A 3-Step Plan for Church Gear Maintenance

When things get busy, it’s the boring routine of maintenance that tends to fall by the wayside. But if your team puts this maintenance plan into place, you can expect far fewer equipment failures and headaches, which is always something to celebrate.

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When most of us agreed to take on the role of TD at our church, chances are that we spent most of our mental energy thinking about how we’d perform the role during a service or how we’d pull off some big event.

While those are typically the areas of our role that are the most visible (and most impactful), those forward-facing events really have no chance at being successful without a full investment of time and energy into maintaining our systems during the week.

Every big event is comprised of hours of prep, and no event can occur without hours of energy having been put into maintaining the necessary systems and equipment. But when things get busy, it’s the boring routine of maintenance that tends to fall by the wayside, opening the door for seemingly small issues to blow up a well-planned service.

Remember, excellence starts with a mentality. Big events are comprised of thousands of little details, and attention to detail is critical when we are all striving to do the best job possible.

So, in an effort to keep a big event from getting derailed from a simple, preventable mechanical issue, there are three main areas where a TD’s focus on some of those boring, behind-the-scenes details can actually pay great dividends:

1-Regular cleaning of equipment

Clutter and chaos can easily derail even the best service, so it’s important to stop periodically and ensure that as much as possible is neat and tidy. Some examples of how this can be implemented on a periodic (weekly, monthly, or quarterly) basis:

  1. Cleaning the grill on mic capsules.
  2. Wiping fingerprints off lobby or kids’ room TVs.
  3. Dusting off stage monitors or up-lighting fixtures that are in clear sight of congregants.
  4. Organizing, coiling, and hanging cables so they can be easily located.
  5. Returning items to a proper storage space or hanging hook.
  6. Clearing old content off graphics computers so the software (or hard drive) isn’t bogged down.
  7. Wiping computer keyboards, consoles, and other hardware with sanitizing wipes during cold and flu season.
  8. Cleaning up the sound booth and monitor areas in order to present a neat and organized appearance to potential team recruits.

Remember, excellence starts with a mentality. Big events are comprised of thousands of little details, and attention to detail is critical when we are all striving to do the best job possible.

Finding (and fixing) an issue during the week is always better than having to deal with it on a weekend while prepping for a service.

2-Preventative maintenance

Taking time to do regular systems checks and updates helps minimize the odds of equipment failing during a service. Finding (and fixing) an issue during the week is always better than having to deal with it on a weekend while prepping for a service. Some simple examples of regular maintenance that could prevent bigger issues:

  1. Testing (and replacing regularly) batteries in wireless devices.
  2. Testing batteries in UPSes.
  3. Software and firmware updates for computers and hardware. A couple of tips on this: always ensure that automatic updates are disabled. And when you plan on doing updates, do it early in the week so there’s time to recover in the event of an error. When updating equipment firmware, plan on potentially having to update other equipment in the chain in case an original update isn’t compatible with another piece of gear.
  4. Cleaning projector filters.
  5. For lamp-based projectors, replacing the lamps at or even prior to the manufacturer’s recommended interval, to try and stay ahead of the curve of decreasing image quality.
  6. Re-gelling conventional lighting fixtures and replacing lamps. Side note: always remember to white balance your cameras after making any changes to key lighting.
  7. Refilling fluid in hazers.

While there are some types of equipment failure that simply can’t be prevented, many other things can be, if one is willing to take the time to check things on the front end. And having a good prevention system in place not only gives you more confidence in your system, but it also shows church leadership that you are a good steward of your resources and are willing to put healthy time and energy into what you’re managing.

3-Long-term planning

Most types of equipment have a shelf life of some sort, whether due to decreases in functionality or manufacturer support, or becoming outdated due to industry improvements. Understanding those limitations or expectations can help you properly budget each year, and will also help your church leadership with longer-term financial planning. A few items to consider:

  1. Many console-type items like video switchers, lighting consoles, and sound boards can have at least a seven-year lifespan (which can obviously vary based on usage and care). By that time, technology and equipment functionality will likely have improved to the point that changes can be considered for a reasonable investment.
  2. Lighting fixtures and projectors typically will have lamp timer limits established by the manufacturer. Consider their recommendations, and then subtract perhaps 20% when determining the lamp replacement schedule. That may likely be the point where there is a noticeable drop-off in performance and it’s worth making a change to increase the output. By noting the number of events in a venue, it can be possible to project these type of replacements on an annual basis so plans can be made accordingly. Similarly, manufacturers can also make recommendations on long-term maintenance or replacement schedules for lamp-based or motor-driven equipment.
  3. Light-dispersion technology has made drastic strides in recent years, both with house lighting and in projectors. Compare the ROI of lamp replacement cost, maintenance hours, etc., when determining whether to consider a laser-based projector instead of a lamp-based model for your next project or replacement. Also, compare bulb cost, man-hours, power consumption, heat load/HVAC impact, and green energy credits from the local power company to determine whether an LED house lighting system is worth installing.

Having a long-term replacement plan in advance can pay huge dividends with church leadership. It makes it easier to plan projects and capital expenses, and having the forethought to think proactively may result in gaining additional favor from church leadership.

Having a long-term replacement plan in advance can pay huge dividends with church leadership.

So, even though the events themselves tend to be the most exciting parts of a church tech’s job, it may actually be the mundane prep work on the front side that ends up being the most rewarding. Thanks to having a healthy system of maintenance and care in place, I can do my job during those events with confidence, knowing that the system has been nurtured toward success.