Process Cleaning By: Allen Rathey Transforms Custodial Duties Schools should strive to clean smarter, using the most advanced technology and processes available. Allen Rathey is presi-dent of InstructionLink/ JanTrain Inc. of Boise, Idaho. He also serves as president of the Housekeeping Channel (HC), the Healthy House Institute (HHI) and the Healthy Facilities Institute (HFI). Rathey promotes healthy indoor environ-ments, and writes and speaks on healthy cleaning and facility topics. W for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Process Cleaning . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select SUPPLIER SEARCH from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Training . When the Douglas County School District (DCSD) in Western Nevada began looking at different ways to restructure its custodial department two years ago, Bill Blumenthal, custodial supervisor for the DCSD, saw an opportunity. “The board was seeking to increase cleanliness while keeping the budget in line, and a lot of ideas were discussed,” Blumenthal said. “That’s when we first considered Process Cleaning.” Process Cleaning successfully applies prin-ciples derived from W. Edwards Deming — the father of the modern quality movement — and the efficiencies of systems thinking for the K-12 school environment. According to Rex Morrison, originator of Process Cleaning, “It is based on the concept that the best way to clean is a system in which tasks are structured like a row of dominoes, so one step logically ‘falls’ toward the next.” Morrison created the system nearly 10 years ago as a custodial supervisor in the Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada, and it has saved that district more than $800,000 annually. It’s also been successfully introduced in Nevada’s Elko County Schools and, most recent-ly, Lyon County Schools. 14 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • June 2011
CMM – Archives Jun 2011: 14
