Cleaning Industry Management Standards
Introduced at ISSA Tradeshow

by Dave Frank

For me, one of the most exciting and worthwhile things about the recent ISSA/INTERCLEAN® show in Chicago was the opportunity it offered to discuss the new Cleaning Industry Management Standards that have been developed with the help of ISSA as well as large groups of industry professionals.

The purpose of the standards is to set forth policies, processes, procedures, and supporting documentation to be used by facility service providers—both building service contractors (BSCs) and in-house service providers (ISPs)—in establishing themselves as truly customer-centered organizations. The standards describe the procedures to be followed in designing and implementing high-quality management programs for cleaning organizations of all sizes.

Standards are crucial to our industry, as they are to most industries. Managing a professional cleaning organization requires hard work, dedication, and a thorough understanding of each customer’s specific needs. Moreover, in most situations, the only way to ensure service quality, efficiency, and worker performance is through the adoption and implementation of standards.

The Cleaning Industry Management Standards apply to management, operations, performance systems, and processes. Compliance with the standards demonstrates that the organization is structured to deliver consistent, quality services. The standards are also designed to apply to a cleaning organization in its entirety and are intended to allow individual cleaning companies to choose the most effective ways in which to comply. In addition, they help guide a cleaning organization so that it can set up a management system that allows it to meet its customer-centered goals.

How They Were Developed

The process of developing the standards involved many industry professionals and required the creation of a Standards Development Technical Committee. This group outlined the general framework of the standards, identified key management elements, and began the drafting process. It also developed the following five key elements of the standards:

• Management/Administration
• Quality Systems
• Service Delivery
• Human Resources
• Commitment to Health, Safety, and Environmental Stewardship

The committee was then joined by multiple industry stakeholder organizations and representatives who assisted in the standards’ development. Finally, the standards were released for full public review with comments due to ISSA by August 4, 2006. ISSA thanks all industry representatives who participated during the public review period by providing their feedback on the standards’ requirements, direction, and scope.

One of the most important elements of the standards is that they are nonprescriptive. By this, I mean that they are based on management principals and polices that have been proved to be the primary characteristics of a quality, customer-focused cleaning organization. But they do not require, recommend, or otherwise endorse any particular cleaning processes, systems, or products. Because of this, the individual cleaning organizations are allowed the flexibility to select which systems and products work best for them.

These standards are as important to BSCs and ISPs as they are to jansan distributors. As they become more a part of our industry, distributors will likely be called upon to help cleaning organizations adopt and implement the standards. This can only help foster closer and stronger relationships between the two groups, as it improves the overall respect for our industry and the services we provide.

About David Frank

David Frank, president of Knowledgeworx, Highlands Ranch, CO,  is known as “the high impact speaker who motivates.” Every year he presents over 100 seminars specifically designed for the cleaning industry. He is a nationally recognized authority with over 25 years of experience in cleaning system design, motivation, leadership, facility management, indoor air quality and numerous other topics for cleaning organizations.

Frank is an active member of the International Sanitary Supply Association who has served on the Indoor Air Quality committees for the Carpet & Rug Institute and Underwriters Laboratories to establish standards for healthy building designs, cleaning standards, and environmental remediation. He brings a wealth of information, ideas, and knowledge that will take your organization to the next level of business development.  He may be reached at 303-906-1818.

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