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Norwest NSW 2153

Cleaning a Norwest building while its common property is being upgraded

A lobby refurbishment is under way, a lift is out of service and half the ground floor is hoarded off. The building still has occupiers arriving every morning, and the cleaning arrangement was written for a building that is not currently there.

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In short

During an upgrade to common property in a Norwest building, the areas in the cleaning scope change shape, access routes move and construction activity adds load that the ordinary arrangement was never priced for. The owners corporation or owner funds both the project and the cleaning.

Clean Best treats an upgrade period as a temporary variation with its own scope and price rather than absorbing it. The project's own cleaning obligations are identified separately so the scheme is not funding work that belongs to the contractor doing the upgrade. The variation carries a stated end date so the scope returns to normal on completion.

The building in the scope is not the building on site

An upgrade changes the geography. Areas are hoarded off and not accessible, temporary routes carry traffic they were never designed for, and the finished areas that remain take the full load of the building. A scope written for the normal configuration describes a building that does not currently exist, and following it produces effort in the wrong places. Effort ends up spread across areas nobody can currently reach.

Revising it for the duration is straightforward and is worth doing properly. Areas out of use come out, temporary routes go in with a higher frequency, and the whole arrangement returns to normal when the project completes. Doing it as a documented variation rather than an informal adjustment means the cost is visible and the scope returns to its original state rather than staying wherever it drifted to.

The project's cleaning and the building's cleaning

A construction contractor working on common property normally carries its own obligations for site cleanliness and for making good. That is separate from the building's ongoing cleaning of the areas still in use. Where the two are not distinguished, the scheme ends up funding site cleaning that belonged to the project, which is a real cost and one nobody notices at the time. Nobody notices at the time and nobody can unpick it afterwards.

Identifying the boundary before the project starts is much easier than arguing about it afterwards. Where dust or debris from the works is reaching occupied areas, that is worth recording and raising with whoever is managing the project, because it is usually addressable through better containment rather than through more cleaning. The scheme should not be quietly funding a containment failure. Containment is almost always cheaper than repeated recovery of occupied areas.

Occupiers during the works

Tenants continue to arrive throughout an upgrade and continue to form views about the building. Their tolerance for disruption is generally higher than owners expect, provided the parts still in use are properly maintained and provided somebody has told them what is happening. Both of those are within the scheme's control and neither is expensive. Silence during a long project does more damage than the disruption itself.

The areas that matter most during works are the temporary entry, whatever route people are using, and any amenity that is still open. Concentrating attention there rather than spreading it thinly across a building half of which is inaccessible is the sensible allocation. Clean Best proposes that reallocation rather than continuing to a schedule written for a different configuration. Concentrating effort is also what makes the temporary cost defensible.

Upgrade period points for a Norwest building

  • A temporary scope variation for the duration of the works
  • Areas out of use removed and temporary routes added
  • The project contractor's own cleaning obligations identified
  • Dust and debris reaching occupied areas recorded and raised
  • Attention concentrated on the routes still in use
  • A stated date for the scope to return to normal
Clean Best supervisor reviewing office and strata cleaning quality in Parramatta NSW

Working in Norwest and the Hills District

Norwest in the Hills District holds corporate campuses, healthcare, hotels and business parks, with buildings of an age where lobby, amenity and common area upgrades are a regular part of the asset cycle. Projects of that kind run for months while the building remains occupied, changing the areas in use, the routes people take and the load on whatever remains open. The owners corporation or owner funds the project and the cleaning from the same overall position. Clean Best services Norwest from Seven Hills and varies the scope for the duration rather than absorbing the change.

Questions about Norwest

Should the cleaning scope change during an upgrade?

Yes, because the building has changed shape. Areas that are hoarded off should come out and temporary routes should go in, usually at a higher frequency than they would ordinarily carry. Doing it as a documented variation with a stated end date means the arrangement returns to normal rather than staying wherever it drifted during the works.

Who pays for cleaning up after the builders?

A construction contractor normally carries its own obligations for site cleanliness and making good, separate from the building's ongoing cleaning. Where the two are blurred, the scheme funds work belonging to the project without anybody noticing. Identifying the boundary before the project starts is far easier than arguing about it once the work is finished.

Dust from the works keeps reaching our offices. What can be done?

It is worth recording and raising with whoever is managing the project, because it usually indicates a containment issue rather than a cleaning shortfall. Additional cleaning treats the symptom at the scheme's expense. Better containment is normally the project's responsibility and is considerably more effective than repeated recovery of occupied areas. It is also considerably cheaper for whoever ends up paying.

How do we keep tenants comfortable during the works?

By maintaining the parts still in use properly and telling people what is happening. Tolerance for disruption is generally higher than owners expect when both of those are handled. Concentrating cleaning attention on the temporary entry, the routes in use and any open amenity does more than spreading effort across a building that is half inaccessible.

When should the scope return to normal?

On a stated date agreed at the outset, reviewed against actual completion. Temporary arrangements have a strong tendency to become permanent when nobody set an end point. Recording the intended return, and confirming it when the project finishes, keeps the scheme's arrangement and its budget aligned with the building it actually has. Confirming the return at completion keeps the budget aligned with the building.

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