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FACILITY MAINTENANCE 22 airportbusiness December 2015/January 2016 By Ronnie L. Garrett 3 Steps to a Cleaner Airport What airport facility managers need to be doing in order to hire the right cleaning contractor for the job "There are a number of factors that pose chal- lenges when trying to keep an airport clean. One is the simple fact that airports can be extremely busy … and schedules change a lot. Cleaning crews are tasked to work around large volumes of people," says Steve Ashkin, president of The Ashkin Group, a national consulting group formed to help green the cleaning industry. While traditionally airports hire a cleaning contractor rather than maintain an in-house cleaning staff, they still play a role in keeping such a spacious and crowded space clean. It is the airport facility manager's responsibility to hire the right cleaning contractor for the job, and this is where Ashkin offers some key advice. "I recommend a three-step bidding process," he says. "This way only the most qualified ven- dors are considered for the job. The last thing you want is to award a cleaning contract and find out after the fact that the contractor is unable to complete the job to your specifications." STEP ONE: REQUEST SPECIFIC INFO "Airports will attract plenty of interest for their cleaning needs," says Ashkin. "Who wouldn't want to get into an airport? These are lucrative contracts." Because it's true that a multi-year, high-dollar contract will attract volumes of bidders—both good and bad, qualified and under-qualified, Ashkin recommends airports take steps to sift out the wheat from the chaff. He recommends asking vendors to answer key questions during the Request for Information (RFI) process, which will enable airports to prequalify potential vendors. He says airport facility managers should ask potential bidders to supply information about their experience cleaning airports, their management systems, their hiring and training programs, their green cleaning experience and certifications, and their work with waste col- lection and recycling. They also should acquire information on how long they've been in busi- ness, their experience complying with federal and state regulations, insurance coverage, and a list of references. "These are all things that need to be in place in order to meet the cleaning needs of an airport," he says. "Generally when you get very specific, small contractors who are not already doing these things will deselect from the process," Ashkin adds. "The whole purpose of this step is that instead of getting 100 bids, you will get 10. If you get 100 bids and only 10 are qualified, you'll waste a lot of time evaluating each one." A n airport building is a vast facility. A single terminal may span 300,000 square feet while its ceilings may rise up to two stories high and the walls may consist primarily of glass. While all of these things add up to a spacious open facility that keeps the thousands of travelers passing through feeling comfortable, it also totals up to a massive space to maintain and keep clean. "The last thing you want is to award a cleaning contract and find out after the fact that the contractor is unable to complete the job to your specifications." STEVE ASHKIN, PRESIDENT, THE ASHKIN GROUP