers know that failing to provide a clean, well lit parking area can have a big impact on their ability keep tenants.

Even if managers drive to work every day, it can be easy to forget about parking lot maintenance. Most of the daily activity occurs within the building itself, which can draw attention away from quieter parts of the property. However, the parking area is the manager’s first chance to make an impression on visitors, making it essential that they take steps to make improvements to it every day.

Make a good first impression

A dirty, unkempt parking area can deter people from entering a building. Tenants want their customers to feel welcomed, and often call upon property managers to clean up trash and maintain landscaping. Scheduling regular times for maintenance staff to complete these tasks can help keep everything looking neat and orderly. If owners contract external landscaping companies, managers need to ensure that they complete seasonal tasks on time.

The fall can bring colorful foliage, but within a few weeks all of those leaves are lying on the ground. Using building management software, operators can ensure that fall cleanups happen at the appropriate times. Leaves may need to be removed from the grounds several times if wind continues to blow them in from neighboring properties. Keeping track of these expenses is easy with the right software tools.

During other seasons, exterior work may need to be accomplished. This may include mulching, planting new flowers or removing dead bushes. The winter brings its own set of problems for parking areas with its snow and ice. Snow removal should be planned carefully to avoid creating problems for visitors. Making sure maintenance crews have salt and other material to keep walkways clear is an important part of winter maintenance.

Managing large projects

A side effect of all that ice is the damage it can cause to pavement. Cracks form and expand as cars and plows drive over them, creating potholes and other issues that make it difficult to navigate parking areas. Dealing with these issues could keep building managers up at night if they are not prepared. Repaving parking lots is an expensive fix that creates parking issues while it is going on. Patching might be preferable, but if done incorrectly it can leave lots in even worse condition. Building managers can use new software to make better decisions about large-scale projects.

Building Engines provides the tools operators need to track PM, inspections, manage vendors and assign work to maintenance staff. The easy-to-use interface enables property management teams to complete work on-the-go from any mobile device, allowing them access and update work even when outside in a parking lot or in an area of a garage with no service.