Booming enrollment means more class sections. Which means higher demand for classrooms. Which makes it difficult to find times during the workweek when those classrooms aren't in use and can be cleaned . . . unless you expand the workweek. And that's the solution Iowa State's custodial services chose.
The night crew's building itinerary:
Carver
Coover
Curtiss
Design
Durham
Gerdin
Gilman
Hoover
Kildee
LeBaron
MacKay
Marston
Molecular Biology
Parks Library
Physics
Since Nov. 28, a newly hired five-member custodial crew has been working when even the hardiest of us is not: 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday through Friday nights. The team moves across campus, preparing auditoriums, other heavily used classrooms and Parks Library for use the next morning. Team members work in up to 15 buildings a night, removing trash, stocking restroom supplies and dust mopping gravelly floors. Once a week, each auditorium area receives additional services, such as wiped-down seats and vacuumed carpets.
The night crew doesn't replace daytime custodial service, but rather supplements it. Day teams -- some of which start as early as 4 a.m. -- focus on restrooms, corridors, entryways and smaller classrooms in those buildings.
Manager of custodial services Jon Haggard said a night team was the logical way to go. "Some of those rooms are in use from 7 a.m. to midnight," he noted. Nonacademic student activities, such as Cyclone Cinema -- which shows films (and sells concessions) in the Carver auditorium four nights a week until midnight or later -- also contribute to an after-dark demand on building spaces.
"Our customer needs are changing and we're trying to respond the best that we can," he said. "High demand on the large classrooms and auditoriums means we don't have the opportunity to shut things down during the day to get the work done."
The night team will reduce the need for catch-up cleaning efforts on Saturdays and Sundays, he added.
Year-round team
Haggard said the night team will work year-round. During breaks and summer session, when student numbers and activities diminish, the team will focus on non-daily projects, for example, carpet cleaning, stripping and refinishing floors and washing walls.
