You have likely invested much time, effort, and money in
your selection of a janitorial service provider for your school or commercial
facility. Their ability to provide long-term cleaning services that meet your
requirements will depend on the sustainability of their operation. Is your
current janitorial service provider operating in a manner that will be
sustainable into the future? 
Whether you are a BSC or an internal operation providing
cleaning services within your own facility your performance will be measured,
in large part, on your ability to maintain restroom environments that are
clean and healthy.
Effective restroom cleaning involves not only the spraying and wiping of
surface areas but also requires knowledge and application of various
disinfection chemicals and procedures. A few points that should be
considered.....
In our previous two posts Selecting the Right Commercial Cleaning Contractor Pt.1 and Selecting the Right Commercial Cleaning Contractor Pt. 2 we discussed several of the key factors that you should consider when
hiring a commercial cleaning contractor for your facility. In those posts we
covered, Communication of Requirements, Contractor Experience, or Selection
and Training of Cleaning Staff, Quality Control, Green Capabilities, and Safety. In
this post, we will conclude the three-part series by providing insights into
areas related to:
In our last post, Selecting the Right Commercial Cleaning Contractor – Pt. 1, we reviewed three of the factors that should be
considered when hiring a commercial cleaning contractor. In that post we
discussed: Communication of Requirements, Contractor’s Experience,
and Hiring and Training of Cleaning Staff. In this post we will
highlight:
Congratulations to Maria Vargas, our October Team Member
of the Month! Maria has been working with SMO as a Cleaning Technician in
Greensboro since 2003. She was nominated by her Account Manager, who said
‘Maria is a great employee – it seems like she never tires and she always works
with a smile on her face.’
SMO is very blessed to have many long-term team members that help make us an industry leader. We would like to take a moment to recognize those who will be celebrating a work anniversary in May. We are very appreciative of your hard work and dedication to SMO and our customers. We are blessed to have you on our team. Congratulations!| Name | Years |
| Leroy Haywood | 19 |
| Duryea Taylor | 13 |
| Eudoxia Lara | 13 |
| Maria Murillo | 11 |
| Ibra Thiam | 10 |
| Emma Fuentes | 9 |
Its your birthday! Its your birthday! We would like to wish the following SMO team members a very happy May birthday.| Name | Birthday |
| Carolyn Woods | 2 |
| Naeema Graham | 2 |
| Dana Calloway | 4 |
| Ofelina Cortez | 4 |
| Steve Gardner | 4 |
| Jasmin Olmedo Mendoza | 5 |
You want your facility to be a clean and healthy environment
for your employees. Hiring the right commercial cleaning contractor is one of
the most critical aspects of reaching that objective. As with the
selection of any service provider your ability to hire a cleaning contractor
that will meet your expectations will require that you assess several important
factors. Those factors would include:
Any cleaning service provider is only as good as its
cleaning staff. As our economy continues to improve, and unemployment rates
continue to fall, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find, hire, and retain
top-notch cleaning personnel. However, there are a few steps you can take to
increase your odds of success in this increasingly competitive environment.
A Housekeeping Quality Control Program is one of the most
critical process assets within any cleaning operation. Your quality control
processes are the backbone of your operation and, when properly developed and
implemented, they provide the necessary inspection and corrective action
routines to ensure that you are meeting the cleaning requirements of your
organization. An effective Program would cover the following:
Employees are the most critical asset within any business
enterprise. The people that make up a top-notch cleaning operation are
hard-working and conscientious. They are the foundation of the industry and an
asset that should be developed and fostered. The competition for skilled
cleaning service employees continues to increase, making it increasingly
critical that a cleaning service provider take proactive steps to ensure that
it has an active, and effective, employee engagement program.SMO is very blessed to have many long-term team members that help make us an industry leader. We would like to take a moment to recognize those who will be celebrating a work anniversary in April. We are very appreciative of your hard work and dedication to SMO and thankful to have you on our team. Congratulations!| Team Member | Years |
| Etta Tweedy | 19 |
| Maximina Cisneros | 12 |
| Raul Ortiz Rico | 12 |
| Elizabeth Granados Gonzalez | 8 |
| James Julian | 6 |
| Graciela Garcia Maya | 6 |
Its your birthday! Its your birthday! We would like to wish the following SMO team members a very happy April birthday.| Team Member | Birthday |
| Gennie Pittman | 1 |
| Lamont Bennett | 1 |
| Antwan Meyers | 2 |
| Angelica Chavez Garcia | 3 |
| Dominique Woods | 3 |
| Allison Martin | 4 |
One critical aspect of many cleaning services,
whether internal operations or Building Service Contractors, is the cleaning of
commercial carpeting. Few areas of a facility take as much daily abuse as
carpeting. Commercial carpeting typically represents a significant investment.
That investment can be protected by adopting effective carpet maintenance
procedures. What are some of the components of an effective commercial carpet
cleaning program?
In our last post, Creating an Effective Green Cleaning Policy - Pt. 1, we reviewed the typical goals, roles and
responsibilities as contained within many Green Cleaning Policies. In this
week's installment we will discuss a few of the more operational aspects of a
typical Policy.
Does your cleaning operation have a "Green
Cleaning" program? If so, is your green program supported by a Green
Cleaning Policy? What are the typical components of such a policy? Green
Cleaning Policies may vary a bit across different organizations; however, the
most effective policies do share some common components and characteristics. In
this article we will review the typical goals, and the description of roles and
responsibilities, as contained within many Green Cleaning Policies.
In our last post, Is CIMS Right For Your Cleaning Operation, we touched on some of the
advantages that a CIMS certification could bring to your cleaning operation. In
this post we will provide some additional information and insights on the key advantages
of CIMS Certification.
Whether you are a Building Service Contractor or an internal
operation providing cleaning services within your own organization you may be
considering obtaining a CIMS certification. What does that involve? What are
the advantages of being CIMS certified?
Congratulations to Teresa Pangallo, our September Team
Member of the Month! Teresa is a supervisor for SMO in Forest City, NC. She has been with SMO since
June, 2016. She was nominated by her Account Manager, Ben Hawkins, who said ‘Teresa always
gets excellent inspection scores, has great customer rapport and a great
attitude.’ David Murphy, SMO President,
added “We are very thankful to have Teresa and her team as part of the SMO
family. She does a great job in leading her
team to care about the cleanliness of our customers facilities”.
In last week's post, 6 Myths About Green Cleaning Part 1,we
discussed three of the top six Green Cleaning myths. In this post we will
review the other three myths that continue to create misinformation and confusion.SMO is very blessed to have many long-term team members that help make us an industry leader. We would like to take a moment to recognize those who will be celebrating a work anniversary in March. We are very appreciative of your hard work and dedication to SMO and thankful to have you on our team. Congratulations!| Team Member | Years |
| Diana Wilson | 22 |
| Maria Vargas | 15 |
| Maria Isabel Perez-Perez | 10 |
| Yolanda Garcia Lopez | 10 |
| Pedro Hernandez | 9 |
Its your birthday! Its your birthday! We would like to wish the following SMO team members a very happy March birthday.| Team Member | Birthday |
| Anthony Ratliffe | 1 |
| Eudoxia Lara | 1 |
| Isham Dunn | 1 |
| Kenneth Alford | 1 |
| Cheryl Smith | 2 |
Congratulations to Charmaine Rippy, our August 2017 Team
Member of the Month! Charmaine is a Site Supervisor in Gastonia for SMO, and
has been with us since October of 2015. She was nominated by her Account
Manager, who said ‘Charmaine is always on time. She has a good attitude and is
very kind and professional with our customers.’
Supreme Maintenance is very serious about the
safety and well being of our team members.
Prevention of occupationally induced injuries and illnesses is of such
consequence that it will be given precedence over operating productivity. To the greatest degree possible, management
will provide all mechanical and physical protection required for personal
safety and health, but our team members bear primary responsibility for working
safely. A little common sense and
caution can prevent most accidents from occurring.
The establishment of an effective training program is a
crucial—but often overlooked—component in the development of a high performance
custodial service. As with training in any field that requires specific
knowledge and skill sets your custodial training process should utilize the
best adult learning principals, keep safety first, and be consistent throughout
the organization. An effective custodial program for your
organization will consist of the following key elements:
SMO University will be presenting a personal
enrichment class for SMO team members to help them prepare their own
taxes. Afterwords, Sandra Savageau, CPA from Councilman Farlow
Marlowe & Co PLLC will be available to answer SMO team members tax
questions for FREE. See details below:
Winter weather is in full swing
across much of the country and it can be a beast on your floors, especially for
VCT. Snow, slush and ice melt are
tracked in on shoes and can make resilient floors dull and lifeless. If you want to keep your floors looking great
throughout the winter it’s important to have a solid winter floor care program
in place. The three tips below can help
your keep your facility’s floors looking their best during the winter
months. 
We are the midst of one of the
worst Flu seasons on record. The CDC
recently announced that for the first time since monitoring began 13 years ago,
that every part of the continental U.S. showed “widespread” flu activity. Proactive Facility Managers can take the
following steps to help reduce the spread of the flu in their facilities. 
More and more organizations today
are considering the benefits of an outsourced janitorial service program. It seems to be the trend with many facilities
but is it right for everyone? Each
individual facility should carefully consider the following when evaluating the
outsourcing option. 
| Team Member | Years |
| Marlene Lash | 23 |
| Delfina Vazquez | 16 |
| Linda Hanna | 12 |
| Azucena Avellaneda | 11 |
| Candelaria Zacarias | 10 |
| Fernando Valdiviez | 8 |
Its your birthday! Its your birthday! We would like to wish the following SMO team members a very happy February birthday.| Team Member | Birthday |
| Cortez Covington | 1 |
| Goldline Shelton | 1 |
| Yolanda Garcia Lopez | 1 |
| Adam Collins | 2 |
| Candelaria Zacarias | 2 |
| Hilaire Pagnou | 2 |
| John Suarez | 2 |
Christmas is
always a special time of year at SMO as our team members celebrate the holiday
season and this year was even better than ever.
The Christmas celebration started with a new tradition of giving as the
SMO management team and office staff donated gifts to the Salvation Army’sAngel Tree Program. 
