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Expert Tips for Commercial Cleaning with a Hybrid Workforce

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As we continue into this COVID-19 pandemic, work environments as we know them may never go back to being the same as they were previously before the pandemic first started. This proposes a big challenge for all businesses alike as now they are faced with how to rework schedules that best fit their model, employees, clients etc. Whether you are finally starting to become over the fact of never wanting to leave your house for work again, or absolutely in love with the fact of working in your pajamas daily, some companies have started implementing a hybrid workforce as a unique way to keep people coming into the office on a somewhat routine basis. With this, you want to make certain that you are still recognizing the importance of health and safety amidst the current state of the pandemic.


Employers have actually come out and stated that with a more flexible working schedule, productivity has actually improved! Some employers fear that they are at risk of losing employees if there is a push to return to the office full time. This is where the hybrid workforce come into play. By reducing the number of people each day, employees are more willing to come in at least on a part time basis.
However, new challenges arise when it comes to modifying safety protocols. We will dive into a couple of those below.

Scheduling Cleanings

When changing your schedule in such a dramatic, newer fashion, having a cleaning plan is very important. An example of this would be that if a specific department is due in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, deeper cleaning should be done on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for that department in the building. Also, for that same instance, if another department is set to come in the following day, let’s say Wednesday, then there should be cleaning done Tuesday night before that department arrives.

Implementing Strategies

It is important to have protocols or expectations in place for your staff or employees between scheduled cleaning services. Inform your employees what the scope of work entails from the commercial cleaner as well as what they themselves are responsible for. This helps employees maintain the safety and cleanliness of their workspace between services if there is some time in between scheduled services. Some ideas for this is to have hand sanitizer stations readily available or cleaning wipes that are easily accessible.
Having a safe and sanitary workspace will help smooth the transition into implementing a hybrid workforce/working schedule. BCS Facilities Group provides custom services to best fit your needs with commercial cleaning and disinfection services.

Busting Common Myths Associated With Commercial Cleaning

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Whether or not you currently are using a commercial cleaning company, there exists many common fallacies associated with the industry altogether. Together, let’s take a look and hopefully shed some light on the truths, rather than the myths.


Only Necessary When Visibly Dirty


This one couldn’t be further from the truth. Regardless if you work in an office, warehouse, manufacturing facility etc., it is very important to maintain proper sanitation in the workspace. When you stay consistent with maintaining a certain level of cleanliness, this will ensure all clients and employees remain safe from viruses, bacteria or any type of infections or disease. You will also not have to worry about the buildup of that unwanted dust, dirt, grime. Remember, all because it’s not visible doesn’t mean it can’t cause you harm!


Subpar Service


This very well may be the case for some (not all) cleaning companies. With us here at BCS Facilities Group, we treat every job, big or small the exact same way with our core values intact. Each facility is unique in its own way and our employees are specifically trained to see the place just like you do! This industry can be filled with a bunch of overpromising and underdelivering. But, if you are a believer in treating your front-line employees well, then you will see less turnover and better results! It’s time to break that cycle of good service for a few months only to finds yourself scrambling to find a better service immediately after. We view ourselves as an extension of your staff and work with all of our clients to ensure that every partnership is of benefit to both parties involved. One that doesn’t dissolve after the initial starting period.


Too Expensive


All too often do we hear about companies saying that outsourcing their cleaning isn’t a top priority since it is believed that this can be something done in-house and not a necessary expense for them to accrue. Our response to this would be is that while you may not like seeing the “red” coming out of the bank account every month, it will behoove you in the long haul with less money and time spent! Even if it doesn’t seem like it immediately. We are a believer in “price is what you pay, value is what you get”. Stop worrying about wasting your employees time on cleaning, liabilities associated with injuries while cleaning, or even actually having someone on payroll for this and leave it to professionals to manage all that and provide more value to your facility. Our services are customizable to YOUR specific needs and are always here to serve YOU.

Why Outsourcing Your Cleaning for Your Restaurant is A Must

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Living in this new world of ours with COVID-19 still running its course, the restaurant industry has been hit especially hard. Restaurants have been trying to stay as clean as possible, which unfortunately has been becoming harder with fewer staff to maintain the workload. It can be difficult to find time to properly sanitize and maintain your space free of bacteria, germs, viruses etc. Below, we will go over some main reasons why outsourcing to a commercial cleaning company will be of great benefit to your restaurant.


Staying Open


As I am sure many of us have seen, over the last couple of years restaurants are having to close their doors due to COVID and a large part of this is due to not being sanitized as they should be to meet guidelines. With many of us (customers, staff etc.) being affected by this, it creates a bigger challenge for restaurants to stay open. When you own any business, any type of shut down can cost you a great deal of money, let alone a shutdown with this magnitude. It would behoove of any restaurant owner specifically to invest in an outsourced cleaning solution. This will take away any and all worry of making sure your restaurant is up to standard, clean and healthy as possible. You no longer would need to stretch your employees too thin, and will save you both time and money in the long haul!


Equipment Longevity


Restaurant equipment can be very expensive, and needing to replace this equipment frequently can be very costly. Keeping your equipment consistently clean and sanitized is very important, and you will create more usage out of it. This is also a good way to ensure your customers and employees stay healthy in a safe environment. Hiring a professional commercial cleaning company will be less costly that replacing damaged equipment and employees taking sick time.


Happier Employees


To continue from the previous point, retaining happy employees can be very challenging especially in today’s job market. This goes with any business, but after a work day, cleaning is the last thing they want to have on their minds. Simply, they aren’t getting paid, nor were they hired to clean. Not to mention insurance and liabilities that come along with this, that, you guessed it, costs you more time and money! Keeping your employees in their scope of work that they are responsible for will likely keep them happier, thus retention rate will be higher. Happy employees mean better customer service, which means happier customers.

Advantages of Professional Industrial Warehouse Cleaning

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Manufacturing logistics: what is it and how can I optimize it? - Interlake Mecalux
What is industrial warehouse cleaning? It’s as simple as the process of cleaning any type of larger facility, including but not limited to storehouses, factories, power plants, manufacturing facilities of all kinds. Often times over looked, this is very important to maintain especially with professional services. All too often what we will notice are companies in-sourcing their cleaning that is completed incorrectly and/or irregularly. Making sure this is done correctly and consistently is very important for your business, and we will go over a few different advantages of this.


-Time and Money


You may be able to catch onto a theme here with a good amount of our previous blog posts, but this will save you both time AND money in the long haul! Every time an employee calls out sick, you lose money. This goes with any type or line of work with previous discussions. On top of this, warehouses are where majority of the productivity is coming from. If a warehouse that houses all of your product isn’t running smoothly then what’s the point? Professional cleaning and consistently maintaining the cleanliness and safety will reduce or eliminate accident costs. Less problems = more efficiency and lessens chances of injury. This will also reduce wear and tear on equipment, residual buildup, thus creating longevity and longer usage.


-Health and Safety


As with any office, school, medical facility etc., one of the many advantages of outsourced professional cleaning is increasing the health and safety of your work environment. A lot of industrial settings often times get a bad rep for just being simply being dirtier with the nature of the work being completed. This is not usually the norm if properly maintained, and simply requires expertise for the results you desire. Clean settings will mean less chances for employees or customers to contract viruses, diseases etc. The way to reduce the buildup of bacteria and grime that carries diseases is proper and consistent sanitization. This goes across the board no matter the industry or vertical you work in.


Even more so with warehouses, given the sheer size there are many places that are not even touched in years, or ever! This solely will cause the buildup of dust, dirt, bacteria that will contribute to illness. By creating a safer and healthier environment, you will begin to notice an increase in employee satisfaction, and less turnover.


Productivity


To continue on from the above point, when you increase employee satisfaction/morale, increased productivity will ultimately go hand-in-hand. This is a direct correlation that is seen in any industry that when employees are happy, they are committed to do the best job they can. When you decide to outsource your cleaning needs away from in-sourcing, you or other employees can utilize your time more effectively and efficiently. The employees that you or someone else hire, most likely are not being hired for cleaning as well. You want them spending as much time as possible on the tasks you hired them to do in the first place. The time and money lost here will still be astronomically less than hiring an outsourced professional cleaning company. Professional cleaners have the proper equipment, products and knowledge to get the job done effectively and efficiently.



Standard Cleaning vs. Deep Cleaning – Knowing the Difference

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For most Facilities Managers, Office Managers, commercial property managers, one constant talking point is: what, exactly, is the difference between a standard cleaning service and a deep cleaning service from commercial cleaning servicers? Below, we will take a deep dive into what is usually covered in each service, as well as reviewing some benefits of having a deep cleaning.


Standard Commercial Cleaning


-Floors: For most commercial cleaning companies, vacuuming carpeted areas, and mopping hard surface flooring is included in the standard cleaning services. There may also be some spot/stain removal included as well, but don’t be surprised if an additional fee is charged for this. In most cases, standard cleaning does not include and moving of furniture pieces such as couches or appliances.


-Restrooms/Bathrooms: Sanitizing of toilets/urinals and the bases are typically included in the standard cleaning, as well as sanitizing the sink and surrounding areas. Washing of the mirrors, and refilling soap dispensers and paper goods (paper towels, toilet paper) will also be included in this as well. For the bathroom floors, this will be similar to the above point and will include just basic mopping using standard floor cleaner.


-Windows/Glass Partitions: Using standard glass cleaner, you can expect a quick wipe down, or spot cleaning of glass windows and surfaces for fingerprints, water marks, smudges etc. If you are looking for an internal/external full wipe down from top to bottom of let’s, say storefront windows or office windows, this will be an additional service charge.


-Kitchens/Break Rooms: For most surfaces and tabletops, you will be able to expect a general wipe down along with sanitizing of the sink and surrounding areas. Same idea with the floors here as well, with a basic mopping and upkeep of the floors with standard floor cleaner. Refilling of the soap dispensers and paper goods will also be included in this as well. Now, when it comes to appliances like a microwave or refrigerator amongst others, these do take additional time and will more than likely be an additional service charge.


-Waste/Trash: One of the more important aspects of cleaning a workspace is trash removal. This is part of the standard services for practically all commercial cleaning services. Trash cans can be a breeding ground for germs and bacteria if not properly and frequently removed and with a fresh trash bag placed into it.


-Furniture/Equipment: When it comes to offices, desk areas, etc., a general dusting and wipe down will occur. Spills on surfaces will be cleaned on an as needed basis. Equipment such as computers, keyboards, phones, printers, copiers will get the general dusting to ensure they look and appear as nice as possible. Sanitizing or disinfecting of these surfaces, typically is not included in standard cleaning services.


Deep Cleaning


-Floors: A deep cleaning for a waxed surface would involve a full strip and wax refinish on the floor completely. All other hard surface flooring will usually be swept and mopped and sanitized or scrubbed with an auto scrubber. For tile flooring, that pesky grout can get dirty over time and some commercial cleaning companies (BCS Facilities Group included) can get in between the tile and clean that dirty grout. For carpeting, they will be vacuumed, and in addition will include a CRB machine (2 rotating brushes rotating in opposite directions) with an Encap solution that crystalizes the dirt to extract the dirt deep in the carpet followed by a carpet shampooing.


-Restrooms/Bathrooms: A couple main differences for here include a full and thorough sanitization of all high touch areas (fixtures, door handles/surfaces). Along with this would include a full wipe down of vertical surfaces (walls, stall dividers, etc.).


-Ceiling Vents/Air Ducts: One common thing that can be missed by most is the air ducts on your ceiling. For the most part dusting is a very regular task to be completed in standard cleaning. However, high dusting is often overlooked. High corners, and vents on your ceiling are hot spots for dust buildup over time. This may or may not be listed on standard cleaning services as it is only recommended to be completed on a monthly basis. This is crucial to make sure your ventilation system remains free of anything that could cause the spread of germs throughout.


-Kitchens/ Break Rooms: Circling back to the appliances (microwave, refrigerator, etc.) this will include them to be thoroughly cleaned, wiped down and sanitized. Along with this includes all high touch areas and surfaces to be disinfected and sanitized.


-Waste/Trash: On top of emptying the trash and replenishing trash bags, the waste bins and recycling bins will be thoroughly wiped down and sanitized.


-Furniture/Equipment: Office equipment such as computers, keyboards, phones, printers, copiers and all other appliances that apply will be sanitized and wiped down. Throughout offices and desk areas, surfaces on every piece of furniture will also be disinfected, sanitized and wiped down (all disinfecting and sanitization mentioned uses CDC-recommended cleansers). This could be completed with a couple methods, but mainly using an Electrostatic sprayer, or fogger.


BCS Facilities Group provides expected services to meet YOUR needs. Break the cycle with BCS Facilities Group and contact us TODAY for a free quote.

Tired of Pest Infestations? Professional Cleaning Services May Be Your Long-term Answer

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In previous posts we have gone over numerous times about how important it is to maintain a clean workspace, especially when you are trying to keep a positive atmosphere for higher productivity, and minimizing employee sick time. These factors are all going to have positive reinforcements on your business image and appearance, which is why it is important to have your workspace professionally cleaned. There are many reasons that can lead to pest infestation in the work place such as spilled food, dirty doors (interior and exterior), desks, computers, keyboards, restrooms just to name a few. By hiring a professional cleaning company to come in on a regular basis to clean and maintain your facility, you can be assured that your workplace will stay safe and clean for your employees.


Below, are some main focus areas the keep your work place pest free:


–Trash Cans/Garbage Bins: One of the biggest causes for attracting pests is food, and where does most food waste go? The trash! It is very important to have your trash removed on a regular basis. This can obviously vary from one place to the next depending on usage and volume of people working. Always make sure to have a closed lid on your trash cans as leaving an open and full can will lead to pests with a plentiful food source! Professional cleaning companies emphasize the removal of trash each service and use the proper cleaning methods to thoroughly clean the surrounding areas and trash bin itself. This in itself can reduce pest infestation risk.

–Spills: To continue on from the above point, while maintaining the trash bins and surrounding areas themselves, this does not fully prevent you fully from the risk of a pest infestation. For example, your employees can eat food in the cafeteria or in many instances, their desks. These areas are prone to possible spillage which will attract pests to the area if not properly and swiftly cleaned. Food and/or liquids that are spilled must be cleaned up immediately. A professional cleaning company can certainly do this. Depending the extent of the scope of work, this can be the job of a potential Day Porter to maintain your facility during the day. Regardless if you go that route or not, you can be sure that a professional cleaning company will maintain and wipe down all countertops, tabletops, desktops (all surfaces) along with cleaning the hard surface flooring, carpeted areas etc. to provide a clean space.


If you ever come across some of these common signs of pests such as droppings, physical damage, dead pests, nests, you may have a possible pest infestation in and around your work place. Call BCS Facilities Group TODAY for a FREE quote to take action and avoid this happening in your work place!

Ring In The New Year With a Clean Workspace And Trusted Cleaning Company

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It’s that time again to ring in the new year, and I can’t believe we are already approaching 2022! The past couple of years have been tough on us all (to put it lightly), and with a new year on the horizon, this is our chance to make 2022 the best one yet. This is the time of year for parties galore and no, we are not subtly asking to be invited to yours, but won’t turn down an invite to do the cleanup! I bet you don’t hear that too often.


Along with a new year means new year’s resolutions. Eliminating bad habits and establishing fresh new goals to achieve. Eliminate the constant headache and the frustrating hassle to keep your office or workspace clean.

Break The Cycle

Year after year it seems to be never ending trying to find a reliable cleaning company to maintain your standards so YOU can do YOUR job and not have to always worry about if the trash was taken out last night. We believe here at BCS Facilities Group that we can be that “cycle breaker” and be that New Year’s Resolution you have always been striving for and the results speak for themselves. With an average customer age of nearly 9 years and employee tenure of almost 5 years, we know we can be there for you.


Customizable To Meet Your Needs


We’ve said this many times before, and it’s because it’s true. Every workspace is unique in its own way and one account is never the same as the next. We make sure each specific nuance or “pet peeve” for each respective space is handled with care up to your standards. We train our onsite employees to see the room as you would on a daily basis so we can see what you’re seeing and not miss that pesky cobweb lurking in the corner.


At BCS Facilities Group, we are what we like to call, big enough to do the job, small enough to care. We are here to serve in the community we live in, and we are vested in the work we do and it shows!


From all of us at BCS Facilities Group, we hope you have a happy, healthy and safe New Years, and that you resolve any cleaning issues you may have and that you find that “cycle breaker” of your very own!

Why Professional Floor Maintenance Is of the Utmost Importance For Your Office

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Floor maintenance is key when running an office, warehouse, stadium, etc. you name it. No matter the scene, floors always get some sort of foot traffic with some places heavier than others and become prone to wear and tear. Every business owner or Facilities manager wants to keep a great environment for all staff and visitors alike. Below, we will go over a few main reasons why you should prioritize getting your floors professionally maintained since flooring is a large investment for your business.


Showcasing Your Business


First impressions can make or break a relationship with a client or even a potential client. If you ask yourself one question, would you return to a business or building if right off the bat you know for a fact the place is not well maintained and often neglected? The answer is probably not! You want to be able to showcase your building to reflect what your values and brand truly are. Stop losing business or worrying about losing business because of how your building presents itself.


Regularly maintaining your floors professionally with a wide variety of advanced methods will ensure dirt and stains be removed. Whether it is wood, vinyl, marble, stone, carpet there is a method to help! Make sure your floors are regularly maintained and conduct a deeper clean annually or semi-annually to ensure the best results possible.


Losing Money with Negligence


Once again, flooring is a huge investment for your business, so you want to make sure the maintenance of your floors are better. This will provide longevity for your floors which prevents the hassle of replacing and/or repairing. Unnecessary money out the door that could be better used elsewhere. Let’s be honest, damage to your flooring over time is inevitable with constant foot traffic, debris, water damage and even sunlight all play a role in damaging your floors. But, if properly maintained and looked after this will prevent the effects from these elements from showing, and saving you the time and money to attempt to fix floors that are just simply too far gone.


With the help and knowledge from experts in the cleaning industry, it will be a lot easier to correctly identify the proper ways to care for your floors.


Contact us today at (215) 550-1820 or by email at [email protected] to learn more and schedule a site visit for a FREE quote!

3 Tips For Commercial Cleaning in the Winter Time

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With winter just a few days away – even though it may not fully feel like it – in the midst of the holiday season, lets all take some time to start preparing your office or facility for the upcoming winter months before temperatures begin to fall even further. Let’s take a look at the top 5 tips for keeping you and your employees safe this upcoming winter season here in the PA and NJ area.


Disinfect


The #1 and most important tip which you should be doing year round is disinfecting and regularly cleaning your workspace. This is as especially important in the winter months as this is the season primed for the flu and colds. It is extra important to keep your employees safe and healthy during these months. It may behoove of you to reach out to your current janitorial service to schedule an extra deep cleaning. If you do not have a service already, BCS Facilities Group provides an array of cleaning services, day or night to help protect and keep you and your employees safe.


Entryways and Walkways


With the winter months comes snow, rain sleet or all the above! This can lead to a slip and fall hazard for employees or visitors entering and exiting your facility. Ways to avoid this is to make sure you set forth safety protocols for clearing walkways or paths by using anti-slip products such as salt or even runners to absorb water by the doorways leading to the outside.


Floor Deep Clean


To piggy back off of the previous tip, flooring remains to get a lot of use as is the case year-round. With the outside elements especially the use of salt, snow and people tracking all of that in with heavy duty shoes, this can cause some damage to your floors. This is where walkway mats or carpet runners can come in handy as well.


It is very important to make sure your facility is well maintained this upcoming winter season as we all start to slowly transition back into office life. Make sure your employees are well educated about the importance of health and safety during these harsh and cold winter months ahead. BCS Facilities Group has provided janitorial services for over 30 years with our “Boots on the Ground” experts here to serve YOU with the highest quality and reliable service. Stay safe and stay healthy!

Top 3 Tips on Creating an RFP For Your Janitorial Service Needs

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Let’s start off with the number question you may be asking. What exactly is a Janitorial RFP? To put it simply, it is a document that solicits proposal, and often made by an agency or company interested in the procurement of a service, product or any asset that they deem to be valuable to qualified contractors. This is often times completed through a bidding process between these suppliers.


Below, we will go over some tips, from our experiences, to help you find a new cleaning company that is the best fit and value for your facility.


Tip #1: Don’t Oversaturate Your Search


What do I mean by this? Often times you want to give many companies the opportunity to bid for your business, but you leave yourself at risk since not every company is going to be the best fit for your facility. One example of this is you may be a large corporate office building that requires nightly cleaning along with a day porter during the day, and you may find yourself with companies bidding that specialize in medical facilities and retail stores. This may not be the best “marriage” between the two. Or, you are a very large facility and smaller janitorial companies may not have the capacity or resources to tackle a job like that.


Do some research beforehand to potentially eliminate some of this unnecessary hassle and do NOT send RFPs to a company that you know will not be able to handle the task at hand. This is a waste of their time and money and your time by reading it.


Tip #2: Keeping It Simple


RFPs are not everybody’s favorite to read since they can become a mess or a cluster of random pieces of information seemingly thrown together without any organization. While you want to give vendors/contractors as much information as you possibly can, as with anything there is a “too much”. Before just sending a mass request with a document from past RFPs make sure you are updating this and reading it over as most companies do change, adapt and grow from year to year. There may be added work from years past or different scopes of work needed. Make sure you are checking for outdated information. What information is needed for a vendor to create a good proposal. Some examples include:
Times of day the facility needs to be cleaned
How many people are in the facility
Square footage
Number of restrooms/kitchens etc.


Tip #3: Be Specific About Pain Points


Try to sit back and ask yourself a couple key questions. Are you unhappy with your current or previous janitorial company’s services? Is this switch in vendors solely cost related? Has the scope of work changed wherein the current servicer cannot get the job done? If there is one piece of advice, I can give you on this it’s be transparent. If you are honest with your issues, this will give vendors the opportunity to speak to these issues you are having and offer some solutions rather than just following the generic protocol. This will also give you a good look at their commitment to customer service as well as quality control.


If you follow these tips when creating your next RFP for janitorial services, this will create a significant connection with a distinguished and reputable janitorial vendor.