Computerized Management for Cleaning Services

Many maintenance departments have made significant improvements by computerizing their operations. By having a computer track work orders, they make sure important jobs don't fall through the cracks. With computerized scheduling of preventive maintenance, they reduce equipment breakdowns. Through computerized inventory control, they guarantee they have all the spare parts they need. They also guarantee the parts can be found quickly, so workers don't have to waste time searching through multiple storerooms.

So if maintenance departments are computerizing, why aren't cleaning services?

After all, there are similarities between cleaning and maintenance. In fact, the two overlap in some areas. Cleaners must respond to special work requests from their clients; they may have scheduled obligations like "strip and wax the floor once a month" or "wash the windows every two weeks"; they often perform simple maintenance tasks like replacing light bulbs or unclogging drains.

These are exactly the sort of activities that can be coordinated using a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). A CMMS typically would let cleaners:

• Record work requests from clients and pass appropriate instructions on to the workers who'll carry them out. The CMMS ensures that requests don't get forgotten, and makes it easy to see what jobs haven't been done yet.
• Manage work schedules for special tasks. The CMMS can remind you when you're obligated to do some special job (e.g. something you've promised to do once a month or twice a year) and can help plan when such jobs should be done.
• Serve as a repository for know-how. Most CMMS packages let you record information that will be useful to workers, such as special cleaning instructions, notes about where certain materials are stored, and so on. In this way, you preserve what your staff has learned through experience, even through personnel changes.
• Keep track of costs, including labor and materials. This is particularly useful when you're handling special jobs (e.g. a big clean-up after a client has done major renovations). Having a clear picture of your expenses can help you make better management decisions. (It's all about accurate information—if you've based your cost estimates on a job taking two hours a night, but it frequently requires longer, you can use this information in future decisions.)
• Justify prices to clients. When the time comes for renewing a contract, the information recorded in your CMMS can reveal how much work you actually did for the client. Does this client try to get a lot of extras for free? Are there aspects of the work that make it more difficult or time-consuming than normal? This is the sort of thing that a CMMS can easily track. The resulting reports can let you set a new price appropriate to the work you typically do...and can help you justify that price to the client, based on clear on-the-job records.
• Document that work has actually been done. For example, suppose your contract says you'll wash the windows every so often. A CMMS can not only remind you when it's time to do the windows, it can record that you've actually done it. The next time a customer questions whether you're following the contract, you can print out your records to prove you've satisfied the requirements. (This same ability can really be helpful if you're ever in a liability case—you have a record showing exactly what work you did to meet with safety regulations.)

More Services, More Income

For cleaners, a CMMS can do more than just streamline your operations. It can let you expand the services you offer, thereby offering increased income opportunities.

For example, we've already mentioned special jobs: extra tasks your staff does occasionally (once a month, twice a year, whatever). Some cleaning services shy away from such work because of the extra headaches in scheduling. Other cleaning services absorb such extras into their basic fees. But with a CMMS to keep track, you can break out special costs and customize your services to each client.

The general scheme would be to have a starter fee for basic cleaning, then extra fees for any special occasional jobs. Clients can choose whatever extras they like. The CMMS scheduling facilities tell you which client gets which extras each night, so there's never any confusion. Your clients are happy because they get the services they want. Meanwhile, you have a broader range of services for which you can charge.

Having a CMMS also lets you expand beyond normal cleaning into maintenance. For example, you might offer to change the filters in a client's ventilation system on some regular basis. Such jobs are a natural extension to standard cleaning...and a source of extra revenue for you.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that computerization can help you streamline your current operations and manage them more effectively. At the same time, it can open the door to new revenue opportunities...and increased satisfaction for your customers. Investigating the world of CMMS packages seems like a smart business decision.