Clean & Hygiene Review (Jan-Feb 2014)

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E Publisher cum Editor Rajneesh Sharma Resident Editor Sharmila Chand (Delhi) Ashok Malkani (Mumbai) Layout & Design Hari Kumar. V Narender Kumar Production Assistant Mamta Sharma Business Co-ordinator Pooja Anand Advertising Sales Delhi: Debabrath Nath, Sumesh Sharma Mumbai: Rajesh Tupsakhre Subscription Sales Dattaram Gangurde Director Sales Sanjay Anand Director Operations & Finance Rajat Taneja Editorial & Advertising Offices: Delhi: Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 1202, Pragati Tower, 26, Rajindra Place, New Delhi-110008 Phone: 91-11-45084903, 25854103 / 05 Mumbai: Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 105, 1st Floor, Aarpee Centre, Gufic Compound, 11th Road, MIDC, Near Tunga Paradise, Andheri (E), Mumbai-400 093 Ph.: 91-22-28395833 Telefax: 91-22-28388947 Website: www.chrmag.com E-mail: hammerpublishers@vsnl.net © 2013 Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

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With the general election now staring at our face, no one expected the Finance Minister to make big ticket announcements when he presented India’s 83rd national budget on February 17.

It was after all an interim budget, the primary purpose of which was to enable the government to draw money from the exchequer till the new government takes charge after the parliamentary election. However, a couple of points that Chidambaram made while presenting the budget deserves attention.

He drew attention to the fact that in the next three decades India is set to become the third largest economy behind USA and China. In future, the fortunes of China and India will have a significant impact on the rest of the world, he said. It implied that the Indian government must be responsible not only to itself but to the whole world by keeping the country’s economy in robust health.

Secondly, he underlined the importance of speeding up investment in infrastructure, if India must have such a future. The government set-up the Cabinet Committee on Investment and the Project Monitoring Group to speed up the implementation of projects in the country and by the end of January, 2014, the way was cleared for completing 296 projects with an estimated project cost of Rs 660,000 crore.

Now, the growth of infrastructure has huge implications for all stake holders of the hospitality industry. With the focus on the growth of infrastructure sector and the trend of outsourcing non-core services like cleaning, maintenance, housekeeping, electrical, plumbing and such other services gaining ground across different verticals, especially in the fast expanding office space, the scope of facility management is also widening fast in India. It has widened its reach to every infrastructural facility that requires maintenance including shopping malls, airports, hospitals, hotels, metro rail, etc. As the Cover Story of these issue highlights, besides the small entrepreneurs, the organised players, including international companies, are finding room for expanding their reach in the facility management services.

On the same day Chidambaram presented the interim budget, our President Pranab Mukherjee was busy laying the foundation stone of a sewage treatment plant at President’s Estate. This plant, which has a capacity of 20 lakh litres wastewater treatment, is necessary to fulfill the requirements of water supply particularly for horticulture purpose in the Estate. Considering the huge amount of wastewater that the President’s Estate generates, such initiative, although delayed, is a welcome step. So it is only appropriate to say that opportunities in the wastewater market in India have just started emerging. Our Business Story of this issue throws light on this trend and highlights what the future holds for this market.

What, however, will hog the limelight over the next few years, it seems, is India’s fast declining quality of air. In the Environmental Performance Index 2014, India has earned the unenviable distinction of being the fifth worst in terms of air quality. As our Report highlights India’s air quality has declined over the last 10 years. While household air quality has slightly improved over the decade, average exposure to fine particulate matter has gone up I am sure you will find the other regular features of the magazine equally interesting even if you get a chance to flip its pages during the busy days of the Annual Aahar festival at Pragati Maidan.

See you there.

Jan-Feb ’14

Contents 12

8 COVER STORY

BUSINESS

16 LAUNDRY

18 PEST MANAGEMENT

SECTIONS 4

News Scan

26

IAQ

30

Product Preview

32

Interview

Jan-Feb ’14

22

WASTE MANAGEMENT 3

Fuel from Plastic Waste: Indian Researchers Show the Way The enormous amount of plastic waste that we generate has been a major cause of concern first for the environmentalists.

The pac kaging industr y, other manufacturers that use plastic in their products, and then also the consumers started feeling the pinch later as governments and law enforcing agencies started talking about “plastic bans”.

Recycling initiatives are in place in many parts of the world, but much of the polyethylene waste ends up in landfill, dispersed in the environment or in the sea, attracting ire of the environmentalists across the world. Among that waste is the common polymer, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which is used to make many types of container, medical and laboratory equipment, computer components and plastic bags.

Things may now soon change as two researchers from Odisha are now up in arms about this waste. Chemist Achyut Kumar Panda of Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha and chemical engineer Raghubansh Kumar Singh of the National Institute of Technology, Odisha are working to develop a commercially viable technology for efficiently rendering LDPE into a liquid fuel.

Given that most plastics are made from petrochemicals, this solution to plastic recycling brings the life-cycle full circle allowing a second use as an oil substitute. The process could, if implemented on a large enough scale, reduce pressures on landfill as well as ameliorating the effects of dwindling oil supplies in a world with increasing demands on petrochemicals for fuel.

In their approach, the team heats the plastic waste to between 400 and 500 Celsius over a kaolin catalyst and they could produce 700 grams of liquid fuel for every kilogram of waste plastic. The byproducts were combustible gases and wax.

They will report full details in the International Journal of Environment and Waste Management.

Bio-Toilets in Gram Panchayats The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for implementation of bio-digester/ bio-tank based eco-friendly toilets developed by DRDO, in Gram Panchayats.

It has been decided that willing States may implement the projects with technical assistance from DRDO. Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) guidelines shall form the basis for the project including the financial incentive that would be the same for the bio-digesters toilets as provided for in the NBA guidelines. Additional cost over and above that fixed under NBA guidelines plus that allowed under MGNREGS would be met by the State Government.

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Jan-Feb ’14

NEWS SCAN

India’s Sanitaryware Market to Grow at 45 percent during 2013-18

With awareness about safe sanitation increasing, India’s sanitary ware market is likely to witness a robust growth rate at CAGR 45 percent during 2013-18, says a new study.

The report “India Sanitary Ware Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2018”

by TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm, the southern region holds the highest market share, in revenue terms, of the country’s sanitary ware market.

Among the metropolitan cities, Delhi NCR’s contribution is the highest as a result of continuing growth in hospitality, SEZ, residential and healthcare sectors.

The report reveals that water closets, followed by cisterns and wash basins, account for the highest revenue share in the overall sanitary ware market. However, with increasing urbanisation and awareness about safe sanitation, the demand for other sanitary products such as sinks, bidets, pedestals, etc., is expected to increase over the forecast period.

Indian sanitary ware market consists of both organized player and unorganized players, with organized players holding the majority share.

Further, with increasing brand awareness and demand for luxurious and stylish sanitary ware, the market share of organized players in the overall sanitary ware market is expected to increase in coming years.

“Sanitation conditions have improved in the country, but still around 69 percent households in rural areas and about 19 percent households in urban areas in India don’t have access to safe sanitation. This indicates the latent opportunity in the country’s sanitary ware market,” said Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research.

India is emerging as a sanitary ware manufacturing hub, with several domestic and overseas manufacturers setting up manufacturing facilities across the country due to abundant availability of raw material and low labor cost. Several domestic manufacturers such as HSIL, Cera India, etc., as well as overseas manufactures such as Roca India, Kohler India, Toto India, etc., have set up manufacturing facilities in the country.

Jan-Feb ’14

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NEWS SCAN

India’s First On Site Net Zero Building Inaugurated Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated ‘Indira Paryavaran Bhawan’, India’s first on site Net Zero Building on February 25. A Net Zero Building or Net-Zero Energy Building (NZEB) can roughly meet its complete energy demand from the renewable energy created on site of the building.

Located on Jorbagh Road, the centrally air conditioned office building has provision to accommodate about 600 officials of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

It is built by adoption of solar passive design and energy efficient building material and the building is expected to inspire people towards adoption of green technology.

The building has been designed as the highest green rated building, i.e., GRIHA 5-Star and LEED India Platinum. The requirements of GRIHA 5-Star and LEEDS Platinum ratings have been achieved by adopting various measures; some of which are as follows: • Effective Ventilation has been achieved by orientating the building in an eastwest direction, separating different blocks with connecting corridors and having a large central court yard.

• The design is such that 75% of natural daylight is utilised to reduce energy consumption.

• The entire building has an access friendly design for differently-abled persons.

• With an installed capacity of 930 KW peak power, the building has the largest roof top solar system among multi storied buildings in India.

• Total energy savings of about 40 percent has been achieved by adoption of energy Efficient Chilled Beam system of Air Conditioning. This is an innovative air conditioning system, where air conditioning is done by convection currents rather than air flow through diffusers and chilled water is circulated right up to the diffuser points unlike the conventional systems.

• Green materials have been used like Fly ash bricks, regional building materials, materials with high recycled content, high reflectance terrace tiles and rock wool Insulation of outer walls.

• Rapidly renewable Bamboo Jute Composite material has been used for door frames & shutters.

• UPVC windows, with hermetically sealed double glass. Calcium Silicate ceiling tiles having high recycled content and grass paver blocks in pavements and roads.

• Reduction in water consumption has been achieved by use of Low discharge water fixtures, recycling of waste water through Sewage Treatment Plant, use of plants with Low water demand in landscaping, use of Geothermal cooling for HVAC system, rain water harvesting and use of curing compounds during construction.

Built at a cost of about Rs. 209 crore, the building has an earthquake resistant structure with a total plinth area of 31,488sqm.

The building covers only 30 percent of the plot area. More than 50 percent area, outside the building, is a soft area with plantation and grassing. Even circulation roads and pathways are a soft area to enable ground water recharge.

Robotic parking system in the basement can accommodate 330 cars. Provisions have been made for a cafeteria roof garden, as well as a gymnasium and yoga room for recreation and wellness of the employees.

The office has been furnished with modular furniture and work stations. Thin client networking system has been provided instead of conventional desktop computers to minimise energy consumption.

A solar power generation system has been provided at terrace level, by creating 6000sqm support area, for meeting with the complete power demand of the building.

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Jan-Feb ’14

APPOINTMENT / NEWS SCAN

Dr. Nitin Pandit Appointed as the First Managing Director of WRI India WRI India, a welfare and charitable trust that addresses India’s development challenges, has appointed Dr. Nitin Pandit as its first Managing Director. Responsible for directing WRI India’s program priorities and growth strategy, Pandit will supervise WRI India’s staff in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi, and work closely with its partners in government, business, civil society and academia.

He will also be a member of the World Resources Institute (WRI) global management team and will provide critical input on the Institute’s overall strategy and projects.

“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Pandit to this important position. He brings a deep breadth of experience and will drive WRI India’s strategy to support sustainable and equitable growth in India,” said Jamshyd Godrej, WRI India Chairman and Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co. Ltd. “India is facing many important challenges in the coming decades to deliver lowcarbon energy, smart cities, and clean water. Dr. Pandit brings the experience and vision needed to position WRI India as a trusted partner in advancing these goals.”

Established in 2011 as an independent organisation, WRI India uses independent research and analysis to identify both economically and environmentally sound solutions for India’s development solutions. It is inspired

by WRI, a global research organization, to address environmental and human development challenges facing India.

“I am deeply honored to be taking this position at this critical moment when India faces urgent challenges and opportunities,” said Dr. Pandit.

Dr. Pandit brings deep experience in both the private and non-profit sectors. Previously, he served as President of the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC), where he was responsible for offices in the United States, UK, India, Thailand, Philippines, South Africa, China and Brazil.

WRI India is registered as the India Resources Trust, an Indian welfare and charitable trust.

Breather for Manufacturers of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitisers

In view of a recent study that suggested inefficiency of alcohol-based hand sanitisers in removing norovirus, there were speculations that manufacturers of alcohol-based hand sanitisers would be required to carry warnings on their products in this regard. However, the Ministry of Health affairs has clarified that it is not considering any such proposal.

“There is no such proposal under consideration of the Ministry that make it mandatory for the Indian hand sanitiser manufacturing companies to carry the warning on their products in this regard,” Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

Noroviruses are a group of viruses that cause inflammation of the stomach and large intestine lining (gastroenteritis). Transmitted by fecally contaminated food or water, by person-to-person contact, noroviruses are responsible for outbreak of a large number of foodborne diseases.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed that they were aware of the study published in American Journal of Infection Control.

In response to increase in norovirus illness during December 2006 to March 2007 in northern New England, an attempt was made to identify the institutional risk factors for norovirus outbreaks in long term care facilities (LTCFs) in hospitals.

Information regarding routine staff use of alcohol based hand sanitisers (ABHS) versus soap and water, and occurrence of any acute gastroenteritis outbreaks from December 2006 to March 2007 was sought from 160 facilities in hospitals.

The study suggests that preferential use of ABHS over soap and water for routine hand hygiene might be associated with increased risk of norovirus outbreaks in LTCFs. However, ICMR per-se has not conducted any study to validate these findings.

Jan-Feb ’14

7

COVER S T O R Y

The High Tide of

Facility Management With the focus on the growth of infrastructure sector and the trend of outsourcing non-core services like cleaning, maintenance, housekeeping, electrical, plumbing and such other services gaining ground across different verticals, especially in the fast expanding ofďŹ ce space, the scope of facility management is also widening fast in India. It has widened its reach to every infrastructural facility that requires maintenance including shopping malls, airports, hospitals, hotels, metro rail, etc. Besides the small entrepreneurs, the organised sector, including international companies are ďŹ nding room for expanding their reach

By Ashok Malkani

O

utsourcing, for maintaining the p re m i s e s i n a s good-as-new condition, has become inevitable not only for the hospitality and the healthcare sectors, but also for commercial properties. Though most of the 34- and 5-star hotels have their own housekeeping section, cleaning of facades and maintenance of gardens and lawns are often outsourced.

Most of the hospitals also outsource their laundry while most malls, cinema halls and other commercial establishments outsource the cleaning and maintenance services.

And the people who undertake these contracts are facility managers.

Utilisation of facility management (FM) services implies the use of a third-party service provider to maintain part of the

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Jan-Feb ’14

C O V E R STORY building facility or outsourcing the management of entire facilities to an organisation that executes this service professionally. Facility management includes hard services or building operation and maintenance and soft services or support services, and energy management services.

Hard services include electrical, electro-mechanical, mechanical; water management and energy management. Soft services include housekeeping, security, cleaning, catering, transportation, horticulture, landscaping, front office management, etc. In developed markets, FM services are closely integrated with other services such as rent collection and lease management. However, in India, the concept of FM has not matured enough to provide complete property management solutions.

According to International Facility Management Association (IFMA), facility management is a profession that encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology. Facility management is an interdisciplinary field devoted to the coordination of space, infrastructure, people and organisation, often associated with the administration of hotels,

hospitals, shopping complexes and malls, office blocks, convention centers, etc.

FM Market In India, the market for facility management ser vices is highly fragmented and unorganised. Small and medium sized unorganised players with few clients and services dominate the market. Due to wide range of services falling in this sector, many small players enter with focus on one or two services like security, pest control, etc. That is the reason why there are over 1000 players present in this sector in India.

The industry, which is not defined, is also fragmented with many local players catering to the needs of a particular area of a city. Generally local and unregistered players do not comply with statutory compliances and insurances, giving them the advantages of providing services at lower rates compared to organised players.

The growth in the office space and the creation of more integrated facilities has created grow th opportunities for more organized players. The first international player to enter India was MacLellan in 1998, to provide services to Ford India (then Mahindra Ford) in Chennai.

Sector

Roles

Incremental Manpower Requirement By 2022 (in Lakhs)

Facility Management

Housekeeping Electrical & Maintenance Services Landscaping & Gardening Fire Fighting Environment services

39.37

Hospitality

Waiters Room Attendants Housemen Housekeeping Supervisors

10.17

Healthcare

Bedside Patient Assistants Technicians Paramedics & others Store Operations

7.85

Total

Jan-Feb ’14

57.39

Majority of the organised segment is dominated by international property consultants.

The areas which require enhanced security requirements include mall management, in-house office space management, peripheral tower block security, and retail and 24-hour convenience stores. It may be said that the market for facility management grew with the IT revolutions. Since the IT sector continues to grow at an annual rate of 18.6 per cent, the facility management services too is expected to grow on its upward path.

According to an industry estimate, the market size for the Facility management services is close to 8,000 crores and has an employment potential of 5 million people. As per the NCEUS (National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised S e ctor) repo r t the proje cted incremental demand for manpower in FMS services till 2022 remains one of the highest, as seen below:

Growth Factors The facility management market valued at about $6 billion in 2012 is expected to grow at about 30 percent per annum on account of the 9

COVER S T O R Y following growth drivers: • Strong growth in commercial and office space • High growth of IT / ITES sector with its unique demand of large and 24x7 complexes The boom in the retail has also led to the demand for facilities management services in a major way.

Mall management is a critical factor for the success of malls. This is where the FMs score. The major scope for facilities management in the malls lies in infrastructure management.

In short, the target audience for facility management services is:

Benefits of Outsourcing FM One may ask why seek the services of a facility manager? The answer is quite simple. Finding people to do the kind of work that facility managers do is one of the greatest hurdles in the industry. Facility management firms provide its clients with a dedicated team to solve day to day problems associated with property/facility management and provide a single point reference and contact.

Outsourcing of facility management requirements provides the following benefits: • Healthy, comfortable, safe and secure work environment.

• Ongoing transactional efficiencies • Consistent and standardised management systems.

The places where it has picked up well are Bangalore, the IT hub of India. Hyderabad and Chennai, due to growth in construction and hospitality sectors, is a growing market. Chandigarh, B h u b a n e s w a r, Indore, Jaipur, V i z a g ,

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Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata are among the other growing markets.

Indian Market vs Global Market The sheer size of the Indian market ensures higher revenue from its facility management services as compared to its smaller but more mature counterparts. For example, the FM market revenues in India are higher than Singapore which is a more mature market than India in terms of facility management services. This is primarily due to the size of the construction market and geographic space.

The market for soft services c om p r i s e s a l a r g e c l u s t e r o f companies that provide single services and specialise in services such as catering and pantry, cleaning and housekeeping, security and others. The market for hard services has high prominence in the IT sector as it outsources the work to professionalised and well-equipped service providers.

Cleaning and housekeeping s e r v i c e s c on t r i b u t e a h i g h e r percentage of the market followed by maintenance and engineering services and finally security services and others.

Presence of global and Indian MNCs is the major driver for the growth of this market across

various end-user sectors as they are the potential customers due to their increased awareness levels and willingness to invest in such services.

The market sustained the situation and improved its penetration largely through existing contracts although the economy witnessed a slowdown in the last 2-3 years. Therefore, it is observed that the current economic situation prevailing in the US and Euro zone will not have much impact on the growth of this market here.

India’s growth in facility management services is expected to be intact.

Regional Growth Trend The pressing needs of security, comfort and competitive cleanliness along with growing maturity of the end users have made the prospects of FM services brighter in the future.

What makes the sector even more promising is that the demand for facility managers is not restricted to the metro cities alone. Most facility managers are setting up offices in tier II and tier III cities to expand their business primarily because these cities have now become new engines of growth in India. Some companies have even relied on merger and acquisitions to expand their business to different cities and increase their market share. At the same time, in order to realise deeper market penetration and maturity, the vast unorgnaised FM market is now on its path to embrace an organised approach in doing business. The booming real estate sector across the country has only helped the facility managers.

Anurag Mathur, Managing Director of Cushman and Wakefield India Pvt. Ltd, a commercial real estate services firm said,

Jan-Feb ’14

C O V E R STORY “It is the biggest growth business in real estate spectrum in years to come.”

With assured growth prospects, financial institutions are not shying away from helping the organised facilities management companies.

Naushad Panjwani, Executive Director, facilities management, and project management, Knight Frank India Pvt. Ltd, believes that FMS has extremely high growth potential. “As the property market grows, it will be difficult for the in-house management to handle FMS,” he said implying the bright future of FMS. The FMS market in India is so promising that some realty firms now see FMS as a part of their main business. Anuradha Gandhi, Business Head, Property Solutions India Pvt. Ltd, the FMS business division of real estate firm Kalpataru Group, once said FMS was a natural extension of the core business of property development.

Industry Challenges But this does not mean that the sector has no problems. The main difficulty is the lack of availability of technical and non-technical manpower. Increase in inflation and labour costs have forced many customers to replace long-term contracts with medium-term ones.

The next big factor posing as a deterrent is competition. Since the market is riddled with low cost unorganised service providers, pricing and margins come under pressure as these unorganised players provide services at low rates, essentially scuttling the competition from large organised players. Due to high entry barriers, international property management companies are finding things difficult.

But the opportunities far outweigh the challenges, making it the ideal investment sector in these days of recurrent recessions.  Source: Netscribes

Jan-Feb ’14

11

BUSINESS

Emerging

Opportunities in Wastewater Treatment

From helping us deal with increasing scarcity of water and putting an effective check on pollution to delivering profits to industrialists, wastewater treatment is today not just a necessity that we can’t ignore; it’s an area that offers opportunities to the discerning investors

By Ashok Malkani

W

ith over 1.2 billion people, India has more than 18 percent o f t h e w o r l d ’s population, but has only 4 percent

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of world’s renewable water resources with 2.4 percent of world’s land area.

And as 75 percent of annual rainfall is received in just four months, there are further limits on utilisable

quantities of water. Region wise, rainfall varies from 10 cm rainfall in Rajasthan to 1000 cm in the North Eastern Region. Moreover, there are challenges of frequent floods and

Jan-Feb ’14

droughts in one or the other part of the country.

So availability of water is a matter of great concern. And as per various sources, water scarcity will only get worse as the years pass by. With a growing population and increasing urbanisaion as well as the given indicators of the impact of climate change, per capita availability of water is likely to go down from 1545 cubic metre/year, in 2011 to 1341 cubic metre/year, in 2025.

Water stress will further deepen in India by 2025 as drinking water need is going to rise by 44 percent, irrigation need by 10 percent, industry need by 81 percent.

This rising stress on water availability in India is making various water management techniques, including wastewater treatment, an absolute necessity.

This is, however, just one side of the larger picture on why wastewater treatment is indispensable today. To understand this, we will have to take into account the amount of wastewater that is generated and the affect that it has on environment.

According to the information furnished by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Class – I Cities & Class- II towns in the country together generates 38254 million liters per day (MLD) of sewage, out of which treatment facilities have been provided for a total capacity of 11787 MLD which constitute 31 percent of total sewage generation. As per the information furnished by CPCB the total number of sewage treatment plants in India are 269.

According to the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) and

WWAP (World Water Assessment Programme) estimates, the industrial water use productivity of India (IWP, in billion constant 1995 US$ per m3) is the lowest (i.e. just 3.42) and about 1/30th of that for Japan and Republic of Korea. This was stated in a UN report “Wastewater production, treatment and use in India”.

It is projected that by 2050, about 48.2 BCM (132 billion litres per day) of wastewaters (with a potential to meet 4.5 percent of the total irrigation water demand) would be generated, thereby further widening this gap.

“Thus, overall analysis of water resources indicates that in coming years, there will be a twin edged problem to deal with reduced fresh water availability and increased wastewater generation due to increased population and industrialisation,” the report stated.

The health hazards of unsafe disposal of waste water are well-known as they can not only pollute water bodies like rivers and lakes, but also affect ground water quality and agricultural produce that we consume.

In such a scenario, increasing water use efficiency and dealing with problem of safe disposal of wastewater calls for sufficient facilities for wastewater treatment.

Thus, wastewater/low quality water is emerging as potential source for demand management after essential treatment.

The National Water Policy, 2012, zero liquid discharge regulation, and private sector investment in operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment plants are expected to contribute to the demand for wastewater treatment plants market in the country.

According to the UNESCO and WWAP estimates, the industrial water use productivity of India (IWP, in billion constant 1995 US$ per m3) is the lowest (i.e. just 3.42) and about 1/30th of that for Japan and Republic of Korea

Growth Prospects According to a recently published r e p o r t , “ I n d i a Wa s t e w a t e r Treatment Plants Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2018”, the wastewater treatment plants market in India is expected to move towards consolidation by 2018.

The report adds that the wastewater treatment plant market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15 percent till 2018, in terms of industry revenues. This implies that wastewater

Jan-Feb ’14

13

BUSINESS

treatment industry presents a very promising future for companies willing to invest in this segment.

This, in turn, has given a boost to

the wastewater treatment equipment market which has witnessed a steady growth of over 10 percent, with a large base of small and medium

enterprises in the competition.

Indian water treatment equipment industry is reasonably well established and cost-competitive. L ocally fabricated equipment is about 30 percent cheaper than imported equivalents, but Indian firms have limited capabilities in designing technologies for larger scale water treatment plants.

A European technology that is actively adopted in India is Decentralised water treatment systems (DEWATS) with aerobic treatment. They are supported by the CPCB have potential for a large-scale use. Due to the smallscale size of their plants, DEWATS can be successfully employed for the villages in rural area and community based projects.

Some privately financed municipal WWTPs in pipeline Project

Description

Structure

Status

20,000m3/d WWTP and supply treated sewage to industrial and other utility at Vasco and other surrounding areas

15 year DBFOT

Bids under evaluation

Tuticorin WWTP

24,000m3/d WWTP. The concessionaire will be entitled to sell treated water to the industry at its own cost and risk

30 year DBFOT*

Bids under evaluation

Bhandewadi WWTP, Nagpur

Boost capacity expansion at existing WWTP from 100,000m3/d to 200,000m3/d and process upgrade to tertiary treatment. Treated water to be reused

30 year DBFOT

Bids under evaluation

Goa WWTP

*Design-build-f finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) model Source: GWI Currently pegged at over Rs.54,000 million, the wastewater treatment market has received the necessary stimulus from the awareness created

by NGOs, stricter environmental regulations, 11th Five Year Plan’s allocation towards urban sewerage, water and sanitation facilities, and the compulsions to treat, recycle, and reuse the industrial effluent back into the process operations.

The need today, for meeting the expectations of the government, and the people, is for modern water treatment plants, as the conventional wastewater treatment processes are expensive and require complex operations and maintenance.

It is estimated that the total cost for establishing treatment system for the entire domestic wastewater is around Rs. 7,560 crores, which is about 10 times the amount which the

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Indian government plans to spend, said a report.

Opportunities for PPP Investment Thus India’s wastewater treatment market is pregnant with PPP (Private and Public Participation) possibilities. More than 25 wastewater PPP contracts are at various stages of tendering, with at least six expected to be awarded this year, according to data from Global Water Intelligence (GWI), a water industry research firm.

As a GWI report noted while there is widespread resistance to offering water supply contracts to private firms in India, the same is not true in case of wastewater treatment.

“There will be more wastewater treatment plants executed via the PPP route, as there is less public

concern compared to water supply,” Dinesh Rathi, Managing Director of Nagpur-based DRA Consultants was quoted as saying.

M S Unnikrishnan, Managing Director and Chief Executive of Thermax Ltd. said in a report that industrialisation would drive the market for specialised wastewater treatment for industrial use, which is now a nascent business of Rs 500-800 crore. However, this would depend on how strictly pollution control norms are enforced in the country, he said.

Government Incentives for Investors With regard to steps taken by the Government for increasing the percentage of wastewater treatment, the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) launched Jawaharlal

Jan-Feb ’14

long as it functions effectively.

• Distr ibution of awards to industries based on their pollution control activities.

• Amount paid by a tax payer, to any association or institution implementing programmes for conservation of natural resources, is allowed to be deducted while computing income tax.

• Customs duty exemption is granted by the Central Government for items imported to improve safety and pollution control in chemical industries Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission ( JNNURM) in December 2005 to promote infrastructure facilities in all the urban areas of the country including sanitation with a reform-oriented agenda.

Under UIG component of JNNURM, 112 sewerage and sewage treatment projects with a total estimated cost of Rs. 14992.96 crores and under UIDSSMT component of JNNURM, 161 sewerage projects with a total estimated cost of Rs. 6148.56 Crores have been approved so far by the MoEF with a view to increasing the sewage treatment capacity in the urban areas of the country.

However, in India, the primary responsibility for creating of sewerage infrastructure for sewage disposal lies with the State governments/ urban local bodies, though their efforts are supplemented through central schemes, such as National River Conservation Plan, National Lake Conservation Plan, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, and Urban Infrastructure Scheme for Small and Medium Towns.

Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) thus initiated a technical and financial support scheme Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) to promote common facilities for treatment of effluents generated from small scale industry units located in clusters. The scheme helped in the set up of 88 CETPs having total capacity of 560 MLD covering more than 10,000 polluting industries.

Jan-Feb ’14

Other fiscal incentives available to industries/investors, as detailed by a country report for the United Nations are: • Depreciation allowance at a higher rate is allowed on devices and systems installed for minimising pollution or for conservation of natural resources.

• Investment allowance at a higher rate is allowed for systems and devices listed under depreciation allowance.

• To reduce pollution and to decongest cities, industries are encouraged to shift from urban areas. Capital gains arising from transfer of buildings or lands used for the business are exempted from tax if these are used for acquiring lands or constructing building for the purpose of shifting business to a new place.

• Reduction in central excise duty for procuring the pollution control equipments.

• Subsidies to industries for installation of pollution control devices.

• Rebate on cess due on water consumed by industries, if the industry successfully commissions an effluent treatment plant and so

Indian water and wastewater treatment market earned revenue of over Rs 6,300 crore in 2011 and is estimated to reach Rs 10,230 crore in 2016

The Way Forward Frost & S ul livan, a business consultancy firm, has reported that the Indian water and wastewater treatment market earned revenue of over Rs 6,300 crore in 2011 and is estimated to reach Rs 10,230 crore in 2016. Industrial sector is expected to show a higher rate than that of the municipal sector, it said.

The grow th in waste water treatment market is led by rising consciousness about ill affects unsafe disposal of wastewater among the people living in the vicinity of industrial clusters, growing concern a b o u t c l i m a t e c h a n g e, r a p i d urbnisation, and also government and private sector initiatives in the sector.

As Ajay Popat, Executive Vice President (Technology, Corporate Affairs & Marketing), Ion Exchange (India) Ltd, recently said, “With a growing demand from India’s population, coupled with a steady industrial growth in the range of 3-5 percent, the water growth rate contributed by residential, industrial, agriculture and commercial is expected to be in the robust range of 10-12 percent annually.”

Such a scenario, he said, would encourage participants of water and wastewater treatment industry to invest in mitigating challenges posed by scarcity and contaminated water sources.

Moreover, the equipment market is another area of attraction as it is expected to grow in proportion to growth in water demand across  the sectors.

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LAUNDRY

How to Set Up Commercial Laundry Unit

From planning the floor space to selecting equipment and controlling waste water, several aspects of the commercial laundry business deserve prior consideration of the budding entrepreneurs

T

he last summer Hrishikesh Das visited his hometown Barpeta in Assam, an extra bag tagged along with his own luggage on his way back to Delhi. And that large bag was not only filled by the packets of delicious coconut larus and traditional pithas (cakes) that his mother prepared as a token of her love towards her only son earning his livelihood in a far off place. In fact, larger part of that bag was filled by his mother’s costly sets of pat and muga mekhela chadors, dresses worn traditionally by Assamese women.

She sent these clothes that she wears only occasionally with her son for cleaning in Delhi as none of the neighborhood laundry shops she tried could clean and care the clothes to her satisfaction.

Hrishikesh’s mother, however, is not the only woman who is not happy with the laundry services of her own town. It is now quite common for women and even men in smaller cities like Kohima or Kanpur, Ranchi or Raipur to send their best dresses for cleaning in metropolitan cities. They do so believing that laundry services in the metro cities would be slightly better than what was on offer in their own cities.

Such a trend is growing fast

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because the commercial laundry services in India have not been able to catch up with fast-paced growth of the tier II and tier III cities and the rising aspirations of the expanding middle class. The laundry sector in these cities, despite its tremendous potential, remains largely unorganisd and manned mostly by untrained people. And in many of them modernisation of infrastructure is a still very slow.

But trade experts feel that with change in the lifestyle, rising consciousness about cleanliness and hygiene, growth of tourism and the hospitality sector and mushrooming healthcare centres may soon turn the laundry sector into a highly profitable, more professional and a better organised segment even in the tier II and tier III cities, besides the metropolitan cities.

The trends visible and forecast point to some clear directions: automation, outsourcing, linen rentals, strategic tie ups, alliances of institutions for in house or pool laundries and dry cleaning units. As sartorial needs turn into statements, care for clothes and linen will become high priority areas.

The emphasis on smartly turned out linen, uniforms and garments will raise the levels of the laundries

and dry cleaners though it is a long way ahead for the common neighborhoods drycleaner. The new entrants in commercial laundry business will set the trend.

Like food and clothing, commercial laundry business is one of the most recession-proof investments. It has a typical ROI of 20 percent to 30 percent. It has been classified as one of the safest investments and has several benefits. It is great as a parttime job, require no prior experience, can be located almost anywhere and still be profitable. So if you want to cash in the emerging opportunity in your area through an efficient commercial laundry service, don’t fret over the details. Here’s how you can start with:

Planning a Commercial Laundry Commercial laundry business is a very reliable and profitable investment requiring minimum supervision and has very low operating costs. But, this successful business can turn out to be unprofitable if things are not planned in proper order. It is recommended to have a business plan that is well thought out and carefully drafted. The next important step is determining what kind of a business entity it will be, properly estimating

Jan-Feb ’14

LAUNDRY

the startup, and operating costs.

Selecting the right number of equipments suitable for your operations, provisions for coin operations is another feature for future. Getting the necessary licenses and permits in order to operate legally is another important aspect to be dealt with carefully.

Determining if employing staff and if so how many, their wages etc. have to be determined too. It will be better to hire staff that can also fix any problems as well as undertake repairs of the machine.

Laundry businesses require 1500 to 5000 sq. ft. of retail space. Select a shopping complex or an area with a large student, singles or tenant population.

Determine how to advertise and market services in the locality and device ways to retain customers. Try using leaflets distribution, which may be effective. Determine the hours of operation; some Laundromats can open all day or use a timer system to open and close the door as per a preset timing schedule.

Setting a Commercial Laundry Business In this business, one of the most important factors to consider is the choice of commercial laundry equipments, which can play a deciding role in the operations. The key equipments required for any laundry service is commercial washers, dryers

Jan-Feb ’14

and stacked dryers. The correct choice of these commercial laundry equipments along with proper layout and operations plan can create profits that are increasing everyday with this business.

Besides the equipment, one also needs to consider the floor plan, which deals with the order and placement of various laundry equipments. In this case, most of the equipment distributors will help as they have dealt with a wide variety of floor plan layouts. Consider the suggestions about what the right equipment mix will be for a particular layout.

This is quite essential as nowadays, floor space is costlier than before and having a good layout can save some valuable space. In this way one need to effectively maximise usable space.

One of the suggestions for utilising valuable space is going in for a stack dryer as it this is more like putting two machines in the place of one.

Doing this will help to free up space for other equipments like additional washers, snack vending machines, change machines, play areas, etc.

A proper mix of machines allows more efficient flow of traffic between machines, providing a direct match for the larger washer extractors. Also, easy access to machines is critical, and so is the availability of laundry carts and folding tables. This is necessary as a comfortable customer experience builds customer loyalty.

Now, moving on to the commercial

laundry equipments need to purchase, we find that the commercial dryer is an important purchase to go in for.

Here are a few considerations you should adhere to while making the buying decision.

While buying the dryer, consider the heat source as the gas heated machine will produce at a more efficient rate compared to a steam model. This is so as it costs more to produce steam that heats a steam coil in order to heat the air. This process is what ultimately dries that laundry. On the contrary, a gas machine directly fires up with a heat source that heats the air. Also consider the machine configuration as it plays a crucial role in the flow of a laundry. Generally a single door or two-door pass through style machine is appropriate as it covers all the requirements. Also consider the price and additional features which play a crucial role in the decision making.

Selecting Chemicals Closely associated with the laundry business is the chemicals and detergents market. While soap and washing powder took the country by storm in the early seventies, it is the specialised detergents, chemicals and whiteners and fabric softeners and other varied chemicals that are used in the laundry today.

Chemicals used in dry cleaning have attracted flak for disturbing the environment. Detergents were always on the watch-list and almost all hotels have a policy of handling washing water and effluents in a secure and an eco friendly manner.

Laws have been framed to tackle the indiscriminate and unsafe use of chemicals in laundries. Reduction of water and solvent consumption, control of waste water and management of distillation sludge have become important issues of this century that deserve required attention of the stakeholders.

Environmental legislation will certainly not relax, and requirements for health, hygiene quality and safety will become more stringent. Since water is a major requirement for any laundry, recycling and water treatment is being given top priority by local authorities and institutions. 

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PEST MANAGEMENT

Protecting

Warehouses from Pest Infestations Through assessment, identification of the pests, personalised programmes, sanitation, regular audit, prevention and environmental controls together create a holistic approach towards protecting and ensuring that a warehouse is kept pest-free

F

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rom being a scientific storage facility, warehouses can soon become a paradise for myriad insects and

pests in no time. This is primarily because of the nature of warehouses.

For efficient shipment and delivery of products, warehouses generally

keep large access routes open for considerable time of the day. This allows the pests to enter and explore the warehouse. The commodity specific warehouses that store food grains and packaged foods, for instance the warehouses of large retail chains, can become special targets of pests to feed and breed.

Pest infestations in storage facilities can damage the reputation of a company and in some cases even result in termination of contracts, leading to loss of revenue. In cases where infected products harm the health of the customers, the storage owners might be dragged to courts for paying compensation.

Moreover, delaying pest prevention and control can only add to the pest control bill at a later stage. On the other hand, proper pest control in warehouses leads to less wastage and more customer trust.

Therefore, most warehouses, be it data warehouse, food warehouse, automated warehouse, dry goods warehouse, refrigerated warehouse, importers’ warehouse, exporters’ warehouse, wholesalers’ warehouse, customs warehouse, third party

Jan-Feb ’14

PEST MANAGEMENT containers attract pests, and storage of pallets or boxes adjacent to walls can provide secured hiding places for pests; thereby making their tracing a challenging task. There should be at least half a meter distance between stored goods and wall-floor junctions.

The locations, weather, the age of a building and a number of other factors are important in determining the success of a pest control programme in a warehouse.

A wide-ranging inspection which includes having discussions with key employees facilitates in designing effective pest control programmes.

logistics warehouse, cold storage warehouse, drug warehouse and medical warehouse, among others, need to have in place a proper pest management architecture.

A Holistic Approach O vercoming the accumulation of pests both inside and in the vicinity of the warehouse depends to a great extent upon the sanitation schedules. They determine what remedies will be needed to address pest management issues germane to the concerned warehouse.

However, though sanitation should be the focus of every integrated pest management programme, it is neither the beginning nor the culmination of a maintenance exercise in a warehouse.

Assessment, identification of the pests, personalised programmes, sanitation, prevention and environmental controls together create a holistic approach towards protecting and ensuring that a warehouse is kept pest-free.

Also, for effective pest control in warehouses, it is essential to have a regular warehouse audit. As per the audit norms, the presence of pests in warehouses is an indication of the company’s negligence or callousness towards adherence to proper sanitation procedures.

Therefore, we can say that the prospect of regular audit can be an inducement or a pressure for housekeeping staff to maintain stringent pest control standards in warehouses.

An ideal integrated pest

Jan-Feb ’14

management programme should commence with a detailed survey of the premises. Characteristic problem areas that most pest management services investigate

Common Pests in Warehouses Here it deserves a mention that several pests may be rampant in warehouses but the common targets of warehouse pest control services are insects, rodents, and flying insects/moths. Birds can also create a menace in warehouses.

Rodent Menace: Among pests of all types, rodents deserve special mention. Rodents play a highly harmful role in the wastage of food products. In commercial factories that produce food for human consumption on a mass scale, the presence of rodents may be very

in warehouses before developing its pest management action plan are usually entrance point for pests, surrounding areas such as garbage stations, gardens, etc., and whether there are any spillages from torn boxes or broken containers of food.

Spillages from torn boxes or broken

hazardous. They not only lead to huge loss of food that they consume, but they also tend to contaminate the food in close proximity that they come in contact with. This is caused mostly through crosscontamination, droppings, urine and hair.

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PEST MANAGEMENT

Beside food, the negative influence of rodents on clothes, paper and furniture in the warehouse can also assume significant proportions. They have a capability and disposition to gnaw through everything, which besides wastage of food and health concerns can cause damages to water and gas supplies.

Meal Moths: M e a l m o t h s include many species such as Indian meal moths, tropical warehouse moths, Mediterranean flour moths, Angoumois moths, almond moths and tobacco moth. Though they are not that difficult to eliminate, they keep on emerging. You will need to make proactive efforts to break their cycle.

Birds: W hen birds occupy warehouses they have a propensity to defecate on stored goods, which creates a perpetual problem for the warehouse management when their customers refuse to accept those soiled goods.

Pest Control Methods in Warehouses According to facility managers, if sound storage procedures for commodities are followed, insect and rodent problems can be minimised.

The pest menace or the rodent menace can be further checked through a comprehensive program of cleaning and inspecting.

The programme, according to the USAID, should include (i) closing or removing open food containers

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(ii) repairing damaged packages (iii) removing and disposing food unfit for human consumption and (iv) inspecting and cleaning the storage area regularly according to a planned, scheduled program.

Here we present some areas of the warehouse which, according to the USAID, needs to be inspected, and what facets, according to the same body, needs to be inspected for in these areas.

For insect control, fumigation is one of the methods suggested by the pest control managers. It means use of gas to decimate insects and other pests. However they suggest a few precautions for this.

As the fumigants involve extreme toxicity, great prudence must be employed during their handling and administration. Moreover, fumigation will not decimate molds or bacteria, though their toxic influences can be effective against insects and rodents. Besides, the fumigation leaves open the door for immediate recontamination of the commodities by insects or rodents.

Therefore, when sprays and fogs are being employed to eliminate insects, they should be adequately complemented by cleaning exercise, if one wants to ensure the protection of stored food.

To conduct an effective and safe fumigation, certain conditions need to be met. Before treating the area of warehouse with toxic chemicals which can be very dangerous to the

products, people and environment, one should take the following steps: They comprise caulking around utility lines, using insect and rodent sticky traps, modifying or installing insect light traps, making structural changes, and accurate reporting of insect sightings.

Insecticides can also be useful tools for pest control in warehouses, when used with stack rotation and thorough cleaning. However, one should not spray insecticides on the products. Insecticide sprays are applied to surfaces that will leave a residue. This residue would kill insects coming in contact with it.

Besides the type of insecticide and the surface to which it is applied, temperature and humidity can also influence real life of residue.

Insecticide fogs and mist through their transmission in air, can reach those insects which could not be reached by sprays, and therefore doors and openings of the warehouse should be closed while using insecticide so that insecticide fogs and mist cannot escape.

Prevention and Trapping However, besides fumigation and applying insecticides, there is a basic method of pest control, which entails simply cleaning to eliminate harborage and food in the warehouse and around the storage area.

Using preventive pest control measures like this is better than

Jan-Feb ’14

PEST MANAGEMENT curative options involving toxic chemicals like fumigation and insecticide, provided they are taken in time. Simple preventive steps like ensuring that there is no crack or gap in or along the windows and doors; there is a mosquito net to cover ventilation and windows; keeping the toilets and locker rooms not within the warehouse; and ensuring that there is no presence of garbage and open water disposal system in the warehouse will help to keep the pests at bay.

It is common knowledge that pest and animals are always looking for food and water for survival and the availability of food and water will induce them to come to a warehouse or any habitat for that matter. By maintaining cleanliness of the warehouse one can eliminate pest’s and animal’s food sources which are their sources of attraction. Moreover, to live and breed, animal and pests need a conducive environment.

Generally, they tend to enjoy the dark, damp, and warm environment.

Jan-Feb ’14

By providing an uncomfortable place for pests and animals to live, thrive and breed you can effectively prevent their invasion.

Besides prevention and elimination, trapping of pests is another way to keep the warehouse safe from their menace. In this regard, glue boards can become useful traps to trap mice. They can be distributed among the stacks of food to entangle the mice with glue.

Glue boards should be subjected to frequent inspection in order

to ensure that they are fresh and effective.

There are various long-term measures which can act as deterrents to the birds’ entry to the warehouse premises. Simply covering large openings and doors with heavy door curtains of plastic strip can discourage the entry of pigeons.

Even if they do get inside, they should be provided disincentive to roost on ledges and light fixtures. It can be done by providing sloping surfaces over flat surface. Also, close the space above the rafters with industrial bird netting, where the pigeons tend to roost and nest.

Using anti-roosting spike strips on a place where the bird may want to perch on is another way of preventing the bird problem from assuming frightening proportions.

Clean warehouses means less wastage of food grains and other stored products in the economy, which will entail preventing the pests of inflation from assuming the size and shape of a chimera. 

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WASTE MANAGEMENT

Hospital Waste Disposal

Finding the Right Path

When it comes to medical and biomedical waste disposal, one formula doesn’t fit all. This is because healthcare facilities generate a wide variety of wastes that range from less hazardous to highly hazardous wastes. While some should be sterilised, others should be incinerated, or treated with other recommended methods. Following the right course of action to safely dispose such a wide variety of wastes therefore requires adequate caution

By Jyotismita Sharma

22

Jan-Feb ’14

WASTE MANAGEMENT

T

he hazardous nature of a significant portion of the wastes generated in hospitals and health care facilities poses serious environmental and health risks, if not treated properly. Medical and biomedical wastes comprise hazardous liquids, chemicals, solids and sharp objects.

Contaminated syringes and needles which are not disposed off correctly pose a particular kind of risk through unsafe use in future by hazardous recycling and repackaging. Contaminated objects like needles and syringes may be scavenged from dumpsites and can be either reused or sold to an unsuspecting buyer.

Jan-Feb ’14

Not only that, contaminated syringes and other equipment pose occupational hazards to health workers, waste handlers and scavengers. Where waste is dumped into areas without restricted access, children may come into contact with them and play with used needles and syringes.

Due to the serious risks they pose to humans, treatment of biomedical waste must begin at the healthcare facilities. Medical waste in the form of contaminated needles, scalpels, syringes, blades and other sharp objects can be collected and segregated in to labeled, color-coordinated and sealed containers before sending for disposal.

Sterilization of reusable medical equipment through microwaves, chemical cleaning etc. is another prevalent way of medical waste management. This process helps hospitals to cut costs through sustained use of costly medical equipment.

But the most popular disposal method in all leading hospitals for medical and biomedical waste is incineration. The process is simple enough where all the contaminated wastes are introduced to extreme heat and detoxified.

However, this method has its share of controversies. Incineration leads to release of lethal materials into air such as dioxin or mercury, furans and other toxic air pollutants.

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WASTE MANAGEMENT

In fact, dioxins have been classified as a “known human carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). So the question is ‘Is incineration safe enough?’

The Way Forward To ensure that incineration is done safely, best practices must be followed for optimal use. Best practices for incineration include constructing incinerators away from residential areas thereby minimising exposures to humans, properly engineered design, suitable construction to achieve optimal levels of combustion, proper maintenance and training to operators etc.

Following the best practices for incineration will help to minimise public health risks as well as occupational hazards.

Even before sending the medic al waste to incinerators, waste can be segregated to ensure that only appropriate wastes are incinerated. Likewise, sharps can be shredded or melted down to avert environmental mishaps.

The management of both medical and biomedical waste necessitate due diligence and attention to avoid health and environmental risks. The trick is to select the correct course of

24

action for different types of waste and set the priorities as per the best practices. The safe disposal of medical and biomedical waste is of utmost necessary for patients to receive proper health care and recover in safe environments.

Government Guidelines for Biomedical Waste Disposal Since hazardous waste management is a sensitive issue touching the lives of millions of citizens, it is governed by the guidelines and regulations set by the government for the welfare of its citizens.

Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India has notified biomedical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules in 1998, as amended in the years 2000 & 2003, to provide a regulatory framework

for segregation, transportation, storage, treatment and disposal of the biomedical waste generated from the health care facilities (HCFs) in the country so as to avoid adverse impact on human health and environment.

National Guidelines on Hospital Waste Management based on Biomedical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules were released

by Ministry of Health and Family welfare and distributed to all States/Union Territories in 2002 for implementation.

In addition, a National Policy document and Operational Guidelines for Community Health Centres, Primary Health Centres and Sub-centres developed by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was released in the year

Jan-Feb ’14

2007 for proper biomedical waste management in these facilities.

Guidelines to reduce environmental pollution due to Mercury in Central Government Hospitals and Health Centers were released by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in March 2010.

The aforesaid guidelines have been included in the Indian Public Health Standards for Health Care facilities as revised in the year 2012.

The biomedical waste is required to be segregated according to the colour code for containers/bags prescribed in Schedule-II of the BMW Rules. Further, it is the responsibility of the occupier to treat and dispose off biomedical waste in accordance with treatment and disposal options mentioned in Schedule-I of the aforesaid rules.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has prescribed guidelines for Common bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facilities as well as

Jan-Feb ’14

for design and construction of Incinerators.

However, health being a state subject, it is the responsibility of the concerned State Government to take necessary steps to monitor the disposal of biomedical wastes through the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in the Union Territories, as per the provisions made under the Bio-medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1998, as amended in the years 2000 & 2003. The State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) are the prescribed authorities to grant authorization for the BMW Management.

They are empowered to ensure the compliance of provisions of these Rules.

As per the National Guidelines for Hospital Waste Management mentioned above, the Head of the hospital shall form a Waste Management Committee under his Chairmanship. The Waste Management Committee shall meet regularly to review the performance of the waste disposal. This Committee is responsible for making hospital specific action plan for hospital waste management and for its supervision, monitoring implementation and looking after the safety of the biomedical waste handlers. 

25

IAQ

Learn to Care

for Your

Air

Proper operation of HVAC systems, that facilitate uninterrupted supply of clean air, depend on appropriate design, installation and maintenance

By Jyotismita Sharma

A

ccording to a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO), every year, 1.3 million people die in India because of indoor air pollution. What is even more frightening is that a study by India’s own The Energy and Research Institute (TERI) has found that 27.5 percent of under-five mortality in India is because of indoor air pollution. And it is well known that poor ventilation and specific sources of contaminants in the indoor environment are responsible for most of the problems in the

26

indoor air.

Therefore, be it a home or hotel, a restaurant or a mall, putting adequate measures for maintaining proper ventilation facilities is a matter of life and death for many, although this harsh reality is not immediately visible to even the inhabitants of such buildings who suffer directly from absence of such facilities day in and day out.

Ventilation Problems Lack of adequate ventilation leads to build up of contaminants from harmful sources in the indoor

environment. In its investigation, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the United States found inadequate ventilation as the most common problem in more than half the workplace indoor air investigations it had conducted.

Results of several other investigations confirmed that proper ventilation is of utmost significance so far as maintaining good indoor air quality is concerned.

Adequate ventilation can be ensured in a building through the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

Jan-Feb ’14

IAQ

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, “HVAC systems include all of the equipment used to ventilate, heat, and cool the building; to move the air around the building (ductwork); and to filter and clean the air.” These systems can have a significant impact on how pollutants are distributed and removed, it said.

However, most HVAC systems

Jan-Feb ’14

today recalculate indoor air to conserve energy. This system combined with the present construction practice in most buildings that seal leakage of air through cracks and other openings in walls, floors, and roofs has actually accentuated indoor air pollution.

To maintain proper ventilation, buildings should be designed in such a way that allows supply of

adequate outdoor air. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends supply of a minimum of 15 cubic feet of outdoor make-up air per minute (CFM) per person in the indoor living areas of residential buildings. The ASHRAE guidelines for make-up air for areas with higher degree of humidity such as kitchens and bathrooms in homes are much higher. This fresh make-up air dilutes indoor contaminants and helps exhaust them from the home, ASHRAE believes.

However, the fault doesn’t lay only in the building design. Proper design of HVAC systems also plays

Focal Points

• 1.3 million people in India die because of indoor air pollution every year, says a WHO study • About 27.5 % of under-five mortality is because of indoor air pollution, says a TERI study Average indoor air pollution in India is 375 unit grams in cubic meter of air

27

IAQ

a crucial role in uninterrupted supply of clean air.

Design, installation and maintenance of HVAC system Proper operation of HVAC systems depend on appropriate design, installation and maintenance.

Both number of people and amount of equipment in a building affect the delivery capacity of a HVAC system. Therefore, it should be so designed keeping in mind both the factors. So when an area of a building is used for a different purpose than it was originally meant, the required modification in the HVAC system must also be done.

“For example, if a storage area is converted into space occupied by people, the HVAC system may require alteration to deliver enough conditioned air to the space,” the EPA said.

To avoid indoor air pollution, adequate supply of outdoor air is also very important. For example, the photocopy machines, printers, building materials, furnishing and even people release several pollutants inside the building. To dilute these pollutants distribution of outdoor air through HVAC system is essential for thermal comfort.

The placement of equipment and furniture is also crucial for distribution of ventilation air through HVAC system.

“For instance, the placement of heat generating equipment, like a computer, directly under an HVAC control device such as a thermostat may cause the HVAC system to deliver too much cool air, because the thermostat senses that the area is too warm,” the EPA said.

28

Moreover, inappropriate placement of furniture and equipment in the building can also affect indoor air quality as they can block the supply of air.

The irregular and inadequate maintenance of HVAC systems may also contribute to indoor air pollution to a great extent.

As the EPA points out, when ventilation air filters through HVAC systems get contaminated with dirt and/or moisture and when microbial growth results from stagnant water in drip pans or from uncontrolled moisture inside of air ducts, the HVAC systems can act as sources of pollutants for indoor air.

“Ventilation system filters that are not replaced on a regular basis may become clogged, reducing air flow volume, quality, and distribution,” the Public Health Department of

Basic Component of a HVAC system The basic components of an HVAC system that delivers conditioned air to maintain thermal comfort and indoor air quality are: • outdoor air intake • mixed-air plenum and outdoor air control • air filter • heating and cooling coils • humidification and/or de-humidification equipment • supply fan • ducts • terminal device • return air system • exhaust or relief fans and air outlet • self-contained heating or cooling unit • control • boiler • cooling tower water chiller

Illinois, a state in the US, said.

“They also may become places for bacteria and molds to grow and be distributed throughout the home. Humidifier systems on HVAC systems also must be properly maintained to prevent bacteria and mold contamination,” it added.

Fo l l o w i n g t h e m e t h o d s mentioned below may help improve your ventilation system, according to the Public Health Department of Illinois: • Fo l l o w i n g a r e g u l a r maintenance schedule for the H VAC s y s t e m . F i l t e r s a n d humidifiers should be regularly serviced.

• Installation of special high efficiency filters in the HVAC system.

• Consult with an HVAC contractor to ensure your system is properly designed for your home.

• Use exhaust fans in potential problem areas, such as bathrooms, kitchens, and hobby rooms, to exhaust contaminants generated inside the home.

During the spring and autumn, when outdoor air supply is favourable, residents can use mechanical fans to supply additional make-up air inside the house. Similarly, during summer and winter, when temperature is either very high or very low, one can install air-to-air heat exchanger to supply make up air.

“These units exhaust stale, warm air from the house and transfer the heat in that air to fresh air being supplied from the outside,” the Illinois Department of Public Health said in its report.

It also suggested that building owners can also install fans that supply outdoor air directly to the return side of the HVAC system.

These fans are usually installed with a timing mechanism or manual control to regulate the amount of outdoor air supplied to the structure. “ This type of system works effectively to supply make-up air, but it also increases the cost of operating the HVAC system since the air is not cooled or heated before it enters the  home,” it said.

Jan-Feb ’14

Jan-Feb ’14

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PRODUC T P R E V I E W SPECIALITY CHEMICALS

Pioneer Softeners & Chemicals which came into existence in India almost 25 years ago, has set its international standards with much determination and perseverance and has since then demonstrated its entrepreneurial spirits by achieving significant results in the following sectors. Pioneer Softeners & Chemicals is “Specialty” Chemical and Chemical Systems supplier currently implementing a quality assurance programme according to ISO 9001:2008 standards. The unit is in production & formulation of Super Specialty Chemicals for Kitchen Stewarding department (F&B Support), Hotel Laundry, Swimming pool & Engineering Chemicals. The unit JMR established in Gurgaon and authorized for Haryana deals in all water based chemicals i.e Sodium hypochlorite, polyelectralytes, ETP and STP chemicals, eco friendly effective Micro-organisms (EM), brushes and coil cleaners for AHU/Ac. The Company also deals with high purity swimming pool chemicals i.e TCCA 90, Alum, Copper Sulphate, Chloroter Reagents for estimation of Chlorine in swimming pool and drinking water which helps to eliminate the dangerous contamination in water. Few are the famous and rich Specialty Chemicals for F&B like: Rollogs (For grill, oven, microcimney cleaner, hot plates, fryers & coils) Usage: 200-300 ml. in 1 ltr. Of water, Pot Wash/Dish Drop (For high value utensils, ph-neutral eco-friendly, colour-light green), Sanitizer Quat MBA (conc.) (Quaternary Ammonium Compound 2% disinfectant, for sanitization of all valued surfaces), Duran Kleanex (XL-100: Light green colour detergentcum-senitizer with steel trolley carrying food and beverages, colour-light green, Dennicel Soft Gel with Quat (Anti Bacterial), Duran Rinse (XL 100): Liquid for automatic dish washing machine. Low foam liquid detergent, ecofriendly, ph balanced, neutral and no sedimentation. Crystal clear blue liquid, Duran Forte (XL 100): Highly effective liquid for automatic dish washing machine ensures sparking shine with rapid drying for all high valued utensils.

For laundry the range includes: Nova Carbon R (XL 100) which same the discard of the fabric and clear all carbon and black stain from the fabric used in kitchen and another is Polyvinn Aao 2000 which is used all over for coloured uniforms & guest laundry very safe & eco friendly last but not the least in Duran Nona Det (XL 500), a single solution for oils, spa and grease.

Pioneer Softeners & Chemicals psc@pioneersofteners.com

SKY HAS THE DEPTH OF QUALITY

The journey of Sky Enterprises did begin in the pre-independence era.

The company has come a long way from the days of Raj to the cyber age. However, over the years, its endeavour to provide quality products has not changed. It has never compromised on is the quality of cloth and dress materials used.

The product range of Sky Enterprises is valued for its high quality products and fine stitching. The company uses high grade raw materials, which are sourced from its trusted vendors.

Today Sky Enterprises is regarded as a pioneer in the field of manufacturing and supply of uniforms and uniform related accessories, and hand-made zari embroidery in India. The company’s product range include waiter uniforms, Chef uniforms, uniforms for Indian Air Force and Indian Navy, school uniforms, reception uniforms, uniforms for air hostesses, security uniforms, housekeeping uniforms, and all other types of corporate uniforms.

The company’s prestigious clientele list includes Indian Air Force and Indian Navy among others.

Besides institutional uniform tailoring, the company also executes complete job of drapery and stitching on order.

SKY Enterprises skyenterprisesindia@gmail.com

FACILITATING INDUSTRIAL CLEANING

Inovic Floor Systems Pvt Ltd was founded in 2010 by Mr. J.P.Kawal in the capital of India, New Delhi. With over 8 years of individual experience in stone fixing / polishing & cleaning industry both decided to merge together to offer the market with world class, state of the art products & services. BK850 is the advanced machine for grinding, polishing, scarifying, bush hammering large areas. Perfectly balanced without any tendency for movement in any direction which makes the grinding process far more economic. BK850 with powerful 20 Hp motor is a winning combination of power and versatility for the best performance. It’s It very easy to manage and handy. It is the natural choice for large areas. The BK850 encompasses a planetary head that is 100% metal geared and uses no belts.

This advanced machine has variable speed control up to 1300 rpm with the turn pf a dial and with flick of a switch watch the grinding heads turn in reverse. Electronic variable grinding head pressure up to a total of 230 Kg. Planetary High Torque Gearbox, with tempered metal gears, designed to supply lots of torque to the Grinding Head. This allows the users to remove hard coating and mastic without stalling the machine and there are no belts to slip. Quick Attack System: quick and easy to use, allows tooling changes in seconds. There is no faster way to change tooling then to change the whole grinding plate at one time and there are no small pieces to get lost.

Removable frontal wheels permits easy transport off and onto the worksite.

Inovic Floor Systems Pvt Ltd jpkawal@inovic.in

T

he information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the r e s p e c t i v e m a n u f a c t u r e r / d i s t r i b u t o r. I n a n y c a s e , i t d o e s n o t r e p r e s e n t t h e v i e w s o f Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

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Jan-Feb ’14

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY ASK FOR YOUR

2013 Hotel & Institutions Buyers’ Guide

TODAY! The 2013 Hotels & Institutions Buyers’ Guide provides comprehensive information on more than 8000 products and over 5000 companies. It is the only editorial driven guide, providing latest updates and trends on the products & services. To get your 2013 Hotels & Institutions Buyers’ Guide contact our branch offices or e-mail us.

Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Delhi: Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1202, Pragati Tower, 26, Rajindra Place, New Delhi-110008 Phone: 45084903, 25854103 / 05 Mumbai: 105, 1st Floor, Aarpee Centre, Gufic Compound, 11th Road, MIDC, Near Tunga Paradise, Andheri (E), Mumbai-400 093 Ph.: 91-22-28395833 Telefax: 91-22-28388947

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A D V E R T I S E R S PAGE NO.

COMPANY

I N D E X

COMPANY

PAGE NO.

AMAN CLEANING EQUIPMENTS PVT. LTD.

......................21

SINTEX INDUSTRIES LIMITED

......................11

APPLIANCES EMPORIUM

......................25

SUPESHINE LAUNDRY SYSTEMS PVT. LTD.

......................01

BORGHI BRUSH MACHINERY PVT. LTD.

......................06

UNIQUE TRADING COMPANY

......................13

GRAND CHEMICAL WORKS

......................23

PRODUCT PREVIEW

......................32

JMR CHEMICAL (WORLD)

......................23

KARCHER CLEANING SYSTEM PVT. LTD.

......................BC

NATURES ESSENSE

......................BIC

NAVIN POLYCON

......................04

NUTECH JETTING EQUIPMENTS INDIA PVT. LTD.

......................GF

QUARTZ HOME CARE (I) P LTD.

......................05

ROOTS MULTICLEAN LTD.

......................FIC

* BC - BACK COVER

Jan-Feb ’14

* GF-GATE FOLD

* FIC - FRONT INSIDE COVER

* BIC - BACK INSIDE COVER

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INTERVIEW

Catering to Cleaning Solutions

By Swarnendu Biswas

A

fter a decade of selling its products in India through its dealer, Kärcher did step into India with its Indian subsidiary, some two-and-half years back. The company has a wide range of products for the Indian market which includes High- pressure Cleaners, Spray-extraction Cleaners, Carpet Cleaners, Scrubber Driers, Steam Cleaners, Window Cleaners, Industrial Cleaning Systems, Vacuums, and Cordless Electric Brooms among others. The comprehensive product range of Karcher India caters to both institutional and home and garden segments.

However, Ruediger Schroeder, the Managing Director at Karcher Cleaning Systems Pvt. Ltd. states that the Karcher range is much wider in Europe than in India.

“In India we have introduced only those of our products which we thought were right for the Indian market,’ asserted Schroeder.

He also stated that they have been extending their offerings for the Indian market, based on demand and on “whether the given product/s would be good addition to our cleaning solution offerings in the Indian market.”

Schroeder, who has been visiting India for professional reasons since 1993, and has been working in the country for the last four years, has been closely following the Indian cleaning industry. According to 32

him, the Indian market for cleaning equipments is still very small as compared to global levels, and is at a nascent stage, but at the same time the market is brimming with lots of potential. “India has a strong growth potential as far as the market for cleaning equipments go,” he expressed, while pointing out that this gives their Indian presence a promising future to bank on.

“During the last three-four years, the facility management companies in India are taking a much bigger share of the Indian cleaning market than they enjoyed say a decade back and this trend reflects a great potential for the market of our product range in India,” opined Schroeder.

Schroeder acknowledges that the awareness level regarding the role of mechanised cleaning is still low in the Indian market, but maintained that it is growing appreciably. “Over the last twenty years, I have seen a tremendous shift towards the culture of cleaning in the country, with more use of mechanised cleaning across various industries gaining popularity,” observed Schroeder. There is no denying the fact that in the post-modern twenty-first century India, mechanised cleaning has gained currency across hotels, IT and pharma industry, shopping malls and airports.

Schroeder believes that purchasing the right cleaning solution and regular training of operators is very much needed to infuse more maturity and generate greater productivity in the cleaning industry. Regarding this Karcher India is quite committed in its approach.

“We have been training our sales persons in a big way to understand the requirement of our customers and potential customers.

This helps us in suggesting the appropriate cleaning solution to them,” explained the corporate honcho. In fact, imparting regular training of equipment operators, providing the right spare parts and after sales service are the integral parts of the marketing strength of Karcher India.

Schroeder lays great emphasis on the availability of spare parts. ‘We have ensured that spare parts for all our products for the Indian market are available within India, so

that we can promptly service whatever we sell,’ he explained.

Karcher India has its training facility in Noida, where cleaning equipment operators can raise their awareness levels and skills.

“Besides we have been supporting an institution in Delhi to train persons who want to become operators of cleaning equipments,’ pointed out Schroeder.

Maintenance of cleaning equipment is a key issue in the industry, and the lack of maintenance often leads to compromise of the optimum productivity of the machine, which in turn can lead to increase in man hours. “We provide free maintenance during the warranty period, and after the warranty period, we introduce the clients to our maintenance contracts, which facilitates our endeavour towards continual maintenance of the machines that we sell,’ articulated Schroeder. The re-training of the operators from time to time is also the part of Karcher India’s service offerings to its clientele.

Schroeder admits that cheaper products in the competition may allure the customers, but maintains that “Over a period of time the real costs incurred on most of the cheaper products, which often do not come with the advantage of impeccable after sales service and ready availability of spare parts, may turn them costlier than our products.” He categorically stated that the market should realise that “for a given quality of cleaning solution there is a given price which needs to be incurred.”

Lamentably, cleaning and housekeeping are still widely regarded as non core issues in many industries of the country. However, Schroeder maintains that “Customers in India are beginning to realise that the lack of cleaning can affect the productivity of personnel engaged, and as well as the image of the property.”

He thinks that people interested in introducing mechanical cleaning solutions should approach them (Karcher India) with an open mind. This is often necessary as the general awareness level about the application of cleaning equipments is still quite low in India, though it has been increasing appreciably. “They should just tell us the problem and we would come out with the right solution to address their requirements,’ Schroeder stated with confidence.  Jan-Feb ’14

Regd. No. R.N. DELENG/2001/7213

Jan-Feb ’14

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Regd. No. R.N. DELENG/2001/7213

Jan-Feb ’14

41