ST. CLOUD, Minn (AP) - Brian Toutges is a very neat and detail-oriented person.
He takes those traits “to a fault sometimes,” said Toutges, the St. Cloud State Unviersity building services foreman.
But being neat and detail-oriented came in handy when Toutges oversaw cleaning staff at St. Cloud Hospital. And they come in handy now, as Toutges oversees the university’s general maintenance workers who keep the campus clean and disinfected.
It’s a task more important than ever as the coronavirus spreads throughout the world, including in Minnesota.
“Unfortunately, it’s a great reminder of how important our jobs really are,” Toutges recently told the St. Cloud Times.
To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, schools and universities are closed to most students with online learning in place.
Staff at work and students who live on campus still use public buildings at St. Cloud State. A few school buildings in the St. Cloud school district are still in use and need to be cleaned by custodial staff as well.
‘Keeping things clean’
When St. Cloud schools closed a few weeks ago, the custodial staff did a deep cleaning throughout the district, said Gary Ganje, the district’s executive director of operations. They switched some products to ensure cleaners thoroughly disinfected against the coronavirus.
Four schools are used for meal preparation, and the custodial staff keeps those clean and helps transfer meals to school buses for delivery, Ganje said. A few schools are sites for day care for the children of first responders, health care providers and others who have to go to work during the pandemic.
“Our custodial staff are doing a great job of keeping things clean, and they’re very flexible with the work that we need to be doing right now,” Ganje said. “They’re pitching in wherever they can.”
St. Cloud State’s general maintenance workers have shifted their cleaning to focus on high-touch spots like keyboards, doorknobs and bathroom fixtures.
They clean the space used by public safety staff on campus up to four times a day; they used to do so once, Toutges said. That’s inspired some gratitude and thanks from employees in that office.
A new appreciation
Phil Moessner, St. Cloud State’s assistant vice president of facilities management, has been in this industry for 30 years and knows how critical each component is when it comes to facilities.
In normal circumstances, people expect lights to work, water to run and trash to be emptied, Moessner said. “Sometimes people don’t remember there’s a person behind that.”
The rapid spread of the coronavirus - and reassurances from St. Cloud State leaders of all the cleaning efforts underway - have highlighted the work of the people behind those jobs.
“Folks gain a new appreciation for the work and dedication of these front-line employees,” Moessner said. “You took it for granted before. Now you start to realize that that crew is providing a critical component to how the university runs and the success of the university.”
“For most part, our crews have understood the criticality of this job and what they’re bringing to the success of the university,” Moessner said.
‘The new norm’
Morale is pretty good among the custodial staff in the St. Cloud school district, said Matt Plumhoff, director of building and grounds.
Staff are rotating in to cover the four open schools, Plumhoff said. And they can go to Human Resources if they’re concerned about their safety or risk of exposure.
“The general public was nervous at first, but now we’re getting a good grasp,” he said. Staff are also planning for when students and teachers return to schools.
Plumhoff and Ganje talk regularly about “sanitizing and equipment to be more proactive and ready to go for the new norm we’re probably going to see,” Plumhoff said. That means figuring out where people will be most exposed to germs and using new tools to help disinfect, tools like microfiber rags and electrostatic technology to fully coat surfaces with cleaner.
Toutges began working at St. Cloud State in November and was promoted recently to a supervisor position amid concerns and spread of the coronavirus.
He worked at St. Cloud Hospital for 13 years before, cleaning the Emergency Room, surgical suites and managing staff. So combating viruses is not new to him.
“Everyone was doing what needed to be done,” Toutges said about cleaning efforts on campus. “Being aware that something like this could happen, it just reminds them how important their job really is.”
The university administration is focused on keeping students safe and helping them succeed, Moessner said. “That staying safe piece is 100% on the backs of our general maintenance workers.”
“It’s not just students,” Moessner added. “It’s also faculty and staff and the community that comes to visit campus.”
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