A reader writes: “I have been invited to bid on a day care center as a sub-contractor. Any advice would be appreciated.”

First of all, congratulations on this opportunity. Based on our conversation, you have limited experience in cleaning a Day Care Center, which has its own unique characteristics and needs.

Let’s deal with the issue of sub-contracting first. Please understand I am making observations and highly encourage you to review the agreement with a competent attorney before proceeding. Make sure you carefully read and understand any sub-contracting agreement BEFORE you sign it since there can be serious consequences to agreeing to something that you do not fully understand. For instance, the agreement restricts you from cleaning any other accounts or working with any other company. In most cases, this is a violation of the principles since being a sub-contractor means you have other accounts and exercise a certain amount of independence. This agreement turns you into an employee with very few rights.

As to the day care opportunity, remember that this type facility requires a high level of aseptic cleaning meaning that you need to know how to use disinfecting processes correctly and safely. You need to understand the difference between sanitizing certain surfaces while disinfecting other surfaces/touch points to reduce/minimize the possibility of contagion being spread. Although I do not mean any disrespect to children, they have been aptly referred to as “germ factories” since they encounter a lot of different microorganisms during the day and tend to pass them on before signs of their own illness shows up.

Speak with your vendor about a quality EPA registered disinfectant as well as training in Blood Borne Pathogen clean up. You not only need to protect the children and staff of the facility but also your own cleaning crew as well. In a future article we will look at conducting a bid walk and what to look for.

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 7/12/2016