Reality check - rationell reinigen Gebäudedienste

Getting the job done right is no easy task when your customer is a water leisure facility. It shows in the difficulty of achieving an optimum cleaning result and the kinds of damage typically encountered in this environment. Here, we review the specific challenges posed by the various materials used as well as the right mix of cleaning personnel, chemicals and equipment to meet them.Before getting to work on a cleaning contract, it behooves the service provider to first get a clear and comprehensive picture of the job at hand. Here, particular attention must be paid to the various materials on the premises. This initial walk-through quickly reveals any potential pitfalls or special challenges that will have to be addressed come cleaning time. That is why it is not only advisable, but actually the facility cleaner’s responsibility to obtain all meaningful cleaning and maintenance recommendations from the respective manufacturers. In some circumstances, these can fill entire binders. Still, there is no guarantee that each material to be cleaned will be addressed. If information is missing, the facility cleaner’s experience and knowledge of materials is an important asset in adapting the equipment/chemicals mix to achieve the desired results without damaging what is to be cleaned. Compounding the problem is the fact that manufacturers are often unwilling to share practical cleaning and maintenance guidelines. Truth be told, it takes more than a dry cloth to remove limescale and tough stains. In these cases, despite the care instructions, the expert facility cleaner’s creativity comes into play to develop solutions that meet the client’s need. Depending on the facility, the contractor may have to deploy a particular set of skills. Permanent structures usually pose the most daunting challenges, such as in places where, for instance, marble partitions meet safety tiles on the floor. Here, experience and an ability to improvise can make the difference. Cleaning just the tiles with an acid-based cleaner, and carefully avoiding the marble surfaces, is one way to go. The safety glazing, fittings and various stainless steel and metal installations – which are often easily damaged – need to be taken into consideration so as not to be exposed to subsequent litigation. Such compensation claims primarily deal with damages caused by cleaning treatments and may put the expert facility cleaner in the hot seat – and at odds with his insurer, too – when the explanation is wanting. In these cases, the facility cleaner often bears the cost of the repairs. That is why the contractor is well-advised to liaise with the manufacturers of the chemicals and equipment he or she uses before taking up the job (even better: before tendering) so as not to be faced with unpleasant and costly surprises later on. General experience indicates that the costs of materials (use of chemicals and machines) are at least three to five times higher for water parks and pool areas than for conventional maintenance cleaning in other facilities. The stress on machines in particular in these areas, due to high humidity and heavy wear and tear on brushes, pads, squeegees and wheels are disproportionately higher than with normal hard floor covering. A package deal from the machine manufacturer, which includes maintenance and/or wear and tear in a monthly fee, is often the wiser business choice, if only because it provides the contractor with planning security. It is also true that, very often, chemicals turn out not to be compatible with the machines used. Let your equipment supplier know which chemicals you intend to use. This may prevent disagreeable discussions down the road. Where hiring personnel is a simple and straightforward process for the usual facility cleaning contracts, finding qualified people to handle water parks or spas can turn into a veritable odyssey. Just take the business hours: These facilities rarely close before midnight and usually open at 7:30 or even earlier in the morning for school sports. That doesn’t leave much time for actual cleaning and not everybody likes those hours. Accepting a contract thus has its logistical challenges, too. The atmospheric environment alone makes it very difficult to sustain the kind of extended work performance that can be expected in other areas. When this is not taken into consideration, high levels of downtime due to sickness are often and regrettably the norm. There is also the fact that certain groups of people can’t work effectively under some conditions. Take sauna areas, for instance. The best approach is to address these and other issues with the client – as well as your staff – well in advance of getting started on the contract. Also bear in mind whether public transport is available during the cleaning schedule. If not, your cleaning crew will have to organize their own transportation, which could imply additional costs for your business. If it’s the company policy to shuttle the crew to and from the cleaning site, have these costs been factored into the contract value? QualityWhen it comes to quality there is often a gap between desire and reality. More and more water park operators are adopting daily inspections, and having external service providers carry out quality control as well. From the point of view of some cleaning service providers, this practice creates an additional burden and is often considered overly patronizing. The author regards this practice as a big plus, however. The advantages? A daily inspection is a simple and effective measure to verify the thoroughness of the cleaning service. Since the owner or operator bears the personnel costs, quality control is his responsibility as well. I can only advise every service provider – and not only those working in water leisure centers, but also those who operate in places where such a provision would make sense – to arrange joint inspections on a daily basis. They promote customer loyalty and keep you in constant touch with your client. This way, you can count on an open and constant exchange of information, which is particularly important for a property that has its complexities, like a water park. Problems can be nipped in the bud, and emerging stains more quickly detected. Otherwise, areas that already take much effort to begin with may start to require even more time‚ and‚ consequently‚ more money to get cleaned. DisinfectionTime and cost factors all too often keep service providers from ensuring professional disinfection at the required levels. Whether the disinfection was successful, or has been carried out at all, can only be determined after samples have been taken, usually in unannounced specimen tests (hygiene status controls). Disinfecting procedures (spray/wipe disinfection) are in theory very difficult to convey to cleaning crews. The problem consists in the fact that there is often no immediate visual evidence that the procedure has been done correctly. Whether a floor or an object has been disinfected or not, is not readily discernible. Often it comes down to a purely subjective judgment. Those in charge are responsible for ensuring that disinfection is treated seriously as a key issue during training sessions, and to address this particular aspect of the cleaning deliverables again and again until it is fully internalized. On this point, keeping an accurate log of the disinfectants consumed and disinfecting passes done is increasingly becoming common practice to correctly interpret usage irregularities and take appropriate action. Overdoing it with disinfectants doesn’t help, either, because it causes slippery surfaces. And there is the fact that these products are not exactly cheap. This last point deserves particular attention. At the same time, it is worth bearing in mind that thorough cleaning reduces the germ count to one tenth. A subsequent disinfection step causes a further reduction by 99.999 percent. In other words, of one million germs, only about ten remain after disinfecting. No distinction is made between viruses, bacteria and fungi. For the time being, a more exact determination of the micro-organisms present is only possible at a quantitative (number) level. Naturally, these are only theoretical values. Whether pathogenic germs are actually present or not can currently only be determined with a series of analyses that go beyond a simple sample test. Spot specimen tests are primarily used for getting a snapshot of the hygiene level in a given area. Structural factorsIn what condition are the surfaces to be cleaned? How laborious is it to clean them? Are there sufficient floor drains? Are all the areas to be cleaned accessible with machines? Are there enough accessible water and power outlets or will travel time be an issue? These are just some of the issues a cleaning service provider has to think about before drawing up a workable and competitive offer. During the costing, take into consideration (in case it is addressed in the contract) that floor drains must be cleaned as well. The time and effort involved here is not negligible and it should be reflected in the proposal. Depending on the property, the drains must sometimes be cleaned on a daily basis to prevent unpleasant odors. Glass cleaningCleaning glazed surfaces is often an underestimated aspect of the contract. How often should which surfaces be cleaned? As with all the other jobs on the premises, glazed areas also get cleaned during the night. This adds another layer of complexity, especially if the areas are hard to reach. Take a long hard look at this part of the scope of works: Can you take care of the glass cleaning effectively and cost-efficiently, or would it make better sense to farm this work out to a specialist? All too often, it’s the large cleaning companies with a national reach that find themselves overwhelmed by taking on this very specific task. The kinds of damage and how to avoid itFixtures are often manufactured from materials that are easily damaged. Here, incorrect treatment on a regular basis may eventually lead to significant damage and unexpected costs. This article isn’t long enough to delve any deeper into such a vast territory, so here are just a few examples. Damaged fittings as a result of improper cleaning have practically become the norm. And that’s mainly for the simple reason that overly abrasive sponges are used. A perennial favorite on the damage charts has proved to be what I would term ‘ride-on abuse’. These machines get forced through the narrowest of passages in changing rooms and between shower stalls, or they keep bumping into things. I’ve been to properties that seem to sustain this type of damage over and over again. Despite extensive training, time and again stone floors, especially marble, get damaged because overly acidic detergents are used. Also keep in mind that a blast of disinfectant or cleaning agent is not good for the plant life in water parks and leisure centers. Rainer Büche | markus.targiel@holzmann-medien.de

Keeping water parks and leisure centers clean Reality check

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