A System as Orchestra
"An example of a system, well optimized, is a good orchestra. The players are not there to play solos as prima donnas, each one trying to catch the ear of the listener. They are there to support each other. Individually [...]
Baby Steps Can Change Your Life: Kaizen
In his book, One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way, Robert Maurer Ph.D. defined “kaizen”as, “using very small steps to improve a habit, process, or product”, and lists three related myths: Change is Hard The Size of [...]
The Sweet Smell of Success—Or Not?
Fragrances are everywhere these days, and cleaning products are no exception. Are they healthy? Likely not. Should you implement a fragrance-free policy? Dr. Anne Steinemann said in the July 2019 issue of Building and Environment: "What is the need [...]
Integrated Cleaning and Measurement (ICM) for Upward Mobility
By Tony Almeida Should we rank janitors? Does this encourage upward mobility? Yes, but only if the way they are ranked comes from useful criteria. "Ranking is not a measurement system. Ranking is ordering, not measuring," states Ed Baker states [...]
Take Time to Build Your Earning Power
The saying, "Time is Money" applies when we spend time improving our earning power. According to Brian Tracy's book, Earn What You're Really Worth: "One of the most important assets you have is your earning ability, your ability to do [...]
Kaizen in Cleaning
“Kaizen” represents a universal standard of continuous improvement—“kai” meaning change and “zen” meaning good—that applies perfectly to health, since the question: “How healthy do you want to be?” has an answer with no upper limit for most of us (assuming [...]
The Goal—Respect
Gregg Ward, author of The Respectful Leader: Seven Ways to Influence Without Intimidation, describes two kinds of respect and disrespect: 1. Instant Respect 2. Developed Respect Instant Respect “Instant Respect (or Instant Disrespect) is an unconscious, instinctual reaction that usually [...]
EPA Registers Air Sanitizer That Kills Viruses
On September 30, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered the first ever product for use against bacteria and viruses in air in residential and commercial areas. It is a 14% dipropylene glycol aerosol product. Below is the approved master [...]
Understanding Sick Building Syndrome – Part Two
Building Investigation Procedures The goal of a building investigation is to identify and solve indoor air quality complaints in a way that prevents them from recurring and which avoids the creation of other problems. To achieve this goal, it [...]
Understanding Sick Building Syndrome – Part One
The term "sick building syndrome" (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be [...]