2013 October eNews
How Safe is Your Floor?
By Tom Zmich, National Accounts Manager
More and more, building managers are working from both maintenance and safety budgets for their overall flooring needs. In addition to general flooring materials, wear-and-tear issues and routine maintenance on your floor systems, there's an increased emphasis on floor safety for employees, customers and equipment.
Over the past ten years, there is a greater awareness in the industry to create a safer flooring environment in the workplace. Many of the projects we work on are specifically for safety reasons including: non-slip surfaces, repairing trip hazards and installing safety stripes and markings.
There are many industrial and warehouse safety programs that have budgets for improvements separate from their operations or maintenance budgets. We have dedicated safety managers and inspectors to provide solutions for your concerns about safety.
I have had calls from managers of warehouses who want a solution for situations such as forklift drivers who keep hitting bumps in the floor and causing back injuries. Employee safety and a decrease in injuries, lost workdays and workman's comp claims are very important for managers. We provide solutions to smooth the bumps in the floors to minimize those types of problems. Note that in addition to injuries to employees, equipment such as forklifts and merchandise can also be damaged from irregular floors.
With our DiamondQuest products, many property managers are looking for the WOW factor - glossy, dustproof floors that improve the aesthetics and overall appearance and add to employee and customer morale. Maintenance costs are also lower on polished concrete floors. In addition, these high-traction floors also improve safety by lowering the risk of slip-and-fall accidents. DiamondQuest is a National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) certified product.
When choosing the right floor system for your facility, consider system type, safety, maintenance, repair costs, durability and long-term costs. QuestMark professionals can help you find the solution that will work best for your floor.
Budgeting for Roofing
By David Alley, National Accounts Manager
Below are a few points we use with our customers to make the most of their capital and operating dollars.
1. Review local and national building codes. What are the R-values (measure of thermal insulation) and wind-uplift requirements that need to be considered?
2. Your roofing contractor can provide the criteria for roof system assemblies that your insurance carrier will need to determine if the roof replacement system that you are considering meets their insurance requirements.
3. Have your contractor research the best roofing option for your building. Evaluate insulation type, insulation amount, drainage condition, drainage requirements (are your gutters, downspouts and drains sized properly), roofing membrane type and thickness, and safety requirements (roof hatch guard rails, walk pads, slope to avoid standing water). Each of these items can dramatically affect your roofing cost and related budget.
4. To avoid cost overruns, consider a thermal scan to define the extent of damaged insulation.
5. Budget for roof repairs. Until your new roof system is installed, you will need to keep up with roof repairs to avoid added costs associated with additional wet insulation or deck replacement.
As you prepare for your new roof system, take note of the following:
1. Continue to service your roof by fixing roof leaks and making repairs in a timely manner. If you stop roof repairs just because you have budgeted for a new roof, the damage may get worse. Hold your roofing contractor accountable for repair work - ask for documentation of work performed, before and after photos of repairs and location of roof leaks.
2. In the winter, watch out for damage due to frozen downspouts and gutters that can cause additional water intrusion in your building.
3. When you budget for a capital project, there can be changes between the time that budgets are set and when the project is installed. Material and/or labor prices can increase. Many contractors have large backlogs for spring projects after the winter months. Unfortunately, damage to the roof assembly can increase over the winter due to wet insulation and/or deck deterioration. Work with your contractor on a program to lock in your pricing and determine if repair work over winter months can be included in the scope of work.
It takes research, planning and capital to install a new roof system. CentiMark's roofing professionals are available to help you review and prepare the above information. Our MyCentiMark Asset Management program can analyze your roof by quadrant, prepare a Roof Life Index (RLI) for each section and estimate short and long-term budget figures to aid in your decision-making.
Band of Brothers
CentiMark is a family owned company started by Chairman & CEO Edward B. Dunlap in 1968. Today, he works alongside his son, Timothy M. Dunlap, who is CentiMark's President & COO. CentiMark has combinations of parents and children, spouses, cousins, in-laws and siblings who work for the company. It's unique that the two Scanlon brothers are the key management team for QuestMark, a fast-growing division of CentiMark that specializes in commercial flooring.
John Scanlon is the Executive Vice President & Group Director of QuestMark with 21 years experience. He's the younger of the twins. He manages the overall operations of QuestMark's 700 associates and 20 offices throughout the United States.
After rising through the ranks of sales and management on the roofing side of the business in both the United States and Canada, John was tapped for a management position in the fast-growing flooring division in 2010. He oversees the management, sales and operations of the business that generated $80 million in 2012.
Brian Scanlon is Senior Vice President of Operations and he does report to his younger brother. Co-workers say the brothers work off each other's strengths in a natural, unspoken way.
Brian also started out in the roofing side of the business and moved to the flooring division in 1999. His career path in flooring progressed from sales to management to operations. In his role on the operations side of the business, he also serves as the eyes and ears for his brother in the field offices and on the job sites.
"John is an excellent leader. He is analytical, strategic and competitive. He has a good read on people," says Brian. "I like the operations side of the business - coordinating the flooring jobs and working with the customers. The traveling is hectic but my brother and I are used to it after all these years."
"Brian is technical and intense. He's more outgoing than me," states John. "Brian coordinates all our operations in the field. With many of our projects, such as our DiamondQuest floor systems, we work through the night or over the weekends. It's a crazy schedule and the work is demanding. My brother does an excellent job working with the customers and managing the flooring crews."
The Scanlon brothers count on each other; they have each other's backs. It's good for family and it's great for business.
Current CentiMark or QuestMark customers may work with other associates who also happen to be part of CentiMark's and QuestMark's Band of Brothers. Brothers not pictured include:
Brian and John Altvater
Bob, Gerald and James Penney
Joe and Matt Urbanic
Ken and Tom Zmich
