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2020 SAPCA Cleantex Summit re-scheduled

As 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 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

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 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 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

Tork VR tool wins Innovation Award

Summit 2021 contact: nande@cleantex.co.za

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

Solutions for any cleaning need or challenge

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the spotlight on hygiene and safe work protocols has been brought to the fore. It comes as no surprise that the focus has been placed on the stringent requirements necessary for all processes and equipment used in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

There are significant challenges and potential risks involved when manufacturing and processing food products. During the manufacturing process, dust particles often become airborne, which may pose a threat to employee health and could even cause devastating combustible dust explosions. Without the essential equipment in place to prevent these kinds of dust explosions, the damages to personnel, machinery and plants can be significant and cause production to cease for a long period of time.

Safe and hygienic processing solutions

South Africa’s leading industrial and commercial cleaning equipment solutions provider, Goscor Cleaning Equipment (GCE), supplies a range of vacuum cleaners designed to satisfy the demanding needs of the food and pharmaceutical industries. Delfin’s range of industrial vacuum cleaners has the highest levels of filtration and performance, essential for total and secure suction of fine and toxic material. Delfin is a world leader in the manufacture of industrial vacuum cleaners and suction units and has developed a range of products suitable for solving specialist cleaning and recycling challenges in a wide range of applications.

“The pharmaceutical and food industries must avoid any form of contamination to guarantee the highest quality of finished product,” states GCE’s Sales Director Peter Esterhuizen. “Delfin’s industrial vacuum and conveying solutions help processing facilities meet cleanliness, hygiene and safety standards with one hundred percent certainty.”

High-efficiency filtration is essential to avoid contamination, preserve quality and safeguard respiratory health. Delfin vacuums offer multi-stage filtration to capture fine dust and guarantee sterility of the environment.

Atex certifications

Safety is an important aspect when dealing with very fine dust and potentially explosive environments. Delfin vacuum cleaners boast the widest range of Atex certifications on the market – obtained thanks to construction criteria that guarantee maximum prevention of the risk of explosion. The exclusive double 1/3D-2D certification inside and outside the aspirator allows it to guarantee total safety even with a full container.

Delfin has a reputation and track record as a leading manufacturer of industrial vacuum cleaners. The reliability and durability of the Delfin system, as well as its compliance with the specifications and performance requirements along with the trusted product support and expertise provided by GCE, affords manufacturers peace of mind and the assurance that their product is manufactured under the highest hygiene standards.

“We are able to offer solutions in terms of equipment for any cleaning need or challenge. Ultimately, we strive to ensure that cleanliness standards are maintained throughout, and that all environments are rendered safe and hygienic to work in,” concludes Esterhuizen.

Companies are increasingly including dust combustion as a potential risk factor in their workplace safety assessments, with regard to the products they make, and the amounts of dust created by the production. GCE vacuum specialists can assist manufacturers with identifying these risks and recommending the appropriate equipment and cleaning procedures.