Case Study
The Company: TriMet
Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a municipal corporation that provides transit service in the Portland, Oregon metro area. TriMet operates a 52-mile train system, 81 bus lines, a 15-mile commuter rail line, as well as specialized transportation services for seniors and individuals with disabilities.
The Challenge
TriMet maintains 750 buses and 127 trains, as well as 15 separate facilities with administrative, sales and other offices. TriMet's cleaning requirements are extensive; the organization is responsible for cleaning the building floors, vehicle floors and windows, train and bus exteriors including the wheels and engines, seating in customer waiting areas, various rest rooms - the list goes on and on.
TriMet had been using more than a dozen cleaning solutions, which resulted in significant product waste and dollars lost as the cleaning staff was using more than one product per job. In addition, the solutions were not environmentally friendly, creating a negative cumulative effect on the staff and the environment.
"We've always been an environmentally minded organization, yet struggled to find 'green' products that could get the job done," said Dan Koenig, Facilities Services with TriMet. "While our old solutions worked, we were tired of the excessive product waste and the harshness of the chemicals. We were determined to find a better way."