Executive Housekeeping Today - February 2009 - (Page 4)

RestRoom Complaints (continued from previous page) The “Coupling” or “Mentoring” Approach Cleaning problems in hotel bathrooms can lead to complaints and unhappy guests, but in a medical facility, unsanitary bathrooms are a more serious problem. Very simply, many varieties of dangerous germs and bacteria can be found in a typical medical facility, especially in bathroom areas. To make matters worse, these facilities are often used by people with weakened immune systems. Keeping bathrooms clean, even in a hospital, is no simple matter. According to IEHA member Andrew Bales, Director of Environmental Services at Mason General Hospital in Shelton, Washington,“If we wanted our bathrooms to be spotless all the time, we would have to clean them after every use. Since that is impossible, the only way to tackle the restroom cleaning/complaint problem is through effective and ongoing worker training.” Bales uses a system called “coupling,” which appears to be working well. In this system, cleaning professionals learn some basic cleaning skills and procedures before performing any actual cleaning duties. Once those skills are covered, the worker is “coupled” with a more experienced cleaning professional, usually referred to as a primary worker. “They [the new employee] work with the primary worker until they learn the ropes,” Bales says. “And if someone is getting too many complaints, we couple them once again to improve their skills.” dispensers, more typically found in a property’s public restrooms. Recent studies have found that when soap dispensers are refilled manually, by pouring new soap over the old, there is a greater risk of cross-contamination. To prevent this, older conventional dispensers should be replaced with new cartridge systems in which an entirely new cartridge is installed with each refill. This has proven to be healthier and safer. tributors as “Green encyclopedias,” helping housekeeping managers better understand and implement Green cleaning systems. Some distributors offer training programs to help a housekeeping staff remain knowledgeable on the latest cleaning systems and technologies, including Green cleaning. In addition to being knowledgeable about environmentally-preferable products, the distributor should be available to the client. The world of janitorial distributors has changed markedly in the past decade. Instead of just selling products, successful distributors are now providing services, training, and a wealth of information that can make the job of housekeepers a bit easier, while helping eliminate complaints. u Rich Parillo is Pro-Link’s Building Service Contractor Specialist. Parillo was the Director of Environmental Services at a large New York-area hospital. He then started and ran the Janitorial division of OR&L—a large construction, real estate marketing, and property management company with offices in Connecticut and Florida—into a multimillion-dollar enterprise in just a few years. • Quality control: The final component of a restroom cleaning system is quality control. During this process, the cleaning system is inspected to evaluate whether it is being properly followed. This evaluation should be in writing, in the form of either paper inspection forms or information gathered electronically. This helps formalize the inspection process. Beyond Complaints: Health We are now catering to guests from all over the world, and many are bringing with them germs and bacteria native to their own lands, but foreign to ours. Some of these “new” microorganisms can cause health problems. Viruses, germs, and bacteria can survive on surfaces for a substantial period of time—as long as four days according to some studies. The most effective way to stop the spread of disease is to use the proper cleaning chemicals and to change cleaning tools frequently. EPA-registered disinfectants should be used to clean restroom fixtures. Microfiber is preferable when cleaning restroom surfaces because tests indicate it is more effective and absorbent, picking up more bacteria than other cleaning cloths. However, the microfiber cloths must be changed regularly—after each guest room has been cleaned—to prevent the spread of infection. Other surfaces in guest rooms and other areas of a hotel have the potential to spread disease as well. For instance, high-touch areas throughout the guest room should be disinfected each day. These include light switches, doorknobs, coffee makers, remote controls, and even table clocks. Some hotel properties have encased high-touch areas with plastic covers so that they are easier for housekeepers to wipe clean. Another consideration is soap Green Calls For Astute Distributors Of course, no discussion of cleaning is complete without mentioning environmental issues. Fortunately, Green-certified products and cleaning supplies are now available to replace just about any traditional cleaning product, and they are just as effective and cost-efficient as conventional products. Ensuring the proper selection of Green cleaning products requires working with an astute janitorial distributor who knows not only what environmentally-preferable products are available, but also which would work best in various settings. It is wise to treat such dis- 4 Executive Housekeeping Today/February 2009

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - February 2009

Executive Housekeeping Today - February 2009 Contents Executive Corner Putting a Stop to Restroom Complaints Clean Soap Dispensers are Good for Business Frugal Housekeeper Executive Profile Spartan Scholarship Award Winner USGBC Tip The Green Scene 2008 IEHA Audit Report The Un-Comfort Zone with Robert Wilson 2009 Salary Survey Inside the Industry Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members Advertisers’ Index Calendar of Events Inside IEHA What IEHA Has Done For Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - February 2009

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