industry news 2020 SAPCA Cleantex Summit re-scheduled
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s a result of the ongoing uncertainty facing the world in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued ban on gatherings of large numbers of people in South Africa, the organising committee of the SAPCA Cleantex™ 2020 Summit deemed the postponement of the event to be the best possible course of action.
The organisers acknowledge that the latest COVID-19 developments relating to, for instance, confinement periods, re-opening of borders, convention/hotel facilities restrictions, travel restrictions and social distancing practices are not conducive to a normalised situation. As a result, and considering the safety of delegates and exhibitors that will meet, network and conduct new business together, it was necessary to make a timeous decision to postpone the Summit, originally scheduled for September this year, to 15–16 September 2021 in Cape Town. “Now more than ever the world increasingly recognises the vital role played by the professional cleaning, hygiene and pest control industries in protecting humanity from infection and disease. The prevailing situation highlights the diversity of solutions and innovation presented
by these industries in order to meet this unprecedented challenge. It is therefore evident that cleaning, hygiene and pest control solutions will play a crucial role in going forward to effectively safeguard people against harmful diseases,” said organising committee member Johann van Vuuren. The 2021 SAPCA Cleantex™ Summit is expected to be ideally positioned to offer intuitive perceptions of and insight into the pandemic at a time of economic recovery in South Africa. In the interim, the organisers strongly recommend social distancing, thorough hand hygiene, and the wearing of a mask in public to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. For more information about the SAPCA Cleantex Summit 2021 contact: nande@cleantex.co.za
Tork VR tool wins Innovation Award
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he Tork VR Clean Hands training app has won the Interclean Innovation Award for being “user friendly, accessible and capable of stimulating behaviour change in a fun and engaging way”. The judges described the interactive hand-hygiene training simulation as “the perfect solution for the need to educate people worldwide on hand hygiene”. The winners of the Interclean Innovation Awards were announced on 12 May and the Tork VR Clean Hands Training App was the category winner for Related Products/Services. The app uses virtual reality to provide healthcare staff with realistic scenarios where hand hygiene needs to be carried out. According to Essity, the company is leading the way in using Virtual Reality (VR) in a handhygiene training simulation. “This innovative solution for handhygiene training would not have been possible without the close collaboration with both healthcare professionals and world-leading
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African Cleaning Review July/August 2020
experts in hand hygiene and behavioural science. Together we have created an unexpected but engaging way to assist healthcare professionals to improve hand hygiene and reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections in the world,” said Jenny Logenius, Global Brand Innovation Manager, Skincare Healthcare for Tork at Essity. A recent Tork study revealed that 80 percent of healthcare professionals claimed they would like to improve their hand-hygiene compliance – but they often found traditional forms of hand-hygiene training to be uninspiring. The Tork VR Clean Hands tool moves training into the virtual world, thereby making it more immediate and interactive. “The accessibility of ensuring ongoing training on-site in order to improve standards is a true innovation. The virtual reality approach is essential to stimulate behavioural change in a fun and engaging way. It is the perfect solution for the well-organised need
to educate people on hand hygiene,” commented an Interclean Innovation Award judging panel spokesman. Tork VR Clean Hands Training and Education is free to download via the App Store and Google Play. Participants will need a compatible smartphone and VR headset with remote control or equivalent. For more information visit: www.tork.co.uk/TorkVR
