When Robert and Terri Coleman founded Sheffield Building Services in 1989, the staff consisted of the Colemans themselves and their four children. Thirty years later, the company has grown to over 50 employees who service 40 buildings — but it still prides itself on being family owned and operated. By remaining actively involved with the business, Robert Coleman can answer to his clients directly and swiftly, not to mention personally guarantee the quality of his work. As fiercely as Robert advocates the personal touch, he is just as insistent on maintaining the highest professional standards.
Robert puts it simply: “When you’re on my site, you’re a professional.”
That’s why Sheffield Building Services relies on ProTeam vacuums.
Team Clean
It’s a testament to Coleman’s business values that while the Sheffield family of employees has grown, it remains remarkably stable. The people who started with the company are still there, and even the average employee stays with the company at least nine years. Befitting the company’s family beginnings and character, Sheffield utilizes Team Cleaning.
While the “Zone Cleaning” method required each member of the cleaning staff to take on varied tasks in a single area, the Team Cleaning system assigns a more focused set of tasks and equipment to each member of a team. This way, each member becomes a specialist and part of a highly coordinated and efficient cleaning system.
“When we train a new employee, we assign them to their job,” says Robert. “We’ll assign a vacuum tech, and we let them follow around a trained supervisor with the backpack vacuum. The supervisor will show them how to use the vacuum to its greatest advantage.”

A ProTeam backpack vacuum helps with detail cleaning
In fact, Sheffield has been able to reassign tasks formerly done by traditional dusting methods to a team member using a ProTeam backpack vacuum.
“Previously, our detail tech would dust the vents and the windowsills for bugs with a traditional microfiber duster. Now, the vacuum tech takes on those tasks. Being able to remove the source, cobwebs don’t come back for days.”
Green Clean
ProTeam backpack vacuums were also a driving force behind Sheffield’s green cleaning practices.
“Our transition to green cleaning went hand in hand with our backpack vacuums. The ProTeam bags are much cleaner, and easier to change. And when it comes to our employees, they’re healthier and happier.”
After three decades in the business, Robert knows that green cleaning isn’t just a convenience for his staff or a luxury for his clients.
“Green cleaning isn’t just a fad anymore. Today, green cleaning is expected. It’s the baseline. A lot of our clients have buildings that are rated for energy efficiency. They expect their cleaning service and its equipment to be well-oiled machines.”
ProTeam Clean
Sheffield’s ProTeam machines are also “well-oiled” and efficient when it comes to getting the job done and done right.
“With our clients, budget is the bottom line. They have a price–per–square–foot facility operations budget in mind. With our methods, techniques and our tools, we offer higher productivity without sacrificing quality. That helps retain clients.”
In the last eight years, Sheffield has nearly doubled vacuuming productivity to over 6,000 square feet per hour. They reinvest the time saved into increasing quality, and consequently, customer satisfaction.
“Instead of retaining the profit, we are able to do more work,” says Robert. “We’ve been able to realign assignments to cover more critical areas like bathrooms, common areas, and conference areas –especially because these are areas that the public and clients will see.”
That investment pays off in the long run.
“We’ve developed a brand that produces high-end cleaning for likewise clients. They trust that our price is a good, fair value. They are paying higher prices for rent and cleaning. So they expect flawless work.”
With Sheffield’s commitment to personalized, high-quality cleaning — powered in part by ProTeam — exceptional work is exactly what they get.
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