College of Knowledge
Pro-Active
Floor Care
It’s All
in the
Details
Your Instructor
Michael Tarvin
Vice President-Multi-Clean
Agenda

Key Questions & Common Complaints

Influencing the Floor Care Cycle

The Top 10

High Performance Floor Care

Planning for Success: The 3 P’s

Pro-Active Maintenance Strategies

Green Floor Care
Questions: How Do I………

Extend the life of my finished floors?

Strip less frequently?

Maintain shine with less buffing?
Common Floor Complaints
Floor Finish Durability
 Dull Floors
 Dirty or yellow floors
 Slippery Floors

Influencing The Floor Care Cycle
Maintain
Finish
The Floor Care Cycle
Recoat
Strip
Top Ten Issues / Challenges
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Tight Budgets
Inadequate Training
Antiquated Equipment
Poor Tools
The wrong products
No Plan in Place
Ineffective or no matting in place
No prioritization of floor areas
The wrong type of floor
Poor procedures
What is Pro-Active Floor Care?

Planning & Execution

Prevention Strategies

Improving Efficiency

Cleaning to Protect Health

Minimizing Environmental Impact “Green”
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always
the result of a commitment to excellence,
intelligent planning, and focused effort.”
Paul J. Meyer, Author, Businessman and Philanthropist
Planning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What level of appearance is desired?
Staffing
Budget Issues
Equipment Constraints
Selecting the right products
‘A failure to plan is a plan to fail’
Chinese Proverb
Execution

What is going to be done?

How often?

Who is going to do it?
A Floor Care Schedule that defines the
maintenance regimen and frequency is
critical to success. The Schedule should
segregate areas based upon soil loading.
People
Great
Looking
Floors
Products
Procedures
People

Workloading: Do I have sufficient
staff to achieve desired appearance?

Training: Do I have capable people?
Hazmat Trained
 Standard Operating Procedures

Training: The 3 Bucket Approach
Entry Level
 Routine
Required Training
Intermediate
 Detail
Procedural Training
Intermediate Skilled
 Project
Relationship Training
Supervisor Potential
 Accident Prevention Training
Training Resources: ISSA-OSHA Training Web Page
http://www.issa.com/?id=shp_slips_trips_falls_in_the_workplace
http://www.multi-clean.com/
Products-Chemicals
1.
Floor Finish: One size does NOT fit all!!
2.
Stripper: It has to work!!
3.
Cleaner / Disinfectant: Safe for
floors.
4.
Sealer: Optional, anti-staining
5.
Restorer: Optional
Select Your Finish Wisely
Extended
Wear
Versatile
High Speed
Very hard finishes,
not for high speed.
Suited to high or
low speed.
Exclusively for high
speed programs.
Use where a
customer does not
Good for infrequent
low or high speed
maintenance.
Frequent scheduled
high speed
maintenance.
Think retail.
Examples:
Splendor
Decade 100
Examples:
Prime Shine Ultra
intend to buff
Examples:
Premier
% Solids of Floor Finish
25% Solids = 25% Polymers / 75% Water
20% Solids = 20% Polymers / 80% Water
25% Solids
100
90
20% Solids
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
17% Solids
15% Solids
Thou Shall Never Break These Rules….
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Apply thin coats
No more than 4 coats in one day
Use “Finish” mops, or flat mops
If you notice unusual issues while applying
finish…..STOP and ask Questions.
Use Neutral pH Cleaners for daily Cleaning
Never use cleaners that are over pH 10 or
contain solvents. Use neutral pH cleaner
Dust Mop often. Keep grit off of floors.
Mop up spills quickly
Strippers: Critical to Success
Many scrub n’ recoat cycles: 20+
 Frequently Burnished
 Low build-up 6-10 coats
 Moderate Buildup: 10-20 coats

How to Strip a Floor
1) Mix to proper dilution w/Cold* H2O
2) Apply generously to floor with mop.
3) Wait 5-10 minutes for it to work
(Don’t let it dry on floor).
4) Doodle Bug around edges by hand.
5) Agitate with auto-scrubber with black pad.
6) Pick up with Wet-Vac/Autoscrubber.
7) Flood Rinse with Water & rinse/neutralize
What about chemical free stripping?

Orbital floor machine and scrubbers i.e.
‘Square Scrub’ and Clarke ‘Boost’

These systems use a much more
aggressive pad for deep scrubbing i.e. 3M
Surface Prep Pad

The finish is sanded off the floor with
successive passes.

Similar results can be achieved with rotary
style machines using the pad.
Clean and Maintain

Daily maintenance tasks are typically the
simplest things that can be done to keep
floors looking their best.
What about cleaning with just water?

Water is ineffective because it has a high
surface tension.

Cleaners reduce surface tension of water to
“make water wetter”

Running electrical current through tap
water has no impact on surface tension.
Restore

Specialty products designed to fill in
scratches and restore shine without adding
new coats of finish.
Products: Equipment

What equipment is currently available?

What equipment investments could help
improve productivity or reduce costs?
Products: Tools/Supplies

What tools are needed to accomplish
the various tasks?

What tools are available that can…..

Improve productivity

Reduce cross contamination

Facilitate Training
Procedures

What Procedures?
Daily Cleaning
 Burnishing
 Dust Mopping
 Scrub and Recoat
 Strip and Finish


How Often?
A floor care schedule is
essential that defines
what is to be done and
with what frequency.
S

Keep floors looking consistently
clean.

Keep shiny floors from dulling as
long as possible.

Floor Safety.

Reduce frequency of expensive
renovative maintenance procedures.
Pro-Active Maintenance


Understand it is visible soil that kills floors
This soil comes in through entrances
Pro-Active Strategies
1. Practice
source control throughout
your facility.
2.
Adjust maintenance
intensity/frequency based on soil /
contamination levels.
3.
Keep areas outside the main
entrances as clean as possible.
Longer Finish Life, Less Strips



Scrub and Recoat processes that
effectively remove embedded dirt prior to
new finish coats.
Entryways programs that keep floors
cleaner.
More effective routine cleaning.
Remove
1-2 coats
of dirt embedded
finish
Flooring
Keep the Shine, Buff Less
Keep gritty dirt of the floor by
practicing source control strategies.
 More effective daily cleaning

Dry dusting: Traditional dust mops only
capture large debris.
 Wet cleaning: Scrubbing or damp
mopping.

Burnishing Faster w/ Results

Pads: Match pad to finish and machine

Burnishing is a polishing process

Consider Pad pressure & texture, finish hardness
Electric
Battery
Propane
Entryways
Studies show 80% of the dirt
entering a building comes
through the front door!
Estimates suggest
that it costs$500-800
to remove 1 lb of dirt
from a facility.
Minimum 10 FEET of walk off matting
Floor Care Myths

Myth: High speed burnishing makes floors
slippery.

Myth: High speed buffing melts the finish
using heat.

Myth: A higher solids finish is more
durable.

Myth: The strongest stripper will have the
strongest smell.
Floor Care Truths
1.
Burnishing floors has no effect on the
slip resistance of a floor.
2.
Burnishing (high speed buffing) is a
physical polishing process, not a heating
or melting process.
3.
A high solids finish results in a thicker
“wear” layer because it contains more
polymer. Ultimate durability is defined by
the finish formulation.
4.
Low odor stripper technology is now
widely available.
Saving $$$$

Strip less with a more aggressive scrub and
recoat method.

Select a finish designed for less frequent
burnishing.

Reduce Soil Input.

Appraise soil intensity and make
adjustments to the maintenance process.

Use more effective dusting and cleaning
technologies.
Green Floor Care Products
Finishes i.e. Clear Essence
 Strippers i.e. Ultra Stripper
 Cleaners i.e. Century
 Others SBR Restorer

Green vs. Traditional
Green Floor Care
Traditional Floor Care
Clean for Health First
Clean for Appearance
Pro-active maintenance
Reactive Maintenance
Commitment to Training
No specific training
requirements
Product Performance + Price
Product Performance +
Safety
Special Attention to
Entryways
No special requirements
Resources






Multi-Clean Website www.multi-clean.com
MC Blog www.yourguidetoclean.blogspot.com
ISSA www.issa.com
ISSA / OSHA Training Site
http://www.issa.com/?id=shp_slips_trips_falls_in_the_workplace
Cleanlink website
CMM Online
www.cleanlink.com