Articles
Walk-off Matting Keeps Your Building Cleaner, Your Budget Leaner
Want a cleaner, greener building? The first step is starts at the entrance to your building. By using a walk-off matting system that includes exterior and interior matting, you can keep the majority of dirt out and costs down.
According to the ISSA (International Sanitary Supply Association) approximately 70% of floor soil is tracked in from outdoors by foot traffic. Once dirt makes its way inside, the Cleaning Management Institute estimates it costs $900.00 for each pound of dirt you remove. Add to that the issues encountered with winter weather. Snow, ice and ice melters can do heavy damage to both hard floors and carpets.
The Cleaning Management Institute recommends that you supply sufficient matting to allow a minimum of 6 steps prior to walking on building floors, regardless of floor type. A 12 to 15 foot length of matting will ensure that the majority of soil is removed from the soles of shoes.
Ideally, a combination of scraper and wiper mats will produce the best results for keeping heavy soil off of your floors. Scraper mats are textured and are used for scraping off heavy soil. Wiper mats are designed to wipe moisture and fine dust off the bottom of shoes.
The GS-42 standard from Green Seal requires 6 to 10 feet of scraper/wiper matting followed by 6 to 10 feet of wiper matting. The total of 12 to 20 feet of matting allows a minimum of 4 steps and a maximum of 6 to 7 steps. If the scraper/wiper matting is located in a 6 foot vestibule, there will be at least one additional step when opening the door before stepping inside to the wiper matting.CIMS-GB requires a total of 10 feet of matting at primary entrances, emergency exits are not included.
Walk-off matting is the first line of defense for maintaining a healthy, safe and clean building environment. But remember, keep your walk-off mats clean! If a mat is loaded with dirt it will cause more soil to be tracked onto floors – the opposite of what you’re trying to accomplish!
Clean Hands and Healthly Living for the Holidays
Clean Hands and Healthy Living for the Holidays
WASH YOUR HANDS:
The Center for Disease Control recommends the following steps in washing your hands correctly:
- Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold) and apply soap.
- Rub your hands together to make a lather and scrub them well; be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
- Continue rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
- Rinse your hands well under running water.
- Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
HAND SANITIZERS
We all have been is situations where soap and water is not available to wash our hands. A good backup plan is an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. However, while alcohol-based hand sanitizers are a quick fix for reducing the number of germs on hands, they do not eliminate all types of germs. Moreover, hand sanitizers are not effective when hands are visibly dirty.
Your facility’s health starts with good hand hygiene that will prevent the spread of sickness in your workplace. Some viruses and bacteria can live up to 48 hours or longer on surfaces like cafeteria tables, doorknobs, keyboards and desks. We are victims of what we touch so be careful to avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth while at work and make sure to wash your hands often.
Stathakis is dedicated to providing our clients with a safe and healthy work environment. If you need help improving the health of your facility please visit the H1N1 Swine Flu Cleaning section of our website or call us at (800)278-1884.
Copyright © 2011 Stathakis. All Rights Reserved.
Open Book Management
Who has a stake in Stathakis? Chris, George or Dennis? Actually, the answer is every one of our employees. Since we have put Open Book Management in practice, all Stathakis employees play an important part in managing the company.
Every Thursday at Stathakis headquarters, all employees are invited to participate in Open-Book Management meetings, where details of the state of the business are shared. The knowledge they gain from attending the meetings helps them understand how they can help the company attain success — leading to financial rewards for everyone via bonuses. Chris Stathakis said, “It’s a win/win/win for our clients, our employees and our company.”
Local vs. National Companies
Let’s face it. When you are evaluating a new supplier, numbers play a big part in the decision. That’s why national companies may be part of the mix of janitorial services you’re evaluating. Just make sure that you are evaluating all of the facts, not just the financial ones. National companies will try to sell you on their efficiencies, but what they won’t tell you is that you may sacrifice efficiencies in delays in service. That ultimately hurts your bottom line, because time is money.
If you run into a big problem with a national company, the immediate supervisors may not have the authority to resolve your problem. So you may have to wait until someone in power can jump in a plane and travel to your work site.