The Building Services Department provides a valuable service to nearly 50,000 staff and students who study and work at the University. With a dedication to customer service, the department provides a clean, healthy, safe, and pleasant environment for students and staff. The Building Services Department made up of over 300 full-time custodians that work both day and night shifts as well as on weekend crews. The department is responsible for cleaning and maintaining more than 10 million square feet of instructional and research space. Through standardized practices and procedures and the use of certified Green Cleaning chemicals and processes, the Building Services staff ensures that our facilities are maintained to the highest industry standard.
To understand more about our responsibilities, please review the FMD Facility Responsibility Guide (PDF).
Green Cleaning Program
In 2005, after a comprehensive review of its cleaning product inventory, the Building Services department determined that its employees were using chemicals with dangerous health, flammable and/or reactive characteristics. Since then, more than 500 hazardous cleaning chemicals have been eliminated from the inventory and have been replaced with just three environmentally friendly products through the introduction of the FMD Green Cleaning Program.
The International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) recognized the UGA Green Cleaning Program through their Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) program. In 2012, FMD earned its third consecutive CIMS Certification with Honors under the recognized practices of green cleaning.
In order to achieve the CIMS certification, an organization submits an application with supporting documents indicating that their cleaning program is in compliance with the five sections of the CIMS standard. An ISSA- accredited assessor then conducts an on-site review of the organization’s facilities to ensure that the activities are consistent with the reported processes. UGA PPD Building Services was featured in the ISSA publication for their success with the program. Additionally, the UGA Green Cleaning Program received honorable mention in 2008 and 2009 in the American School and University Magazine’s Annual Green Cleaning Awards.
