December 6, 2006—Dr. Michael A. Berry, author of Protecting the Built Environment: Cleaning for Health, recently completed a study of cleaning at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill conducted April-July 2006.
The study, commissioned by the University and conducted by a committee of housekeepers, students, faculty, environmental, HR, purchasing, facilities and safety experts, evaluated the traditional zone cleaning program currently in use at UNC versus the ManageMen Operating System 1 (OS1).
Berry reported his findings of both the traditional and (OS1) cleaning programs in terms of cleaning and housekeeping effectiveness, training, equipment, ergonomics, quality control, work loading, indoor environmental quality and building health, worker safety, physical security, and environmental sustainability.
The report, Technical Advisor’s Findings and Recommendations: A Comparison Between the (OS1) Pilot Program in Carroll Hall and Traditional Housekeeping in Dey Hall, found that a prescriptive, standardized approach to housekeeping affords the highest level of cleaning.
Traditional, non-prescriptive cleaning provides the least consistent results and in most instances leaves an unacceptable level of cleanliness, Berry found. In his final recommendation to the committee, Berry states, “From a technical point of view, the (OS1) housekeeping system is vastly superior to the typical zone cleaning system.
ManageMen is a cleaning industry education firm that has developed a standardized approach to cleaning known as Operating System 1 (OS1). Under the system, the process is workloaded to teams and each worker is trained and certified on specialized tasks. Workers are ‘kitted’ with specific tools and chemicals for each job function, which have been benchmarked as the best practice by the (OS1) Users. This simplification of the cleaning process results in a safer, healthier and easier working environment, according to the company.
For more information, visit the ManageMen Web site.
