A reader writes: “We recently acquired a contract with a chain of banks that has us in three counties with some of the fifteen locations a great distance from our main office. Any suggestions as to how to route this type work would be appreciated.”

Congratulations on acquiring the new contracts. You first need to plot out each location on a map (the old way or electronically using a mapping product) with your main office (if that is where your crews check in, stock supplies, etc.) in the center. Then create circles indicating 5, 10, 15 mile radius from that center. Since few of these sites can be reached in a straight line you will need to manage the inventory of sites by size and geographic locations. Since two of the sites are over 80,000 square feet you may be able to use them as secondary hubs for workers to clean that account, then travel to other sites in their immediate reach. The other sites range from 4,000 to 6,000 square feet which means that they may take longer to reach than to actually clean each visit.

Based on the information you provided you will need to separate the other sites by North, South, East and West of the central site/hub when necessary. Key factors to take into account is traffic since many of these locations will be on heavily traveled highways. Try to have start times to avoid rush hour, when possible. Since three of the sites are so far removed that they are not practical to put on a route, consider them to be losers and just hope to break even. You will probably have to pay more for a worker in the local area to service these sites independently. As long as your overall margins are OK consider the losers a cost of doing business. You may find a local “Mom and Pop” company to subcontract the work as long as you have strong non-compete agreement. Consult with legal on such issues.

Require check in/out procedures so you can track when work is performed. Have supervisor or QC drop by unannounced on a regular basis, especially during start up.

Your comments and questions are important. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net


posted on 6/6/2016