Executive Housekeeper Volume 18 Number 2

The Executive

HOUSEKEEPER

Vol 18

No 2

PP322210/00016

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Publishers LETTER

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here might have been a few weary-eyed housekeepers over the past couple of months as attention turned to the FIFA World Cup. Every few years our interest in soccer sparks up again, but not just for the game. It’s a great chance to see how a country tries its best to present itself. With the world’s media turning their lenses to Brazil, the country made every effort to give the best impressions that it could.

Housekeeping departments face this pressure every day.

A discerning guest gets impressions of a room from every angle, right down to the floor they walk on. So we called on our regular feature writer Col Nation to look at the various methods of carpet cleaning to produce the best results.

For hard floors we asked Gary Phillips of Slique to talk about the different types of stones and tiles. With so many types to choose from you’ll want a clear idea of what your options are! John Parker of Alpha Clean discusses hard floor cleaning methods as does John Taylor of the Cleaning Supply Shop whom also gives mention to the new slip resistance standards for floors.

In our last issue Janet Marletto, a well known American housekeeping consultant, talked about safe work habits.

Janet has again agreed to pass on her knowledge in this issue where she writes about effective training and the concept of ‘gamification’.

A good hotel laundry is another way to make positive impressions with guests. For this we have Paul Creek who looks at this part of the hotel. As usual we also have a wide variety of further articles, from bathroom renovations to fitness and image, from microfibre to infection control.

We have some great profiles in this issue along with Liz Lycette’s interview with Andrea Kjelin, the Assistant Director of Housekeeping at the Peninsular Hong Kong. The debate over outsourcing is also included from a housekeeper’s perspective.

Australian hotels have a reputation for their high quality housekeeping departments. Although we might not be hosting a World Cup of our own, the impressions we make on guests every day keeps the industry in a positive light.

Regards, Neil Muir

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Contents 6

PEHN News

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PHAN News

13 SEQPHA News 14 Outsourcing: A Housekeeping Perspective 16 Infection Control is Everybody’s Business 18 Clean Floors for Leisure and Pleasure 22 Identifying Stone & Tile Types 25 Thinking Management 27 Linen Services 32 Microfibre – All the Micro Details 36 Laundering Microfibre Cleaning Cloths 40 Mara Posa Profile 41 Young Oh Profile 42 Spotless Carpets and Upholstery 44 The Bathroom Renovation Revolution 48 Zero Waste 50 Constructive Conversation in the Workplace 52 How to Implement a Chemical Free Cleaning Program in Your Facility 55 Fitness & Image 56 Are You Finding Your Floors Harder to Clean?

58 Game On! The Effective Training Checklist 62 Andrea Kjellin Interview 64 Product News

Cover images shows Outrigger Surfers Paradise

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PEHN NEWS Networking with Pehn

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etworking is such an important feature of our professional and personal lives today and being a good networker can mean the difference between being ordinary or successful.

In hospitality we tend to focus more on the front line and not so much on the “back of house”, because this is the part that is usually hidden from plain view. But does that mean that management forget that it is the foundation that we cannot see that is really holding up the “house”.

A membership of PEHN not only offers the opportunity to meet colleagues and exchange experiences and advice, but also to interact with leaders from other properties and related Businesses. Being part of a community outside

The PEHN Committee

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he PEHN Committee is always there to help and open for new ideas.

Please contact any of us or email: pehn.aus@gmail.com with your suggestions or comments.

of the work place is a great way to learn more about hospitality and how housekeeping interacts with other professions to achieve desirable outcomes.

But there is so much more to PEHN that meets the eye.

PEHN and/or PEHN members also participate in charity events, such as recent events: Clean Up Australia, Soap Aid and Whitelion. We are an organisation with a community conscience and we are always open to suggestions from our members.

Spread the word about PEHN and encourage your colleagues to get involved. And to stay tuned for our Membership drive during Housekeeper’s week in September.

From Left: Margaret Fernandes, Dorthe Jantzen, Donna Musarella, Megan Johnston, Jocelyn Ng & Christina Pak Marie Brereton (missing from photo)

Upcoming Events July 16 Monthly Breakfast @ Café Excello 99 Spring Street, Melbourne August Housekeeper’s Forum – Grooming September Housekeeper’s Have Talent Start getting your teams together – it’s going to be a cracker!!

PEHN Trivia Night

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n the 19th June we had a blast of a night at the Flagstaff Bowls club house. This event was largely arranged by our president Donna Musarella and it was an event we hope will be repeated sometime in the future.

The night was kicked off by opposing teams eyeing each other off before our very entertaining hosts got down to business. There was singing, dancing, elimination games – you name, we had it all.

Lots of prizes were won during the night, but the main prize was double passes to Gold Class for all the members of the winning team.

It was a close game, but the winner by only a couple of points was the incredible team from Crown Metropol Hotel.

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THE JAILBIRDS REVIEW

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s we mentioned in the last issue, PEHN President Donna Musarella and PEHN Member Deb Bullock were locked up on 31st of March in the Old Melbourne Gaol. And well, against the wishes of many, they were released that same night. All in the spirit of a fantastic course and rather educating as well.

We had a very eventful time and we learnt all about the great work that Whitelion do to help troubled youth in our society. They are truly an amazing organisation, with many dedicated members on their team doing some fantastic work.

    

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Be Impressed

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Together they raised $3010.00 for the cause, and we wanted to thank everyone that donated and supported us in this event. We did sneak in some contraband (being our mobile phones) and took some photos along the journey so we could share with you all. 

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PHAN NEWS It was end of Term last week at Manly International College – and two of your PHAN Committee took up an invitation to an end of term dinner.

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t was Thursday before Anzac Day – and cast your mind back to a wonderful balmy Sydney evening following a day of 29 degrees – the most divine autumnal weather with a fantastic sunset. So we arrived at this most wonderful college building in a very mellow mood with high expectations that all shall be divine and in keeping with the setting and weather.

lead to indulge in the Panacotta with Blood Orange coulis. To die for I can tell you.

As a special bonus – we met PHAN member Melissa is now on leave expecting her first baby  Marlee cooking the flambee.

Marlee, teacher Alex Menge, and student Valentina – all creating the flambes for their table guests.

Teacher Jennifer with Marlee and achieving a dramatic flambee.

Our waiter Victoria seasoning the main course for guest Nela Neves.

We were not disappointed.

Well done everyone – the meal and service were faultless. And lucky us the meal being practised was a Flambe Prawn entree, a choice of Salmon or Chicken (we both selected the chicken – see picture below) and then we really should not have done so – but you all know Nela and her penchant for dessert. So I was easily

Psychology of Influence

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n 21st August from 4-6 pm at St Mary’s Cathedral House – rear of Cathedral, there will be a presentation by Eleanor Shakiba for PHAN members, colleagues and guests.

• Essential tips for successful communication

Find out how YOUR words can change minds and win over hearts. Influence is the ability to guide someone’s thinking, decisions or actions. This session will help you power up your influencing skills. Hear how to speak more persuasively, shape others’ behaviour, shift the direction of a conversation or get your point across easily. See how to engage, motivate and persuade during change. Bring along your questions and have them answered by people skills expert, Eleanor Shakiba.

• Exactly what to say to reduce resistance to new ideas or change

What this session covers

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During this dynamic, two hour session you’ll learn:

• Four powerful ways to get your point across

• Five ways to speak more persuasively

About the session presenter Eleanor Shakiba is an expert in applied psychology. She has trained over 48,000 people to create, relate and communicate with flair. Eleanor started her career as a writer and theatre director. She next moved into training and management roles at the University of Sydney. Today, she is one of Australia’s leading trainers in the field of breakthrough communication.

Eleanor has written over ninety training courses and produced a series of 10 audio programs to help professionals excel at work. She also provides one to one coaching and group training services in the corporate sector. You can see videos of Eleanor in action at www.difficultpeoplemadeeasy.com.au.

Eleanor’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts degree, Graduate Certificate in Adult Education, Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming. She is an LEADT trained mediator and INLPTA accredited trainer.

All of Eleanor’s sessions are highly interactive and aligned with her personal vision of ‘creating success stories’ with people like you.  RSVP by August 14th to public.officer@phan.org.au

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PHAN NEWS Day 2: Public Areas, Health and Safety, working with contractors and presentation skills.

Public Area Operations - back to basics; reviewing all areas of public areas, time and motion studies. Group exercise in quality control systems for all PA areas.

Working with Contractors - Setting up successful contracts and maintaining quality with external Contractors. Group exercise in comparing finances of either outsourcing or undertaking work internally.

Presentation Skills/Reading and understanding your Manager - Tools to assist in gaining self confidence. Learn how your manager likes to receive information. Planning and preparing a winning report and How to make an outstanding and convincing presentation to Management. Individual and group activities.

Final presentations on chosen topic can then be taken back into the operation. Groups will present their chosen topic at the end of Day 2 In closing, an update of trends and innovations by Liz. ď Ž

Below is the program from the educational forum held in Sydney last month. There were 15 attendees who all believed it was a very valuable workshop and great learning experience.

Day 1 Environmental Sustainability, Engineering and Project Management.

Environmental Sustainability - a clear understanding of current environmental global best practice, working in groups and coming up with usable checklists for Housekeeping.

Working with Engineering - setting up winning preventative maintenance programmes and working effectively with Engineering, group exercises in setting up and running PM programmes.

Project Management - including running a small project, working on conducting renovations right up to full hotel openings. Group exercises in using a Gant chart to run a project.

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PHAN NEWS Lalini DE SILVA WINS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD The Tourism Accommodation Australia (NSW) Awards for Excellence are recognised as the most prestigious hospitality awards. Honouring the Achievement of Excellence in a wide range of categories in the accommodation industry.

Recently held in the Westin Sydney, more than 600 business and industry leaders gathered for the gala awards ceremony honouring the best in the business.

Lalini De Silva, a well known long time committee member of PHAN, whom is Director of Housekeeping at The Star Pyramid, was recognised by the industry and her peers being awarded the TAA NSW Housekeeper of the Year Award 2014. ď Ž

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SEQPHA NEWS Over $4,000 has been raised so far for our charities

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ince the last magazine we have been busy raising money for our charities and having fun along the way. We had a fantastic breakfast in Surfers Paradise at Longboards, where everyone brought along easter eggs and presents for the childrens ward of the Gold Coast University Hospital. We had Colleen Reynolds our Committee member who dressed up for the breakfast in a fabulous bunny outfit and completely entertained us, especially when she stepped back with her big bunny feet and landed those feet in the pool. Great day and the children and nurses at the hospital along with our Bunny had a great morning and were so grateful.

Our Race day was a huge success in May with sunshine all day at the Gold Coast Turf Club.

Lots of raffles and silent auctions, it truly was our favourite day, and a great excuse to really dress up and bring those hats out.

Breakfast at Palazzo Versace was Magnifique as usual. Lovely to have the General Manager of Crown Plaza attend also, and such a delightful man.

We had a good turn out for our Breakfast at Ollie & Luca restaurant in Surfers paradise, 7 am start and it was so cold. Not as cold as all the other states but 6 degrees is cold for the Gold Coast. Great time and wonderful guest speaker, the CEO of Coolangatta Events.

Last month we had a Gatsby night to raise money for a very deserving family. It was a fabulous night with our very own Gavin Lysaght ( Vice President) who entertained us all night with his singing and humour. Everyone dressed up for the occasion and at the end of the night all I could see was coloured feathers on the ground and in the pool from the girls feather boas.

Housekeeping News

I had a project to do recently on Cultural Diversity in the workplace, so I did this project on my own Housekeeping team here at the Sofitel Broadbeach. I have 50 staff and it was amazing that all these wonderful people came from 17 different countries with different cultures, ages, beliefs and life experiences. In some cases this can weaken a group but not here, it has given the team strength, communication and teamwork. They are all valued and integrated into the group’s dynamics, they are all open minded, and it enhances employee engagement by showing that Sofitel understands and respects different cultures.

It shows how these people have enriched almost every aspect of Australian life and that they have the right to express their culture and beliefs.

I love working with this team and I have learnt so much about their backgrounds, their food and especially their individual personalities.

August we have our Trade show at Sea World Resort and this is where we can show support for all our suppliers who support us throughout the year with our fundraising events.

Fabulous news from one of our loved members Kerry Dowen, who recently got engaged to the most wonderful man. I have never seen Kerry so happy and what a romantic proposal it was.

The big event is in November.

Lovely to have our Secretary Mardi Shennan back at work for a few days a week after her recent illness. She is on the road to recovery and has the right attitude to conquer all.

If any one would like to join this association please contact myself at libby.sharp@sofitel.com

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Outsourcing

a Housekeeping perspective

by Liz Lycette

There is a significant global shift in Housekeeping operations from internally run operations to using an outsourcing contractor/agency. The main reason for this is that hotels are unable to find a ready pool of qualified staff and there is also a trend by senior hotel management to focus on working with clear and finite costs within the housekeeping operation.

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et’s take a closer look at the implications.

Arguments for outsourcing – why should businesses consider it?

For most operations, there is an ongoing challenge to find suitable staff, especially in city locations where staff lives a long way away and it is expensive for them to come into work.

A challenge unique to high-wage countries like Australia is the issue of worker’s compensation blow out charges - this is a major reason why Australian hotels are going down the outsourcing route.

Another reason hotels may choose to outsource is that there may be a corporate directive when a whole chain of hotels chooses to outsource to one supplier.

With outsourcing there is a more finite cost structure, that’s why Financial Controllers love it. No holiday pay, no sick leave, no workers comp, no high training costs

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due to high staff turnover.

This means you are only paying for the specific cleaning of rooms as they are occupied.

Another reason to choose outsourcing is that the Housekeeper doesn’t have to handle the continual occupancy fluctuations. The way people travel, booking hotels at the very last minute means that occupancies can change quickly, making rostering a nightmare. This burden then becomes the outsourcer’s problem to fix.

Arguments against outsourcing – what are the risks and pitfalls?

The main issue for the Housekeeping Manager is to maintain the quality and consistency of the outsourcer’s work. It is difficult to set up a good working model of ensuring every guest room is cleaned perfectly every time and all public areas are always spotless.

One pitfall often not clearly defined is the issue of additional charges. It is important to ensure all parties have thought through all the grey areas which may come up, such as training, spring cleaning, mattress turning and all the extra duties which don’t come under daily departure and occupied room cleans.

There is also a risk when integrating an existing pool of staff to an outsourcer or agency that some staff may not want to work for them. This then leads to a loss of strong, loyal and well trained staff at the time of change over.

But perhaps the most important issue to understand is how well the outsourcing business will blend with the rest of the hotel. Does the agency understand all the key criteria of the hotel branding, guest service and customer satisfaction or are they just in it for the money?

What is the best way to proceed if you have decided to outsource?

Several factors are key to making it work. It is important to ensure there is a good rapport between the Housekeeping Management team and the outsourcing agency. Of course the cost factor is important, but it is essential not to just go for the cheapest option.

Favourable reference checks are critical as is the careful negotiation and agreement by both parties.

The outsourcing provider must show a very clear attitude that they think like an operator and that this is not merely a business deal.

How often should you review/ assess your contractors if you are already outsourcing? What is the key to a harmonious outsourcing relationship?

Frequent reviews are important. Weekly meetings with a review of quality scores and issues from both sides are vital. Meetings should be minuted and there must always be an open dialogue with honesty and a sense of trust being paramount. I would suggest regular participation in these meetings by senior management including the Financial Controller and the General Manager to ensure everyone has a clear understanding of the ongoing issues. An agreed procedure on the levels of communication daily, weekly and monthly is essential.

days training should there be for new Room Attendants?

Every hotel varies enormously in terms of setups and procedures. It is impossible for even an experienced Room Attendant to be fully productive within 1 or 2 days.

A clear understanding of the OH&S responsibilities for both parties is also critical.

And the final key factor to a harmonious outsourcing relationship is the full commitment and “buy in” by all parties concerned to make it work. 

About the author Liz Lycette, founder of Lycette & Associates was born in New Zealand and is a graduate of École Hotelière de Lausanne, Switzerland. She started her career in the hospitality industry in 1981 and at the age of 23 became Executive Housekeeper for the grand opening of Mandarin Oriental in Macau. She subsequently held this position at The Conrad Hong Kong, Mandarin Oriental Jakarta, Le Meridien Hotel, London, and The Regent Hotel, Sydney. Liz was also Project Manager for the opening of 3 properties in China for Harbour Plaza Hotels and Resorts.

Liz established Lycette & Associates in 1999 and has since undertaken hospitality consulting assignments and training both in Australia and overseas including work for Moevenpick Middle East, Taj Hotels & Resorts in India and Australia, Marriott Hotels India, Hong Kong Hotels Association, Langham Hotels & Resort, Venetian Macau, Hotel Nikko Bali, Galaxy Macau and Westin KL to name just a few.

Liz has presented training workshops through the Singapore and Malaysian governments to Housekeepers in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. She also brought the 3 day Development Programme globally including Fiji, Bali, London, Egypt, Abu Dhabi, India and China. She has also spoken at various conferences on topics such as “Trends and innovations in Housekeeping” including San Francisco, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and London.

Liz’s extensive international expertise and considerable Housekeeping knowledge, has given her a truly multi-cultural approach and a wide range of diverse contacts throughout the industry. Her excellent organisational skills, passion, adaptability and integrity enable her to complete any assignment with energy, efficiency and positive results.

Source: Lycette and Associates - See more at: http://ehotelier.com/insights/2014/06/02/ outsourcing-a-housekeeping-perspective#sthash.cwYZV8Wh.dpuf

Both parties need to have a very clear understanding of the extent of training required for all staff. How many

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Infection Control

is everybody’s business

by Annie Wells, Asst Director of Nursing Infection Control, Department oF Health and Human sERVICES, Tasmania

The slogan ‘infection control is everybody’s business’ is commonly used by infection prevention and control professionals to promote key infection prevention messages to healthcare workers. Many of these messages are relevant to staff working in hotel and housekeeping services. One of the first things to learn about though is how infections are transmitted or spread.

The chain of infection

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he chain of infection provides a simple explanation of how infections are transmitted and leads to an understanding of preventative measures.

reservoir of infectious agents, a mode of transmission and a susceptible host. All these factors must be present for an infection to occur. Infection prevention is aimed at breaking the chain of infection.

For an infection to occur there must be an infectious agent – also known as a microbe or germ or bug; a source or

Chain of infection: National Health and Medical Research Council

http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/ book/australian-guidelinesprevention-and-controlinfection-healthcare-2010/ a1-1-risks-contracting-h

Source of infectious agent

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One of the most common sources of microbes that infect us are other humans. If we have an infection such as influenza, we shed the virus into the immediate environment as we cough or sneeze. Another example is if a person is infected with a blood borne virus such as Hepatitis B, their blood and some body fluids can act as a reservoir for the virus.

Other sources of infection are insects, the environment (soil, water, and dust), animals as well as contaminated food and water.

Mode of transmission The mode of transmission refers to the way we become exposed to microorganisms. There are three main routes of transmission; contact, droplet and airborne. For staff working in hotel and housekeeping services, the contact route is the most significant when cleaning a hotel room.

Indirect contact transmission of infection can also occur after touching a contaminated environment.

Susceptible host Some people exposed to infectious agents do not develop symptoms of disease while others may become unwell.

There are a number of host factors that influence the likelihood of an infection occurring and these include immune status, vaccination status, age, the presence of a chronic disease and smoking status.

Prevention Measures aimed at breaking the chain of infection Staff working in hotel and housekeeping services can protect themselves and others by observing some very basic infection prevention and control measures. These measures include hand hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment, appropriate handling of linen and immunisation.

Hands come into contact with surfaces that may be contaminated with microorganisms. Regular hand washing or the use of a waterless hand rub solution to decontaminate hands is the most important measure to break the chain of infection. Hands should be cleaned after cleaning a hotel room, after handling dirty linen, after going to the toilet, before handling clean supplies for the hotel room such as crockery and cutlery and before handling food or drinks.

Having intact skin is an important host defence which protects against the entry of microorganisms into the body.

If staff have non-intact skin on their hands, such as a cut, they should cover the area with a waterproof dressing.

It is also important for hotel housekeeping staff to avoid contact with blood and body fluids when cleaning rooms. In some circumstances it may be necessary for hotel housekeeping staff to access personal protective equipment (PPE) to help prevent exposure to blood or body fluids. PPE may include gloves, plastic apron and protective eyewear. Circumstances when PPE may be required include gross soiling of the environment when there is a possibility of staff exposure to blood or body fluids Staff should also make sure their vaccinations are up to date as this is an important defence against infection.

A medical professional is best placed to provide individual advice. Vaccination against Hepatitis B and Influenza are worth considering.

Conclusion Infection prevention measures are aimed at breaking the chain of infection. Hotel and housekeeping staff play an important role in protecting their health at work. Attention to hand hygiene, the use of PPE and vaccination are important measure in helping to prevent the transmission of infection. ď Ž

References Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare www.safetyandquality.gov.au Hand Hygiene Australia www.hha.org.au NHMRC (2010) Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare. Commonwealth of Australia.

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Clean Floors

for leisure and pleasure

by John Parker, Alphaclean

Paying guests, visitors and facility users rightly expect hotel and motel flooring to be clean and pristine at all times. John Parker, director of marketing for Alphaclean, explains why different surfaces and materials require different types of care.

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hether you run a large hotel, or a more compact motel, making sure that your clients and guests are happy with every aspect of your service and surroundings is crucial – so cleanliness has to be a top priority.

Social media now allows people to share their displeasure at what they feel is substandard treatment with the world in an instant. Similarly, online review sites let members of the public rate facilities on many aspects – including hygiene and cleanliness – so a critical tweet or bad score can result in unwelcome publicity and a subsequent downturn in business. Dirty floors and inappropriate cleaning equipment or methods can also increase the risk of slips, trips and falls, in turn inviting negative press coverage and, in extreme circumstances, large insurance claims.

However, with the right equipment and cleaning regimes in place, hotels and motels can ensure that their flooring stays clean and safe for all of their clients. Running a business in the hospitality sector has always had its specific challenges.

With so many issues to consider – health and safety being just one of them – managers and owners can’t hope to be experts in every single field. That’s why partnering with a trusted and knowledgeable cleaning equipment supplier, or contract cleaner with experience in these sectors, is a good idea.

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Adaptable methods and machines We know that flooring surfaces change from location to location within hotels and motels, from carpeting in corridors and bedrooms, to vinyl or tiles in bathrooms or kitchen areas, for example; so cleaning equipment has to be adaptable if it is going to be cost effective and deliver results. Health and safety implications for the cleaning regimes themselves should also be front of mind, as things like wet floors and trailing power leads pose a significant risk of injury to staff, clients or guests.

This is particularly relevant to hotels and motels, as members of the public are using the facilities at all times of the day and night, so interaction with cleaning staff is inevitable.

Giving your operatives equipment that reduces these risks is therefore advisable, and today’s cleaning machines offer not only better results, but also increased safety too. Some scrubber dryers have now evolved to leave floors clean and dry in one pass – guarding against slips – and cordless versions eliminate the need for trailing leads, addressing the trip issue. Many machines are now lighter, smaller and easier to manoeuvre, with the added ability to switch brushes and tackle a range of different surfaces. High pressure scrubber dryers are particularly effective on non-slip safety flooring, and also work well on tiles, which have grout lines.

In places where people are looking to relax and unwind, such as hotels and motels, noise is another important issue to consider. Clients and guests do not want to be disturbed by high-pitched machinery or other intrusive noises and activities, and many of today’s most modern and up-to-date cleaning machines will take this into account.

Hotels and motels need cleaning regimes that are robust and regular to ensure facilities are always looking and performing at their best, enhancing the visitor experience for guests or delegates.

A polished performance for hard floors Rotary polishers and burnishers are more versatile than many people think, as they are able to tackle a number of cleaning tasks very effectively, as well as producing a high shine on hard floors. In order tackle different cleaning tasks, the right speed and pad or brush must be selected correctly.

To maximise investment dual speed machines can offer a flexible solution.

A variable speed rotary can be used to scrub any waterresistant hard floor, such as concrete, tile, stone or slate, and it can also strip existing polish off a surface. Spray cleaning and buffing to erase scuff marks and dirt is possible, as is the task they are most commonly known for – imparting a high gloss to any smooth surface that should be glossy, be it marble, terrazzo or oak parquet which would be carried out by a machine that is capable of at least 1000 rpm.

All the different tasks that a rotary burnisher can, in theory, be used for should be carried out with the correct colour-coded pad for the job, and at the correct rotational speed. The main guide is, the lighter the colour of the pad, the softer it is. Light

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on effect for the professional reputation of the venue itself.

In rooms where food is prepared, treated or processed floor surfaces should be maintained in a sound condition, be easy to clean – and disinfect, when necessary. Impervious materials, which do not allow fluid to pass through, are therefore most suitable, with non-absorbent, washable and non-toxic qualities also important when it comes to commercial kitchen flooring.

Scrubber dryers are a good choice for this type of location as they have the ability to clean right into the grain of slip-resistant flooring, and in between tiles. Many models also have the facility to change brushes, allowing machines to adapt easily to each surface or task required – be it normal maintenance or intensive, ‘deep’ cleaning. Cordless versions make sense as they do away with trailing cables, which can be an additional safety hazard, and those that leave the floor dry and ready to walk on in the quickest time possible should also be favoured.

When planning cleaning regimes in hotel kitchens and dining areas, activities should take into account both routine, regular maintenance, and more responsive ‘emergency’ situations.

In this way you can ensure that your premises are hygienically clean and safe. coloured pads are for polishing and scrubbing; medium for daily scrubbing and light stripping; and dark for heavy duty stripping. It is vitally important that you get this right, because using the wrong combination of pad and speed will not get the results your customer wants. In extreme circumstances you could actually damage the floor surface, a result that is unlikely to generate repeat business.

Polishing machines that can multi-task are becoming more and more popular, given the number of different locations in which they are used. Not only do they need to polish quickly and efficiently to the highest standards, they also need to have other qualities depending on the situation. For example, if you are cleaning in the daytime, quietness

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could be desirable. Health and safety matters are also important, not only for cleaning operatives, but also for guests and other staff members or visitors.

Minimising slips, trips and falls is a must so cordless battery-powered machines with no trailing leads provide a good solution.

Food for thought when it comes to floor care People staying in hotels rightly expect their food to be prepared and served in a safe and hygienic manner. This is a particularly critical issue because an outbreak of food poisoning can have a devastating personal effect on individual guests and staff; and this has a knock-

There’s no doubt that flooring in hotels and motels has to stand up to a lot of harsh treatment, so cleaning has to be thorough and regular in order to maintain the high standards that guests and clients expect. However, with such a wide range of cleaning equipment available, catering for every need and specialist surface, this is perfectly achievable, ensuring that your guests will always receive a warm welcome.  For further information, contact John Parker at Alphaclean on 1300 655 598. www.alphaclean.com.au

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21

Identifying Stone & Tile Types:

a simple guide

by Garry Phillips, Managing Director of Slique, Australasia’s stone and tile-care experts

Identifying the type of stone or tile is the first step to being able to clean or treat it effectively.

But it’s not as easy as it sounds. There are many different kinds of natural stone, as well as an endless range of man-made tiles that are designed to look just like natural stone.

This guide is designed to help you figure out what kind of surface you’re dealing with.

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en years ago, tiles looked like tiles. They were quite obvious, and quite distinct from stone. However over the last 5 years manufacturers have been striving very hard to replicate natural stone in a man-made format.

Replicated stone has now become so accurate that it can be very difficult to tell what is natural stone, and what is man-made. It is easy to be fooled. The good news is that if you identify a tile as a natural stone, and clean or treat it as a natural stone, you won’t do any damage. The cleaning work may not be particularly effective, but at least it won’t be an expensive restoration issue!

First, take the following steps to identify whether a surface is natural or man-made: 1. Look at the back The simplest way to confirm whether a tile is natural or man-made is to turn it over. Find a spare tile if one is available, and look at the back. If it has a uniform cross-hatch grid pattern on the back, or imprinted writing, then it’s man-made. However if the front looks generally like the back (perhaps with a rougher finish) then it’s much more likely to be natural stone.

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2. Look at the edges If spare tiles aren’t available, it’s also possible to find clues by looking closely at the edge of a laid tile. If it looks like it has saw marks or machine marks, it’s more likely to be natural stone. Manmade tiles are usually fairly uniform in colour and texture, and have edges that are either sharper (as with a porcelain tile), or more curved with a raised central section (as with a ceramic tile).

3. Look for patterns Take a step back, and look at the whole surface to see if there are any repeated patterns. Nature does not repeat – every natural stone is unique. However manmade replications will have a repeating pattern. The higher the quality tile, the less frequently the pattern will repeat, so you may need to look at the surface as a whole to identify them.

If these steps don’t give any indication of stone/tile type, it’s time to refer to our guides below.

Guide to natural stone: Marble Marble is famous for the veining pattern that runs through every piece in a nonrepeating pattern.

As well as veining, marble will have natural variations in colour and gloss level across the surface. Common marble colours include white, white and grey (Carrara/Calacatta), and beige (Crema Marfil).

Strong coloured marble is also available, including greens, reds and blacks, but these are less common. The best identifier that they are marble is the heavy veining pattern that usually covers them. The rarity of these colours makes them more expensive, so they tend to be used in feature areas, benchtops, and vanities, and usually come in a high shine finish.

Limestone Limestone is often beige, light brown, or light grey in colour. Limestone doesn’t have strong veining, but it does have what looks like a colour wash: the natural colour varies through the stone.

Limestone is often provided in satin or semi satin finishes, and occasionally matt. If it’s polished to any degree, it

won’t show the same level of gloss consistency across the surface as marble.

Limestone is occasionally mistaken for marble. This isn’t an issue, as both are calcium-based stones and therefore are generally cleaned and treated using similar methods. You are unlikely to damage limestone by cleaning it as though it’s marble, and vice versa.

Travertine

To identify travertine, look for the holes. Travertine, in its natural (unfilled) state, has decent-sized pock marks covering the surface that can be bigger than a 50c piece. Travertine is usually provided ‘filled’, where a matching colour filler such as a grout or epoxy is used to fill in the pock marks.

Travertine is most commonly available in beige or light brown, and popular finishes include semi satin or matt.

Basalt/Bluestone This grey to dark grey stone has a blue tinge to it, hence its name.

Basalt / Bluestone has consistent colouring, without veining, and can be seen to be quite grainy on the surface. On close inspection, you may also be able to see minute visible pores. Bluestone is usually provided in a matt or rough finish such as bush hammered or flamed.

Basalt / Bluestone can be mistaken for granite – and sometimes it’s even sold as granite. However its characteristics are quite different from granite and it cannot be cleaned or treated in the same way without potentially damaging it.

Granite Granite comes in every colour you can imagine, but the most common are darker colours such as blacks, reds, and sometimes blue. Lighter colours such as whites, golds and beiges are also available. Granite has a grainy structure, but without the visible pores you see in basalt / bluestone – it’s a much denser stone, therefore it can achieve a much finer, higher-polished finish.

Granite is generally supplied in a polished finish in most internal installations. If it’s a polished natural stone, and it’s a full strong colour with visible grains but without veining, it’s likely to be granite.

Sandstone If it’s the colour of sand, looks like sand, and feels like sand, it’s likely to be sandstone.

Sandstone is very grainy, and is made of extremely fine sand grains. Sandstone always comes in earthy colours such as yellows, beiges, browns and greys, and it can sometimes have strong veining where other minerals have mixed with the sand as the stone has been created.

Sandstone does not polish well, so it is almost always provided in a matt finish.

Sandstone can sometimes be mistaken for limestone, but it doesn’t respond to cleaning in the same way so care should be taken to identify it properly.

Slate Slate is easily identifiable by the distinctive layered surface texturing that is exclusive to slate. In terms of colours, it is usually grey or black, but can occasionally be red, yellow or even

greenish. Slate is often treated with a coating system during installation, so if it’s a dark coloured layered-looking stone with a surface coating applied, it’s probably slate.

Guide to man-made tiles and stone: Porcelain/ceramic tiles There is an infinite variety of colour and patterns in porcelain and ceramic tiles. If the tile is clearly a tile (like a white ceramic tile, for example) it’s easy to identify. But if it’s replicating a natural stone, it’s much harder to tell. As the tile is coming out of a man-made mold there will be a repeating pattern – in less expensive tiles this could be repeating per tile, and in more expensive it could be over a dozen or more tiles before it repeats.

Ceramic and porcelain tiles generally have a smooth, non-textured surface.

Sizes cover everything from tiny mosaics to large 1200mm x 1200mm tiles.

If it’s a man-made tile with sharp, square edges, it’s likely to be a fullbodied porcelain tile. If it has slightly rounded edges and a glazed finish, it’s probably a ceramic tile.

Mosaics Tiny tiles, these can be virtually any material (glass and metal are common) but most often they are either ceramic or porcelain tiles. Mosaics are invariably glazed, with a consistent pattern and colour. They’re likely to be artificial colours (mosaics don’t usually try to replicate natural stone) and are commonly used on features.

Terracotta Terracotta literally means ‘baked earth’, and that’s what it is – baked clay. Terracotta can be identified

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by the distinctive earth colouring, with orange, yellowy-brown, and earthy reds being most common. Terracotta often comes in smaller sizes, 400 x 400mm and smaller. If you turn a terracotta tile over, there will be visible extrusion patterns across the whole tile where it has been squeezed out of the mold, or if it has been handmolded it will have misshaped edges.

Terracotta is always a matt finish unless it has had a coating applied.

Terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite made of a mixture of lime and stone chips. It can be supplied as tiles, or less commonly it can be poured in slabs on the floor.

Terrazzo has no veining, but the stone chips or pieces are visible in the surface. Terrazzo is usually a semi satin or matt finish.

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Terrazzo can also be supplied in a polished finish if it is made with a resin (rather than lime), but this is generally only used in commercial environments such as shopping malls.

Engineered stone These are the brand-name stones such as Caesarstone, Quarella, Rover, Essastone, Quantum Quartz and so on. They are basically a resinbased terrazzo (composite of stone dust or chips and a resin) marketed under a specific name. Engineered stone is most commonly used on benchtops and vanities where acid damage and etching is an issue for a natural stone surface. Engineered stone is also commonly used on commercial flooring.

Companies that make engineered stone are now very accurately replicating natural stone that can easily be mistaken for the real thing.

Safe maintenance If you’ve identified the stone or tile you’re dealing with, you can now make sure you’re caring for it in the right way. Slique’s website has a full range of Care Guideline maintenance instructions for every stone and tile type.

If you haven’t been able to identify the stone or tile type, but you have a shortlist of possibilities, start with the most sensitive natural stone options.

That way you won’t unwittingly do any damage. If the treatment doesn’t work, then move onto the next possibility – ending with the man-made options – until you eventually find a solution that works. 

Slique can be contacted: In Australia at www.slique.com.au, email info@slique.com.au or call 1800 754 783 In New Zealand at www.slique.co.nz, email info@slique.co.nz or call 0800 754 783

Thinking H

ave you ever wondered what you are doing here, in this job?

I mean, I know that there would have been some initial interview process, possibly some reference checking (although many managers don’t do this well), and then the job offer which you accepted, but why are you still employed, now? I hope it is not just for the money.

Many people tend to focus all their energies on that first interview just to get the job and after that they don’t ever give thought to why they are still employed, or better still, why their employer should still keep them.

I think these are important questions.

Our relationship with our boss or our employer is just as important as our relationship with significant others, perhaps in some ways even more so.

In an employment situation, companies often have many options for having work completed to ensure the venture makes money. In the hotel business, employers can outsource, sub-contract or just employ someone else. Of course I know there are protections in place to ensure that they cannot just fire you because they don’t like you. But, you

Management

should think about what reasons they have for keeping you in the first place because this may be the difference between Centrelink and long-serviceleave!

Do you genuinely approach your work with a happy disposition and give 100% of yourself every day, or do others perceive you as moody or inconsistent, someone to tiptoe around when you are having bad day? Are you the type of person that leaders would choose to be on their team first each time or the type who ends up on a team by default?

If you were the boss, would you choose you?

by Dean Minett In my consulting practice I sometimes assist with outplacement, where those who have been made redundant get help from me (or others) to find another job. The critical difference here however is that I don’t go looking for jobs for the staff affected, I help them develop strategies and techniques to reassess their lives, and repackage themselves to take advantage of what usually ends up as better jobs than their previous one. And the key to this is giving power back to the employee, helping them realise that they are now back in control of their lives and that they need to take pro-active steps to find and keep the next job.

Someone famous once said, life is a ‘do it to myself’ process suggesting that where we end up in life largely depends on our own efforts. (I know this concept largely applies to those born in the Western world in a safe environment, but that means it applies to us.)

The good thing is that this realisation does not need to wait until we are unemployed. Undertaking a period of reflection can either be a self-indulgent, self-pitying process….or, an opportunity to recalibrate our lives, identify what is really important to us and then setting the plan in place to achieve it.

We know that sometimes crap happens and there are mergers, acquisitions and downturns so redundancies can occur.

But even then, do we blame others or do we dust ourselves off and look for the next opportunity?

If you are in a role at the moment where you feel in a rut, or unappreciated, or bored, underpaid etc, then now might be a good time to ask yourself the question, why am I employed? 

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Over the last 35 years we have installed laundry equipment into over 2500 facilities Australia-wide

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Linen Services

What is right for high rise hotels!

by Paul Creek, Creek Solutions

International hotels – the image of comfort, quality and decadence! Greetings from the top hatted concierge on arrival, warm smiles at check-in by reception staff and reaching my room without lifting a case. These hotels need not be the 5 (or even 6) stars that are peppering the market place, they are also the lower 3 and 4 city establishments as well as the many holiday resorts at a variety of locations.

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hotel is a slick business that needs to make a profit in the most efficient manner possible – often as part of a large group such as Accor, Sheraton, Intercontinental or standalone run for on behalf of a single owner.

The one thing that they have in common is the guest room that needs to meet a high standard – cleanliness, which involves the dusting, bedroom cleaning, amenities, basically applying specific attention to all areas that a guest comes in contact with and then all the other areas! All items to be used by the guest are placed in a uniform location throughout ensuring no effort is required by the guest in enjoying the comfort and service. Everything needs to be in working order.

Then, of course, there are the beds.

Linen needs to be considered in the process. This becomes the real point of difference. The guest whether a over night business people (or longer), travellers in transit or short/ long term holiday makers. Staying in a prestigious hotel is often a well earned treat paid for with savings for a special occasion. Every one expects clean, crisp, well presented linen.

The housekeeping and laundry processes are critical in any business that is responsible for the accommodation of the general

public, be it hotels/motels, health, aged accommodation, hostels or cruise ships etc, ensuring hygiene is well managed.

The decision is which way to go.

There are several options. These are to outsource fully, outsource the sheets/pillow cases while washing the towelling or to undertake everything in house.

Matthew Clark, from Girbau is a supporter of splitting the service if space is available. Processing flat work (sheets and pillow cases) involves large areas to be set aside for the laundry which may not always be available, however reducing to towelling only, this can be confined to a much smaller area and the quality of the towels can be of a high pile content. The flat work processing in international and other high quality establishments of 3 star and above should have ironed linen and this to be cost effective is often considered best to outsource. A towel folder is ideal when folding hundreds or thousands of blankets.

Questions are often asked about the benefits and running of an on premise laundry (OPL). To undertake the process in-house will provide control however when outsourcing, there is a higher level of consistency due to the automation of the process.

Consistency can occur in a full OPL, but this is subject to the laundry employee skills.

Quality is an important factor as well.

Ironed sheets and pillow cases are a quality factor. While the hotel can operate an ironer – they may be labour intensive and the hourly rates may become exorbitant. A 500 bedroom hotel would have more benefit with a large double roll chest ironer. The selection of ironer ability is to ensure the evaporation rates are the measure of effectiveness.

Two factors that come into place are cost and hygiene. However the location of the hotel may be too remote for price efficiencies to come into play. The hotel size and high occupancy can make an in house laundry viable based on capital outlay.

Decisions of the laundry set up are also based on location and needs: • Country vs Coastal (additional towels but longer stay with less bed linen change overs) • Business vs Holiday (the latter maybe multiple people vs single rooms) • Long vs Short Stay (regular full daily change overs increasing linen levels)

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Sean West of Laundry Solutions Australia states that the “tyranny of distance and the lack or competing laundries has an impact on the decision”.

Linen quality is also important. Good quality linen that is purchased should be part of an overall process. Adequate supplies of linen should be on hand – not to operate a system of strip all the beds quickly and get the beds remade with the same sheets. And it does happen!! Poor quality linen will deteriorate quickly and will need frequent replacing – linen with a high thread count will last longer and have a better feel. It is recommended that a par stock level of at least 2 be available and this will ensure its longevity and will allow housekeeping staff to make beds with their linen supply and not having to wait.

Sean West is often asked whether an on-premise laundry is worth considering. He continues to say that an organisation must do the analytical work on whether it is viable and usually says that costs per kg are more expensive for the towels, bath mats and hand towels. Good quality bed linen has higher cotton content and these need finishing on a roller-ironer. A roller-ironer is expensive and takes space.

Therefore Sean recommends after careful consideration, in-house towel laundering and outsourcing bed linen is a positive step.

If a towel is purchased at $10 it may be a false economy in relation to not purchasing a better quality towel at $12 – a higher up-front purchase cost may mean that a repurchase of the cheaper version may be 3 years later resulting in $3.35 per year cost analysis compared to a 5 year life span for a better quality one at $2.40 per year.

Replacement should be gradual to ensure that budget is carefully managed and the standard is maintained. If a sheet is washed everyday – it will not last the distance of 3 or 5 years!

Selection of machines should be based on the process and hotel requirements. Size is important to ensure laundry assistants are fully occupied. Down time can be costly.

Washers come in two styles hard mounted washers, which are less expensive and the soft mount machines with internal suspension. The hard mount machines need to be secured to a solid floor and the extraction speed will not reach the levels of a soft mount washer. The soft mount machines do not require the same floor considerations and generally will have cheaper construction costs for the laundry. Good extraction has improved outcomes for dryer use. There is less moisture retention in the linen and will dry quickly. A cheaper hard mount machine may result in more energy use.

The selection is based on the workload. The items being laundered: the bed linen and quilts (although the latter may not be regularly washed), towelling, table linen, kitchen and cleaning products. It is important to be able to vary sizes of equipment – a larger hotel may have several large machines

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with a few smaller. The large machines are to ensure, bulk work is processed quickly.

The varying styles of equipment will also meet the needs of the guests as well as the Hotel.

• Domestic – which allows the guest to wash their own items especially if at a coastal location – may not be an option in some hotels.

• Coin operated – with revenue going toward the cost of the equipment and utilities – may not be an option in some hotels.

• Semi Commercial – has the advantages of durability but may not always guarantee disinfection. Chemical feed, can be managed, but not well controlled.

Note: Are often top loaders and become high water users

• Commercial (small or large). These are durable and will cater for all loads. They are programmable for automatic chemical feed and will be more accurate with water levels and cycles than the semi commercial machines.

The washing machines are the first stage of the process followed by the washed items being placed into dryers.

Depending on the level of extraction in the washers, it will result in the most appropriate dryers being selected. Usually 50% greater capacity dryer drum capacity will be used than the washer size. The smaller the drum size in relation to the washer, the larger the drying time and the more crushed items may be. Dryers will operate on electricity and gas (including LPG) with the latter the best option.

The large capacity is important as not to crush the items being dried especially if the sheets are being washed in house and are not going to be ironed!!

Space is an issue as a laundry does take space and often is an afterthought. It must be designed to prevent poorly selected equipment not suited for the workload, tubs for holding soiled and clean linen (as working off the floor is a safety issue) and storage. An adequate supply of linen needs to be available to ensure prompt room turnaround and longevity of the linen.

Several companies are in the market for supplying equipment and the underlying message received as a consultant is to ensure reliability and service backup is available.

Steve Borg of Aqualogic, a laundry supplier, echoes this and stresses the value of the supplier being involved in the commissioning and provides all the testing of the programs and equipment. This will include all the relevant training for staff and other operators.

Washing processes are important and for the best results on the wash and use of machines is to keep them filled to capacity. Under loading can cause damage to the drums as well as increase the cost of utilities per kg.

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There is no right or wrong way of a laundry process. Cost and quality are the key issues. A popular process including high rise international hotels is to outsource the bed linen and keep towelling in-house. Towelling is manageable with only one person involved where bed linen presents well when it is ironed. If outsourced linen fails the quality test, it can be returned and a credit received where this won’t be the case in an OPL processed piece of linen.

Advantages of outsourcing are that the items processed are quality inspected and any rewash is an operational cost of the contractor. Rewash in an OPL can be a costly process.

If an OPL is operating, some rewash is acceptable, usually 2-3%, and this becomes part of the process and operational supply cost. If machines are under-loaded, the chemical usage per kg will increase and lead to early degradation of linen.

Chemical companies will supply product that will be automatically dispensed to the commercial machines.

Some laundry companies will organise the programming in conjunction with the chemical supplier however this does create flexibility issues and time delays especially to regional centres. There may be costs generated by the laundry company, which hinders the chemical company.

Good chemical suppliers will also include in the supply regular service checks of equipment for efficiency.

Premier Laundry, Cleaning and Kitchen/Food Services Laundry and Kitchen design specialists Cleaning processes and schedules developed Food preparation & safety programs devised Optimised Staff Processes established in all areas – Laundry, Cleaning and Food Services

• Laundry Services assessment to realise savings in reduced utility and labour costs • Cleaning regimes developed for positive infection control • Food Preparation and Safety Programs both manageable and sustainable • Providing expertise helping organisations retain their in-house support services

M. 0425 356 134 P. +61 2 9747 4679 E. paulcreek@creeksolutions.com.au

www.creeksolutions.com.au

creeksolutions pty ltd hotel, health and aged care consultants

PO Box 60, Croydon, NSW, 2132

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Sarah Hengl, Girbau Australia, “believes machines with a high range of program cycle possibilities available with some pre-programmed cycles are useful”. The preprogramming is based on factory settings and may not be ideal for everyone but is a start. Sarah continued to say that “machines with multiple dosing signals are flexible and that machines should be fully programmable on-site, however download systems can be utilised to program multiple machines if required”. It is an advantage for chemical companies to be able to program themselves.

The use of coin-operated machines assists where required a hotel to remain efficient while providing a service to its guests. These are usually in addition to a hotel’s own in house laundry. They come as a range of washers with matching dryers (8 kg to 24 kg) – including Lavamac, Speed Queen, Maytag and Econowash. The top loader machine will come either as top loader or front loader machines.

Sustainability is often discussed when comparing one machine to the next. There are machines that have good ratings however with good internal practices, modern machines from all suppliers with their own efficiencies and good programming, leaves very little between each of the suppliers other than the investment cost.

Ozone is a method that allows all washing to be performed in cold water and reduced steps in the process resulting in utility savings of 20-30%. There is usually a lease or purchase cost involved. Many of the chemical companies have cold or warm water wash programs that also allow for the same non-thermal disinfection.

Craig Oldroyd from Richard Jay states “Hotel owners who take control of their laundry on-site, places quality control in their hands plus are in charge of the end result.

This will ensure supply is available, against non-reliant, plant breakdowns, truck issues etc that a contractor might experience. It allows a specific linen type be purchased as it won’t become mixed with other hotels”.

The best option is to obtain independent advice to ensure that calculations of throughput will match the required expectations and budget of the facility. Once the machine capacities and configuration are known, then the hotel can go to the market and get the best-valued machine that will do the job. Each hotel has different needs, therefore careful analysis is required. The article does not discuss cost of operations in detail as each hotel has different arrangements and potential outcomes would differ. All final installation requirements need to be confirmed by the supplier.

All laundry operations are based on the Australian Standards 4146:2000, which recommends correct processes and disinfection.  Paul Creek consults to the aged, health and hospitality industries throughout Australia and the South Pacific. paulcreek@creeksolutions.com.au or 0425 356 134.

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ow available in Australia from Clearlink Services, this machine promises to deliver twice as much cleaning while doing a better quality job for less money.

The HydroBot also has impressive green credentials with its Eco Save Filtration System, featuring advanced 4-stage purification, filtering water

down to 1 micron. Eco Save eliminates 85 percent of the water and chemicals used each shift, states the marketer.

The HydroBot offers a 74 cm scrub path; 81 cm squeegee; sealed gel battery; a 53 litre solution tank; and a four hour run time. According to the marketer, the machine’s cleaning rate is a possible 930 sq m per hour.

Complementing the IntelliBot, Intelli-

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Microfibre

All the Micro Details by james smith, diversey

Microfibre cleaning sounds too good to be true. A cloth that uses no chemical and can kill 99% of surface contamination with 1 wipe! You may have had the opportunity to talk to a salesman with their eyes open wide in rapture about the benefits of microfibre cleaning and how we can save the world if only we invest in their system. For people who have been in our industry and seen the flash in the pan cleaning systems before it sounds a bit like a machine that turns lead into gold - too good to be true.

What is Microfibre?

M

icrofibre, as the name suggests, is made up of small fibres. To be classified as a microfibre, the fibre has to be finer than 1/100th of a human hair. Because the fine fibres create an increased surface area, microfibre has the ideal properties for environmental cleaning. To illustrate the advantage of microfibre cleaning, imagine using a broom with only 100 strands to sweep a floor as opposed to a broom with 10000 strands. Microfibre delivers an ultimate clean as the increased surface area picks up virtually all the dirt and dust in its path.

Microfibre cleaning has been used extensively in the cleaning industry since the mid-nineties. The advantages of microfibre are well documented and vast. Unfortunately while cleaning with microfibre has many positive aspects, there are factors that can be overlooked for the proper use and care of your investment.

How do you Wipe a Bench?

To use a microfibre cloth effectively you can’t use the same surface for more than a couple of square meters. To use the cloth to its maximum life involves folding the cloth into half and half again. This creates 8 cleaning surfaces that are swapped every few minutes. It may sound a simple process but it can be hard to train staff the correct technique required instead of using the cloth like a regular scrunched up rag. Training and ongoing supervision is required.

What is Damp Cleaning?

Microfibre can be used dry or damp. Used dry, microfibre uses electrostatic to attract dirt. Used damp, the water will help dissolve the dirt. The question is what is a damp microfibre cloth? If the cloth is too wet it loses its grip and is as effective as a wet rag, hence finding the balance between damp and too wet can be hard without the correct training.

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Laundering your Microfibre This is one of the biggest issues facing microfibre. To effectively re-use your microfibre cloths they have to be laundered correctly. This involves washing at a high temperature ranging between 60-90 degrees. This is because the synthetic fibres only release the absorbed dirt at high temperature. A simple cost effective solution to this is purchasing a front loader that has an internal element that can reach these high temperatures to launder your cloths correctly. The laundry detergent is also an important factor with cleaning microfibre. Bleaches, fabric softeners and some detergents coat the fibres and reduce their cleaning effectiveness or damage the fibres. This is the reason manufacturers insist using detergents approved for cleaning microfibre.

Disinfectants and Microfibre High quality microfibre used correctly removes 99.9% of surface contamination. For environmental hard surface cleaning it makes logical sense to use microfibre as it has no dwell time needed for chemical disinfectant and is almost instantly dry after damp cleaning. This process requires strict control and auditing. It is not uncommon for facilities to use microfibre damp with a QUAT based

disinfectant. This is not a recommended application as the microfibre absorbs almost all the active QUAT ingredient and neutralises the disinfectant solution. Some chemical suppliers have created a stable hospital grade disinfectant using accelerated hydrogen peroxide (AHP) for use with microfibre to allow complete disinfection.

Choosing Microfibre Microfibre cleaning is a growing trend in our industry.

With overall cleaning costs and environmental awareness becoming a bigger consideration, it is worth considering if microfibre is a suitable investment for your business. It is not a matter of buying a box of microfibre cloths and mops and cleaning the way you have before. Using microfibre requires a systematic approach to cleaning and having staff trained in a disciplined way to use it correctly. As always, you get what you pay for. If you have decided to use microfibre make sure it’s suitable for the job at hand and the cloths will last. Do not trust any off hand comments suppliers may say about longevity but rather request the technical data on the equipment. Microfibre is a fantastic tool that is changing the way our industry cleans. Used correctly will provide great results for years to come. ď Ž

33

Welcome To

Outrigger Surfers Paradise

Outrigger Surfers Paradise is located in the heart of exciting Surfers Paradise on Queensland’s famous Gold Coast. Spacious guest rooms with high-speed internet and private balcony offer sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and stunning Gold Coast skyline.

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35

Laundering

Microfibre cleaning cloths

by Brian Clark

Microfibre is by design a superior cleaning agent that attracts and holds onto a variety of organic and inorganic soils. If these contaminants are not effectively removed by the laundering process there will be a rapid deterioration in cleaning efficacy and increased risk for staff and building occupants as the cloths can provide an ideal breeding ground for bacteria growth and cross contamination. It is important that Healthcare Cleaning Managers look closely at the care and maintenance of Microfibre mops and cloths, with a particular emphasis on effective laundering procedures and protocols.

M

anufacturers agree that Microfibre need to be washed separately from other fabrics in a dedicated wash cycle and this must be emphasised if you are sending your valuable cloths to an external laundry where you have no control over the wash process. If Microfibre is washed with towelling or other fabrics it will pick up all the lose fibre and hair in the wash which will greatly affect its efficiency. Other risks include cross contamination and shrinkage and fibre damage from incompatible chemicals and high temperature during the washing and drying processes.

The ideal and lowest cost solution is to purchase Commercial laundry equipment with wash programs dedicated to Microfibre. The more efficient the machine the less the cost to you as Microfibre can be washed and processed quickly which means that your stock holdings of cloths can be minimised. Commercial frontload washers start at 6kg capacity and for less than $5000, you can purchase a commercial 10KG LG Front load washer and dryer which can process

36

performance. This may be a manually added powdered product, such as True Blue Det-n-ate which claims disinfection at 48C or a combination of liquid chemicals through chemical feed pumps.

One of the most effective ways to ensure disinfection is to install an Ozone diffusion system in conjunction with your laundry equipment. Ozone is a powerful oxidiser, reportedly up to 3500 times faster acting than Chlorine and a highly effective biocide, killing both bacteria and spores in cold water. Ozone also offers environmental benefits as it enhances the wash process and reduces the number of rinses resulting in significant reductions in water, detergent, and waste water generation as well as virtually eliminating the need for hot water.2 several hundred 30gm cloths and mops an hour while higher capacity programmable machines with heat are applicable for larger facilities. Machine selection is critical with the focus on programmable wash cycles, minimum water use, maximum soil extraction and fast throughput. Domestic machines and top loaders should be avoided for many reasons including durability and spin speed. Extraction is critical as Microfibre tenacious holds on to soil and minimum spin speeds of 1100 RPM and 300 G are essential.

The wash process is critical and it is important that you seek advice from the manufacturer and partner with a chemical company with laundry specialists. Ideally washers should be fitted with detergent feed pumps to minimise waste and optimise wash performance and wash consistency. LG Commercial washers, for instance, are compatible with Brightwell detergent feed pumps which interface with the washer to inject the correct chemicals in the correct dosage at the correct time in the wash.

Drying at correct temperatures is critical to the life and performance of microfibre cloths and mops. The most frequent complaints from cleaning managers relate to loss of dimensional stability and melting and fibre damage from commercial laundries and gas dryers set at too high a temperature. Every brand of cloth is different and manufacturers recommended drying temperatures range from 60C to 95C depending on the nature of the cloth. Consult your manufacturer’s guidelines and launder and dry with care. Laundered cloths should be regularly audited for cleanliness and deterioration while

Microfibre is produced from a blend of Polyester and polyamide fibres and generally exhibits good chemical resistance, but may be susceptible to damage by strong alkali particularly when laundered in conjunction with Quaternary Ammonium Compounds and colour loss may occur with bleaches.1 Chemical damage and loss of efficiency may also be caused by incompatible wash chemicals, strong bleach and other oxidisers, limonene and other hydrocarbon wash solvents, softeners and cationic disinfectants, though manufacturers warnings vary.

Disinfection is critical as cloths and mops are contaminated with microorganisms. Australian NHMRC guidelines are vague and refer to the Australian Standard AS/NZS4146—2000 Laundry Practice as a guideline for laundering fabrics. However, this standard is now 14 years old and may not reflect current technology.

It recommends thermal and chemical disinfection where heat cannot be confirmed or maintained.

The key to chemical disinfection is an effective sanitising agent that will not damage your cloths or affect their

37

cloths used in healthcare and food preparation may need to be regularly sampled and swabbed for bacterial growth as part of infection control procedures.

Hand hygiene must be observed when handling both soiled and clean cloths to prevent cross contamination and for worker health and safety. Gloves should be worn and needle stick protocols followed and hands should be washed before handling cloths.

Regardless of the nature of your facility your Microfibre maintenance program should be about minimising risk, protecting investment, improving safety and maintaining performance.  If you would like any more information on equipment and procedures for laundering microfibre or ozone diffusion systems please don’t hesitate to contact me on 0421 000044 or brian.clark@richardjay.com.au.

References 1. Rice R.r & DeBrum. Marc. The Ozone laundry Handbook LuLu Publishing 2011.pp;40-46

2. Cardis,D et Al. Ozone in the Laundry Industry – Practical Experiences in the United Kingdom, Ozone Science & Engineering 2001

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39

Mara Posa

T

he Batman’s Hill hotel on Collins St, Melbourne is probably one of the busiest in the CBD being located directly opposite Southern Cross station and close to the Docklands precinct and many of Melbourne’s major tourist attractions.

Until 2004 the hotel had only 86 rooms but expanding into the old bank building next door saw its’ capacity increase to 190 rooms, of which there are 3.5 star economy rooms and 4 star deluxe rooms and apartments. The hotel also has 2 restaurants, 2 bars and 2 function rooms as well as a large gaming room and car park.

Mara Posa has been the Executive Housekeeper since 2003 overseeing the huge transition whilst maintaining the former hotel during all the adjacent building works. Mara employs approximately 32 staff including 2 Maintenance staff.

Mara’s biggest challenges in these old combined buildings include managing the logistics as there are no linen or rubbish chutes so all clean and soiled linen, and rubbish must be handled manually by the housemen. She does say however that the extension gave her “some new lovely floor pantries” Mara is a qualified piano teacher and before working in hospitality she worked from home teaching students to play the piano whilst her children were at school.

As the children got older, Mara ‘s wanted to work full time and her first foray into hospitality was at The Regent, Auckland as a cashier in Food & Beverage being promoted to General Cashier back of house where she stayed for five years. In 1988, she moved to work in Housekeeping

40

PROFILE

at The Regent starting as a coordinator where she managed the Housekeeping monthly reports and rosters before being promoted to the role of Assistant Housekeeper at the 340 room hotel.

In 1999 she moved to Australia to be with her daughter who had moved here and her first position was at The Old Melbourne Motor Inn. She arrived on the same day as the hotel was starting the return to in house staff after terminating the outsourcing contract so it was a huge initiation as the hotel did not know who would turn up for work that day!!

Mara however was brave and lasted 4 years before taking up her current position in 2003. She enjoys excellent management support with her long time manager Yann Duroselle and is always willing to learn and discuss new ideas if there can be a better way of doing things. One of Mara’s dislikes is “false economy” where items can be purchased cheaply but do not last thereby creating more work. When purchasing items such as pillows, Mara always insists on balancing quality against the costs.

She believes in asking people to do tasks instead of telling them and will not stand bullying or racism in any form. She motivates her team personally by sending them personal thank you notes for outstanding efforts and recognising everybody’s birthday.

Mara loves baking cakes for her staff but admits “I only know one recipe !!”

Mara does not believe in financial staff incentives as she believes with such a small team, it may lead to resentment.

As most Executive Housekeepers find, the challenge of recruitment and retention of staff is a hard one due

to the physical nature of the work. She is a member of The PEHN (Vic) and is looking forward to attending the upcoming networking breakfasts.

Mara ‘s department only use 2 cleaning chemicals, cream cleanser and glass cleaner and she is a firm believer of “old fashioned elbow grease” She believes that bleach should not be used in rooms due to the effect it can have on staff by breathing in the fumes and also the damage it can do to furnishings and uniforms.

Born in New Zealand, Mara and her husband now reside permanently in Melbourne and have a daughter in Melbourne and a son in the UK who is a rugby coach plus 3 grand children.

Mara enjoys doing crosswords in her spare time and has no plans for retirement just yet .Maybe she will tickle the ivories in the upcoming PEHN function “Housekeeping ‘s got talent”!! 

Young Oh

Y

oung Oh is the Assistant Executive Housekeeper of the 382 room, four and half star Grace Hotel located in the heart of Sydney’s busy CBD. Originally built in the 1920s by Grace Bros as a showpiece of their successful retail business, the heritage listed hotel has recently been restored to its’ former glory combining old world charm and modern comforts.

In addition the hotel has 1 restaurant, a rooftop gym, swimming pool, sauna and 16 function rooms.

Young originally hails from South Korea where she graduated with a Diploma of Business English. She arrived in Newcastle, Australia in 2002 on a student visa with the intention of studying nursing at university. She however did not like nursing so instead transferred her course and studied hospitality at Tafe.

It was while studying in Newcastle that she was given a two week work placement at the Crowne Plaza hotel working as a room attendant. She later applied for a position at the Crowne Plaza working her way up the ladder from room attendant to supervisory level.

Her then partner who worked for the government was transferred to Canberra so Young transferred to the Crowne Plaza in Canberra where she again worked her way through the ranks to become a supervisor.

She relocated back to Sydney where she found it quite easy to gain employment in hospitality and in November 2012 accepted the position at the Grace Hotel as a supervisor before being trained to become the Assistant Executive Housekeeper, a position she was recently officially promoted to, working with the guidance of the Executive Housekeeper Keke Stewart.

Young enjoys the daily challenges that her role brings and in particular being hands on and caring for the welfare of her staff encouraging staff to give

PROFILE feedback so that any problems can be solved as soon as possible. Because the Grace Hotel is an old property, there is a constant need for ongoing maintenance and Young says at times this can be a challenge to maintain room standards whilst turning rooms around as fast as possible for Front Office.

Housekeeping at the Grace Hotel recently restructured staff utilising contractors to assist the hotel’s 15 full time Housekeeping staff. Young says that all staff are integrated as one team and everybody works very well together to achieve the aims of the department.

The overnight cleaning of public areas is contracted out but maintained by Housekeeping during the day. The department is manned from 6.30 am until 7 pm with a houseperson on duty until 10 pm to handle requests. Turndown service is only provided for the 9 suites when occupied.

Quality control is maintained by regular room inspections including once a week with the General Manager. Staff are scored on these room inspections and every three months a winner will be announced with a hotel certificate awarded as a prize.

In the years Young has been working in Housekeeping one of the biggest changes she has seen in Sydney in the last three years is the trend towards outsourcing the department.

Young says her role teaches her about other cultures which she enjoys but is determined to build on her experience and learn as much as possible so that one day she can become an Executive Housekeeper. She recently joined the PHAN (NSW) to assist her in this goal to upgrade her knowledge and challenge her own standards.

Now happily single when Young is not working she loves to exercise regularly helping her to maintain a healthy weight and relieve her stress. 

41

Spotless Carpets

and Upholstery

by Colin Nation

“Spotless.” It something we like to hear from our guests isn’t it. “The place was spotless!”

I often see that comment written in guest books and hotel reviews on the internet when a guest really likes what they see.

J

ust one dark spot on a light coloured carpet can take the focus off an otherwise beautifully clean room. A light spot on a dark carpet can have exactly the same effect. All it takes is just one spot on the carpet to bring down the whole image you are trying to create. I wrote about this about two years ago and thought I might take another look to see if there is anything that has changed to help you maintain your image.

There is a saying in the carpet industry that “Carpets don’t wear out, they ugly out.”

What do we mean by ugly out? When a carpet is purchased, it is chosen for its particular characteristics, colour, texture, pattern and style. It becomes ugly when soiling or stains change that look. Carpet is generally the canvas that all other decorating is based on and is one of the more expensive components of the decor yet is the one component that is often difficult to deal with. Paint is cheap by comparison and wall colours can easily be changed, ornaments and furnishings can be changed or moved about, but the carpet remains the underlying backdrop that will govern the choice of decor.

Now ugly is just colour. It can be colour missing, as in a faded or bleached spot on a carpet, or it can be colour added, such as a red wine stain on a plain carpet. It could just be a dirty grey or brown mark from a spill or it could be an overall dull dingy appearance.

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A carpet can be brand new, but still look ugly after the very first guest has had an accident with some red wine.

Your carpet and upholstery will start to ugly out, long before it wears out, and the deterioration in appearance starts from day one. Soiling gathers on your furnishings mostly in a very gradual way. Fumes from pollution, cooking fumes, sweaty feet, sweaty people and of course cigarettes can add fats, oils and soils bit by bit. This gradual build up of soiling is not always noticed until you move a piece of furniture and you realise just how ugly your carpets are becoming. But a spill, spot or stain looks ugly immediately and is easily noticed by you as well as your guests.

Believe it or not, nearly all of these problems can be fixed at a far less cost than replacement of the carpet.

Some are easier than others and can be carried out by in-house staff, but others will require specialist services like those I offer in my own specialist stain removal service on the Sunshine Coast.

A well planned maintenance program is the key to maintaining a high level of appearance and keeping the decor looking spotless. We can plan cleaning on a regular basis and program our occupancy around this, but spills can happen at any time and invariably happen the day after the carpet has been cleaned. To help you with planning I will answer some Frequently Asked Questions.

“How often should carpets be cleaned?” This can depend on the

type of soiling and the proximity of the source, but generally 6 monthly is great to keep the oily soils to a minimum.

“What’s wrong with oily soiling”.

There are four types of soils, dry soils, water soluble, fats / oils and dyes.

Dry soils are easily removed with normal vacuuming. Water soluble soils become dry soils when all of the water has evaporated away. Oily soils build up in a carpet and this starts to glue the dry soils to the carpet which makes your vacuuming less effective and a waste of time and money. Dyes are just that, dyes. We need dyes to make the carpet whatever colour it is but spills of dyes are not going to be removed with normal cleaning procedures and requires the services of a specialist stain remover, like me.

“What is the best method for cleaning carpet?” You will have heard of “steam cleaning’ and ‘dry cleaning’ but in actual practice, neither of these actually exist as a viable carpet cleaning system.

Steam Cleaning. Steam cleaning is more correctly called ‘Hot Water Extraction’. This is where a detergent solution is applied to the carpet and this detergent is then rinsed with a spray of hot water and extracted from the carpet with a special vacuum extractor. This method has the potential to remove bigger volumes of soil and deal with a large variety of stains, but can take a while to dry and needs a skilled operator to get great results.

There is a large variety of low moisture cleaning methods as well. Absorbent Compound, Rotary Bonnet Cleaning (sometimes erroneously called ‘Dry cleaning’) and Encapsulation Shampoo to name a few. So I will explain each of these in turn.

Absorbent Compound. There is a huge variety of products on the market but basically they are a solvent or detergent soaked powder type material that is spread on the carpet, agitated in, and then vacuumed out when dry. This is the fastest method to dry, but can be limited in its effectiveness. It needs to be used very frequently to maintain a carpet and this can be quite costly.

Rotary Bonnet (so called Dry Cleaning). This method is favoured by a lot of franchises due to the low cost of equipment and simplicity of training.

A standard low speed floor polishing machine fitted with a soft pad is used. First a water based detergent is applied to the carpet and the bonnet is spun over the carpet to absorb some soiling into the spinning bonnet. It is relatively easy to do and fast to dry but will have limited effect on heavy soils and stains.

Encapsulation shampoo. This is a variation of the old Wet Foam

Shampoo method but relies on a new breed of crystallising polymer shampoos rather than the old detergent based shampoos that lead to rapid re-soiling. The encapsulating cleaning solution is applied to the carpet through a scrubbing machine fitted with soft brushes or non absorbent pads to dislodge soiling form the fibre where it dries into a fine crystalline state that is easily removed with subsequent regular vacuuming. It is fast to dry, gives a very high level of appearance, works well on a variety of oily stains and best of all is very quiet and with the right cleaning solutions this methods gives long lasting results so cleaning frequency is reduced.

“How do we deal with spots and stains?” Usually we don’t find these until our guests have vacated and they have often dried out. Many spots are just the residue of a water based spill such as the beer, wine, soft drinks and the like and these can often be treated with just water. It is already water soluble so most times you can treat them with just a small spray of water then blot it up with a paper towel.

If this doesn’t work then you can try a carpet spotter but make sure your spotter is WoolSafe Approved. The WoolSafe Organisation is a worldwide

certification for cleaning products for use on wool carpet. If it is safe on wool then it is going to be safe on other fibres as well. Follow the directions from the manufacturer and use a blotting action only. And if this doesn’t work then it is probably a dye stain that will need some specialist treatments. Call one of the WoolSafe Certified Operators from the WoolSafe App which is available to download free. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/ app/woolsafe-carpet-stain-cleaning/ id619653871?mt=8 So the next time you see an ugly spot on a carpet don’t ignore it and hope it will go away, it won’t. There is help available, you just have to know who to ask and the WoolSafe App gives you the contacts. Now there is no excuse not to keep your furnishings spotless. 

The writer Colin Nation is carpet cleaning industry veteran with over 30 years of practical experience in carpet, upholstery and rug cleaning and specialist stain removal. Colin runs Abbsolve Services, a specialist stain removal service on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and also conducts specialist training in carpet cleaning and stain removal. For further information on stain removal or training contact Colin on 0417 756 100 or email info@abbsolve.com.au

43

THE Bathroom

Renovation Revolution

by Amanda Beazley, Managing Director and Designer John Beazley & Co Pty Ltd Hotel/Motel Fitout Specialists www.johnbeazley.com.au

I

t’s cyclic! And it must be that time again because it seems that many of our hospitality properties are undertaking bathroom refurbishment programmes.

So it prompts the question, why are bathrooms the last item hotels want to tackle and why do they get left until you “just can’t get away with them”, anymore?

There are a few reasons. Mostly because bathroom refurbs can be noisy, messy and costly. Not to mention the time they take to complete, therefore losing revenue while the rooms are “off-line”. And usually there are no half measures; it’s all or nothing. Let’s face it, it’s all too much to deal with really!

So how can you go about a bathroom refurb to minimise the pain?... Firstly, if refurbished well, your bathroom lifespan should be well over 12 years so whilst it’s not painless, you shouldn’t have to deal with the pain too often... So choose your finishes and scheme wisely. Let’s break it down and tackle the “design, noise, mess, cost” piece by piece to answer some questions.

THE DESIGN: Guests want to have the overwhelming feeling of “clean” when they walk into a hospitality bathroom, even more

44

than rooms. This is difficult to achieve when your bathrooms and tiles are old because, try as you might, grout looks dirty, mould appears and vanities swell or chip. When cleaning the bathroom just doesn’t make it look all ‘shiny’ anymore, it’s time to refurbish. The best way to make a bathroom look clean, is to use white, large format tiles and light colours with minimal detail.

Feature tiles, mosaics, and trend colours, while may look great when you first install, are the first item to look dated. Rather than refurbish to be “on trend”, refurbish to have longevity.

Large format tiles on the wall, not only can make a bathroom look larger, they can also minimise the amount of grout and therefore the amount of area for grout to get mould and dirt. Large format rectangle tiles, say 300x600 work great laid in a portrait stacked pattern as it gives height to the bathroom. Alternatively they can be laid landscape to give width.

The floor tile is a little more forgiving if it is a neutral colour rather than white, generally in the tones of the adjoining room carpet so there is a blend from one area to the next. Ceramic Floor tiles are cheaper however if something gets dropped on them they can chip and the colour on the ceramic surface also chips and is noticeable. The longer lasting option, while slightly more expensive, is a vitrified tile where the colour of the tile is consistent all

throughout the tile, and whilst they are tougher they can still chip however it is then less noticeable. Bathrooms are not in-expensive, but it does not make sense to cut corners.

Fixtures and fittings.

“It’s a trap!”: Again, no point in cost cutting to the point of jeopardising the quality as it will come back to bite you. Many toilet suites imported from China, may be a lot cheaper however many also have very narrow soil traps that can not cope with Australian pipes and therefore block easily, not a fun problem to deal with.

They are often difficult to get parts.

If you are paying anything less than approximately $500 for a toilet suite, chances are it’s not a quality selection.

It is not necessary to purchase overly expensive fittings such as tapware and towel rails but make sure the fixings are of a good quality, secure, they are installed correctly and the “design”, whether that be angular or curved, is consistent across the complete range of your fittings.

“Give me space!”: Remember that space for wet towels in any Accommodation property is essential so if you are limited in free wall space, consider a towel ladder. They are not expensive and a great solution. The age of putting towels on the bed are gone, it comes from “back in the day”

when not all rooms had bathrooms, communal bathrooms meant that you had to take your towels to the bathroom from your room, hence the housekeepers left the towels on the beds.

Give your guests plenty of towels and spare toilet rolls in the vanity. Vanity shelf space or open nooks are a great idea, rather than cupboards with doors where they could leave their belongings behind.

There are many options for vanities according to your desired look and budget. These range from poly tops, Caesarstone tops, surface mounted bowl with HMR (high moisture resistant) cupboards under, and glass top options. All are good options as long as they are of a commercial quality.

“Light the way”: Next to cleanliness, lighting in a bathroom is the next most important item according to guest surveys. Overhead lights, such as LED IP rated (rating for wet area) down lights, are necessary, equally important is mirror lighting. Women especially, prefer lighting on the mirror wall, rather than above, for applying makeup.

Lighting above and behind the face cause shadows rather than light from the front as per wall lights.

NOISE, MESS AND COST “No sugar coating”; I wish I could tell you there was a magic, no mess, no noise solution. Unfortunately no one has developed a trick for that. If you are scabbling back tiles and re-waterproofing there is no sugar coating it, there is going to be mess. HOWEVER a professional refurbishment company will be able to keep this to a minimum and be quick.

The noisy works are the messy works and they should be programmed to happen after 9 am so you are not waking your guests. A full bathroom refurbishment of lets say, 15 bathrooms can be easily achieved in under three weeks for all the rooms.

This is inclusive of taking the tiles off the walls and starting new. Out of the 3 week programme the noisy component should only take a few days. And the mess can be easily contained if you have professional tradesmen working for a refurbishment company who run the programme for you.

What can also assist dramatically to keep the disturbance to your guests at a minimum, is to keep the rooms that you are upgrading together in location.

If you can, isolate the row of rooms and put up hoarding, this is easier for both you and the trades.

“A little sugar”: A nice letter to your other guests in the occupied rooms apologising and advising that you are working towards better rooms, will go a long way to helping them understand, common courtesy or a free breakfast fixes everything.

“The ten thousand dollar question”: Full bathroom renovations are not inexpensive if you look at the total cost, however, once again the cost must be broken down over the many, many years that they will last, without having to do much at all in terms of maintenance. There is no quick fix, especially for older bathrooms, there is no cheap way around it. A full bathroom refurbishment for an average hospitality bathrooms (which are usually average in size), will not be less than $10,000. If however your bathrooms are in good condition and are just dated, there may be some viable options.

“Half way”: IF and that is a big IF, your bathrooms are; in sound condition, not too old, meaning tiles are solid and not “drummy”... there are cost savings to be had. It may be viable for you to tile over existing tiles. Here more than ever a professional refurbishment company should manage the programme and advise if feasible. However if suitable, it will save you the cost of taking the tiles off, and so the messy works are limited. It will save you on tiling costs.

45

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You will still need to re-waterproof and re-tile etc.

“Freshen Up”: Another cost saving measure, can be achieved again, if your bathrooms are in good condition and your tiles are also not dated.

When the bathroom is just looking tired and dirty, a way to freshen up is to re-grout over existing tile lines.

You can also replace the toilet cistern and seat (keeping the bowl which would require more plumbing work)

with new, which makes it look like a complete new toilet. A new vanity if needed and new fittings and fixtures and the bathroom looks new for half the cost. The tiling component is really the biggest cost so if your bathrooms just need a ‘freshen up’ then don’t delay, do the works now and you will find you will get a whole new lease for life from them without the full refurbishment outlay.

Of course this won’t last forever and in time you will need to do the Full refurbishment option. Plan for it, put the works into your reinvestment plan for the property and so you will be ready. Don’t leave it till your guests are complaining about the bathrooms, it’s inevitable, it will need to happen.  For advise on your Bathrooms or any other area of Design + Refurbishment, please feel free to contact Amanda from John Beazley & Co, Commercial Design + Fitout Specialists.

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47

Zero Waste

Pipe Dream or Reality

by John Engelander, OWNER, Eco Bin

Imagine, waste as a commodity! Its not only possible, it’s happening. In Norway, in the city of Oslo they import rubbish from neighbouring Sweden and even Ireland and England.

England ships as much as 1,000 tons a month of rubbish to Oslo. It is actually cheaper for some UK cities to pay the city of Oslo than to take their waste to the local landfill.

S

o why is waste so important to Oslo? It’s a city that runs out of waste. How could that be a problem? They need as much waste as they can get to burn it and produce energy to provide electricity and heat homes and schools.

The process is simple. Each tonne of waste is dropped into an incinerator.

It soars to 850 degrees and in turn produces energy.

Although Norway ranks among the world’s 10 largest exporters of oil and gas, and has abundant coal reserves and a network of more than 1,100 hydroelectric plants in its water-rich mountains burning waste is about renewable energy and to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Apart from producing electricity, food waste, enables Oslo to produce biogas, which is now powering some 144 buses. It has become a “waste-toenergy” revolution. Interestingly, one

48

kilogram of food waste produces half a litre of fuel.

It is important to know that Norway is not alone. In Europe, “Waste to energy” has become a popular method of rubbish disposal. More than 20 million people are provided with heat and electricity from 420 plants. For example, Germany ranks as the most active in Europe as far as importing rubbish. Surprisingly, they are ahead of Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Burning rubbish to generate heat and electricity has exploded in recent decades: demand for rubbish far outstrips supply. As a result, many Europeans do not see it as waste here – they see it as energy.

“Four tonnes of waste has the same energy content as one tonne of fuel oil,” says the director of the waste-toenergy agency in Oslo, Pal Mikkelsen.

It turns out that one tonne of fuel from waste can heat an average house for half a year.

So why not Australia? Energy from waste, if it’s done properly would also mean a lot more materials recovery resulting in a huge decrease in landfill.

Let’s not forget in our Australian cities there are escalating costs of sending waste to landfill.

So why shouldn’t we benefit? For example in places like Sydney or Melbourne, imagine half a year of heating in our homes. Almost sixteen house-hold 240 litre council wheelie bins full of waste would convert into sufficient energy. In fact we would need less energy as our cities are warmer than the Northern countries of Europe.

Oslo’s waste incinerator was built with extra capacity to cater for future growth. “With more and more countries in Europe moving away

from using landfill, we assume that there will be growth in waste to energy,” says Christoffer Back Vestli, communications adviser for the Oslo municipality.

“At the moment, the city of Oslo can take 410,000 tonnes of waste a year and we import 45,000 tonnes from the UK. Europe as a whole currently dumps 150m tonnes of waste in landfills every year, so there is clearly great potential in using waste for energy.”

By converting waste into energy, Oslo will help halve its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions within 20 years – making a city whose wealth was built on oil, one of the greenest on the planet.

Some believe that producing less rubbish should take first place, while generating energy from waste should be second.

Australians produce an incredible amount of waste every day. Surely it

would make sense to use this energy source to power our homes too.

My only question here is: is waste to energy discouraging recycling?

Quite often 80% of waste can be recycled.

Surely it’s a balance: recycle as much as you can and incinerate the rest for energy. Now this may just be the solution. Perhaps Zero Waste isn’t so much a pipe dream after all and more a reality. 

By John Engelander, advocate for the Planet Earth and owns Eco Bin, a company that helps organisation’s to “change their waste habits”.

More info www.giveastuff.com.au and www.ecobin.com.au tel. 1300 669441.

49

Constructive Conversation in the Workplace

Three things to keep in mind

by Tomas Garza

T

o successfully navigate workplace conflict, managers must be able to confront team members in a positive, pro­ductive manner. Whatever the situation, whether two people are actively quarrelling or whether one person’s behaviour is impact­ing the entire work culture, a manager must be able to step in, take charge and do so in a way that does not contribute to the drama.

How, then, do you constructive­ly confront team members? How do you both get your point across and preserve team chemistry?

For any manager, these conversations can be crucial. Ongoing conflict and drama can, of course, have a ripple effect on everyone, and the last thing any organisation needs is a dip in mo­

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rale. Assuming this is not a situ­ation that calls for firing, there is a great deal a manager can do to help resolve the problem, be firm and preserve group harmony.

In having these conversations, here are three things to keep in mind:

Use Non-Accusatory Language For many of us, it is tempt­ing to place blame and pin an entire problem directly on some­one else. After all, aren’t they the ones causing the disturbance in the first place? A constructive solution, despite our first impres­sions, involves shelving the urge to blame and taking a step back.

How you phrase things here makes all the difference. You can make the

conversation produc­tive by focusing the language on you. For example, you can say, “I notice you missed the last two staff meetings,” or “The other day I overheard your comments about the director.” The alternative would look like this: “You missed the last two staff meetings ,” or ‘’You made those comments about the director.”

One statement talks about your observations, what you saw, noticed or heard. The other puts everything squarely on them.

This may seem subtle, just a matter of semantics, but in con­structive confrontation your word choice matters.

When you talk about your observations, people naturally feel less defensive.

When people do not have their guard up, you will be able to get more accomplished.

Be Clear As a manager attempting to put a stop to harmful behaviour, you must be clear in this conver­sation. Your group cannot afford any mixed messages. Therefore, be as clear as you can about the following: 1) What you heard or saw. Make sure there are no ambi­guities here. If you didn’t experi­ence any of the events firsthand, be sure you have gathered suf­ficient information. The person you are talking to needs to know exactly what it is they are doing that damages your group chemis­try.

2) How this impacts the group. Be very clear on this. Often, people do not intend any sabo­tage, but their behaviour may, nonetheless, have a detrimental impact. It is perfectly fine to be direct about this impact; often the person really needs to hear it.

nothing to lose in taking a mo­ment and listening.

Also, if you listen attentively enough, the other person may of­fer suggestions or solutions you hadn’t considered.

You will never know unless they get an opportunity to speak, too.

Consider these three sugges­tions the next time you have to confront somebody in the work place. In most situations, you can preserve group harmony, show re­spect and

appreciation for the oth­er person, and be sure you have clearly stated your expectations.

It is indeed possible to become a pro at constructive confrontation. Do it, and your organisation will benefit.  Tomas Garza is a conflict resolution and personal development expert.

Published with permission of Executive Housekeeping Today.

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3) Your expectations. If you don’t clearly state your expectations for future behaviour, this conversation will be a waste of your time. Unclear expecta­ tions create needless confusion and can lead to future problems. As a manager, you must say what you expect. Luckily, this can be done in a non-accusatory manner that strengthens the group rather than pulls it apart.

Listen A conversation – even one you must have with an employee about their behaviour – is just that, a conversation.

This means it involves two people.

Though you will need to come into the dia­logue with an agenda and get your point across, the process will be infinitely more productive if you give the other person a chance to speak, and more importantly, to be heard.

This means you must take the opportunity to listen.

When the other person speaks and feels you have heard them, their tension level goes down. De­fensive posturing that might oth­erwise stand in your way will dis­appear. The person may even feel grateful for your hearing them out, and appreciated. This can be crucial to maintaining group harmony. Provided you take the opportunity to clearly state your expectations, there is absolutely

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51

How to implement

a chemical free cleaning program in your facility

by Murray McDonald, Director of Duplex Cleaning Machines

The 3000 year old mop, chemicals and bucket method is fast becoming a process of the past for the accommodation and housekeeping industry. Over the last 15 years, the push for chemical free cleaning has increased dramatically, both domestically and commercially, and in a variety of industries. One of the leading industries in this movement is the accommodation sector, with the term “green cleaning� becoming more widespread.

A

mong the reasons for the chemical free shift is the need for better cleaning efficiency and sanitisation through the use of a sustainable technology known as steam technology and microfibre.

As well as this, more guests and staff are developing allergies to chemical disinfectants, making steam cleaning a popular alternative.

CHEMICAL FREE, HYGIENE CLEANING A Duplex Steam is ideal for low moisture daily cleaning of hard floors, carpets, Flotex flooring and spills. A Duplex is also great for periodic deep cleans.

A Jetvac Junior uses +165oC dry steam to clean, deodorise and sanitise textile surfaces including curtains, mattresses, sofas or dining chairs in minutes.

Use steam to hygienically clean a standard sized aged care bathroom in less than 4 minutes with under a half glass of water and no chemicals.

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All types of accommodation facilities can implement a sustainable cleaning routine that covers key priority areas. Here are three priority areas of an accommodation facility where housekeepers can implement a chemical free cleaning program in their facility.

Mattresses, upholstery and furniture When it comes to chemical free cleaning of upholstery, furniture and mattresses, it’s important that whatever method is used, it needs to leave the surface thermally sanitised and deodorised, as well as caters for the removal of bed bugs.

Bed bugs are difficult to kill and get rid of and are developing immunities to common pesticides. Therefore sustainable technology is now the key exterminator. It’s biologically impossible to develop immunity to extreme heat. They are extremely vulnerable to heat with high temperature steam of over +155ºC instantly kills bed bugs and gets rid of their eggs.

In order to effectively sterilise upholstery and mattresses, high temperature steam at +155 degrees Celsius will not only eliminate bed bugs, but kill all bacteria and remove mould.

It’s suggested to find steam cleaners that are at 5% water content, therefore the steam that is produced is “dry” steam, which won’t leave your surfaces damp and risk further mould growth.

In regards to tools and attachments to complete these cleaning applications, using a lance to expose infestations to extreme heat can be extremely effective in cracks such as baseboards, windowsills, door jams, bed frames, and around telephone jacks to get rid of bed bugs and kill bed bug infestations including bedbug eggs.

Using a tool with a microfibre attachment is the most effective way to trap the high temperatures produced by the steam. This technique allows the tool to be moved around quickly on top of and around infested areas effectively getting rid of bed bugs. The use of the microfibre cloth has been proven to work several cms from the steam head allowing the steam to kill bed bugs in harder to reach areas providing a better extermination.

Use this method on mattresses, sofas between cushions box springs and other fabric objects to efficiently use the steam to instantly kill bed bugs and get rid of bed bug eggs.

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Carpets Cleaning carpets in an accommodation environment can be tedious work and an OH&S issue if the incorrect processes are used.

Chemicals are no longer an effective way for carpet cleaning with much of the chemical being left behind in the carpet fibres to attract dirt and cause allergies to patrons. When the dirt gets trapped within the fibres, stains often reappear within weeks of cleaning.

When implementing a high temperature steam process for carpet cleaning, find a method that achieves the 4 in 1 process that is required for a high standard carpet clean – wash, scrub, steam and dry. Again, just like the process of cleaning upholstery, the steam used

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This is so the carpet is dry in minutes eliminating downtime and the risk of mould build up.

Bathrooms Using high temperature steam and microfibre in the bathroom not only will produce an “infection control cleaning” standard of clean but could also take just 5 minutes to complete.

Traditionally bathrooms have been cleaned using the old spray and wipe method with strong chemical disinfectants. Steam at +155 degrees Celsius and 94% dry, can deodorise and sanitise a bathroom as temperature that high eliminates all bacteria. The heat also thermally melts grime and destroys moulds

spores and the pressure blasts grime out of hard to reach areas.

The most efficient way to clean a typical sized bathroom with steam is combining steam with a nylon detailing brush and a steam mini mop with some type of microfibre pad. The lance will provide a jet of high pressure concentrated steam and the brush is used to detail clean smaller areas like taps, drains, rails, toilets etc. The Steam Mini Mop is used to clean the larger areas like floors, walls and shower recesses.  Murray McDonald is Director of Duplex Cleaning Machines and has over 20 years experience in improving cleaning standards through chemical free solutions for thousands of accommodation facilities.

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54

Fitness & Image

USING ART, FITNESS AND PERSONAL IMAGE TO ENHANCE YOUR LEADERSHIP

by KRISTA ELLIOTT, Managing Director, Krista .com.au

Authority. Leading by example. Being Strong. Looking Alive.

What is your unspoken visual message?

S

ean Connery was voted sexiest man alive - at 75 years old! He exudes confidence by the way he holds his face and how he walks. He is slim, fit, well dressed. The tone of his voice draws you to him. Compare this with any comedian and you will know which style that ‘says’ LEADER. How do you feel about yourself as a leader? How do others feel about you?

How do you want to come across – stately, composed and in control or anxious, stressed and rushed. Do your staff operate out of fear, or do your staff willingly go the extra mile to please you? Close your eyes and sit still for 60 seconds. Imagine yourself looking, sounding and feeling the image you want to portray. Practice making different faces in the mirror for different emotions so that you can carry off at will which ever one you want to – like an actor.

CLOTHING CHANGES through the ages One piece swimsuits to bikinis, pointy busts to no bra at all, corsets to caftans.

Style is in constant motion. However some elements of design attire do stand the test of artistic time rather than being faddish. What colours make you look younger, healthier and even out blemishes? Which cut and fabric enhance your body shape. e.g. a big busted woman may think twice about wearing a bulky high textured jumper, where as that could look amazing on a super slim woman; padded shoulders

on a jacket could look great on a man but swamp a woman, depending the scale of the padding. We know what is appropriate for the beach, the football and a black tie dinner – so what are the rules for your role in your business?

THe CALM and FEARLESS LEADER – YOU. What you eat and drink is critical to your productivity. Why would you choose food that makes you weary and ages you, when you can choose organic, nutrient dense fruit, vegetables and proteins with pure clean spring water or vortexed water that fuels your aliveness? If you want to appear calm and unflappable, try eliminating anything with cane sugar in it. Check out “146 reasons why sugar is ruining your health” at www.nancyappleton.com.

These reasons include that it promotes excessive food intake, and she refers to a host of cancers that be traced back to it..

A ROPE & A STREtCH BAND If you ask a well known leader in any field you will most likely find that exercise is a fundamental tool to their success and their ability to deal with the pressures

of the day. Many choose to exercise at 5.30 AM so no one can interrupt them and that the workout is done before the work day kicks in. There are three elements to fitness and keeping in shape, those being: Speed, Stretch and Strength. All you need is a skipping rope, a 2m stretch band and your own body weight.

ART for Wellbeing Art is great for your health and a way to rest your mind, because with art, you are the Boss there are no rules.

You control the colours you apply, the lines you draw and the shapes you make. Turn on some soothing music. Tear out and glue down some coloured paper shapes Add some thick and thin lines with a black felt pen, take a bite from an organic apple and draw it using your non-dominant hand.

Make your art mimic the music.  Krista Elliott is a Master Trainer (Australian Institute of Fitness) and holds a degree in Art Education.

She is a speaker and trainer in Fine Art, Fitness and Presentation Skills (www.krista.com.au) and also produces and hosts a one hour chat show called ‘Make Life Beautiful®’ at 5pm on Mondays for Radio Northern Beaches 90.3 FM

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Are you finding your floors

Harder to Clean?

by John Taylor, The Cleaning Supply Shop

“My floors are so hard to clean” is a common cry from many Housekeepers particularly when referring to common area and back of house hard floors. There are 2 basic types of floors – “soft floors” which refers to carpets and “hard floors” which refer to just about everything else. You can blame litigation that has caused insurance companies to recommend in the Building Code of Australia and the National Construction Code that floors are slip resistant. The official interpretation is Occupational Health and Safety legislation holds the building designer accountable for under foot safety in public spaces.

The product supplier is responsible for supplying flooring fit for the purpose for which it is intended and the facility manager for maintaining the floor compliant to the supplier’s instructions and appropriate industry standards.

T

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he appropriate slip standard for Australia is AS 4586 for initial slip tests. This is conducted on newly manufactured samples of flooring materials that have not been installed. There are three main tests for slip resistance; the Tortus and Pendulum both of which can be used after the floor has been laid (AS 4663) and the Ramp test of which there are a couple of variations but both use the same principle. The Ramp test results in an “R” rating which gives an indication of the slip resistance of the floor. The Ramp test is pretty basic but logical. In layman’s terms the test is conducted by laying the flooring to be tested on a ramp, an oil like substance is applied to special shoes on a person who is attached to a harness and the ramp tilted until the person loses traction. A mathematical equation using the weight of the person, the angle of the testing ramp etc is used to determine the “R” rating of the material.

highly polished floor slip resistant. When a shoe comes in contact with the floor, the air and more importantly any water, needs to be squeezed out from under the shoe so that the maximum surface of the shoe actually touches the floor. If air and water is trapped under the shoe an aquaplaning effect takes place and a person can very easily lose their balance and fall. If the surface is rough, air and water can escape from under the shoe and full contact can be made.

Coatings can be applied to highly gloss floors to improve their slip resistance.

In many cases these are silicates, similar to the make-up of sand or the floor is etched with a powerful acid to create minute holes in the surface. Slip resistant vinyl floors are often called “safety floors” where an abrasive material is embedded in the surface.

This technically is called “particle enhancement”. In wood and ceramic look floors, indentations are created.

power prematurely. And the floors tend to look dirtier because they are cleaning the shoes of the people that walk on them or if they are etched the tiny holes fill up with dirt. A further problem is that automatic floor scrubbers will not pick up the dirty water efficiently because the squeegee does not properly seal onto the floor, therefore dirty water residue remains on the floor.

The higher the R rating (the scale is from 9 – 13) the greater the slip resistance.

The greater the slip resistance means in many cases the harder it is to clean the floor. It is difficult to make a smooth,

This means it is very hard to clean the floors with traditional cleaning methods.

Mops tend to shred, traditional floor scrubbers struggle to perform and battery powered machines lose their

Polish cannot be applied to the floor because it will fill up the height variations and render the slip resistance ineffective. Machinery with aggressive floor pads cannot be used because they

will wear out any abrasive material and smooth the surface. The solution can be to use cylindrical brush floor scrubbers.

With this type of machine, the very tip of the brush can reach the variations in the height of the floor and because there is only a few centimetres of brush actually on the floor and any time, it does not put excessive strain on the motors of the machine. A very good vacuum system is required to remove the soiled water. However it is to be expected that the squeegee rubbers will wear out earlier than with a smooth floor. Look at microfibre mop heads. They are more expensive than cotton mops but do not shred as quickly as cotton. Investigate microfibre flat mopping, particularly

those that are manufactured to clean uneven floors. They normally have an abrasive fibre built into the mop that helps get into all the nooks and crannies of the floor. Another cleaning tool for difficult to clean slip resistant floors that is found in everyone’s cleaning cupboard is the innocuous 30 cm soft nylon bristled broom. Again because you are cleaning with the tip of the bristle it will get into the indentations in the floor, whereas the powerful deck scrub with its strong fibres tends to “chatter’ over the top of the floor only cleaning the high spots.

Detergents used on abrasive floors should complement the type of cleaning. If a cylindrical brush floor scrubber is used the detergent needs to be low foaming and free rinsing so

that it doesn’t leave any residue on the floor. Many floors actually get dirtier because of excessive chemical use. If the chemical is not rinsed properly from the floor it builds up a sticky residue which attracts dirt. Many establishments use a chemical dilution system where chemical is automatically diluted with water to maintain a constant dilution.

It means every time you fill a bucket or scrubber you are in fact introducing more chemical to the floor. Consider a chemical free day where the floors are rinsed with clean water. For instance “W” for Wednesday could mean “W” for Water only day. Not only will it save money by not using chemicals for a day, it gives the floor a chance to be rinsed and you will be amazed how much chemical residue is in your floors.

Hard floors do not need to be hard to clean, it just needs a rethink of the method. Remember, it is your responsibility under legislation to maintain your floors in a safe condition. 

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57

Game On!

The Effective Training Checklist

by Janet C. Marletto

If it seems that we have been training forever! It’s because, we have!

S

ome of us do it well; some of us don’t. Fortunately or unfortunately, the results become visible in our very visual business. So, what makes the difference?

First: You have to see that it is necessary and that, when well done, it makes a noticeable difference.

The person above you has to believe this too.

Then, you have to have the budget for it! For new hires, for re-training and for updating when changes occur. This is the critical piece because without the funding, it is an impossible task. Why impossible?

Because, in American hotels, there is a daily quota for room attendants.

The budget has to allow for room attendants to be on the schedule without being calculated in the dally quota. It can be a budget line for “training.”

Second: You have to allow the necessary time for thorough training and follow up. It has been found that a minimum of three weeks of supervised training by a designated trainer is necessary to produce the desired results. Needless to say, daily and weekly evaluations are in order the first two weeks. Because of the physical demands of the job, it is possible that the trainee will have second thoughts about the job especially if the pay and benefits are not competitive.

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This is followed by a graduated room assignment to allow for the skills to speed up and to be consistent.

Third: it is obvious that the trainer has to be trusted in every way and has to be someone who has been totally vetted and trained. (Someone who wants to undermine the department head is not a candidate for trainer. Be alert!)

Fourth: All supplies and equipment must be prepared in advance to be sure that all safety regulations are observed. The containers must be correctly labelled, machinery clean, in good, safe, operable condition and applicable supplies on hand.

Work habits indicate the level of the operation.

Fifth: Have an approved model prepared so that it can serve as the goal. It also serves as a reference point throughout the process. (It needs to be checked and freshened daily so that it remains at standard.)

Sixth: Any necessary paperwork, like checklists, can be prepared ahead of time and placed in folders for each trainee and kept in a file in the office.

They can be updated and modified as needed.

Seventh: FINALLY, the GAME! Rather than having a stress producing competitive game, challenge each trainee to be able to produce a room to standard. This can be done in segments: supplies, bed making,

bathroom cleaning, equipment care and maintenance, work habits (including supplies). Include all aspects that are important on your team.

Then what?

Before training begins, do preparation of all listed above plus the prizes for the various challenges.

These can be sample products, amenities, snack items, and gift cards donated or purchased from the local grocery stores and/or vendors.

They can also be beautiful items that the employee might not always be able to afford such as a blooming plant. Family related items are often appreciated such as toys and stuffed animals. When there is an array of items for each of the steps in the training, it gives the trainee a sense of empowerment to make a choice.

Needless to say, every aspect of this approach requires planning and preparation. It is worthwhile to make a list of possible resources for use on an on-going program enhanced by prizes. It is quite amazing to see what can be collected when an effort is made. Appealing to other departments for support is often a great way to bolster interdepartmental relations. Thus, even a small budget can reap great rewards in staff morale. When prizes are not available or not available yet, then certificates of achievement presented with ceremony can be the answer for recognition for the early

steps. This allows you to buy some time.

The concept of rewarding achievement, loyalty and engagement is not new. It is just that it is being applied in all sorts of commercial environments now.

Department stores, food outlets and coffee shops encourage participation in the promotional game of the moment. There is a name for this: “Gamification.”

Game+ification is the trend. Making a game out of everything is a goal for some companies. In 2010, there was 20% participation rate by companies. The projection for 2015 is 40% involvement with a return of $1.6 billion just on gamification alone. Gamification Guru, Rick DeMarco, describes it as engaging people so that there is” fun with a purpose”. “He indicates there have been studies which demonstrate that retention percentages jump remarkably because engagement creates a bond.

Many Silicon Valley companies have applied it to the hilt so that the “work” environment resembles a recreation centre set on a scenic campus with meandering paths and enviable amenities usually found at a spa. This may seem excessive; however, Millennials are known for changing jobs. To retain team members, these enhancements seem de rigueur. In reality, they also support creativity and problem solving.

How does all of this apply to service industries?

It has become more and more challenging to attract people to service jobs. There has been such a culture of entitlement that younger applicants have high expectations anywhere they apply. This is true in retail which does not have the demanding quotas of housekeeping positions. Consequently, any effort to lighten up the work environment can

make a positive difference. Although the work may not be fun, per se, it can be made more enjoyable with excellent organisation, quality supplies and equipment, excellent training and on-going sincere recognition.

Before there was even a whisper of “gamification”, I directed a most effective and entertaining training session at a luxury resort adjacent to a very well-known theme park. I have always known that humour is the key to effective teaching/training.

It required some planning on my part and the involvement of some dedicated team members plus an associate from another department for the reality effect.

The scenario: The room attendants were being encouraged to update clean check out rooms on their own.

Many were nervous that a room might have a flaw which would come back to them. They balked at the demand and resisted to the point that service was being negatively affected. Something HAD to change.

This busy resort could not afford to have displeased guests.

So, I decided to dramatise the situation using humour to get the point across to the team.

I arranged to use a vacant section of the ballroom that had an empty bar in it. We pushed the bar to one end of the room and asked the entire team to sit facing it. Then, the volunteer front desk clerk stood behind the pretend front desk (banquet bar). The piece de résistance took the form of a female housekeeping supervisor and a male housekeeping manager. She played the role of the tourist mother and he played the role of a very eager and vociferous five-year old who wanted to see his favourite characters. NOW! They approached the “front desk” and asked about their room. When they were informed that it was not yet ready, “the five year old” started whining loudly and asking “why, why,

why?” His “mother” could not calm him down no matter what she tried.

Then the scene was replayed with the” mother and son” approaching the “desk “to find that their room was ready. The “child” was ecstatic and his “mother “was relieved.

Smiles were everywhere!

During this brief skit, the audience was laughing and was totally engaged because of the sight gag. More importantly, they GOT the message. When asked if they understood why they had to update checkouts, they responded in the affirmative. No other training was needed to make the shift. The laughter and lightness were totally effective.

The lesson in all of this is that delivering a clear, targeted message is more effectively executed with humour and playfulness. When tasks need to be mastered, it is important to allow the time for that to happen realistically. By providing positive feedback and careful coaching along the way, the level of quality can be reached with the least amount of stress. The recognition, no matter what form it takes, serves to cement the bond needed for retention. Mutual respect can be demonstrated as well. It allows for more communication with team members so that there is chance of an exchange of more information.

According to Rick DeMarco, this access to information translates into power in the workplace. Everyone wants to feel included in the workplace. The use of good natured humour brings everyone together with laughter. As educators know, laughter means that people are learning and retaining information because they are totally engaged.

So, when in doubt, turn it into fun and shout “Game on!”  Janet C. Marletto is a Housekeeping Consultant with 25+ years experience in luxury hotel housekeeping. 719-226-1474 / jmarletto@yahoo.com

59

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ADVERTORIAL

Effective Health & Safety Guidelines

In the Workplace

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oor workplace housekeeping is a frequent cause of accidents and employee injuries. By following effective health and safety guidelines the workplace can work to a higher efficacy and can be a safer environment for all.

To ensure that employees are informed of the risks, and provided with the necessary information to ensure their health and safety, employers must implement consistent training. To do so, it is essential to be aware of the latest and greatest technologies and cleaning methods available.

Paul Morrall, General Manager of M-Learning stresses how practical training can increase profit, lift productivity and develop the potential of employees. He explains that “improving employee productivity and efficiency is fundamental for high performing organisations and training metrics should be used to ensure that training programs work to improve employees’ performance.”

“Combining media elements with well-designed, interactive exercises enables learners to extend their experience to discover on their own, so that they are no longer passive while information is “fed” to them.

Additionally, programs may be designed to include immediate feedback in order to clarify misconceptions before trainees become confused and to provide direct reinforcement for correct responses.”

Mr Morrall adds that “using quantifiable metrics to measure employee’s success with training programs can shed light into the program’s impact on employee performance as a whole.

Training programs that include audits, written or hands on assessments for the sole purpose of monitoring training

effectiveness can provide readily available performance metrics such as test scores and pass rates for follow up.”

Paul Morrall will speak at the forthcoming CleanScene show, exclusive to Sydney, the expo takes place at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park from the 2 - 4 September.

Presented by the National Cleaning Suppliers Association, CleanScene will attract everything useful to commercial and industrial and facilities management industries, and is the largest trade event of its kind in Australia.

A host of industry experts will be on hand to answer questions, provide insights into trends and developments, these free to attend seminar sessions provide an unparalleled learning experience. For the first time ever, Bill Bassett, Managing Director of Interclean Australasia will present the C.H.I.P Course (Cleaning Hygiene Improvement Process) at CleanScene.

Mr Bassett sees the value in how new techniques and technologies can be used to more effectively manage labour, without compromising levels of hygiene in healthcare facilities. “For over 10 years I have dreamed of having a training centre where Australia’s best cleaning managers could come together and create better cleaning systems. I wanted a training centre that was setup with various rooms where cleaners could be taught to identify what needed to be cleaned, understood the WH&S and cross contamination challenges facing staff and management, and could take the time to play and trial various ways to find the easiest, fastest, safest way to keep our facilities hygienically clean.”

Mr Bassett’s hands on seminar will involve volunteers from the audience

and highlight through UV lights how to identify the touch point surfaces that need to be cleaned properly, without spreading germs to the next area.

Also speaking at the expo will be Jenny Boymal, Managing Director of Jena Dyco on The Building Blocks of a Better, More Profitable Business in the Service Industries. Using actual industry related case studies, Ms Boymal will provide a practical examination of how even the smallest start up can grow into a highly viable business within 18 months.

CleanScene will also feature over 50 exhibitors and 100’s of new products catering for cleaners, facility managers, government agencies, and purchasing officers. Not only will this event showcase the latest cleaning equipment and supplies, but also a hygiene component relevant to industries beyond the commercial cleaning sector such as health care and hospitality.

Presented by Informa Exhibitions, CleanScene is Australia’s leading show focused on cleaning and hygiene.

Attendance at Cleanscene is free, you can secure your place at the event online now!

Cleanscene is conveniently co-located with Safety in Action Sydney. The largest exhibition of its kind, Safety in Action Sydney is an absolute must attend for anyone whose job involves safety, either theirs, or those around them. Over 4,000 health and safety decision makers from multiple sectors across Australia will be converging on Sydney Olympic Park for the region’s only dedicated workplace health and safety event.  More information on the first national cleaning and hygiene expo can be found at http://www.cleansceneshow.com.au/visitor

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Interview

Andrea Kjellin

Assistant Director of Housekeeping Peninsula Hong Kong

By Liz Lycette

What is your cultural background?

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in Hong Kong, my mother is Chinese and my father is from England. I grew up in Hong Kong and went to school here till the end of my secondary school education.

I then took a gap year before going on to study at Les Roches Hotel Management School in Switzerland.

I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management specialising in Marketing.

What has been your career path to date?

My first taste of working in Hotels came when I took my gap year. I had decided that if my wish was to pursue 4 years of studies in this field, it would be wise to get some experience first to be sure it was what I wanted. In my second last year of secondary school I contacted the General Manager of The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London for a summer job. I worked as a Room Attendant and after finishing secondary school, returned there during my gap year where I worked as a Housekeeping Floor Supervisor for 6 months. I then went on to work as a Front Office Intern for 6 months at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental before beginning my studies in Switzerland. My Hotel Management Degree required that we undertook internships. In my first year, I interned for 6 months in F&B at The Peninsula Hong Kong. My second internship was in Sales & Marketing at The Peninsula Beijing. When graduation loomed, I was offered a chance to return to The Peninsula Hong Kong for a Management Traineeship in Rooms Division. The original plan was to work for 6 months in Housekeeping, 6 months in Front Office and 6 months in Guest Relations. However, just 10

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months after I joined, the Assistant Front Office Manager resigned and my General Manager gave me the opportunity to take his place. I held this position for 4 years and then in May of this year I was promoted to the role of Assistant Director of Housekeeping.

What is your current position and Hotel?

Assistant Director of Housekeeping How many staff are you responsible for?

There are 175 staff in our Housekeeping Department And what areas are you responsible for?

Overseeing all areas within Housekeeping. Working alongside our other Assistant Director of Housekeeping, we are deputy heads of the Department and need to oversee all areas, which include all Guestrooms, Public Areas, Linen Room, Laundry Operation, Uniform Room and Flower Room. I work rotating shifts and am also responsible for taking care of the rosters and ensuring we clear our annual leave before peak season begins in September.

Why Housekeeping at this stage of your career?

After four years in Front Office I was eager to explore another facet of Rooms division management, and was also keen to learn more about Housekeeping. There is so much to learn in Housekeeping. Someone once told me that “Executive Housekeepers are a dying breed”, which I definitely think holds some truth. There is a common misconception that Housekeeping is just about “cleaning rooms” and is a department which I

feel is so often misunderstood and underestimated. There are so many more elements of the Hotel which concern Housekeeping and I want to learn all there is to know about this department.

What are the differences between Front Office operations and Housekeeping?

There is certainly much more guest interaction in Front Office than in Housekeeping, and I do miss that sometimes. However, I like the fact that in Housekeeping it is easier to focus on one task at a time, whereas in Font office I would be constantly juggling many balls on the go. I understand the sense of urgency that the FO team is dealing with when facing guests and try to translate that message so that Housekeeping team can understand and more importantly, so that we can work together more cohesively. Furthermore, managing the Housekeeping team is quite different from the way the Front Office team works. In Housekeeping, we have staff that spans multi-generations, who are motivated by different reasons, which need to be managed.

What are your top three challenges this week?

1. B alancing the roster whilst clearing the outstanding vacation days owed.

2. Learning how to clean the special awning of one of our theme suites with the high pressure sprayer – a bi-annual event

things were done in the past.

This works well for me.

3. Due to the delayed delivery of ordered supplies, find alternative suppliers for minibar chips and coffee cups.

I love hiking and will compete in “Trailwalker” for the 3rd time this coming November. The Oxfam Trailwalker Event is an Annual Charity Event organised by Oxfam. Teams of 4 have 48 hours to complete a 100km cross-country hike in Hong Kong’s countryside. Aside from hiking in my free time, I also love cooking for friends and family and make my own greeting cards.

How do you deal with different cultures? And different staff – newcomers verses old timers?

In Housekeeping, we have many local Chinese staff along with a growing contingent of Nepalese. I endeavour to conduct all my briefings in dual languages – English and Cantonese so that all staff can understand and are also exposed to hearing more English.

Communication is key to the success of the operation. What’s more, I am the most recent newcomer to the department, in contrast to our large number of long-serving staff. When it comes to dealing with “old-timers”, I have a great deal of respect for them and treat them all as “experts” in their own fields and will often ask how

How about your personal life? What do you do for fun?

What are your future plans?

I would like to spend 2 to 4 years in Housekeeping to expand my knowledge and skill set in this area.

Also, I would love to participate in a hotel opening so as to experience that side of a Hotel’s Operation.

What do you see for the future of Housekeeping? Where do you think it is heading?

With softwares such as Optiikeeper and HotSOS showing a growing presence in the market, technology is playing a bigger and bigger role in Housekeeping Operations and the staff will need to cope with that in the future. Also, with the way guests are travelling nowadays, I observed more of a 24-hour cycle of check-in and check-out rather than traditional arrival and departure times. This will change how Housekeeping needs to operate in order to cope with this in the future.

The whole operation needs to be very dynamic and adaptable. As guest expectations get higher and higher and the market becomes more competitive, our staff will need to deliver equally high quality services and will be required to have far more guest interaction and language skills than ever before in order to communicate better with the guest.

I believe Housekeeping will become increasingly less “back-of-house” moving forward. 

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Product NEWS Electrolux Professional WasherDryer WD5130, WD5240 Boasting intelligent features and unique extras, the Electrolux Professional Washer-Dryer offers the utmost in quality – higher performance and productivity, lower running costs and maximum transparency in the laundry process.

Features and benefits • Convenience – Washing and drying is done in one machine – The WD can also be used as a regular washer or dryer • Space saving – Only 1 or 1.4 m2 floor space – A traditional solution will use the double space • Compass Pro® microprocessor offers: – Large display and one control knob for easy program selection – Language selection – Quick selection and option buttons for the most frequently used wash programs and options – Wash program packages optimised on Economy, Performance and Time. (Available on general programs)

Main specifications

WD5130

WD5240

Recommended load, washing/drying kg/lb

6.5/14

12/26

Max. load washing/drying kg/lb

8/18

15/33

Max. load washing only kg/lb

14/30

27/55

Max. load drying only kg/lb

8/18

15/33

Drum, volume litre

130

240

Drum, diameter ø mm

650

795

Extraction rpm

980

890

G-factor

350

350

electricity (washing/drying) kW

12.5/8

19.4/16.5

gas (drying) BTU/h (kW)

34100 (10)

68400 (19)

non-heated (washing)

x

x

Total time non heated (heated) min

76 (79)

75 (78)

Water consumption cold/hot litre

48/12

81/22

(wash heated) motor/heating/hot water/drying kWh

0.3/0.35/0.75/4.2

0.55/0.65/1.4/7.6

(wash non-heated) motor/hot water/drying kWh

0.3/0/0.75/4.2

0.55/0/1.4/7.6

Evaporation, electric heated machine g/min

105

207

Evaporation, gas heated machine g/min

118

230

Energy kWh/litre evaporated kWh/l

1.35

1.35

Heating alternatives, 230/400V

Consumption data, Normal 60°C wash&dry at rec. capacity* Economy

Energy consumption,

* Water temperature 15°C cold water and 65°C hot water.

Certified in accordance with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and approved IP 24D.

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Electrical connections

WD5130

WD5240

Heating

Voltage

Washer

220-240V 3AC 50 Hz kW(A)

13.2(35)

20.1(50)

El

220-240V 3AC 60 Hz kW(A)

13.2(35)

20.1(50)

380-415V 3AC 50 Hz kW(A)

13.2(20)

20.2(35)

380-415V 3AC 60 Hz kW(A)

13.2(20)

20.2(35)

220-240V 3AC 50 Hz kW(A)

8.3(25)

16.8(50)

Dryer El

220-240V 3AC 60 Hz kW(A)

8.3(25)

16.8(50)

380-415V 3AC 50 Hz kW(A)

8.3(16)

16.8(35)

380-415V 3AC 60 Hz kW(A)

8.3(16)

16.8(35)

Gas/

220-415V 1/3AC 50 Hz kW(A)

1.3(10)

2.5(16)

non-heated

220-415V 1/3AC 60 Hz kW(A)

1.3(10)

2.5(16)

• Automatic Savings (AS): – The machine weighs the linen and adjusts the amount of water and energy according to the load. This leads to considerable savings in case the machine is not fully loaded.

Water and steam connection

WD5130

WD5240

Water valves DN

20

20

Water pressure kPa

150-400

150-400

Capacity at 300 kPa l/min

27

60

Drain valve Ø mm

75

75

Draining capacity l/min

150

150

• Extremely low water and energy consumption

Gas valve ISO 7/1-R

1/2

1/2

Liquid detergent supplies

5

5

Air connections

WD5130

WD5240

Air outlet ø mm

125

200

Evacuated air m3/h

340

580

Pressure drop Max. Pa

280

350

Floor requirements

WD5130

WD5240

Frequency of the dynamic force Hz

16.4

13.7

Max floor load at extraction kN

3.0 ± 0.5

5.5 ± 1.3

Sound levels

WD5130

WD5240

Sound pressure level** dB(A)

70

78

Sound power level (IEC 60704-2-4) dB(A)

78

83

Heat emission

WD5130

WD5240

% of installed power washer, max

5

5

% of installed power dryer, max

15

15

Shipping data

WD5130

WD5240

Weight net, kg

382

555

crated, kg

407

574

Shipping volume m3

1.61

2.42

• Four compartment detergent box for manual dosing of powder or liquid detergent • High extraction force for efficient dewatering • Door with gasket and strong hinges built for heavy duty operation • Stainless and galvanized steel in all vital parts for high degree of rust protection • Power Balance: – Maximises the extraction force, leading to highest dewatering and savings in drying – Minimises the stress on the machine, leading to troublefree operation and increased machine lifetime – Reduces vibrations, making it possible to install the machine in all locations

A reliable, global presence: Electrolux Professional offers the most extensive sales and service network providing efficient customer service and technical assistance.

For more information please call 1300 550 546 or send an email to sales@electroluxlaundry.com.au

65

Product NEWS Weatherdon Weatherdon recently amplified its product range with three 46L / 70L / 115L Bar Fridges.

These fridges are ideal for hotels, apartments and offices.

They are a cleverly designed, compact and highly functional unit. 115L fridge has adjustable glass shelving, an inbuilt freezer and a crisper box. The door compartments have sufficient height for storing bottles. It is designed to fit neatly under benches or table-tops. The Nero bar fridges are a practical, reliable and affordable choice for office, apartments and hotel guest room. And for added convenience, the door is reversible so you can customise your fridge to suit your preferences.

FEATURES for 46L Code 744046: - Compressor style with a 40L fridge and 6L freezer - Temperature range 0°C to +10°C - Reversible door - Slide-out wire shelf - One half width door rack & one full width door rack - Flat back & adjustable feet, white finish - Recessed handle - Item Size: 440(W) x 470(D) x 510mm(H)

FEATURES for 115L Code 744115: - Compressor style with a 100L fridge and 15L freezer - Temperature range 0°C to +10°C - Mechanical temp control - Direct cooling freezer with removable drip tray underneath - Inside door shelf will hold up to four bottles of wine - Flat back & adjustable feet, white finish - Interior light & removable plastic top - 2 shelves (adjustable) & crisper - With key lock - Box Size: 520(W) x 600(D) x 880mm(H) - Item Size: 490(W) x 560(D) x 840mm(H) - Carton weight: 27kg Carton Quantity: 1 For more information please visit www.weatherdon.com.au or send an email to sales@weatherdon.com.au

New Nero 46L/70L/115L Bar Fridges

FEATURES for 70L Code 744070: - Compressor style with a 64L fridge and 6L freezer - Temperature range 0°C to +10°C - Reversible door - Two slide-out wire shelves - One half width door rack & two full width door racks - Flat back & adjustable feet, white finish - Recessed handle - With key lock - Item Size: 440(W) x 510(D) x 640mm(H)

Pental LTD Allow your guests to Wash away the city with Country Life Country Life has been part of Australian households and trusted by Australian families for over 50 years. Country Life is a brand of the Australian-based company ‘Pental’, grown from humble beginnings in 1954 to become the largest soap manufacturer in Australia with a portfolio of leading brands across six categories. Pental’s Country Life sells over 4 million soap packs annually in Australia*.

This fresh range will allow your Australian guest to experience a piece of home away from home whilst showing your international guests a small piece of Australia.

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The Country Life Guest range is a high quality, good value offering which delivers on fresh invigorating fragrance, cleansing & lather from an honest Australian brand.

The Country Life Guest range offers the complete solution for your guest bathrooms. Country Life Shampoos & Conditioner for smooth and shiny hair are available in 20mL tubes or combined Shampoo/Conditioner in a convenient 8mL sachet. Country Life Shower Gel is also available in a 20mL tube, perfect for a relaxing shower or bath. Country Life Bar Soaps, available in a range of sizes are all made in Australia using only the finest ingredients.

Please contact your local food service distributor or Rachel Gade, Pental Ltd for further information- Rachel.Gade@pental.com.au

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when first impressions count

We are represented in most capital cities and are a dedicated

one stop shop to the hospitality industry.

?

DID YOU KNOW

that Alphaclean service partners can repair most brands of commercial cleaning equipment?

Focusing on green cleaning technology and saving money.

alphaclean.com.au

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1300 655 598