Reduce Total Cost of Ownership in your Cleaning Costs - from Healthy Carpet Network

Reduce Total Cost of Ownership of Custodial Maintenance Contracts

2008-09-29T01:33:00.000-07:00

Strategic Goals and Tactical Action Steps for Custodial Contracts

Strategic Goal Statements

1. Reduce Total Cost of Ownership of a Custodial Contract over a five (5) year period. This should be achieved with an adjustable Quality level monitored using periodic third party independant inspections and graphical inspection reports.

2. Overtime, identify methods and work areas where and how to transfer various night time cleaning tasks to the day shift without interruption of the client's employees and visitors and without increasing operational costs.

3. Reduce operational costs within the framework of Total Cost of Ownership and to share the cost savings between the worker employees and the client. Cost savings should not be shared with the supplier management and the suppliers management with the exception of the on-site supervisors and lead-persons. Management should receive its rewards throught their normal management procedures and hiring. Improved operating costs on a site project level are the result of the workers and they deserve the reward for these efforts alone.

Develop tactics mutually with supplier and local site coordinators

To accomplish the desired Strategic result, the supplier with the active support of the client should provide tactics to address the following areas:

1. Optimize worker morale and feeling of self-worth to themselves and the company and to the site.

2. Optimize worker motivation to explore new and more productive and higher quality ways to eliminate the waste, rework and changes in mind of the cleaning and operational tasks that they are asked to perform.

3. Provide an equally distributed monetary reward to the workers including working supervisors on a monthly basis whenever the goals of the program are achieved. A random or so-called individual performance based reward system is not acceptable and if implemented would severly reduce the morale of the overall workforce.

4. Provide first quality cleaning equipment, tools, safe and effective chemicals, training and equipment maintenance programs for the workforce.

5. Remove fear of reprisal from the first line worker, lead-persons and working supervisor personnel. Workers shall be free to speak-out and provide feedback on what issues, problems, concerns and missing tools and equipment that they encounter during the performance of their work. The supplier's management should provide a method for the workers to make themselves heard.

6. Working supervisors, lead-persons and on-site managers shall be provided adequate training on safety, legal personnel practices and procedures, task method procedures and how to obtain maintenance on equipment should it malfunction.

7. On-site managers, supervisors shall be provided with adequate communication from the client's expectations and the supplier's company policies, procedures, values, company mission statements and position on quality of workmanship, personnel policies and commitment to safe work habits and environment. If there are third party suppliers, this communication shall include information, expectations and specifications for how to jointly work effectively in the clients facility.

8. Supplier's management personnel and on-site management shall be held responsible and accountable for providing clear and measurable expectations on worker safety, personnel policies, performance quality levels, equipment and supply inventories and costs of work performed.

9. Supplier's management personnel and on-site management shall coordinate on an active and corporative basis with the third party inspection supplier. They shall be expected to fully understand the theory of the inspection techniques and the results and implications of the reports and and shortcomings or possible cost saving opportunities.

10. Supplier's top management and supplier management shall actively support and encourage the use of the third party inspection report and the implementation of the other tactical points and the overall strategic direction for this client contained herein.

Your comments, suggestions, corrections or information requests are welcomed should be

emailed to: info@healthycarpet.net

.

Consider your Carbon Footprint when you care for your carpets

2008-04-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Carpet care can have a major impact on the environment. From the chemicals you you to the waste water you discharge.

Learn more about living a Healty Carbon Lifestyle

Carpet Care Consulting & Inspection Services

2008-04-01T04:43:00.000-07:00

On a FEE Paid basis, we are offering the services of our experienced associates to analyze your facility and review your installed carpet base. In addition to our carpet experts, we are partnering with GreenLeaf Mapping and Control Systems to provide a periodic inspection program to assure that your assets are being cleaned and maintained on a consistent basis to a level that you desire.

Personal visits to your facility may be quickly arranged in the immediate San Francisco Bay area facility and we are also available to visit your locations elsewhere, on a travel per diem basis.

To arrange for a consultation, please send an email to: mike@healthycarpet.net and outline the location, size of your facility and the nature of your desired discussions.

Whats in your carpet - Recommended viewing

2008-03-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Commercial Property Carpet Dyeing

2008-03-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Commercial Property Carpet Dyeing

Color Your Carpet® can restore the beauty, color, functionality, life and original pristine appearance of your carpet at a fraction of the cost of new carpet. Premature carpet replacement is usually unnecessary and very costly. And, discarded carpet claims a large portion of our already overflowing and precious landfill space.

But - Only through our exclusive onsite carpet dyeing processes. Our only business is dyeing! No other system or company in the world can perform to our level of expertise. The only alternative to our service is costly new carpet (and that involves ripping out and throwing away the existing carpet).

From a small spot dye service to a complete color restoration of a Grand Ballroom, from a small property of 50 rooms to a great resort of 1,000 rooms Color Your Carpet® has just the right solution for your carpet and color problems.

Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification

2008-03-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification

The IICRC is controlled by a Board of Directors made up of 25 industry leaders from regional, national and international trade associations, and other individuals.

The primary missions of the Institute are to be the leading, independent, non-profit, certification and International Standard setting body within the cleaning, inspection, and restoration industry; to set and promote high ethical standards, and to advance communication, collaboration and technical proficiency.

Further, the Institute acts as a central conduit in the exchange of information between all segments of the cleaning, inspection and restoration industries. The Institute cooperates with all segments of these industries, in whatever prudent, legal, ethical, and financial means reasonable, in order to enhance product quality, value and service to the consumer.

In addition to the primary activities within these industries, the Institute pro-actively disseminates information to maintain industry-wide, productive, logical and fair recommendations for the protection of the consumer, industry workers and the environment.

The Institute continues to promote the science of cleaning and restoration.

Carpet Cleaning Tips - University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lancaster County

2008-03-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

Carpet Cleaning Tips - University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lancaster County

Caution, use these tips after careful review. All chemicals must be stored and handled with appropriate protective equipment.

The Carpet Site - Online Guide to Carpet

2008-03-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Carpet Site was created to provide consumers with clear information about the most common trends in the flooring world today.

We do not sell any type of products or services through this web site. We are also not affiliated with other companies that sell carpet.

We'll be honest - our passion is carpet! We are an independent information source, and our mission is to provide tips and access to trusted retailers and manufacturers through the links at the bottom of each page.

Information on this site has been collected from flooring and carpeting professionals around the world, as well as our own experiences buying carpet, installing and cleaning our flooring products at home for many years.

The Carpet Site is not associated in any way with our Healthy Carpet Network. We are sharing this information as we beiieve it to be an important resource.

The Healthy Flooring Network

2008-03-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

Healthy Flooring Network is a new alliance of individuals and organisations concerned about health, asthma and allergies. The network aims to raise awareness of the links between fitted carpets, PVC flooring and health and to encourage and promote alternatives.

The Healthy Flowering Network is not associated in any way with our Healthy Carpet Network. We are sharing this information as we beiieve it to be an important resource.

The Healthy Building Network

2008-03-29T04:26:00.000-07:00

Bringing Environmental Health To Green Building:

The Healthy Building Network prioritizes green building strategies that are closely linked to the goals of the environmental health movement. We bring the perspectives of people directly impacted by the source, production, use and disposal of building materials to green building professionals: architects, planners, designers, specifiers, builders and manufacturers. We identify common interests, advocate careful materials selection as a mutually beneficial means of improving the quality of life all along the material lifecycle, and coordinate coalitions and campaigns to accelerate the transition to healthier building materials. Copyright (c) Healthy Building Network

The Healthy Building Network is not associated in any way with our Healthy Carpet Network. We are sharing this information as we beiieve it to be an important resource.

U.S. Green Building Council

2008-03-29T03:02:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit composed of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. Our more than 11,000 member organizations and our network of 75 regional chapters are united to advance our mission of transforming the building industry to sustainability.

The U.S. Green Building Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings accessible to everyone within a generation

Carpet Care Companies - Silicon Valley California

2008-03-29T02:32:00.000-07:00

The following list of service providers may be capable of meeting your needs for a consistently high level of quality carpet maintenance services. There may be other providers and as we identify them they will be added to this list. We also reserve the right to remove any lisitng if in our opinion, they are NOT capable of providing a consistent high level of service.

Able Building Maintenance

Bay Area Cleaning

Mc Nevin Cleaning Specialists

Corporate Care - Houston Texas - Article "Making Carpets & Clients Last Longer"

2008-03-29T02:15:00.000-07:00

Shared from "Corporate Care, Houston Texas" by Mark Strum

Maintenance is a critical link in the chain of our industry’s success. It can help us not only extend the life of the products our clients invest in, but as a result, it can also extend the life of the precious client relationships all our businesses depend on. Maintenance can make or break our promise of superior product performance to our customers.

With proper maintenance, clients can keep the product on the floor without premature replacement. Longer product life also reduces the need for disposal in a landfill—increasingly difficult to do.Many customers associate maintenance with the end of the sales cycle—after the sale is made, after the flooring is installed.

Yet our experience suggests that the most important time to consider the benefits of maintenance to the lifecycle of the carpet is before the carpet is even specified. Cost avoidance is achieved by selecting the proper carpet, installing it properly and pre-planning and budgeting for an ongoing maintenance program.

Carpet specification and installation methodology have such a big impact on the ultimate success of maintenance that preventative maintenance professionals can help increase product performance and customer satisfaction as much before the carpet is installed as after. Maintenance professionals are uniquely positioned to help mills, distributors and dealers evaluate the effect carpet and installation decisions will ultimately have on successful maintenance.

Many factors should be taken into consideration: use analysis; traffic type and volume; probable soil types and projected volumes; type of carpet construction (gauge, density, pile height, weight, fiber type, dye process, primary and secondary backings); and installation method.

Unless the right decisions are made at this early point in the process, it will become more difficult and costly later to properly execute a successful maintenance program, one which maximizes the life and appearance of the carpet. In fact, one of the most important aspects of this stage is planning for, and budgeting for, an ongoing professional preventative maintenance program.

Flooring can “ugly out” and require premature replacement if a budget for a comprehensive maintenance program is not established and adhered to.

Among the criteria Corporate Care follows to ensure proper maintenance are these:
• Adherence to manufacturer warranties and prescribed maintenance processes.
• Use of a variety of maintenance processes appropriate to all types of flooring, traffic, and soiling.
• Professionally trained and certified staff.
• Zoned maintenance programs with unique processes depending on traffic type and volume, carpet type, soil type and volume.

Another key issue is the distinction between maintaining carpeting and merely cleaning it. Cleaning is the removal of apparent soil. Maintaining is a planned ongoing process to retain carpet at a high appearance level, reduce lifecycle costs, and maximize return on capital. Soils, whether visible or not, will permanently ruin a carpet if not correctly and completely removed—not merely shampooed or vacuumed, even on a daily basis.

Obviously, responsive and proactive customer service is essential to successful maintenance programs. When all segments of our industry work together as partners, our collective product performs better, we retain our collective customers longer, and we succeed as a group even in this most demanding economy.

Mark Strum, one of three principals of the Houston firm Corporate Care, is a 19 year veteran of the commercial floorcovering industry. He’s served on the local board of IFMA and is a member of the Cleaning and Maintenance Subcommittee for the Carpet and Rug Institute.

You can e-mail him at: mstrum@corporatecare.com.

Copyright 2002, Floor Focus Inc

Plants Clean Pollutants From The Air... Make Sick Buildings Healthy

2008-03-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

NOTICE: This IS a product endorsement -

I have personally worked several projects and purchased an extensive amount of services from Kim Parker's company. I highly commend her professionalism and her capabilities.

Her concepts are remarkable and functional. Take a look

Kim Parker Plants, Inc.
430 Evans Rd
Milpitas, CA 95035
408-262-8989

Information - Facts about Asthma and Allergy Control

2008-03-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

NOTICE: This is not a product endorsement -

Found an interesting and informative Internet site on dust mites, etc.

This information must be carefully analyzed and professional medical treatment for Asthma and Allerigies must be obtained.

Carpet Spotting Information - Chart Format

2008-03-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

NOTICE: This is not a product endorsement -

Spotting Chart Information

FREE Video on Carpet Care

2008-03-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

NOTICE: This is not a product endorsement -

Free video: "The Secret To Getting Almost Any Carpet, Rug Or Floor In Your Home To Look, Feel, And Smell Brand New!"

New PowerPoint Presentation on ECOgent Cleaning products

2008-03-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

NOTICE: This is not a product endorsement -

The information in this POST may be an advertisement and should be carefully analyzed by each reader.

Press Release University of Massachusetts

PowerPoint Presentation on ECOgent concept

Dust Mites in the vacuum bag

2008-03-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

This article on Dust Mites is excellent at first glance.

Again shared from: Parish Maintenance Supply Corp

Great information on carpet care

2008-03-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have just discovered a great website so I thought I would pass on the information for you all to review.

I plan to contact this company and request permission to borrow some of the better items.

Your comments would be appreciated.

Regards, Mike Johnson

Information shared from: Parish Maintenance Supply Corp

Intellectual property - Copyright (c) Protection

2008-03-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Our work is copyrighted and we reserve all rights. However, you may use this information for your personal, NOT company use, free of charge and without prior approval.

However, if you desire to use any of our original Intellectual Property for your business to generate sales and revenue, they we do require that advance written permission be obtained by emailing us at: info@healthycarpet.net

We do plan to share information from other sources available mostly from the Internet and from other experts, suppliers and clients. Our copyright protection also includes these sources.

Attribution will be given to all sources wherever it is clear who and where the original source is.

If anyone believes that their copyrights and intellectual property rights have been violated, please contact us immediately and we will make an immediate correction and error on the side of caution.

Regards, Mike Johnson, email: mike@healthycarpet.net

There is NO - "NIH" - Not Invented Here - in this BLOG

2008-03-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

We do not plan to re-invent the wheel and project how incredibly intelligent we are.

Rather, we intend to find the best information available and share it - sometimes for a fee.

If we can we will improve upon it - and we will do so.

If you have something to share, by all means POST it here or send it to us as an email.

All serious information will be reviewed, shared and commented on.

Whats the big deal with Cleaner Carpets?

2008-03-28T04:22:00.000-07:00

Cleaner carpets look more beautiful last longer smell fresher feel better provide great environment enhance your asset reduce cost of ownership good for the environment, too.

There are things hiding in your carpets that you probably don't want to know about. The secret of carpet care is to do it regularly using smart techniques, good, safe and proper chemicals and maintained equipment in the hands of trained professionals. Easy to say, but more difficult to do we know. But that is why we are ... your friends in carpet care.

With over 30 years experience in building maintenance, custodial management and quality control measuring and control techniques our associates will guide you through and past all the road blocks preventing your office, building or home from being the clean, fresh smelling productive work environment you desire.

Some may say what you don't know won't hurt you. But, we have to disagree especially in the area of carpet care. Cleaner carpets can't do anything but help you, your family, your visitors and your clients be more productive, more healthy and more efficient.
And it does not cost more in the long run. Carpets are expensive. Lost productivity and business is expensive and wasted cleaning techniques and using too much of the wrong chemicals is expensive.

Cleaning carpets regularly reduces the change of developing sick building syndrome and increase the chance of fewer lost work days. Your family or employees, customers and visitors will feel better; resulting in a "win-win" situation for all.

Do it right the first time is the old adage that our associates firmly believe in.
Let us show you how to do more for less today.

email: info@healthycarpets.net