Cleaning Machine: Proving Steam Vapor's Performance in a Luxury Casino's Restrooms

Restroom cleanliness is a challenge in any setting, but especially in a building open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  The Wind Creek Casino, in Atmore, Alabama, faced an additional challenge - restrooms with light brown porcelain tile floors, designed to look like a pigskin football, that highlight every drop of water.   The floors really weren’t worse than floors in other restrooms - the tile just made the problem obvious instead of hiding it as well as other floors do.  A cleaner’s nightmare, they are unforgiving surfaces that won’t permit any errors in technique. 

The Wind Creek Casino is a $245 million luxury casino that opened in January, 2009.  Casino management recognized that the challenge of moving from a small casino to a gleaming, beautifully appointed building would be enormous.  

Paul Norman, Director of Facilities, implemented a monthly measurement and management system to try and stay ahead of any housekeeping problems and transition to green cleaning.  Monthly reports tracked cleaning performance attribute metrics, and follow up meetings were conducted involving the entire department and senior management in problem resolution.

By February, the number one issue facing the department was clear – the restroom floors.  Housekeepers and Pat Johnson, casino housekeeping manager, were particularly challenged by the condition of the floors.  Using the concepts of Integrated Cleaning and Measurement (ICM), and working with an industry consultant, they changed their cleaning systems to solve the problem.  Here are some of the lessons they learned.

Lesson One – Instead of trial and error, consult the manufacturer!
The casino implemented a monthly 3rd party inspection system to measure the results of the cleaning process, assessing randomly selected rooms to collect relevant information.  An expectation of ‘clean’ is understood as preventing conditions customers don't want to see (dust, streaks, etc.).  If these conditions are not found on an item, it is ‘satisfactory.’  Each ‘unsatisfactory’ condition is recorded to provide data about cleaning problems.  Each item in a room is weighted for importance, and examined individually, from ceilings, walls, sinks, toilets, floors, and everything in between.  

The first month, restroom cleanliness ratings were 61.7% on a scale of 0% to 100%, meaning 61.7% of all items inspected in restrooms were satisfactory.  The cleanliness target was established at 80-85% by the casino.  Floors were a big part of the problem, so Pat and her team tried everything – mop and shine products, degreasers, oil soap, disinfectants, general cleaners.  The floor appearance declined, and the inspection scores stayed below target.  

The floor tile manufacturing representative was consulted, informing the casino team that only water could be used on the floors, but nothing else.  If a disinfectant was used, it had to be rinsed completely.  Any chemical left on the floor would float on top, drying to a sticky, white film.  Fluid wouldn’t absorb into the tile, and wouldn’t evaporate as quickly.  

Lesson Two – Consistency is crucial!
The first hurdle they had to identify and overcome was inconsistency in cleaning procedures.  All three shifts, and in some cases each employee, cleaned restrooms differently.   Different equipment, chemicals, techniques, and supplies made it hard to understand what worked well.  New processes weren’t implemented across each shift consistently, making it impossible to tell if they worked or not.  

Lesson Three – The “way it’s supposed to be” may not be correct.
Most people at Wind Creek believed that restroom floors needed to be shiny to be clean.  However, the porcelain tile in the restrooms has a matte finish. Resetting management, cleaner, and customer expectations was a challenge, but necessary to properly address the problem.  It’s something that often needs to be tackled when transitioning to green cleaning, as more surfaces are designed to be matte instead of glossy or shiny.

Resetting odor expectations was also important. Housekeepers sprayed disinfectant spray to get a “clean” smell, but the spray ended up on the floor, adding to the residue problem.  They stopped once they understood the implications, and that the absence of any smell is the sign of a truly clean restroom.

Lesson Four – Re-examine every process. Find the right tool for the job.
According to Wanda Lowery, day supervisor, the turning point in restrooms came when they began using the MondoVap steam cleaning system.  Without chemicals, they removed the residue from the floors relatively easily.  After the restrooms were cleaned thoroughly several times, buildup was eliminated from surfaces, and floors were restored to matte condition.  
The second step involved finding the right daily maintenance procedure. Using a flat microfiber mop with hot water and no chemicals during the day and changing it frequently removes spills as they occur.  At night, a disinfectant is used, and thoroughly rinsed, again with a microfiber mop. String mops are never used, as they tend to leave more residue on the floor. 

Now, at least once a month, all restrooms are completely “MondoVapped” to restore pristine conditions. Housekeeper Linda Brown volunteered to do the restorative cleaning in the women’s restroom she’s responsible for because it was so easy and effective to use.  She only closes down a portion of the restroom, and since it uses so little water, there’s no slip and fall hazard.

Lesson Five – Evaluate the results.
April 2009 restroom cleanliness scores improved from about 60% to the latest ratings of 80.6 percent, there are no complaints about restrooms, and according to the four different customer satisfaction auditing services the casino utilizes, customers are very happy with the results.

Paul Norman is convinced ICM is the only way to go, because the process gives him statistically significant information to direct management efforts, rather than responding to anecdotal information all the time.  He believes he’ll be able to save the thousands he budgeted when he thought he’d have to replace the floors, all because the team worked together to find a sustainable solution.  

The best part is that housekeepers are excited about keeping their casino clean and healthy.  They are encouraged to experiment in a scientific way to find innovative solutions to cleaning problems.  They take ownership, and they go above and beyond their job descriptions, knowing that their efforts will show in the casino and on their performance measurement report.  

By Beth Bittenbender, President, Elliott Affiliates, Ltd.