Joe Pizzimenti”™s father Enzo Pizzimenti was an Italian immigrant working in the facilities department at Reader”™s Digest running cleaning crews before becoming an entrepreneur to launch his cleaning company CClean in 1984. Now its owner, Joe Pizzimenti seeks to continue CClean”™s mission to provide clients across various industries with cleaning services that adhere to high standards of health and safety.
“The focus there is really staying on top of regulation and compliance,” Pizzimenti said.
The Chappaqua-based company”™s workers perform carpet cleaning, floor care, dusting, interior window cleaning, and floor and terrazzo restoration, among other services. Its clients include childcare centers, corporate and nonprofit companies, construction sites, schools, tourist sites and film sets.
The health care industry is the company”™s primary market and it has crafted a medical cleaning services program that is up to the standards of the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities and Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Pizzimenti noted that these standards are applied to cleaning services for CClean”™s clients in other industries, giving CClean an edge over other cleaning companies
“All that expertise really ends up benefiting our clients,” Pizzimenti said, such as in the case of a standard office client dealing with an infectious environment in need of terminal cleaning.
During the height of the pandemic and in the months sincce, CClean has aimed to follow guidelines on Covid as set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, such as suggestions on the use of electrostatic spraying.
“You”™d see these cleaners with electrostatic sprayers just following patients around and then the EPA said, ”˜Well, that”™s not really safe to do around patients, everybody should be wearing an N95 half-face respirator,”™” Pizzimenti said, recalling how other cleaning companies operated in hospitals during the early days of the pandemic. “We still do spraying on a targeted basis, but only when the building is unoccupied.”
Most new employees at CClean are referred by current employees, and all hires are expected to pass certification from CClean”™s training program ”” which includes best practices on cleaning certain facility environments, efficient utilization of cleaning products and equipment, as well as how to separate cleaning supplies so as to reduce cross contamination.
“We try to cultivate a really great company culture,” Pizzimenti said. “That”™s something that you always have to work on. As you”™re bringing in more people, you need to ensure that the values of the organization continue to be a priority.”
In an effort to increase efficiency and stay up to date on state-of-the-art technological solutions, CClean is currently looking into integrating automated devices such as robotic vacuums and auto scrubbers into the workflow.
“I think we”™ll see in the coming years more automation in the industry,” Pizzimenti said. “Not going fully robotic, I don”™t think, but I think we”™ll continue to see more automation in terms of those types of devices and how those devices should best be utilized, because ultimately they need to be used in conjunction with a highly developed training program in order to be effective”
Currently, CClean team members utilize sensors and other devices to track occupancy levels in larger, high-traffic facilities. However, while the job is made easier with technology, the most efficient approach still involves a partnership with tenants or facility owners.
“The types of clients that we”™re looking for that we have successful relationships with, we work together as partners in growth, and it”™s not your typical vendor””client relationship,” Pizzimenti said. “It”™s about helping them solve issues, make employees or clients comfortable, and protecting people from illness. We provide a service that isn”™t just cleaning ”” it”™s impressing stakeholders, protecting the workers, getting employees comfortable coming back into the office, and making sure that cleaning isn”™t something that anyone thinks about when they enter those facilities.”
