coatings or alternative measures. Reasons cited include that the coating: Can be applied by brush or sprayed on — at this facility, it was sprayed on Can be applied to a wide variety of surfaces without changing their origi-nal look Enables graffiti to be removed with water only Is verified to be consumer and envi-ronmentally safe Is permanent and does not come off when graffiti is removed Can be easily re-applied and main-tained if it is ever damaged. quickly without any lingering odor. Graffiti removal and prevention continues to escalate throughout North America, costing cities, towns and businesses — as well as taxpayers — millions of dollars each year. Today, however, it is estimated that the Aquatic Centre can save as much as 70 percent over previous graffiti prevention and removal costs the first year and for each and every year thereafter. CM Ross Sklar is chairman of the board for Seicoat Corporation (www.seicoat.com) in Los Angeles. Seicoat manufactures high-performance, environmentally friendly graffiti removal products and anti-graffiti coatings and distributes through a network of franchises that provides graffiti and mold prevention and restora-tion services. A graduate of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, Sklar is renowned in the development and commercializa-tion of technology in the chemical sector and specializes in licensing technology and mergers and acquisitions. Bring In The Experts An expert was called in shortly after the Centre was completed. They were retained to first paint all the concrete and then apply an anti-graffiti coat-ing to just the walls of the building where the graffiti would most likely be targeted. Now, the centre is considering bringing the experts back in to coat other areas where graffiti most likely would be targeted, such as walls, seating areas, platforms and other surfaces. “Not without a bit of skepticism,” recalls Busch, noting that the variety of surfaces, including the cement walls of the centre, stone and brick on other graffiti-prone facades and areas, made graffiti removal from these surfaces seem unlikely. What about the results? Because the coatings repel most graffiti applications or can be wiped off with water, “several positive things happened,” says Busch. “For the most part, taggers became discouraged and the incidence of graffiti on most parts of our facility has decreased dramatically. Coupled to this, in that we are able to quickly and completely remove the graffiti, taggers appear to have given up.” In addition to reducing and/or easily removing any graffiti in coated areas, both efforts and costs for dealing with graffiti have dropped, enabling maintenance per-sonnel to keep the facility looking new. Now, Centre officials are addressing graf-fiti problems inside the building, seeking to achieve the same results they did with the coating on the outside of the structure. This will pose no problems or safety haz-ards for the Centre since the coating dries CMI now offers... 3 Levels of Custodial Certification 1 Custodial Training Certification Attend one of CMI’s three-day Train the Trainer courses offered regularly throughout the country. You’ll learn the skills and receive the tools you need toimplement CMI’s Custo -dial Technician training program. 2 Custodial Supervisor Certification Train and certify your key supervisors on the business management duties and people skills of successful custo-dial supervisors. 3 Custodial Technician Certification Train and certify your front-line cleaning workers on the equipment, materials, supplies and best-practice procedures they need to get the job done right with minimal impact on the environment. Call CMI today to find out how our training and certification courses will help you to meet the training requirements of ISSA’s Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) and help you achieve points toward LEED certification. For more information, contact Bea Kelley at 518.640.9172 or [email protected] www.cminstitute.net www.cmmonline.com 45
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