Cleaners Focus On Infection Control

When I first launched the Annual Reader Survey 10 years ago, 60 percent of readers said cleaning for appearance was a top priority. Cleaning for health or hygiene was such an afterthought that it didn't even make readers' lists. Today, cleaning for appearance takes a back seat with only 23 percent of facility cleaning managers listing it as a priority, while the majority focus on healthy cleaning and infection control issues.

What caused the change? It was the "Great Recession" that really forced departments to reassess processes and analyze how they functioned.

Technically, the recession lasted from late 2007 to mid-2009, but managers were still feeling the affects years later. Budget cuts became more commonplace, product and equipment purchases were put on hold, cleaning frequencies went down, staffing cuts and attrition plagued facilities across the country, but still one thing stayed the same — cleanable space and expectations never changed.

This reality forced facility cleaning managers to take a second look at their programs and it shifted some of the ideas behind cleaning and the role of custodial operations. Managers looking to do more with less lead their teams to work smarter and they used "cleaning for health" as the mantra to support their mission.

The emergence of swine flu, MRSA, C.diff, Norovirus and other superbugs put cleaning front and center in the fight on prevention, elevating the importance of infection control. The result has been a slow uptick in purchasing over the years, and a decrease in budget cuts.

Although fewer departments are experiencing budget cuts — only 35 percent this year, compared to 60 percent in 2011 — managers are still streamlining their departments. As I mentioned, purchasing is up, but according to the survey, those dollars are going toward the implementation of more efficient products and equipment (41 percent). The goal is that efficiencies will reduce the largest line item for facility cleaning managers — labor, specifically in the form of overtime.

In the years to come, watch for smart technology and data analytics to support healthy cleaning and create even more efficiencies for departments.

For the full results from the 2016 survey, click here.