I’m sure Imperial Sugar thought cutting back on housekeeping costs was the fiscally responsible thing to do. I have no doubt that the managers at Imperial were clueless to the fact that cutting this corner would cause the death of 14 employees and injury of 40 more.
It is easy to overlook facility services in manufacturing because cleaning is often viewed as merely cosmetic but the Imperial Sugar tragedy proves that there is often a hidden danger in tightening your belt.

“inadequate housekeeping practices allowed highly combustible sugar dust and granulated sugar to build up throughout the refinery’s packing buildings.”
And continued…
“Imperial’s management as well as the managers at the Port Wentworth refinery did not take effective actions over many years to control dust explosion hazards – even as smaller fires and explosions continued to occur at their plants and other sugar facilities around the country,”

When all is said and done this entirely preventable tragedy will cost the company over 200 million dollars; every penny of which could have been saved by insisting on basic facility services and dust control

Megan Erickson of cnn money published an excellent piece about the plight and turn around of small businesses with outside backing.  In the piece Mike Michalowicz, CEO of Obsidian Launch explained how his $250,000 sba backed loan caused the near collapse of his first business because the financial cushion caused the organization to circumvent best practices. While Michalowcz’s business was far removed from our labor-intensive facility services industry what he arrived at is a lesson all building services contractors should take to heart.

“My explanation to myself was that if I had a lot of employees and a beautiful car, people would know I was successful and want to do business with me,” he says. “Once I was out of cash, I had to get back to doing business the right way: servicing clients well and working hard.”
Michalowicz ditched the expensive furniture and renegotiated his rent. In three years he had paid back his loan and sold the company for six figures.
Easy money can kill a business l CNNMoney

There aren’t many venture capitalists lined up to throw big backing to a building services contractor nor is there the type of push for innovation that fuels grants. As building services contractors we are forced to secure capital via loans or self-finance, this may be a blessing in disguise. With a market of 40,000 competitors nationwide there isn’t an opportunity that can be missed and in such a labor intensive market we can never lose sight of our goals and forget that exceptional service and hard work is what will allow us to rise to the top.

Health officials confirmed Monday that an outbreak of norovirus occurred last week at the Peppermill Resort Casino in Reno.
AdvertisementThe Washoe District Health Department was notified of the illness by guests from California at a wedding party at the Peppermill, department spokeswoman Judy Davis said.

She said about 40 members of the wedding party had norovirus symptoms, but other visitors to the casino who were not associated with the wedding also have reported gastrointestinal symptoms associated with the illness.

“We were notified on June 28, and we still have some people coming in who are experiencing vomiting, diarrhea and nausea, so subsequent to that, we have been interviewing both guests and staff to try and pinpoint the source,” Davis said.

“We might not be able to do that, but we are working with the Peppermill to review cleaning procedures and steps they need to take to stop the spread of this illness,” she said. “The Peppermill has been very cooperative with our investigation.”

People infected with norovirus are contagious from the moment they begin feeling ill until at least three days or sometimes up to two weeks after recovery, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Noroviruses cause acute gastroenteritis in humans, according to the CDC.

Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping. Some people also have low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and fatigue. Symptoms typically last one or two days.

Davis said it would be difficult to determine if the highly contagious virus was spread by a member of the Peppermill’s staff, someone in the wedding party or another visitor to the resort who had the virus and touched a slot machine handle, door handle or other surface.

Each year we see easily preventable outbreaks cause public relations nightmares. This story from the Reno-Gazette Journal illustrates the importance of professional cleaning personnel and management. In many cases these outbreaks would never occur if cleaning staff followed the cleaning methodologies outlined in the scope of service and individual task sheets. What happens is in the absence of close supervision or detail-oriented inspectors cleaners skip over details they know will go unnoticed. Rather than disinfect handles, hand railings, sink fixtures etc they may wipe down any fingerprints and call it a day; these shortcuts cause the spread of norovirus and e-coli.

As a building services contractor I would never suggest that customers manage their cleaning management however if you notice something seems off about your service or your cleaning personnel seems to have free time to make cell-phone calls, joke with co-workers, customers or your employees you should bring this to the attention of your contractor as these are signs that something isn’t getting done. Janitorial services contracts are bid very lean and hours closely managed if you see a cleaner doing nothing or “hanging out” you are not getting what you pay for.

When companies have to tighten their belts in tough financial times cleaning crews are often the first to go. In smaller offices employees agree to pitch in and help keep things tidy but good intentions are now substitute for commercial cleaning expertise and training.

The cleaning methodologies used in a residential home differ greatly than those employed in commercial facilities. Commercial cleaning solvents and solutions can be dangerous if spilt, or mishandled and are potentially fatal if mixed improperly.

Recently, a San Jose, California office learned the hard way how an innocent mistake cleaning up can create a serious health hazard.

An office worker cleaning a fridge full of rotten food created a smell so noxious that it sent seven co-workers to the hospital and made many others ill.

Firefighters had to evacuate the AT&T building in downtown San Jose on Tuesday, after the flagrant fumes prompted someone to call 911. A hazmat team was called in.

What they found was an unplugged refrigerator that had been crammed with moldy food.

Authorities say an enterprising office worker had decided to clean it out, placing the food in a conference room while using two cleaning chemicals to scrub down the mess. The mixture of old lunches and disinfectant caused 28 people to need treatment for vomiting and nausea.

Authorities say the worker who cleaned the fridge didn’t need treatment — she can’t smell because of allergies.

Chicago Tribune