a clean sweep Quality and strength come together The path to excellence Grosvenor has always taken pride in pro-viding consistently high standards for qual-ity and comprehensive customer service. In October 2007, Grosvenor decided to pursue Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) certification. For the next 12 months, extensive train-ing and intense preparation took place for all of Grosvenor’s U.S. operation. The training consisted of a mixture of classroom and hands-on training. Best practices for management and front-line workers were learned, studied and implemented into the day-to-day operations. Bruce Starke of Stark Consulting was also called in as a consultant to provide insight and guidance during the rigorous certification process. When the training period came to an end, and Grosvenor was confident they had met all of the requirements — and in many cases exceeded them — James Vaughan Jr., a CIMS assessor was brought in for an evaluation. After the evaluation, Grosvenor was given CIMS certification, and because they incorporat-ed more than 85 percent of the optional, recommended criteria, they were awarded an honors designation to the certification — the highest recognition of the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA). The optional criteria include open com-munication among management, custodi-ans and clients, involving everyone in the decision-making and implementation processes and transparency throughout the entire operation. Grosvenor Building Services Inc. becomes the first company in Florida to achieve CIMS certification with honors. By: Aaron Baunee • Associate editor T The year was 1959, and the place was Ireland. John Bernard McCauley had just returned home after a tour with the U.S. Army. Armed only with a bicycle for trans-portation and a wife for support, McCauley began a business venture clean-ing windows. Half a century later, Grosvenor Building Services Inc. has graduated from cleaning windows into a multi-national commercial cleaning company operating on both sides of the Atlantic with more than 5,000 employees. Though service offerings have expanded and business has grown exponentially, Grosvenor is still, from a managerial stand-point, a family affair — Bernard McCauley is CEO of European operations, Ben McCauley is director of U.K. operations and Rita McCauley is CEO of U.S. operations. The U.S. operation — founded in 1983 and headquartered in Orlando, FL — was started with only two employees. Today, over 700 individuals are employed in three states: Georgia, Mississippi and Florida. The CIMS difference Grosvenor’s new certification has already paid off. They were recently awarded a six year contract with a value exceeding one million dollars. This new distinction — CIMS certifica-tion with honors — shines a spotlight on Grosvenor Cleaning Services. It ensures customers and prospective clients that they are choosing a company that understands and implements best practices to keep everyone — employees, clients and building occupants — and the environment clean, safe and healthy. Grosvenor’s motto is “Cleaning for a better environment.” By following this mantra, they have always promoted green — even before green was an industry catch phrase — and encourage everyone to steer in that direction. Now that they have achieved CIMS cer-tification with honors, they have some-CM thing else to tout. If you know of someone who you think should be featured in A Clean Sweep, e-mail Aaron Baunee at [email protected]. 50 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • February 2009
CMM – Archives Feb 2009: 50
