What does an Office Deep Clean consist of?
Daily office cleaning includes the general tasks involved in keeping an office clean, carried out on a regular basis and following a specification. A deep clean compliments this, providing a more thorough clean than can be achieved during normal office cleaning. This blog looks at what an office deep clean consists of.
Regular vs Office deep cleaning – what's the difference?
Regular cleaning tasks would typically include vacuuming, cleaning and sanitising desks and chairs, emptying waste bins and mopping hard floors. It can also include cleaning washrooms, showers and changing rooms, kitchen and breakout areas as well as entrances and reception spaces.
A periodic deep clean reaches hard to access areas such as behind, below or above items of furniture and equipment. And it often covers areas which are too busy during normal office hours. It might also include higher level jobs such as cleaning air vents and light fixtures or the tops of cupboards and kitchen appliances which are not easily accessible.
Periodic cleaning uses specialist chemicals, equipment (eg Prochem) and processes which have been specially formulated for the intended job. For example the professional carpet cleaning products contain different chemicals and manufacturers design these for industrial rather than domestic use.
An office without specialist periodic deep cleaning over time never quite feels as clean and hygienic as one with it.
Why is it important?
The importance of having a welcoming, clean and hygienic office for employees and visitors is more important than ever. Not just cleaning the visible dirt, but also the hidden dangers such as bacteria and germs.
Deep cleaning is essential to prevent the build up of dirt which often hides behind or under furniture. Furthermore it can be extremely cost effective as it helps to protect and extend the life of carpets and soft furnishing, reducing the need to replace often.
Finally, cleaning the lesser used areas will often expose repairs or essential works, for example slow water leaks or pest infestations.
How often to schedule?
This depends on many aspects such as the office layout, usage and the use of space.
Professional contract cleaners will be able to audit the space, understand the requirements and suggest a cleaning schedule to reflect the individual workplace.
Examples
Carpet deep clean
Coffee and tea stains are the most common, but other problems are often ink, mud, food and juice marks. Using a pre-treatment and specialist carpet cleaning extractor equipment and chemicals, even stubborn marks can be removed.
Hard floor deep clean
High traffic areas become dirty over time. Specialist equipment for scrubbing, buffing and polishing can revive hard floors and help protect them. Stripping and reapplying fresh polish to seal the surface transforms floors, making them pristine and gleaming again.
Upholstery and furniture deep clean
Dirty and stained furniture is unsightly, unhygienic and gives a bad impression to staff and visitors. Professional cleaning removes a multitude of marks including spillages of food and drink, dye from clothes and general dust and dirt and will leave furniture looking clean and fresh.
Washroom deep clean
Professionally deep cleaning washrooms effectively removes the build up of dirt and germs which thrive in warm and moist conditions. The service thoroughly cleans toilets, urinals and sanitary ware as well as accessing the hard to reach areas behind pipework and the tops of mirrors and partitions. It also includes mechanically scrubbing hard floors with disinfectant and descaling where applicable.
Kitchen deep clean
This could include fully cleaning cupboards and drawers inside and out, and removing all items from shelves and worktop to clean and sanitise. It would also include a full clean to any appliances such as the fridge, microwave, toaster and dishwasher to remove all dirt and debris.
TemcoUK Facility Services provides office deep clean services
TemcoUK provides a full range of office deep cleaning services in London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Hertfordshire.
Fully insured, our teams highly trained, qualified and experienced in providing commercial cleaning services. Reliable and professional, we directly employ all staff and don't use agencies.
We supply a clear and detailed specification as part of the quotation process so you know exactly what the the job will include. We will also send task and site specific Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS) and any other required Health and Safety documentation. This also identifies any appropriate PPE for the operatives to wear during the job.
Our team will conduct a full clean tailored to your individual requirements and we use the latest and most appropriate equipment for the best results.
You’ll also receive a post cleaning report showing the before, during and after photos and including a sign off sheet.
Contact us if you'd like to find out more.
Commercial Property Management Cleaning Services
Property management is a specialist role which requires in-depth knowledge of a wide range of services. Commercial cleaning is just one of the operational support functions and often managed alongside security and catering. This blog is a quick guide to commercial property management cleaning services.
Keeping buildings clean and safe
From multi tenanted office buildings to residential blocks of flats, the priority is to keep a clean and safe environment for staff, visitors and residents.
Areas that are clean and well presented also create a good first impression and demonstrate that good hygiene practices are in operation.
Overview of Cleaning Services
The types of job are many and varied and this will be tailored to individual buildings, but typically it includes the following:-
Common parts - Commercial property management cleaning services
Common parts within a building are the communal areas such as stairwells, corridors, lifts and washrooms. For multi-tenanted buildings it may also include main lobby or reception areas too.
Maintaining the washrooms will involve not just cleaning the toilet bowls and sinks but also cleaning the floors and mirrors. And not forgetting replenishing consumables such as toilet paper, soap and hand towels. It may also include washroom services such as maintaining the feminine hygiene and nappy bins and air freshener solutions. Spaces that have shower and changing areas will require effective cleaning.
These high traffic areas tend to have a lot of wear and tear and additional periodic deep cleaning is often required to maintain their appearance. Examples are carpet cleaning, hard floor scrubbing or polishing and high level dusting to remove unsightly cobwebs, dust and debris.
Having a regular and effective sanitisation program in place for high frequency touchpoints will promote a healthy environment for all users.
Manage waste and recycling
Property Managers will require service contracts for the collection of waste from the building. Depending on requirements these contracts can cover general waste, recycling and green waste as well as specialist services such as industrial or bulky waste. Additionally waste providers can offer innovative solutions to help property managers achieve sustainability targets for the building for example zero to landfill.
Maintain external areas
External areas such as patios, lawns or roof gardens may require landscaping or bespoke cleaning solutions. Car parking areas and walkways may require specialist work such as jet washing and litter picking to keep them looking clean and maintained.
It is also worth considering if additional services such as winter gritting is necessary.
External window cleaning
First impressions really do matter and professional window cleaning can transform the appearance of a building, improving its appearance and presentation. Specialist reach and wash or high level systems produce excellent results, removing dirt and debris. The building design and layout will dictate the optimum service, with specification and frequency pre-agreed.
Pest Control services
Controlling pests in a commercial environment in vital. Quite apart from the damage to reputation and confidence, pests can physically damage property, destroy caballing and pose a health and safety risk if left unchecked. Insects, rodents and birds can spread disease and property managers must meet legal requirements to provide a safe environment.
Vacant Property Cleaning
Providing cleaning within vacant commercial property is important to maintain standards and ensure buildings are presented well, in preparation for new client viewings or to maintain cleaning and hygiene standards during a transition period.
Disinfection and Sanitisation Services
From regular scheduled sanitisations to one off disinfection requests, having access to these services helps to reduce the spread of infection. The following may be provided for suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19: Touch Point Surface Cleaning, Local Area Sanitisation and Fogging.
Residual longer lasting anti-viral surface protection can also be provided for door handles, handrails and lift panels.
More information on commercial property management can be found here.
TemcoUK Facility Services – keeping workplaces clean
Based in Uxbridge, West London, Temco has over 20 years’ experience of providing reliable and responsive cleaning to property owners, manager and estate management companies.
Clear and transparent pricing allows easy allocation of costs to the relevant parties and we can tailor this to individual requirement.
We deliver to clients in the commercial and residential sectors. This includes professional property management cleaning and associated FM services. Our priority is a clean environment for staff, visitors and residents. We have a proven track record of delivering professional, best in class services to clients.
How Daily Office Cleaning is adapting to Hybrid Working
The cleaning industry has been adapting fast to the pandemic to ensure every office environment is safe and inspires confidence to returning staff. This blog looks at how daily office cleaning is adapting to hybrid working. For more information, please check out our latest white paper.
Changes in office use
The traditional five-day office only working week is unlikely to return. Most staff have adapted rapidly to the pandemic and have worked productively from home since March 2020. The change has become the new norm, causing an enormous shift in office use.
Offices however will not disappear and many surveys such as from PWC reveal that one third of organisations believe they will reduce their office footprint by more than 30%. The same survey showed that 71% of respondents plan to increase investment in technology that enables agile working.
Communication and Collaboration
Offices will become collaborative hubs, used to add value for collaboration and communication. The aim is to foster and build the team mentality that is vital to a vibrant business. In addition it is essential for younger workers to have access to the office for mentoring and to learn and understand the business and its culture.
Team days
Reducing and changing the office space will mean that different teams might need to be allocated different days to avoid overcrowding. Offices will have to adapt accordingly. Many are already undergoing refits to radically change the space, making it more flexible for the fluid requirements of hybrid working.
Rethinking Office Cleaning for hybrid working
Office Cleaning has changed dramatically becoming more strategic with targeted areas receiving more frequent attention. As most cleaning providers have experienced, this has resulted in a re-assessment of every aspect of the cleaning process to ensure absolute clarity for clients. They will have pared every specification down to its constituent elements, task by task, to ensure every aspect is appropriate in this new world.
And of course every site is different. This means significant planning and tailoring to the cleaning schedules like never before to ensure staff understand and implement new client protocols, taking into consideration use levels, social distancing and office occupancy.
Range of Solutions
Cleaning providers work with a number of approaches to cover every contingency.
- Daily Cleaning: Using anti-viral products proven to kill coronaviruses and conforming to EN14476.
- Reactive Cleaning: having mobile teams to quickly respond to suspected or confirmed COVID cases.
- Preventative Cleaning: installing long lasting surface protection to high frequency touch points such as door handles and push plates, and using products which offer residual protection.
Up-skilling the cleaning team
The enhanced and precise demands resulting from the pandemic carry through to the cleaning requirements for the hybrid office, so high quality and well-trained staff are essential.
COVID training needs to be meaningful including the basics, how to clean and sanitise effectively and how to work within individual office protocols.
Alignment with Facility Manager (FM) teams
Close cooperation between cleaning providers and FM teams is key to deliver a work environment that is safe from COVID. Implementation can be in a number of ways.
- Matching the cleaning to office use, reflecting for example team changeover times or busier days. It should also incorporate daily priorities and be adjusted to the new demand, with cleaning schedules updated.
- Cleaning should reflect client daily priorities and be adjusted when required to prioritise sanitisations. For example on a busy day with more staff in the office, then desk sanitisation prioritises carpet vacuuming.
- Having sufficient stocks of essential supplies becomes increasing important. This would include for example soap, sanitizer and hand towels.
- To give confidence to staff, cleaners may undertake more frequent cleaning of kitchens and washrooms and any communal area.
- There is a wide range of innovative products which can be deployed on client sites to maintain hygiene and cleanliness. Examples include data driven cleaning, antimicrobial surface products with residual protection and robotic cleaning.
TemcoUK Facility Services – keeping workplaces clean
Based in Uxbridge, London, Temco has been delivering professional office cleaning services since 2001, keeping workplaces safe, clean and hygienic.
We are agile and client focused and have adapted our business in the past 18 months to reflect the new requirements of daily commercial office cleaning. We have an excellent record of professionally managing cleaning contracts, and provide a full range of services to cover all client needs.
Is it time to change your commercial cleaning contractor?
If you're not receiving the service or support from your current cleaning contractor, then switch! Daily office cleaning is more important than ever in the current environment. In this blog we look at the reasons why it may be time to change your commercial cleaning contractor.
The most common reasons why clients change commercial cleaning contractor
As an established company providing commercial cleaning services, these are some of the most common reasons we hear which prompt clients to change their commercial cleaning contractor.
No support for Contract cleaning staff
Staff on site need support and management. Training is a key part of this, not only in health and safety but also chemical training and using the correct methods to clean and sanitise. Lines of communication need to be clear and responsibilities explained and understood.
Ensuring schedules are in place and being implemented provides compliance and reassurance that the cleaning specification is being carried out correctly.
Contract documentation should be available such as company insurance and policy documents and health and safety notices.
Infrequent manager visits
Cleaning area or regional managers should be regular visitors to review the contract. Scheduled client meetings are ideal opportunities to discuss service and delivery, and plan for upcoming events or changes. For example staff returning to the workplace after the lifting of government work from home restrictions from 19th July. This is also where mangers review equipment, check stock ordering and amend staff shifts to cover holiday.
Re-occurring staff issues, especially around payroll
Nothing infuriates and demotivates cleaning staff more than incorrect pay, especially if payroll errors are made again and again. This comes down to accuracy with timesheets and communication between supervisors or managers and head office. Any pay queries that are escalated to managers or head office should be dealt with and resolved as a matter of urgency, ideally within 24 hours.
Paying the correct amount at the correct time should be the priority of every cleaning company.
Lack of clarity
What exactly is the cleaning contractor responsible for and how often should each task be done? These are basic but fundamental issues and any cleaning contractor should have clear documentation in place which details this.
Accurate and up to date specification and schedules should be available, detailing all tasks contained in the contract. These could include for example frequency of office carpet vacuums, and how often sanitisations of frequently touched surfaces (eg door handles) take place.
Providing transparency on the cleaning service leaves no room for misunderstandings and ensures a clean and hygienic workplace.
Cleaning contract not meeting expectations
It’s certainly time to change providers when the cleaning standards are simply not being met. Sometimes these slip over time and when left unchecked become accepted.
A new contractor would take time to understand the exact service requirement and incorporate this into a clear and transparent operating plan. Furthermore a new contractor can offer a fresh perspective, and challenge what has become the norm in terms of both operations and the conduct and performance of staff.
Lack of reporting and contract information
Quality audits and work schedules ensure cleaning staff consistently maintain high cleaning standards at all times. It can also include associated facility management service documentation such as washroom services or waste collections.
Online portals are an ideal method of sharing key information. This can also include other information such as the contract, invoicing summary, list of consumables ordered by month and health and safety information such as COSHH and risk assessments.
Not meeting SLA
Good Service Level Agreements (SLA) monitor the fundamentals of a contract - without these being met, contract compliance is often compromised. A quality cleaning contractor will want SLA’s at the core of their operation. They will also be willing and able to share these with clients, proving that the correct foundations are on site and in place to deliver a professional service.
TemcoUK Facility Services is a professional commercial cleaning contractor
Based in Uxbridge, TemcoUK provides daily office cleaning services in and around London.
Many clients trust Temco for their commercial daily office cleaning and the associated facility management services including waste management, washroom services and pest control. If you're thinking of switching your commercial cleaning contractor, we'd love to help.
8 questions Facility Managers should ask contractors when tendering office cleaning
The pandemic has further highlighted the important role played by professional Facility Managers, and office cleaning is just one of many services that FM’s are responsible for. In this blog we take a look at 8 questions Facility Managers should ask contractors when tendering office cleaning.
Choosing the right office cleaning contractor often starts with a formal document such as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) or Invitation to Tender (ITT).
Here are some important questions to ask.
1) How will the office cleaning contractor deliver the service?
How to deliver the cleaning specification is fundamental. Sample cleaning schedules and work plans should be part of the return document, as well as a proposed shift pattern and staffing profile. This can be amended by the successful contractor as necessary to reflect unique requirements, but the basic information should be in place from the start.
2) How will the contract be supported by Managers and Head Office?
One of the most common reasons why clients get frustrated with their cleaning contractor is that the staff are not supported by their cleaning manager or the head office. A monthly review of the contract keeps the lines of communication open and are ideal opportunities for service issues to be discussed or amended if situations change.
One way to monitor is through Quality Audits, to systematically ask a range of questions relating to the cleaning standards, room by room or floor by floor. They also help by engaging teams to work together to achieve service excellence.
The Manager has a crucial role to ensure that cleaning products are in stock, that staff training is up to date and that payroll is accurate. Incorrect pay is one of the most demotivating issues for staff.
3) Does the office cleaning contractor have the relevant accreditations & organisational structure
Core information to demonstrate that correct documentation is in place, and would include:-
- Professional accreditations – for example ISO9001, ISO14001, SafeContractor and Contractor Health & Safety Assessment (CHAS)
- Insurance – Employers Liability and Public Liability
- Financial stability – checking a credit-worthiness score gives an indication of financial strength and checking accounts at Companies House provides further insight
- Policies and corporate standards –for example in relation to environmental and sustainability issues, data protection, right to work and many more.
4) Health and Safety
Having the correct health and safety documentation in place is vital. This will include Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH), valid task and site risk assessments are in place and staff have been trained on Safe Systems of Work (SSOW). Risk Assessment and Method Statement (RAMS) should be available for all periodic work.
5) How will the account be managed?
Contracts are managed via Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and Service Level Agreement (SLA) which give information on how the contract is performing against pre-agreed targets. These should be available on a regular basis, for example in a secure online portal, and reviewed at client meetings.
Open communications and proactive management are also vital for successful contract management.
6) Onsite staff training
Training ensures compliance and consistency and reduces the risk of injury at work. Staff training would include health and safety, effective cleaning including COVID, chemical expertise and site safety and security procedures.
7) Professional Equipment and chemicals
Using professional equipment and chemicals which have been selected for the specific environment will raise the cleaning standards and enhance the customer experience. With so many products available, asking questions early in the tender process will identify if these comply with the tender requirements, for example do they have the desired environmental credentials?
8) Wide range of services
Finally, having a contractor who can offer additional facility management services makes it easier to manage the contract. Examples are high-level window cleaning or pest control. Additionally, finance teams will prefer one consolidated supplier invoice.
Professional office cleaning services from TemcoUK Facility Services
Temco has been delivering professional office cleaning services to a wide range of clients across many sectors including pharmaceutical and corporate clients.
We professionally manage our contracts with transparency and maximise operational efficiency. Our area managers schedule visits at least monthly to client sites and we have an excellent record of contract management.
If you are looking to change providers, please get in touch.