Vetting a cleaner's construction division

A construction division bolted onto a commercial cleaner isn't always staffed and insured like the rest of the business. What to ask before it runs your job.

A commercial cleaning company that also runs a construction or post-build division can look like the easy option: one vendor for the ongoing office contract and for the builders clean when a project wraps. Before you sign that up, it's worth finding out how the construction side of the business actually operates, separately from the commercial side you might already know.

The questions below are about that specific gap. How to choose a builders clean contractor covers the checks that apply to any contractor: insurance, experience, availability. Treat this guide as the extra layer worth adding for a company that runs two lines of business.

Ask what the construction division has actually done

A company's total client list, years trading, or staff count describes the business as a whole. On their own they say nothing about whether the construction division specifically has handled a job like yours.

• Ask for construction or builders-clean jobs the division has completed in the last six to twelve months, with an approximate scope and site size for each.
• Ask for a reference from a builder, developer, or site supervisor who booked a construction job with this company.
• Ask how long the construction division has run as a distinct part of the business.

Find out who is actually rostered on a construction job

The person who answers the phone for a commercial cleaning contract is not necessarily the person who shows up on a construction site. Ask directly. Don't assume.

• Ask who is rostered on a typical construction job for this company: a fixed crew trained for site work, or whoever from the wider roster is available that week.
• Ask what site induction and WHS training that crew has had for active construction sites.

Industrial cleaning services in Australia covers the equipment and scope questions worth asking once you know the job leans industrial.

Confirm the insurance covers construction work

Whatever public liability cover the company holds for its commercial work, confirm it also applies to a construction site before you rely on it.

• Ask for a certificate of currency, and confirm directly with the insurer or broker that it covers construction or building sites.
• Ask the same question about workers compensation cover for the crew doing the construction work.

How to choose a builders clean contractor covers what else is worth checking once the certificate arrives.

Ask how the two divisions share staff under pressure

A commercial cleaning contract runs on recurring, scheduled work. A construction division runs against a handover date fixed by someone else's build program. Find out what happens when both need the same crew in the same week.

• Ask what happens to your booking if a commercial contract needs extra staff the same week your handover is due.
• Ask for an example of how a scheduling clash has actually been handled before, and what the affected client was told.

Before you sign

None of this rules out a two-division company. A construction arm can be genuinely capable alongside a commercial cleaning contract, and one vendor for both can be simpler than managing two. But it can also mean the construction work quietly loses out whenever a commercial contract gets loud. These questions exist so you find that out while there's still time to choose someone else.

How to choose a builders clean contractor and Industrial cleaning services in Australia cover the checks worth making next, for this company or any other.