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WSA & PCTC
PCTC Funding Studies and Presentations in 2023
PCTC Executive Committee and supporting members have made the decision to move forward with funding important research and industry-wide presentations to continue to educate the industry, public and key stakeholders.
by Brian Riggs
As we look toward 2023, two of the most immediate opportunities will occur in January with additional studies and research scheduled for late spring and early summer.
In January, our research partners at Exponent will present at the 2023 Sediments Conference in Austin, Texas.
Their presentation, titled “Evaluation of Generic PAH Profiles Used in Sediment Source Characterization Modeling,” will present a case study where the results of CMB and other receptor models were used to support product bans and permitting requirements, a major source of discussion over the past several years.
In addition, the Exponent team will undertake a massive research project related to the recent USGS ruling.
This scope will include an Evaluation of rougly 170 computer files PCTC received from the U.S. Geological Survey as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request and litigation. Most of the files contain outputs for EPA’s Chemical Mass Balance (CMB) model.
The goals for this project include comparing the results to those described in Van Metre and Mahler 2010, and developing an approach for summarizing the large amount of data. A technical memorandum will follow.
As a result, PCTC’s work will continue to ensure we keep our members and the industry at the forefront of our efforts. ■
For more about PCTC visit www.pavementcouncil.org.
PCTC
Third Party Vendors: Nickel-and Dime-Specialists
When profit margins for sweeping contractors are already razor thin, are third party vendors helping or hurting the bottom line?
by Ranger Kidwell-Ross
One of our WSA members recently contacted our office about one of the third party vendors (TPV) he was contracted with for sweeping the parking lots of some Home Depot stores. The middleman company — one of the many that are so prevalent these days for regional and national sweeping accounts — said they needed a price reduction of $5/sweep. His question tp us: Should he do that?
TPV contracts typically provide very little margin to start with. Contractors have to really sharpen their pencils to bid a price that still provides them with a normal profit margin. An unmistakeable message is given when a reduction from the contracted price is agreed to.
In essence, when an ethical contractor bids at a particular price per sweep, they are telling the client that the bid price reflects them covering their costs, plus only the normal profit needed for equipment repair and their other expenses that allow long-term growth.
When the contractor later agrees to a discount of even $5/sweep, that indicates to the customer that the contractor was actually price gouging a little bit with their initial pricing.
Due to inflation, the margin on a pre-existing contract has probably eroded since it was signed. However, if a price increase was requested to a TPV, there’s little likelihood it would be granted.
TPV’s are notorious for finding ways to nickel-and-dime the contractors they hire, with slow payments, bogus service complaints and suspect requests like “The client has asked for a $5/sweep reduction.” For these reasons many top contractors refuse to work for TPV companies.
At WSA, we catalog all of the known TPVs and allow our members the opportunity to comment on their experiences with them. This knowledge has allowed them to find out from other members which have proven unreliable and which have not. ■
WSA contributor Ranger Kidwell-Ross has been providing information to the power sweeping industry since 1988. He is editor of WorldSweeper.com, an information resource for power sweeping, as well as founder and executive director of the World Sweeping Association. For more information about WSA visit www.WorldSweepingPros.org or contact Kidwell-Ross at director@worldsweepingpros.org.
