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630.896.6373
Clean facilities do not happen haphazardly
They are the inevitable result of effective program management: the management of
chemicals, the management of tools, and the management of personnel |
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October 26, 2012 by Pike Systems
By definition, quality control is a system for verifying and maintaining a desired level of quality in a product or process by careful planning, use of proper equipment, continued inspection, and corrective action as required. Given this, if you had time, you could conduct quality control checks by watching a housekeeper clean, by using monitoring devices such as an ATP meter or ultraviolet marker, by monitoring supply consumption, etc. Cleaning quality will improve through added educational opportunities for staff, better accountability of staff, and open dialogue with cleaning personnel. The key is to get started and set the goal of making progress each week or each month.
Just because a surface looks clean, doesn’t mean that it is. In some instances, visual inspection may be helpful as a baseline but not as a reliable form of quality control for infection prevention. In addition, visual inspection is impossible to standardize. What I think looks clean, a colleague may feel is substandard. It is important to keep in mind that our goal is not cleaning for appearance; it’s cleaning for health.
For more information, go to www.fightcdiff.com and click on training.
Category: Cleaning Budget, Cleaning for Health Tags: ATP Meter, healthcare, program, Quality Control, Ultraviolet Marker, www.fightcdiff.com | Comments Off
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October 24, 2012 by Pike Systems
Pike Systems works with healthcare facilities to systematically reduce and control HAI’s through uniform cleaning procedures, a well-trained professional staff, and a documented routine housekeeping training curriculum.
A solid infection control plan is the ammunition you need to drive patients to your hospital and away from a competitor’s. Pike Systems specializes in the integration and implementation of a total Infection Control Program that integrates products, tools, and training into a cohesive program. Many healthcare facilities purchase cleaning supplies and equipment through their GPO and receive little after sale support from vendors. As a result, training typically falls on the environmental services department whose resources are already strained leaving new hires and existing staff with little or no formal training.
Environmental Services is the last line of defense on the road to infection prevention. In order for the housekeeping department to effectively do their part in controlling the spread of HAI’s, each housekeeper must be trained on cleaning procedures and the processes must be followed. Adaptations to procedures by housekeepers open the hospital and the department up to scrutiny and jeopardize patient health.
An educational intervention is key in transforming the Environmental Services Department into cleaning professionals tasked with controlling the spread of infection. An educational intervention builds their knowledge base from the ground up beginning with their role in infection prevention,
Housekeepers need to be prepared to go into combat each day. Some days they’re fighting MRSA, some days it’s C.Diff. Either way, they need the knowledge, tools, and support to be successful. You would never see a school district with no grading rubric or a transportation department without planned routes or schedules or a teaching staff that was never trained or certified. Why then, would we send a housekeeper who hasn’t been trained, into a patient room to perform the most important processes in the hospital: patient room disinfection.
Category: Cleaning Budget, Cleaning for Health Comments Off
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October 23, 2012 by Pike Systems
EPA-Registered One-Step, One-Application Sporicidal Disinfectant
This one step, one-application disinfectant eliminates more than 99.9999% of C. difficile in 3 minutes. Sanotracin RTU also kills MRSA, E. Coli and 50 other pathogens in 2 minutes; including the ESKAPE pathogens: Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species. Sanotracin RTU does not contain alcohol or bleach, it requires no rinsing and it also does not leave a film on surfaces.
Sanotracin RTU is a unique hospital-grade sporicidal disinfectant that is ideal for all health care facilities, including but not limited to, patient rooms, obstetrical suites, autopsy facilities, operating rooms, doctor’s offices, physical therapy departments, ICU, emergency rooms, long-term care and nursing homes.
Save Time & Money: No Need to Reapply
Sanotracin RTU’s patented chemistry provides rapid results which saves time and labor costs. With its powerful wetting agents, Sanotracin RTU stays wet for its entire dwell time, no need to reapply. This ensures that Sanotracin RTU will achieve an efficacy of 99.9999% in 3 minutes against the hard-to-kill C. difficile spores.
Non-Bleach Formula
Sanotracin RTU provides maximum effectiveness without the risks associated with bleach. Bleach is known for causing damage to flooring, clothing/uniforms, upholstery, LCD screens, medical equipment, furniture and even more surfaces. There are additional risk of handling or mixing bleach by the housekeeping staff, as well as, respiratory issues for patients and staff who breath in the fumes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, EPA-registered disinfectants with a sporicidal claim have been used with success for environmental surface disinfection in patient care areas.
For more information or to purchase Sanotracin, go to www.fightcdiff.com .
Category: Cleaning Budget Tags: C-Diff, cdiff, healthcare, sporocidal disinfectant, www.fightcdiff.com | Comments Off
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August 16, 2012 by Pike Systems
Follow the link below to view a video on the new ProTeam SuperCoach Pro 6 Quart and 10 Quart.
http://www.pro-team.com/videos.aspx?video=58
Category: Carpet and Hard Floor Maintenance, Cleaning Budget Tags: backpack vacuum, carpet care, new, vacuum | Comments Off
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July 20, 2012 by Pike Systems
This summer, Hillyard introduced the newly redesigned Multi-Flo XP finish applicator. This replaces their current Multi-Flo Applicator. The new applicator boasts the following benefits:
- Versatility – use it on resilent/vinyl, wood, terrazzo, and smooth concrete
- Improved productivity – apply finish in open areas at a rate of 10,000 square feet per hour or in smaller areas like classrooms at a rate of 6,000 square feeet per hour. Backpack applicators have a producitivy rate of 6,316 square feet per hour making the Multi-Flo XP 40% faster.
- Better Result, Minimal Training – Maneuverability is excellent with four swivel castors allowing you to coat large open areas as well as smaller compact areas. Achieve specified coverage rates by applying or removing weights when and where you need to. Battery operated pump system dispenses finish at the touch of the button and coats more than 100,000 square feet per charge.
- Multiple Container Options -Use BIB (Bag in Box), Gallons, Pails, etc. The Multi-Flo XP can adjust to whatever size container you need.
- Better Ergonomics and Safety – When applying finish with the Multi-Flo XP, the operator uses a more natural upright walking position. All the finish weight is distributed over four large castors making it easier to position the applicator.
- Price Point – With the acquision cost ranging from $600 – 800 per applicator, it’s affordable.
Click here to see the video for more information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GdcuC2j3b0
Category: Carpet and Hard Floor Maintenance, Cleaning Budget Tags: budget, floor care, floor finish, high efficiency, Productivity | Comments Off
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April 27, 2012 by Pike Systems
Technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. While things have been changing all around us at a rapid pace, technology in the cleaning industry has been lagging. That said, the availability of cleaning industry technology and its integration into the cleaning operation is becoming more and more critical as budgets are shrinking. Here are just a few productivity enhancing applications available through Pike Systems and our Arsenal Flex SMS™ program. All of these applications support zero-based budgeting helping you answer the question, “How much does it really cost to clean my building?”
Easy Online Ordering—Pike Systems’ Customer Self Service Module allows clients to place orders online, view order history, view order status, and track invoices.
Multi-Location Budget Management Tools—Pike Systems’ Corporate Account Manager is designed for multi-location organizations and provides summarized data with drill-down capabilities allowing you to see as much as little data as you’d like. Compare usage from location to location. Set individual budgets by location. Set order maximums by product and total dollars per order to remain in control of your budget.
Also offered are Quality Control Programs, Workloading Programs, and more!
Category: Cleaning Budget, Uncategorized Tags: logistics, online ordering, technology | Comments Off
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April 23, 2012 by Pike Systems
As budget preparations are well underway for the new fiscal year, budget cuts are still a hot topic. If you’re charged with reducing your budget, know that there are only 6 ways to reduce costs. If you keep this in mind, it will help streamline this daunting task.
1. Decrease Expenses
2. Cut Benefits
3. Cut Salaries
4. Cut Staff
5. Decrease the quality of services
6. Increase Productivity – do more in less time.
The only positive way to reduce costs is to do more in less time. See our mechanization and productivity page for more information or give us a call. We’re more than happy to provide a productivity audit of your facility.
Category: Cleaning Budget Tags: budget, budget cuts, mechanization, Productivity | Comments Off
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April 20, 2012 by Pike Systems
Your budget is shrinking making it harder and harder to provide a healthy learning environment. Each year, you’re forced to do more with less…less funding, fewer people, outdated tools, etc. While product costs have high visibility, lowest total cost solutions lie in managing the labor spend. We can help you do both!
Traditional dilution management systems pigeonhole you into a one size fits all model. The Arsenal Flex SMS gives you options. Stop stocking a two year supply of glass cleaner because you have to order it by the case and start spending money on what you really need and can use within your fiscal year. Supply costs will continue to rise. You have the power rise above by better managing your inventory.
The Arsenal Flex SMS offers all your routine cleaning chemicals in a close-looped chemical dispensing solution for your high volume, high use chemicals like floor detergent and a premeasured pouch solution for everything else reducing your inventory holding costs by as much as 50%. In addition, if you are using restroom cleaning machines such as the Kaivac, chemical expenditures can be greatly reduced through the Arsenal Flex SMS system as well. For more information, contact Pike Systems for an analysis of your current supply program to find out how you can minimize your inventory and maximize your cash flow!
Category: Cleaning Budget, Uncategorized Tags: budget, holding costs, inventory management | Comments Off
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April 16, 2012 by Pike Systems
As you know, we are very focused on providing our customers with the support they need to truly transform their cleaning operations. Check out this month’s ISSA article which features quotes from Pike Systems’ very own, Carolyn Quinn on our new approach to value added support!
http://issatoday.issa.com/DigitalAnywhere/viewer.aspx?id=8&pageId=14&refid=12381&s=undefined
The article discusses the following:
- Product price vs. the true cost of clean
- Zero-Based Budgeting vs. Traditional Budgeting
- The cleaning professional vs. cleaning worker – there is a difference !
- The working pieces that create a clean, healthy environment
- Workloading software – Achieve
Category: Cleaning Budget Tags: cost, price, workloading, zero-based budgeting | Comments Off
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April 13, 2012 by Pike Systems
Taking a closer look at the custodial budget.
Today’s K through 12 Building & Grounds Managers are continually challenged to do more with less. While addressing the overall budget numbers, school administrations around the state are slashing custodial budgets again. Does this mean dirty schools for the coming year? Custodial operations were, at one time, just a necessary part of providing a good education for our children. Now it represents a large piece of the overall M&O budget, a budget under constant scrutiny.
Where did that budget number come from over the years? In many cases, it was just there. As administrators, how would you like some answers as to what the number (budget) should be for your district? After all, a supply like floor finish is based on your demographics and square footage of the floor surface to be coated. We as a supplier see custodial staffs deciding when to coat a floor and how many coats to apply. If you asked your managers how many gallon of finish you need, I will bet you a cup of coffee the answer is based on what they used last year. Matter of fact, how many mangers know the square footage of the area to apply floor finish?
As long as the custodian manages your budget, and you continue to drive costs out by buying at a low price you will not solve the custodial dilemma. Look around your schools and see the overstocking of supplies in the nooks and crannies of the school. Who’s managing the inventories? Just what should the number look like?
Risk management is becoming a bigger issue for administrators. This has added to the operational costs. When a MRSA outbreak happens, many administrators are bypassing their staff and calling in the “professionals”. These issues will continue to plague our schools. We need to put cleaning processes in place that lower our risk and provide process documentation for all concerned.
Pike Systems can help you through the budget dilemma. We can provide you with the answers you need to provide a healthy learning environment. We will help you address budgets constraints and tell you the impact less dollars will have on the environment. We bring over 25 years of experience working with schools as well as the support of manufacturers who also know the school environment.
If you want a budget number that is backed with meaning, Pike Systems can help! For more information on Hillyard’s new Cleaning Cost Analysis Program, watch this video on a program that gives you the tools you need to justify departmental expenditures on both labor and supplies:
http://www.hillyardccap.com/Pages/HomeVideo.asp
Category: Cleaning Budget, Cleaning for Health Tags: attendance, budget, cleaning chemistry, cleaning for health, cleaning tips, custodial budget, custodial staffing, custodial trainining, high efficiency, Productivity, reduced budget | Comments Off
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