Principles of Cleaning Efficiency & Workloading

Operations Guide to Workloading

© Hillyard, Inc.

Keep Our Promise…

• Workloading is an extremely important function for the Quality Assurance Manager

• Operations must have the basic ability to help an LBO move through a building in a logical efficient manner

• To do that we must be there in the beginning of every account and crew change

• We must also practice developing our workloading skills

• We promised we are different to both the client and the LBO…..time to do what we say

What’s the goal?

• Crew must be able to clean the building in a timely manner so that they can make money

• If that happens, you can• 1. Have a good start with your client• 2. Spend less time/money running ads for LBOs• 3. Free up Ops staff to move on to the next big thing• 4. Perhaps use the LBO again in other buildings• 5. Sell the clients extra services quickly

Practice and Play

• Ops personnel should practice basic workloading• Create fake buildings and practice developing a plan• Present your plan to your ops team for feedback

• If you have a actual new start, Ops should discuss a tentative plan for the nioght of the new start

DON’T MANAGE

• We cannot and will not mange the LBO but we can ask them to discuss their plan

• Ask questions and answer any questions they may have about your ideas

• Will they appreciate it? If you have a good business relationship they will want your input…give it but at a high level and ONLY to the LBO themselves

• Lets get into the game….

Working Smarter - Not Harder• Closet & Cart Organization• Product/Equipment Usage• Work Flow

• Why do we care since we use LBO’s?• LBO’s must succeed for us to succeed• Getting buildings clean in the budgeted time is often a

challenge

Productivity Reality

• We need to be at 4000+sq/ft/hour to be competitive• Some will be higher or lower depending on the type of

building• Productivity will be greatly effected by the workloading

and equipment used

Efficiency?

• Doing more with less– Less $

– Fewer people

• 85-90% M&O budget is labor– Saving 10% of supply budget can save1% of overall budget ($100 per

$10,000)

– Saving 10% of labor expended can save 9% of overall budget ($900 per $10,000)

Un-Productivity

• Using old inefficient equipment and chemicals• Without looking carefully at what we’re doing, how are

we to know where changes can be made?• Without looking carefully at what our efforts yield, how

are we to know what the results of any changes are?• Lack of cleaning plan and timing checkpoints

Ideas & Changes• Before we can generate ideas for changes that may

improve performance, we must be engaged in the job – not just showing up and handing off the keys– Improved performance begins with caring about the results of our

efforts – seeing that what we do makes a difference• Taking “Pride of Ownership” in our work – seeing that each and

every task is “well-done”We must understand the expectations and time allotted

Changes

• Sometimes very small changes have dramatic results.– Example: a crew of 6 cleans a facility. Each person makes two dumpster runs

per shift – average time 5 minutes each. Two of them smoke, so they take an extra 5 minutes. Total dumpster time per shift: 70 minutes.

– They make a change: They designate pick-up points around the facility and a pick-up time so the lead custodian can make one dumpster run per shift in the golf cart.

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Small Changes Yield Big Results

• So now one person takes 15 minutes per day.– Old way took 70 effort minutes per day.

• = 303 hrs./yr. = 40½ days/yr. = 8 weeks/yr.– New system: 15 effort minutes per day.

• = 65 hrs./yr. = 8.6 days = 1.7 weeks/yr.

• The new system saves 78.6% labor for this task.– This time saved is used to improve productivity

• The time is used to do tasks more frequently• The time is used to do tasks that couldn’t be done before

• They produce more work in the same amount of time available with the same labor cost

• They are working smarter, not harder!

Efficiency = Organization• To become more productive, we must become more efficient at

what we do• Efficiency begins with being organized• Organization begins with closet & our cart

– Clean & neat• If tools and workspace are a mess, what message does that convey to

the client?– About the crew?– About the quality of their work?

• If tools & workspace are disorganized, what does that do to your efficiency?

Organized? Efficient? Professional?

Organizing a Closet• Store paper above liquids.

– Leave rolls in boxes.

• Keep small, loose items in containers.

• Brooms hung or head up.• Everything clean and dry.• Have everything you will need for

the week• Have only what you need for the

week• Use a central storage room and

draw supplies first thing on Monday, or last thing on Friday

• Keep a clear path to sink,• Don’t store items on breaker panels,

transformers or water heaters.• Keep things you use regularly near at

hand.• Store by size where possible – big

things in the back• No clutter (pencil cups, lost & found

items, broken things to fix “someday”.• Keep as much as possible on shelves

or hanging off the floor

Organizing A Cart• Think of it as a portable closet

– Stock it with everything you’ll need on this trip through your area– Stock it with only what you’ll need on this trip through your area

• If you have 3 paper towel dispensers in your area, do you need 8 rolls of towels on your cart?

• The less you carry on your cart, the easier it is to find what you want on it– Have a place for everything, and keep everything in its place

Keep It Organized

• What ever you have

Equipment Maintenance

• If it took two years to convince administration that a “machine” would help increase productivity, and to actually budget for it, and six months later it is sitting in a corner – unused and “thrashed”…

• How long before you get another?

Think About What You’re Doing• Understand the products you have and their intended

uses• Use the tools and equipment that give you the best

chance of winning• High volume vacuums, microfiber and high quality

chemicals a must• Focus on activities to REMOVE DIRT not evenly spread it

around….high volume vacuuming and microfiber

WORKFLOW PRINCIPLES

• We must assist our LBO’s to clean in the time allotted or less

• Usually the breakdown is not effort but rather a flawed plan…leads to dirty buildings, stress and LBO turnover

• City Wide needs to help LBO’s figure out how to move efficiently through a building so that the LBO can make $$$

• If not, we condemn ourselves to constantly replacing LBO’s, taking complaints and explaining another crew change

Workflow Start Up

• Key elements of information to know• 1. How many total hours are available to clean the

area?• 2. Do we have any restrictions in making the plan?• 3. Are there any areas that are clearly going to be

harder to clean than normal?• 4. Are there any “natural” area breaks like floors or

sections?• 5. Where is the dumpster and janitor closet? •

Workflow Start Up Continued• Natural dividers of work is the easiest way to start

planning• Do we have floors or sections that we can use to divide

the work? Are all areas the same?• EXAMPLE: Building XYZ is 2 floors and we have 6

hours to clean it. Mathematically it’s simply 3 hours per floor which is not a bad start!!!

• Are both floors the same? Pretty much so but the first floor has the main entryway which is dirtier than the rest of the building and needs more time. OK how about a 2hrs 45min on the second floor and 3hr 15min on the first as a start.

Workload

• Continued…3+15 and 2+45 is a great start but there are just a few more issues. Dumpster time, closet time and periodic cleans.

• How much time to take out the trash? Take it out of floor time

• Leave 10 minutes to put equip away and organize for tomorrow. Bad finish tonight = bad start tomorrow

• Is there any periodic cleans? Can we break them up to be daily or weekly? If so add them in.

• What do we have left?

Workloading• We have a starting point• 3 hours on first floor and 2.5 hours on the 2nd floor• We have 30 minutes to use between trash and periodic cleaning…

don’t forget to organize for tomorrow

• What’s next? We want to try the program but there are a few more items

• Do we have good working equipment ready to operate the entire shift?

• Do we have all supplies needed for the shift?• The goal is to leave the janitor closet one time at the beginning of

the shift and finish there•

Workloading

• Time to start!!!• Get a good starting time so you can debrief the nights

progress• Have a “ON THE CLOCK” goal for getting off the divided

sections• Keep track of trips back to the janitor closet and why

they were made• Keep track of all other issues that kept us from staying

on task

What to look for

• Is there working in circles?• When did the work end compared to the time

checkpoints?• How many extra trips to the closet?• How was trash handled? • Was there a need to go back over areas already

serviced?• Did we know how to do the alarm? • Was it final inspected as it was completed? •

Working in Circuits, Not Circles• From your closet, through your area and back to your

closet; doing more than one task per circuit, having what you’ll need at hand when you need it.

• From your cart, through the room and back to your cart; doing more than one task per circuit, having what you’ll need at hand when you need it.

Timing Checkpoints

• Did the crew hit the timing checkpoints?• What caused the crew to need extra time?• How could we capture more time? • How did equipment effect the outcome?

• Answers to these questions will usually lead the LBO to adjusting as necessary to get to the goal.

• Help the LBO reset timing goals as needed to get the building clean

Costly Trips to the Closet • Continually running back and forth to the closet or the

cart to get stuff is working in circles - lots of motion but little gets done

• 5 minutes lost per day = 21 hours lost per year• Unfortunately, most trips to the closet last more than 5

minutes• Multi-task - do several tasks in each circuit• Attempt to take everything you need to clean from the

closet the first time you leave it

Trash Runs

• Was trash handled all at once at the end of the night?• Usually this is best if possible due to volume• Did we protect the floor from bag drags and leakage?• Common mistake that adds to time in the building• Use large liners as a protective covering

Re-cleaning Areas

• Did the crew have to redo areas due to quality or lack of understanding of areas to clean?

• Big time waster• Largely mitigated by using TEAM CLEANING

• If asked, we should suggest TEAM CLEANING to our LBO’s

Alarm Issues

• Be sure that we know all info about alarms

• Clients count on us to be the experts and we look everything but expert if we set off the alarm

• Alarm procedures is an integral part of all New Starts• Sales and Ops must work together to get this correct on

night one in the building

Final Inspection

• As areas are completed, the LBO should inspect areas as they finish

• If done correctly, the LBO should not have to go back to any area after the crew is gone

• Even though the crew is gone, the LBO will “feel the pinch” of extra time that they themselves have to spend there

• Our goal is to have our LBO satisfied they can clean the building

Debrief the Night

• CW Ops staff needs to debrief the nights activities with the LBO

• The goal is simple…LBO MUST BE SUCCESSFUL• Subordinate your success to that of your LBO • Help them evaluate results and time spent in the building• Adjust the plan as necessary to reflect what was

discovered• Assure the LBO that they can succeed• NURTURE….or get good at recruiting

It’s A Miracle!!!

• If they can get through the first week, they will usually be OK

• WHY? The building is now clean and they have figured out the workloading

• Clean buildings are easy to clean and take much less time

• Now you can move on

Or You Could Ignore Them…

• Maybe drop off the keys and wish them luck

• Don’t be surprised to get the “lump under the mat”

• “What is that lump?”..... you may ask yourself

The Lump is…..

• The keys to the building….• Did you really think the performance bond alone was

going to keep them there if they thought they were going to lose $$$$$? Really?

• Now your day is done..You need the following• New crew• Clothes to clean in• Courage to tell your client that you need to change crews

after 2 nights even though you swore “we’re different”

Whether You Think You Can or

Whether You Think You Can’t – You’re Probably Right

Your Attitude Is Showing!

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With One Step…

• Help set realistic goals• Make a timeline• Help evaluate results• Adjust and nurture

• We are usually our own worst enemy– “Do they really need me out there on the

first night?”

–YES!!!

Principles of Efficiency and Workloading

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Questions?