The eco-friendly ideologies have cast their impact on almost all areas of our lives. This has led to the production of certified products like sanitary paper items, cleaning chemicals, plastic items, and other equipment. Today, the facility managers are overseeing how the service providers can help in keeping up the sustainability of the organization.
As cleaning methods dictate what is to be bought and how they are to be used, it is important to weigh its effects on the environment. There are some particular activities that the cleaning personnel can undertake for boosting energy and water conservation along with the reduction of waste.
Though the cleaning personnel and his procedures can have a negligible impact on some of these problems, there are certain areas that the cleaning personnel can work on within their range of operations and these include:
Conservation of water
Water is one of the primary issues of the present change in climate around the world and India is no exception to this. There are many things that cleaning personnel may do on a day to day basis for reducing the consumption of water like using microfiber wiping cloth and mops, dual space mop buckets and such other things that can effectively use up a comparatively lesser amount of water than the conventional cloths and mops. There are also new types of cleaning equipment available in the market which can be used for both carpeted and hard floor, thus reducing the overall consumption of water.
In an ideal situation, the cleaning personnel within an organization should make an audit of the use of water on a regular basis to determine how much water is used and on what. For instance, if the maximum amount of water is used for cleaning the floors, then it becomes imperative to develop maintenance programs that can reduce the need for such cleaning activities. The cleaning personnel also reports instances of leakage, dripping and malfunctioning of various installments within the washroom, pantry, and kitchen. Though it is not the job of the personnel to take care of all these things, when they are reported timely, it can potentially save a lot of water.
Waste stream management
When an organization has cleaning personnel who keeps an audit of waste stream management, it becomes much easier to keep track on the condition of the collection sites and dumpster. With the help of an audit of the upstream waste, the cleaning personnel can detect the people, departments, and offices that are irrationally contaminating the waste stream or staving off proper recycling methods. Providing facility managers with the correct information in time helps in determining the right course of action. Audit plays a crucial role here as it reveals all the valuable information to the facility managers even when they are working far away from the dumpster or such sites of collection.
Conservation of energy
Climate change has taken a toll in our country and it is one of the pressing concerns amongst the practitioners of sustainability. Though the cleaning personnel will never have to change the bulbs or clean the boilers, they can be the informers to the facility managers about the issues that are to be addressed. The cleaning personnel undertakes a number of important jobs such as determining whether they can use cold water to dilute chemicals, mop or launder the mops and cloths and many such other jobs. There are a number of chemicals used today which can be diluted well in cold water and there is no need to use not water. This, in turn, potentially save energy. It is also a good practice to see whether the lights, fans, and air conditioners are switched off when the room is not in use, closing the doors of refrigerator and freezers properly, cleaning the coils of vending equipment and refrigerator so that they can function more efficiently. They also check whether all the electronic devices for public use such as printers, desktops, induction tops, desk lights and personal items like heaters, pots, fans, mobile chargers are kept off to conserve energy efficiently.
Actually, cleaning professionals serve to be the monitors within the organization as they report back various issues with different electrical gadgets within the building.
