COMMERCIAL CLEANING SCOPE OF WORK: HOW TO WRITE A JANITORIAL RFP

A vague janitorial RFP leads to poor service and budgeting chaos. When you release a request for proposal without a technical commercial cleaning scope of work, you force vendors to guess your expectations. This leads to a wide range of pricing that is impossible to compare because no two companies are bidding on the same outcome. To get high-quality results, you must build a document that uses institutional standards to ensure every vendor bids on the same objective performance, especially when searching for commercial cleaning services near me​.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. ESTABLISH CLEAR SERVICE LEVELS WITH APPA STANDARDS

We find that most disputes between facility managers and janitorial providers stem from or are fueled by subjective definitions of clean. One person’s “clean” is another’s “needs work.” To solve this, your RFP should reference APPA cleaning standards. These levels provide a standardized framework from Level 1 (Orderly Tidiness) to Level 5 (Unkempt Neglect).

Voltaire captured the case for shared definitions in a line every RFP author should read before drafting:

“If you wish to converse with me, define your terms.” – Voltaire

For most NYC corporate and medical environments, Level 2 is the institutional benchmark. It balances a high-quality appearance with realistic staffing budgets. By specifying an APPA level, you move from emotional evaluations to technical audits. This ensures every bidder allocates the correct labor hours to meet that specific visual and hygienic outcome for commercial cleaning services.

What you do:

Define the required APPA level for each zone of your building in the RFP document. This prevents vendors from guessing at the level of detail required for high-traffic versus low-traffic areas.

2. INCLUDE TECHNICAL FLOOR AND COMMERCIAL WINDOW CLEANING CYCLES

Detailed cycles for VCT and commercial carpet cleaning prevent long-term asset degradation. If your RFP only asks for “floor care,” a vendor might assume a simple mop and bucket routine. You need to specify the frequency for commercial carpet cleaning services and VCT stripping and refinishing to protect your investment. Without these technical markers, you cannot effectively read a cleaning quote to spot lowball bids that ignore asset preservation.

Frank Gilbreth, the industrial engineer whose motion studies became the foundation of modern operations research, understood the compounding damage of specification gaps:

“There is no waste of any kind in the world that equals the waste from needless, ill-directed, and ineffective motions.” – Frank Gilbreth

High-traffic areas often require monthly restorative maintenance. Low-traffic zones might only need quarterly attention. The same applies to commercial window cleaning, which should be scheduled based on environmental exposure. A technical scope defines these frequencies upfront, including commercial window cleaning​, so there are no surprise costs later in the contract.

What you do:

Create a table in your RFP that lists every floor surface type and the required frequency for buffing, scrubbing, and deep extraction. Use a janitorial bid template format to keep these requirements organized.

3. REQUIRE PRODUCTION RATE TRANSPARENCY FROM COMMERCIAL CLEANING COMPANIES

Square footage per hour metrics reveal if a vendor has under-bid the labor hours. If a bidder claims they can clean 5,000 square feet per hour while industry standards suggest 3,000 for that facility type, they are cutting corners. We believe transparency in production rates is the only way to verify a bid’s legitimacy among commercial cleaning companies​. This becomes even more critical when reviewing a cleaning service level agreement for high-stakes environments.

Louis Brandeis, the Supreme Court justice whose writing on transparency reshaped how American institutions operate, said it in six words that every procurement decision should default to:

“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” – Louis Brandeis

Medical office cleaning requires slower production rates due to disinfection protocols. A dental office cleaning checklist​ or a medical suite protocol must be executed by a self-performed W-2 workforce to ensure these rates are maintained. Subcontractors often rush to finish, which is where cross-contamination risks increase. Providing a cleaning the office checklist or a medical office cleaning checklist within the RFP ensures the vendor understands the granular tasks involved in these rates.

What you do:

Ask for the total estimated labor hours per night and the production rate for each major task. Compare these against the ISSA 612 Cleaning Times guide to ensure the bid is grounded in operational reality.

MAKE YOUR BUILDING OCCUPANT-READY

Standardizing your facility requirements through a technical RFP ensures you hire a partner who understands institutional-grade maintenance. Blue Chip Building Maintenance brings over 25 years of NYC expertise to every contract. We use a dedicated W-2 workforce to meet the highest standards of accountability. Contact us today to schedule a professional walk-through and review your current scope of work.