Things To Consider

Things to Consider

There are a significant number of things to consider when choosing a property maintenance company. In some cases, these considerations carry potential liability to a client. A potential client should give credence to the items listed below, in addition to conducting their own background research to identify what level of service they are looking for.

Industry Wide

  • Look into the history of the company; read any online reviews, testimonials, and blog posts by others; and ask for references.
    • Be skeptical if the company appears to receive an inordinate amount of positive reviews in a very short time frame.
  • They should have both WCB and Liability Insurance. It is strongly advised that you ask them to provide a valid copy of each of these documents.
    • In today’s reality of lawsuits the liability document should reveal at least 5 million in coverage.
  • Do not provide any sort of prepayment to a contractor unless they have a valid “Alberta Prepayment Contractors License”. In order to obtain such a license they must be a bonded company. 
  • It should be identified by the client that the company being contracted has a substantial safety program. This should include at least the following:
    • All staff should be WHIMIS trained and all relevant MSDS should be available at all times to employees.
    • Within our industry the work is mostly labeled as medium-risk work and therefore every crew must have someone trained in Emergency First-aid. In some cases Standard First-aid training may be required. See: https://www.sja.ca/English/Safety-Tips-and-Resources/Pages/Alberta-OHS-Regulations.aspx
    • Daily Hazard Assessments should be completed by all members of the crews and these assessments should be on-site for potential review.
    • First Aid Kits, Eye Wash, Fire Extinguishers should be routinely checked and available to the crews on site.
    • Documented maintenance and repairs to equipment.
    • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be used by all workers relative to the task they will be performing (i.e. Steel Toed Footwear, Eye Protection, Hearing Protection, Etc.)
  • Although not required, it is a good idea to look into whether the property maintenance company you are planning to hire belongs to one or all of the following organizations:
    • Landscape Alberta Nursery Trades Association
    • Landscape Certified
    • Chamber of Commerce
    • Canadian Nursery Landscape Association
    • Better Business Bureau
  • Companies planning to subcontract portions of the work must have a valid “Subcontractor Agreement” in place which includes ensuring that the subcontractor has valid WCB and Liability Insurance.
  • Hidden costs incurred by professional yard maintenance companies that wish to generate a responsible reputation by adhering to laws and regulations may include the following:
    • Association Memberships
    • WCB Insurance 
    • Liability Insurance 
    • Prepaid Contractors License
    • Pesticide Applicator Certification
    • Commercial Vehicle Registration and Insurance
    • CRA registered (Company taxation including GST)
    • Properly educated and accredited workers where necessary
    • Safety trained employees to work safe and adhere to safety regulations
    • Safety & response equipment
    • Properly licensed and/or permitted to operate within certain communities
    • Properly maintained equipment
    • Yard waste dumping fees
  • Companies should adhere to local bylaws. A specific example is the Commercial Signage Bylaw in Strathcona County, which prohibits signage to be posted on public property without authorization from the county. The purpose of this bylaw is to improve the aesthetic appeal and cleanliness of the county – a goal that any company and/or member of the community should desire to comply with.   
  • Companies and prospective clients alike should be cautious with entering into year-round or long term contracts until both parties have worked with each other for an extended period of time. In order to have the opportunity to analyze client expectations with service delivery satisfaction, it is significantly beneficial to both parties to “test the waters” before making a potential long term decision.

Landscaping

  • There are a growing number of companies and/or individuals that offer landscape construction to property owners. A significant number of these companies are start-up companies that do not carry the appropriate WCB or liability insurance. They can provide services for a low rate primarily because they do not follow the same regulations and safety protocols that more established companies choose to, and in many cases must, follow.
  • It is very important to complete a written contract with the landscape provider. By having a signed contract it protects the interests of both the homeowner and contractor. The contract should clearly outline the work to be done and the terms of payments. It is important to remember that unless the company has applied for an Alberta “prepaid contractor’s license” they are not allowed to accept full or partial payment in advance of doing the work.
  • No landscape work that requires any amount of digging should ever be started without a valid “Alberta One Call Ticket” in the landscaping company’s name. These “Tickets” are only valid within 30 days of being issued. This applies to both hand digging and digging with machinery:
    • Tree Planting, Bases for block patios/walls, Removal of soil/sod/groundcover, Re-bar installation, Fence post holes, Etc.
    • Minor ground disturbance on any area of a property (Even as small as planting a shrub).
  • Realistic quoted timelines for work to be completed should be considered due to the inherent issues that surround the industry such as staff, workload and most importantly weather. 
  • Equipment properly maintained and following regulations. Trucks and trailers should be certified yearly with proper commercial weight registrations and insurance.

Lawn Maintenance

  • During the spring season, numerous companies and/or individuals establish themselves in providing spring clean-up service to property owners. A significant number of these companies do not carry the appropriate WCB or liability insurance. Often these companies are not registered, nor pay GST. They can provide services for a low rate primarily because they do not follow the same regulations and safety protocols that more established companies choose to, and in many cases must, follow.
  • Equipment should be maintained in proper order. Mechanics should service lawn equipment on a regular basis by inspecting and cleaning the equipment, completing oil changes, and ensuring the blades are kept sharp. Poorly maintained equipment and dull cutting blades can affect the health of the grass being maintained, as well as create safety concerns for the operators. Proper records should be kept to adhere to Alberta Safety Regulations.
  • Clearly understand the methods of maintenance being used. An example is to make sure that clients understand whether standard push mowers, stand behind ride-on mowers or seated ride-on mowers are going to be used. Standard walk behind residential mowers provide the highest quality looking cut and are the least likely to cause turf damage “wheel rutting”.
  • During summer months there should be a routine day of the week to which the turf areas are going to be cut. This may alter due to weather but should still be fairly standard. This also gives clients piece of mind to know when contractors will be entering their properties.

Lawn Fertilization and Weed Control

  • Fertilization and weed control should be completed by a licensed operative. In order for a company/individual to apply liquid “weed and feed” the company must have their Pesticide Applicator Certification. This certification is required when the use of herbicides and/or pesticides occurs in a service for hire. In order for a company to attain such certification, they must employ an individual with a pesticide applicator license. 
  • Granular “weed and feed” is no longer permitted for sale or use in Alberta.

Snow Removal

  • It is especially important to ensure that the company hired for snow removal holds WCB and Liability Insurance, due to the risks associated with slipping or shoveling-related injuries when a company or its employees are at a property. Property owners do not want to leave themselves exposed to claims against them personally or against their homeowner insurance.
  • Companies offering a “per time” residential snow removal service should be chosen carefully, as they are often not reliable during years where there is limited or no snow for long stretches of time. The issue is they would likely not survive as a business if there is little snow. Each company or individual would have monthly business and personal costs; therefore, customers should strongly consider a company that charges on a per month basis to ensure reliability and a fixed rate.
  • It is risky to pre-pay a company for snow removal services unless they have a pre-pay license, as there is very little recourse if there is a service complaint or the company goes out of business during the snow removal season.
  • During snow removal months it should be clearly defined with the contractor that due to the noise bylaw of Strathcona County work should not be completed on site before 10am on Sundays and Statutory Holidays. 

Companies offering services for significantly lower rates should be looked at skeptically, particularly around the issue of reliability and speed of service. The lower the rate charged, the more clients a company would have to service to generate income to offset “hard costs.” Since there is only a certain amount of time to remove a snowfall, a company with a limited client list can greatly improve reliability. Snow removal client quantities should be based on the ability to remove snow within a timely manner of large/heavy snowfalls and not based on small quantities of snow. EHS only accepts a particular number of clients each snow removal season, based upon the anticipated number of employees. A waiting list is generated each year.

Bed Maintenance

Bed maintenance should be conducted and/or supervised by a professional. This type of person would be someone with specific training (i.e. Landscape Gardener Certification, Horticulturalist, etc.), ideally combined with several years of experience. Hiring a company with a well-educated and experienced staff member to conduct bed maintenance is beneficial for several reasons. This individual would be able to ensure the health of the flower bed by being able to properly identify both desirable and undesirable plants/insects/diseases, as well as by being well-versed in maintenance procedures. Additionally, this professional would be able to offer advice and suggestions that would optimize the yard potential.

Tree Care

There are several items to keep in mind when considering tree and shrub pruning. One of the main items is the purpose of the tree care project – is it being conducted for health, maintenance, or artistic reasons? Although the scope of work will vary depending on the purpose of the project and plant specimen itself, potential clients should consider hiring a trained arborist or horticulturalist in order to decrease the chance of harming the specimen being pruned or causing property damage.