Case Study

Hurstpierpoint College

Hurstpierpoint College is a private, co-educational day and boarding school, providing children from ages 4-18 with a world-class education. The College is situated in the leafy West Sussex countryside, where the children have access to facilities such as scientific laboratories, sports halls, a swimming pool, and residential boarding houses.

A new and evolving contract for Samsic, the partnership with Hurstpierpoint College began in April 2023. Prior to this time, the College utilised an in-house cleaning operative team, with Samsic now contracted to modernise processes and enhance efficiency and sustainability.

The Benefits

Hurstpierpoint College has been subject to major process and operational enhancements since the introduction of Samsic, all having been mobilised within just a few short weeks.

Team restructuring and the complete refresh of on-site processes have resulted in cost and labour savings across the site, as the team is using innovative and modern equipment in a more logical fashion, reducing the need to work extended hours. Hours across the site have now been reduced to fit the new processes.

The cleaning operatives and housekeepers, no longer working in silos, work more functionally and undertake group deep-cleans. Working this way also means that additional holiday cover support can be provided, as the operatives have a wider knowledge of the estate and work as one. Cleaning standards are now consistent across the College.

With updated equipment, Hurstpierpoint College achieves high levels of hygiene in a much more time sensitive fashion. The cleaning operatives work in a manageable format using the new technology, tools and materials to enable them to make a real and innovative difference to cleaning standards which are more sustainable as a result.

The Challenge

Cleaned for many years by an in-house team of operatives, Hurstpierpoint College used a long-term model of working to ensure all classrooms, facilities and boarding houses were in the high condition required by the school. This model involved Cleaning Operatives working in silos, each having responsibility for an area of the school, which was divided using a school map.

Working in silos was proving to be ill-suited for the cleaning team, with some areas being used more heavily by students than others making task distribution uneven. Working separately from one another created an opportunity for improvement, whereby conducting a processes review would help to support additional holiday and sickness cover and would be able to strengthen operational support for team members.

While Hurstpierpoint College impresses visitors with its overall presentation, Samsic looked to further enhance the hygiene and appearance of the College’s buildings and facilities. To achieve this, Samsic sought to upgrade the cleaning equipment, chemicals, and overall supplies, which had a heavy reliance on manual cleaning methods. The lack of modernised equipment and approaches meant that the Cleaning Operatives often took a long time to complete their duties, and contracted hours were much higher than typically required for a building of Hurstpierpoint College’s size.

A new structure was required, with cleaning operatives working in an order of operation that was often inefficient. Resources were also not always utilised in line with the college’s daily needs, further enhancing inconsistencies as cleaning standards were dictated by the long-standing methodology of the Cleaning Operatives, rather than being reassessed to ensure operations adhered to the current needs of the students and the wider college.

Hurstpierpoint College required Samsic to ensure cleanliness standards were modernised, efficient and of high quality, working in unison to elevate the sustainability, efficiency and hygiene of the school.

The Solution

Working in partnership with Hurstpierpoint College, Samsic listened to the client’s needs to develop a structured 12-month plan to establish uniform standards, more efficient processes, and improve quality standards.

A mobilisation plan was first developed to initiate future-proof processes whilst providing support to the Cleaning Operative team, all of which had newly been contracted as Samsic employees. A mobilisation plan acts as a full, exhaustive list of tasks and requirements, with plans in place to ensure new processes are developed and maintained. The plan’s progress is then to be communicated with Hurstpierpoint College weekly to ensure that communication is open, and amends, development, and feedback remain consistent.

The staffing structure was then redeveloped following the introduction of Samsic on-site. The wider team of cleaning operatives was divided into more specific teams, including a housekeeping team for the cleaning of the boarding houses and a separate team for the college itself.

A dedicated site manager was also recruited to ensure that the management of Hurstpierpoint College, the cleaning operatives, and Samsic management are all communicating well, and progress is being made.

In addition to organising the Cleaning Operatives into meaningful sub-teams, the work areas have been revamped and segmented to prioritise frequent cleaning in areas with the highest demand.

Specialist machinery and materials has been introduced on-site. Samsic’s innovative Toucan system, a salt-water solution active disinfectant, is now used extensively across housekeeping and school grounds respectively. Flat mopping technology has been added to regular processes, to enhance the finish of the regular floor cleaning whilst also being much faster to achieve. Samsic Sensor Technology measures the usage of the cleaning facilities, so that areas are not cleaned unnecessarily. Other advancements introduced to the team include scrubber dryers, mechanical mops from cleaning-machinery specialist ICE, and Co-Botics for the sports hall floors that work collaboratively with operatives to ensure a consistent, and time-efficient clean.