Irrigation Included: Irrigation Services

An extended forecast predicts sunny prospects for companies that house irrigation departments.

Though the weather fluctuations that drive demand for irrigation work might be as temperamental as the variables involved in delivering consistent installation and repair, factors such as water conservation and increased construction continue to deliver more irrigation clients to landscape contractors, noted Bert Wood, director of irrigation and water management, The Morrell Group, a division of OMNI Facility Resources Group, Atlanta, Ga.

"When our customers have a need, we figure out a way to provide the service to meet that need," Wood explained. "Irrigation services have become more important as weather extremes have become more severe, water costs have increased, the value of our customers’ landscapes have increased and their properties have become more challenging to maintain."

These factors, coupled with pressure for landscape companies to function as a one-stop shop, motivates some contractors to adopt irrigation services. Start-up capital is relatively minimal and accounts can prove profitable for companies willing to invest time in training technicians, committing to a program and maintaining systems.

AN IN-HOUSE DRESSING. Contractors add irrigation to their menus in various portions – some integrate a complete medley of installation, maintenance, management and repair. Other companies pick and choose select irrigation services to deliver.

A contractor’s irrigation labor needs will obviously depend on the irrigation services it offers. Creating an in-house irrigation department with dedicated crews to service accounts requires trained technicians, while treating irrigation as a side dish allows companies to subcontract the work. While a dedicated crew is preferable in many ways, some companies new to irrigation often cannot invest immediately in specialized labor. "Once your company is a certain size, it does make sense to dedicate irrigation work," Wood noted.

Control, consistency and customer demand motivated Larry Brinkley, president, BLT Landscape Services, Dallas, Texas, to explore irrigation in 1982, though he began by subcontracting most irrigation work. Now, he services maintenance accounts with an in-house crew.

"Customers were asking for irrigation, so we were having to sell it and tell them it might be two weeks before we could do the project, and they didn’t want to wait that long," Brinkley said, explaining why BLT eventually trained one of its technicians to handle some of its irrigation services. "We wanted to have more control over certain plans as far as getting things done timely," he added.

Sheldon DuBrow, president, DuBrow’s Nurseries, Livingston, N.J. agreed that subcontracting irrigation work wasn’t necessarily the "fast way" to finish. "Subcontractors have their own customers and clients," he explained, which is problematic when service calls flood his company.

While adding irrigation services via in-house crews in small steps can be a manageable method, Steve Ziolkowski, principal, Environmental Landscape Management, Danvers, Mass., jumped into the work. When a customer asked if the company could provide the service, he answered, "Yes," and turned to a local supply house for an educational crash course. Staff attended seminars, boned up on irrigation basics and took their knowledge to the field without any subcontracting. Now, Environmental Landscape Management dedicates six of its 55 employees to irrigation work, he said.

"We’re able to sell irrigation by promoting that we provide irrigation services without subcontracting," Ziolkowski added. "Other contractors have to subcontract irrigation or tell their customers that they don’t want to deal with it. This is another way we are able to capitalize on being a one-source vendor."

"It’s hard to imagine a strong landscape maintenance organization not having an in-house irrigation service department," Wood concluded, noting that The Morrell Group’s irrigation department has grown from a two-person team performing basic services to a 20-person group and a $1.5-million dollar operation. "Our key selling point for irrigation services has been rapid response to emergencies and proactive planned service to limit the number of emergencies."

Wood also noted that in dire situations, customers do not price shop, so irrigation maintenance services can be a profitable addition to the business. The fact that irrigation is somewhat of a novelty service and more technically challenging can also contribute to higher profits, he said.

"In the extremely competitive commercial market, we are seeing the companies with these services in-house distance themselves from companies who offer solely lawn maintenance or irrigation," Wood commented. "There will always be a need for these smaller companies, but their customer base will be more limited."

FLOODING RESPONSE. Today’s customers want to write one check, Wood stressed. They want one exterior service provider and one contact – one phone call to access their needs. "This frees up our customers to focus on higher-payoff activities," he explained.Brinkley said his company’s commitment to irrigation work resulted in increased customer satisfaction. "From the standpoint of keeping our clients happy, our in-house services are already making a difference," he observed. "We’re able to respond more quickly and eliminate problems that might otherwise occur."

This rapid response is a clear advantage, especially since irrigation requests tripled during a recent heat wave, Brinkley noted. Currently, 10 percent of his business is irrigation, and he hopes to grow this figure to 20 percent in the future, he said. Between a booming Dallas construction market and heat-induced sprinkler repair needs, building a client base to meet this goal won’t be a problem, he projected.

Environmental concerns also spur irrigation opportunities as water conservation becomes a greater concern for many residents, added Ron DiPietro, president, Landscape East & West, Portland, Ore. Customers are upgrading their systems with more efficient systems, like drip irrigation, and turning manual sprinklers into automatic systems.

"Customers used to have the attitude that if they had a leak, they didn’t care about the water loss," DiPietro commented. "But we had a drought in 1992, and people have been more aware of water usage ever since."

While such droughts might bolster business, they can be brutal on employees. Wood said it is not uncommon for crews to work six or seven days a week for 10 or 12 hours every day during summer months. "The hotter and drier the conditions outside, the more popular our group becomes," he explained. "Conversely, no matter how dry the weather has been, many customers do not want to see our irrigation technicians evaluating a system after a rain for fear of wasting water unnecessarily."

WATER-READY WARE. Preparing for irrigation crunch times and launching an irrigation department both require proper equipment, supplies, employees and knowledge. Without this investment, services will not produce profits or break even, for that matter.

In addition to having people and patience, Wood recommended that companies entering the irrigation field outfit a vehicle designed to be an "irrigation store on wheels" to allow crews to service accounts efficiently without wasting time on return trips to refill inventory. Contractors who investigate their customers’ irrigation systems will learn which supplies to stock in advance, he suggested.

Tools such as shovels, rakes, tarps, tamps and brooms help technicians on repair missions, Wood added. Companies might also invest in electrical equipment like valve locators and actuators, pulsars, toner and volt/ohm meters to serve maintenance and repair needs. Machinery, like trenchers, can be rented in initial business stages and purchased later.

"The costs you need to weigh are the initial cost of setting up an inventory, which is a cost you will eventually be able to recoup, and the cost of driving around town to obtain parts and supplies as you need them – a cost you may not recoup," Wood explained.

Lack of trained technicians is the most common contractor gripe and a driving factor for companies that rely on subcontractors for irrigation needs. "The most critical need, the one that generally prevents most organizations from starting up a successful irrigation service group, is people," he stressed.

To maximize his options, Wood utilizes an inclusive approach when hiring employees for his irrigation staff. Often, training an existing employee is more successful than orientating a new technician with company policies and goals, he mentioned. "We can hire just about any individual and train them within our system, so my approach to hiring employees for this type of work is to never exclude anybody who doesn’t have experience."

Attributes such as technical capabilities, eagerness to learn, and a team-focused attitude are valuable qualities for irrigation technicians, Wood added.

Company owners who have irrigation experience might be able to jumpstart their irrigation departments without hiring skilled labor, Wood said. Hiring a trained, knowledgeable irrigation employee to create a foundation for the division is necessary for irrigation novices since the service requires technical expertise.

The need for technological expertise can create a learning gap among new technicians, DiPietro explained, adding that the mathematically minded tend to excel. "Irrigation is one of those things that either you get or you don’t," he noted. "Not a lot of people are mathematicians or can grasp the technical aspect, like calculating gallons, flow, pressure and understanding how systems work."

His company’s irrigation services comprise two departments – repair and installation, which is included in the construction division since 99 percent of new landscapes require irrigation installation. Repair is growing and requires more advanced skills and training, he pointed out. Irrigation services can also entail a little bit of guesswork.

"You are repairing something you can’t see – you have to go underground," DiPietro described, noting a challenge. "The guys call it a little bit of McGyver. You have to figure out how things are going without really knowing what you have."

A SPRINKLE OF ADVICE. Irrigation’s technical nature demands field experience – knowledge learned on the job. "When it comes to irrigation work, there are very few specific guidelines to accomplishing any particular task," Wood noted. "You have to allow technicians to use their own problem-solving talents."

When employees’ talents produce quality results, Wood emphasized the importance of recognizing them for their work. "Consistently praise technicians for a job well done, because they will rarely receive reward from anyone else," he recommended.

Adding irrigation to a company's service mix can be an opportunity for current employees to branch out and expand their knowledge. The answer to placing qualified technicians in the field might already be within company limits, Wood pointed out.

"A person with the talent and desire to perform this type of work is very difficult to find," he stated. "Many times, these people are within your own organization and provided with the opportunity, they will excel. Training a group of horticulturists to become irrigation technicians is a lot easier than training a group of irrigation technicians to be horticulturists."