A reader asks: "I read about figuring productivity but still am confused. What is the formula and what do I include?"

Productivity is made up of many factors. Dividing the total square footage (100,000) by the total labor hours (45) gave us 2,222 SF/Hour, which is low for a building of this type. We noted the need to retune/work load the account, convert from upright vacuums to back packs with a vacuum specialist and upgraded the mopping system from cheap, inefficient string mops to a better quality blended mop with stitched bottoms or convert to a microfiber flat mop system. The savings from not having to scrub the floors as often may cover part or all of the cost of conversion.

We noted that the remaining 10 percent of the hard floor was ceramic tile in the rest rooms and a few break areas. All had multiple layers of finish that has trapped in mold and mildew in the grout lines and has come up in some areas. The result is a very dirty appearance with "waxed in dirt" that can only be removed by thorough stripping to remove the old built-up finish.

The grout lines may require additional work since they did not seem to have been sealed allowing the water based floor finish to soak into areas on an irregular basis. We noted that the tile and grout around the urinals was very soiled and that the urine was not being removed correctly. It should be pointed out that urine and water based floor finish does not mix very well at all.

We will continue this analysis in a future article.

Your comments and questions are important. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.


posted on 4/9/2015