Building cleanability - it is time for recognition

Citation

(2002), "Building cleanability - it is time for recognition", Property Management, Vol. 20 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2002.11320bab.007

Building cleanability - it is time for recognition

Building cleanability - it is time for recognition

Cleanliness is regarded as a general requirement of the modern workplace, whether it is office, factory or shop. As well as Health and Safety aspects, which may be enshrined in law, the provision of a clean workplace is likely to improve productivity, turnover or both. As the broad business environment becomes more competitive, issues of both cost and productivity are increasingly the focus of those responsible for procuring property for corporate organisations. Research into the link between quality of the working environment and productivity, particularly in the office environment, is ongoing and considered highly relevant by occupiers.

Corporate organisations have increasingly recognised the importance of occupancy costs over the last decade. Various surveys of leading business executives make clear that Finance Directors are aware of the need to control costs, particularly in periods of low economic growth. The possible economic downturn is likely to refocus the minds of Finance Directors towards their organisations' total operational costs, including property costs.

A recently published research document, The Total Office Cost Survey, January/July 2001 (City University Business School/Actium Consult, 2001) reveals the total costs of occupying office premises in 25 key locations within the UK. Cleaning costs form part of the total costs calculated, and whilst not the highest cost item, remain an ongoing cost item linked with the quality of working environment and thus employee productivity. In particular, it confirms that for many locations within the UK, facilities management costs, including cleaning costs, make up well over a third of total occupancy expenditure. This proportion of total costs is relatively higher in low rental value areas.

Comparison of occupancy costs internally within a business and externally with other businesses in an industry sector has been enhanced by the publication of industry accepted definitions of costs. The IPD Occupiers Property Databank Total Occupancy Cost Code (1999) (TOCC) provides such definitions.

The TOCC definition (Definition C10) for cleaning of a building is:

The annual costs associated with the cleaning of both internal and external areas of the building. Include the full costs of employment, special equipment, materials and other associated costs as well as contractor costs. All ancillary spaces, such as toilets, staircases, landing and lobby areas should be included. Include items cleaned regularly, such as windows, glazed partitions, desks, telephones, doors, partitions, floors, carpets, bins, reception desk, chairs, hand rails, WCs and urinals. Also include periodic special cleaning and shampooing of carpets, deep cleaning of toilets and general pest control. Exclude any costs associated with the repair or replacement of defective component parts. If required, divide into categories C10a) for interior cleaning and C10b) for exterior cleaning.

To provide a clean work environment adds significant expense to a company's running costs. It is reported that over £4 billion per year is currently spent on the cleaning of buildings in the UK.

The design of buildings, and the materials from which they are made, can arguably bear heavily on their cleanability. Design can have a considerable impact on the facilities management process and it is readily acknowledged that: "wrong decisions are phenomenal at the design stage and can cost businesses millions upon millions of pounds".

In recognition of the growing importance of the cleanability of property both in terms of cost to the occupier and in terms of productivity within the working environment, the Worshipful Company of Environmental Cleaners, the industry's Livery Company, initiated a Building Cleanability Awards scheme. The first Awards were presented in 1996 and there have been similar awards in 1998 and 2000. The City University Business School has provided assistance in creating assessment criteria and helping with the building inspection process for all three previous Awards schemes.

The Building Cleanability Awards scheme is the first attempt to consider the "cleanability" of property taking a holistic approach. It has thus far been limited in terms of geographical extent, and also in terms of building type. The initial Awards scheme was limited to office property within the City of London. The 1999/2000 scheme expanded to property located within the M25 ring and also extended the number of categories of building eligible for nomination.

The 2002 Awards scheme will cover the whole of England, Scotland and Wales, enabling any property within Great Britain to be nominated for an Award. This is an exciting extension of the scheme as it means that properties in relatively low rent locations may be nominated. It is in these locations that cleaning costs have a greater impact on the total occupier costs.

One of the key aims of the Awards is to heighten the profile of the need to consider the cleanability of buildings at the earliest opportunity within the design stage, rather than at the end of the process, as an afterthought. The schemes so far have found fine examples where the latter has been the case, such that parts of a building are inaccessible, either as a direct result of poor design or as a result of poor design of access equipment and mechanisms. Over time it is hoped that pressure from occupiers or space providers, as they focus on quality and cost of space, will improve building design, enabling the cleaning industry to provide the quality of working environment demanded at an appropriate cost.