Custodial Performance Evaluation

8/8/2019 Custodial Performance Evaluation

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1/3/11

To: Dr. Mary Anne Wright and B&G Sub-committee membersFm: Willard DellickerSubject: Custodial Performance Evaluation

On December 7, 2011 the Northwestern and Weisenberg Elementary schools were toured by JohnKennedy, Pete Kijak (Northwestern Janitorial Supply) and myself at 7:00AM and 8:30AM respectively.asked Pete Kijak to accompany us because of his expertise in custodial services including techniques,equipment, chemicals and results. He was a valuable resource fo r me during my tenure at LCT!.The unannounced tour of each facili ty was conducted prior to children entering the buildings after themost recent custodial service to evaluate the cleanliness of the two schools comparing contracted vs. inhouse cleaning services.

After the tours were completed John, Pete and I discussed what we observed about the cleanliness ofthe two buildings. The following comments are both broad and specific about the condition of thebuildings.Weisenberg cleanliness was inferior to Northwestern. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being excellent,Northwestern was rated at 8 and Weisenberg 3.Observations at Weisenberg:

FloQrs in halls and lobbies - excessive black scuff marks especially in the 2nd grade wing. Floorsdid not show any evidence of wet or dry mopping as there were dust balls and small pieces ofpaper, glitter, and dirt throughout the building although the new two-story wing with terrazzofloors was in better condition. Floors in lobbies and hallways make the first impression fo rvisitors and occupants entering a building. The dirty, drab, worn out wax on floors, scuff marksand litter, detract from the appearance of the entire building.

Floors in classrooms - same condit ion as the halls, no evidence of dry or wet mopping, rugs inclassrooms were not vacuumed and were littered with paper snips, glitter, dust balls and dirt.

One observation between the tw o schools was that all classrooms at Northwestern had thestudent chairs on the desks, at Weisenberg chairs were on the floor. Putting chairs in deskssaves a lo t of time for custodians when cleaning floors, it detracts however from their ability toclean the desk surfaces. What is the practice at the tw o schools regarding students placingchairs on desks and surface cleaning of desks?

Bathrooms - Weisenberg, dried streaks of liqUid under the urinals and toilet bowls indicates thatthey are not being cleaned properly. The dried streaks are unsightly, unsanitary and contributeto stale urine smell in bathrooms. This is either a training or job performance issue.

Bathroom floors - The tile used in the bathrooms is a poor selection because the majority of thecolor is white and the surface of the tile is rough. This tile tends to scrape of f dirt from shoesand imbed it in the coarse grain of the tile . This presents a cleaning challenge that requires

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power scrubbing of the traffic areas at least weekly. The technique used to clean the floorsappears to be we t mop without adequate rinsing as evident by the dirty residue around theperimeter of the floors and cove base.

The paper towel dispensers were stained with water spots, eVidently the surfaces are notwiped down on a daily basis.

Library carpet - This brand new carpet appeared to be somewhat vacuumed in the traffic areasbut, the edges at the walls, front counter and book shelves were riddled with dust balls, litter,scraps of paper, paper clips and dirt. This puts wear and tear on the carpet, grinds in dirt anddetracts from the overall appearance of the room.

Custodial Equipment - only one power scrubber was seen in a Janitor Closet at Weisenbergwhich begs the question whether the custodians have adequate and proper equipment andsupplies on site to do their job.

The Northwestern Elementary School was in better condition and showed more attention to detail incleaning the bathrooms and classrooms.

Floors - Office and classroom floors ~ e r e vacuumed more effectively. Dust and litter found oncarpets and rugs was not evident at Northwestern. Bathroom floors - the tile is the same as Weisenberg and will present the same cleaning

challenges, although there was not the dirty dried ring around the cove as was seen atWeisenberg.

Recommendations made to John Kennedy at the end of the building tours:1. Replace the rusty metal trash cans in the bathrooms at Weisenberg - this was accomplished as

of 1/3/11.2. Remove the paper covering the window between the Weisenberg visitor's waiting room and

office/CR and replace it with mini-blinds fo r privacy. Same suggestion fo r a window in the mainoffice covered with a drab curtain fo r privacy, mini blinds present a more professionalappearance to the main office.

3. Clean all of the black marks from the halls on a daily basis.4. Investigate training and techniques to improve the cleaning of Weisenberg bathrooms.5. Investigate the equipment that is available fo r contracted custodians to ensure it is adequate.6. Develop a comprehensive procedure fo r cleaning whiteboards. Who is responsible: teachers or

custodians? Are teachers using the proper pens, erasures and cleaning fluid to prevent anydamage to the surface of the white boards? Are custodians required to clean boards weekly,monthly, ever? Develop a plan. Many white boards looks dirty, full of shadows frominadequate cleaning.

7. Other procedures to delineate areas of responsibility include who empties pencil sharpeners?Should chairs be placed on desks to facili tate cleaning floors. How often are desk surfacescleaned? How often are rugs and carpets vacuumed? How often is trash and recycled materia lremoved from the classroom?

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On December 14, at 8:00AM, one week after the tour described above, I toured Weisenberg tosee if there was any improvement. The condition of the building was exactly as it was observedthe week before, none of the cleaning issues that were discussed improved. Verydisappointing!

On December 15 I spoke to Carl Learch about the tour and asked him if John discussed what wefound. He said he was told to give me a list of equipment available fo r the contractors to use.I've not seen a list yet.On January 3, I toured Weisenberg again, to see if the cleanliness improved over the holidaybreak. I expected the custodians would have made an effort to improve the cleaning in thebuilding while it was unoccupied. The only change I noticed was that the old rusted trash cansin the restrooms were replaced with plastic cans as stated in #1 above. The bui lding was asdirty as it was on December 7th. I was disgusted with what I saw. In addition to previousconditions described above, teachers showed me food residue from parties in their roomsbefore the Christmas break. The food residue was on desk tops and floors. The building was amess. I ran into a custodian at Weisenberg who told me that no one worked over the holidays.After Weisenberg I went directly to Northwestern elementary and the high school to look atthe condition of those buildings. Northwestern elementary appeared to be the same asobserved on December 7th.I walked through the high school. With renovations finished in November, it was as dirty as theWeisenberg elementary school! Black scuff marks throughout the halls on the old and newfloors, the main office carpet was littered with paper scraps, the drywall corner at the top of thenew Stair B was chipped (needs protection), Stair A has "Happy Holidays" painted on thewindow and the Exit door at the bottom of the stars was propped open with a wooden doorwedge. I was disappointed with the condition of this newly renovated area of the high school.The inves tment we just made in our elementary and high schools is deteriorating fast in myopinion. It is incumbent on us to ensure that our B&G managers are instructed to improve thecustodial maintenance of these buildings. Training, equipment and accountabili ty needs to bereviewed and improved to preserve the investment in our facilities that is costing us more than$3.7 million dollars annually. Additionally, we need to re-evaluate the holiday schedule fo r B&Gpersonnel so they can take advantage of our unoccupied buildings fo r required cleaning andmaintenance that can't be done when the buildings are occupied.I think we have some work to do, to preserve the investment in our facilities, and provide ourteachers and students with a clean and heal thy environment.

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Custodial Performance Evaluation