Copec

Professional Commercial Cleaning

Richard Nassif

Depending on the number of employees that you have, it’s possible that you’ve considered to task them with cleaning the workplace. Why not, right? After all, cleaning is a simple task that could be performed by anyone with a broom. Anyone could mop the floors, clean the windows and dust the furniture, right?

Although it’s true that cleaning is indeed an elementary chore, there’s a difference between cleaning a house and a work environment. Certain techniques and practices must be applied to efficiently make the workplace hygienic. Techniques and practices that only professional and commercial cleaning services can do.

Injuries and Liability Insurance Requirements

Accidents can happen at any moment and none of us is truly prepared for them. Even the most skilled cleaner can sometimes get hurt and encounter mishaps. Imagine if you didn’t hire some commercial cleaning services and it was your employees that got injured. That’d be a huge inconvenience for your business.

These risks not only applies to you and your workers, but to the entire office, or workplace. Experienced cleaners would be able to create contingency plans to avoid any accident from happening. They’d be able to set up warning signs, take all of the necessary precautions and they have liability insurance as well, in case accidents are unavoidable.

Cleaning Product Safety

Certain cleaning products can be harmful to one’s health. This is why some cleaners wear protective clothing, gloves and safety goggles. These safety equipment are provided by the cleaning company and it’d be pretty difficult for you to purchase them.

It’s best to hire a cleaning company because their workers would be trained, and knowledgeable, with the numerous chemicals. They’d know what their properties are, how to handle them and avoid problems that could possibly cause health issues. They’d know how, and what, chemicals to mix so they wouldn’t react violently with each other.

Worker Productivity

Your business’ productivity is very important because it’s the one providing it with results. Productivity is the equivalent of inputs and outputs. It is the result of the tasks done by your employees and it is the proof of their hard work. A good volume of productivity means they’re performing at an optimal pace, which is good news for your business.

However, if you task them with cleaning the workplace, their productivity is bound to go down. See, cleaning the work environment might sound easy, but it’s not that simple. There are certain are that are hard to reach and there’d be items that would require to be momentarily moved. The total amount of time required to clean the workplace will go against their hours, hence lowering their rate of overall productivity.

Yes, it is possible to keep the work place clean without the help of commercial cleaning services. However, the amount of cleaning that can be done is limited. Cleaning products, injuries, liability requirements and worker productivity are just some of the limitations that will hamper you. It is more ideal to hire a professional to get the full benefit of a clean and hygienic work environment.

More often than not, business owners are more likely to focus on profit. They keep their eyes on input and output, performance and attendance, etc. Though it’s true that these aspects are important, they are not what makes a business, or company, thrive.

What makes a business, or company, bloom are the people putting in hours and hours to make it run. These are the employees, managers, team leaders, etc. Taking care of them makes them perform better, be more productive and in turn make the business grow. One of the best way to care for them is by hiring trusted cleaning services to help keep the workplace clean.

Why are Your Employees Valuable?

Whether we like it or not, running a business alone is impossible. If it’s a small business, then maybe you can handle it on your own. But at some point, and if you aim for it, it’s bound to expand and grow. The processes and workload would become too heavy for you to manage. This is where employees come into the picture.

Your staff are the ones you’ve trained to acquire the necessary skills needed to keep the business running. In fast food chains, for example, they are the cashiers, service crews, kitchen crews and managers. They are the ones who operate the business and serve the customers.

The Link Between Cleanliness and Your Employees

But ultimately, making the business grow isn’t solely up to the employee. It’s a combination of their hard work and your leadership skills. However, none of those will matter if your staff gets sick and is unable to go to work.

It’s important to have a hygienic establishment because not only is cleanliness linked to health, but also:

• A clutter free workplace removes unnecessary distractions, as well as reducing levels of stress and anxiety.

• It minimizes the risk of injuries and accidents due to an untidy working environment.

• Limits the number harmful germs that could cause sickness.

Reliable cleaning services would be able to keep the link between cleanliness and your employees intact, helping them remain healthy and safe.

Satisfaction and Productivity
One of the main factors that lowers down productivity in an office, or workplace, are sick leaves and absences. Unless a company is prepared to face this type of obstacle, they would definitely suffer a loss from it. If productivity goes down, so does satisfaction and this is something that any business should avoid.By keeping the work environment clean, productivity is raised due to factors like:

• Less distractions.

• Less absences and sick leaves due to work-related sickness.

• Happier employees.

The 2017 Hand Washing Survey also shows that 89% percent of Americans agree that a clear sign of how a company values its workforce is by the condition of its workplace toilet.Cleanliness may appear to be a simple, mundane task, but it is this simplicity that makes it the key to having a productive and growing business. Your cleaning services partner are the keeper of this key. Opening up the doors of success and prosperity.

Here at Copec, we know it is quite normal for businesses to call in cleaning companies maintenance gets too much to handle. However, we also know that there are still owners who take too long to realize they need to make that call. By the time they do, the cleaners arrive only to discover a number of problems such as damaged floors, dirty walls and incurring massive expenses for supplies. That is not even considering the consequences of taking much of your time and money that should be dedicated to actually running the business! Fortunately, there are plenty of earlier signs you can easily spot that should tell you that it is high time to call a professional cleaning company. 
  1. You have increasing foot traffic.
If you have never heard this term, it is simply the amount of people who are walking in-and-out of your office. And while it is usually retailers who measure this a lot, taking note of it is an easy indicator that you will need to do a lot of sweeping at the end of the day. Whether it is because you have more employees going about or having more customers coming in, there is no telling what all that foot traffic is doing to the floors. Different types of cleaning and maintenance might be required to keep up with all those feet. Calling in professional cleaners with more experience can help keep up the pace. 
  1. Cleaning takes more than 15 minutes of the work day.
It sounds extreme but if you’re supposed to be doing something else (e.g. reviewing paperwork, getting to a meeting, designing websites etc), even 15 minutes is time you can’t afford to spend on cleaning. Hiring a cleaning company to do it full-time is clearly more cost-efficient. Professionals will know methods and techniques that consume less time and allow you to focus on truly maximizing your hours. This doesn’t change even if you want to try and just designate cleaning at the end of the day. Thinking that it’s just all about making room for more tasks is only half of the picture. Because by the end of the day, you are more likely too exhausted already to do anymore work. Spending more time cleaning up is a recipe for burnout. 
  1. You have a bigger office.
At first, it sounds like an obvious sign that you need professional cleaners. However, sometimes owners underestimate what ‘bigger’ means. Here’s a quick checklist to run through you if you want a rough idea on how large an office you have: 
  • Your bathroom accommodates more employees.
  • Your total floor space is reaching into several hundred.
  • It takes several types of cleaning tools to get everything spruced up.
 If these describe your increasingly growing workspace then highly advisable to start looking up a cleaning company to keep it maintained. Keeping things clean when everything’s still new is certainly better than calling in when the upholstery start falling apart. Overall, there is really no need to face a worst-case scenario when you want to know if it’s time to call in some professionals. All these signs are solid indicators that cleaning at any part of the day is going to take more work and more time. Getting the professionals on board will help you save up on so much, even compared to hiring and training staff. And as luck would have it, we here at Copec are also offering customers a nice 20% discount on your next job if you call us now! If you see any of the signs we described, don’t hesitate to drop us a line. We’d be more than happy to take the job of cleaning off your hands and let you stay focused on more productive work.

When you hear the word graffiti, the first thing that comes to mind is explosive, in-your-face displays that can be one-part artwork and one-part vandalism. Unfortunately, the ultimate verdict about graffiti’s place in your office is that: it has none. (Unless, of course, you’re actually running a music bar.)The real problem, however, is that it is not just external graffiti you need to worry about. Graffiti can found inside the office and is not even intentional at times. There are ink spills and accidental writings on desks. It can also be found on old, used office furniture. Some people even expand their definition of ‘graffiti’ to include the remnants of sticky tape and other less than pleasing smudges on the walls.What are the best ways to remove all of these? Do you need a set of special tools or cleaning techniques? Should you hire graffiti removal services? Here are the top two ways to deal with graffiti and how they might measure up in terms of cost. 
  1. Painting over it.
 If you can afford the paint, putting a fresh coat of it over the graffiti is a fast and effective fix. Just make sure that you also know the right color for the wall when you do.Although, painting over is only effective for addressing very minor forms of graffiti. If the vandalism in question is very large and extensive, the paint job might just become more expensive. The costs will further go up if there is a chance of vandalism happening again. Make sure that this isn’t the case of the graffiti in your office before trying. 
  1. Find a specific cleaning agent.
 Both indoor and outdoor graffiti require different cleaning agents to effectively remove. Assess exactly what type of vandalism is most prevalent in your office before selecting. 
  • Pen and pencil – Ordinary cleaners (and even soap) are enough.
  • Marker ink – Nail polish or other cleaners with acetone content.
  • Adhesives – Hot water or even other forms of applying heat to soften it.
  • Paint – Specialized graffiti paint remover are commercially available.
 Do take note that cleaning agents do carry risks because of the chemicals they use. If your office has anyone sensitive to unusual smells or has certain allergies, it might be better to consult graffiti removal services for safer options.As you can see, each of these methods are quite effective but come with their own caveats. The cost of painting over graffiti gets pretty high depending on the extent of the damages. In the case of exterior graffiti, sometimes even the right color of paint may not do an excellent job once it dries. The elements might wash it off or the colors used in the graffiti might still be visible through it.Chemicals can also require more than simple application. For example, wiping too hard on smooth surfaces like wood could accidentally damage it. Cleaners used to strip off exterior graffiti could unintentionally damage the wall underneath (as well as create environmental hazards).As stated before, consulting graffiti removal services is a good way to mitigate these risks. Take time to measure the costs and determine if it is better to hire professionals or do it yourself.

There are two proofs that should compel us to get our act together and start making cleaning up a habit: daily smog in a number of big cities around the globe, and the imminent danger of climate change. Fortunately, it doesn’t really take much to make cleaning up a habit, especially in the case of homeowners. Unfortunately, most office managers and employees of corporate offices worldwide aren’t that knowledgeable on the following best practices to be implemented in their respective workplaces. 
Paper and Printing Products
Almost all offices, whether they are small or large, rely on big quantities of paper. Here are tips to reduce how much paper is used in your workplace.
  1. Use both sides of a single sheet of paper, and cut down in half the paper rubbish the waste removal service has to take out from the office.
  2. Reuse or shred unwanted sheets of paper instead of tossing them out. The shredded sheets can be used as packing material, while other reusable documents can be used for handwritten memos.
  3. Reuse boxes. When shipments come in, save the boxes so they can be used again when you need to send a shipment.
  4. Offer paper recycling. Set up a paper recycling receptacle near each printer, fax machine, and copier so employees can place all unwanted sheets of paper in them. When doing this, discuss recycling with the cleaning crew, or else appoint someone to bring paper to the recycling center every week.
  5. Avoid colour printing, as it uses more ink than black and white printing.
  6. Print in draft mode and save more ink. The resulting print-out bears a lighter shade, but is still readable and clear.
  7. Buy paper wisely. Make it office policy to get only chlorine-free paper that has high recycled content percentage.
  8. Consider alternative paper. You might want to consider obtaining paper fashioned from bamboo, organic cotton, and hemp.
  9. Purchase recycled ink and toner. Cartridges that the waste removal service has to get from offices are a source of metal and plastic pileup in landfills, so make sure to get only refilled ink and toner to help in alleviating this burden.
 
Transportation
You might not consider your commute a part of the company’s ecological impact, but any implemented transportation policies will spell a huge difference for you. Encourage biking, telecommuting, as well as other green transport options through the following steps.
  1. Encourage your employees to bike or walk to work.
  2. Give bonuses for commuting green.
  3. Support alternative schedules. Let employees work longer hours on fewer days so they can stay at home for more days.
  4. Come up with a carpooling program that allows interested parties to connect with each other.
  5. Offer telecommuting as an option. If there are some tasks that employees can do at home, offer them the option of doing them at home.
  6. Encourage the use of efficient vehicles. If your company provides cars to employees, then consider getting hybrids. In addition, encourage the rental of hybrids or other efficient cars on business trips.
  7. Video conferences or webinars. When possible, try video conferencing instead of driving to meetings.
  8. Offer bike parking lots. By providing your employees a secure area where their bikes can be parked, this mode of transport will eventually become commonplace.
 
Equipment
These are the tips to keep in mind during the purchase of equipment for the business.
  1. Purchase used furniture or remanufactured cubicles.
  2. Buy used printers, copiers, and fax machines, as getting new ones may contribute to waste in landfills. When doing this, make sure the used ones still work well and are energy efficient.
  3. Unplug equipment that aren’t in use.
  4. Recycle all electronic wastes instead of letting them be picked up by a waste removal service. By doing this, these electronic wastes don’t end up contributing to the high pile of rubbish in local landfills.
  5. Obtain high quality equipment. During equipment purchases, make sure to obtain something that lasts long and does not need to be tossed away sooner. This way, you won’t need to get new equipment and thus contribute to the pile of manufacturing waste.
 
Electricity
Small changes in lighting, fixtures, and air conditioning spell a huge difference with how you consume energy. Follow the guidelines below, and you should be able to save your surroundings as well as your electrical bill.
  1. Use CFL bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs are more efficient. They also last a lot longer compared to traditional bulbs.
  2. Obtain electrical essentials from a green company.
  3. Switch off all equipment powered by electricity when they aren’t being used.
  4. Use natural lighting whenever possible. The entire office should be set in a way that allows for the entry of sunlight. Set up more skylights and windows!
  5. Purchase Energy Star fixtures, and save even more energy.
  6. Unplug all vending machines when the entire office will be out for holidays or on days without work.
 
Computers
Computers will always be big energy hogs. Here are ways to efficiently use computers.
  1. Unplug all computers when they don’t need to be used.
  2. Purchase units that last for several years.
  3. Purchase energy-efficient units.
  4. End the use of screen savers, as they still consume power and processing energy. Instead, set PC’s to sleep when not in use for a set time.
  5. Consider getting laptops over desktops, since the former doesn’t consume much energy.

With the number of hours we spend in the office everyday, it could easily be considered as a second home to employees. The workplace is mainly an area where people are busy with tasks. Here, everyone is on the edge and doing their very best to accomplish their duties and responsibilities. Cleanliness is very important and can bring a lot of benefits like better health, productivity and morale. Hiring a professional cleaning service is necessary especially if you have a big office but you could also make small improvements to effectively keep the office clean. Here are 5 of them: 
Suggestion Board
Make a suggestion board where employees and staff could provide information if they found an area that needs cleaning, or if they have any suggestions to improve cleanliness, they could express it there as well. This helps improve employee cooperation and increases their initiative and accountability for promoting workplace cleanliness. 
Basic Cleaning Supplies
Encourage your employees and staff to take the initiative in keeping the workplace clean in their own little way. However, it’ll be impossible to do any actual cleaning if supplies are inadequate, or unavailable. It’s best to keep basic cleaning supplies at the ready, to further encourage everyone to clean the office. Basic cleanings supplies that should be available are: 
  1. Detergent and sponges (if there’s a kitchen in your office)
  2. Disinfectant surface spray
  3. Plenty of clean cloths for wiping work surfaces
Leave the heavier, or more time-consuming cleaning tasks, to the professional cleaning service because they are the ones responsible for the overall cleanliness of the building and office spaces. 
Scheduled Cleaning
It’s important to have a schedule where the employees are required to have a bit of general cleaning. Set up a date and make it into a weekly, or a monthly assignment. Task them to clean out their desks and throw away any unnecessary papers and stuff. This activity will also help them develop camaraderie and be able to work more efficiently as a team. 
Potential Hazards
Boxes, packaging, papers and other potentially hazardous material should be stowed away, or be disposed of. This would allow the office to have more space and minimize accidents that would cause damage to the equipment, or injure anyone. Safety and cleanliness are being accomplished at once, not to mention clearing up valuable space. 
Garbage Disposal
Garbage disposal is very important and it should be done in a regular basis. There’s no need to wait of the trash bin to brim full with paper, coffee cups and plastic wrappers. If left alone, it could also attract pests like rats, which are notoriously known for chewing on things, putting office equipment into harm’s way. The cleaning service crew are the ones tasked to take out the garbage and time-consuming cleaning chores, which is a great advantage for everyone. However, maintenance isn’t solely in their hands because everyone must work hand in hand to keep an area clean. Cleanliness is a team effort and these rules will certainly make everyone in the workplace realize that each of them is responsible for it.

Having an Easter party is a nice way to end the last day at the office before the long holiday. Most likely there’s going to be lots of hot-cross buns as well as the ever-present abundance of chocolate.But if your office is carpeted, won’t that be a bad idea? Aren’t you risking the chance of stains with all those foodstuffs going around? Who is going to clean that up and how?Fortunately, you don’t have to panic and think about remodeling your office. There are less drastic carpet cleaning techniques for getting food stains off. Try the following tips first before accidentally blowing a chunk of your office maintenance budget. 
Tip #1 Check the type of chocolate used.
The type of chocolate can determine how hard it would really be to remove. Most stains are easy to wash out because chocolate tends to be very soluble. The harder and drier the chocolate, the tougher it might be to remove. Perhaps, before starting the party, you take a quick look at the chocolates that are about to served. 
Tip #2 Consider vacuuming before getting carpets wet.
Sometimes what you have isn’t a stain but just some really stubborn crumbs (probably from cookies, cakes or biscuits). Before bringing out a bucket and washcloth from your carpet cleaning arsenal, try vacuuming the ‘stain’ first! Even in the event that some actual stains may be left behind, you will at least have less smudge to clean up than if you started splashing the stain first. 
Tip #3 Check if the carpet responds well to chemical removers.
If you really think that the only way is to apply a stain remover, do make sure that your carpet won’t be damaged by it. The wrong chemicals are not only hazards to an office environment but they might even bleach your carpet if they are not compatible! As with the previous tip, try using water first before chemicals. Just like vacuuming, it might just be what you need to loosen the stains’ grip on the fibers. 
Tip #4 Avoid agitating and start from the edge of a stain.
When you are finally doing the act of wiping the stain off, a most common mistake is starting smack in the center and scrubbing hard. This is a very reckless method that risks damaging the fibers of your carpet and making it look worse for wear. You also risk spreading the stain further outward because the force is concentrated in the center. Whatever exact method of removal, always keep it gentle and push the stain up from the edges towards its center.Overall, unless somebody dropped a whole chocolate pie or spilled cocoa syrup over the carpet, there is no need to panic when seeing stains. A few basic carpet cleaning techniques are all you need.In case a major accident does happen, however, you can still take comfort in the fact that a good cleaning service can handle it and still keep your carpet intact. So if you are still thinking about having a little Easter party in a carpeted office, then don’t worry. Go right ahead! A stain should be the last thing spoiling the nice prospect of your long Easter holiday.

There’s a growing epidemic in the office that saps the life out of its employees, causing low productivity and resignations. The sole catalyst of such catastrophe is unhappiness. Yes, you read that right, unhappiness. It is the root cause of branching issues in businesses and companies, when it comes to employee satisfaction, motivation and productivity. Wanna know what causes it? Mess. An untidy workplace can cause many problems, not just physically, but also mentally, which gives you more reason to get better cleaning services. 
Dirtiness is the Mistress of Stress
Unclean workplaces have a very high chance of hosting a wide array of pathogens which would make employees sick. But that’s not the only thing that you should worry about because a 2010 study by the scientific journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin show that untidy environments play a huge factor when it comes to varying levels of stress. There are a couple of reasons why mess causes stress and here are some of them: 
  1. Guilt– When a place is untidy, it makes one feel guilt and embarrassment. They’d feel inadequate as an individual because they weren’t able to do such a simple task and they’d be bogged down by thoughts of “I should be more organized,” making them lose focus at work. This results in lower levels of energy and productivity.
 
  1. Anxiety– It’s normal for everyone to be on edge when they’re in the office. It is a busy place that requires quick action from time to time, making you anxious. An untidy desk, or workplace in general, would heighten your levels of anxiety, which makes you lose your cool and mess up.
 
  1. Distractions– Clutters distract us because they act as extra stimuli for our eyes. This in turn, would make an employee lose focus and inhibit his, or her, productivity and creativity. It could have been prevented, have you contracted better cleaning services for your business or company.
 
How Does One Remedy This “Messy” Situation?
The immediate answer would be to clean the office regularly. This would not only prevent possibles diseases from spreading, but it would also heighten the level of joy for employees. That means higher levels of productivity, positivity and healthy work attitudes within the company. How does one attain this? Well, you can do the following: 
  1. Implement house rules.Limit the amount of belongings your employees could take with them to their desks by providing lockers.
 
  1. Throw away old, or unused files and papers.Paper clutters are one of the prime suspects for messy offices and reducing them makes your workplace look more organized and tidier.
 
  1. Dust, mop, sweep and clean the whole place.Whether it’s a bench, a TV screen, a computer, everything. Leave no stone unturned.
 They say that “Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” and this much is true. But not only does it promote Godliness in one’s character, but it also provides happiness, especially in the office. Remember to reduce paper clutter, get better cleaning services for overall office sanitation and implement house rules that promote it.