Organising in-house cleaning services in public FM

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to describe and discuss in-house cleaning services in local authorities to gain a better understanding of current practices. These descriptions are intended to increase researchers’, practitioners’ and educators’ understanding of the studied issue, as there at present does not exist a solid understanding of in-house cleaning services in local authorities. Previous studies provide little detailed information regarding the internal environment of facility management (FM) organisations, in particular with regard to FM organisations’ individual services. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on two descriptive case studies, one from Norway and one from the UK. The case studies are based on semi-structured, face-to-face in-depth interviews and document reviews. Findings The cases demonstrate that in-house cleaning services can be structured and managed in different ways, particularly with respect to the split in services, the management of staff and customer contracts, the span of control, the chain of command, self-managed leadership, cleaners’ hours of duty and the use of outsourcing. Research limitations/implications Although the previous research on particular FM services is limited, this paper’s detailed descriptions may stimulate further development and research within the field. The knowledge brought forward is part of bridging a knowledge gap on cleaning in FM research. This knowledge can contribute to advancements in the way this service is discussed and measured across contexts by encouraging more rigour and specific studies on cleaning. Originality/value This paper constitutes one of the first detailed descriptions of in-house cleaning organisation in local authorities. This is a type of service supply that is common in certain contexts and identified as beneficial to cost-saving in other contexts.

Measuring perception about sustainability of building materials in Kosovo

“…The national survey, presented in Klungseth (2014), confirmed the indication of Norwegian municipalities' [2] preferences as identified in the literature. In Norway, both FM and cleaning are most commonly retained in-house as fully centralised departments.…”

“…According to Rhodes (1994) and Greenwood and Wilson (1994), public cleaning services in the UK have been outsourced since 1968 and exposed to competitive tendering since the late 1980s. Based on Klungseth (2014;2015) and Klungseth and Blakstad (2016, forthcoming), the difference in relation to voluntary or compulsory competition does however appear to affect what is happening inside public organisations.…”

“…The study started with a thorough and all-embracing epistemological literature review covering a 200-year period of research on cleaning in a Norwegian context (Klungseth and Olsson, 2013). This was followed by a national survey in 2010 (Klungseth, 2014) asking all Norwegian local authorities how they organised and planned to organise their local authorities with regard to FM, particularly with regard to cleaning. Third, descriptive case studies were conducted within two local authorities (Klungseth and Blakstad, 2016 forthcoming), one from Norway (Klungseth, 2012), facilitating a more in-depth understanding of the situation within one of Norway's larger local authorities, and one from the UK (Klungseth and Blakstad, 2012), to obtain an external view of the Norwegian situation.…”

Into the light: effects of the presence of cleaning staff on customer experience

“…A literature search in the databases of two major FM journals (i.e., Facilities, Journal of Facilities Management) yielded only a handful of relevant studies on cleaning and the presence of cleaning staff. Most of these studies are about the managerial side of cleaning by focussing on the make or buy decision for cleaning services (e.g., Klungseth et al, 2016, Houston & Youngs, 1996, Gbadegesin & Babatunde, 2015, end-user satisfaction with cleaning services (e.g., Hui et al, 2013, Hui & Zheng, 2010, and cost management (e.g., Bywater, 1990). The qualitative studies of Whitehead et al (2007) and Whatley et al (2012) are to the knowledge of the authors the only studies evaluating the effect of cleaning staff on end-user perceptions.…”

Scheduling and route optimisation for labour cost reduction in facility custodial maintenance

“…Klungseth (2015) and Klungseth and Olsson (2013), in their review of cleaning research in Norway, observe that the volume of cleaning research has not been proportional to the relevance of the matter to public health and to its impact on facility maintenance budgets. Bjørberg et al (2007), in their study of cleaning costs in Norway’s public buildings, found that some facilities spent nearly 33 per cent of their maintenance budget on cleaning costs.…”