Pre-bid walkthrough prep
How Should You Prepare for a Janitorial Site Walk?
A site walk is where bidders turn your building into labor hours. What you show them, and what you hand them, decides how comparable the proposals will be.
The short answer
Prepare for a janitorial site walk by gathering what a bidder needs to estimate labor: floor plans with cleanable square footage, occupancy and operating hours, floor types, restroom fixture counts, your current scope and the access rules crews must follow. Plan a route that covers every space type, including janitor closets, the trash enclosure and the rooms that draw complaints. Give every bidder the same walk and answer all questions in writing to the whole group, so the proposals you receive can be compared line for line.
What to have on paper before the janitorial site walk
Every janitorial bid is a labor estimate with supplies and overhead added. When a bidder lacks a fact, it guesses, and guesses come back either padded or dangerously thin. A short information packet handed out at the start of the walk removes most of that guessing.
Send the packet a few days ahead if you can, so bidders arrive with questions instead of discovering the basics on the tour.
| Item to prepare | Why bidders need it |
|---|---|
| Floor plans with cleanable square footage by floor | Hours are estimated from area, and gross versus cleanable area changes the total |
| Headcount, visitor traffic and operating hours | Occupancy drives restroom, trash and breakroom workload more than size does |
| Floor type inventory: carpet, VCT, LVT, sealed concrete, stone, tile | Each surface has its own daily method and periodic cycle |
| Restroom fixture count and number of breakrooms | Toilets, urinals and sinks set restroom time, not square feet |
| Current scope or task-and-frequency list | Shows what you buy today and what you want to change |
| Dates of the last strip and wax, carpet extraction and window cleaning | Tells bidders whether a restorative first clean will be needed |
| Waste streams: trash, recycling, organics, shred | Sorting under California SB 1383 adds handling steps and container checks |
| Access rules: keys, badges, alarms, escorts, restricted rooms | Security procedures add time and limit who can be assigned |
Plan a route that shows the hard parts
Show bidders the worst of the building, not the best. A tour that covers the lobby and a model floor produces a price for the lobby and a model floor. The spaces that really consume labor are the ones owners tend to skip: closets, stairwells, the loading dock and the restroom that serves the busiest floor.
Walk at a time that reflects normal use, arrange keys or escorts for locked areas in advance, and bring the person who actually fields cleaning complaints. That person knows where the problems are and can answer questions the facilities manager may not.
- Janitor closets: mop sinks, hot water, chemical storage and space for equipment
- Trash enclosure, compactor or dumpsters, and the route from the building to them
- High-use restrooms, showers and lactation rooms
- Breakrooms, coffee stations and any food service areas
- Entrances and walk-off matting, where outdoor grit enters
- Secure rooms, labs, medical suites or data rooms with special rules
- Glass partitions, high ledges and any areas needing lifts or ladders
Questions to ask bidders during the walkthrough
The questions a bidder asks tell you as much as the answers it gives. Careful bidders ask about tenant hours, complaint history, who supplies paper and liners, when periodic floor work was last done and how keys are controlled. A bidder who walks quickly, asks nothing and promises a low number has not learned enough to price your building.
Use the walk to ask your own questions too, and note the answers so you can check them against the written proposal later.
- How many people, working how many hours a night, would you assign here?
- Who supervises this account, and how often will that person be on site?
- How did you measure the space, and will you price cleanable or gross area?
- How would you handle these floor types day to day and on a periodic cycle?
- What do you need from us to start: keys, badges, closet space, a contact list?
- How are inspections recorded, and what do we see from them?
Keep the walk fair so the bids line up
Comparable bids need identical information. Hold one walk for all bidders, or identical walks on a set schedule, and keep a sign-in sheet. Set a deadline for questions, then send every question and answer to all bidders as a written addendum, without naming who asked.
If one bidder asks to return for a second look, offer the same chance to the rest. Leave enough time between the walk and the due date for bidders to build a staffing plan rather than a guess. Public agencies often make attendance mandatory for this reason, and private owners can borrow the rule.
Mistakes that make proposals hard to compare
Most messy bid comparisons trace back to the walk. The common causes are easy to avoid once you know them.
- Leaving problem areas off the tour, then judging the vendor on them later
- Quoting square footage without saying whether it is gross or cleanable
- Not stating who buys restroom paper, soap and trash liners
- Leaving periodic work (floors, carpets, glass, high dusting) undefined
- Walking on a quiet day that hides normal occupancy
How EBS handles its own walkthroughs
An EBS supervisor walks the facility, looks at traffic, surfaces, hours and access rules, asks about specialty areas and listens to what is going wrong today. From that visit EBS writes a practical scope and a customized estimate, and neither the walkthrough nor the estimate costs anything. Teams travel from the Corona office to sites across the six-region service area. To schedule one, call (949) 375-3305.
Related questions
Still not sure? A supervisor can answer at the walkthrough.
Request a walkthroughAll questionsHow long does a janitorial walkthrough take?
Long enough to see every space type once. A single office floor can be covered quickly, while a multi-building campus, a site with escorted secure areas or a facility with production space may need a scheduled half day. Rushing the walk usually means bidders price the unseen areas by assumption.
Should the current cleaning vendor be told about the site walk?
That depends on whether the incumbent is invited to rebid. Many owners include the current vendor and hold the walk during business hours. If you are replacing the vendor quietly, check your contract's notice terms first and keep the walk discreet, but never hide areas from new bidders to do it.
Can a vendor price a building from plans alone?
It can produce a number, but plans do not show floor condition, restroom use, clutter, access delays or how far the trash enclosure is from the freight elevator. Prices built from drawings alone tend to need correcting after startup, which is the conversation a walk is meant to prevent.
What should we not share during a pre-bid walk?
Do not share other bidders' names or prices, alarm codes or badge credentials. Describe restricted-area rules and escort requirements in general terms, and release codes and keys only to the vendor you select, during startup, under your own key control process.
Should bidders be allowed to take photos?
Set the rule before the walk. Photos help bidders remember floor types and fixtures, but in secure, medical or confidential areas you may need to prohibit them or provide approved photos to every bidder instead. Whatever you decide, apply it to all bidders equally.
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