Care for your Club
Care for your Club, supported by Royal Bank RugbyForce and sportscotland.
We are aware that for many clubs, the lockdown period has made day-to-day facilities care very difficult. It is important, however, that these tasks are not entirely neglected in the coming weeks and months. The following checklist has been produced to assist clubs in managing their estates through the lockdown period.
It has been created by Graham Finnie of sportscotland and Kenny Scott, Facilities Manager here at Scottish Rugby. Hopefully, it will give you a few pointers for basic care that can be carried out by an individual and will keep your club on the right track for when we are able to start looking to return to rugby.
In all cases, it is advisable that any preventative measures carried out by staff/volunteers are recorded. It is important to remember that only trained personnel are permitted to operate any machinery or maintain plant equipment or electrical/gas services during any activity or planned preventative maintenance.
Of course, any requirement to visit your club facility should be done in line with Scottish Government Guidance.Royal Bank RugbyForce
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Clubhouses
Make sure you check your buildings insurance
Any prolonged absence from the facility may impact your policy
Run taps, showers and other water services
Keep water flow through pipes to minimize buildup of waterborne disease. Older buildings and water systems are more susceptible. Current advice from the Legionella Control Association is that you run the taps in your facility for at least 5 – 10 mins per week and flush all toilets. This includes running the pitch irrigation and showers for the same amount of time.
Check boilers and gas appliances
Your boiler plant may not be designed to be switched off, and the age of boiler will impact on the ease of switching on again.
Check your drainage
Drain and gulley covers should be exposed to ensure that all leaves and debris are cleared to allow the water to flow freely when required.
Check your security measures
Entrance and emergency gates, shutters and exits should be checked for functionality and serviced accordingly, i.e. oiled or cleared of any debris
Hospitality
Kitchens
Equipment will need to be decommissioned, for example fryers drained and deep cleaned.
Gas appliances will need to be shut off and made safe, and fridges and freezers emptied, cleaned and shut off.
Cupboards
Need to be emptied of perishable and non-perishable food to deter vermin.
Bar services
These will need to be decommissioned and regularly maintained over the shut down or organisations could face weeks with a very much reduced level of income on return and wait weeks for a technical service crew. Please refer to the BBPA dispense system shutdown procedures
Fire Safety
Fire alarm checks and tests
It is advised to continue to conduct weekly fire checks in line with your current site compliance regime. This includes any fire alarm tests, checking the serviceability of fire extinguishers, emergency lighting and ensuring any gas boiler compliance checks continue.
Grass Pitches
Cutting
Basic grass cutting to prevent the pitch from getting out of control on an “as and when” required basis. If possible, clippings should be removed.
Aeration
If equipment is available and time permits, aeration is helpful at this time (verti-drain/slit tining).
Goal posts
Goal posts should be regularly checked – all nuts and bolts should be lubricated as well, made tight and secure in ground sockets.
Planting
Increase the grass coverage to help maintain pitches during the playing season.
Strengthen the grass plant making them more robust for the playing season.
De-compact the pitches to Improve root growth and assist in drainage of the surface.
Synthetic Surfaces
Brush
Remove debris from the surface and activate the infill and keep the pile upright.
De-compact
Active infill and ensure the surface is fit to play on.
Disinfect
Prior to use after lockdown the surface will need to have all material removed and animal feces cleaned from the surface. Disinfect with an appropriate product, for example Sanitech, this must be approved by the carpet manufacture.
Pest Control
Due to the inactivity on your site, vermin may take the opportunity to forage in areas where they wouldn’t normally explore, due to a reduction in human presence.
Rodents can cause untold damage to pipes and electrical services, to that end, any evidence of this should be reported to your local pest control contractor.
All of the above should be conducted in
a safe manner and where any risk is present, a risk assessment should be conducted by
a competent person and communicated to all staff involved in the activity.
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