Custodial Services recognized for new OS1 cleaning program success
Representatives from Wake Forest Facilities and Campus Services accepted various awards for the university's new OS1 cleaning program.
The university was recently recognized for success in our new custodial management program, Operating System I (OS1) at the national OS1 user symposium in Portland, Oregon. In addition to receiving an award for the Best New Cleaning Program, as well as eight Outstanding Cleaning Worker medals for university custodians, Calloway (Kirby/Manchester Halls) also received Green Certification.
OS1 is a comprehensive high performance cleaning system that focuses on retraining of employees — from custodial workers to managers — to empower team members and promote a safe working environment that reduces chemical use and packaging waste.
Under the new program, custodial duties are now performed at night in academic buildings and during the day in residential buildings, by highly trained teams. These teams employ specialized cleaning kits designed by Portion Pac, with premeasured amounts of products to prevent waste and limit chemical use. The spray bottles in these kits are reused until they no longer function and are then recycled.
The OS1 system uses only two cleaning compounds – a disinfectant for restrooms and an all purpose cleaner for everything else – both of which are Green Seal certified. This certification means that the chemicals are much safer for the environment and contain fewer harmful substances that adversely affect not only the health of the environment, but that of custodians and customers alike. “OS1 is for the cleaning worker as much as it is for the occupant of the spaces that they clean,” Frank Thomas, director of custodial services, explained.
Teams of Wake Forest custodial employees are led by exemplary employees, eight of whom were recognized for their efforts to go above and beyond the call of duty. “I think it provides the other workers with something to aspire to,” Thomas said of the Outstanding Cleaning Worker medals. Because only one of the eight recipients could travel to Portland to receive the award in person, the other seven were presented at an “All Hands” meeting in front of their fellow employees.
The custodial division at Wake Forest rolled out the program last September in Calloway and it spread to Greene, Tribble, and Carswell Halls as well as the Worrell Professional Center the following semester. This fall, the Benson Center will be included in the expanding program. The only residence hall currently equipped for the program is South Hall, which will serve as a pilot for future deployment in all of the residence halls as renovations are completed. Thomas hopes that the program will be fully implemented in all the academic and residential buildings on campus within the next two years.
“This program really shows that Wake Forest doesn’t just talk about changing and doing things for humanity,” Thomas said. “Cleaning workers are not the most respected workers, but we are doing something to appreciate their hard work and to ensure that they are safe when they come to work. That’s pro humanitate in action.”
By Caitlin Brooks, Communications and Outreach Intern