How One School District Improved Custodial Operations Effectiveness

Wabash CUSD #348, Mt Carmel, Illinois, houses four school buildings — Mt. Carmel High School, Mt. Carmel Middle School, North Intermediate Center of Education, and South Elementary School. Four head custodians and 13 other full-time employees conduct the daily custodial operations throughout Wabash CUSD #348 and its 50-year old buildings.

Despite the great work the team was currently doing, District Superintendent Tim Buss was concerned that state budget cuts would impede progress, and was very interested in opportunities that would help make the district more efficient. He also wanted the district’s buildings to be more environmentally friendly.

While attending a regional meeting of superintendents, Buss was introduced to the SupplyWorks In-Site program. At the meeting he heard testimonials from other superintendents about the how the program was helping improve custodial performance and reducing the overall cost of maintaining their buildings.

Not long after, representatives of SupplyWorks met with Buss to present the program in more detail and review how it could help him reach his objectives and goals for the district.

SupplyWorks sales professional Laura Sheffer performed building assessments and a labor analysis. The primary purpose of building assessments is to improve custodial operational effectiveness as both the district and SupplyWorks personnel respond to the information it provides. The labor analysis establishes building and district workload averages per custodial FTE based on square footage and student enrollment, and provides a graphic comparison to national averages that school administrators can utilize to control labor cost and improve workforce allocation.

Areas for improvement and cost savings were identified and shared with district administrators. The following action plan was agreed upon and implemented.

Procurement process steps were reduced (from 8 to 3)
Budget tracking was automated (web-based)
Products were standardized (preference for environmentally preferable)
Inventory min-max levels were developed
Green cleaning manual was constituted
Comprehensive staff development program was implemented
3.5 gal. per flush toilets and urinals were replaced with 1.2 gal. per flush (1.2yr ROI)
On-going monitoring and reporting is being provided

As a result of implementing the program, Buss is happy to announce that the district has seen some very positive results.

“I cannot overstate the value the SupplyWorks In-Site program provides for schools to assess their entire custodial operational activities,” he says. “In the case of my district, Wabash CUSD #348, we realized 30 percent savings by streamlining procurement and product distribution activity, focusing on cost-in-use, and enhancing custodial labor through the program’s comprehensive training curriculum.”

Officials are also celebrating the fact that the district has achieved Gold Status in green cleaning certification after incorporating the In-Site program.

“Today, the school district relies solely on green products and practices green procedures,” says Buss. “All custodians are trained in and use the Custodial Operations ‘Green Cleaning’ Technical Training Manual, which was provided by Laura Sheffer and SupplyWorks.”

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