Maintenance

It's that time of the year again.... If you're involved in a church, then it's most likely that you've had your hands full with a production of some sort. If you're involved in theatre, this is the time it's most quite as the major season will usually draw to a close. In Australia, most of the regional performing arts centres will close and this is the time the techs will get busy with maintenance.

This is the time that's good for maintenance!

Maintenance is a necessary evil to keep a facility in tip top condition. It doesn't matter if you're a big or small venue, with corresponding technical inventory - keeping equipment in good working order is one way to reduce the odds of Murphy's law from kicking in the coming year.

Many people think that maintenance is about fixing or cleaning equipment. In actual fact, that's only partially true; maintenance is about knowing the condition any piece of equipment is in. I won't go into the full details of planned maintenance and its various incarnations, but I'll talk a little about tips to keep your gear happy over the years.

1) Schedule your maintenance
The easiest way to take care of your gear is to put is on a maintenance schedule. It doesn't have to be a complex diary of tasks that sucks all your time. I find that most equipment will perform a hundred percent better just with an annual inspection and maintenance routine. Put aside some time when it's quiet - for a lot of churches there are generally two periods; in July/August when Easter is over and Christmas production hasn't ramped up yet, or in January/February after all the Christmas productions and ham. Depending on the amount of gear, it could take a couple of hours for a few pieces or a day if there is more.

2) Plan the maintenance
Set a time for your maintenance. Most equipment will benefit from at least a yearly inspection, if nothing else. Annual items include amplifiers with fans will need to be cleaned, mic grilles cleaned or replaced, stage lighting fixtures' lenses to be washed and cleaned, all cables checked visually for fraying or loose strands, mixing console surface dusted, connections buffed, and so on..... The major quarterly item that requires some sort of visual check are projector filters.

3) Log your maintenance
Keep a logbook of all work that has been done on equipment, when a bulb was changed, who did the repairs. A logbook also eventually gives you an overview of the service life of a particular piece of equipment; whether there is a recurring problem happening in increasing frequency. It also helps the people who come after you to understand the issues and continue with the work.

4) Involve the team
Maintenance time is one of the best times to involve the entire team. Not only does it make the work lighter, but it'll build the team and give each one a good overview of the gear and how it works.

5) Outsourcing your maintenance
Now, for those of you who can't seem to find the time, energy or expertise to do your own maintenance, there is the option of outsourcing. Many companies offer maintenance packages at different levels and price points. If you're really tight on manpower, this is a good way to go as it relieves you of a major headache and you have the peace of mind that all the equipment is being looked after regularly.

Well, that's my thoughts on the subject for now. Have fun!