Residential Facilities Housekeeping Staff Honored

Students returning to campus this fall will move into residence hall rooms and use recreation facilities prepared by the best in the business.

The housekeeping team of the Department of Residential Facilities achieved recertification—with honors—from the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA), a nonprofit cleaning industry group.

The recertification in the Cleaning Industry Management Standards (CIMS) and CIMS-Green Buildings programs demonstrates the hard work and technical acumen of UMD’s professional housekeeping staff; the result is a safe and healthy environment for students, the head of the department said.

“This certification is not easy to accomplish,” said Andrea Crabb, director of the Department of Residential Facilities. “It takes years of collaborative work between staff and supervisors to assure that everyone is knowledgeable about safely producing a quality product.”

Residential Facilities—with 275 total employees and 108 housekeeping staff—has held this certification since 2008, earning recertification every two years. It follows a comprehensive review, carried out by a third-party assessor, of over 100 items including documentation, processes and procedures, along with interviews with front-line staff.

The broad categories for ISSA’s review are:

• quality system
• service delivery
• human resources
• health, safety and environmental stewardship
• management commitment

Vice President for Student Affairs Patty Perillo said the university is justifiably proud of the team in Residential Facilities.

“I am deeply thankful for their exceptional work and their ethic of care as this award is based on quality, service delivery, care for the staff and health, safety and environmental stewardship,” Perillo said. “This recognition speaks to management's commitment and the staff's hard work, day-in and day-out.”