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The University of Georgia’s Facilities Management Division (FMD) Services Department’s building inspection form utilizes a multi-point area examination and provides an opportunity for more detailed comments on any building discrepancies. The purpose of the inspection form is to identify any potential concerns, initiate facility work orders, and to standardize cleaning consistency in our overall campus cleaning plan. Our training and leadership team utilizes the building inspections to also help guide employee performance expectations, as well as setting customer expectations. Custodial supervisors are expected to schedule regular meetings with their building facility leaders to ensure consistent customer conversations occur throughout the year.
Some inspection examples of these areas include:
Common Areas/Student Lounges
Inspection includes furniture appearance, lighting status, HVAC vents, furniture appearance, waste and recycling container appearance and fill status, dust condition, corners/windows, and overall appearance
Inspection includes overall organization of equipment and supplies, lighting status, cleanliness of equipment, chemical and supply inventory sheet status, appearance and condition of floor drain/wall sink, condition of floor and walls
Inspection of door/frame/door tread, lighting status, hand railings, stair tread condition, floor and landing, dust conditions, waste and recycling containers, and overall appearance
Inspection includes exterior/interior floor mat condition, door condition, tread condition, lighting status, and overall appearance for corners/windows/walls
Inspection includes the floor condition, lighting status, HVAC vents, furniture appearance, waste and recycling container appearance and fill status, dust condition, waste and recycling containers, and overall appearance of corners/windows
Inspection includes the furniture/lab table condition, whiteboard and/or instructor lectern area, floor condition, lighting status, HVAC vents, windows and mini-blinds appearance, waste and recycling container appearance and fill status, dust condition, waste and recycling contains, corners/windows, and overall appearance
Inspection includes doors/flooring/door frames, lighting status, all HVAC vents and exhaust, mirrors and chrome, sinks, walls, counter tops, partitions, urinals and toilets/showers, floor and tread, floor drains, waste and recycling containers, feminine containers, dust condition, and overall condition
An example of how our inspection team will use the building inspection form to note cleaning discrepancies follows:
As our custodial leadership continues to examine workplace effectiveness, we implemented mobile building inspections by providing each supervisor with a mini iPad and appropriate training. This enables supervisors to have more time out in the buildings to engage with staff, conduct building inspections and respond to customer concerns. Our training specialists can also conduct adenosine triphosphate (ATP) metering testing, along with mobile building inspections, as a better tool to assess our cleaning program. Our future goals include having individual custodial staff perform more individual and/or group inspections.
This type of engagement allows for newer staff to feel that our team will continue to train them after the initial employee onboarding is complete. It also reinforces approved work standards and provides opportunities to obtain both employee and customer feedback at an earlier stage. If there are recurring concerns due to unsatisfactory building inspection scores, our team leaders or training specialists can then use these archived inspection forms to retrain staff on the performance areas that they need.
Healthy Green Schools & Colleges’ pilot standard for healthy, sustainable facility management programs provides a useful framework for facility leaders to obtain more information. Additional resources include the ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard for Green Buildings (Quality Plan Guidelines and Health, Safety, and Environmental Stewardship Guidelines sections), and Green Seal GS-42 Certification Standards (Training Section).
Kimberly Thomas is the Director of Facilities Management at the University of Georgia — Facilities Management Division. Her department has received recognition for its commitment to green cleaning and sustainability from the Healthy Schools Network, Environmental Protective Agency — Georgia state office, and U.S. Green Building Council — Georgia division. Kimberly is a founding Steering Committee member of Healthy Green Schools & Colleges, a member of USGBC-Georgia and an early adopter of the Healthy Green Schools & Colleges Standard.
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