February/March 2019

The pan-European magazine for the professional cleaning sector

FEBRUARY/ MARCH 2019

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CASE STUDY

SPECIAL REPORT

HEALTHCARE

Business companies taking the lead in saving the planet Page 49

Farnborough air show

The invisible workforce

High risk surfaces

Page 44

Page 35

Page 29

CONTENTS

February/March 2019 | Vol.27, No.1

BUSINESS

SPECIAL REPORTS

49 Business to save the planet?

29 A touching bedside scenario

Companies are taking the lead in reducing their environmental impact, says Hartley Milner.

Which healthcare surfaces pose the greatest infection risk?

35 The invisible workforce How invisible are cleaners and what is being done by employers to tackle it?

40 Moving the goalposts How are manufacturers reducing the impact of moving goods around?

44 Teamwork in action How Stadium Support Services cleaned during the Farnborough Airshow.

03 News

51 The Cleaning Show A look ahead to the London cleaning exhibition taking place in March.

13 European reports

57 The age of shared workspace As flexible working becomes the norm, hygiene regimes need to be adapted.

23 ECH Award winners

59 The human touch Does having a new scrubber dryer inspire a sense of pride in the operator?

Criterion Publishing Ltd PO Box 299, Chesham, Buckinghamshire HP5 1FP UK T +44 (0)1494 791222 F +44 (0)1494 792223 info@europeancleaningjournal.com www. europeancleaningjournal.com Subscriptions UK - £60 / Continental Europe - £70 / International - £80

Editor Michelle Marshall Features Writer Ann Laffeaty Advertisement director Chris Godman Advertisement sales executive Laura Bell

Circulation Marie Payne

Italy, Spain & Switzerland Fabio Potesta Mediapoint & Communications Corte Lambruschini, Corso Buenos Aires, 8 V0 Piano, Interno 7 16129 Genova, Italy T +39 010 570 4948 F +39 010 553 0088 info@mediapointsrl.it www. mediapointsrl.it

European Cleaning Journal is published six times a year by Criterion Publishing Ltd. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in European Cleaning, Criterion Publishing Ltd and its agents can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors, manufacturers or advertisers. Copyright for all material published in European Cleaning remains with Criterion Publishing Ltd and its agents.

ISSN 0968-901X ©Criterion Publishing 2019

THE INDUSTRY’S LEADING PAN-EUROPEAN AWARDS 17 October 2019 | Church House, London

Why Enter?

• Free of charge to enter - “you have to be in it to win it”.

• Gain free publicity and coverage through the European Cleaning Journal and our media partners.

• Stand out in the crowd! Differentiate yourself from other businesses’.

DEADLINE : 17TH JUNE 2019 www.ECHAwards.com

SPONSORED BY

MEDIA PARTNERS

LE MAGAZINE DE L’HYGIÈNE, DE LA PROPRETÉ ET DU MULTISERVICE WWW.SERVICES-PROPRETE.FR

NEWS & EVENTS

Latest News & Events from ECJ

European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards 2019 - open for entries The annual European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards 2019 are now open for entries from service providers, manufacturers and distributors across Europe.

The awards, which recognise standards of excellence in the professional cleaning industry, are the only pan-European awards for the sector and are organised by European Cleaning Journal (ECJ).

London ceremony This year’s winners will be revealed at a ceremony and gala dinner on October 17 in London, at The Church House in Westminster. There are 10 categories designed to recognise success and reward excellence in the cleaning and hygiene sectors. They are: • Best use of smart solutions by service providers • Investment in training • Excellence in client/ contractor partnerships • Added value excellence by distributors • Sustainability - best practice • Commitment to diversity in the workforce • Best initiative raising the profile of the cleaning sector • Technological innovation of the year • Leader of the year

• Rising star award The awards are now in their fourth year. Michelle Marshall, ECJ editor said: “Building on the success of the past three years, we are thrilled to be hosting the European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards in London for the first time. Last year we received over 100 entries and we’re looking forward to hearing more about the great achievements from across the sector this year.

European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards are a great way to share the best examples across the industry. Winning an award acknowledges that we are taking the right steps forward to always improve.”

Sponsors for 2019 include Tana Chemie, Ceris Burns International, Jangro, Vectair

Systems, Vermop Salmon, Principle Cleaning, Greenspeed, Diversey, RAI Amsterdam, and Truvox International.

The entry form and further information can be found on the Award website. Visit www.echawards.com Closing date for entries is June 17 2019.

Open to all businesses “The awards are open to businesses from across Europe so if you can demonstrate excellence in any of the categories, we’d encourage you to enter.”

Tom Lloyd of Principle Cleaning Services, which won two awards in 2018, added: “Winning two European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards is such a great achievement for everyone at Principle. To be recognised as leaders in our industry across Europe is the greatest reward. It motivates us to continue to invest in our people to deliver outstanding quality through innovation.”

Another 2018 award winner was Dutch cleaning company CSU. Marketing and communications manager Erwin Vos told ECJ: “The

EVENTS March 19-21

September 24-27

The Cleaning Show

CMS

London, UK cleaningshow.co.uk

Berlin, Germany www.cms-berlin.com

April 10-12

September 25-26

Interclean Istanbul

CMS World Summit

Istanbul, Turkey www.intercleanshow.com

Berlin, Germany www.cms-berlin.com

April 16-18

October 17

Europropre

European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards

Paris, France www.europropre.com

London, UK www.echawards.com

April 17-18

November 12-14

Professional Cleaning Solutions

Hygienalia Pulire Madrid

Warsaw, Poland www.pigc.org.pl

Madrid, Spain www.hygienalia-pulire.com

May 21-23

November 18-21

Pulire

ISSA North America

Verona, Italy www.pulire-it.com

Las Vegas, USA www.issa.com

June 4-6

May 12-15 2020

ISSA Cleantex South Africa

Interclean Amsterdam

Johannesburg, South Africa www.issacleantex.com

Amsterdam, Netherlands www.intercleanshow.com

To have your event included in Events, contact ECJ via email at: michelle@europeancleaningjournal.com

L’édition 2019 des Prix européens de propreté et d’hygiène aura lieu le 17 octobre à Londres. Visitez echawards.com pour des précisions d’inscription.

Die European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards 2019 werden am 17. Oktober in London stattfinden.

Besuchen Sie echawards.com, wenn Sie mehr über eine Teilnahme erfahren möchten.

L’evento European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards 2019 si terrà a Londra il 17 ottobre. Si prega di visitare il sito echawards.com per avere informazioni su come partecipare.

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 3

NEWS Healthcare Cleaning Forum Istanbul programme announced infection prevention and control in the region; Professor Didier Pittet will present a practical healthcare cleaning model in WHO Clean Care is Safe Care; Alexandra Peters will focus on the Clean Hospitals initiative; Dr Jon Otter will help professionals count the cost and value of hospital cleaning and disinfection; and Ermira Tartari will share data on international approaches to cleaning and disinfection.

Organisers of Interclean Istanbul have announced the programme for the Healthcare Cleaning Forum MENA Regional Conference, which will take place alongside the cleaning exhibition.

The conference will take place over two days on April 10 and 11. Day one will feature five expert speakers. Professor Emine Alp, Turkey’s deputy minister of health, will talk about

On a annoncé le programme de la conférence régionale Moyen-Orient-Afrique du Nord du Forum de nettoyage du secteur des soins de santé, qui aura lieu en avril à l’occasion de l’Interclean Istanboul.

4 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

Workshop format On the second day there will be two workshops encouraging delegates to discover more about some of the topics covered during the first day. The

Das Programm der Healthcare Cleaning Forum MENA Regionalkonferenz, die parallel zur Interclean Istanbul im April stattfinden wird, wurde angekündigt.

first workshop’s title is WHO My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene and will be led by Professor Didier Pittet and Ermira Tartari. The second one will be Cleaning and Hygiene, Cost and Value, led by Dr Jon Otter and Alexandra Peters.

Interclean Istanbul takes place from April 10-12. Taking place at the Istanbul Congress Center, the third edition of the show is expected to attract 3,500 visitors and 100 exhibitors from Turkey, South-Eastern Europe, Russia, Northern Africa and the Middle East. There will also be a seminar programme - details to be announced soon.

Visit intercleanshow.com/ istanbul for information.

E’ stato annunciato il programma per la conferenza Healthcare Cleaning Forum MENA Regional Conference che si terrà in contemporanea con Interclean Istanbul in aprile.

NEWS Hand hygiene compliance among paramedics ‘remarkably low’ Paramedics’ compliance with hand hygiene standards seems to be “remarkably low,” finds an observational study of ambulance staff practice in four countries and published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.

And over-reliance on the use of gloves indicates these staff may be more aware of their own infection risk rather than that of their patients.

Despite concerted efforts to tackle the prevalence of healthcare associated infections (HAIs), the risk remains high, affecting up to one in 10 patients in developed countries.

Researchers have paid relatively little attention to hygiene issues in emergency care. So they wanted to assess

how well paramedics in different countries complied with recommended hand and basic hygiene standards, including the use of gloves, to protect themselves and their patients.

Compliance with World Health Organisation guidelines on the five triggers for hand hygiene using either antiseptic rub or soap and water was assessed.

These triggers were: (1) before touching the patient; (2) before any ‘clean’ procedure, such as an injection or cleaning a wound; (3) after contact with bodily fluids/ wounds; (4) after touching the patient; and (5) after handling the patient’s belongings or anything in the vicinity.

In all, 240 hours of observation were carried out between

Le respect des normes d’hygiène des mains parmi les ambulanciers serait « remarquablement faible ».

C’est ce qu’indique une étude des pratiques de ces opérateurs dans quatre pays.

December 2016 and May 2017 in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Australia, when 77 paramedics dealt with 87 patients.

Compliance with basic hygiene standards was high but compliance with hand hygiene was poor. In all 1,344 hand hygiene triggers were recorded but complied with in only 15 per cent of instances.

When broken down separately by trigger, compliance was just three per cent before touching a patient and two per cent before any ‘clean’ procedure. This rose to eight per cent after contact with bodily fluids, 29 per cent after touching the patient, and to 38 per cent after touching belongings, etc.

Compliance rate varied

Unter Rettungssanitätern scheint die Einhaltung der Handhygiene „erstaunlich niedrig“ zu sein, dies geht aus einer Studie unter den Besatzungen von Ambulanzen in vier Ländern hervor.

substantially among the four countries, with paramedics in Denmark coming out top.

Gloves were worn when there was no obvious need and hand hygiene was less likely when gloves were worn. Proper hand hygiene was observed in two per cent of such instances and in nearly a third of the indications when no gloves were worn, suggesting an over-reliance on gloves to ward off the risk of infection, say the researchers.

“It is important to note that [hand hygiene] is about preventing the spread of microbes and thus protecting the patient. Whereas the use of gloves primarily is about protecting oneself from bodily fluids, and so on,” they said.

A quanto emerge da uno studio sulle prassi del personale delle ambulanze in quattro nazioni, il rispetto del protocollo per l’igiene delle mani da parte dei paramedici sembra essere “incredibilmente basso”.

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February/March 2019 | ECJ | 5

NEWS ISS to cut 100,000 jobs

Enter CMS Purus awards now

Danish facilities services group ISS is to cut its staff by 20 per cent and pull out of 13 countries in a bid to streamline operations.

As part of a two-year plan to focus on key markets, the Danish firm will reduce its customer base by 50 per cent and pare down its 490,000-strong staff to 390,000.

The company aims to increase its annual underlying revenue growth to between four and six per cent. ISS had previously projected underlying revenue growth of between 1.5 and 3.5 cent this year.

“This acceleration of our strategy will improve our

Exhibitors taking part in the CMS cleaning exhibition in Berlin this September can now submit their entries for the CMS Purus Innovation Award 2019 (PIA).

There are six categories: Large Machines, Small Machines, Equipment, Washroom Hygiene, Digital Tools and Systems and Detergents. The PIA recognises products, tools and systems products, tools and systems which feature excellent

offering for key account customers and deliver a stronger and more consistent financial performance for our shareholders,” said chief executive Jeff Gravenhorst.

The 13 countries where the company will cease operations include the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and Estonia. ISS is aiming to reduce complexity and risk while also strengthening its delivery to key accounts.

The company hopes to raise up to US$381 million over the next two years by selling businesses. It will then invest in other service areas.

• ISS, le groupe mondial de multiservices basé au Danemark, va réduire son personnel de 20 pour cent et cesser ses activités dans 13 pays dans un effort de rationalisation.

• Les exposants au salon de la propreté CMS Berlin de cette année sont invités à participer aux Prix de l’Innovation CMS Purus 2019.

usability and an outstanding overall design.

Deadline for entries is May 31. A jury of eight experts will then assess the entries and nominate the finalists who will then present themselves at CMS 2019. The awards ceremony will take place on the evening of September 24 during CMS. The CMS exhibition takes place from September 24-27. www.cms-berlin.com

The European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards 2019 are now open for entries - visit echawards.com to find out how to take part. And read about our 2018 winners starting on page 23.

• ISS, der in Dänemark ansässige, weltweite Anbieter von Facility Services, plant eine Reduzierung der Belegschaft um 20 Prozent und wird die Arbeit in 13 Ländern einstellen, um den Betrieb zu optimieren.

• Die Aussteller der diesjährigen Reinigungsmesse CMS Berlin können sich ab sofort für den CMS Purus Innovation Award 2019 bewerben.

• Il gruppo mondiale di servizi alle strutture ISS, con sede in Danimarca, ha in programma di riduzione del personale del 20 per cento e di cessazione delle attività in 13 nazioni nel tentativo di ottimizzare le sue operazioni.

•

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NEWS Office hygiene needs to move with the times says Essity Offices need to implement new proactive hygiene solutions in line with changing trends, according to hygiene solutions provider Essity.

This will help employees take more personal control over workplace hygiene, claims the company in its White Paper.

The document, which uses data from the global Essity Hygiene & Health Report 20182019 plus insights from the Tork Office Trend Report, reveals that 73 per cent of UK offices are now open plan.

“While open concept offices have several advantages in a collaborative environment, they require a higher level of maintenance plus a hygiene strategy adapted for a

flexible office,” said Essity’s Stuart Hands. “It is becoming increasingly evident that cleanliness and hygiene in the workplace are vital factors for productivity today.”

Open-plan offices lead to a greater degree of socialising plus a higher level of sharing of both facilities and technology, he said.

“This means that office workers face more hygiene risks than ever before,” said Hands. “At the same time many people - particularly younger generations - are becoming more health-conscious which means ensuring a clean and safe work environment becomes more important than ever when recruiting new talent.”

A global survey conducted

Les administrations doivent appliquer de nouvelles solutions d’hygiène proactives pour répondre aux tendances actuelles, affirme un livre blanc publié par Essity.

by Essity last year revealed 22 per cent of employees say they often refrain from using the toilets at work, with the figure rising to 30 per cent among younger people. The most common reasons for this relate to unhygienic or messy washrooms.

The study also revealed that around 40 per cent of people globally say they often worry about becoming ill due to poor hygiene.

“Employers seeking to attract and retain millennials should be aware that young people are

Laut einem von Essity veröffentlichten Weißbuch müssen Büros neue, proaktive Hygienelösungen umsetzen, um den sich ändernden Trends gerecht zu werden.

much more concerned about poor hygiene than the older workforce,” concluded Hands. “In fact 50 per cent of people aged 16-25 said they often worried about hygiene, while that figure was only 21 per cent among people aged 61 and over.”

A quanto emerge da un libro bianco delle Essity, gli uffici devono mettere in atto delle nuove soluzioni igieniche proattive in linea con i cambiamenti di tendenza.

NEWS EXTRA New EFCI director aims to raise cleaning sector profile in Europe Isabel Yglesias was appointed the new director of EFCI, the organisation representing the cleaning and facilities services sector across Europe, in summer 2018. She speaks to ECJ editor Michelle Marshall about its relaunch and ongoing projects for 2019.

Isabel Yglesias is a Spanish lawyer who worked in the private sector for 10 years before moving to Brussels to work for the European Commission. In the summer of 2018 she joined what was then called the European Federation of Cleaning Industries (EFCI), an umbrella organisation made up of contract cleaning associations from 15 EU member states - representing 240,000 contractors employing over 3.6 million people. Based in Brussels, it is EFCI’s job to represent the interests of the sector at EU level.

Yglesias’ first role when she joined was to drive a modernisation exercise – a new name, new corporate image, new offices, new logo and a new website. EFCI’s full name is now the European Cleaning and Facility Services Industry. While embracing the facility services aspects of the sector, Yglesias emphasises: “Cleaning is still at the core of our activities, we are simply recognising the additional services now being offered by our members.”

Directive involvement In Brussels EFCI has a key role in representing the professional cleaning sector when new legislation is being developed. Currently there is the directive for transparent and predictable working conditions, for example, which is expected by the end of March. Other current regulatory issues include

establishing an ecolabel for indoor cleaning services. “It is the responsibility of EFCI to convey any uncertainty our industry may have, and the possible challenges around implementing those directives,” explains Yglesias.

“I think our sector is quite advanced in those matters so we want to be very much involved in discussions.”

Yglesias is keen to ensure EFCI has the right profile, and clear tools and a mandate to act in front of those EU institutions.

“Our members are also very enthusiastic about that,” she says, “and they want to be involved. The national contract cleaning associations want to have a relevant political voice in Brussels, and they want EFCI to become an effective representative here.”

Central platform She is also aiming to develop the remit of EFCI so it becomes more of a central platform for the European sector - a place to exchange ideas on all aspects and offer knowledge. With this in mind the federation’s annual conference on June 28 in Brussels will be a much more open industry event than previous member gatherings.

“We want it to be directly relevant to service companies – large and small.”

And of course one of Yglesias’ most important tasks is to make the professional cleaning sector more well known and better understood in the European Commission. “We will make sure that happens, because businesses in our industry must understand 80 per cent of national legislation comes from Brussels,” she explains.

“The cleaning industry has to be acknowledged in Brussels, it’s fundamental to EFCI’s success. We employ so many

Isabel Yglesias vient d’être nommée directrice de l’EFCI (European Cleaning and Facility Service Industry), l’organisation faîtière, basée à Bruxelles, du secteur de la propreté professionnelle. Réunissant les associations nationales de la propreté, l’EFCI a été relancée récemment, avec une identité renouvelée et un certain nombre d’objectifs pour 2019.

8 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

people in Europe and worldwide - that alone is a key factor.”

What are Yglesias’ first impressions of the cleaning industry as a newcomer? “I am particularly impressed with the efforts being made by cleaning and building services businesses to make their employees happy, to keep them in their job and to improve services for their clients,” she replies.

Meaningful work Her other ongoing projects include the social dialogue and the Selecting Best Value guide, which was launched in 2017 as a guide for private and public organisations awarding contracts. EFCI developed it in conjunction with UNI Europa, the umbrella body for trade unions.

Its aim is to assist buyers in their tendering process by highlighting the benefits of choosing quality

Isabel Yglesias ist die neu ernannte Geschäftsführerin der European Cleaning and Facility Services Federation (EFCI), der Dachorganisation, die die Vertragsreinigungsbranche in Brüssel repräsentiert. Die EFCI setzt sich aus landesweiten Verbänden der Reinigungsbranche zusammen und wurde vor kurzem mit einer neuen Identität und einer Reihe von Zielen für 2019 neu gestartet.

services and it was funded by the European Commission.

“My task is to work on better deployment of the guide,” explains Yglesias. “We must make best use of it and ensure our sector is better known at national level in each country too. We plan to approach large clients, corporates, etc and use it as a tool to promote the cleaning industry, and the importance of not opting for the lowest price.”

Being at the helm of a organisation aiming to represent the interests of so many national associations - all with different structures and objectives - is certainly not an easy one, however Yglesias is looking forward to the challenge. “The most encouraging thing for me is that our members are very committed,” she concludes, “and I am convinced we can do fruitful policy work.”

Isabel Yglesias è stata recentemente eletta direttrice di European Cleaning and Facility Services Federation (EFCI), l’organizzazione ombrello che rappresenta il settore del cleaning professionale a Bruxelles. EFCI, che comprende associazioni nazionali del settore del cleaning professionale, è stata di recente rilanciata con una nuova identità e un numero di obiettivi per il 2019.

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NEWS EFCI celebrates 30th birthday

Trojan sold to C&D Technologies

The EFCI, the organisation representing the cleaning and facility services sector at EU level, celebrated its 30th birthday in Brussels recently. A new identity and a new name were unveiled by president Yvan Fieremans and director Isabel Yglesias. EFCI’s full name is now the European Cleaning and Facility Services Industry.

Established in 1988 EFCI brings together national professional organisations coming from 15 EU member states - representing 240,000 contractors employing over 3.6 million people.

The Brussels event was

US based battery manufacturer Trojan Battery Company is to be acquired by fellow battery producer C&D Technologies.

The two businesses combined have a turnover of €0.8 billion, eight manufacturing facilities and a presence in every major region.

“Trojan Battery is an industry leader with a great heritage and an amazing team of employees,” said Neil Thomas, president and ceo of Trojan Battery. “I’m excited about the agreement with C&D and believe that it will secure the company’s future

attended by members’ representatives, officials from the European institutions and representatives from industrial associations. Yvan Fieremans commented: “While cleaning is the core of our business and historical roots, the EFCI needs to follow the evolution of the market and be ready for the future of the industry.”

Isabel Yglesias added: “We want to mark the 30th anniversary of the Federation but also make a strong point for the future: today we launch our new image, that comes with our new offices in the European quarter and with a new strategy”.

• L’EFCI (European Cleaning and Facility Services Industry), l’organisation représentant le secteur au niveau européen, a récemment célébré son 30ème anniversaire tout en dévoilant une nouvelle image de marque.

• Trojan Battery Company, un fabricant de batteries américain, a été repris par un autre fabricant de batteries, C&D Technologies.

10 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

and position it for even greater success in the years ahead.”

Since it was founded in 1925 the company has been owned by the Godber family.

“Given C&D and Trojan’s complementary portfolios of global manufacturing plants, markets and products, this is a highly compelling combination with tremendous strategic value and an exciting multi-segment growth opportunity,” said Armand Lauzon, chief executive officer of C&D. www.trojanbattery.com www.cdtechno.com

Download the ECJ app to read it on your mobile device

• EFCI (European Cleaning and Facility Services Industry), die Organisation, die den Reinigungssektor auf EU-Ebene repräsentiert, feierte vor kurzem ihren 30. Geburtstag mit der Enthüllung einer neuen Identität.

• Der in den USA ansässige Batteriehersteller Trojan Battery Company wurde vom Batteriehersteller C&D Technologies erworben.

• L’organizzazione EFCI (European Cleaning and Facility Services Industry), che rappresenta il settore del cleaning a livello europeo, ha celebrato di recente il suo 30° anniversario con la presentazione di una nuova identità.

• La produttrice di batterie Trojan Battery Company, che ha sede negli Stati Uniti, è stata acquisita dalla produttrice di batterie C&D Technologies.

NEWS Smart cleaners on UAE streets

Hotel chains in cleaning apology

Futuristic autonomous cleaners using intelligent technology are currently being deployed in the United Arab Emirates to smarten up street cleaning.

Tandeef, the city cleaning arm of environmental management company Bee’ah, has introduced autonomous litter vacuum cleaners that can be trained to recognise their operator. The intelligent machine will then automatically follow behind its operator allowing him or her to carry out manual cleaning tasks.

Tandeef operates street sweeping, cleaning and waste management services in several regions of the UAE including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Four of the world’s biggest hotel chains have apologised after footage revealed cleaners’ inappropriate behaviour in guests’ bathrooms. Hidden video footage exposed unsanitary cleaning practices in China.

The 11-minute video taken from inside hotel rooms, which was uploaded on a Chinese social media site, shows cleaners using dirty towels and sponges to wipe cups and sinks. In some cases the same towel is also used to clean the toilet.

The Shangri-La, Park Hyatt, Waldorf Astoria and Sheraton are among the hotels who have responded to the footage, the Associated Press reported. It

The company has also introduced an advanced fleet of eco-friendly vehicles, automated route optimisation and geotagged smart bin sensors. These solar-powered smart bins act as Wi-Fi hotspots and are directly linked to Bee’ah’s control room for efficient waste collection.

Next generation Bee’ah operates 1,200 vehicles and the introduction of autonomous cleaners is part of the company’s plans to expand its next-generation fleet. The collected waste is processed at the Bee’ah Waste Management Centre at Al Saj’ah and reintegrated into the economy.

• Des machines de nettoyage autonomes et de caractère futuriste sont sur le point d’être déployées aux Émirats arabes unis afin d’activer le nettoyage des rues.

• Quatre grandes chaînes hôtelières internationales ont diffusé leurs excuses après que des images en ligne eurent montré des nettoyeurs chinois en train d’agir de manière peu hygiénique dans des chambres d’hôtel.

• Futuristische autonome Reinigungsgeräte werden in den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten eingesetzt, um die Straßenreinigung zu verbessern.

• Vier der weltweit größten Hotelketten haben sich entschuldigt, nachdem Filmaufnahmen aus China die unhygienischen Reinigungspraktiken der Reinigungskräfte in den Gästezimmern offenlegten.

also said Hilton and Marriott group properties were among the 14 luxury hotels in the video.

The Shangri-La Hotel in Fuzhou said the actions in the video violated its hygiene standards, while the Park Hyatt in Beijing called it an isolated occurrence.

The Waldorf Astoria in Shanghai and the Sheraton in Guiyang city also apologised and said they were reviewing their procedures.

Beijing tourism authorities issued a statement requiring hotels to check and rectify their practices. It also said it had asked the Beijing health commission to conduct sanitary inspections of four of the hotels named in the video.

• Veicoli di pulizia autonomi futuristici vengono impiegati negli Emirati Arabi per rendere più moderna ed elegante la pulizia delle strade.

• Quattro catene di hotel fra i più grandi del mondo hanno porto le loro scuse dopo che un filmato proveniente dalla Cina ha rivelato le prassi di pulizia antigieniche degli addetti alle pulizie nelle camere dei clienti dei loro hotel.

February/March 2019 | ECJ |11

UPDATE: SWEDEN rm-suttner.com

Labelling lower wages With International Women’s Day around the corner, Scandinavian correspondent Lotte Printz brings this, perhaps inspirational?, story from Sweden.

What happens to a femaledominated business if the wages equal men’s?”

That is the question Linda Amiri and Sofia Jensfelt asked themselves when setting up 50-femme: “A different cleaning company with new strategies” as one of their catchphrases says.

Their Gothenburg-based cleaning company kickstarted less than a year ago when Linda Amiri needed cleaning help herself.

This made her realise that wages for cleaning jobs in Sweden are particularly poor compared to counterpart jobs. And since then she and her business partner, Sofia Jensfelt, have aspired to clean up the whole cleaning trade in Sweden.

In 50-femme they pay their female cleaners similar wages and offer them the same conditions as (predominantly) male warehouse staff. The reason being that the workload and the educational levels in those two types of jobs are directly comparable, but male warehouse staff are paid approximately €510 (SEK 5,300 ) more a month on average than female cleaners.

Society’s pay gap Speaking to the Swedish paper Affärsvärlden (Business World), Sofia Jensfelt explains that the structural pay gap in society is linked to gender: “It’s obvious that the more women represented in a trade, the lower the pay,” she concludes.

In Sweden, 7.7 per cent of cleaners are Swedish-born men, while it’s 79 per cent for warehouse staff.

Thus the objective of setting up the company was not in fact to make it an all-female one at the beginning, but rather to even the Lotte Printz, notre correspondante en Scandinavie, fait rapport sur une entreprise de propreté suédoise qui a décidé de réduire l’écart salarial homme-femme dans le cadre de ses opérations.

gender pay gap by hiring older male cleaners. But the two businesswomen didn’t find any suitable ones. Instead they changed their business model and started hiring skilled and experienced female cleaners and offered them a pension scheme, a collective agreement and monthly pay that exceeds the standard pay, which for cleaners in the public sector in Sweden is approximately €2,230, by the said difference of €510.

Swedish trade bodies are thrilled. And,apparently, so are the customers who are growing in number.

“This place has female cleaners on male wages,” it says on the labels (or certifications as they are called) 50-femme’s customers receive and can also place on their websites to strengthen their brands.

Others who do not use 50-femme’s cleaners because they are happy with the cleaning service they already have can make sure that their cleaners are offered proper conditions by using 50-femme for invoicing.

Besides awarding the female cleaners in terms of pay and proper conditions and the customers with certifications, what the two businesswomen want from their venture is to leave a fingerprint by labelling the issue of women’s work literally being valued less than that of men. And in their endeavour, 50-femme is willing to hook up with the competition - Linda Amiri and Sofia Jensfelt are presently searching for companies with similar business models.

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Die ECJ-Korrespondentin für Skandinavien Lotte Printz berichtet über ein schwedisches Reinigungsunternehmen, das beabsichtigt das Lohngefälle zwischen Männern und Frauen zu reduzieren.

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La corrispondente scandinava Lotte Printz ci informa che un’impresa di pulizie svedese che sta cercando di ridurre il divario salariale fra uomini e donne.

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February/March 2019 | ECJ | 13

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UPDATE: FRANCE Advantages of a clean workplace A French cleaning company has carried out a survey to determine just how important a clean workplace is among workers - writes Christian Bouzols.

Enjoying a clean environment in their daily home and working lives is a fundamental issue for the French. But is doesn’t mean that the matter is much talked about in public debates. That’s why a leading French cleaning company, Onet, decided to task a polling company, IPSOS, with carrying out a survey among French workers to find out to what extent cleanliness is important for them, and to know more about its impact on their wellbeing and motivation.

The results of the survey were pretty much as expected but at least they confirmed that in the office, people prefer it when it’s clean! Beyond this obvious finding, the survey also noted that a clean environment has other, less visible consequences.

Based on a questionnaire involving 1,000 workers aged 18 to 65, and spending at least 60 per cent of their time at the office, the survey found cleanliness had real consequences for staff wellbeing and efficiency. It showed 94 per cent of French wage earners consider cleanliness as a promoter of a good atmosphere at work, and 93 per cent of them feel more motivated when their working environment is clean.

Also, 85 per cent of the employees surveyed felt cleanliness helped them to perform better, and 80 per cent then thought it reduced their stress level.

The contrary was also true.

While cleanliness was good for wellbeing and performance, its absence - including the presence of dirt and untidiness - had been a source of conflict for no fewer than half the workers surveyed.

This situation was noted particularly in some workplace arrangements such as flexible offices, where workers don’t have fixed Une entreprise de propreté française a commandité l’exécution d’un sondage parmi des travailleurs français pour connaître l’importance qu’ils accordent à la propreté et ses incidences sur leur bien-être et leur motivation.

a fixed work station of their own.

In such cases, the proportion of workers who reported having been in conflict situations shot up to 62 per cent. “Tensions arise in those cases because it’s always the same people who do the cleaning,” was one conclusion.

Among the 20 areas covered the most critical were the toilets, the kitchen corner, the canteen, the work stations and the computer equipment. Due to hygiene problems encountered in company washrooms, one French worker out of two prefers not to use them.

Although 86 per cent of office employees consider cleanliness to be the employer’s responsibility, 95 per cent of these same employees also agree staff should assume some responsibility for maintaining their working environment clean. The solution was therefore to call on the sense of civic responsibility of everyone.

In fact, 81 per cent of employees surveyed thought some kind of penalty should be introduced to punish those co-workers that don’t behave considerately in regard to hygiene and cleanliness.

Regarding the cleaners, who are surely the main actors in the business of keeping the workplace clean, they are treated in a kindly manner by the employees. Eight out of 10 commend the quality of cleaners’ work, and nine out of 10 always try to helpful to the cleaners. They claim when they meet cleaners within the premises they usually exchange small talk with them. However, the duties of cleaners are not always clearly understood and this can give rise to some tensions. For example, should cleaners wash plates and cutlery in the kitchen corner?

What has been agreed about this?

Ein französisches Reinigungsunternehmen hat eine Umfrage unter französischen Arbeitnehmern in Auftrag gegeben, um herauszufinden, wie wichtig ihnen Sauberkeit ist und wie sie sich auf ihr Wohlbefinden und ihre Motivation auswirkt.

Il corrispondente francese Christian Bouzols ci riferisce che un’impresa di pulizia francese ha commissionato un sondaggio fra i lavoratori francesi per scoprire quanto è importante per loro la pulizia e che impatto ha sul loro benessere e sulle loro motivazioni.

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 15

UPDATE: ITALY A change of leadership AfidampCOM, the Italian association of cleaning products manufacturers, has a new president writes Anna Garbagna for ECJ. Roberto Galli is the new president of AfidampCOM, the Italian association of machines, products and equipment for the professional cleaning sector. The businessman is the head of Erremme, a company offering professional solutions and systems for the Ho.Re.Ca sector of the industrial cleaning industry, for hospital facilities and for specialised operators with particular regard to service companies. Galli will lead the association for the two-year period 2019-2020.

Galli was already a member of the outgoing management and he was part of the commission that drew up Il Manuale della Ristorazione (Catering Business Manual), Afidamp’s latest publication which addresses in detail issues and business practices in every environment and surfaces of catering areas in contact with foods and drinks.

This manual methodically supplies information for those who operate in this sector and whose task is to manage a crucial aspect of the catering world. By means of simple cards the manual explains the procedures to be followed using straightforward and comprehensible language. It is a practical guide geared towards complete beginners (and therefore very useful educational material for hospitality and culinary schools) as well as for experts who must find more evolved and up to date solutions for everyday activities.

Roberto Galli did not hide his satisfaction with his new position. He declared: “I take with great pride and motivation the leadership of AfidampCOM with the knowledge that I will be able AfidampFab, l’association italienne de fabricants de produits de nettoyage, a un nouveau président : Roberto Galli. Anna Garbagna en rend compte.

16 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

to continue to contribute to the development of the professionalism of the companies in our sector. I thank my predecessor Francesco Bertini for his hard work as leader over the last seven years, and I am sure I can still count on his support”.

Also elected to the management board were: Francesco Marinoni as vice president from Progiene 2000, a company which has been operating for over 30 years in the professional cleaning sector; Barbara Bottoni of Bottoni, a company operating in the sector of products, machines and equipment for professional cleaning and paper products; Stefano Siclari from Delfin Commerciale, active in the industrial cleaning sector on the whole national territory; Barbara Pedrini from Ica System; Gianni Tartari from Sil Advanced, a leader in the research of more adequate and efficient solutions; and Francesco Bertini from Temaco, a company marketing machinery, products and equipment for the cleaning and the sanitisation of environments.

During the assembly which took place at the Milan headquarters of Afidamp, the outgoing president Francesco Bertini recounted step by step the stages of his mandate and then thanked everybody for this valuable collaboration of the last years. He also wished the newly elected president the best of luck in his new position.

“I finish my presidency glad to have had the opportunity to contribute to the extraordinary think tank Afidamp is,” commented the departing president. “And I will continue to cooperate with the board.”

Der italienischen Verband für Hersteller von Reinigungsprodukten AfidampCOM hat einen neuen Vorsitzenden, Roberto Galli. Ein Bericht von Anna Garbagna für das ECJ.

L’associazione italiana dei produttori di prodotti di pulizia AfidampCOM ha un nuovo presidente, Roberto Galli, come ci informa la corrispondente di ECJ Anna Garbagna.

UPDATE: NETHERLANDS Professional cleaning saves lives Antibiotic resistance has been a growing problem for years and infection prevention in hospitals needs to be improved, writes Dutch correspondent John Griep of VSR. That includes better training in cleaning.

Professional checklists instead of individual scraps of paper, and better training in cleaning. These are just a few of the improvements needed in infection prevention at a number of hospitals to combat antibiotic resistance, according to a Dutch government report. With professionalisation and standardisation being the magic words. Which also happen to be the Association for Cleaning Research, VSR’s core tasks Antibiotic resistance has been a growing problem for years. In fact, the Dutch Society of Infection Prevention in Healthcare (VHIG) goes so far as to claim that in the Netherlands, 1,300 people die each year of diseases that could have been prevented in hospitals had there been proper infection prevention.

The aforementioned government report states that a number of hospitals still struggle to clean and disinfect properly (or have it carried out) while - besides reducing unnecessary antibiotics - the implementation of the right infection prevention measures rules out further spread of resistant bacteria.

Time for action. The Dutch government has asked VHIG to take a leading role in this. The government wants standards to be set for measuring the quality of infection prevention and cleaning.

And it demands more involvement of VHIG in training and retraining of cleaning staff.

“Because VSR carries out evidence-based research, we can help VHIG with this,” says Frank Veneman, chairman of the VSR Technology Committee. “We can contribute to Notre correspondant aux Pays-Bas, John Griep, qui travaille chez VSR, fait rapport sur le rôle préventif du secteur de la propreté dans la lutte contre la résistance antibiotique en milieu hospitalier.

improving infection prevention by conducting research.” VSR has contacted VHIG. Veneman continues: “In addition, we have agreed that we share our knowledge with VHIG in developing uniform training, and VSR makes research available.

If you combine this with VHIG’s specialised knowledge about hygiene and infection prevention in healthcare, you will lay a solid foundation for the professionalisation effort that the government considers necessary.”

Pillar of infection prevention The government report describes this as follows: “Cleaning is part of basic hygiene and therefore one of the pillars of infection prevention. Experts in infection prevention should, therefore, make a concerted effort to maintain the quality of cleaning.

If the hospital chooses to farm out cleaning to an external company, this means that the infection prevention department must be closely involved in drawing up the package of cleaning requirements” (...) “It is clear that good cleaning must take place, VRE outbreaks could only be contained by hospitals if the gaps in cleaning were addressed.”

The challenges and the intended solutions emphasise what VSR has been advocating for years: cleaning is more than just cleaning a building. Cleaning means: a healthy school, more productive employees, and - as it turns out saving lives. Professional cleaning protects vulnerable patients in healthcare from infections, which could otherwise have a major impact.

John Griep, der bei VSR tätige NiederlandeKorrespondent des ECJ, berichtet über die ausschlaggebende Rolle, die die Reinigungsbranche bei der Infektionsverhütung in Krankenhäusern einnimmt, um die Antibiotikaresistenz zu bekämpfen.

Il corrispondente olandese John Griep alla VSR ci informa su come il settore delle pulizie professionali stia avendo un ruolo importante nella prevenzione delle infezioni all’interno degli ospedali nella battaglia per combattere la resistenza agli antibiotici.

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 17

UPDATE: GERMANY Spring cleaning at 3,000 metres Alexandra Lachner reports from Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain and popular ski resort.

Nine mountain railways and ski lifts, 20 kilometres of pistes, a passenger carrying capacity of 9,040 people per hour and around 250,000 visitors in the winter season: this is the Zugspitze ski resort in numbers.

As ski resort manager Manfred Haas has responsibility for the infrastructure. In winter this means ensuring the safety and quality of the pistes, and in summer making preparations for following season. “This means unscrewing every single little screw, beginning with the snow groomers, which are operating for 153 skiing days each winter.”

The 10 vehicles are completely

dismantled, serviced and reassembled, after which the interior is cleaned. “After this full service they are then stored in the garage, ready for next year.”

A further major responsibility is the servicing and maintenance of the ski lifts. Depending on the weather, all the sections are covered to inspect the supports.

New rollers are installed, parts subject to wear replaced, all components greased and the surplus oil removed. “We must take great care not to overlook anything or make mistakes, since the safety of the skiers is at stake.” At the tow lift stations the hangers – 380 of them in

Alexandra Lachner, notre correspondante en Allemagne, visite la station de sports d’hiver de Zugspitze pour y observer les travaux de nettoyage d’après-saison.

18 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

total – are also dismantled and serviced. “To remove any residue of dirt or oil which might be left on the hangers, they are finally cleaned with brake cleaner.” Once the technical audit is complete, any dirt which has built up during the season or during the cleaning process is removed from the stations themselves.

There is still more work to do at the chairlift stations – the 110 chair hoods are treated with special products and polished to make them UV-resistant. If the synthetic covers have been damaged they are replaced. Along with that, the seats receive a steam jet and polish treatment.

“The stations themselves have numerous window areas which we have to clean – we do that either on ladders or scaffolding, depending on the height at which we are working,” says Haas.

There is another special job

Die Deutschland-Korrespondentin Alexandra Lachner berichtet vom Zugspitz Resort darüber, wie der Frühjahrsputz dort nach Saisonschluss durchgeführt wird.

at the mountain terminal for employees on the new cable car which opened in December 2017.

“The cableway is in itself quite unique”, explains Verena Lothes, communications manager at Bayerische Zugspitzbahn. “Along their journey, the two cabins traverse the world’s tallest steel pylon for cable cars at 127 metres and experience the world’s greatest total change in altitude of 1,945 metres over one section as well as the world’s longest unsupported cableway span of 3,213 metres.”

Fully glazed, the mountain terminal provides a 360-degree panoramic view of over 400 alpine peaks in four countries. “To enable visitors to enjoy the view, the windows have to be cleaned regularly – a track runs round the building on which a window cleaning platform carries a Zugspitze cableway employee from window to window,“ explains Lothes.

La corrispondente tedesca Alexandra Lachner ci informa su come vengono eseguite le pulizie di primavera nella stazione sciistica di Zugspitze dopo la chiusura alla fine della stagione.

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UPDATE: UK Resolution, reflection, evolution UK reporter Lynn Webster starts the year inviting us to give some thought to our direction for 2019.

Starting the new year, we all set our sights on changing the world or at least our own world. It may have just been the usual pointers of an improved healthy lifestyle; more or starting visits to the gym, better diet or less alcohol (who survived Dry January?) or stopping smoking.

But did we apply the same determination to our working life and our businesses? New Year is often a marker where we take stock of the last 12 months. Did we achieve the business growth we expected? Are we taking the company in the right direction? or personally am I happy in my role?

Is this still the career for me?

Now we are over two months into 2019 are we going in the direction we chose to? Keeping up with those new ideals can seem daunting, if not impossible if we set unrealistic challenges or targets. It is not too late to set new goals for the year. It’s not easy but sometimes,all it takes is a little determination.

In business such resolutions can have significant impact on future success. Consider some of the encouraging words of others …

Mahatma Ghandi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Is change what you need?

George Eliot: “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

Notre reporteur au Royaume-Uni Lynn Webster commence l’année en nous invitant à dresser le bilan de l’année écoulée et à songer aux moyens de progresser en 2019.

Timing can be critical.

Look at where your aspirations lie; where you aim to take your business forward perhaps with these ideas: • Consider not only the plans and goals for 2019, but look towards 2020 and beyond. So much is impacting on our business. New research (MTW Contract Cleaning Market Research & Analysis 2019-2023) indicates where the opportunities and threats may lie.

Forecasts are positive with growth potential in many areas.

• Perhaps review your communications strategy; engaging with current and future clients; turning the focus from quantity to quality on social media with a focus on posting interesting information. Taking time to value your connections rather than sending 100 retweets or pressing ‘like’ on LinkedIn or Facebook posts without thought.

Die britische ECJ-Korrespondentin Lynn Webster beginnt das neue Jahr damit, uns zu ermutigen, eine Bilanz des vergangenen Jahres zu ziehen und uns zu fragen, wie es 2019 weiter gehen soll.

• Our workday doesn’t end at 5pm on Friday and start at 9am on Monday. With the increase in ‘executive burnout’ and stress levels increasingly affecting our mental health and wellbeing it is important to take the time to recharge ourselves.

• Not everything you do or sell will be the best in the market.

So when the service, technique, product or business relationship isn’t working for you, stop using it.

Now. Why invest time and effort in making something work that clearly doesn’t work for you?

However there will be times we don’t manage to succeed. How do we cope with the desolation and feeling of failure from all those good intentions that do not work out? I leave you with the words of one of my all-time heroines, Audrey Hepburn: “Nothing is impossible - the word itself says I’m possible!!”

La corrispondente del Regno Unito Lynn Webster inizia l’anno nuovo incoraggiandoci a fare un bilancio dell’anno appena passato e a chiederci come vogliamo progredire nel 2019.

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Influencing the future Family-owned CSU has managed to change the face of outsourced cleaning with its FM Coalition concept. Ann Laffeaty finds out what earned the company a European Cleaning & Hygiene Excellence in Client/Contractor Partnerships Award in 2018.

The nature of outsourced cleaning provision has changed significantly over recent years. Clients are becoming better informed and increasingly expecting more from their contractor rather than simply a service provided at the cheapest price.

They are also demanding greater transparency and accountability in all operations with key performance indicators becoming the norm. And they are seeking closer communication with all parties.

It was against this background that family-owned cleaning company CSU introduced the Facility Management Coalition at Circl, ABN AMRO’s site in Amsterdam.

All facility service providers collaborate with one another and with Circl on site in a fully transparent system. And the results are said to include accountability, tangible KPIs for all service providers and closer communications across the board.

The decision to instigate the coalition stemmed from an ongoing quest to improve the building user’s experience while also increasing client satisfaction, says CSU’s marketing and communications manager Erwin Vos. “Facility managers always want to achieve higher levels of efficiency and quality while spending less time dealing with facility management organisations,”

he said. “One often sees agreements made between facility service providers at operational level, but not at strategic or tactical level. We wanted to break that pattern and improve on it.

“So we convinced Circl of our strategic vision to form a coalition in order to provide the best possible service through optimal coordination and cohesion.”

The Facility Management Coalition comprises six service providers plus Circl owner ABN AMRO. “Each facility company retains its independence while the coordination of all tasks and schedules is optimised in collaboration with other service providers,” said Vos. “This eliminates any overlap in services and optimises resources.

“Establishing trust between all bodies is a key element in this process, so we at CSU deploy a Facility Connector to act as an ‘educator’ behind the scenes.” Other practical tools are applied to mould the FM Coalition into one unified, successful team.

“It didn’t take long for the facility partners, who regularly meet one another in different contexts, to implement an intensive cooperation system where trust and respect are basic factors,” said Vos. “This adds value to the services on the ground which is experienced directly by the client.”

Benefits of the coalition include a higher level of efficiency, improved quality and greater satisfaction among clients, employees and guests, he says.

“It is often the case that many facility service providers are active in a single building and often cross paths, but each has its own interests at heart and they rarely cooperate with one another,” said Vos. “The FM Coalition changes this.

“Cleaning and other facility workers

become part of a multi-disciplinary team and are assigned a broader range of tasks.

This provides them with a higher degree of job satisfaction which is noticed by both building users and guests. And this strategy results in leaner facility operations because any activities that add no value disappear altogether.”

Another effect of the FM Coalition is that all problems are communicated and solved directly between the parties involved, he says. “This reduces the number of recorded complaints by up to 40 per cent,” said Vos. “Our strategy has led to total facility cost savings of €140,000 a year.”

The FM Coalition brings service providers together and translates customer requests into practical solutions, he says.

“For example, a receptionist will do a toilet round when required while the cleaners will assist their catering colleagues when a buffet needs to be cleared away. It’s fantastic that cleaning and catering partners will help one another out at peak times like this, and that the security officer will immediately contact the technical services department about a defective light.

“We inspire other facility service providers to coordinate various processes and to promote innovation.”

European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards judge and ECJ editor Michelle Marshall says the panel were genuinely impressed with the level of cooperation, respect and trust between all stakeholders in the FM Coalition. “It gives rise to practical solutions in the facility workplace, bringing service providers together and finding areas where they may overlap,” she said. “It’s an interesting insight into how a facilities organisation of the future may look.”

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 23

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A lifelong approach It might sound obvious, but true sustainability on the part of any company requires a sustained approach. At least this is the view of Essity, which won the European Cleaning & Hygiene Award 2018 for Sustainability – Best Practice in November 2018.

In order to be truly sustainable it is no longer enough for a company to simply produce glossy reports and impress customers with its business ethics.

True sustainability requires a continuous and lifelong approach - and it also needs to be reflected in the company’s day-to-day operations. This is certainly the view of Essity which came away with the European Cleaning & Hygiene Award 2018 for Sustainability – Best Practice in November 2018.

“Sustainability is a vital part of our daily work,” confirmed communications director Renee Remijnse. “Winning this award is about inspiring other companies to invest in sustainability and to share our best practices to engender cooperation and new ideas.”

Essity works with a number of global sustainability partnerships including the United Nations Foundation, WSSCC, Ellen McArthur and the Global Handwashing Partnership. But the company’s most headline-grabbing sustainability innovation in recent years has been Tork PaperCircle, described by the company as the world’s first recycling service for paper hand towels.

Tork PaperCircle involves taking the cus-

tomer’s used paper towels away to a local recycling facility and turning them into products such as toilet tissue and couch rolls. And the service is said to potentially reduce a customer’s carbon footprint for hand towels by 40 per cent.

“We are particularly proud of Tork PaperCircle because it takes so many people, customers and logistics to make it work,” said Remijnse. “Everyone needs to pull together and it gives us great energy and pride to see the rewards that come from being bold and brave and working together for sustainable outcomes.”

Tork PaperCircle is currently in operation in Germany and the Netherlands and the company has plans to roll it out more widely. “We are working on many levels to achieve this,” said Remijnse. “For example, we are focusing on increasing our customer base and we’re also adding two more countries - Belgium and Sweden. And we’ve had many interested parties from all over the world visiting our mills and expect to see some great new collaborations arising from these visits.”

A key part of Essity’s sustainability policy is to manufacturer paper and soap systems that are designed to reduce waste and over-consumption at end-user level.

“We are very proud of our waste reducing systems,” said Remijnse. “For example, customers who install the Tork SmartOne system can reduce the amount of paper they use by up to 40 per cent –a saving that really adds up.”

The company places a strong focus on people and this is another area in which Essity stands out, she adds. “For example, we are working globally on breaking

taboos around the topic of hygiene and we’re sharing our hygiene knowledge and research via the Essentials Initiative,” she said. “We also use ergonomic packaging, increased work efficiency and hygiene education tools to bring tangible benefits to people. And we want to inspire others to join the United Nations SDGs and be frontrunners in terms of circularity.”

Meanwhile, Essity is working with the Fotografiska museum to highlight hygiene issues through photography exhibitions.

“We have also published white papers based on research we’ve carried out on school hygiene in several countries,” said Remijnse. “And through our Tork brand we work to improve sustainability with product innovations, education and the smart use of resources.”

Essity was founded in 2017 and was originally part of SCA, with the company tracing its roots back to 19th century Sweden. Essity currently operates in around 150 countries worldwide and this is its first European Cleaning & Hygiene Award.

“Winning is something to celebrate because it tells us that our peers, stakeholders and customers appreciate our efforts,” said Remijnse. “Our colleagues in all departments including production, sales, marketing and customer service feel tremendous pride in receiving this award – and without them we wouldn’t be able to go that extra mile.”

European Cleaning & Hygiene Award judge and ECJ editor Michelle Marshall adds: “Sustainability clearly runs through the heart of Essity. Its work goes well beyond the cleaning sector and 42 per cent of its innovations yield social and/or environmental improvements.”

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 25

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EUROPEAN CLEANING & HYGIENE AWARDS

Tailor-made solutions Today’s distributors are increasingly being expected to go above and beyond the traditional role of supplier. Kenter does just that – which is why the company won the European Cleaning & Hygiene Award for Distributor Excellence in Added Value in Berlin, according to ceo Rainer Kenter.

There was once a time when distributors were simply expected to fulfil the traditional role of supplier. But today’s customers are demanding more and more from their distributor.

For example, they are increasingly seeking advice on which products to choose and which systems are deemed to be the most sustainable. They are also tapping into the distributor’s knowledge of topics such as cost-in-use, health and safety and supply chain efficiencies.

And on top of this, distributors are being expected to accurately identify their clients’ cleaning and building maintenance needs using a combination of modern technology and specialist knowledge.

Many suppliers have embraced this challenge and are excelling themselves in living up to their customers’ expectations.

And Kenter is one such company.

Founded in Germany in 1975, the organisation has come up with the Kenter Next concept which seeks to bring together the solutions to four major issues that are

currently facing the cleaning industry. The company then strives to incorporate these solutions into its working model.

“We identified the four key challenges of the future as being: the need to increase productivity; the importance of optimising workflow; the requirement to come up with digital working methods and the need to incorporate smart sustainable solutions,” said ceo and owner Rainer Kenter.

“We then devised the Kenter Next system which strives to come up with solutions to all these four challenges. And the result is a system that is designed to add value to both our customers and their contract cleaners.”

The aim of Kenter Next is to incorporate solutions to at least two of the four “future challenges” into every product, tool and system supplied by the company.

“For example, the iMop - which was invented by ourselves together with our business partner Rudolf Franke - combines increased productivity with the use of very little water and reduced chemical consumption,” said Kenter. “This leads to many thousands of litres of water and chemicals being saved per machine each year.

“Another example is the Comac NonStop-Cleaning machine. The idea was born nine years ago to construct a machine that would be capable of cleaning for a week at a time without having to change the water.

“We combine this technology with biotech cleaning products to challenge bad smells while also providing an excellent cleaning action, even though we are working with recycled water instead of fresh water.”

Kenter believes the changing face of the industry has led to the need for more

innovative systems and working methods. “We believe it is no longer enough to simply offer our customers a choice of products plus a basic level of service as we go forward to face the challenges of the future,” he said. “Our customers need tailor-made solutions which will give them an advantage over the competition.”

The company was shortlisted for European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards in 2016 and 2017 but this is the first time it has actually won. “I think it was the fact that we combined multiple Innovations in an unusual way and which worked to our customers’ advantage that earned us the Distributors – Excellence in Added Value award,” said Kenter.

“Being shortlisted in 2016 and 2017 motivated us to carry on with our strategy, and winning in 2018 has made us very proud. It was a reward for the whole team.”

European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards judge and ECJ editor Michelle Marshall says she liked the way Kenter considered its customers’ practical needs and developed a package solution that took care of several key aspects. “It’s a holistic approach that seeks to meet tomorrow’s requirements while also taking advantage of today’s opportunities,” she said.

So, does Kenter believe that its business model provides a blueprint for distributors of the future? “Yes, absolutely – provided those distributors are ready to tackle tomorrow’s challenges and invest in systems, people, logistics and knowhow,” he said.

The European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards 2019 will be held in London on October 17 and are now open for entry.

Visit www.echawards.com

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 27

HYGIENE IN HEALTHCARE

A touching bedside scenario Which healthcare surfaces pose the highest risk of spreading infections and viruses around a hospital, asks Ann Laffeaty? And how can this risk be minimised?

A healthcare facility is the place where people go to be cured. But when sick people are kept together in close confinement, the risk of catching a new illness becomes huge. Most viruses and infections are spread via the air or by touching a contaminated surface. It is difficult to avoid breathing the same air as an infected person, but it is slightly more within our control to avoid coming into hand contact with pathogens on surfaces.

The risks of picking up a bug may be reduced if we practise good hand hygiene and if all potentially contaminated surfaces are frequently cleaned. But how difficult is it to keep healthcare surfaces clean and bug-free? Whose job is it to keep them that way, and which surfaces present the most risk to patients?

The answer is, all of them according to Filmop’s export area manager Paolo Scapinello. “Viruses and bacteria are everywhere and respect no territorial limits,” he said. “So all healthcare surfaces areas require well-defined cleaning procedures to help prevent dangerous bacteria from spreading.”

He adds that common areas such as entrances and waiting rooms pose a particular risk since these accommodate a constant stream of visitors, operators and nursing staff. “Dirt is more present in these high traffic areas which means they will require a targeted action.”

Healthcare surfaces should be cleaned and sanitised every day, says Scapinello, with additional cleaning to be factored in when the need arises. “Even the cleaning equipment itself may become a source of bacterial diffusion so it is essential to use the right equipment to help prevent infections,” he adds.

Components of Filmop’s A-B Plus sys-

tem – which includes the Alpha A-B Plus trolley - comprise antibacterial additives while the Alpha A-B Plus trolley also offers separate washing, storage and collection compartments. Filmop also offers the Uniko mop holder which can be used with a range of antibacterial microfibre cloths.

Patient rooms, out-patient clinics, washrooms and emergency rooms all present a particularly high risk according to IPC communications manager Gabriella Bianco. “Families with children, doctors and other hospital staff members will be walking around these rooms and the surrounding hallways,” she said.

“Dangerous pathogens can therefore easily be transmitted from person to person through the air or via surfaces without anyone realising it is happening.”

High risk surfaces She says patient rooms contain many surfaces that pose a high risk. “Bed rails, chairs, bedside tables, doors, windows, telephones, call bells, light switches and the edges of privacy curtains may all potentially become contaminated via the hands,” she said. “And in the patient bathrooms, fixtures such as the toilet seat, flush button and taps are also examples of high-touch surfaces.”

Some healthcare areas are often overlooked according to Bianco. “These include the lockers where cleaners store their equipment, and the changing rooms where healthcare staff leave their outdoor clothes before starting work,” she said.

Products in the IPC Healthcare Program include the Brix PT System, a combined floor cleaning and sanitisation protocol that uses pre-treated microfibre mops.

The company’s Shark mop has a microfibre textile weave construction which is said to make it capable of effectively absorbing liquids and organic residues.

A two-year study looking at ways of improving hygiene in patient surroundings was recently conducted by Essity, says healthcare marketing director Thomas Bergin. During the multi-partner study the company analysed the presence of bac-

teria in healthcare facilities and assessed them as potential sources of healthcareassociated infections. “Surfaces we tested included textiles, bed guardrails and the floors in patient wards,” said Bergin.

“These were all found to harbour a variety of bacteria, some of which could be potential pathogens.

“And we discovered that soft surfaces such as curtains, bed covers, chairs and couches were often overlooked as potential reservoirs for cross-contamination.”

According to Bergin, some micro-organisms remain viable for weeks or even months. “Minimising contamination is a fundamental aspect of hospital cleaning and needs to be carried out regularly - but also on demand, such as when there is an outbreak of C.difficile or similar,” he said.

“Frequent cleaning is of utmost importance to remove dust, dirt and the chemical residues upon which microorganism can feed and grow. Other important considerations are how you clean, what products are used, how they are being used, the routines involved and how well they are followed.”

He claims that a regular follow-up with ATP measurements and visual inspections are both crucial in order to minimise cross-contamination and maintain control.

Essity offers hand hygiene products, hand sanitisers and couch rolls for the healthcare sector. All Tork dispensers have rounded edges to make them easy to clean, while touch-free and one-at-the time dispensing options are said to minimise the risk of cross-contamination.

Responsibility for cleaning varies from facility to facility, says Bergin. “It is generally a team effort with care staff being responsible for the bedside equipment while cleaners are tasked with cleaning all the other surfaces,” he said. “However, this system may result in some areas being overlooked with items such as curtains and seat cushions often falling into this grey area.”

He believes strict protocols can help to Continued page 30

February/March | ECJ | 29

HYGIENE IN HEALTHCARE Touching bedside scenario (continued) ensure patient safety and optimise cleaning results. “Other important factors are well-trained cleaning staff and the use of quality products and equipment,” he said.

Greenspeed marketing manager Floor Loos singles out door handles, bed rails and light switches as surfaces that present a particularly high risk. “These are all potentially touched by patients, nurses and visitors,” she said.

Don’t disinfect too often “Cleaning on a daily basis will minimise the risk of an outbreak, while those places where the risk is particularly high also need to be disinfected. But it is worth keeping in mind that some studies warn against disinfecting too often, since this could help give rise to resistant bacteria.”

Areas that are not directly in line of sight are often typically overlooked, says Loos.

“For example, it may be obvious that areas such as washrooms, floors and bed rails need to be cleaned, but it is also important to clean the cupboards, wardrobes, light switches - and the cleaning trolley itself,” she said.

Designed for use in healthcare is the Click’M C flat mop which can be opened with the foot to avoid any contact with the operator’s hands. This can be used with various microfibre mops depending on soil levels and floor type.

Pathogens can hide and breed in the most unlikely of places - and this is also true of healthcare settings according to GOJO European marketing and product development vice-president Chris Wakefield.

“Curtains, lift buttons, computer keyboards and even mobile telephones all have one thing in common – different hands touch them frequently,” he said.

“This makes them a potential hotbed for germs if proper hand hygiene protocols are not followed.

“In healthcare it is also a problem to determine who cleans what, when and how. Nurses play their part in ensuring the cleanliness and hygiene of a healthcare facility, but cleaning is a skill that requires training, equipment and resources and it should be undertaken by professional operatives. And patients and visitors also have a responsibility to ensure they do not contaminate their surroundings.”

Dans un établissement de santé typique, on trouvera de nombreuse surfaces susceptibles d’être touchées par d’innombrables personnes et pouvant ainsi donner lieu à un risque de contamination croisée.

Ce serait par exemple le cas de gardes de lit, de casiers et de tables de nuit que des patients, visiteurs et infirmières vont être amenés à toucher. Cela serait également le cas de vitres de réception, de poignées de porte, d’interrupteurs d’éclairage et de distributeurs de savon dans les toilettes.

30 | February/March | ECJ

He says improving hand hygiene is one of the most effective ways of lowering the risk of cross contamination in clinical and healthcare settings. “However, despite being simple, low-cost and highly effective, this method of infection prevention relies on compliance and behavioural change to be successful,” he said.

Gojo offers Purell hand rubs which are formulated with 70 per cent ethyl-alcohol and are claimed to kill germs within seconds. Purell dispensers are said to be easy to use and can be wall-mounted, freestanding, push-activated or touch-free.

Surfaces closest to the patient pose a particular cross-contamination risk according to Diversey’s European healthcare marketing leader Jolanta Stasiewicz.

“These include bed rails, over-bed tables and bedside tables,” she said. “Recent studies have also shown that patients frequently cross-contaminate their own bedding with pathogens present on the floor. So in other words, all surfaces in the patient room may potentially be affected and visitors need to play their own role in preventing infections.”

She says viruses can remain active on surfaces for hours or days while infectioncausing bacteria can survive for weeks or even months. “If these pathogens are not addressed through hand and surface hygiene, they will present a risk for long periods of time - certainly long enough for cross-transmission to occur,” she said.

Previous occupants According to Stasiewicz there is mounting evidence that patients could pick up an infection lingering behind from a previous occupant of their hospital bed. “Patients could therefore be forgiven for wanting to know who was in the bed before them and what infections they suffered.”

One of the chief challenges in healthcare cleaning is the clear assignment of responsibility, she says. “Often a contract cleaner is employed to clean part of the patient area while other tasks are left to the nursing staff,” she said. “During discharge cleaning, for example, it is common for the housekeeping department to clean the toilet and some areas of the patient room while a nursing assistant may be responsible for the bed and other surfaces.

Eine typische Einrichtung des Gesundheitswesens weist zahlreiche Oberflächen auf, die von vielen verschiedenen Menschen berührt werden, wodurch das potenzielle Risiko einer Kreuzkontamination entsteht. Gegenstände wie die Seitenteile des Bettes, Vorhänge, Schränke und Nachttische werden möglicherweise von Patienten, Besuchern und Mitarbeitern berührt. Und was ist mit Oberflächen wie Check-in-Bildschirmen, Türgriffen, Lichtschaltern und Waschraumspendern?

“Often these two workers are not in the room at the same time, making it more likely confusion may arise over who cleans what.” This means areas such as bed rails are often overlooked, she says, since each party will believe the other to be responsible for cleaning it. “When you consider that bed rails may be touched more than 250 times a day, the idea that they are not being cleaned is alarming,” she said.

Products such as disposable pre-wetted disinfectant wipes will reduce the amount of time it takes to clean while also making the task easier and more convenient, she says. Diversey’s Oxivir AHP disposable wipes are effective against key pathogens and can be used for a range of healthcare cleaning tasks.

So with all these challenges facing healthcare workers, what is the key advice in terms of minimising the cross-contamination risk? “Detailed cleaning instructions with suggested frequencies are vital, and UVC devices should be used to provide an additional barrier to help overcome any lapses in cleaning procedures,” said Stasiewicz. “There should also be a robust auditing programme focused on identifying the risk areas.”

Correctly cleaning and sanitising every area is the only way to minimise the risk of cross-contamination, says Filmop’s Paolo Scapinello. “It is also essential to use equipment suitable for this task,” he said.

Greenspeed’s Floor Loos adds every room and surface should be cleaned with a new cloth or mop to minimise the risks.

“The user’s hands and the mop handle should also be disinfected and the operator should clean from the top down and work from clean to dirty areas,” she adds.

Specialist workers following strict cleaning schedules and operating within specific protocols need to clean daily, says IPC’s Gabriella Bianco. “Healthcare staff should also wear gloves, safety glasses and masks and they should follow good hygiene practices, such as always washing their hands with soap and water.”

Essity’s Thomas Bergin also considers hand hygiene routines to be pivotal. “Ensuring proper hygiene compliance among staff and patients is critical in maintaining a healthy, clean and low-risk environment.”

Una struttura sanitaria tipica ha molte superfici che vengono toccate da più persone e ciò può comportare un potenziale rischio di contaminazione crociata.

Oggetti tipo le sponde dei letti, le tende, gli armadietti e i comodini vengono toccati dai pazienti, dai visitatori e dal personale delle strutture stesse. E per quanto riguarda le superfici tipo gli schermi per fare il checkin, le maniglie delle porte, gli interruttori della luce e i dispenser dei bagni?

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PRODUCTS: HYGIENE IN HEALTHCARE

• Parmi les produits de santé développés par Diversey figure la gamme Oxivir de désinfectants accélérés au péroxyde d’hydrogène.

• Grâce à son cadre magnétique, les tampons du système de balayage humide Click’M C de Greenspeed s’installent sans être touchés par l’opérateur.

• Vileda Professional a lancé la lingette jetable à microfibre MicronSolo.

• Essity, fabricant Tork, propose des produits pour l’hygiène des mains conçus pour encourager la conformité hygiénique parmi les travailleurs de la santé.

• Truvox propose une gamme d’autolaveuses de différentes tailles convenant pour les applications de santé.

• Le système stayCLEAN d’Ecosi pour établissements de santé comprend trois produits de nettoyage spécialisés.

• Unter den Produkten für das Gesundheitswesen, die von Diversey entwickelt wurden, befindet sich die Produktreihe Oxivir mit Desinfektionsmitteln mit Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide (AHP).

• Dank des magnetischen Rahmens brauchen Reinigungskräfte die Mikrofasermopps des Moppsystems Click’M C von Greenspeed nicht zu berühren.

• Neu von Vileda Professional ist das Einweg-Mikrofaserwischtuch MicronSolo.

• Essity, der Hersteller von Tork, bietet Handhygieneprodukte an, die konzipiert wurden, um zur Einhaltung der Hygienevorschriften unter Mitarbeitern des Gesundheitswesens zu ermutigen.

• Truvox bietet eine Produktreihe mit Scheuersaugmaschinen in verschiedenen Größen, die für den Einsatz im Gesundheitswesen geeignet sind.

• Das stayCLEAN-System von Ecosi ist für Einrichtungen des Gesundheitswesens gedacht und besteht aus drei speziellen Reinigungsprodukten.

• Fra i prodotti per il settore sanitario sviluppati dalla Diversey c’è la gamma di disinfettanti a perossido di idrogeno accelerato Oxivir.

• Grazie alla struttura magnetica del sistema mop Click’M C della Greenspeed, i mop in microfibra non vengono toccati dagli addetti alle pulizie.

• Il nuovo prodotto della Vileda Professional è il panno monouso in microfibra MicronSolo.

• La Tork, produttrice dalla Essity, propone dei prodotti per l’igiene delle mani progettati per incoraggiare il rispetto del protocollo di igiene fra i lavoratori del settore sanitario.

• La Truvox propone una gamma di lavasciuga pavimenti disponibili in varie misure e che sono adatte per le pulizie nel settore sanitario.

• Il sistema stayCLEAN della Ecosi progettato per gli ambienti sanitari include tre prodotti per le pulizie specializzate.

32 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

Safe to use Healthcare associated innovations from Diversey include the Oxivir range of accelerated hydrogen peroxide disinfectants - effective against pathogens such as MRSA, VRE, CRE, Norovirus, Influenza in 30 seconds or spores in under a minute. Yet they are safe to use, even without PPE the company says.

Oxivir products clean and disinfect and boast great surface compatibility to promote their easy and extensive use.

Diversey also offers a UVC solution called MoonBeam 3 its directional arms optimise the

The system is compatible with five different Greenspeed mops so every floor surface can be cleaned in the same hygienic way. www.greenspeed.eu

Super-fine The MicronSolo single use microfibre wipe features a combination of individual super fine microfibres and highly absorbent viscose fibres. Developed by Vileda Professional, who claims this is the finest split microfibre on the market, MicronSolo can remove any spillage quickly and easily. The company says it can hold 40 per cent more water than ordinary microfibre wipes.

Bacteria reduction is 99.9 per cent, making it suitable for maximum infection control. vileda.professional@ fhp-ww.com

and are housed in a dispenser that requires a low push force, which makes it quick and easy to use. Each cartridge contains 2,500 shots of soap which means supply is less likely to run out between checks.

The Tork Matic Hand Towel Roll also ensures a long-lasting supply in healthcare and dispenses towels one at a time to prevent the risk of cross-contamination.

And in particularly busy facilities, the Tork PeakServe Continuous Hand Towel system delivers a clean towel in three seconds while the high-capacity dispenser holds up to 2,100 towels. www.tork.co.uk

Versatile According to Truvox, scrubber dryers are an essential part of the cleaning operation in a healthcare environment because of their versatility and manoeuvrability.

efficiency at which the UVC light is dosed to disinfect high-touch surfaces in three minutes.

And for hand hygiene, the Intellicare hybrid cartridge dispenser promises optimum reliability to enable compliance. A selection of gentle and effective hand care formulas are available. www.diversey.com

Healthy mop The key to the hygiene benefits of the Click ‘M C mop range from Greenspeed is in the magnetic mechanism. It enables the operative to slip the frame into the pocket of the microfibre mop, press the handle down and the magnet immediately locks the mop into place.

Once cleaning is finished, simply press the green button with the foot to release the frame and slide the used mop into the laundry bag. No contact is required throughout the entire process.

Speedy hygiene

Multiwash machines, for example, are quiet in operation, and they wash, mop, scrub and dry hard and soft floor coverings in a single pass. The brushes can easily be changed and colour coded for different areas to prevent cross-contamination. www.truvox.com

Three formulas Healthcare workers quote pressure of work, inaccessibility of hand hygiene supplies and the fact that frequent washing and drying can aggravate their skin among the reasons for noncompliance with hand hygiene practices. So Tork manufacturer Essity has developed a range of products designed to speed up hand hygiene while also being kind to the hands.

Tork Foam Soaps are particularly suitable for healthcare since they are quick to lather

Developed by Ecosi, stayCLEAN is a range of healthcare hygiene solutions comprising three products: sC1 for floor cleaning, sC2 to sanitise surfaces and sC+, a single dose additive.

The products have been launched following a joint project between Ecosi and the Universities of Bologna, Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy. They are compatible with all disinfection and biocidal protocols. www.ecosi.it

PRODUCTS: HYGIENE IN HEALTHCARE Dementia range Dudley Industries has worked with the experts at The Anti Ligature shop to design and manufacture a Dementia Washroom Range of dispensers aimed at users who need additional support through the clear indication of where provisions are.

The line consists of a dementia-friendly soap dispenser, mirror and paper towel and toilet paper dispenser – all manufactured from high grade stainless steel for durability and powder coated for strength of colour.

The units work in conjunction

with a wall plate in an alternate colour to ensure a clear distinction can be made against the wall decor. Dispensers and wall plates are available in both blue and white to ensure a suitable contrast for all locations and décor schemes. dudleyindustries.com

Cleans air The AF 100 device developed by Kärcher improves the quality of room air and is suitable for use in healthcare settings.

The unit cleans the air in a 100 square metre room in 20 minutes and retains up to 99.98 per cent of all particles.

Operation is simple - insert the desired filters in pairs at the front and back, plug it in and switch on. Inside the machine, a laser sensor monitors the level of air pollution and in automatic mode constantly adjusts the cleaning performance. During operation, the air circulates

through the filters in the device and is then blown out clean into the environment. www.karcher.com

Hygiene apps GOJO Industries-Europe has created two mobile apps designed to help reduce maintenance time spent on dispensers and improve hand hygiene The GOJO SMARTLINK Service Alerts System is a preventative maintenance system while the GOJO SMARTLINK Observation System provides feedback and delivers reports immediately for both hand hygiene and PPE compliance. www.gojo.com

opera

A NEW ERA FOR HEALTHCARE CARTS

• Dudley Industries a développé une gamme de distributeurs pour toilettes destinées aux victimes de démence sénile.

• Proposé par Kärcher, le dispositif AF 100 améliore la qualité de l’air ambiant d’une pièce.

• GOJO a créé deux applications mobiles pour réduire les temps d’entretien consacrés aux distributeurs et pour améliorer l’hygiène des mains.

• Dudley Industries hat eine Produktreihe mit Waschraumspendern entwickelt, die speziell an Benutzer gerichtet sind, die an Demenz leiden.

• Bei der AF 100 von Kärcher handelt es sich um ein Gerät zur Verbesserung der Qualität der Raumluft.

• GOJO hat zwei mobile Apps entwickelt, um die Wartungszeit von Waschraumspendern zu reduzieren und die Handhygiene zu verbessern.

• La Dudley Industries ha sviluppato una gamma di dispenser per sale da toilette progettati per gli utenti che soffrono di demenza.

• AF 100 della Kärcher è uno strumento che migliora la qualità dell’aria delle stanze.

• La GOJO ha sviluppato due app mobili progettate per aiutare a ridurre il tempo utilizzato per la manutenzione dei dispenser delle sale da toilette e per migliorare l’igiene delle mani.

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A flexible and versatile system, Opera offers a solution to every need. The ergonomic design means safer operation, security and superior hygiene features – including frame holder lids, lockable compartments for chemicals, mops and accessories, plus an advanced pre-impregnation system with effective storage of used mops. The Opera trolley is also available in Re-Use certified plastic.

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 33

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WORKFORCE

The invisible workforce A TV drama series on UK television this winter took the premise that cleaners were so “invisible” that they could carry out clever crimes without being suspected. Ann Laffeaty finds out how “invisible” our cleaners actually are – and what companies are doing to make their staff feel more valued.

A six-part TV drama aired on UK television this winter has been the source of much social media attention. Starring actress Sheridan Smith as an office cleaner, the plot of Cleaning Up hinged on a specific premise regarding the industry: that cleaning staff are such an invisible workforce they could carry out crimes without being suspected.

Sheridan Smith’s character exploited this situation in the drama to eavesdrop on a City trader and try her hand at insider trading. Writer Mark Marlow claims he came up with the idea while watching the 1987 film Wall Street in which actor Charlie Sheen’s character was tasked with finding out some inside information for Michael Douglas’ character. While Sheen rifled through the on-screen filing cabinets, Marlow spotted an “extra” playing a cleaner in the background who could easily have observed Sheen’s actions. Yet the background character remained unnoticed.

This issue has been much analysed in recent years. A paper entitled: “They really don’t want to see us” was published last year in the Journal of Vocational Behaviour, for example. The authors questioned nearly 200 facility cleaners to find out how cleaners experienced invisibility, what it felt like and why they felt they were rendered invisible. Respondents attributed the phenomenon to various factors including class issues, customer absentmindedness and the nature of the work they carried out. And their reactions ranged from anger, resignation and

ambivalence to relief in some cases.

The UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission has also addressed the issue in its paper entitled The Invisible Workforce: Practices in the Cleaning Sector. The paper highlights the vital service carried out by staff to ensure our workplaces, hospitals, schools, transport and public spaces are kept clean. But it also remarks that the cleaner’s work often goes unnoticed and unappreciated and that many cleaners are treated with a lack of dignity and respect.

Some claim they are seldom acknowledged by the people who work in the offices they clean. They are rarely addressed by name and those who do speak to them hardly ever say “please” or “thank you”.

And cleaners add that they are often made to feel “the lowest of the low”.

But is this a true reflection of the industry today? How many cleaners actually feel “invisible” and how does this impact on their working lives? And what are employers doing to address the situation?

Operations director at Julius Rutherfoord & Co Caroline Hutchins admits some cleaners are indeed underpaid, undertrained and undervalued. “However, we are committed to being part of the movement for change – for the benefit of the cleaning operatives as well as for our clients,” she said.

“We provide continuous training programmes plus reward and recognition schemes, and we pay above the National Living Wage which means we can recruit passionate staff who will be with us for the long term. It’s no accident that our employee retention rates are more than three times the industry average.

“We also reward employees through our JR&Co Stars awards in which clients and colleagues are invited to nominate anyone who has delivered excellent customer service and who has gone above and beyond the call of duty.”

Managing director of Facilicom UK Jan-Hein Hemke agrees that cleaners can sometimes find themselves to be part

of an invisible workforce. “They provide a vital role in ensuring our workplaces, hospitals, schools, transport and public spaces are clean and pleasant to use - yet often this key service goes unnoticed and unappreciated,” he said.

In 2017 Facilicom became a member of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission’s Cleaning Taskforce, an industry-led action group which aimed to increase visibility and improve working conditions for cleaners. “Together we strived to make things better for all our colleagues across the industry and ensure cleaning teams received the respect and admiration they deserve,” he said.

Besides providing basic cleaning instruction, Facilicom also trains all its staff in “Hostmanship” -the art of making people feel welcome. “This not only helps to build their confidence when communicating and engaging with their peers, clients and customers, it also allows us to add value for our clients,” said Hemke.

“By developing and honing colleagues’ interpersonal skills we can introduce a caring but professional approach to our work. Colleagues are more motivated and committed to their tasks and have a better understanding of their clients’ needs.”

Invisibility is not a problem for Insider Facility Services according to marketing and purchasing manager Thor Nielsen.

“In our annual survey we give cleaners the opportunity to air their opinions, and in our most recent study I cannot recall any responses indicating that anyone felt invisible or depressed,” he said. “The main issues were around wanting more work, more money and more social activities.”

He says the company provides its cleaners with a high level of support from their designated leader along with excellent training opportunities from day one.

Insider Facility Services runs an internal educational programme – InsiderSkolen – which takes the form of a year-long course and all cleaners receive a raise in salary after completing it. “InsiderSkolen Continued page 36

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 35

WORKFORCE The invisible workforce (continued) also provides social benefits since it enables cleaners to meet up with colleagues they would not usually see during working hours,” said Nielsen. “And we also offer local social events such as summer and Christmas parties.”

The company has developed an app called Kontroll Inside Active in a bid to empower and reward its cleaners. “This encourages them to come forward with ideas, cleaning tips and other suggestions and these are all sent straight to HQ,” said Nielsen. “The app also has a sales tip function, and any cleaner who comes up with a lead that results in an offer to a potential customer receives a financial reward.”

Director of the European Cleaning and Facility Services Industry (EFCI) Isabel Yglesias says a cleaner’s invisibility or otherwise depends largely on the personal attitude of the end-user and on the cleaner’s schedule.

“Night-time cleaning is still common and when this occurs it means cleaners are not seeing the people for whom they clean and vice versa,” she said. “The EFCI strongly supports campaigns that provide more visibility to the cleaning sector,” she said. “We continually work with unions on the issue of daytime cleaning and we have highlighted the valorisation of the sector as a priority in our work strategy. And we plan for further campaigns in the future.”

So if cleaners are actually “invisible” to many of us, does it make it easier for them to carry out dishonest activities at work?

And do cleaning and facilities companies need to put measures in place to prevent any transgressions?

Julius Rutherfoord uses airport-style passport scanning systems to identify any illegal workers during the recruitment process. “Once a staff member has been employed we use biometric time and

Un feuilleton à la télévision britannique, diffusé cet hiver, part du principe que les agents de nettoyage sont “invisibles” au point de pouvoir commettre des crimes très futés sans être suspectés. Ann Laffeaty cherche à savoir à quel point ils le sont vraiment - et ce que leurs employeurs font pour que ces travailleurs se sentent plus appréciés.

In diesem Winter wurde im britischen Fernsehen eine Dramaserie gezeigt, die von der Prämisse ausging, dass Reinigungskräfte so „unsichtbar“ sind, dass sie clevere Verbrechen ausführen konnten, ohne verdächtigt zu werden. Ann Laffeaty findet heraus, wie „unsichtbar“ unsere Reinigungskräfte wirklich sind – und welche Schritte Unternehmen ergreifen, damit sich ihre Mitarbeiter geschätzt fühlen.

attendance systems whereby a person’s identification can be verified through their fingerprint or iris scan,” said Hutchins.

Thor Nielsen says in the 12 years he has worked at Insider Facility Services he can only recall one incident of a cleaner being dishonest. “There are some customers with whom we have signed confidentiality agreements, and the cleaners who work in these environments receive extra support,” he said. “These types of customers usually do have their own heavy security.”

Facilicom vets its cleaners thoroughly and has a higher-than-average ratio of managers to cleaning operatives, says JanHein Hemke. “This helps with safety and security and ensures that we only employ honest staff,” he said.

“Cleaners are often the first - and the easiest - of workers to blame when something goes missing but they are rarely the culprit.”

Una serie televisiva trasmessa dalla televisione britannica quest’inverno ha presupposto che gli addetti alle pulizia sono cosi’ invisibili che possono commettere dei crimini ingegnosi senza che nessuno sospetti di loro. Anna Laffeaty cerca di scoprire fino a che punto gli addetti alle pulizie sono veramente invisibili e cosa fanno le imprese di pulizia per far si’ che il loro personale si senta piu’ valorizzato.

See us on

stand H05 Visit us at the cleaning show this year and see our heroes in action...

PLUS a new addition to the squad will be revealed!

GREEN CLEANING

Moving the goalposts Moving raw materials, products and employees around the country – and potentially the world – can have a huge impact on the environment. So, what are cleaning manufacturers doing to reduce the impact of such journeys, asks Ann Laffeaty?

Transport in all its forms has a major effect on our planet. The use of fossil fuels to power vehicles not only constitutes a drain on our natural resources, it also leads to harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

The impacts of transport also include high noise levels and the creation of particulates from combustion engines which have been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular problems.

And climate change is often considered to be one of the more long-term effects of moving people and products around the world, with 15 per cent of global CO2 emissions thought to be attributable to the transport sector.

But in a dynamic business environment it is essential staff remain mobile in order to promote their company’s brand, visit production sites and attend international meetings. As for the products themselves, these rely on raw materials that may need to be sourced from afar. And once they have been made, products need to be packaged up and shipped to the markets.

So, is there any way of reducing the environmental impact of all these journeys?

Metsä Tissue applies strict sustainability criteria to all its logistics service providers, says managing director Mark Dewick. “We conducted a sustainability questionnaire and evaluated

40 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

our service providers’ responses against our own criteria relating to management, business ethics, social responsibility, health and safety, risk management and environmental responsibility,” he said.

“All issues identified through the survey were addressed and all our suppliers have now fulfilled the required criteria.”

However it is a challenge to transport tissue products in a sustainable manner according to Dewick. “Tissue papers are light and airy - and transporting air is not a sustainable way to operate,” he said. “So we manufacture our products as close to the markets as possible to minimise transport distances.

“We also ensure our products are efficiently packed on the pallet to allow us to transport less air and more product in the same space, which in turn reduces our CO2 emissions.”

The company continually assesses its products to see where space may be further maximised during transport, he says. “For example, paper roll products that are wound more tightly take up less space which means we can fit more on to a pallet.”

According to Dewick it is also important to minimise the amount of packaging waste. “Urbanisation and rising income levels in emerging markets are increasing consumption which boosts the demand for packaging,” he said. “Meanwhile, changes in retailing - especially e-commerce - are further increasing this demand.”

In 2017 Metsä opened a bio-product mill in order to make use of its tissue bio-products. “We have produced a new biogas which can be used as a traffic fuel, plus a biocomposite that could potentially replace plastic,” he said.

Minimise staff transport Metsä aims to minimise its staff transport burden by using teleconferencing facilities where possible. “This greatly reduces the need for visiting offices while lowering our need for international travel for internal

company projects,” said Dewick. “And we are entering a new era in forestry, using digitalisation to provide solutions that make forests more intelligent. For example, landowners will soon be able to visit their forests in virtual reality which means there will be less need to travel and the collection of raw materials will become more effective.”

Greenspeed also places a strong focus on transport efficiency according to marketing manager Floor Loos. “We order full lorries when sourcing stock and we send out full lorries back on to the road,” she said. “The ingredients and minerals contained in our detergents are sourced near to our plant and the central location of that plant provides good connections between the production unit and our major sales regions. And this allows us to reduce transport miles and run our business more efficiently.”

Highly concentrated Greenspeed detergents come in a highly concentrated format - 100 doses per litre bottle – with five-litre refills also available, she adds. “This not only leads to less packaging waste, but also to a reduced transport burden,” said Loos. “And we encourage our customers to order full packages of products instead of one bottle or a single microfibre cloth.”

Like Metsä, Greenspeed has policies in place to reduce staff journeys.

“Telecommunication applications such as Zoom and Skype are used internally to avoid unnecessary commuter traffic while those employees who need to move around more frequently – such as account managers – use electric vehicles,” she said. “And we encourage employees to come to work by bike and offer compensation for staff members who do.”

Kärcher is also taking steps to minimise staff travel, says management systems director Andreas Mayer. “We have a clearly defined travel policy designed to reduce the impact of people traffic,” he said. “This supports green transport modes such as public transport plus the use of bicycles by

GREEN CLEANING our employees.

“We also offer facilities for charging electric cars and have several such vehicles in our car pool. And we support video conferencing and offer home-working options to staff.”

The company has regionalised its purchasing process in line with the ‘Local for Local’ concept, says Mayer.

“This helps to lower the impact of raw material transportation and reduces the consumption of resources, both in terms of transport and logistics,” he said. “In China we already procure 90 per cent regionally whereas in Europe this figure is 70 per cent.”

Meanwhile, Kärcher has initiated a project focusing on the delivery of goods direct from its plants. “This avoids unnecessary traffic via our global distribution centre and reduces the impact of product transport,” said Mayer.

Essity also takes steps to limit the impact of transport of raw materials and products, says the company’s communications director Reneé Remijnse.

“For example, we operate within a global manufacturing footprint to avoid transporting goods any further than necessary,” she said. “We also optimise our truck capacity and source materials locally where possible.

“We reduce the size of our packs with the aid of compressed packaging initiatives to reduce the transport burden. And we use efficient methods of transport such as EPA SmartWay certified trucks in the US which reduce our carbon footprint since they use natural gas rather than diesel.”

Less people movement Minimising the amount of packaging used and reducing product size is an important element of Essity’s innovation, according to Remijnse. “For example, our Tork PeakServe hand towels are compressed by 50 per cent which halves the transport capacity,” she said. “Tork Xpress hand towels are also compressed and our Tork Mid-size Toilet Paper rolls contain no core which reduces waste.

And Tork Easy Handling packs have been designed to reduce packaging volume.”

Essity has a number of initiatives in place to reduce the need for moving people from A to B, says Remijnse. “These include Le simple fait de déplacer des produits, matières premières et employés d’un endroit à l’autre comporte de grandes incidences sur la durabilité. D’après la publication britannique Fleet News, 49 pour cent des entreprises prévoient que leurs parcs de véhicules seront entièrement électriques d’ici à 2030. Cette prédiction serait-elle également valable pour le reste de l’Europe ?

encouraging a reduction in travel through virtual meetings by phone or with the use of local video conferencing facilities,” she said. “We also offer car-sharing support in the US and we facilitate the practice of working from home where suitable.

“And our car policy promotes the use of eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids, with electrical chargers available at some sites.”

Werner and Mertz actively encourages its employees to switch to hybrid or electric cars by offering them loading infrastructure and cheap leasing rates, says sustainability manager Christopher Luening.

Impact of transport

issues facing the world today?

“It is a clear: ‘It depends’,” says Kärcher’s Andreas Mayer. “Transport is the key issue for logistics companies, for sure, while the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is very important for most companies.

“But there are many other social and product-related sustainability issues to be taken into consideration, both within our own organisation and in the whole supply chain. So in my view it would not be fair to limit sustainability to one key issue.”

Greenspeed’s Floor Loos claims a green approach is essential across all areas, not just in the transport sector. “It is true transport has an enormous impact on the environment, so any mode of transport based on renewable resources is more desirable than those that depend on fossil fuels,” she said.

However, water management is one of the key focus areas in Greenspeed’s sustainability policy. “Water is an increasingly scarce resource and it is nearly impossible to prevent cleaning product residues from ending up in the hydrological cycle,” said Loos.

“As part of our EMAS and LEED certification efforts we offer more than 10 parking sites where employees can charge their electric cars for free,” he said.

“E-bikes are also supported as part of our e-mobility concept, with the company paying half the leasing costs.”

According to Luening, the impact of transport is a key leverage factor in terms of lowering a company’s carbon footprint.

“However, the emissions issue has for too long been focused on CO2 reduction and has neglected the air quality aspect,” he adds. “Cars are currently under scrutiny but we know ships used for transportation or coal being burnt for energy production have an even bigger influence.”

Werner and Mertz accommodates its bottle supplier’s business on its own production site in order to reduce its transport burden. “This enables us to totally avoid long-distance transportation for all our packaging,” said Luening. “And many of our chemical suppliers are located in the vicinity of our biggest production site in Mainz.”

The company works closely with national waste recyclers and packaging companies in a bid to reduce packaging weight and facilitate recycling. “An example is the world’s first monomaterial pouch which we developed with Mondi,” said Luening. ”We also have a closed recycling cycle in the German market which enables us to avoid the transportation of empty cans since we reuse the sorted waste.”

So, do companies consider transport to be one of the most pressing sustainability

Essity also focuses on several other sustainability issues besides transport reduction. “For example, we recently launched the Tork PaperCircle service for recycling used paper hand towels in some parts of Europe,” said Reneé Remijnse. “And Essity’s ultimate goal is total resource efficiency which naturally extends to aiming for zero waste. We have therefore set a target to ensure all our production facilities can convert their waste into useful materials or energy by 2030.”

Werner and Mertz’s Christopher Luening believes transport to be a particularly pressing sustainability issue. “Compared with the reduction of plastic packaging and replacing it with recycled materials, the leverage factor of transportation is an even bigger one,” he said. “It is impossible to have no footprint when moving people or goods, but we can look for alternatives to existing solutions. By combining a circular product design with a reduction of product weight and a lower transport burden we can optimise our sustainability efforts.”

Die Bewegung von Produkten, Rohmaterialien und Mitarbeitern von A nach B wirkt sich erheblich auf die Nachhaltigkeit aus. Laut der britischen Publikation Fleet News glauben 49 Prozent der Unternehmen, dass ihre Fuhrparks bis 2030 vollständig aus Elektrofahrzeugen bestehen. Inwiefern trifft diese Vorhersage auf den Rest Europas zu?

Lo spostamento dei prodotti, delle materie prime e del personale da un posto all’altro ha un fortissimo impatto sulla sostenibilità. Secondo quando emerge dalla pubblicazione britannica Fleet News, il 49 per cento delle imprese è del parere che la loro flotta di veicoli sarà interamente elettrica entro il 2030. Ma come si traduce questa previsione in tutta l’Europa?

Total resource efficiency

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 41

PRODUCTS: GREEN CLEANING

• Lindhaus aligne une gamme d’aspirateurs de Classe A+ qui se signalent par leur faible consommation électrique.

• Le tampons diamantés de nettoyage Bright ‘n’ Water de Wecoline sont conçus pour ne travailler qu’avec de l’eau.

• Le distributeur de produits d’entretien Jangro évalue son assortiment de produits en tenant compte de leur impact environnemental.

• Unger s’attache à développer des outils de nettoyage qui réduisent l’usage de produits chimiques et conservent les ressources naturelles.

• Diversey Care a lancé la gamme SURE de solutions de nettoyage et d’hygiène d’origine végétale.

• Nombre des poubelles, seaux et chariots de Filmop sont certifiés en tant que produits en matière plastique de seconde vie, car ils sont fabriqués à partir de matières plastiques recyclées.

• Lindhaus bietet eine Produktreihe mit Staubsaugern der Energieeffizienzklasse A+, d. h. einem sehr niedrigen Energieverbrauch.

• Die Bodenpads mit Diamantschicht Bright ‘n’ Water von Wecoline wurden zum Reinigen und Polieren nur mit Wasser entwickelt.

• Jangro, das Vertriebsnetzwerk für Reinigungs- und Raumpflegeartikel, beurteilt alle verkauften Produkte unter dem Aspekt einer geringen Auswirkung auf die Umwelt.

• Nach Angaben von Unger ist das Unternehmen darum bestrebt, Reinigungswerkzeuge zu entwickeln, die die Verwendung von Chemikalien verringern und natürliche Ressourcen schonen.

• Diversey Care hat SURE vorgestellt, eine Produktreihe mit Reinigungsund Hygienelösungen auf pflanzlicher Basis.

• Verschiedene Abfallbehälter, Eimer und Reinigungswagen von Filmop sind mit dem Zertifikat Plastic Second Life (PSV) ausgezeichnet, da sie unter Verwendung von recyceltem Plastik hergestellt werden.

• La Lindhaus propone una gamma di aspirapolveri Classe A+ che vantano un basso consumo di energia.

• I dischi diamantati per pavimenti Bright ‘n’ Water prodotti dalla Wecoline sono progettati per pulire utilizzando solo acqua.

• La rete di distribuzione di prodotti per le pulizie industriali Jangro valuta tutti i prodotti che vende tenendo ben presente che abbiano un impatto ambientale generalmente basso.

• La Unger afferma di ambire a sviluppare degli attrezzi di pulizia che riducano l’uso di prodotti chimici e che salvaguardino le risorse naturali.

• La Diversey Care ha lanciato SURE, una gamma di soluzioni di pulizia e igiene a base vegetale.

• Numerosi prodotti della Filmop tipo pattumiere, secchi e carrelli sono certificati Plastica Seconda Vita (Plastic Second Life -PSV) in quanto sono stati prodotti con plastica riciclata.

42 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

Light backpack Lindhaus’ backpack vacuum model LB4 Superleggera L-ion/ Electric is said to be lightweight and versatile - it can also be equipped with a blower kit.

The five-stage filtration system guarantees a filtration efficiency of 99.91 per cent at 0.3 micron. Using a Hepa filter (optional) for healthcare environments, this model can also be transformed into a c ompact, ultra light canister vacuum cleaner.

The electric version is equipped with a direct electrified connection for the use of the electronic Lindhaus PB12e power nozzle - transforming it into a backpack carpet cleaner. www.lindhaus.it.

Shining pads

With the launch of Bright’n Water pads Wecoline is enabling floor cleaning and maintenance using water alone. Suitable for stripping, cleaning and polishing the pads can be used on polished concrete, terrazzo, natural stone, VCT and overlays.

The pads are available in four colours and in a variety of formats, including rectangular. The colour indicates the application and, depending on the extent of the soiling and the type of floor, different colours are applied during the treatment. They are used with water on an automatic scrubber or dry on a high speed or ultra high speed single

disc machine. When the pad’s colour has disappeared, it is time to replace it. wecoline.com

The right choices All products offered by independent janitorial distribution group Jangro have been assessed with a low overall environmental impact in mind, from the raw materials used, to logistics, packaging and recycling. There is also a dedicated range designed to reduce users’ carbon footprints - Jangro Enviro Concentrates are high concentration, low dosage products.

The group is able to offer these sustainable products at consistent, competitive prices to its national account customers with multiple sites across the UK and Ireland. www.jangro.net

an efficient way to clean with 100 per cent pure water. The quick change system featuring the QuickChange resin bag with FloWater technology ensures more efficient water flow through the entire filter vessel. www.ungerglobal.com

Vegetal-based SURE is the range of vegetalbased cleaning solutions for kitchen, building and personal care from Diversey Care. These formulas are said to be 100 per cent biodegradable by natu-

Design priority Unger says sustainable thinking and action means developing cleaning tools which reduce the use of chemicals and conserve natural resources. So it is committed to using durable materials that give the products extended life cycles and a greener footprint.

The erGO! clean floor cleaning system, it says, protects users and the environment. Easy to operate with minimum effort and intuitive S movement, the solution works with a removable reservoir tank and without a need for a bucket. Due to the precise dosing mechanism, ergonomically operated on the upper handle, the cleaning solution is always dispensed in the right amount to the right place.

HydroPower DI meanwhile, is

ral processes as they contain plant-based ingredients and are free from artificial perfumes and dyes, quat, chlorine, phosphate and oxide compounds.

Ingredients are derived from renewable sources – by-products of the agro-food industry and originating from sugar beet, maize, straw bran, wheat bran and coconut. www.diversey.com

Recycled plastic Filmop has committed to the use of recycled plastics in its production processes and has a number of products certified Plastic Second Life (PSV) - including five bin lines, several buckets and seven mopping and multipurpose trolley ranges.

The colour-coded bins make waste collection easier, providing a specific solution for each kind of rubbish while the wide selection of buckets offers different capacities. And Filmop PSV wet mopping trolleys are produced with environmental sustainability in mind, designed to be light, compact and durable while the multipurpose trolleys simplify waste collection, storage and washing operations. www.filmop.com

PRODUCTS: GREEN CLEANING Commitment

Tork manufacturer Essity is committed to supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals including responsible consumption and reduction. Innovation focuses on aiming to reduce the burden on the environment by doing more with less.

For example, Tork dispensers for hand towels, toilet tissue and wiping products are all designed to give out only one sheet at a time. And the Tork SmartOne toilet tissue dispenser gives out tissue from an aperture at the front which prevents users from taking more than they need. Tests have shown that the system can reduce consumption

by up to 40 per cent and ensure that each roll lasts for up to 98 more visits.

The Tork Reflex wiping system - widely used in the food industry and in catering kitchens - also offers single sheet dispensing, reducing consumption by up to 37 per cent compared with traditional centrefeeds. And the Tork PeakServe Continuous Hand Towel Dispenser not only offers one at-a-time dispensing but also houses towels that have been compressed in size by 50 per cent. www.tork.co.uk

Green propane According to Aztec its LowRider propane burnishers are ‘greener’

than battery burnishers. This it says is because they cost half as much as battery models; work at twice the speed; have twice the head pressure; weigh half as much; offer unlimited run time; use clean-burning LPG; and have Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval as clean. www.aztecproducts.com

• Tork, qui se spécialise dans les systèmes pour l’hygiène et l’essuyage des mains, entend appuyer les Objectifs de développement durable des Nations Unies.

• D’après leur fabricant, la société Aztec, les polisseuses à propane LowRider sont plus «vertes» que les polisseuses à batterie.

• Greenspeed vise à ce que ses nouveaux nettoyants probiotiques exercent un impact positif sur les gens et sur l’environnement.

Probiotic clean

• Tork, das auf Handhygiene- und Wischsysteme spezialisierte Unternehmen, hat sich zur Unterstützung der Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung der UN verpflichtet.

• Laut eigenen Angaben von Aztec sind die Propan-Poliermaschinen LowRider umweltfreundlicher als akkubetriebene Poliermaschinen.

• Greenspeed teilt mit, dass seine neuen probiotischen Reinigungsmittel mit dem Ziel entwickelt wurden, eine positive Wirkung auf Menschen und die Umwelt zu haben.

Probio is the range of probiotic cleaners launched by Greenspeed recently, which consist of benign micro-organisms of organic origin. These ‘good’ bacteria tackle organic dirt and odours and once the products have been used they re-enter the environment where they actively contribute to water purification and maintain a natural microbial balance.

Probiotics remove organic grime deep down in the surface says Greenspeed, ensuring a lifelong cleaning result. www.greenspeed.eu

• La Tork, specializzata in igiene delle mani e sistemi di pulizia, si impegna a sostenere Sustainable Development Goals di UN (obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile).

• La Aztec afferma che le sue levigatrici industriali LowRider a propano sono più ‘verdi’ delle levigatrici a batteria.

• La Greenspeed afferma che i suoi detergenti probiotici mirano ad avere un impatto positivo sulle persone e sull’ambiente.

CLOSER TO YOU THAN EVER BEFORE

WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU AT

STAND E05

www.ttsystem.com TTS Cleaning S.R.L. (Soc. a Socio Unico) Tel.: +39 049 9300710 - Fax: +39 049 9300720 - E-mail: info@ttsystem.com

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 43

CASE STUDY

Teamwork in action The Farnborough International Airshow is a highlight of the events calendar in the UK. Taking place every two years, this week-long event combines a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with a public air show. Providing cleaning services for the first time this year was Stadium Support Services and ECJ spoke to Scott Hudson and Joseph Noble about managing such an immense contract.

For any cleaning company, the Farnborough International Airshow is a colossal contract win. It takes place every other year over a week during the summer on a 770 acre site in the south of England and what makes it particularly unusual is that it combines a trade exhibition with a event for the general public.

Consequently it attracts 200,000 visitors and constitutes more than 200 separate buildings. Exhibition space alone occupies 70,000 square metres and there are over 600 toilet cubicles to be cleaned.

Taking on the task for the first time last year was Stadium Support Services, a family-owned facilities management business specialising in mass spectator venues. Its team of over 100 staff provided 25,000 hours of cleaning during the last air show in July 2018. Up to the time Stadium Support won the contract there had been three different cleaning service providers over the past three events so the client was looking for significant improvement.

“There has been a real change in attitude towards cleaning in the events

44 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

world in recent years,” explains operations director Scott Hudson. “More and more venues are realising the importance of a clean site in attracting repeat visitors.

Previously it would have been the first item on the list to have the budget reduced to save costs.”

When embarking on the Farnborough contract Stadium Support was clear in emphasising that it would not be the cheapest service provider, but it would do the job well. “In our first year there we accepted we may not make the profit margins we will eventually achieve,” says commercial director Joseph Noble. “We felt it was better to over-resource, understand the site, where the bottlenecks might occur, etc – in order to work better next year when we might need fewer staff in certain areas for example.”

There was a huge amount of preparation in the run-up to the air show itself, and the Stadium Support team worked closely with the Farnborough management to familiarise themselves with the enormous site. “We believe in an open and honest dialogue with our clients, and in really understanding what they want and need from us,” adds Noble. “And thanks to the work done in the build-up, everything ran like clockwork.”

Rapid response The largest challenge was physically getting around the site and for that the team used golf buggies - it is 1.6 miles from one end of the Farnborough site to the other and a one-way system is in operation. Stadium Support was responsible for cleaning of exhibition halls, public areas, toilets and some private buildings, along with other services such as feminine hygiene. “We always need to be reactive on contracts like this,” Hudson emphasises, “because the nature of our work means there are many fast, last-minute jobs. For example if there is a blocked toilet a different level of expertise is needed so we had our own plumbing engineer on hand for incidents like that.”

The key to any contract’s success is in

staff welfare and management. Training is very much on the job, apart from an introductory video, and the new recruit is taken around the site by an experienced cleaner. “We pay them for a day, walk them round to learn where everything is,” explains Hudson. “They need to know how to direct visitors around the site, and even how to escort people if they’re lost.”

Stadium Support Services is committed to paying its staff well and taking good care of them when they are working on a site like Farnborough. “We know that two of our cleaners can do the job of three who are earning only the minimum wage and may be less motivated,” Hudson points out. “Our cleaners are very well paid.”

Staff welfare paramount And he is proud of how staff were taken care of during this week-long job. “Welfare of personnel is everything,” he points out.

“We made sure our people had areas to rest, everyone had their own locker, there was a microwave for heating food, and sandwiches and water were provided.

Each operative had two 15-minute breaks a day plus one hour at lunch – and often they even managed to have half an hour to watch the show, which they really enjoyed.

“I would be unhappy if people did not enjoy working for us.”

All cleaning staff had a uniform and wore a Farnborough wings badge. Top cleaners were awarded prizes and if they finished all their tasks early they could leave and still get paid. “This meant they were happy to stay late if and when needed,” Noble says.

The cleaning team was equally made up of men and women. There were seven exhibition halls. Hudson explains: “We flooded those halls with labour so they could complete the cleaning after the halls had closed in a shorter shift. We aimed to finish by 10pm each night. We did not want to have a night shift because it doesn’t suit our team so well, and it costs us more. An additional benefit was that, if necessary, we had that extra time to sort

CASE STUDY problems if something unexpected did come up.”

Exhibition hall supervisors were deployed with their team each day – day and evening staff. Then there were the toilet teams which each had their own designated areas to service.

Central storage areas were set up for consumables – or some had cupboards that Stadium Support staff constructed themselves.

In terms of the daily schedule, if something didn’t need cleaning, it wasn’t cleaned, explains Noble. The operation was aided by the use of software to track and monitor all staff and tasks, to ensure nothing was missed. “We positioned ourselves at the site in advance in order to customise the software and tailor it to the Farnborough contract. It offered accountability and transparency for us, and for our client. All the supervisors and mobile teams used it in their daily operations.”

Positive partner Stadium’s Support’s client is Farnborough International and soft services manager Elaine Hobbin explains the company had used other contractors and experienced various challenges in 2016. “We really needed a partner to work with who would be positive and share our core values of positivity, precision and partnership.”

She also speaks positively about the longevity potential of the contract with the new service provider in place. “Stadium Support used the 2018 show partly as a learning experience with the aim of making improvements as they go.”

Prior to the show taking place, Hobbin shared some of the most challenging aspects experienced previously to allow Stadium Support to plan in advance – any additional equipment needs could be taken care of for example.

“The relationship was open and honest from the start,” she says. “This was not just a contract as far as we were concerned, it was about developing a partnership. And Stadium Support very much share our passion to deliver the best show possible.”

Providing services at Farnborough also required Stadium Support to have an understanding of how both public and trade shows operate. From Monday to Friday the show is open to trade, then at the weekend it is public.

“We needed the team to understand the differences and deliver accordingly.

So that means differentiating between the needs of exhibition space and public space, followed by the turnaround of

buildings from trade to public. And they were entirely positive in their approach all the way through.”

What makes Stadium Support such a successful services partner? “The company is very good at coming up with solutions when challenges arise,” Hobbin says. “For example we had some public toilets with no ramps for disabled access and they just sorted it out.

“We had a great deal of confidence in their delivery so during the event we could concentrate on being reactive – that was just a radio call away. And often the problem had been pre-empted by them in any case.”

Attention to detail The Farnborough management team was also impressed at the attention to detail by the operatives, particularly in exhibition halls. Hobbin explains: “The aisles were kept clear, bins were emptied.

Any other troubleshooting needed was done after the show closed so that every day the team could just get on with tasks as they arose. And they truly cared about how all the areas looked and how the visitors experienced the air show.

“I was also extremely impressed about the positive work ethic, from director down. Everybody seemed to like what they were doing and they knew everything about the air show. Operatives were very much front-of-house, happy to direct people around for example. And they Continued page 46

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 45

CASE STUDY Teamwork in action (continued) were clearly well looked-after by the Stadium Support management – the company is most definitely of the mindset that if you look after staff, they will work well. Operatives were all happy to stay late if necessary – this is a very motivated workforce.”

All of Farnborough International’s expectations were fulfilled, says Hobbin. “I have received only positive feedback from the rest of the management. Of course there are improvements that can be made – this is a no-blame culture though and we have all come up with the same ideas.

“For example we would try to get the team on board earlier in 2020 so Stadium Support can establish

Farnborough International, l’organisateur du fameux salon de l’aéronautique de Farnborough, a attribué à l’entreprise Stadium Support Services un contrat de six ans pour devenir le partenaire officiel de la propreté pour les trois prochains salons de Farnborough. Stadium Support, qui a géré son premier salon de l’aéronautique l’année dernière, nous fait part des tâches impliquées dans la gestion d’un projet de cette taille.

Farnborough International, die Organisatoren der berühmten Farnborough International Airshow, haben Stadium Support Services einen Auftrag mit sechsjähriger Laufzeit als offizieller Reinigungspartner für die nächsten drei Messen erteilt. Stadium Support bewältigte seine erste Luftfahrtmesse im vergangenen Sommer, und das ECJ erfährt Näheres über die Durchführung eines sehr öffentlichen Projekts mit einer so enormen Größenordnung.

relationships with other suppliers they may overlap with as early as possible. It did work well in 2018 but it could work better.

“We could also provide a space for cleaners to store their equipment – ride-on scrubbers for example – in the exhibition halls or as close to them as possible.”

Summing up, Hobbin says: “We are very excited about working with Stadium Support again. There was a great deal for the team to learn, different suppliers to deal with etc, and they performed so well.

“This is not just Farnborough International’s event. We need the support of all our suppliers in order to run the air show successfully.”

La Farnborough International, organizzatrice del rinomato Farnborough International Airshow, ha affidato alla Stadium Support Services un contratto di sei anni per essere il partner di pulizia ufficiale per i prossimi tre eventi. La Stadium Support si è occupata del suo primo Airshow l’estate scorsa e ECJ scopre qualcosa di più sulla gestione di un progetto di così alto profilo su scala così vasta.

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BUSINESS: CLIMATE CHANGE

Business to save the planet?

Scientists have issued their strongest warning yet that within little more than a decade global temperatures will surge beyond the point of no return. Amid dismay at the failure of politicians to agree what to do about it, businesses are taking it upon themselves to give the lead in pulling the planet back from the brink, writes Hartley Milner.

Donald Trump’s decision to renege on the United State’s commitment to the 2015 Paris accord on climate change triggered worldwide condemnation and accusations that he was fiddling while the planet burns. The leader of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter after China said the deal would disadvantage American businesses and put millions of jobs at risk.

Then late last year Trump rejected a report by his own administration saying taking no action would be even more disastrous for the economy. “I don’t believe it,” he said, insisting America is “the cleanest we’ve ever been” and it was other “dirty” countries that needed to clean up their act.

Not quite the response compilers of the National Climate Assessment were hoping for. The report concluded that the government “must act aggressively to adapt to current impacts and mitigate future catastrophes to avoid substantial damage to the US economy, environment and human health and wellbeing over the coming decades”.

But while Trump remains in denial, growing numbers of states and major cities are working unilaterally towards the primary goal set out in the Paris agreement: to keep global temperature rises this century to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels while endeavouring to limit them even further, to 1.5°C. The American people are coming round too, with 66 per cent saying in a recent poll that they have seen enough evidence to justify action on climate change, up from 41 per cent two decades ago.

Clean energy goals The US business community has not been idle either. More than 63 per cent of the largest companies in the Fortune 100, including Walmart, General Motors, Bank of America, Google and Microsoft, and nearly half of smaller 100 companies in the Fortune 500 say they are on target to meet one or more clean energy goals.

Meanwhile the power sector, the country’s

single largest carbon producer, has cut emissions by 28 per cent since 2005.

“American corporations understand that how we respond to environmental pressures today will define the legacy we leave behind for future generations, and they want to ensure it’s a sustainable legacy, not a dystopian one,” said manufacturing magnate and climate activist Eugene Morgan. “That said, it’s also what their customers, employees and investors want, so to be seen giving the lead on climate action is to their reputational and economic advantage.

Capitalism is a dirty word in some circles, but it’s capitalism, not governments, that will drive change, and not only in the United States but throughout the industrialised world.”

The latest America’s Pledge report shows the US is almost halfway to meeting its Paris emissions reduction goals, despite Trump intransigence. But Morgan added: “I believe Washington will come round in time, but it will take change at the top and time is a commodity that is fast running out.”

In December 2018 20,000 representatives of governments and other change-makers from 190 nations gathered in Poland for the COP24 annual UN climate conference. The core aim was to provide firm guidelines to enable countries signed up to the Paris pact to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and efforts to reduce them.

Ahead of the summit, an alliance comprising the heads of 50 major global businesses, representing more than €1.3

trillion in total revenue, published an open letter to government leaders urging greater collaboration to speed up progress towards a low-carbon economy. Thirty of the companies succeeded in slashing their emissions by nine per cent – more than 47 million metric tonnes in absolute terms – between 2015 and 2016, the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the road for one year.

Bold leadership Feike Sijbesma, chair of the Alliance of Climate Action CEOs, said: “Business has an increasingly vital role to play in accelerating the shift to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. This will require partnerships with other companies, governments at all levels and civil society. It also requires bold leadership and good governance, which will allow long-term creation of shareholder value alongside long-term value for our society.”

Sijbesma is delivering that ‘bold leadership’ as ceo at Netherlands-based Royal DSM. The global specialist in health, nutrition and sustainable living has set a myriad of climate goals, including making greenhouse gas emission reductions of 30 per cent by using 75 per cent purchased renewable electricity by 2030. DSM has also set an internal carbon price of €50 per ton of CO2. Internal carbon pricing is a theoretical price on CO2 emissions that creates an incentive for polluters to reduce waste and invest in energy efficiency and cleaner power sources.

Continued page 50

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 49

BUSINESS: CLIMATE CHANGE Business to save the planet? (continued) Other Alliance members in Europe that have been driving climate action within their businesses include: BT: The UK-based telecom provider is aiming to buy 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020 and to have reduced carbon intensity by 87 per cent from 2017 levels by 2030. The company is also working to help customers cut their emissions by three times its own total carbon impact by 2030.

ENGIE: Having cut coal-fired capacity by 60 per cent since 2016 by closing or selling plants, the French electricity utility group is another multinational that has adopted internal carbon pricing. The business now focuses on low CO2 energy sources such as natural gas and renewables, which it had forecasted would represent over 90 per cent of its earnings by the end of 2018.

Large company commitments ING Group: By 2025, the Dutch banking group will only finance existing utility clients that use coal for five per cent or less of their energy mix. New clients will only be financed if they have near-zero reliance on coal. Since November 2017, 60 per cent of all utilities project financing has gone towards renewables. Ørsted: Denmark’s largest energy company changed its name in 2017 from Danish Oil and Natural Gas Energy to signal its switch from oil and gas to renewable energy. The company has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy production by 96 per cent by 2023, based on 2006 levels.

Des scientifiques ont lancé leur cri d’alarme le plus pressant à ce jour, prévoyant que dans un peu plus de dix ans, les températures de la planète auront augmenté au-delà d’un point de non-retour. Que peuvent donc faire les entreprises pour mener la voie qui détournera la planète de l’abîme ? Hartley Milner fait rapport.

Diamond Clean Solution

50 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

Signify: A global innovator in the production of sustainable lighting products. Formerly Philips Lighting, the Dutch electrical company has committed to making its buildings zero carbon by 2030 and to using only electric and hybrid lease fleet vehicles by 2030.

Not ambitious enough So how ambitious are Europe’s political institutions in tackling global warming? Not nearly ambitious enough, according to some of the region’s biggest businesses and investors. Along with other environmental activists, the Coalition for Higher Ambition, representing more than €21 trillion in assets, has written to the European Union calling for it to beef up its goals by “considerably increasing the target for reducing carbon emissions by 2030 and cutting emissions to net zero by 2050, at the latest”.

Wendel Trio, director of Coalition member group Climate Action Network Europe, said: “Together, we believe that the full implementation of the Paris agreement means making much deeper emission cuts than currently planned.

Europe must embark on a pathway that delivers on the 1.5°C objective of the Paris agreement.”

While most EU countries have indicated support for more radical objectives, others oppose them on cost grounds. These include coal-dependent states Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and COP24 host Poland. Germany has taken the pessimistic view that the targets would be Wissenschaftler haben ihre bisher schärfste Warnung verlautbart, dass die weltweiten Temperaturen in wenig mehr als einem Jahrzehnt den Umkehrgrenzpunkt bereits überschritten haben werden. Was können Firmen unternehmen, um eine führende Rolle dabei zu übernehmen, die Erde vom Abgrund zu retten? Hartley Milner berichtet.

unachievable by 2030.

For any global crusade to make a decisive impact it will need to bring on board a business sector frequently overlooked in the climate debate. Small to medium-sized enterprises comprise more than 95 per cent of businesses across the world – 99.8 per cent in the EU – and are collectively by far the biggest industrial polluter. But SMEs face particular issues around funding investment in greener technologies, according to the World Bank.

Project lead Matthias Gérard told ECJ: “The move to a low-carbon global economy will inevitably carry a cost. SMEs are frequently less able to obtain formal funding streams than large enterprises, especially in developing countries. Instead, they must turn to informal lending and alternative sources of finance. It is imperative that a greater variety of formal credit sources are opened up to them.”

The World Bank, which in December unveiled €176 billion in climate action investment for 2021 to 2025, is working to find innovative solutions to unlock sources of capital for the SME sector. Measures include early stage finance for start-ups and high growth firms that may otherwise not be able to access bank support.

Gérard added: “The green technologies market is set to boom in coming years, opening up new business opportunities for ecopreneurial young enterprises rapidly emerging in the sector. But if they are to prosper they will need to be adequately resourced, not only to secure their own future but that of the planet as well.”

Gli scienziati hanno lanciato il loro allarme più serio della loro storia affermando che entro meno di un decennio le temperature saliranno oltre il punto di non ritorno. Quindi cosa possono fare le imprese per svolgere un ruolo guida nel salvare il pianeta dal baratro. Hartley Milner ci aggiorna.

THE CLEANING SHOW

London hosts The Cleaning Show The UK’s cleaning exhibition, The Cleaning Show, takes place from March 19-21 at Excel exhibition centre in London.

Special events include a seminar programme taking place over the three days.

Sessions will cover the Living Wage, recruitment post-Brexit, training, IoT, waste management in healthcare, food waste, food poisoning, surface contamination, reputation management and hand drying options in healthcare environments.

The exhibition will also host this year’s Cleaning Show Innovation Awards. Entries are judged on the first day of the show by a panel of experts with plaques presented to the winners.

New this year is the Window Cleaning World Cup, with a prize of £1,000 up for grabs. The event will be professionally judged by Guinness World Record qualified adjudicators in the hope the existing 10ECJ entrevoit les produits et activités du salon britannique de la propreté, The Cleaning Show, qui se tiendra à Londres du 19 au 21 mars.

year record can be broken.

And at The Cleaning Show Clinic a range of experts will be on hand to present short sessions and give practical one-to-one advice on issues including health & safety, recruitment and social media.

Running alongside The Cleaning Show will be the new Resource Management

Show, a separate exhibition with a focus on resource efficiency and waste management. The aim is to enable The Cleaning Show visitors to rethink the way they are managing their waste and recycling processes and source new suppliers.

For more information about visiting: www.cleaningshow.co.uk

Das ECJ wirft einen Blick auf die bevorstehende The Cleaning Show, die vom 19.-21. März in London stattfindende britische Reinigungsmesse.

ECJ si occupa di The Cleaning Show, la fiera britannica del settore del cleaning che si terrà a Londra dal 19 al 21 marzo.

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February/March 2019 | ECJ | 51

THE CLEANING SHOW

• Northwood Hygiene Products a lancé une nouvelle gamme de distributeurs et consommables pour toilettes sous l’appellation North Shore.

• Battery Supplies considère que ses batteries au plomb-carbone durent plus longtemps que les batteries au gel et au plomb-gel et feutre.

• Le producteur de sacs-poubelle RPC Bpi Refuse recycle plus de 150 000 tonnes de matières plastiques chaque année.

• Parmi les nouveaux produits qu’a lancés l’entreprise Jangro figurent une plateforme de réalité virtuelle et une gamme durable de produits de nettoyage.

• Vileda dit de son chariot de nettoyage Origo 2 qu’il présente des gains d’hygiène, de rendement et de sécurité.

• Prochem propose la dernière adjonction à sa gamme Endeavor de machines à extraction, qui peuvent s’employer sur des sols durs ou sur des moquettes.

• On trouvera sur le stand Wecoline des produits à microfibres, des chariots de nettoyage et des tampons diamantés pour le nettoyage de planchers.

• Northwood Hygiene Products stellt die Produktfamilie North Shore mit Waschraumspendern und Verbrauchsmaterialien vor.

• Battery Supplies teilt mit, dass seine Blei-Kohlenstoff-Akkus länger halten als Gel- und AGM-Akkus.

• RPC Bpi Refuse, der Hersteller von Müllbeuteln und -säcken, recycelt mehr als 150.000 Tonnen Plastikmaterial pro Jahr.

• Unter den neu vorgestellten Produkten am Stand von Jangro befinden sich eine Virtual-RealityPlattform und eine Produktreihe mit nachhaltigen Reinigungsprodukten.

• leda teilt mit, dass der Reinigungswagen Origo 2 verbesserte Hygiene, höhere Effizienz und größere Benutzersicherheit bietet.

• Prochem stellt den neuesten Zugang zur Produktreihe Endeavor mit Extraktionsgeräten vor, der sowohl für Hart- als auch Teppichböden geeignet ist.

• Am Stand von Wecoline werden Mikrofaserprodukte, Reinigungswagen und Bodenreinigungspads mit Diamantschicht gezeigt.

• La Northwood Hygiene Products ha lanciato la sua linea di dispenser e prodotti di consumo per sale da toilette North Shore.

• La Battery Supplies afferma che le sue batterie Lead Carbon (piombocarbonio) hanno una durata maggiore delle batterie al gel e AGM. • La produttrice di sacchi per la raccolta dei rifiuti RPC Bpi Refuse ricicla ogni anno oltre 150.000 tonnellate di materiali in plastica.

• Fra i nuovi prodotti lanciati della Jangro ci sono una piattaforma di realtà virtuale e una gamma sostenibile di prodotti per la pulizia.

• La Vileda afferma che il suo carrello di pulizia Origo 2 offre igiene migliore, maggior rendimento e maggiore sicurezza per gli utilizzatori.

• La Prochem ha lanciato Endeavor, la più recente aggiunta alla gamma di macchine a estrazione che può essere utilizzata su pavimenti duri oppure sulle moquette.

• Sullo stand della Wecoline sono esposti prodotti in microfibra, carrelli e dischi diamantati per la pulizia dei pavimenti.

52 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

Northwood Launching the North Shore line of washroom dispensers and consumables is Northwood Hygiene Products. This it says, offers contemporary aesthetic and industry-leading capacity with significant cost-in-use benefits. It is also claimed to be easy to install and maintain, durable, hygienic and environmentally sustainable.

At the centre of this new range is the four-roll infinity dispenser Orbit which has a 5,000 toilet tissue sheets capacity.

Also featuring on the stand is the Leonardo dispenser brand and the newly expanded Whisper tissue range, along with the Optimum ProWipers range of non-woven wipes. www.northwood.co.uk

Battery Supplies According to Battery Supplies its lead carbon batteries are suitable alternatives to gel and AGM batteries, offering a much longer lifetime.

Lead carbon batteries consist of lead-carbon dual function negative pole plates that are made of both dual electric layer capacitance carbon material (C) and Lead (pb). They are maintenance free, perform well in low temperatures, have a shorter charging time and perform well without being charged 100 per cent. www.batterysupplies.be

landfill into second-life products.

The company recycles more than 150,000 tonnes of plastic material each year, giving new life to polythene from commercial, industrial, packaging and agricultural sources.

The best-selling new-life product is the Green Sack range of 100 per cent recycled refuse sacks which not only help to conserve resources and reduce landfill but are also produced at the company’s in-house facility - giving them a low carbon footprint. www.bpi-refuse.com

Jangro To highlight its ‘green’ credentials distribution group Jangro is exhibiting in the Jangro Garden.

Surrounded by foliage, flowers and grass seating, visitors can learn more about the new launches. These include a Virtual Reality platform that enables the customer to see what products are needed where and how to clean that particular area.

It also links to all relevant digital resources, such as Jangro’s e-learning platform (the LMS), product user guides, COSHH risk assessments and safety data sheets.

There is also a new sustainable cleaning brochure detailing latest products in the group’s sustainable cleaning range. And the Digital Wall Chart Creator allows customers to create their own bespoke charts with the products of their choice. As well as a copy of the chart, customers will receive a full health and safety compliance pack. www.jangro.net

Vileda RPC bpi refuse Refuse sacks manufacturer RPC bpi refuse supports the circular economy by turning plastic otherwise destined for

According to Vileda Professional the Origo 2 is the most innovative cleaning trolley it has ever launched, boasting higher efficiency, greater safety and full integration of tablets and other

digitally aided devices.

Features include push button opening lids, storage for multiple tools, satellite trolleys and in-lid tablet/pad storage solution. Bespoke units can also be produced by using Vileda’s configurator software. vileda.professional@ fhp-ww.com

Visit ECJ - stand J17

Prochem Prochem’s newest addition for hard floors to the Endeavor extractor range boasts a 1000psi Cat induction motor pump, 8.4 inch two-stage vacuum motor, vacuum motor float switch, auto fill and auto dump systems.

It generates enough pressure and flow to run the E275 Revolution Tile and Grout tool, while adding a wand will also allow the unit to be used for carpet.

Also new is the Floodbuster FB50 for dealing with floods this unit is capable of taking in waste water and automatically pumping it to a destination of choice. And there is an add-on to a smaller machine with the Galaxy AX500 now having the ability to heat its own water via the AC3001 Heat ‘N’ Run upgrade. www.prochem-uk.com

Wecoline Visitors to the Wecoline stand can learn more about the company’s microfibre concept and the professional range of trolleys. And the company is launching the Bright ’n Water diamond pad. wecoline.com

THE CLEANING SHOW TTS Trilogy is a touch-free mopping system suitable for use in healthcare applications. The frame incorporates a release mechanism that enables the operative to remove the used mop head without touching the dirty fibres.

Trilogy mops also feature two flat parallel sides - both of them can be used which halves the number of mops required. Tri flat mops also boast high washing and dirt collection. www.ttsystem.com

Seko Chemical dosing systems specialist Seko is debuting the WashMulti Peri centralised dosing system incorporating IoT technology. Via the dedicated SekoWeb portal on PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet, managers can pre-programme washers and view current and historical data on demand for multiple

machines across various sites from any location worldwide.

With live global access to key parameters such as chemical consumption, formulations and wash loads, operators can instantly make adjustments to minimise detergent and energy wastage as well as identify malfunctions.

Other features include a ‘proof of dosing’ flow meter which guarantees the perfect dose every time. www.seko.com

Kärcher Highlight of the Kärcher stand is Connected Cleaning – a

concept of networked cleaning which provides managers with a comprehensive overview of machine fleet and manual cleaning activities - enabling them to plan, monitor and optimise cleaning and building management remotely.

Visitors can also try out products for themselves in real life scenarios including an office, kitchen and bathroom, with the opportunity to quiz the experts on a 1-2-1 basis. There is also the opportunity to try a selection of the company’s floorcare products in the Kärcher Academy. www.karcher.com

• Le système de balayage humide Trilogy, proposé par TTS, élimine tout contact entre les mains de l’opérateurs et la saleté.

• Seko a lancé le système de dosage centralisé WashMulti Peri, comportant la technologie Internet des Objets.

• Les visiteurs au stand Kärcher pourront observer le Nettoyage Connecté, un nouveau concept pour la mise en réseau d’opérations de propreté.

• Das Moppsystem Trilogy von TTS eliminiert sämtlichen Kontakt zwischen den Händen des Bedienungspersonals und dem Schmutz.

• Neu von Seko ist das zentralisierte Dosiersystem WashMulti Peri mit integrierter IoT-Technologie.

• Die Besucher am Stand von Kärcher können Connected Cleaning sehen, ein neues Konzept für die vernetzte Reinigung.

• Il sistema mop Trilogy prodotto dalla TTS elimina tutto il possibile contatto fra le mani dell’operatore e lo sporco.

• Il nuovo prodotto della Seko è il sistema di dosaggio centralizzato WashMulti Peri dotato di tecnologia IoT .

• I visitatori della stand della Kärcher potranno vedere Connected Cleaning, un nuovo concetto per l’interconnessione delle operazioni di pulizia.

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 53

THE CLEANING SHOW

• Au nombre des innovations récentes de Kennedy Hygiene Products figurent les distributeurs Satin Ellipse pour toilettes et le distributeur de mousse Mini Seatsan.

• Brosserie Thomas expose sa gamme de brosses d’hygiène et d’outils à codage couleur.

• Truvox expose ses machines de nettoyage à batterie, qui comprennent des aspirateurs, autolaveuses et polisseuses de plancher.

• Zu den neuesten Innovationen von Kennedy Hygiene Products gehören die Waschraumspender Satin Ellipse und der Schaumspender Mini Seatsan.

• Brosserie Thomas präsentiert seine Produktfamilie mit Hygienebürsten und farbcodierten Reinigungswerkzeugen.

• Truvox präsentiert seine akkubetriebenen Reinigungsmaschinen, einschließlich Staubsaugern, Scheuersaugmaschinen und Poliermaschinen.

Kennedy

Brosserie Thomas

Washroom hygiene systems specialist Kennedy Hygiene Products’ range encompasses hand drying, hand washing, air freshening, sanitising, feminine hygiene, baby hygiene and toilet tissue families, plus their associated consumables.

Ellipse products are available in Arctic white with a selection of coloured inserts while the premium Ellipse dispensers are available in designer grey, chrome and satin.

Recently launched is the Mini Seatsan, a compact 300 ml sanitising foam dispenser. kennedy-hygiene.com

Specialising in hygienic brushware and cleaning tools is Brosserie Thomas - serving catering, hospital, chemical and cleaning applications.

Brushes feature a polypropylene non-porous frame dyed with food colouring and using no heavy metals; tightly packed PBT bristles and stainless staple wire. Said to be lightweight and easy to handle, they are durable as well as being rust- and rot-proof.

Brushes and squeegees are supplied individually wrapped. www.brosseriethomas.com

• Le recenti innovazioni della Kennedy Hygiene Products includono i dispenser per sale da toilette Satin Ellipse e il dispenser di schiuma Mini Seatsan.

• La Brosserie Thomas espone la sua linea di spazzole igieniche e attrezzi di pulizia codificati in base al colore.

• La Truvox espone le sue macchine di pulizia alimentate a batteria e fra queste aspirapolveri, lavasciuga pavimenti e lucidatrici per pavimenti.

Truvox Int’l Showcasing its battery range of cleaning machines is Truvox International. Among them is the cordless upright vacuum the Valet Battery Upright II, along with the VBUII that features a removable battery which allows

the operator to double the running time.

The Multiwash scrubber dryer range was boosted with the addition of the cordless Multiwash 340/Pump Battery.

Multiwash washes, scrubs and dries both hard and soft floors in a single pass and features counter-rotating cylindrical brushes.

Other highlights of the stand are the Orbis eco line of singledisc rotaries and the compact tub vacuum VTVe. www.truvox.com

visit us at booth F20

The power of Wecoline Premium microfibre systems for optimal results. Based on the unique properties of microfibres. All a professional cleaner needs for a perfect cleaning job.

Cloths | Floor mops | Handles and frames | Accessories | Trolleys

54 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

www.wecoline.com

THE CLEANING SHOW MotorScrubber

Pacvac

MotorScrubber is debuting Force, a worldwide patent pending super heavy-duty accessory tool designed to fit onto any medium or large scrubber dryer.

The company says most scrubber dryers only clean up to 85 per cent of large floor surfaces, leaving many areas untouched on the first pass. Cleaning operatives must return to the cleaning cupboard to retrieve another smaller machine, fill the tanks, charge its batteries or fill a mop bucket.

Force connects to the large scrubber dryer’s battery, clean water tank and suction using one special hose - no additional power is needed. So 100 per cent of the floor can be machine cleaned and dried, says MotorScrubber, including under and around obstacles in factories, washrooms and transport terminals for example. www.motorscrubberclean.com

New on the Pacvac stand is the battery operated backpack vacuum the Superpro Battery 700 Advanced. This, says the company, has been designed with leading edge battery power and brushless motor technology - resulting in freedom, efficiency and productivity.

Pacvac says cleaning time can be reduced by up to 30 per cent when using battery technology compared to a corded backpack vacuum. pacvac.com/eu

The European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards 2019 are now open for entries visit echawards.com

Osprey Deepclean OspreyDeepclean developed a dry steam cleaning machine to remove discarded chewing gum some years ago and the GumBusters brand was born.

Now the technology has been introduced into the food industry, with both mobile and static machines.

Dry steam is now being used to remove pathogens and allergens from belts, machines and supports, as well as in more and more food and beverage production and manufacturing sites.

Also on the stand visitors can see the GB1 battery powered unit for gum removal, with no trailing power cables, noisy generators or dangerous consumables. www.ospreydc.com

• MotorScrubber propose le Force, un accessoire à service sévère qui se monte sur toute autolaveuse de taille moyenne ou grande.

• Pacvac présente son nouvel aspirateur dorsal à batterie, le Superpro 700.

• OspreyDeepclean, un spécialiste des équipements à vapeur sèche, fait la démonstration de sa gamme de machines.

• MotorScrubber stellt unter dem Namen Force ein hochbeanspruchbares Zusatzwerkzeug vor, das auf mittlere oder große Scheuersaugmaschinen montiert werden kann.

• Pacvac stellt seinen neuen akkubetriebenen RückenStaubsauger Superpro Battery 700 Advanced vor.

• OspreyDeepclean, der Spezialist für TrockendampfReinigungsausrüstung, demonstriert sein Angebot an Maschinen.

• La MotorScrubber ha lanciato l’accessorio Force per la pulizia industriale che si adatta alle sue lavasciuga pavimento di medie e grandi dimensioni.

• La Pacvac ha lanciato il suo nuovo aspirapolvere dorsale alimentato a batteria Superpro Battery 700 Advanced.

• La OspreyDeepclean, specializzata in attrezzature per la pulizia a vapore secco, mostra la sua linea di macchine.

E WID RLD WO

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 55

WORKPLACE HYGIENE

The age of shared workspace Steve Nurdin, marketing manager at Cannon Hygiene, explains why hygiene should go beyond the basics as flexible working practices become more prevalent.

He gives four steps to consider in the battle against germs.

Offices have evolved to accommodate flexible working practices, with collaborative working hubs and hotdesking aiming to boost productivity while reducing overheads. According to a survey by the Institute for Leadership & Management, 65 per cent of UK managers say that flexible working helps commitment and motivation. But there is a hidden cost of implementing them.

Bad hygiene practices can quickly lead to a fall in productivity as sick days become more prevalent because germs, bugs and illnesses can easily spread when several people share the same working spaces. This can quickly deplete a workforce, especially during cold and flu season.

Facilities managers can tackle this by creating robust hygiene strategies that include procedures to mitigate the negative impact of this shift in workplace culture.

The question is where to start. There are several key zones estates teams should bear in mind.

Washroom germ hotspot Washrooms have the highest footfall in most buildings and so are natural hubs for germs. While you’d hope people would wash their hands, it’s not always the case.

As a result, germs can be transferred quickly from one surface to the next in any office – especially as hands are responsi-

ble for the spread of 80 per cent of infectious diseases.

For those businesses with hotdesking policies, germs like E.coli and norovirus can rapidly spread across an entire building. In fact a study conducted by The University of Arizona found that traces of a harmless virus placed on a door handle spread to half of the surfaces in the same office within just four hours. This makes effective hand hygiene the best and most cost-effective way to prevent this.

It won’t come as a surprise that many germs start to grow in washrooms so having reliable handwashing and drying systems is fundamental. Automatic and no-touch taps, soap dispensers fitted with antibacterial hand wash and high quality hand dryers or towel dispensers will encourage handwashing.

Automatic soap dispensers will distribute the right amount of soap to kill bacteria and limit spillage, which will make washrooms appear clean and well looked after.

Even so, there’s no guarantee that people will stick to the basic rules, so facility managers should prepare for this. There are now systems on the market that spray an antibacterial mist on washroom door grips each time the door is closed, killing bacteria and stopping it being transferred on to clean hands.

Shared responsibility Excellent hygiene remains the best defence against infection, but it needs to be practised by all staff and visitors alike.

This can be quite a challenge as people’s attitudes and vigilance towards cleanliness differ greatly.

If you are going to promote good hygiene practices, you need to have the tools in place to help employees do this.

Installing hand sanitisers in key areas like receptions and hotdesking zones can allow people to make sure they’re frequently keeping their hands free of germs.

It is also vital to make sure employees have access to guidance on topics such hand hygiene. Adding a communica-

tions plan to promote consistency is an important part of a thorough hygiene strategy, even if it may feel overzealous.

Posters placed around washrooms, shared kitchens and even near hotdesking zones and collaborative working hubs is a good way to ensure staff keep cleanliness front of mind. For example, the 12-step method to wash hands properly, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends, is one of the most effective ways some of our customers encourage people to wash their hands.

Attention to detail Better hygiene practices will make little difference in preventing the spread of bacteria if the simplest daily cleaning tasks are overlooked.

Staff should be extra vigilant when cleaning areas such as vents, ledges, carpets and upholstery where dust can settle unseen. Regular cleaning of keyboards, mice and desks should also help ensure germs don’t have a chance to linger.

According to a recent study office desks harbour 400 times the amount of bacteria than a toilet seat and the average desktop is covered in 20,961 germs per square inch – in addition to 25,127 on the phone, 3,295 on the keyboard and 1,676 on the mouse. This highlights how important it is to have effective hygiene practices in place, which can prevent the accumulation of bacteria in offices with hotdesking policies.

The study, which featured in The Independent national newspaper in the UK, also found that one in 10 workers don’t disinfect or clean their desk when starting a shift. As simple as it sounds, providing antibacterial cleaning wipes in key areas will remind and encourage employees to clean surfaces and equipment before use. If practised by everyone, this is an inexpensive way to prevent the outbreak of illnesses.

Doormats are also often overlooked by cleaning personnel. While vacuuming may Continued page 58

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 57

WORKPLACE HYGIENE The age of shared workspace (continued) seem sufficient, it only removes the top 10 per cent of dirt and mats can quickly become clogged and ineffective if they are not thoroughly cleaned. Especially true in offices with hotdesking, making sure these are regularly laundered can help reduce the spread of dust and dirt from outside.

Invisible dangers, automatic solutions Airborne germs are some of the easiest to transmit, and the hardest to prevent since they are invisible and are easily forgotten about.

Poor indoor air quality can lead to the quick spread of illnesses and deplete a workforce. Particularly during the colder months seasonal flu outbreaks, coughs and sneezes can lead to the rapid transmission of bacteria from one person to

Les administrations ont évolué vers la pratique des heures de travail flexibles, le recours aux pôles de travail collaboratif et aux bureaux flexibles pour accroître la productivité tout en réduisant les frais généraux. Cette évolution doit s’accompagner de stratégies d’hygiène bien pensées pour prévenir la propagation de microbes et de maladies.

the next.

The issue with regulating indoor air quality is that it is often hard to know where to start. A good tip is to think about the number of air conditioning units you have versus open windows and whether germ filled air is being recirculated into the office. For those with limited natural ventilation, technology is available that actively filters and cleans the air to kill bacteria and remove dust and pollen. There are also fragranced options to help keep premises smelling fresh throughout the day.

There is no silver bullet and facilities managers need to invest time to review an office layout before making a start to any hygiene strategy. Concentrating efforts around likely germ hotspots like collaboration hubs, hotdesks, receptions

Büros haben sich dahingehend entwickelt, den flexiblen Arbeitspraktiken gerecht zu werden, wobei Knotenpunkte für gemeinschaftliches Arbeiten und Hotdesking auf die Steigerung der Produktivität bei gleichzeitiger Reduzierung von Gemeinkosten abzielen. Das bedeutet, dass robuste Hygienestrategien erforderlich sind, um die Verbreitung von Krankheitserregern und Krankheiten zu verhindern.

MECHANICAL DOSING SYSTEM Mop soaking on demand Reduced risks of cross-contamination High standards of hygiene

MADE IN ITALY / www.filmop.com

58 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

and washrooms can make a significant difference and is the first step in reducing the spread of bacteria throughout the office and increased staff absences.

Once key areas have been identified, automatic solutions such as soap dispenser, hand dryers, towel dispensers, air filters and hand sanitiser dispensers can be installed to make sure hygiene standards are consistently maintained in the background. But the efforts should not stop there and keeping your fingers crossed that staff will wash their hands is not enough. Facility managers should incorporate a communications plan into their strategy and place guidance posters around the building to keep hygiene at the forefront of everyone’s thinking. www.cannonhygiene.com

Gli uffici si sono evoluti in modo da soddisfare le consuetudini di lavoro flessibili, con i centri di lavoro collaborativi e postazioni mobili che hanno lo scopo di migliorare la produttività riducendo le spese generali.

Ciò significa che sono necessarie delle strategie di solida igiene per prevenire il diffondersi di germi e malattie.

SCRUBBER DRYERS

The human touch Cleaners are unlikely to get excited about the more basic cleaning tools such as dusters, mops and buckets. But a smart new scrubber dryer may engender a sense of pride and ownership on the part of the operator and it might even lead to improved cleaning results, reports Ann Laffeaty.

Most of us can connect with that “new car” feeling when we first take ownership of a sophisticated new vehicle and make it our own. Learning how it works, discovering its capabilities and understanding its little foibles can be a highly rewarding process. Some of us may even experience similar feelings when taking possession of a company car: while it may not actually belong to us, we might still forge a connection with this new machine in our care.

So, how far does the same sentiment apply to cleaners when allocated a new machine? When a member of staff is asked to operate a scrubber dryer, for example, does he or she experience a similar sense of pride or even ownership? And do manufacturers take this into consideration when designing their machines?

The operator’s emotional attachment to a machine is hugely important according to IPC communications manager Gabriella Bianco. “Operating a scrubber dryer can generate a great sense of pride - particularly when the machine is fast, highly manoeuvrable, appealing and has been designed with care,” she said. “Attractive colours and an innovative design will also help to make the operator feel satisfied and proud.”

She believes the operator will appreciate any equipment that aims to make their work easier and more comfortable to carry out. “This includes adjustable handles for walk-behinds plus comfortable seats for ride-ons,” said Bianco. “An uncomfortable driving seat or an awkward working

position will take its toll on the operator’s back, and this could lead to musculoskeletal disorders or shoulder and neck pains - a common consequence when at work.”

Intuitive control panels that are easy to read and manage will help to make the operator feel more comfortable when manoeuvring the machine, she adds.

And technological tools can further help to engage the operator while improving productivity, according to Bianco.

She cites as an example the IPC Telematics GPS - a digital tool that can be applied to the company’s IPC CT 51 and CT 71 machines. “This enables the cleaner to check the machine’s position, user ID and battery level via a smartphone, tablet or PC,” she said. “The productivity of cleaning may be improved when operators are empowered to monitor and manage their tasks more effectively using technological management systems.”

Tennant’s ethos is to do whatever it can to make life easier for the operator, says product manager Stefan Sehmke. “The ease of use of our machines in terms of manoeuvrability, operation and maintenance is critical in bringing a smile to the operator’s face,” he said. “Cleaners quickly understand how their job can be carried out better and more quickly when the machine is easy to use.

“Not only do we focus on issues such as ergonomics and safety, we also build in features that simplify the use of the equipment and its maintenance. And before designing new solutions we talk to operators all over the globe to understand their key pain points and frustrations, knowing as we do that a happy operator will clean more efficiently.”

Tennant’s T300, T500, T600 and T350 scrubber dryers are all designed with the user’s comfort in mind, said Sehmke.

Yellow touch-points are used to indicate how squeegee blades and brushes may be changed while all handles, steeringwheels and seats are designed to enhance the operator’s comfort and wellbeing.

“We also provide on-board training

videos with a multi-language interface via an optional Pro-Panel LCD touch screen,” he said. “And larger machines can even be equipped with rear-view cameras to help when manoeuvring.”

Nilfisk group product manager JeanPierre Lebrun believes it is fairly common for scrubber dryer operators to develop a sense of pride in their equipment. “Many of them like to keep their machines looking clean and orderly, and some of them even give their scrubber dryers names.”

Operator comfort is a particular priority for Nilfisk, says Lebrun. “Often the operator will need to use a scrubber dryer for long periods of time and for several hours a day, so it is critical it is ergonomic and easy to use,” he said. “It is also important that a scrubber dryer looks professional – and not only for the benefit of the operator. Cleaning is increasingly being carried out during the day when members of the public are present.”

Ease of use and operator comfort are also key, he says. “The position and adjustability of the steering wheel are both important, as is the comfort of the seat,” he said. “It is also crucial to keep vibration and sound levels low while the high turnover of operators in the cleaning industry means that operating a scrubber dryer needs to be as intuitive as possible.”

The company’s latest model – the Nilfisk SC401 – is said to be particularly quiet in operation. It has a OneTouch feature which allows the operator to switch on all functions using only one button.

Diversey portfolio manager Marcel Müller agrees that an attractive, modern design is important in a scrubber dryer.

However he believes factors such as functionality, simplicity of use and robustness should all take precedence.

“Cleaning contractors are often pressed for time,” he said. “For this reason, any features that make a scrubber dryer more efficient to run while also saving time for the operator should be given a high priority. This includes providing machines that Continued page 60

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 59

SCRUBBER DRYERS The human touch (continued) are easy to maintain and use.”

According to Müller, operators appreciate a high level of manoeuvrability in their machine along with an ergonomic design and simple, effective steering.

“Intuitive controls are also crucial,” he says. “Cleaning machines are used in tough environments and in an industry where there is a rapid turnover of staff. This means that an intuitive design using simple icons is key.” All Taski scrubber dryers use a uniform set of icons in their controls.

“This means that an operator who has used a specific type of machine will be able to understand any other machine in our portfolio,” said Müller.

He believes an easy-to-use machine will have a positive effect on overall performance. “Productivity and quality can also be massively improved when the right training is provided,” said Müller. “But equally important is the right support on a daily basis. This can be achieved with the aid of wallcharts featuring pictures and icons that explain machine operation.”

Other features that can aid productivity include method cards pointing out the best operational routes, plus connected solutions such as TASKI IntelliTrail, he says.

This displays live data providing an overview of the entire machine fleet.

Que faut-il faire pour obtenir le meilleur degré de maniabilité, de confort et de sécurité sur une autolaveuse ? À cette fin, quelle est l’importance de la formation et quelles sont les fonctionnalités que les constructeurs ont à intégrer à leurs machines plus les rendre plus faciles à exploiter, plus sûres à conduire, et moins fatigantes à pousser ? Aussi, les opérateurs sont-ils fiers de pouvoir utiliser leurs machines et éprouvent-ils un sentiment d’appropriation à leur égard ?

Kärcher’s scrubber dryer product manager Christian Mrowka echoes the general view that ease of use is crucial. “The high turnover of cleaning staff along with tight budgets and time pressures often leaves an insufficient amount of available time for instructing staff on the use of a machine,” he said. “An ergonomic design will ensure fatigue-free working without restricting the user’s productivity. And this is particularly important in those areas of the world where cleaning workers tend to be of an advanced age.”

Ergonomically designed machines with an easy-to-understand operating concept will facilitate the user’s everyday work, he said. “The fact employees all tend to speak different languages - and almost nobody reads the operating instructions – means intuitive machines are crucial,” said Mrowka. “In this respect, our colour code - the marking of operating elements in yellow to draw the user’s attention directly to the relevant ones - plays a decisive part.”

The company’s Kärcher Advanced Response Technology system is said to significantly improve manoeuvrability since the steering wheel directly controls the machine’s brush head. The company also claims that its machines help to reduce noise, vibration and unpleasant frequenWas kann unternommen werden, damit die Verwendung einer Scheuersaugmaschine möglichst leicht, sicher und komfortabel ist? Wie wichtig ist die Schulung, und welche Merkmale fügen die Hersteller hinzu, damit ihre Maschinen leichter zu bedienen, sicherer zu fahren und weniger anstrengend zu schieben sind? Und erleben die Bediener ein Gefühl des Stolzes und der Mitverantwortung, wenn sie ihre Maschinen benutzen?

cies during operation.

Like other manufacturers, Mrowka believes the comfort and wellbeing of the operator are crucial. “We always involve end-users in the purchasing process and consult them about the handling of the machine,” he says. “If a model is too difficult to handle and the user is not convinced, the result may be that the machine is not used and the investment is wasted.”

So, what are the benefits of producing machines with which the cleaner can feel “connected”? “A scrubber dryer that produces a sense of pride in the operator will encourage them to take better care of the machine – and this will result in less downtime and increased productivity,” said Mrowka. “On the other hand, a machine that is uncomfortable to use will have a negative impact on motivation and may also affect the cleaning result.”

Tennant’s Stefan Sehmke agrees. “When a model is well designed and easy to use, the operator will start to see it as their own property,” he said. “This means they will look after the machine more carefully and this will ensure an optimal and consistent cleaning result.”

And IPC’s Gabriella Bianco sums up: “The pleasure gained in using a scrubber dryer should be one of its fundamental features.”

Cosa può essere fatto per rendere una lavasciuga pavimenti il più possibilie sicura, comoda e facile da usare?

Che importanza ha il training, e quali dispositivi vengono inseriti sullo macchine dai produttori per renderle facili da utilizzare, sicure da guidare e meno faticose da spingere?

E gli operatori provano un senso di orgoglio e di proprietà quando utilizzano le loro macchine?

Mosmatic AG CH-9126 Necker Phone +41 (0)71 375 64 64 Email sales@mosmatic.com Internet www.mosmatic.com

POWERFUL PRODUCTS FOR

PROFESSIONAL

CLEANING

CAR WASH | HIGH PRESSURE CLEANING | ROTARY UNIONS

60 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

PRODUCTS: SCRUBBER DRYERS

• TVH se concentre sur l’électronique et la technologie des capteurs, et développe son programme de service dédié aux circuits imprimés d’autolaveuses.

• Selon Kärcher, son autolaveuse compacte autoportée BD 50/70 R Bp Pack Classic est aussi maniable qu’une machine accompagnée.

• Les derniers lancements de Diversey comprennent l’autolaveuse autoportée à conducteur debout TASKI XP-M IntelliSweep, dotée d’une unité intégrée de pré-balayage.

• Bei TVH liegt der Schwerpunkt gegenwärtig auf Elektronik und Sensoren, um das Serviceprogramm für Leiterplatten für Scheuersaugmaschinen auszubauen.

• Kärcher teilt mit, dass die kompakte Aufsitz-Scheuersaugmaschine BD 50/70 R Bp Pack Classic genauso wendig ist wie eine handgeführte Maschine.

• Unter den Neuvorstellungen von Diversey ist die Stand-on-Scheuersaugmaschine TASKI XP-M IntelliSweep mit integrierter Vorkehrvorrichtung.

• La TVH si sta al momento concentrando sull’elettronica e sui sensori, potenziando il suo programma di servizi per le schede a circuiti delle sue lavasciuga pavimenti.

• La Kärcher afferma che la sua lavasciuga pavimenti compatta con operatore a bordo BD 50/70 R Bp Pack Classic è facile da girare esattamente come una macchina con operatore a terra.

• Fra i nuovi prodotti lanciati dalla Diversey c’è la lavasciuga pavimenti con operatore su pedana TASKI XP-M IntelliSweep con unità di prespazzamento integrata.

Electronic focus

Smarter

Spare parts specialist TVH is focusing on electronics and sensors for robotic cleaning machines currently, and is building up its service exchange programme for scrubber and sweeper circuit boards and controllers.

The company is a worldwide supplier of spare parts with customers in over 170 countries - including parts and accessories for most brands and makes of scrubbers and sweepers such as squeegees, floor pads, sweeper brushes, floor soaps, drive and vacuum motors. www.tvh.com

Diversey has been making its TASKI scrubber dryers smarter with the Intellitrail solution, a connected eco system allowing users to have full transparency on location regarding run time, battery status, problems, etc.

The company also offers the hands-free robotic system swingobot 2000 scrubber dryer and one of the newest innovations is the TASKI XP-M IntelliSweep stand-on scrubber with integrated pre-sweeping unit. This allows the operative to combine two processes into one. www.diversey.com

Small circle With its BD 50/70 R Bp Pack Classic ride-on scrubber dryer Kärcher says it is combining the advantages of two ranges: with a small turning circle and low weight, it is as easy to manoeuvre and transport as walk-

behind models.

Along with its turning circle of 1.6 metres and low weight (114 to 194 kg) this model is claimed to be easy to transport, and an extensive range of accessories is available for manual cleaning.

All control elements are easy to reach from the driver’s seat, while colour coding on the control unit and self-explanatory symbols follow an intuitive operating concept. Squeegees and brush head are lowered manually with a handle or foot pedal and the high suction power ensures reliable and consistent cleaning results even in curves or when turning. www.karcher.com

NEW DYNAMIC 45 Complete range of professional “MADE IN ITALY” scrubber driers.

Robustness, reliability and safety of the materials used.

Technological solutions granting top quality, performance and ease of use.

LAVORWASH S.p.A. J.F.Kennedy, 12 - 46020 Pegognaga (MN) Italy Tel. +39 0376 55431 - Fax +39 0376 554350 E-mail: info@lavorpro.com - WebSite: www.lavorpro.com

62 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

PRODUCTS: SCRUBBER DRYERS

Medium areas Comac developed its Antea and Versa scrubber dryers for the 50 to 65 cm working width market.

They share the same design and both can be equipped to operate through the Comac Fleet Care (CFC) solution.

Antea is the smaller model at 50 cm working width. Available in different versions it comes with a disc brush of 50 cm working width, cable (E) or battery powered, with traction (BT) or without (B). Two cylindrical brushes enable it to pick up small debris and convey it to the easy-to-empty dirt hopper.

Versa, meanwhile, is a battery powered machine with automatic traction, available with two disc brushes with 55 or 65 cm working width. Standard equipment includes new selflevelling splash guards, which besides adapting automatically to brush wear also keep any splashes of water inside and prevent small solid residues or non-soluble dust particles from getting into the machine. www.comac.it

Three widths Available in three working widths and equipped with disc or cylindrical brushes, Hako’s ride-on Scrubmaster B175 R can clean up to 7,560 square metres per hour.

The machine is said to be easy and comfortable to use thanks to smart features such as the four-inch colour display providing the driver with all relevant information and the clearly

structured operating panel with pictograms and one-touch elements such as the one-button start/stop operating system and slow-mode button.

Also standard are quick-fill solution tank, the tilt-up squeegee with a patented self-cleaning system and automated notools-needed brush change.

The Scrubmaster B175 R can also clean ramps with gradients of up to 15 per cent. Optional extras include an on-board dosing system or a second suction turbine to meet individual cleaning requirements. www.hako.com

Stand up Cleaning operatives can now take all the tools and equipment they need to have with them when cleaning floors with the launch of the Tennant 350 stand-on scrubber dryer with Click-Cart. This is literally a cleaning trolley that attaches to the front of the machine.

The T350 cleans up to 2,500 square metres an hour. www.tennantco.com • Les autolaveuses Antea et Versa de Comac travaillent respectivement sur des largeurs de 50 et de 65 cm • L’autolaveause autoportée Scrubmaster B175 R de Hako est proposée en trois largeurs de travail.

• La T350, une autolaveuse autoportée à conducteur debout à dispositif Click-Cart, permet à l’opérateur d’atteler un chariot de nettoyage à sa machine et ainsi d’avoir tous les outils sous la main.

• Die Scheuersaugmaschinen Antea und Versa von Comac bieten eine Arbeitsbreite von 50 bzw. 65 cm.

• Die Aufsitz-Scheuersaugmaschine Scrubmaster B175 R von Hako in in drei verschiedenen Arbeitsbreiten verfügbar.

• Die Stand-onScheuersaugmaschine T350 mit Click-Cart ermöglicht es dem Reinigungspersonal, einen Reinigungswagen an die Maschine anzuhängen, um alle erforderlichen Werkzeuge bereit zu haben.

• Le lavasciuga pavimenti Antea e Versa prodotte dalla Comac offrono rispettivamente 50 cm e 65 cm di larghezza di lavoro.

• La lavasciuga pavimenti con operatore a bordo Scrubmaster B175 R prodotta dalla Hako è disponibile in tre larghezze di lavoro.

• La lavasciuga pavimenti con operatore su pedana T350 con ClickCart permette agli addetti alle pulizie di attaccare alla macchina un carrello di pulizia che permetta loro di avere tutti gli attrezzi a portata di mano.

Discomatic Bolero I Mambo Getting into the groove A scrubber-dryer duo setting new standards for endurance and versatility in facility cleaning: Discomatic Bolero 2-in-1: Two tanks enable a swift transition from one area of application to the next, saving valuable time.

Discomatic Mambo: Small but mighty: This machine can easily compete with the performance of larger models despite its compact size.

Discomatic Mambo and Bolero Ð Perfectly in Tune.

www.wetrok.com

WATCH M OV I E

February/March 2019 | ECJ | 63

PRODUCTS: SCRUBBER DRYERS

• La GIGA, qui se signale par la longévité de sa batterie, est la dernière née des autolaveuses RCM pour des applications de taille moyenne.

• Selon Fimor, son matériau de raclette serilorCLEAN offre une alternative durable au caoutchouc naturel et résiste mieux aux agents de nettoyage.

• Les autolaveuses CT51 et CT71 de la société IPC sont dotées de la technologie EcoSelect et du contrôle de bilan sonore.

• Bei GIGA handelt es sich um die neueste Scheuersaugmaschine von RCM. Sie wurde für mittelgroße Bereiche entwickelt und bietet eine lange Lebensdauer des Akkus.

• Fimor teilt mit, dass seine Abzieher serilorCLEAN – eine Alternative zu Kautschuk – beständiger gegen Reinigungsmittel sind.

• Die beiden Scheuersaugmaschinen CT51 und CT71 von IPC bieten EcoSelectTechnologie und Geräuschregulierung.

• GIGA è la più recente lavasciuga pavimenti della RCM per la pulizia di aree di media grandezza che vanta una lunga durata della batteria • La Fimor afferma che i suoi tergipavimento serilorCLEAN, in alternativa alla gomma naturale, sono più resistenti ai prodotti chimici.

• Entrambe le lavasciuga pavimenti CT51 e CT71 della IPC sono dotate di tecnologia EcoSelect e di controllo delle emissioni di rumore.

64 | February/March 2019 | ECJ

Silent compact Designed for medium-sized areas is the GIGA scrubber dryer from RCM, which boasts long battery life, reduced water and detergent consumption and silent operation.

Thanks to the Go Green system the machine’s autonomy can increase by 25 per cent, says RCM, acoustic pressure can be reduced by seven per cent up to 62 dBA and detergent solution consumption optimised. These features all reduce the environmental impact of cleaning. rcm.it

Alternative

Different heads Thanks to its interchangeable brush heads IPC’s CT51 walk-behind scrubber dryer can also be transformed into a single 50-55 cm disc, a twin 60 cm disc, a twin 70 cm disc or a 55 cm roller. It can clean up to 3,150 square metres an hour.

According to Fimor, its serilorCLEAN squeegee offers a number of advantages over natural rubber scrubber dryer squeegees. For example, it says it is much more abrasion, oil, chemical, bleach and most floor cleaning agents resistant than natural rubber. And it claims to have better pickup characteristics.

Available in sheet form in various hardness and thickness, serilorCLEAN comes in flat mono or triple layer version, or with grooves. And parts are custommoulded for suction blades or side skirts. www.fimor-polyurethane.com

For large areas the CT71 is designed to reach the narrowest of spaces and boasts a 70-litre tank with up to 70 cm cleaning brush.

Both come with adjustable handle and intuitive controls. www.ipcworldwide.com

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