Commercial cleaning services are a vital component of a company’s cost containment strategy. Budget dollars spent on facility maintenance now offset expenditures on major renovations and litigation expenditures down the road.
As a facility manager, you know the significant capital investment required to produce functional, yet aesthetically pleasing company facilities. From a cost containment perspective, it makes good financial sense to maintain your assets in good repair for as long as possible. Renovation costs can run higher than initial construction costs.
$187.50 per square foot
for office renovations, including cabinetry, countertops, added storage space, new carpeting, and new drywall and modernized electrical wiring would be an average estimate. Postponing renovations and reducing or eliminating emergency repairs are vital in curbing company costs.
Maintenance is defined as any work done to preserve a facility or repair it to an agreed upon acceptable standard. There are
three classes of maintenance:
- Reactive: mainly urgent, emergency repairs
- Planned: regular upkeep of facility assets
- Major: overhaul, renovation and replacement of facility elements and infrastructure
Over its lifetime, your facility will require maintenance and eventual replacement of its various components, materials and assemblies. Using a commercial cleaning company is a vital part of your planned, coordinated approach to facility maintenance.
The consequences of failing to engage in planned maintenance of facility assets are many and costly:
- Disruption of facility use;
- Structural consequences leading to more expensive reactive maintenance or earlier than scheduled major maintenance;
- Unexpected liabilities including litigation from client or employee injury.
Planned
maintenance reduces Reactive
maintenance and prolongs the need for Major
maintenance.
The lack of planned maintenance results in obvious costs. The accelerated deterioration of facility assets means they must be replaced earlier than anticipated increasing your capital expenditure. However, there are also some unexpected costs associated with lack of regular maintenance.
Nuisances caused by noise and smells from less than stellar cleaning and the resulting visible deterioration of the facility can have some unusual ramifications.
- Foot traffic from potential clients is negatively impacted reducing company sales;
- Executives feel the need to entertain clients and hold meetings outside of the office due to the physical unattractiveness of their facility. Renting meeting rooms in hotels or other facilities can be a costly addition to business expenses.
Companies who fail to regularly clean and maintain their facility leave themselves open to unexpected litigation expenses.
- The potential for accidents and injuries to both staff and clients due to unsafe slip, trip and fall conditions increases exponentially without regular maintenance.
- Insurance coverage protecting a business from such occurrences will skyrocket with multiple claims against the company.
Litigation expenses have even greater long-term effects. They negatively impact the company brand as well as having a stifling effect on employee morale. Both factors reduce profit margin.
Using a commercial cleaning service as part of a planned maintenance program is vital to the preservation of a functional and safe working environment. It prolongs the need for major maintenance by expanding the useful life of assets and ensures a vital, aesthetically pleasing environment within which employees and clients are pleased to interact.
Investment in Commercial Cleaning = Money Saved
The gains to be realized from using a commercial cleaning company are many. Hiring a reputable corporate cleaning service is a win-win proposition because unexpected expenses are minimized while customer and staff satisfaction are boosted. The investment in a commercial cleaning company is most definitely a smart factor in company cost containment.
