It’s Clean Achieves ISO 9001 Certification

Mike Woodcock • Jan 28, 2022

It's Clean team with ISO 9001 certificate

We are pleased to announce that on 16 December 2021 our commercial cleaning services business achieved ISO 9001 Certification.

Having attained SafeContractor accreditation for 12 years in a row, and in 2021 also achieving SafePQQ accreditation which includes as one of its key pillars a focus on quality, we wanted to go further. Our senior management team identified a need to focus more directly on quality management to drive both consistency in the quality of the services we offer and to foster a culture of continuous improvement throughout our business. Being a globally recognised quality standard, we felt that ISO 9001 offered the best framework to achieve our goal.

Our journey towards Certification began back in December 2020 when we undertook desk research to identify the right consultancy to help us deliver an effective Quality Management System (QMS). We shortlisted three consultancies and appointed Alpha Swanson in York due to their local representation and past success in helping service-based companies like ours achieve ISO 9001 Certification.

The next stage was to form an internal working group to partner with Alpha Swanson, and Jade Harper our office manager was our project lead, as she had successfully developed and implemented a QMS in previous businesses she had worked in.

Alpha Swanson undertook a detailed examination of our processes, documentation, communications, and evidence of continuous improvement. We were pleased to discover that we were already undertaking around 70% of what was required for us to achieve certification which ultimately saved us a lot of time.

After a few months work by Alpha Swanson and our in-house team, we had a QMS to be proud of.

Our next step was the selection of a certification body. Alpha Swanson provided us with a list and Approachable Certification were selected due their high benchmark for success. They commenced their work with a detailed review of our QMS, and then along with Alpha Swanson they randomly selected 10 of our customer sites to audit against our QMS. These sites included commercial offices, schools, warehouses, GP practices, and dental surgeries.

With the review of our QMS and audits complete, we received our certificate of certification at the end of last year.

We will now be able to bid for public sector and larger private sector contracts where being ISO 9001 certified is a basic requirement. Of course most of the national commercial cleaning service providers have ISO 9001 certification, but we have now joined the 10% of regional commercial companies to have achieved ISO 9001.

This project has been a significant investment for It’s Clean costing around £15,000 which includes a significant investment of our own time in developing and implementing our QMS.

Everyone in our team, from the managing director to our valued cleaning operatives has had to change and improve the way we work to enhance the quality and consistency of the services we provide.

Since the implementation of our QMS we have also benefited from an increase in the overall productivity of our business.

David Whan, our managing director concludes “the road to ISO 9001 certification has not been without its challenges, but I can honestly say that it has been one of the most beneficial projects we have ever undertaken at It’s Clean, and our customers are already giving us some very positive feedback on the improvements to the services we provide.”

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by david • 10 Sept, 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way we live and work in all sorts of ways and the commercial cleaning sector is no exception. However, whereas technology can improve safety, efficiency and security, professional contract cleaning is still a people business. So, how far is AI likely to impact commercial cleaning, what improvements might we see and where will human involvement remain an essential part of the job? Robots, smart systems and automation We have already seen a huge amount of innovation with the introduction of smart cleaning technology and devices. Robotic floor cleaning, air quality sensors and smart systems that create alerts when dispensers need refilling are all improvements that have enhanced quality and improved facilities management. At It’s Clean Ltd we have knowledge and experience of all the latest innovations and can incorporate the use of smart systems for customers whose premises would benefit from them. Data and management The data that can be collated through the use of smart systems, like those described above, is another aspect of the progressive innovation we are seeing in the cleaning sector. The ability to analyse how often things need cleaning and refilling leads to greater knowledge for budgeting and will in turn result in wider innovation and opportunities for artificial intelligence. Virtual training In many industries, virtual reality is used to help train engineers and operatives in a simulated setting. Whilst this may become more widely used in commercial cleaning settings, we are proud to already be using technology to enhance the knowledge and expertise of our staff. Our online training programme can be accessed anywhere by staff and keeps them updated on all the latest techniques, products and processes. You can read more about our training programme here . The human touch AI technology will evolve to support cleaner and healthier buildings in situations where it makes sense to spend time and money innovating - where there is a significant positive impact on public health, safety and efficiency, for example. This is why much of the change is coming in the form of smart sensors, data collection and the automation of repetitive and time-consuming tasks. Anyone who has ever engaged a commercial cleaning company will know that the real value comes from having people on site who know the building, understand the needs of those using it and have the ability to adapt quickly to manage the unexpected. At It’s Clean Ltd we take time to survey every building before we embark on a contract. We get to know the business so that we understand the expectations and needs of the customer. Our cleaning teams are fully aware of what is expected of them but they are also adaptable, which is extremely important. Commercial cleaning involves a lot of routine work but it also presents challenge and change. We pride ourselves in adapting, exceeding expectations and solving the many challenges that we face as a team during our day to day work. We also focus on developing strong relationships with our customers, which allows us to review, adapt and evolve so that we are always delivering the very best service possible. No matter how much technology and artificial intelligence change the machinery and processes involved in our industry, commercial cleaning is, and always will be, a people business. Contact us to arrange a site survey.