by Brianna Crandall — March 29, 2021 — The Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of worldwide cleaning industry association ISSA, recently launched the GBAC STAR Service Accreditation Program for building service contractors (BSCs) and other outsourced cleaning service providers. The newest member of the GBAC STAR portfolio, GBAC STAR Service accreditation provides third-party validation of a cleaning service provider’s cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention protocols and procedures.
GBAC Executive Director Patricia Olinger remarked:
Building service contractors are on the frontlines of cleaning, disinfecting, and infection prevention of facilities during the pandemic, and many are looking for ways to promote their expertise. Expanding GBAC STAR accreditation to these service providers enables them to expand their knowledge of cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention, and to demonstrate to customers and prospects that they can manage risks today and in the future.
BSCs and other cleaning service providers who want to demonstrate their commitment to building occupant health and safely through a respected, third-party accreditation can achieve GBAC STAR Service accreditation by completing the program’s training requirements and implementation guidelines. ISSA says this program is ideal for facilities seeking ways to prevent the spread of infection among staff, customers and guests, and be fully prepared for potential outbreaks in the future.
ISSA Executive Director John Barrett pointed out:
Cleaning service providers are often responsible for managing cleaning programs or working alongside established custodial teams in facilities like schools, stadiums, convention centers and more. Now, BSCs can pursue GBAC STAR Service accreditation to further enhance their service offerings and complement the GBAC STAR Facility accreditation to which more than 4,000 facilities around the world are committed to achieving.
Cleaning service providers can apply for GBAC STAR Service Accreditation on the ISSA website.
CCS Facility Services
CCS Facility Services is the first business in the world to achieve GBAC STAR Service accreditation.
Olinger stated:
We congratulate CCS Facility Services for their dedication to formal accreditation that will benefit both their customers and their employees. This is the first of many upcoming GBAC STAR Service accreditations that will help people feel more confident when entering facilities of all types and sizes.
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with multiple offices across the Western United States, CCS Facility Services is one of the largest privately held integrated facility services companies in the United States, providing janitorial, restoration services, and building engineering across multiple industries.
To earn accreditation, CCS fulfilled 20 key GBAC STAR program elements including program controls and monitoring, risk assessment and mitigation strategies, worker health programs, and many more. Service providers must also ensure that at least 5% of their frontline cleaning staff have completed the GBAC Fundamentals Online Course: Cleaning & Disinfection Principles. One supervisor per every 10 frontline cleaning workers must also complete the course to ensure leadership is knowledgeable about the steps necessary for preparing for, responding to, and recovering from biorisk situations.
Troy Coker, founder and CEO of CCS Facility Services, commented that the accreditation “validates the work we’ve done to respond to COVID-19 and provided us with the best practice framework to create a sustainable, evolving response to biorisk situations. We could not have earned this achievement without our incredibly hardworking staff of cleaners and building engineers who demonstrate their commitment to the health and safety of customer facilities every day.”
To track accredited cleaning service providers and those who have started the accreditation process, visit the GBAC website.
