Industrial cleaning is on our menu here at All Pro Cleaning Systems. In our capacity as industrial cleaners, we often find ourselves handling warehouses. Warehouse environments are unique from a cleaning perspective. We found that the best way to ensure that warehouses get the intention they need is to schedule how and when they are cleaned down to the very last task.
Not scheduling warehouse cleaning ultimately leads to a hit-or-miss approach. We have seen time and again that cleaning warehouses hit-or-miss doesn’t really do them justice. In the end, deep cleaning becomes more difficult because routine cleaning gets ignored.
A Busy and Chaotic Environment
The big challenge with industrial and warehouse cleaning is getting the work done in what is often a busy and chaotic environment. In a warehouse, you constantly have materials coming and going. You are trying to clean around hand trucks, forklifts, shelving units, and so forth. And in extremely busy warehouses, there may not be any downtime.
Warehouses lend themselves very well to unintentionally neglecting cleaning. It is easy to put cleaning tasks off for another day, only to never get to them. That takes us back to scheduling. When warehouse cleaning is on the calendar, management usually finds it easier to make sure tasks get done.
3 Reasons Scheduling Works
As a company that specializes in warehouse and industrial cleaning, we understand the value of scheduling. Indeed, scheduling is ideal for any cleaning environment. It is especially helpful in warehouse environments for the following three reasons:
1. Disruptions Can Be Worked Around
Disruptions are inevitable when cleaning a warehouse. For example, the cleaning crew might have to block access to a storage area while floors and shelves are cleaned. But in a busy warehouse, such disruptions are never welcome. Scheduling can minimize some of the inconvenience. It allows the warehouse team to work around cleaning with minimal disruption.
2. Tasks Are Less Likely to Be Ignored
When warehouse cleaning is scheduled, tasks are less likely to be ignored. Scheduling puts each task on the docket for a particular day and time. And since everyone knows just when those tasks should be performed, everyone will also know if they aren’t done. For all intents and purposes, this creates a built-in system of accountability.
3. Scheduling Minimizes Deep Cleaning
The most important reason to schedule warehouse cleaning is arguably the fact that doing so minimizes deep cleaning requirements. Scheduling routine cleaning tasks ensures they get done. And when that happens, deep cleaning becomes a much easier proposition.
How to Schedule Warehouse Cleaning
It is easy to say that management should schedule warehouse cleaning. It’s another thing to actually sit down and do it. Coming up with a workable cleaning schedule is never an easy task. Still, it needs to be done. The starting point is assessing the needs of a particular space.
Write down every cleaning task and the frequency with which it should be performed. Then categorize the tasks based on whatever criteria you feel are important. It could be location, time allotted, or anything else. Finally, prioritize the tasks.
With all that information, you can then fill in a schedule. Some cleaning tasks will be done daily while others will only need to be done every few days or weekly. Schedule each task at an appropriate time and assign a team member. Then follow up to make sure the schedule is adhered to.
An alternative is to let All Pro Cleaning Systems manage warehouse cleaning for you. Industrial and warehouse cleaning are on our list of services. We would be happy to keep your warehouse in tiptop shape.
