James Marston, Trainer and Inspector at the British Institute of Cleaning Science, reports.
Winning new cleaning service contracts is tough in today’s competitive market. Clients want rock bottom prices. Many companies often have a strapline or mission statement to highlight the features of their cleaning service. This maybe sets their service apart from others. Businesses talk about cleanliness targets they want to achieve. Other attributes are about people, training investment, technology, and the latest techniques. More recently it’s about protection of all building users, ie: disinfection and keeping premises safe. Unfortunately, these descriptions do not always fit the reality. Cleaning operatives often do the same task differently according to their experience and training in the past.
To achieve workforce consistency in practice is a big promise to make. For the client and service provider it’s what we want to achieve.
Service providers using BICSc standards know the principles that underline good practice techniques. These are acquired through the BICSc Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which demonstrate the knowledge and techniques essential to compliance. A good example of this is the direction of clean. In very simple terms company policy dictates how a surface should be wiped or a floor mopped and the direction in which the cloth moves. BICSc uses direction of clean in three distinctive instructions:
Clean to dirty
Top to bottom
Outside to inside
Each Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will incorporate the direction of clean in procedures, for example, when cleaning a wall or vertical surface the direction is top to bottom. Edges are completed first and the remainder infilled with overlapping passes. When cleaning a bin, we would focus outside then inside or clean to dirty.
Staff readily understand the concept and will apply the method correctly to all surfaces being cleaned. The result is consistent practice, clear instructions for task achievement and the workforce in a systematic way. As a principle of cleaning this is something to shout about to existing and potential clients.
There are several principles in play. Each one as important as the other. They blend to create a consistently good service which is motivating and creates skilled cleaning operatives. The benefits are endless - operator clarity with cleaning procedures, professional image of service delivery often noticed by building users to name a few.
Organisations that identify their own principles of cleaning can control their delivery and seek to improve standards with real success. Frontline management can drive and embed the best practice.
Clients want their buildings cleaned and preserved for the long term. How service providers clean surfaces in my view is a secret to many. Cleaning methods are vital to maintaining expensive floors and surfaces in high footfall areas.
I am sure many clients and contractors will understand the principled way of working and welcome them into their buildings.
www.bics.uk.org
About the contributor
James Marston
Trainer and Inspector
BICSc