Janitorial firms clean up COVID profits
Published:Thursday | August 27, 2020 | 12:25 AMJonielle Daley/Gleaner Intern
Janitorial firms hit by the closure of offices or scaling down of commercial operations are finding a second wind with new revenue streams from the very trigger that caused the fallout in the first place.
As coronavirus cases continue to mount islandwide, heightened concern over the need for sanitisation services has forced the public sector and private businesses to regularly call on cleaning companies.
Manpower & Maintenance Services, one of the leading janitorial companies in Jamaica, has reported a noticeable increase in requests for sanitisation services as well as the distribution of disinfectant supplies and personal protective equipment.
CEO Audrey Hinchcliffe said that between old and new clients, “the calls are coming in fast and furious”.
Consequently, the company has had to recruit additional staff to service demands. Between Friday and Tuesday, Manpower conducted more than 17 sanitisation services.
“We have companies that are ordering 10,000 masks. They are ordering hand sanitisers and alcohol by the gallon and dispensers and thermometers by the dozen,” Hinchcliffe told The Gleaner.
Sanitisation services may cost anywhere between J$4 to J$15 per square foot based on the complexity of the job.
Even as Manpower ramps up its hiring, it has had to juggle both economic and health considerations. Keeping workers safe while they are directly in the line of fire has been a lingering concern.
Doctors and nurses are generally considered key front-line workers, but cleaners who have been deployed to sanitise premises also grapple with risks surrounding a virus that is still not fully understood.
Hinchcliffe said that she has had to forge a discrete COVID-19 team to respond to emergency calls for deep cleaning after COVID-19 infections or suspicions.
“We identify 10 of the workers - that’s cleaners and porters - with a special pay, and they are the front-line workers for any suspicion of COVID.” she said.
Another janitorial company, Mint Cleaning, came into operation shortly before the March 2020 emergence of COVID cases in Jamaica. Mint has had to transition from the distribution of the electrostatic misting machines used for sanitisation to taking on cleaning operations itself.
Managing Director P.J. Wright considers that shift to be a positive strategic move.
Wright said that after Patient One was identified as the first COVID-19 case, requests for sanitisation increased to once every week, but the surge of cases in the last 10 days, including multiple new one-day records, has seen a significant uptick in business.
“They (clients) have been requesting deep cleaning and sanitisation twice per week, and some businesses every day,” Wright told The Gleaner.
Though janitorial companies conduct refreshers for staff and urge them to abide by the health and safety protocols, Hinchcliffe said that her quasi-SWAT team of “front-line workers are specially trained” because of the threat of exposure.
Fear of the disease’s contagion is real, as 19 people have been killed as at August 26 among 1,804 cases. Public stigma adds to the anxieties.
Hinchcliffe revealed that Manpower has not had to increase health or hazard insurance amid the pandemic.
“With the health and life insurance, we have not had any indication from our carriers that we are required to do that. We have checked with our attorney,” said Hinchcliffe.
On Wednesday, Wray & Nephew and the Companies Office of Jamaica were the latest organisations to close temporarily for deep cleaning. The Manchester Municipal Corporation also shuttered its doors on Tuesday following the day-earlier positive COVID-19 result of Mayor Donovan Mitchell.
COVID cleaning may soon become a regular line item on the books.
With the Manchester municipal building reopening on Wednesday, CEO Winston Palmer said that the corporation would be conducting sanitisation at least once per week in tandem with its regular weekly cleaning schedule.