3 Ways to Create an Efficient Cleaning Plan for Your Cleaning Team

With cleaning, as with most things in life, there is rarely one right way to do it. There are a variety of factors that determine the right approach for each facility and team.

When setting up a strategy, BSCs and cleaning team managers must consider the facility, the needs of the client, required tools, and the number of employees necessary to get the job done; plus, they must consider available time slots, based on the facility. Cleaning an office is different than cleaning a warehouse, and cleaning a hotel lobby is different from cleaning a retail store.

To ensure a cleaning team meets the goals that have been set by a BSC or cleaning team manager, they must be provided with a clear and detailed plan. Working with a schedule has proven to be more effective and productive and will help to deliver better results overall. Consistency is key to achieving the standards of cleanliness that are expected.

Plus, having set guidelines is beneficial to your team, this way they know exactly what is expected of them each shift. Besides, a clear cleaning plan with an incorporated checklist can yield much better results, than simply listing the desired outcome.

“A cleaning checklist is a great way to record what has been completed by checking off tasks as you finish them such as walls, windows, doors, etc. This will help to eliminate missed tasks, increase efficiency, and do away with backtracking,” according to TheJanitorialStore.

Adding a checklist to your plan will give your cleaning team a clear overview of what needs to be done during their work hours. They can check tasks on their list while they work, giving them a sense of accomplishment. A feeling of achievement can contribute to higher job satisfaction, resulting in happier employees.

How to set up an effective cleaning plan

A clear and detailed cleaning plan offers many benefits for BSCs and cleaning managers, as well as their teams. But how do you create an effective and coherent schedule?

According to the Janitorial Manager, it is most important to: “take the time to understand the flow of the concerned facility and build the cleaning schedule in a way that maximizes the personnel and resources available.”

To start building your cleaning plan, it’s important to start with the basic information. Establish the “what, where, how, and when” first. What needs to be cleaned, where it is located, how should it be cleaned, and when does this need to happen?

After you have compiled a list of all the tasks that need to be done and where in the facility they are, you should look at how they need to be cleaned. Some things might require more time, more products and equipment, or more employees. These details are crucial to include in your cleaning plan.

Once the “what, where, and how” are determined, the last point is to know “when” and this includes how often a task should be done. Split up your team's cleaning tasks into three main categories: daily, weekly, and monthly.

• Daily activities might include: vacuuming and mopping the floor, emptying trash bins, and disinfecting any high touch point surfaces.
• Weekly tasks can be things like cleaning an oven or microwave, maintaining visible areas that are not touched often, like paintings and pictures, and cleaning the windows.
• Monthly assignments can consist of deep cleaning carpets, polishing floors, vacuuming furniture, and dusting high ceilings.

This information is crucial to creating a consistent and effective cleaning schedule for a longer period.

Tools you need to build your efficient cleaning plan

1. Fleet tracking software for optimal time management

In short, the main goal of a cleaning plan is optimal time management to achieve the highest efficiency. Once it has been established what to clean and when to do this, you should define what the best way is to execute the task. In this context, the best way means the quickest way to accomplish the desired results.

Let’s look at an example. Cleaning the floor surface in a large facility can be a very time-consuming task, even when you work with cleaning equipment. Thus, this assignment must be included in detail in your cleaning schedule.

Developing efficient cleaning routes is the first step you should take when optimizing this task. To figure out which way works best and quickest, test out different routes to see which one is the most optimal for your facility.

To measure the efficiency of each route, it can be extremely helpful to have data that gives you evidence of the achieved results. ICE Cobotics cleaning equipment comes with i-Synergy, fleet management software that provides BSCs and cleaning team managers with all the necessary information to find the most efficient way of cleaning.

Fleet tracking software gives BSCs and team managers remote access to data like machine operator, time stamps of the start and end of cleaning, machine run time, as well as total square footage cleaned. Comparing this data for each tested route will ensure you choose the most effective way to clean and incorporate this into your cleaning schedule.

In this way, managers can create a cleaning plan that will build on collected data to give their team a solid basis to work on. Fleet management is not only helpful in creating your cleaning plan, but it will also help to prove your efficiency once it is in use.

These tools help BSCs and cleaning team managers speak to a confirmed clean. They can show evidence to clients that their area has been completely cleaned and ensure that it is up to the standards set by building and property managers.

2. Autonomous solutions so staff can be more efficient and productive

Time management is the key to creating an effective cleaning plan. But sometimes, there is just too much to do and too little time. When this is the case, BSCs, and cleaning team managers must find a way to get all the work done.

More employees with the same amount of time do work, but what if you buy your existing cleaning team more time? This does not mean increasing their work hours, which can increase the strain and diminish their productivity. What it does mean is taking certain repetitive and time-consuming tasks off their hands, allowing them to take on other assignments.

This can be done with the help of automation, such as autonomous cleaning equipment. The autonomous floor scrubber Cobi 18 by ICE Cobotics can do just that. Floor cleaning is a lot of work, but Cobi can do it alone safely and efficiently, at any time.

While Cobi takes over this laborious task from the cleaning team, time will now be available to spend on other tasks of the cleaning process. These hours can now be assigned to tasks in your schedule that otherwise might not get done or need more time to achieve better results.

Moreover, a little more time will allow some room in your cleaning plan for any unforeseen errors or some more breathing room for your cleaning team.

3. Active maintenance to help decrease machine downtime

Once your cleaning schedule has been established, the first hurdle has been taken. But the race is not finished yet. Consistently sticking to the schedule is the next step to ensure the effectiveness of your cleaning plan.

Usually adhering to a schedule is no problem for a cleaning team since it provides them with some structure and peace of mind during their workday. The real issue is usually caused by another factor, the equipment cleaning staff is given to use.

Because cleaning equipment is a huge aid in spaces, it can cause problems in the effectiveness of your cleaning plan whenever it malfunctions. Therefore, keeping your tools and equipment in good shape can spare you time and eventually money.

Cleaning and storing it in the right way will keep it working optimally, ensuring your team has all the tools needed to stick to the cleaning plan.

ICE Cobotics offers equipment through an all-inclusive subscription model, which offers you the extra benefit of active maintenance.

Technicians remotely monitor any issues and if the problem cannot be solved remotely, they will dispatch a technician to the site to fix the problem within 48 hours. During this process, all the information on issues is saved, which allows you to set up a cleaning maintenance plan that is always one step ahead.

Notifications get sent to machine users letting them know when a machine needs routine maintenance or a part needs replacement.

In this way, problems are solved before they occur, which works to reduce unnecessary downtime. This ensures your cleaning equipment is always ready to work and assists your cleaning team in sticking to the cleaning plan.

ICE Cobotics is an industry-leading technology and cleaning equipment company. Reach out to our experts for more tips and information on how to set up an effective cleaning plan!