Challenge

The client – a national energy provider – maintains hundreds of sites across the UK, all housing business-critical data infrastructure, including but not limited to data centres. Given the operational necessity of this infrastructure, it must always function at a certain level of efficiency. This efficiency is ensured through regular maintenance, carried out by specialist cleaning technicians.

Rather than operating solely on reactive, project-based contracts, the client wanted a long-term partnership with a trusted supplier, in which operational capabilities are retained in-house and long-term schedules are put in place.

This would enable a more proactive and efficient solution for the client’s operational requirements, while also retaining reactive capabilities and strategic visibility.

The client, already possessing a relationship with ABM from past work, contracted the facilities management leader to cover dozens of sites across the south and midlands of England (UK) ranging from Cornwall to Lincolnshire.

Given the wide geographical berth of the sites, ABM needed a highly mobile and dynamic workforce of cleaning technicians to support permanently staffed sites.

“Now, the client’s sites are maintained by ABM’s specialist team of cleaning technicians, rather than being reliant on reactive, project-based work."

Furthermore, the client’s operations have national implications. Therefore, exceptional service delivery was critical for ABM’s growing data centre and infrastructure cleaning service line.

Solution

In collaboration with the client, ABM’s Critical Solutions operational management team established a detailed mobilisation plan to help implement critical cleaning services.

It was agreed that a team of approximately 20 cleaning technicians would schedule and oversee the portfolio of sites and ensure that each site would be scheduled within an operational timetable.

While most of the client’s sites would have permanent teams to staff them, a mobile team of ABM technicians would oversee and conduct critical cleans. To support this arrangement, ABM emphasised effective communication between the client and technician team.

This included regular reporting (including all procedures carried out and any grading classifications for deliverables) and month-on-month timetables. Now having a proactive schedule in place, the client would have access to consistent reporting.

This would also provide greater strategic visibility across the entire portfolio, so that ABM and the client would be able identify areas of excellence, opportunities for innovation, and areas that may require special operational requirements, for example.

Similarly, it would allow the technicians to coordinate with individual sites. This would be essential for a seamless operation, as technicians, for example, would need the necessary access permissions.

Moreover, now that ABM was the supplier, each site would receive BSI (British Standards Institute) and ISO (International Standard of Organisation) ratings. This would guarantee the application of best practises, in addition to providing certification for the quality of cleaning services rendered.

Furthermore, while a proactive operational strategy was the main priority for the client, reactive capabilities were still viewed as a necessity in case of unscheduled or emergency work. With this goal in mind, stakeholders worked together to ensure each site was stocked with the resources necessary for ABM’s technicians to perform emergency and reactive work.

Now, the client’s sites are maintained by ABM’s specialist team of cleaning technicians, rather than being reliant on reactive, project-based work. This continues to enable greater efficiency gains and identify future projects, as well as deepen the relationship between ABM and the national energy supplier.

Benefits

• The client has access to a team of mobile cleaning technicians to support on-site staff, thereby retaining critical cleaning capabilities for each site. Similarly, the client has greater strategic visibility, as they’re now able to see the routine schedule for on-site work and allocate operational staff proactively.
• The client has ISO (International Standard of Organisation) accreditation for cleaning work carried out by ABM’s technicians, to determine a particlesper-cubic-metre rating. Every site has received no less than an ISO-7 grading, many regularly attain ISO8 classifications, and, increasingly, ISO-9.
• The client’s sites are cleaned to a BSI (British Standards Institute) approved standard, providing assurances that all procedures are conducted to industry standards.
• The client’s operational requirements continue to be fulfilled with no accidents to date, due to thorough QHSE (quality, health, safety, and environment) standards, which are further supported by ABM’s QHSE management team.
• The relationship between the client and ABM is both longstanding and positive. It continues to develop as the contract evolves to include additional cleaning services. Due to the sensitive and confidential nature of the client’s in-house data centres and other data infrastructure, ABM’s cleaning technicians, and the wider operational management team, are deeply concerned with demonstrating best practises at all times.