12th Anniversary Issue (May-June 2013) by Clean & Hygiene Review

May-June ’13

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

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Nowadays eating out has become an integral part of urban India’s lifestyle. But irrespective of the fact that whether one is eating out at a roadside stall or in a restaurant of a five-star hotel, the hygiene of the kitchen and the personnel serving food should ideally be impeccable. At the same time, the storage of food at the outlets should also be done in a proper manner. Food safety or food hygiene can be greatly facilitated through kitchen cleanliness, by hygiene of the food service personnel, and by proper storage measures. Food safety or food hygiene is an absolutely essential requirement for food service business. But unfortunately, the ground reality is far from ideal. One can see callous untidiness in kitchens, and also of food service personnel across several unknown food outlets dotting the country. The situation can only improve with greater consumer consciousness among the eating out public. Regarding this government can also play a proactive role in facilitating even greater consumer awareness towards food safety, and by giving proper and regular training to food service professionals regarding kitchen cleanliness, food storage, and on the hygiene standards to be maintained by food service personnel. The state can also play its role by enforcing stringent legislations against food service businesses found to be violating a certain defined degree of hygienic norms. Thankfully, both health consciousness among the public, and government interventions towards generating awareness towards food safety are showing appreciable improvement in the recent years, in the country. In this issue’s Cover Story, while discussing on various facets of food safety, we have also attempted to explore the standards of food hygiene that is being maintained at some top-notch hospitality properties. Though many of the sophisticated measures towards food safety which are discussed in the feature are far from being the norm in Indian hospitality and food service industry, but they can inspire our hospitality and food service businesses at large to improve their standards. Of course, it is not pragmatic to expect a roadside kiosk offering the same exacting food hygiene standards as a restaurant in a five-star property, as generally there is huge difference in terms of financial muscle and infrastructural strength between them, but nevertheless the by and large pathetic hygienic standards of unorganised food service business in India should significantly improve. Only then the pleasure of eating out in India would be without the nagging apprehension of food poisoning and cross-contamination, and other sources of food-borne illnesses. In turn the implementation of strict hygienic measures in food service business is expected to improve the bottom lines of the business too. Water crisis is a sordid reality, not only in India but outside too. Almost 800 million people across the globe don’t have access to clean drinking water. In the backdrop of rising threats of water pollution in our country, and at the same time with the growing health consciousness in the society, the water purifiers’ business in India is only expected to grow in the near future. In fact, the access of sophisticated and affordable water purifiers to the large majority of Indians can safeguard them from a wide array of water-borne diseases. In the Business Story, we have discussed on the range of the water purifiers market and also on its growth potential. We hope the readers would find these information and analysis engrossing as well as useful. Besides these topical issues, we have covered a wide range of other relevant concerns of the clean & hygiene industry and also the recent happenings in the industry, through our researched features and succinct news items.

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.

May-June ’13

Contents

20 BUSINESS

26 COVER STORY

FEATURE

SECTIONS 4

News Scan

Report/Obituary

Pest Management

Laundry

IAQ

Hygiene

Product Preview

Interview

May-June ’13

CLEANING

48 HEALTH

NEWS SCAN

Delhi Jal Board Comes with RWH Plan Delhi Jal Board has chalked out an action plan for rainwater harvesting in the national capital. Two NGOs — Indian National Trust for Arts and Culture (INTACH), and Force — would help the Delhi Jal Board in implementing the rain water harvesting action plan, which will be directed to south and southwest districts. These two areas in the city have witnessed severe plummeting of groundwater levels. These two most vulnerable zones with regard to groundwater have been selected by the government for rainwater harvesting projects with the objective of recharging the declining groundwater table in these areas. Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has signed contracts with the abovementioned two NGOs to ﬁnd out 100 areas in these two districts, which are ideal for tapping rainwater. Besides about 100 MGD water being ofﬁcially extracted from the ground by the Delhi Jal Board, there is complete absence of record on the quantity of ground water drawn by an array of domestic and industrial/commercial bore wells across Delhi. The only way to address this challenge is to go ahead with RWH units that can re-charge the ground water and can divert its storage for non-potable usage. The NGOs have been assigned the job of designing architectural plans for the complex systems and submit those designs to the DJB to derive funding for the projects. Besides liasing for getting permissions for the land for RWH units, the two NGOs would be involved in helping people identify the site for rainwater harvesting units, and in providing technical know-how. They would also be engaged in follow-up. Debashree Mukherjee, DJB’s CEO, informed that DJB has stopped the practice of funding rainwater harvesting units, for preventing duplication. “Now everyone can get rainwater harvesting unit from Delhi government’s ‘My Delhi, I Care’ fund which has a dedicated corpus,” explained Debashree. From Delhi government’s ‘My Delhi, I Care’ fund, Rs.1 crore has been allocated for rainwater harvesting. It is expected that the success of this plan will help address the challenge of water crisis that Delhi Jal Board faces. Presently Delhi needs more than 1000 million gallons water on an average, on a daily basis, but Delhi Jal Board can generate only 835 MGD from all its sources, per day.

Konkan Railway Installs Bio-toilets in Railway Stations Konkan Railway has taken the environment-friendly measure of installing bio-toilets in the railway station platforms. This praiseworthy initiative makes Konkan Railway the ﬁrst railway in the country to introduce bio-toilets on railway station platforms. Presently, the bio-toilets are being installed in Chiplun and Kankawali stations, but this facility would be extended to other major railway stations under the ambit Konkan Railway Corporation Limited in the future months. The bio-toilets facilitate eco-friendly, fast and economic disposal of human waste. The bio-toilets are based on Bio-Digester technology, which has been developed by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization). This maintenance free technology can enable complete elimination of pathogens without needing the night soil to be disposed through sewage line and septic tank. “Since they do not require septic tanks and sewage lines, the bio-toilets can be installed much faster than a regular RCC toilet. While the latter requires a minimum of 2 months for construction, the bio-toilet can be installed in just a couple of days. The saving in cost factor is also 70 percent less compared to a regular RCC toilet,” KRCL’s chief spokesperson Vaishali Patange said. The cost of installing a bio-toilet, on an average, is only Rs.30,000, whereas the cost of installing a conventional toilet for the Railways is Rs.100,000, on an average.

May-June ’13

NEWS SCAN

A Zeal for Clean Lakes Inspiring stories like these deserve to be lauded; even more in these depressing times, where media-created heroes are in abundance, and real heroes are becoming still more scarce than before. The 26-year-old Arun Krishnamurthy, with the support from Rolex Award for Enterprise, has taken up the cudgels to clean up India’s lakes. He gave up his job at Google to devote his time to his passion of conserving the environment. People like him are a boon to India’s environment, where rapid pace of mindless growth is jeopardising our natural water sources. He established an NGO named Environmentalist Foundation of India, while still in college, and till now he and his committed team of young volunteers has been responsible for cleaning up 17 lakes across t h e c o u n t r y, five of which are in Chennai. The Chennaibased NGO is active in three Indian cities, and it conducts lake cleaning programmes throughout the country. He got the coveted distinction of being the youngest recipient of Rolex Young Laureate Award for Enterprise in 2012, for his ongoing project to restore the severely polluted Kilkattalai Lake in Chennai. The clean-up of Kilkattalai lake began in 2012, and the ﬁrst phase of the cleaning operations of the lake, entailing the removal of rubbish and silt, was completed in August 2012. The second phase of cleaning includes dredging, fencing and further strengthening of the lake’s embankments. Once the clean-up process of Kilkattalai lake attains culmination, it is expected to become a safe place for feathered species, and aquatic and plant lives. However, the lake’s care would be continued by EFI.

Delhi Government Initiates Green Movement for Hotels Recently, the Department of Environment, Government of Delhi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 32 ﬁve-star hotels in the city of Delhi for compliance of Green Hotel Guidelines of the department. Under this MoU, these hotels will have to setup dedicated sewage treatment plant/ biological efﬂuent treatment plant, rain water harvesting facility, solar water heating system/ heat recovery system for water heating, natural gas boiler, and develop a green belt in their surroundings within the prescribed deadlines. The deadline for installing dedicated sewage treatment plant (STP) for recycling of waste water and thereby to enable zero discharge is 30th September of the present year. The deadline

Delhi Metro Races Fast on the Green Track

The Delhi Metro, whose cleanliness is in sharp contrast with the rest the city, is now on its way to become even more clean. According to one ofﬁcial, Delhi Metro would be having more high-tech machines for cleaning its premises, and its supervisors and cleaning teams deputed at Metro stations and maintenance depots receive training from British Institute of Cleaning Sciences, at Gurgaon. The statement issued by Delhi Metro said that “In order to maintain world class cleanliness standards at Metro stations and surroundings, we have decided to re-work its cleaning and housekeeping practices by using advanced and hi-tech machines and we are conducting specialised training programme for our staff.” The new housekeeping regimen at Delhi Metro include use of electrically operated scrubber drier, backpack vacuum cleaners, disposal of waste in bio-degradable garbage bags in a hygienic manner, and the application of eco-friendly cleaning chemicals and reagents. Presently, Delhi Metro has around 3,500 housekeeping personnel across its 137 stations. for the concerned hotels to develop green belt in their surroundings is also 30th September of the present year. These 32 hotels also need to set up facilities for conversion of organic solid waste into compost or bio-fuel. The deadline for fully complying with other measures of Green Hotel Guidelines such as energy auditing, auditing of water consumption, application of renewable energy is 31st March 2014. The MoU was signed in the presence of the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit. While addressing the hoteliers, the Chief Minister urged them to adhere to the stipulated deadlines in both letter and spirit.

May-June ’13

Jan-Feb ’13

7 33

Drinking Water for Delhi Traffic Police As arm-chair critics we are always animated in harshly criticising the police force, but do seldom care or introspect on the tough job that they have to undertake, with erratic working hours. Take the case of traffic police in Delhi, who have been managing the chaotic traffic in the scorching heat of Delhi. Though in writing they have eight hour shifts on a given day, but shortage of staff make many of them to give in extra hours. And very few people bother that they do not even have the basic facilities of drinking water, toilet facilities and changing rooms during their long working hours through the heartless streets of the capital. Thankfully, now their basic hygiene facilities during their working hours would no longer be hugely compromised. Arrangements for cold drinking water at every traffic police booth in the city have been made by the Delhi traffic police. This would greatly reduce the chances of traffic police personnel in Delhi to fall sick due to dehydration. All traffic police booths in the city will now have drinking water jars with storage capacity of up to 10 litres of cold water. Though not a sufficient measure towards hygiene this necessary step will facilitate the health and hygiene of Delhi Traffic Police personnel to some extent. Plans are also there to arrange toilets and changing rooms for Delhi traffic police personnel, and to procure anti-pollution masks for Delhi traffic police.

Launch of an Innovative Water Filter

QUALITY ASSURED COMPANY

Tupperware, one of world’s leading direct selling companies, engaged in producing and marketing premium food storage, preparation and serving items, announced the launch of TupperSure Water Filter. Adding to Tupperware’s superior quality water range, the new product can address the need of hygienic and clean drinking water. The news release claims that TupperSure is India’s first gravity-fed water filter to achieve a WQA Gold Seal Certification. TupperSure comes across as a light and hassle-free solution for water filtration, and is a non-electric water filter. Its filtration system eliminates 99.99 percent viruses and 99.9999 percent bacteria to provide safe and hygienic drinking water. Added to that, its dispenser too is made of fine food grade quality plastic. Priced at Rs.3200, the TupperSure Water Filter is made of food-grade virgin plastic and embodies Tupperware’s qualities of freshness and hygiene. “Given the Indian conditions where a continuous supply of electricity and running water is a concern, this product that provides safe drinking water can be a great asset to own. This addition will take Tupperware’s water range to another level. With this product we will be providing an ingenious solution that filters as well as stores water,” explained Asha Gupta, MD, Tupperware India. The product has a unique customized cartridge that incorporates HaloPure® technology designed by HaloSource. Tuppeware partnered with HaloSource for a year to develop an exclusive cartridge for TupperSure, which reduces waterborne viruses and bacteria. Furthermore, TupperSure is equipped with unique auto-shutoff system. It gives a red indication once the cartridge begins to reach the end of its life cycle. If the cartridge is not replaced after it expires, the auto shutoff system blocks the flow of water through the cartridge. This ensures that the user never consumes water after the cartridge has lost its ability to filter water effectively. The TupperSure Water Filter also features a three layer water filtration process. With a total capacity of 18 litres and a dispenser capacity of 8 litres, TupperSure ensures that the user has an adequate supply of filtered and clean drinking water ready for consumption. ERRATA

In the article titled ‘The Right Choice of Equipment,’ which was written by Anil Nair of Diversey India Pvt. Ltd. for the March-April 2013 issue of Clean & Hygiene Review, Diversey India Pvt. Ltd. was wrongly written as JohnsonDiversey India Pvt. Ltd. Furthermore, the designation of the author was also given wrongly in the said article. Anil Nair is presently the Director BREG, Diversey India Pvt. Ltd. Those inadvertent errors are deeply regretted.

May-June ’13

REPORT/OBITUARY

Created Success Stories with Men and Machines Clean & Hygiene Review notes with deep regret the unfortunate demise of Rupali Sethi, the Co-founder of Manmachine India. She is regarded as one of the important figures in the Indian cleaning industry. Armed only with the capital of determination and vision, Rupali started Manmachine with her husband Ani Sethi, in 1987. She and her husband created Manmachine with the vision of providing state-of-the-art mechanised housekeeping services with the right combination of man & machine to offices, hospitals, factories & commercial establishments. Under her and Anil Sethi’s leadership, soon Manmachine became a much revered company in the domain of housekeeping. Rupali can be credited for being the motivation and force behind the sustained growth momentum of Manmachine. She was a certified cleaning professional by BICS and also a certified Trainer / Assessor by BICS. During the course of her journey through successes, Rupali travelled the globe, to different cleaning industry forums and exhibitions, thereby facilitating to put Manmachine on the global map. A mother of three, Rupali was grooming both her sons, Karan and Kunal, into the Manmachine culture. She was striving to bring new standards in to the Indian cleaning business. Her daughter is a professional engineer. Being a successful businesswoman didn’t in any way hinder her concerns towards charity. She sponsored many charities and used to help the needy.

The Green Crusader

Jodie Underhill is known as the ‘garbage girl’ of the mountains. Under the banner ‘Waste Warriors’ Jodie, a 35-year-old Briton, and a small group of volunteers were seen clearing garbage from relief camps of the flood affected Uttarakhand. They were wearing green t-shirts, which went well with their philosophy. This endeavour by Jodi and her team mates is expected to give the civic authorities the opportunity to focus more on rescuing the people, as the additional challenge of clearing huge piles of garbage is being taken care of Jodi and her team. When she came to know about this man-created natural disaster, she said that she “decided to adopt these hills as part of our next clean-up campaign.” She can be an inspiring presence to anyone who cares deeply about our environmental degradation, and saving of our hills for future generations. “The recent floods are just a warning, it is nature’s way of telling you that enough is enough! When you chop down all those trees, what holds the soil together? When you blow holes into mountains so you can create hydropower dams, how do you expect them to stay intact? When lakhs of people walk a path meant for a few thousand why are you surprised when landslides happen? When you throw or dump garbage, why are you shocked to see soil is contaminated and water not fit to drink?” asks Jodie quite candidly through her Facebook account, while writing about Uttarakhand floods. Earlier, Jodie and her group had to their credit of collecting non-biodegradable waste which were dumped unscrupulously in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh. “Money cannot buy a new planet so it is time to start taking care of the one we have. The recent floods are a drop in the ocean, compared to the suffering our children will face in the future if things don’t change,” asserted Jodie through her Facebook platform. She urges us to campaign “to stop illegal construction and on insisting that limits are put on the number of people that go on pilgrimages.” She rightly says that “It is time to wake up India.” One can only hope that her powerful thoughts and actions would make our establishment take a proactive stance against the continual environmental degradation of our once pristine hills. Otherwise, repeat of such catastrophic human disasters cannot be ruled out in the near future.

Managing Waste a Growing Concern Managing of e-waste is an ongoing challenge in India. Despite legislation to this effect, the state of e-waste management in India is simply pathetic. Recently, the state governments and municipal corporations have been asked by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to adhere to the E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 for facilitating proper management and handling of e-waste. In these rules, the concept of Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) has been enshrined. The Ministry of Environment and Forests notiﬁed the E-Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, for proper management and handling of e-waste. These rules have come in to force from 1st May 2012. As per these rules the producers are required to collect e-waste generated from the end of life of their products by setting up collections centers or take back systems either individually or collectively. Moreover, the rules entail that e-waste recycling can be undertaken only

in facilities authorised and registered with State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees. E-waste generated is required to be sent or sold to a registered or authorised recycler or re-processor having environmentally sound facilities. Besides e-waste, municipal solid waste management is also an area of concern. According to the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, not even 25 percent of the total municipal solid waste which the country generates undergoes scientiﬁc treatment, despite the presence of the rules, which came into effect following Supreme Court directives. He said this at the inaugural session of the recently held two-day workshop on ‘sustainable cities’ in Pune. He also pointed out that for addressing the challenges posed by rapid urbanisation, the state governments require to bring much more efﬁciency in implementing the Municipal Solid Waste Rules of 2002.

May-June ’13

COVER S T O R Y It is said, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ But there is a rider involved. If the apple is not washed its consumption might result in a call to the doctor right away. Yes, food poisoning and food contamination have become commonplace. They have become so common that the dailies have relegated these incidents to the inside pages. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that a large percentage of diarrhea cases resulting in death are also due to food-borne viral germs. So how safe is the food you eat? The safety of food is directly proportional to the hygienic standards maintained in kitchens. Now what is the degree of hygiene maintained in the kitchens; across hotels, restaurants, commercial establishments and even homes? Ashok Malkani explores about the food hygiene being maintained across restaurants in hotels.

Towards

Food

f given the room, bacteria have the potential to grow very easily. There is a ‘danger zone’ of temperature between 40 degrees F – 140 degrees F, within which bacteria can thrive. The temperature of food should be beyond or behind this zone as much as feasible. The maximum limit for the time spent by the food in the danger zone including all aspects of food storage, its preparation and service should not be more than four hours. Besides keeping in mind the temperature zone, the food outlets also have to maintain extremely stringent cleanliness standards in the kitchen. Hygiene is one of the most

mandatory features for facilitating quality in the realms of hospitality. One has to ensure cleaning and sanitising of any equipment used to prepare food, so to prevent the threat of cross-contamination to become a reality. While small roadside restaurants in India usually have pathetic standards of hygiene, a sleek restaurant with fancy ambience and décor is no guarantee for its maintenance of food hygiene either. “Nobody in the food business

s h o u l d a f f o rd t o i g n o re t h e importance of hygiene and cleanliness in restaurant kitchens for the purpose of facilitating food safety. Both cleanliness and hygiene have twopronged effects – on the health of the guests as also on the health of the staff working in the kitchens. And health of neither of them can be compromised on,” expressed S umedha Ner urkar, Hygiene Manager at The Leela Mumbai. “There are not enough words to

May-June ’13

C O V E R STORY

Impeccable

Hygiene

clean kitchen inspires good food,” added Rahul Dhavale, Executive Sous Chef at The Westin Mumbai Garden City. “ The WelCom Lab at ITC Maratha along with the culinary team stringently checks the kitchen and restaurant premises to ensure high standards of hygiene & cleanliness, so that a healthy environment is maintained for the employees as well as the guests,” pointed out Rajdeep Kapoor, Executive Chef, ITC Maratha, Mumbai while asserting that “ITC Maratha is an ISO 22,000:2005 certiﬁed unit and has also received DNV Business Assurance food safety system certificate for maintaining hygiene and cleanliness in the property.”

Clean as You Go Krishna Rao, F&B Manager, The Mirador, Mumbai said, “There is a saying in the hospitality industry ‘Clean as you go,’ which means cleaning is to be undertaken at every step. Of course, it has to be undertaken before the start and at the end of every meal.” The food hygienists seem to concur with Rao’s view of a check at every step. They aver that each food item that is being served in a commercial food outlet require its speciﬁc ﬂow chart, which keeps a tab at every step of the food’s journey from its entry into the restaurant to being served to a guest. Storage and preparation

stress the importance of cleanliness and hygiene maintenance in restaurant kitchens. Especially, for restaurants in top-notch ﬁve star hotels, it is not just the ambience and the food but also the safety and food hygiene procedures which are of great value. There is intense competition for market share among most hotels and serving food which is clean, hygienic and tasty therefore becomes a mandatory deliverable in order to retain a loyal client base. A

May-June ’13

COVER S T O R Y check the foodstuffs for freshness. Quality checks are made on every carton. Due notice is also taken of the expiry date,” concurred Rao while talking about The Mirador, Mumbai’s measures in facilitating food hygiene. Sumedha states that The Leela Mumbai purchases only from branded suppliers. “The food safety team is tasked with conducting supplier audits for vendor approval. Routine checks are also being carried out on the raw materials, microbiologically, to certify their quality. Only approved raw materials are used for production and any decline in standards can of food, its holding/display, service, in the hotel. Checking the vendor’s lead to strict consequences for the cooling, storage of leftovers and re- documentation and certificates from vendor,” articulated Sumedha. heating techniques are some of the relevant legislative and governing “At our hotel, a stringent check steps in between these two above bodies is a necessary step in choosing of health & hygiene of food products mentioned steps. them. We have trained Chefs whose begins right from the supply chain’s The food hygienists job responsibility also operations stage. A thorough believe that there includes receiving organoleptic evaluation is done by the are many safety food items as per culinary team for any food product/ procedures to follow o u r g u i d e l i n e s ingredient used for production. A when preparing food and report of any well-equipped in-house WelCom in your restaurant. incriminating items Lab evaluates the food product One of the most for further action,” by carrying out microbiological impor tant among explained Dhavale analysis. Only after the internal them is ensuring while pointing out product review, a detailed audit of the proper thawing of that “Receiving bay vendor’s premises is done by a team frozen food products. is kept clean at all of experts. Based on the result of the One can cook food times and regular audit, the vendor is appointed for the from its frozen state pest control happens supply of food products for hotel’s or by refrigerating it at scheduled times. use,” Kapoor elaborated. at under 38 degrees F There are specific The quality control does not end Rajdeep Kapoor or may also thaw food times of delivery for here. Once the goods are received under running water at a temperature particular items at The Westin from the vendor, the restaurateur has of 70 degrees F or below for up to Mumbai Garden City. For example, to be careful of storing the food in a two hours. A microwave is another dairy and eggs are received early proper manner, lest it rots. Hygiene feasible way to thaw foods, but it is in the morning as the ambient experts aver that proper storage is valid only in cases where the entire temperature then is better suited for essential to protect your food from cooking period is in the microwave those items whereas dry food items becoming contaminated or spoiled. or in cases where the food is prepared can be received later They state that there immediately after microwaving during the day.” are rules regarding it by another cooking method. this. The ‘first in, “Refrigerators and freezers need to be Quality Control first out’ rule can be maintained at a certain temperature. Steps useful in food storage. Rao is a believer Also one has to take care that there It entails that food in ordering foodstuffs is no spillage,” affirmed Rao. products should be Dhavale emphasises on the f r o m r e c o g n i s e d used in the order they need for ensuring food hygiene at vendors. “All the are delivered. This every stage. He says, at The Westin food must come from could be easily done Mumbai Garden City, processes commercial supplier by dating the goods are in place to ensure that the food who has the FSSAI received and placing and ingredients supplied by the a p p r o v a l . F o o d the new behind the dealer are of high quality. “Standard packaging must be in old on your storage purchase specifications are used as a sound condition when shelves. Rao states guideline to receive food products received. We also that at The Mirador Rahul Dhavale

May-June ’13

COVER S T O R Y the food stoc k is raw materials before safety, fire protection products and packed, dated and they are processed,” services and document management services for approximately 900,000 kept in cold storage. observed Kapoor. Vegetables are utilised businesses. Facilitating Kitchen within two days and Rao rightly opines that cleaning is Cleanliness other foodstuff is not a continuous process. There can be no While purchasing laxity on this front. Besides cleaning kept for over five days. f r o m r e c o g n i s e d after every meal, general cleaning “We also ensure proper vendors and proper must be carried out at least once a implementations of storage of food stuffs week and deep cleaning must be the FIFO principles is laudable, efforts have done, after the pest control treatment, in food production also to be made to keep and storage areas,” he every fortnight. Furthermore, one Krishna Rao the kitchen clean and has to eliminate of any smell of the added. hygienic. Not only the fumigants as they can mar the flavour “A t T h e L e e l a kitchen but the entire restaurant or of the food. “Food safety training at Mumbai, the vegetarian and nonhotel environment has to be kept clean The Mirador, Mumbai is provided vegetarian food stocks are stored for ensuring food safety. Customers for all kitchen food handling persons. in separate chillers or freezers at prefer spotless restaurants over their Besides we also maintain policy appropriate temperatures. The food less-than-pristine counterparts. products are date tagged to ensure standards for cleaning of cutting Hygienists claim that about 40 boards, equipment and utensils. that first-in-first-out and stock rotation are being adhered to. All percent of food poisoning cases are Care is also taken to clean sides of raw materials are stored off the shelf,” due to negligence of hygiene in the the sinks, door handles and gaskets, kitchen. One way of avoiding this shelves, racks, etc.,” averred Rao. affirmed Sumedha. Dhavale believes that one should is by ensuring that the supplies in Dhavale also believes that order in the right quantity, which will stock are properly cleaned and also kitchen cleanliness is of utmost reduce the storage time. “Ordering in by using properly diluted sanitisers importance. “In our hotel, there is a the right quantity is very essential. and disinfectants to keep food Chief Steward who is responsible for Perishables have a shorter shelf life preparation surfaces clean and free manning, training and coordinating hence even if stored unprocessed, of food-borne bacteria such as responsibilities of Kitchen Stewards who do the actual task of cleaning their quality deteriorates. They need salmonella. According to Cincinnati-based the kitchens. In Starwood hotels, to be received at right temperature. there is a brand manual Secondly a physical check is vital. Cintas Corporation, for hygiene and food All vegetables and fruits should be l i k e m a ny c o ok i n g safety that serves as washed in chlorine solution. While surfaces, kitchen drains the guidebook for food storing, FIFO process is practiced in can also contain harmful safety processes. This our food stores to ensure old stock bacteria such as Listeria gets consumed before newer ones. monocytogenes. Cintas is regularly revised and updated,” he informed. Refrigeration systems are checked views that to reduce the “At our hotel, each for temperatures and cleaning. Our scope for bacteria growth, kitchen and equipment culinary associates wear disposable a regular drain line has a detailed cleaning gloves while processing food maintenance program schedule. There are produce and perishables, not to should be introduced regular audits carried mention a protective, comfortable to have drains without clothing uniform and Chef ’s hat. debr is and odours. out by Chief Steward Sumedha Nerurkar and other relevant Furthermore, the food products A l s o , d e s i g n a t i n g members from the are quickly processed and held colour-coded cleaning chilled/frozen and thawed till use,” tools and kitchen supplies such as hygiene committee. Besides that an cutting boards for specific tasks will annual food safety and hygiene audit elaborated Dhavale. Kapoor too believes in the help to reduce the opportunity for is conducted by an external agency,” smart work culture of ordering cross-contamination, views Cintas. added Dhavale. Sumedha feels that every kitchen food products in small quantities. Here it deserves a mention that “Meats and vegetables should be Cintas Corporation provides highly staff must maintain high sanitary ordered on a daily basis. At ITC specialised services to businesses standards. “The Leela Mumbai has Maratha, they are processed and of all types, primarily throughout a very detailed process laid out to stored in walk-in coolers maintained North America. Cintas designs, maintain the sanitary standards of at a temperature ranging between manufactures and implements each back of the house area – kitchen 1-5 degrees centigrade. Our culinary corporate identity uniform programs, being among the most sensitive team is thoroughly trained to check and provides entrance mats, restroom spots. Our kitchen stewarding staff the quality of vegetables, fruits, supplies, tile and carpet cleaning, strictly adheres to the cleaning and meats and dairy products and other promotional products, first aid, sanitisation schedules of the outlets.

May-June ’13

COVER S T O R Y

Tips Towards Ensuring Food Hygiene Personal Hygiene • • • • • • • •

Wash your hands with soap water or sanitiser. Tie your hair back. Wear an apron to protect your clothes. Don’t wear make up or nail polish. Always remove watches, jewellery, etc. before cooking. Don’t sneeze on the food. Don’t wear open shoes. Wear disposable gloves over the top of the wound strip if you have wounds on your hands.

Kitchen Hygiene • • • • • • • • •

Wipe down all the surfaces. Keep all your utensils clean and dry. Keep sinks nice and clean. No overflowing of bins. Keep kitchen floors dry. If they are wet, immediately wipe them dry. Keep cookers clean. Discard out of date food. Keep different chopping boards for raw meat and other food items. Wash food before cooking.

The food safety team comprising of the Chef, Steward and Hygienist conducts daily hygiene audits of the kitchens. At our hotel, the microbiologist regularly monitors the cleanliness of equipment and surfaces by swab test. Any non-compliances observed are immediately reported to the authorities and corrective action taken,” she reported. “At ITC Maratha, annual checks for pesticide/insecticide residue, and antibiotic tests for various foods are being done by a NABL certiﬁed lab,” added Kapoor.

Personal Hygiene Measures One of the most important food safety regulations in the food service industry pertains to personal hygiene. All personnel in the restaurant who are touching food items or equipments/cutlery that come in contact with food are required to have impeccable cleanliness standards. Personal hygiene as a food safety regulation in restaurants should not only include hand washing but should also pertain to hair and cuts on the body. It also includes wearing clean clothing to work, and covering the mouth and nose when sneezing and/or coughing and then washing the hands again. “Hands that may have become contaminated should

be washed appropriately. Hand sanitiser solutions should be placed in the kitchen area, so that they can be used at all times. Eating, drinking and tobacco consumption should be restricted to non-food and permitted areas of the hotel. Besides, care should also be taken to see that kitchen exhaust-hood and ductwork system are thoroughly cleaned and well maintained,” opined Rao. “The Chef-in-charge of each kitchen at The Leela Mumbai checks the areas as per the checklist prior to commencing work and ensures cleanliness and availability of hand

hygiene amenities like soap, sanitiser, paper towels, etc. Furthermore, our kitchen staff ensures that the cleaning and sanitisation of the walk-ins, under counter chillers, storage racks, chopping boards, knives, kitchen surfaces, floors, ceiling, equipment is being done by the kitchen stewarding staff as per the schedule, and cleaning SOP is followed. Use of branded cleaning/sanitising chemicals at the right concentration is adhered to at all times to enable an impeccably clean kitchen,” conﬁrmed Sumedha, while talking of personal hygiene measures adopted at The Leela Mumbai to facilitate spotlessly clean kitchens. Dhavale has a list of simple and effective dos for maintaining personal hygiene in commercial kitchen outlets. They are washing hands frequently with warm soap and water. sanitising them at regular intervals, holding training classes in food safety and hygiene, using protective tools like head gear, gloves and aprons and using chemical sprays to clean work tables. The main criteria for keeping the food clean and hygienic in restaurants could thus be summed up as maintaining impeccable personal hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting food preparation areas on a regular basis, observing pest control in the kitchen and having regular inspections to ensure that the hotel/ restaurant staff is observing proper food safety procedures. ■

May-June ’13

C O V E R STORY

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BUSINESS

Raining of Filtered Water The

he life preserving nectar —water — is becoming increasingly scarce. Insufﬁciency of clean, pure, drinkable water is being felt due to its continuous, callous contamination. Though

water is an invaluable and limited natural resource it is being incessantly polluted, not only by the industries, but also by us. The result is that water is now fast becoming non-potable. Today almost 800 million people across the globe don’t even have the fortune of accessing clean drinking water. Diseases like cholera, hepatitis A and E, typhoid, dysentery, etc. have become common or are still commonplace, largely due to the abundance of contaminated water. Thus purification of water has become an integral part of the sustenance of our lives. No wonder, today the market is flooded with various makes of water purifiers. Ashok Malkani finds that the market for domestic water filters is growing at a rapid pace in the country but the industry has to take note of the requirements of the young middle and higher income consumers of India if it wants to continue with its growth trajectory.

ne of the basic necessities of life is water. No wonder more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface is covered with this magic liquid. However, only one percent of this huge volume of water is f re s h water, which we can use.

Earth’s fresh water supply is limited and threatened by pollution. With water pollution being rampant in our country, India has become a place where even a dip in the holy rivers can prove disastrous for health.

The Role of Nanotechnology However, nanotechnology can be creatively used to improve the quality of our water. According to G U Kulkarni, Dean (Academic) Chemistry and Physics of Materials

unit on Nano-Science at Jawaharlal Nehr u Centre for Advanced Scientific Research ( JNCASR), nanotechnology could contribute to building a society with accessible clean energ y and clean water. Addressing a gathering at the twoday Indo-Canadian Symposium on Nano-Science and Technology, organised by The National Institute of Engineering (NIE), he averred that it would help not only in clean water and but also in clean energy

May-June ’13

BUSINESS

and improved healthcare. Some years back, while writing in the International Journal of Nuclear Desalination, researchers at the D.J. Sanghvi College of Engineering in Mumbai explained that there were several nanotechnology applications towards water purification which were being investigated and some were already in use. “Water treatment devices that incorporate nanoscale materials are already available, and human development needs for clean water are pressing,” Alpana Mahapatra and her colleagues Farida Valli and Karishma Tijoriwala, explained. Nanotechnology can be used for removal of sediments, chemical efﬂuents, charged particles, bacteria and other pathogens from water. But how long it will take for this technology to ensure that majority of the laymen gets pure drinking water is an important question. For, at the present moment, the prospects of getting clean drinking tap water for all Indians seem bleak. Unclean

May-June ’13

or contaminated drinking water has become a regular feature of our lives, across both rural and urban areas.

A Depressing Scenario In the recent past, the health department of the Pune zila parishad came out with a drinking water quality monitoring report, which unearthed that out of 3342 drinking water samples collected from 13 blocks of the district, 251 samples or 8 percent of the samples were contaminated. A sad state of affairs indeed, which amply indicate on our perilous hygiene scenario. However, these statistics are hardly surprising. And one of the reasons for this sorry plight, according to an ofﬁcial of the Pune zilla parishad health department is, “Irregular chlorination of water by the village panchayat.” The other reason is the low stock of TCL bleaching powder at their disposal. TCL powder is applied to treat impure water. Ideally, there should be 33 percent of chlorine in this powder, in order to effectively decimate bacteria, but some gram panchayats were using TCL powder with less than or close to 20 percent chlorine content. Mumbai too is plagued by the scarcity of clean drinking water. Last year, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM)’s annual water report showed that nearly 25 percent of Mumbai’s tap water is unﬁt for consumption. Some years back, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) did reveal in its annual water samples

BUSINESS viruses while RO removes impurities and salts,” he explained. Now there are also hybridised UV and RO water puriﬁer products in the market.

testing report that 10 samples of drinking water collected from posh Mumbai suburbs were teeming with E coli. The bacterium can lead to several diseases like gastroenteritis and diarrhea and can cause serious damaging of kidneys. According to the report, another 80 samples were found to be hugely infested with coliform bacteria and of course, they were unﬁt for drinking. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), the presence of coliform bacteria in drinking water should not go beyond 10 per 100 ml, and the presence of E coli should not be there in drinking water. However, the state of drinking water is pathetic across India, and is not limited to these few examples. Thus to attain a holistic solution to the water crisis in India, sophisticated technology and their creative applications must be spruced with proactive government and civil society’s interventions.

G e o g r a p h y a n d Technology The access of sophisticated and affordable water purifiers to the large majority of Indians is one pragmatic short-term solution to cater to the challenge of making clean drinking water accessible to the majority of Indians, and thereby safeguarding them from a wide array of diseases. Water purification can be explained as a process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids and gases from contaminated water. Water purification is mostly required to make water fit for human consumption. However, various types of water purifiers are needed for different geographies of India. Marzin Shroff, CEO, Direct Sales and Senior Vice-president (Marketing), Eureka Forbes avers that there are 17 types of water. They require distinctive purification systems and solutions. According to him, no single water purifier will be suitable for all consumer homes across the country. He states that Eureka Forbes mapped over 85 percent of all pin codes across the country for water conditions. On the basis of this research the

company is able to suggest the type of purification system you will need by just knowing your pin number. Shroff is of the opinion that RO (reverse osmosis) systems are useful in areas which are characterised by high salt content, but in a city like Mumbai, where you derive municipal water from lake, using an RO can be harmful than using a UV (ultraviolet) based purification process, as you are depriving your body of essential nutrients. Shroff states that impurities in water vary from one geography of India to another. Eureka Forbes has identified specific solutions for specific problems pertaining to water purification. The company has in its ambit about 1718 water laboratories through the country, and it is engaged in tracking and monitoring water. According to Shroff, water purifiers market could be demarcated by technology. They include the lowend non electronic category, which use chlorine, bromine, and chemicals, and the electric water purifiers. “The electric purifiers can be further divided into two basic categories: UV and RO. UV uses ultraviolet radiation to eliminate bacteria and

Scientific Skepticism However, scientific community is not unanimous about the utility of the various water purifiers having presence in the Indian market. For example, in the recent past, Punebased National Institute of Virology stated that most purifiers sold across India were not able to completely do away with the possibility of waterborne diseases like hepatitis E. Sometime back, a study conducted by the National Institute of Virology evaluated eight domestic water purifier brands, and found that only two among them were equipped to completely eliminate the viruses. The purifiers that were tested included those using activated carbon filters, ceramic candle filters, sediment filters, iodine resin gravity filters, polyster filters, ultraviolet irradiation, reverse osmosis and hollow fibre membrane filters. These features were either employed alone or in a combination. The purifiers were evaluated using hepatitis E virus as a model. For each of the purifiers, the viral log reduction value (LRV) - the power to decimate viruses- was calculated. But whatever may be the opinion of the scientists, there is a thriving market for water purifiers, particularly in the urban India. Especially now with a flood of advertisements and the approaching monsoons – which always results in a plethora of water-borne diseases – everyone is becoming conscious of the quality of water being pumped through their taps. Market for Water Purifiers The growing concern for waterborne diseases and the rising public demand for water purifiers have witnessed mushrooming of water filter manufacturers in the country. With so many entrepreneurs entering the field, the Indian point-of-use (POU) water purifier market is going through a phase of intense competition, with players offering innovative and cost-effective

May-June ’13

BUSINESS

May-June ’13

BUSINESS

technology to race ahead of the competition. Along with top brands, peddling of sub-standard products by local water purifier manufacturers is the characteristics of this industry in India. In this scenario, an education among potential customers about the desired minimum quality and basic features about water purifiers can help them make informed choices and stay away from sub-standard products. In this regard, Water Quality Association, India chapter, can play a crucial role through raising awareness among the potential consumers. Here it deserves a mention that the Water Quality Association (WQA) is a not-for-profit international trade association representing the residential, commercial and industrial water treatment industry. WQA maintains a close dialogue with other organisations representing different aspects of the water industry in order to best serve consumers, government officials, and industry members. Among the water purifiers, the systems most preferred are electrical or chemical based ones because they require little or no manual operation and, according to the users, they can eliminate biological contaminants, chemical toxins and excessive salts. The water can be purified through application of any of these various technologies, which are UV purification, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, distillation, activated c a r b on f i l t e r i n g a n d e l e c t ro deionisation. Chemical purification, ultraviolet treatment and filtration, or reverse osmosis are the three alternatives which are generally opted for by the domestic water purifiers in the country. Out of the

water purifiers’ market in India, about two thirds is accounted by the UV water purifiers, and the remaining one third of the market is shared by reverse osmosis purification systems and chemical based purifiers. Among the latter two, reverse osmosis pur ifiers have lesser market share, which can perhaps be attributed to the fact that they are quite expensive. However, water purifiers with reverse osmosis systems have their advantages too. On an average, they are believed to make raw water 100 percent microbe free and approximately 90 per cent TDS (total dissolved solids) free. In areas with salty and turbid water, reverse osmosis systems are gaining popularity. Succinctly, one can say that the degree of purification and price are parameters of selection of water purifiers in India. The market for water purifiers in India, especially if viewed in the backdrop of rising health consciousness in the society and the huge numbers of Indians (about 400 million) with no access to safe drinking water, is quite bright. During 2010, the POU water purifier market in the country generated approximately Rs. 2460 crore. According to Frost & Sullivan, this figure is expected to escalate to reach about Rs.7480 crore by 2015, reflecting nearly 25 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of this market in India, till 2015. According to a recent study published by Tech Archival, titled ‘India Water Purifiers Market Assessment & Future Opportunities 2008-2018,’ the organised water purifier market in India recorded revenues of more than 300 million USD in 2012. However, still by and large water purifiers are predominantly an urban product. “At present, the demand for water purifiers comes mostly from urban areas. The Indian government is also putting its efforts to encourage rural consumers to adopt safe water drinking habits and maintain sanitation. This positive outlook is benefiting the Indian water purifiers market, which is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of nearly 28 percent, right through 2018,” said Manmohan Joshi, Research Director

at Tech Archival. “Since the market is growing at a steady pace, nearly all established players are investing heavily to increase their manufactur ing capacities and diversify product portfolio. The strong market growth is also attracting a number of other FMCG players to diversify into water purifier manufacturing, including big names such as Luminous, LG, Godrej, and Panasonic. This has intensified competition among the players which, in turn, is increasing water purifier penetration levels and providing wider options for consumers to choose from,” added Joshi. Tech Archival further estimates that the Indian residential water purifier market will continue growing at a CAGR of nearly 28 percent over the five year period from 2013 to 2018, reaching an estimated market value of 1149.04 million USD by 2018.

The Consumer Preferences However, those entrepreneurs earnest on making a foray into this growing water purifier industry in India must heed to the demands of the young middle and higher income consumers in India. Given the busy lifestyles of today’s times, consumers of water purifiers in India are expected to prefer simple designs with ease of installation, and with provision of easy replacement of consumable components. “Consumer expectations on ease of installation of water purifiers, and the ease of replacing their consumable components have already enhanced manifolds as a result of the busier lifestyles,” asserted Dr. Skand Saksena, Programme and Resource Director, Global Design Center for Water at Hindustan Unilever Limited. Convenience is another important factor that has gained consumer relevance. “ Water purifiers not requiring consumer’s intervention for start-up or stop have gained popularity, especially among premium Indian consumers,” Saksena pointed out. Water purifiers with inherent environment-friendliness will also be in demand in the near future. ■

May-June ’13

BUSINESS

May-June ’13

FEATURE

Building

Tomorrows for Today By Swarnendu Biswas

he green buildings are evolving as a trend in India, but if we think deeply, we would realise that environmental friendly structures are much more than mere trend. They are the necessity for the humankind’s survival in the subsequent centuries, and have more relevance now than they had ever before. Green buildings should ideally use much less water and energy, should generate much less waste, and provide much more healthy spaces as compared to a conventional building of similar stature and/or character. Ideally, they also should have sound waste recycling measures, and should

be comprised of environmentally friendly materials. According to Indian Green Building Council, “A green building is one which uses less water, optimises energy efﬁciency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building.”

Facilitating Health Green buildings in the hospitality and other corporate sectors, and also as part of the healthcare and retail revolution, are the demand for our times. Green buildings can not only contribute towards

the macro objective of preventing environmental degradation, but can also improve the health of their inmates, thereby helping in reducing the irksome recurrence of absenteeism in ofﬁces in some cases, and indirectly contributing towards productivity. Furthermore, green buildings can greatly help in addressing the issue of indoor air pollution. According to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report, indoor air pollution is the second biggest killer in India. According to the same study, during 2010, 1.3 people in India succumbed to their deaths due to indoor air pollution. A recent study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has revealed that indoor air pollution accounts for 27.5 percent of under-ﬁve infant mortality in India. According to WHO, approximately 1.5 percent of annual lung cancer deaths are attributable to exposure to carcinogens form indoor air pollution.

Green Measures Though innovative designs play a key role in the creation of ecofriendly buildings, but architectural dexterity should be complemented by a collective will by all stakeholders to make a difference, in order to make the green building movement get its desired momentum in the country.

May-June ’13

A green building should make extensive use of eco-friendly materials and products in its design. First of all, the building users should avoid using volatile organic compounds, which can cause a wide array of symptoms ranging from headaches, eye irritation and chronic coughing, to fatigue, depression and even loss of memory. VOCs are both naturally occurring and synthetic, and they evaporate easily at room temperature. Over long periods of time, VOC vapours are gradually released into the air at room temperature. These vapours are not detectable by your human senses, but can affect the environment and human health. VOCs are numerous, varied, and somewhat omnipresent. Fur ther more, a building endeavouring to be a green building should strive to make optimal usage of water, light, electricity and other raw materials, and their wastage must be scrupulously prevented. In fact, it should avoid or at least substantially reduce the use of non-renewable sources of energy. Ideally in a green building, wherever possible, nonrenewable sources of energy should be replaced by the renewable sources of energy. Wind power and solar power are two of the prominent renewable and cost-effective sources of energy, which should attract wider acceptance among Indians. Generating electricity through wind turbines or solar panels can enhance a property’s green image. Often green building or environmentally-friendly building is a product of the attitude of the building owners or their management. Even simple but effective steps like replacing all the standard light bulbs in your home or office with compact fluorescent ones can be a pragmatic step towards infusing eco-friendly character to the property. The energy consumption of fluorescent bulbs is approximately 70-75 percent lower than the incandescent bulbs and their lifespan is up to ten times higher than the incandescent ones. Installation of rain harvesting facilities is also a desirable infrastructural requirement for a green office, building complex or a hotel. “Har vesting of rainwater and applying it for domestic requirements

May-June ’13

can significantly reduce incidences of urban flooding and at the same time could ensure that the scarce water resource lasts longer,” explained Chitra Vishwanath, Founder of Chitra Vishwanath Architects, one of the renowned names in the field of alternative, eco-friendly architecture. The visionary architect suggested that building walls of homes with mud is a sustainable alternative to using burnt brick or concrete blocks for wall construction, and asserted that buildings with mud walls is very much a feasible alternative even in urban areas. She pointed out that brick kilns contribute towards making large tracts of land unusable and use up precious wood while concrete blocks need use of large quantities of cement. “We should work with low embodied energy materials; we should look at developing designs which are self sufficient with respect to their energy and water needs. We are at a stage wherein we can develop our indigenous and relevant technologies rather than going for real estate products involving conventional western technologies,” affirmed Chitra. Similarly, dotting the property with green plants at appropriate empty spaces can also contribute towards the evolution of a green building. This would help the Co2 and other potential air pollutants in the building in check. At the same time, barring smoking inside the building is also an environmentally-friendly step to restore the health of the buildings’ inmates, workers and visitors.

Sustainable Cooking and Ventilation The concept of green buildings, however, is not only about sustainable architecture and usage of eco-friendly materials; it can and should also include sustainable cooking methods and proper ventilation facilities, wherever necessary. In fact, unsafe cooking methods in India are one of the major causes of indoor air pollution. In India, indoor air pollution generating from chulhas burning wood, coal and animal dung as fuel has emerged as a major health problem. In our country, the average indoor air pollution is an alarmingly high 375 ug/ m3 and the major contributor for this

FEATURE polluting

scenario, according to a study by Indian Council for Medical Research is burning of solid fuels. Burning solid fuels leads to emission of carbon monoxide, particulates, benzene and formaldehyde which can lead to several diseases and health problems like pneumonia, asthma, low birth weight, tuberculosis, blindness and lung cancer. It is lamentable that a majority of Indians still use traditional fuels such as dried cow dung, agricultural wastes, and firewood as cooking fuel, but in green buildings, whether they be in rural or urban India, this unhealthy scenario cannot be continued. Homes and offices with solar cooking systems is an effective alternative to keep the ambient air from getting polluted, but we could ﬁnd that very few residential buildings, offices or hospitality properties in India employing such methods. Smokeless chullahs or solar cooking infrastructure (wherever applicable), and improved ventilation should be the necessary factors of environmentally-friendly structures. In this regard, the endeavour of Auroville-based Prakti, a company founded by Mouhsine Serrar, a former executive from Motorola, deserves some attention. Prakti is engaged in designing efﬁcient and less polluting cooking stoves for developing countries. According to the company website, the use of Prakti stoves does reduce indoor air pollution by up to 90 percent,

allowing the world’s poor to live dramatically cleaner and healthier lives without changing the foods they cook or fuels they use. Their use can facilitate the green building movement in rural India to take shape, where most of the underprivileged in India live. However, a massive shift from biomassbased cooking options to LPG and solar cooking would need huge public investment and political will. Without these two factors, simply corporate enterprise towards green building would not ﬁnd its base in the grass root levels. Absence of adequate ventilation, which is a rampant feature in the Indian homes and offices, is another important cause of indoor air pollution. It is appalling that nearly 70 percent of rural households in India are not equipped with adequate ventilation. However, the lack of adequate ventilation is not only a rampant feature of rural India, but also in Indian homes and offices across urban space. Even in an apparently sleek office in a posh area of Mumbai or Delhi, indoor air pollution because of inadequate ventilation could be very much omnipresent. The gathering momentum of the green building trend could address this health challenge effectively. Besides beneficial effects on health and hence productivity, the improvement of ventilation of the buildings can lead to cost savings also. By improving the indoor air quality, the building owners and/or property developers can lower the energy costs by as much as 50 percent by simply incorporating energy recovery ventilators (ERVs).

The Right Spaces Moreover, designing of the right spaces between things in the buildings could play a crucial role towards its evolution to a green building, for pollution of indoor air is often facilitated through the cluttered furnishings in the room.

Carpets, varnishes, solvents, printers, fax machines, asbestos, tobacco smoke all have the potential to release harmful contaminants like volatile organic compounds(VOCs), formaldehydes, radon, etc. and encourage development of biological organisms like bacteria, viruses, fungus, pollen, etc. They also do have the potential to emit foul odour and dust. The tightly sealed buildings, the increasing usage of synthetic building materials in the recent times, have also contributed to the indoor air pollution. The new-age builders should avoid such pitfalls through both awareness and action.

Eco-friendly Ratings Though it may entail a higher investment at the construction stage as compared to a conventional building of the same size, character and requirements, an eco-friendly building is cost-effective in its maintenance in the long run, as it saves important resources in the form of land, water and energy. Introduction of green technologies may require more investment than traditional technologies, but their day-to-day running is more cost-efficient than conventional technologies. Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), part of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is actively involved in promoting the green building movement in India. The council is represented by all stakeholders of construction industry comprising of corporate, government & nodal agencies, architects, product manufacturers, institutions, etc. In the recent past, Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has launched ‘IGBC Green Existing Buildings O&M Rating System’ to address the national priorities. By applying IGBC Green Existing Buildings O&M criteria, existing buildings can be sustainable over the lifecycle of the building. This rating programme enables the building owner / developer to apply green concepts and criteria, so as to reduce the environmental impacts, which are measurable. The programme covers methodologies to include diverse climatic zones and changing

May-June ’13

FEATURE lifestyles in its purview. Here it deserves a mention that IGBC Green Existing Buildings O&M Rating System is a voluntary and consensus based programme. The rating is focused on sustained performance of buildings with respect to the green features. The overarching objective of this rating system is to facilitate building owners & facility managers in implementation of green strategies, measure their impacts and sustain the performance in the long-run. The rating system is fundamentally designed to address national priorities of resource conser vation while providing quality of life for occupants. The rating programme uses well accepted national standards and wherever local or national standards are not available, appropriate international benchmarks have been considered. IGBC has been continually working to provide tools that facilitate the adoption of green building practices in India. The development of ‘IGBC Green Townships Rating System’ is another important step in this direction. IGBC Green Townships Rating System is applicable for large developments & townships. Townships can be predominantly commercial, industrial or retail but should necessarily comprise of a residential component. At least 25 percent of the total built-up area (in sq. m.) within the township should be earmarked for residential use, for it to qualify for certiﬁcation. The IGBC Green Townships Rating System is designed to address the issues of urban sprawl,

May-June ’13

automobile dependency, social and environmental disconnect. Developments are evaluated on the following broad aspects, which are environmental planning, land use planning, resources management, and community development. Besides IGBC, TERI or The Energy and Resources Institute, is another important player in India which is proactively involved in the green building movement. TERI took upon itself the responsibility of acting as a driving force to popularise green building by developing a tool for measuring and rating a building’s environmental performance in the context of India’s varied climate and building practices. TERI’s rating system called ‘Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment’ (GRIHA) quantifies parameters like energy consumption, waste generation, renewable energy adoption over the entire lifecycle of the building. In 2007, GRIHA was adapted and adopted by the Ministry

of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) as the national rating system for green buildings in order to bring down the ecological impact of buildings in India to a nationwide acceptable level. TERI’s expertise developed over two decades places it in a unique position to enable to facilitate organisations to meet the 34 criteria of the green rating system set up for green buildings. In order to facilitate unbiased and transparent process of implementing ‘GRIHA’, an independent body namely ‘ADaRSH’ has been set up jointly by MNRE and TERI.

Building Green TERI’s Himalayan Centre at Mukteshwar, located 2300 metres above the sea level, is an example of the environmental friendly practices adhered to by TERI. Synthesising sylvan nature with the latest in technological innovation, this green building comes across as an ideal

FEATURE haven for repose and research. In addition to a residential wing, this TERI Centre boasts a state-of-theart conference hall, complete with a meeting area, rest rooms and Internet facility. Each suite of this environmentallyfriendly property comes attached with unique solar passive features known as ‘sun-spaces’. These enhance heat gain by day and emit it by night, when it is required. Judiciously planned corridors in front of the habitable spaces dilute the glare of the sunlight, while trapping solar radiation to be emitted at night. Renewable energy systems in the form of photovoltaic solar panels have been integrated into the roof of the utility building and conference hall to meet a portion of the electrical requirements. An effective solar water heating system is in place to meet the hot water requirements of the building’s inhabitants. In the absence of sufficient sunlight, battery banks provide a power back-up of three days. Fibreglass panels in the ceilings and walls act as insulators; preserving heat and improving acoustics. That is not all. At TERI’s Himalayan Centre at Mukteshwar, innovatively designed, twin-chambered water tanks are deployed for harvesting and subsequent filtering of rainwater. TERI’s RETREAT at Gurgaon and its Southern Regional Centre in Bangalore are other examples of the institute’s green endeavours in architecture. Among the corporate players who are making inspiring contributions in the realm of green building movement, the name of Noidabased 3C Company cannot be overlooked in any way. The company has three Platinum rated and four Gold rated LEED Certified green buildings. The 3C Company ’s Green Boulevard is the world’s largest Platinum rated LEED certified Green Building from United States Green Building Council, in Shell & Core Category. The building is a multi-tenant project that is based around the concept of creating a congenial campus like environment, where every tenant can share common

areas, facilities and still retain his/ her privacy. Strategically located in sector 62- Noida, the towers of Green Boulevard are designed around shaded landscape courts with water bodies & plants, which facilitate to reduce the ambient temperature. The building depth has been optimised to tap daylight. A key feature of Wipro Campus, Gurgaon, another structure of 3C Company which has got the coveted distinction of being a Platinum rated LEED certiﬁed Green Building, is

a controlled, open to sky landscape courtyard that contributes towards keeping the building cool during summers. All open office spaces overlook the courtyard, thus allowing good access to daylight. Notable environment-friendly features of Wipro Campus include high performance grass with optimum visual light transmittance, exterior light shelves and over hangs for all windows, efficient chillers, efficient lighting using lamps and ample daylight spaces with photo sensor controls. The building is the second highest and the largest platinum rated green building in the world. The courtyard of the building acts as a light well, a microclimatic generator and a landscape element. All the office work areas of Wipro Campus, Gurgaon are designed around this landscape court. Mutual shading of the courtyard walls keeps them cooler than the outside walls. Walls of the courtyard are painted in a light colour for diffused reflected light. Many hotels and resorts in India these days are also going the ecofriendly way, which will eventually make our hospitality assume a sustainable character. The Orchid an Ecotel Hotel in Mumbai is Asia’s

first certified eco-friendly five-star hotel. However, today it is not only The Orchid, Mumbai but many other hospitality properties and chains in India which are chanting the green mantra. The ‘Responsible Luxury’ commitment of ITC Hotels blends elements of nature to deliver a unique value proposition to its guests. ITC Hotels is perhaps the greenest luxury hotel chain in the world with all its ten premium luxury hotels having the distinction of being LEED Platinum certified. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has introduced EARTH (Environment Awareness & Renewal at Taj Hotels), a project which reiterates the conscious effort of this renowned hotel chain to commit to energy conservation and environmental management. EARTH has received certification from EarthCheck, the only worldwide environmental certification program for travel and tourism.

The Need for Green Townships We can see that India is having some innovative eco-friend ly architectures, both within and outside the hospitality industry, and with growing environmental awareness across the society, sustainable architecture is gaining currency in India’s real estate scenario. But this trend can actually make an enduring difference to our fragile environment only with the emergence of more and more eco-friendly townships. O ther wise stay ing in ecofriendly homes or working in ecofriendly offices alone would not much help towards the cause of environment if one has to travel miles and burn litres of petrol in the process, while commuting from home to ofﬁce, or home to school, or home to college, or home to the mall. The eco-friendly townships with environment-friendly homes, schools, colleges, hospitals, and recreation centres in the vicinity of each other, all located far from the maddening crowd, can only holistically address the urgent issue of environmental degradation and global warming. ■

May-June ’13

HOUSEKEEPING

Success Through Client Satisfaction By Sharmila Chand Anjum Wahid Khan, the Managing Director of Aman Cleaning Equipments Pvt. Ltd., is a professionally qualified mechanical engineer serving the cleaning industry for more than 16 years. He founded Aman Cleaning Equipments Pvt. Ltd. in 2000. The company is one of the leading manufacturers and importers of floor cleaning machines. Aman Cleaning Equipments manufactures floor scrubber machine model Speed –S-425/525 in its plant in Noida and has tie-up with three Italian companies for other types of floor cleaning machines, which the company sells in the Indian market. Automatic floor scrubber drier, wet/dry vacuum cleaner, single disk floor scrubber, sweeping machine, carpet cleaner are only some of the many products in Aman Cleaning Equipments’ ambit. The company has 10 dealers placed across major cities of India, and is now planning to add some more dealers to its list with the objective to cover all the major cities of India. “Soon we will have our presence in every part of India,” asserted Khan confidently. The excerpts of the interview with the enterprising entrepreneur follow:

What is the USP of your company? Our USP lies in our response to our client’s queries, and our solutions to their doubts or problems. We always give demonstration immediately to our clients whenever there is a need, which facilitates in deriving their satisfaction with our products. Also our after sales service is very regular and sincere. We believe that making instant response to clients’ call is the key to success.

Who are your key competitors? Eureka Forbes, Roots Multiclean, and Dulevo are our main competitors.

What is the current market scenario in your sector? Nowadays market is growing at a fast pace. Clients are showing a higher demand for branded machines as compared to local or unbranded Chinese machines. Moreover, big players are coming up with low priced machines so that they can easily compete with unbranded Chinese stuﬀ or with local suppliers.

What is your working philosophy, which has sailed you through in your long and distinguished tenure? I have realised that immediate response to clients’ query/ies or complaint/s gives very good results. It builds up the relationship and trust with the clients. I have always adhered to this philosophy of listening to the clients patiently and solving her/his problems and doubts related to our product or services.

What are the three challenges you have to face these days? �e key challenges in our business are the challenge of providing a more lucrative price to the clients, challenge to present products of impeccable quality in the market, and the challenge of providing regular and quality after sales service support.

How do you like to de-stress? I like to de-stress by spending quality time with my family. It is my best stress reliever.

How do you combat the tough competition? We handle tough competition by offering the best possible products at a very affordable prices. Secondly, we firmly believe and practice in offering our clients our strong and regular after sales service support.

What are your future plans for the company? We are envisaging to add some new products in our portfolio, which include a range of ﬂoor cleaning chemicals.

May-June ’13

We Are Back For The

10th Year

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• Air Fresheners • An�-slip Products • Automated Control Systems • Brushes & Brooms • Chemicals • Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Machines • Cleaning Equipment & Trolleys • Deodorants • Mops • Dispensing Equipment • Floor Pads • Gloves Hand Care Products • Hygiene & Janitorial Supplies • Laundry Washroom Vending • Ma�ng • Municipality Cleaning Equipment • Paper Products • Pest Control • Safety Signs • Scrubber Dryers • Sweepers • Vacuum Cleaners • Washroom Products

Trinity Media Ventures India: +91 99 6901 7812 / +91 9769 555657 trinityworld@gmail.com • www.ih-expo.com May-June ’13

PROFILE

Leading Facility

Management Solutions P

radeep Raj Mehra, CEO & Managing Director, Walsons Facility Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is a management graduate, with 15 years of experience in the domain of facility management. Mehra brings with him a wealth of cross-functional and multifaceted industry expertise of over 38 years. During his successful professional journey he has held corporate responsibilities in leading corporate entities like TATA and Thapar, and also in G4S, an important security solutions group. Prior to his current role, Mehra revived G4S Facility Services (India) Pvt. Ltd., a facility management company of G4S. Under his dynamic leadership, the company became the largest facility management company in the organised sector in India, and achieving employee strength of approximately 17,000. Mehra is the Founder-Member of Indian Cleaning Companies Association, member of IFMA, and British Cleaning Institute. Mehra also has the distinction of being awarded Indira Gandhi Sadbhavna Award & Rajiv Gandhi Shiromani Award for his Outstanding Individual Achievements & Distinguished Services to the Nation, in 2007. He has also been felicitated with Business Leadership award for Industrial Development by Indian Economic Development and Research Association. His core competencies are in managing multi-functional large businesses in the areas of brand value enhancement, relationship management, facility management and in developing proďŹ table businesses. Excerpts of an interview follow: By Sharmila Chand

Kindly give a brief overview of Walsons Facility Solutions Pvt. Ltd.? We are a company which operates pan India and offers client-centric integrated facility management solutions and building maintenance services, under one roof. We are fully compliant to the

statuary obligations as per the Government norms. We adhere to proven & tested processes and systems and continual up gradation of technology, processes and methods to meet our clienteleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growing requirements. We have our network of national purchasing agreement with various suppliers of

products that we use.

What are your views on the current market scenario, pertaining to facility management solutions? The recognition of facility management is at a nascent stage and has a long way to go. A lot

May-June â&#x20AC;&#x2122;13

PROFILE of unorganised companies have come in to the Indian market who are providing the services while compromising on social norms.

Could you point out some crucial challenges which you face? Paucity of trained manpower is the major challenge these days. It is very difficult to get quality manpower. In addition, there is high attrition rate among the workers and the challenge of training unskilled staff. Also, local players are spoiling the market by taking away trained manpower by paying slightly more, and compromising on statutory compliances. How do you combat tough competition? Quality in housekeeping has become of utmost importance. To combat tough competition from various organised and unorganised players, we introduce innovation and

May-June â&#x20AC;&#x2122;13

evolution of new trends from time to time and ensure better services to the clients. We also follow all the statutory norms which the local players compromise on and we give more emphasis on client relation management.

What is your working philosophy? I focus towards providing clientcentric services, motivating the employees, and meeting the needs of the client on time.

Facilitating Businesses Walsons Facility Solutions has its expertise in providing comprehensive and integrated facility solutions to a wide range of customers, in various industry segments across the country. With the rapid development and growth of outsourcing business, Walsons has carved a niche by providing premium quality services through adoption of best practices of the service industry.

What are your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future plans? The company will continually endeavour to provide customercentric services and to enhance its technical capabilities, thereby resulting in better service delivery.

clients and seeing the company growing every day.

Anything else you would like to say? I feel a sense of pride and honour in delivering the services to the

How do you de-stress? I de-stress by doing transcendental meditation for 30 minutes every day.

CLEANING

Microfiber: the Superior

Mopping System By Abhay Desai

icrofiber was invented in the early 1980s in northern Europe and was introduced to the wor ld in 1986. This innovation was launched largely on account of environmental concerns as this technology reduces the usage of clean water and thereby less soiled water is put into the waste stream. Also the longer durability of the microﬁber mop entails that its usage will have a decrease in the solid waste from worn out cotton mops.

What is Microfiber? It is a man made fiber, not natural as cotton. It is a combination of two fibers polyester and polyamide. The best of microfiber should have 80 percent of polyester and 20 percent of polyamide. The polyester is the scrubbing and cleaning fiber and the polyamide is the absorbing and quick drying fiber. The thickness of the fiber is 0.13 deniers which is 1/100 th of a human hair. Normally a cross-section of the microfiber would reveal triangular cross-sections. These triangular cross-sections result in a clean dry surface when compared to an ordinary cotton mop. For cleaning purposes the microfiber carries an electrical static positive charge that draws dirt (negatively charged) into the center where cotton carries the dirt on the outside surface. The density of this material enables it to hold 6 times its weight in water. Macro Advantage of Microfiber Using conventional cotton loop or Kentucky mops for wet mopping o f a re a s h a s long been the standard in floor cleaning for janitorial operations. However, the industry

May-June ’13

CLEANING

has taken a recent interest in evaluating hard ﬂoor maintenance techniques in terms of employee, occupants and environmental health. To reduce the risk of crossc on t a m i n a t i on , c onv e n t i on a l mopping techniques requires janitors to change the cleaning solution after mopping every two or three rooms, which means that cleaning solutions (including chemicals and several gallons of water) are constantly being disposed off and replenished after cleaning of 2-3 rooms, which can lead to a huge waste reservoir of soiled water. This challenge needs to be tackled for satisfying the environmental considerations. Furthermore, reducing the risk of nosocomial infections or hospital acquired infections in hospitals is of utmost importance. Nosocomical infections are not only a threat in developing countries like India. According to the study of Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which was published in 2007, in the US an estimated 1.7 million hospital patients acquired hospital-

May-June ’13

associated infections. There are 80,000 deaths from nosocomial infections annually; 20,000 occur in the US alone. The costs per year for nosocomial infections since 1992 are in excess of $4.5 billion. Reducing the nosocomial infection rate can be facilitated with the utilisation of a new mop in each patient room. From a cleaning perspective something as simple as always having clean water in the bucket is also more appealing to the staff, patients and visitors.

A Microfiber Recipe for Cleaning Overall, the actual process of using the microfiber mops is a huge improvement over the conventional cotton mop process. Let us take the following example of microfiber mopping. The top down system using microfiber can consist of one 20 litre red and one 20 litre blue bucket, a set of 24 microfiber mops, a Velcro frame and a suitable handle and a trolley to carry the buckets. The blue bucket should be filled with approximately 4 litres of water and a suitable germicidal cleaning solution should be added to the same. The 20 mops are placed in the bucket and it should be covered with a hermetic cover and turned upside down. After a couple of hours, the

mops would have evenly absorbed the cleaning/disinfectant solution by osmosis. When mopping, a clean mop is taken out of the blue bucket, hand wrung out and dropped on the floor. Place the Velcro end of the mop head on the cloth and then mop the entire floor of the room with the same. To change the cloth stand on the ends of mop, pull the mop head and place it diagonally opposite on the cloth, pick it up and drop it in the red bucket. Now move on to the new room and then use another fresh mop for the same. There is no refilling or changing of the cleaning solution and the soiled microfiber cloth does not go back in the clean bucket. At the end, the soiled mops are send to the laundry for washing. Simply put, the basic advantages of the top down methods over the traditional way of mopping are: 1. No wringers required 2. No preparation of cleaning solution in the ward 3. No need for handling of dirty solution 4. Leads to weight reduction and less stress on the labour. The author is the Regional Sector Sales Director — BSC, AMAT, Diversey India Pvt. Ltd.

PEST MANAGEMENT

Tackling the Marching

An t s By Ashok Malkani

g r e a t m a n y movies have been made about t h e i nv a s i on o f extraterrestrial beings. But truth is not only stranger and quieter but can also be potentially more dangerous than ﬁction. Yes, a series of invasions does takes place within the four walls of your home and hearth by pint size invaders, whose stings are much more powerful than the thrill exuded from the ﬁctitious extraterrestrial beings. And truth can be simple and dangerous too. These tiny but powerful invaders are simply known as ants. Mention the dreaded word to any housewife and watch her

squirm as she recalls the day they ruined the sweets that she had made for her children. They can also get into clothes and vent their ire with their sting. The effect of unchecked ant invasion on food business can be disastrous. According to most surveys of pest management professionals, ants aren’t just a great pest problem. They are also responsible for the bulk of callbacks and revenue losses in businesses. The pest management professionals recommend an integrated approach for ant control to tackle the giant problem of ants. Ants are attracted to sweets, and sugar is possibly the most important reason for an army of ants to march into your home, but they do have a fairly impressive range of foods. They eat all that human

beings eat, and more. Besides sweets, they do feed on greasy materials, starchy substances, wood, and all kinds of plant and animal materials. Ants are also useful as they eat up all organic waste and dead materials but sometimes their nuisance value prevents us from gauging their usefulness in nature.

United We Stand One can safely say that ants are among the most successful insects in the ecology. According to the estimation by the experts, there could be 20,000 or more species of ants in the world. Ants cover a wide variety of ecological roles and serve as predators, herbivores, leaf-cutters, seed-harvesters, aphid- tenders, and fungus-growers. They are found in rainforests and mountains, deserts and valleys; they are also abundant in homes, restaurants, offices, warehouses and other buildings where they can find food and water. Preventing their invasion is not easy,

May-June ’13

though not impossible. Individually an ant may not be powerful, but a colony of ants certainly is. Ants are social insects, and their organised colonies are the sources of their strength. A colony of ants may often contain millions of ants. Sometimes colonies of invasive ant species coalesce into super-colonies, spanning a fairly wide area. Ant colonies are sometimes described as super-organisms because they often do operate as a single entity. Black ants and red ants are the most common form of ants. Red ants have a greater propensity to bite human beings. The red ants are so called because of the ﬁery pain their sting causes. In fact, only a few types of ants sting, which include the native ﬁre ants and harvesting ants. Like other ants, they too bite with their pincer like jaws. Ants bite the skin of the human beings, injecting poison into the body. Ants use their tiny sizes to their advantage by entering into the homes through the smallest of cracks or openings. Therefore, the pest control of ants is challenging. They enter the homes for food and shelter. One sure way of keeping the ants away is through ensuring that they have nothing to eat in the house, which as you have guessed, is easier said than done. Unlike the imperfect human society, the more perfect society of ants is female dominated. A colony of ant consists of an egg-laying female, who is known as the queen, short-lived males, and sterile female workers and soldiers. The queen is generally the largest ant in a given ant colony. The queen ants are endowed with wings

May-June ’13

till her mating flight, after which she removes them. Reproduction is the primary function of the queen, but after establishing a new nest she may also care for and feed the first bunch of workers. According to a pest application specialist, “A new colony is typically established by a single newly mated queen. After weeks or months of confinement underground, she lays her first eggs.” However, eventually she becomes an egg-laying machine, cleaned and fed by her offspring. She is succeeded by the daughter queen. It is worth noting that some ant species have more than one queen in their nest. Male ants are generally winged and usually keep their wings till they reach their deaths. It seems that the male ants’ only function is to mate with the queen. After copulating, they die…generally within two weeks. The sterile female ants are wingless, and they carry the burden of work. They construct and repair the nest, feed both immature and adult ants, including the queen. They also defend the nest. The sterile female ants are classified as workers and soldiers, and come in varied sizes. They specialise in certain tasks. Ants go through a comprehensive life cycle comprising egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The egg is tiny; almost microscopic in size. The larva is legless and grub-like, very soft and whitish in colour. The survival of larva depends entirely on workers, who nourish it with food and care. The pupa looks somewhat like the adult but is soft, is not pigmented, and is devoid of the power of movement. Some pupas are enclosed in a cocoon, while some are

PEST MANAGEMENT invasion. The time of the inspection is also important. For example, some of the ant species are most active in the evening, and for them, an inspection at the broad daylight might unearth very little about their menace.

not. A new born adult ant requires several days for its body to harden and darken.

Knowing to Counter Like human civilisation, the civilisation of ants too gets spread and eroded. After the maturation of a colony of ants, the ants often establish new colonies through various methods. Most common among them are budding and swarming. The appropriate management strategy to counter ants depends on how an ant colony spreads, and therefore it is essential to correctly identify the ant species before deciding how to manage it. Perhaps the most effective and easy way of ant control is through elimination of the queen/s and the nest itself. If the nest is found by tracking workers, or through a survey, eliminating that nest is fairly simple. Ants feed on storage food and as well as food and drink from spills and garbage. They may also be devouring other insects or go for scavenging of dead insects accumulated in windows or lights. The knowledge of food habits of the invading ant species is crucial to ant management, because it may facilitate the location and removal of food that is attracting the ants to the site. This knowledge can also help to locate foraging trails to track the ants back to their nest, and it can help to select on an effective bait. The identification of the ant species might also facilitate to determine where the nest might be located, what the ants might be feeding on, and the best tactics to be employed for the prevention of their

Baits to Prevent Countering some ant infestations might entail an intensive survey program employing non toxic baits to locate the nesting sites. Some of the good non toxic baits are honey, jelly, bacon grease, peanut butter, or raw liver. Baits or a combination of baits on small pieces of cardboard, aluminum foil, masking tape, or plastic pill bottle lids could be placed throughout the facility. These baits should also be checked on a periodic basis, and baits that do not experience any feeding activity within 24 hours should be removed or moved to another area. Over a period of days, the survey diagram will pinpoint areas of ant activity. In addition, trails of ants feeding on the bait can sometimes be tracked to the nest site. One can say that almost any kind of ant problem can be effectively countered through four steps. Firstly, the nature and the extent of ant inspection must be surveyed, and if possible, the nest or nests should be located. Here baits can play an important role. Then stringent sanitation exercise should be employed to remove food and water from the easy access of the invading ants. Like all pests, ants

need food, water, and shelter to survive. By limiting these essentials, you make it more difﬁcult for ants to live in the infested area. This may induce them to change their habitats. If these two steps don’t lead to the desired results, then a right combination of tools should be exercised to eliminate the menace of ants from the home or the facility. In this regard, insecticides mixed with materials which attract worker ants can be used as effective baits. So we can infer that not only in detection of ant nests but also in their elimination baits do play a very important role.

A Comprehensive Exercise Thereafter, the necessary structural repairs should also be carried out to prevent their future access. Caulking and sealing of cracks and crevices used by ants can prevent their future entry. Here it deserves a mention that in the recent years, many easyto-use and effective silicon sealers and expandable caulk products have been developed; some of them are designed specifically for pest management. Succinctly, all said and done, long-term management of ants in your home or a public facility may require a combination of improved sanitation, habitat modification, structural repairs, along with one or more direct control tactics such as insecticide baits, crack and crevice treatments, and direct physical controls. Chemical tools for controlling ants have also changed in the recent years. Insect growth regulators, new baits, commercial bait stations have come up. But still it is better to consider the zoology of ants before employing insecticides. Often using insecticides is not the most efficient or important of the ways to control the ants. Of late, scientists have identified four new species of brain-controlling fungi in Brazilian rainforests that can kill carpenter ants. Identified from samples collected at two sites in Brazil’s tropical rainforests, each of the four species of fungi specialises in controlling a different species of carpenter ants. ■

May-June ’13

LAUNDRY



Kill Stains

emoval of stains from the fabric is one of the daily challenges which a laundry manager faces. These days the challenge can be catered to by the spotting machines. Without these machines, the role of a laundry manager, particularly in a busy five-star hotel becomes an uphill task, for cleaning tough stains manually turns out to be an extremely labour intensive, time consuming, and often an irritating process. However, despite its obvious beneﬁts, its application in the Indian market has not shown encouraging responses over time.

Spotting machines are a handy weapon in the cleaning industry to eliminate stubborn stains. Its projectile stain gun releases forceful pressure of steam and ultrasonic vibrations, which facilitates to clear off tough and irritating stains of persistent nature, without the exertion of physical labour. The use of stain gun also saves a lot of valuable time. Its use also eliminates the possibility of damage to the fabric, which manual washing of tough stains may give rise to. The vibrations loosen the strength of the stain, and the steam ﬂushes the steam particles away. The projectile stain gun of the spotting machine is self-contained and compact, and its usage is easy. In terms of looks, the contour of the spotting machine is not much different from a gun. It constitutes a nozzle, two trigger buttons and three paddles. One button is meant for jet speed steam while the other is meant for ejecting high-pressure air. Steam, air and suction are indicated on the three paddles of the spotting machine. The suction part usually pertains to a blower machine of half horsepower (hp). The powerful suction can dry out the fabric immediately after eliminating the stain. The cleaning process with the spotting machine involves some easy steps. The laundry professionals use various solvents and chemicals on the stained fabric, and then apply

the gun on the stains. First of all, the spotted fabric should be put on a net-board and then the stain should be scraped with a scraper tool. After that, appropriate chemical, which is compatible to the fabric, should be applied on the stain. If the chemical happens to be too strong for the fabric, it should be diluted before its application on the fabric. The colour and thickness of the fabric must also be taken into account before the application of the chemical. In the third step, the spotting machine enters the scene. After you push the button of the machine, jet speed steam would be ejected from the machine. The spotting machine should be positioned straight on the stain. The steam almost immediately diffuses the grip of stain on the fabric. Then you can press the air button, which releases the air on the wet area, thereby removing any

May-June ’13

LAUNDRY traces of stain from the fabric, by diffusing and discharging it into the atmosphere. Thereafter, vacuum the wet part of the fabric and dry it out. The cleaning process usually takes 90 to 120 seconds in case of normal stain, and near about four minutes in the case of stubborn stain. In the case of tough stain, the cleaning process i s re p e a t e d t w i c e . However, be careful of not overdoing the cleaning act, by using the projectile stain gun on the garment more than twice for cleaning one particular stain, as it may damage the texture of the fabric. Usually, spotting machines are capable of removing one stain at a time. It can also dry out the part immediately after the stain is completely eliminated from the fabric. During the machine’s cycle, pneumatic clamps automatically close in the front and back of the garment. Then side expanders come out to shape the sides of the garment. Once the steam cycle begins, the form moves up slightly to hold the garment under tension, creating a high quality finish. Though in India, spotting machines are widely used in export houses and hospitals, but their usage in the five star hotels of India has still, by and large, not attracted the desired acceptability. It is lamentable that many five star hotels still try to eliminate stains manually, through the help of various stain removing chemicals. Moreover, most of the industrial laundry operations in India still take the manual route. But at the same time, one has to infer from the figures that the demand for spotting machines is showing an increase in the hospitality industry. Especially in the hospitality industry, where restaurant linen and kitchen garments are always prone to get stained, the utility of spotting machines cannot be overstated. Presently, there are various models of spotting machines available in the market. The new-age spotting machines are equipped with a computer ised system. Moreover, almost all new-age spotting machines have heat pumps that use distillation vapours to back up the primary heat pump, resulting in minimum energy consumption with electrical heating. The new features also include an electronic voltage regulator that prevents problems caused by voltage fluctuations. All switching inside the machine, except for the motor, is done in low voltage.

May-June ’13

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IAQ

Exhaust Hotel’s Kitchens

for

By Kanishka Gupta

otels generally are large properties which generally have the presence of a large floating population of guests with a substantial number of in-house employees. Restaurants in hotels as well as stand-alone restaurants too have a large floating population of guests, and an array of staff. Due to space constraints and to minimise capital expenditure, hotels and restaurants in urban as well as non urban areas are mostly constructed on a modest area of land where the management tries to fit in as many facilities as possible. One such facility is the exhaust system.

systems remove odours and this process improves indoor air quality, which also includes indoor air quality of restaurant kitchens,” informed Rajat Jaitly, Chief Engineer, The Park, New Delhi. In hotels’ kitchens the presence and the use of burners, stoves, boilers, etc. has the potential to generate a great amount of unwanted fumes, vapours and odours which are required to be eliminated from the air, in order to safeguard the health of the staff and as well as the guests. In this regard, an exhaust system is of crucial importance. Without a good exhaust system, a hotel’s kitchen or any other commercial kitchen is expected to have lots of harmful fumes and smoke, and the heat in the kitchens would be unbearable. All these would lead to extremely uncomfortable and hazardous conditions for the kitchen workers and as well as the guests. “Exhaust systems are of great importance for modern kitchens of

today. They keep away fumes and vapours and stop smoke generation. So, a proper working exhaust system holds the key to a good and clean kitchen, and creates proper working conditions for the kitchen staff,” explained Sandeep Tanwar, Executive Chef, The Metropolian Hotel & Spa, New Delhi. Imagine a scenario where a hotel does not have a proper exhaust system. Then the indoor areas like lobby, atrium, guest rooms, restaurants and kitchens would have polluted air and this would greatly affect the efﬁciency of the staff in the hotel besides posing as a big health hazard. “Installation of exhaust systems in a hotel has many advantages like giving fresh air, and imparting a feel of natural climate in the hotel, etc.,” added Tanwar.

AC Factor Moreover, these days most of the decent hotels are air-conditioned; keeping in mind the discerning tastes of the guests. In such a scenario, ensuring pure and fresh air quality, proper ventilation and keeping the kitchens properly aerated is an important task. In any dedicated air-conditioning system, a good exhaust system is of prime importance. Since in AC systems, the treated air generally moves in via ducts which are ﬁtted

For Comfort and Safety “Exhaust system plays a very vital role in maintaining the freshness of air for guestrooms, kitchens and restaurants, and also regulates the overall ventilation system. Exhaust

May-June ’13

IAQ in different ﬂoors of the hotel, exhaust systems play a vital role in treating and purifying the air. “Exhaust system is an essential part of HVAC. To keep the air-conditioned areas fresh and ventilated we have to provide the system with supply of fresh air Sandeep and exhaust air as per the design parameters of HVAC,” elaborated Saurav Dutta, Executive Assistant Manager, Radisson Blu, Kaushambi, Delhi NCR. “Exhaust system for guest rooms in our hotel is done with heat recovery wheel. In heat recovery wheel, exhaust air of the guest rooms is used to pre cool the fresh air. Then this air is passed through air handling unit. Exhaust system for the kitchen is accompanied with treated fresh air as per designed ventilation system,” explained Dutta. He informed that for guest rooms his hotel require heat recovery wheel, in order to save energy.

Features and Installation Exhaust systems must be located in open and spacious areas so that they can have easy access to clean and fresh air which can then be cooled and pumped in the hotel rooms. It is important that the area surrounding the exhaust system is clean and there are no unpleasant odours and it is free of smoke, smog, or dust. “Exhaust system must be accompanied with appropriate supply of fresh air. The main advantages of exhaust system are that it enhances the freshness of the area,” added Dutta. The exhaust systems come with a number of key features, advantages and benefits. “For the main kitchen, we have two speed exhaust motors which can be adjusted as per the requirement, depending upon the kitchen load. Duct cleaning for the main Rajat kitchen is done on

May-June ’13

Tanwar

yearly basis as per ISO-22000 and fire safety norms. Also the exhaust air generated from kitchen & generators is connected to wet scrubber to prevent air pollution. We record stack temperature of our machinery to monitor their efficiency on a regular basis,”

elaborated Jaitly Installation of exhaust systems is a complex task and requires a high degree of expertise and engineering skills. “We have ducting inside the shafts connecting each guest room. These ducts from shafts are connected to the main duct on terrace, connecting the exhaust unit. For the main kitchen we have separate exhaust with exhaust hoods in areas,” pointed out Jaitly. Sound level of the exhaust, its installation process, energ y efficiency of the unit, area required by the unit, the length of ducting are only some of the factors which should be kept in mind while designing the exhaust systems. “Exhaust Saurav system for our main kitchen is accompanied with treated fresh air as per designed ventilation system,” proffered Dutta. “For installation of the exhaust system, ﬁrst we have to check the load of the installation process, and connection of inlet and outlet. After that, we need to check the direction of blower, sound levels and labeling of the exhaust system,” asserted Tanwar. He views that “the usage areas, location, load factor, and environment friendliness including energy efficiency,” are the Jaitly aspects which need

to be taken care of while installing an exhaust system. Hotels are constructed across different geographies, on different sizes of plots and in different architectural styles. Thus the type of exhaust system to be used by hotels depends on these factors too. Different types of exhaust systems are available in the market and there are a number of different dealers and suppliers for the exhaust systems. However, choosing a dealer or a supplier of an exhaust system is an expertise in itself and requires careful planning and approach.

Choosing the Supplier “We refer to various applications for which exhaust systems are required, based on the inlet air quality and various installation factors. We chose our supplier based on his work capacity, availability of options, product t e c h n o l o g y, t h e quality of the exhaust system that the supplier is offering, product life, energy efficiency, how the system ﬁts into our application, its warranty and costing, etc. Also past performance and client list is used as a criteria for Dutta our choosing a given system,” articulated Jaitly. “The supplier should have authorised dealership of the exhaust system. He has to take the ownership of the after sales service after the proper installation and commissioning, and last but not the least the rate must be competitive,” pointed out Dutta, when asked about his hotel’s expectations from the suppliers of the exhaust systems. He believes that scrubber exhaust system is ideal for restaurant kitchens, for hotels. “While buying an exhaust system, we check factors like efficiency, quality and after sales service and energy consumption factor. We buy our systems from a supplier who can give us a good quality exhaust at reasonable prices with proper ISI marks, etc.,” concluded Tanwar. ■

HYGIENE

Hygienic Food Storage By Asha Gupta

ith tonnes of food getting wasted every year due to improper storage techniques across the world, the time is critical now to educate masses on using proper storage containers and imbibe pertinent storage methods to safeguard food and enhance the health of the society. Important to note herein is that a research by Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations has indicated that food items which are stored right have more nutrients and are healthier than food items stored in an unsafe manner. The way food is stored and maintained goes a long way in retaining its nutritional value and energy content, thus helping the family, especially the children to derive maximum nourishment out of it. It is lamentable that a signiﬁcant chunk of our population in India is unaware of proper food storage techniques in its kitchen. Proper food storage needs the right utensil and container, and also the right attitude. Food, like any other organic elements on earth, needs proper handling for its longevity, and food generally tends to deteriorate faster in the harsh summer season. Food and nutrition experts concur that storing food ingredients rightly prevents the growth of bacteria a n d mould that can cause food-borne illnesses,

especially in summers, when the chances of food getting contaminated is the highest. Therefore food storage during summers is still more crucial. Containers which help retain freshness and keep out moisture are the ones which can increase longevity of food products. They are useful in all seasons, but in summers their usage is extremely crucial for keeping the illness at bay. They on the one hand help maintain the health of the families at a micro level, and on the other hand, facilitate to ﬁght the scarcity of food at the macro level. Care should be taken to store food in food grade containers, which would facilitate maintaining the freshness levels of the food items and in turn will help the consumers derive maximum or optimum nutrition from them. Moreover, these containers should be kept clean all the time. Different food products like vegetables, pulses, rice and curries should be kept separately in airtight containers to retain their

freshness.

The Tupperware Touch Containers such as Tupperware’s Dry Storage range are one of the best storage containers available in the market. While Tupperware’s Dry Storage range helps storing food for a longer period of time, it also facilitates in keeping a check on infestation and mouldings thereby saving cereals and pulses from spoiling over a prolonged period of storage. Other range of containers from Tupperware includes the Classic lunch set for children, which helps packing lunch for them in a safe and nutritious manner; thus aiding in up-keeping the health of children in summers, wherein most of the children tend to fall ill due to unhealthy food. The lunch set range, which features food-grade air-tight containers, is safe to store food and is also relevant to an environment like India where atmosphere conditions tend to spoil food quite quickly. They are made from safe, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic materials and do not release harmful chemicals to food or liquid contents. These

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HYGIENE lunch containers are certified according to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) & Japan Polyolefin Hygienic Association standards.

Storage and Food Handling Tips While keeping food stored in the right container is one of the major factors towards maintaining hygiene and nutrition, one should also always keep in mind a few additional safe storage and food handling tips, which are extremely relevant during summers. These tips can be of help to the restaurant business too, and complement good storage options. Fruits, vegetables and other ingredients like pulses and rice should be thoroughly washed with cold water before being used for cooking. Also, meat and poultry products should be stored under deep freezing, which helps in retaining the juices and nutrient of the meat products for a longer period of time. Also, food items should be

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consumed within their lifecycle as consuming them after their shelf life is over can be unhealthy. In summers, food items do tend to get spoilt over the day and one should therefore prefer to prepare food in a way so that it can be consumed over the space of a few hours. This should be especially kept in mind if the refrigeration facilities are not adequate at the outlet, such as in roadside eating joints. In summers, it is advisable to use food products which have a longer shelf life. Products whose shelf lives are approximately one year or so should be preferred over products which barely can be kept for a week or so. In summers, for food stored under refrigeration, appropriate cooling levels should be maintained to keep the food products safe. Food products which have a shorter shelf life should preferably be stored under refrigeration in summers, as without refrigeration, the chances of

them getting spoiled over is greater over a period of time, especially during summers. Succinctly, with the combination of right equipment and effective preventive measures, food storage in India can be much more effective than it is now. This in turn could enhance the health quotient of the society, and bolster our food security. It should be remembered that though food storage is more crucial during summers, it is necessary for all seasons, and its continuous adherence is a necessity for a healthy society and economy. Author is the Managing Director, Tupperware India Private Limited and Area Vice President, Nutrimetics Austrialia and Tupper ware Phillipines.

HEALTH

India Needs to Improve its Health T he rampant lack of quality healthcare and hygienic practices in the country is one of the crucial issues challenging India’s growth towards development. Though the Indian healthcare industry, which was valued at 79 billion USD in 2012

and is expected to reach 160 USD billion by 2017, has great potential, but at the ground level; that is as far as its addressing the concerns of the common people of the country are concerned, its performance has been poor. Even today, India, which is aspiring to become a knowledge economy, has an alarming maternal mortality rate of 200 per 100,000 live births in a year (for the US it is slightly more than 12). Our infant mortality is equally pathetic; it is 46.07 deaths/1,000 live births in a year.

An Unhealthy Scenario According to the State of the World’s Mothers report by Save the Children, 29 percent of all ﬁrst-day deaths across the world do take place in our country. According to the same report, which covers 186 countries, in India, due to infections and other preventable causes, each year more than 300,000 infants meet their highly untimely deaths within 24 hours of being born. These

By Swarnendu Biswas are not mere statistics but colossal human tragedies. Here it deserves a mention that Save the Children is an independent organisation creating lasting change in the lives of children in need around the world. However, such a scenario, though distressing, is hardly surprising in

a country where public healthcare infrastructure is in a sorry state, malnutrition is rampant, feminine hygiene is a perpetually neglected issue, and basic conditions for public hygiene are often not being met. Even today, most of the rural India have limited or lack of quality medical care. According to the Economic Survey 2013, the country spends only 4.1 percent of its GDP on health. However, even among that spend 70 percent of is channelised from private

spending. In most cases, the private spend on healthcare is because of poor government healthcare infrastructure in the country, as many Indians can barely afford the costs of private healthcare. The shortage in India’s healthcare not only pertains to the scarcity of quality healthcare institutions and equipments, but also of human resource. India may be moving fast to become a haven for medical tourism for the well-heeled foreign tourists, but at the same time it has an acute shortage of qualiﬁed doctors and other healthcare professionals, particularly in rural and underserved areas. According to Association of Healthcare Providers (India), the country needs at least 1.5 lack gynaecologists. The country has one anesthetist for every 30,000 people, and according to the noted cardiac surgeon Dr. Devi Shetty, India has one radiologist per one lakh persons as compared to ten per one lakh persons in USA. Here it deser ves a mention that Association of Healthcare Providers (India) represents the majority of healthcare providers in India. It works as a ‘not for proﬁt’ organisation and advocates with the government, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders on issues, which have bearing on enabling its member organisations to deliver appropriate healthcare services to community at large. The appalling standards of healthcare infrastructure in India are complemented by its lack of concern towards public hygiene. In a country experiencing revolution in mobile phone connectivity, toilet is still an elusive facility for many. On top of that our public toilets are often seen

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HEALTH steps like hand washing with soap, particularly after contact with excreta, can reduce diarrhoeal diseases by over 40 percent and respiratory infections by 30 percent. These ser ious problems in our healthcare and hygiene can be addressed only through the concerted forces of the Union and

professionals should be given much greater monetary incentive from state governments for working in their rural and underserved areas, which I think would give underserved areas access to quality medical professionals. For this, of course, the GDP spend on healthcare must be substantially increased.

the state government measures, sustained corporate endeavours towards affordable healthcare and hygiene, and proactive efforts by civil society and NGOs. Otherwise, despite showing impressive growths, our healthcare sector would not help to prevent our society from an emergency situation in the near future.

It goes without saying that effective sanitation measures can easily prevent a health catastrophe from happening. For making comprehensive sanitation infrastructure a reality, private e n t re p re n e u r s s h o u l d t r y t o introduce affordable bio-toilets and affordable water filters in the market in a big way, which can address the challenges of open defecation and clean water to a great extent. The affordability of hygienic solutions in India can be heightened if state governments (since health is a state subject, the state governments should be more proactive in this regard) choose to subsidise some select bio-toilets and water filters for the urban and rural poor. Installing bio-toilets in urban slums, whose cost can be borne by the slum dwellers themselves, can also help address this perilous situation. However, at the same time, public toilets should maintain exacting housekeeping standards through an array of expert personnel and continual supply of toiletries, and the civil society groups, media and NGOs should keep a close watch over the fact that the disposal and recycling of solid and e-waste in a given city/locality is being carried out by the concerned authorities in a sustained and scientific manner. If all the edifices of our society act in tandem along with substantial budget allocation for healthcare and hygiene, we in India can easily tackle our present health and hygiene crisis. ■

teeming with ﬁlth, leaving room for a number of diseases to enter the body constitution of their users.

Sanitation Challenges According to the UNICEF, 638 million people in the country defecate in the open which accounts for more than 50 percent of the country’s population. This leaves a high risk of microbial contamination of water. If we can improve our state of public healthcare and hygiene lots of deaths can be prevented, but it is lamentable that as recently as 2008, according to the UNICEF, only 21 percent of rural Indian population used improved sanitation facilities, and only 31 percent of India’s population used improved sanitation. According to the same international body, only a quarter the total population in India has drinking water on their premise. Water-borne diseases affect around 37.7 million Indians annually, and during 2010, diarrhea accounted for 13 percent of child deaths in India. Close to 400,000 children in India die of diarrhea annually, and many of these deaths are easily preventable. Now if you couple this information with the fact that an estimated 88 percent of deaths due to diarrhea across the globe could be attributed to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene, you can very easily surmise that the gross neglect to our sanitation and hygiene is almost criminal. Besides the humanitarian loss, the huge loss of potential human resource that this statistics entails can only be imagined. It is to be noted that diarrhea and respiratory infections, which are often caused due to unsafe hygienic practices like unsafe drinking water and air pollution, are the major causes for children’s deaths in India. According to the UNICEF, simple

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Much Needed Endeavours We not only need more and better private funded hospitals but also need to ensure that the spread of quality healthcare infrastructure created with public-private endeavours have a much more even rural-urban distribution than it does have today. Yes, many would argue that how can poor people afford quality healthcare, but this can be substantially borne through compulsor y medic al insurance of a meager amount of say Rs.10 per month from every Indian household. The rest can be borne by increasing the government’s budget on healthcare. Technological advances like telemedicine should also gain greater penetration in the realms of Indian healthcare through private-public endeavours, which can facilitate making world class healthcare advice accessible to the underprivileged sections of India at affordable costs. Timely help through telemedicine facilities can easily prevent many incidences of preventable maternal and infant mortalities in India. At the same time, the healthcare

PRODUC T P R E V I E W BRUSHING UP MATTERS

Generally the brush filling industry consists of household brushes and industrial brushes. Both these segments have different brushes for various applications. The ideal machine depends on the product mix that the customer would like to cater to. Borghi India’s Alpha 113, which is a Three Axis model one filling, one drilling machine, is ideal for making both household and industrial brushes. Here it deserves a mention that Borghi India, a joint venture between Borghi Italy and Satellite Plastic Industries, India, is engaged in the production of state-ofthe-art brush filling machines. Borghi India has three different options in the household brushes segment. The first option comprises Radial Brushes which are flat and plain. The second option comprises Round Brushes like the round head toilet brushes and the third is Double Hockey, which is fast gaining popularity in the Indian market. Borghi Brush Machinery Pvt. Ltd. borghi.india@gmail.com

A MAESTRO TO FLOOR YOU

Nutech Group’s new single disc machine named Partek Maestro is well suited for medium to heavy scrubbing, polishing, crystallisation and buffing jobs on marble, granite, mosaic, kota, vinyl and PVC floors. The single disc rotary machine with maintenance free three planetary gear drives ensures it with high performance and long life. The machine is balanced, has a powerful motor with maintenance free planetary gear drive along with safety features. With additional weights, it is also suitable for carpet shampooing & wood treatment crystallisation. The machine has many user-friendly features. It has abrasion-proof bumper, low vibration and low noise levels, and is endowed with smooth start. Adjustable handle bar, removable weight & a foldable handle, easy change of brushes, low wear connection system (metal) which allows the machine with an impressive durability, and robust planetary gear are other important features of the machine. Nutech Jetting Equipments India Pvt. Ltd. info@nutechgroup.org

CLEANING FROM THE ROOTS

PD 43 is a versatile single disk polishing machine from Roots Multiclean. The Roots PD 43 single disc machine is a wonderfully efficient high torque belt driven machine. It comes with a 320 RPM motor which offers quiet and vibration free operations. The machine’s chassis is strong and fitted with large wheels for facilitating easy transportation. The handle is fitted with multiple safety features like Dead Man Switch, Vertical Handle Lock & Switch Locking Bottom. The feature of simple loading and unloading of brushes makes it a pleasure working with the PD 43. The machine is ideal for dry buffing and polishing, and is an efficient work horse for daily cleaning purposes too. The PD 43 also comes with a Solution Tank and a Pad Holder, as part of a standard package. Roots Multiclean Ltd. rmclsales@rootsemail.com

MULTIFUNCTIONAL RECESS PANEL

An uncluttered and clean washroom with all the necessary accessories is what everyone looks for as one enters it. The multifunctional recess panel can be immensely useful in meeting this legitimate and yet exacting wish of the guests. Kinox-KMR 2N Multi-Functional Recess Panel and Kinox-KPD Multi-Functional Recess Panel of Euronics are two such useful products that can easily bestow a savvy and elegant aura to an otherwise cluttered washroom. Made of fabricated stainless steel with satin finish, both the products are designed to be durable and steady. The Kinox-KMR 2N Multi-Functional Recess Panel is equipped with a paper dispenser, auto hand dryer and a waste container. The paper towel panel of the recess panel can hold 800 multifold or c-fold paper towels. Operated by infrared sensor, the auto hand dryer can quickly dry the hands. The removable waste container has a capacity of 16 litres. The Kinox-KPD Multi-Functional Recess Panel comes with a paper container of similar capacity, but with a waste container of double the capacity of Kinox-KMR 2N. Euronics Industries info@euronics.co.in

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

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BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

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

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I N D E X

COMPANY

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AMAN CLEANING EQUIPMENTS PVT. LTD.

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KARCHER CLEANING SYSTEM PVT. LTD.

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APPLIANCES EMPORIUM

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MIRACLEAN TOOLS (P) LIMITED

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

ATLANTIC PASTE & GLUE CO., INC.

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

NAVIN POLYCON

......................08

BORGHI BRUSH MACHINERY PVT. LTD.

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NUTECH JETTING EQUIPMENTS INDIA PVT. LTD.

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

COSMIC HEALERS PVT. LTD.

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PEST CONTROL (INDIA) PVT. LTD.

......................09

DIVERSEY INDIA PVT. LTD.

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QUARTZ HOME CARE (I) PVT. LTD.

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ELECTROLUX PROFESSIONAL INDIA

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RAMSONS GARMENTS FINISHING EQUIPMENT PVT. LTD. ................FIC

FM CONNECTIONS 2013

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ROOTS MULTICLEAN LTD.

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GRAND CHEMICAL WORKS

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SINTEX INDUSTRIES LIMITED

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

HEATEX BOILERS (INDIA) PVT. LTD.

......................37

SNOOZER BEDDING LTD.

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IFB INDUSTRIES LTD.

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

SUPESHINE LAUNDRY SYSTEMS PVT. LTD.

......................07

IH EXPO 2013

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UNIQUE TRADING COMPANY

......................39

INDOLITE DEVICES PVT. LTD.

......................51

WASHROOM HYGIENE CONCEPTS PVT. LTD.

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

JMR CHEMICAL (WORLD)

......................47

PRODUCT PREVIEW

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* BC - BACK COVER

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* GF-GATE FOLD

* FIC - FRONT INSIDE COVER

* BIC - BACK INSIDE COVER

INTERVIEW

Passionate About Hospitality P

assionate about the hospitality industry, Himanshu Kumar, Deputy Executive Housekeeper, The Claridges, New Delhi, thoroughly enjoys his work. With over 10 years of experience in the realm of housekeeping, Kumar began his career from Club Mahindra Resort, Goa. He worked with Radisson White Sands Resort till 2005 and then joined Goa Marriott Resort and Spa. Kumar joined The Claridges, New Delhi in 2007, as the Housekeeping Supervisor. Kumar did his internship from The Leela Palace, Goa. He also won various awards such as the ‘Best Manager of the Year 2012’ at The Claridges, New Delhi. Kumar has been actively involved in training the team members, in controlling and maintaining hygiene quality standards, in budget planning and cost control measures, etc. By Sharmila Chand

How important in your opinion is housekeeping to hospitality? Good housekeeping translates into spic and span cleanliness, maintenance and upkeep of rooms, public areas, back areas and the surroundings. The aim of housekeeping in a facility is to provide the guests/visitors with clean, attractive, comfortable and welcoming surroundings that offer value for money. Especially for the hospitality industry, the role of housekeeping cannot be overemphasised. In the hospitality industry cleanliness sends a strong message. Guests rightly think that a clean hotel is a necessary factor for it to command a decent room rent. The housekeeping department of the hotel should always strive to keep the hotel clean and comfortable so as to create a home away from home feeling among the guests. What is the method of housekeeping operations at your hotel? Our service standards are almost the same as any other international level hotel, but our housekeeping department always believes in going an extra mile and making our guests’ stay more worthwhile by providing some small personal touches during the service. What are the new trends in housekeeping in the country? Please comment on the latest

housekeeping scenario in India. Technology has introduced a sea change in the efﬁciency and product quality of the housekeeping in the country.

housekeeping department? I look for a positive approach towards work, willingness to learn, and most importantly an eye for detail.

Housekeeping, as complex as the function, requires rigorous training. How much of an emphasis does the hotel where your present tenure is, place on this? We at Claridges, New Delhi has always given emphasis on training as there is a direct co-relation between clean, neat and orderly workplace and a safe and successful organisation. Training improves productivity and quality and reﬂects an image of a well run successful organisation, and also facilitates in boosting the morale of the team.

What is the role of the housekeeping staff in the context of security of the hotel? Housekeeping is the department which has access to every guest room so the integrity and sincerity of the housekeeping staff in hotels is very important. On the guest ﬂoor, housekeeping is the only source of security which keeps eyes on strangers and their activities. Housekeeping staff in hotels gets trained to follow the procedure of safety and security of the guests.

How does India compare with the international scenario with regards to housekeeping? Claridges has already achieved the quality of any good international chain, at least as far as housekeeping is concerned. In India, good international quality resources in the domain of housekeeping equipments, chemicals are easily available in the market; only the mindset of the people needs to change towards housekeeping as a profession. What elements you take into account to recruit staff in the

Any other input you would like to give in the context of housekeeping at The Claridges, New Delhi? Our housekeeping believes in creating homely environment for every guest by providing personalised services. What are the challenges you have to face in your day-to-day job responsibilities? Exceeding the guests’ expectation every time takes a different and innovative approach, which is challenging. What is your take on your job? Here everyday is a challenge and it has to be taken in the right perspective.

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

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