Don’t fly blind when cleaning. Retail chains, building service contractors, colleges & universities, arenas & venues, bank branches, and healthcare facilities alike should all consider using benchmarking, pilot tests, and industry peer data to optimize their cleaning.
Why? Because when we need to improve operational results, lower costs, and boost safety, we need to look critically at our cleaning routine, our purchasing, and our policies and procedures.
Three Critical Cleaning Product Areas to Measure & Manage
Are portions for key cleaning products like disinfectants, soaps, detergents, glass cleaners, floor cleaners, and other products consistent every time? When they’re not, purchasing forecasts (and budgets) can go haywire.
Are our cleaning products pre-portioned and designed for their containers? Or are employees required to mix chemicals? Chemical mixing introduces room for error and potential safety hazards.
Do we have excess product on hand and a janitor’s closet full of clutter? Or do we run out of certain products too fast and have to scramble to find a solution? Either of these might indicate an inventory control issue, which should be uncovered and addressed.
Having a simplified and standardized inventory in every location reduces misuse and skipped tasks, and can extend the life of key assets like hard floors, carpets, and restroom fixtures.
Do we have any cleaning process issues, such as missed tasks, duplicate work, dangerous practices or ineffective cleaning? Once we get a handle on portion and inventory control, process issues are oftentimes uncovered.
Do we offer educational support like training videos and wall-charts? Are our cleaning products color-coded and numbered for easy and convenient use and training?
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Each operation is different. Some might have room for improvement in one area, while another may already be doing that facet well. Consider conducting a site assessment/pilot test that looks at: cleanable area, task, frequency, and products used. Once that’s done, build 30, 60, and 90-day kits that include just the right amount of cleaning supplies; no more, no less. Compare your cleaning product usage to similar industry peers to get an idea where you stand in terms of efficiency.
Pre-portioned | Fix costs | Improve quality of cleaning | Reduce chemical spend by up to 50%
2000-Location Big Box RetailerUsing custom cleaning kits, you might be surprised to know that this business spends less than $2 per day per store for cleaning chemicals.
5000-Location Small Box Retailer
For this company, a 90-day supply of cleaning products for a store weighs less than a bottle of water and costs them less than 35¢ per day for chemicals.