ISSA INTRODUCES GBAC STAR™ FACILITY ACCREDITATION PROGRAM The Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC), a division of ISSA, has introduced its GBAC STAR™ facility accreditation program on cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention, the industry’s only outbreak prevention, response, and recover accreditation. GBAC STAR establishes requirements to assist facilities with work practices, protocols, procedures, and systems to control risks associated with infectious agents, such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. Accreditation criteria and facility applications are now available at www.gbac.org. “GBAC STAR is the gold standard of safe facilities, providing third-party validation that ensures facilities implement strict protocols for biorisk situations,” said Patricia Olinger, GBAC executive director. “Accreditation empowers facility owners and managers to assure workers, customers, and key stakeholders that they have proven systems in place to deliver clean and healthy environments that are safe for business.” Ideal for facilities like offices, restaurants, hotels, airports, convention centres, stadiums, and other public venues of all sizes, the GBAC STAR program assesses a facility’s preparedness and provides staff with training for biorisk prevention and containment. The program also establishes a framework for communication and awareness best practices. Hundreds of companies around the world have already pledged their commitment to the accreditation, and earlier this summer the Georgia World Congress Center and Dinner in a Dash became the first companies to complete the program. Canadian facilities from coast to coast are also signing on to GBAC STAR, including the Toronto Congress Centre, the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre,
the Edmonton Convention Centre, and the Edmonton EXPO Centre. The performance-based GBAC STAR program enables facilities to create and maintain an effective cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention program. To achieve GBAC STAR accreditation, facilities must demonstrate compliance with the program’s 20 elements, which range from standard operating procedures and risk assessment strategies to personal protective equipment and emergency preparedness and response measures. Facilities can apply online and provide all documentation and supporting evidence with their application. The GBAC STAR Accreditation Council determines the status of all GBAC STAR facilities. “In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the GBAC STAR accreditation program is exactly what facilities need to confidently reopen and keep staff, customers, and communities safe,” said ISSA executive director John Barrett. “The way the world views cleaning has changed overnight. To effectively recover from this crisis and prepare for the next, it’s essential that businesses take these necessary steps – and we’re thrilled to have a stable of top organizations that have already committed to the program.” ISSA has also released a new course called GBAC Fundamentals Online Course: Cleaning and Disinfection Principles specifically designed for cleaning workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus fight. By using the special promo code “MediaEdgeCourse” registrants can receive a discount off normal prices. For additional program details and information, please email chuckn@mediaedge.ca or contact him at (416) 803-4653.
ISSA UPGRADES ONLINE WORKLOADING AND BIDDING TOOL ISSA has announced enhancements to its Workloading & Bidding Tool, such as the addition of metric calculations and the ability to add daily and weekly frequencies, to help its members document and analyze their cleaning services during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the tool, available exclusively to ISSA members worldwide through the organization’s website, members can build out a location or cleaning project by entering room type, the area in square metres or square feet, and the activities to perform. The activities correspond with ISSA’s 612 Cleaning Times, a guide to industry time standards for performing cleaning tasks. Additional features include the ability to: • show the days of week each task will be performed, along with the number of times per day • add specific tasks associated with heightened disinfecting 6 / FACILITY CLEANING & MAINTENANCE / SUMMER 2020
• create workload based on a room, floor, area, or building • calculate revenue to labour, supply costs, and general overhead Dianna Steinbach, ISSA vice president of international services, commented, “ISSA constantly updates and develops member resources to ensure members are best poised to implement industry best practices. The current pandemic made clear that the calculator needed more flexible cleaning times to meet increased demands and help with explaining the impact of current changes in cleaning scope of work. Thanks to the metric system update, members from all over the world now will be able to use the tool to improve their services and communicate cost calculations.” ISSA members can access the tool via the myISSA portal. There is a one-month window for members to transfer their saved calculations from the previous version of the tool to the new version, or to download them.
