let’s talk shop Getting Everyone On The Same Page Developing standards leads to more predictable results. By: Kevin Keeler C Cleaning, when done properly, is a straight-forward series of tasks and procedures repeated multiple times throughout the scheduled workday. For operations to work efficiently, it’s im-portant to standardize your cleaning proce-dures and get everyone on the same page. Kareem had been with the school district for over 10 years but had only recently been working in facilities. One evening, he stopped by the high school to check out the newly-purchased carpet extractor. On the first floor, he passed the custo-dian’s break room where he saw one of the custodians reading a newspaper. On the second floor, where the extractor was stored, he turned a corner and found another custodian just filling her mop bucket. How was it that one custodian was able to finish his work almost an hour before the other? Back at the office, he checked the clean-ing areas for both of the workers. Each had approximately 30,000 square feet of cleaning area with a similar number of classrooms, restrooms and hallways. So the next week, Kareem decided to spend a couple of hours cleaning with each one to learn what made the difference. What he learned was startling: Each cus-todian cleaned their areas differently, per-forming different tasks and procedures and even using different chemicals. Standardizing operations makes them more efficient and easier to evaluate. But where do you start? Chemicals Relying on too many cleaning chemicals can confuse your staff and create serious health hazards. Ninety percent of routine cleaning tasks require only three types of chemicals: ● A neutral cleaner for floors and horizon-tal surfaces ● A disinfectant to kill germs ● A glass cleaner. Peroxide cleaners can sometimes be sub-stituted for the above cleaners. While you will need other chemicals on hand for special jobs, they should not be used every day. A dispensing system that automatically measures and mixes the proper amount of chemical is essential for preventing costly and dangerous mixing mistakes. able resources. When assigning times and frequencies, it is essential to take into ac-count the specific equipment or tool being used. Procedures: Procedure describes how cleaners perform their tasks. When deter-mining procedures for each task, ask your-self these three questions: ● Do the procedures include compo-nents for safety, chemical use, equip-ment use and task efficiency? ● Can they be used and understood by everyone in the organization, includ-ing the cleaners? ● Can they be evaluated for compliance and effectiveness to determine future modifications? The Results A few months after standardizing opera-tions and providing training on those stan-dards for his cleaners, Kareem had to visit the high school again to check on some supplies. This time, the break room was empty, and the custodians working upstairs and down-stairs were at approximately the same point in the process. What a difference it made getting every-one on the same page. Processes Standardize your processes by: Area Types: This recognizes different cleaning requirements within the same buildings, such as offices, hallways and re-strooms. Cleaning Tasks: Each area type is then generally assigned between five and nine routine cleaning tasks. Times and Frequencies: After determin-ing the tasks, you can assign times and fre-quencies for each one. You can base these on national standards, such as ISSA or APPA, or perform a time study to reflect your spe-cific cleaning procedures. Some times are based on the size of the area, while others are based on fixture count. Frequencies are determined by needs, priorities and avail-Standardizing Operations Following the same procedures with the same equipment to accomplish the same task should take each cleaner approximately the same amount of time and produce very similar results. Kevin Keeler is the founder of Keeler Consulting, and he draws on his unique and long experience in the industry to provide solutions for mul-tiple clients. He specializes in the development and implementation of tools, technology and systems that provide cleanliness, cost effective-ness and accountability. Keeler is the author of Behind The Broom , along with Judy Gillies, president of The Surge Group Inc., and Lance Witschen, president of 1Class Consulting. Visit www.BehindTheBroom.com for more. www.CMMOnline.com 11
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