Custodial Services

• Introduction
• The Mission and Purpose of Custodial Services
• A Road Map for Successful Custodial Operations
• Custodial Audit
• Benchmarking Processes
• Staffing the Custodial Operation
• Cleaning as a Process
• Toward Continuous Improvement
• The Environmental Role of Custodial Services
• Toward the Future
• Selling Our Story - The Value-Added Component
• Putting It All Together
• Summary

Introduction

Visiting college and university campuses across the nation is a unique and invigorating experience. Even though the primary roles of educational institutions may be advancing the education of students and research, it seems that no two campuses are the same. Some campuses may have one million square feet or less of building space, and other campuses may have tens of millions of square feet. Some campuses may be old and others new; some may be urban and others rural; some may cover massive acreage of land and others may be crammed in between existing city buildings.

Regardless of the differences, some measures come to mind that can impact a visitor's perception of any campus. First impressions are lasting impressions, and when one walks on the campus for the first time, the appearance of the grounds and the buildings will have an immediate impact upon the visitor, the student prospect visiting the campus, or the student's bill-paying parents. A growing body of research clearly indicates that the appearance of the grounds and the cleanliness of buildings have a direct impact on student recruitment and retention at institutions of higher education (David Cain, Ph.D., and Gary L. Reynolds, P. E., "The Impact of Facilities on Recruitment and Retention of Students," APPA Facilities Management Article–Part One, and APPA Facilities Management Article–Part Two, 2006).

An institution that wishes to attract the best and brightest students and researchers needs to attend to these details and maintain the optimal level of appearance. Several research projects commissioned by APPA have highlighted and clearly documented the importance of the appearance of grounds, and the appearance and cleanliness of buildings on students. A recent study by Jeffrey L. Campbell, Ph.D., and Alan S. Bigger, M.A., Cleanliness & Learning in Higher Education (APPA, 2008), emphasized the correlation of students' perception of the impact of cleanliness on the learning environment.

In addition to research conducted about the visible impact of cleaning on a campus, Dr. Charles P. Gerba of the University of Arizona has conducted some solid research. A growing body of research demonstrates a correlation between clean facilities and lower absenteeism in institutions, as exemplified by Dr. Gerba's study, Cleaning Desktops and Other Classroom Surfaces Reduces Absenteeism, which chronicled a 50 percent absenteeism reduction when certain measurable cleaning processes were practiced. Viruses that cause influenza, diarrhea, and respiratory illness commonly occur on school-age children's desktops and other surfaces in educational facilities. Every time these surfaces are touched, viruses can be transmitted to healthy individuals. Office buildings are not exempt. During the cold season, Dr. Gerba's group found cold viruses on surfaces in a third of offices across the country. Thus, not only does cleaning complement a student's ability to learn, it can also contribute to a student's overall health. One of the most significant contributions of Dr. Gerba's research is that it documents the existence of a clear relationship between cleaning and health.

As the body of research demonstrating the importance of custodial operations at institutions grows, there is increasing competition among institutions to attract the best, and parents and students are expecting the best at an affordable price. The students of today are savvy consumers as they select the institution they wish to attend. When students visit campuses on recruitment tours, they are looking closely at not only the academic offerings of an institution, but also the types of resources that the mix of buildings offers on campus, and their evaluation of these buildings could be significantly impacted by the cleanliness, or lack of cleanliness, of the buildings. Keeping buildings clean is an important element in bringing students to our campuses, and retaining them once they are there.

However, even though there is mounting empirical evidence that the appearance of the grounds and buildings and the cleanliness of the buildings is important in recruiting and retaining students, there is an increasing and seemingly insatiable desire for these operations to become more efficient and less costly, without these measures having a significant impact on the level or quality of services provided. APPA's Operational Guidelines for Educational Facilities - Custodial, 3rd edition (2011) documents quite clearly that there is a law of diminishing returns. We may seek to decrease operational overheads and clean more space with fewer custodians, yet as we do so, and as cleaning is done less frequently, appearances will suffer. In this environment, it is critical that managers understand the important role of custodial operations, and that there is a clear and inseparable relationship between custodial services and the academic mission of our institutions.