SMALL BUSINESS, BIG RESPONSIBILITY
When scribing the 6th Century masterwork “The Way of All Life,” the legendary Old Master (Lao Tzu) extolled the virtues of “finding the great in what is small and the many in the few.” That very idea still provides a good “way” to account of the many small business owners of the Cayman Islands; whose office space, however small, or staff of few, continue to reflect “the great” in terms of the work they do, and in some cases, those services are life-saving. As part of our ongoing Small Business/Big Responsibility series, The Beacon spotlights a company that is especially fired-up when it comes to helping ensure Cayman’s heat never exceeds that associated with the noon day sun.
Upon entering the offices of Advance Fire and Plumbing, Owner Jim Ross beckons entry from a back room where both the desk and side easel are only barely visible beneath an array of texts, tools and renderings depicting the diverse paths of pipe work, for this project or that. To be sure, the space fosters a sense that Ross is not as often here, as he might be otherwise, overseeing operations on-site, directing and delegating duties in a most hands-on manner of style. There’s also no mistaking the many framed certifications hanging on a side wall (not-necessarily-too-gingerly) foreshowing the years in-training and specialty knowledge acquired in the ways of fire prevention, products and fire security. Next to this space; a bookcase bulges over with bound upon bound ream of fire code guidelines and safety standard protocols – glancing at the bulk with a wry smile, Jim says, “its essential reading.”
Of course, no one needs to undertake such reading when Jim is a walking, talking encyclopedia-of-sorts on the subject of fire safety. He begins a story about one time when a fire happened in Grand Cayman, apparently at a resort along Seven Mile Beach, but a well-triggered sprinkler head doused the flames out flat – “Fast as that, but this all happened a while ago and didn’t involve my company,” he quickly clarifies, “You just remember if it ever happens because we just don’t get many fires here.”
And the facts remain- fires seldom occur in the Cayman Islands and Jim Ross is one of the reasons why. Of course, he is more quick to credit “the dedicated efforts of the Nation’s Fire Service” …along with Island enforcement protocols and rigid safety codes that all combine to singularly separate Cayman from other Caribbean nations.
Modesty aside, Jim owns a company recognized as Cayman’s oldest locally-based supplier of fire alarms and fire extinguishing materials.
He assumed full ownership of the company only a few months ago, yet he’s anything, but a newcomer. Almost twenty-years ago, his expertise in plumbing landed him a role working on the old desal plant for Caribbean Utilities Company. It was his first visit to Cayman and he quickly fell in love with the country. In the years that followed, Jim held managerial positions with a company specializing in plumbing and fire sprinklers. Throughout this time, he worked “hand-in-hand” with the fire department to enforce local fire safety codes. While he believes there are still aspects of the codes that could be improved, he says Cayman “has come a long way” and is “more advanced” today than most other Caribbean nations.
In acquiring ownership of Advance Fire Systems, Jim has expanded the range of services the company provides. In addition to installation services of fire prevention materials, the company offers the plethora of plumbing services. The company is also recognized as Cayman’s leading distributor of quality fire extinguishers, fire alarms and fire suppression materials, both for homes and commercial developments. He and his staff take their job seriously and this is evident in the quality of their products, quality of their work and 24/7 availability to customers. “We don’t have many fires, but if one happens, people want to be sure equipment functions just as it is supposed to,” says Jim. Customers also benefit from working with a company with in-depth understanding of fire codes. He relates several occurrences when certain businesses had to delay their opening as code enforcement found fire prevention standards had not been complied with. “It is very frustrating for a company to have to delay their opening and redo work which should have been done right in the first place. Unfortunately, I know this happens sometimes, but it’s not a problem here because we know what the standards are,” he says.
On the plumbing side of the business, Jim’s team has more than thirty years of commercial and residential experience. His clients have included Ritz Carlton, the Marriott, the Westin Resort, Comfort Suites, not to mention a number of condominium developments such as Caribbean Club and Morritt’s Tortuga Club, to name a few. While offering a full spectrum of plumbing services, the company also specializes in the installation of solar-powered water heaters. Jim says the systems ultimately pay for themselves within three years of installation and can typically minimize water heating costs by 20 percent.
As for operating standards, Jim is also committed to the belief that the experiences between an employer and his staff constitute more than a mere “working relationship.” He likens staff and colleagues as an extended family of sorts. “Yes, there is a time when you have to be the boss and issue orders or call someone out on some problem, but you can still be a friend and help someone in a time of need,” he says. In sharing a couple of recent experiences when former colleagues passed, Jim says he and crew members took time out from work to attend funeral ceremonies in Jamaica and Cuba. “We went to pay our respect. You spend time working with these people day in and day out, but they’re more than just people you work with… you’re bonded as friends and they’re very much like a family member. These are important relationships.”
This same principle permeates the operating processes of his company.
“My bottom line in business is that you have to take care of your employees,” he says. “If you’re doing right by your employees, it carries over in the work they perform and the degree to which they’re taking care of customers. As a business takes care of its employees, the more they help take care of the business,” says Jim.
And in this case, the business of Advance Fire & Plumbing is all about taking care of people and properties by mitigating potential impact from fires. To that end, Jim is a believer in constant training, learning all the nuances of equipment coming to the market, and studying factors of the market. There may be a good lesson there for other business leaders to consider. In the end, Jim remains one of those rare types of people who prefer to be ahead of change as opposed to reacting to change. He recently underwent training in Minnesota that lead to his achieving a new certification. He is now certified in the installation of residential fire sprinklers… another factor, that when combined with all others, further helps to distinguish his company as a small business with big responsibilities.
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| We thought it would make a cool picture to create a big fire and have Advance Fire & Plumbing Manager Chris Walter and Owner Jim Ross stand in the center of the flames while under the protective shower of gushing sprinklers. They claimed to be too busy for such a picture (among other things), so we captured this image next to a work van and complemented it with a little imagination from Photoshop. |
