How can your team be more consistent? One way is by creating standard operating procedures.  A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a document that clearly states the steps to do a task. Learn more about these important documents and how to make effective SOPs.

Many park districts, parks & recreation departments, and community organizations streamline their operations, registration, marketing, and maintenance tasks with the help of software. The days of spreadsheets, word processing, and an email account getting the job done have long passed. And for a good reason! Software gets designed to make our lives easier. Let's look at some types of parks and recreation software to improve the efficiency of teams and operations.

Your crew is the heart and muscle of the maintenance department. Your vehicles and heavy equipment are the backbones your crew relies on to get work completed. Having an established system of maintaining and monitoring your fleet requires many moving parts. Here are some steps to help ensure your vehicles are safe, dependable, and ready to respond when needed.

Often, time management problems for the maintenance team reflect underlying issues. When planning, scheduling, and communication get established, time management gradually falls into place. Here are some tips for implementing a planning and scheduling system.

Recreation management software makes it easier to organize everything that's going on in the facility and track data for more efficient programming in the future. But a lot of the facility management software doesn't address a key component of the recreation facility.

As we near the end of summer, we're easing into a critical time for turfgrass. It's an opportunity to provide the conditions to help lawns recover from summer and grow stronger as the cooler weather arrives. Plan these tasks to grow more resilient, durable, and healthy turfgrass.

Do you know one of the best things about paperwork? When you find a way to reduce it.  That's the idea behind standing work orders. Creating standing work orders can save time and administration costs. But there are some things to consider and be aware of before adding them to your workflow.

If your team plans to plant trees and shrubs, following these best practices to protect your investment and help ensure the plantings make it to maturity. Get the tips and best practices for planting and maintaining trees and shrubs. Discover what to do before, during, and after planting.

Even well-constructed trails need routine inspections and maintenance. Resolving any emerging drainage, erosion, and tread issues quickly saves time, money, and resources in the long run. Let’s take a look at some of the more common trail problems. Then we will dive into a few trail maintenance tasks to keep on your team’s radar.  

More maintenance teams are using software to communicate better, work more efficiently, and ensure tasks don't get overlooked. Furthermore, agencies--including those in the parks and recreation sector--use software for easier tracking, documenting, and reporting. The software that's making a big difference in the way crews work is called a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). Let's look at how a CMMS works, what's needed to implement it, and how this software benefits maintenance crews and agencies.