You are ready to fully re-open your offices or venue after the pandemic shutdowns. Your facility has been thoroughly cleaned. You have reconfigured your space following CDC Guidelines and adjusted traffic flows. The hand sanitizer stations are fully re-stocked. Your HVAC filtration system has been enhanced.

Yet your tenants, customers, or staff enthusiasm about being in the building remains clouded by ongoing doubt over their safety and health. This uncertainty can impact everything from workplace morale to attendance, or even your institution’s bottom line.

An independent commercial cleaning consultant that specializes in infection prevention can help show your stakeholders your facilities are clean, safe, and consistently ready for the endemic stage of the pandemic. But you need to choose the right consultant for your goals and sector.

Here are five factors to consider when choosing a facilities maintenance consultant:

Third-Party Objectivity

An independent custodial services consultant can validate your use of the most current and effective infection prevention practices. Reporting and data from an impartial, external expert provides credibility. A “consultancy” with ties to a specific brand, manufacturer, or product line can diminish your efforts through the potential for, or simply the assumption of bias.

Experience & Education

Unfortunately, since the start of the pandemic and with the shift toward online learning, some “certified cleaning experts” promote themselves after only a couple of hours online. Make sure the consultants you choose have extensive, hands-on background and education in facilities management. In addition to a strong overall track record, bench strength in solutions for your specific sector are also a major benefit.

Professional Accreditations

Ensure the consulting firm you hire holds professional memberships and certifications from organizations like the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA). Professional facilities maintenance consultants can help you earn and implement valuable cleaning, environmental, and sustainability certifications, ranging from GBAC to LEED. They can recommend the best certifications to pursue for your specific industry, provide a plan to achieve them, and data to support them.

Gap Analysis

Every consultant conversation and recommendation should start with a review of your current program to pinpoint your specific goals and where improvement is needed. Choose consultants who are ready to not just identify those issues and opportunities, but who can also equip you with the tools to actively address them.

Ongoing Performance

Now the world is embracing our “new normal,” many workers and visitors are concerned that facility maintenance will devolve to pre-pandemic levels. Or that companies are more concerned with appearances, or “hygiene theater,” over actual science-based cleaning for health. Choose consultants who have the capacity to monitor, measure, and confirm your building’s ongoing performance.

Looking for help to ensure, or demonstrate to your building occupants, that your facility is clean, safe, and healthy? Contact DCS Global US for all the facilities maintenance expertise and targeted support you need. Connect with us for a complimentary consultation today.