•   Facilities Department Custodial Services

    In the School, the health, safety and welfare of the Students and Staff depend upon the effectiveness of the Custodial function.

    Due to the increased awareness of the general public with regard to health and safety issues as well as the enactment of stricter regulatory laws, Custodial work is emerging as a profession.

    The general public perception of Custodial work, however has not kept pace with these changes. Most people notice the duties performed by the Custodian only when these tasks are not performed properly or not at all.
    Our goal here at Neshaminy is to provide the best Custodial care for our District and work to adjust the common misconception of Custodial services.

    The Custodial Services division of the Facilities Department is structured as follows.

  • Supervisor of Custodial Services - Mr. Jerry Rutledge, Responsible for all Custodial Services.
  • Head Custodians - (12), One at each site, responsible for the operations at the site assigned.
  • Leaders - (5), One at each secondary site, Assists the Head Custodian with site operations.
  • Custodian - (90), Responsible for operations and maintaining a safe and sanitary environment for all who use or visit Neshaminy facilities.
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    The Custodial Services Division of the Facilities Department is responsible for each site in the Neshaminy School District. This requires our staff to be available for emergencies each and every day of the year, at all hours. In addition to opening the sites in the morning and closing them at night our staff also checks each site holidays and weekends. Our crews are on duty during the average school day between the hours of 6:00AM till midnight. Occasionally, we are called out to check our sites very early in the morning when intrusion alarms are activated. The Security of our sites is a priority and sometimes we are needed to repair broken windows and repair damage caused by vandalism. Work Orders are developed at the sites and sent to F&E for disposition. We also assist the outside contractors who are contracted to work at our sites.

    The process of maintaining our sites is constantly taking place. Sites are set up and maintained during the usual school day and then restored for the next days use at night. Grounds are maintained during the daylight hours and snow is removed whenever necessary by our staff. When it snows our staff is quick to respond and operate as though school is going to open in order to be ready for all options. At times the decision is made to close or delay the opening of school but we try to be ready to open, on time, safely. Our staff utilizes the use of pagers which are on 24 hours in order to be prepared for emergencies. We also utilize two-way radios in order to be more efficient in our work.

    Our crews are responsible for setting up for all activities both during the school day and after hours, during the week and on weekends. We insure that the schools are prepared following these events for the next day of school.

    Some of the areas of note regarding our department and the methods we utilize in maintaining our sites are as follows:
    • Robotics - We have been a leader in the area of utilizing Robotics to assist our crews in maintaining the clean, high gloss floor finishes in our buildings. At our Poquessing site we currently use the Kent RoboKent Autoscrubber which cleans our floors by itself. You can learn more about this machine by accessing Kent’s website listed in the Links page.
    • Pool Care - We operate two pools in our district and have State licensed pool operators at each site.
    • Other Equipment - Our crews are trained to operate the latest equipment used in today’s building maintenance industry. At our high school where we maintain over 300,000 sq. ft. of floor area we now have the use of a ride-on Autoscrubber. The Clarke Vision 34 covers 44,000 sq. ft. per hour and can clean our vast floor areas in half the time of a walk-behind machine. We also make use of a Propane operated stripping machine which make the restoring of flooring more complete and efficient. Our crew at Miller ES site has been experimenting with the concept of Team Cleaning where the crew cleans the site at night as a team, cleaning the entire site with specialized duties for each employee. Usually, we divide sites into areas of about 20,000 sq. ft. per employee and those areas are cleaned completely by that employee. We utilize BackPack style vacuums at the Miller site to clean all flooring rather than using Dry mops. Early reports are of a cleaner, less dusty site.

    Legislative impact on Custodial Services

    1. Bloodbourne Pathogens Legislation - Our staff has been trained on how to handle potentially harmful bodily fluids. Kit are provided to each site to properly control and clean up vomit or other fluids. All sites are equipped with the latest technology concerning the chemicals we use. All chemicals are used through a proportioning device which insures these products are used at the proper dilution.

    2. Integrated Pest Management - We contract for pest control and elimination for all our sites. We specify when selecting our contractor that we must comply with all areas of the concept of IPM. The basic concept of IPM is to control the use of pesticides so that sites are monitored for pest activity before any chemicals are used. When it is necessary to use these chemicals only the safest product can be used. These products must be applied when the areas to be treated are to be vacant for a required amount of time. Notification must be given throughout the process both prior to the treatment and following. Records are kept both on site and in the Operations office as to all treatments.

    3. Recycling - At Neshaminy we have been using a comingled recycling program for which we have received recognition from the greater Philadelphia recycling awards commission. In our program, all waste is recycled with the exception of any wet or food waste.

    4. Indoor Air Quality - We have been working to insure we can keep the air quality good for all. We work along with our Facilities & Engineering department to clean filters in our heaters, air conditioners and ventilating units regularly. We also have begun to use the latest in BackPack style vacuums which remove much of the dust that is brought into the buildings.

    5. A.D.A. Compliance - We currently use Bay West paper and soap dispensers in all our sites. These dispensers comply with all ADA requirements for these type of dispensers. We also have been installing Auto-flush type units in some rest rooms. This means a hands free operation of urinals and toilets. These units help to eliminate the possibility of encountering any germs which would normally be transmitted from this contact. We also use finishes and treatments on our floors which are rated to comply with all ADA requirements.

    Links

    The following are some links where you can learn about some of the more detailed information regarding our work.