Custodial & Recycling

Preparing for Commencement

Bron Clayton, supervisor for custodial services, says job one at graduation is making everything look great.

Haywood McNeill (Interviewer): How do you prepare the campus for graduation?

Bron Clayton: We don’t want any sloppy restrooms. We’re constantly picking up trash and paper. We don’t want there to be any toilet paper missing or to run out of paper towels so we are constantly visiting and re-visiting graduation site restrooms.

HM: How many people are dispatched for graduation preparation?

BC: We have two crews of 11 people —10 workers and a supervisor. One team on campus for day hours and a team of contracted workers at night, all working and communicating to make things nice for graduates and their families.

HM: I’ve heard you often find and report larger issues while cleaning?

BC: Yes, the custodial crew does kind of serve as the eyes and ears of UT Dallas. In the course of their cleaning work for graduation, and really all the time, they run across issues which they quickly report to the appropriate Facilities Management shop.

HM: If I were to watch the team work for a couple hours, what might I see?

BC: Custodial team members can be seen sweeping and mopping floors, wiping down tables, chairs and other surfaces and cleaning windows in the run-up to graduation.

Trash receptacles are being checked and emptied —and recycling recovered— hourly in the Activity Center as well as the Visitor Center and University Bookstore.

It is quite extensive and thorough. And that’s another detail we have to repeat over and over again on the days of graduation ceremonies because we want to limit accumulation of fingerprints on glass and doors. With the amount of people going in and out, it’s almost constant.

Custodial & Recycling cares for the campus during the day; responds to daytime emergencies such as flooding or overflowing water, spills and biohazards; re-cleans and re-stocks restrooms; and is the point of contact to answer requests for additional trash cans, clean-up for events, non-routine cleaning services and custodial work requests.

In addition, the crew handles waste management, including collection of all recyclable items such as paper, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, cardboard, and wood pallets; provides large recycling bins for office clean-outs and desk-side receptacles for faculty and staff; and provides shredding bins for confidential or sensitive documents.

During the evening custodial contractors mirror the detailed cleaning services day crews provide, such as thoroughly cleaning restrooms, vacuuming and/or mopping floors, dusting furniture, emptying trash cans and recycle bins, cleaning stairwells, waxing corridors, and shampooing carpets.

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