When we attend facilities maintenance conferences, we hear the same question: “How do we keep our clients’ buildings clean when we are faced with rising costs, dwindling budgets, and high personnel turnover rates?” Whether it’s a school district, healthcare chain, or building services contractor, the laments indicate managers are behind the eight ball. And the problem is growing.
A Growing Need for Clean
According to a recent study, the market size of Industrial & Institutional (I&I) cleaning chemicals is projected to reach upwards of $50 billion by 2020, with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 4.2%. Rising awareness on health & hygiene, safety and liability on the part of the company or an institution and growing demand from the application industries are the major drivers for the market. But even as the market size is increasing, the fact remains: Cleaning is not glamorous, even though it is necessary.
Defining, documenting and measuring
We are all familiar with Peter Drucker’s concept that “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.” While Drucker was probably not thinking about cleaning, the following applies in the case of building maintenance. “Clean” must be:
- Defined and standardized across a system – Process and procedures
- Documented on a regular basis – Quality inspections
- Measured against the standard – Compliance reporting and corrective actions
Collect the right data
Gone are the days when paper and pencil could collect and report on institutional cleanliness. For over 17 years now, Spartan Chemical has been pioneering innovation for Custodial Management Software with CompuClean®.
Proactive custodial management teams know that they need quality assurance for cleaning; inventory management for chemicals and supplies; justification for work loading requirements, and a means to track capital equipment. While the Spartan software does all of this and more, it is surprisingly affordable. For Spartan customers, a CompuClean® license costs $600 per year and covers all upgrades, and support. The measurement data is owned by the end user and is secured against loss. CompuClean®’s cloud-based service means there are no tricky installations; cloud-based also denotes accessibility from any web-enabled device.
People in the I & I facilities maintenance industry don’t have to be behind an eight ball. They can save money and improve the health of building occupants with a proactive, easy-to-use software program. Clean is no longer a matter of appearance, but rather one of public safety. It is scientifically proven that rigorous and regular environmental cleaning, as part of a custodial maintenance program, is associated with a reduced risk for the spread of infection.
About the Author:
Mike Fabian is Manager of CompuClean® at Spartan Chemical.
For more information, visit www.spartanchemical.com or stop by booth 6037 at ISSA Show 2018 in Dallas.
