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Here's the Dirt on Productivity: Innovation, Economics and Cultural Shifts Drive Cleaning Industry
September, 2008
By Bill Garland
Arguably, more has happened in the last five years to improve the cleaning industry than in the sixty years previous. Low profit margins for cleaning contractors and continual demand to reduce costs in housekeeping departments have forced new innovations in the industry that have increased productivity and resulted in reduced costs or increased profitability.
However, there are a few myths that need to be exploded in developing cleaning specifications and contracts in order to take advantage of these new trends. First off, cleaning specifications should be written to achieve the desired level of cleaning and not be a wish list of everything that could possibly be done. The latter is going to cost more and will not necessarily achieve more.
Productivity levels - which are measured in the square footage covered by a cleaner in an hour or in a shift - are not the same in all buildings of the same size. Productivity levels will vary depending on building size, age, configuration, flooring surfaces and numerous other factors. Past studies have shown that productivity in buildings of the same size can vary by as much as 25%, which is considerable when one considers that labour makes up 85% of the cost of cleaning.
Additionally, very few contractors have an identical approach. Some might use backpack vacuums or even carpet sweepers, which translate into high productivity, or they might do more training to make the system as productive as possible. Like building size, productivity levels depend on a lot of factors and a 10% variation can have a considerable impact on the cost.
Contractor certification and green cleaning are among some of the most prominent new trends in today's industry. New equipment and cleaning technology also play an important role.
CERTIFICATION
Contractor certification is a relatively new phenomenon in the last couple of years. This has been a way to address various service needs and client group interests - such as, for example, a U.S. handicapped workers organization of service providers that wanted to make sure each provider was providing a management structure designed to meet the clients' needs. Criteria in that case covered areas such as quality control programs, training, accounting, job costing, customer satisfaction and several other areas.
The concept of this program then progressed to the International Sanitation Supply Association (ISSA) - a worldwide association representing cleaning service providers and manufacturers of cleaning products - which created the CIMS designation for cleaning contractors and in-house organizations. The CIMS designation is the first attempt in North America to create a standard for cleaning services, and is being well accepted in the marketplace. The criteria are much the same as those described above with additional focus on customer communications, regulatory compliance and service delivery.
The GS-42 standard from GreenSeal is another increasingly prominent certification. Providers of janitorial services can apply for individual buildings to be certified to the GreenSeal standard, which is very comprehensive and covers all aspects of the housekeeping service. Individual buildings can also apply, and the Hotel Vancouver was just awarded the GreenSeal designation.
This certification doesn't just focus solely on green chemicals, but also covers the quantity of entrance matting, washroom paper supplies, equipment, reduction in chemical usage, recycling and cleaner training. This standard closely complements LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
Advances in technology during the last ten years have had a significant impact on cleaning productivity as manufacturers of chemicals and equipment have started to listen to the users of supplies, and design products that are more efficient. Some of the more notable improvements are:
Micro-fibre tools. These are available in dust mops, dusting cloths and wiping cloths. These cloths are manufactured with millions of small loops per square inch in the cloth, which have resulted in improved cleaning ability and reductions in bacteria counts when used in washrooms.
Low-foam and low-moisture technology. When used in scrubbers for hard floors, this translates into less water consumption and less water output on the floor. For carpet cleaning, there are now machines that clean the carpet and extract the moisture at the same time, resulting in less moisture going into the carpet and must faster drying times.
Backpack vacuums. This equipment has been around for about twenty years but is now becoming more widely used in Canada. Manoeuvrability and high suction power make these vacuums highly productive. Dust mops are also starting to be replaced with vacuum cleaners that remove more dust from the building.
Battery operated equipment. This capability is no longer confined to equipment that has traditionally used batteries, such as large floor scrubbing machines. Battery-operated vacuum cleaners are now available - considerably improving productivity because cleaners do not have to unplug and reconnect the vacuum as they move forward.
Low noise levels in equipment. Manufacturers have been focusing on getting the lowest noise levels in their equipment, with most equipment below 55db,which is below voice level.
Bill Garland is Managing Director of Daniels Associates Inc., a consulting firm specializing in building operations and cleaning services. For more information, see the web site at www.danielsww.com. |
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