Data is everything in a cleaning organization. When managers have accurate measures and trackable data gathered from their operation, they have power. The lack of data, however can hinder an operation’s progress. To use data effectively in your operation, start with your workloading.

When workloading a site, it is important to consider three important variables: task, time and frequency of labor. By formulating the workload based on these principles, a cleaning manager can better track and improve the efficiency of their operation.

Step 1. Determine your tasks. Break down tasks into three categories: daily, detail and project. Daily tasks are things such as emptying trash, cleaning restrooms and vacuuming. Detail work can be performed on a set schedule basis and is more involved than daily. Cleaning operations that utilize the team concept will usually break down the detail work into four quadrants or cores and rotate the detail cleaning of that quadrant daily. Some of the tasks that fall under detail work are high/low dusting, spotting walls and vacuuming all areas of carpet. Project work is performed less frequently, anywhere from weekly, to annually. Vacuuming vents, floor stripping, upholstery and carpet cleaning are all project tasks.

Once you have determined your tasks you need to assign a cleaning time to go along with them. This is tricky. Cleaning times can be determined using several different methods and can be affected by literally thousands of variables. Unless you are doing a time and motion study, I would recommend starting with something The Official ISSA 447 Cleaning Times. It is a simple guide for estimating average cleaning times.

Step 2. You will want to inventory two types of things. They are the cleanable square footage of your facility (not gross square footage) and objects to be cleaned that are not measured in square footage (such as chairs or tables). Try to establish and accurate count. The easiest way to figure this out is to get a measuring device and determine your cleanable square footage manually. This can be a chore, but can save you from a lot of problems in the long run.

Step 3. When the cleanable square footage has been determined and the tasks have been identified, you can begin workloading. Start by compiling a frequencies chart for the facility. List all the tasks you identified in Step 1 and attach the number of times you will be performing the task. Daily tasks may be performed 260 times per year. Scrubbing the restroom floors may be done 12 times per year. Allocate the amount of time for each task to the applicable cleanable square footage. Then add in all the non-surface items to be cleaned by unit.

Once you have done the math for all of your tasks, calculated the time for each task and multiplied them by the frequency you should have a clear view of your expectation for the amount of time and labor in your operation.

John Walker is a veteran building service contractor; owner of ManageMen consulting services, Salt Lake City; and founder of Janitor University, a hands-on cleaning management training program.




POSTED ON: 10/1/2005