This guide explains how to properly perform some cleaning tasks at the hubs that require a detailed process. It covers the steps Hub Managers (HM), Shift Leads (SL), Ops Associate Plus (OA+) and Ops Associate (OA) need to take for these tasks, the tools they need, and other important information you need to perform these cleaning tasks properly.
The information provided is mainly for internal cleaning, meaning cleaning performed by the hub staff, though some tasks must be performed in cooperation with the external Cleaner. If you need to open a ticket related to external cleaning, meaning cleaning performed by an external company, please refer to the FAQ at the end of this page.
By following this guide, you can create a pleasant and safe working environment for our hub team as well as our customers, as it's essential to keep things orderly and clean. Our hub is our home for 2-8 hours per day after all.
Here's an overview of the content:
Maintenance procedures
External cleaning
Important guidelines
External cleaning services are provided by an external cleaning service provider. The cleaning tasks are carried out based on the terms of the external service specifications, which specify the areas to be cleaned, the frequency and timing of cleanings, recommendations on materials to use, and the procedures for completing these tasks.
External cleaners come in 6 times a week and work independently but some procedures require support from hub staff, meaning they must complete some tasks before the external cleaners begin their shift. You'll find them under Cooperative tasks.
Before starting their cleaning tasks, external cleaners must punch in using Quinyx to confirm their attendance. They are familiar with this process and have their own guide to follow.
Once the external Cleaners have completed their tasks, we recommend the Hub Manager or Shift Lead to verify that all tasks outlined in the external service specifications have been completed and if a re-clean is in order by performing an optional daily walkthrough. This input can guide you through the walkthrough. This step allows cleaning staff to stay and address any missed areas immediately, preventing disruptions to your picking process later in the day if they're called back for a re-clean.
How to perform the optional daily walkthrough:
Walk through the hub with the external Cleaner to inspect the areas they've cleaned, using the external service specifications and/or the walkthrough input as a guide.
If satisfied with the cleaning: the external Cleaner can leave, no further action needed.
If not satisfied:
Ask the external Cleaner to re-clean the problem areas.
Create a ticket by following the instructions under External cleaning tickets > How do I create a ticket for bad cleaning?
Any deviations from the external service agreement or failed cleaning tasks must be reported to the Food Safety Management Team via Airtable as soon as possible. Read more about this form under FAQ > External cleaning tickets.
Monthly mandatory cleaning check-up
To evaluate the cleaning performance of service providers, the Hub Manager or Area Manager must conduct at least once a month a cleaning check-up. This check-up should be concise, lasting no more than 15 minutes. The primary objective is to maintain standardized internal documentation that measures the effectiveness of external cleaning services and adherence to the 2025 service specifications, while also determining their contribution to improving the cleanliness of the hubs.
How to perform it:
Open the airtable form and enter the hub code and date.
Perform the physical walk through the hub according to the order in the form.
Check for the things described there in each area and evaluate them in the form.
If you select Unclean in any option, no action from you is required.
Once done, select Submit.
Internal cleaning
Important guidelines
Internal cleaning encompasses all cleaning tasks carried out by hub staff as per the internal service specifications and the internal cleaning shift schedule.. These tasks must be carried out at designated intervals, some of them during the internal cleaning shift (ICS), or at designated intervals. There's 4 types of internal cleaning tasks:
Daily tasks: performed daily by Riders and Ops Associates as needed, ensuring ongoing cleanliness. These tasks include:
Weekly tasks: conducted weekly by a designated person, typically an OA, during the internal cleaning shift. These tasks, aligned with the internal service agreement, include:
Monthly tasks: performed monthly by the hub workforce and during the internal cleaning shift. These tasks include:
Cooperative tasks: require collaboration between the hub staff and external Cleaner. They are often non-sequential and are guided by both internal and external service agreements. Cooperative tasks include:
Additionally, once a month, the Hub Manager conducts a walkthrough using an Airtable form to assess the overall cleanliness of the hub.
Internal cleaning specifications
Best practices
Clean from the top down. When cleaning a space, it's more effective to start at the top, such as with higher shelves and light fixtures (for example, removing cobwebs and dust) and finishing with the floors.
Clean the space gradually. Start in one corner and work your way across the space, moving away from the corner you started in.
Avoid cross contamination. Use the different colored microfiber cloths and sponges according to our color code, so you can avoid cross contamination while cleaning. For more information, see the dropdown below.
Color-coding of equipment
Color codes are important to prevent cross-contamination and ensures hygiene standards. Certain equipment in the hub is color-coded to correspond with specific areas (for example, sanitary areas, kitchen, surfaces). Each color represents a designated area where that equipment can be used. For example, red microfiber cloths are only for sanitary areas, mops are for floors, and so on. This approach ensures that cleaning tools, including color-coded microfiber cloths and sponges, are clearly designated for specific tasks, helping to uphold hygiene standards effectively.
Flink's color-coding scheme
Red | Sanitary areas |
Yellow | Employee kitchen |
Green | Product fridges and freezers |
Blue | Surfaces |
Grey | Floors |
Equipment specifications
Microfiber cloths and sponges must be in red, yellow, green or blue.
Mops and dry/wet vacuum cleaners are for floors only.
Hand vacuum cleaners and mini sweeping sets are to be used in green and yellow areas.
Equipment needed: general overview
Equipment to buy once | Where to use it |
Floor | |
Floor | |
Floor | |
Fridges | |
Fridges |
Equipment to always have in the hub | Where/when to use it |
Wear while cleaning | |
Wear while cleaning | |
Dispenser refill | |
Diverse areas, according to color code | |
Diverse areas, according to color code | |
All areas | |
All areas | |
All areas | |
Kitchen (dishes) | |
Kitchen (dishes) | |
Kitchen (dish washer) | |
Kitchen (dish washer) | |
Kitchen (dish washer) | |
Surfaces, fridges, shelves, rider bags | |
Oven, microwave, greasy areas | |
Freezers, fridges | |
Mirrors, glass, Perspex and windows | |
Toilets and kitchen | |
Toilets and kitchen | |
Toilets | |
Toilets |
Equipment to buy when needed | Where to use it |
Bathroom | |
Bathroom |
Equipment to buy for special cases | Where to use it |
Floors (for mopping) | |
Floors (for mopping) | |
Floor |
Before cleaning
Put on disposable safety clothing to protect yourself.
Wash and dry your hands.
Put on disposable gloves.
Gather the correct equipment, ensuring they're working properly.
Use clean water and equipment.
Use the correct color-coded equipment to avoid cross-contamination.
For the internal cleaning shift: review the Flowtify checks to verify the tasks you need to complete.
After cleaning
Empty all used buckets: ensure no water is left standing overnight.
Store equipment properly: place all used tools and equipment in their designated storage areas after use.
Organize cleaning materials: Keep cleaning supplies stored separately from food items and ensure they are positioned to avoid creating tripping or slipping hazards.
Practice hand hygiene: wash your hands thoroughly.
Daily tasks
Cleaning the coffee machine
Maintenance overview
Frequency: daily
Assigned staff: all coffee drinkers
Equipment needed:
Dishwashing utensils
Maintaining and deep cleaning the coffee machine
Discard the cold coffee.
Dispose of the used coffee grounds and filters, if applicable.
Depending on the coffee machine, rinse or clean the filter and the rest of the machine using the dishwashing utensils.
Reinsert the clean filter.
Wipe the coffee machine's exterior.
Cleaning the Rider gear
Read the full process here under Cleaning procedures, Cleaning boxes, thermobags and saddle bags.
Weekly tasks
General maintenance of the hub fridges
Read the full process here under Cleaning procedures > General maintenance.
Deep cleaning the product and employee fridges
Read the full process here under Cleaning procedures > Deep cleaning the product and employee fridges.
Disposing of goods from employee fridges
Read the full process here under Cleaning procedures > Disposal of goods from employee fridges.
Removing condensed water
Read the full process here under the dropdown Removing condensed water.
Exchanging Bakery Crates
Maintenance overview Frequency:
Weekly Assigned staff: internal cleaning shift
Equipment needed: Clean bakery crates (s. example picture)
Exchanging bakery crates
Transfer all bakery products from the current crates on the shelves into clean ones.
Place the clean crates with bakery products back on the shelves.
Return and disposal of deposit and waste glass
Maintenance overview
Frequency: Weekly
Assigned staff: internal cleaning shift + Rider
Equipment needed: Flink bag
Return and disposal of deposit and waste glass
Collect all deposit bottles and waste glass in the hub and pack them into Flink bag(s).
Hand the bag(s) over to a rider for disposal and return.
Monthly tasks
Cleaning the dishwasher
Maintenance overview
Frequency: once a month
Assigned shift team: internal cleaning shift
Equipment needed:
Single use towels
Dishwashing utensils
Disinfectant cleaner
Dishwasher salt
Dishwasher cleaner
Maintaining and deep cleaning the dishwasher
Prepare the dishwasher:
Remove all clean/dirty dishes from the dishwasher.
Deep clean the sieve and filter:
Remove the sieve and the filter and if possible, disassemble them.
Dispose of coarse residues. Use disposable paper towels to remove smaller residues from the sieve and filter efficiently.
Clean all parts with warm water and dishwashing utensils, ensuring that no residues remain.
Reinsert the clean sieve and filter.
Turn on dishwasher for deep cleaning:
Pour the recommended amount of dishwasher salt into the salt compartment. Read the instructions on the package for guidance.
Place the dishwasher cleaner in the dishwasher as described on the package.
Close the dishwasher and turn it on. We recommend using the program with the highest temperature.
Finish the deep cleaning:
Once the program is finished, remove and dispose of the dishwasher cleaner package.
Wipe the dishwasher's seal and outer surface with the disinfectant cleaner.
Defrosting and cleaning the freezers
Read the full process here under Maintenance instructions.
Cleaning and maintaining shelves
Read the full process here.
Current status of cleaning supplies
Maintenance overview
Frequency: monthly
Assigned staff: internal cleaning shift
Equipment needed: -
Current status of cleaning supplies
Check whether cleaning materials and sanitary supplies need to be reordered (e.g. bin liners, toilet paper, soap, sponges).
If so, report it to the HM, e.g. via Slack message.
Cooperative tasks
Cleaning behind/under the fridges and freezers
Cleaning behind and under the shelves
Read the full process here under Cleaning behind and under the shelves.
Cleaning the windows
Maintenance overview
Frequency: when needed
Assigned shift team: internal cleaning shift and external Cleaner
Cleaning the windows inside and outside
Clear the window sills of all windows.
The external Cleaner will wet clean the windows, frames and sills both inside and outside.
FAQ
External cleaning tickets
Do I need to create a ticket if the cleaning staff didn't show up?
You don't need to, as we will track this ourselves based on the Quinyx punch-ins and contact the supplier directly. You only need to create a ticket for insufficient cleaning or if a scheduled re-clean didn't take place.
How do I create a ticket for bad cleaning?
Open the Airtable form.
Select your hub code.
Fill in the rest of the form as shown below:
Select Submit.
How do I view past tickets and track their progress?
Open the Airtable interface.
Search for your hub by selecting its hub code from the dropdown menu in the top-left corner or by entering it in the search function in the top-right corner.
You'll see an overview of all tickets created, including the original information and their current status. Read the next dropdown for a definition of each ticket status.
What do the ticket statuses mean?
Status | Meaning | Action |
Processing | New ticket we received and are working on. | No further action is required from you. |
Complained to supplier | A re-clean has been requested, or the issue has been repeatedly reported, requiring escalation to the supplier. | No further action is required from you. |
Informed supplier | Ticket doesn't require immediate action, such as a re-clean. We informed the supplier for their future reference. | No further action is required from you. |
Will look at exchanging your cleaning staff | Multiple complaints were previously submitted or a serious issue happened, prompting us to consider replacing your cleaning staff. | No further action is required from you. |
Further input needed | There's confusion or missing information in your ticket. We left a comment asking for clarification. | Please respond to the comment with the required information. |
Closed (see reason in the chat) | The ticket was closed due to duplication, incorrect information, accidental creation, or invalidity. A comment will be left explaining the reasons the ticket was denied. | No further action is required from you. |
How do I comment on past tickets?
Open the Cleaning tickets interface.
In the top-left corner, select your hub code.
Locate and select the ticket you're looking for.
In the bottom-left corner, select Add a comment...
Write your comment and press Enter.
When accessing the comment section, you'll also be able to view previous comments.
How do I fill out the Airtable form to confirm or deny if an external Cleaner came?
When we don't have a Quinyx login from the external Cleaner but the cleaning supplier claims they came, we'll send you an Airtable form via Slack to confirm or deny the external Cleaner's presence. Fill out the form as below:
Open the link sent to you via Slack.
If the external Cleaner came in:
Choose Yes and select Submit.
If the external Cleaner didn't come in:
Select No.
Upload a picture of the uncleaned areas in the hub.
Select Submit.
References
Read more about the internal cleaning shift here under Schedules tab > Shift types > Internal cleaning shift
Read more about Flowtify here
Read more about Quinyx here
Read more about fridge maintenance here
Read more about freezer maintenance here
Read more about Rider gear maintenance here
Read more about shelf maintenance here
Article feedback
Something wrong with the article? Tell us!