Teamwork - between priesthood leaders, members and employed custodians - is the key to the success of the new Church Meetinghouse Preventive Maintenance Program.
President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency, and Bishop Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, discussed the new program in a training videotape presented to stakes and other priesthood leaders to introduce the changes.Both emphasized the importance of Church members and custodians adapting to the new "team" concept in meetinghouse cleaning and maintenance, and sharing the responsibility for building upkeep.
Under the direction of the First Presidency and Presiding Bishopric, changes in how meetinghouses and certain other facilities in the United States and Canada are cared for have begun being implemented since the latter part of 1989.
At present, approximately 80 percent of the stakes in North America have been placed on the program, said Boyd L. Erickson, manager of field operations support division in the Church Physical Facilities Department. Every stake in the U.S. and Canada will ultimately make the change, he added.
The program has been introduced gradually during the past several months to the stakes by personnel from each of the respective area physical facilities offices, working under the direction of the area presidencies, according to Erickson.
He said the new concept - adopted after extensive study - organizes all custodians in a stake into work crews with specialized assignments for several buildings in the areas of interior maintenance, exterior maintenance, mechanical systems maintenance and special projects as necessary. Custodians work under a foreman's supervision and share their talents and the full complement of equipment between buildings.
The foreman also assists the stake physical facilities representative with appropriate personnel administration, purchasing supplies and equipment, timely payment of invoices, arranging for outside contractors as needed for maintenance and repairs and improving custodians' skills and efficiency through training and supervision.
In addition, under the new program working hours are set within the framework of normal daytime working hours Monday through Friday, Erickson said. Some of the responsibility for non-technical cleaning, janitorial tasks and grounds care will thus be handled by Church members under the direction of local priesthood leaders, especially on weekends. This frees custodians to focus more on preventive maintenance and to use the more technical skills they acquire through training and on-the-job experience. With the members' support, custodians can properly maintain buildings, rather than spend all of their time cleaning. That will mean meetinghouses will last longer and provide better service to wards and stakes.
The system departs from the traditional one building-one custodian method of maintenance and cleaning that has been used throughout the Church. In those instances, one person has had responsibility for all aspects of cleaning, landscaping, maintenance and repairs, and in training and communicating with priesthood leaders.
The new program lets custodians work together as a team, supporting each other and using their respective skills to the best advantage of all buildings maintained by the team. And the focus has changed from janitorial service to maintenance, helping prevent costly building renovation and replacement, Erickson explained.
And the results?
Improved meetinghouse care.
Better personnel management.
Significant cost avoidance.
Reduced need for periodic, extensive meetinghouse remodeling.
Extended useful life of each facility.
And there are other benefits as well, such as increased appreciation and reverence for Church facilities on the part of members who make sacrifices for their upkeep. (See Bishop Eyring's remarks in separate article on this page concerning member participation in the new program.)
"We have been blessed through the years with the resources needed to construct meetinghouses to match the population growth of the Church," President Monson said, in introducing the new program several months ago to the stakes via the videotape. "But as the saints use these buildings throughout the world, the buildings need to be maintained and refurbished so that their appearance always matches the dignity and the beauty of the truths taught therein. Such maintenance requires sizable investments of the sacred funds of the Church.
"Through the years," President Monson continued, "the Church has been able to employ many capable custodians who have dedicated their careers to building maintenance and the service of the saints. . . . As we have developed this large group of dedicated custodians, we have not been unmindful of past practices where members themselves assisted in the care and maintenance of their Church facilities. . . .
"The new maintenance program will not only help custodians be more effective in their labors, but will also bring back the involvement of the Church members in this important effort. Membership involvement will surely build a sense of pride in our meetinghouses and help in their upkeep by all who use them."
Although implementation of the Meetinghouse Preventive Maintenance Program will occur in all stakes in the U.S. and Canada, use of the custodian maintenance teams will vary from place to place, depending on the distance between buildings.
Full-crew utilization takes place where all meetinghouses in a stake are within 30 minutes driving time of each other. In these cases, all buildings will be cared for by the custodial team.
Partial-crew structure is adopted where some buildings are within 30 minutes, and some are not. In these instances, individual custodians will continue to care for buildings that are farthest away, but all custodians remain part of the stake team and may be reassigned to other buildings or projects. Buildings within 30 minutes will be maintained by the team.
No crew implementation will happen where all buildings are located further than 30 minutes apart. In these cases, no crews are organized and individual custodians are assigned to buildings, but they all work under the supervision of a foreman as members of the stake team and can be reassigned to other buildings or projects within the stake as the foreman deems necessary.
A multi-stake variation of the program will eventually be adopted in areas best served by grouping teams and crews across stake boundaries, according to Erickson. But the first priority is implementing the changes within each stake.
(ADDITIONAL STORY)
Maintenance program a way to appreciate Church meetinghouses
As a Beehive adviser in the Springville 6th Ward, Springville Utah Hobble Creek Stake, I felt the new Meetinghouse Preventive Maintenance Program was a unique opportunity to become involved.
Our stake presidency asked that our Relief Society and priesthood classes be held jointly one Sunday so they could introduce the program to us. We also combined our Young Women classes into a joint meeting so the advisers could hear the stake presidency's message.
President Blaine Hadley briefly explained the purpose of the meeting and introduced the videotape from Church headquarters, which presented the new program. After viewing the tape, the counselors in the stake presidency explained the different aspects of the program and how it would apply to us and our stake and ward buildings.
To conclude the meeting, Bishop Neil Strong explained the specific responsibilities that accompany our stewardship in meetinghouse care, and how they relate to our unique situation.
We are the first ward to meet in our building each Sunday. Because the custodians' work week ends at 3:30 p.m. Friday and does not begin until the next Monday, it is our responsibility to see that chairs are set up, bathroom towel and soap dispensers are filled, sidewalks are shoveled in winter, and that all things are in order for Sunday services.
I feel this is a neat opportunity to not only become involved as an individual, but also as a leader to involve each one of my Beehive girls. The new program gives them the opportunity to practice their Personal Progress areas of focus, for it will take "faith" and "good works" and "integrity" to plant and weed flower beds, to vacuum and clean after activities, and to remember to turn off lights. In doing so, they can come to understand their divine nature, grow in knowledge and realize their individual worth through personally caring for our Heavenly Father's house and through the sweetness of service.
The Lord has said, ". . . he that is faithful shall be made ruler over many things." (D&C 52:13.) I feel we will all grow in appreciation and respect for our meetinghouse as we personally clean and care for it. Every little bit will help, for " . . . by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. . . . (Alma 37:6.)
There is a special spirit that may accompany all who get involved in the preventive maintenance program. The upkeep of our Heavenly Father's house is our responsibility. The Lord has promised, " . . . he that is a faithful and wise steward shall inherit all things." (D&C 78:22.) - Rebecca Ann Burrows
(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)
Member involvement called 'key to success'
"The key to the success of this program is the involvement of the members," emphasized Bishop Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, in a training videotape sent to stakes participating in the new custodial maintenance program.
"Two things can happen when they become enthused about the assignments they are given by their priesthood leaders: First, there is a minimization of costs; the custodians can be then free when some of the routine jobs are done by members to do the things that are more difficult, the kinds of maintenance tasks better suited to what they can do.
"And another blessing comes. That is to the members as they get a feeling of not just involvement, but of ownership. The building becomes their's because they made some sacrifice for it.
"That's particularly exciting when you think of the young people of the Church, who can have experiences through their quorums or perhaps working with families in getting the feeling of what it means to have given time and care to the caring of a house in which we worship God. That will change not only their feelings of appreciation, but also their feelings of reverence and can make a difference in the experiences they have in these meetinghouses which we value so much."
Here's what members can do to assist with building upkeep
Here are 17 things Church members can do to help care for meetinghouses under the new custodial maintenance program. When members help with these functions, meetinghouse custodians - working as a team or individually as conditions in a given stake merit - can use their valuable time to accomplish larger cleaning tasks and especially preventive maintenance activities.
Clean up after meetings or activities, including vacuuming, sweeping, cleaning serving areas and placing trash in outside refuse containers. Extensive cleanup after Sunday meetings is not expected, but the buildings should be kept tidy by members at all times and paper supplies in rest rooms replaced as needed during Sunday block schedules.
Prepare the meetinghouse for Sunday use following meetings or activities conducted after normal Monday-Friday custodial hours.
Unlock and lock meetinghouses for meetings and activities.
Set up and put away tables and chairs, including on Sundays.
Make nightly checks to ensure windows and doors are secured.
Fill the baptismal font, then drain it and clean up following baptismal services.
Clean up the sacrament table.
Set up and secure sound and video equipment.
Turn lights, sound, organ and non-automated mechanical equipment on and off.
Encourage supervised use of the meetinghouse in an appropriate manner.
Prepare for and clean up after wedding receptions and other approved non-Church use.
Clean serving areas, ranges, ovens, refrigerators, utensils and tools.
Clean and maintain library and office equipment.
Plant and maintain flower beds. (These are not part of the designed landscape plan or normal custodial program.)
Participe in special projects to clean the grounds.
Remove snow from sidewalks for meetings and activities after normal custodial work schedules.
Make small repairs according to available member skills.
