Executive Housekeeping Today - Demo - (Page 4)

FTEs (continued from previous page) while newer buildings often carry with them very high standards of maintenance. Old or new, the age of your building is an important factor. *Census/Traffic: This is also known as the “SFM killer” because if you aren’t accounting for census increases, the method will fail. It will fail because census increases (e.g., a 123% increase in ER visits over five years) will not increase your square footage by a single foot. It will, however, dramatically increase the workload for your staff. *Standards: Standards can change and if the frequencies involved in cleaning increase and the expected outcome is changed to account for even minor enhancements, staff workloads will again increase. You need to do your best to build your staff around your standards instead of your standards around your staff. Due to the problems listed above, perhaps it’s time for a fresh look at an old challenge. I recommend starting with the 447 Cleaning Times booklet published by ISSA. The booklet breaks down specific tasks involved in cleaning and then approximates the times required to complete the tasks. While there will be variations because each facility is unique, it’s not a bad place to begin. For the purposes of this article, I created a fictional area of a fictional hospital. As an example, I’ll call it Budget General Hospital (BGH). BGH is a 100-bed facility with a 60-bed Med/Surg/Peds (MSP), and they average 25 discharges per day. Now, we need to determine how long it takes my staff to clean a patient room after a discharge. Using the 447 Cleaning Times, in conjunction with facility-specific observations, I’ve determined that my average cleaning time for an Would you like to figure out how many FTEs your facility requires by using the four-step method described in this article? Then purchase your own copy of ISSA’s 447 Cleaning Times today!!! Now through October 1, 2007, I.E.H.A. will be selling copies of the 447 Cleaning Times for $10 to both members and non-members (includes shipping). E-mail excel@ieha.org and ask to receive your copy! MSP discharge is 33.0 minutes, and might look something like the following four-step method: 1. 25 discharges per day x 33.0 minutes per discharge = 825.0 MSP discharge cleaning minutes per day, or 13.75 hours per day. 2. 13.75 hours per day x 365 days per year = 5,018.75 MSP discharge cleaning hours per year. 3. A 1.0 FTE works approximately 2080 hours per year. (The figure of 2080 hours is reached by multiplying 40 hours per week x 52 weeks in the year. This figure includes non-worked hours, such as vacations and sick time.) 4. 5,018.75 / 2080 = 2.41 FTEs to take care of MSP discharges. The four-step time formula above is somewhat limited, but it can start you on the right path. There are several points to remember as you are reviewing this: 1. The numbers above are fictional and very narrow in scope. They focus on one area and a specific task within that area. 2. The numbers are based on averages. In the example above, the staff at BGH isn’t going to have 13.75 hours of discharge cleaning per day; rather, they will have an average of 13.75 hours per day over a year. In addition, soil loads will vary, which will cause fluctuations in your overall times. 3. Training times and staff turnover are not factored into the method, but are most definitely a factor. 4. At this point, try to resist the temptation to convert the 2.41 FTEs into a schedule for MSP, as it is unlikely that you have 2.41 FTEs dedicated to a single task. Of course, all of your facilities have more than just an MSP ward and some of you are not in healthcare. But that is the point. Using the method above, you can tailor it to fit the needs of your facility. Moreover, it allows you the ability to focus on what each area needs, based on predetermined standards. Used correctly, this method can be taken through an entire facility. After you have gone through each area of your facility, you should have a total number of FTEs to meet the specific requirements of your facility. Perhaps you’ll find that you have what you need already, but if your facility is like most, you’ll probably find that you are running a bit lean. This may provide an opportunity to finetune how you utilize your staff. Once you estimate how many FTEs you need for your facility, you will (continued on page 12) Is There a Solution? 4 Executive Housekeeping Today/July 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - Demo

Contents Executive Corner FTEs: A Fresh Approach to an Old Challenge Cleaning in the United Kingdom Frugal Housekeeper The Green Scene

Executive Housekeeping Today - Demo

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