McCormick Place announces new plan to provide electrical and plumbing

McCormick Place has announced it will revamp the way it provides electrical and plumbing services for conventions and tradeshows. This move, welcomed by show organizers, is the latest transformation in a series of McCormick Place reforms aimed at providing better customer service, efficiency and a qualified workforce.

Under this new agreement between McCormick Place and IBEW Local 134, McCormick Place’s Exhibitor and Technical Services (ETS), will makes its pool of highly-qualified electricians available to service contractors working in the facility. Contractors will now have the ability to use the pool of electricians to handle on all set-up work provided on the show floor.

“This change was customer-driven. Our customers voiced their concerns about the challenges of having multiple points of contact for services. We heard the concerns and came up with a plan that simplifies the process and benefits everyone,” said David Causton, general manager of McCormick Place. “This is just another step in what we view as a natural evolution to enhance customer service at our facility.”

The move provides several advantages for customers:

• First, it streamlines the set-up process for customers, providing one point-of-contact, of their choosing, to secure all electrical and plumbing services.
• Second, it ensures that customers can secure a highly-skilled workforce that knows the facility and has the specialized training unique to the McCormick Place show-floor, thereby increasing safety and efficiencies.
• Third, the rates charged by the contractors will reflect true competitive market forces. By law, McCormick Place will provide workers to the contractors at cost with no mark-up on the labor charges, thereby offering contractors the best environment possible to keep costs down.

The labor force of electricians will also reap the benefits because it creates a more stable workforce with full-time work. Since the pool is a set group, it provides more opportunities for focused skills training, customer service training and depth of experience. It makes developing and enforcing universal standards easier, resulting in a safe environment and efficient workflow.

This arrangement is part of the larger effort to retain and attract more customers to McCormick Place, which was launched with the reform legislation authorized last year by state legislators.

ETS will continue to provide Internet and telecom services, and McCormick Place will maintain an in-house workforce for repair, maintenance and services for the building. Changes to electrical and plumbing components will begin on July 1.