Custodial Services
We provide customer solutions to benefit the UVA Community and the environment.
Custodial Services is one of the largest divisions of Facilities Management and provides environmentally-friendly custodial services for the University's facilities, including academic, medical research, residence halls and faculty housing, and other public buildings across Grounds.
In October 2013, the E&G Custodial Services; cleaning program was awarded the prestigious Green Seal GS-42 certification. UVA became the first higher education institution in Virginia, and third in the nation, to receive this certification.
Custodial services for the UVA Health System, private clinics and related patient care areas are provided by UVA Environmental Services. The Environmental Services staff can be reached at (434) 982-1555.
Wall of Shine!
Read what our customers are saying about us.
Hi Tiffanny,
I want to let you know that I requested that Mary clean the Library on Wednesday morning because we had a group from Ash Lawn coming to take an historic tour of Monroe Hill. She did a beautiful job and I told her so today. I adore Mary and we have worked together for many years.
Cheers,
Chris
Good morning Wanda,
I wanted to follow up in writing about the comments I made this morning regarding James Bledsoe and the work which he performs in Skipwith Hall.
I transferred into Skipwith Hall due to the large number of staff in my office and the response to COVID19. I have had the opportunity to observe James as he performs his duties. I wish to offer praise to you for him, regarding his work ethics. These are my observations:
- James works well without supervision. Whenever I see him, he is involved with making Skipwith Hall clean, and SAFE for staff.
- James always uses his PPE. Since the start of COVID19, I have not seen him without a face cover. Even with the face cover, you can perceive that he does his duties with a smile on his face. He is pleasant with every encounter.
- James approaches his duties with focus and energy. Whenever I see him, he is engaged in his duties, whether it is cleaning a restroom or emptying trash cans, or various other duties. He accepts the responsibility he has to provide a safe environment to Staff here in the building.
I feel safer knowing that James is in the building. I truly appreciate all he does to help me perform my duties. It is a privilege for me to serve UVA alongside James. He is wonderful individual who contributes greatly to UVA. I am sure you are proud to serve with him. I know that I am proud of him, too.
Best,
Michael E. Duffy, CAFM
Transportation Operations and Fleet Manager
Dear Mr. Newton and Ms. Buckingham,
I hope you will not object to my writing you — but I felt I had to tell you the splendid job Lois and Eugene (our maintenance/facilities staff in New Cabell Hall) are doing to keep NCH clean during this difficult time of the pandemic. I cannot imagine two more dedicated and more accommodating people. They are model employees — always with a mask, always at the job, always helpful, and always ready to be of assistance. I have been at the University 46 years, and I have never seen NCH in better condition than it is right now — halls and rest rooms in spic-and-span condition. It is a pleasure to have a work area like ours, and we owe it to people like Lois and Gene.
We too often, I think, take our maintenance staff for granted. We expect our surroundings and work areas to be clean and in working order, and we forget the effort and hard work it takes on the part of colleagues like Lois, Gene, and others to achieve this goal. I therefore like to let it be known, from time to time, how much we appreciate them, especially in difficult situations like the present one. We could not do our work if they did not first do theirs. We are so fortunate to have such people on our team.
Sincerely,
Mark J. Elson
Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Mark and Vibha,
I trust this message finds you both doing well. I write to provide acknowledgement to those on your teams supporting the School of Education and Human Development. I have received a number of kudos over the past several weeks regarding the work your teams have done to prepare for a safe return of students, faculty, and staff to Grounds. I know that this was an undertaking and we feel very well taken care in our facilities both on and off-Grounds. Our collective thanks to Tiffanny, Jamie, Ryan, Kenny, and the teams supporting them for the outstanding effort this summer and fall.
Best,
Joey
Hi Tiffanny,
I am Mary Greene, working at 2420 Old Ivy Rd. I am writing to inform you of a great job that the cleaning crews has perform here in the last two weeks. Allen. Benita and Titus has gone about and beyond the call of duty cleaning here at 2420 Old Ivy Rd.
They have been cleaning the bathrooms and door handles all day and mopping the bathroom and our break rooms — which I haven't seen since we move in over a years ago.
They are truly some awesome workers. We need more workers like them. Doing an excellent Job!
Mary Greene
Taking Learning to the “Field”
In August 2022, E&G Custodial Services AD, Vibha Buckingham, sent the team's staff development manager, Sandra Smith, to join frontline associates where they work. The plan was to have meaningful conversations that would not only teach, but also emphasize frontline's vital role to the university.
“I envisioned the benefits of bringing training and collaboration to the frontline in small group conversations that informed, inspired and added some fun to their workday,” said Buckingham.
The important soft and hard skills discussed:
- Everyone's a Leader
- Importance of work flexibility
- Building trust-based relationships
- APPA's importance to E&G Custodial Services
- Standing in the shoes of a Quality Assurance Inspector
Altogether, 77 frontline team members participated in the 5-person sessions. Feedback reports indicated unanimous satisfaction for the program, with high marks given to acting in the role of a QA Inspector.
According to Buckingham, “Such engagement for our frontline gave them clarity on the technical standards developed by APPA to measure the quality of their work. This can only lead to more awareness in improved practices and task completion.”
Another bonus from this exercise was decreased stress levels in frontline associates. We are always looking for creative ways to decrease job-related stress for the frontline. Sharing the fact that quality score results are not selected by QA Inspectors helped de-personalize the process, resulting in a greater understanding and acceptance of the quality audit program.
Field location learning will continue in 2023 with topics on sustainability, GS-42 program certification as well as improving relationships by understanding the importance of self-awareness.
E&G Custodial Services is GS-42 Certified
Being GS-42 certified means E&G Custodial Services is cleaning for health: yours, ours, your building and the environment.
In October 2013, UVA’s E&G Custodial Services’ cleaning program was awarded the prestigious Green Seal GS-42 certification, making UVA the first higher education institution in Virginia, and third in the nation, to receive this ‘cleaning for health’ designation. E&G has maintained its commitment to sustainable practices by achieving recertification every year since 2013.
Green Seal is the organization that sets the standard for green and effective products and programs. Learn more about what it means for a commercial cleaning program like ours to attain certification under Green Seal's Standard #42.
APPA Quality Inspections Performed by Zone
June, 2021-February, 2023
UVA's E&G Cleaning program certified by Green Seal under GS-42 commercial cleaning standard.
Customers Say "Thank You" to Frontline Heroes
This video was created and produced by UVA Facilities Management employee Joe Newton of Cup-a-Joe Films to support and celebrate the milestone accomplishments of the E&G Custodial Services team. This is the latest in a series of video “stories” that Joe has created to highlight individual and group successes. When he's not behind a camera, Joe is the manager of E&G's Central Zone, where he and his team manage custodial services for 36 buildings across Grounds.
UVA's E&G Custodial Services Team Honored by APPA for Innovation
APPA has awarded UVA's E&G Custodial Services team its prestigious “Effective & Innovative Practices Award” for our development of a professional certification track based on Green Seal's GS-42 Standard. In a press release issued on August 3, 2020, APPA noted that UVA's program honors the dedication and hard work of UVA's “silent ambassadors” who create environments that attract thousands of students to the university every year.
This educational opportunity is thought to be the first such program to be based on the GS-42 standard. One of its core objectives is to award professional certification to frontline and management team members who demonstrate “substantial knowledge and application of job relevant GS-42 requirements.” In 2019, 24 individuals, including 10 frontline associates, achieved this distinction. Plans are underway to offer certification to all remaining team members in the foreseeable future.
In accepting the award, department head Vibha Buckingham said, “We are honored that our program was selected for this special award; special mostly because it represents what we have long worked toward — recognizing individuals who work hard every day to create clean, healthful and stimulating environments across Grounds.”
Attention Facility Coordinators: Housekeeping special event form
Please use the event planning form that corresponds with your zone to submit any housekeeping needs for your next event.
E&G Custodial Services organizational chart
Site-specific manuals address cleaning needs and unique challenges in most UVA buildings
A best practice in green cleaning is to carefully assess each building and develop a plan to address floor surface types as well as any unique cleaning challenge brought on by things such as live plants, animals or poor ventilation. The plan to address these issues is mapped out in the form of a manual and also includes customer communication protocols and policies that govern quality inspections, powered equipment use and what to do in the event of an emergency.
In 2013, UVA's Custodial Services department received national certification of its cleaning program by Green Seal, the leading organization that sets the standard for approved cleaning products and programs. As part of that certification, we made a commitment to develop site-specific manuals for most of the academic and public buildings where we provide services.
To inquire about a specific building manual, contact Sandra Smith, Custodial Services quality assurance and development manager.
Want to know more about how we measure the quality of clean?
“What gets measured gets managed” is true in all industries. For Custodial Services, we use APPA cleaning levels to help benchmark the quality of our cleaning results.
APPA, the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers, defines five levels of clean, with one being cleaning at the highest level and five equating to “unkempt neglect.”
Our goal is to reach the second highest level of clean. To measure this, we designed and use an electronic inspection tool, named the Automated Audit Tool, which is based on APPA standards and appearance levels.
The inspection tool assigns numeric values to multiple items in various space types. In a restroom, for example, the tool primarily assesses the cleanliness of floors, sinks and toilets. Dispensers are also checked to measure re-stocking levels. Each item inspected receives a numeric value and when the total score for the space exceeds 2.5, supervisors are charged with investigating root causes and developing corrective action plans to help move the score closer to the targeted 2 level.
All scores and information collected get deposited into a database that can then be “mined” for reporting and benchmark comparison purposes.
“This is How We Do It!” award
celebrates the best in our team members
Learn more about this important recognition.
This is How We Do It! award is presented to front-line team members who demonstrate one or more of the following:
- Demonstrates or recommends a “Best Practice”
- Good, workable suggestion that is implemented
- Consistent excellence in their work; a genuine concern for quality in everything that they do
- Understands the customers’ needs and works to meet them consistently
- Consistent, speedy response
- Provides help to co-workers (unrequested)
- Works above and beyond without being asked
- Improves a work technique, method or procedure
- Exemplary role model or mentor to others
- Excellent team player (puts the focus on the team and not themselves)
You can learn more about this award by viewing the This is How We Do It! handout .
Going beyond customer service to customer delight
See our roadmap to wowing our customers.
- We know who our customers are.
- We know what our customers want.
- We believe that communication is the foundation for strong, long term relationships.
- We believe that it's important to manage customer expectations so that we are all on the same page when it comes to what is expected and what we deliver.
- We listen to our customers and act accordingly.
- We empower our staff to own and solve problems.
- We realize that details count and that sometimes the smallest things have the biggest impact.
- Training means improving and we take both seriously.
- We keep our finger on our customers' pulse — how are they perceiving our services yesterday, today and tomorrow.
- Improve workday experiences to ensure frontline and operational managers are motivated, engaged and excited to deliver great customer experiences.
New Customer Welcome Program
See “Put Your Employees First” full presentation
To better support student learning and occupants' core business purposes, E & G prepared a formal program to reach out to new customers early in their tenure.
Primary objectives of the meeting are to:
- Connect and begin building trust-based relationships
- Understand customers' needs and expectations
- Clarify any misconceptions about our work, schedule, products, or other
- Share our sustainable stance/procedures via our GS-42 certification
- Support FM Core Values
- Safety
- Diversity & Respect
- Training & Development
- Sustainability
- Share our commitment to cleaning quality via our comprehensive Quality Assurance program based on APPA levels of clean
- Introduce them to our innovative PULSE 1:1 survey process and why it matters to them
Our branding summarizes our goal a little more succinctly:
“We provide solutions to benefit our customers, the environment and the UVA community.”
Contact information
Management
Vibha Buckingham
Associate Director
Phone: (434) 924-3336
Email: vjb3d@virginia.edu
Sandra Smith
Quality Assurance and Development Manager
Phone: (434) 243-6319
Email: sas7rs@virginia.edu
Ryan Gumlock
Custodial Services Superintendent
Phone: (434) 243-7782
Email: rpg4r@virginia.edu
Area managers
Joe Newton
Southwest McCormick
Phone: (434) 924-0539
Email: jmn2v@virginia.edu
Hattie Agee
Health System Physical Plant (HSPP)
Phone: (434) 924-6470
Email: ha@virginia.edu
Michael Pouliot
Central Grounds
Phone: (434) 305-0194
Email: mp4hs@virginia.edu
Tracy Tinoco
Newcomb
Phone: (434) 243-1399
Email: ts8db@virginia.edu