Ronnie
Earlier on in the year we cleaned Fallowfields in Manchester, Warrington, Wigan - they are all local to you. We don't have anything northern booked in just yet but I am sure by the time we kick back in on January 10th there will be other stores to price up.
On the 10th we are in Sydenham - Kent if anyone wants to come and say hello and then when we are done there we will be working a store in Watford.
Mark that is solid advice from Trevor. We are based by Alton Towers about 15 miles from Stoke on the way to Derby.
Gaining a solid understanding of the different surfaces is paramount as there are many different types of brick and block/slab and the graffiti may have been put on with pen, aerosol, paint etc - there are too many variables to say that one treatment will solve all problems and I always access any graffiti on a site visit and get in chemical that is specific to the graffiti.
Anyone can pick up a pressure washer and say that they are a professional operation but the proof will be in how the whole situation is managed and on the end results.
I admire your desire to understand the principles of the service and the way you are asking lots of questions but the easiest way of gaining a more rounded understanding would be to work alongside an already established team and getting to see a much broader picture.
I will give you a run down of a typical day.
On site we cover everything from platform work at high level, windows, canopies, walls, lower level elevated surfaces, kerbs, block/slab, tarmac & concrete surfaces, trolley bays, signage, graffiti removal, chewing gum removal, compactor areas.
When you look at your local supermarket - what you see we will clean - everything inside the boundary and some of the areas directly touching the supermarket. Often the stores have sponsored and or paid for community centres, doctors surgerys, pavements or other communal areas these will also be cleaned.
On a typical day we may clear out the guttering over an elevated roof and then clean all the cladding.
Another day may be cleaning several hundred metres of store cladding. There wil always be graffiti on carpark signage, walls or other surfaces, we carry about 25 chemicals for a typical store clean.
Other equipment in the van will always be
Generator ( to use for power at night for lights etc) for dry steam machine, 3 cold pressure washers, hot pressure washer, blast panels, 100s metres of orange meshing, cones, about 200 metres of high pressure hoses, fuel cans - diesel & petrol, brushes/shovels, cloths, scrubbing brushes, 5 or 6 lances, power pole set up with a turbo nozzle, 7metre lance with turbo nozzle, numerous various surface chemicals, window cleaning kits, wfp stuff, PPE including harnesses, hard hats etc, signs, water fill up taps and hoses and whatever else I have forgotten.
When we turn up on site we have all this kit in the main van towing the trailer which has another 1000litre IBC tank in it and then there is my van with 400 litre tank and all wfp kit in it.
With this set up we have the option of working in 3 different areas on site completely independantly and or me going to another store and doing sample cleans or even working at 3 different locations all at the same time.
My set up is always van doors open and then create a safe working area around where we are working, orange meshing, cones and barriers, I always make sure as far a spossible to keep the van and equipment and all hoses within this area. I still have to keep an eye out for people breaching this area and stopping all work if this happens. We never fill up machines whilst they are running - we carry fire extinguishers in case of fire in the vans.
Only when the safety is right do we kick in the machines.
My lads always wear ear defenders, eye protection, hi viz jackets, hard hats and gloves as well as their work uniforms and outer shells.
Nothing we do is done by a half measure and to show our commitment and the way my lads will work for me we cleaned a store in Stevenage in October, we had come on site on the close down week and worked 8-4 till the wednesday before opening on the wednesday we turned up at 6 in the morning and started to snag. At 9 o clock they started to pull up the carpark that we had cleaned 3 or 4 times as they weren't happy with the depth of the tarmac that had been laid. They finished relaying at about 5 in the afternoon we finished at 9 o clock on the Thursday morning - store reopen day -27 hour shift.
Our client expects us to deliver and to do what it takes to get the job done. That doesn't happen very often but we have picked up so much experience over the last 12 months that we could clean anything that was thrown at us now.
I am happy for anyone to come along and spend some time with us - obviously dependant on where we are working so when we get cleans lined up in future I will post where we are and if peeople want to come and see us at work you are welcome.
Rob
