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General Business Tips |
Sweeping Contractor Tips and TechniquesFrom NPE Sweepers' Roundtable, 2002Because our editor was snowed in and unable to attend the 2002 National Pavement Exposition, the following information was provided by Gale Holsman, Jr., president of American Sweeping, Inc. of Kansas City.In addition to operating his sweeping business, which is one of the largest in the U.S., Gale also conducts seminars designed to help sweeping contractors become more professional and profitable. This portion of his company is called Sweep America Systems. You may contact Gale via email sent to gtholsman@aol.com, or by calling 816-966-1161. Here's what he reported to us about this particular year's Sweepers' Roundtable: Thanks to Gabe Vitale, of C & L Sweeping, who assisted me with moderating the Roundtable. This year's Roundtable was a big success, and was also the most well-attended of any I can ever remember. There were over 140 people in the audience, and it was standing room only. I would say there were probably 20 to 30 people in the room that I had never seen before, which was surprising. All the manufacturers with sweeping equipment at the show were represented, so we could go directly to them for questions about their particular brand of equipment. I thought that was great. The participation by the those in the audience was also much better than usual. Throughout, it was very a informative and enjoyable event. The following are the primary topics covered, with a synopsis of the comments on each. NoiseNoise is a hot topic at all of the Roundtables. It's just one of those things that we all face when sweeping. We briefly went over some of the standard things to do in order to reduce complaints, which was especially helpful for the new guys in the room. These include turning off your warning lights when you're out at the back of a shopping center, because many times these back up against housing areas. We also talked about throttling your engine down; sweeping at the lowest r.p.m. possible that still picks up the material. Backpack blowers are a perennial problem, but there's little one can do other than handpick. Many in the room agreed that sweepers are often targeted incorrectly. For example, a delivery truck will come and and bang around doors, etc., as part of their delivery process. Then, they're long gone when the police arrive as the result of a complaint made from their noise. There was a very interesting comment made, however. Gabe Vitale said he has discovered that many cities have some type of ordinance on the books covering "emergency and necessary vehicles." Gabe said he has met with city officials and discussed with them successfully the fact that sweeping should fall under this category. After all, parking area sweeping must be done at night, because otherwise you can't do a good job. And, if sweeping is not allowed at night, then a health and safety issue will definitely develop. This seemed like an excellent approach to pursue. InternetWe discussed the ways in which the Internet is changing the sweeping business. This included the importance of having a website, where people can learn about your business on their own as well as be a way for you to provide them with a host of information about your company in a cost-effective manner. A simple website can cost under $500, and but it's out there selling for you 24-7. We also discussed email, and how easy it is to communicate with prospects, customers, manufacturers, etc. via email. With email you can, for example, now notify customers of any problems with their property. In the long run, there are a number of advantages. These include having a permanent record of the contact, giving the local property manager an easy way to transmit the information to a remote management location, and not having to play 'phone tag.' Some contractors are also having good success by attaching digital photos of problems at the property site. With email, you can also send a message to all of your customers at once, for example to tell them about a special you are running, or to inform them about some aspect of your business. Although it doesn't provide the close contact of a telephone call or a personal visit, it is a way to stay in touch more often. If you communicate with manufacturers via email about any type of problem with your sweeper or other piece of equipment, it is great to have that permanent record, too. TiresThe topic of tires was brought up so that we could see what different contractors are using, as well as the average price that is being paid. The consensus is to use recaps for the rear tires, which there was a general agreement provide the best value for the money. That's because they can be recapped for $40 to $60 apiece, depending on the volume of tires that are used, whereas new tires were running anywhere from $80 to $160. The price of new tires depends on the number of rib plies and the quality of the tires. We also agreed that running a new tire on the front was important, but that running a higher quality, more expensive tire on the front was a waste of money. That's because of all the cornering in a parking lot causes the rubber to "scrub off" of any tire that's used. The experienced contractors all agreed that you won't get any more wear from a high-dollar tire. There was also a general agreement that the best thing to do is to develop a relationship with your local tire store. That way you can get the best deal possible based on your overall volume. When you have that kind of ongoing relationship, your mounting and balancing becomes virtually free. A number of contractors, including myself, have their own tire machines. I would say probably half of the people in the room all had invested in their own tire machine. We agreed this can also save some money, as well as provide a faster turnaround to get the machines back out sweeping. However, there was widespread acknowledgment about how important it is to provide thorough training to any employees that might be using a tire machine. Changing tires -- especially large ones -- is a dangerous business. You have to make sure your employees are aware of everything they need to know in order not to get hurt. One contractor also brought up the topic of tire sealant. He said he was convinced that using a sealant can save a considerable amount of time and money. For one, sealants keep tires at the correct pressure, which increases wear time. The use of a sealant can also drastically reduce service calls in the middle of the night. If you to use a sealant, however, you need to check your tires periodically to see if you are running with nails or other objects embedded in them. Cab and Chassis; Relative Durability and Warranty ClaimsThis discussion had two major areas. One covered the reasons why a person might choose a cabover chassis over a conventional, or vice versa. The other was Mitsubishi vs. Isuzu in terms of durability and warranty. As moderator, I tried to let most of the answers and comments come from the other people there. Consensus was that visibility is the big advantage to having a sweeper mounted on a cabover chassis. The higher degree of visibility clearly makes cabover-mounted sweepers more nimble. On the other side of the issue, price is the big reason to choose a conventional chassis. Although turning radius can be a factor, there may not be a difference. For example, with the Schwarze parking area sweeper line the cabovers have a shorter turning radius than do their conventional chassis-mounted sweepers. However, Tymco uses the long wheelbase on both types of chassis, so with their line there isn't really a difference in that regard. There was definitely a consensus that a conventional chassis not only costs less to buy but also is less costly to operate over the long run. In terms of the comparison between Mitsubishi and Isuzu, that started because of one guy who is having trouble with his Mitsubishi. I was glad that he brought it up, because it sparked a conversation about how everyone in the room felt about their Mitsubishi or Isuzu chassis. The upshot is that both brands seem to be doing about the same quality of job. By the time we had gone around the room, it became clear that the initiator's problem was an isolated one. Although some people had clear-cut preferences about one chassis or the other, no one particularly seemed to be having a lot of trouble with either. Many successful contractors, including myself, are going with conventional chassis because it saves us money. One, they cost less, but they are also less money to maintain. That's just a fact. Although I would say that all the people learned something in the exchange, this information was the most helpful for the new guys in the room. InsuranceAlthough insurance was definitely a big topic among those in the room, we ended up not talking about it in any detail. That was because I knew there was a presentation on this topic planned for one of the other seminars. There was general consensus that the cost of insurance has risen dramatically in the last year, in some cases from 20% to 32% overall. Because of this higher cost factor, it is becoming even more important than ever before to make sure your operators are trained, both in operations and in safety. Checking previous driving records is also more important. Anything that can be done to reduce the likelihood of claims now pays an even bigger benefit than ever before. |
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