Transportation District of Oregon - Staples Advantage

Next Stop: Clean
Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation
District of Oregon and Staples, Inc.
At Staples, we work closely with customers to find the right solutions to meet their
individual business, operational and environmental objectives. Our Sustainable Earth ®
cleaning products deliver the performance that organizations demand, in terms
of safety, versatility and cost effectiveness. As a result of partnering with Staples,
customers around the globe are changing the way they clean – with new, innovative
and environmentally responsible practices.
Below is an example of how one customer transformed how they clean their extensive
facilities, dramatically reducing the number of products used, the organization’s annual
spend on cleaning supplies and the negative impact of chemicals on the environment
and staff.
The Company
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.
“
There is nothing that
we need to clean that
the Sustainable Earth
line can’t handle. The
mass transit system is
critical to the Portland
community and Staples
allows us to maintain
top-notch facilities
while reducing the
impact on our staff and
the environment. We
couldn’t ask for more.
”
Dan Koenig
Facilities Services
TriMet

“
The level of training
and support that
Staples has provided
throughout our
partnership has been
outstanding. Most
cleaning suppliers
require you to go by
the directions on the
back of the bottle.
Staples ensured that
we had all of the
information we needed
to be successful.
Not to mention, they
took the service a
step further, making
recommendations
about which products
should be used, and
where.
”
Dan Koenig
Facilities Services
TriMet
Next Stop: Clean.
Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation
District of Oregon and Staples, Inc.
RPrinted on 50% recycled paper with 25% post-consumer waste. Printed with soy-based inks.
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.”
The Solution
TriMet was very receptive to testing the Staples Sustainable Earth line of products
and worked closely with the Staples team to see how the solutions performed in a
real-world environment. Staples showcased the products’ robustness by selecting
one of the organization’s most hard-to-clean areas – the underground bus pits
below where the vehicles were parked. The power of the Sustainable Earth line
combined with the ease of dilution, safe ingredients and cleaning versatility made
the decision to move to Staples an easy one.
“The Sustainable Earth line is a perfect fit for our organization,” said Koenig. “We’d
been searching for a cost-effective, eco-friendly solution for many years. It’s as if
Staples read our mind and created the products just for us.”
TriMet was able to meet all of its cleaning needs with just four Sustainable Earth
products – delivering a huge cost savings to the organization. The Staples team
trained TriMet’s cleaning staff on proper usage and dilution, demonstrating
recommended techniques and “dwell time” (the duration the product should
stand before wiping or washing) for the organization’s most common cleaning
applications.
TriMet’s contracted cleaning company also decided to make the switch to Staples
Sustainable Earth products once the organization experienced the products’
effectiveness and ease of use.
The Results
As a result of moving to Staples’ Sustainable Earth products, TriMet experienced
a 30 percent decrease in its annual cleaning supply costs. This was due to
consolidating to four main products and eliminating product waste. TriMet uses
9,000 gallons of Sustainable Earth products a year and has been thrilled with the
outcome.
The Sustainable Earth line has also played an important role in preserving TriMet’s
drainage system, which is composed of copper piping. TriMet experienced
significant corrosion with its previous products and has seen the issue nearly
disappear as a result of using the Sustainable Earth line – reducing corrosion by 95
percent.
The Future
“Staples enables us to provide superior transit services, vehicles and facilities to
our users,” said Koenig. “The high-quality of Staples’ products and the responsive
service is a winning combination.”
To learn more, please visit www.staplesadvantage.com.