News

Posted On: 08/14/2007

ISSA webinar helps remove guesswork when outsourcing

PlantServices.com

ISSA, the leading association for the cleaning industry worldwide, will offer a free webinar, The Five Principles Every Service Contract Should Demand, specifically geared toward facility managers and purchasers on Thursday, August 30, at 11:00 a.m. CST. This session will discuss how facility managers and purchasing professionals can more easily find and qualify service providers, including ways to update contract specifications to focus on excellence in service delivery.

Free specification and operational evaluation tools will be made available for facility managers and purchasers at the August 30 webinar. To register for the session, visit KRM Information Services, Inc.

ISSA’s Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) and Certification Program provides an easy-to-use quality measurement resource, which purchasers and facility managers can effectively use to identify cleaning companies that are structured to deliver consistent, high-quality, and customer-focused service. Both in-house and contract-cleaning organizations can certify to the Standard by undergoing an evaluation by an accredited, third-party assessor who reviews the organization’s management and operations, verifying compliance with the Standard’s principles and requirements.
 
“Members of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and Institute of Supply Management (ISM) have reacted positively to the Standard when ISSA has presented it at various industry association events over the past several months,” said ISSA Industry Director of Industry Outreach Dianna Bisswurm.

“Facility managers and others responsible for purchasing cleaning services have begun to identify CIMS certification as a prequalification tool that they can use to distinguish between companies that submit bids,” said ISSA Facility Service Legislative Affairs Director Dan Wagner. To that end, ISSA has received calls from contractors who are inquiring about achieving certification in response to demand from customers looking for assurance that their service provider is committed to the delivery of quality, customer-focused service.
 

Finding CIMS Experts & Certified Organizations

Twenty-four in-house and contract-cleaning organizations are participating in a case-study program this summer to certify to the Standard. The University of Michigan’s Plant Building Services department (Ann Arbor, MI), Varsity Contractors (Pocatello, ID), and Omni Facility Services (Southfield, MI) recently became the first organizations to receive CIMS Certification with Honors, following comprehensive third-party assessments of their organization’s management.

Twenty-two industry professionals also recently became ISSA’s first Certification Experts and are now available to consult with purchasers looking for CIMS-certified firms or to help organizations prepare to certify to CIMS. A list of these individuals is available at www.issa.com/standard.