Maintenance Schedule

[Fred Sturm]

Avery,
	I think the input you have received so far is a reasonable enough
start. So I won't add to it, but rather offer a couple broader comments:
1) I think you should keep capital and maintenance expenses separate.
For capital, I think it is useful to try to establish an annual budget
for piano replacement (with rebuilding included to some extent), based
on an ideal average piano age (upright, grand, concert grand each having
its own ideal). For uprights I suggested aiming at 20 yr old average age
(40 year maximum); for grands, 30 yr old average (60 yr maximum,
rebuilding factored in); concert grands somewhere in between with more
rebuilding.
2) Maintenance is really a question of personnel levels versus quality
levels. It makes little sense to calculate based on the numbers asked
for (for instance, my tunings vary from 15 minute or less touch ups to
45 minute pitch raise using SAT offset to 2 hour marathons - what
constitutes a "tuning"?). It costs my salary to maintain the instruments
in my department at the level they are at (.5 FTE for 80 pianos). If
they want an _ideal_, use the Guidelines to come up with a personnel
level for the number of pianos.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico

Avery Todd wrote:
> 
> List,
> 
> Our business manager for the music dept. just called and told me
> that the Provost's office wants some kind of maintenance schedule
> for our pianos. Things like:
> 
> 1. How often should they be tuned
> 2. How often rebuilt
> 3. How often replaced
> 4. etc., etc.
> 
> She said they are in the process of evaluating the fees charged
> to students and wanted some kind of information pertaining to this.
> Even generic info would be helpful.
> 
> I have a few ideas but would appreciate some feedback from you are more
> experienced in dealing with this type of beaurecratic @#$%$^&. :-)
> 
> Any ideas? Thanks.
> 
> Avery