Team Cleaning versus Zone Cleaning

 

Which is For You?

 

Even small janitorial companies should look at the possibility of implementing either a “team” or “zone” approach into their cleaning practices. Incorporating one of these systems into your maintenance program can result in more efficiency in your cleaning business, thus saving you more money and adding profits.

Evaluate the Building

Before you decide on a cleaning system to use, take a careful look at the building you are cleaning and make note of the building’s needs. It may be time-consuming, but a thorough evaluation of the building can make the cleaning more efficient for your staff. Once you identify a building’s specific needs, you can decide if zone cleaning or team cleaning provides the most benefit.

 

What is Zone Cleaning?

Zone cleaning means one employee performs all tasks for a specific floor or section of a building. This system gives the worker a sense of “ownership” as they are responsible for a specific area. The individual gets to know all of the ins and outs of that specific area..

 

Because the individual performs all the cleaning tasks for their building or area, there is less of a chance of boredom, which can be a problem with other forms of cleaning. In addition, security is less of a concern as fewer individuals will have keys to a particular building or area.

 

What is Team Cleaning?

Team cleaning is almost the exact opposite of zone cleaning. Team cleaning groups related tasks. A team of specialists go through the area systematically. Rather than cleaning a specific area, each individual on your cleaning staff performs a specific task. Zone cleaning tasks are generally broken down into the following areas:

 

1. Light Duty Specialist: dusting, emptying trash, spot cleaning.

 

2. Vacuum Specialist: vacuuming carpets as well as hard floors.

 

3. Restroom Specialist: cleaning, sanitizing, and restocking supplies in restrooms.

 

4. Utility Specialist: cleaning lobby areas, spot cleaning glass, mopping and scrubbing hard floors, and hauling trash to dumpsters from central collection points.

 

You may want to customize a specialist’s duties to fit a particular building. One of the advantages of team cleaning has to do with training. You do not have to train an employee in all areas of cleaning. It may even be difficult to find employees that are adept enough to become an expert in all areas of cleaning. By focusing on certain types of work, the team members will become more skilled and efficient in their particular tasks, meaning greater overall efficiency and an overall cleaner building.

 

Team cleaning also means less equipment. With zone cleaning, each cleaning employee needs a vacuum, broom, and restroom cleaning supplies. When using a team cleaning approach you only need one “whole set of equipment” for an entire building as each individual will only use one piece of equipment for each task.

 

Which System Suits my Building?

There are benefits to each cleaning system, and the cleaning system you use in your buildings will depend on several factors. This includes the size of the building, the number of employees cleaning in the building, the number of buildings you clean, and your client’s individual needs. Implementing the right cleaning system will help keep your costs down and your profits up.

 

Additional Considerations

With zone cleaning, each janitor is responsible for every cleaning task from vacuuming to cleaning restrooms in a given area, usually the entire floor. So, for example, in an eight-story building, a cleaning crew will require eight janitors, each equipped with their own tools a costly scenario in terms of labor and products.

 

Also, each janitor will work at his or her own pace and as a result, those janitors who finish faster will be asked to help those still working. This can create conflict between janitors. And since no two janitors are alike, each one will clean to individual standards, making it hard to supervise a facility and achieve the same desired level of cleanliness.

 

However, with team cleaning, fewer employees, working as one unit, can clean the same amount of space. Each team member is responsible for a specific task light-duty work, vacuuming, restroom cleaning, or project work. Since janitors are concentrating on specific tasks, they can clean faster. It is also easier to supervise because all work is being done to the same standard. For example, one janitor is performing all the vacuuming. He will vacuum to the same standard on the first floor as he would the eighth floor.