A steering committee that was established in December to define the structure for a proposed Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) will hold its first meeting in Chicago, March 1-2.

The committee - originally initiated by Castle Rock Industries, Inc., Cleaning Management Institute, and Concepts IV - now has 33 members representing manufacturers, building service contractors, trade associations, industry consultants, educational institutions and the trade press.

Since the Steering Committee was first announced in December, a number of new industry leaders have joined group, including: Lois Davis, Global Business Manager, Novozymes Biologicals, Inc.; Darrell Hicks, President Elect, International Executive Housekeepers Assoc.; Mike Johannsen, VP & General Manager, Ecolab; Thomas Jones, Associate Professor, University of Nevada at Las Vegas; Marvin Klein, President, PortionPac Chemical Corporation; Paul Mattia, VP Strategic Technology, Ecolab; Carey Mitchell, Director of Technical Services, Shaw Industries; Craig Monsell, JanSan Product Manager, P&G Pro Line.

The goal of the Chicago meeting is to lay the foundation for a research institute that will support all areas of the building maintenance industry by assembling information, facilitating research and initiating scientific inquiry on the cleaning function and cleanliness.

Steve Ashkin, president of the Ashkin Group noted that one of the challenges for the Steering Committee would be identifying the ‘value' that future CIRI participants will receive for their time and money.

"Resources are limited and the opportunities and requests for funding seem endless," Ashkin said. "So why is CIRI a good investment? Why is it a better value for a company to give money to CIRI when they can spend that same money on advertising, customer incentives, training programs, R&D, etc. This is a question that the group needs to consider."