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Most portable restroom companies get their bread and butter work from the construction market. It?s steady work that often provides long-term contracts. Construction projects include
? roadwork,
? government buildings,
? industrial development,
? commercial development,
? remodeling,
? and the new home market.
By far, the largest part of the construction sector is the new home market. While large construction projects are dominated by even larger construction firms, the small home market is more diverse. Contractors can be a one-person operation or a major national developer. The types of jobs a portable restroom company can find are also diverse. A small home roofing project may need a portable restroom for 2 days, while a major development can take years to finish and may require long-term contracts.
Because construction contractors are such a diverse group, you also need to use many different marketing techniques to reach them all including building permit research and Dodge Reportstm, direct sales, yellow pages, a web page, word-of-mouth marketing and advertising.
A good place to start by looking for upcoming construction projects described in Dodge Reportstm for their geographic area. Before any construction job starts the customer must gain local building permits, and many also publish a Dodge Reportstm to inform the local business community that they will be accepting bids for construction work to be done. Building permits and Dodge Reportstm provide vital information for the savvy portable restroom provider because they describe the size of a project, they list the names of contractors, architects, or individuals involved, and they provide the location where the construction will take place. This information can be used to bid on the portable restroom contract or to make sales calls.
Construction bids and Dodge Reportstm can be found online. Dodge Reportstm are the brand name of bid contracts published by the McGraw-Hill Corporation at www.construction.com. A fairly recent competitor that offers comparable information can be found at www.bidclerk.com. Both companies offer a subscription service to notify businesses of construction bids in their areas. There is a monthly fee to access either website. Call your local county courthouse to find out how to access recent building permits.
How to Win Construction Projects
To win a bid for a construction job most contractors are interested in three things:
1. Stability and Reliability?Customers want to know that your company is going to deliver on promises and be there to service equipment.
2. Competence and Quality?Customers want a clean, odorless, well-maintained restroom and/or sink that is serviced on time and never runs out of paper, soap, and/or water.
3. Value?customers want what they pay for and they don?t want to pay more than necessary.
Portable restroom companies that grow the fastest and win the most bids meet these criteria with flying colors. Those who undercut prices, supply substandard equipment, and perform less than excellent service rarely stay in business.
While most of PolyJohn?s customers use the PJIII for their construction site business because they are completely modular and easy to repair. Others find that the Fleet Series with its larger interior space, and attractive smooth exterior actually helps them sell more and charge more for their services. Some wisely make both styles available because customers like choices!
Sinks for Construction Workers
While offering sinks to construction clients is a relatively new business for most of our customers, it is really catching on fast! Everyone seems to like it and so it is obviously a service that can help our customers earn more.
In California two years ago, legislation passed as a public health and worker-safety measure that required sinks for people who work outdoors. Other states are considering the similar legislation. It only makes sense that people who work with their hands should have the opportunity to wash them after using a restroom, before lunch, or while working with hazardous materials. PolyJohn offers several options including sinks that attach inside our units and freestanding outdoor sinks like the new BRAVOtm. Sinks make so much sense that when you show them to your customers, they tend to sell themselves. The same argument that was originally used to sell portable toilets, that it will keep your workers healthier, happier and on the job longer, is also true for sinks.
Damage and Vandalism
The construction industry is notorious for tough working conditions. The work is outdoors and changes with the weather. One season is hot and dirty, the next is cold and muddy. People working in these conditions in hardhats and boots can make a mess of a portable restroom through no fault of their own. Then, once a restroom looks and smells substandard, it tends to bring out the worst in people. That?s when people kick doors, scratch graffiti into walls, and leave the mark of their anger and disgust in other ways.
Not surprisingly, many portable restroom operators find that newer, well-maintained units are treated better by workers than beat-up, smelly, older units. Supplying the best service and equipment not only helps the operator sell more, it also helps protect their investment.
When a unit is damaged in the field with graffiti or other forms of destruction it should be immediately removed from service and repaired or replaced. People tend to respond to graffiti with more graffiti and the restroom supplier will fight a losing battle if the vandalism isn?t stopped immediately.
Getting customers to pay for damage can be difficult, that is why many operators today use a damage waiver in their contract. Damage waivers add 5 to 10 percent to a bill in order to cover damage by workers, vandals, accidents or acts of nature. Some companies keep the fee as an insurance payment, others return it as a rebate to good customers who protect the equipment.
Choosing the Right Equipment for High-Rise Construction Sanitation
Cranes and Slings
Most standard units such as the PJIII? are used in high-rise construction by raising and lowering them with a lift kit or a PJIII Lifting Sling. When a Sling is used, it?s attached securely to the skid with cotter pins. These are inserted and removed in a matter of seconds. The drawback with moving units this way is that they must be moved by crane, individually, and this takes time. Time, of course, is money both for the contractor and the portable-restroom operator.
The PolyLifttm Solution:
PolyLifts by PolyJohn are most often moved, serviced and returned using the freight elevator. Because of their size?both narrower and shorter than standard units? the PolyLifttm can be taken out to service in groups. This saves both time and money. They can also be removed by crane, as well. The PolyLifttm features heavy-duty construction with a urinal on the outside of the unit and a normal toilet on the inside. They are easily moved around by way of 6-inch casters, which can be locked in place and released with a foot pedal. PolyJohn offers a separate roof that can be added to the PolyLifttm, if required for privacy.
Drivers should call ahead about one hour so that when they drive up the unit is ready to be serviced.
Having portable toilets in the right ratio of units per person saves the contractor money and hassles. The rule is one unit for every ten people. However, some contractors want to stretch that to one unit for every 20-30 people. When units are over-used or tied up with waiting lines, workers may waste working time by leaving the site. Or, worse create havoc within buildings, ruining materials, or soiling whatever lies below. No contractor, no matter how tight he is with his budget, wants to be responsible for such potential nightmares.
Most operators have seen an increased call for sinks and hand sanitation on construction projects. High-rise construction provides many opportunities for the portable sanitation provider willing to put up with the added risk and time of bringing the unit to the truck rather than the other way around. PolyJohn has created specialized products such as the PolyLifttm, PJIII Lifting Sling, and the Bravo Sink to make this service easier, quicker and more convenient.
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