A perspective study on green cleaning for Malaysian public hospital

Abstract

Cleaning being a major contributor to the operations and maintenance expenditure and also Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) issues. Improper and ineffective cleaning can harm the environment and poses greatest risk to health. The use of traditional cleaning products presents a variety of human health and ecological concerns; and may contribute to poor IEQ. As an effort to reduce the issue of operations and maintenance costs and IEQ issues in a building, it is important to establish a green cleaning programme to ensure that the buildings are cleaned in a green way. Numbers of scholars has pointed out the factors which had prevented the green cleaning implementation in hospital buildings. Nonetheless, the significance of these factors has yet to be practically explored in the Malaysian context. Hence, the aim of the paper is to identify the most critical factor that prevents the implementation of green cleaning in Malaysian hospital building. A questionnaire survey and personal communication (i.e. interview) was conducted which involved two groups of respondents. They are the hospital maintenance staff (Cleansing Service Department) and cleaning contractors. Frequency and criticality index calculations have been used to rank these factors according to the level of importance. The result showed that an "unclear components and requirements of green cleaning" indicated as the most critical factor that prevent the implementation of green cleaning in Malaysian hospital building. In the concern for a successful implementation of green cleaning, it is hope that the findings of these studies can be enlightenment to the cleaning contractors as well as the hospital maintenance management team in Malaysia.

Environmental cleaning battling against Covid-19 infection in health-care facilities

“…Numerous researchers reported that environmental cleaning is a systematic method that comprises not only the use of cleaning products that are labelled "green" because of their chemical composition and properties, but also a comprehensive performance improvement process that incorporates all other devices and procedures that can reduce the negative impact of health-care cleaning on human health Environmental cleaning and the environment (e.g. using microfiber mops, improving the performance of cleaning staff and selecting surface materials that are easier to clean) [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2020; Shimabukuro et al, 2020;Medical Care Quality Section, 2019;Ramli et al, 2018;Zainol, 2016;Antonioli, 2014;Quan et al, 2011;Markkanen et al, 2009].…”

“…Zainol (2016) has supported that cleaning is a major contributor to IEQ. Safer cleaning supplies, techniques and equipment can improve IAQ and occupant health while also enhancing workplace safety, cutting health-care expenses and reducing missed time from work (Fischer, 2011;Ramli et al, 2018;Young et al, 2010). According to Quan et al (2011), an appropriate and comprehensive cleaning activities is crucial in reducing HCAI, including F 41,11/12 COVID-19.…”

“…Environmental cleaning is a promising new method that strives to protect human health and the environment while preserving or increasing the hygiene of the health-care environment. While an increasing number of health-care facilities are embracing environmental cleaning procedures, due to a dearth of study in this field, many important concerns about environmental cleaning remain unresolved (Shimabukuro et al , 2020; Ramli et al , 2018 and Quan et al , 2011).…”

“…However, in Malaysia, the Green Building Index (GBI) for new construction and existing health-care building is only mentioned on the usage of environmentally non-polluting procedures and chemicals for cleaning the building exterior. But there are no criteria of environmental cleaning in the assessment criteria specifically for health-care facilities (Ramli et al , 2018 and Zainol, 2016). Therefore, this research aims to define the performance criteria of environmental cleaning for combating COVID-19 in health-care facilities.…”

Assessing measurement model of green cleaning components for green buildings

“…According to Zainol (2016), cleaning is a major contributor to IEQ. Cleaning products, tools and equipment that are safer can improve indoor air quality and occupant health while also improving workplace safety and lowering health-care costs and lost time from work (Fischer, 2011; Ramli et al , 2018; Young et al , 2010). The relevance of a cleaning program in a green building is demonstrated by the inclusion of green cleaning requirements in well-known green building assessment methods such as LEED: existing building operations and maintenance (EBOM) and Green Star: Performance.…”