Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009 - (Page 8)

Frugal (continued from previous page) from; likewise, watch for pricing trends amongst companies in the cleaning industry, as some may tend to be higher than others. • Analyze your department profile: The most costly element for custodial and housekeeping operations is personnel. However, the amount of personnel needed for a department to provide services is driven by the time it takes to complete a task, the frequency of the task, and the amount of area to be cleaned. An adjustment in any of these elements will have an impact upon the bottom line, and may have minimal impact upon appearance. Asking tough questions may provide you with tender results that do not adversely impact operations. For instance, is it really necessary to empty trash in an office every day? Does every square inch of an office need to be vacuumed daily, or only high-use areas daily and around baseboards weekly? Is the right equipment being used to perform the task at hand? Using a sixteen-inch vacuum to clean a carpeted, unobstructed hallway that is eight feet wide is a total waste of labor (and very expensive). A wide-area vacuum would be much more effective. We have talked about rainbows, leprechauns, pots of gold, and umbrellas. What really ties all of this together? Facilities managers and employees are the fabric that covers the umbrella and holds these concepts together as we work as a team to weather the rains and storms of life. By working together with our teams to position ourselves and our companies for the future, we will come out stronger, leaner, and maybe even find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow—a more effective, efficient, and flexible organization that adds value to our employees and customers. By utilizing the ribs of the umbrella to support our staff, we’ll be able to weather the storm. During the years that I lived in Ireland and traveled across Ireland with my parents and sister, we never did find any pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, nor did we find any leprechauns. However, we did learn about the lesson of the rainbows that always return after the storms as a symbol of hope. While we had to walk through many rain storms during our years of growing up, we used our umbrellas to help us walk through the rains without getting drenched. As long as the ribs of the umbrella were functioning properly to support the fabric of the umbrella, we made it through the rain storms dry. Likewise, as we weather the economic storms that buffet our companies and even our homes, may each one of us claim the promise of the rainbows after the storm and use our strategic umbrellas to guide us through the rain to the sunshine ahead. In the words of a traditional Gaelic blessing: “May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.” Happy St. Patrick’s Day one and all! u © Copyright 2009. Alan S. Bigger and Linda B. Bigger. Alan Bigger, REH, is the Director of Facilities at Earlham College in Richmond, IN, and President of APPA. Linda Bigger is a freelance editor. E-mail them at frugalperson@comcast.net. IEHA Board of Directors President—Marvin Ellsworth, REH (2-year term) • Village Shalom • 20 Dawn Avenue, Belton, MO 6402 • (93) 266-8449 • Fax (93) 266-8442 • mellsworth@ieha.org [2008-‘0] President-Elect—Eric Bates, REH (2year term) • IEHA, 00 Eastwind Dr., Suite 30, Westerville, OH, 4308 • (920) 29-982 • ericfbates@yahoo. com [2008-‘0] Secretary-Treasurer—Sherry Sidwell, REH (2-year term) • Community Hospital • 55 N. Madison Avenue, Anderson, IN 460 • (765) 298-558 • Fax (765) 298-5864 • ssidwell@ecommunity.com [2008-‘0] Director-at-Large—Debra Archbald, CEH (4-year term) • Peabody Hotel Orlando • 980 International Drive, Orlando, FL 3289 • (407) 345-4402 • Fax (407) 345-4459 • Debra.archbald@ peabodyorlando.com [2008-‘2] Director-at-Large—Michael Patterson, REH (4-year term) • Circle Family Care • 038 South Prairie, Chicago, IL 60628 • (773) 307-429 • Fax (866) 466-4026 • iehadirectoratlarge@comcast.net [2008-‘2] Director-at-Large—Anna Rodriguez, REH (4-year term) • Valley Regional Medical Center • 00 A E Alton Gloor, Brownsville, TX 78526 • (956) 3507820 • Fax (956) 350-7823 • anna.rodriguez@hcahealthcare.com [2008-‘2] Director-at-Large—Diana Ronning, CEH (2-year term) • Swedish Medical Center • 747 Broadway, Seattle, WA 9822 • (206) 386-3436 • Fax (206) 386-2875 • diana.ronning@swedish. org [2008-‘0] Director-at-Large—Edward Vizvarie, REH (2-year term) • Howard Center • 208 Flynn Avenue Suite 3J, Burlington, VT 0540 • (802) 488-6970 • Fax (802) 488-6974 • edv@howardcenter.org [2008-‘0] Director-at-Large—Janet Wiggins, CEH (2-year term) • Sonterra Health Center • 854 Sonterra Place, San Antonio, TX 78258 • (20) 545-4800 • Fax (20) 679-4950 • monarch7121@yahoo.com [2008-‘0] Log on! www.ieha.org 8 Executive Housekeeping Today/March 2009 http://www.ieha.org

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

Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009 Contents Executive Corner Why Integrated Cleaning and Measurement is Good for the Cleaning Industry Hygienic Green Cleaning - The Next Wave Frugal Housekeeper Integrated Cleaning and Measurement: A New Approach to Housekeeping and Sanitation Feature Article What's in YOUR Janitor Closet? The Green Scene 2009 Convention Information Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members Advertisers' Index Calendar of Events Inside IEHA What IEHA Has Done For Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009

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