UG2 Expands Business Development Organization in Support of National Growth
March 24, 2023 – BOSTON — UG2, a leading provider of comprehensive, integrated facility services, announced today it has expanded its business development team with key regional hires. Nancy Breitman, Kendra Horsfield, and Jason Jones join UG2 as Directors of Strategic Partnerships & Solutions. Together they will facilitate UG2’s growth by leading new business opportunities as well as developing relationships with existing clients.
Nancy Breitman, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Solutions, Southern California
Breitman started her professional path as an operations manager where she managed a 650,000 sq. ft. building and built relationships with 200 tenants. In 2013, she started her business development career at ABM Services where she had a successfully generated new business annually for her team. At Metro Services Group and Solid Surface Care, Inc, Nancy further developed her skills as a business development and client relations leader. Most recently she served as Director of Business Development and Marketing at Eco Green Industries, where she formulated sales and marketing initiatives to lead strategic plans. She will be based out of our Southern California office in Los Angeles.
Kendra Horsfield, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Solutions, Northern California
Following her college graduation from Northern Arizona University in 2018, Horsfield accepted a role as Business Development Manager at BluSky Restoration Contractors where she managed the Bay Area portfolio of multifamily, commercial, construction, and healthcare clients. Kendra is on the board of IREM San Francisco as well as Vice Chair of BOMA San Francisco’s Emerging Professionals Committee. She will be based out of our Northern California office in Sunnyvale.
Jason Jones, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Solutions, Midwest
Jones is an accomplished sales leader who began his career as a commissioning engineer and rose to a senior commissioning engineer. He managed new construction commissioning, energy audits, retro-commissioning, utility incentive projects, and HVAC equipment startups while training new engineers and obtaining project work. In 2017, Jason joined Aero Building Solutions as an Energy Solutions Manager where he led a team of engineers and was later promoted to Sales Manager where he implemented sales strategies to identify new markets. He will be based out of our Midwest office in Chicago.
About UG2
UG2 sets a new standard for excellence in comprehensive, integrated facility services. We deliver innovative solutions, pristine environments, and a passion for customer service from a team with more than 350 years of experience in the facilities maintenance industry. Our suite of solutions includes Janitorial Services, Operations & Maintenance, and Workplace Solutions for clients in Commercial, Corporate, Education, Healthcare, Life Science, Public Venue, Retail, and Industrial markets. We use advanced technologies to deliver efficient service, constantly refine our processes to ensure our team continues to lead and emphasize a culture of excellence throughout our organization. Founded in 2012, UG2 is based in Boston, MA with regional offices in Washington, DC, New York City, Los Angeles, Sunnyvale, West Palm Beach, and Chicago. UG2 has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing privately held organizations in the industry. For more information, please visit https://www.ug2.com and follow us @UG2IFS.
For the highest level of health and safety, rely on operations & maintenance to play a critical role.
Since COVID-19’s emergence, campuses have strongly emphasized deep cleaning and disinfection to keep staff, faculty, students, and their spaces safe, but janitorial measures are only part of the equation. The multi-level and multi-stage efforts needed to combat the risk of illness require collaboration among all sectors of integrated facility services.
Facility engineers play an extremely important role in protecting the health and wellness of everyone who enters a facility. To keep everyone safe, it is crucial that engineers develop and stick to an effective plan.
Listed below are just some of the operational initiatives you should include in your preparations, based on the UG2 ReNewSM Engineering4HealthSM program:
HVAC Prep and Maintenance: These days, high indoor air quality is essential. Air filtration and safety checks are key for keeping staff, faculty, and students healthy. HVAC work is about far more than firing up the equipment, it involves extensive engineering expertise for upgrades, training on-site staff, and testing systems to ensure there are no potential issues like mold and bacterial growth that could pose a serious health hazard.
Electrical Work: Electrical setup and maintenance are a big part of achieving operational efficiency, especially if more security controls are put in place. For example, a campus might have more access controls than in the past, to allow for greater distancing between students. A comprehensive engineering plan considers how changes in usage can affect overall efficiency and cost.
Installation of New Equipment: As part of a comprehensive engineering plan, replacing older equipment that’s less efficient or doesn’t provide higher levels of health benefits and safety may be necessary. Also, many campuses have turned to touch-free options such as entry doors in areas like restrooms or shared kitchen spaces to prioritize cleanliness.
Plumbing Readiness: Similar to HVAC, campus-wide plumbing should be thoroughly inspected by engineering. This is especially true after long breaks where water could become stagnant—a potential health hazard that could have detrimental effects.
How a building is maintained is crucial to the successful creation of a healthy campus environment. The UG2 ReNew Engineering4Health program offers best practices in addressing all aspects of a building’s operation, including systems like filtration, air stream disinfection, air exchange, plumbing traps, deep cleaning of cooling and heating systems, and maintenance of seasonal systems like air conditioning, among many others that maximize health and safety benefits, both now and into the future.
Expanding Your Knowledge
As you consider your campus’ short-term and long-term success, don’t hesitate to contact UG2 to discuss your campus’s specific needs. If you’re in higher education, now is the time to build capability and resources, and UG2’s extensive experience and insights have proven valuable to a range of educational customers.
Our UG2 ReNewSM Cleaning4Health and Engineering4HealthSM programs are designed to ensure you have what you need to function at the highest level while keeping safety your top priority.
Optimize efficiency and lower costs by combining services
Over the past three years, as colleges and universities confronted the realities—and lingering impact—of the COVID-19 pandemic, many found that even with well-established in-house facilities management teams, turning to an outside facility services provider made sense. Campuses with hybrid in-house/outsource programs or multiple outsourced providers also found operational synergies in consolidating service contracts under one partnership. The right partner could respond with agility and innovation to a constantly changing environment.
UG2 has been privileged to deepen our relationships with those institutions as they’ve turned to us for additional support, like buildings and grounds or mechanical services. As in other industries, our higher ed customers are seeing that the benefits of combining services into an integrated facility services or full facilities management program go well beyond the cost savings:
An agile team. With a bundled approach, employees across multiple service areas get to know your needs, practices, and preferences. They can share information, respond immediately to issues flagged by another service line, and often are cross-trained to step in and support one another in a pinch.
Leading-edge tools, technology, and innovation. Collaborative problem-solving across teams drives innovative thinking and improves decision-making. Your management team has a big-picture view of your needs and challenges, and can cooperate on ideas, strategies, and solutions.
A bigger ROI. Working with a single, established partner for multiple services often allows you to make your budget go further. Streamlined operations can bring cost savings through labor efficiencies and a stronger self-performance model, and avoid waste and duplication of services.
A package tailored to your needs. Maybe you want to add mailroom services to your janitorial contract, or perhaps you are finding you have gaps in document management, event support, or stadium services. With a full spectrum of offerings available to choose from, you can work with our expert solutions team to identify priorities and map out the ideal combination of services.
Streamlined relationships and communication. With bundled services, you won’t waste time communicating the same messages to multiple vendors. UG2’s communication strategies mean that everyone is on the same page, always.
Consistent service delivery and superior customer care. With UG2’s team always working to set the new standard of facility services, our customers can count on employees who go above and beyond expectations. A single partner integrates into the fabric of your campus and becomes an extension of your leadership and mission.
Motivated, invested team members with a stellar record of retention. We take great pride in the talent of our employees. They bring a tremendous level of commitment to every customer. When a customer works with multiple service lines, that investment is magnified as our team gets to deepen their understanding of your goals, challenges, and priorities—inside and out. We become an integral part of your campus community.
Maximize efficiencies, overall experience, sustainability, performance and much more
Samar Kawar serves as UG2’s Senior Vice President of Information Technology. In Facility Executive’s recent article, she highlights the numerous benefits Facility Managers can reap by utilizing The Internet of Things (IoT).
In “The Cost of NOT Investing In IoT”, Samar explains that too few facilities are using IoT to its fullest potential. With the data, insights, and automation it offers, it should be the obvious choice. But, in many cases, managers are intimidated by the concept of rapidly changing technology and the cost of implementing it. But, in reality, NOT investing in IoT can create much more damage than any potential costs or risks.
START WITH THE STRATEGY
IoT can be used in many different ways, so it’s important to establish which areas are most aligned with your facility’s goals. Samar breaks down some common IoT uses:
1. OCCUPANT EXPERIENCE: COMFORT AND SAFETY
It’s not surprising that Covid-19 has affected how comfortable occupants feel about returning to office spaces on a regular basis. One study showed 87% of employees don’t want to return to their workplace full-time. Samar highlights that facility management must do everything possible to make spaces more inviting to occupants.
With fewer people occupying facilities, technologies like sensors and QR codes can help minimize the possibility of risks. Samar provides some examples:
- Automatically alerting janitorial staff about restocking needs
- Triggering heating and cooling systems
- Controlling lighting based on occupancy
- Detecting air quality levels
- Submitting service request tickets via cellphones
- Requiring QR codes to access specific areas
2. ENERGY SAVINGS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Not only does 35% of electricity used in the U.S. go towards commercial buildings, but roughly 30% of the energy buildings use goes to waste. Samar explains that IoT can help eliminate waste and costs.
- Smart thermostats can control temperature and lighting based on occupancy and trends.
- Internet-connected window shades can be triggered by light levels to open or close.
- Sensors can help regulate indoor climate control in order to lessen power consumption.
Reducing emissions both helps the planet and marketability since many tenants consider sustainability to be an extremely important factor when leasing space.
3. WORKFORCE ALLOCATION AND PERFORMANCE
The daily occupancy of a facility can be unpredictable. Because of this, facility managers need to be able to make efficient decisions about workforce allocation. In today’s world, workforce shortages are prevalent, so making the best use of talent is key.
Samar tells us that IoT allows facilities to adjust to real-time needs and enhance performance. An example of this is sensing the occupancy of areas to ensure janitors are not over or under-cleaning. Also, when equipment is connected to the internet, it can be monitored remotely so engineers can report to more urgent needs.
When in-person attention is required, janitors and engineers can use Near Field Communications (NFC) tags that time/date stamp and log their location into a system so managers can track it. NFC tags can also track employee movement to measure productivity.
4. PROLONGING EQUIPMENT LIFE
Samar explains that preventative maintenance is fundamental to minimize costs and keep equipment healthy for as long as possible. IoT helps monitor equipment, analyze trends, predict when components need replacing, and send alerts to technicians.
Partner With an Innovative Facility Services Provider
With more extensive use of IoT comes a larger set of data which poses the risk of information overload. AI tools can sort through data to locate relevant points and generate suggestions. Data analysts or facility service partners can also assist in managing the data.
All in all, Samar reiterates that the smartest choice for facility management is to invest in IoT in order to lower costs, increase efficiency, and attract/retain tenants. Finding the right service partner with IoT knowledge and experience is the first step in creating a successful plan for your facility.
For more information about how technology plays a crucial role in facility management, read the full article at Facility Executive, or get in touch with TeamUG2.
Resources
rs.ivanti.com/reports/ivi-2663-everywhere-workplace-report-2022.pdf
www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/about-commercial-buildings-integration-program
At UG2, when it comes to the core values guiding our work, we walk the walk. But don’t take my word for it. Here is a sampling of notes sent by customers expressing gratitude for the hard work and consideration our employees put into their work—and by our employees themselves sharing their appreciation for the opportunities they encounter as members of the UG2 family.
SAFETY
You seem to always send the best-of-the-best, and your staff’s attention to our protocols, proactive approach to maintenance, and utmost respect for safety above all else has made our work easier every day.
–MISSION CRITICAL CUSTOMER
INTEGRITY AND RESPECT
I am grateful for the opportunities I have found at UG2 and especially for the ways you have encouraged me to pursue my interests and my education. Thank you for being a mentor and for always modeling the kind of treatment we all wish for from our supervisors.
–OPERATIONS MANAGER
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Seeing you all come together and problem-solve gives a new meaning to the word “team.” You each bring something unique and important to your work with us and I am grateful not only for your professionalism but also for your commitment to each other. You truly lift each other up!
–SHIFT SUPERVISOR
METHODICAL AND DISCIPLINED BUSINESS APPROACH
Thank you so much for all you did to make our event a true success! People have been raving about it and that is in large part because you and your team paid attention to every detail. Our space has never looked so great!
–COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER
EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT AND TEAM ORIENTED
You’ve been a truly great coworker and someone I could lean on when things got challenging. I’ll miss you in your new role but I know you earned it and will bring your team the same mentoring, guidance and especially humor we all came to love.
–AREA MANAGER
ABILITY TO SOLVE PROBLEMS BY THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX
As you might have heard, we had a minor emergency yesterday when we double-booked a room we were counting on to administer an exam. It was Team UG2 to the rescue as your people noted another space that would work just as well on a quieter part of campus and quickly got it outfitted with the right tables and chairs—and even directed late arriving students to the right place. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
–HIGHER EDUCATION CUSTOMER
WILLING TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND TO CREATE LASTING IMPRESSIONS ON CUSTOMERS
Holding our first in-person event in several years was incredibly stressful, and we are so thankful to have had you on our team. You truly went above and beyond, handling issues before I even knew about them. Words can’t convey my appreciation. Happy holidays to you and yours!
–PUBLIC VENUE CUSTOMER
ACT AS AN EXTENSION OF OUR CUSTOMER’S LEADERSHIP TEAM.
Thank you for handling the unexpected issues with the plumbing that came up during your shift yesterday. Knowing I could not get there quickly, it meant a lot that you were on top of it. You got the right people there right away and kept me in the loop. It helps to know you are there to step in and step up when it really matters.
–CORPORATE CUSTOMER
CITIZEN OF OUR CUSTOMERS INDUSTRY AND OUR INDUSTRY
I’m writing to share how impressive and knowledgeable the UG2 employees have been in helping to get our athletic fields and facilities back up and running after a challenging period. With not a lot of time for onboarding your team, we expected to be working overtime, shouldering a lot more of the work ourselves. Instead, we found ourselves ready ahead of schedule, with every task checked off including numerous issues we hadn’t yet identified ourselves.
Bringing on UG2 has made all the difference to our own staff and especially to our student athletes and coaches who benefit every day from your team’s expertise. You have helped us ensure our facility and resources are the best we can possibly offer.
–HIGHER EDUCATION CUSTOMER
UG2 Selected for Its Innovative Solutions and 5-Star Level of Excellence
PRESS RELEASE
October 18, 2022 – BOSTON, MA – UG2 today announced that it has been awarded the contract to provide janitorial services at Gillette Stadium, home of the six-time world champion New England Patriots and New England Revolution. The leader in integrated facility services was awarded the engagement based on its innovative solutions and proven ability to deliver a pristine environment with a 5-star level of customer service.
“Everything UG2 delivers, from our unique approach to our carefully curated solutions, is focused on ensuring exemplary facility services in a “post pandemic” world. We’re thrilled and extremely proud to partner with Gillette Stadium to deliver the superior janitorial services their world- class destination venue deserves,” said Louis J. Lanzillo, Jr., Chief Operating Officer of UG2.
“We want everyone who visits Gillette Stadium to have an amazing and memorable experience. Janitorial services are key to making this happen,” said Jason Stone, Vice President of Site Operations, Kraft Sports + Entertainment. “UG2’s commitment to excellence was apparent from the start. Their fresh approach with employee and customer focus, innovative equipment and solutions, and hands-on management style set them apart. Already, they’ve clearly elevated the level of janitorial services at Gillette Stadium, with facilities that are noticeably clean and pristine.”
UG2’s engagement with Gillette Stadium began April 1, 2022. UG2 also provides janitorial services for Patriot’s Place, an open-air shopping center adjacent to Gillette Stadium.
About UG2
UG2 sets a new standard for excellence in comprehensive, integrated facility services. We deliver innovative solutions, pristine environments, and a passion for customer service from a team with more than 350 years of experience in the facilities maintenance industry. Our suite of solutions includes Janitorial Services, Operations & Maintenance, and Workplace Solutions for clients in Commercial, Corporate, Education, Healthcare, Life Science, Public Venue, Retail, and Industrial markets. We use advanced technologies to deliver efficient service, constantly refine our processes to ensure our team continues to lead and emphasize a culture of excellence throughout our organization. Founded in 2012, UG2 is headquartered in Boston, MA with regional offices in Washington, DC, New York City, Los Angeles, Sunnyvale, West Palm Beach, and Chicago. UG2 has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing privately held organizations in the industry. For more information, please visit www.ug2.com and follow us @UG2IFS.