What Can Be Done About Cleaning Specifications? Make sure your promises are reflective of your services. By: Lynn Krafft W Lynn Krafft is an ICAN/ATEX associate edi-tor and a cleaning service operator. Krafft is also a supporting member of ISSA and CIRI. for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Bidding . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select SUPPLIER SEARCH from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Consultants . Weʼve all seen wacko cleaning specs in requests for proposals (RFPs). Here are some taken directly from actual spec sheets: Floor area will be swept daily with a treated sweep-mop Clean all water coolers and polish to a shine Spot wash all glass Burnish tile floor surfaces and recoat with finish Damp dust all telephones with an approved germicide cleaner Clean carpet wall to wall, pile lift, then use wet extraction process Flush all floor drains with one gallon of dis-infectant solution Annually strip and reseal tile and stone floor surfaces Wax tile Wash and wax floor weekly Buff all corridor walls where tile is installed Polish all service stairwells. As the service provider, you must put together a proposal to do all of this. If you donʼt know what a treated sweep-mop is or know how to buff a tile wall, and if you donʼt use wax weekly or on any other schedule or donʼt think recoating tile after just burnishing is a sound practice, then you are not alone. If you think it is wasteful to pour a gallon of dis-infectant solution into a drain trap that holds less than a quart or an even greater waste to strip and reseal all floors in all areas annually, and if you have no idea what it takes to polish all the service stairwells in a building, then you are in good com-pany. There are hundreds of thousands of cleaning people who, upon reading unclear specs, have to guess: That polishing a water cooler means to damp wipe and buff dry; that spot wash really means spot clean; that damp dusting is dry dust-ing followed by a damp wipe with a disinfectant solution treated cloth; and that an upright vacuum cleaner is used to pile lift the carpet because these cleaning people have never even seen an actual power pile lifter. Since the industry has not commonly used wax on tile floors for over 60 years, it is obvious that the spec writer has no idea what is current practice and is simply copying outdated material. Clear specifications can make a difference in the quality of services rendered. 18 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • July 2009 Photo courtesy of Rubbermaid Commercial Products
CMM – Archives Jul 2009: 18
