IKECA SCRATCH PAD, SPRING 1998

The Scratch Pad / Spring, 1998

Quarterly Publication of International Kitchen Cleaning Association

President 's Message

Fred Kahn, CECS
Guardian Power Cleaning of Dallas, Inc.

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since our Annual Meeting in Florida. The year has been filled with ups and downs, but for IKECA the news has been positive.

We recently sent you notice regarding the favorable decision of the NFPA 96 Committee in accepting the positive code changes proposed by those within the kitchen exhaust industry. It was not easy to convince the members of the committee to approve these changes, but some persuasive arguments from IKECA's representatives helped to show the logic behind the revisions under committee consideration. The IKECA representatives who attended the important committee meetings-Larry Caraway, Rod Getz, Roy Leonard, and Fred and Tom Hard -deserve a hero's welcome at our convention in New Orleans next month. Larry will give a talk at the convention where he will go over all of the changes, and how they will affect our industry.

Throughout my presidency, I have emphasized the need for quality in everything we do. The NFPA revisions will help to enforce quality workmanship. Restaurateurs and fire prevention officials now have a new benchmark to judge our work. While this adds pressure to our membership to ensure their quality levels remain high and consistent, it also requires our competitors to do the same. If we all monitor our quality and make constant efforts to improve our services, success is almost guaranteed.

Next month at the Annual Meeting in New Orleans, we will be talking about the NFPA 96 Standard, quality, and related subjects like marketing. I look forward to holding these discussions with you, and I hope you will come prepared with some ideas on how we can capitalize on our industry's accomplishments in the past year.

Executive Director's Report
Glenn Fellman

Next month's IKECA Annual Meeting in New Orleans is shaping up to be one of our best conventions ever. The Convention Chairman, Tim Greene, has been hard at work developing a program that addresses a wide range of pertinent topics. Assistance from Past President Jim Curry has also been important in rounding out a program that includes both technical and business subjects. Sufficient time has been set aside to enjoy the culture and night-life unique to New Orleans. Included in this month's Scratch Pad is the complete meeting program and an article describing the event in more detail.

The Annual Meeting serves as our association business meeting for the year. Two topics will most likely be the focus of our General Membership Meeting in New Orleans. The first is NFPA Standard 96 and the revisions that have now been approved by the '96 committee. The kitchen exhaust cleaning industry is finally going to see most of the changes that we have lobbied for for so long. These changes protect the public and improve restaurant fire safety. This is also positive for the cleaning industry, in that they should result in more frequent inspection (and cleaning) schedules, plus the enforcement of contractor qualifications that will allow members to bid "apples to apples" with their competitors.

A second major subject for discussion in New Orleans will be marketing. Late last year the Marketing Committee met for a day in Chicago. We outlined a program for 1998 that is designed to educate several different industries about professional kitchen exhaust cleaning, NFPA standards, certification, and related issues. Interesting articles describing these subjects are being prepared for publications in the insurance, fire prevention, and restaurant industries. This year we are also trying to develop a "generic" slide presentation that our members can use when meeting with their local insurance and fire prevention officials. The idea is to train members to use marketing tools so that the entire association can go out and push a consistent message: frequently inspect and clean kitchen ventilation systems following industry standards, and using a certified IKECA member firm.

More than 50 percent of our membership is certified, but the rest of the members must follow suit. A deadline of January 1, 2000, was established at the last Board meeting for all members to get certified. Don't wait-send a representative to this year's convention to take the test. This will prepare your company to take full advantage of the marketing program when it kicks in.

In conclusion, as this is the last issue of the Scratch Pad before the Annual Meeting, I would like to thank some members for their hard work and assistance the past year. Nelson Dilg has been instrumental in ensuring that this newsletter is published on time and with a high level of quality. We now have a full year of successful publishing within the schedule, and we look forward to more great issues in 1998. Fred Kahn, IKECA President, has put in a tremendous amount of personal time and resources this year, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude. Rod Getz, our Marketing Committee Chairman, deserves credit for pulling the committee together and coordinating what promises to be an exciting program this year.

With the Annual Meeting rapidly approaching, feel free to call IKECA Headquarters for assistance in making your arrangements to attend the convention in New Orleans.

IKECA Returns to New Orleans for Annual Meeting
Kimberly Gorn, Executive Secretary

The IKECA Annual Meeting and Exposition will be held at the New Orleans Doubletree Hotel on March 25-28, 1998. The central location of the hotel will provide an ideal setting for members to network, exchange ideas and opinions, and relax after a long, harsh winter.

The meeting program will include a number of very informative business subjects including insurance related topics, staff and personnel matters, taxes, and management issues. Speakers, recruited from our own membership, the City of New Orleans, ADP Insurance, and SCORE, will prove to be highly energetic, motivated, and knowledgeable.

To kick off the seminar we have invited Mr. J. Mark Jee, Chief of Fire Prevention in the City of New Orleans. He will speak on the fire codes in the city. Other technical speakers will address Water Pollution Enforcement, OSHA Regulations, and NFPA 96. These sessions are designed to help members tackle the challenges associated with exhaust hood cleaning projects, with an emphasis on safety and current regulations.

This year we have included panel discussions as well as speaker presentations. Panel discussions involve several industry members (some with opposing viewpoints) discussing technical topics of concern. The purpose is to give attendees a broad perspective of the topics at hand. The first of the panel discussions, Water Wash Systems: How They Work, will be led by John Gaylord, Gaylord Industries with the assistance of Barney Besal, Ducting Entry Systems, Inc., and Tim Greene, Airways Cleaning & Fire Prevention. The second panel discussion will be led by James Curry, G & K Services, on The Methods of Cleaning.

We have also included a number of business oriented seminars including Business Insurance and Computer Software. Both seminars have been designed with the small business owner in mind.

The fifth administration of the IKECA Certification Exam will take place March 25, 1998. Anyone interested in taking the examination should contact IKECA Headquarters for a candidate's guide and further information.

After you've filled your brain with lots of industry tips and new developments, taste the Hurricane where it was first created while dining on New Orleans' cuisine. IKECA has planned a night on the town at Pat O'Brien's for Thursday, March 26. There is an additional fee of $50.00 per person which includes a hearty canjun-style dinner, open bar, and transportation.

Walk on the same field as professional football greats as you tour the Superdome-one of the most spectacularly designed indoor football arenas. IKECA will hold a special tour on Friday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets for this event are $16.00 per person.

Last year IKECA welcomed more than 60 participants to its annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. New Orleans is expected to draw an even greater crowd. The meeting program is better than ever, our speakers are experts in their fields, and we look forward to welcoming a number of exhibitors.

A Time-Saver Checklist for Every Job
James Curry, CECS - G & K Service Company

How many of us have unlocked our office doors, ready to start the day and the phone rings. The customer says, "your service men were here last night and our fans aren't working."

You ask your customer, "Have you turned the switch on yet?" "Yes," the customer replies. Then you ask the customer, "Have you checked the breaker box?" "No!" the customer replies. Then the customer goes on to say that he or she does not know anything about the breaker box. You ask the customer, "Is there anyone in the restaurant that is familiar with the building?" "No," the customer replies. "I am the only one here." Now you have no choice but to tell the customer you will send a service person out to the restaurant. The customer's final question: "How soon will the serviceman get here? I have to start cooking right away!"

As you hang up the phone, you are wondering who you will send and is it something simple or will I need an electrician. Before the problem is resolved, you have spent the morning dealing with it and haven't created any revenues.

The only answer for the commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning company is to prevent the problem from happening in the first place.

Here is a simple check list for the personnel to help them take care of the customer's fan(s) and be sure they are in working condition.

Always test the fans before beginning any work.
Locate the breakers for the fans and turn them off. This may also be the only place you can tag and lockout.
Never tip a fan completely upside down. Liquids will run inside the motor housing. Use a bucket or other support to hold the fan at a 45 degree angle.
Be extremely careful washing the topside of a drum fan between the fan and motor housing bottom plate. Direct drive fans have a motor air cooling holes located here. When pressure washing, the risk is even greater that water will infiltrate the motor housing.
If you have an inexperienced crew, require that they wrap the motor and switches with plastic.
If the fan has some type of roof protection assembly, be sure to protect it with plastic. Care should also be taken to prevent any damage to the entire roof protection assembly.
Be sure to safeguard all screws, nuts, bolts, washers, etc. When finished, replace all parts and hardware.
Remove tag and lock. (Lockout/tagout)
Turn fan on before leaving the restaurant to make sure it is operating properly.
If the fan does not operate properly, make the necessary adjustments.
If the fan cannot be made to run, be sure the office is made aware of the problem.

I am sure that everyone in the membership has experienced problems with fans. The laundry list suggested is by no means complete and I'm sure many of you could add more safeguards.

The customer never seems to forget when the fan doesn't work. I have found, however, that by training your service personnel in the use of a fan check list these complaints will be significantly reduced.

International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association, 12339 Carroll Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852
Phone: (301) 230-0099 � FAX: (301) 231-4871 � E-mail: info@ikeca.org