Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Why Is Measurement Important?

  • By Bill Balek
  • 04/01/16

Absenteeism among students and staff due to illness is staggering — kids miss 22 million schooldays a year due to the common cold and 38 million days due to influenza.

Teacher absences cost $25 billion annually, and the bill for substitute teachers in the U.S. is $4 billion each year.

Chronic absenteeism is a persistent problem and has a major impact on academic success. By improving cleaning practices and establishing a standard to measure cleanliness, student and staff health is protected, academic performance increases and schools help their bottom line.

Typical cleaning practices that rely on visual inspection are not effective in measuring cleanliness. Cold and flu viruses can live on surfaces anywhere from a few seconds to 48 hours, and some bacterial can live on surfaces for months. Germs abound on water fountains, cafeteria trays, water faucets, keyboards and toilet seats and are transmitted by touch.

The ISSA Clean Standard: K-12 helps schools objectively assess the effectiveness of their cleaning processes, contributing to the quality of the indoor environment.

Based on the philosophy of “Clean, Measure, Monitor” and an emphasis on high-performance cleaning, the standard focuses on:

  • The desired levels of cleanliness
  • Recommended monitoring and inspection procedures to measure effectiveness
  • How to use the measurement and inspection results to assess and improve cleaning processes and products.

The ultimate goal is to ensure that schools are in a condition that is clean, safe and healthy. More importantly, the ISSA Clean Standard calls for corrective actions in the event the school is not achieving the desired level of cleaning effectiveness. To learn more, go to issa.com/cleanstandard.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Bill Balek is the director of Legislative and Environmental Services at ISSA where he oversees the association’s legislative, regulatory and environmental programs. He has over 30 years of experience in the cleaning industry. Balek is an attorney licensed to practice in Illinois, and holds an MBA in marketing from DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. For more tips and information, visit issa.com/infectionprevention.

Featured

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

  • Wisconsin District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The School District of La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff of two existing schools, according to local news. Funding for the school comes from a $53-million referendum approved in 2024.

  • Utah Valley University Opens New Engineering Building

    Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, recently held a grand-opening ceremony for the new Scott M. Smith Engineering Building, according to a news release. The facility is one of the largest engineering buildings in the state at almost 200,000 square feet, and it plays home to the university’s Smith College of Engineering and Technology (SCET).

  • University of Oklahoma Announces New Campus Master Plan

    The University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., recently announced that it will soon launch a new, comprehensive Campus Master Plan to guide the campus’ physical development during the next decade, according to a news release.