Mold 2004 and Beyond
I recently had an opportunity to attend the new four-day IICRC approved Applied Microbial Remediation Technician  (AMRT) course. This was an intense hands-on workshop on how to properly identify, remove and dispose of mold and sewer contamination in residential and commercial buildings. The program I attended was instructed by Peter Sierck and Patrick Moffett. It was sponsored by the Carpet and FabriCare Institute (CFI), and held at the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) headquarters in Anaheim, CA. (more…)

Filed under: Floor Care by William Griffin
Originally Published: CBM February 2004

A Russian Connection
This month I’m in Russia conducting a Cleaning Business Operations Seminar for The Training & Resource Bureau, which is operated by RONOVA Cleaning Company in Moscow.

Fifty people attended the two-day seminar program, which included contractors, in-house custodial managers and building owners from Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as several regions of Russia (Siberia, Far East and the Urals) and other countries including Kazakhstan and Belorussia.

The program covered such subjects as Successful Business Strategies, Licenses and Legal Issues, Marketing and Selling Cleaning Services, Training and Motivation of Employees, Services that are in Demand, Bidding and Estimating, Conducting a Building Survey, Workloading and Submitting a Proposal, as well as other subjects. (more…)

Filed under: Training by William Griffin
Originally Published: CBM April 2004

The Impact of Mold on Human Health
I was headed to South Dakota to go fishing for a week and to spend some time with my parents. But when an opportunity arose to attend a two-day symposium on mold at the Harvard School of Public Health, I let the fish live and my parents wait a couple more days. I flew into Sioux Falls, So. Dakota had lunch with my parents and got back on a plane three hours later for Boston. It’s not every day you get a chance to attend a cutting edge symposium on mold at Harvard, so how could I say no.

As for symposium on June 7 & 8th, about 200 people were in attendance from around the world and a tremendous amount of information was presented. Nearly all the speakers had PhD’s and are involved in research related to wet environments, fungi and its impact on human health. Quite frankly, I didn’t hear anything earth shattering, although some new information was presented. What was most important is that what we have been saying and teaching over the last 10 or 15 years is now being validated by independent studies and scientific research. One theme that I heard repeated throughout the program is that there is more about mold and fungi and it’s impact on human health that we don’t know, than we do know. (more…)

Filed under: Carpet, Technology by William Griffin
Originally Published: CBM June 2004