Tag Archive for: Simon Institute

Simon Institute joins ANSI, initiates SDO process

ANSIThe education facilities industry is on track to manage about one-third of the total cost of ownership of its facilities with the entry of one of its major supplier advocates into the American national standards process. The Simon Institute (SI) — the non-profit choice for the custodial, janitorial and housekeeping

industry in the US — recently became a member of the American National Standards Institute during World Standards Week in Washington D.C. October 22-23, 2013.

World Standards Week is an annual gathering of US standards developers from all business sectors of the US economy to develop policy and strategy for adapting to the changing world economies by hastening innovation through technical standards development. From this process a national standard for custodial services in
the education industry will emerge from a consensus process that will make a leading practice document suitable for adoption into public law. The word “consensus” is important since it represents a common viewpoint of those parties concerned with its provisions, namely producers, users, consumers and general interest groups

On November 1st SI initiated the process to become a registered standards developing organization (SDO). SDO’s provide the following benefits for any industry, in any country:

  1. SDOs provide a forum for collective decision-making and an alternative to standardization through market competition or government regulation.
  2. SDOs identify promising solutions and play an important role in promoting their adoption and diffusion.
  3. SDOs support lower prices offered by producers who are able to realize economies of scale in a global market.
  4. SDOs provide the technical means by which political trade agreements are put in place when divergent national or regional standards create technical barriers to trade.
  5. SDO’s level the playing field for building industry suppliers and service providers so that resources are available from multiple sources.
  6. SDO’s provide public safety benchmarks for front line enforcement authorities.

The entry of the Simon Institute into the ANSI process follows the trajectory of a 16-year University of Michigan-led national strategy to manage infrastructure costs of the $300 billion US education facilities industry through the American national standards process. Of this $300 billion — which includes large university-affiliated hospitals — about $75 billion is spent on cleaning — 90 percent of that cost; labor.

The objective of this is to put in place a permanent and enduring structure for continual leading practice development that will net TCO by $3 billion to $6 billion per year in an environment of rising risk,

complexity and regulatory conformity cost. In the long run, this process always results in more effective use of money, management of worker risk, and a hygienically safer built environment.

There is a subtle reciprocity between innovation and standardization. Standards stimulate the innovation of products, services and systems just as innovation drives the need for standardization. In some cases, a standard fosters innovation by establishing a baseline for design and performance that will satisfy user requirements.

The Simon Institute is the continuation of an organization founded in 2002 by The Boeing Company to identify, benchmark and incorporate best practices in facility custodial operations. The driving force of the original meeting was The Boeing Company’s initiative to qualify for the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award. Several world class organizations, all users of ManageMen’s Operating System One (OS1), were invited to meet with Boeing at the largest building in the world, the Everett Washington Boeing plant, to share or debate best practices in janitorial operations. At the conclusion of the symposium the group decided to continue meeting annually in a joint project to develop improved industry standards.

A well-conceived standard provides flexibility that suppliers or manufacturers can vary features, function, or price to establish their own niche in the marketplace. These variances can help to elevate user expectations of a product or service, thus raising the bar for future editions of the applicable standard. In other markets and technologies, innovation comes first. A single set of performance or design criteria are agreed upon and serve as the baseline for ongoing improvements.

A standard becomes the physical documentation of an agreed-upon solution that has already been time-tested and proven.

The next steps are as follows:
1. Public announcement of Simon Institute ANSI membership (this announcement)
2. Development of By-Laws and Consensus procedure
3. Establish technical committees
4. Write the standard
5. Release for first public review
6. Revise in response to public comments and re-post for 2nd public review
7. Revise in response to public comments in 2nd public review
8. Formally adopt the standard and announce its release in the ANSI Standards Action publication that is made available weekly to the public.
9. Promote adoption and support with conformity and accreditation programs.

Depending upon the process preferred by the Simon Institute, the foregoing process may be modified.

The most surprising standard of all may not ever be written but may always lie in the public eye. Our industry is engaged in policy initiatives that require us to confront the cost of value-delivery that is very expensive relative to available resources. All levels of government are under pressure to use intergovernmental collaboration to spread the cost of managing educational facilities across wider tax bases; capitalizing economies of scale or economies of skill inherent in some services. Our industry must hasten its effort to write its own rules, or we will have them written for us.

Now Accepting: Nominations for Outstanding Cleaning Worker of the Year Award

[fbshare type=”button” float=”left”]

[linkedin_share style=”none” float=”left”]

[twitter style=”horizontal” float=”left”]

 

 

To nominate an Outstanding Cleaning Worker from your organization, please click here.

 

The time is fast approaching when we will be recognizing outstanding cleaning workers. Approximately two-and-a-half million people earn their living in the U.S. as janitors, custodians and housekeepers. Most toil through their shift, day after day with little notice of their contribution to the orderly operation of every business.

In 2009, The SIMON INSTITUTE decided to honor outstanding cleaning workers during the Simon Institute Symposium each year. They commissioned a beautiful medal to be designed for the occasion. George Dansie and Shu Yamamoto (ManageMen’s Cartoonist), created a special medal that is a work of art to honor the best of our best cleaners.

John Walker, ManageMen, Inc., presents an Outstanding Cleaning Worker Award at the 2011 (OS1) Users Symposium.

At the symposium in Deerborn, Michigan this year, we will honor the Outstanding Cleaning Workers in America for the fifth year in a row. Now is the time for your organization to fill out the application form for the recipient your organization wants to recognize. Organizations are invited to honor more than one medal recipient.

Medals will be presented during the Cleaning Industry Awards Banquet, Monday, July 15 at the Dearborn Inn – A Marriott Hotel.  Cleaning workers who attend the banquet will be presented the award in a special medal ceremony following the Pinnacle Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The cleaning worker’s “bio” will be read to the group, their photo will be displayed on the screen and Renae and John Walker of ManageMen will present the awards.

Among the criteria for selection employees must display a commitment to professional pride and care; be self motivated and accountable; demonstrate a positive; conscientious and considerate attitude toward customers, fellow employees and others; provide continual outstanding performance of any kind within the campus of facilities that build and support the assembly process; and excellence in the performance of job duties.

If you are unable to send outstanding cleaning worker’s that you wish to honor in your organization, you may conduct your own medal ceremony at your location. Many organizations are large, with hundreds, even thousands of cleaning workers, the SIMON INSTITUTE decided not to limit the number of medals for which an organization may apply.

2013 Symposium Location Announced

[linkedin_share style=”none” float=”left”]

[fblike style=”standard” float=”left” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”recommend” font=”arial”]

[twitter style=”horizontal” float=”left”]

 

 

 

The Simon Institute is pleased to announce that the location has been set for the 2013 Simon Institute Symposium. The Symposium will take place in historic Dearborn, Michigan.  Dearborn is home to historic spots like the Henry Ford Museum and the nearby Rouge River Auto Plant. The Simon Institute felt that this would be the perfect site to pay homage to standardized processes and improving benchmarks. Representatives from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University have graciously agreed to assist the Simon Institute in hosting this event in their home state.

The Simon Institute Symposium will take place July 15-17, 2013. Registration is now open and can be completed by clicking here. Special rateds are available for lodging at The Dearborn Inn. Be sure to mention that you will be attending the Simon Institute Symposium to secure special rates. For more details about this event, please visit www.simoninstitute.org

(OS1) Green Certified and Green Programs of Excellence Announced

[linkedin_share style=”none” float=”left”]

[fbshare type=”button” float=”left”]

[twitter style=”horizontal” float=”left”]

 

 

We are thrilled to announce the organizations who have earned their (OS1) Green Certified Program Awards and/or the (OS1) Green Program of Excellence Awards for the 2011/2012 Audit Season. Winners will be presented their official award plaque at the 11th Annual Simon Institute Symposium in New Orleans, LA next week. To see a complete list of who earned these prestigious awards, please click on a link below:

 

Green Certified Program recipients showing their awards at the Simon Institute Symposium - 2011

About the Awards…

(OS1) organizational certification is determined by our (OS1) Audit criteria, on a building-to-building basis, within a cleaning organization. Currently, there are approximately 340 different factors we look at that cause any building to be clean.  We audit what is going on at the actual site, as well as, the management of that site.

(OS1) Green Certifed Awards are presented to facilities that have submitted to the (OS1) Progress Audit and earned at least an 80% score or higher. Programs that earn a 90% or higher score, earn the (OS1) Green Certified – Program of Excellence Award. A facility that achieves this certification is successfully managing their (OS1) Program. At this level, an (OS1) organization is reducing environmental risk and the probability of unwanted effects. Specifically, (OS1) Green Certified Programs and (OS1) Green Programs of Excellence can demonstrate the following:

  • Cleaning for Health first and then for appearance
  • Disposing of cleaning wastes in a environmentally responsible manner
  • Increased worker safety and awareness
  • Increased level of sanitation of building surfaces
  • Responsible and proper removal of pollutants from the facility
  • Reduction of chemical, particle and moisture residue
  • Minimization of human exposure to pollutants

And the 2012 Best in the Cleaning Industry Nominees are…

[linkedin_share style=”none” float=”left”]

[twitter style=”horizontal” float=”left”]

[fblike style=”standard” float=”left” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]

 

 

Winners will be announced at the 11th Annual Simon Institute Symposium during the Awards Ceremony August 6th 2012. For more information please visit: www.simoninstitute.org 

Best Cleaning Program Award

  • Michigan State University
  • Mt. San Antonio College
  • Sandia National Laboratories
  • University of Michigan
  • Wake Forrest University

Best (OS1) Audit Award

  • Michigan State University
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst – Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center and UMASS Hotel
  • Sandia National Laboratories
  • The University of Texas at Austin
  • Wake Forest University

Pioneer Award

  • Rappahannock Goodwill Industries – Cleaning with workers with disabilities at Marine Base Quantico
  • University of Massachusetts at Amherst – Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center – (OS1) Cleaning in a multi-use building
  • University of Michigan – Cost justification for improving results while cutting costs
  • The University of Texas at Austin – Job Card Development and Implementation
  • Wake Forest University – Hiring Utilizing the ManageMen Job Fair

Innovation Award

  • KBM Facility Solutions – (OS1) Distributor Certification Program Development
  • KBM Facility Solutions – (OS1) Floor Care Program Development
  • Los Angeles Habilitation House – Using (OS1) to Create Job Opportunities for Disabled Veterans
  • Sandia National Laboratories – Disaster Response During the 2011 Freeze
  • Wake Forest University – (OS1) Distributor Certification

Peer Influence Award

  • Mt. San Antonio College
  • University of Michigan
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Housing
  • The University of Texas at Austin
  • Service Point

Trainer of the Year Award

  • Marcela Bernal – GMI Building Services
  • Mary Clark – Michigan State University
  • Joseph Garcia –  Mt. San Antonio College
  • Jewel Golson-Roberts – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Chris Wallace – Service Point

Communications Award

  • KBM Facility Solutions
  • Los Angeles Habilitation House
  • University of Michigan
  • The University of Texas at Austin
  • Wake Forest University

Safety and Health Award

  • Michigan State University
  • University of Massachusetts at Amherst – Disaster Clean-up
  • Sandia National Laboratories
  • The University of Texas at Austin

Environmental Program Award

  • KBM Facility Solutions
  • Mt. San Antonio College
  • Provo City School District
  • University of Michigan
  • The University of Texas at Austin

Training Program Award

  • Michigan State University
  • Mt. San Antonio College
  • Sandia National Laboratories
  • University of Texas at Austin
  • Wake Forest University

Cleaning Quality Improvement Award

  • KBM Facility Solutions at The Boeing Company, St. Louis, MO.
  • Michigan State University
  • Mt. San Antonio College
  • University of Michigan
  • Wake Forest University

Certification Program Award

  • KBM Facility Solutions
  • Los Angeles Habilitation House
  • Michigan State University
  • Sandia National Laboratories
  • Wake Forest University

Workloading Award

  • Michigan State University
  • Provo City School District
  • Service Point
  • The University of Texas at Austin
  • Wake Forest University