• Most facilities use less far electricity in the winter than they do in the summer, because the summer cooling load is absent. Power quality tends to improve, because the nonlinear compressor loads are also absent. If you had power anomalies last summer, take baseline power quality measurements now. Having this information during high demand periods will shorten troubleshooting and facilitate system optimization because you've isolated hot weather-related variables. Using the full ability of a power analyzer will provide you with a robust data set. If you don't have a power analyzer, this single use will probably justify the purchase.
• Inspect electrical rooms and enclosures for winter animal nests. Animals evicted from other sites may have moved to yours. If nests are present, contact your local animal control office for instructions on how to safely and humanely relocate the animals.
• Use infrared to look for air leakage around windows, doors, and other openings. With the higher temperature differential that winter provides between indoors and outdoors, these should stand out more clearly than in summer.
• Cold weather reveals make-up air imbalances. Most systems today are automated and adjust the air mixture per programmable parameters. Visit various spaces at different times to see how well the system is maintaining control. The correct solution may be hardware, not a parameter change -- so investigate imbalances carefully before deciding on a course of action.
• Plan ahead for spring and summer maintenance projects. Identify training deficiencies while there is time to correct them, order long-lead time parts, review maintenance procedures against maintenance reports, and generally tune up your maintenance processes. If you're a plant engineer, review lawn care contracts before spring demand hits.

Another important step in reducing repair repetition is to pay close attention to the people doing the repairs:

• They often have insight. Ask them to share it. Sometimes, a seemingly minor change in parts, materials, or procedure can eliminate a persistent problem.
• Their methods may be the problem. Have someone research the correct way to perform a given repair, and then compare that to the method(s) being used.

1. Bends the motor foot, throwing off the mounting geometry.
2. Stretches the bolt beyond the length of maximum clamping power, thus reducing the applied force of the fastener.