FE&P

FE&P’s Franco featured on cover of national publication

BY ARIE WILSON
Rice News staff

Eusebio Franco, director of custodial and grounds for Facilities, Engineering and Planning, was featured recently on the cover of Executive Housekeeping Today, a publication for professionals working in health care, hospitality, education and state agencies.

With more than 37 years in the housekeeping industry, Franco has emerged as an advocate for ”green” cleaning and has updated cleaning practices at Rice.

Eusebio Franco, director of custodial and grounds for Facilities, Engineering and Planning, was featured on the cover of Executive Housekeeping Today, a publication for professionals working in health care, hospitality, education and state agencies.

The Executive Housekeeping Today cover story detailed Franco’s hiring and training strategies, his oversight of housekeeping and landscaping for 300 acres of land and 40 campus buildings, as well as his introduction of environmentally friendly cleaning products and techniques at Rice.

Franco broke down his recipe for successful cleaning into four steps: hire smart, train well, provide good processes and allow employees to perform.

In 2001, Franco implemented ”Operation Showcase,” an intense three-week training program that all custodial employees must complete. The first week employees receive full-time one-on-one training. The second week the one-on-one training is cut to 50 percent and in the third week to

20 percent. At the end of Operation Showcase, the new employees’ performance is evaluated, so that hiring decisions can be made.

However, new employee training does not end there.

New employees must also complete the ”Cleanology” program, in which employees learn the science of cleaning and green-cleaning techniques.

”We teach ownership, self inspection and customizing,” Franco said. ”Ownership means all aspects of the assigned area are managed by the custodian, not only cleaning but any maintenance problem they see must be reported and followed up on.”

Inspections are completed quarterly by the custodian and a trainer. As part of customizing, custodians have regular meetings with their customers to foster open communication.

”We are eliminating supervisor positions, and we are able to accomplish this by sending our custodians to ‘Basic Cleanology,’ an eight-hour course completed over eight weeks,” Franco said.

All custodians then attend ”Certified Cleanology,” a one-year course that they attend every other week for 90 minutes. There is also a ”Registered Cleanology” class, which takes a year to complete. About 20 percent of Rice’s custodial staff have registered status, Franco said.

Rice strives to be a leader in the green-cleaning movement, he said.

By using chemicals certified as environmentally preferable and recycling as much as possible, the custodial department is doing its part to help with sustainability at Rice.

Microfiber cloths and mops are slowly replacing traditional dust rags and string mops, which do little more than spread dirty water, Franco said.

Rice also uses automated scrubbers that premeasure the dilution and use less water than traditional scrub brushes.

”I see improvement in the use of vapor for cleaning, which essentially means cleaning without using chemicals,” Franco said. ”Not only is it healthier, but it saves products and water.”