1 September 2021
The case for a national approach toward setting and measuring cleaning standards has never been stronger.
High Performance Cleaning (HPC) Solutions Pty Ltd and the Building Services Contractors Association of Australia (BSCAA) are therefore very pleased to announce a joint proposal to Standards Australia to develop a new Cleaning Performance Standard.
Since early 2020, HPC Solutions’ Director Bridget Gardner with the National BSCAA Board and an industry working group, have undertaken extensive consultation with Standards Australia to develop this important submission and ensure it meets industry needs.
The Cleaning Performance Standard submission is now entering its final stages, and from here Standards Australia will take over the process of engaging with industry stakeholders and developing the Standard.
Why a Cleaning Standard is needed
As the current coronavirus) pandemic has highlighted, anyone can set up a website, purchase some chemicals, equipment and a van, and call themselves a cleaning company. The assumption was that cleaning is easy and that any fool with a mop can do it. But the many poor practices we have seen promoted on social media over the past year from fly-by-night companies, clearly demonstrate just how mistaken they were.
When cleaning companies operate on nothing more than guesswork, it not only risks the health and safety of cleaners and occupants, it is a threat to the viability of cleaning companies who have invested in skills and training, and worked hard for years to build a professional service.
So while the public’s focus is on cleaning as never before, there is no better time to establish standards that acknowledge the degree of skill, knowledge, time and resources that are required to clean well.
What makes this Standard different
Commercial cleaning services must cater for a wide variety of risks, surfaces, soils, budgets and maintenance tasks, within multiple different sectors and environments. This complexity must be incorporated into a Cleaning Performance Standard, especially in a future of robotics, building sensors and reactive pricing.
For this reason, the proposed Cleaning Performance Standard is based on HPC Solutions’ five Cleaning Activity Levels (CAL) model. Unlike current industry standards which are based on the degree / type of soil that must not be seen on surface, this standard is set via the degree, type and outcome of the activities to be carried out. And rather than relying on subjective visual assessment to rate the outcome, this standard will define a range of objective auditing methods applicable to each level.
What this standard offers you
Australian and New Zealand Cleaning Performance Standards will give the cleaning and associated industries:
- Consistent terminology and definitions for specifying, measuring and pricing cleaning performance
- A benchmark for raising the professionalism of the industry
- A foundation on which future National licensing and auditor qualifications can be built.
Find out more
To find out more about this exciting and much-needed initiative, you are invited to attend a webinar on the 22 September at 1.30pm AEST. Click here to register now.
BSCAA members have an exclusive webinar invitation for Monday 13 September at 1.30pm AEST.
Please email any queries to national@bscaa.com
