Most building service contractors would like nothing better than to examine a site that’s currently cleaned in-house for inefficiencies, defects and other reasons the facility manager should outsource. Sometimes, however, BSCs can learn from their in-house counterparts how to affect change and better their operations.

Cleaning workers at Sandia National Laboratories, a defense contractor in Albuquerque, N.M., recently were honored with the 2002 Green Zia Award. The honor is given by the state of New Mexico to recognize environmental excellence.

“The quality of work has gone way up, productivity has gone way up, safety has improved, and we’re standing here pointing to all of this, and we’re able to say, ‘this is what we’ve done better than those who want us to outsource,” says Jim Rush, department manager of site operations.

And while Rush wants to keep building service contractors away from his facility, he and his team agreed to share their tips in order to help BSCs better serve their markets.

Standardization is key
The push for change occurred in 1999, when Sandia’s janitors went on strike, and scientists, department managers and other non-custodial personnel had to pitch in.

“We had issues figuring out how much chemical to use, and which ones,” explains Lavone Cobb, project administrator. “No two cabinets had the same chemicals in them. No buildings had the same vacuums. Some didn’t even have the same-sized paper. We were all left clueless.”

After the strike, Rush began implementing a standardization program created by consultant John Walker. They introduced team cleaning and job cards, giving workers specific procedures and time allotments for each task.

That was the biggest struggle, says Vicky Blackberg, team supervisor.

“Custodians were complaining that the tasks couldn’t be done in that amount of time,” she says. “After they got used to it, though, they found out the times were more than adequate.”

The department also reduced their standard chemicals from 128 different products to nine. They donated the bleach they no longer needed to a swimming pool, and turned old broom handles into mulch. They also sold their used equipment at a discount to local BSCs and to the city.

The department also turned primarily to pre-measured chemical packets, Rush says, and now requires lead cleaners to keep track of all packets. This costs more than 5-gallon buckets, but there’s minimal packaging and little chemical waste to discharge back into the environment. In the process, they consolidated 1,500 janitorial closets into 10 specific sites.

Standardized procedures and chemicals also have reduced injuries — the facility had 71 lost workdays in 2000, but none since April of 2001.

What BSCs can do
Contractors should consider investing in a consultant system, Rush says, but there are changes BSCs can make on their own.

One thing Cobb suggests is taking a look at supervisory roles — traditionally, managers handled everything, from hiring and firing to payroll, training and quality control, for their team. That used to be the case at Sandia, but now, five managers who used to be split between buildings on the campus now specialize in set job functions, such as training and equipment or times and expenses, across the site.

Any changes, whether as large as Sandia’s makeover or as small as changing the timekeeping system, need buy-in by every level of management to keep resisters at bay, says Cobb. There were some workers who resisted, a few veteran custodians took early retirement to avoid having to change their routines, but that didn’t stop the program from going forth.

“There are certain people who will try to sabotage your efforts,” Cobb says. “People generally don’t like change. You need to stick to your guns and continue even if it gets ugly.”




POSTED ON: 1/1/2003