Schools: Why They Require A Higher Level Of Service

A lot of companies clean office buildings, but much less can say they clean schools. Schools are a very different animal when it comes to providing janitorial services. Companies that bid a school like an office building are doomed to fail. The level of service a school requires is much higher than that of an office building for several reasons.

First and foremost the personnel that are employed in a school by Central Maintenance must pass a rigid background investigation using the Pennsylvania State Police and FBI to access an applicant's criminal history and finger prints. The applicant must also provide proof they have passed the required child abuse clearances required to work in PA schools. Beyond the back ground checks drug testing is often required as well. CMS takes the safety and security of students and school personnel very seriously so the employees that are selected are carefully scrutinized to assure they are a good fit.

Second, the cleaning production rate in a school is typically far lower than in an office. The reason for this quite simple. In an office a cleaner usually has a lot of wide open spaces allowing for higher production rates. In schools there are very few areas like this. Schools consist of classrooms that have lots of desks, chairs and tables covering the floor space. This makes it more time consuming to sweep and mop. In the lower grades children often leave lots of small items on the floor like pencils, eraser heads, paper clips and paper bits. Picking up these items takes time and lowers production rates even further. Areas like cafeterias, auditoriums and athletic facilities including locker rooms also require more time to service than the typical office.

Third, most schools have extensive after school activities that often interfere with cleaning routines. This is something that is typically not a problem when servicing an office building, but in a school occurs quite regularly. These activities can take place practically anywhere in the school including the cafeteria, gym, auditorium, or classrooms so cleaning personnel must be able to adjust routines with short notice and still get the job done. At the end of the day school administrators want the school clean, not excuses. This often requires far more management time than the average office building which is something that a company that isn't familiar with servicing schools doesn't account for.

Fourth, most schools have extensive cleaning and floor programs that require service every summer. This includes stripping and waxing all vinyl tile or terrazzo floors and shampooing or extracting all carpeting. All restrooms and locker rooms must be overhauled, lockers cleaned and walls, desks and chairs in classrooms washed. The list can be much more extensive, but all of this is usually included when Central Maintenance provides a bid to clean a school. All materials and supplies including the right amount of wax is also included. This can be difficult for a company not familiar with schools.The most challenging part is completing everything before the start of the new school year. This is another reason schools require more supervision and management time to assure on-time completion.

These are just a few of the most important things a company must consider before considering marketing to schools to provide janitorial services. Having the right personnel in place, a knowledge of potential time consuming tasks and floor care, and flexibility on the fly are all critical to successfully providing the level of service schools require. Central Maintenance services close to 20 schools in southwestern PA including several high profile institutions. For more information visit our website at www.centralmaintenance.com.
  








No comments:

Post a Comment