Whilst Kimberly-Clark Professional began this initiative and has always been a patron, the company does not get involved with the judging process and has engaged The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) to independently oversee the judging process.
The judging process takes place in two stages:
The first stage is a review of each entry where points are awarded based on the quality of the written evidence submitted. From this, a number of finalists are selected within each category. The finalists will be listed on the website at the beginning of December 2023.
The second stage involves site visits for the majority of the awards which will take place between December 2023 and January 2024. BICSc has appointed a team of experienced judges who will visit the nominated premises. Only one judge is responsible for each category so that all entries are equally assessed.
The judges work to the BICSc Standards and Best Practice document before they carry out their site visits. In addition, there will be a head judge and someone in charge of compliance. The BICSc training award will be judged by a judge who will not be involved in judging any of the other categories in the interest of fairness.
The judges will be judging standards achieved and not just whether the specifications for the entry are followed. Innovation, staff training and client relationships are among the main criteria which will be assessed. It is not the size of your business that is important, but the quality of service provided.
Judges' Rules
One judge shall be assigned for marking each category.
If your application does not make it through to the next stage, the cleaning operative and supervisor will no longer be eligible
The judge will contact the principal person listed on the application form to arrange a convenient date for all parties to carry out the site survey. This must be someone specifically assigned to that site.
Once a visit date has been confirmed any cancellations may result in the nomination being rejected.
The nominated cleaning operative and/or supervisor should be available during the visit, otherwise, their nomination may be rejected. Every effort should be made for their attendance.
The preliminary focus and consideration will be the cleaning process and cleaning standards on site. This will be covered in the judges’ scoring process. They will also expect to see the following documents:
COSHH assessments & SDS sheets
Risk Assessments task related
Method Statements/SSOW
Portable Appliance Testing records
Quality control records
Training and development records
Evidence of submitted company certifications might need to be shown to the judge if unable to submit online during the application process
Documents that do not relate to the nominated category will not be considered by the judges, unless specifically requested.
Further evidence of such documentation/information may be requested on the day of the site visit.
The author of the client testimonial may if they wish be available on the day of the site visit for a 10-15 minute meeting with the judge. However this is not a requirement. It should be noted that the judge meeting with the client will not accrue any points as these have already been accounted for during the stage one process.
The judge will decide which areas are to be viewed rather than a pre-determined walk round. Ideally the judge will want to see the area(s) for which the nominated cleaning operative and/or supervisor has responsibility.
Any meetings/presentations with operational departments should be outlined pre-visit to the judge, who may put a restriction on attendee numbers. We recommend a maximum of three.
Invitations to lunch cannot be accepted, however light refreshments will be welcomed.Judges cannot enter into discussions with a nominee about comparisons with other sites/nominees.
All judges’ marking forms and company information gathered will remain confidential until the GSA agrees a date for its destruction. However, the judges will jointly discuss the supervisor and cleaning operative nominations.
The judges will have the final decision as to whether each application is in the correct category. This will be carried out at the paper judging stage. The entry could be moved to a more relevant category. The company will be notified.
