Team Cleaning - Meeting Today's Market Challenge
7/29/2009

by Jim Harris, Sr.

 Team Cleaning® is a systematic program that focuses cleaning duties by tasks rather than zones. In Team Cleaning, a worker becomes a specialist, and is empowered to perform routine cleaning focused around one consistent set of tasks. The cleaning specialist is able to easily manage time, efficiency and productivity when supported by a Team Cleaning system—and the foundation of Team Cleaning allows for easy modifications relating to cost and/or quality.

Many organizations have come to the conclusion that Team Cleaning is the best cleaning system to absorb the most stringent demands for high performance cleaning that face our industry today. Each cleaning specialist knows exactly which duties to perform, where to go and how long to take, and has a comprehensive understanding of the cleaning standard.

The most outstanding benefit in incorporating a Team Cleaning system is the ability to meet required cost reductions while retaining system integrity. The result is a re-engineered cleaning system that is easily sustainable and manageable, and highly productive and cost-effective.

More than teamwork
There is confusion in our industry that Team Cleaning is simply group or gang cleaning, where several workers clean a facility together using teamwork as the basis. This perception is incorrect. In Team Cleaning, there are four concepts we focus on for efficiency and effectiveness: work simplification, work redistribution, workflow and worker self-direction. This all culminates in a viable system for training, performance expectancy, sustainability and continuous improvement.

The component parts of Team Cleaning are:

•    Specialists
•    Quadrant scheduling
•    Backpack vacuuming technology
•    Time-bound estimates
•    Job assignment cards
•    Built in quality management
•    Ease of training

The following assigned duties are stated in general terms for this article. Management will need to determine the specific duties and prepare the cleaning specialists through in-depth training.

Specialists
There are four types of specialists in Team Cleaning:

•    Starter (usually referred to as Light Duty Specialist – General Cleaning)
•    Closer  (usually referred to as Vacuum Specialist)
•    Restroom Specialist
•    Utility Specialist  

Starter / Light Duty Specialist (General Cleaning)
Duties:
•    Remove surface dust
•    Empty trash
•    Spot clean
•    Pick up obvious floor debris

This position starts the general cleaning process and continues in a complete loop through the entire shift without ever returning to the supply station. The extent of the cleaning duties is dependent upon the tools transported by this specialist. With the Closer following over the same route but about 15-20 minutes behind , the Starter has ways to communicate necessary changes (e.g., closing doors in spaces not needing vacuuming).

Closer / Vacuum Specialist (In General Cleaning Route)
Duties:
•    Vacuum
•    Check for obvious cleaning deficiencies
•    Perform a quality check on the Starter

This position follows the Starter and closes down the cleaning operation.

The Starter and Closer fulfill the general cleaning process, which is 60 to 90% of a the work depending on type and usage of the facility being cleaned.

Restroom Specialist
Duties:
•    Clean and sanitize restrooms

This specialist is assigned restrooms, locker rooms, hallway water fountains, etc.

Utility Specialist
Duties:
•    Collect trash and remove from facility
•    Lobby assignments
•    Various floor care responsibilities
•    Distribute supplies
•    Other tasks
    
This position is highly diversified based on the scope of work. There are different skill levels, i.e., deep mopping/scrubbing, hazardous waste management, cleanroom cleaning, etc. This specialist can be assigned some supervisory responsibilities in smaller facilities. There is a wide range of duties that can be assigned to this position depending on the facility and cleaning requirements.

Quadrant scheduling
The space assigned the Starter and Closer is divided into four quadrants. Routine, detail and project-type frequency processes are then assigned. Utilizing this concept, the system will result in 10,000–12,000 sq. ft. per hour for each specialist performing general cleaning at a Cleaning for Health™ standard. This results in a team average of 5,000–6,000 sq.ft. being cleaned per hour.

Routine cleaning is performed daily, detail cleaning is performed weekly and project cleaning is performed monthly.  No two specialists work together except for teams performing cleaning setups, floor maintenance, etc.  

It is critical to establish a strict adherence to scheduled work. Routine/detail tasks are performed on a rotational basis Monday through Thursday with projects rotated over four Fridays. Each day, one of the quads is designated a detail cleaning with the three others designated routine.

Care must be exercised in determining the Quadrant layout. This will need to be modified until the flow is balanced. For example, it would not be efficient if the Vacuum Specialist has to wait for the Starter to move out of an area. Since there is a required gap between the Starter and Closer, the Closer may be assigned other duties that utilize time equal to the estimated gap time. The Closer then starts vacuuming in the first Quadrant.

By simplifying the tasks and disciplining the specialists to stay on the Team Cleaning system, we can maximize productivity and improve quality. In today’s challenging economic environment, Team Cleaning allows us to intelligently and easily modify costs through cleaning frequency reduction.

Take the challenge
Every industry in our country—and in the world—has benefited from improved processes, out-of-the-box thinking, best practices development, and employee involvement. Team Cleaning is a tried-and-true practice that allows us to move beyond zone, or area-assigned, cleaning and significantly improve worker efficiency and productivity.

Take the Team Cleaning challenge: investigate, evaluate and test how task-based cleaning performs over zone cleaning. The results will speak for themselves. Team Cleaning is a proven system that provides real results. Don’t let some other organization make the move and outperform you! Give Team Cleaning a try and see for yourself why so many organizations have adopted it as the best system to meet their cleaning and budgetary needs.

About the author
Jim Harris, Sr. is a principal at Concepts4, an international consulting group specializing in Team Cleaning and management consultancy. He provides education, training, consultation and systems implementation to industries nationwide, including education, health care, corporate and building service contractors. © 2009 ProTeam

¹This is a brief .overview of the Team Cleaning System

²There are four skill levels of the Utility Specialist depending on the type of facility

³This is an estimated gap time depending on a number of issues, including size, type, population density and purpose of the facility; part time vs. full time; and other factors.