The last 12 months has been the year when custodial teams, janitors, and cleaning and maintenance workers began to be recognized for the full extent of the vital work they do.

Prior to COVID-19, custodial services were what you might term “the silent helper”, providing a safe and clean environment for everyone to live, work, and play in. Since the pandemic placed a greater emphasis on cleaning for health and enhancing previously existing methods and standards, these employees have begun to be heralded as their very own form of frontline worker.

Numerous plaudits have emerged since the onset of the emergency in spring of 2020.

Bob Robinson, Sr., the founder and CEO of industry giant Kaivac, has added his voice to the praise.

After a recent company tele-meeting, Robinson sent a meeting recap, which included a poem which sings the praises of janitors and custodial workers. Robinson described the poem as totally “spur of the moment.”

Grateful for the Janitor, Our First Responder

We all expect to work in a clean, healthy environment

And it’s our janitors we ask to provide this

In this pandemic we should call them “Essential Workers” and “First Responders”

That way, they’ll know just how grateful we are for their service

They are asked to work in harm’s way

They charge into buildings

Fighting the pandemic by cleaning contaminated surfaces

But what cleaning weapons are we giving them to fight with?

Who else do we have to do this?

We must give them the proper tools

After all, how would you like to be in their shoes?

Empowering them to clean safely, effectively, and fast, we commit to improving their toolkit

We are grateful for the janitor, and at Kaivac, we are doing something about it.