How Do You Measure Up? Using Audits as a Tool for Improvement

/in , /by

It’s audit season, and for people unfamiliar with the (OS1) process, that means it’s the time when we hit the streets to review how (OS1) users are doing. Some might view this as unnecessary, but it’s really what sets our system apart from any other cleaning program. You see, understanding the OS1 program and implementing it in an organization is just part of the process. The key to success is ongoing measurement, which is achieved through an audit. 

For an (OS1) user, performance is critical. A central tenant of our philosophy is “to clean for health protection first and appearance second.” To accomplish this, we want to be sure our users are cleaning in a way that creates a healthy condition by reducing exposures and risks. 

Over the past 20-plus years that we’ve been performing audits, we’ve found that they are a great way for custodial managers to keep staff focused because it discourages complacency. When people hear that someone will be coming to their facility to watch them work, ask them questions and evaluate the condition of their equipment and supply cabinets to establish compliance with the (OS1) system, they tend to stay on top of their game. 

For a manager, audits are also a great way to benchmark cleaning levels and set goals for higher performance. At the end of an audit, the operation is provided a complete report that identifies areas of compliance and non-compliance. Pictures accompany the report to validate report findings. Each audit is scored and benchmarked against other (OS1) operations so users know where they stand.

An audit will review all training logs to ensure that custodial staff members receive ongoing development and training.

We’ve seen organizations that operate at a superior audit score go without an audit for a few years, and we’re always surprised to see how quickly complacency can derail the system. For example, at one large university, users were regularly getting audit scores of 90 percent and higher. They went three years without an audit, and when we went back, they received a 65 percent score. Supply closets were disorganized, custodial workers couldn’t identify certain products or processes, equipment was dirty—not what we’d expect from an (OS1) user. 

The best organizations work like they’re always facing an audit. They set goals. They look for ways to improve the way they clean. 

If your cleaning department is just going through the motions and you’re looking for ideas to take it to the next level, here are a few key performance indicators we’d recommend tracking, in addition to common indicators such as supply costs and turnover:

Training: Set educational goals for your team. In addition to regular in-services that provide them with training on work-related topics such as blood borne pathogens, chemical handling or ergonomics, provide them with resources to other training they can take through local vocational schools or industry organizations. Tie training goals to their performance reviews so they understand the importance of personal development. 

Safety: Look at how often custodial workers are injured and work to identify the cause of the injuries. Approximately 16,480 cleaners are injured each year from overexertion. If your team experiences back or neck injuries, consider strategies such as using lighter-weight equipment, increasing the number of storage closets available or pre-shift warm up exercises. Track injury rates and Workers Compensation payouts to see how your department measures overtime. 

Workload Balance: Evaluate the responsibilities and tasks assigned to custodial workers to ensure that they are evenly balanced between each team member. While this is a soft metric, it is critical that the balance is regularly evaluated to ensure the even distribution of responsibilities. 

Complaints: It regularly surprises us how organizations handle complaints. A lot of times, custodial managers will just handle the issue at hand and be done with it. Tracking complaints over time can help you gain insight into the root issue and potentially remove the condition that is causing the complaint. An obvious example might be that if you’re regularly receiving complaints about water spills in the restroom, you could add another cleaning rotation.

You will never know if you are taking your custodial operation to the next level if you aren’t measuring—whether internally or using an independent expert to help evaluate your operations. We’d love to hear what KPIs you evaluate — join us for a discussion on our Linkedin page! 

Sustainability Talk II: Steps for Eliminating Downstream Waste [with INFOGRAPHIC]

/in , /by

We’re back for part two of our trash talking, the focus of our Earth Month series. In part one, we looked at upstream decisions you can make to eliminate waste, through source reduction or sustainable purchasing practices—basically making smart decisions about the products you purchase before they even enter the building. Today we’re looking at downstream initiatives for waste reduction. This includes recycling, composting and reuse strategies. 

While most of us call it “trash,” the technical term for garbage is municipal solid waste, or MSW. This covers everything we use and then throw away, such as product packaging, bottles, food scraps, paint, old equipment—basically anything you put in your trash can. While many facilities have recycling programs in place, the EPA estimates that 75 percent of the waste stream is recyclable, but that we only recycle about 30 percent of that total. 

Approximately HALF of the 254 million tons of trash generated in the U.S. each year comes from businesses. All that trash has to go somewhere, and the result is growing landfills. This is just one startling graphic from Fast Company that shows just how much of the U.S. is covered in landfills. 

Downstream MSW reductions can be made through some fairly simple steps within your facility. If you’re not already using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to track your rate, energy and water use over time, that’s a good place to start. This will allow you to measure the success of your programs and see what’s working — and what’s not.

Here are three categories you can use for separating downstream waste:

Reuse: When you can’t eliminate waste at the source, look for alternative uses for products. For example, you might be able to use materials received for inbound shipments for outgoing shipments. You might also be able to partner with a local business that can reuse your waste, such as plastic bottles, old buckets or equipment. 

Recycle: Recycling not only helps reduce the amount of virgin materials used in the manufacturing of goods, it also supports jobs in the recycling industry. Common types of recycling include single stream (all items go into the same bin and the recycler handles sorting), paper and cardboard, source separation (sorting materials at the facility) and eWaste (electronic waste). 

Compost: Organic waste, such as certain types of food scraps, yard waste and even some types of containers can be composted and used as a fertilizer. If you have an onsite cafeteria or if you work in the hospitality industry, this could be an excellent waste diversion strategy. 

As we mentioned in part one, a good first step to identifying ways to effectively reduces your MSW is to conduct an audit of your current waste stream so you have a benchmark for your program. If you don’t have a recycling program in place, start small by focusing on items such as paper and/or plastic. More advanced programs might look at options for composting food waste, which help reduce the amount of methane gas emitted from landfills. 

Reducing MSW isn’t just about limiting material going to the landfill, it can also be good for business. Millennials want to work for employers committed to sustainability. People want to do business with sustainable brands. If you’re not recycling at work, let Earth Month be the month you begin your program. Good luck!

Additional resources:

SaveSave

Sustainability Talk, Part I: Understanding Source Reduction

/in , /by

Waste. It’s something we think a lot about in the custodial department because, well, that’s a big part of our job. In recognition of Earth Month and Earth Day (April 22), we’ll be focusing on waste and ways that we can better eliminate waste through waste management strategies, such as source reduction. When fully implemented and with full employee engagement, an organization has the resources in place to become “zero waste.”

A waste management strategy typically includes two key parts: 1) Sustainable Purchasing, which focuses largely on the upstream decisions you make on sourcing and source reduction, and 2) Waste Management, which focuses on the downstream decisions you make related to waste disposal. Throughout each element of your waste management program, employees should be engaged. When employees are engaged, your program has better odds for success. For part one of this two-part series, we’ll focus on the sustainable purchasing or the “upstream” part of your waste management program. It’s something ManageMen has been committed to  since 1992. 

Similar to how we kick off any new (OS1) implementation, an audit is a great way to gain an understanding of your current waste stream. During an audit, you will look closely at the types of waste your building generates, and then see how much of each type of waste is recovered for recycling, or sent to a landfill. 

An audit will consist of four basic steps:

  • Planning: Identify what you want to achieve from the audit. Include key stakeholders throughout the organization to let them know what you’re doing and why. You’ll also want to gather the necessary materials for the audit, such as bins, protective equipment, etc.
  • Collection: Collect the waste and store it in the appropriate bins in a pre-determined location. Waste can be collected and sorted on the same day, or over a period of time, such as a week. 
  • Sorting: This is the messy part. Go through the waste and sort the materials into various waste receptacles. This might include recyclables, compostables and trash. Record your results by measuring the number of items or the weight of each receptacle. 
  • Analyzing: Analyze the data. What does it tell you about your current waste management program? What are the opportunities for improvement?

Contact your local solid waste administration for additional audit materials and resources. 

A Little More about Using Less

Source reduction through sustainable purchasing practices is an effective waste reduction strategy. Sustainable purchasing means buying products in a way that not only considers the cost of the product, but the environmental, social and health impacts. In the cleaning industry, there’s been a lot of focus on sustainable purchasing practices (e.g. looking for products with third party certifications, renewable resources and local sources). But when it comes to source reduction, we have a lot of room for improvement.

Source reduction, or waste prevention, means finding ways to accomplish the same amount of work while using less product and generating less waste.

According to the EPA, source reduction means “purchasing durable, long-lasting goods and seeking products and packaging that are as free of toxics as possible. It can be as complex as redesigning a product to use less raw material in production, have a longer life, or be used again after its original use is completed. Because source reduction actually prevents the generation of waste in the first place, it is the most preferable method of waste management and goes a long way to protecting the environment.” 

What does this mean for you? A few things to keep in mind:

  1. Buy nice, or buy twice. Oftentimes, when you purchase cleaning equipment and supplies based on price, there’s a good chance that you will end up having to replace the product sooner than you would have to if you would have purchased a better quality product the first time around. 
  2. Consider the packaging and system. We like the PortionPac system because it eliminates redundant supplies, allowing cleaning departments to reduce their cleaning product assortment by as much as 40 percent. It does this with pre-dispensed chemical that users simply pour into their containers. 
  3. Simplify through standardization. When an engineered approach to cleaning is deployed, you are better able to streamline products and procedures, ultimately reducing waste.
  4. Engage employees. Encourage employees to identify ways they can help reduce waste or reuse items throughout the facility. This will improve the overall success of your effort.
  5. Avoid purchasing hazardous materials when possible. Enough said.

The theme for Earth Day this year is “End Plastic Pollution.” Of the 9.1 billion tons of plastic produced in the world, an estimated 6.9 billion tons is waste. As we kick-off Earth Month, let’s look at source reduction strategies we can use to reduce the amount of plastic used in our operations. 

How to Make Change in Your Custodial Department Easier Than Ever

/in , /by

When it opened in 2001, the California Environmental Protection Agency headquarters was touted as the “greenest high rise in the nation.” Waterless urinals were installed, expected to save more than 1 million gallons of water each year. Looking exclusively at the environmental benefit, engineers who called for the new technology neglected to look at how the urinals would be used and maintained. After “hundreds” of complaints about foul odors and wet floors along with “high” maintenance costs, the units were removed six years later.

A similar situation happened at City Hall in Chicago. Waterless urinals installed to “promote water conversation” ultimately created a huge stink due to a plumbing issue. Chicago’s building code requires copper pipes in commercial buildings — a material that undiluted urine will corrode over time. Ultimately, the units were removed because they “didn’t perform as expected.”

Most cleaning professionals and facility managers understand that any change is difficult, but attempting to implement anything new—a new product, system or technology—will be more difficult without first getting input and buy-in from custodial workers.

In fact, some reports indicate that not getting enough buy-in from enough people can cause as much as 70 percent of organizational change efforts to fail.

Depending on how long they’ve been with an organization, a custodian will be able to tell you what has happened in the past when someone tried something similar. They can also give you good insight into issues you might experience. In the case of waterless urinals, experienced custodians would have been able to tell you that a waterless system would take a lot more to clean than traditional urinals. Another good example is air blade hand dryers — it’s often not until installation that anyone considers how the units will be cleaned and how they’ll impact the custodial department, its daily workload and its workers who will ultimately be responsible for its daily maintenance.

Does that mean you should abandon all efforts? Not at all, but involving custodians from the start can help avert future issues.

After transitioning hundreds of organizations to the (OS1) System, we can say with confidence that we know a thing or two about implementing change in a custodial department. If you’re considering a new product (like a cordless backpack) or any new technology, here’s a few steps to keep in mind to ensure a successful rollout:

  1. Communicate regularly. Talk to the custodial team about what you want to do and why you want to do it. When custodial workers have a good understanding of the full picture of what you want to achieve, they will be more likely to buy into the process. It can also be beneficial to have a distributor or manufacturers’ representative speak to staff about the product so it comes a person who knows the product or equipment and can field specific questions about it.
  2. Start small. A pilot test gives your team members an opportunity to test the solution and see how it works—or doesn’t work. Start in a single area or building to measure performance, give users a test-drive and identify any issues that could arise.
  3. Engage often. Speak with custodial workers about their experiences using the product. Find out what they liked and didn’t like about it. In addition to soliciting feedback in an open group, give people the opportunity to provide feedback on an easy-to-use rating form. Questions you could consider include:
    1. How well do you think this product worked?
    2. Do you think this product will improve the way you clean (creating cleaner buildings or making it easier for you to clean)?
    3. Do you anticipate any issues with this product? If so, what?
    4. Do you think this is something we should implement in other areas?

From the Internet of Things (IoT) to self-cleaning surfaces, online training to disinfectants with shorter dwell times, the cleaning industry has several new products and technologies that promise to improve the way buildings are cleaned and maintained. But before we buy into the marketing claims and place a big order, it can pay dividends in the long-run to engage the people who are likely to be the most impacted — the custodians.

Three Things You Need for Your Custodial Operation to be Successful

/in , /by

When I started my job as a housekeeper at the only hotel in my small town, I was shown my cart, a vacuum and how to make a bed. The “trainer,” or the woman I was supposed to follow for the day, had called off work, so I was on my own.

“If you have any questions, just dial number one on the phone,” said the housekeeping manager. And off I went.

I was 17 at the time, and my mom will be the first to tell you that I didn’t know a thing about cleaning my own room, let alone 10 rooms in a hotel. I lasted about two weeks. I am process driven and there wasn’t a single procedure in place in that department (at least, no procedures that were shared with me). I also love science, and I had no idea that a lot of what I was doing had a scientific application. When I completed my assigned rooms, I clocked out and told my boss I’d see her tomorrow. That was it.

___________________

Too often, people treat cleaning like it’s something that anyone knows how to do, but there’s a big problem with that approach. It gives the unspoken message to custodians and housekeepers that they are replaceable. If they don’t show up, anyone can come in and do their job. When there’s little to no training, it tells them that the job isn’t skilled. It doesn’t show them that they can actually make a career—a good, well-paying career—in the cleaning industry. Ultimately, treating cleaning like it’s something that anyone knows how to do reduces the value of both the work and the people performing the work.

Is there any wonder why custodial operations have problems with turnover and attracting younger people to the industry?

At ManageMen, when we look at cleaning, we see it as a profession grounded in three disciplines. We refer to these disciplines as the “three-legged stool” of cleaning. When you don’t ground your custodial operations with these elements as your foundation, you’ll be more prone to common issues such as outsourcing, high turnover and low employee morale. There’s also a good chance you’re actually polluting the indoor environment rather than cleaning it.

The three core elements of a successful cleaning operation include:

Engineering: The standardization, simplification, best practices and ongoing benchmarking of a cleaning program amongst top organizations that establishes as a best-in-class operation.

Science: The studies and research that validate the engineering elements of the cleaning operation, methods to improve safety and compliance with workplace safety laws, pollution reduction and development of workplace topophilia (or the love of the indoor environment).

Professionalism: Systems that enhance value of and appreciation for cleaning workers in the overall building operations, through education, skills validation, career path and recognition programs.

We all know by now that the cleanliness of our buildings has a huge impact on the health and  productivity of building occupants, while also playing a key role in an organization’s brand. It can also be a differentiator when trying to attract new customers or employees — who wants to work in a dirty building?

Rather than treating custodial like Cinderella — pushing her to the background while other areas get more attention and budget — we need to start grounding our custodial operations in engineering, science and professionalism.

Custodial work is not a job that just anyone can do. It’s a profession that requires skilled training and respect. When we treat it as such, we’ll not only improve the levels of cleanliness in our buildings, but perhaps we’ll give new workers to our industry a better appreciation for the work and how they can build a successful career in this industry.

 

Custodial Injuries: Why Legislators Are Finally Starting to Act

/in , /by

Custodial work is dangerous business. It seems mind-blowing that in 2018, an industry with one of the largest labor forces also has one of the highest injury rates—custodial workers experience DOUBLE the number of injuries compared to other industries. It’s a drum we beat often, because it’s a harsh reality and condition that has been ignored for too long.

Until now. It appears that a few legislators and government agencies are finally starting to take note.

A few weeks ago, Cal/OSHA unanimously voted to enact Section 3345, Hotel Housekeeping Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention. While focused on lodging establishments, this rule requires that housekeeping personnel receive the proper training to reduce the risk of injury, along with the right tools to perform their jobs more safely. This includes things like long-handled mops and systems to reduce the opportunities for slips and falls.

Last week, legislators in Washington state introduced a bill aimed at protecting sanitation workers. The bill would require the state to conduct a study to assess the “greatest safety and health risks associated with commercial sanitation work.”

The article cites the story of a woman who was recently admitted to the hospital because her employer wasn’t able to provide her with safety equipment to protect her from the cleaning chemicals she used. Another woman was encouraged to skip breaks at work, and ended up in the hospital for hernia surgery.

A “tipping point” is defined as the point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to accuse a larger, more important change. Individually, these might not seem significant because they impact individual states. But when looked at in conjunction with the California Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017, it appears that more people are starting to take note of the risks associated with cleaning and sanitation work.

We have to do more to protect custodial workers in this country. In the industry’s quest to “improve productivity,” we’ve lost sight of our most important asset: custodial workers.  Women are particularly at risk. A leading safety publication reports “women janitors have almost twice the number of compensable injuries as do male janitors.”

Custodial work is hard, but labor intensive doesn’t have to equate to injury. Injuries happen when janitors aren’t given the right tools and training to perform the work.

This year we’re celebrating 25 years of Janitor University. While our curriculum is ever-evolving, we’ve always put worker safety at the core of everything we teach. Before a custodian or housekeeper even starts his or her shift, we teach processes to effectively warm up the body to prevent injury from repetitive motions or overexertion. There’s no cleaning without a custodian, so we want to do everything we can to protect that person.

There’s still time to join us for the next Janitor University and learn proven best practices to keep your custodial team safe.

Custodial Training for Different Learning Styles

/in , /by

In few occupations will you find a more diverse group of workers than the commercial cleaning industry. And while it’s one of the most labor intensive industries in the world, it’s one that is often recognized for its lack of professionalism, inefficiencies and low morale.

We want to change that.

Who is cleaning? Everyone, basically.

Every building needs cleaned and often doesn’t require workers to speak English, so it’s an easy point of entry for individuals looking to begin their lives in the U.S. Custodial work can also be great for people with physical or mental disabilities. Organizations like Goodwill and our friends at the Los Angeles Habilitation House (LAHH) offer programs to provide career opportunities in cleaning to individuals with disabilities.

Custodial workers also represent a variety of age ranges. From a young person who gets their start in the industry as their first job, to an older person who either has been a custodian for several decades (or maybe started cleaning to escape the monotony of retirement), most custodial departments have workers representing several different age groups and generations.

All of these differences can make training a challenge. Fortunately, even though teams are very different, there are similarities to the way people learn. And when you develop a consistent approach to training, you improve the consistency of the cleanliness being performed. Win!

Types of learning styles

Depending on who you ask, there can be as many as eight to 10 different learning styles. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll refer to the VARK model, introduced by Neil Fleming in the late 80s.

According to the VARK model, people best learn according to one of the following four types:

  • Visual (pictures, diagrams)
  • Auditory (lectures, discussion)
  • Reading/writing (text books, note-taking)
  • Kinesthetic (experiments and hands-on activities)

When training custodial workers, it can be helpful to have these types of learning styles in mind to make sure workers are learning—and retaining—as much information as possible.

What’s happening at LAHH

LAHH has built its business on training, believing that only through effective training and education can the organization fulfill its commitment to helping its team members and employees realize their full potential in the building services field. It has a comprehensive training system that ensures workers receive information in a variety of different ways, to accommodate different learning styles and their specific disabilities.

A custodial worker at LAHH takes an online course through ManageMen.

When a worker first joins LAHH, they receive extensive training called Boot Camp, which is provided in a classroom setting using ManageMen’s certification courses. This format enables the (OS1) trainer to see the unique strengths of each employee and tailor sessions and materials to their specific need. It also allows them to move through the (OS1) process using the (OS1) Boot Camp Playbook, at a speed that is appropriate to each student’s learning ability.

Materials presented in the Boot Camp material are very visually heavy, accommodating visual learners and readers who prefer to read through the text. Presenting the material in a classroom format helps auditory learners and systems are then tested to accommodate kinesthetic learners.

How online learning simplifies learning and allows workers to move at their own pace

We’ve been piloting a new online learning system that enables custodial workers to move at their own pace, utilizing a variety of materials presented in different forms to improve the cleaning knowledge workers retain. Covering everything from the basics of microbiology to specific steps for cleaning, the online program offers greater flexibility because it can take place anywhere, at any time.

A new class of graduates have successfully completed their certification.

Seeing the value online training would provide to its workers, LAHH was one of the first to test the online educational platform. LAHH employees were provided with a computer and were shown how to log onto the online Janitor University portal. Through easily navigable prompts, each user was guided through the training curriculum specific to their assignment. The curriculum is presented in the form of videos and slides. LAHH also holds a bi-weekly classroom training to supplement the online modules, but the online system made it easy for team members to guide themselves through the coursework at their own pace. Some users still required the assistance of a mentor/coach or family member, but most employees have been able to navigate the system on their own.

“We’ve found the video and all the educational material, such as the Playbook, scouting report and (OS1)ian language offered in the online system to be very effective for training our employees,” said Guido Piccarolo, CEO. “Our team can access the video and the material from their own devices and it has been very effective in helping them learn and retain the information.”

Looking for a consistent level of clean? Training matters. 

When it comes to training custodial workers, you want to provide a consistent curriculum so you know that everyone receives the same information. Contrary to popular belief, you can’t just throw a mop into someone’s hands and expect them to know what to do. You can’t also depend on whomever is on duty to just “show them” what to do.

If you want to improve the levels of cleanliness in your buildings, a good first step is to look at the way your training custodial workers. Make sure they are all being trained in the same manner, using a variety of different methods to appeal to different learning styles.

“It’s all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you’re properly trained.” Queen Elizabeth II

How to Clean to Stop the Flu Virus [with INFOGRAPHIC]

/in , /by

$9 billion: That’s the number experts predict this year’s flu season will cost employers in lost productivity, according to the Denver Post. While many employers are asking employees to stay home if they experience symptoms, this strain is particularly aggressive and lasts longer than strains we’ve experienced in the past—affected individuals can be contagious for up to seven days.

When it comes to dealing with the virus in the workplace, one of the biggest issues is that most workers are reluctant to take that much time off work—if any. In fact, an annual survey by Staples shows that nearly 80 percent of workers admit to coming into work when they’re sick. They fear falling behind and missing out on a promotion, or they simply can’t afford to take the time off, leading to “presenteeism” — something 67 percent of employers say is even worse for business than an employee who stays home.

So what does that mean for employers? Workplaces can quickly become a breeding ground for the spread of the virus, often through common surfaces or “fomites.” The Centers for Disease Control suggests that one of the most important things an employer can do is to maintain a clean environment—a critical step not enough businesses follow. But cleaning has long been key to stopping the spread of viruses and disease; it was Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the founder of modern nursing, who provided our initial understanding of the importance of cleaning to manage disease.

From the perspective of a cleaning professional, you might hear questions about how your employees clean, what they clean and how often they are cleaning.  Here are a few steps you should keep in mind as you develop a cleaning program to combat the spread of the flu (or any virus) in your workplace:

1. Communicate with business owners, property managers and/or other individuals responsible for health and wellness. Be prepared to discuss your current responsibilities and set expectations for what your department can and cannot do when it comes to cleaning. If you need additional budget to perform additional cleaning tasks or purchase inventory, let them know.

2. Conduct a staff inservice. While it might not seem like a priority during a busy period, good training is critical to effective execution. You can’t just hand a custodian a cloth and tell them to clean more often — cleaning workers must thoroughly understand the virus and requirements for disinfection. This includes basic principles such as the routes of transmission, dwell time and hand washing protocols. This training will help reinforce proper cleaning principles, allowing time for cleaning agents to work and effectively killing the virus as employees clean surfaces throughout the building. In addition to written instruction, training should include vivid illustrations (for those with reading difficulties) and hands-on training in handwashing, personal protective equipment and proper disinfection methods. Our Microbiology for Cleaning Workers can be an effective guide for you.

Training should include vivid illustrations for custodians with reading difficulties.

3. Increase cleaning frequencies. Depending on the size of your building(s) and the type of your operation (e.g. in-house department versus contract), one of the easiest things you can do to limit the spread of the flu is to increase cleaning frequencies. If your department typically cleans in the evening after the building is vacated, you can assign a day porter who is responsible for cleaning fomites, or high-touch areas throughout the building. These cleaning frequencies should be adjusted based on building occupancy, traffic and severity of the outbreak. For example, a restroom in an emergency room requires much more frequent cleaning than a restroom in a private office building.

4. Focus on fomites! Identify the most commonly touched areas in the building and make sure these surfaces are cleaned and disinfected regularly. Such surfaces might include door handles, light switches, telephones, microwave buttons, conference room tables and vending machines. We’ve developed an infographic you can download and print to share with cleaning workers and building occupants to help keep common fomites top of mind.

5. Emphasize hand hygiene. We’ve all heard that we’re supposed to say the “ABCs” or sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice while we’re washing our hands, but how many people really do it? During a flu outbreak, it’s critical to remind both cleaning workers and building occupants of the importance of hand washing. The CDC offers several downloadable signs you can place around your building as a friendly reminder. We also have a user-friendly hand washing coloring book for kids ages eight to 80-plus.

6. Prepare for what could come next. Leaders from the CDC recently reported that the flu season is “probably peaking” right now, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared if it takes a turn for the worse. As we highlighted in this post about pandemic preparedness, a playbook that identifies key responsibilities within your department and action plans for people to fill-in should custodial staff become ill. If you don’t have a playbook ready, we’ve got you covered.

The key is to be ready for whatever could come your way.

 

5 Easy Things You Can Do to Energize Your Employees in 2018

/in , /by

The Roman god Janus, from whom the words “janitor” and “January” are derived, looks to both the past and the future.

The month of January is named after the Roman God Janus, the same god that we explained in this post is the god of “beginnings and ends.” It’s from Janus that the word “janitor” is derived, as he metaphorically represented doors and passages. In images, he’s depicted with two faces that enable him to look to the past and future.

As many make personal resolutions to kick off the New Year, January can also be the ideal time to look at what your department has accomplished in the past year and set goals for the future—much like Janus. A good place to start is by thinking about common issues you’ve experienced in the past and find ways around them for the future. For example, maybe you’re having issues keeping cleaning staff, or inventory keeps wandering off because cleaning workers hoard it. These are common issues facility management professionals face, but they aren’t issues that you can’t easily overcome with a little planning and organization.

A lot of common issues faced by cleaning professionals can be overcome with an empowered and energized staff. A good team is the basic building block of any successful cleaning operation. To help you get 2018 started off on the right foot, we’ve pulled together a list of easy ways you can energize your team:

1. Clean and organize your supply cabinets. You wouldn’t believe what we see in some cleaning closets and supply storage areas. In addition to old chemicals and unused equipment, we have found everything from leftover lunches, crumpled up papers and dirt that you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the building. A lot of cleaning storage areas are downright filthy!

Rather than letting your inventory and storage areas become a place cleaning workers avoid, create a clean space that is well organized and allows them to easily find what they need, when they need it. Same goes with cleaning equipment—if it’s dirty, clean it up! Make it something your team is proud to use.

2. Start each morning with a warm-up. The Bureau of Labor statistics lists custodians as a top vocation for the highest rates of injury-causing days away from work in the U.S. Overexertion and repetitive motion injuries for custodial workers, resulting from common tasks such as pulling trash or lifting overfilled mop buckets.

Just one of the exercises in the University of Texas at Austin’s FIT START program.

Many of these injuries are preventable. The University of Texas at Austin has developed an award-winning program that helps custodial workers warm up for the day with exercises for arms, back, legs and neck. You can easily recreate this program to help your workers warm up for their day.

3. Bring recognition to your department. There are several awards given throughout the cleaning industry that showcase best-in-class cleaning operations. From industry trade associations, non-profits such as the Simon Institute and trade publications, such as Facility Cleaning Decisions and Sanitary Maintenance, there are several opportunities to bring much deserved recognition to your cleaning program, specific initiatives or individuals on your team.

One popular award we’d recommend is the Outstanding Cleaning Worker of the Year, which is presented annually at the Simon Industry’s annual Awards Banquet. This award recognizes hard-working individuals on your team who demonstrate a commitment to excellence in the profession. Click here if you know someone who would be a great 2018 award recipient.

Another way to bring recognition to your department and team is by celebrating #ThankaCleaner week or International Cleaners Week. Held annually on the second full week of September, you can invite the entire business to participate by finding ways to thank and recognize cleaning personnel.

4. Develop a system for tracking complaints. Oftentimes, complaints are treated like fires. We receive a call, dispatch the team and put out the fire. In a lot of operations, we can spend most of our day extinguishing these proverbial fires, which comes at a great expense to the cleaning manager’s time—and sanity. Yet at the end of the day, if you look at who is doing the complaining, it’s often just a handful of people doing the complaining.

As we discussed in this article, we often call these people the “potato chip people.” Why? Because they are the type of people who drop something and call custodial to respond. Overtime, the chronic complainers can put a considerable drain on your time and resources.

To reduce complaints, you need to first find out the source. Is the problem truly reflective of a deficiency in your cleaning program? Or, are complaints due to the fact that a handful of people don’t have a clear understanding of your scope of services? Developing a form to help track complaints can help you pinpoint the issue, saving you and your team both time and energy.

5. Provide independent employee training — with a certificate! A large majority of the training that happens in our industry is provided by manufacturer or distributor sales representatives. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it is often focused on a particular products and doesn’t give frontline cleaning workers a broader perspective into the hows and whys of their jobs.

An example of training that will help them better understand the science behind what they do is an introduction to microbiology. While they may know that most disinfectants require five to 10 minutes of dwell time to work, do they understand what organisms they are trying to kill, or how those organisms colonize and spread? Educated workers are empowered workers; this improves safety and worker retention.

You might also want to consider training programs that offer a certificate upon completion. What might seem like just a piece of paper can instill an enormous amount of pride and confidence in a custodial worker. It’s something they can share with family or friends, or just be something they put in their locker to remind them of their achievement.

As you can see, just a few small tweaks in your existing processes can completely change the energy in your department. When employees are engaged and excited, everyone wins.

SaveSave

Our Top Seven Posts from 2017

/in , /by

As we wind down an amazing whirlwind of a year, we’d first like to thank you for taking the time to read our musings on cleaning. We’re almost a year into this blogging thing and have learned so much about what you want to read, how you read it and ways we we can continue to deliver great information to help improve the way you look at and manage your custodial departments.

Earlier this month, we also launched the first issue of “Cleaning Matters,” a monthly electronic newsletter with best practices related to cleaning management and information to keep you updated about what’s happening in our world. If you didn’t receive a copy of it and would like to subscribe, please click here.

As we work to develop our calendar for next year, we thought we’d leave you with a recap of our top posts from this year. Here are the five most “liked” and clicked on posts from 2017:

  1. Let’s Take a Minute to Thank a Cleaner: Our tribute to the hardworking people who work when most others are sleeping, cleaning the buildings where we live, work, learn, heal and play.
  2. What Happens When People Walk into a Building and See Dirt: A study found that 99 percent of people would have a negative perception of a business that wasn’t clean. When it comes to repeat customers, it turns out that appearance really matters.
  3. Think “Janitor” Is a Dirty Word? No, and Here’s Why: In this post, we dive into the origins of the word “janitor” and look at the profession of cleaning around the world.
  4. The Problem with the Way We’re Training Custodial Workers Today: Too often, custodial workers are handed a mop and told to clean without much additional instruction. We look into why that approach can yield big issues for a business.
  5. Provo City Schools – Part I: What is “Clean,” Anyway? We examine Dr. Jeffrey Campbell’s ground-breaking study on the impact of cleaning on public health in a three-part series; Part I looks at how we define cleanliness.
  6. A Look at Restrooms Around the World on World Toilet Day: From bayakou in Haiti to tsukaiyausa in Japan, a glimpse at restrooms and sanitation around the world.
  7. How You Can Use Data to Reduce the Threat of Outsourcing: How to get the data you need to prevent your custodial department from being outsourced.

Again, thank you for your support over the past year. We have some incredible things planned for 2018 and are so excited to have you along for this journey. If you have a topic you’d like to learn more about in the coming months, let us know and we’ll put it on the schedule!