As businesses rebound from the pandemic, many are experiencing the effects of the “Great Resignation,” named after the trend of workers leaving jobs for better opportunities or retirement. According to a McKinsey survey, 40% of employees are at least somewhat likely to leave their job by March 2022. With many industries like commercial cleaning, hospitality, foodservice and manufacturing facing a surplus of job openings, a shrinking pool of interested workers, and a rise in retirement, it’s becoming more difficult to compete for talent.

The cleaning industry has historically experienced high turnover rates. Coupled with the fact that many older employees of in-house cleaning departments are leaving the workforce, this is putting additional pressure on facility managers and building service contractors (BSCs) to attract new and younger talent. Once hired, it’s important to make employees feel valued by demonstrating an ongoing commitment to their wellbeing. One strategy for securing and retaining talent is adopting cleaning technologies that positively impact employee health, safety, and engagement.

The state of staffing in the cleaning industry

Annualized turnover rates in the contract cleaning industry have soared to as high as 200%. Consider the rising costs on your business to hire, train, and retrain new employees, who may then exit in just six months. High turnover often leaves BSCs in a constant state of recruiting and onboarding. The quality and consistency of cleaning can suffer and management problems can emerge, which results in lower customer satisfaction.

In-house cleaning departments have traditionally experienced lower turnover, as many retain the same custodians for years or even decades. However, these “lifers” have been leaving the workforce over the last few years and will continue to do so as more age out of the industry. This creates staffing issues for in-house departments, too. Attracting young professionals to physically demanding, repetitive, and front-line custodial roles can be difficult. Thankfully, organizations can support hiring by leveraging today’s innovative cleaning technologies, and support employee retention by leaning into a culture that is rewarding and responsive to their needs.

Recruiting today’s workers

To recruit and retain empowered staff members, it’s important to understand the unique desires of millennial and Generation Z workers. Nearly 40% of millennials have selected a role because the company was more sustainable than the alternative. Members of this generation also are more interested in employers supporting physical, social, financial, and emotional health than Generation X and baby boomers. Millennials value health and safety, so building a culture of safety is a tool to attract and keep them.

Meanwhile, according to a report from Deloitte and Network of Executive Women (NEW), 77% of Gen Z respondents in a 2018 survey said it is important to work at organizations with values that align with their own. In fact, the environment is Gen Z’s top concern, so organizations hiring for cleaning roles must tap into this passion. Thankfully, innovations are pushing the industry forward in terms of sustainability.

The pandemic also heightened everyone’s awareness of cleaning and disinfection in facilities. This trend, in combination with the rising importance of corporate values, has led employees to ask new questions such as, “Am I working in a building with healthy air quality?”; “How safe am I while working?”; “Are these new cleaning and disinfecting processes affecting me?”; and “Are they impacting social responsibility and sustainability?” Using technologies that support healthy work environments can help answer these critical questions.

Implementing facility improvements and cleaning tools

Innovative, safe, and sustainable cleaning technologies improve safety, reduce environmental impact, and make cleaning jobs more enticing to millennials and Gen Z. BSCs and facility managers can consider the following solutions to attract contract cleaning staff and in-house professionals:

• Indoor air quality (IAQ) enhancements—IAQ has taken on a new level of importance during the pandemic due to increased knowledge around the impact of toxic chemicals on our air and the spread of respiratory illnesses. Help workers feel at ease with air quality monitoring solutions that reduce the presence of toxins from strong-smelling and harmful chemicals and curb the risk of pathogen transmission. Enhancements may include shifting to safer cleaning chemicals, installing upgraded filters and air purifiers, and improving ventilation in your building.

• Electrochemically activated solutions (ECAS)—Adopting an innovative technology like ECAS demonstrates to cleaning professionals that their wellbeing and the environment matters. ECAS are cleaning and disinfecting solutions created using a generator, water, salt, and electricity. ECAS do not irritate eyes or skin, are drain- and disposal-friendly and support good IAQ, making them an ideal solution for daily use.

  Replacing numerous toxic cleaning products with ECAS reduces the risk of dangerous chemical mixtures and employee and customer exposure and simplifies training. Because the solutions are generated on site, cleaning teams can refill spray bottles and containers, further reducing waste, garbage, and carbon dioxide emissions.

• Robotic equipment—From automated floor scrubbers to smart vacuum cleaners, there are numerous robotic technologies that your cleaning program can introduce to reduce repetitive tasks for cleaning staff. Look for equipment that is easy to operate and maintain and uses sensors to safely avoid people and obstacles. Because robots deliver consistent results, they help limit the need for recleaning that requires high volumes of cleaners and disinfectants. Additionally, robotic vacuums kick up eight times less dust than manual cleaning, which improves IAQ. Overall, automated machines create safer, more sustainable and more efficient work environments to support employees.

Safe and consistent cleaning

For the cleaning industry to attract and retain new talent, demonstrating a commitment to the health and environmental concerns of these new employees is essential. Numerous technologies, products, and services can make work environments safer, which in turn helps employees focus on consistently providing cleaner facilities for occupants and visitors. When combined with a workplace culture that celebrates cleaning professionals and aligns with their values, these tools of the trade help tackle one of the industry’s toughest and costliest challenges: staffing.

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Credit: Julie Leopo / EdSource

Paradise Elementary was one of nearly 19,000 structures destroyed in the November 2018 Camp Fire.

Credit: Julie Leopo / EdSource

Paradise Elementary was one of nearly 19,000 structures destroyed in the November 2018 Camp Fire.

Jonathan Klein and Lisa Patel

January 4, 2022

After several years of ongoing disruption from the Covid pandemic, wildfires and heat waves, California’s 6 million students and their parents know firsthand that far too many school buildings are not equipped to address our present challenges.

This is especially true for Black and brown children who face disproportionate climate change impacts and are more likely to attend school buildings in poor condition. With “hot school days” responsible for an estimated 5% of the racial achievement gap, one wonders how Gov. Gavin Newsom’s program to extend the school year deeper into the summer will cope with inequitable access to air-conditioning.

Leading superintendents across the country are delivering the message that our school infrastructure and our learning agenda must urgently address the climate crisis. For the first time, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona identified climate change as a threat to his department’s mission.

State leadership must respond by articulating a vision for how we ensure every school performs its most critical function — to provide safe and inspirational spaces for children to learn without disruption. A vision for California’s public school infrastructure in the form of a master plan or a road map such as that for early education and child care can align funding streams to address extreme weather impacts and with the state’s goal of carbon neutrality. A master plan, for example, would guide all districts to eliminate fossil fuels as they undertake facilities projects while also installing on-site solar energy and energy storage systems and transitioning to electric school buses. It would also help county offices of education develop curriculums that would incorporate these clean energy investments as hands-on learning opportunities.  

This month, the governor and Legislature can galvanize immediate action by leveraging a projected $9 billion in one-time state funds for K-12 in the 2022-2023 budget year. Investing in school buildings and grounds responds to concerns about sustaining ongoing efforts with one-time money. Investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy will generate a stream of recurring savings that can be reinvested in core programs for students — all while improving health and learning outcomes now.

What is at stake more broadly is how we leverage $25 billion of one-time funding for K-12, including $15.3 billion from the American Rescue Plan, as well as funding opportunities on the horizon like a potential $12 billion statewide school construction bond and cap-and-trade proceeds which have totaled $15.8 billion since 2013.

If district leaders, school boards and state actors like the California Air Resources Board, the California School Finance Authority, the California Department of Education, and the Division of the State Architect shared a 2030 vision for California’s schools, they could be working together to align investment decisions across all available funding and make them easy for school districts to access.

Conversely, without leadership and a clear vision, we risk making scattered, poor investments with current resources. California spends more than $15 billion every year on building, maintaining and operating its school facilities without a master plan for carbon neutrality and climate resilience.

Districts are already deploying Covid relief funds on facilities and grounds. As of September, the California Department of Education had approved over 1,200 requests for capital expenditure with over $400 million targeted for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, classroom updates and outdoor structures. HVAC systems tend to be energy-intensive, so it is critical to combine these upgrades with investments in resilience by introducing solar microgrids. We cannot allow schools to miss this opportunity to address today’s urgent, pandemic-driven HVAC needs in alignment with a longer-term vision for healthy, resilient, efficient schools.

Moreover, state leaders’ plan should target investments in public school infrastructure in areas that are identified as being exposed to higher air pollution and where worsening heat and poor air quality days expose children and teachers to asthma, bronchitis, or cardiovascular disease. And as we transition to clean energy, removing natural gas appliances within schools is important for student and teacher safety, meeting California’s carbon reduction goals and ensuring clean indoor air for students.

With several significant one-time funding opportunities, California can launch an ambitious statewide approach to building healthy, resilient schools. We can’t unsee our lack of preparedness for this pandemic and the wildfires that ravage our state. But we can use our new eyes to care for and educate our kids amid the uncertainty of the decades ahead.

•••

Jonathan Klein is co-founder of UndauntedK12, a national nonprofit working to support America’s K-12 public schools to make an equitable transition to zero carbon emissions while preparing our youth to build a sustainable future in a rapidly changing climate.

Lisa Patel is a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University and co-director of the Stanford Climate, Health, and Equity Task Force at the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research. Views expressed are her own and do not represent the views of her employer.

The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.

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Houseplants have grown in popularity in recent years, with them providing benefits such as purifying the air and brightening up a dull space. While some indoor plants will be tolerable to any location in the home, others are more suitable to specific rooms, such as the kitchen or bathroom. One expert has shared the top plants suitable to keep in the bedroom, including the Areca Palm.

Also known as Dypsis lutescens, the Areca Palm is relatively low maintenance to care for.

According to Miracle-Gro’s gardening guru, Kate Turner, it is also a great plant to keep in the bedroom.

The expert said: “If you’re looking to brighten up your home and especially if you don’t have an outdoor space, indoor plants are a great addition.

“There are even some houseplants that purify toxins from the air and help with the quality of your sleep.

READ MORE: Mrs Hinch fans share how to remove mould from bath sealant

They help to filter indoor air, increasing the levels of humidity, thus helping owners to breathe better.

What’s more, the plant also absorbs airborne mould spores that are common allergens.

The expert explained: “The plant is not only very easy to care for, but it is also great at purifying the air.

“They enjoy medium to low light, which makes it a great bedroom plant and will automatically add a touch of brightness to your room with its beautiful flowers.”

What’s more, all of these houseplants are generally easy to look after.

During the winter months, it is important to look out for common indoor plant pests.

This includes gnats, aphids and spider mites.

The expert explained: “Fungus gnats are tiny black scariad flies. They are usually more of a nuisance than a pest, although their larvae can damage seedlings.

“To avoid them, make sure your compost isn’t too wet as they love moist warm conditions.

“If your plants do attract gnats, allow the compost to fully dry out before watering and add very fine grit to the surface, you may have to repot your plant if they are persistent.”

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SB Architects has released insights into the most significant influences that informed design in 2021, and what trends will pick up even more momentum this year.

“During 2021, when the concept of ‘home’ became synonymous with home office, gym, entertainment centre, and space to retreat and relax, we saw the growing importance of incorporating flexibility in residential design,” explained Scott Lee, President and Principal of SB Architects. “Flexibility also became paramount for hotels and creating a less-defined program – such as multi-purpose public space and reimagined spaces for F&B, lounge, and lobby – will continue to be advantageous in the future. Overarchingly, creating opportunities for people to decompress in urban environments, enhancing physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social wellness, and quenching a thirst for the outdoors will be key drivers for architects and designers in 2022.”

Here are seven solid trends that are steering hospitality and hotel design, globally, on a new path:

‘Home officing’ 2.0

Image credit: Telegraph Arts/SB Architects

The pandemic and ensuing work-from-home phenomenon sparked new desires for residential design. Dens are no longer to be relegated to the back of units with little or no access to natural light. Instead, residents want these spaces connected to living rooms and acting as integrated offices or flex spaces. Working from home is also changing multifamily design, where a new kind of amenity is taking shape in the form of reservable rooms for work and study, connected to communal meeting spaces where residents can both host team meetings and socialise. The ‘business centre’ model of multifamily residential projects is evolving and will be more marketable if versatile and engaging.

Here to stay: ‘Bleisure’ travel

Image credit: Grand Hyatt Limassol/SB Architects

With more employees working remotely, hotels need to cater to a new segment of ‘bleisure’ travellers who are taking advantage of their newfound workplace flexibility by extending vacations that blend work, exploration, and leisure. With guests looking to spend more time in destinations, design that is experiential and deepens connections to the location and its underlying character will be key. Developers and operators will be searching for ways to differentiate their offerings from the many repositioning’s or new openings that are coming online in 2022, and hyper-local environments where guests can immerse themselves authentically into the surrounding locale and have experiences creatively tailored to a specific ethos and set of interests will be the most competitive.

Integrating experiential programming for children and configurations such as two-bedroom suites with kitchens will also help hotels cater to guests booking longer stays and traveling with their families.

Alternative stays/glamping woven into resort destinations

Image caption: A render of a resort in the Middle East. | Image credit: SB Architects

The alternative holiday/travel experience – via treehouse stays, yurts, and glamping – is becoming more and more ingrained into hospitality, and resorts are embracing glamping as an experiential element that can be integrated into the overall offering. Adding these unconventional components to a traditional resort development can deliver the connection to nature that gives guests a sense of emotional and mental well-being, while creating the kind of authentic experience and immersive atmosphere that today’s discerning travellers are craving.

Getting outside

With pandemic-era concerns about indoor air quality and social distancing deeply embedded in our psyches, the outdoors represents an escape and safe haven, and is a key element to mental health. Travellers will seek uninterrupted sightlines to the outdoors, access to fresh air and open space in 2022. Integrating outdoor spaces in urban environments, such as rooftop amenities, will be a big driver for both hotels and residential developments in the future. Rooftop amenities create a sense of escapism in which residents or guests are nestled in an outdoor environment, perhaps with natural elements, but views to a city skyline are within reach.

The rise of the urban resort

Image credit: Rivana at Innovation Station/SB Architects

Prior to the pandemic, the urban resort concept was on the rise, with brands like Aman Hotels and Six Senses Hotels and Resorts embracing the model as part of their growth strategy, and the trend will continue to grow in 2022, as lines between work and leisure continue to blur and more guests want to experience the decompression and escapism of a resort even when in an urban environment.

By tapping into sensibilities that one might leverage in a horizontal resort environment, and applying them to an urban context, designers can create spaces where people can ‘get away from it all’ while remaining in the middle of it.  Urban resorts deliver immersive experiences through rooftop experiences and iconic, place-defining food and beverage, and although in urban settings, they prioritise connections to nature, seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces, natural light, and, of course, guests’ health and wellness. Special landscaped zones sprinkled throughout sites as places to host events and celebrations, and enhanced wellness experiences where spa and fitness components are sized after those of a destination resort are among the design features trending for urban resorts.

Rethinking the all-day dining concept

Image credit: Stademos Hotels/SB Architects

Image credit: Stademos Hotels/SB Architects

The pandemic pushed many (if not all) hotels to adapt their F&B offerings, as under-utilised space in an all-day dining outlet became more apparent during periods of low occupancy. Many new hotels have been breaking down the all-day dining restaurant into multiple ‘micro’ restaurants that can be sectioned or closed off depending on the time of day, to prevent the all-day dining space from being underutilised or only used during breakfast. The traditional buffet style dining that is standard in all-day dining outlets became prohibited due to Covid-19 regulations in many areas, giving rise to alternative strategies such as customised room service for breakfast. Many hotels are leveraging the specialty restaurant or lobby lounge for those seeking a more traditional hotel breakfast experience.

In the future, instead of just serving as a convenient dining outlet for internal guests, more hotel dining outlets will be regarded as valuable revenue-generating spaces independent of the hotel, with unique concepts, menus, and designs that will entice both hotel guests and locals in the community.

Capturing the baby boomer audience 

The Baby Boomer generation is mindful of how precious meaningful life experiences are and have a pent-up desire to reconnect with loved ones since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hotels should take note of this affluent, educated, and active audience in 2022. With so many people aged 65 and over fully vaccinated, this group is ready for reunions with family and friends, and they have the time and resources to truly immerse in experiential travel. Boomers are more likely to travel for a week or longer, and their excitement for educational, interactive, and locally inspired experiences as well as activities with multi-generational appeal should not be overlooked.

So, it seems that the pandemic has left its coffee-mug stain on this year’s trends. However, unlike in recent years, it seems as if the industry’s robust strength is ensuring that all trends we are seeing emerge are less about recovery and more about growth, evolution and sustaining unmatched travel experiences.

> Since you’re here, why not check out our editorial series on the hottest hotels to open in 2022?

Main image credit: SB Architects

Originally Appeared Here

Washington state lawmakers meet in Olympia starting next week for the 2022 legislative session. Groups working on the issue of climate change see it as another chance for the state to take action.

Kelly Hall, Washington director of Climate Solutions, said the Legislature has made progress in recent years – including committing the state to 100% clean energy by 2045. But with the impacts of a warming climate mounting, Hall said the state should do more to address it. She said she thinks a top priority this session should be making sure that buildings run on clean energy.

“A lot of buildings at this point do combust fossil fuels indoors,” she said, “and not only does that have a significant impact on the climate, but it also has a significant impact on indoor air quality.”

Hall said the state should come up with a targeted electrification plan to incentivize utility customers to invest in electric appliances. Gov. Jay Inslee has also named decarbonizing the building sector as one of his priorities for the session, since buildings are the fastest-growing source of carbon emissions in the state.

Leah Missik, Climate Solutions’ Washington transportation policy manager, said public transportation is another area in need of attention. She noted that climate-friendly forms of getting around have other benefits as well.

“For a very long time, we have underfunded public transit,” she said, “and also have not spent enough in Washington state to ensure that folks who are not driving or cannot drive can get around safely, either by walking or even a bicycle, or something else.”

Hall said the need for action is urgent – and the state needs to be smart about it.

“Not investing right, right now, will have impacts for years to come,” she said, “and just make those events worse and worse.”

The Washington Legislature is scheduled to convene on Monday and adjourn on March 10.

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Just two people remain missing after Colorado’s most costly wildfire on record destroyed nearly a thousand homes and businesses in Louisville and Superior.

After the first significant snowfall in the Denver Metro area this winter finally helped snuff out the Marshall Fire, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis reported Sunday that federal and state officials are ramping up recovery efforts.

“To the families who have lost everything they have,” said Polis, “we are setting up everything that we can to help you get through what is likely to be one of – if not the – most difficult periods of your lives.”

President Joe Biden approved a disaster order on Saturday, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Chief Deanne Criswell, along with some 100 staff, are now on the ground in Colorado.

People needing assistance are encouraged to visit the website ‘disasterassistance.gov,’ and people with disabilities can call or text the Disability and Disaster Hotline at 800-626-4959.

Joe Boven rushed to his family’s home in Louisville on Thursday. But by the time he could make it past road closures and barricades, the house – which he said held generations of heirlooms – had already burned to the ground.

“Hundreds of years of history just went up in flames,” said Boven. “So, it’s pretty devastating. But even though all of that history is gone, it’s great that we are able to still have the people. It’s great they’re all alive, so that we can continue to create history in the future.”

The cause of the fire remains unknown. But climate scientists at the state’s top universities cite the warmest and driest period from June to December on record as a major contributor.

Boven said his family will find a new place to live, but he wants leaders to move faster to rein in climate pollution.

“Having watched so many people lose their homes,” said Boven, “and knowing that so many people don’t have a place to go now, I think it’s crucial that we really see our planet and you know, this natural environment as our home, as a whole. Because there isn’t anywhere else that we can go.”

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Record high temperatures, torrential rain, unlikely tornados and devastating wildfires led to record news coverage of climate change in October and November, according to data compiled by a researcher at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Max Boykoff, lead project investigator for the Media and Climate Change Observatory in the university’s Department of Environmental Studies, said the language being used to describe the phenomenon is also changing. It’s moved from terms like “greenhouse effect” and “climate change,” to “climate catastrophe” and “climate emergency.”

“We’ve been finding there’s an expanded vocabulary to describe what we’re seeing and what we’re finding though our research, and what we’re discussing in terms of politics and policy,” Boykoff outlined.

To gather the latest data, Boykoff’s team monitored 127 sources across radio, television and newspapers in 13 languages from 59 countries around the world. Colorado has been the latest site of intensifying climate change, when a fire fueled by drought and extreme winds swept through suburbs north of Denver, destroying nearly 1,000 homes.

While news coverage on the topic of climate change dropped off when the pandemic hit, Boykoff expects to see a sustained increase in news about the issue.

“You know, there really isn’t one, pivotal event that we found over time that changes the amount or the content itself,” Boykoff observed. “But it is a lot of those different stories coming together that create these moments where climate change is on the agenda.”

Boykoff pointed out depending on where you live, climate stories are related to agriculture, sea-level rise, drought-related fires or other extreme weather events. He also worries if communities lose local information resources and become “news deserts,” they won’t be part of the solution.

“And so, if you don’t have local reporters talking about these local issues, some of these communities then have a hard time understanding what’s going on around them,” Boykoff noted.

He added use of the term “climate catastrophe” by U.S. news outlets increased 50% between 2020 and 2021, and tripled in the United Kingdom.

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Tax credits and direct payments to companies that capture and store their carbon emissions underground are a key feature of the climate provisions outlined in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Build Back Better Act.

State environmental advocates say West Virginia’s economy could stand to gain from emerging carbon capture technology.

Jim Probst, West Virginia state coordinator with the Citizens Climate Lobby, said a price on carbon could sway lawmakers and spur energy companies to jumpstart carbon capture and storage technologies.

“So if West Virginia can find a way to capture carbon from the smokestacks of our coal-fired plants,” said Probst, “that can keep them running and can keep coal miners working. “

Critics, however, argue that carbon-capture technology isn’t developed enough to significantly curb emissions, diverts resources away from renewables, and in some cases can be used to increase oil production.

Research has shown that the Build Back Better Act, in its current iteration, could potentially slash U.S. carbon emissions in half by 2030.

Probst acknowledged that carbon-capture technology comes with a hefty price tag – but he pointed out almost all new technologies are expensive initially.

“Right now it is really expensive, and the incentives will help,” said Probst. “But long-term, the way we see it with Citizen’s Climate Lobby is that putting a price on carbon content of fossil fuels would further incentivize this.”

He said he believes that if energy companies have to pay a fee for the carbon content of their product, such as coal, for example, but can then receive a rebate for capturing that same amount of CO2, the system will further incentivize carbon capture technology.

“And with a price on carbon that is gradually increasing over time,” said Probst, “it once again helps secure the long-term viability of the technology. “

Sen. Joe Manchin – D-W.Va. – continues to oppose the Build Back Better Act, citing concerns over the bill’s cost, national debt, and increasing inflation.

Disclosure: Citizens’ Climate Lobby contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Civic Engagement, Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.

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Contributed By Brian Miller, business support specialist at milliCare Floor & Textile Care

The pandemic has brought an increased focus on wellness and safety. People want to know that the buildings they inhabit are healthy places to be. In response, facility executives are relying more and more on building health audits to show occupants they take their wellness seriously. 

With audit results in hand, these facility executives can better address and assuage occupant concerns. They can also differentiate their properties from others by showing their commitment to being responsive as their occupants’ needs evolve. 

What does this mean for building service contractors? It means developing the necessary skills to properly assess a space and understand how cleaning services contribute to occupant health. Building service contractors can use the following strategies to perform building health audits and help facility managers ensure the safety and wellness of their occupants.

1. Conduct routine spot checks on carpeted and high-touch areas. 

Spot checking well-trafficked and frequently utilized areas is a proven first line of defense in staying on top of a building’s overall health. Start by conducting a simple carpet filtration test. Remember, carpets function as indoor air filters, but they can only improve indoor air quality if they’re clean. 

Grab a vacuum with a clean canister and suck up debris from a 4-by-4-foot area. How much dry debris appears in the canister? If it’s a lot, the carpet is holding onto too much excess soil, which means it isn’t effectively filtering airborne pollutants like bacteria and volatile organic compounds. This is a potential long-term problem because it can lower indoor air quality ratings. 

This fast exercise helps BSCs determine if an indoor environment is as healthy as it can be. As managers walk around the building, they can also spot-check doorknobs, handrails and similar high-touch surfaces. If a lot of soil is visible, use a clean rag and check it for soil transfer. Then, make decisions on how to reduce soil or cleaning product buildup. 

2. Know the chemicals in the products being used. 

The chemicals used to sanitize and disinfect the property can also impact the facility’s occupants. Be sure the team is using appropriate chemicals and provide facility executives with a complete list of the disclosed ingredients in those products.

Look to governing bodies to determine whether trustworthy chemicals are being used. For example, Green Seal certifies products for health, sustainability and performance. If cleaning is being done in a cafeteria setting or other areas where food is present, check that products are food safe. 

Make sure everyone involved understands how to interpret a product’s Safety Data Sheet (SDS), as well. Each SDS has 16 sections, but it’s important to focus specifically on the pictograms and signal words. Pictograms are an easy-to-read and self-explanatory way to determine the safety of a product. With a deeper understanding of the SDS, managers can confidently relay information to facility customers. 

 

3. Check for a system to report and communicate about building health concerns. 

Many facility customers have systems for reporting and recording cleaning. It could be a shared spreadsheet available online to BSCs and building tenants or a logbook that technicians can use to note with their initials and timestamp where and when they cleaned certain areas. 


The transparent recording indicates to facility customers that the cleaning team is serious about creating healthier spaces. BSCs can also set up a text or email hotline for facility managers to report building health concerns and notify management in real time, so there is never a missed opportunity to provide more support. This happens a lot with school districts or preschools through a text line.

Consider setting up regular meetings to discuss building health with facility executives and other stakeholders, as well. Use this forum as a chance to talk about the current and anticipated measures being created to protect the building’s assets and occupants. It’s a good idea to also make it virtual so more people can attend. 

With an increased focus on health over the past two years, it’s clear to facility managers and building occupants that healthier spaces promote healthier people. BSCs can stand out as a trustworthy and reliable partner by knowing how to audit buildings for health and safety. 

Brian Miller is a business support specialist at milliCare Floor & Textile Care. In his role, he supports the company’s franchises and helps them improve their efficiency and productivity as they provide essential services to commercial facilities within their local markets. 

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