Overview
What a janitorial program actually is.
A janitorial program is a written list of tasks, a frequency for each one, and a named person responsible for checking they happened. Most vendors sell the first part and improvise the rest, which is why buildings drift — the lobby holds for three months, then the restrooms slip, then someone starts sending photographs.
We scope the building room by room during the walkthrough, price against that scope, and assign a supervisor whose scheduled walks are part of the program rather than a response to a complaint. Crews are directly employed, background-screened, and kept on the same site so they learn the building. The result is a program that holds its condition without you managing it.
What's included
The starting scope checklist.
Offices & workstations
- Empty and reline waste and recycling at every station
- Dust horizontal surfaces, sills, and reachable ledges
- Detail high-touch points — handles, switches, rails, shared keyboards
- Vacuum carpeted areas wall to wall, not just traffic lanes
Restrooms
- Clean and disinfect all fixtures, partitions, and touch points
- Restock consumables from your standard, not a substitute
- Damp-mop floors with a dedicated colour-coded mop head
- Check and report any fixture fault the same shift
Break rooms & kitchens
- Wipe counters, tables, appliance fronts, and cabinet faces
- Clean sinks and disinfect handles and dispensers
- Empty waste and food recycling, wash and reline bins as scheduled
Lobbies & common areas
- Spot-clean glass, partitions, and entry doors
- Detail reception and elevator call panels
- Reset furniture to its floor plan before leaving
Floors
- Dust-mop and damp-mop all hard floors
- Vacuum entry matting on both sides
- Spot-treat spills and traffic-lane soiling
Exterior & hardscape
- Pressure wash sidewalks, entries, and walkways on the agreed cycle
- Degrease and wash parking structures, stalls, and drive lanes
- Wash storefront frontage, courtyards, and plaza hardscape
- Clear and wash dumpster corrals and trash enclosures
Periodic tasks
- Machine scrub and refinish hard floors on the agreed cycle
- High dusting of vents, fixtures, and upper ledges
- Interior glass and partition detail
- Carpet extraction scheduled against traffic
Scope is written per site during the walkthrough. This is the starting checklist, not the ceiling.
Want this scope written against your building?
Cadence options
Program shapes, not packages.
We do not publish prices. Scope and price are written per site after the walkthrough — these are the shapes a janitorial program usually takes.
| Cadence | Typical profile | Service window | Reporting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nightly, 5× | Class A office, 20k+ sq ft | After 6:00 PM | Weekly supervisor walk |
| Nightly, 3× | Professional suites, medical office | After close | Biweekly walk |
| Day porter + nightly | High-traffic lobby, mixed use | Business hours + after close | Daily log, weekly walk |
| Weekly | Small suites, low-traffic offices | Scheduled by day | Monthly walk |
| Biweekly / monthly | Warehouse offices, seasonal use | Scheduled by shift | Per-visit record |
| One-time / project | Turnover, move-out, event reset | Agreed per project | Completion sign-off |
| Exterior, monthly / quarterly | Shopping plaza, parking structure, office frontage | Early morning or after close | Before-and-after condition record |
How it works
From walkthrough to first shift.
-
Walkthrough
We measure the areas, count fixtures, and note access and traffic — usually within 4 hours of your request.
-
Written scope & pricing
Task list, cadence, and price in writing, room by room. Nothing agreed verbally.
-
Onboarding
Assigned supervisor, named crew, keys and access logged, and a start date you can hold us to.
-
Supervision & inspection
Scheduled walks against the written scope, with corrections raised and closed in writing.
Properties we do this for
Where janitorial programs run.
Equipment, products & standards
What the crew arrives with.
- Dilution-controlled chemical dispensing — no free-pouring from concentrate
- Colour-coded microfibre, separated by restroom, kitchen, and general use
- HEPA-filtration vacuums on carpeted floors and in clinical areas
- Floor pads and finishes specified per surface, recorded in the scope
- Equipment maintained and logged; failed machines replaced, not nursed
- Safety data sheets kept on site and available to your team
- Crews trained on the written scope for your building before the first shift
- Consumables matched to your existing standard unless you ask us to change it
Green-cleaning credentials and third-party certifications are held for {{GREEN_CREDENTIALS}} and {{CERTIFICATIONS}} — nothing is claimed here that has not been supplied and verified.
Why Unison for this service
Three things that hold the standard.
-
Supervision is scheduled
A named supervisor walks the building on a set cycle. Inspection is part of the program, not something you have to ask for.
-
The scope is written
Every task and frequency is on paper before the first shift, so "we thought that was included" never has to be a conversation.
-
The crew stays the same
Directly employed crews assigned to your site learn the building — where the quiet floors are, which door sticks, when the conference room turns over.
- Licensed
- Bonded & Insured
- Background-Screened Crews
- Directly Employed Crews
- Written Scope & Pricing
Insurance limits render from {{INSURANCE_DETAIL}}. A service-relevant testimonial is reserved here and withheld until real attribution is supplied.
Related services
Often run alongside.
-
Day porter & matron
Daytime coverage for lobbies and restrooms in buildings where the nightly program is not enough on its own.
Explore day porter →
-
Floor care
The periodic hard-floor work — strip, seal, burnish — scheduled against the janitorial cycle rather than beside it.
Explore floor care →
-
Pressure washing
The outside of the property — shopping plaza walkways, parking lots and structures, entries, and building frontage — on the same written cycle.
Explore pressure washing →
-
Disinfection & sanitation
Touch-point and restroom protocols layered onto the janitorial scope for clinical and high-traffic space.
Explore disinfection →
Frequently asked
Janitorial, answered.
Can the cadence change once we start?
Yes. Cadence is a line in the scope, not a contract term, so moving from three nights to five — or dropping a night in a quiet season — is a written amendment rather than a renegotiation. Your account manager reprices only the changed lines.
How do you handle after-hours access and keys?
Access is agreed in writing before the first shift: keys, fobs, alarm codes, badge requirements, and who holds what. Keys are logged to a named crew lead rather than to the company generally, and returned on any crew change.
Do you supply the equipment and consumables?
Equipment and chemicals always come with the crew. Consumables — paper, soap, liners — can be managed by us to your specified standard or left with your existing supplier. Either way it is written into the scope so nobody assumes the other side is buying.
What happens when a crew member is out?
The assigned supervisor covers or reassigns from the same regional pool, and the substitution is noted on the visit record. We do not send an unbriefed crew into a building that has a written scope.
How are corrections handled?
In writing, with a name and a date. You raise it to one number, the supervisor inspects, the correction is scheduled, and the record closes when you confirm. Nothing is resolved verbally on a night shift and forgotten by morning.
What are your contract length and exit terms?
Programs run month to month after an initial term agreed at signing, with a written notice period. We would rather keep the work by holding the standard than by holding a contract.
What are your insurance limits?
Licensed, bonded, and insured, with certificates issued naming your entity on request. Specific limits are listed on the walkthrough summary and on the certificate itself.
Can you cover a multi-site portfolio?
Yes. One account manager, one number, and one invoice across every site, with a separate written scope per building so each is held to what it actually needs.