munity College here in Salem. I did that part time in the evenings and summers, and then I hired on with the college as a full-time fac-ulty in 1992 and stayed with them until 2002. I then launched my full-time enterprise, which is known as Ivey’s Training and Con-sulting Services. I went international later that year with the program as well. So I’ve been with the program a long time. PL: With our 50 th anniversary this year, we’re discussing the positive impact that Cleaning & Maintenance Management and CMI have. From your experience, how have we helped the cleaning indus-try develop as a professional enterprise? MI: The biggest influence without a ques-tion is the fact that educational components and training have elevated the cleaning in-dustry nationwide as well as internationally. It actually highlighted that if you train folks and give them the understanding of why we’re going to use the chemicals that we use … this empowered folks to do it more efficiently. In our society, efficiency always equates to dollars. That had been a big issue in the industry itself. And that’s one of the areas where I think CMI has made the most impact. Being a third party entity means you have this objective training program that says we don’t have a vested interest in you buying somebody’s specific product or anybody’s specific cleaning equipment. We’re basically giving you the science and the technical as-pect of why it is we clean, why you should be using certain types of equipment, why you should use certain cleaning chemicals — all in the name of efficiency. That efficiency has been a hit across the industry — both nationally and internation-ally. People want that more efficient op-eration and they understand now, they can connect the dots. If they can get their folks trained and certified, it does elevate them to a higher status and help them clean more efficiently and more effectively. PL: What would be the main reason an operation should invest in training? MI: There’s no doubt in my mind, phi-losophy wise. If you empower the people in the trenches that are actually getting job done day in and day out, you are going to have not only a more efficient operation, but a more effective operation as well. Now it’s not about just giving them … the “blue stuff” or the “red stuff” in terms of the chemicals. Now they are educated and they understand the science. They understand what products they need to remove acidic components, soil wise. They understand the chemical product that they should go and select to remove the alkaline soil that we basically encounter in buildings. I think having that is important — and I’ve actually witnessed it. People, number one, they become more excited about what they do because now they under-stand the why. Anytime you can take a human being and help them understand why they’re going to do a certain process or a certain procedure, they tend to be more ener-gized. They tend to be more effective at doing that task. ® Specialty Cleaning Products Pre-moistened Wipes Disinfectants and Degreasers Disposable Wipers Industrial Marking Products Industrial • Institutional • Food Service 800.443.9536 | 913.397.9889 | itwprofessionalbrands.com FREE INFO: Reader Service 203 or CMMOnline.com/freeinfo www.CMMOnline.com 9
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