By Kerry - January 1, 2019

Facilities heroes tackle repairs, maintenance

In today’s grocery industry, you’ll find intense competition and imposing forces. And, like any business, your rank in the competition can be thwarted by something as routine as repair costs.

Have no fear, facilities is here! This department is integral for blocking mysterious equipment mishaps and keeping the Publix operation running smoothly for associates and customers alike. Their mission? To keep operating costs down by fighting off bad habits and protecting against preventable dilemmas.

The Villains

  • Common preventable repairs
    • Clogged drains
    • Poorly maintained equipment
  • Overall annual impact of all repair requests
    • Calls: 390,000
    • Cost: $108 million

The Superheroes

  • Identifying problems and educating associates
  • Creating and implementing solutions

These common repairs only represent a portion of overall costs, but they make an impact. Tackling these mysterious repairs is never an easy feat, but thinking outside the box is a valuable superpower. To fight off rising costs, facilities implemented a procedure to resolve many common problems over the phone when possible. By taking the store associate step-by-step through common solutions, we avoid dispatching a vendor at a higher cost.

However, the superheroes in the facilities department know that the biggest superpower lies with you. Since many of our repairs are quite preventable, they can be taken down with only one thing: pride. Whether it’s for yourself, your fellow associates or Publix itself, pride in your work will give us the best defensive shield against these unyielding mishaps.