Focus On Green Cleaning, Return On Investment

The advantages of using an OSG system run the gamut from cost savings to worker safety to eliminating or decreasing the need for chemicals. Grego says her sales force leads with sustainability. They have statistics to back up the “green” properties of using OSG for cleaning.

“Georgia Tech University uses our product and reduced their chemical usage by 80 percent while increasing productivity by 40 percent. They also reduced their liability claims,” says Grego. “Our local Cobb County School District reported the same results, a very large reduction in the use of chemicals.”

Southeast LINK recently won the business for the new Atlanta Falcons NFL stadium, which was recently awarded LEED platinum certification. LEED is a designation bestowed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for energy and resource-efficient structures that are also healthy for people who enter. LEED Platinum is the highest certification so this stadium is, and will be, held to the highest level of standards.

“LEED certification is happening often now, and, whether we like it or not, sustainable programs are becoming more of the norm,” says Grego.

One of USGBC’s stated intentions is to decrease the use of chemical contaminants that can damage air quality, human health, productivity and the environment.

Workers and building inhabitants reduce the chemicals inhaled when a BSC or cleaning manager converts to engineered water. Some chemicals can also have lasting adverse effects. Traditional cleaning solutions like acetone and alcohol have been found to have an unfavorable impact on the atmosphere; they can leave a residue, release harmful gases into the air and contaminate wastewater, according to one OSG system manufacturer.

Of course, not all chemicals are created equal. There are environmentally friendly alternatives that aren’t engineered water, and, of course, water is technically chemical, after all.

Reaping Other Rewards

Talking about the lower overall costs of OSG along with its remarkable results should further bend a potential customer’s ear.

“The return on investment (ROI) on the systems increases the longer the (end users) use them,” says Uselman.

For one of Uselman’s customers, the cost reduction from using an OSG system measured more than 85 percent, including the cost of the OSG equipment.

Grego agrees that end users see a reduction in product supply costs, which positively impacts their budgets and gives them a quick ROI. Because the engineered water solutions are only made when needed, the storage space required, which comes at a premium in most facilities, is greatly reduced.

“Many janitorial closets run small, decreasing the amount of storage available. So many different cleaners are used these days, and we reduce that so BSCs don’t have to store large quantities of any cleaner,” says Grego. “Ours still gives four different products — a general purpose cleaner, a glass cleaner, a disinfectant and a sanitizer — a good solution for the storage problem.”
  
Uselman says many of the OSG systems take up a fraction of the storage space of traditional chemical concentrates. Last October he did an analysis for a customer who had switched to an OSG system and used it for a year. All the product used in the system fit on half a pallet, but the original product took up four and half pallets of space.

“It only takes customers a short period of time to realize just how efficient managing inventory is when generating on site,” says Uselman.