What are the ISSA Calculators?

What are the ISSA Calculators?

Janitorial Manager worked directly with ISSA to develop tools for estimating cleaning times, rates, manpower needed, and bids. ISSA's 612 Cleaning Times includes updated cleaning production rates for calculating cleaning times in many different types of spaces using various equipment or techniques. 

The ISSA Calculators will help you:  

• Develop your own building-specific rates/bids 
• Decide when to automate 
• Decide when to Convert/Update Equipment 
• Determine how many employees are needed for a job
• Understand what each job will cost and how much to charge for it to meet your margins

This tool won't REPLACE your standards. It will empower you to APPLY your standards backed up with ISSA data.

Calculator Terms

When getting started with the ISSA Calculators, there are some terms to understand as they will be referenced constantly.

• Steps - the most basic element in the cleaning standard where a specific activity can have several steps assigned to it. Steps are associated with square footage.
• Activity - a type of cleaning feature in the room. Example: a sink is an activity in a restroom and a table is an activity in a conference room. Activities are not associated with square footage. Activities are associated with individual objects.
• Area Template - the type of room that makes up a location (office, lobby, restroom, etc.) The area template will include all of the Steps and Activities that make up that room.
• Location - an overall space or building that staff will work (school, commercial building, etc.) and the collection of area templates that make up the full area of the building you're cleaning.

Not everyone who uses the ISSA calculator has the time or desire to list each individual item or room on every building they plan to work or bid on. The ISSA calculators can be as simple or as detailed as each user wants them to be.

A helpful trick that many use is the industry's Average Production Rate. This states that one person can clean up to 3,289 sq ft in 60 minutes.

Add a step in the work loading calculator for the Average Production Rate, apply it to an area template, and add it to a location. This will give you the average based on the industry "standard" for any job. This option allows the user to estimate when they cannot or choose not to enter each individual room or item for a more detailed location.

Click here to set up the work loading and bidding tools.

Click here to use the Consumable calculator.

For more information, or to send in a request to the Janitorial Manager support department, use the red 'Help' button in the bottom right corner of any Help Desk article.