The Mesa Public School District is one of Arizona's largest, with 87 elementary, junior high and high school buildings. More than 400 custodial workers employed by the district care for the 7.3 million square feet of space.

One way the staff provides a healthy school environment is by exclusively using backpack vacuums. With an arsenal of 330 backpack vacuums at their disposal, custodians easily manage both the carpeting (two-thirds of floors throughout the district) and hard surfaces.

"From a funding standpoint, backpacks are much more efficient and ergonomically superior to other types of vacuums," says Rick Michalek, operations director for the district. "Those were the driving decisions to stick with the backpacks all these years. Plus, suction and lift have improved to the point that this equipment grabs embedded soil and picks up large debris."

Custodians often find crayons, staples, candy wrappers and pencils littering school floors. These items will easily clog upright vacuums with beater bars, requiring custodians to interrupt vacuuming in order to clear clogging. According to Michalek, backpacks will easily grab this debris, and also fit into tight areas — saving time and labor.

Clearing The Air

Mesa Public Schools have had a successful backpack vacuum program in place since the mid 1970s. During that time, equipment improvements have contributed to a healthier environment for students, teachers and the cleaning staff.

"When using older equipment without today's HEPA filters, cleaners use to have to prop doors open when vacuuming to keep the air clear," says Michalek. "You use to be able to visibly see the dust emitting back into the air, especially if bags were full. And cleaners were breathing that air."

Norm Behrend, east area custodial supervisor adds, "The equipment has progressed and HEPA is far more advanced than what we saw early on. The equipment now collects a lot more pollen, dirt and sand, and contains it in the machine so the air is kept cleaner."

Without the fear of polluting air with dust and debris, custodians can vacuum and open the rooms back up to students and staff almost immediately.

Although the district doesn't conduct its own indoor air quality (IAQ) studies, improvements in the air have been noted and attributed to the implementation of backpacks.

"We are aware of fewer health concerns as a result of incorporating backpack vacuums, which equates to less absenteeism with our staff," says Michalek. "This equipment has also eliminated IAQ concerns in the schools, helped meet state air quality regulations and helped reduce carbon dioxide."

He adds that while the custodial department can conduct air quality tests and measure particulates in the air if there is a rash of illness or asthma problems among building occupants, there have been no problems upon using backpack vacuums.

"The air is just healthier," Michalek adds.
   

One Size Fits All

The implementation of a backpack vacuum program has noticeably improved the air throughout the district, but the health and safety advantages of this equipment stretches beyond IAQ.

"Prior to coming to the district, I was in the public sector and was involved in the transition from uprights to backpacks," says David Kinney, director of custodial services for the district. "If someone used an upright for 4 to 6 hours, eventually they would have problems or injuries. But, the change to backpacks virtually eliminated worker compensation issues based on repetitive motion injuries. We never have any more bad wrists, backs or shoulders. This is a huge money saver."

As any department can attest to, worker injury is costly in terms of employee health and morale, not to mention time and money. Fortunately, at Mesa Public Schools, there is no history of an injury with the backpacks.

Many departments will also evaluate the size of the equipment, its weight and functionality, and purchasers might question whether it is suitable for every body type. At Mesa, the answer to that question is "yes." Men and women of all sizes are able to use the equipment.

"We have one employee who is 4-foot-7-inches and very small in stature," says Behrend. "She straps the backpack on and has no problems or issues with the equipment."

To make fitting the equipment a no-brainer for employees, each school is equipped with a vacuum "station" that is used to store equipment and facilitate adjustments. Employees can adjust the height, then back up to the wall and strap the vacuum on without ever having to do any lifting.

All applicants looking to work for the custodial team at Mesa Public Schools must go through a physical assessment regarding this equipment that includes training on the backpacks and determining the workers ability to carry the equipment up stairs.

"It is rare when we find someone who can't handle the equipment," says Kinney. "But if they can't, those individuals are weeded out early."

Michalek comments that when he first started at the district, the backpacks weighed 25 pounds, with an additional four-pound wand. Today, the backpacks used throughout the district weigh only 11 pounds, including the wand.

"The equipment is much more ergonomic," he says. "The center of gravity is lower and closer to the user's body, so it is easy to carry. The vacuums also have insulation so the heat dissipation is huge. With the old equipment, we use to have to put a carpet between your back and the backpack to protect from the heat of the equipment."

Accessorizing

Vacuum versatility stretches beyond carpeted applications. At Mesa Schools, the staff takes advantage of equipment accessories to clean everything from carpets and hard floors to walls, blinds and ceilings.

"We actually use some of the brushes and edging material on the carpet and then reach up into the registries, air ducts and blinds to clean," says Behrend. "We also do the walls, tiled areas and up into fixtures."

Michalek adds that this equipment is ideal for reaching into indirect lighting fixtures, which are often littered with moths and the occasional paper airplane.

The versatility in terms of attachments and the ability to reach into tight areas, under tables and on various surfaces has also made workers more thorough.

"Our classrooms are typically cluttered with extraneous furniture, so it feels more like home for the students," says Kinney. "The backpacks allow us to easily get into tight areas and do the edging on a regular basis, leaving a clean and healthy learning environment for the students and staff."

This versatility saves time district-wide. According to time and motion studies done by the administration, implementing backpack vacuums has trimmed one minute of cleaning in each classroom. In a district as large as Mesa, this results in notable savings.




POSTED ON: 10/5/2011