Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Team Cleaning with Effective Tools

  • 09/01/16
Super Coach Pro vacuum

ProTeam helped WMU achieve better environmental quality with the Super Coach Pro vacuum, which removes microscopic dust and pollutants from the air.

Western Michigan University (WMU) opened its doors over 100 years ago. Today, its facilities house about 24,000 students from all over the world who are all there to pursue greater knowledge. For Steven Gilsdorf, director of building custodial and support services, removing unwanted matter like dirt, particulate and allergens from university facilities is key to fostering learning.

“We are cleaning for health and safety, not just appearance,” says Gilsdorf. “The key to that is removing matter.”

In order to become removers of unwanted matter, Gilsdorf and his team implemented a customized version of Team Cleaning they call Process Cleaning. Like a Team Cleaning program, Western Michigan custodial uses specialists who take on fewer tasks with state-of-the-art equipment to improve efficiency and clean to a higher standard. A typical Team Cleaning program has four specialists; WMU added three more specialists to fit the specific needs of their facilities.

At WMU, the standard restroom specialist, vacuum specialist, light duty specialist and utility specialist work in tandem with a light bulb specialist, a project specialist and a refresher specialist. This specialist “refreshes” restrooms and common areas, empties trash and addresses spills.

“Overall, we have seen cleaner buildings, because our method of cleaning removes more,” said Gilsdorf. “We maintain an APPA level of a high two, and we do not see the levels of illness and absenteeism that other schools and universities near us have had.”

In the last two years, Gilsdorf also expanded the use of ProTeam backpack vacuums to all departments of the school. With an advanced filtration system, the Super Coach Pro model backpack captures microscopic dust and pollutants, helping to further the goal of removing unwanted matter.

“Before ProTeam backpack vacuums, we were dusting lobbies and common areas daily,” says Gilsdorf. “The backpack vacuums made a huge difference. The environmental quality is so much better. We are now dusting those areas once a week.”

www.proteamnextgen.com

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management September 2016 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • From Approval to Opening: Inside Travis Unified School District’s Fast Tracked Campus Expansion

    The Travis Unified School District (TUSD) in northern California includes several elementary and high schools serving over 5,400 students. In 2024, the TUSD Board approved the addition of sixth grade to the Golden West Middle School campus for the 2025–26 school year, setting in motion an accelerated effort to bring new facilities online in less than a year.

  • Myrtle Grove Elementary

    Phased Construction Keeps Students on Campus During Rebuild

    When Escambia County School District needed to replace most of Myrtle Grove Elementary School in Pensacola, Fla., it had three distinct challenges: honor the school's legacy in the community, bring state-of-the-art learning environments to the county, and be seamlessly built on the same site as the active school campus.

  • Indiana University Launches Capital Campus in D.C.

    Indiana University recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new IU Capital Campus in Washington, D.C., according to university news. The eight-story facility will provide a central hub for the university’s existing programs and business operations based in D.C., uniting them under one roof and providing the opportunity to expand.

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.