Harvey Colon is an independent journalist with over 15 years of experience covering the outdoor maintenance and facilities services industry. Based in Chicago, he writes for various trade publications and websites, providing insights into new equipment, best practices, regulations, and profiles of companies in this space.
Harvey first became interested in outdoor maintenance services after Chicago experienced a major storm event in 1999 that overwhelmed the city’s cleanup efforts. Seeing the struggles faced by landscaping and pavement clearing companies as they worked extensively to clean up debris and make areas accessible, while residents dealt with blocked walkways, Harvey saw an opportunity to explore the business operations and technologies utilized in large-scale outdoor cleanup and maintenance.
This motivated Harvey to begin writing about and analyzing the outdoor maintenance industry. Over the past decade and a half, he has developed relationships and interviewed numerous facilities service business owners, equipment mechanics, vehicle operators, and municipal program managers. He also makes it a priority to attend major industry trade shows across the Midwest in order to stay current on the latest advancements in vehicles, tools, chemicals, and fleet management technologies that impact the work.
Harvey aims to explain complex equipment, processes, and industry trends in an engaging yet easy-to-understand manner for readers. He also provides practical insights for those new to the outdoor maintenance business on critical topics like bidding, contracts, insurance, and expanding service offerings. Harvey is known for highlighting ways professionals can incorporate new innovations and best practices to work more efficiently.
With his depth of knowledge and genuine passion for the facilities services industry, Harvey volunteers with local maintenance crews when he’s not writing. This gives him continued hands-on experience to understand the real-world challenges faced by crews. These valuable insights come through in every informative article Harvey produces.