HAND HYGIENE

Promoting good habits (continued from page 31) practised, says Edwardes. “Ensuring that the dispenser is easily accessible and visible to everyone is crucial,” he said. “It should also be placed conveniently away from the sinks to allow ample space for people to use it while others are washing their hands.

“And the design of the dispenser can help to encourage usage and contribute to a positive user experience.”

The goal is not to speed up hand hygiene but to make it easier for people to participate in the process, says Kimberly-Clark Professional product technical leader Stephanie Martin. “The right products should be conveniently located at the point of use and there should be a sufficient supply to support the number of people in the facility,” she said. “It’s hard to wash your hands correctly when key items such as hand soap are out of stock. And having to wait for a sink or an air dryer may also discourage people from washing their hands if they have limited time.”

Washroom managers need to be vigilant about checking product levels while also ensuring all products and dispensers are clean and sanitary, she said. “Soap and hand sanitiser solutions should be nonirritating and any fragrances used should be mild to minimise the chance of skin reactions,” she added. “And hand sanitiser dispensers should be placed in easily accessible, common areas such as near lifts, offices, in hallways, in break rooms and near entrances and exits.

Pourrait-on concevoir un système d’hygiène des mains susceptible d’induire à une amélioration des pratiques dans ce domaine ? L’utilisateur peut-il y être encouragé au moyen d’appareils d’utilisation simple, intuitive et rapide ? En outre, que doivent faire les fabricants pour promouvoir une amélioration des pratiques de lavage des mains dans des contextes critiques ?

“Also, helping people to better understand the basics of good hand hygiene can help to encourage compliance.”

Common sense needs to be employed when choosing the location of hand hygiene dispensers, according to Martin. “Factors to consider include traffic, height convenience and the proximity to sinks when it comes to soap and towel dispensers,” she said. “For example, someone with wet hands could drip water on to the floor and create a slip hazard if they have to move any distance from the sink to the hand drying facilities.

Minimise barriers

“And locating hand sanitiser stands throughout a building will also encourage regular hand hygiene, even when people are not using the washroom.”

Any barriers to optimum hand hygiene practices need to be minimised, according to Essity’s communications director Jenny Turner. “To eliminate barriers to good hand hygiene we need to ensure all products are easy to use and refill and are accessible to everyone,” she said. “For example they should be mounted within reach of people of all heights and any communication they display should be readable and inclusive.”

Hygiene systems need to be designed with a clear understanding of the end-user’s needs, she says. “For example, it is not ideal if a parent has only one hand available when lifting a child to help them wash their hands – particularly if the dispenser itself is out of reach for the child,” she said. “And refilling some dispensers requires a degree of dexterity for the cleaner.

Kann ein spezifisches Handhygienesystem dazu beitragen, die Handwäsche zu verbessern? Reagieren Endbenutzer besser auf Produkte, die einfach und intuitiv zu bedienen sind und beispielsweise den Ablauf beschleunigen? Und wie können Handhygieneunternehmen ihre Produkte und Systeme einsetzen, um bessere Handhygienepraktiken in kritischen Bereichen zu fördern?

“In these types of scenarios, access to hygiene can prove troublesome or be slowed down - and this could have an impact on other users and their hygiene, comfort and experience of the facility.”

Good flow essential

A good washroom flow will encourage optimal hygiene practices, according to Turner. “Jet air dryers, for example, can service only one person at a time and they take 10 or more seconds per person,” she said. “As a result, some users may choose to walk away before their hands are completely dry while others may decide not to dry their hands at all because they feel the air dryers take too long. And this will increase the risk of cross-contamination.”

High quality, effective and user-friendly products will all help to support good hand hygiene practices, she said. “Where frequent hand washing is required, soft paper hand towels and mild soaps with allergyfriendly formulas will help to encourage compliance. And specialist products can help to improve people’s practices in specific environments.”

As an example she cites Tork Odour Control Soap which is designed for use in professional kitchens. This is said to be kind to skin while also helping to remove pungent odours from the hands without adding any fragrance.

Tork dispensers for foam and liquid soaps have been certified by the Swedish Rheumatism Association as being easy to use for children, the elderly and people with limited hand function, while the Tork PeakServe Continuous Hand Towel dispenser requires a low pull force and allows a towel to be taken out in three seconds.

According to Turner, it is not sufficient to simply tell people hand hygiene is important in order to cause a behavioural change. “Significant change can only be produced with the aid of a deliberate programme combining several elements including the right tools for the task; education on the need for hand hygiene and visual reminders such as signage,” she said. “A new habit takes time to form, and it needs to be continually reinforced.”

Può un sistema specifico per l’igiene delle mani aiutare a incoraggiare delle abitudini migliori di lavaggio delle mani? Gli utenti finali rispondono meglio ai prodotti facili e intuitivi da usare e ciò facilita il procedimento, per esempio? E come possono le imprese di prodotti per l’igiene delle mani impiegare i loro prodotti e sistemi per promuovere delle migliori pratiche di igiene delle mani in situazioni critiche?

Modern look

For use in high-end guest washrooms and hotel rooms Diversey offers the Lapē Collection Earth Edition, a new extension of the Lapē Collection. Boasting a blend of fine highly biodegradable fragrances and a modern look, this range comes in 300 ml refillable 100 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic pump bottles.

amber colour of the bottle does not highlight the liquid filling level so there is no need to refill for every room switch.

Lapē Collection Earth Edition is part of Diversey’s More Than Green selection.

www.diversey.com

Enclosed system

prevent this. The company says choosing quality hand soaps for cleansing can make a real difference in reducing spread of infection.

www.kcprofessional.com

Sustainable

• La Lape Collection, Earth Edition, est une gamme de luxe de shampoos et de gels lavants pour les mains et le corps signée Diversey.

• Les savons et désinfectants de marque des sociétés KimberlyClark Professional et Kleenex sont conditionnés en casettes étanches.

• Sterisol fait valoir le fait que son distributeur de savon débite 99% du produit, éliminant ainsi les déchets.

It is Nordic Swan certified and the formulation is 100 per cent microplastic free.

The range comprises shampoo & body wash, hand wash, hand & body lotion. The customerfacing bottles are refilled from five-litre canisters made from 50 per cent PCR plastic. The dark

Studies have shown that one in four refillable soap dispensers can become contaminated with harmful bacteria that can remain on the users’ hands even after using the soap - says KimberlyClark Professional. It says its Scott and Kleenex brand soap and sanitiser products come in enclosed cassette systems to www.sterisol.se

Sterisol claims to offer a skincare solution that’s sustainable for people, planet and profit. Its system is based on an airtight pump and a strong but thin plastic bag that weighs 11 grams - less than most plastic bottles used in dispensers it says.

Because there’s a vacuum in the flexible bag, it delivers a discharge rate of 99 per cent. Over one year that helps a business of 730 employees who are using 2,000 litres of skincare per year save 64 kg of plastic and 20 litres of saved soap waste. And an average of 70 per cent of the packaging comes from recycled material.

• Die Lape Collection Earth Edition ist eine luxuriöse Produktfamilie mit Shampoo und Duschgel, Handreiniger sowie Hand- und Körperlotion von Diversey.

• Die Seifen- und Desinfektionsmittel der Marken Scott und Kleenex von Kimberly-Clark Professional werden in geschlossenen Kassettensystemen geliefert.

• Sterisol teilt mit, dass sein Handseifenspendersystem 99% des Produkts liefert, was bedeutet, dass nichts verschwendet wird.

• Lape Collection Earth Edtion è una linea di lusso di shampoo & doccia schiuma, detergente per le mani e lozione mani & corpo prodotta dalla Diversey.

• I saponi e igienizzanti a marchio

Kimberly-Clark Professional Scott e Kleenex sono disponibili in sistemi a cassette chiusi.

• La Sterisol afferma che il suo sistema di dispenser di sapone per le mani eroga il 99% del prodotto senza sprechi.

• Essity a ajouté trois nouveaux savons de luxe à sa gamme Tork.

• NoSoapCompany a lancé un distributeur biodégradable de produits pour l’hygiène des mains.

• Dans sa gamme de produits, Americol propose un nettoyant des mains certifié NSF pour le secteur alimentaire.

• Pour les zones sans approvisionnement en eau, Dreumex propose les lingettes Expert Wipes pour le lavage des mains.

• Les distributeurs de papier Tris System de Hylab sont agencés de manière à recevoir différents formats.

• Excel Dryer a relevé son système de filtrage HEPA par l’emploi d’un matériau HEPA électrostatique.

Bigger range

Tork manufacturer Essity has added three new luxury soap offerings to its portfolio. And the company has upgraded its EU Ecolabelled soap products to make them more sustainable.

• Essity hat seinem TorkSortiment drei neue Luxusseifen hinzugefügt.

• NoSoapCompany hat einen biologisch abbaubaren Spender für Handhygieneprodukte auf den Markt gebracht.

• Als Teil seiner Produktpalette bietet Americol einen NSFzertifizierten Handreiniger für den Einsatz im Lebensmittelbereich an.

• Für Bereiche, in denen kein Wasser verfügbar ist, bietet Dreumex Expert Desinfektionstücher für die Handreinigung an.

• Das Tris System von Hylab verleiht seinen Papierspendern die Vielseitigkeit, verschiedene Formate aufzunehmen.

• Excel Dryer hat sein HEPAFiltersystem auf elektrostatische HEPA-Medien umgerüstet.

New Tork Luxury Foam Soap and Tork Luxury Liquid Soap both contain natural magnolia extract which is recognised for its relaxing properties. Tork Luxury Foam Soap is derived from 94 per cent natural ingredients and has a pleasant handfeel, while Tork Luxury Liquid Soap is soft and silky and comes from 95 per cent natural ingredients.

Aimed at upmarket hotels, restaurants, offices, gyms and spas, the new products have been dermatologically tested while their improved formulations meet stringent new EU Ecolabel criteria.

In order to qualify for the EU Ecolabel, soap products now need to have minimal toxicity to aquatic organisms and should be made from renewable ingredients of sustainable origin. All packaging should be kept to a minimum and easy to recycle.

The new unit is 122 cm tall and made from 100 per cent biobased, 100 per cent biodegradable polymer and wood. It comes in a natural, white or black and is sold under the Hygio brand. And to make it as environmentally friendly as possible, graphics are laser etched onto the front to avoid using ink. Naturally the battery and electronics can’t be biodegradable but they can be reused or recycled.

www.nosoapcompany.com

Now improved

Americol says it has improved all its hand cleaning formulas recently, boasting a better feel on the skin and more effective cleaning result. The 3.8-litre pump bottle is designed to give the correct dosage and prevent contamination.

use of water or solvents. The wipes are impregnated with a special cleaner, absorb well and remove stubborn contaminations. Available in a convenient canister or larger capacity bucket.

www.dreumex.com

Versatility

Hylab says its patented Tris System technology offers optimum versatility to its paper dispensers - each unit can be easily adapted to accommodate interleaved hand towels, toilet tissue or jumbo rolls with a switch of delivery kit.

• La Essity ha aggiunto tre nuovi saponi di lusso alla sua gamma Tork.

• NoSoapCompany ha lanciato un dispenser per prodotti per l’igiene delle mani biodegradabile.

• Parte della sua gamma di prodotti, la Americol propone un detergente oer le mani certificato NSF adatto per il settore alimentare.

• La Dreumex propone le salviette per le mani Expert Wipes adatte alle aree dove l’acqua non è disponibile.

• Tris System della Hylab permette ai suoi dispenser di carta la versatilità di adattarsi a diversi formati.

• La Excel Dryer ha potenziato il suo sistema di filtraggio HEPA per utilizzare mezzi elettrostatici HEPA.

The new refill bottles for Tork foam soap now contain 30 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic and are also collapsible which reduces waste volumes by 70 per cent.

Other recent launches include Tork Antimicrobial Liquid Soap and Tork Odour-Control Hand Washing Liquid Soap, both aimed at chefs and other kitchen workers.

www.tork.co.uk

Biodegradable

Hand hygiene products dispenser producer NoSoapCompany has developed a dispenser made from biodegradable materials. Ninety-nine per cent of formerly plastic and metal parts have been made with materials that do not have any impact on the environment.

The company has also made improvements to its Special Hand Cleaner to make it NSF certified therefore suitable for use in the food sector. A full range of formulas is available in various packaging formats. All contain natural granules. www.americol.nl

No water

For industries such as automotive, construction and manufacturing where workers need to clean their hands regularly but there is no water nearby, Dreumex offers Expert Wipes. Besides not containing alcohol, they clean hands without the www.hylabdispensers.com

All models in this line maintain a consistent design and shape, preserving the aesthetic. Available with Milano, Vela, and Materia paper dispensers.

Better HEPA

Warm air hand dryer specialist Excel Dryer has upgraded its HEPA filtration system to use electrostatic HEPA media. Like the previous HEPA filter, the electrostatic version is said to remove 99.999 per cent of viruses and 99.97 per cent of potentially present bacteria at 0.3 microns from the airstream - the difference lies in the way it works says Excel.

The new system’s ‘supercharged’ media (electrostatically charged polypropylene microfibre) attracts microscopic particles as they move through the dryer. Viruses, bacteria and other tiny offenders quickly find themselves stuck to the internal filter.

Said to improve airflow with no loss of purifying power, electrostatic HEPA filtration is now available with the original Xlerator, no-heat Xlerator-eco and ThinAir dryers. The corrosionresistant, stainless-steel mesh screen traps larger particles and protects the HEPA filter media, extending filter life.

excel-hand-dryers.co.uk