Benefits of planned floor-care in FM

Facilities management companies are usually faced with a range of assets that must be effectively managed and cared for to ensure their continued fitness and longevity.

However, one investment that is often overlooked as an asset is flooring. In the same way that a piece of equipment such as generator or air-conditioning unit requires proficient maintenance to prevent it from breaking down or deteriorating, flooring, whether carpet or hard surface, also benefits from a planned management programme if it is to have prolonged existence.

To achieve best practice in floor-care, a cleaning programme will be required. The most obvious part of the cleaning regime is to clean daily to maintain a general level of hygiene and cleanliness across different surfaces in the environment. However, there are many types of flooring surfaces that require more specialised periodic cleaning and it is in this circumstance that many organisations in both private and public sectors erroneously try to save money by adopting ‘if ain’t damaged, don’t fix it’ approach. This means waiting until the floors become very soiled or stained before acting. At other times, these organisations may engage inadequately-trained and ill-equipped cleaners to do a job they are not competent to carry out. The reality is that both scenarios are a false economy as it will cost much more in the long term if the cleaning is to be repeated, or worse still if the flooring becomes damaged and requires repair or replacement.

To make the planned management programme effective and result-oriented, professionally-trained and experienced cleaners are essential because they have the expertise to care for varied floor coverings and are also able to complement the service provided by a cleaning contractor.

It is possible for a floor-care specialist to develop a bespoke maintenance plan tailored to any given floor after an audit has been undertaken to determine the condition of the flooring and identify the best approach for the cleaning. Other variables that may be considered include but not limited to floor type, volume of footfall, the areas subject to the most wear and tear, nature of activity within the premises, the exterior environment, the requisite flooring appearance and budgetary constraints. The plan would then detail which tools and cleaning chemicals to use on a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis. The floor-care specialist may return at agreed periods to conduct a health-check. The report of the health-check will determine whether or not more maintenance is required and how it would be achieved.

The benefits of a carefully-planned and -executed flooring maintenance programme cannot be overstated.

As the profile of the FM industry gathers momentum in Nigeria and more service providers acknowledge that the appearance of facilities can be enhanced, it is my expectation that more attention would be placed on floor-care to ensure various floor environments are welcoming, hygienic and clean.

Tunde Obileye