Selecting Your Moving Company
January 1, 1996, the Federal Government passed legislation that
preempts the individual states rights to economically regulate
the movement of 2nd and 3rd proviso household goods within any
states.
In the past, the public and the household goods relocation industry
had certain protections in place by laws that were administered
by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Those
protections don't exist any longer.
What the new law means today is that the only regulations in
place to protect the public or the relocation industry are for
"household" goods used in a "dwelling". All commercial relocations
are deregulated and have virtually no rules or laws to protect
the public or govern the industry .
The commercial relocation industry has had to change and is going
through transitions to operate more like a traditional contractor
in an unregulated atmosphere. The deregulation has also opened
the door to any operator with a truck to become a mover .
The following information should help you to educate yourself
and your company to making a well informed decision as to which
professional relocation company will fit your requirements.
1. After you have determined which items are going to be moved
to the new location and you have finalized furniture plans of
the new space, call Emerald City Moving and Storage and 2 other
companies for proposals.
2. Devise a Request For Proposal (RFP) to request the services
you want.
3. Timesaving tip: Set one date and one meeting time for all
moving company representatives to do a walk-through at the same
time.
4. Review the following items with them and discuss
* Loading dock and elevator requirements:
* Building prep requirements: floor protection, well prep and
door sizes
* Let them know landlord/building manager's name and phone numbers
* Give each a detailed list of items to be moved ~
* Give each a floor plan showing placement of existing and new
furniture
* Talk about preferred move-in times
* Discuss special needs: such as computers, antiques, artwork,
packing and unpacking, etc.
* Let them decided how to do the move -they're the experts.
5. Obtain written proposals from each, as well as a list of five
recent references.
6. Ask for a Scope of Work, list of Assumptions, Operational
Move Plan, and Cost Proposal.
Make sure the Moving Company:
a) Pays its Federal, State, and Local Taxes
b) Has L&I coverage for all personnel
c) Has proper General Liability, Auto, Cargo, Property and Warehouse
Insurance
d) Meets Federal and WSDOT requirements for Driver testing, Drug
and Alcohol testing Vehicle Licensing and Safety
e)Has all necessary USDOT and WUTC Licences and Permits
History and Reputation:
a) References
b) Resources dedicated to office and industrial moving
c) Type of operation -household goods versus commercial
d) Policies and procedures -handbook, claims, training, etc.
e) Experience/knowledge of staff
f) Visit the company's facility(s) for interviewing
Equipment and Resources:
a) Material handling -dollies, carts, etc.
b) Specialized office and industrial equipment
c) Tool boxes
d) Maintenance of equipment program
e) Trucks -right sizes and configurations
f) Quantities of above
Trained Employees:
a) Formal training programs for install, moving and safety
b) Furniture repair
c) Building familiarity
d) Drug/ Alcohol Free
e) Uniformed
Experience of Moving Representative:
a) Background -years with company, years in business, years specializing
in office and industrial, letters of reference, etc.
b) Estimates versus final invoice
c) Availability during your move
Cost Estimating Method:
As a general rule, the following methods can be used to get potential
moving customers a budget to work with for the physical relocation
of their offices. This excludes phones and computer technicians
and other trades.
* $0.50- $1.25 per square feet of space being moved to
* $100.00 -$350.00 per person being moved
Many variables can have an impact positive or negative on the
above estimates:
a) Packing and unpacking by mover
b) Modular Systems furniture
c) Stairs
d) Long elevator trips/ small elevator
e) Weekday versus night or weekend
f) Office versus warehouse type move
g) Contents only versus Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment (FF&E)
h) disposal of old FF&E
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