Traditionally, cleaning in commercial settings has been as a task accomplished out of sight and out of mind—that is to say, during the night shifts. But according to Miguel Villa, the Director of Business Development St. Moritz Building Services, Inc., commercial cleaning is finally seeing the light of day.
“Ten years ago, most buildings were cleaned during second and third shift,” says Villa. “Today, we’re embracing cleaning during the first shift.”
What’s driving this dramatic shift to day cleaning? Contrary to the old misconceptions, day cleaning yields enormous energy savings while supporting healthy, green cleaning practices. What’s more, day cleaning increases both customer and employee satisfaction. However, you must consider many factors for it to be effective.
“A day cleaning plan is difficult to implement, and it can be difficult to get people on board,” admits Villa. “But when you do it right, you never want to go back.”
For Villa, “doing it right” means having the right priorities and the right equipment.
Day Cleaning Reduces Energy Costs
By shifting more of your cleaning efforts to the times a building is already active, day cleaning can drastically reduce energy consumption and costs.
“The value of one building increased by over a million dollars by changing the cleaning schedule alone,” says Villa. “What’s more, there is essentially no capital investment to make that transition. We have to buy some new equipment, but, from a program standpoint, the cost is the same or even less.”
The Right Equipment for Day Cleaning
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, St. Moritz Building Services employs around 1,300 housekeepers across 17 states. They’re responsible for cleaning scores of businesses with floor space totaling roughly 37 million square feet. Of that, about 5 million square feet is cleaned during the daytime.
To meet the demand, St. Moritz has as many as 1,000 vacuums in rotation—and ProTeam vacuums are Villa’s tool of choice.
“ProTeam is the Cadillac of Vacuums.”
Villa asserts, “ProTeam is the Cadillac of vacuums. It’s the best of the best as far as we’re concerned. They get abused, they are run hard daily for hours.”
Villa’s ambitious day cleaning strategy doesn’t just require a fleet of vacuums that are durable, but also efficient. Even more than usual, day cleaning must be accomplished as quickly and unobtrusively as possible. That’s why Villa relies on a variety of ProTeam vacuums.
“It’s got to be the best tool for the space,” he says. “For the lion’s share of work, we use the ProForce 1500XP upright. The Super CoachVac backpack vacuum replaces traditional broom and pan work in many areas—only they’re more efficient, a lot easier, and so much better for the indoor air quality. They can also cover much more square footage. During regular business hours, a ProTeam GoFree Flex Pro cordless backpack vacuum removes the risk of tripping on a cord. Eliminating the cord has been pretty awesome.”
Health and Efficiency
With the right equipment, day cleaning can also forward your green cleaning and indoor air quality (IAQ) goals. ProTeam products, he points out, are certified with the Carpet and Rug Institute Seal of Approval.
“A lot of buildings are moving towards LEED certification, and we can help them by adopting healthy high-performance practices. When it comes to green cleaning, ProTeam is very aware.”
Sunnier Attitudes
The right approach—along with the right equipment—has changed the perception of day cleaning among customers and employees alike.
“Customers’ appreciation of cleaning actually increases because they see it happen,” Villa points out. “The building occupants get tidier because they know the building cleaners.”
Obviously, this also has a positive effect on the cleaning staff’s morale.
“They become part of the floors they’re on; they get thanked for their work,” notes Villa. “Employee attendance is better and performance has improved.”
Equipment plays an especially important role when it comes to decreasing worker turnover.
“Better equipment makes their jobs and their lives easier. There’s no single solution to high turnover, but having nice equipment definitely helps keep people in their jobs.”
The ProTeam Difference
“We see ourselves as one of the most successful day cleaning operations in the country,” Villa is proud to say. “We see it as the future. It’s only a matter of time before a lot of other facilities follow suit.”
According to Villa, a ProTeam-powered day cleaning program makes a huge difference in efficiency, health, job satisfaction, and the bottom line. You might say the difference is like night and day.
Read a testimonial from Miguel Villa, in his own words, here.
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