In many school districts, cleaning personnel use the winter break to catch up on major cleaning tasks. And with more districts reducing their cleaning staffs, custodial workers must be as effective and efficient as possible to get it all done.
 
What's called for, according to some cleaning experts, is "NASCAR Cleaning."
 
Named for the synchronized pit crews that keep race cars fueled up and in tip-top condition so that they can get back out on the track as quickly as possible, this style of cleaning calls on custodial workers to form their own organized, fast, and efficient teams.     
 
According to Rex Morrison, founder and president of the non-profit organization Process Cleaning for Healthy Schools, the way to turn ordinary cleaning into NASCAR cleaning involves a few important steps:   

1. Workload the building(s) for which the crew is responsible in order to get the "big picture" of what cleaning work must be done and in what time frame.

2. Determine specific job functions and tasks for each team member and develop a cleaning sequence that defines which tasks should be done first, second, etc.

3. Train cleaning workers on the most efficient, effective, and fastest ways to perform each cleaning task.

4. Use a stopwatch to determine the quickest processes and most efficient cleaning tools for performing each cleaning task.

Using the proper cleaning tools is essential in NASCAR cleaning. For instance, says Morrison, "We typically use backpack vacuums and a precise route known as a loop method to keep [cleaning] times within [our] quality, health, and cleaning standards."
 
As to cleaning restrooms (which can be very time consuming), try using spray-and-vac (also known as (no-touch) technologies. "Spray-and-vac cleaning cuts cleaning times in half with better, more hygienic results," explains Morrison.
 
Finally, Morrison stresses that the key to creating an effective NASCAR cleaning strategy is training. "Training makes the difference between winning and losing . . . [it] must be thorough and done well."