Efficiency as standard
August 1st 2007

Billed as 'Kaizen for the cleaning industry', i-Clean's simplicity and practicality can not only increase efficiency by an average of 25 per cent, but help defend cleaning budgets from the bean counters.Brendan Coyne reports

Back in 1998, before most people realised just how integral the internet would become to modern life, Express Cleaning Supplies launched an online shop.The result was a broader customer base hungry for information.To answer their questions, Express developed a support forum.Today,www.cleanitup.co.uk has 12,000 registered users that have posted 300,000 messages on around 40,000 cleaning related topics. But according to Mike Boxall, one question in particular kept recurring:How do I quote for a tender? Eventually, it lead to the development of i-Clean, a modular software system and consultancy service that covers scheduling, finance, health & safety implementation and people management.

The only software of its kind with BICSc accreditation, it has also attracted attention from those outside the industry: former CBI chief Sir Digby Jones joined as a director of the company, underlining its credentials and potential to simultaneously improve cleaning standards while improving efficiency – without taking money out of the industry, or plugging any manufacturer's or supplier's products.

Best value standards "One of the main problems with contract cleaning is that, because it's labour based, it can be very difficult to judge the resources required unless it's benchmarked," says Boxall."People talk about a lack of standards within the industry but standards exist, it's just that people don't use them."

Taking the BICSc document 'Best value in Building Cleaning', Boxall and his team set out to remedy the problem, creating an electronic version, enabling those cleaning a building to help calculate the time necessary to meet BICSc standards using trained operators working at typical rates.

"When you look at the graph (below), the system allows people to get to that 100% mark," says Boxall."It creates transparency and the whole system essentially developed from there: it was a starting point from which we could work out useful information such as the cost of cleaning per square metre, or the cost of cleaning a hospital ward or classroom."

During development, Boxall says it soon became clear that, although many companies had software at their disposal, they didn't have the resources to use it."So we launched a service whereby we do the survey and the data entry and leave the contractor to act upon it," explains Boxall."The response was so good we extended the service, adding multi-lingual pictogram-based method statements and a practical COSHH safety data system. Once we linked these modules,we had a system that could work out a schedule based on industry guidelines, what that should cost, and the policies and procedures to put in place.Then we thought 'all we need now is the staff!"

After consulting with a HR company as to best practice in recruitment, training motivation and auditing, Boxall says the result was a contract cleaning package that contractors could literally plug cleaners into."There's nothing revolutionary about it,we're simply enabling people to use industry standards and best practise easily." However, he says the system's transparency means it isn't just contractors that benefit, but in house cleaning teams and end users too.

The price is right? On average, Boxall claims those using i-Clean generate around 25 percent efficiency gains. But it's not just about saving money: while i- Clean can help end users identify the efficiency of their current provision."What tends to happen is that we highlight the fact [clients] are not spending enough money to get the job done properly in the first place," says Boxall.

With all businesses seeking efficiency gains throughout their organisations, the cleaning budget is often the first to suffer."It's very easy to cut cleaning costs – you just reduce labour," says Boxall."The cleaning budget is always under pressure and if an existing contractor won't drop it's prices, the contract will go to someone who can.What we can do is demonstrate what resources are needed to clean to a certain standard and then defend those cuts." Working with a healthcare trust, Boxall says i-Clean helped secure an extra £200,000 in house keeping funds – reversing proposed cuts to the budget."So if a contractor is told 'you need to cut your costs by 5% or you're out'we can go in and show the implications not just of the existing contractor dropping five or 10 percent but of any contractor dropping its price."

Attracting high public sector interest (driven by the Gershon Review – which essentially says that government departments need to improve efficiency to the tune of £20bn in 2007), Boxall says manufacturers are approaching the company."Efficiency, lean techniques and continuous improvement are their lifeblood," he says.

"And they now realise there's no reason that can't be applied to cleaning as well."So in essence, i-Clean is a form of Kaizen for the cleaning industry? "Absolutely." With four modules – scheduling, finances, health & safety implementation and people management – currently making up the i-Clean system, Boxall says the company is in no rush to complicate it.

However, a fifth element, a tender management module, is now available, which Boxall says has been successful in helping clients procure cleaning services. With a number of high profile customers under its belt, other opportunities are arising, with international interest in developing and providing the system in Europe and North America, and a possible joint venture adapting the system for the transport industry.Which goes to show how much can be gained from listening to customers and giving them a solution to find their own answers.

See www.i-clean.info for further information.