By Summer Lightner, Kaivac
When it comes to school facility maintenance, innovation can change the game. Acquiring just one innovative new cleaning tool or system can enhance cleaning, empower workers, and create differentiated results including a thriving learning environment. In my work for Kaivac, I have seen it firsthand. When custodians get a new system that is ergonomic and efficient – a true innovation - they feel invigorated in their work and eager to make a difference. The benefits of acquiring innovation are obvious. What is less obvious is how to get innovation into the building.
Over twenty-five years ago, Kaivac created the first No-Touch Cleaning machine. Today, our systems work hard in about 1/3 of the top 300 school districts in the country, and we’ve heard a similar story many times. District officials knew they wanted to make a change long before they could figure out how to do it. When it comes to bringing innovative cleaning systems into your school, there are essentially two paths you can take: purchasing through a distributor or outsourcing to a building service contractor (BSC). Here’s a little information about each path.
Purchase Through Distribution
When you buy innovative cleaning systems through a distributor, you pay for it outright. This can be challenging with tight maintenance budgets. However, once purchased, you have complete access to the equipment. You get to use it whenever and wherever you see fit, and you can realize its full benefits. This could look like the ability to do as-needed cleaning during the day, ability to respond to emergency messes, or finding project work and other alternate uses for your innovation.
After the purchase of an innovative cleaning tool or machine, you also have the support of the distributor for training and implementation. They might host your staff for a virtual or in-person training session. The distributor will also be available to help you with maintenance and troubleshooting. Ultimately, the responsibility for ongoing training and maintenance falls on your shoulders, so it’s important to take that into consideration when deciding if you will purchase new cleaning systems or outsource to a building service contractor.
Outsource to a Building Service Contractor
Outsourcing to a service provider allows the flexibility of not having to buy the innovation upfront, but rather paying for it over the course of your service. Approach a BSC and ask them to bid cleaning services with innovation included. This could be a general request – this is our current state, and we need a BSC to elevate it with innovative cleaning processes and tools. Or it could be a specific request – our restrooms are not up to par, and we need 50 No-Touch Cleaning machines to be included in your bid. Whichever path you take, that service provider is going to go to great lengths to win or keep your business. And if your request enhances their cleaning capabilities at the same time, they’ll see the benefit in that.
With the outsourcing path, you don’t have to worry about equipment implementation, training, or ongoing maintenance. The service provider absorbs all of that. However, you also don’t own the equipment, so you might not have unlimited access to it. All this is not to gloss over the fact that outsourcing impacts a lot of people, departments, and locations, which can complicate a decision. But if you’re dealing with a labor shortage, and areas are not being cleaned adequately or at the right frequency, outsourcing can be a great way to resolve that, maximize your custodial crew, and bring innovation into the building at the same time.
If you find yourself in this position – You would love to clean better. You know there’s innovation out there that is proven and will get the job done, but you’re wondering how to get it into your school district, you’ve got two paths you can take: either purchase or outsource.