Independent Cleaning Quality Inspections Information Booklet

BICS BUSINESS

i-CQI INDEPENDENT CLEANING QUALITY INSPECTIONS

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Demonstrate your commitment to cleaning excellence with a BICSc Independent Cleaning Quality Inspection (i-CQI) Are you a cleaning services provider or contractor? Do you work with demanding clients at high profile landmark buildings, educational or healthcare facilities?

Then you will know how important it is to provide high-quality cleaning services in today’s very competitive marketplace.

Most inspections are generally still being carried out using paper, spreadsheets and outdated software, which inhibits accurate and meaningful reporting.

With this in mind, BICSc has created a bespoke cleaning quality inspection system.

Using site specific information a BICSc i-CQI Inspector will conduct a visual inspection based on your cleaning contract specification, which will in turn provide you with essential and accurate reports. i-CQI captures observable information on a mobile device, which creates a real-time snap shot report. Post inspection you will receive a comprehensive report that will allow you to evaluate, measure, scrutinise and identify cleaning failures, ensuring you can deliver the highest quality service every time.

A positive customer experience is the best way to advertise your services.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an i-CQI? An i-CQI is a visual cleaning inspection carried out by a BICSc i-CQI Inspector, who is independent to your company or contractor, to determine the quality of cleaning services being provided and what improvements may need to be introduced or corrected. i-CQI is based on the European Standard BSEN13549 that gives the basic requirements and recommendations for Quality Measuring Systems.

Who is an i-CQI for? i-CQI’s are suitable for single and multi-site organisations who would like to find out what their current cleaning standards are and to identify areas for improvement.

The first inspection acts as the benchmark to review your current cleaning standards, creating a standard against which future performance can be measured.

As a minimum, inspections are recommended to take place 4 times in a 12-month period in order to get a more accurate indication of the standards being achieved, the improvements being made, and generate sufficient data for comparison.

How will this benefit my organisation?

With i-CQI, you are demonstrating your commitment to cleaning quality, assuring your clients and customers that the service you provide will meet and exceed their expectations, and therefore be able to compete more efficiently through increased customer satisfaction.

It is proven in facilities where Independent Cleaning Quality Inspections are carried out regularly, that the quality of the cleaning improves, and this can also increase the motivation of cleaning operatives to improve on previous standards.

What information do we need to complete an i-CQI? • We require all room data of your site in Excel format.

• This data must have the room description and their measurements, in square metres, floor number, and if applicable room numbers.

• A copy of the cleaning specification to ensure we only inspect the elements that are actually cleaned on a daily and up to a weekly basis, and that form part of the cleaning contract.

• A copy of your cleaning schedule, as an inspection should take place as soon as is reasonably practical after cleaning has finished, therefore we would need to know when the main cleaning takes place.

Alternatively, if you don’t have Room Data available, we can: • Obtain data from scale drawings (the room measurements, the room description) etc.* • Visit your facility to measure the spaces and create the room data.* *Additional costs apply

• Floor layout plans to ensure our Inspector is able to navigate around your building and find the required rooms. Ideally the floor layout plan would show the layout of desks and sanitary ware.

Example floor layout

Example room data Site

Building

Floor

Room Number

Room Description

Room Type

Area (m²)

Langsford

ABC Tech;

G

G001A

Entrance lobby

Circ;

10.83

Langsford

ABC Tech;

G

G001B

Waiting area

Circ;

25.70

Langsford

ABC Tech;

G

G001C

Reception

Circ;

15.35

Langsford

ABC Tech;

G

G002

Corridor

Circ;

10.59

Langsford

ABC Tech;

G

G003

Disabled toilet

WC

3.32

How is an i-CQI assessed?

It is not possible to inspect 100% of most buildings so once we have imported your building’s room data into our inspection system it will randomly select a sample size of rooms within your building to inspect.

Using the relevant tables in the BSEN13549 a calculated sample size of areas for inspection is drawn for each room category and their approval limits.

The inspection is a visual check of elements that are cleaned on a daily or weekly basis; elements cleaned on a periodic will not form part of the inspection.

Elements are marked on a pass or fail basis only, using the BICSc Cleaning Standard Outcomes. This outcome criteria defines the standard of cleanliness in three categories:

Fail

Unacceptable

Pass

Acceptable between cleans

Pass

Acceptable on completion of cleaning

The i-CQI Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL’s) are set by BICSc and represent the statistical approval limit for failures during inspection, equal or above which produces a pass and below which will be a fail.

BICSc i-CQI Acceptable Quality Levels are: Room Category Type

AQL

Office

93%

Circulation

93%

Accommodation

93%

Education

93%

Washroom

96%

Clinical

97%

Other

Please note different AQL’s cannot be applied for these categories.

For the “Other” category the client will be able to choose between the following AQL’s: 90% 93% 96% 97%

What are the possible reasons for failure?

Possible reasons for method failures are as follows:

There are five possible reasons for failure of an element and are as follows:

• Chemical dilution too strong

1. Light contamination: Missed on the last clean.

Examples include; light dust, stains, fingerprints.

2. Heavy contamination: Missed on several cleans.

Examples include; heavy dust, ingrained dirt, stains, scum, cobwebs with insects and dust on them.

3. Build up: Cleaning has been missed over a long period of time and can not be cleaned with the usual cleaning systems or products. Examples include; limescale, body fats, ingrained dirt.

4. Debris: Loose debris, litter, or impacted debris e.g. gum or adhesive labels not removed on the last clean.

5. M ethod failure: Cleaned but not in the correct way on the last clean. Includes smeared surfaces and streaks, leaving residual contaminants on the surface. These faults may be flagged up as a training issue.

• Dirty cloth/mop or water used • Not buff dried correctly or at all • Not dusted or damp wiped using systematic passes to cover all areas In addition, a BICSc i-CQI Inspector will also identify and record the following information: Condition defect: A surface or element that cannot be cleaned effectively or at all because of damage or poor state of repair. For example, paint peeling on a window sill or skirting. These faults do not form part of the final inspection result scores but do show on the reports as they cannot be cleaned at all until repaired.

How are the inspection results presented and analysed?

The inspection represents a ‘snap shot’ of standards on the day of inspection. The results will not represent standards throughout the building over a period of time. However, they will provide an indication of the elements that need addressing on a site-wide basis.

The reports generated from our i-CQI system are provided in graphical formats. See examples shown.

Graphical Reports Site

ABC Technologies

Inspection Date: Inspection Date

Office

Circulation

Sanitary

10/03/2015

91.44%

93.10%

94.74%

01/06/2015

92.90%

12/09/2015

93.89%

05/12/2015 Acceptance Level:

94%

office

97.05% circulation

98.06%

98.89%

Category:

Office Areas

AQL:

7%

72.22%

Pass Rate:

93%

Acceptable

Overall Score Achieved:

98.06%

19

Approval limit: (failures allowed)

18

95.97% 97.47%

Number of failures found

5

98.32%

Margin between failures allowed & failures found:

Sanitary

93%

05/12/2015

Sample Size:

93%

96%

Result:

office

Number of failures by pollution type:

circulation

100.00%

Sanitary

97.00%

Number of failures per element:

Light Dust

3

Desk/table

2

Dust - Method Failure

1

Chair

2

Heavy Dust

0

Window Sill

1

1

Sticking Dirt / Stains 100.00%

94.00%

Sticking Dirt - Method failure / Smears

97.00%

91.00%

Sediment - Build up

0

Debris

0

94.00%

91.00%

88.00%

0

88.00%

00

85.00%

.5

11

.5

22

85.00%

Number of failures per element 82.00%

82.00%

Desk/Table 79.00%

Chair

79.00%

76.00%

76.00%

10/03/15

01/06/15

10/03/15

12/09/15

01/06/15

12/09/15

05/12/15

05/12/15

AcceptanceWindow Sill

Acceptance

After an inspection, the number of failures per element and the number of failure types is recorded. Recording this data on its own, however is not sufficient, it is important for both the client and the service provider to know the cause of the failure to prevent reoccurrence in the future.

The example below shows that the first two elements, desks and floors, are responsible for 75% of the total number of failures. The first element, the desk, in itself already accounts for almost 60% of failures. Therefore, a corrective measure taken on the cleaning of desks would have the highest return on future inspections.

Element

Number of % % Failures failures Cumulative

Desk

7

58.33

58.3

Floor

2

16.67

75.0

Door

1

8.33

83.3

Windowsill

1

8.33

91.7

Telephone

1

8.33

100.0

.5

5 Star Rating

“

To add further value to your i-CQI your site will receive a star rating, providing you with that all important recognition.

Our students are increasingly demanding with regards to the quality of services and facilities they come to expect at LSE, and cleanliness is certainly no exception. Through the use of Independent Cleaning Quality Inspections, we can now monitor our cleaning services more effectively across multiple sites and locations – a task that was previously impossible without an appropriate measurement system in place.

“

Along with your Independent Cleaning Quality Inspection report you will receive a certificate stating your star rating. This really shows the quality rating of your cleaning services.

London School of Economics (LSE)

The process starts with 4 stars, which can be added to or removed. You could call this a reversal of how standards should be recognised, however, 4 stars will be a minimum where BICSc standards are achieved.

o achieve 5 stars your cleaning T services must be 2% above the AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) meaning you have exceeded the BICSc standard in all categories.

If you did not reach the AQL in an inspection category (which could be an office, circulation area or washroom, etc) a star would be lost for each category failed.

“

Our environmental cleanliness is monitored regularly by our service provider, clinical staff and by independent organisations such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and through patient-led assessments of the care environment (PLACE).

While we were satisfied that our service provider was delivering and maintaining a high standard of environmental cleaning, we appreciated there may be areas for improvement. We welcomed BICSc as the cleaning industry experts, to provide an external independent perspective on our cleaning standards which has since affirmed the quality our service delivery.

“

o achieve a minimum of 4 stars your T cleaning services must have achieved the AQL (Acceptable Quality Level) in line for each category as detailed in the room category type.

Chris Harding, Director of Facilities and Estates, Moorfields Hospital

BICS BUSINESS

To discuss a package for your business please contact us E: bbs@bicsbusinessservices.com T: +44 1604 678 712 An Independent Cleaning Quality Inspection starts at ÂŁ325 + VAT costs vary dependent on the site size.

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