Street sweepers and parking lot cleaners are severely underestimated. It’s a common train of thought to believe that anyone could do their job but the truth is, not just anyone could do it. Parking lot cleaners and other public service cleaners have a lot to keep in mind and must have certain characteristics to be successful in the field. First of all, let’s take a look at the job duties and responsibilities of parking lot cleaners and road sweeping services.
Street sweeping services are responsible for cleaning and maintenance of the streets as well as repairs and improvements. It is a full-time position that requires knowledge of heavy machinery as well as the ins and outs of cleaning services. Parking lot cleaners and road cleanup services are also required to maintain records of maintenance and cleaning operations. Another responsibility is my new replacements and repairs to the cleaning equipment such as gutter brooms, head curtains, belt adjustments and checking height and angles according to the operations manual. Often times street sweepers have to assist other personnel with pavement and ally repairs as well as snow when ice control. Many companies want to minimum of two years experience in working with street sweepers so it’s definitely not a job that just anyone could do.
In addition to the above skills, a person must require a certain type of personality to be able to be a parking lot cleaner or a part of the cleanup team. Here are some Characteristics that are necessary.
Honesty and ethical integrity
For the most part street sweepers work alone unless they are assisting other personnel which means that the honor system is often employed. They must do their job effectively in correctly in order to keep pedestrians and drivers safe. A dishonest street sweeper could cause major accidents, injury and even potential fatalities. They must keep this in mind as they work and most to do but unfortunately they are lazy workers in every industry the give a bad name to the others.
Cleanliness and perfectionism
It makes sense that a good street sweeper will be a clean person. He must use only the naked eye to determine what type of cleaning is required where. Some areas will be more heavily soiled than others and some contain more litter than other places. However, he also must be quite the perfectionist. This will help him to get the job done correctly. He cannot be satisfied in leaving a job have finished or “good enough.” The best kind of parking lot cleaner will take a look at his area once he is finished and feel a sense of pride at the before and after images.
Patience and understanding
Cleaning is a thankless job. Anybody in the cleaning industry can be confident and job security because things are always going to get dirty again. However, for a road sweeper, especially if they have the same route day after day, it can become frustrating that the day before’s cleanup seems pointless. If the cleaner can have patience and do the job once again even through the monotony as well as understand that the continued dirtiness keeps his family fed than he can have a positive attitude toward his line of work. It is also beneficial for him to have patience towards people. The public can tend to become frustrated with street sweepers because of how slow they move or because of having to relocate cars from being parked on the street side. Although there is no excuse for the frustration and impatience of other people, the cleaner can remain optimistic if he will simply brush off the annoyances of others and get his job done.
Focus and self-motivation
The reason that the street sweeper would need these two characteristics has already been mentioned: people and working alone but it is worth mentioning again. Being able to remain focused while working can help to get the job done effectively and self-motivation will not only do a good job but will speak volumes to an employer looking to give promotions.
Our cities would not be the same if it wasn’t for our road clean up crew. They are the backbone of our town and how it looks and we should be proud of them.