Dilution and the case for control

Last week as I was preparing to deep scrub a floor with a caretaker; I asked the caretaker for a measuring cup.  Measuring cup? he said quizzically.  We don't have them here.  Ok I said.... What about a coffee cup?  Ya absolutely he said.  I have one let me go get it.  Five minutes later he came back with a big grin.  Here you go....  

My best guess at measurement and we were on the way to a shiny floor.  

Needless to say.  What was the visible cost? 

About ten minutes.  

What was the hard labor cost?

Maybe $5 total cost.  

What was the real risk?

A floor that wasn't properly scrubbed and prepared.  

What could be the cost?

Two gallons of floor finish. $45  Four hours of his time.  $120 

Soft costs assuming that the floor did go bad?

Facility closure for 6 hours to redo the job properly. A second labourer if a second staff member was there to replace the free labor provided by myself.

All this for a dollar measuring cup?

Dilution itself can be a real monster.  To make that aspect a lot easier I have added a copy of Dilution 101 for those of us that aren't 100% certain of proper dilution procedures.

No doubt dilution control has become readilly available for most products at minimal cost if any.  The real question is?  Do facility managers realize that this potential for loss exists?