Updates from the Leading Association for the Cleaning Industry Worldwide

CIRI-ous Business

Symposia can be yawn-inducing affairs, but sometimes you find yourself attending one that keeps you engaged—occasionally even one that has the crowd buzzing during breaks in the program. Such was the case June 9-12 in Adelphi, MD, at the Cleaning Industry Research Institute’s (CIRI) second annual Cleaning Science Conference & Symposium.

Some 125 industry representatives gathered at the University of Maryland’s Inn and Conference Center to participate in this year’s program, co-sponsored by ISSA, the Restoration Industry Association, Penguin Care, and Cleaning & Maintenance Management.

The theme of this year’s symposium was Cleaning & Health … Making the Connection, and by all accounts, at the end of the two-and-a-half days of informative presentations and lively panel discussions, that connection had been solidly made.

Powerful Points

A number of prominent scientific experts presented at the symposium, including renowned microbiologist and editor of The Journal of Hospital Infection Dr. Stephanie Dancer. Her keynote, Floor Wars: Defense Against Dark Corners, took a close look at pathogens in hospitals—including MRSA, C. difficile, and norovirus—and how best to improve hospital hygiene. Her conclusions? That there is a definite link between hospital-acquired infections and inadequate cleaning; that the most important areas for cleaning in hospitals are hand-touch sites; that there exists far too great a reliance on antibiotics; and that some method for measuring hospital cleanliness is desperately needed.

CIRI & ISSA

Concerning that last point, CIRI and ISSA took some time at the symposium on June 10 to elaborate on their recently announced partnership for the cooperative development of science-based cleaning standards that would in turn develop industry data, training, measurement, and certification programs. The first initiative this partnership will undertake is to fund a series of independent research initiatives that will ultimately lead to a clean standard for K-12 schools.

“By a clean standard, what we’re really referring to is that benchmark, that value of measure, of what is clean, and more importantly, which equates to a healthy indoor environment,” explained ISSA Director of Legislative Affairs Bill Balek in remarks to symposium attendees. “We lack a universal, quantitative measure that can be shared by all in determining that a building is not only clean, but also in a state that ensures sanitary and healthful conditions for the people who occupy it. We believe it to be the role of ISSA and associations to fill that void; in other words, to develop that universal measure of what it is we mean when we say a facility is clean from a health perspective, so that schools, hospitals, and other facilities can declare with a reasonable level of assurance that a facility is not only clean to the eye, but also healthful and sanitary for the folks who inhabit it.”

Balek anticipates a threefold process to the development of this standard: first, the identification of a methodology or device that will be used to measure whether something is clean; second, a quantitative unit of measure that tells us what is and what is not clean and sanitary; and third, certification programs based on those standards. Said Balek, “That is the direction in which ISSA and CIRI are heading.”

Reactions to Balek’s comments were positive, to say the least. “I think what this clean standard is going to do is to start a moon race like JFK in 1961, when he said we we’re going to put people on the moon within the decade,” said Bob Robinson, president of Kaivac, Inc. “That’s kind of like what this is. It’s a huge challenge. It will take the cleaning industry from janitor world to the cleaning for health world. There will be amazing opportunities for everyone. Those who follow this and jump on it are going to differentiate themselves initially and are going to get a leap on their competitors.”

The Cleanliness/Learning Link

A recent national study of college students has revealed a correlation between the cleanliness of a school’s facilities and students’ academic achievement. Entitled Cleanliness and Learning in Higher Education, the independent study was conducted through the Center for Facilities Research at APPA—the association promoting leadership in educational facilities—and co-sponsored by ISSA.

“These findings provide a vital tool for facility service providers to reinforce the benefits of cleaning; there’s also a great deal of public-relations power in that message if an institution can use its cleaning program to inform students and their families what it is doing to protect the well-being of its population,” said ISSA Executive Director John Garfinkel. “This study is a great addition to ISSA’s ongoing initiative to create more research behind cleaning and its positive impact on public health.”

Cleanliness and Learning in Higher Education is available as a free download to ISSA members at www.issa.com in the Member Lounge. APPA members can receive a free copy at www.appa.org. Nonmembers can purchase the report for $30.

The study was conducted by Jeffery Campbell, Ph.D., chair of the facilities-management program at Brigham Young University, along with Alan Bigger, director of facilities at Earlham College and APPA president. The survey was based on the five levels of clean identified in APPA’s Custodial Staffing Guidelines for Educational Facilities, the basis for ISSA’s popular InfoClean workloading software for educational facilities.

Academic Impact

Of the 1,481 students polled, 88 percent reported that the lack of cleanliness becomes a distraction at APPA Level 3 (Casual Inattention) and Level 4 (Moderate Dinginess). Eighty-four percent reported that they desire the APPA Level 1 (Orderly Spotlessness) or Level 2 (Ordinary Tidiness) standard of cleanliness to create a good learning environment.

Eighty percent of the students surveyed reported that they should be involved in keeping campus buildings clean. Seventy-eight percent reported that cleanliness has an impact on their health. Students indicated that lack of cleanliness affects allergies, spreads germs, increases bug and rodent infestations and promotes higher stress levels.

“This study presents new knowledge to help support educational-facilities professionals in providing learning spaces to students that will enhance academic achievement and protect their overall health,” said Campbell.

Cleanliness ranked as the fourth most important building element to impact personal learning. The top three building elements were noise, air temperature and lighting. Students also reported that the most effective learning spaces are classrooms, libraries and personal study space.

About APPA’s Staffing Guidelines

Initially printed by APPA in 1992 and now in its second edition, Custodial Staffing Guidelines includes information on dormitories, health care facilities, and more. To order a copy, contact education@issa.com.