Cleaning uncovered

The retail sector has played a key role in the rise of daytime cleaning, and other areas are following suit. Ricky Smith, Truvox International’s UK Field Sales Manager, explains the benefits of putting your cleaning on show, and the key issues that need to be taken into consideration.

Cleaning used to be a covert operation. In the days when we had conventional working hours – largely 9am-5pm – office and shop staff went home unaware of the activities that were happening in their workplace overnight. Returning in the morning, they realised that the environment was cleaner, tidier and more hygienic – but they had little idea of who did it and how it was done.

However, a change is now taking place, and cleaning is slowly but surely coming out of the shadows. Fuelled by a number of different factors, daytime cleaning is starting to become the norm. The retail sector is often cited as the first area to really embrace this concept, but healthcare providers, schools and offices are just some of the other locations where it is now more prevalent.

Retail reasons

The internet has been named as the nemesis for many things – and there is no doubt that it has had a huge effect on the high street. As competition from online outlets increases, retailers are looking for ways to make the physical shopping experience more attractive and entice consumers back into their stores. Trading conditions remain challenging, thanks to the continuing uncertainty over the economy both here and abroad, so saving money without compromising on service is a high priority.

Daytime cleaning has emerged as an innovative solution to these problems. It started to come to prominence around six years ago, when cleaning contractors recognised that there was a need for a more flexible way to deliver cleaning services in retail outlets and shopping centres.

One of the main reasons for its popularity is the simple fact that it costs less. By cleaning your outlets within conventional daytime opening hours, you don’t have to pay a premium for an ‘out of hours’ service. It also helps to cut the energy bills of companies whose buildings had to be lit through the hours of darkness to allow cleaning to take place.

However, there is another, equally important way that daytime cleaning adds value. The fact that cleaning is being carried out in front of the customers’ very eyes reinforces the fact that the retailer cares enough for them to provide a clean and pleasant environment in which to browse and shop – something that the brands taking space in the stores will appreciate too. As well as running regular services, the fact that operatives are on the spot means that they can respond to incidents more quickly, preventing any disruption and minimising the risks posed by debris such as broken glass or spilt liquids.

Safe and sound

When operating daytime cleaning services in busy locations, there are obvious health and safety challenges that need to be taken into account.

Whether you manage a supermarket, department store, or something in between, you need to make sure that you do not put your customers or staff at risk, and that the cleaning is as unobtrusive as possible.

Cordless machines have proved to be a popular choice when it comes to daytime cleaning. The biggest attraction is the most obvious fact that they’re cordless, meaning there are no trailing leads to cause a trip hazard for members of the public or staff. Machines that are able to leave floors clean, dry and ready to walk on quickly are also preferable, as wet floors also pose a slip risk.

These health and safety issues demand that daytime cleaners have appropriate insurance and signage alerting staff and customers to take care when cleaning is being carried out. It is therefore vitally important that daytime cleaning contractors agree precisely detailed contracts with their customers, specifying exactly who is responsible when it comes to accidents and insurance.

Noise is another factor that needs to be taken into consideration when cleaning in the daytime. This is perhaps not such a big issue in retail environments, where we are used to certain levels of noise thanks to product demonstrations and background music; but schools, hospitals and care homes are a different matter. Noise can have a potentially negative effect in these types of environment, impacting on the retention of knowledge and concentration levels in lessons, or distressing patients that need a quiet environment to recover.

It’s a similar story when it comes to odour control. The smell of some cleaning chemicals can prove unpleasant for certain people, and there is the potential to irritate the nasal or bronchial tracts of those who suffer from allergies or underlying health problems. Dust control systems are also useful in this regard, helping to protect shoppers, staff and operatives, and – especially in the retail environment – merchandise or clothing on display.

A clean corporate image

In so many aspects of life, image is everything, so cleaning operatives and their machines must look good if they are going to have a daytime audience. Clean, comfortable and smart uniforms are a must, helping to motivate cleaning staff and help them feel part of a valued team. It also means they are easily identifiable to other workers and customers, highlighting the invaluable jobs they do and ensuring that they are ‘on call’ should a cleaning issue arise. It’s now even possible for cleaning machines to feature the corporate colours and logos of the cleaning contactors, further enhancing and maintaining a consistent image.

When choosing machines for daytime cleaning it’s clear that their impact on three of our five senses – sight, hearing and smell – needs to be considered carefully. Daytime cleaning is here to stay, and as it continues to increase in popularity, cleaning machine technology will develop to provide even more effective solutions.

www.truvox.com

This article was published in The Flooring Magazine – August 2012