ISSA: Updates from the Leading Association for the Cleaning Industry Worldwide

Welcome!
New Members, Big Changes In Store For ISSA
Welcome to the ISSA family! We are delighted to have so many respected cleaning professionals joining our association in just the short time since facility service provider membership became available. I encourage those of you who have not yet become members to do so. I truly believe that bringing together the experts in all facets of the cleaning industry will help advance the entire profession and that professionally and personally, you will find membership in ISSA to be of great value.

Many of you may be familiar with ISSA through our U.S. trade show — ISSA/INTERCLEAN® — while others may have worked closely with some of our respected supply members. Whether you have joined — or are considering joining — ISSA based on these experiences or you chose us as your association because of our many other resources, our goal is to make sure you gain valuable business support from an organization you can trust.

As new members of ISSA, you have many services at your fingertips, from executive support and global networking to employee training programs and legislative updates. I encourage you to visit our Web site at www.issa.com to access the many resources now available to you. You also can reference this section of Contracting Profits each month to find out about current and upcoming ISSA member benefits and activities as well as the latest industry developments.

The first of many exciting developments at ISSA this year includes new features of our annual trade show. For example, at ISSA/INTERCLEAN Las Vegas 2005, October 18-21, you’ll be able to view the hottest new products and services in the industry at our first-ever Product Innovation Fashion Show. You, the valued customers, will get to vote on which item in each category is the most innovative.

We also have expanded our ISSA/INTERCLEAN educational conference to include a half-day CEO workshop and additional seminars on sales and business management. Facility service providers also can access trade show exhibits all three days. In fact, we invite you to attend our new show Happy Hour on Thursday, where you can enjoy a cocktail while networking with top industry suppliers and executives right on the trade show floor! To register or learn more, visit www.issa.com/show.

In an effort to bring the industry closer together, ISSA also has developed alliances with a variety of your customers’ associations, including IEHA (International Executive Housekeepers Association); IFMA (International Facility Management Association); and APPA (Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers). We will continue to expand our alliances and to work with these partners to increase membership benefits and to improve the professionalism of the cleaning industry.

As you begin to enjoy your new ISSA membership, we encourage you to contact us if there are additional services or alliances that could benefit your company. We always are interested in hearing what our members have to say.

Thanks again for joining ISSA, and we look forward to serving you!

John Garfinkel
ISSA Executive Director

Bill S.714 — which aims to restore the “established business relationship” (EBR) provision — was passed by the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on April 14. Industry is seeking passage by the full Senate prior to July 1 to ensure that businesses can still send commercial faxes under EBR.

EBR Provision
The EBR provision allows fax communications between businesses where a previous existing business relationship exists. In 2003, the EBR provision was repealed as part of the Federal Communications Commission’s rewrite of its regulations to implement the “do not call” rules. At that time, the commission determined that the EBR provision for facsimile communications had no basis in law despite the existence of these regulations for almost a decade.

S.714 would help prevent junk faxes by requiring faxers to include a notice on the fax informing the recipient that further faxes may be stopped by notifying the sender. Such an approach presents significantly fewer burdens to reputable businesses that rely on faxes to communicate with their customers on a regular basis.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to introduce companion legislation to S.714 in the near future. Additionally, the Fax Ban Coalition, of which ISSA is a member, recently filed a new request for a six-month extension of the July 1, 2005, deadline.

For more information, contact ISSA Legislative Affairs Director Bill Balek at 800-225-4772.

No two buildings are alike, and no single cleaning method or model fits every facility. In the past, determining which out of the vast number of different cleaning systems available — area (zone), team, daytime, gang, and speed, to name but a few — best suits a facility has been a confusing and somewhat complicated process. Finally, the confusion is over, thanks to ISSA’s new ISSA Cleaning System Design workshop, which will be held July 25-26, 2005, in Chicago.

Choosing a system
“Selecting the best cleaning system is one of the most important undertakings any FSP [facility service provider] can make,” says industry expert David Frank, president of KnowledgeWorx, Inc., Highlands Ranch, Colo., who is leading the workshop. “Attendees will learn that selecting the right system can help maximize resources, improve cleaning, and take an organization to a higher level of business development.”

The workshop will analyze a variety of today’s most popular cleaning systems to help you decide which is best suited to your unique needs. It also will provide real-world strategies and solutions for maximizing cleaning productivity and lowering costs. And “workloading” will be addressed in easy-to-understand terms to enable you to workload any building — anytime.

For more information, please contact the ISSA Customer Service Department at 800-225-4772, or visit the ISSA Web site.

All information in “ISSA Reports” is furnished by ISSA. © 2005. All rights reserved.

July 25-26 ISSA Cleaning System Design workshop, featuring David Frank, Chicago. This management seminar will take an in-depth look at all of the defined systems of cleaning and discuss which system is best suited for the various types of facilities. The curriculum also will consider organizational structures, disciplines, and benefits of each system and how to improve overall performance and quality.

August 25-26 Official ISSA Cleaning Industry Train the Trainer program, featuring John Walker, Anaheim, Calif. This intensive, two-day program is the most comprehensive, industry-specific trainer program available anywhere — period. Plan on leaving with the tools you need to be a successful trainer in the cleaning industry.

October 17-20 IICRC Commercial Carpet Maintenance Technician Certification workshop, featuring Mike West and Carl Williams, co-sponsored by ISSA and ICS magazine, Las Vegas. Learn the basic concepts and systems for cleaning commercial carpets. You can attend the ISSA/INTERCLEAN® Las Vegas 2005 trade show and take the IICRC certification exam — upgrading your professionalism all in one venue!

October 17-20 IICRC Hard Floor Care Technician Certification workshop, featuring Bob Merkt, sponsored by ISSA, Las Vegas. Discover how to identify various floor types and their cleaning requirements, then receive an overview of common equipment and supplies, methods, and techniques covered in the IICRC cleaning standards before taking the IICRC certification exam.