Dedicated Window Washing Crew Service

F&S is establishing dedicated window washing crews and restarting the regular cleaning of exterior and interior windows on primary campus buildings. The renewed focus of these teams will immediately enhance the appearance of facilities and improve the remarkable views from inside campus shared spaces, classrooms, laboratories, and offices.

The newly formed team of building service workers (BSWs) will be assigned to the Public Functions/Moving/Window Washing Crew as a part of overall staffing increases to be implemented ahead of the fall semester. These BSWs will exclusively perform these activities for exterior windows from April to October. During winter and early spring, crews will move inside to address interior windows and assist with other departmental work as necessary. Building Services will create the schedule for facilities based on condition assessment and logistical requirements; no work order submissions will be needed. Building occupants and facility managers will be notified before teams arrive.

Regular window washing was suspended in the early 2000s because of budget rescissions. In recent years, the work was completed as needed in response to specific facility conditions or based on departmental service requests. Moving forward, our goal for this process is to develop long-term maintenance strategies for comprehensive window cleaning of core campus facilities once every three years.

Improving the everyday cleanliness and appearance of facilities is a top priority. The consistent attention will help revitalize spaces regularly used and seen by students, faculty, and staff and make an even better first impression for visitors to the Urbana campus. These efforts will also provide valuable real-time assessments of various deferred maintenance needs and assist with the future upkeep of building envelopes.

Thank you for supporting the Building Services Transformation Initiative and ongoing service upgrades. For questions, contact Director of Transportation & Building Services Pete Varney pvarney@illinois.edu, 217-333-7583.