Erik Wicander
Anonymous
Forum Replies Created
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In reply to: Retractable Basketball Hoops
I would use M.W. Billings for this.
860-928-0327
They do my annual equipment inspections and the big athletic vendors like Porter use them as a sub for installs.
Erik Wicander
Southwick RSD
In reply to: Gym Floor Sanding Contractor
Bob Watts did ours two years ago. Made a 50 year old maple floor look like brand new with a sanding and new paint. He also taught me and my guys a better way to maintain it so much so that I didn’t even re coat it last summer. His team was just here to give it its first recoat since we sanded.
Gymnasium Floors Inc. 781-961-3311
In reply to: Small pipe insulation vendors
I don’t know if she will go out to Millbury but Jen is the owner of Conservation Specialists Inc. and you can reach her at 413-222-7266. She and her team have done a few smaller insulating jobs for me and she’s great. Millbury might be a bit far from Springfield but its worth a phone call.
Erik Wicander
Southwick RSD ewicander@stgrsd.org
In reply to: EPA identification number
In reply to: Quitting Custodians?
All the same here. I’ve had record numbers of people who will schedule an interview and not even turn up for that, which is new for me. I had one last week who interviewed well, but did not return two calls when I tried to offer the job.
I’m glad I’m not the only one losing people after hire. I was taking that personally. In the past 12 months I’ve had two people quit after a week or less.
And forget about substitutes. That’s impossible.
I just offered one of my positions to a candidate this morning. Wish me luck!
Erik Wicander
Southwick Tolland Granville RSD
In reply to: Gym Divider Curtain Replacement
I just did this recently at our HS. I wanted a specific curtain made by Porter and we love it.(although anything would be better than the death trap panels we had before.) I worked with the Robert H Lord Co out of Manchester NH. They are on Sourcewell.
Here’s my contact with them:
Mike Ward 603-341-6967 mikeward@RHLCO.com
Good luck!
Erik Wicander, Southwick RSD ewicander@stgrsd.org
In reply to: Automatic Sprinkler Fire Testing
In reply to: Floor scrubbers
I have 2 Windsor 26 inch chariot stand on units at our HS/MS building. Parts are easy for me to get from Allston supply and they have been very responsive with service. We have had them for 6 years and only recently changed batteries. These units do well at our HS/MS building due to the open spaces.
At our pk-2 and 3-6 buildings I went with smaller 20 inch Tennant T350 stand on units because of tighter clearances. They have been pretty good for the last three years. Thing I like about the Tennant units is the automatic battery water fill systems they had as an option. There is a reservoir that keeps the battery electrolyte topped off and will not allow the unit to operate if the reservoir has been empty for more than a set number of hours of operation. I think many manufacturers offer that feature now so keep an eye out.
No complaints at all on the Windsor units, they have been good to us.
Erik Wicander
Southwick Tolland Granville RSD
In reply to: Air conditioning in schools
In reply to: Air conditioning in schools
In reply to: School’s Cancelled for the Year – Now What?
My biggest hurdle right now is the flood of requests I am anticipating for access to classrooms. I first need a plan to safely get the teachers in and out to pack their classrooms. Then the question becomes, do we re-sanitize the whole building or just close each building up for a determined period of time after that process. I’m thinking about granting access based on classroom location with designated entrances to keep people away from each other. Each teacher would get a time slot and a designated door to use. Do one building per week and then let the building stay empty for 7 days other than a maintenance walk through. The other option would be to disinfect the whole building again after the teachers have finished packing.
After that is sorted out I don’t see why we couldn’t have our standard crew of custodians start the summer program. These are big buildings, I could keep guys separated by 100’s of feet except for moving large furniture. That would require PPE, which I don’t have.
I started my grounds crew cutting grass this week based on a pest control angle, if we allow tall grass/weeds near buildings I think it invites insects and rodents and our IPM plans call for mechanical solutions over chemical wherever possible right? That’s my defense strategy.
Does anyone plan on hiring any temps for the summer work?
Erik Wicander
Southwick RSD
In reply to: New Clocks
We have Primex GPS clocks in all three buildings. They work well, only maintenance is batteries and around the time change you will find the ones that are just a little too far from the transmitter to be a little annoying as you will have to take them off the walls and physically move them closer.
If you do end up going with these clocks I suggest you pay close attention to the range specs and select an appropriate spot for the transmitter receiver box.
The batteries aren’t so bad, I probably change 30% of them per year and I get them from a bid list for peanuts.
any questions, email me
Erik Wicander
Southwick RSD
In reply to: Whistling Boiler
I have a boiler that produced a resonant noise that was solved by fine adjustment to the gas air mixture. It’s a delicate balancing act sometimes to get right, adjustments have to be made between high and low fire and any changes will affect the CO produced as well as stack temp and efficiency. definitely for a heating contractor to try. It was a real pain to find a sweet spot where the numbers were right and the noise was gone in both high and low fire. It can be incredibly loud.
Good luck
Erik Wicander
Southwick RSD
In reply to: Custodial OT Pay
