It is used at dozens of schools, universities, and offices throughout North America. It is credited with improving safety, reducing cost, and improving the quality of cleaning. It has positively impacted the health of those doing custodial work as well as other building occupants. “It” is (OS1), a cleaning system developed by ManageMen, Inc of Salt Lake City.
In 1985, ManageMen received a grant for the Utah State Department of Education to develop a staffing formula for school custodians. The state legislature was grappling with how to appropriate funding and had no reliable indicator of how many custodians were necessary.
Productivity rates varied widely from school to school, as did tools and techniques. One school used vacuums that allowed cleaning workers to cover 2500 sq. ft. in an hour. Another school used vacuums that covered 7500 sq. ft. ManageMen discovered productivity rates had less to do with the cleaning worker than with the tools and processes he/she used.
The following year ManageMen was awarded another grant. This time state officials wanted ManageMen to develop a state-wide training program for school custodians. An endless variation of tools and techniques convinced ManageMen there was a critical need for someone to identify the best practices and tools. A staffing formula and training program supporting those practices could then be developed.
(OS1) – the first operating system in the cleaning industry – was born.