From what I have learned during my first few months working on Cleaning and Maintenance Management (CMM), data is playing a growing role in the commercial cleaning and facilities management industries.
It is used to track cleanliness of surfaces and high-touch areas with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) meters. It is used in workloading systems for staffing and budget planning. We also see government agencies using data to track the spread of infections, such as cases of measles, norovirus, avian flu, and the superbug known as carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE).
As noted in CMM’s April article, “Methods for Measuring Clean,” data collection—which eventually translates to measurable results—is helping to set standards across the commercial cleaning and facility management industries. CMM has stayed on top of that trend, as well, by collecting data of our own.
In April 2015, we conducted our annual In-House/Facility Manager Benchmarking Survey, providing a glimpse into the trends, needs, and challenges that impact our in-house/facility manager audience. While the survey results will provide value to CMM readers looking for information on others in the cleaning industry who are just like them, it will also serve as a guide to the CMM team as we continue to develop and enhance our content availability.
The benchmarking survey has already helped to ensure we are on the right track, particularly with the content in this month’s issue. While this year’s survey respondents represented a wide range of facility types, more than half of those who completed the entire survey reported that they work in some sort of education facility. Coincidentally, this month’s issue of CMM has much in store for this particular audience.
This issue focuses largely on cleaning in educational facilities. We tackle challenges in elementary schools as well as higher education buildings. We provide takeaways for custodians and facility managers who are looking for ways to encourage cleaning-supply safety and engage the school community on cleaning and health initiatives. And in the spirit of data and measurable results, we also cover five types of metrics and how they can impact performance in education facilities.
If you are looking to enhance your facility or company’s service delivery by incorporating metrics and data into your work, turn to page 14 of this issue where you can find more results from this year’s In-House/Facility Manager Benchmarking Survey, or look to www.CMMOnline.com for exclusive online survey results. Benchmarking data highlighting our building service contractor audience will also be available later this year.
Kelly F. Zimmerman has experience managing industry-specific content for print and digital formats. She holds a master of science in journalism from Northwestern University.
