Another Reason To Wash Your Hands
The next time clients wonder if that hand sanitizer is really worth it, con-sider this: Every time someone in the United States has a cold, it costs roughly $80, according to the Feb. 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. This includes lost wages, medication, doctor visits and secondary illnesses, such as ear infections, that result from colds. Annually, more than $40 billion dollars is lost, directly or indirectly, to the common cold. Also, 72 percent of those polled by the study’s authors report suffering two or more colds per year, so the costs add up for employers and individuals.

Building service contractors can help their clients save their share of that cost by doing a thorough job cleaning, especially of faucets, doorknobs and other frequently touched surfaces. But more than that, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says the simplest, and most effective, way of reducing cold transmission is by washing one’s hands frequently. Thus, BSCs should encourage proper hand washing or the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and make sure soap, gel and paper goods are restocked often.

Off To The Middle East?
As of early March, 250,000 American soldiers have been deployed to the Middle East to prepare for a possible war with Iraq. Military reservists and National Guard members are among those deployed. In addition, many reservists have been called up for domestic duties in the last few years, including monitoring airports and public gatherings.

Contracting Profits would like to find out how your business has been affected by the departure of employees who are in the reserves. Do you have contingency plans for key workers? Have you had to hire temporary workers? Are you a reservist yourself?

E-mail your stories with “Military Reserves” in the subject line, or send a letter to Contracting Profits, Attn: Military Reserves, 2100 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53209. We’ll publish the results in an upcoming issue.

BSCs Rank High In Franchise List
Mixed among the fast-food outlets and tax-preparation firms at the top of Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2003 Franchise 500 are several building service contracting and other cleaning firms. Industry members ranked in the top 50 on the 24th annual list include:

• No. 4: Jani-King, Addison, Texas
• No. 21: CleanNet USA Inc., Columbia, Md.
• No. 26: Chem Dry Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning, Logan, Utah
• No. 30: ServiceMaster Clean, Memphis
• No. 33: ServPro, Gallatin, Tenn.
• No. 43: Merry Maids, Memphis

Notably, six cleaning franchises made the Top 10 Home-based Franchises for 2003 list — Jani-King (No. 1), CleanNet (3), Chem-Dry (4), ServiceMaster Clean (6), Servpro (7) and Coverall Cleaning Concepts, Quincy, Mass., which also was No. 53 on the main list.

“Janitorial franchises make good home businesses because all of the work is done at the clients’ facilities,” says Robert Kindred, director of public relations for Jani-King. “You don’t need to lease office space; you can do the billing from home. The cost is minimal. We do have regional offices to support our home-based franchises.”

Note: Merry Maids and ServiceMaster Clean are both units of The ServiceMaster Co., Downers Grove, Ill.

Letter To The Editor
Dear Editor,
The article titled, “Avoiding Outsourcing” on the last page of your January issue [p. 40] is the perfect example of the opposite of what the article seems to recommend. The scenario was:

• a large, national lab defense contractor has its janitors go on strike

• then, “scientists, department managers and other non-custodial personnel had to pitch in”

• the department manager of the lab then hires a consultant who introduces “team cleaning, job cards ... specific procedures and time allotments for each task”

Now, let’s examine the issue:

• if they had a contract and the contractor’s employees went on strike without alternate coverage, they could have replaced the contractor

• please factor in the costs of scientists and department managers doing the work

• with a consultant’s help they finally implement programs and procedures that any good contractor would have already had in place

That sure sounds like a no-brainer example of why they should have had a contractor from the start. Even if they had a poor contractor, there are many great contractors.

Sincerely,
Charles W. Strobel
President
Quality Building Services Inc.
Greensburg, Pa.

Mergers & Other Moves
• Mitch Murch’s Maintenance Management Co. (MMMM), St. Louis, has purchased Ultimate Maintenance LLC. MMMM subsequently has formed a specialty division, Premier Floor Care, with three operating units, as a result of the acquisition. The new division will offer SaniGLAZE tile and grout restoration, customized carpet maintenance and hard-floor maintenance and restoration programs. Ultimate Maintenance’s former owner, Terry Holdinghausen, will oversee Premier Floor Care as director of operations.

• Impact Products LLC, Toledo, Ohio, has acquired the White Product Lines from White Mop Wringer Co. , Tampa, Fla.

• Georgia-Pacific Corp., Atlanta, withdrew its planned initial public stock offering of its paper and packaging unit due to unfavorable market conditions.

• OneSource, a facility-services provider based in Atlanta, recently received the Supplier of Excellence Award from Federal Express, for providing janitorial services to the delivery company’s Corporate Technology Center.




POSTED ON: 3/1/2003