Tag Archive for: Symposium

Thank you for an incredible Symposium!

Wow, we’re fresh off a wonderful few days with all of our friends from the Simon Institute and feeling overwhelmed (in a good way) from all the great information, news and resources shared! 

The theme of this year’s Symposium focused on “treating janitors as first-class citizens.” We talked a whole lot about strategies to make custodial work safer, more evenly distributed and how we can continue to improve the training we provide. This includes training younger workers in a way that keeps them engaged—not as difficult as you’d think! 

A few of the highlights included a special introduction from Annmarie Wilson-Futrell, Director of Building Service for Valparaiso University. She shared some of her journey to learning about the (OS1) System and her excitement for what it will bring her team. Welcome!

Panelists discuss safety strategies in their businesses in a discussion moderated by Flint Belk of the Workers Compensation Fund.

A special thanks to all the presenters, including Dan Weltin, Editor-in-Chief at Trade Press Media Group, who shared new data available in their Cleaning Costs and Frequencies Report  which was given to all attendees. 

Thank you to everyone who also participated in our first Health & Safety Panel, which provided some interesting insight on safety strategies our users and supporters have in place to help improve safety for custodial teams and workers.

The data and knowledge shared is what makes Symposium so unique to any other industry event. Symposium attendees and presenters are truly the leaders in the custodial services industry!

Data provided by Dan Weltin, Editor-in-Chief at Trade Press Media Group.

On that note, several very important guests received awards during the (OS1) Awards Banquet and Ceremony. This included five high school students who work as janitors in the evening at the nearby Provo City School District. These students received Outstanding Cleaning Worker Awards, along with individuals from Los Angeles Habilitation House (LAHH), Sandia National Labs and the University of Michigan.

Thank you to our emcee for this year’s events, Alan Wagemester, VP of Operations at GMI Integrated Facility Solutions. In addition to introducing all of the presenters, Alan provided a touching tribute to ManageMen’s late founder, John Walker, ahead of a beautiful slideshow presentation.

Click here to see the Gallery of all the 2019 Symposium Award Winners.

Congratulations to the 2019 Outstanding Cleaning Workers!

Outstanding Cleaning Workers

Anthony Taylor, Los Angeles Habilitation House

Ryan Beal, Provo City Schools

Jonathan Boswell, Provo City Schools

Shelbi Campbell, Provo City Schools

Natalie Robinson, Provo City Schools

Oaklie Wilson, Provo City Schools

Sara Carillo, Sandia National Labs

Maryanne Cook, University of Michigan

Randi McQueen, University of Michigan

David Oldenberg, University of Michigan

Award Winners 2019

Sandia National Laboratories – 15 Consecutive Years of Audits Above 90% – Milestone

Valparaiso University – Rookie of the Year

The University of Texas at Austin – Sarah M and Charles E Seay Building – Best Audit

Sandia National Laboratories – Safety

Provo City School District – Best Training Program

Sandia National Laboratories – Best Cleaning Team

The University of Texas at Austin – Workloading

Joshua Sego, Michigan State University – Trainer of the Year

The University of Texas at Austin – Best Cleaning Program

(OS1) Green Certified Program of Merit

Los Angeles Habilitation House – U.S. Coast Guard LA/LB

The University of Texas at Austin – E. William Doty Fine Arts Building

(OS1) Green Certified Program of Excellence

Provo City School District – Amelia Earhart Elementary

Sandia National Laboratories

The University of Texas at Austin – Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Building

We’ll be announcing the dates and location for next year’s Symposium soon! You won’t want to miss it! 

2018 Symposium Recap

“Please raise your hand if this is your first Symposium,” Kristie McNealy, MD, Executive Director of the Simon Institute instructed the packed room. More than a dozen hands shot up in the air. “Welcome! We have a great lineup of presentations and activities planned,” she promised. Two days later at the conclusion of the conference, attendees agreed—the 17th Annual Symposium at the Westgate in Park City, Utah, delivered. 

Facility professionals from across the country gathered at the annual event where (OS1) users and other cleaning executives discuss best practices and learn about new tools and equipment to improve safety and productivity within their custodial operations. It’s different from other industry conferences in that a majority of the sessions highlight actual product trials—speakers offer candid reviews of how a product or system worked within a facility. 

Simon Institute is an ANSI-Accredited Standards Developer, and McNealy kicked off the event with an exciting update about the status of the Safe Use of Cleaning Chemicals- ANSI/SI BSR SI-0001—it will soon go out for public review and comment. 

The first day of sessions included several talks on improving safety for custodial workers. Guido Piccarolo, CEO, discussed how new tools from Unger Enterprises that made custodial work easier for workers with disabilities at Los Angeles Habilitation House (LAHH). Flint Belk from the Workers Compensation Fund discussed ongoing safety issues within the custodial industry in his presentation “Right to Understand: Preventing Accidents by Following OSHA/ANSI Standards for Chemical Safety.” 

Additional sessions covered topics including strategies for improving recycling diversion rates, understanding blockchain technology and future applications within the facility management industry and ways workers and cleaning organizations can leverage the gig economy.

During the evening, attendees donned in evening gowns and tuxedos enjoyed dinner before the annual Cleaning Industry Awards ceremony. Janitors from as far as Barbados were recognized for their performance, as Mark Unger from Unger Enterprises presented the Outstanding Cleaning Worker Awards. 

Additional award recipients include:

(OS1) Green Certified Programs of Merit

• The University of Texas at Austin – L. Theo Bellmont Hall

• The University of Texas at Austin – Engineering Education and Research

• Mt. San Antontio College – Business and Computer Technology Complex, Buildings 77, 78, 79

(OS1) Green Certified Programs of Excellence

• GMI Building Services – Torrey Plaza

• Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM

• The University of Texas at Austin – Sid Richardson Hall

Best (OS1) Audit

Sandia National Labs

Workloading Award 

The University of Texas at Austin

Safety Award

Sandia National Labs

Training Program Award

The University of Texas at Austin

Trainer of the Year Award

Jeff Hawkins – Provo City School District

Best Cleaning Team Award

GMI Building Services

Best Cleaning Program

The University of Texas at Austin

 

For the first year, Simon Institute also presented the following new awards: 

“Stay the Course” — The University of Michigan 

“Research and Development” — Michigan State University 

“Inspiration” — Los Angeles Habilitation House

Wednesday morning kicked off with an impressive presentation on the superior ergonomic performance of the custodial program at Sandia National Laboratories from Cynthia Rivera, CSP, SSH, CEAS I, a health and safety specialist. Additional presentations covered the performance improvements of ProTeam’s battery pack vacuums and an insightful commentary on the successful career of the 2018 Pinnacle Award Winner, John Lawter. John Walker concluded the event with his presentation, “Risky Business: The Legal Ramifications of Balancing Workloads, Locsei versus Mayfield School District, Ohio.”

Attendees to this year agreed, the breadth of information and relevant insights presented this year was unparalleled. 

“At the center of everything we do is the person who does the work. I thought that all of the sessions at this year’s Symposium focused on improving the dignity and safety of the worker.”

—Guido Piccarolo of Los Angeles Habilitation House

“I just took on a new training position and found a lot of great information and tools I will be able to integrate into our program. It’s great to network with other universities and hear what is working for them.”

— Josh Sego, Michigan State University

“This was my first time attending. I found the people to be very welcoming and it enabled me to better understand the big picture of the industry.”

— Judy Ramirez, Michigan State University

“I always learn at these events. The best way to learn is from the people who are performing the work so we can improve our products. The content this year was also really good and engaging.”

— Rich Steinberg, ProTeam

“This was my first Symposium. I found it provided a great opportunity to network and make connections with other manufacturers and OS1 organizations.”

— Adrian Cook, 3M

Why You Need to Seriously Think About Attending Symposium This August

There’s a good chance that if you’re reading this blog post, you’ve heard us talk about Symposium. This annual gathering of facility management professionals has been happening for almost 20 years now, and each year, we welcome both new and familiar faces to the two-day event. 

But if you haven’t attended or even heard about Symposium, here’s a quick download: The Simon Institute Symposium (previously known as the (OS1) Users Symposium), is an annual gathering of professionals representing different areas of the cleaning industry who meet and discuss best practices for a custodial operation. If you go, you’ll hear presentations from professionals at some of the top organizations throughout the country, including the United States Postal Service, Sandia National Labs, University of Texas – Austin, and many more, about proven strategies that have improved at least one area of their custodial operation. In fact, you can check out several past presentations here.

In addition to the incredible knowledge and information sharing, attendees also benefit from networking with industry experts. You see, Symposium isn’t exclusively attended by facility management professionals, but also members of the Cleaning Industry Alliance and other representatives, such as researchers, safety experts and more. 

But what really sets Symposium apart from other industry events is that it’s formatted to facilitate an exchange of ideas. Those who have attended will tell you that sessions are extremely interactive and are designed to foster dialogue between everyone in the room. If you are serious about improving your custodial operations, the Simon Institute wants you to take home several actionable ideas to try.

Interested? Even a little bit? Here are five more reasons why you should consider attending.

  1. Explore Park City! The event starts on Monday, so think about arriving a little earlier to enjoy all that Park City, Utah, and the surrounding mountains have to offer. Take a drive through Guardsman Pass Scenic Backway; check out Olympic Park, the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics; or hop around downtown and enjoy the great culinary treasurers of the city. Whatever your interest, you’ll find it in Park City.
  2. Enjoy a personalized experience. Symposium isn’t a huge event attended by thousands. In fact, the Simon Institute intentionally keeps the group small so people have the opportunity to truly connect and network with one another. Maybe you listened to a presentation from Flynt Belk from the Workers’ Compensation Fund about performing a risk analysis and have some follow-up questions for him. This format will enable you to easily connect with him during a networking break or dinner and address those questions.
  3. It’ll make you smarter. No really, Symposium speakers are leaders in their field. You’ll hear actual case studies of proven strategies that have worked to reduce costs, engage workers, improve safety or address other common issues experienced by facility management professionals. The goal of Symposium is to identify and discuss best practices to make your custodial operation better. 
  4. Enjoy the top awards program for the cleaning industry. Each year, the Simon Institute hands out several awards during our “Cleaning Industry Awards Banquet.” Billed as the top awards program in the cleaning industry, it recognizes the top leaders, innovators and achievers in the industry. Also special to the program is the industry’s only awards program for cleaning workers. Several organizations bring their top performing staff to be recognized during this special event. 
  5. You’ll leave inspired. Attendees to Symposium agree—there’s a special buzz you get when you attend Symposium. The quality of attendees, presentations and experience will leave you excited about new things you can try to make your custodial operation clean better, more safely and in the most efficient way possible. 

“[At the 2017 Simon Institute Symposium] I was joined by roughly 75 high-ranking facility executives determined to create best practices and better benchmarks for their departments and the industry as a whole,” said Corinne Zudonyi, Editor-in-Chief of Facility Cleaning Decisions and Cleanlink.com. “Sessions included the sharing of successes from some of the largest and most innovative cleaning programs across the country.”

If you’re thinking about joining us in August and would like to talk to a previous attendee about what you can expect, let us know. We’ll put you in touch with someone.  But don’t wait too long! Our early bird rate expires July 1st and the hotel block at the exclusive Westgate Park City expires July 7th and our group code is S/O 63-244. Click here to reserve your seat!

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A Business Revolution: Doing More With Less

“Compression Thinking” is a distillation of 30 years of research by Robert W. “Doc” Hall, who explains his approach to business in this video. This is a new era, where resources are becoming more scarce and the impact of larger human populations on the Earth requires mankind to rethink business practices, which up to now have been seen as gospel truths. However, proven solutions do exist for business problems, both old and new ones, and Doc Hall explores them here… through his concept of Compression Thinking.

The Simon Institute, ManageMen and the (OS1) Users are featured in the video above.

2013 Symposium Location Announced

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The Simon Institute is pleased to announce that the location has been set for the 2013 Simon Institute Symposium. The Symposium will take place in historic Dearborn, Michigan.  Dearborn is home to historic spots like the Henry Ford Museum and the nearby Rouge River Auto Plant. The Simon Institute felt that this would be the perfect site to pay homage to standardized processes and improving benchmarks. Representatives from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University have graciously agreed to assist the Simon Institute in hosting this event in their home state.

The Simon Institute Symposium will take place July 15-17, 2013. Registration is now open and can be completed by clicking here. Special rateds are available for lodging at The Dearborn Inn. Be sure to mention that you will be attending the Simon Institute Symposium to secure special rates. For more details about this event, please visit www.simoninstitute.org