Hard floor care is a major cost in most facilities and plays a key role in overall building appearance, health and safety. Floor care costs normally range from as little as sixty cents per square foot to over two dollars per square foot per year and represent 5% to 20% of the cleaning budget in most facilities. Cost reductions of up to 50% or more in floor care cost in any size and type of a facility is a realistic goal that can be achieved when new processes and technology are applied to how floors are maintained.

Making Cost Reduction Work in Your Facility

Reducing costs is not a one size fits all or one step process. True savings come about when all aspects of a floor core program evaluated and changes customized to meet the needs of the facility and its occupants in a way that improves processes, without a loss of service quality. Change and improvement that reduces costs takes time, part of the process involves the tracking, monitoring and adjustment of processes and frequencies based on testing and factual information.

Put together a “can do minded team”, do the needed research, develop a realistic plan and time line and you’ll be pleasantly surprised how much can be accomplished over a fairly short period of time. I didn’t say it would be easy or fast, but floor care cost reduction is definitely doable without a loss of quality. (more…)

Filed under: Bidding and Estimating, Floor Care, Self Employment, Technology by William Griffin
Originally Published: CMM June 2016

Educational facilities are a good and growing market that contractors are targeting and penetrating. This includes day and or evening cleaning in public and private schools of all types and sizes. Each segment of the market has demands that make it unique; colleges, universities, K-12, child development centers, and day care facilities are all slightly different in their approach, needs and expectations. As a service contractor it is your job to identify and meet these needs, even if they change minute to minute. Flexibility is requires on everyone’s part to get the job done and keep the customer happy. In this market everyone is your customer, from students and teachers to parents, administrators, government agencies, and the public.

Educational facilities have special needs and are different than cleaning an office building, factory or hospital. Anytime you have children, parents and the government involved, the work is more complicated and emotionally charged. Expertise, cost savings, staffing and a shifting of liability to a 3^rd party vendor behind the growth in this market.

Not every contractor or employee is suited for this market; security, background checks, health and safety, image, appearance, professionalism and team work all play a role in meeting the changing expectations and demands of educational customers.

Area types range from normal office and conference rooms, restrooms, classrooms, shops, labs, kitchens and cafeterias, gyms and locker rooms. In the High Education world, you can find cleanrooms, research labs, lecture halls, animal cages, medical exam rooms, student housing, athletic facilities, stadiums, swimming pools, rock walls and the list goes on. (more…)

Filed under: Bidding and Estimating, Restroom, Schools, Self Employment by William Griffin
Originally Published:

When we think of cleaning industrial facilities we generally envision large heavy industries with big dirty machines and buildings, and this type of account remains a segment of the industrial market. Today an industrial customer can be a small to large, high tech manufacturer or assembler, 3D printer, nano or bio lab or an international aerospace or pharmaceutical giant with hundreds, thousands or even millions of square feet of production, lab, office, warehouse, high tech computer and or cleanroom space.

With over several hundred thousand manufacturing establishments with millions of employees accounting for roughly 8 percent of the U.S. workforce and billions in wages each year, industrial clients are a large and potentially profitable market with special cleaning needs.

Cleaning tasks start with the basics such as office, restroom and floor care and progress to more challenging areas that require the use of specialized chemicals, equipment and procedures found in controlled access and cleanroom environments.

Pricing and Production Rates
There are many factors that should be taken into consideration when bidding industrial locations. Pay and hourly billable and cost per sq. ft. rates will be slightly higher (15% – 30%) than rates charged for commercial office cleaning. It is impossible to give exact numbers as rates depending on the geographic location, industry served, specifications, contract terms, competition and other factors. A study of prevailing wage rates for specific types of cleaning workers in each county will give you an idea as to the high end of the wage rate for the area. (more…)

Filed under: Bidding and Estimating, Safety, Self Employment by William Griffin
Originally Published: CMM June 2016

The world’s largest cleaning show was held last week in Amsterdam, NL. In case you missed it, here’s a review of some of the highlights.

ISSA INTERCLEAN – Amsterdam is truly an international show with 28,000 plus attendees, from over 80 countries visiting 800 booths over the four day event. The booths and aisles that are spread out over 11 different display halls at the RAI Exhibition Center were busy from opening to close on the first three days of the show. Even a cleaning freak like me can only look at so much cleaning equipment in one week without going into overload mode. I skipped the last day of the show as both my head and my feet were sore and I needed a break.

The Amsterdam show takes place every two years and is a regular event on my schedule because this is where new cleaning products are introduced that will show up in distributor warehouses and janitor closets around the world over the next 3 – 5 years. I don’t know why Europe leads the way in cleaning technology, but this is a definite trend that I have noticed over the last 20 years. I attend the ISSA INTERCLEAN Show to gain a better understanding of where the cleaning industry is headed and this year was a real eye opener. Amsterdam is one of my favorite places to visit with friendly people, great food and weather and something to do for everyone. (more…)

Filed under: Self Employment, Technology, Trade Show by William Griffin
Originally Published:

Here are a few tips you can use to help you bid in a competitive and profitable manner on any size or type of account. In order to make a proposal or presentation that closes the sale, you have to be able to see things from the customers’ perspective. The best way to do this is to ask the right questions and to listen carefully to what the customer has to say. Add to this a keen sense of observation and you should be able to determine what the customer wants and needs to see in a winning proposal. (more…)

Filed under: Bidding and Estimating, Self Employment by William Griffin
Originally Published: CMM May 2016

High traffic areas add extra challenges to the cleaning process in any type or size building. Every facility has some areas that need special attention. In your building it could include one or more of the following area; stairways, lobbies, throughways, entrance and exists and primary and secondary hallways, restrooms, cafeterias, elevators and excessively busy and soiled work and manufacturing areas. Sounds like the entire building and some cases it is. These areas are where high levels of soil are tracked into a building and if not removed result in soiling and aggressive wear of surfaces and finishes.

What Works in High Traffic Areas:
When planning tasks and scheduling service in high traffic areas, here are a few tips to help you get the job done quickly and safely:

Prevention:
Capture soil at entrances and exits with 12- 15 ft. of matting, regular vacuuming and frequent dust and damp mopping of hard surface floor with in 25 ft. of entrances and exits. Protect hard floors with additional matting during inclement weather. (more…)

Filed under: Bidding and Estimating, Carpet, Floor Care, Self Employment by William Griffin
Originally Published: CMM April 2016

Contract terms, clauses and specifications are a concern as they are legal documents that bind and outline the terms of agreement and service, between a customer and service provider. From the contractors prospective, it is best to write and provide the service agreement and specifications to prospective customers. The contract, agreement and specifications should be proportionate in length and complexity to the account being bid on. (more…)

Filed under: Bidding and Estimating, Self Employment by William Griffin
Originally Published: CMM April 2016

Sometimes thing just don’t work out. Everything looked good when you bid the job, it all started well, but over a few days to a few weeks or months for one reason or another, you find that you are spending too much money to get the work done properly and keep the customer happy. (more…)

Filed under: Bidding and Estimating, Self Employment by William Griffin
Originally Published: CMM March 2016

Welcome to the New Year, may 2016 be better for you than 2015.
This month I am going to address several questions from readers:

Q: A client wants me to submit a bid for a new project that they have coming up in early 2016. However, they still have invoices from 2015 that remain unpaid. How should I handle this situation?
Sally in San Diego (more…)

Filed under: Bidding and Estimating, Self Employment by William Griffin
Originally Published: CMM January 2016

In most areas of the country window cleaning is seasonal work. When the leaves start to turn those beautiful fall colors and drop to the ground, we know our cash flow will soon start falling as well. Depending on one’s perspective and preparation, this can be a tough time or a welcome relief.

For some the winter months are a great time to migrate to a sunny warm climate and take a vacation for three or four months. For others it’s time to slow down a bit, reflect, plan for the future and recharge your mind and body so you’re ready to go at it full speed ahead come the first of April. (more…)

Filed under: Self Employment, Window Cleaning by William Griffin
Originally Published: CBM December 1999