CLEANING
TREND SETTER
Alastair Scott, Sales Director at Robert Scott, identifies some of the opportunities and
challenges that will characterise 2021.
It’s fair to say that the importance of cleaning has been reinforced over the last 12 months and little looks set to change in 2021. Maintaining high standards of cleanliness has always been a key practice for facilities management, but COVID-19 has amplified the need for impeccable cleaning processes and systems. Protocols were developed and established early on in the pandemic and have played a valuable part in reducing transmission — but what does 2021 have in store for cleaning?
There are three major trends emerging in cleaning this year. The first, predictably, is infection control. It has never been more important to ensure excellent infection control measures and there are no signs of this abating in 2021. The second trend is to do with frequency and visibility of cleaning. What was once an out-of-hours job is now highly visible, with all of us taking comfort in seeing increased cleaning protocols wherever we are.
Finally, the importance of improving sustainability will return in 2021. Last year saw a marked increase in demand for disposable cleaning products and chemical-based cleaners, reversing a trend towards sustainable alternatives which had been observed over the years preceding 2020. However, we expect to see sustainability return to the fore in 2021, driven by consumer demand for better practices and products that reduce environmental impact.
46 | TOMORROW’S FM
Infection control The need to control transmission of COVID-19, as well as more general infection control subjects, will continue to be a high priority in 2021. Protocols have been tightened across the board and will continue to be rigidly controlled this year. In fact, a huge 85% of Robert Scott customers recently surveyed told us that their businesses had improved cleaning protocols in 2020. It’s important that FM teams are ensuring every detail of their risk assessments and cleaning regimes are being adhered to, to reduce the risk of cross contamination.
As a general rule, cleaning processes should be carried out from top to bottom, working from the back to the front of the space. In practice, that means starting at the highest level in the furthest corner of the room and working down and towards the door. Floors should always be cleaned last, and the threshold to the room must be the trigger point to change equipment like mop heads and cloths so that rooms aren’t cross contaminated.
Common touch points, such as door handles, handrails, sinks and even vending machines, should be cleaned frequently with a disinfecting agent to reduce the risk of infection spread. Where possible, doors should be left open to reduce the need for touch.
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