How Facilities Managers Can Make The Life Of Their Cleaning Crews Easier

Facility Managers (FMs) want cleaning staff who consistently deliver the most efficient results without interruptions or distractions. But to provide that quality of service, cleaners need an enabling environment.

How can facility managers make life easier for their cleaning crews? Here we will present some compelling ways.

Enable Productivity

When it comes to cleaner productivity, the overall goal is to create a work environment where cleaning personnel are trained in the most effective cleaning procedures that minimize any negative impact on your health. There are many things that FMs can do in this regard, such as:

  • Ensure there’s a conducive working environment that includes essentials like correct lighting to avoid eye strain and good ventilation to prevent fatigue.

  • Research and provide recommended ergonomic cleaning tools and equipment. Investing in high-quality cleaning equipment and tools can make a noticeable improvement to work completion times, as well as workers’ attitudes.

  • Provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

  • Ensure that the work area is safe, that cleaners have unhindered access to the work area, and that the building is free of the distractions and dangers of avoidable hazards.

Provide well thought out maintenance schedules

Facility maintenance work will sometimes create a mess no matter how careful the workers are, especially if it is going to be in sync with activities like bricklaying or painting. When these repairs are poorly scheduled, it can stress cleaners and cause conflicts with other teams, as cleaning crews will need to clean more often than originally planned.

Such issues can be minimized by using a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to organize and coordinate work. Using a CMMS, FMs can notify everyone of projects well in advance, allowing all teams to plan accordingly. Facility managers also can track and update their maintenance schedules on the go using an enabled mobile device.

A CMMS comes with other functions that are essential for smoother cleaning operations, such as the inventory management module. With it, common inventory problems like depleted cleaning supply stock can be minimized or, with time, eliminated.

Finally, FMs should strive to create efficient cleaning plans, as a good plan will have a direct impact on the overall workload and maintenance schedules.

Enforce facility rules and regulations

In addition to managing their teams and overseeing schedules, FMs can help cleaners maintain orderliness and cleanliness in their facilities by adopting rules for how occupants use the building’s amenities and ensuring compliance with these mandates.

In residential buildings, these rules are usually distributed to all tenants and referred to as “house rules.” They guide tenants on the usage of common areas. In public buildings, like shopping malls, offices, and hotels, strategically placed signage will usually do.

Standardize routine processes

Disorganization, stress and costly mistakes happen if your custodial team isn't informed about which tasks to complete each day or if team members waste valuable time waiting for directions.

That downtime adds up quickly. To avoid this, it is vital that FMs have a system in place for the team to fully understand and follow. A couple of ways to achieve this are through:

  • Training programs. Even if cleaning staff have all the tools required to complete the job, do they understand exactly how to optimize the resources available to them? On-the-job training is an ideal way for cleaners to learn how to handle specific chemicals and become familiar with the facility’s expected standards. This knowledge will result in faster cleaning processes that don’t compromise on service quality. Also, a side benefit of adequate and frequent training is that it frees up FMs to focus on other responsibilities since they won’t need to micromanage the cleaning crew.

  • Standard operating procedures (SOPs). Standard operating procedures are another popular resource for streamlining cleaning work. SOPs contain all the instructions and steps required for executing routine tasks. They are especially helpful for outlining procedures for dealing with hazards and/or using any tools and chemicals that pose a safety risk. Well-prepared SOPs are structured, practical, easily updated, and easily accessible. This is why more companies opt for creating digital SOPs instead of keeping paper records in file cabinets.

In this way, cleaners will be more inclined to do their best by feeling valued and realizing that management has taken care to remove as many obstacles as possible. By implementing the tips mentioned above, facility managers will be better positioned to create a work environment where cleaning crews can work with minimal stress.


By  Bryan Christiansen

Bryan Christiansen is the founder and CEO of Limble CMMS. Limble is a modern mobile CMMS software that takes the stress and chaos out of maintenance by helping managers organize, automate, and streamline their maintenance operations. Email bryan@limblecmms.com for more information.

Source: CMM Online