The Janitors' Closet

The bottom line - clean for health.

Most commercial janitorial firms clean for appearance.  They sell to clients, train and equip their crews, and inspect their jobs based upon "sparkling restrooms, dust free furniture, debris free floors" and so on.

Consider, though, whether the health of the building occupants might be at least as important as the appearance of the building.  One can pick up a lot of diseases from airborne allergens, germ laden touchpoints, and not quite disinfected restroom fixtures.  Sick building occupants equates to more sick days and lower productivity while at work.

The client's bottom line demands a healthy staff, and thus "cleaning for health".

An unexpected bonus is that cleaning for health improves building appearance as well.  You cannot disinfect restrooms or touchpoints without first "cleaning" the surfaces - get rid of the dirt so the germs have no place to hide.  Vacuuming (both carpet and tile) with a HEPA filter on your vac, and microfiber dust wiping rather than feather dusting, will remove visible dust and debris while removing allergens and bacteria.  So a healthy building tends to be a clean appearing building as well.

Unfortunately, the converse does not hold.  You can clean and polish restrooms and touchpoints without disinfecting; you can remove visible dust and debris without removing the small particles and germs that impact health.  So you can have a clean appearing, but un-healthy, building.

Particularly in a tight economy, the bottom line demands "cleaning for health".

"Cleaner fined $100 grand for illegals"

Just caught an article about a $100,000.00 fine levied by U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement  (ICE) against a cleaning contractor in New England.

The Building Services Management e-mail newsletter article mentioned that thirteen other area firms were fined in the same period, having been caught during I-9 inspections.  Employers are required to have available a form I-9, confirming employment eligibility, for each and every employee - after having inspected said employee's ID.

Seems a lot of firms do not bother.  Many firms are less than careful in confirming ID; awfully difficult doing a useful background check on someone of whose identity one is uncertain. 

ICE initiated its "IMAGE" Program in 2006, to assist firms in complying with employment law.  We at CBN are IMAGE certified; the last I checked, we're one of two janitorial firms in the nation so certified.

Nice to be sure of one's status.  Those $100,000.00 fines have got to hurt. 

Asphalt - environmentally friendly

Caught an article, "Unusually Green", in the June 2011 Arizona Facilities magazine; it introduces asphalt as a "surprisingly green option for roads, parking lots".

The article's author, Jon Bugged, keys on the better than 80% of asphalt pavement removed each year that is reused, for roads, shoulders and embankments.  Further, asphalt paving incorporates such waste  components as slag from steelmaking, sand from metal casting, material from roofing shingle manufacturing, and used tires.

The mention of used tires caught my eye.  The resultant product is called "rubberized asphalt" - no surprise - and it was developed here in Phoenix.  The original intent was to introduce some flex and expansion/contraction properties, to reduce cracking; the product was then found to greatly reduce roadway tire noise. 

Most of our freeways around the Valley, originally concrete paved, have now been topped with rubberized asphalt.  One of the first to be done was the central Phoenix segment of I-10, which bisects my 1920's neighborhood (both my home and, down the block, my office.  Our local neighborhood preservation association had long lobbied the Arizona Department of Transportation to reduce noise from the freeway; our segment served as a bit of a test case. 

A bit later, when Phoenix was doing a TV documentary on the success of the noise reduction program, they needed somebody, at the very last moment, to comment on-camera about noise reduction in the neighborhood.  Somebody fingered me, the film crew came out and shot, and I forgot all about it - until the segment began showing up on our local government access channel, at odd hours.

Kind of disquieting, sleeplessly surfing the channels in the wee hours of the morning, and seeing oneself talking about asphalt.

More on lightning, and on mixing electricity and gasoline

A thoughtful follow-up on metal gates, safety and lightning storms, and the "Pastafarian" headgear, again from my friend Marla:

"The Pastafarian issue can be resolved by 1) pointing out that their dogma of no dogma is circular   reasoning and parodies of religious beliefs aren't religious beliefs themselves 2) plastic colanders 3) mental evaluations of all future employees.  Since 1) and 2) have been resolved by the courts, at least in one country that leaves 3). Colors could be coordinated with your uniforms."

I do like the idea of color-coordinating with our uniforms.

The following has nothing to do with janitorial service, my livelihood and the usual subject of this site, but the discussion reminded me of a conversation with a friend years ago.  He was an adjuster with an insurance firm that, among things, insured a number of gas stations over in rural New Mexico.

A claim crossed his desk.  Seemed an employee of one of the gas stations needed to check the level in a large, above ground metal gas tank.  He used a metal dip stick.  While standing on the metal tank, inserting the metal dip-stick into the gasoline, he hit (with the metal stick) the overhead power lines.  Surprisingly, he survived.  As I recall, the jolt from the power line threw him clear, and threw the stick clear of the gasoline, before either electrocution or explosion.

Because the fellow survived, he'd not be a candidate for the annual Darwin Awards - they only apply to folks who have improved the human gene pool by removing themselves from it.  But he at least deserves an honorable mention. 

More on lightning...

In response to my last post, about one of my folks standing in ankle-deep water to unlock a metal gate in a lightning storm, I received some thoughts from my friend Marla in Florida (where, I gather, they have lots of lightning):

"Safety meeting specific to thunderstorm procedures. Sign off sheets for employees to make sure they understand.  Wait it out in the car after calling the office to notify of the delay. Paid, of course, since it's not their fault.  One pair each of wellington boots and heavy gloves stored in the vehicle this time of year for those who just have to chance it or if they're not sure if it's bad enough to wait it out.  Alerting the... office manager that it is an issue and possible rescheduling might be an option?"

While I'm working the above into our safety procedures, in came the following:

"Strainer deemed religious headgear for pastafarian".  Granted, this applies only in Austria, but should the "religious" practice jump to the U.S., would I need to accommodate that article of religious clothing?  How about when it conflicts with safety concerns (as in, ankle-deep in water, unlocking a metal gate, in a thunderstorm, while wearing metal headgear)? 

Gotta go.  Have to call OSHA.

During the lightning storm...

Found a report from one of my janitorial crews in the in-basket this morning:

"The storm hit about 1/2hour before I left. If the floors are tracked it is on them; they were clean when I left. Just as I was taking the trash out, a downpour came. The rain filled all the low spaces [in the parking lot], the deepest low spot naturally was where the gates meet. I am standing in water to my ankles, it is thundering and lightning and I am holding on to a metal gate. For once the lock came open and locked back very fast. Thank the Lord for small favors.   Thanks, Peggy" 

We get the occasional summer storm in Phoenix during July and August; last night's was a humdinger.

We do train and encourage our folks to go the extra mile in serving their clients.  We also train them in safety.  I have to admit that we've not addressed lightning strikes, or metal gates.  Might have to re-think this.

"Improve IAQ With Vacuuming"...

...is a featured article, by yours truly, in the June/July Contracting Profits.   

I address the "dust sink" nature of carpet, vacuuming strategy, HEPA filtration, allergens, hard floors, high dusting, and marketing of all the above - considerations we've stressed for well over 15 years.

You can link to the first part of the article (up through allergens) in the digital edition via Cleanlink, and to the second part here.  For the full article, you'll need the magazine - which I recommend for reasons far beyond my own meager contribution.

Nice to be noticed.  Even nicer for the industry to emphasize cleaning for health.