[Plankton]

This bugs my brain and I know it's better for productivity to have one man per van but if you work from one van with two or three people how do you work it?

Some streets you'll have 1, 5 or 20 houses so where you have a single house one on the back one on the front and where you have a bunch of houses park in the middle and catch what you can yourselfs then move the van?

I used to drop containers off dotted up the road and one used the back pack and one off the tank in another street, is this still an acceptable way to have someone working?
I'd then refill the containers from the customers tap (via Di) part way through the day if needed to save on space etc.

Does anyone work with tops on wfp and a trad man on the bottoms? If so can you still hit near double what you'd do alone?

Does anyone drop off a trad man or two with a ladder and work themselves with wfp?

[Splash & dash]

We work with two people in each van , not always the most cost effective way of working I accept that , but on commercial work ( not shops)  it works really well , on some of the big hotels we do we have up to 6 people working from two vans ,

[Smudger]

Work whatever way you feel is best for you but basically unless it’s a large commercial you’ll only get around 60% extra from 2 men over a single - travel is is biggest but bear 2 non productive at the same time

But yes individual houses one front one rear - multiple park middle and work from curses points to centre

Darran

[Soupy]

There's H&S issues with sending employees out on their own. Obviously there is nothing wrong with solo working but pairs is safer.

Furthermore and the main reason we work in pairs; it's more boring if you're on your own.

[Splash & dash]

There's H&S issues with sending employees out on their own. Obviously there is nothing wrong with solo working but pairs is safer.

Furthermore and the main reason we work in pairs; it's more boring if you're on your own.

Exactly we do a lot of commercial jobs where the client states no loan working so we have to have a minimum of two .

[Stoots]

Only small fry but when I work 2 man I do about 40 houses a day compared to 20-25 on my own. (In the same time)

All mine with only a few exceptions are 1 house then move.

I would imagine 1 in a van to be more productive but with 2 man working as a team it's quite efficient. Only if you have a system though,  we'd to be on the same wavelength and no slacking.

[david mark]

What do you do when 1 calls in sick do .

[a900]

Only small fry but when I work 2 man I do about 40 houses a day compared to 20-25 on my own. (In the same time)

All mine with only a few exceptions are 1 house then move.

I would imagine 1 in a van to be more productive but with 2 man working as a team it's quite efficient. Only if you have a system though,  we'd to be on the same wavelength and no slacking.

We work a similar way. It’s about having the right person with you who can anticipate what they need to do to be productive. We tend to do the same work together and in the same way. So we know the routine as it were to save time with ‘ you doing that window or that house sort of convos’. Quite often I will jump out the van and knock the customers doors while my helper is pulling his hose and pole out ready to get around. So much so that sometimes it helpfully cuts customers convos short because they see him putting hose out and say ‘I better go open that gate for him’

[a900]

What do you do when 1 calls in sick do .

1) Chose someone who never calls in sick
2) do the work I fancy doing on my own then in the evening any customers not done who were contact before hand bulk text to briefly explain and rearrange the next day.

[Plankton]

Looking at domestic work that's currently trad. I'd need to take someone on and train them up on wfp so need to see what the best way is going forward. A lot of it is mindset so with myself previously just staggering containers about for someone to use a backpack might seem like a complete pita now that I've been working myself and using a tank for a few years.
If I went for Wfp on tops and trad on bottoms this could also be a complete pita as you've got to wait for the drips to stop (first cleans more water) but it might be an option for a month or two so I can keep an eye on the worker and he can see how I work, then he'd be using wfp on my existing work.

If it works out at 60% on top of my days work that could be a stumbling block. Not expecting anyone to divulge but it would be good to get an idea of reasonable targets for two men using wfp on domestic. Obviously down south is a different kettle of fish so I'd need to half that up here!

[Plankton]

Only small fry but when I work 2 man I do about 40 houses a day compared to 20-25 on my own. (In the same time)

All mine with only a few exceptions are 1 house then move.

I would imagine 1 in a van to be more productive but with 2 man working as a team it's quite efficient. Only if you have a system though,  we'd to be on the same wavelength and no slacking.

That seems reasonable for two men. I'd be looking to get rid of my Facelift tank and probably get a 500l Wydale with two pump boxes and reels on wheels out the back door, nothing fixed. I'd also have a backpack or two with four containers just in case.

[KS Cleaning]

Looking at domestic work that's currently trad. I'd need to take someone on and train them up on wfp so need to see what the best way is going forward. A lot of it is mindset so with myself previously just staggering containers about for someone to use a backpack might seem like a complete pita now that I've been working myself and using a tank for a few years.
If I went for Wfp on tops and trad on bottoms this could also be a complete pita as you've got to wait for the drips to stop (first cleans more water) but it might be an option for a month or two so I can keep an eye on the worker and he can see how I work, then he'd be using wfp on my existing work.

If it works out at 60% on top of my days work that could be a stumbling block. Not expecting anyone to divulge but it would be good to get an idea of reasonable targets for two men using wfp on domestic. Obviously down south is a different kettle of fish so I'd need to half that up here!

When I used to employ I worked both 3 men from one van and latterly 2 men in 2 vans. You do need the work to be very compact for this to be viable. We worked with backpacks, using a gravity fed tap from the tank to fill the backpacks, I would also have 3 or 4 containers filled in the back of the van just in case two people needed to fill up at the same time. On estate work it was 1 man per house, on larger properties it would sometimes be 1 at the front 1 at the back. I know a lot on here will say you can’t work efficiently with backpacks, and that might be the case down south where more time and water will be used per property to justify the price, but prices dictate that we need to be a bit splash and dash whilst still achieving decent results. On modern estate work, I clean 2-3 houses from 1 fill
If you are buying a trad round and converting it to WFP expect some drop offs, some customers are bad enough seeing someone different cleaning their windows, when they also see a different cleaning method being used it can be too much for them.

[Stoots]

Only small fry but when I work 2 man I do about 40 houses a day compared to 20-25 on my own. (In the same time)

All mine with only a few exceptions are 1 house then move.

I would imagine 1 in a van to be more productive but with 2 man working as a team it's quite efficient. Only if you have a system though,  we'd to be on the same wavelength and no slacking.

We work a similar way. It’s about having the right person with you who can anticipate what they need to do to be productive. We tend to do the same work together and in the same way. So we know the routine as it were to save time with ‘ you doing that window or that house sort of convos’. Quite often I will jump out the van and knock the customers doors while my helper is pulling his hose and pole out ready to get around. So much so that sometimes it helpfully cuts customers convos short because they see him putting hose out and say ‘I better go open that gate for him’

yep, you need to know the drill without discussing it.

I drive, my worker jumps out as soon as we pull up and grabs his hose and walks to the back...its usually not a straight pull so i feed him the hose round any cars, bins etc. Once he has stopped pulling i grab my hose do the front, post a note and reel it in. By that time hes usually coming back round the side windows and i start reeling in his hose to take up the slack ,he un snags it on the way back. i jump in, start her up, soon as hes in where off. We work like that flat out till dinner time, have 30 mins break then same again till about 3 at which point we are both slowing down as we work at a good pace with no ping about.

no knocking on doors, clean, note, go.....

I used to waste time knocking and getting involved in chat, its not needed

[Stoots]

Looking at domestic work that's currently trad. I'd need to take someone on and train them up on wfp so need to see what the best way is going forward. A lot of it is mindset so with myself previously just staggering containers about for someone to use a backpack might seem like a complete pita now that I've been working myself and using a tank for a few years.
If I went for Wfp on tops and trad on bottoms this could also be a complete pita as you've got to wait for the drips to stop (first cleans more water) but it might be an option for a month or two so I can keep an eye on the worker and he can see how I work, then he'd be using wfp on my existing work.

If it works out at 60% on top of my days work that could be a stumbling block. Not expecting anyone to divulge but it would be good to get an idea of reasonable targets for two men using wfp on domestic. Obviously down south is a different kettle of fish so I'd need to half that up here!

with an average job value in the £10 - £12 mark i would aim to average £400 2 man, working  9-3

For longer hours i dont see why £500 shouldnt be doable day in day out.

However i only work 9-3 "on the glass" because if i worked till 5 everyday plus get home and do bookeeping etc i would burn out and be miserable , if you work hard 9-3 its more than enough graft and you will be surprised just how much work you can churn through.....if your work is compact, which it sounds like it is you should be smashing it.

[Stoots]

Only small fry but when I work 2 man I do about 40 houses a day compared to 20-25 on my own. (In the same time)

All mine with only a few exceptions are 1 house then move.

I would imagine 1 in a van to be more productive but with 2 man working as a team it's quite efficient. Only if you have a system though,  we'd to be on the same wavelength and no slacking.

That seems reasonable for two men. I'd be looking to get rid of my Facelift tank and probably get a 500l Wydale with two pump boxes and reels on wheels out the back door, nothing fixed. I'd also have a backpack or two with four containers just in case.

Sod barrels, backpack and taking reels out etc, you are wasting energy, window cleaning is tiring when you are trying to work at pace and you want to make it as easy as possible so you can clean longer without killing yourself.

You want van mount electric reels and light poles imo

[NWH]

I would make as easy for your employee as you want it for you,as said I would go for electric reels light poles etc.
It’s silly quick on large properties with 2 poles going,1 does a side and back 1 does a side and front.
I know someone that goes out as a 3 man team but he does small houses,if that was me I’d have a large trolley for the front and a side of a property and use e reel for the other side and back.

[deeege]

3 lads pulled up beside me today in a nice kitted out wfp van, looked like they were having a great laugh, probably having a joke about me looking lonely working alone. I drove round the corner and seen the 3 of them cleaning a 3 bed semi whilst I was off to clean the  120 bed care home opposite.

Made me chuckle.

[Plankton]

What about the hoses getting tangled up from the two reels, would it be better to run with different colours of hose or is it not really an issue?

[John Mart]

There's H&S issues with sending employees out on their own. Obviously there is nothing wrong with solo working but pairs is safer.

Furthermore and the main reason we work in pairs; it's more boring if you're on your own.

I expect it’s a lot more fun working with a mate.

Obviously the prices will be different there, but one man here does £200 but the most I’ve ever got out of a two man van is £325. And then they are the last back.  (Figures scaled to avoid silliness).

[dazmond]

the guys that are saying "its better to have one man per van".it might be true but you ve still got the extra expense of running another van to factor in as well.....