Cleaning services for Busy Bees Nursery

Busy Bees is the UK’s largest childcare nursery provider, with more than 249 children’s nurseries nationwide. Integral was awarded the contract to clean the Midlands/Northern Region Busy Bees locations in October 2012, and commenced service delivery in the first nursery in November 2012.
The scope is to provide a daily cleaning service to all areas of the nurseries, focusing specifically on those areas the children come into direct contact with to ensure we minimise the risk of illness that young children often succumb to such as sickness and diarrhoea. The full scope of service includes in addition to the daily cleaning, Janitorial supply, Window Cleaning, and Periodic Deep Cleaning, including carpets, hard floors and kitchens. In addition, Integral also provides adhoc services such as cleaning outside patios and entrances, graffiti cleaning, and the cleaning down of external play areas.

The mobilisation was carried out over three distinct phases. Phase 1 started in November 2012 and involved starting service in these locations where there was an immediate cleaning issue such as where an on-site cleaning team resigned. Then, in May 2013 we mobilised a further 22 locations which up until then had been serviced by another external provider. In December 2013 we mobilised the remainder of the portfolio awarded, where Busy Bees had their own in-house cleaners/housekeepers who were transferring to Integral’s employment under
who were transferring to Integral’s employment underTUPE.Integral delivers this

service via a network of on-site cleaning operatives, supported by a field management team comprising Service and Area Support Managers. A dedicated Account Manager oversees the service delivery and is the communication conduit between the client and Operations.

Scope of works

• Deliver a personalised service with frequent dialogue between the local management and nursery management, maintaining regular communication at this local level.
• Service self-delivered and this ensures Busy Bees receive accountability, coherence and a bespoke service geared towards meeting the individual site needs.
• Continuous improvement is something we bring to Busy Bees, which is driven by ourselves and the needs of your staff and customers.
• Our front line staff are the true ambassadors of Integral which is why we invest our time in delivering customer bespoke training.

Important factors for Integral

We ensured our Quality Management System was implemented, this encompassing site audits, weekly/monthly inspections, the 100 day plan initiative, and Quarterly Business Reports as required.

Integral’s ongoing commitment to continuous improvement in both methodology and performance is employed to identify where productivity improvements can be made which may provide cost savings.

Following mobilisation, Integral field management conducted audits and site surveys to determine targets for improvement in service delivery on a site by site basis. The information gained evaluated all aspects of the service such as efficiency, productivity, quality and performance.

Field management were required to re-evaluate their local back-up contingencies to ensure sufficient numbers of mobile cover employees were recruited to provide the required back-filling when needed.

Important factors for Busy Bees

• Cleaning service delivery must be consistent and to the high standards required.
• When cleaning operatives are either sick or on holiday, replacement cleaning cover must be available.
• Demonstrate that all operatives and management have been suitably vetted.
• The service delivered is not restricted to daily cleaning, but there are a number of other services we provide that will improve both the image of the individual locations, and the wellbeing of the children and staff.
• Provide the required management information to Busy Bees facilities team in a timely manner.
• Deliver a high quality cleaning service that satisfies the various external bodies i.e. OFSTED.
• Health and Safety is priority at all times.

Innovatrion & added value

Tablets introduced so audits can be completed electronically and be more professionally presented.

Use the tablets to take photographs and immediately pass these on to benefit the facilities team in decision making over adhoc requirements.

The above also provides a benefit in terms of adhoc work completion since before/after photographs can be provided.

The introduction of a Time and Attendance system. This assists Integral in the Health and Safety management of our workforce and flags un-notified absence.

Integral has introduced Pictorial Method Statements which have proved to be beneficial in demonstrating to operatives specific cleaning processes. These statements offer guidance on how to complete a task, and the expectation levels required, which is reinforced using photographic images. These are adapted to our clients’ individual requirements.