1. Introduction
Before reading this document, we may ask ourselves what does the cleaning company have to do with quality? Through this essay we will understand how hygiene and cleanliness contribute to health; for example, the course of history shows that the lack of cleaning caused epidemics and pandemics around the world at different times, if only cleaning and disinfection procedures had been carried out, the story would be different; unfortunately ignorance wreaked havoc on humanity.
Today, its implications not only have to do with the field of physical health, but with the business field, in other words it has an impact on the health or well-being of companies; cleaning is an essential part of the processes for a company to have a healthy economic development.
We will reason about how companies specialized in cleaning activities contribute to the profitability of companies that hire them as a result of cost reduction.
We will analyze the importance of cleaning in the company and its relationship in quality management.
We will also be able to understand the social benefit that they bring by being a source of employment for an important sector of the population and their contribution to caring for the environment.
2. Historical background of poor hygiene and cleanliness
to. Bubonic plague
History shows that poor hygiene or cleanliness has contributed to catastrophic epidemics; One of the best known pandemics, due to its unpleasant historical association with the Middle Ages and subsequent centuries, is the Bubonic Plague. This disease is caused by Yersinia pestis, which is a bacterium, not a virus. Its main and eye-catching symptoms are very unpleasant huge buboes or blisters caused by bacteria that are transmitted by fleas as a vector, although at the time it was believed that transmitters were "humors" and vaporous fluids. But the secret was found in rats, which plagued medieval cities and are the perfect reservoir. 75 million people succumbed to this disease in the middle of the 14th century
b. Spanish flu
The epidemic, considered by some to be the first in the globalized world, began before the end of the First World War (1918) and was known as the Spanish flu; After the war, the almost non-existent health conditions in a Europe in ruins presented the ideal situation for the distribution and spread of the virus. The lack of healthy food, drinking water, the exhaustion of the troops, the inadequate equipment in their clothing, and the cold and windy climate made it easy for them to spread. After attacking Europe, the virus spread throughout America, Africa, Australia and Asia due to population migration that sought new life opportunities in other regions of the planet. This pandemic, according to records from the World Health Organization (WHO),caused between 1918 and 1920 some 40 to 100 million deaths and was listed as a level 5 pandemic.
3. Conceptual framework
For a better understanding of this essay, let us analyze the following definitions and the Concept of the 5 S method.
- Cleaning.- Clean quality. Action and effect of cleaning. Purity, chastity Epidemic.- Disease that spreads for some time through a country, simultaneously affecting large numbers of people. Pandemic.- Epidemic disease that spreads to many countries or that attacks almost all individuals in a locality or region. Quality.- Property or set of properties inherent to something, that allow to judge its value. This fabric is of good quality. Good quality, superiority or excellence Senior Management.- Group of people in charge of running a company, an establishment, etc. Example. Director position. Environment.-Air or atmosphere.. Physical, social, economic conditions or circumstances, etc., of a place, a meeting, a community or a time Employment Occupation, trade 5 S. Method- The name comes from five Japanese words whose version in our alphabet begins with S; these are simple and useful ideas about organizing and cleaning the work environment, about neat work and standards development. (Eulália Griful Ponsati, 2002)
4. The importance of cleanliness in the modern world
Cleaning on a personal level, that is, of our body and our house, contributes to our health, prevents the spread of diseases; but all our surroundings must be a clean place. How about work? Whether it is the company, the office or the warehouse where we work, it must also be a clean and tidy place.
It is common to see dirty workshops, factories full of rubbish and accumulated garbage, offices crammed with unfiled documents and in no proper order. We could even get used to that environment, but it is dangerous and without realizing it, it would be contributing to the increase in company costs.
Order and cleanliness in any organization is essential since it allows us to work in a healthy and relaxed environment, which increases productivity (Miguel, 2009), avoids waste, helps to avoid accidents, which reduces costs and increases profitability. Therefore it is directly related to the product or service it offers.
Although each person should be in charge of their work area; common areas also require cleaning and order; It is necessary to have the appropriate personnel and equipment to carry out these important tasks that will contribute to the image of the company or its brand.
Some companies hire others who specialize in this line of business and leave this activity to you, others directly hire their cleaning staff, train them, provide you with their tool and work equipment, as well as the necessary supplies for their activities. daily, their benefits, etc. Most companies that hire their own personnel do so in order to reduce costs. But the opposite could be happening.
5. The 5 S of quality management and the Cleanliness factor
Some people consider cleanliness to be of little importance, the reality is that it is a primary factor in quality management.
The 5 S try to make order and cleanliness a new culture in the way the company works; apart from image or aesthetics, it is necessary to take it as a necessary issue to improve working conditions, safety and efficiency (Miguel, 2009)
These work area organizing, tidying up and cleaning activities were developed by the Toyota company and are applied worldwide with great success.
- Classification. Delete from the Order workspace. Organize the Cleaning workspace. Improve the level of cleanliness of the Standardization places. Establish rules and procedures. Discipline. Recurrent application of rules and procedures
Specifically speaking, cleaning is an essential rule of thumb to clean before and after work, as well as maintaining proper standards.
6. Top management and its relationship with cleaning
While it is true that Senior Management must be involved in quality processes and management, it is necessary to take action on strategic plans to lead the company to success.
This does not mean that it is your job to check if the warehouse is clean or to inspect if the dining room or the production area is tidy.
The main job of the Director or Administrator is to lead the company to success by increasing its profitability. He cannot waste time in tasks that he can delegate to others, of course he must be informed of all the activities of the company including this line of business.
Hiring a company specialized in cleaning prevents the manager from diverting his attention from his main activities.
This will be in charge of carrying out preventive and corrective cleaning programs for all areas and people involved in cleaning.
It will also be in charge of having the necessary supplies and the appropriate work team for the correct performance of the tasks.
The manager can count on a monthly report of the level of cleanliness obtained through physical evaluations of the areas and the programs and necessary actions in the event that there are areas of opportunity.
All of the above will prevent the executive from diverting his attention in the direction, the shrewd executive will be focused on his main activity, making decisions that lead to success for his company
7. The costs derived from the employer-employee obligations
It may seem cheaper to have your own staff than to hire a cleaning services company, but let's analyze the following:
What will happen when the worker misses his activities, who will do the work?, would have to eventually hire another in case of unexcused absences, permits, disabilities or vacations increasing the costs of the company.
Let us now consider labor litigation; We have all heard of companies that filed for bankruptcy for compensation in labor litigation; We have heard of employees who hire the services of a lawyer who in his lawsuit alters working hours, benefits, etc. To which, at the end of the award, are due wages that could lead to a devastating result in the assets of the companies.
To all of the above, add the fees of the lawyer hired for said litigation, the time invested in the award and the implications of time and investment of financial resources when hiring new personnel, training them, etc.
Add the costs for benefits of Law such as Holidays, Christmas bonus, Social Security, Infonavit, etc.
Analyzing it in this way it no longer seems cheaper and certainly it is not, because there are still other costs not considered.
Let us not overlook the material the worker uses; You have to buy it, then take into account the time spent in quoting and buying those materials that could be more expensive and expensive for you, since the company that is dedicated to this service buys wholesale at a better price and takes them to your business.
There is still another related expense; the one to assign a person to be in charge of the cleaning activity, it can be a supervisor from another area, an intermediate command or even a secretary, please add the weekly time invested in relation to your salary and position as it He would be dedicating himself to an activity outside his specialty.
8. Benefits of hiring a specialized cleaning company
- Reduction of tax payment for obligations derived from the payroll since their payroll is paid by the cleaning company.Reduction of employer-employee obligations among these their benefits Elimination of expenses for labor litigation Having specialized personnel trained for the tasks In case of absences, have personnel to remedy such shortcomings Avoid the expense of man hours by not having to assign own personnel to supervise cleaning activities, so that all employees in their various positions will be able to work without deviating from their objectives regarding the mission of the business.Senior management can focus on their own activities of the position since the surrogate company will attend to the tasks of cleaning. Have tax benefits by being able to deduct taxes from bills for services rendered.
9. Cleaning companies and their social objective
Responsible companies have among their objectives the care of the environment; But if cleaning is your main activity, your social commitment is or should be stronger. First-hand information on cleaning techniques and the use of environmentally friendly products should be your daily task to be able to work together with your clients in caring for the planet.
Another benefit of cleaning companies like any other company is that they are a source of work; however the difference lies in the following.
Nowadays, in most companies a certain level of schooling is required to be able to perform certain jobs; unfortunately, a large part of the population does not even have finished primary school, which prevents them from getting a job, or worse, the population cannot read or write, which further reduces the job offer for this sector of the population..
It aggravates the situation for the female gender since it is more difficult for women than for men to be hired in certain jobs such as those related to the construction area.
The female workforce predominates in cleaning companies as males have other employment opportunities.
Among others, cleaning companies provide the opportunity to have a formal job through which these people can have social security and access to housing that would otherwise be impossible to obtain.
10. Conclusions
Quality management includes cleaning activity as an important factor in the continuous improvement process, a clean environment contributes to greater productivity.
Top management should use this tool as part of strategies to increase the productivity, profitability and scope of success of their company.
A company specialized in the cleaning business is a valuable ally for reducing costs
Taking into account the importance of cleaning and delegating the tasks related to cleaning, the Manager can focus on the tasks inherent to his position.
Cleaning companies participate significantly in the image of the company through their techniques and activities provide a pleasant and healthy work environment that allows to increase productivity and raise the quality of the company to which they provide their services.
Responsible cleaning companies contribute to caring for the environment and are a source of employment for a significant sector of the population.
11. Bibliography
- (sf). Retrieved on September 17, 2015, from the Royal Spanish Academy: http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=lim Cleaning(19 November 2009). Retrieved on September 17, 2015, from Health Encyclopedia: http://www.enciclopediasalud.com/categorias/enfermedades/articulos/definicion-y-fases-de-pandemia-segun-la-oms(01 February 2012). Retrieved on September 16, 2015, from Economic Censuses 2009: http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/proyectos/censos/ce2009/pdf/M_construccion.pdf hypertextual. (October 9, 2014). Recovered on September 14, 2015, from the 10 deadliest pandemics in history: http://apps.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/index.html Colombia learns. (September 17, 2015). Recovered on September 17, 2015, Colombia learns: http://www.colombiaaprende.edu.co / html / home / 1592 / article-189775.htmlEulália Griful Ponsati, MA (2002). Quality management. Barcelona: UPC Editions. (2004). In JK Liker, Toyota's Keys to Success (pp. 27,29,47). Barcelona: Mc Graw Hill. (2009). In P. A. Miguel, Calidad (pp. 153-156). Spain: Auditorium.
References
Phase 5, according to the WHO, in the disease that is transmitted from person to person in more than one country in the same region (Health Encyclopedia, 2009)
Definitions of the Royal Spanish Academy
The Toyota company is copied worldwide as the best in its class for its high quality and high productivity (Liker, 2004)
Workers in the construction sector: 90% are men and 10% women. INEGI Source (Economic Censuses 2009, 2012)
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