CHR Jan-Feb 2015

Jan-Feb ’15

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Jan-Feb ’15

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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 © 2015 Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

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n as big a country as India where barely half of the population have access to toilets, the launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan that aims to dramatically change the current state of India’s cleanliness and sanitation scenario within a span of five years has tremendous implications for various sectors. With a toilet for every household, it could not only make your morning walk scenic five years down the line, the mission may also contribute significantly in improving the health of Indians to a great extent. For, where there is open defecation, pathogens spread quickly, causing diarrhoea, cholera, and other diseases. Access to toilet is also crucial for security and dignity of women as by defecating in the open women and girls constantly risk rape and sexual assault. Improved sanitation has also been linked to better education as many girls drop out of schools due to lack of toilets.

What, however, is the focus of this issue of Clean & Hygiene Review is the economic implications of India’s cleanliness drive.

With the Government of India announcing its intention to spend Rs. 2 lakh crore for the mission and other institutions such as the World Bank alone pledging over $1 billion, the mission is likely to give a big boost to the economy as improved sanitation can reduce costs associated with death and disease, accessing and treating water, and losses in education, productivity, time, and tourism.

As the Cover Story of this issue points out, the manufacturers of cleaning, sanitation and waste management equipment are particularly upbeat about their growth in the coming years. It has been reported that the Rs 4,500-crore cleaning equipment and waste management industry could register 40 percent growth as a result of this mission.

In the backdrop of these developments, the Business Story of this issue highlights the scope of private investment in construction of public toilets. Under the mission, the government has set its target to build 1.04 crore household toilets and five lakh community and public toilet seats by 2019. And to achieve this goal, a private investment of Rs.42,512 crore has been targeted in urban areas alone. Such a huge mission unleashes tremendous opportunities both for the new and seasoned entrepreneurs in myriad ways.

Other features of this issue discuss the emerging housekeeping trends in the country, impact of poor air quality in school children and the course that the water solution market in India has taken over the years.

I hope the regular features on pest management and laundry, besides the industry updates, will provide some new insights into your day-to-day operations.

Happy Reading!

Editorial Policy : Editorial emphasis in Clean & Hygiene Review magazine is on educational & informational material specifically designed to assist those responsible for managing cleaning & maintenance, Laundry, Pest Control, Water & Waste Management and Environment. Articles are welcome and will be published on the sole discretion of the editor.

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Jan-Feb ’15

Contents Contents

COVER STORY A ‘Clean’ Boost to Hygiene Industry

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The launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan that aims to achieve the goal of a clean India by 2019 has not only swelled the coffers of those dealing in cleaning equipment and waste management, it has also lifted the spirit of cleaning professionals across the country

BUSINESS

Leading the Sanitation Surge With a target of constructing over one crore toilets in urban areas alone, the Swachh Bharat Mission opens up a huge opportunity for private players to invest in the sanitation sector

14 CLEANING

Emerging Housekeeping Trends in India

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Although housekeeping services today has to be in sync with the type of niche experience that a hotel wishes to offer, following the ‘green’ eco-friendly norms and integrating latest technologies into the services are emerging as dominant trends in the housekeeping sectors across the Indian hospitality industry

SECTIONS PEST MANAGEMENT

Spotting the Best in the Business

24 Jan-Feb ’15

Understanding the specific nature of one’s needs and the services offered by the professional player is crucial to making the right choice of professional pest management services

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News Scan

7 Report 28

Laundry

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Water Management

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IAQ Product Preview Interview 3

NEWS SCA N

Towards total sanitation awareness about the need for cleanliness, ensuring necessary infrastructure and resorting to penal measures to ensure total sanitation in the country.

Reflecting on the sanitation scenario in the countr y, Naidu noted that none of the 7,135 cities and towns qualifies to be a ‘green city’ in terms of sanitation in the country and only four cities viz., Chandigarh, New Delhi, Surat and Mysore scored 66 as against 90 required for being a green city, when the last ranking was done in 2010. He informed that fresh ranking of cities based on sanitation conditions would Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu lighting the be completed by March this lamp at the inaugural session of the 14th World Toilet Summit year.

2015, in New Delhi on January 19.

The Minister lamented inister for Urban Development that about US $ 54 billion M.Venkaiah Naidu has called worth GDP is being lost every year on for ‘making use of toilets as a account of inadequate sanitation in the life style choice by all and particularly, the country. In urban areas over one crore poor as part of achieving total sanitation toilets are required to be built and the in the country’. Addressing the inaugural Government would be spending over session of ‘World Toilet Congress’ in new Rs.2 lakh cr in both urban and rural areas Delhi on January 19, Naidu elaborated in the country over the next five years to on a three pronged strategy of promoting ensure cleanliness.

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10 states get Rs.460 cr under Swachh Bharat Mission The Ministry of Urban Development has so far sanctioned Rs.459.93 crore to ten states as the first installment under Swachh Bharat Mission’ for the year 2014-15, said Minister of State for Urban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Babul Supriyo.

Besides other expenses, the sanctions include Rs.310.10 crore for construction of household and community toilets.

Supriyo has further informed that under Swachh Bharat Mission in urban areas, 1.04 crore household toilets are targeted to be built by 2018. State-wide targets in respect of household toilets under the Mission : Tamil Nadu-13.95 lakhs, Uttar Pradesh -11.83 lakh, Maharashtra-8.99 lakhs, Karnataka-8.88 lakhs, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana-7.93 lakhs, West Bengal-7.88 lakhs, Madhya Pradesh-7.32 lakhs, Rajasthan-5.62 lakhs, Bihar-5.47 lakhs, Gujarat-4.06 lakhs, Odisha-4.03 lakhs,Chattisgarh-3.51 lakhs, Jharkhand-2.31 lakhs, Haryana-2.16 lakhs, Punjab-1.96 lakhs, Kerala-1.76, Assam-1.46 lakhs and NCT of Delhi-1.25 lakhs etc.

Five-pronged strategy to meet water demand

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xpressing serious concern on water scarcity, Urban Development Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu has suggested a five pronged strategy to ensure adequate water for drinking and irrigation needs. The following suggestions were floated at the Plenary Session of ‘India Water Week – 2015’, a four-day international conference organized by the Ministry of Water Resources in New Delhi in January: • Create awareness among the people about the need for judicious use of and conservation of water ; • Inter-linking of rivers (Ganga – Cauvery); • Recycling and re-use of water; • Rain water harvesting; and • Desalination plants for use of salt water Naidu said that water is a scarce resource and every drop of available water needs to be conserved. Stressing on the need to make rain water harvesting mandatory, the minister said he intended to recommend to the States to make it a mandatory provision while approving construction plans. He highlighted the need to have check dams at various levels in rural areas.

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Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti visiting the India Water Week 2015 exhibition, in New Delhi on January 14.

Referring to the possibility of conflicts over water resources across the globe, he also called for international cooperation to meet water demand.

India has a population of about 17 percent of the world but only 4 percent of water resources. In urban areas, while the requirement is 135 litres per person per day, only about 70 litres are being provided.

Jan-Feb ’15

NE W S SCAN

Cleanliness top priority for Indian Railways: Minister

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nsuring higher standards of cleanliness is of utmost priority for Indian Railways, said Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu. Presenting the Railway Budget 2015-16 in Parliament on February 26, Prabhu proposed to create a new department for keeping stations and trains clean. He noted that the Railways now works on – ‘Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat’.

Integrated cleaning will be taken up as a specialized activity, which will include engaging professional agencies and also training staff in the latest cleaning practices.

He said the ministry also plans to set up ‘waste to energy’ conversion plants near major coaching terminals to dispose waste in an environment-friendly manner.

One pilot plant will be set up, to begin with, followed by more plants in a phased Railways Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu manner, the minister added. arriving Parliament House to present the The Railways have set a target of Railway Budget 2015-16, in New Delhi building new toilets covering 650 additional on February 26. stations compared to 120 stations last year.

Bio-toilets are being fitted in coaches. So far the Railways has replaced the existing toilets with 17,388 bio toilets, he pointed out. This year it intends to replace another 17,000 toilets. Research, Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) has also been tasked with making available within a period of six months a design for vacuum toilets.

“Even as the quality of Indian Railways’ On-board Housekeeping Service (OBHS), presently available in 500 pairs of trains, is being re-looked to make it more effective, the Railways will take simple steps immediately to address customer concerns,” Prabhu said.

While the feasibility of a disposable bag along with bedroll for the purpose of collecting their garbage is being considered, the coverage of built in dustbins would be extended to non-AC coaches as well, the minister said.

School children in Delhi breathe toxic air: Greenpeace

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n air-quality monitoring survey by Greenpeace found very unhealthy levels of air pollution inside five prominent schools across Delhi.

The survey found the PM2.5 levels to be four times the Indian safety limits and 10 times that of the World Health Organisation’s.

The real-time monitoring data from all the five schools revealed particulate matter 2.5 to be at very unhealthy levels.

According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution impacts the most vulnerable sections of the population and children are among the worst hit.

Studies by US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) have concluded that exposure to PM2.5 in children will mean reduced lung functioning, increase in asthma and respiratory illnesses.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified particulate matter pollution as carcinogenic to humans in 2013, and designated it as a “leading environmental cause of cancer deaths”.

Jan-Feb ’15

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Dirty air cuts short half of Indian lives

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ndia’s air pollution is reducing the life expectancy of over half of the country’s population by more than three years, says a study by researchers from the University of Chicago, Harvard and Yale.

More than 660 million Indians live in areas where fine-particulate matter pollution exceeds levels considered safe

by Indian standards, the findings showed.

The new figures come after World Health Organization estimates showed 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world were in India, including the worstranked city, Delhi. India has the highest rate of death caused by chronic respiratory diseases anywhere in the world.

The new study noted that if India reverses this trend to meet standards, those 660 million people would gain about 3.2 years onto their lives—saving a total of 2.1 billion life-years.

“India’s focus is necessarily on growth.

However for too long, the conventional definition of growth has ignored the health consequences of air pollution,” said Michael Greenstone, an author of the study and director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago in the US. “This study demonstrates that air pollution retards growth by causing people to die prematurely. Other studies have also shown that air pollution reduces productivity at work, increases the incidence of sick days and raises health care expenses that could be devoted to other goods,” Greenstone pointed out.

Rohini Pande, a study co-author and director of Evidence for Policy Design at the Harvard Kennedy School, said, “The loss of more than two billion life years is a substantial price to pay for air pollution. It is in India’s power to change this in cost-

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effective ways that allow hundreds of millions of its citizens to live longer, healthier and more productive lives. Reforms of the current form of regulation would allow for health improvements that lead to increased growth.”

The study appeared in the journal Economic & Political Weekly.

Pollution pushes up air purifier sales With air quality in Indian cities deteriorating fast, the sale of air purifiers, small portable devices that remove bacteria, virus and particulate matter, has shot up sharply, according to reports. And it is not only hotels that are offering allergy-free rooms with heavy duty air purifiers. In fact, the recent surge in sale of the product has been driven by individual, and as such could bring in unprecedented rate of growth for the air purifier market. While Eureka Forbes has reported 60-70 percent year on year growth in its sale of air purifier over the past twothree years, enquiries at Philips shot up by 20 percent over the past six months. Sharp also sells 40 percent of its air purifiers to individual customers, most of who have a sick person at home.

“We are selling the most in Delhi NCR, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Bangalore and Mumbai. Forty per cent of our sales are to individual customers and of them 70 percent usually have a sick person at home,” Shuvendu Mazumder, national product manager at Sharp, was quoted as saying.

The US Embassy in New Delhi reportedly purchased over 1,800 indoor air purifiers to protect employees at the embassy and other locations ahead of US President Barack Obama’s three-day visit to India in January.

The European Union has also directed its diplomats in Delhi to install air purifiers at home and office to reduce exposure to high levels of air pollution.

Jan-Feb ’15

REPORT

US ‘AID’ Pours in for Clean India Mission

USAID and the Bill and Milinda Gates Foundation pledge financial support to help India achieve sanitation for all

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Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu witnessing the signing of an MoU between the Ministry of Urban Development and USAID, in New Delhi on January 13.

n a boost to implementation of Swachh Bharat (Clean India)Mission in urban areas, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Bill and Milinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) have agreed to provide assistance in the critical areas of capacity building of implementing agencies including urban local bodies, technology transfer, technical support, sharing of best sanitation practices and implementation and monitoring. USAID is likely to spend about US $ 2 million per year on these activities.

To this effect, USAID signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Urban Development while BGMF signed a Memorandum of Cooperation. These memoranda were signed by Shankar Aggarwal, Secretary (Urban Development) and John Beed, Country Director of USAID and Girindre Beehary, Country Director, BMGF. Minister of Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu and US Ambassador to India Richard Verma were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said, “More than funds, changing mindsets of the people towards safe sanitation practices and capacity building of implementing agencies are the key issues to ensure a clean India,” “The Government is committed to ‘Walk the

Jan-Feb ’15

Talk’ to realise the goals set under cleanliness mission in the next five years. US cooperation will go a long way in this regard,” he added.

US Ambassador Richard Verma said, “IndiaUS cooperation has exciting prospects. I am delighted to be associated with this partnership initiative in the area of sanitation which has significant linkages with economic development.”

As per the MoU, USAID will assist in: • Knowledge exchange and identification and sharing of best practices for water and sanitation services: This is aimed at effective knowledge transfer enabling more rapid delivery of services. State and City level implementation staff will be provided with necessary skills and incentives to deliver results under Swachh Bharat Mission and National Urban Development Mission for 500 cities and towns.

• Provision of targeted, demand driven technical assistance: Under this, performance indicators and city ranking systems will be introduced for incentivizing participation in Swachh Bharat Mission and triggering competition between cities. USAID will provide a broad spectrum technical support to demonstrate a fully functional sanitation system encompassing containment, collection,

transport, treatment, reuse and safe disposal of fecal waste in Visakhapatnam.

• Promoting Public-Private Partnerships: Under this, USAID will assist in creating a profile consumer behavior and identify behavior changes relating to purchase of toilets and related services besides developing targeted and creative messaging for behavior changes to increase demand for toilets and supply of sanitation products and services. USAID will assist state governments in creating supporting regulatory environment for service providers for operation and maintenance of community and public toilets.

Under the Memorandum of Cooperation, Bill and Milinda Gates Foundation will: • Provide technical and management support and assistance in the implementation of the Mission; • Fund National Level Program Management Unit for coordination of decentralised and non-sewered sanitation solutions; • Award grants to organisations selected by the Ministry for delivering sanitation services; • Release grant funds to grantees like NGOs, public or private organsiations annually, based on satisfactory performance in respect of milestones specified; • Assist in capacity building for planning, project preparation, implementation and management through training and skill development focusing on towns with population of one to five lakhs located along the Ganga river at a cost of US $ 2.50 million per year; • Support behavior change communications; and • Extend Technology and Innovation support for Central Public Health Environmental Engineering Office (CPHEEO) of the Ministry.

These memoranda were signed in pursuance of the agreements reached during the summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barak Obama in September last year.

“We salute the ambition of the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission and are excited to cement our partnership with the MoUD and USAID, to help make that ambition a reality,” remarked Girindre Beeharry, India Country Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

USAID Mission Director John Beed said that “USAID is honored to be supporting the Swachh Bharat Clean India Campaign and to join in this new knowledge partnership with India’s Ministry of Urban Development.”

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C OV O VER E R ST ST OO RR YY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi administering the Swachh Bharat Pledge, at Rajpath, in New Delhi on October 2, 2014.

Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari are also seen.

A ‘Clean’

Boost

to Hygiene Industry

The launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan that aims to achieve the goal of a clean India by 2019 has not only swelled the coffers of those dealing in cleaning equipment and waste management, it has also lifted the spirit of cleaning professionals across the country

By Ashok Malkani

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Jan-Feb ’15

COVER STORY Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching the cleanliness drive for Swachh Bharat Mission from Valmiki Basti, in New Delhi on October 2, 2014.

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our months is too short a time to forecast the success of as big a mission as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (SBA) that aims to dramatically change the current state of India’s cleanliness and sanitation scenario within a span of five years. But since its launch on October 2 last year, activities towards achieving the goal of making India clean has definitely gained some ground.

With the Government of India announcing its intention to spend Rs. 2 lakh crore for the mission and other institutions such as the World Bank alone pledging over $1 billion, a roadmap to bring about a sea change in the sanitation scenario can hardly be missed.

How a mission with such a gigantic corpus would impact the cleaning industry is anyone’s guess.

The manufacturers of cleaning, sanitation and waste management

Jan-Feb ’15

equipment are particularly upbeat about their growth in the coming years. It has been reported that Rs 4,500-crore cleaning equipment and waste management industry could register 40 percent growth as a result of this mission.

“There has been a spurt in our business since the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan was launched. Though it is premature to give out figures there has been a visible growth in the number of inquiries,” JPS Bakshi, chairman of Delhi-based Global Excellence Group, was quoted as saying.

And with the tunes of sanitation ringing in every ear, the section of entrepreneurs who have come up with a range of innovative cleaning solutions also expect ache din (prosperous days) ahead. Take for example, the Va d o d a r a - b a s e d Sort India EnviroSolutions Ltd which

has launched a first-of-its-kind website for waste paper collection with the view of facilitating supply for the recycled paper market.

Those interested in getting their waste paper picked can just pick up the phone to make a booking and the company’s vehicle – threewheeler, four-wheeler or a big truck as per the need – would reach at their service.

“Cleaning is going to be one of the best businesses. With more than 65 million tonnes of garbage being generated in the country annually, there is a billion dollar industry in the waste management business waiting to be tapped,” Pa re s h Pa re k h , f o u n d e r a n d managing director of the company, was quoted as saying.

One of the ways for this, he noted, was to develop new models and not to blindly ape Western models.

As an example, he pointed out that the concept of the landfill was not necessary in India. “We pay people for plastic, paper and organic material they give us during doorto-door collection. Automatically, they tend to segregate waste, and

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COVER STORY

Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India by categories, 2006:

Source: Water and Sanitation Programme, World Bank

Course of Cleaning

Key developments in the cleaning sector during the last few years are summarised below: • The market during the last half a decade has seen high paced growth, with mechanised cleaning being inducted in a variety of new applications.

• A large part of this growth has come from government/semigovernment entities like municipal corporations, railways, hospitals, etc.

• A lot of new infrastructure like Metro Rail stations, shopping malls/ multiplexes, upgraded and new airports, new IT / ITES / residential complexes have come in the market in the last 5 years leading to increased use of mechanized cleaning equipment and tools.

• The industrial sector, which includes companies in infrastructure, steel, cement, ports etc., have also contributed significantly towards the growth of the market.

• Many new international players have entered the market which includes companies like Comac, Nilfisk (direct presence), Tennant, and Dulevo.

Many manufacturers from China have appointed distributors in India.

• Along with the equipment suppliers, the number and reach of service providers have also grown significantly. Many housekeeping/ facility management companies have achieved more than 100 percent growth over the last 5 years.

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will not end up in landfills,” he added.

President of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries Rakesh Shah has reportedly said that among industrial units in and around Ahmedabad, there has been a visible improvement in cleanliness and sanitation. He said that demand for products that can help clean dust, grease, colour and chemicals would get a huge boost in the coming days. “In the industrial units, we can see a visible improvement. People are working towards improving cleanliness and sanitation in their respective premises,” he noted.

However, Arvind Panagariya, vice chairman of the newly formed Niti Aayog that has replaced the

Rakesh Shah, President of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries

now defunct Planning Commission, has cautioned that the cleaning campaign faces formidable financial and implementation c h a l l e n g e s . F i n a n c i a l l y, t h e government will easily need 2-3 percent of GDP annually till the target date, he said. There are only four avenues to mobilising such vast resources, the economist pointed out. These avenues are: (1) increases in revenues made possible by accelerated growth; (2) cuts in middle-class subsidies such as for cooking gas; (3) elimination of enormous leakages in the myriad social schemes by replacing them with cash transfers; and (4) accelerated disinvestment including outright privatisation.

“All roads to Swachh Bharat pass through the thicket of reforms,” the economist noted.

Impact on Cleaning Profession Traditionally, cleaning was not considered a dignified profession, and till recently it was considered a menial job to be done by persons belonging to lower social echelons.

However, the images of the Prime Minister himself picking up the broom during the launch of SBA may go a long way in changing that age-old perception. With the Prime Minister roping in other dignitaries too in the cleanliness drive and urging every citizen to be part of this mission, a new message that cleaning is not a dirty

Jan-Feb ’15

COVER STORY job to be done only by a handful of people has been sent across the length and breadth of the country.

What has added to the impact of this message is the norm of sharing photos of one’s cleaning activities in social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. It is also hoped that with the demand for cleaning professionals on the rise, they may also have a better bargain when it comes to settling remuneration. Much has also been written on the importance of improving access to better health care facilities for the cleaning professionals. The scavengers, also referred to by the more dignified term “sanitar y workers”, come from the lower strata of society and the Swachh Bharat Mission is expected to create a situation whereby this age-old inhuman/ demeaning practice is eliminated and those involved are respectfully rehabilitated. Other benefits of this simple but revolutionary move are reduction in the expenditure of prevention and cure of diseases,

Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (Independent Charge), Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman participating in the cleaning drive along with Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri N. Chandra Babu Naidu, during the Swachh Bharat Mission, in Vijayawada on October 2, 2014.

utilisation of the savings on other developmental activities, and generation of employment in highly unorganized sanitary industry and the tourism sector.

Objectives of Clean India Mission S wac hh Bhar at Mission was launched to accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation

coverage and to put focus on sanitation, which is fundamental to any human habitation. Swachh Bharat Mission has two submissions -- the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) -- which aim to achieve Swachh Bharat by 2019, as a fitting tribute to the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, which in rural

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COVER STORY

areas shall mean improving the levels of cleanliness in rural areas through Solid and Liquid Waste Management activities and making Gram Panchayats Open Defecation Free (ODF), clean and sanitized.

The main objectives of the SBM (G) are to bring about an improvement in the general quality of life in the rural areas, by promoting cleanliness, hygiene and eliminating open defecation; accelerate sanitation coverage in rural areas to achieve the vision of Swachh Bharat by 2nd October 2019; motivate communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions to adopt sustainable sanitation practices and facilities through awareness creation and health education; encourage cost effective and appropriate technologies for ecologically safe and sustainable sanitation and

Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman, Niti Aayog

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de velop communit y managed sanitation systems focusing on scientific solid & liquid waste management systems for overall cleanliness in the rural areas.

The approach would be to adopt the community led and community participation approaches focusing heavily on collective behavioral change. Emphasis is to be placed on awareness generation, triggering behaviour change and demand generation for sanitary facilities in houses, schools, anganwadis, places of community congregation, and for solid and liquid waste management activities. Community action and generation of peer pressure are the key.

An offshoot of Swachh Bharat Mission is the Swachh Vidyalaya programme propagating ‘Clean India: Clean Schools’, concept. A key feature of the campaign is to ensure that every school in India has a set of functioning and well maintained water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and activities that promote conditions within the school and the practices of children that help to prevent water, hygiene and sanitation related diseases. The provision of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in school secures a healthy school environment and protects children from illness.

Children who are healthy and well-nourished can fully participate in school and encourage healthy behavior in future generations of adults. It enables every child to

become an agent of change for improving water, sanitation and hygiene practices in their families and within their communit y.

Girls are particularly vulnerable to dropping out of school, partly because many are reluctant to continue their education when toilets and washing facilities are not private, not safe or simply not available. When schools have appropriate, gender-separated facilities, an obstacle to attendance is removed.

D uring the launch of the mission, the Pr ime Minister pointed out that according to the World Health Organization, an average of Rs. 6,500 per person was lost in India due to lack of cleanliness and hygiene. Swachh Bharat would therefore make a significant impact on public health, and in safeguarding income of the poor, ultimately contributing to the national economy. ( With inputs from P ress Information Bureau, PIB)

Jan-Feb ’15

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Jan-Feb ’15

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BUS INESS

Leading the

Sanitation Surge With a target of constructing over one crore toilets in urban areas alone, the Swachh Bharat Mission opens up a huge opportunity for private players to invest in the sanitation sector

By Ashok Malkani

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aking the country open defecation free is one of the primary goals of the massive Swachh Bharat or the Clean India Mission that Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched on October 2 last year. With the mission aiming to make India

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Jan-Feb ’15

B U S I NESS

clean by 2019, construction of household, community and public toilets, therefore, is a top priority for the government now. And it has also mentioned clearly its intentions to rope in the private sector in achieving this noble goal of total sanitation for the country.

“A p r i v a t e i n v e s t m e n t o f Rs.42,512 crore is being targeted under Swachh Bharat Mission in urban areas,” the Ministry of Urban Development has mentioned.

Under the mission, public toilets are to be provided for the floating population or general public in places such as markets, railways stations,

tourist places, near office complexes or such other public areas.

“To finance building of public toilets, States and urban local bodies (ULBs) would identify land and leverage the same and advertisements to encourage private sector investments for construction and maintenance through public-privatepartnership (PPP) agreement,” the Ministry added.

Although the central government will not offer any other incentive support for the construction of public toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), it is hoped that the mission would help remove many of the earlier bureaucratic hurdles that the private sector reported in investing in the construction of public toilets.

In fact, the Ministry of Urban De velopment has completel y decerntralised the implementation process. The Ministry has withdrawn

Jan-Feb ’15

itself from appraisal and approval of various project proposals under the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ to be implemented in all the 4,041 statutory towns and cities across the country.

As per the implementation guidelines approved by the Minister of Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu, urban local bodies (ULBs) and state/UT governments have been fully empowered to propose and approve the projects.

ULBs have been authorised to prepare, sanction and implement projects in respect of constructing individual household toilets besides community and public toilets, under the broad directions of state/UT governments.

“The Projects will be prepared, sanctioned and implemented

by ULBs. In the entire project approval and procurement process, all provisions and procedures as

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BUS INESS

prescribed by respective State Governments for ULBs must be followed in their entirety,” according to the government guidelines for the Swachh Bharat Mission.

The entire approval procedure should end at the ULB level. To this end the States are required to empower the ULBs if not already done so. This includes the delegation of powers to allot land (for this purpose) to ULB’s and mechanisms to leverage this land to make the Public Toilet a viable project. This decentralisation is expected to augment capacities of ULBs besides enabling quicker implementation of the Mission.

“All public toilets constructed under SBM must have a minimum five year maintenance contract,” the guidelines mentioned.

Such ease of doing business in the construction of toilets was hard to imagine a few years back.

household toilets and five lakh community and public toilet seats by 2019,” Minister of State for Urban

Immense Scope

Development Babul Supriyo noted.

T h e g ov e r n m e n t h a s a l s o mentioned that women will be accorded priority under the Swachh Bharat Mission while constructing community and public toilets. “One community toilet seat per 25 women and one public community toilet seat per 50 women would be built under the Mission as against one seat per 35 and 100 men respectively,” Minister Supriyo added.

As per 2011 Census, 44,04,752 public toilets were available in the cities. Maharashtra tops the list with 22 lakh public toilets followed

by Tamil Nadu with 7 lakhs,

The immense scope of reaping profits by investing in the sanitation sector can be gauged from the fact that at present about 13 percent of urban people defecate in the open.

Open defecation is now regarded as a public health issue and therefore the importance of eliminating this practice through construction of toilets cannot be undermined. With growing urnanisation, the need for public toilets is only likely to increase over the years.

“Under Swachh Bharat Mission launched on October 2, 2014, it is targeted to build 1.04 crore

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Karnataka-2.26 lakhs, NCT of Delh-2 lakhs, West Bengal-1.86 lakhs, Gujarat-1.80 lakhs, Andhra Pradesh-1.12 lakhs and Chattisgarh with 66,000.

As per 2011 Census, the urban population in the country was 377 million accounting for over 31 percent of total population. It is expected to increase by 293 million in the next 15 years i.e by 2030, the Minister mentioned.

Reflecting on the immense scope of India’s sanitation market, a World Bank report earlier mentioned that increasing public and household investments in sanitation can generate considerable economy activity. The sanitation ‘market’ is estimated at about US$152 billion (Rs. 6.87

trillion) for infrastructure creation and operations and maintenance services, over the period 2007-2020, the mentioned.

Role Models The entrepreneurs interested to invest in public toilet construction may take inspiration from the example that Fuad Lokhandwala had set by making public toilets a commercially viable option. Starting in 1998, Lokhandwala had set up about 50 toilets in Delhi, including toilets at the National and International Airports and all of Delhi’s public parks including the prestigious Lodhi

Jan-Feb ’15

Jan-Feb ’15

17

BUS INESS

Gardens. Lokhandwala had to start his Fumes International Company with his own savings as no one was ready to buy his “crazy” vision and invest in his dream toilets. However, after six months of pursuance, he got advertisements on the walls of his toilets. As visitors were charged only a token money, the fund from advertisements helped him maintain the toilets and construct more.

Now it is all too common to see advertisements on the walls of public toilets in India and therefore the new age entrepreneurs can expect a lot less hurdles that Lokhandwala faced.

In the ‘pay and use’ segment, Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, a non-profit voluntary social organisation founded in 1970

by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, has considerable presence. So far it has constructed and is or maintaining over 8,000 public toilets in India.

The biggest public toilet of Sulabh has been constructed at Shirdi, in the district of Nasik, in the State of Maharashtra. This toilet has 120 WCs, 108 bathrooms, 28 special toilets (separate for ladies and gents) and 5,000 lockers for the convenience of the pilgrims.

Opportunities for miscellaneous other products Besides the business of constructing toilets, the cleanliness drive is

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expected to bring benefits for several other industries. This is due to the fact that building toilets would require several products.

In fact industries like sanitary ware, faucets, bathroom tiles, plumbing, construction materials,

“This scheme will directly impact the pipes and fittings industry. We are very positive about the demand creation for our ranges of drainage pipes and plumbing fittings,” Parag Chheda, joint managing director of Prince Pipes & Fittings, was quoted as saying. “ The sanitar y ware sector’s estimated revenues are at Rs.3,000 crore, with annual growth of 12 percent. The Swachh Bharat scheme may push the growth to 15 percent,” Abhishek Somany, joint managing director of Somany Ceramics Ltd, was quoted as saying by Live Mint.

Ni t i s h K a p o o r, M a n a g i n g Director of RB India, the maker of Dettol and Harpic brands, said initiatives such as the Swachh Bharat Mission could lead to a surge in the demand of its sanitation and hygiene brands.

Roca Parryware, the joint venture between Murugappa Group and Spanish company Roca, is not only boosting its investment, it also announced its intention to launch a new low-cost Indian-style toilet pan to suit the requirement of the

and waste management, to name a few, are gung ho about the awareness being created for more toilets in India. ”Awareness about cleanliness has been generated among people.

Swachh Bharat Mission will lead to the growth of root-level industries,” Bhupinder Singh, managing director of Speed Bath, was quoted as saying.

He believes that small players would be the greatest beneficiary of the mission as expensive toilet ware is less likely to be used in public toilets.

project.

This is because a large chunk of the initial demand is expected to come from low-cost products and then spill over to higher level products.

Overall, the sanitary ware and ceramic tile makers are betting big on the government’s clean India drive.

All this goes to prove that the time is ripe for enterprising entrepreneurs to grab the opportunity of serving the nation, while making profit on their investment. .

Jan-Feb ’15

May-June ’13 Jan-Feb ’15

53 19

C LEANING

Emerging

Housekeeping Trends in India

By Anish Srivastava

Although housekeeping services today has to be in sync with the type of niche experience that a hotel wishes to offer, following the ‘green’ eco-friendly norms and integrating latest technologies into the services are emerging as dominant trends in the housekeeping sectors across the Indian hospitality industry

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T

he housekeeping department is extremely important in hospitality ser vices as it deals directly with the guest’s need on regular basis. It is the backbone of hotel operations as the main product of any hotel is room and it is the housekeeping department’s main forte to ensure that the room is perfect. With more and more international hotel chains entering into India, the competition has intensified and guest expectation for the perfect room has increased.

With globalization and increasing integration of world economies, hotels in India are today dealing with well travelled and experiences guests. Many are from homes with the best of living conditions. The pressure is therefore very high on the housekeeping staff to go a step further, making the ‘Home away from Home’ experience more perfect. It can be mentioned here that many guest do not just want to visit hotels anymore, they want to have an experience. This new breed of

Jan-Feb ’15

C LE ANI NG travelers wants to feel completely at home right from the time they enter a hotel.

In this context, combining sensory branding and ‘going green’ has emerged as an important need for the housekeeping department of a hospitality unit. In green cleaning, environment, health and safety systems are incorporated with the housekeeping process. Ecofriendly linens are one among such initiatives. These eco-friendly linens reduce the laundry operation cost and at the same time linen cost too.

In the hotel rooms, the linen is broadly divided into bed linen and bath l i n e n .

Bed linen comprises of bed sheets, d u v e t covers, pillow slips and bath linen includes bath towels, bath sheets, face towels, bathmats and bath robes, to name a few.

Today, a hotel can offer up to 20 selections for pillows, which includes microfiber, soya, memory foam, bamboo and even horse hair. Now, demand for linen has shifted from regular plains and stripes to jacquards and patterns.

Even the composition of linen is being changed. Earlier, linen made of 100 per cent cotton was being used, while now many properties are using a blend of cotton and polyester. Customized linen is also available on demand in different designs, embroidery, etc. Other compositions include bamboo, organic cotton, Egyptian cotton, microfiber, and nylon.

Technology in Housekeeping Integration of new technologies is another emerging trend in the Indian housekeeping sector.

Housekeeping has changed over

Jan-Feb ’15

the years from writing the status of guest room on a piece of paper to generating reports based on automated scheduling.

With the advent of information and communication technologies, all the manual and handwritten list of allocation have given way to computerised solutions for the operations.

Advancement in cleaning equipment technology such as m i c rof i b re m a k es the job

of Mosaic Hotels.

In keeping with the latest housekeeping trends, our aim is to deliver guests with great bath and bed experience. The beds have crisp white bedding and pillows with individual tags of ‘soft and firm’ that offer guests to choose their desired type of pillows. We also have special pillow menu where we provide around 20 options.

We also provide variety of mattresses like hard/soft/ smooth/orthopedic for our guests who have orthopedic problem.

This allows the guests more control over the comfort of their sleep experience. Bathrooms are an essential part of the customer

m o re p ro f e s s i o n a l and efficient. With development in t e c h n o l o g y, t h e work pattern has changed a lot in the housekeeping department, whic h resulted in reduction of manpower and time.

The challenge for the housekeeping department is to consistently maintain the upkeep and cleanliness standards throughout the hotel. Keeping the guest at the heart of whatever we do and delivering clean and comfortable rooms consistently every time our guest stays with us is the philosophy

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C LEANING

In green cleaning, environment, health and safety systems are incorporated with the housekeeping process. Ecofriendly linens are one among such initiatives. These ecofriendly linens reduce the laundry operation cost and at the same time linen cost too. experience and extra care is taken to keep it bright and clean.

We are in process of upgrading to Sealy Spring Mattress based on posturepedic technology which is of the thickness of around 8 to 10 inches. Sealy Spring Mattress is an emerging trend in guest sleep comfort in most of the hotels and has taken the bedding concepts to another level by providing body support and comfort. It also exhibits genuine care and comfort for each individual guest. So it helps in providing advantage in turnaround services. This has been greatly appreciated by all guests.

We also use eco-friendly linen.

This linen has a longer life and g r e a t e r a b s o r b e n c y.

For a longer

operation these eco-friendly linens reduce the laundry operation cost and linen cost. We also rigorously follow water re-use and ozone system in laundry sanitation.

We also use new tools and equipment to improve the productivity of housekeeping staff.

We have a property management system where one can automate changes in the housekeeping status of the rooms from dirty to clean or vice versa with the help. We also have software that sends out messages to the housekeeping supervisor on shift, when a guest makes any request for a certain services such as towels or cleaning of rooms.

The housekeeping department is responsible for maintaining and checking the standards of cleanliness, hygiene and accuracy.

Integration of new technologies is another emerging trend in the Indian housekeeping sector.

Housekeeping has changed over the years from writing the status of guest room on a piece of paper to generating reports based on automated scheduling.

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If carpets, rugs and curtains are maintained properly they add to the attraction and beautification of a hotel.

Like any other task, carpet cleaning requires trained manpower.

Regular cleaning is done with vacuum cleaners. However, the fact of the matter remains that maintenance of carpets, rugs and curtains involve much intricacy and require appropriate technical knowledge on the part of the person responsible to maintain the same.

Taski machine is the new added equipment to the laundry section of Mosaic Hotels.

So the scenario of housekeeping in India has changed completely.

The industry has recognized the importance of sensory branding as well as technology. The hotels are updating them with latest trends and technology to provide exemplary ser vices to the Guest. ( T h e author is Operations Manage r, Mosaic Hotels, Noida) Jan-Feb ’15

Jan-Feb ’15

23

PES T MA N AGE ME N T

Spotting the

Best in the

Business Understanding the specific nature of one’s needs and the services offered by the professional player is crucial to making the right choice of professional pest management services

T

he job of pest management is a tricky one, and requires professional expertise. Often it cannot be handled by untrained persons or regular housekeeping staff of a hotel or an office or for that matter a shopping mall. After all, what would you do if you suddenly discover a large pool of, say, thousands of cockroaches hiding

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beneath the kitchen drain of your prestigious property? Can you trust your regular staff to eliminate the menace that they might inflict at the slightest sign of threat? You probably cannot. However, specialised pest control professionals, with their expertise, may prevent or eliminate the pests without intimidating or offending the valued guests, clients or the regular staff.

Even for implementing integrated pest management, or for that matter

green pest management, which are now considered environment friendly measures for keeping the pest menace away, these properties often seek professional help. It is not even uncommon to see a lot many of these properties/organisations/ institutions outsourcing the job of pest management to an outside agency.

Call it convenience or efficiency, outsourcing pest management is in fact becoming the trend among both large and small institutions/

Jan-Feb ’15

P E S T M ANAG E M ENT Outsourcing the pest management job, therefore, can be quite beneficial for an organisation. However, selecting the right service provider is often not easy with more and more players entering the fray, as this may create confusion. Understanding the specific nature of one’s needs and the services offered by the professional player is therefore essential for ensuring effective pest management exercise. Making the right decision often involves several steps.

The Edge of Right Information Pest management is a complex task and the requirements of different organisations/properties/institutions properties/organisations.

While the sheer magnitude of their day-to-day work compel the large organisations to outsource their pest management job, the small sized institutions also often tend to outsource the job as they do not find it cost-efficient to maintain a dedicated housekeeping staff.

Jan-Feb ’15

are also often very different. Therefore the client first needs to evaluate the requirements of her/his organization and decide for what part of the pest management is a priority. Once the in-house evaluation is completed, the search for the right service provider should begin. But before zeroing in on one particular service provider, it is always preferable to get suggestions from a few qualified friends and associates. For choosing the best possible service provider, one may gather some information that can shed light on the quality and reliability of the service provider. The information gathered should answer the following questions:

While considering the proposals it is important to understand that the highest charging provider may not be the best one. It is specifically true if you have decided to go the green way of pest management. What is important here is to understand who is offering you the most intelligent solution at the least cost.

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PES T MA N AGE ME N T

• Whether the service provider is specialised in commercial pest control?

• Whether the service provider o f f e r s e n v i ro n m e n t f r i e n d l y solutions?

• If there is a referee (a person or an organisation who refers the given pest control organisation to the client) involved, then for what duration and how long ago the referee utilised the services of the given pest control management firm?

• Whether the workers of the pest control organisation are adequately trained to deliver the right kind of services?

• Whether the service provider guarantees satisfaction?

• How would the service provider respond to an emergency situation?

Would it charge extra in case an emergency situation arises?

• Whether the service provider is ready to provide enough documentation on the basis of which a fair review of its services can be carried out?

• Whether the service provider is willing to accept an independent auditor?

Getting the staff trained to conduct the cleaning job as suggested by the technicians of the service provider and attending to the deficiencies in the facility pointed out by the service provider are two other important things that the facility need to attend to with utmost sincerity. consideration have their branch offices in all the cities where you require their services.

Proximity of at least a branch office of the service provider to the facility where the client wants to undertake pest management exercise could be immensely useful in the times of emergency. If the client (for example you) is thinking of undertaking an integrated pest management solution, she/he should ensure that the pest management firm to which the job would be outsourced, would provide training at regular intervals to the in-house staff.

As advanced pest control methods such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is not a quick fix method, it is essential to inquire whether the service provider is willing to provide the necessary training to

your in-house housekeeping staff for implementing all the procedures effectively and maintaining them

Short Listing the Contractors Once the relevant information is collected and necessary research is being conducted, the next steps are to shortlist the service providers, and contact them directly. At this stage, one may validate the information collected from indirect sources by the service providers themselves.

During the process of short listing, it is important to ensure that all the service providers who are under

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Jan-Feb ’15

P E S T M ANAG EMENT

properly. It is also important to make sure that the service provider has the required licenses and is covered by the liability insurance.

Job Assignment It is only after short listing the service providers that you should invite them to visit the site for preparing the proposal. For interacting with the inspecting team, you need to assign a team which is adept at the job and possesses excellent communication skill, for sometime a small miscommunication may lead to much change in the design and budget proposal. The interaction in the site tour also offers you to learn a few additional facts about the service providers and their level of commitment to the job. It is also an opportune moment to poke a few previously unasked questions and see if they can provide some additional insights into the approach of integrated pest management.

While considering the proposals it is important to understand that the highest charging provider may not be the best one. It is specifically true if you have decided to go the green

Jan-Feb ’15

way of pest management. What is important here is to understand who is offering you the most intelligent solution at the least cost. Moreover, the service agreement between the facility and the service provider must clearly delineate the responsibility required of both of them. The service agreement should also ideally outline the number of scheduled visits, the level of inspection, adherence to the agreed principles, submission of written report in case certain suggested methods are not followed by the facility and the in-house staff, submission of material label copies and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSD), provision of onsite review at least once in every three months, and one review in a year by an independent auditor.

Working in Tandem However, it should be clearly borne in mind that making IPM successful is not possible only with the onesided effort of the service provider.

Cooperation of the facility is equally important for implementation of the IPM strategies. Preparing the premises as per the suggestion

of the technicians and making them accessible for treatment and inspection is quite vital in this regard.

For a healthcare facility, it is also essential to provide information to the staff and the patients about the pesticides which would be used as part of the pest management programme.

Getting the staff trained to conduct the cleaning job as suggested by the technicians of the service provider and attending to the deficiencies in the facility pointed out by the service provider are two other important things that the facility need to attend to with utmost sincerity. At the same time, the facility should also not lose sight of regularly monitoring the contractor’s performance and having candid interaction with the contractor.

However, this is not to suggest that the facility managers/owners of the properties should reach an immediate conclusion about the service provider’s performance by simply looking at the presence of pests at the premises, within a week after hiring the service provider.

This is especially true when a green approach to pest management (a form of integrated pest management) is adopted as the green methods of pest control seek to provide a longterm solution to the persistent problem of pests. The long-term evaluation criteria should therefore be clearly defined for carrying out an objective review of pest management solutions. Therefore, a yearly renewal of contract is beneficial for both the service provider and the facility managers/owners. .

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LAUNDRY

Key Steps for Clean

Laundry Be it your formal dress, blankets, bedding, towels or any other clothes, the best cleaning result is a product of close interaction among a number of factors - sorting of laundry, chemical actions, detergents, water — hot and cold— and time taken for the washing process

C

ontrary to popular perception, laundry is no mindless work. It involves great responsibility and careful attention to a number of processes as mindless laundry can only do more harm than good to the clothes that could come with a price tag much higher than what an average laundry operator may even earn in a month or two. And however powerful and efficient a machine may be, only those who follow a few necessary steps in the laundry process, can be expected to ensure that these clothes do not easily lose their shine as a result of the cleaning process.

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For all types of cleaning, be it clothes, blankets, bedding and towels, a host of factors always need to interact closely to produce the optimum results. The relationship between sorting of laundry, chemical actions, detergents, water — hot and cold— and time taken for the washing process, affects the final outcome to a great extent.

Soiled laundry is generally laundered in programmable, stainless steel passes through washers that use non-ionic, biodegradable surfactants and conditioners.

Wash formulas are tailored to suit the

type of item, fabric, and soil levels of the garments being washed. Careful attention is also paid to ensure that machines are evenly loaded to prevent wearing of garments, and that alkali approximates skin PH levels prior to drying. Heavily soiled and foul laundries require a different set of parameters as do the woolens and the delicate fabrics. Top loading washing machines generally cannot accommodate these requirements and often damage woolens and delicate fabrics.

Succinctly, it requires utmost care before applying a given cleaning process on the material to be washed. Some simple and yet time-tested steps for the best laundry care results involve sorting out clothes by colour, wash temperature and fabric type, consulting the fabric label for specific washing instructions and setting the load size, wash and rinse temperature dials on the washer, etc.

It is very essential to allow the washer to fill with water before adding detergent or any laundry additives. Add your clothes only at the last! Leaving space for clothes and detergent to move freely in the machine ensures that stains and soil are released and removed from the garments.

Therefore one needs to understand the quantity of clothes that the machine can

Jan-Feb ’15

LAUND RY happily accommodate, as overloading the machine may leave the traces of stain on the clothes. For achieving the best results, it is better to remove the clothes from the washing machine and dry garments as soon as the wash cycle gets completed. Reading the labels of the garments carefully and following recommended drying procedures may also help the clothes to reach or even extend beyond their normal term of usability.

Sort Carefully Sorting the laundry is the first step to a clean wash that helps to keep clothes, linens, and other household items remain their best through repeated washings. It is important to first sort the laundry by colour. One needs to put all the white coloured articles in one pile, the light colours and pastels in another pile, and the bright and dark colours into the third.

For getting the optimum results, you may well demarcate the dark pile into two more piles; one for colourfast items and the other for non-colourfast items.

To complete the process, you may further separate each pile into three smaller piles based on how dirty they are. The three smaller piles may comprise of lightly soiled, moderately soiled, and heavily soiled clothing. You may thus have up to 12 piles of laundry. Sort them until you come up with a reasonable number of compatible, washer-size loads.

The following combinations may go down well with your final sorting: • Separate the synthetics, blends, and permanent-press fabrics from natural fabrics.

• Create a separate pile for delicate items that should be hand-washed.

• Separate the white synthetic articles, and wash them only with other white fabrics.

• Combine the white and light-coloured items that have similar degrees of soil into the same pile.

Prior to loading the machines, garments should also be inspected and sorted to remove trash and other non-suitable materials that may often cause laundry disasters.

Mechanical Dexterity In a front loading automatic washing machine, the mechanical action is created by the drum rotation. The paddles on the inside of the drum lift the washable clothes to the top of the drum from where it falls to

Jan-Feb ’15

the bottom of the drum with a thump. This creates the squeezing action on the fabrics in the washing machine, which removes the dirt and soiling from the fibres.

These particles and grease globules are then held in the wash water and detergent solution, until the drain cycle begins. If you were to observe your machine in action, you would hear a thump as the clothes fall to the bottom of the drum during the cotton wash. This will be much less evident during delicate or woolen washes where the mechanical action entails only a movement in the drum with a high level of wash water and a diluted detergent mix.

Time is the Key The second factor in how-to-do-laundry is time. The longer you beat, sweep or squeeze, cleaner would be the garment.

In a modern washing machine, time is controlled by either a mechanical clock timer or a modern micro-processor, which can be updated with the latest programmes at any future date. In a cotton wash, the time taken to complete the main wash

process is normally ten minutes more than other garments after the desired temperature is reached.

The Right Chemistry Chemical action is another important factor in laundries. Chemical action in the modern washing machine removes the soiling and holds it in suspension until being drained out at the end of the wash and rinse cycles, so that it is not redeposited back onto the fabric.

The modern fully built biological detergent has brighteners that are held in the wash water unused until the temperature goes over 60 degrees Celsius.

So if you use a lot of low temperature programmes, you may get a build-up of

unused detergent in the pipes, which may require pumping of your machine.

It is best to use a hot wash on a regular basis to clear out any unused detergents lurking at the bottom of your machine.

The temperature is the most important element in disinfecting and killing of any nasty pathogens that may be in the laundry.

This is most important when dealing with foul laundry in the nursery or in hospital and care operations.

There are now special sluice programmes available on commercial machines to deal with this type of soiling so that everything that is washed is thermal-disinfected at a temperature of at least 65 degrees Celsius, maintained for at least two minutes.

This provides the time to eliminate most known bacteria and viruses, but in certain circumstances, a boil wash of at least 82 degrees Celsius is required.

High and Cool Temperatures Temperature is the final and in some circumstances the most important factor in how-to-do-laundries. Where grease or wax soils are concerned, a high temperature will be needed to dissolve them so that they can be held in the detergent solution. However, using hot water at the initial stage may make many stains permanent, especially the blood stains. This factor needs to be taken care of for housekeepers engaged in hospital laundry. However, for cleaning of certain clothes use of cold water is only recommended.

If we think of the wash programme for cottons or heavily soiled, robust fabrics, we will require great mechanical action, complemented by strong chemical solution, for a long time, at very high temperatures. For example, a boil wash for cottons can be recommended.

After the Wash In international level hotels, after the washing, garments get transferred to ULPA filtered steam-heated dryers.

Drying times and temperatures are tailored to suit the item and fabric type of the load.

Garments are then allowed a cool-down cycle to prevent binding or shrinkage of seams, and to prevent wrinkling.

During the folding process, items are again inspected for damage. Items that fail inspection are removed from the process flow and sent for repair or replacement. Finished garments are sealed inside individual poly bags. The packets are then organised, and packaged before making the final delivery. .

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WATER MA N AGE ME N T

‘Proper water management brings in profit’

By Jyotismita Sharma Although promoted widely and rightly as a crucial cog in the wheel of sustainable development, the value of water management is not something that would be realized only in the distant future. The right kind of water treatment and management can bring in benefits in the very present by saving water and associated cost with its use and also by enhancing the life of an organisation’s assets, says Vishal Sharma, Vice President and General Manager, India at Ecolab Inc, a 13 billion USD conglomerate and a leading provider of water, hygiene and energy technologies.

In an exclusive interview with CHR, Sharma charts the course of the Indian water solutions market over the last two decades, delves deep into its current state and also on Vishal Sharma, Vice President and General Manager, India at Ecolab Inc. & Managing Director, Nalco Water India Limited.

the emerging trends. Excerpts from the intriguing interview:

Besides promoting sustainable practices, how much of an aid can water management offer an organisation in terms of achieving operational efficiency and increasing profitability?

This totally depends on what business the customer is in.

Let’s take an example of the steel industry. Here, the water quality plays a critical role as it also touches the product itself in certain stages of the manufacturing process. In other customers, it is more on the

30

utility side. In every industry, waste water treatment is a major aspect, as it needs to meet the norms before being discharged, so that is a common need everywhere.

Water as a cost, while not dr amatic al l y high, is stil l something. Companies can save several lakhs per year, and more, as they reduce the amount of fresh water they use, and as they increase the recycling and reuse of water. Very importantly, the wrong quality of water damages assets and reduces their life, whether we speak of boilers,

or cooling towers, or other assets. The right kind of water treatment and management helps enhance the life of assets, and this is big money as asset replacement can be delayed by months or even years.

So overall, the right water management has a direct impact on both efficiency and profitability as they are interlinked. Let us also remember we are talking of a limited resource. Sustainability is no longer a “nice to do” concept. If not properly managed, soon the water issue will become a matter

Jan-Feb ’15

WAT E R M ANAG EMENT

of survival for Industries.

The importance of water conservation cannot be overstated. It is estimated that India would move to the category of water-stressed nation by 2020. In this context how best India can deal with the problem of water scarcity

Jan-Feb ’15

without derailing itself from the path of growth?

India is frankly already a waterstressed country, even if official metrics do not classify it like that.

We have water availability and quality issues in all three major areas - agricultural, municipal and industrial. And as we industrialize more, our population grows by

another 10 million in the next seven years, and as our cities become bigger this problem is only going to become more acute.

What we need here is more efficient and smart utilization of this scarce resource. The resource is limited; that is clear. So the whole game is about how we use it efficiently, optimize consumption of fresh water, recycle the maximum possible and re-use it to the highest extent.

In every area we speak of, there are technologies and solutions available. However, these involve both capex (capital expenditure) and opex (operational expenditure) which businesses, governments, and people are not eager to spend.

The return on investment (ROI) on these investments is not very easy to figure out, driven partly by the low cost of water in India and the lack of compliance monitoring / penalties as well.

So the answer is a bit holistic.

We need to have mechanisms that

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WATER MA N AGE ME N T

Sustainability is no longer a “nice to do” concept. If not properly managed, soon the water issue will become a matter of survival for Industries.

encourage the recycling and reuse of water, which will reduce the consumption of fresh water, in all relevant areas. This will drive the installation and build up of the infrastructure and within a decade, our water situation will improve dramatically. Water availability is a necessary growth enabler for India and without it, we will have major problems.

Could you chart the course of Indian water solutions market over the last two decades?

What according to you are the emerging trends?

When we look at the Indian water solutions market in last two decades here is what we see: • Increase in use of technology for water reuse and recycle like ultra filtration, nano filtration, Reverse Osmosis, membrane bioreactor (MBR) etc.

• Increasing use of environment friendly technologies and products

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in utility and process water systems to ensure that the effluent meets the discharge norms. This has in turn provided opportunities for water treatment industries to launch world class products and services.

• With increasing industrialization we also see increasing use of recyclereuse of waste water to reduce fresh water usage.

• Last decade has also seen a number of world class manufacturing plants coming to India in various sectors like steel, automotive, pharmaceutical, refining, paper, tyre, glass, etc. which has brought the best in class processes which has put pressure on our water industry to match their needs and meet their requirements.

In terms of emerging trends, we also see a number of industries tr ying to achieve wor ld c lass specific water consumption in their processes by employing best in class technologies. We are also seeing the cost of fresh water increasing across the country providing opportunities for the water sector to grow with increasing demand.

Last and most importantly, the awareness of the effect of both water shortage as well as water quality is increasing fast, accompanied by fast growing awareness on the discharge side. Hence we see investments being made in STPs and ETPs and these are also being helped by Government guidelines.

Finally, what is good for business

will be adopted. So in summary, increasing cost of water, increasing compliance needs to Government guidelines, and an overall increasing awareness on water will drive the sector forward.

Where does India stand in terms of global standards of sustainable practices for water conservation?

India is behind the developed world, and also behind China at this time, and I think this should be our comparison set. Discharge norms and costs of non-compliance are much more stringent and higher in the developed world and the adoption is also far higher. So from a technology point of view, the similar technologies exist everywhere. The big difference is in adoption of the technologies and this should change over the next decade. All the points mentioned above in terms of emerging trends will support this view.

What are the different water conservation equipment/ technologies/techniques that organizations in the private and public sectors can adopt?

There are a number of e q u i pm e n t ’s , t e c h n i q u e s a n d technologies available for use in water conservation such as sedimentation, filtration, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, desalination etc. We can use one or a combination of process

Jan-Feb ’15

WAT E R M ANAG EMENT depending upon the specific requirement to recover and reuse waste water which will reduce fresh water requirements for industry.

However, when we talk of water conservation we should first look at the processes which are in use and try and optimize water usage in those.

To give you an example you will see cooling water and boiler water systems being employed across the industry for cooling and heating needs. They use huge amount of fresh water as makeup. These systems also need to discharge water to maintain the quality norms which is called as blow-down; and we can think of optimizing or minimizing blow-down to reduce fresh water usage. Now to reduce blowdown we need to incorporate advanced chemistries for scale control to maintain optimum performance; also we need to have better monitoring and control. We provide latest polymeric dispersants for enhanced scale control and 3D Trasar automation for real time monitoring and control of cooling and boiler water system. This is not only environment friendly as you conserve substantial amount of water, and in Boiler water systems, reducing blowdown not only reduces feed water but also reduces fuel consumption as the blowdown in a boiler carries very high amount of heat and wastes in it.

What are the water management/treatment services that you offer the world over?

At our core, we are a specialty chemistry solutions provider for raw water treatment, cooling water treatment, Boiler water treatment,

The future of the water management market is bright -- the Government is giving priority to water, industry is becoming increasingly aware -- and this market has only one way to move - which is upwards. and waste water treatment systems.

In raw water we provide chemistries for clarification, filtration, RO systems and disinfection, for Cooling water systems we provide solutions for corrosion, scale and micro-bio control, similarly for boiler water treatment we provide solutions for corrosion and scale protection for boiler and feed water systems and also for condensate systems and lastly for waste water system we provide solutions for clarification, settling, filtration and emulsion breaking as well as for RO plants. We also have additives for membrane cleaning to enhance performance of RO plants using river water, waste water or brackish water as feed. These enhance RO plant performance in terms of increased through-put, reduced energy consumption and increased membrane life.

Our client list in India spans across the steel, chemical, fertilizer, automobile, IT, refining, consumer, food & beverage, hospitality, and other sectors.

What offers you the competitive edge as compared to other companies providing water solutions in India?

Ecolab, with the Nalco brand of water solutions, offers end to end water management solutions, to a wide range of industries. Our primar y strength is in our cutting edge technologies that we bring to market, the ability to back these technologies through a deep understanding of customer needs, and finally the capability to execute these technologies

Jan-Feb ’15

at the customer sites with our best-in-class service teams and infrastructure. This is the strength of the Nalco Water solutions.

Additionally, we are very focused on what we do, and do not try to be everything to everybody, but want to be “something to somebody”.

Hence, with a strong focus on the Industrial and Institutional segment of the market, we are able to be the best solutions provider

and I think our customer satisfaction and retention rate is ample evidence to this.

Post Nalco acquisition, what are your future plans for India’s water solutions market?

Ecolab / Nalco in India has our latest cutting edge technologies and programs in India. We bring the latest and best in to the market pretty much in synch with the rest of the world. The market is expected to mature and expand, and we are very keen to support more and more customers and industries in their journey to being water effective and efficient. India is a priority market for Ecolab and corresponding investments on infrastructure as well as people are being made on ground.

We are also unique from the point of view of having a global standard R&D setup in Pune, which supports the India business and customers. The future is bright -- the Government is giving priority to water, industry is becoming increasingly aware -- and this market has only one way to move - which is upwards. .

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IAQ

Air Quality Matters in

Schools Are the schools following the lessons to improve indoor air quality, a key factor in determining health of the students and their academic performance?

By Jyotismita Sharma

A

close look at the quality of indoor air in schools is an urgent necessity for a number of factors.

Foremost among them is that children are more vulnerable to the effects of polluted indoor air than adults. On the other hand, the risk of poor air quality in schools is generally higher than in places such as homes or hotels. This is partly because a large number of students are generally seated in small classrooms which may not have adequate ventilation. It is also important to recognize that students spend a lot of time in schools and if the quality of air that they breathe

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inside the educational institutions is poor, its effects on their health are not very difficult to comprehend.

What can, however, surprise

parents and teachers is that unhealthy indoor air in schools could also lead to poor academic performance of the students. IAQ impacts the health, comfort and ability of students to perform. How? It is known that IAQ affects respiratory health of the building occupants, inc luding asthma.

Insufficient cleaning or excessive use of cleaning chemicals can also worsen such conditions which can eventually lead to absenteeism.

Illness and absenteeism ultimately leads to poor performance in schools.

Presence of moisture and moulds, water damage, and microbiological pollutants; combustion products, including nitrogen dioxide and biological allergens such as from animals are linked to adverse respiratory health effects. Moisture and dirt in HVAC systems can also increase risk of respiratory diseases.

Well maintained HVAC systems can ensure good thermal and ventilation control and also reduce the risk of biological contamination.

Therefore, taking steps to improve indoor air in educational institutions could have major impacts on the future of the kids. It should here

Jan-Feb ’15

be noted that the affect of indoor air quality on students’ performance is not just indirect. Researchers have found that reduced ventilation rates (and higher indoor pollution) are linked to decreased ability to concentrate and also elevated risk of illness. “Recent data suggest that poor IAQ may directly reduce a person’s ability to perform specific mental tasks requiring concentration, calculation, or memory,” notes the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Schools should, therefore, be designed, built, and maintained so as to minimise and control sources of air pollution. They should have provisions for adequate exhaust and outdoor air ventilation by natural and mechanical means, maintain proper temperature and humidity conditions, and be

responsive to students and staff with particular sensitivities such as allergies or asthma.

“Failure to deal adequately with any of these issues may go unnoticed, but can and often does take its toll on health, comfort, and performance of teachers and students in school,” the EPA warns.

Sources of Indoor Air Pollution: In schools, pollution sources could include art supplies and laboratory activities. Failure to control temperature and humidity, control moisture and clean up spills can also exacerbate the problem. It is important to adequately ventilate all the classrooms, perform housekeeping and maintenance while minimising the use of pesticides through integrated pest management.

Best Practices

S

ome measures suggested by different organizations to improve indoor air quality in schools include: • Ensure those who are involved in the design of the school are aware of the importance of IAQ. • Identify and minimize source of contaminants.

• Dilute and replace contaminated air with outdoor air wherever possible.

• Use of exhaust for problem areas.

• Train the maintenance staff on indoor air quality.

• Ensure HVAC systems are well-maintained and they do not have moisture and dirt.

• Control moisture, VOCs and dust.

• Cleaning should be done after school hours and use of integrated pest management should be preferred.

• Identify children with respiratory problems and keep a tab on their conditions.

• Monitor air quality regularly.

• Adequately ventilate staff work rooms and printing rooms.

• Repair any water leakage in the building immediately and control moisture and humidity.

• Low-emission furniture and odourless products should be preferred.

• Use wet sponge to clean blackboard.

• An appropriate ventilation system as per the room size and occupancy rate should be installed.

• Low-emission cleaning products should be preferred.

Jan-Feb ’15

35

IAQ temperature; and ventilation rates.

Improving IAQ at Schools

Can carpets help improve IAQ in schools?

C

ontrary to common perceptions, carpets in schools can help the quality of indoor air by trapping contaminants and allergens, says an indoor environmental expert from Cornell University in the US. The findings run counter to growing concerns of some doctors, parents and schools that carpeting might be affecting some children’s health by compromising schools’ indoor air quality (IAQ).

“Concerns that carpeting in schools is contributing to an increase in respiratory problems, allergies and asthma in schools are unfounded,” said Alan Hedge, professor of design and environmental analysis at Cornell.

“As long as schools keep floors clean and use high-efficiency microfiltration vacuum bags, carpets can be a healthy, safe and economical floor covering in schools and day-care centers. Microfiltration bags will trap very small particles, such as dust mites and feces, so that these will not become airborne,” Hedge added.

Exposure to dust-mite allergens, mainly from mite feces, can trigger asthma attacks in about 40 percent of asthmatic children, but this allergen is rare in schools.

Asthma is one of the leading causes of childhood hospitalization and school absenteeism, the study pointed out.

Carpeting can improve IAQ because it captures and holds dirt, contaminants and allergens that would otherwise become airborne, Hedge noted.

These substances are readily and effectively removed by vacuuming with the high-efficiency bags. Synthetic carpets are better than wool, Hedge said, because their fibers’ electrical charges attract potential contaminants.

Carpeting, he added, also can improve classroom acoustics and promote child safety by protecting against slips and falls.

“Although there can be thousands of dust mites and their droppings in a carpet, these allergens do not become airborne as easily as they do over smooth floors or from mattresses and bedding, except during vacuuming if the vacuum does not have a good filter bag.

“However, even within 20 minutes after regular vacuuming of a contaminated carpet, dust-mite allergens cannot be detected in the air because they are so heavy they have sunk to the ground. And if microfiltration bags are used, the best of which also have electrostatic liners, or if a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter is used, the allergens are efficiently removed before becoming airborne even during vacuuming,” Hedge said.

He pointed out that Sweden, which banned carpeting in schools in the late 1980s, has experienced skyrocketing childhood asthma rates ever since, contrary to expectations.

Some of the indoor air pollutants include formaldehyde; pesticides; radon; molds and bacteria; other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and byproducts of combustion such as solid particles, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides.

Among the major factors that influence indoor air pollution levels,

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some of them are: • Activities of building occupants (including maintenance activities); • Types of building materials, paints and glues, furnishings and equipment; • T h e l e v e l s o f o u t d o o r contamination; • The season; indoor humidity and

Improving the indoor air at schools is particularly important both from the perspective of health and performance of students. “A healthy school environment is an important prerequisite to guaranteeing growth, learning opportunities, and performance as well as their cultural and social development,” notes SINPHONIE, a European Union (EU)-funded research project on indoor air quality in EU schools, and its impact on children’s health, which has recently published its conclusions. The guidelines cover aspects such as cleaning, ventilation, heating, the use of equipment, as well as structural requirements for school buildings. They also contain specific tips for creating a healthy environment in classrooms, science labs, gyms, school canteens, locker rooms and recreational areas. These findings underline the importance of increasing ventilation and decreasing occupation density to maintain healthy indoor air environment at schools.

The US Environmental Protection Agency, as already mentioned, has also taken the issue of good indoor air quality in schools very seriously and offers toolkit to follow the best practices. As air quality of a place is contingent to a great extent on the locality and outdoor air affects the quality of indoor air, the suggestions offered by different agencies may also vary. But the common message that they all want to convey is loud and clear: do not compromise on the quality of air that our children breathe inside the schools. It is time Indian schools too listened to this message carefully and implemented all the necessary changes to ensure that indoor air pollutants, which can be easily minimized with a few simple and low-cost measures such as good housekeeping practices and a bit of vigilance, do not come in the way of health and performance of our children, touted as the future of the nation. A small first step could well be a lesson on indoor air quality for everyone in the school, especially for those who are involved in day-to-day maintenance of the building. .

Jan-Feb ’15

Jan-Feb ’15

Nov-Dec ’14

37 55

PRODUCT PREVIEW

Floor care? Your productivity just got extended!

T

he all-new version of the TASKI swingo XP high-performance scrubber drier from Diversey Care is now available in two configurations with a number of enhancements t h a t make the cleaning and maintenance of floors simpler and more sustainable with water, chemical and energy savings.

Both machines are designed for retail, healthcare, transport, government and education, and other demanding building care applications.

Each machine can cover up to 4,500 square metres an hour.

The 75cm working width and fast maximum speeds (6km/h) enable the machines to cover large areas quickly and efficiently. Stand-on operating position and compact design ensure the operator has complete all-round 360 degree view of the machine and working area for the optimum combination of productivity and safety-in-use at all times.

The tricycle configuration and compact layout ensures each model is extremely agile and manoeuvrable with a very small turning-circle. This makes them ideal for working in tight spaces and busy buildings and around fixtures, fittings and other obstructions. The design is also compact enough to pass through doors as narrow as 80cm (31.5in).

They can also be transported in standard lifts.

The solution tank volume of 113 litres, around 10 percent bigger than the original model, and the recovery tank volume of 140 litres allow the new machines to do more work between refills. The machines’ advanced IntelliFlow water management system is also designed to minimise the number of timeconsuming stops.

Diversey India Pvt. Ltd. enquiry.in@sealedair.com

Make deep cleaning an easy ride

D

esigned to cut your cleaning cost, a new ride on scrubber drier model launched by Aman Cleaning Equipments could make deep cleaning of large areas (up to 3200 sqm) an easy ride. Suited for maintenance cleaning, the A 12 model comes in a very compact size and offers great maneuverability like walk behind models.

The model bears 32 kg of constant pressure on the brushes. Its double counter rotating brush (66 cm of scrubbing width) obtains better stability and constant pressure. With the possibility to use four batteries, the machine offers great working autonomy till 4-5 hours. The large load tank capacity (real load of 75 litre), results in reduced numbers of stops and maximum use of battery for effective operation of the machine.

The steering wheel comes with new design and user-friendly controls and digital display. The rider comes with automatic detergent measuring system on request and its automatic features also stop brushes and detergent water outflow when the machine is stationary.

Aman Cleaning Equipments Pvt. Ltd. info@amancleaningequipments.com

Innovation Unlimited

I

f you are looking for out of the box solutions for difficult operational problems, Tanishka Products, an innovative science-based specialist company, could come to your rescue. For example, to solve the mosquito problem in your property, Tanishka has mosquito repellent paint which gives mosquito protection for one season at low costs. Or one can go with mosquito repellent clothing with very safe efficacious use of UN approved actives. In fact, Tanishka Products has demonstrated certified and consumer perceptible innovations in fragrance, antibacterial, antifungal and pesticide systems. Its heat stable and long lasting fragrances stay stable up to 200 degree C in textile, industrial laundry, detergents and printing ink applications.

A brainchild of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi alumnus Vineet Mital, Tanishka Products offers solutions using microencapsulation / nano-fabrication techniques.

It regularly provides solutions on a commercial scale in textiles, FMCG, paints & pesticide industry.

Significance of microencapsulation technology: • Cost efficiency, reduction of carbon footprint & customized delivery of actives is the need today. Solutions in controlled release have been very expensive as they have been imported into India.

• Tanishka Products has done the basic R&D from first principles and has not only created microcapsules with MF /UF polymers to help in controlled release of various actives but also has done considerable final product development.

• These capsules are immobilized on fabric, hair, paper and hard surfaces.

Therefore they provide controlled release of the active without causing toxicity or harm to the users or to the environment. The application itself has better sustainability as the active dosage itself can be reduced due to highly targeted delivery. Natural actives which degrade quickly can be advantageously used in this technique.

Benefits of technology: • Long lasting / heat stable antibacterial efficacy from natural oils like citronella, neem oil etc passing military standards. Similar applications for moth repellence using natural oils.

• Very efficacious antifungal for technical textiles being used in extremely humid conditions.

• Phase Change Materials providing latent heat storage and ease of use in form of military clothing, hard surface coatings for civil structures, etc.

Tanishka Products sales@tanishkaproducts.com

T

he information published in this section is as per the details furnished by the respective manufacturer/distributor. In any case, it does not represent the views of Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

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Jan-Feb ’15

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

A D V E R T I S E R S COMPANY

PAGE NO.

COMPANY

I N D E X PAGE NO.

AMAN CLEANING EQUIPMENTS PVT. LTD.

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

PEST CONTROL (INDIA) PVT. LTD.

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

ARCHII

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

QUARTZ HOME CARE (I) P LTD.

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

ATLANTIC PASTE & GLUE CO. INC.

.......................31

ROOTS MULTICLEAN LTD.

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

BORGHI BRUSH MACHINERY PVT. LTD.

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

SINTEX INDUSTRIES LIMITED

.......................17

GRAND CHEMICAL WORKS

.......................27

SUPESHINE LAUNDRY SYSTEMS PVT. LTD.

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

IFB INDUSTRIES LTD.

.......................19

UNIQUE TRADING COMPANY

.......................35

ITPO AAHAR 2015

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

PRODUCT PREVIEW

.......................38

KARCHER CLEANING SYSTEM PVT. LTD.

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

NAVIN POLYCON

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

* BC - BACK COVER

Jan-Feb ’15

* GF-GATE FOLD

* FIC - FRONT INSIDE COVER

* BIC - BACK INSIDE COVER

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I NTERV IE W

Housekeeping could be fun…

By Sharmila Chand What are the new trends in housekeeping? Please comment on the latest housekeeping scenario.

F

or many, housekeeping could come across as a monotonous job, but for Syeda Mahmoodunnisa, Executive Housekeeper at JW Marriott Pune, there is a lot of creativity, colour and elements of joy in working for a housekeeping department.

With over 15 years of experience in housekeeping operations, she has learned the secret to making housekeeping fun: good planning. A seasoned hospitality professional, Syeda has worked with leading hotel chains such as the Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Wyndham, Jumeirah and The Park hotels.

Excerpts from an interview with this dynamic housekeeping manager:

How important in your opinion is housekeeping to hospitality?

In my opinion, housekeeping has a critical role in creating complete experiences for guests in a hotel. Housekeeping team members are the unsung heroes of the hotel operations. It is the attention to detail in cleanliness, look and feel of the property that creates a huge impact on our guests. Housekeeping nowadays is not looked as a support service or back of the house department but as a key player.

40

People travel a lot these days and hence they are evolved and experienced travelers.

They expect the best in everything. Our job is not just about cleaning or making beds but concentrating more on styling, visual merchandising, art installations and luxury.

This gives us an edge in product and service differentiation where we create exclusive floral ambiance, provide high end luxury amenities, beds, linen and terry, fixtures and features, customized and concept services in our guest areas.

Please name any one tool which has made the operations much easy?

More than a tool, it is `the art of delegation` which I consider the key in ensuring that you achieve the best targets through your team.

Housekeeping, as complex as the function, requires rigorous training.

How much of an emphasis does the hotel place on this?

At the JW Marriott, we take our training sessions very seriously and this helps our team to get updated with the latest trends and service skills. We have scheduled a daily slot of 15 minutes for compulsory training.

This is further enriched with four hours of on the job skill drills per week for every team member.

How does India compare with the international scenario with regards to housekeeping?

As per the feedback from our well travelled guests, the service levels and standards in India are in fact of a much higher standard or at par in comparison to the rest of the world.

What elements do you take into account to recruit staff in the housekeeping department?

For me, my team is like my family. I make it a point to identify if the person has the right

mindset and attitude to become a part of this wonderful family and make it stronger. The other aspects can be trained, groomed and inculcated eventually. I feel that attitude is the most important thing and the rest can be taught and developed.

What is the role of the housekeeping staff in the context of security?

Housekeeping is one department which has access to all the areas and in most cases housekeepers are the first to notice a potential threat or hazard. We also work in tandem with the loss prevention / security team to prevent any mishap. All our team members are well equipped and trained on all safety, first-aid and security procedures which enable them to handle almost every situation effectively.

Any other input you would like to give in the context to housekeeping in your hotel?

Housekeeping might be perceived as a monotonous occupation but if planned well it could be fun and creative. A lot of efforts and details are put into action to create experiences that make the guest’s stay a memorable one.

What are the challenges you have to face in your job responsibilities?

The biggest challenge in my role is the maintenance of the varied and complex materials and the designs that are brought to life by the most talented designers and artists.

This is both challenging and interesting. I also feel that another big challenge is the limited availability of quality manpower.

What do you like about your job?

There is a lot of creativity, colour and elements of joy in working for a housekeeping department. Nothing is more rewarding than the smile on the guest’s face when he enters his room or the hotel and goes “WOW”.

Jan-Feb ’15

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

Jan-Feb ’15

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