A cleaning revolution

Most people, when they think about the cleaning industry, imagine traditional cleaning methods and procedures. For years - centuries! - we have relied on traditional techniques to keep our spaces clean and sanitary.

There is a certain beauty in this, in the history of our humble industry, where women and men keep our families and colleagues safe through their hard work and dedication.

However, the landscape in our industry is changing, and we now benefit from incorporating cutting-edge technologies, environmentally friendly methods and a data-driven approach to cleaning. This has the capacity to revolutionise the results we are able to achieve. And in a post-pandemic world, sanitation has never been more important, or valued.

The company I founded, GJK Facility Services, is a leader in introducing automated cleaning technologies to its range of services. These smart machines, such as floor scrubbers with superior navigation and obstacle-avoidance technology, provide a consistent, immaculate clean across huge floor areas. The machines do the repetitive and time-consuming tasks, while allowing our dedicated team of human cleaners to concentrate on more complex areas and quality control.

Our company leverages the power of digitally-enabled equipment to monitor cleaning performance in real time. Sensors built into our cleaning equipment provide useful information on cleaning solution levels, brush wear, and battery life. This information is then examined to improve cleaning operations, forecast maintenance requirements, and maintain consistent cleaning quality across all service sites.

By using this knowledge and data-driven insights, GJK is able to create a tailored cleaning strategy that includes frequency, scope of services, and appropriate technology implementation.

Reconciliation pathways

What an honour it was in February to receive formal endorsement by Reconciliation Australia for our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) at GJK Facility Services.

This action plan is the next logical step in our journey to contribute to a reconciled, just and equitable Australia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

With this endorsement, we are joining a network of more than 2200 corporate, government, and not-for-profit organisations that have made formal commitments to reconciliation through Reconciliation Australia’s RAP program.

GJK’s plan is available to download and read here.

About the artwork

The beautiful RAP artwork in our plan, shared above, is called “GJK Pathways to Reconciliation” and was created by Lani Balzan , a proud Aboriginal woman from the Wiradjuri people of the three-river tribe.

Lani created the piece to represent GJK and its connection with staff, families, friends, and community, coming together to learn and grow and close the gap between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people by taking the journey together for a better understanding of Aboriginal culture.

The large gathering symbol represents GJK, with the people symbols representing employees, family, friends, and the community. The gold pathway represents our reconciliation journey, the paths are taken to build a better connection to Aboriginal culture across the land, and the work we have done with Aboriginal people over the years.

The Yarra River represented through the artwork, symbolizes the important land feature where GJK’s head office is located, with the six circle elements representing our offices in other states.

The eagle symbol represents strength and courage, and is also Lani’s totem and holds significant importance to Aboriginal culture. The eagle watches over and protects from above.

The three larger people symbols in golden colours represent GJK’s values.

Clean air conversations

This is an important issue that was recently raised on the GJK Facility Services website:

“Across the globe, poor air quality contributes to around 8.8 million premature deaths per year, nearly half of which are due to indoor or household air pollution.”

The World Health Organisation has declared air pollution a ‘global public health emergency’, and poor indoor air quality costs the Australian economy an estimated $12 billion a year in lost productivity.

What we do know is that achieving healthy levels of indoor air quality is a complex and multifaceted challenge, that requires a lot more than opening a window or turning on a fan. It involves strategies like source elimination, building design, operational strategies, and human behaviour interventions.

It’s also important to consider the “journey of air” in workplaces: knowing who is responsible (or who carries the burden of care) in a workplace goes a long way to ensuring we can achieve and maintain good air quality. For example, what are the responsibilities of the building owner or facility manager? What of the tenants? And what of the individual occupants? All have a role to play in maintaining healthy indoor air-quality.

Not surprisingly, the question of air pollution came to the fore during the Covid pandemic, when the World Economic Forum began to question the role that air pollution was playing in the spread of the disease. In response, GJK authored a White Paper, “6 Essential Ways to Optimise Cleaning for Wellbeing and Productivity,” with guidelines for creating healthy surfaces, air and hands to create a safer workplace.

That paper is available to download here for anyone who is interested.

Redefining "clean"

It’s interesting, though probably not surprising, that new studies have revealed people are thinking and feeling quite differently about hygiene and cleanliness in a post-pandemic world.

This is of particular interest GJK Facility Services, since “clean” is the core of what we do, and the team recently collated some of the research that is coming out on this issue into a blog post. I’ve shared some of the highlights from that post below - you can read it in full here.

• 80% of people are more uneasy than they used to be at using unhygienic restrooms

• More than 95% of shoppers consider that unclean restrooms and unpleasant odours, along with dirty floors, shopping cars and spills and stains influence their shopping decisions

• Customers and employees now want to see sanitiser stations, wipes and signage as proof that an area has been properly cleaned (not just wiped down)

• More than 66% of employees in a US study say they want their offices to focus more on cleaning practices before they feel safe returning to work

• Most employees in the same study believe that employers who pay attention to the general cleanliness of the workplace care more about their employees’ health and wellness

Robot revolution

An excellent story in the Financial Review this week, on the “robot revolution” for deep cleaning. These technologies are more useful than ever in our post-pandemic world.

Read: Robot revolution a clean sweep for building managers, by Jonathan Porter (Australian Financial Review)

Predictive cleaning

GJK Facility Services is one of the first commercial cleaning businesses in Australia to trial a revolutionary IoT-based “predictive cleaning” system for its customers.

We believe predictive cleaning represents the future of the commercial cleaning industry. It will enable cleaners to respond to real data about how the specific facilities are used, and then tailor and curate their cleaning services to best respond to the way they are used.

To that end, we have installed cleaning sensor technology at our head office in Collingwood, in the office spaces, kitchen, and washrooms. This technology provides us with insightful data such as the air quality, the occupancy levels and use of our facilities, and when soap dispensers or toilet paper needs refilling.

It’s our goal to use these insights to demonstrate the difference this “predictive cleaning” technology can make to our clients, by providing better cleaning outcomes. The result will be a more efficient, responsive, transparent and value driven cleaning service.

Thank your cleaner

Today, 20 October, is Thank Your Cleaner Day, an opportunity to recognise the hard work our cleaners do, and remind them that they are valued and appreciated.

Cleaners have been at the frontline of Melbourne’s battle against COVID-19, frequently unnoticed and unsung, but going to extraordinary lengths to keep us safe.

I want to take this opportunity to wish the more than 2000 cleaners with us at GJK Facility Services a wonderful day, and if you know a cleaner, please don’t forget to thank them too!

Healthy air & hands

It seems we’re not out of the woods yet with this pandemic, and it remains essential that we practice good social distancing and hygiene practices. 

The GJK Facility Services blog recently published some excellent advice on air quality and hand washing, that I thought would be worth sharing here. 

Improving air quality: 

• Minimise fragrances 

• Minimise VOCs (volatile organic compounds, found in many paints and cleaning products)

• Remove dust and mould safely (so it won’t be released back into the air) via damp dusting, HEPA filters, deep cleaning and extraction, and HVAC maintenance

Improving hand hygiene: 

• Wash your hands often, with soap and water 

• If you can’t access soap and water, use alcohol-based hand-sanitisers 

• In the workplace, ask for hands-free soap dispensers and paper hand-towels

• Bring personal mini sanitiser bottles and sanitising wipes for your desk 

Our robot cleaner

Meet the cleaning robot of the future, and the newest employee at GJK Facility Services! He’s posing for his photograph here alongside our CEO, Elias Stamas. I’m looking forward to seeing how our robot employee helps to improve the working lives of his human colleagues.

Unsung COVID heroes

Shout out to all the cleaners and hygiene workers the world over who, in my eyes, are among the unsung heroes of this global pandemic. I think we could all agree that right now, cleanliness and hygiene has never been more important, and it is these men and women who are helping to ensure the comfort and safety of us all.

While much of the world is staying safely at home, they are going into those homes - and workplaces, public buildings, public transport and parks - to maintain a continued high standard of cleanliness and hygiene.

Our own team at GJK Facility Services is doing an extraordinary job, and I am enormously proud to have each of them represent my company.

Three members of our team, Sandyha Bhattarai, Richard Millhouse and Nicholas Shaw, have been going above and beyond to help one of our university clients respond quickly and safely to the “new COVID normal,” and I want to take the opportunity to praise them here.

Thank you Sandyha, Richard and Nicholas, and thank you to the rest of the team at GJK Facility Services. You are doing an amazing job.

Franchising reform

A recent parliamentary inquiry into franchising in Australia proposed some substantial changes to how franchising businesses were run in Australia, and how this is reflected in the code of conduct. 

Disturbingly, the parliamentary committee found that there was systematic exploitation of some franchisees by a subset of franchisors, and the existing regulatory framework wasn’t adequately protecting them.

In response, the parliamentary committee proposed substantial changes to the Franchising Code of Conduct and to the responsibilities and powers of the ACCC. This included a raft of changes designed to lift the standards of franchise operators and rebuild confidence in franchising in Australia.

Within the cleaning industry, I believe these changes to how the franchise model operates, together with other recent recommendations and advancements, such as subcontractor reporting and single-touch payroll, are another step towards building an even stronger, fairer and sustainable industry.

In effect, these changes will amount to another weapon in our industry’s armoury against illegitimate and unscrupulous operators. 

Writing from the BSCAA perspective, I believe that can only be a good thing. We welcome these reforms to the franchising business sector. We see them as a reward for the majority of cleaning and related businesses in Australia that have worked hard to run their businesses legitimately and with integrity. It’s those businesses that will reap the rewards.

Here is the full overview I made on this issue as it relates to the cleaning industry, for InClean magazine.

Thank You Cleaners

Yesterday GJK celebrated Thank Your Cleaner Day with our fantastic cleaners across the nation. They are the invisible heroes working in the background to ensure the facilities, public spaces and transport we use day to day are clean and hygienic.