CM/Spotlight: hard floor care case study ProTeam Inc. Pennsylvania Contractor Chooses ProTeam Backpacks For Productivity Lineup offers superior, cost effective performance that lasts. J James Donahue’s company, The Complete Cleaning Service, has cleaned office build-ings, factories, healthcare facilities and schools in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, for two decades. With 32 employees cleaning a huge range of industrial and commercial facili-ties, Donahue relies on a modified clean-ing system based on Team Cleaning ® and about 20 ProTeam ® backpack vacuums. “My first love is the ProTeam backpack vacuum,” said Donahue. “It’s so produc-tive, when I first started using it, I was killing the competition who were all still using uprights.” Under ideal conditions with a well-trained employee, Donahue’s workers clean 10,000 square feet an hour with their back-pack vacuums and a maximum of 4,000 square feet an hour with their uprights. This is partially due to the mobility and speed workers can achieve when the weight of a vacuum is not being pushed by the arm and shoulder. “With an upright, for every forward stroke, there’s a back stroke. You’re cover-ing the same flooring twice,” said Donahue. “With the backpack, you make one six-foot sweep of the wand, step forward and sweep again. It’s amazing how much terri-tory you can cover effectively.” Donahue has also observed that a light-weight aluminum wand is faster than a bulky upright when navigating obstacles like trashcans or reaching under desks. “I’ve tried other brands, but ProTeam is the only company that has continually improved their models with new features like the anti-static hose, the easy glide floor tool and a more comfortable frame,” said Donahue. Once You Go Backpack… If one of Donahue’s backpacks is out for maintenance, a worker might have to use an upright. In these situations, his employees joke, “Why are we being punished?” because pushing an upright vacuum is slow and grueling work compared to carrying a backpack vacuum. Of all the commercial and industrial spaces Donahue cleans, the only situation where he finds an upright is more produc-tive is in a building with all tile floors, when only the doormats are vacuumed.’ For these facilities, Donahue uses ProForce ® upright vacuums with onboard tools for fast and easy detail cleaning. “Early on,” said Donahue, “I would buy cheap uprights that would last six months until some un-repairable plastic part broke. It turned out to be more costly than buying a quality machine that lasts.” All ProTeam backpack, canister and upright vacuums have multiple levels of filtration that capture and contain 99.9 percent of particulate matter down to one micron in size. A micron is 1/25,000th of an inch or 1/1,000th of a millimeter. These tiny pollutants and allergens can concentrate in the atmosphere and threat-en the health of those with asthma or aller-gies in the building. “I tell potential clients, ‘One of the rea-sons you should pick me even though my prices are higher: My vacuums have Four Level ® Filtration,’” said Donahue. “Some places really respond to this.” Over the last 20 years, Donahue has had the opportunity to use many different models of ProTeam vacuums. His new favorite is the Super QuarterVac ® for its small frame and lightweight design. However, for capacity, the Super CoachVac ® is his first choice. The Complete Cleaning Service cleans some 24/7 rooms in call centers where building occupants are in cubicles making calls around the clock. By using the 51 decibel setting — Donahue calls it the “whisper mode” — of ProTeam’s QuietPro ® backpack with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration, the vacuum specialist is able to clean around someone on the phone and not interfere with their conversation. CM Circle Product Information no. 151 This content was provided by ProTeam Inc. as part of a paid advertisement. For more information, please contact ProTeam at 1-866-888-2168 or www.Pro-Team.com. 22 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • April 2012
CMM – Archives Apr 2012: 22
