Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine, August 2014

a clean sweep Luckily the Centers environmental services staff includes cleaning professionals with years of experience in the industry Ruffin manages four full time and five part time workers and the full time employees have several years of professional cleaning experience with McWane Science Center or other organizations Of the five part time workers most of them also have full time environmental service positions for another employer according to Moore Since they work at the Center in the evenings some are able to work at schools hospitals and a nearby sports arena during their off time The environmental services department can depend on the rest of the science centers staff to help keep the facility clean as well Everybody who works at McWane Science Center is supposed to be an environmental services staff member to a certain extent Moore says This team effort means other employees often take the time to help keep the facility clean by wiping down wet restroom counters or picking up trash on the museum or theater floors Unique Concerns As a science museum for children with hands on displays and exhibits infection es for Ruffins department are the science centers carpets and restrooms Carpet upkeep in a childrens museum with thousands of visitors can be a daunting task but if the museum moved forward with a non porous floor choice another concern would arise It would be much easier to clean but we also have the challenge of keeping noise down with the school groups Ruffin says Say for instance we took the carpet up in some areas where we have marble and limestone we have to deal with the noise everywhere Moore notes that the museum will be installing new carpet in the first floor public areas this fall As mentioned previously the lobby restrooms are a cleaning challenge due to their proximity to the lobby elevators and their availability for public use Another part of the challenge with the Centers restrooms can be traced back to their design the restrooms are not tiled completely up to the ceiling This limits the use of restroom spray andvac cleaning options and the efficiencies that they can offer New Technologies Today the science centers environmental services staff calls upon technology such as a dispensed certified green and safe chemical system Ruffin states To learn about new technology or discover new equipment ideas the department mainly depends on its vendors according to Moore Vendors frequently contact Moore about a new technology and sometimes they will provide a test run of a chemical or equipment If we do like it if its something thats going to benefit us were going to write it into the budget for the next year Moore explains Were looking to say Hey this will help us out Save time save money Finally new technology ideas can come from the environmental services staff as well Moore says Since McWane Science Center cleaning employees are experienced and also work in other facilities staff suggestions have proven to be a good resource for new technology and techniques control and cross contamination prevention is a pressing concern Because of this the environmental services team utilizes a no rinse general sanitizer as part of its cleaning process After an area is cleaned using a cleaning solution it is sprayed down with this nontoxic no rinse sanitizer Though the chemicals touch and smell is similar to that of water it effectively disinfects surfaces according to Ruffin For high traffic hands on areas like the museums play castle or sand enclosure the environmental services team uses disinfecting foggers The fogger is set up in the area and run and the disinfecting fog takes about two hours to dissipate After fogging environmental services employees simply go in and wipe up the excess disinfectant Another unique area of concern in Mc Wane Science Center is the lower level aquarium Here the two open top aquariums are self maintained through the use of bacteria active bacteria is what keeps the aquariums clean Ruffin states Yet the chemicals used to clean other areas in the Center are designed to kill bacteria Thus in the aquarium area cleaning workers cannot use ammonia or anything that will disrupt this system of bacteria Ruffin says Since this level includes a tank where visits can touch small rays or sharks hand soap and sanitizers are another aquarium concern One of the things that we have to change on this level is using anything thats oxygenated like a foam soap Ruffin notes This type of soap will cause the protein skimmers that keep the tanks clean to overrun because they are trying to keep up with the new materials introduced into the ecosystem The hand sanitizer available to visitors on the lower level is different than the rest of the facility as well While the gel hand sanitizer used on this level is not as cost effective as foaming options it is necessary to maintain the aquariums Two Challenges The two most prominent cleaning challeng McWane Science Centers busiest time of the year is spring due to frequent field trips and visiting school groups 48 CM Cleaning Maintenance Management August 2014