Operating Equipment

• A groundskeeper must inspect all equipment and machines used to maintain buildings and grounds to ensure they are in working condition. Examples include interior equipment such as air conditioners and water heaters and outdoor equipment such as lawn mowers, tillers, fertilizer spreaders, golf carts and string trimmers. A groundskeeper also operates maintenance equipment to perform related tasks and notifies the facility owner or manager when replacements or repairs are needed.
  
  

Landscaping

• A significant part of keeping a facility safe concerns keeping the grounds in order. Routine tasks for this position include watering, cutting and fertilizing lawns; cutting weeds; cleaning and maintaining walkways and paved areas; removing debris from walkways; and keeping foot-traffic areas in good condition. Without ongoing maintenance, a facility can pose a physical hazard to occupants and visitors. For example, during snowy conditions a groundskeeper must shovel walkways and driveways for pedestrian and vehicle safety.
  
  

Reading and Interpreting Information

• A maintenance worker might be assigned to a specific facility, such as managing all of an organization's outdoor athletic fields, and must maintain grounds to strict standards. For example, a facility with a football field will have written guidelines for maintaining the turf to the football league's standards for safe playing. A worker might also consult facility guides such as how to install and repair sprinkler systems and provide appropriate levels of water and fertilizer to the field turf at different times of the year.
  
  

Maintaining Records

• A facility must maintain written records about the condition of all facilities, grounds, tools and equipment. A groundskeeper maintains these records, including filling out inventory reports; recording work tasks per established schedules; noting problems with equipment and associated repairs; completing work orders from different departments; and ordering equipment and supplies. Without proper records, a facility manager won't know what tasks are required at any time except by lengthy inspection.