Hooray… the end of classes is approaching!
But for the cleaning teams, it mainly means one thing: the start of the big summer school cleaning.
Even though summer seems long, this period typically only lasts 8 to 9 weeks. Between vacations, renovations, and unforeseen events, every day counts. Good planning between management, supervisors, team leaders, and employees is therefore essential.
Here are the things to plan for from May onwards to prevent the summer from turning into chaos.
Plan your vacation wisely
The major cleanup needs to move forward quickly… despite the staff being on holiday.
Several methods may work:
- Send the whole team away at the beginning of the summer;
- Distribute vacation time evenly each week;
- Maintain a core group of experienced employees on site at all times.
An important point: keep your team leader available for most of the summer. Their role becomes crucial for managing priorities, unforeseen events, and the quality of work.
Ideally, vacation requests should be finalized by April or May.
Renovations: the famous summer challenge
Ah, renovation work… probably one of the biggest sources of frustration during a major clean-up!
The key: communication.
The faster information flows between contractors and the maintenance team, the more efficient the operations will be.
Some best practices:
- Communicate the schedules of the painters and contractors;
- Clearly identify the areas under renovation;
- Install containment tarpaulins with zippers;
- Close the ventilation ducts in the affected areas;
- Plan for daily cleaning of the work areas;
- Use sticky mats at the exit of dusty areas;
- Provide industrial vacuum cleaners suitable for fine dust.
Construction dust can quickly contaminate an entire school if it is not effectively controlled. Plan a daily cleaning of the renovation area. To prevent employees from carrying dust everywhere, install sticky mats near the plastic sheeting at the exit to remove dust. Also, consider good industrial vacuum cleaners that can handle construction dust.
A step-by-step organization
A successful big clean is first and foremost a matter of organization.
Plan the work by sector and by week. Set realistic objectives and ensure constant monitoring of progress.
For flooring, several establishments are now adopting a rotating approach:
- stripping of only 1/5 of the school;
- scrubbing 4/5ths of the school;
- polishing in areas not requiring stripping and scouring.
This method makes it possible to balance the workload and reduce the annual overload.
And most importantly: incorporate more polishing into the school year. It could make your life much easier in the summer!
Check your equipment before summer
Nothing is worse than a broken machine on the second day of spring cleaning.
May or June is the ideal time for:
- inspect the automatic scrubbers;
- check the vacuum cleaners;
- replace worn accessories;
- prepare the necessary products;
- organize the maintenance facilities.
Every hour lost repairing equipment costs precious time during the summer.
Here is an interesting article on checking equipment before a major cleaning: check all your equipment .
At the end of summer, it will be time to have your floor scrubbers checked. Here is an article on the subject.’autoscrubber maintenance.
Train employees before the start of the new school year
Summer is also the perfect time to integrate new employees.
Make sure to:
- Pair new employees with experienced ones; Here's how welcoming a new employee tiler.
- explain daily tasks clearly;
- plan the work sequences;
- to offer practical training on maintenance techniques.
After an intense summer, many teams arrive tired at the start of the school year. A short period of training and reorganization before the students arrive can make a huge difference to the quality of operations.
Moreover, CF Salubrité offers technical training directly in schools.
- Training in techniques major cleaning and after construction
- Training of floor maintenance techniques
- Training housekeeping hygiene
Also consider the comfort of the employees
This point is specifically addressed to school management.
Many schools completely shut off ventilation during the summer to save money. However, maintenance crews still work physically in often very hot conditions.
Moving furniture, washing walls, floor work… the heat quickly becomes exhausting.
A few simple adjustments can greatly improve working conditions:
- leave ventilation active in occupied areas;
- provide fresh water and adequate breaks;
- install fans as needed;
Employees who are treated well will also be more efficient and more motivated.
Housekeeping premises
- THE housekeeping premises should also be able to be cleaned like any other premises, but employees must have the time. The cleaning cart must also have been cleaned for the start of school and properly arranged.
A summer that's starting to take shape now
The success of the big school clean-up depends not only on the work done during the summer… but above all on the preparation done in the spring.
Good planning allows you to:
- to avoid delays;
- to reduce stress;
- to improve the quality of the work;
- and to make summer much more efficient for everyone.
So, is your establishment ready for the big summer cleaning? If not, count on CF Salubrité to support you in your efforts.
