San Juan College is one of the top five community colleges in New Mexico, serving 15,000 students on four campuses. Its ICARE (Innovation, Collaboration, Accountability, Respect and Excellence) mission guides how 43 custodial workers maintain 675,000 cleanable square feet in a healthy cleaning regimen.

According to Bob Richey, Custodial Supervisor: “One of our goals is to break the ‘circle of infection.’ We protect community health by continuously working with and training staff in better methods using the right equipment to foster hygienic outcomes.”

Richey has certifications from both Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) and Cleaning Industry Training Standard (CITS) Accredited Cleaning Trainer (ACT) Certifications. He equips custodial staff to perform high-performance healthy cleaning using top tools and systems, including several from Kaivac.

Kaivac Tools and Systems at San Juan College

• No-Touch Cleaning systems are deployed by specialists to deep clean 120 restrooms. They clean at a rate of one minute per fixture, compared to a cleaning industry average of three minutes per fixture.
• KaiFly Flat Surface Cleaning System boosts productivity by 30% on desktops and 1,000 campus white boards.
• KaiWipes are bought dry by the case then saturated with a non-irritating EPA-registered, hydrogen-peroxide solution. Teachers and students grab them to sanitize classrooms as needed.
• Microfiber towels optimize cleaning over cotton cloths.

“The first step is training hires on the Kaivac equipment,” said Richey. “The Kaivac systems enable rapid cleaning and near-total removal of organic soil, as shown by post-cleaning testing.”

Kaivac products also help enable meeting healthy cleaning goals. They simplify prep for — and cleanup after — frequent events held in popular campus venues, including three auditoriums.

The college uses a performance enhancement software program TrakStar to help meet individual goals. Using it, they assess progress using employee self-appraisals. The software fosters a culture of collaboration with, and respect for, each worker. Specific goals are mandatory,  like worker mastery of the employee manual, CITS, and related training. Additionally, Richey urges workers to set personal goals, log, and monitor their own achievements.

The college’s sustainability efforts have enabled reaching green goals, earning LEED Certification in several buildings. Overall, San Juan College has achieved facility excellence goals in large part because it cares about better learning environments and healthy cleaning.