CMM - January 2012
Bidding And Estimating Cleaning Services Industry professional and consultant Bill Griffin offers his expertise to help you succeed How Preparing a bid can be done manually the old fashioned timeconsuming way or with the aid of software and a computer Changes If you dont keep up with changes in why we clean what we clean and how we do it as well as enhancements in equipment procedures and chemicals that allow you to do a better job in less time you will not be as competitive as someone who has kept up with these changes Future Things are going to continue to change and they will change even faster in the future than they do today If you dont change with your industry and your customers needs you will not be competitive in the marketplace Reality Its not just about being able to clean something you must be competitive or you wont be successful No one wants to pay more for cleaning services than they have to Buying cleaning services is like shopping for groceries You look for the best product at the best price Impactors The list of the things that impact the cost of cleaning is almost endless What we often look for are exceptions Is there something that will drive the cost up or down beyond the norm If so we must account for it in our bid or we wont generate as much profit our costs will be excessively high or we will lose money This Months Resource ISSAs 540 Cleaning Times A common source of production rates available as a book or software In my opinion you will need to reduce the times listed by 15 percent to 20 percent if you want to be competitive in todays marketplace Available from ISSA for a less than 20 this is a good resource that everyone should have available on their desk CM Bill Griffin is president of ICAN and owner of Cleaning Consultant Services Inc ICAN is a non profit association comprised of industry professionals providing free consultation services through the Cleaning Management Institute CMI Comments and questions about bidding and estimating are encouraged 206 848 0179 WGriffin@ CleaningConsultants com bidding estimating D By Bill Griffin During my 30 plus years in the cleaning industry I have found that nothing generates more interest than the subject of bidding and estimating the cost of cleaning services I recall teaching a seminar on bidding and estimating some 20 years ago and one attendee had over 30 years experience Being impressed that hed come to my class I asked him why he with all his years of experience would attend the seminar His response was I cant take a chance that one of my competitors will know more about bidding and estimating than I do That hit home with me as to how important bidding and estimating is to everyone in the industry Over the last five years myself and other International Custodial Advisors network ICAN members have answered questions submitted to the Ask the Experts ATEX section of www CMMOnline com and the most common questions asked relate to bidding Due to the increasingly competitive nature of business I believe that the need to keep up to date with every aspect of ones job or business is even more important today than it was a few short years ago Start At The Bottom To lay the groundwork for this column lets cover some of the basics Then each month Ill deal with a different aspect of this intriguing important and potentially confusing subject Id like to think of this as your column which means you have to communicate with me so I know what you want to know more about I will do my best to deal with the subjects you tell me are most important and of value to you Feel free to get in touch via phone or e mail as my contact info will appear at the end of each column What Bidding and estimating is the process of using information to determine or estimate what it will cost to clean a building area surface or space Why Cleaning is a competitive business if your price is too high you wont get any work and you will lose accounts to someone who will do the work for less money As a departmental manager or facilities director if your costs are too high you are at risk of being replaced with someone who is better able to control costs or the work your department does will be at risk of being taken over by an independent contractor who can do the work at less cost 42 CM Cleaning Maintenance Management January 2012
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
