How to Handle Educational Facility Cleaning Needs Across Multiple Campuses

Modern colleges and universities require numerous facilities to house their degree programs and fields of study. Often, this means expanding to multiple campuses in order to accommodate students, faculty, and staff. From rural locations to urban campuses, many colleges, trade schools, and institutions of higher learning are spread across a wide area. Examples like Maricopa Community College, a MasterCorp partner with 10 campus locations, highlight the expansive facilities and locations that make up many colleges these days. 

With so many educational facilities that need to be effectively cleaned, it can easily become a daunting and overwhelming task. However, the experts at MasterCorp Commercial Services have several recommendations and tips to help you manage both daily cleaning and deep cleans that multi-campus colleges,universities and other educational facilities require. 

Step 1: Assess the Needs of Building 

The first step for facility managers and building managers may seem the most obvious, but it can often be overlooked. Truly evaluating the specific needs of the different campuses or buildings you manage requires a number of factors to be taken into account. For example, some key questions you may ask include: 

• What is the concentration of high traffic areas and high touch surfaces in each space? 
• What is the usage schedule of this facility? 
• Is there specialized equipment or furniture in each facility? 
• Are there delicate or specialized surfaces that have unique cleaning needs? 
• Does our team currently have the specific cleaning equipment and training needed to clean and disinfect the educational facilities effectively? 
• Do we have the required staff and training to perform the cleaning needs on a regular schedule at each facility?

These and other guiding questions can help you establish both the requirements for each facility and whether you need additional supplies, training, or assistance in order to meet your cleaning standards. 

Step 2: Identify Specific Requirements

In step 2, you’ll take the information you gathered in step 1 and dive deeper into the specifics. For example, what flooring surfaces are involved, what furniture exists and needs cleaning, etc. Community college campuses, state universities, trade schools, and other multi-campus learning environments often feature construction from different timeframes, complete with different materials and design elements (elevated windows, specialized flooring surfaces, etc.). Getting familiarized with the unique needs of each facility and campus will help you in determining cleaning schedules, material and chemical needs, and so on. 

Step 3: Define Cleanliness Goals and Standards

With your needs and unique features identified, you can begin to define goals for your campus cleaning services. These goals and cleaning standards will be informed by the level of traffic in each facility, the level of restorative cleaning work that needs to be done, and what is required to maintain the standard of cleanliness that your students, staff, and administrators are expecting. These standards in turn will give you a guidepost in regularly inspecting the facilities that each campus offers and adjusting your staffing and cleaning schedule to stay ahead of the expected levels of wear. 

Step 4: Create a Cleaning Schedule and List of Recurring Tasks

Now that you have gathered the detailed information you need about specific campuses and facilities, the usage and wear in each space, and the goals and standards you have for cleanliness, you can begin to build your plan. From daily janitorial needs to weekly, monthly, and quarterly deep cleaning tasks and specialized projects, you are now able to review your available staff and allocate people, time, and equipment appropriately. 

However, it is not uncommon to find that meeting the high-quality standards you have set may require additional assistance. This is especially true across large, multi-campus operations, where even your full-time staff can have trouble covering all the necessary tasks. This is where partnering with an established and experienced education facility cleaning services company such as MasterCorp Commercial Services can supplement your existing staff and provide the extra capacity needed to meet your goals. 

Step 5: Evaluate Results and Adjust 

Your cleaning plan should not be carved in stone. Instead, you should view the plan you develop as a machine with a number of dials and levers. This way you can make specific adjustments as needed, evaluating your results and resources and adapting when a change is necessary. It is not uncommon for one facility or campus to have changes in usage or student traffic, for example. When this happens, a flexible cleaning plan will allow you to shift staff and supplies and adjust other schedules so that you and your team do not fall behind. 

Campus Cleaning Support and Expertise

The amount of time students spend in various college campus facilities can differ from day to day, but hundreds and even thousands of them interact with your buildings. Ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment that is also comfortable and clean allows them to excel. This in turn leads to a better experience for staff, faculty, visitors, parents, and everyone who aspires to be a student there one day as well. 

When it comes to the specific education facility cleaning needs for your campuses, consider utilizing MasterCorp Commercial Services as a critical resource. Partnering with the experts at MasterCorp begins with a thorough assessment of your facilities, needs, and goals. Our team can help you not only establish and plan and a list of standards for your campus cleanliness. We can also supplement your existing team and provide the support needed to ensure the highest level of results. Reach out to our team to begin the conversation today and learn how we can help you keep your campuses and facilities in exceptional condition year round.