Commercial Cleaning Services: What to Include in a Scope of Work

A commercial cleaning tender can look competitive on paper and still fail at site level when the scope leaves too much open to interpretation. If one bidder assumes daily washroom servicing, another allows for three visits a week and a third excludes periodic floor care, their prices are not genuinely comparable.

For facilities managers, property managers and procurement teams, a useful scope translates the way a building operates into clear service requirements. It tells commercial cleaners where work is required, what outcome is expected, when it can occur and how performance will be checked. It also gives bidders enough information to expose assumptions before they become contract disputes.

Describe the site before listing tasks

Start with an operational profile rather than a generic checklist. Record the building type, occupied hours, approximate access windows, tenant or department boundaries and areas that experience unusual traffic. Identify secure rooms, loading constraints, alarm procedures and locations where noisy equipment cannot be used during business hours.

The profile should also note foreseeable changes. A planned tenancy move, fit-out, seasonal event program or shift in opening hours can alter labour and supervision needs. Bidders should price the current requirement while explaining how agreed variations would be handled.

Divide the property into service zones

Area-based zoning makes the scope easier to price and inspect. Typical zones include entrances, reception areas, workspaces, meeting rooms, kitchens, amenities, lifts, stairs, loading areas and external approaches. Multi-tenant properties may also separate landlord-controlled common areas from tenant-controlled premises.

For each zone, state:

• the required presentation or hygiene outcome

• routine tasks and frequencies

• preferred service window

• access or security conditions

• surface types and known sensitivities

• who confirms completion

Avoid using “as required” for work that is expected routinely. If frequency needs to respond to occupancy, define the trigger. A washroom may need a scheduled baseline plus additional checks when building use exceeds an agreed condition, for example. The commercial cleaning company can then design a roster around an observable need.

Separate routine and periodic work

Routine work keeps the property operating each day or week. Periodic work protects surfaces and addresses tasks that do not fit a daily roster. Combining both in one undifferentiated list makes it difficult to know whether the tendered price includes the full program.

Routine items might cover waste removal, touchpoint cleaning, work-area presentation, washroom servicing and spot cleaning. Periodic items may involve detailed glass work, carpet or hard-floor treatment, high-pressure cleaning, steam cleaning or specialist kitchen cleaning.

KADD Facility Group’s public cleaning page lists daily and periodical tasks as well as low-level and high-rise glass cleaning, machine scrubbing and buffing, strip and seal work, steam cleaning and high-pressure cleaning. These are examples of capabilities, not automatic inclusions. A buyer should nominate the tasks relevant to the site and request a schedule that shows whether each item is included in the base fee or separately approved.

Specify methods where the asset requires them

A scope should focus on outcomes, but some surfaces and environments need method controls. Record manufacturer requirements, heritage finishes, slip considerations, acoustic restrictions and any chemical limitations known to the site. If machinery can only be moved through a particular lift or stored in a nominated room, include that constraint.

Ask bidders to identify proposed equipment and products during the site walk-through. The goal is not to prescribe every movement. It is to check that the method suits the asset, access window and surrounding operations.

Allocate consumables, hygiene and waste responsibilities

Cleaning contracts often become unclear at the boundary between labour and supplies. State who provides chemicals, equipment, bin liners, paper products, soap and other consumables. Include ordering authority, approved substitutions, stock storage, minimum holding levels and usage reporting where these matter commercially.

Waste responsibilities also need precision. Define internal collection points, external bin locations, recycling streams, contamination handling and the party responsible for arranging collection services. KADD publicly lists sanitary and hygiene services, waste management and pest control as additional cleaning services. If any of these are required, identify them as separate workstreams with their own scope and approval arrangements.

Build safety and access requirements into delivery

The scope should identify site induction, sign-in, keys, access cards, alarm use and incident reporting. Specialist activities may require additional planning, permits or evidence of competency. High-rise glass work, electrical isolation near cleaning activities or emergency water extraction should not be treated as routine tasks without confirming the controls that apply to the site.

Request the documents needed for mobilisation and ongoing compliance, but keep the list relevant. Depending on the work, this may include insurance evidence, safety data sheets, safe work documentation, training records and subcontractor controls. The contract should also state how updated documents are supplied and who reviews them.

Define quality in measurable terms

“High quality” is not an inspection standard. Set clear expectations for presentation, hygiene, completion and response. A practical quality framework can include scheduled inspections, defect categories, correction timeframes, trend reporting and a process for recurring issues.

Choose measures that help manage the site. Examples include completion of specified periodic tasks, open and overdue defects, repeat issues by zone, service exceptions and corrective actions. Agree who attends reviews and how often the frequency changes once performance is stable.

The scope should distinguish a cleaning defect from a maintenance issue or tenant-caused event. This keeps the performance discussion fair and ensures problems reach the team that can resolve them.

Make the pricing schedule comparable

Provide a pricing template that mirrors the scope. Ask for the routine service fee, periodic program, consumables, reactive rates, specialist items, mobilisation costs and any assumptions about minimum hours or access. Require bidders to list exclusions and qualifications in one place.

Clarify how variations are approved. A facilities manager should know who can authorise additional work, what information must accompany a quote and how urgent work is handled outside standard hours. This commercial pathway is as important as the rate itself.

Test the scope during the walk-through

Use the site visit to test whether the document reflects reality. Walk the proposed service route, inspect storage, discuss waste movement and identify peak-use areas. Ask each bidder how the roster, supervision and equipment plan respond to what they have seen.

Good questions are specific: Which tasks occur while occupants are present? How will a cleaner access a secure zone? Where will periodic equipment be stored? What happens if the allocated service window is shortened? The answers show whether the proposal is grounded in the building rather than copied from a standard model.

Turn the final scope into a mobilisation tool

Once a provider is selected, update the scope to reflect accepted clarifications. Attach the area schedule, task matrix, periodic calendar, reporting requirements and pricing assumptions to the contract. During mobilisation, confirm rosters, access, storage, communication channels and the first inspection date against the same document.

KADD offers commercial cleaning services and related specialist capabilities on its public site. Property and facilities teams can use this scope framework to prepare a consistent brief, then invite KADD to inspect the property and respond against the documented requirements.