INCLEAN May-June 2019

DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE HYGIENE INFORMATION

www.incleanmag.com.au

Volume 32 Issue 3 May/June 2019

Cleaning Technology · Municipal Technology

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Contents

Volume 32 Issue 3 May/June 2019

Features 14 S ite spotlight Behind the scenes at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix

24 B ugs, hands, biofilms and healthcare Whiteley Corporation lifts the lid on hygiene practices in healthcare

30 T ackling the key healthcare challenges How RCP is helping healthcare facilities overcome the challenges of keeping environments hygienic and healthy

12 Healthcare focus 22 Hygiene in healthcare 28 D ata and awareness 34 W hy effective floor cleaning is vital 36 W hy cleaning health facilities doesn’t need to make you feel sick

36

Regulars 04 Editor’s Letter 08 Industry 20 Contracting 40 Carpet & Restoration 50 Opinion

30

52 24

58 Marketing 70 Products

EDITOR’S LETTER

“The industry is on the cusp of significant change and if we’re not ahead of the curve, we won’t be here much longer.”

That was one of the key messages from a panel recently hosted by INCLEAN on the future of the cleaning industry. But it’s not only new technology that is set to flip the industry on its head, with panellists also discussing the growing shift towards building wellness and corporate sustainability. Read their predictions on what’s to come and how to prepare for the future from page 10.

A recent change making waves in the industry is the Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF). Created by stakeholders in the cleaning sector, including building owners, facility managers and cleaning contractors, the industry-led scheme seeks to improve labour standards and cleaning quality in Australia.

The official launch of its three-star standard accreditation in Melbourne last month is a positive step forward for the industry to stamp out worker exploitation and promote social compliance, ethical employment practices and responsible procurement policies.

The magazine has also undergone some changes of its own this month with a design refresh, as well as the introduction of more features and a new section, Site Spotlight, where we take a behind-the-scenes look at a particular facility or event. Getting us started this issue is the work of the sweeping team from ISS Facility Services at the internationally-renowned Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

In our healthcare focus, we look at various aspects of healthcare cleaning including the complex field of hygiene in healthcare; the importance of floor care maintenance and using data to improve facility cleanliness. On page 24, Dr Greg Whiteley discusses the need for uniform cleaning standards due to a gap between perceived levels of cleanliness and the scientific evidence as to what constitutes a satisfactorily clean surface. He explores why this disparity is giving rise to harmful biofilm infections and hospital acquired infections.

Finally, our restoration experts share why the upcoming RIA Australasian Restoration Conference and Tradeshow is must for those in the industry; examine the use of ATP meters, as well as why and when to replace your respirator particulate filter; and Bridget Gardner continues her sustainability series examining the plastic pollution problem and what the industry can do about it.

Happy reading,

F

u la

n

e ch

ree-star standar s th di

Claire Hibbit Managing Editor DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE HYGIENE INFORMATION

www.incleanmag.com.au

Volume 32 Issue 3 May/June 2019

On the cover Cleanstar’s 2019 branding campaign, ‘Homegrown’ represents the manufacturer as a family-owned and operated Australian business.

Next issue: Issue

Focus

Editorial Deadline

Advertising Booking Deadline

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Published

July/August

Purchasing

21 May, 2019

17 June, 2019

20 June, 2019

2 July, 2019

September/October

Sustainability

29 July, 2019

22 Aug, 2019

27 Aug, 2019

6 Sep, 2019

Retail and Hospitality

27 Sep, 2019

24 Oct, 2019

29 Oct, 2019

8 Nov, 2019

(Distributed at ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo)

November/December

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INDUSTRY

Sydney Showground removes plastic drinking cups Single-use disposable plastic drinking cups will be eliminated from Sydney Showground venue run outlets and bars.

Sydney Showground has entered into a multi-year agreement with WISE – It’s In Your Hands, for the supply of re-usable cups to events conducted at the venue.

WISE – It’s In Your Hands is a wholly-owned Australian company that supplies reusable cups to stadium, events and festivals.

RAS CEO, Brock Gilmour, said the WISE re-usable cup is a sensible and practical answer to eliminate single-use cups going to landfill.

“Additionally, re-usable cups will significantly reduce daily post-event cleaning costs and assist with improved waste management,” said Gilmour.

WISE CEO and co-founder, Craig Lovett, said the company’s market research and trials over the past two years have proven the Australian venue and event industry and their customers are looking for an alternative to disposable single-use plastics.

“Over five million disposable plastic cups are going to landfill in Australia each month.

They are contaminating our land and are ending up in waterways, rivers and beaches, The WISE solution empowers patrons and venue management to actively participate in the War-On-Waste and make a significant environmental change. This is why we say the solution is ‘In Your Hands’”.

Quayclean awarded Adelaide Oval contract Quayclean Australia has been awarded the cleaning and presentation contract to Adelaide Oval.

Adelaide Oval hosts up to 60 AFL, SANFL, cricket and music events each year which attract around 1.8 million visitors. Under its fully-employed working model, Quayclean will employ more than 200 full-time, permanent part-time and casual labour personnel at Adelaide Oval.

Quayclean Australia CEO, Mark Piwkowski said the company is thrilled it has been awarded the contract to present the fivestar venue for every event.

“Our primary focus in this new partnership is to make Adelaide Oval look great, enhance the match-day experience for all patrons and introduce sustainable waste management practices.”

Adelaide Oval joins the SCG and the Gabba as Quayclean’s Test cricket venues. Adelaide Oval will be a world centrepiece of next year’s ICC T20 World Cup after it secured seven men’s tournament matches.

Quayclean also manages cleaning and presentation for the South Australian Jockey Club at Morphettville, the Adelaide Festival Trust Centre and the South Australian Aquatic Centre.

8 INCLEAN May/June 2019

Airbnb launches ethical cleaning partnership Canberra-based cleaning firm Harmony Community Cleaning has partnered with online marketplace Airbnb to launch a pilot program designed to promote fair pay and conditions for its workers.

As part of the pilot Airbnb will promote Harmony Community Cleaning – Canberra’s first social enterprise cleaning firm – via the platform as the preferred cleaning company for Airbnb hosts.

Harmony Community Cleaning was started in Canberra following a two-year legal battle by a group of S’gaw Karen refugees for their entitlements from a school cleaning contractor. The Federal Court judgement found their previous employer had breached the Fair Work Act. Jo-anne Schofield national secretary for United Voice said the program is aimed at building sustainable jobs into the new economy.

“Hosts who support the pilot will know that their cleaners are being paid the correct rate and that they are supporting an ethical cleaning collective. The pilot program brings both dignity and a professional, properly paid workforce into rented properties.

“Businesses need to get on board and we need to start seeing similar community development programs rolled out to support good jobs in the new economy.”

Harmony Community Cleaning currently employs permanent part-time workers in accordance with the Cleaning Services Award 2010.

INDUSTRY

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker presents at CAF launch

CAF seeks expressions of interest for three-star standard The Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF) three-star standard has officially launched, with the industry-led scheme seeking expressions of interest from building owners and investors.

The launch follows a nationwide trial with a dozen commercial and retail properties in six states and territories. CAF works with independent auditors to verify the CAF Standards – as they relate to wages and conditions, tax and super, and responsible contracting – are being met at a building.

Once certification is obtained, this can be displayed at the building to signify to tenants and members of the public that this is a building with responsible owners that is being cleaned well by cleaners employed a company that provides a safe work environment and pays them fairly.

Four building certification intakes are scheduled for 2019. The first was held in April, with the others slated for May, July and September. Each intake will include six buildings.

Poonam Datar CAF CEO said the power of CAF is that it engaged all parties – building owners, building managers, cleaning companies, the cleaners’ union and cleaners themselves – to fix the well-known problems in the cleaning industry.

“CAF is a labour rights assurance scheme that uniquely places cleaners at the heart of certification, making it different from just a tick-box exercise. We congratulate the companies who have helped build CAF and are leading the way on social compliance

by adopting ethical employment practices, responsible procurement policies, transparency through auditing, and valuing worker voice.”

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said at the official launch in Melbourne in March, ensuring compliance is an ongoing focus for Fair Work, with the watchdog to certify its own sites over the next 12 months.

Woolworths’ head of facilities management Trent Mason announced the supermarket giant will invest $100,000 to assist CAF build a retail specific certification scheme over the next 12 months.

Along with Woolworths, property groups such as ISPT, AMP Capital, Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), CBUS Property, Charter Hall, GPT, Vicinity, the Property Council of Australia, JLL and CBRE have been supporters of the program since its inception, and part of the certification’s Advisory Group.

Other members of the CAF Advisory Group include AustralianSuper, FMA, BSCAA, ISS Facility Services Australia, Consolidated, BIC Services, Millennium, Academy Services, Dimeo, Glad Group, Downer Group, Spotless Group, ME Bank, KPMG/Banarra, NSW Long Service Leave Corporation, QLeave, Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance, and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

FMA submits proposal for ISO 41000 series The Facility Management Association of Australia (FMA) has submitted a proposal for the adoption of the ISO 41000 series of standards with Standards Australia – a move it’s described as a “landmark event” for Australia’s FM sector.

The ISO 41000 series of standards is a suite of standards developed specifically for facilities management. The development of the ISO 41000 series (which includes 41001, 41011, 41012 and 41013) began almost seven years ago, and engaged the interest of 45 countries.

According to FMA Australia’s identical adoption of the current ISO 41000 series will deliver a host of benefits, including; greater consistency within Australia’s FM industry;

more reliable FM outcomes, achieved through consistent definitions and improved procurement procedures; and greater understanding of FM practice, both within the industry and among the wider community.

FMA CEO Nicholas Burt said the standards will demonstrate the importance and professional nature of the industry.

“The ability to be accredited to what is now commonly known as ISO 41001 is a landmark event that will place the industry on the international stage,” he said.

Acting CEO of Standards Australia, Adrian O’Connell said it is an incredible achievement by all those involved in the development of the ISO 41000 series.

www.incleanmag.com.au 9

INDUSTRY

Forward thinking Bridget Gardner, Sarah Sannen and Lucas Paris

The INCLEAN panel, hosted by editor Claire Hibbit, at this year’s Total Facilities saw panellists Lucas Paris (Kärcher Australia), Sarah Sannen (GECA) and Bridget Gardner (Fresh Green Clean) talk trends, technology and how to prepare for the future.

Why is keeping an eye on emerging trends important for your business?

LP: I’ve been in the cleaning industry for more than 10 years and in that time, I have seen a lot of evolution in both manual and robotic cleaning equipment. The key question for businesses today is: can you afford not to keep your eye on future trends? We’re on the cusp of significant change and if we’re not ahead of the curve, we won’t be here much longer.

Cleaning is not the sexiest industry, but it is an important industry. We need to stay ahead of the technology. We need to attract young people into this industry because they will be the ones that shape it.

The next 10 years will be really exciting.

For those in FM, the tech change that will come, will come quickly and it won’t be for everyone. Some technology you will be able to adopt, some you won’t. But either way you need to be across it. Your competitors are going to be across it and if you’re not, you will miss out.

SS: The reason why keeping eye on future trends is so important for [GECA] is because we’re passionate about continual improvement, and how we continue to drive change towards what best practice looks like in many industries.

There are two reasons to keep an eye on future trends. The first is compliance.

There were a lot of industries, including cleaning, that reacted very intensely to the Modern Slavery legislation that was 10 INCLEAN May/June 2019

passed in Australia last year. At the time a lot of people were completely shocked and a lot of people still today don’t know how to comply. The second is relevance.

How relevant are we to the people buying our services? What is it that they are trying to achieve? And how can we feed into that and continue to stay relevant in that industry?

BG: The trends I am interested in talking about are ones that are going to be future risks. For me that is sham contracting and wage theft. Another emerging risk is drug resistant bacteria and the implications of that and how cleaning is a pivotal part of that story.

What technologies are driving change in the industry?

LP: There’s a saying in the cleaning industry that cleaning contractors make money off what they don’t clean, rather than what they do clean. But that’s not the case anymore. Buildings are getting smarter. [Buildings] know where people are and when rooms have been cleaned.

We have machines that connect to fleet-based platforms. The machines can show where it is, the brush pressure, water usage, the detergents used and battery life. Visibility is key and for us as manufacturers it’s our job to create that visibility for our end users.

There will be a point where everything will be autonomous. We’re beginning

to see this now with cars and the rise of driverless vehicles. We have to be prepared that these [autonomous] technologies are not going to be here in 10 or 15 years – they’re going to be here in one to two years. And they will be expected by facilities because the most expensive part of cleaning is the person cleaning and using the machine – especially when they’re being paid the right salary which we should be doing in every single contract around the country.

BG: The leading contractors have software that can track and record everything. It’s crucial to understand what is available in the market from a technology perspective so that you can specify [tasks] as well as have data and understand it.

Wage theft is another major issue.

Technology such as building sensors are allowing hours and time spent in buildings by the contractor to be tracked, but if you don’t marry that with the hours actually being completed, then it will drive the problem of wage theft further down because we don’t know how long the cleaners are having to work to get through their tasks. What I would also like to see happen from all this is [smart] technology being implemented is a re-focus on the reason why we clean, which is to create a health environment.

Aside from technology, what other factors are driving change?

INDUSTRY

SS: One of the big things we’re seeing is the huge increase in customer awareness and expectation. One of the most important things for the cleaning industry is people becoming aware of the impact of cleaning products on their health and also on productivity in the building.

In Australia, we have initiatives that have gained significant traction like the WELL Building certification. And there have been some buildings that have failed on their WELL certification because of the chemicals the building’s cleaning service providers were using. Some have had to be re-tested and cleaners trained on using the correct products. The shift towards wellness is very significant for the cleaning industry in order to keep your client satisfied and keep you on as the contractor.

The other is Modern Slavery. Major building managers are going to have to report on modern slavery, because they all meet the threshold, as well as report on their procurement of cleaning services. The visibility and transparency that technology is enabling us to achieve is also what is going to allow them to be compliant so they are going to be pushing for that information a lot sooner as well.

What’s happening internationally that will influence local decision making?

BG: There are two overseas trends that are going to make a big play in Australia. The first is the push towards wellbeing and the other is the issue of resistant bacteria. The second is the refocusing on environmental cleaning – manual handling of the cleaning of the surface. Internationally, the push is on safe use of antibiotics and preventative practices and cleaning is a massive preventative practice. As infections and epidemics become nastier each year [building and facility managers] are going to have to have a pandemic strategy for their building and part of that must be looking at the way cleaning is done.

chain. The standard doesn’t just look at environmental, it covers other aspects like human rights and how to use risk management to profile your supply chain.

Even countries that don’t have a Modern Slavery legislation are starting to look at these other aspects because human rights are included in this international standard. Environmental is also something I think is super fascinating internationally. Interestingly, in Australia we focus on social – and rightly so because it’s a very important issue – but we often forget environmental. As we start to see the rise of social enterprises there’s a blind spot looking at the environmental impact of what these social enterprises might be doing because they’re doing a lot of social good. Internationally, it’s the other way around.

I think we are getting to a point where sustainability – in terms of the economy, social and the environment – is taking off in different ways around the world. It’s going to get to a tipping point where everyone realises that sustainability includes all of those things, and we’re going to see a big push globally on all of them.

LP: To bring it back to technology, the main influence that we have to be aware of is that the longer this [technology] is out there, the cheaper it will become.

As our manufacturing breadth widens, emerging markets like China and India will start to manufacture this type of

technology (sensors and robotics) more affordable or everyone.

How can the industry prepare for the future?

BG: The most important thing is to work out what risks you want to mitigate when talking about embracing technology. If you are focused on social or focused on hygiene, then make that the central pillar of what you’re doing with the facility manager. Be clear about your goals and objectives before you implement technology.

LP: I read a statistic not long ago that two of out three kids in primary school now will work in a job that doesn’t exist yet. My kids are going to work in an industry that doesn’t exist yet and that’s really exciting. That’s what we need to prepare ourselves for.

SS: When looking at trends don’t just look at what’s happening in your industry. Technology is interdisciplinary and interindustry. You can learn so much from what other industries are doing. Knowing what the trends are, not just for your organisation but across industries, and for your client is going to be pivotal in how your business moves forward. Your client – the facility manager – also has goals they’re trying to meet. Being able to deliver on those will help you win and keep contracts.

SS: Another big international trend is the ISO 2400 standard for sustainable procurement. The standard was released in 2017 and is being adopted all over the world by many organisations who are now starting to delve into their supply

Bridget Gardner, Sarah Sannen, Lucas Paris and Claire Hibbit

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INDUSTRY

Australia’s best bathroom named QIC Westpoint Shopping Centre in Blacktown, New South Wales has been named Australia’s Best Bathroom 2019.

Now in its fifth year, the competition is run by Total Facilities and in partnership with INCLEAN magazine.

QIC Westpoint Shopping Centre’s porcelain palace makes user experience and inclusivity a priority. Maximum comfort and convenience is provided for all needs including accessible, ambulant, juniors, parents and people with carers; whilst also offering inviting, fresh spaces with timber, terrazzo, soft cove lighting and cascading planting for a natural touch.

“Amenities are often treated as spaces of necessity.

Challenging that way of thinking, QIC committed to providing their customers with something more,” said Magdalena Uscinowicz, national interior design manager at i2C Architects, the architectural and interiors firm who were charged with the design for QIC’s Westpoint Shopping Centre.

“As a result, the design team were able to push design boundaries and set benchmarks in the industry by proving the human experience can be enhanced in any space.”

Total Facilities event manager Andrew Lawson said the aim of the competition is to encourage awareness of some of the best bathrooms in Australia among facilities and workplace management professionals.

“This competition profiles some of the most progressive organisations which are at the forefront of bathroom experiences,” Lawson said.

QIC Westpoint narrowly beat runner-up ‘P!NK Ladies’ at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre (BEC) to the top spot.

Others to receive acknowledgement as highly commended were; Wynnum Plaza in Brisbane, Bathroom 54 at Sydney Airport and a private property on Glenmore Rd in Sydney.

12 INCLEAN May/June 2019

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SITE SPOTLIGHT

Ready to race Just as pit-crews support race car drivers, the sweeping team from ISS Facility Services work behind-the-scenes at the internationally-renowned Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. Lizzie Hunter reports.

14 INCLEAN May/June 2019

SITE SPOTLIGHT

For almost a decade ISS Facility Services has provided road sweeping and mechanical scrubbing services for the internationally renowned Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, which recorded its largest ever attendance this year.

The estimated four-day crowd figure of 324,100 fans was the highest recorded attendance since 2005 for the annual motor race, which has taken place at Melbourne’s Albert Park since 1996.

The Australian Grand Prix is the second oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia. Prior to its inclusion in the World Championship in 1985, it was held at various venues in every state of Australia.

The Grand Prix Circuit is a street circuit around Albert Park Lake, south of central Melbourne. Each year, most of the trackside fencing, pedestrian overpasses, grandstands and other

motorsport infrastructure are erected two months prior to the Grand Prix weekend.

During this time, ISS Facility Services deploys a road sweeper every Friday afternoon for approximately three hours to clear and clean the circuit and surrounding roads and shared paths.

ISS Facility Services Victoria’s sweeping operations manager Fabrice Ferre says it is vital any mess made by equipment and vehicles utilised on site during the set-up process is cleaned up.

“In the lead-up to the week of the races, many social and sporting activities continue to take place in the Albert Park precinct, so it is imperative any mess made by equipment and vehicles utilised on site during the set-up process is cleaned and the area is presentable for the general public for the upcoming weekend,” he said.

“There are so many factors [our sweepers] need to be aware of.

Staff need to be able to anticipate movements to overcome these challenges.” www.incleanmag.com.au 15

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SITE SPOTLIGHT

During the pre-event sweeping ISS collects up to two tonnes of waste. “There can be a lot of garden and landscaping material spilt on paths in the establishment stages. On race days, the amount is negligible as only the circuit is swept and that can be for only grass clippings, loose stone, gravel and leaves.”

On the Tuesday night prior to the race days on the Thursday through to Sunday, ISS assists washing the circuit. This is performed through the use of a truck-type water tanker, with spray discharge equipment and two road sweepers fitted with nylon bristles.

On race day ISS Facility Services deploys four road sweepers to sweep in a staggered formation around the track to cover as much ground as possible from 6:00am.

The machines are then positioned on stand-by at nominated corners [in the precinct] to sweep away any debris that is too large for manual removal.

ISS staff spend between 16 and 18 hours in total cleaning the tracks, with staff also on stand-by after hours for any incidental sweeping required.

“In 2018 heavy rains on the Saturday afternoon caused large messes around the walking paths,” said Ferre.

“ISS was there sweeping blown debris and mud from these paths overnight so patrons and personnel could walk or ride about unhindered on the main race day.”

Post event, Ferre says ISS is actively relied upon to maintain the tracks and surrounding areas whilst the dismantling and reopening of the roads occurs, which takes up to six weeks.

“As barriers and equipment are moved and the roads are returned to their former state of operation, the mess left behind is swept so as to provide the desired aesthetic appearance.”

The ISS staff comprises of 11 qualified operators who alternate shifts throughout the duration of the event. On racing days, there is four staff onsite.

“All staff are fully trained and competent in driving the road sweepers. They are provided with maps of the circuit and surrounding areas, so they know where they need to be if called upon. They need to know exact locations and be familiar with the actual circuit.”

The principal contractor in conjunction with the Grand Prix committee provides ISS with a schedule, advising when ISS staff is to attend and what areas are to be swept.

“Generally, this details the performance levels that the sweepers have to meet with respect to the different type of matter to be collected – sand, dirt, gravel, grass clippings, stones, nuts and bolts etc – and the speed at which we are to operate at,” said Ferre.

“Conditions are also placed as to the state of each road sweeper, that they be modern, presentable, clean and fully maintained.”

18 INCLEAN May/June 2019

ISS uses four main sweepers throughout the event, including a Macdonald Johnston VT650, VT605, RT655 and Schwarze A6500.

The VT650 and VT605 sweepers feature a 6.3 cubic metre hopper, 1500 litre water tank and a 3600mm wide sweep path.

The trucks have dual sweeping functionality and are fitted with 1300mm centre broom and two 700mm gutter brooms to handle a variety of sweeping conditions.

The RT655 regenerative air suction sweeper features a 6.3 cubic metre hopper, 900 litre water tank, 220 litre fuel tank and two 1000mm gutter brooms with a multi-positioning ‘Rotatilt’ system.

Dust suppression sprays are located within the suction nozzle, forward of the gutter brooms and across the front of the vehicle reducing dust emissions.

The Schwarze A6500 is a chassis mounted, regenerative air street sweeper with Increased hopper capacity for increased production.

The truck features a noise reduction shroud, increasing the operator’s ability to operate in noise sensitive areas. The truck’s gutter brooms ensure the machine’s versatility in various applications, while eliminating the need for a centre broom.

Each of the mechanical road sweepers used are Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) compliant and fitted with a global tracking and scheduling system to protect workers, as well as provide better monitoring and reporting.

In the last 10 years, the incorporation of GPS technology into the ISS operating systems has proven invaluable to operations. This technology has had numerous benefits including operational and maintenance tracking, integration with large infrastructure systems, automated downloading and improved reporting mechanisms.

Reversing incidents are primarily the major cause of accidents, injury and death within the sweeping industry. Reverse Smart technology has been rolled out in the ISS sweeping fleet.

This device is a very simple, but technologically advanced system, which actively protects the public, workers, vehicles and other assets at the rear of the vehicle and does all of this without interfering with the vehicles intended daily operation.

The Reverse Smart system is only powered on once a vehicle is placed in reverse gear. When the systems radar sensors detect an object or person that is within the danger zone behind the vehicle, the unit will immediately and automatically activate the vehicles brakes – without any driver input required.

Being such a high traffic area with pedestrians, vehicles, cranes, bikes and buggies, ISS road sweepers have to watch where their brooms are located and what might be collected, as well as be aware of and anticipate the moves of everything around them.

“There are so many factors [our sweepers] need to be aware of. Staff need to be able to anticipate movements to overcome these challenges.” www.au.issworld.com

“ISS staff spend between 16 and 18 hours in total cleaning the tracks, with staff also on stand-by after hours for any incidental sweeping required.”

CONTRACTING

TOAST of the town A Dalby cleaning business in regional Queensland has received a string of awards on the back of its strong team culture and commitment to clients. Cameron Cooper reports.

For someone who still thinks he is getting his head around the cleaning industry, Scott MacDougall appears to be faring well.

At the 2018 BSCAA Queensland Excellence Awards late last year, staff members of Scott and Sharryn MacDougall’s commercial and industrial cleaning business, Town & Country Cleaning, claimed three awards. No bad for an operation that had never participated in the awards before.

Scott and Sharryn bought the cleaning company about four-anda-half years ago because of concerns over market fluctuations in the agricultural sector, in which they had forged a presence selling GPS equipment to farmers.

“To buy a cleaning business was completely left field,” Scott explains. “It’s taken me a number of years to learn how it all operates. And I’m still learning.”

That did not stop Town and Country Cleaning gaining market recognition at the BSCAA awards. Employee Christine Phillips, in the Queensland-wide division, was named runner-up for Long Service, a category open to those who have been in the industry for more than 10 years.

Tina Draney took the prize in the Frontline Employee category in the regional Queensland division, which recognises an individual’s outstanding professional success.

Catherine DeVries, Bebe Antoza and Sandra Radke were winners in the Most Valuable Team category in the regional Queensland division.

Without knowing much about the awards process, MacDougall had nominated his team members and hoped for the best. He and Sharryn then travelled down Brisbane without staff for the event, not really expecting the company to be in the awards mix.

To his surprise, MacDougall had to go on stage three times to collect the gongs.

20 INCLEAN May/June 2019

“I took all the accolades,” he laughs, adding that he passed on the good news to his team the next day. “None of the staff had any idea. They were a little dumbfounded.”

Growing reputation Town and Country Cleaning is no overnight success. Founded in 1988 by a local couple, the MacDougalls bought it in the knowledge that it had significant potential and have built staff numbers since the takeover from 24 to about 40 people, most of whom are permanent staff members.

MacDougall reflects the agricultural business has always been buffeted by market fluctuations because of harsh weather conditions and significant competition.

“One month I need four people and the next month there’s not enough work for one. It’s just up and down too much. That’s the reason we needed to diversify.”

By contrast, the cleaning market in Dalby, a town in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, benefits from the presence of a number of industries, including agriculture, energy, mining, engineering, education and healthcare.

While a slowdown in work related to gas-fired power in the region has had an impact, the embrace of renewable energy projects has given Dalby a boost. Town and Country Cleaning relies on commercial and industrial cleaning work for about 80 per cent of its revenue, while carpet and floor cleaning dominates the remainder of the portfolio. MacDougall believes the BSCAA awards demonstrate that his business is benefiting from a strong workplace culture.

“I try to make it inclusive for our employees. Whenever we do quotes we try to make sure staff are involved. And we also make sure staff get positive feedback for their work.”

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“To buy a cleaning business was completely left field. It’s taken me a number of years to learn how it all operates. And I’m still learning.”

Healthy culture One of the most prestigious BSCAA awards went to DeVries, Antoza and Radke for their cleaning work at the Myall Medical Practice, a large clinic of GPs in Dalby.

The contract requires a team of at least three cleaners to work from about 6pm to 10pm most nights, with rigorous standards applying in the healthcare sector.

“The practice needs to be as-new every morning. No wall marks, no glass marks, and the floors have to be buffed and polished very week. I can’t speak highly enough of the team.”

One of the keys to success for Town and Country Cleaning, according to MacDougall, is that staff members are routinely exposed to different team leaders and projects so they understand the requirements of a range of jobs and can apply consistent cleaning methods.

“They’re effectively ready to go as a reserve if someone is sick or on holidays.”

Given its large cleaning team and diverse job list, MacDougall says his biggest challenge is managing rosters. Once done on a spreadsheet, he has moved to a mobile app solution that allows management and staff to be on top of jobs at any point of the day.

“We only started that in late January, but it’s already been a great help,” he says.

MacDougall thinks the management skills he has acquired over the years in the agricultural sector have served him well in the cleaning sector.

“My skill is in managing people, rather than my cleaning skills. I get told at home pretty regularly that I’m a poor cleaner,” he jokes.

Part of MacDougall’s management approach is to quickly address client concerns on the rare occasions that they occur. He joins his team members to “eyeball” any clients with issues so problems can be identified and fixed.

Bright future With a strong back-office team and dedicated cleaning staff, Scott has no doubt that Town and Country Cleaning is well placed to thrive in the years to come.

The job for him and Sharryn will be to make sure that clients are satisfied, employees take ownership of what they are doing, and that they dot the i’s and cross the t’s when it comes to staff needs around pay and workplace conditions.

“That’s the key,” he says. “If people are happy at work, it makes everything with the business a lot easier.”

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Hygiene

in healthcare Dr Denis Boulias’ shares his tips to improve hygiene and reduce spread of infection and illness in a healthcare setting.

Infections within a hospital environment can be a significant risk and are often referred to as nosocomial infections. The causative agent of the infection may be present on the patient at the time of arrival (endogenous infection). However, the infection may also be acquired during their stay at hospital – which is referred to as cross contamination.

Often microorganisms can penetrate the skin or mucous membranes and reach areas such as the bones, muscles, and body cavities, for example the bladder – an area that under normal circumstances is sterile.

Where a reaction to such contamination develops with symptoms then there is an infection. Healthy people have a normal general resistance to infection. However older people, babies, pregnant women and the immunocompromised (e.g. cancer patients) have a higher susceptibility to developing infection.

Microorganisms may be transmitted from their source point to a new host by indirect or direct contact or through the air or various vectors. Sneezing and coughing is an example or airborne transmission.

Touch between a healthcare worker and a patient is an example of direct transmission. The most common vector of transmission, however, is indirect contact where a contaminated person touches (contaminates) an object and the further contact between that object and another person may then lead to an infection.

Cleaning Possibly the most fundamental measure for maintaining hygiene is cleaning, and this is particularly important in a hospital environment. The microbial effect of cleaning is a mechanical process – microorganisms are suspended in the cleaning fluid and hence removed from the surface.

Most cleaning will remove more than 90 per cent of microorganisms, however, should the cleaning be rushed or careless then cleaning may disperse microorganisms over a greater surface area, increasing the probability they may contaminate other objects. As such, a well-planned colour coded cleaning process is essential, particularly in healthcare environments.

Precautions Hand hygiene: Poor hand hygiene can comprise the level of

cleaning we are aiming to achieve. For example, in handling rubbish a cleaner may come into contact with items such as 22 INCLEAN May/June 2019

tissues noting the flu virus can infect a person for up to eight hours after being deposited on a surface. It is vital cleaners are trained to never put their hands where they cannot see them when handling rubbish and wash hands as required. There are a number of reasons cleaners may not follow a strict regime of washing their hands which include: • Workload: when busy a cleaner may be less likely to hand wash.

• Time: there may not be enough time to wash the hands fully and properly.

• Appearance: the hands may not appear dirty, but germs are too small to be seen.

• Presence: a sink may be hard to get to, such as in a messy cleaning room. It is crucial cleaners are trained that hand washing is a priority for their own health benefits and that of the client.

Personal protective equipment: It is always important to risk assess all work tasks and comply with any relevant site specific safety requirements already in place. It is important to wear gloves if ever required to clean blood, body fluids, excretions, secretions and contaminated items. In any cleaning process that may result in a splash of blood, body fluids, excretions or excretions then a risk assessment of the situation is essential.

This may result in the use of a mask, eye protection and/or face shield or even a gown. The handling of linen may also be a hazard and where soiled must be treated as infectious.

Again, all safety precautions and requirements associated with a healthcare facility must be complied with especially if any cleaning is required within an isolated room of a contaminated patient. Most importantly consistent and proper handwashing is essential.

Handwashing: Soap acts as a detergent with one side of its molecule liking water (hydrophilic) and the other side of its molecule liking oil (hydrophobic). Cell membranes are also made up of a dual sided hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecule. As such, soap solvates the hydrophobic parts of a cell membrane and hence kills the bacteria by dissolving the membrane.

Furthermore, the hydrophilic part of the molecule then causes it to be easily washed away.

Soap isn’t as effective against viruses because viral membranes are more protein based than lipid based and hence the viral membrane isn’t as easily dissolved. That said, however, a soapy environment can still adversely affect protein structure and

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inactivate a virus. Of course alcohol-based hand sanitisers and antibacterial soaps are likely to be more effective than soap.

It is normal to have germs living on the skin. Whilst soap and water do a good job of removing germs from the hands it is important to ensure that hands are properly dried. It is more likely that wet hands will spread germs more than dry ones. It takes around 20-30 seconds to dry the hands well with paper cloth towels and 30-45 seconds under an air dryer.

There are three important tips associated with washing hands: 1. Don’t scrub the hands as it can damage the skin and potentially provide small cuts for germs to enter.

2. Try to keep your fingernails short as bacteria like the area under the nails and longer nails are harder to keep clean.

3. Don’t be in a hurry as it takes around a minute to properly wash and dry the hands.

Alcohol-based cleansers kill germs by denaturing (changing the shape) of proteins essential to the survival of viruses and bacteria. Most cleansers have a high level of alcohol (around 60 per cent) mixed in with skin conditioners as alcohol itself would dry out the skin. Research has shown that alcohol based cleansers have reduced germ counts on hands better than soap.

Alcohol, however, does not kill everything such as bacterial spores and non-enveloped viruses. A non-enveloped virus is very virulent, can damage host cells significantly and is more resistant to harsh environments than an enveloped virus with its membrane of lipids and protein.

“Hygiene in healthcare is an extremely important and complex field with new innovative approaches regularly hitting the market.”

That’s why each environment needs to carefully assess its hand cleaning requirements. For example, many hospitals go back to soap and water cleansing during cold weather vomiting outbreaks that may be caused by non-enveloped more virulent viruses.

Hygiene in healthcare is an extremely important and complex field with new innovative approaches regularly hitting the market.

This article simply scrapes the surface of the field where the importance of hand washing is an emphasised safety measure all people can do to improve healthcare hygiene and reduce spread of infection and illness. *Dr Denis Boulias is national safety manager at Broadlex Services www.broadlex.com.au

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Hands, bugs, biofilms and healthcare A lack of industry-wide cleaning standards has prompted the need for a coordinated response to cleaning and hygiene practices.

How clean is clean? It’s estimated there are around 165,000 healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in Australia each year and yet a significant gap remains between the science and practice of cleaning – a key defence in the fight against the spread of disease and infection.

“Cleaning standards is a huge issue,” says Dr Greg Whiteley, chairman of Whiteley Corporation and adjunct fellow at the School of Medicine at Western Sydney University.

“In Australia, and around the world, there aren’t any uniform cleaning standards because standards of cleanliness have not yet been defined.”

According to Dr Whiteley there is a significant disconnect between perceived levels of cleanliness and the scientific evidence as to what constitutes a satisfactorily clean surface, with this disparity giving rise to harmful biofilm infections, HAIs and increasingly, antimicrobial resistance.

“The core metric through which we would measure cleanliness is still not scientifically clear, and there are quite a number of confounding issues that make it a very difficult problem to deal with,” Dr Whiteley explains.

“We still do not have a clear, cleanliness standard that matches the issue of what is on the surface, with the potential issue of human disease outcomes. We know what lives on surfaces, we know the diseases humans can catch and we know that surfaces and hands are the common link, however, we have not defined how ‘clean’ is sufficiently clean. As an industry we have not defined how frequently we need to clean to maintain that standard, and we have not defined the methods we are going to measure that standard by.”

While there are state-based guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in healthcare facilities, Dr Whiteley says there isn’t any scientific-based data to support which cleaning methods reduce and prevent the spread of infection.

Sharon Otterspoor, Associate Nurse Unit Manager Theatre, Mount Gambier and Districts Health Service in South Australia, agrees standardised training on evidence-based processes, and with specified trainers, would ensure a uniform approach to procedures.

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“Cleaning expectations have continued to be raised given the increased importance of infection prevention and control. Given the importance of ensuring a safe environment for those in our care Mt Gambier has risen to the challenge and increased the level of training for staff who undertake this task. Standardised training and specified trainers ensure all staff learn the same techniques and cleaning across a site making this approach consistent and uniform,” says Otterspoor.

According to Dr Whiteley, who will present a keynote on anticipating threats to human health at CIRI’s 2019 Science Symposium in Ohio, USA, there are some commonly used cleaning methods such as fluorescent marker spots, and Rapid Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) testing.

The recent REACH (Researching Effective Approaches to Cleaning Hospitals) study found a major reduction in HAIs in 11 Australian hospitals following the use of ‘bundled’ cleaning services. The REACH project is believed to be the largest prospective, multi-site and multi-factorial trial of hospital cleaning in the world. Its aim was to investigate whether a change in cleaning practices was effective in reducing HAIs. Led by Professor Brett Mitchell the study – which Whiteley Corporation was an industry partner of – introduced a bundle of cleaning initiatives, tailored to each hospital in the study, to improve both routine and discharge hospital room cleaning.

Hospital-wide promotion of the importance of cleaning in reducing infections was also undertaken to support a culture shift in the profile of environmental services staff.

Cleaning was audited using fluorescent marker technology.

This involved applying gel dots, invisible to the naked eye, to surfaces. The dots resist dry abrasion and are removed only by a thorough cleaning technique. The REACH cleaning bundle was successful at improving cleaning thoroughness and showed great promise in reducing vancomycin-resistant enterococci infections.

Hospitals in the study improved their cleaning practices from 55 to 76 per cent in bathroom areas and from 64 to 86 per cent in bedroom areas. This resulted in a 37 per cent reduction in

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the major HAIs, vancomycin-resistance enterococci (VRE), and a5.8 per cent decrease overall in three types of infections.

Collaborative approach In June 2018 Whiteley Corporation announced its coinvestment of $3.5 million in a four-year manufacturing research partnership with the University of Sydney and the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre, to develop solutions for biofilm infections.

Biofilms formed by bacteria on living tissue cause morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. They also form on inanimate medical-related surfaces such as catheters, implants, medical instruments and almost all dry surfaces, where they pose a significant infection risk for patients. Biofilms can also be found on non-medical surfaces such as in pipes and on boat hulls, are expensive to remove and cause damage to surfaces.

“Bacterial biofilms cause both human disease and death, and these microbes are also responsible for contamination in industrial and institutional settings.”

Continuing its research into biofilms, Whiteley Corporation announced in September its plans to invest up to $4 million building the first human therapeutics manufacturing hub in the Hunter (NSW), which will be used to develop treatments for patients with biofilm-mediated infections.

“In modern microbiology, bacteria forms biofilms which are resistant to modern day antibiotics and disinfectants, and

we are working on new technologies to kill and remove those bacteria from wounds and hospital surfaces.”

The complexities of developing the methodology is illustrated in Whiteley Corporation’s research paper on the removal of biofilms – co-authored by Professor Karen Vickery.

This research investigated the performance of a range of high level disinfectants against biofilms containing Staphylococcus aureus. What was discovered is that strong solutions of both chlorine and hydrogen peroxide did not remove the biofilm, nor kill the bacteria.

However, Whiteley Corporation’s latest patented developed under the tradename SURFEX®, both removed the biofilm and achieved a kill rate of 99.9999 per cent. Whiteley Corporation’s on-going research program is investigating further the difficulty of removing biofilm through a standardised cleaning program.

“Bacterial biofilms cause both human disease and death, and these microbes are also responsible for contamination in industrial and institutional settings.”

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As Dr Whiteley explains: “One would think the simple act of a wiping a surface is straight forward but our research has found that there are nine separate variables for wiping a surface. Nine cleaners could have nine separate outcomes depending on which mistake they make, and that speaks volumes as to the level of difficulty tackling this issue.

He argues defining best practice methods and what constitutes as ‘cleanliness’ will also not only help cleaning providers but those paying for cleaning services.

“We want to make it easier for people who are paying for cleaning services to be able to measure the outcomes in terms of cleanliness. That’ s a real paradigm shift because at the moment it is based on tactile sense – what the [facility] looks and smells like.

“In high-rise, smart buildings they are now measuring, and monitoring how often bins are emptied, when bathroom dispensers are full and need to be emptied… and all those are important but the [technology] is not telling us if bugs are left on the surface.

“We’re working hard to turn [our] research into product outcomes that are meaningful, valid and internationally peer reviewed published data. Whiteley Corporation is a small-tomedium sized enterprise producing high quality, collaborative data in partnership with Australian universities, on a global scale.”

Challenges According to the Dr Whiteley there are a number of multi-drug resistant infections, impervious to current generation antibiotics on our doorstep that the industry needs to be prepared for.

“The biggest single challenge we have not too far down the telescope is antimicrobial resistance. On our doorstep we have two levels of multi-drug resistant TB – MTB (multidrug-resistant TB) and XDR TB (extensively drugresistant TB). There’s also been several cases [around the world] of Klebsiella pneumoniae,” he said, adding Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) as another public health threat.

A US-based study published in the American Journal of Infection Control in March 2017 found hospital room floors may be overlooked source of infection, including CDI, due to the likelihood of items in a patient’s room touching the floor, allowing pathogens from the floor to rapidly move to the hands and high-touch surfaces throughout a hospital room.

In the study by Abhishek Deshpande, MD, PhD and colleagues, researchers cultured 318 floor sites from 159 patient rooms (two sites per room) in five Cleveland-area hospitals. The hospital rooms included both CDI isolation rooms and non-CDI rooms.

Researchers also cultured hands (gloved and bare) as well as other high-touch surfaces such as clothing, call buttons, medical devices, linens, and medical supplies.

The researchers found floors in patient rooms were often contaminated with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), VRE, and CDI, with CDI being the most frequently recovered pathogen found in both CDI isolation rooms and nonCDI rooms. Of 100 occupied rooms surveyed, 41 per cent had one or more high-touch objects in contact with the floor. These included personal items, medical devices, and supplies.

In addition to increasing antimicrobial resistance, Dr Whiteley says awareness of the importance of hand hygiene and hand hygiene compliance from all healthcare workers, including clinicians, is another challenge that remains. In 2018 a study by UNSW medical researchers found hand hygiene rates in hospital staff drop sharply when humans undertaking compliance monitoring are replaced by machines.

26 INCLEAN May/June 2019

“We want to make it easier for people who are paying for cleaning services to be able to measure the outcomes in terms of cleanliness.”

A government-led mandatory hand hygiene program has operated in Australian hospitals for the past eight years, with human auditors ensuring staff follow hand hygiene guidelines, which require a minimum of 70 per cent compliance. However, according to the study compliance rates fell from more than 90 per cent to 30 per cent when the human auditors were relieved by automated surveillance, creating infection risks for patients.

Dr Whiteley says the results of the study, led by UNSW Medicine Professor Mary Louise McLaws, is an example of the ‘Hawthorne effect’, used to describe the phenomenon of people changing their usual behaviour when they know they are being watched.

Healthcare facilities also face pressure to reduce costs and what Dr Whiteley describes as an often-revolving door of cleaning staff. As he explains: “Cleaners are massively undervalued. They’re not paid enough so therefore they leave before they are sufficiently trained so they’re skill base is sometimes limited. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Otterspoor agrees: “All staff in health move from time to time so adopting a strong method of training provides a focused emphasis on this important area. Cleaning is a very important task and plays a pivotal role in preventing HAIs.” Despite the challenges Dr Whiteley is confident the science will soon catch up with the industry. “We see those involved with highly specialised areas such as crime scene clean up, water

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remediation and carpet cleaning are familiarising themselves with scientific methods and measuring their results. It is more complex but their margins are better. Anecdotally, they’re more profitable, more specialised and not interested in the bulk market. I think that is going to a natural flow on effect.”

Otterspoor believes providing standardised training and education to environmental cleaning staff will ensure best practice and create positive change. “Engaging all staff during the process of change promotes buy-in and inclusion and leads to better acceptance moving forward.”

Dr Whiteley anticipates universal cleaning standards will create a “paradigm shift” in cleaning contracts. “Cleaning services are always under price pressures, but if you don’t have a metric for how well those services are provided that is scientifically valid it’s hard to produce a proper value equation. All you can measure is the tactile issues and the number of complaints.

“It’s a very different paradigm if you have a metric to measure to. If you have a cleaning contract that has performance indices based on scientific methods, with penalty clauses if those [measurement] scores aren’t reached it becomes a very different cleaning contract.

“It’s suddenly not just about how many people turn up on the night, it’s how clean is the outcome of the provision of cleaning services. It’s a very different approach that has the potential to completely change the industry.” www.whiteley.com.au

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Data and awareness - the keys to improving the healthcare industry

Prevention of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) is or rather should be the name of the game for hospitals in Australia today. Winc Australia’s Sean Matthews* investigates the measures that organisations can take today to improve the facilities of tomorrow, using data.

Health associated infections are infections that patients can get while being treated in a medical facility. Often it is through invasive procedures, but it can also be caused by contact with a medical professional. A report by the Clinical Excellence Commission Australia in 2016 states that health associated diseases prolong the length of a patient’s stay in the hospital by an average of 10 days and can result in significant further illnesses.

The good news is these infections can be reduced by raising the standard in facilities, educating staff on efficient cleaning techniques and selecting more efficient tools. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in the US cites consistent hand hygiene practice by all healthcare workers as the single most important intervention to prevent HAIs. The impact that poor hand hygiene has on patients and hospitals is widely known around the industry, yet several studies show that healthcare professionals’ compliance with hand hygiene is on average only 39 per cent. What are the reasons for this? A few of the reasons includes not having enough time, availability or location of sinks.

We’re seeing that evidence-based design in hospitals is becoming more relevant, so this data is forcing organisations to think differently about how rooms are laid out to enable the healthcare professional to perform hand hygiene before and after patient contact without interacting with any other materials such as doors.

But how can we improve this compliance rate without redesigning our facilities? The key is awareness and continuously prompting the healthcare professional to perform hand hygiene. Using data enables organisations to predict and track the spread of infections as well as monitor compliance for procedures such as hand hygiene.

We already have access to a large amount of health data, however, it hasn’t yet reached its potential. Just the availability of the data does not translate into knowledge or clinical practice. It has to be applied. This means, for instance, using data to determine specific at-risk areas.

A survey in the US conducted in 2014 revealed that 43 per cent of infections began in the intensive care unit, however, 57 per cent 28 INCLEAN May/June 2019

began in other areas of the hospital. Healthcare professionals may not notice or consider that when hand hygiene isn’t performed before and after contact with the patient, they potentially spread the infection into other areas of the hospital environment.

This also places a strain on cleaning staff in these facilities as infections can be traced to places such as keyboards, charts, curtain partitions and table tops, making it seemingly impossible to keep up with.

We will continue to see more innovation in the product and technology space. Hand contact tracing and automated system reminders for refilling dispensers are just two examples.

Interestingly, a study in 2016 looked at using light as prompt for performing hand hygiene. In this study, researchers used infrared light sensors installed in each room which then signalled a second spotlight installed over the sink as a reminder. As a result, a higher percentage of healthcare professionals were observed performing hand hygiene.

New technological innovations and automated systems can be an expensive option, especially when it requires multiple spaces to be redesigned. However, prolonging a patient’s stay in the hospital is far more costly and places an extra strain on the hospitals in terms of beds available and staffing.

Ultimately, changing health care professionals’ behaviour is the answer to raising compliance and prevent HAIs. Data and evidence should influence decisions on hospital design, procedures and products – all to further enable the hand hygiene process.

One action that organisations can take already is to analyse their current spaces and procedures, translate improvements into education and empower health care staff to make informed decisions. Another area is to work with supplier partners to provide support through existing data and site surveys that align to healthcare protocols on infection prevention.

Sean Matthews is head of care at Winc Australia

*

www.winc.com.au

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Tackling cleaning challenges in healthcare Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP) has led the way in pioneering commercial microfibre cleaning systems, helping many healthcare facilities in Australia overcome the many challenges of keeping their environments hygienic and healthy.

Australians come into contact with the healthcare system more than they may realise, from simply visiting the local GP for a prescription, to more acute conditions or complex treatments such as a trip to the emergency department or operating theatre.

The rise in Australia’s contact with the healthcare system is evident in rising costs, which have grown significantly in recent years. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s 16th biennial report revealed spending has grown by 50 per cent, between 2006-07 and 2015–16, from $113 billion to $170 billion1.

Australians expect high quality health care at every touchpoint.

Overall, most Australians receive excellent healthcare and have very positive healthcare outcomes. Yet, some patients acquire infections, which can lead to serious harm.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur through contact with microorganisms – such as bacteria and viruses – in a healthcare or aged care environment. In 2008, Cruickshank and Ferguson (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care) estimated about 200,000 HAIs occurred each year in Australia2, making it the most common complication affecting patients.

In a critical sector such as our healthcare system, daily challenges such as HAIs can have potentially serious consequences for patients and staff. Effective prevention practices can protect everyone coming into contact with the healthcare system and greatly improve patient safety.

Every HAI is preventable. The recommended strategies include a combination of hand hygiene, the appropriate use of antibiotics and immunisation of health care workers. Strong, effective and standardised cleaning practices also play a major role in removing potentially harmful microorganisms from touchpoints and surfaces.

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The National Safety and Quality Healthcare Service Standards (NSQHS)3 aims to protect the public from harm and improve the quality of the health service. The standards included cleaning as a crucial component of a healthcare organisation’s infection prevention and control systems (3.11). Every health service organisation must demonstrate it has processes to maintain a clean and hygienic environment and is equipped to respond to environmental risks, can clean and disinfect the environment in line with recommended cleaning frequencies and provides training for specialised personal protective equipment.

A healthcare environmental services team, responsible for maintaining the health and hygiene of the environment, are on the front line of infection prevention every day, solving the ongoing challenges for hospitals or healthcare facilities by maintaining impeccable standards and efficient daily practices.

While they are protecting patients and healthcare workers, it’s vital the environmental services cleaning staff experience high standards of workplace safety, to be protected from injury and illness as well.

Modern cleaning technology assists the healthcare industry to protect patients, healthcare workers and environmental services staff, through a total solution that addresses every aspect of hygiene and safety in an innovative way.

This new integrated system – based on the power of superior microfibre – tackles every element of the cleaning protocol – from efficacy to durability and ergonomic and sustainability.

Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP) has led the way in pioneering commercial microfibre cleaning systems, helping many healthcare facilities in Australia overcome the many challenges of keeping their environments hygienic and healthy.

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“Cleaning technology that is effective, efficient, durable and ergonomic has proved a game changer in tackling the major challenges faced by the healthcare industry.”

Tackling infection prevention and control through improved cleaning systems In Australian healthcare settings, patients and aged care residents are often in close proximity to each other. Hence, all touchpoint and surfaces in patients’ rooms, bathrooms, waiting areas and communal spaces need to be attended to, on a regular basis. Standardising cleaning practices through systematic cleaning processes ensures hygienic results are consistently achieved across all areas.

This was the experience for Amana Living, a not-for-profit residential aged care organisation in WA with 13 sites, which undertook a major project to standardise and streamline its environmental cleaning services, with the goal to achieve exceptional hygiene and safety. Amana Living rigorously tested multiple cleaning systems, before choosing to implement an RCP HYGEN microfibre system into its cleaning protocols.

Considering all factors such as water-usage, durability, productivity and time-efficiency Amana Living found the RCP microfibre solution was the superior system and would allow an increase in cleaning frequency by 150 per cent, a reduction of water usage by 280,000 litres/year and ultimately deliver a consistent, standardised cleaning result. Furthermore, mopping with microfibre is fast-drying, meaning floors were touch-dry within minutes reducing the risk of slips and falls to residents, visitors and staff.

Similarly, when Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) opened in 2014, its environmental service contractor set out to provide a higher standard of infection prevention with a more efficient, effective cleaning system.

The implementation of RCP HYGEN microfibre cloths and mops across the new state-of-the-art hospital had many benefits.

Cleaners were able to turnaround a room much faster as they can cover more floor space with the microfibre mops. Confidence in the product was high, with research proving it is a superior system to traditional methods in terms of removing pathogens and organisms from the point of cleaning.

Using an advanced microfibre system enabled the environmental services team to consistently provide a hygienically clean facility, prevent the spread of infection and maintain high standards across the facility.

106,260 serious claims for work-related injury or illness. The median time lost for each claim was 5.6 weeks, with the median compensation paid for claims for $11,500.5 To reduce the WHS risk for its staff, Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) introduced microfibre mopping systems, which included microfibre clothes and microfibre mop pads. This system, by RCP, has been designed to be lightweight and more ergonomic than traditional wet mops.

With the help of biometric analysis firm DorsaVi, RMH conducted a comprehensive manual handling assessment using ViSafe wireless motion sensors to measure how a cleaner moved when using both the Rubbermaid HYGEN microfibre mop and a traditional wringer mop and bucket system to clean a hospital room and bathroom.

The ViSafe assessment found overall, the Rubbermaid HYGEN microfibre mop posed a 20 per cent lower movement risk than traditional wet mopping. Furthermore, HYGEN microfibre mopping action was completed closer to the body’s core than traditional wet mopping and the sensors detected a lower muscle activity (EMG) for lower back and shoulder with microfibre.

The implementation of microfibre mops assisted RMH staff to considerably reduce the level of manual handling stress while achieving noticeably cleaner, hygienic results.

Improving health outcomes while enhancing the healthcare consumer experience Exceptional hygiene and customer safety in an aged care facility are just as crucial as creating a welcoming, home-like atmosphere for residents. Sometimes these two priorities are at odds with each other, given some cleaning systems in aged care rely on harsh, strong-smelling chemicals and large amounts of water to achieve a hygienic result.

Water and chemical usage are a key consideration in an aged care setting with the emphasis on creating a home-like atmosphere for residents to feel comfortable and relaxed. The need to keep high-traffic areas clean with traditional mop systems often results in wet floors or strong-smelling chemical odours – something that can detract from a welcoming and homely feel. Wet floors also pose a slip hazard; thus residents may be restricted from moving freely during cleaning, which may be confusing and disruptive for some.

Research by the Harvard School of Medicine outlined the dimensions of modern concepts of customer care; this included respect for patients’ preferences and values, emotional support, physical comfort, information and communication, coordination of care and involvement of family and friends.

Uniting AgeWell, a premium aged care organisation for older Australians in Victoria and Tasmania, aims to make residents

Tackling the challenge of WHS for environmental service professionals High standard of hygiene and greater productivity should not come at the cost of compromised safety for a healthcare organisation’s environmental services staff.

Performing rigorous and thorough cleaning protocols can put considerable strain on the lower back, neck, shoulders, knees and arms, posing a workplace health and safety (WHS) risk to staff.

According to Safework Australia figures from 2012-13, workrelated injuries and disease cost the Australian economy $61.8 billion, or 4.1 per cent of GDP4. In fact, in 2016-17, there were www.incleanmag.com.au 31

HEALTHCARE SPONSORED

and visitors feel at home across all 20 residential aged care sites.

Achieving a comfortable environment wasn’t simply about aesthetics – it demands exceptional hygiene, a focus on safety and responsiveness to resident needs.

Uniting AgeWell undertook a market-wide search for a cleaning solution that would help build efficiencies within the cleaning process and ensure the organisation provided a hygienic, healthy and happy environment for residents.

After careful consideration, Uniting AgeWell partnered with RCP and implemented a comprehensive system comprising of washable microfibre clothes, disposable microfibre clothes and cleaning carts across its various sites.

The flexible, user-friendly solution allowed Uniting AgeWell to shift from using cleaning contractors to an in-house model. This change enabled the organisation to be more responsive to customer requests and clean more efficiently and effectively; two crucial components of making hygiene and response times a top priority.

The result was an increase in productivity, with the total number of rooms cleaned in a six-hour period increasing by 129 per cent (from 14 to 32 rooms). Furthermore, high touch point areas such as phones, door handles, remote controls etc. were found to be cleaned more thoroughly.

The standards of efficiency and customer care have significantly increased since moving to a microfibre system. It was important for staff to establish the best methods of cleaning for various environments and the most efficient ways to complete the job.

How RCP’s superior microfibre tackles healthcare challenges Cleaning technology that is effective, efficient, durable and ergonomic has proved a game changer in tackling the major challenges faced by the healthcare industry. One of the biggest and most common challenges for a healthcare or aged care facility is balancing efficacy in infection control with productivity and labour costs.

When mopping with a traditional wet mop, the environmental services staff member would generally empty and refill buckets every three rooms to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

This takes time and involves the repetitive lifting of mop buckets – placing significant stress and strain on the lower back, neck and shoulder. If the nearest cleaning cupboard or trolley is some distance away, time walking back and forth also slows productivity.

Eliminating the need to fill and change buckets of water saves time and reduces manual handling risk – and this is a major benefit of 32 INCLEAN May/June 2019

a microfibre cleaning system. A superior Rubbermaid microfibre system, for example, involves a different workflow and some new steps in preparation – such as charging 20 cloths and floor pads in solution at the beginning of a cleaning round, rather than stopping to empty and refill the bucket every three rooms. The time saved plus the reduced strain on the body is significant.

Microfibre, as the name implies, is specially designed with incredibly fine fibres, 20 times lighter than a human hair. Superiorquality microfibre uses different polymers to create positive attraction, so the fibres trap and hold dirt and grease particles amongst the fibre, reducing the risk of transfer.

Furthermore, the colour-coded system inherent in RCP’s HYGEN products – with different coloured buckets, cloths and mop pads – simplifies and streamlines the cleaning process. Facilities are able to use different colours of mops and cloths to suit the tasks and challenges at hand.

Cost efficiencies are achieved too. Highly-durable, washable mops and clothes reduce the overall product lifetime investment, while improving the organisation’s environmental impact by reducing landfill waste.

The experience of a growing number of healthcare and aged care organisations has been that implementing RCP HYGEN microfibre system delivered many positive benefits for the patient, healthcare worker, environmental services staff and the organisation.

It’s not often that innovative technology can solve multiple challenges in a sector, especially one as complex as healthcare, yet the industry’s shift to microfibre has indeed played a big part of tackling the major challenges of infection control, WHS, and ultimately delivered improved patient outcomes. www.rubbermaidcommercial.com.au

Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, Australia’s Health 2018 https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/wp-content/ uploads/2008/01/Reducing-Harm-to-Patient-Role-ofSurveillance1.pdf 3 https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/wp-content/ uploads/2017/12/National-Safety-and-Quality-Health-ServiceStandards-second-edition.pdf 4 The Cost of work related injury and illness for Australian employers, workers and the community 2012-13 5 Work related injury and disease – Key WHS statistics Australia 2018 6 Patient-centred care: Improving quality and safety through partnerships with patients and consumers 1 2

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HEALTHCARE

Why effective floor cleaning is vital in healthcare Cleanliness is crucial in healthcare settings where patients and visitors are vulnerable to the spread of infection. While keeping floors clean is a clear priority for any infection control program, it needs to be done well, and with the right commercial cleaning equipment, if it is to be effective, writes Conquest Equipment sales director Ben Mathews.

We all know how important it is to wash our hands to prevent the spread of germs. Equally important in hospitals, however, is effective floor cleaning. In fact, it is a key control measure in any clinical risk management framework as it significantly reduces the spread of healthcare-related infections.

Catharine Paddock PhD for Medical News Today states that although hospital flooring surfaces are not classified as high touch areas, they frequently come into contact with objects that are, such as call buttons, blood pressure cuffs and even hands.

This contact can cause contamination and assists in the spread of infectious diseases, highlighting the importance of thoroughly cleaning all floors throughout healthcare facilities.

According to SA Health, thorough environmental cleaning 34 INCLEAN May/June 2019

is important for the prevention of transmission of infectious diseases within healthcare settings. This is backed by studies conducted by University of Arizona microbiologist Dr Charles Gerba, who found cleaning is the only intervention that can reduce the spread of viruses by up to 80 to 90 per cent.

A safe, clean and welcoming environment also reflects positively on the healthcare facility. It puts patients at ease and provides them with a sense of dignity, comfort and trust in a setting where they are likely to feel unwell, uneasy or anxious.

Proper and regular cleaning of surfaces can also help prevent deterioration, which means money that would be otherwise spent on renovations can instead go towards improved healthcare services or life enhancing technology.

HEALTHCARE

“Although hospital flooring surfaces are not classified as high touch areas, they frequently come into contact with objects that are, such as call buttons.”

How, then, can healthcare facilities ensure they are maintaining a clean environment that meets the strictest of hygiene standards?

The right floor cleaning equipment is a huge factor in this process.

Oscillating machines are an excellent option for cleaning non-slip and tiled areas. High speed oscillating heads use side to side and front to back motions to scrub deep into porous surfaces removing dirt and grime that becomes lodged in hard to reach places. The powerful orbital action also reduces water and chemical usage by up to 70 per cent while still achieving a thorough clean.

With quality machines available on the market that feature a square shaped scrub head, operators can reach up too and along walls and edges ensuring a full clean and removal of maximum amounts of bacteria.

An additional benefit of oscillating machines is that with the scrub head only moving in very small circular motions there is almost no splashing of the solution on the floor or adjacent walls and equipment. This is critical in health applications as germs can be transported in the solution and cross contamination can occur.

Scrubbing machines with adjustable weight pressure are also recommended for use in areas to assist in the control of infection.

By increasing the weight on the scrub deck the bristles from the

brush or pad are pushed deeper into the flooring surface where traditional machines may not reach. As technology advances, floor cleaning machines are also becoming more advanced with features suction as Zone Programing to optimise water and chemical use for set applications.

Clever machine innovations and cutting-edge vacuum technology have significantly reduced machine noise, allowing for nighttime operation or cleaning around patients and guests without causing any disturbance. This is especially beneficial for time critical clean ups of spills or contaminants to reduce the spread of infection.

Whilst having a powerful floor scrubber is important maintaining high hygiene standards, equally as important is correct operator training. Once the operator receives adequate training, they understand how to maintain strict cleaning standards to prevent the spread of infection and are able to maximise the machines effectiveness.

Training should always include understanding the correct chemical dosage to use to eliminate bacteria without overuse as this may cause damage to the machine and flooring surface as well as overwhelm the air with strong chemical fumes.

It is also important for the operator to have a sound understanding of matching the correct pad with each application.

This guarantees that all bacteria are removed leaving thoroughly and hygienically cleaned.

The correct cleaning and storage of the floor cleaning machine itself is equally as important to prevent cross-contamination from dirty recovery tanks or pads/brushes.

In order to achieve and maintain the necessary hygiene standards partnering with a trustworthy and reliable floor cleaning expert is essential. A true floor cleaning expert will always conduct a site evaluation prior to the sale of a machine to ensure that the correct machine is being recommended to suit the application and achieve the desired outcome.

Including suggested chemical dosage and pad type. Companies that offer extended warranties and comprehensive guarantees should be highly regarded when researching potential floor cleaning equipment providers.

When investing in floor cleaning equipment it is important to consider not only the capabilities of the machine but the back up support that will be provided by the supplier. Companies should offer full after sales support including technical advice, scheduled servicing and a full spare parts inventory order to minimise machine downtime.

Most repairs and servicing can be carried out onsite, however, for extensive machine repairs where the machine must be removed, quality machine suppliers can often provide a similar machine to be used in the interim. This is particularly of benefit in the healthcare industry where cleaning must be frequent and thorough. www.conquestequipment.com.au www.incleanmag.com.au 35

HEALTHCARE

Cleaning health facilities does not need to make you feel sick

Healthcare cleaning has a number of aspects that sets it apart from the typical requirements of regular commercial cleaning. But these challenges don’t need to be out of reach of the ambitious commercial cleaning company as FreshOps CEO Martin Callan explains.

Healthcare cleaning has a number of aspects that sets it apart from the typical requirements of regular commercial cleaning.

Due to the specialised nature of the work and the staff training levels required, healthcare contracts are reported as being from 25 per cent to 50 per cent more than regular commercial cleaning.

Higher levels of skill are needed to work in areas that may be occupied by vulnerable patients, open 24/7, have very expensive equipment and require specific products and procedures for the work to be effective.

Your staff are going to need specific skills in working around the public, stopping the spread of diseases, controlling viruses and bacteria and being able to confidently and consistently sanitise surfaces and examination areas.The regulatory landscape in healthcare is constantly changing and these requirements are extending to contracted providers more and more.

In the US there has been a shift to ever higher levels of privacy and security around information exchanged with contracted providers. This is leading to new tools that allow the use of mobile phones in the work place to be used in a way that 36 INCLEAN May/June 2019

protects data while allowing the teams to share information about the work to be done.

Manage any legal exposure when your workers are deployed in sensitive work environments. They have access to trusted information and with mobile phones in hand in healthcare centres, there is a need to ensure that patients and staff are protected from accidental (or in rare cases intentional) images and information being shared externally.

We have found the use of tablets set up as kiosks can enable you to share information with staff onsite without these risks being present.

Healthcare costs are rising across the board and smart operators will be working hard to reduce their cost base to remain competitive. With highly trained staff your team becomes an even larger share of your company’s cost base.

Mobile management and operations software is essential to support them to do their best work and to be able to report accurately to your clients on the effectiveness and completeness of work.

HEALTHCARE

“The regulatory landscape in healthcare is constantly changing and these requirements are extending to contracted providers more and more.”

With staff in healthcare centres also under pressure it creates a competitive advantage if you and your team can be incredibly responsive. By providing accurate direction and guidance your staff can provide your clients clarity on any work being done.

In addition, when your clients reach out to your supervisors, strong operations software give you the ability to have live updates on work completed in the field.

Doing this immediately helps remove confusion and closes the loop bringing a consistency to your service quality. This saves you and importantly your highest value client confidence.

It is natural that quality expectations will rise where the standards of work and the costs of services increase when taking on clients in the healthcare sector.

An awareness of the standards required, regulatory and legal requirements and using operations software will set your business up for success in healthcare.

Martin Callan is the CEO of www.getfreshOps.com, an Australianmade, mobile workforce application and management portal built entirely to assist cleaning management and their cleaners to work better. The author can be reached at martin@getfreshOps.com. https://info.getfreshops.com/blog/tag/operations-efficiency

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CARPET & RESTORATION

A word from RIA RIA Australasian council chairperson Owen Boak, CR WLS CMP, shares why the upcoming RIA Australasian Restoration Conference and Tradeshow is an event not to be missed.

2019 has had quite a start for many in the restoration industry, with a major catastrophe still unfolding in Townsville, and not to mention events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, along with fires in Victoria and Tasmania to make for a busy start to the year.

As we head into the winter months and start to see the usual series of house fires and burst pipes from freezing, I would encourage all participants in the restoration industry to take some time out and get involved in some education.

Our annual RIA Australasian Restoration Conference and Tradeshow is once again being held at the Twin Waters Resort, Sunshine Coast in Queensland, on 12 June until 14 June. The event is a fantastic opportunity for participants not just to learn in a formal sense from the conference’s presenters, but it is also an opportunity for those seeking accredited training.

This year’s event sees the addition of an Indoor Air Quality Day on Wednesday (12 June). This year’s event will also host the RIA Contents Science and Theory (CST) course on Monday (10 June) and Tuesday (11 June).

This course is a prerequisite course for RIA’s newest advanced designation – the Contents Loss Specialist (also known as CLS), which is one of the four pillars of restoration knowledge that will form the prerequisite for the industry’s highest designation – the Certified Restorer (or CR for short).

This is the first time CST has been run in Australia, and we are very excited that one of RIA’s leading instructors, Canadian-based Art Johnson, will be teaching it. This is a comprehensive two-day lecture-based course. The content is 98 per cent applicable to anything the restoration professional may encounter, dealing with the science of how to restore personal property damaged due to fire, smoke, flood or disaster.

The course will cover a broad range of topics from the cleaning and restoration of materials to traditional pain points such as inventory, records keeping and reporting – all of which are essential areas of knowledge for any restoration firm.

Also on offer is the Violand Business Planning Retreat following the conference (15 June until 16 June). It is a first-rate program which has been customised for the Australian restoration market to help you plan out your major business objectives, strategies, and marketing. This is an excellent program for business owners and is run by the one of the most experienced restoration and project management trainers in the industry, Chuck Violand.

The RIA Australasian Restoration Conference and Tradeshow gives attendees the chance to meet and network with many senior figures of the Australian industry. It is also an opportunity to grow both your industry contacts and support network that can assist you across the board in growing your business.

Combined with a restoration focused trade show, the RIA Australasian Restoration Conference and Tradeshow is an event not to be missed.

2018 RIA Australasian Restoration Conference and Tradeshow

4040 INCLEAN INCLEAN May/June May/June 2019 2019

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CARPET & RESTORATION

Harnessing bioluminescence:

Using ATP meters during mould remediation Greencap mould and water damage technical specialists Kevin White and Claire Bird examine the use of ATP meters in the restoration industry.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is an enzyme used to store energy in all living cells (animals, plants, mould, bacteria). When ATP reacts with luciferin and luciferase (naturally occurring enzymes) light is produced.

The amount of light produced (RLU) is directly proportional to the amount of ATP present, and by extension the amount of living organic matter present. ATP bioluminescence assay is widely used in the food industry for hygiene monitoring and cleaning validation. Second generation ATP assay is now available for water and waste applications.

The case for use of ATP assay in assessing hygiene in the food industry and waste water assessment is compelling with the processes and interpretation of the results reasonably well understood.

However, the same can’t be said for its use in mould and sewage contamination assessment, and specifically in post remediation validation (PRV) to show that the efforts to return an area to a safe or pre-event condition have been successful.

Some would argue PRV is the same as hygiene validation of food production surfaces. This article examines that premise and helps untangle the place of ATP assay in the restoration industry.

Pros of using ATP to collect readings • Onsite readings are obtained in as little as 15 or 30 seconds depending on the instrument. Time is often critical and laboratory results can form a key critical path in project deliveries.

• Analysis cost per sample is around 10 per cent of conventional laboratory analysis.

• ATP allows a “pass” or a “reclean” determination. ATP meters give a reading that relates to a manufacturer’s guideline for a given situation, e.g. a Category 1 or 2 water ingress event, a high sensitivity area such as a food preparation surface, etc. It also allows for the assessment of an unaffected area as a benchmark to what the building looked like before the event occurred.

• ATP can sometimes provide an indication of the age of mould.

Visible mould that gives a low ATP reading is usually older than that with a high ATP reading.

• ATP readings are highly sensitive to bacteria and to mould on wet surfaces. Bacteria usually accompany mould in water 42 INCLEAN May/June 2019

damaged buildings, meaning that ATP will detect both and therefore increases the chance of finding a problem area.

Cons of using ATP to collect readings • ATP is subject to a range of handler error issues unless training is undertaken, which can dramatically influence findings and recommendations.

• Most users do not really understand the complexity of the instruments or the relevance of the findings – ATP does not differentiate between the source of biological activity which could be human, water damage, sewage or general build up of soil particles brought in from outdoors.

• Many operators do not use their instruments correctly. If not held upright, the beam of light needed to give a reading does not pass through the sample.

• Not all operators maintain calibration or record their calibration findings, therefore readings are not reliable.

• ATP models vary in their output values – a reading of 10 RLU on one instrument will be equivalent to 20 RLU on another, and even 100 RLU on a third model. All are accurate, however, not all manufacturers recommend the same safe level of ATP on a surface. Knowledge of how to use these values must be put in the context of a risk assessment, and many users are undertrained in this area.

Other factors that make readings less reliable: • Swabbing is conducted to measure surface ATP – efficiency dependent on material’s characteristics. Smooth surfaces are more efficiently sampled than uneven ones.

• The greater the mechanical force expended during swab sampling, the greater the pickup efficiency from surfaces.

• Lower ATP recoveries are obtained from dry surfaces. The way organisms are deposited at the surface will also influence efficiency with which they can be removed.

• Even at trace levels, agents used for cleaning will be picked up by the swabs and released into the tube where the luciferase reaction takes place; which forms the most critical component of all rapid ATP test kits. Cleaning agents and sanitisers can interfere with ATP measurements when using luciferinluciferase based systems. Acidic foam cleansers can lead to

CARPET & RESTORATION

overestimating the seriousness of a contamination event by giving false positive results, whilst Alkaline foam cleansers can lead to missing a risk by providing a false negative result.

• As discussed in the “pros” ATP assay is highly sensitive to bacteria and mould on wet surfaces. Therefore, whilst a positive in finding areas of gross contamination, it can’t be used to differentiate between what is bacteria or mould, where is has come from, or what its risks are. It cannot be used for example where sewage has been involved to confirm its presence or absence, or successful remediation of a Category 3 event.

• ATP assay is not very sensitive for mould spore detection due to low ATP levels in spores and as such ATP assay should not be relied upon exclusively to validate low to normal spore ecology / counts following remediation.

Issues • The goal of food preparation hygiene is to remove and or kill bacteria/organisms that can cause spoilage or increase the likelihood of food-borne illness. In this context residual dead organisms and bacteria are not seen as detrimental. The increased use of sanitisers in the industry attests to this.

• The goal of microbial mould/fungal or sewage remediation is to physically remove mould and bacterial matter. Exposure to live or dead mould (fungal) propagules / bacteria associated with water damage, or the tiny airborne pieces of debris released

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during their growth can result in serious adverse health impacts.

• Whilst ATP is a general measure of biological activity it cannot differentiate between bacteria or fungal types, the source, or the health risks associated with contamination.

Where a particular organism of concern needs to be eliminated laboratory analysis is required.

• ATP assay is highly sensitive to bacteria. The human body comprises around 50 per cent of its cells as bacteria. Where a sampled item has been handled, sneezed or coughed on etc. a positive reading is likely to be found. In fact, buildings quickly become seeded with the bacteria from people’s skin, so areas with lots of people will be more heavily laden than a less populated area, which may influence the relevance of the threshold used to pass or fail a treated area.

• ATP levels can be influenced by environmental stresses on organisms.

• Certain materials can give high ATP readings even when microbial contamination is not present, such as plywood.

Knowing where ATP is applicable is critical in its successful use.

• Surfaces give wide-ranging readings within a small area as bacteria and mould grow unevenly, so in some cases it is necessary to take up to four readings and use the average of the middle two where a more accurate reading is needed (Whiteley1). The use of multiple swabs increases cost, but the process remains competitive with laboratory analysis.

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4/04/2019 2:34 PM

CARPET & RESTORATION

Case study A recent case study undertaken by Greencap in Queensland demonstrated the application of ATP assay to identify areas of concern in a large building where laboratory testing of all areas would have cost the client hundreds of thousands of dollars and delayed the project significantly.

Around 100 apartments were potentially impacted by a plumbing failure in the building in spring of 2018, but the assessment was not completed until five months later.

ATP assay was used to determine whether biological activity was present where the building showed signs of historically wet conditions (where a significant moisture gradient existed in a wall). Material was tested in areas where ATP would not normally be expected. Notably, this comprised the inside of wall cavities, ceiling and floor void surfaces and contents.

The manufacturer’s threshold of 60 RLU/100 cm2 when using a Hygiena Systemsure Plus ATP meter was chosen as the elected cut off point for identifying a potential issue. A typical benchmark value for each material to be tested was obtained from an unaffected area and used as a reference point.

Where duplicate readings from the same test area exceeded both values, or were staining was present on the material (with or without a high ATP reading), samples were sent for fungal microscopy-based surface mould analysis. Therefore, where biological activity was present, the material was deemed potentially contaminated.

Where staining was present and evidence was found of residual moisture in the material, or where historic issues were suspected as associated with a stain, samples were submitted for analysis even where low ATP readings were obtained.

The project quickly showed ATP values on the inside of plasterboard sheeting remained below around 30 RLU/100 cm2 in the absence of biological activity.

This observation allowed the strip out project to move quickly and cost effectively, and to determine rapidly whether sufficient material had been removed to mitigate the risk of microbial contamination remaining in the structure. It should be noted that different materials such as cement sheet displayed different tolerance values on the ATP meter.

New considerations It was noted a high ATP reading was consistently obtained from samples collected on the underside of a floating floor where white staining was present.

Upon conducting microscopic examination of tape lift samples from the underside of the flooring, crystals were observed in high numbers and were the shape indicative of calcium carbonate crystals. These crystals comprised efflorescence which had deposited on the underside of the flooring when salts were released form the wet concrete slab below.

Calcium carbonate crystals also emit luminescence in the frequency range that the instrument used to measure ATP, and therefore the high ATP readings may have in part been due to the presence of luminescent salts. Nonetheless a range of mould types were consistently found accompanying the crystals.

In this investigation, the floor areas where mould grew mirrored the crystalline residue almost exactly, which is not surprising given that both require water to grow. This observation was sufficient to speed up the floor removal, as where white staining was observed we concluded there was a high risk of mould growth without having to test every area.

In summary, Greencap found the use of ATP assay to be a critical tool in their toolbox when assessing and remediating a very large scale, historically water-damaged site.

By developing a procedure that was designed to answer a given hypothesis: that there was no biological activity on a surface of a suitable material that indicated its need for removal, Greencap were able to be compliant with the ATM 7338:14 standard for the fungal assessment of buildings, ensure a safe outcome , effect considerable cost savings and avoid time delays.

In the absence of ATP assay in the toolkit, the project would have looked very different. ATP assay remains a great tool when its correct use is understood, along with its limitations. It does not, however, replace the use of other technologies in definitively validating microbially contaminated areas, and laboratory testing is always required before a previously contaminated site can be validated and returned to habitable use.

Kevin White and Claire Bird are mould and water damage technical specialists at Greencap. Both are technical group members of the Indoor Air Quality Association – Australian Chapter; Claire Bird is the current president.

1 Whiteley et al. 2016, A suggested sampling algorithm for use with ATP testing in cleanliness measurement, Infection, Disease & Health. *

www.greencap.com.au 44 INCLEAN May/June 2019

®

CARPET & RESTORATION

Why and when to replace your respirator particulate filter 3M’s Mark Reggers* answers some commonly asked questions about the use of respiratory protection filters.

What guidance is available in selecting the correct respirator and filters?

There are two Australian Standards that pertain to respiratory protection. AS/NZS1715 is for the user and is called Selection, Use and Maintenance of Respiratory Protective Devices. The second, AS/NZS1716 provides the information required to assess and test the performance requirements the different types of respiratory protection products must meet.

What types of filters are there?

• Particulate filters: Protect only against particles i.e. dust, mists and fumes, aerosols, smoke, mould, bacteria and so on.

• Gas and vapour cartridge filters: Protect only against gases and vapours. There are different kinds of gas and vapour cartridge filters for different kinds of gases.

• Combination filters: Protect against both particles and gases.

Different combination particulate/cartridge filters are used depending on the gas or vapour present in the air.

Why do I need to replace my filters regularly?

Particulate filters get clogged up and become harder to breathe through placing an increased physiological burden on the wearer. Gas and vapour cartridge filters start to let contaminant through once their sorbents become saturated. This is known as ‘breakthrough’. It’s important to note that the selection of filters must be carried out by a competent person with a full knowledge of the respiratory hazards in the workplace.

46 INCLEAN May/June 2019

What’s a P1? P2? P3?

AS/NZS1716 uses a classification system to identify the different types of particulate filters which are P1, P2 and P3.

P1 is an AS/NZS1716 rated particle filter for use with mechanically generated particles. For example; particles formed by crushing, grinding, drilling, sanding, cutting etc including wood dust and silica.

P2 is an AS/NZS1716 rated particle filter for use with mechanically and thermally generated particles, for example; those from welding fume. These are also the recommended type for use with certain biological particles in certain applications such as TB or SARS. A P3 filter is the highest efficiency particle filter class and is used for particulates that are of high toxicity or at high concentrations.

The benefit of this high efficiency filter can only be achieved on a full facemask or head covering respirator system.

“Selecting the correct filter or cartridge is one part of the equation in achieving respiratory protection. A respirator must be worn 100 per cent of the time to achieve any level of protection.”

CARPET & RESTORATION

How long do particulate filters last?

As particle filters load up with the contaminant, they become more restrictive to the passage of particles and can be a better filter. However, they also become harder to breathe through.

The wearer will notice this increased load and at some point decide the restriction is too high and will then need to change the filter. How soon this occurs will also be dependent on the amount of particles in the breathing air.

A very dusty job will clog the filter up more quickly than a relatively clean job. The change decision point will vary from individual to individual as some people are more sensitive to the increase in breathing load than others.

When do I replace my particulate filters?

Replace particulate filters or disposable respirators when: • The breathing resistance becomes excessive to the wearer (this will vary from individual to individual).

• The filter has any physical damage e.g. welding sparks.

Are there situations where particulate filters must not be used?

There are several applications where particle filters should not be used. These include: • When the ambient oxygen level is not guaranteed to be more than 19.5 per cent. Filters do not create oxygen.

Your Restoration Equipment Specialist

Mark Reggers is an occupational hygienist for 3M Personal Safety Division and is the host of 3M’s Science of Safety podcast *

www.3m.com.au

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• For the capture of gases or vapours. These need a specifically rated gas/vapour filter.

• When the airborne particulate contaminant concentrations are high (ie greater than the standard allows for that respirator type).

• When government regulations require use of airline or other specific type of respirator for specific applications.

Remember, selecting the correct filter or cartridge is one part of the equation in achieving respiratory protection. A respirator must be worn 100 per cent of the time to achieve any level of protection.

The mask in question must also be fitted and worn correctly each and every time it is worn. We all have a different face shape and size, so fit testing is required to verify that an adequate seal can be achieved for the brand/style of mask and the worker. It doesn’t matter how good a filter is, if the contaminant can still enter the mask because of a poor or non-existent seal.

For further information on when and why to change gas and vapour filters, respirator selection, respirator fit testing please refer to AS/NZS 1715 election, Use and Maintenance of Respiratory Protective Devices.

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CARPET & RESTORATION

Does indoor mould need to be a pain point?

Mould is an unwanted but inevitable factor in many building environments.

However, a clear strategy for its prevention and treatment will remove many potential health complaints, unsightly appearances and treatment confusion, writes Actichem’s Everard Paynter.

There is no arguing that mould in any building environment is an unwelcome visitor. It is unsightly, associated with negative health symptoms (whether actual or psychological), can damage target substrates and is an indication of less than ideal indoor air quality.

Knowing the when, what, why and how about mould can most times prevent the pain of mould in the first place but also enables a clear, unconfused strategy in dealing with the incidence of mould inside a building should it occur.

Every building environment has some mould present and hopefully reflects what is regarded as normal fungal ecology.

A well-maintained building with no water ingress and with the maintenance of low humidity levels can quite easily maintain a normal fungal ecology where mould specie and levels are low enough to be not visible nor a cause for negative health effects.

It is worthwhile to remember that mould is a topic which absolutely illustrates the adage “prevention is better than cure”.

Relatively simple practices will keep a building environment free of unacceptable mould and can prevent expensive remediation work and the often-overlooked lost productivity due to sick days and health complaints caused by poor indoor air quality (IAQ).

Mould, by definition, requires moisture, warmth and organic matter to germinate and grow. Many mould spores can lie dormant until these conditions eventuate. Mould germination will often occur in as little as six hours. Dampness occurring in building materials, carpet, fabrics, etc for even half a day can dramatically raise the risk of biological growth.

Poor ventilation contributes to higher humidity levels and leads to condensation, which also facilities and promotes mould growth and infestation. Considering these growth conditions, it is easy to understand that the vast majority of mould grows on porous substrates where moisture is restricted from quick evaporation (eg wood, masonry, concrete, plasterboard).

48 INCLEAN May/June 2019

The health hazards of moulds are often misunderstood.

The most common response to mould is an allergic reaction.

Moulds themselves are seldom toxic, however, many moulds produce airborne mycotoxins which are considered toxic and when inhaled or ingested can cause severe allergic reactions such as respiratory irritations, nausea, dizziness and headaches.

The health effects are dramatically pronounced indoors where conditions are often conducive to mould growth which is then accentuated by the restriction of free air movement and air change and is the major contributor to poor indoor air quality (IAQ).

Mould generally becomes a pain point when it becomes visible or able to be sensed by smell. This point is reached either by a specific event such as a water flood or a slow accumulation of moisture which results in biological growth.

It is important to identify the extent of the mould infestation especially bearing in mind that mould spores can be airborne and carried through ventilation systems. The severity of the mould infestations can be broadly divided into one of two categories • Isolated mould: Mould growth on impervious surfaces and localized areas of mould growth of less than 1m2.

• Mould with structural contamination: Mould growth on structural materials on a larger scale. This can also include adjoining rooms where airborne mould spores have travelled and settled on surfaces. It should be noted that large mould colonies can be hidden from view in wall cavities, sub-floors and roof cavities.

Isolated mould growth can often be treated by a competent DIY home/building owner or cleaning contractor. Whilst chlorine bleach is often associated with mould eradication, chlorine has limitations in terms of effectiveness on porous substrates and carries indoor-use health concerns. A purpose built mouldicide based on hydrogen peroxide or benzalkonium

CARPET & RESTORATION

“Knowing the when, what, why and how about mould can most times prevent the pain of mould in the first place but also enables a clear, unconfused strategy in dealing with the incidence of mould inside a building should it occur.”

chloride are typically the most effective in eradicating indoor mould and preventing rapid regrowth.

Mould with structural contamination requires assessment by a professional indoor hygienist. Depending on findings mould remediation by a trained mould removal professional may be required. Thanks to modern technology, exact mould growth and type can be established, providing the data required for effective and efficient mould eradication treatment. It is highly recommended that companies hired for this work carry

recognised training certification (normally IICRC) and belong to a trade organisation such as SRCP (ISSA) or RIA. Mould is an unwanted but inevitable factor in many building environments. However, a clear strategy for its prevention and its treatment from assessment through to remediation will remove many potential health complaints, loss of productive hours, unsightly appearances and treatment confusion. www.actichem.com.au

Need Continuing Education Credits?

IICRC will be attending: RIA Conference & Tradeshow 14-16 June 2019, Novotel Twin Waters, QLD

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PO Box 576, Crows Nest NSW 1585 T: 1300 307 751 (within Australia) T: +61 2 9431 8661 (outside Australia) E: info@iicrc.org.au W: www.iicrc.org.au

www.incleanmag.com.au 49

OPINION

Australia’s commercial

cleaning industry in review Building Service Contractors Association of Australia (BSCAA) national president George Stamas shares insights from the 2018-19 IBISWorld report on the commercial cleaning industry.

When you’re caught up in the day-to-day challenges of running a commercial cleaning business, it’s easy to lose sight of what an important contribution the industry makes to the economy, employees and the community.

This was highlighted in the IBISWorld 2018-19 report on the industry. It proves the positive contribution all of us involved in and around the industry are making. Here is just a quick look at some of the report’s insights on where we are and where we are headed.

Part of this is the long-term trend for businesses looking for efficiencies by outsourcing services that aren’t a part of their core business. To add to that is a growing trend for busy families and aging households to outsource cleaning services. What’s more, many in-home aged-care programs are now offering cleaning services, particularly for disabled clients. It’s important for us to continue to monitor these trends as an industry and put ourselves in a position to capitalise on them.

Growing from strength to strength

The report also shows traditional cleaning companies are reimagining the services they provide and how they provide them.

It’s this kind of thinking that’s going to help drive our industry forward in the future. One interesting development has been the increasing demand by industry clients for multi-service contract agreements such as cleaning, catering, security and maintenance in one package.

To borrow a well-worn pun, the commercial cleaning industry in Australia has really been cleaning up over the last five years, and the trend looks set to continue. Industry revenue is expected to grow at an annualised 5 per cent over the five years to 2018-19 to a total of $12 billion for the current year, with growth of 3.3 per cent is expected for the year. This figure is down on previous years, but still a figure that would be the envy of many industries.

Contributing to the nation and families When you read a report like this, it really brings home what a valuable contribution we as an industry make to the nation, individuals and families.

We’ve already mentioned revenue. But consider this; there are 29,517 businesses operating in the industry that employ a whopping 159,213 employees and pay more than $4.6 billion in wages. The bigger picture is our contribution to GDP. In 201819, this will reach more than $6.46 billion (1.8 per cent up on the previous year). To put it in perspective, as an industry we rank fourth out of the economy’s 12 key sectors.

Outsourcing trends driving demand One of the standout findings in the report is the trend towards outsourced cleaning services has proved a boon for the industry.

50 INCLEAN May/June 2019

Re-imagining services

A look into the crystal ball Sure, not everything in the industry is beer and skittles. Like any industry, we face our own challenges. High staff turnover due to non-standard working hours and low pay, and increasing internal competition are still issues we’re facing. But we’re certainly not throwing up our hands.

The good news is that the industry is growing and looks set to continue growing. In fact, IBISWorld anticipates revenue to grow at 3.2 per cent annually over the five years through to 2023-24 to $14.1 billion annually. Okay, it’s lower than the previous five years, but it’s still a growth rate that would please many industries.

All in all, it’s important to reflect on what our industry adds to the economy and the services we provide. And for that, I’d like the commercial cleaning industry to please stand up and take a bow. www.bscaa.com

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OPINION

The problem with plastic In the second article of a five-part series on 2019’s biggest sustainability topics, Bridget Gardner* examines the plastic pollution problem and what the cleaning industry can do about it.

In the second of five articles I am writing about the five hottest sustainability topics for 2019, and their implications for the cleaning industry, the global plastic pollution problem is the obvious issue to discuss following on from the recycling crisis in last month’s publication.

Since the 1950s, plastic has become an intrinsic part of modern life. It is cheap, incredibly versatile, and indispensable to the cleaning industry. Yet every year, more than 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean. It is washing up on remote beaches and forming large islands of floating debris.

Apart from being an eye-sore, plastic pollution is harmful to wildlife. Animals get trapped in larger items such as carrier bags or food packaging. When plastic breaks down in the ocean, it turns into tiny pieces that fish, birds, shellfish and sea turtles mistake for food. Plastic fills their stomachs, causing them to slowly starve.

It is understood 219,000 tonnes of microplastics enter the water per annum from Europe alone. If we continue on this trajectory, it is estimated that by the year 2050, the amount of plastic in the ocean will weigh more than the amount of fish.

52 INCLEAN May/June 2019

Where does this pollution come from?

Unfortunately, the majority of plastic pollution comes from countries with less developed landfill systems, such as Asia.

However as major consumers, Australians and New Zealanders still contribute heavily to plastic pollution from single-use items, such as packaging. According to a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 95 per cent of the value of plastic packaging material, worth between $80 billion and $120 billion annually, is being lost from the economy.

What is the government doing about it?

This problem is being taken seriously by governments around the world, many of whom are phasing out single use and ‘avoidable’ plastics in the future. Single-use shopping bags were voluntarily phased out of the Australian supermarket giants last year, and a ban will start in New Zealand in July 2019. Many companies have taken the initiative, such as IKEA, which is phasing out single-use plastics by the year 2020.

OPINION

of Europe and is being considered by our own governments.

It is advisable that suppliers explore their options as singleuse containers may well be redundant in the future.

Options that may minimise or eliminate packaging waste that service providers could consider include: • altered water technology • a durable microfibre system • single dose chemicals in dissolvable sachets • super concentrated chemical in 15 litre canisters • Finding a solution to single-use plastic bin-liners Now that plastic shopping bags are no longer available as domestic bin-liners, alternatives such as compostable, biodegradable, degradable and ‘oxo-degradable’ bags have been put under the spotlight.

“With a growing appetite for solutions to the waste problem, the business sector will be expecting cleaning services providers to take the initiative.”

Significantly, the Australian government has pledged to ensure that 100 per cent of the country’s packaging is recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025. This includes mandating the widespread uptake of recyclable packaging and finding ways to use and process it – called the ‘circle economy’ discussed in the previous article.

How will the war on waste effect the cleaning industry?

The cleaning industry does more than handle waste – it produces its fair share too, from chemical containers, disposable wipes, gloves and bin-liners. With a growing appetite for solutions to the waste problem, the business sector will be expecting cleaning services providers to take the initiative.

• Eliminating the single-use chemical container: While I have been advised recyclable plastic is not strong enough for storing cleaning chemicals, that may well change in the future with investment being poured into recycling.

Reusing canisters is currently the most obvious solution, yet the logistics of selling them back to manufacturers has been too challenging for the supply industry up till now. Known as ‘product stewardship’, this practice is mandated in parts

Comparing these alternatives is too complex to do justice to here, so I have added a fact sheet on my website and some links below with excellent information.1 Multiple investigations have confirmed what I have been suspected all along about degradable bin-liners – they are an environmental hazard. For example: “Degradable plastic is a term for a polymer that will break down into smaller parts or pieces … creating microplastic pollution. Oxo-degradable plastic includes conventional plastic that contains an additive to induce breakdown … when oxygen and sunlight are present. Like degradable plastics, these bags create microplastic pollution.”2 Biodegradable bin-liners need a moist environment to break down – such as a compost bin - while compostable bin-liners should only be used to hold organic waste (which is dry).

Unfortunately, and bizarrely, it appears that standard commercial LDPE and HDPE bin-liners cause the least problems from a plastics pollution perspective.

Solving the single-use commercial bin-liner problem will not be easy. Yet it is necessary. So, whoever produces the first commercially viable reusable bin-liner, self-cleaning bin or other bin-liner free innovation, will have a very good news story to sell. Where there is a problem, there is always an opportunity.

Bridget Gardner is director of Fresh Green Clean and is Australia’s leading sustainable cleaning consultant and trainer. *

To find out more: 1 www.freshgreenclean.com.au/learn/unpacking/bin-liners 2 Implementing a lightweight single-use plastic bag ban in Western Australia Discussion paper 3 www.burnside.sa.gov.au/files/assets/public/environment-ampsustainability/waste-recycling-amp-composting/recycling/whywaste-it/compostable-degradable-and-biodegradable-bags-factsheet.pdf www.freshgreenclean.com.au www.incleanmag.com.au 53

OPINION

Creating healthy spaces No matter where we live or work, each of us deserves to be in a space that enhances rather than detracts from our wellbeing, writes GECA’s Kendall Benton-Collins*.

Over just one year, many of us can spend up to 1920 hours sitting at the same desk, in the same building. That’s a long time to be surrounded by the same furnishings and breathing the same air.

Architects and designers may spend a great deal of time and energy creating stylish and functional spaces, but how much thought goes into how healthy those fittings might be?

Many of us might not think to ask whether our office carpet might be contributing to poor indoor air quality, or if there are carcinogens lurking in the foam of an office lounge. But decisions made about interior furnishings can have an impact on the health of employees.

In addition to this, when you arrive on Monday morning to find a nice clean workspace, what’s been used to freshen the place up? Cleaning and janitorial staff are the unsung heroes of the office world (and of every other building too), moving in when the other workers are gone to wipe over the desks and empty out the bins. We assume they do a thorough job, but we 54 INCLEAN May/June 2019

usually don’t know what cleaning products are used to clean the surfaces we touch every day.

Most indoor air pollution comes from interior sources and can include pollutants from adhesives, upholstered furniture, flooring, paints and cleaning products. Each of these can emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as formaldehyde or potentially carcinogenic substances, which can trigger allergies, asthma, headaches, respiratory irritation and other symptoms as they readily vaporise into the surrounding air.

Paints are one of the worst offenders when it comes to VOC emissions, particularly solvent-based paints. As a fresh coat dries, it can cause a dramatic rise in indoor VOC levels immediately following its application and can continue seeping out of the walls for several years.

Cleaning products and flooring materials can also give off VOCs, which is why switching to greener products is so beneficial. Many conventional cleaning products can also contain

OPINION

a plethora of chemicals which bear ‘risk phrases’, which are labels used to describe the properties a substance may have, such as being a carcinogen or teratogen (harmful to a developing foetus).

Substances used in furniture manufacturing can have a range of potential adverse health effects when people are exposed to them in the final product. For example, the compound 1,3-butadiene; which may be used in the production of latex, foam or plastics; has been classified as a probable human carcinogen.

In the case of soft furnishings and textiles, it’s important to ensure that they do not contain hazardous materials such as azo dyes, which can pose a significant risk to human health.

And don’t forget adhesives. Adhesives, glues, sealants and fillers can be used for a wide range of different surfaces and applications in a single space, ranging from glues in the furniture to the sealants used to waterproof a surface.

The fact that adhesives are so ubiquitous means that they end up contributing far more than we might expect to potential indoor air quality problems in a building. Formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen, is a particularly common VOC found in adhesives and resins, despite its toxicity to humans.

Since the International Well Building Institute launched its WELL v2 standard, we’re seeing manufacturers raise the bar and more commercial buildings are wanting to provide healthier spaces.

“We’re seeing a real drive in consideration of and uptake of wellbeing and the understanding of materials in the commercial space,” says GECA CEO Kate Harris.

“The trend is also evident in consumers, who are generating a rising number of inquiries for GECA certified products.

“It shows people are becoming more aware and starting to think about things before they buy.”

“We’re seeing a real drive in consideration of and uptake of wellbeing and the understanding of materials in the commercial space.”

Ecolabelling programs, such as GECA’s, play an important role in demonstrating that products are safe to use. When a product has been GECA certified you can be sure that the product has been assessed to meet environmental, human health and ethical impact criteria.

Products certified under GECA’s standards for Adhesives, Fillers and Sealants, Carpets, Cleaning Products, Floor Coverings, Furniture and Fittings, Panel Boards and, Paints and Coatings also contribute towards achieving credit points for projects being certified under the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star Performance tool.

Our Cleaning Products standard also contributes to meeting WELL features under the WELL Building Certification.

Kendall Benton-Collins is the digital marketing officer at GECA

*

www.geca.eco

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www.incleanmag.com.au 55

OPINION

Wet wipes – cleaning without clogging Accord’s innovation and education manager Dr Jennifer Semple examines the importance of the proper disposal of used wet wipes.

Since the earliest wet wipe – the Wet Nap – was made by Arthur Julius in the late 1950s, wet wipes have really been cleaning up.

According to the 2018 Smithers Pira report, “The Future of Global Nonwoven Wipes to 2023”1, the global nonwoven wipes market is valued at $US16.6 billion – and projected to grow another 30 per cent by 2023.

Wet wipes result from the coming-together of successful engineering and formulation: engineering of a suitable nonwoven material for sufficient wet strength, and formulation of an infused solution suitable for the cleaning task at hand. The result is so convenient, as well as hygienic – a disposable all-in-one cleaning product and applicator.

In the industrial market, wet wipes include those for general purpose cleaning, specialty tasks such as heavy-duty degreasing, and for the food service and healthcare sectors. In some applications, wet wipes can offer advantages over traditional cleaning methods.

For example, use of wet wipes for hospital cleaning and disinfecting instead of the traditional cloth and bucket method may help prevent cross-contamination, decrease hospitalacquired infections and decrease the time taken to clean and disinfect. Industrial wet wipes account for approximately 20 per cent of the global wipes market.a But it’s not all great news when it comes to wet wipes and pipes: wet wipes have been implicated in sewer blockages that affect local premises as well as broader infrastructure – and potentially result in costly clean-up or environmental spills.

Overseas data on the composition of sewer blockages and fatbergs (which arise from combination of solid, nonbiodegradable materials with solidified fats, oils and greases) shows that many wipes are getting into the sewerage system.

Although no collection-point study data on Australian sewers has been published, local water authorities have also identified wet wipes as a significant contributor to local blockages.

56 INCLEAN May/June 2019

So where are these wipes coming from? In Australia, it seems this is likely due to people flushing wipes that should not be flushed.

Does your company produce or use industrial wet wipes?

Do you know that they are being disposed of correctly – in the bin? Does your on-pack messaging and training reinforce the importance of this? (And beyond wipes, is anything else being inappropriately flushed, like paper towel, tissues or other cleaning cloths? Fats, oils and greases?)

Because most wipes are not intended to be flushed. Nonflushable wipes need enough wet-strength for the cleaning task at hand and therefore do not disintegrate (break up into small enough pieces) upon flushing in the same way as toilet paper.

Nor do tissues, paper towel and most other cleaning cloths!

In contrast, flushable wipes are typically made of short fibres that have low wet strength after flushing. ​In the absence of an international flushability standard, Standards Australia approved the development of a national flushability standard in May 2018.

Accord and other industry stakeholders are actively collaborating with the Australian water services industry to develop this, with an anticipated timeframe of two years.

However, part of the solution to the wipes in pipes problem can be achieved now – by ensuring the proper disposal of used wipe and other cleaning products. Accord has published a new website, WipeSmart (www.wipesmart.org.au) – our industry’s initiative to promote better use and disposal of wet wipes.

Although targeted mainly at consumers who may be tempted to toss a dirty baby wipe into the toilet, WipeSmart also aims to educate about wet wipes in general, promoting the benefits of this industry product and their correct use and disposal across all sectors.

Smithers Pira 2018, The Future of Global Nonwoven Wipes to 2023 https://www.smitherspira.com/industry-market-reports/ nonwovens/global-nonwoven-wipes-to-2023 1

www.accord.asn.au

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MARKETING

R&J Batteries launches RELiON InSight lithium range R&J Batteries’ RELiON InSight lithium range has been dubbed a “game changer” for the electric sweeper and scrubber industry by the battery distributor.

The InSight series are scalable LiFePO4 drop-in replacement batteries that come in industry-standard sizes with no extra hardware needed when connected in parallel. The Super-Smart BMS also maximises performance throughout the life of the battery.

Designed from the ground up around a state-of-the-art battery management system (BMS), RELiON’s InSight series LiFePO4 batteries include all the features that make lithium batteries a superb choice for electric floor machines with built-in intelligent features included.

Super-Smart BMS, the most critical component in the battery, maximises performance, even when connected in parallel, eliminating the need for an external master BMS or any additional hardware. Bullseye balancing ensures precise balancing, optimising performance in each battery when multiple batteries are connected in parallel providing maximum capacity and life.

Intelligent cooling, unlike other lithium batteries that can trap heat, the InSight series uses a carefully engineered passive heat management system to quickly remove heat from inside the battery during conditions of high discharge and recharge currents. This

prevents over-heating of critical components, which also extends the life of the battery. InSight series batteries are available in 12-Volt, 24-Volt, 36-Volt, and 48-Volt configurations.

R&J Batteries has also introduced a battery indicator to its product line-up. The high precision meter helps operators stay up to date on the performance of their battery pack.

It captures instantaneous and integrated data in real-time, measuring the discharge/recharge currents and calculating the Ampere-hours (Ah) flowing in and out of the batteries.

R&J Batteries expects to have stock available from July 2019. For more information, visit www.relionbattery.com/insighttechnology. www.rjbatt.com.au

Puregiene adds luxury to dispenser range Puregiene has launched its new range of dispensers to add a touch of luxury to the washroom.

The new range of dispensers are available in three different variants: wood, chrome and white.

Stylish and inspired from the latest trends in interior design, this range is destined to impress users around Australia.

The range also comes complete with its own antibacterial foam soap dispenser and one litre moisturising foam soap which allows for up to 1500 pumps. www.puregiene.com.au

Abco Products introduces Washroom X Abco Products’ environmentally friendly multi-surface washroom cleaner, Washroom X, is a specially formulated cleaner consisting of a concentrated biotechnological formulation.

Ideal for combating bad odours, surface cleaning and accelerating the breakdown of organic matter, this plant-based cleaning solution can be used to clean the floors, toilet, basins and the mirrors. e-Washroom X is a super concentrate that dilutes 1:300.

A safer and healthier cleaning solution alternative to strong chemicals, e-Washroom uses the power of natural positive enzymes to eat away bacteria present in bathrooms ensuring a deeper clean every time. www.enviroplusproducts.com.au 58 INCLEAN May/June 2019

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MARKETING

Cleanstar expands product offering with washroom range Cleanstar’s range of washroom supplies, including urinal screens, urinal blocks, multi-purpose deodorisers and in tank toilet cleaners, are available around Australia through the distributor’s national network.

Cleanstar director Lisa Michalson said the range, made in the US, was launched due to customer demand, with all products superior in quality and nonhazardous.

“The nonhazardous urinal blocks contain enzymes and soap that help clean the urinals,” Michalson said.

The urinal screens come with patented microtube technology that allows pore opening when in contact with urine, releasing a much longer and stronger fragrance due to warmth.

“The clip on multipurpose deodorisers are made to last with a continual scent and the in-tank toilet cleaner contains a unique formula, designed for frequently used toilets. It also prevents stains and gives a good clean with every flush.” www.cleanstar.com.au

Operator top of mind in Conquest redesign Redesigned with the operator in mind, Conquest says its latest floor cleaning equipment enhances performance, efficiency, reliability and safety, while boasting a superior overall user experience.

The new range of equipment includes upgrades to existing models of Conquest floor sweepers and floor scrubbers as well as the upcoming addition of some new floor cleaning machines.

The machines began rolling out in 2016 with the MMG Plus floor scrubber, continuing with battery powered industrial sweepers and more recently in 2018 with the FSR carpet sweeper and the Magna and Magna Plus commercial floor scrubbers.

The machines are available throughout Australia and New Zealand and were designed with the operator in mind to improve operator comfort and ease of use, reducing strain and fatigue allowing for improved productivity.

The industrial scrubbers are now fitted with self-loading brushes, so operators no longer have to get down on their hands and knees to change brushes. The batterypowered industrial ride-on sweepers are extremely quiet and environmentally friendly, emitting a mere 75.5dB and zero emissions when in operation, ideal for noise-sensitive or enclosed spaces.

The next generation commercial scrubbers feature cutting edge technologies, including in-built full-colour LED screens for viewing easy-to-understand video

60 INCLEAN May/June 2019

tutorials, as well as ergonomic seats and adjustable steering wheels and controls to ensure the operator maintains a safe, upright position and good posture when seated.

Enhanced safety features include a full LED light under the body and front and rear lighting, ideal for operating powerscrubbers in low-lit areas and helping technicians to more easily service the machines.

Other innovations include automatic breaking upon release of the accelerator and collision avoidance systems, including reverse cameras and alarms. Daily maintenance reminders, marked clearly in yellow, are quick and easy to follow and help prolong the life of the scrubbers. www.conquestequipment.com.au

MARKETING

2018 year of “significant transformation” for Nilfisk Nilfisk has released its financial results for 2018, which it has described as a “year of significant, company-wide transformation”.

“If I had one word to characterise Nilfisk in 2018, it would be transformation,” Nilfisk CEO Hans Henrik Lund said.

Nilfisk divested five non-core businesses over the year, most significantly the Nilfisk outdoor business and US-based restoration business. The company exited seven of its 18 production sites.

“As a result, we now have a much more consolidated production footprint, with fewer and larger production hubs,” Lund said.

In 2018, Nilfisk realised total revenue of 1,054 mEUR, representing organic growth of 2 per cent for the total business and an operating performance of 11.5 per cent.

Growth was driven by positive development within the Nilfisk branded professional business in EMEA with organic growth of 3.6 per cent, and by strong performance in the specialty professional segment with organic growth of 11.4 per cent.

Lund emphasised the transformation of Nilfisk will continue: “We will continue to transform our company for the benefit of our customers. We will optimise and simplify our core business, while also investing in areas that enable Nilfisk to become the leader in intelligent cleaning. www.nilfisk.com

True Blue Chemicals rebrands True Blue, a market leading provider of cleaning and hygiene solutions to healthcare, hospitality, and industrial companies for more than 30 years, has revealed a new look.

“We are seeking a new professional image that shows leadership in the market, and projects the evolution of True Blue as a business,” said True Blue’s managing director, Brad Macdougall.

“Our offering is much more than products and our focus is on our service and our people. We’re an established, market leading provider of cleaning and hygiene solutions, so we really wanted our new branding to reflect that.”

The rebrand includes new corporate branding, brand mark and logo, imagery, as well as website, and packaging, which is expected to be rolled out across True Blue’s range of products over the next three to six months.

Visually, the new brand mark is drawn from True Blue’s initials, a nod to its proud history and traditions, while also having an energised feel that gives forward momentum, promise and direction for a new era.

“Our new positioning of ‘Partners, Performance, People’ represents the core values on which True Blue are built”, said Macdougall.

“It also symbolises our belief that great businesses are built on teamwork and strong partnerships. From being a secondgeneration family business to the longstanding relationships we nurture with our team and distributors, people are and always have been the foundation of True Blue.” www.truebluechemicals.com.au

Hydro Systems undergoes restructure, appoints Precision Flow Solutions as distributor The Australian arm of US-based dispensing system manufacturer Hydro Systems has undergone a significant restructure, and appointed Precision Flow Solutions as the exclusive distributor for the Oceania region.

Managing director of Precision Flow Solutions Robert Ivers, said the decision to change the way to market was to provide greater flexibility and service, while delivering the entire range of Hydro Systems’ products to the local marketplace.

“Due to strong growth in the Asia Pacific region over the past five years, Hydro Systems chose to appoint an exclusive distributor for the Oceania market to continue the growth and increase service levels,” Ivers said.

“Hydro Systems was always focused on service, training and support. We want to take Precision Flow Solutions to the next level where we can offer service installation where required and diversify into other fields.

“We chose the name Precision Flow because it fits nicely with the accuracy and precision of Hydro Products systems.”

Together with the rebrand, Precision Flow Solutions has relocated to a new office and warehouse in Northmead, NSW.

62 INCLEAN May/June 2019

“Although the new facility is marginally smaller, the layout has been established with a 20 per cent increase in pallet spaces allowing National sales manager Alex Gray, for future growth and operations manager David Lamb, ensuring PFS always have Luke Spiteri, managing director Robert Ivers and office accounts sufficient stock holdings Cassandra Ivers. to service the market,” said Ivers.

Hydro Systems entered the Sydney market in 2005, targeting a variety of markets, including the cleaning and hygiene industry, laundry industry, and warewash (commercial dishwashers) industry.

While Precision Flow Solutions will continue to supply Hydro Systems products, Ivers said there is a chance it will introduce other products if opportunities present in complementary and adjacent markets. www.hydrosystemsco.com

MARKETING

Storm solution from Aussie Pumps The recent deluge in Sydney left many businesses and homes inundated with contaminated flood water. Not only inconvenient, stormwater is often a serious health issue as it can contain food, waste and even sewage.

Castle Hill-based industrial equipment supplier Aussie Pumps has developed a range of professional wet/dry vacuum cleaners designed to handle contaminated wastewater.

Called the Aussie Clean Air line, the Italian made vacuum cleaners range from 10 to 75 litre barrels, featuring powerful motors and professional accessories including chrome wands and squeegees.

A 99.9 per cent microweb filter made of a homopolymer fibre is used when the vac is in dry mode. It has a microporous membrane applied to the collection surface that provides for a low pressure drop and causes the dust to ‘cake’. The ‘caking’ effect facilitates better dust release and improves the collection efficiency.

Aussie Pumps’ Mal Patel said in an emergency, it can be tempting to pick up a cheap wet/dry vac as a quick fix.

“The trouble with cheap stainless steel vacs is that although they look smart out of the box, even a small dent in the barrel can break the vacuum seal and prevent it from sucking,” he said.

Aussie Pumps’ industrial vacs are ideal for workshops and garages, easily handling fine dust, nails, spills and stormwater.

The range also includes a super quiet model with low noise level of 60dBA for noise sensitive areas. www.aussiepumps.com.au

Something old, something new, we’re changing from green to blue.

Check out Nilfisk Australia’s professional range of high pressure washers. Across our range of mobile electrical machines – from compact models to high end industrial systems – the Nilfisk machines are guaranteed to deliver professional results, every time.

While outer appearances are changing, all the quality and reliability that Gerni’s professional pressure cleaners are known for, continues in the Nilfisk brand. These high-pressure washers are ideal for a wide variety of cleaning applications across agriculture, automotive, building & construction, and plenty of other industries too.

Find out more at nilfisk.com.au or call 1300 556 710.

www.incleanmag.com.au 63

MARKETING

QLeave supports Queensland’s cleaning industry QLeave provides a portable long service leave scheme for workers in Queensland’s contract cleaning industry.

Payments are based on service to the industry rather than 10 years’ service to a single employer. Employers can also claim reimbursement from QLeave for long service leave payments made to workers they’ve employed for 10 or more years.

Since the scheme’s establishment in 2005, QLeave has paid more than $11 million in long service leave claims to workers and employers.

These payments have made it possible for thousands of Queensland’s contract cleaners to take a well-deserved break that otherwise may not have been possible due to the nature of their work.

To raise awareness and help industry members to understand the scheme, the QLeave team are regularly on the road.

Sebo receives tick of approval from National Asthma Council Australia Sebo Australia has received the tick of approval from the National Asthma Council Australia’s Sensitive Choice program.

Sensitive Choice was formed by the National Asthma Council Australia in 2006 to help Australians with allergies and respiratory issues identify products that may be better suited to them.

Approved products of the program must satisfy an independent product advisory panel that they do no harm and may offer relative benefits to people with asthma or allergies.

Eight Sebo vacuums were approved for the program, including the Sebo K3 premium barrel vacuum cleaner, Sebo K1 pet barrel, the Sebo K3 vulcano barrel and the Sebo X4 and X5 automatic upright vacuum cleaners.

Each vacuum is capable of performing a variety of tasks and works well on all types of surfaces, including carpets and other hard flooring.

The Sebo automatic X/XP vacuums have an anti-allergy design specifically for those with allergies and asthma.

The vacuum’s S-Class filtration system removes 99.97 per cent of allergens down to 0.3 micron. www.sebo.com.au 64 INCLEAN May/June 2019

Since July last year, they’ve visited more than 900 sites and supported industry events all over Queensland – meeting workers and employers wherever they are in the state.

Through these visits, the team help employers understand what they need to do to make sure their workers receive long service leave benefits. Meeting employers at their business, or at industry forums, means the team are able to provide convenient face-to-face support, education and resources to those who need it.

Topics covered in these visits include, scheme eligibility, how to complete employer returns, what workers need to do to claim, and how employers can claim reimbursement for long service leave claims they’ve paid to their workers.

For more information about QLeave, visit www.qleave.qld.gov.au.

Sabco Australia enhances offering with Oakwood Products Sabco Australia has enhanced its product offering with the addition of Oakwood Products to its line.

The Oakwood range includes specialist surface care products for the cleaning and maintenance of leather, timber, stone benchtops and stainless-steel appliances, as well as Oakwood’s integrated complete care system for upholstery, fabric, vinyl, plastic and glass surfaces.

Sabco CEO Herman Verhofstadt said the acquisition of the Oakwood range aligns with the cleaning supplier’s strategic goal of moving into new market segments.

“Sabco has developed, and realised, opportunities to move into new market segments and to develop strategic differentiation through the acquisition of Asia Pacific brands such as the Mr Clean & Turtle Wax (Accessories) brands.

“Now this stable of brands has been further enhanced with the addition of Oakwood and the breadth of products marketed under this brand.”

The Oakwood range is available around the world, including New Zealand, USA, China and Europe. www.sabco.com.au

MARKETING

Decon Systems offers course discount for 2019 RIA Conference attendees Training and consultancy firm Decon Systems is offering a 25 per cent discount on its decontamination and testing courses for attendees of the 2019 RIA Australasian Restoration Industry Conference.

Decon Systems director Isaac Southwell said undertaking Decon Systems’ meth testing training or meth decontamination course can ensure companies have the skills and knowledge required to offer an exceptional testing, cleaning and restoration service to customers.

“If you are planning on starting a cleaning and restoration company or are looking to extend your current service offering to include meth decontamination or meth testing, then you will benefit from our training,” Southwell said.

“Our comprehensive courses offer both theoretical and practical knowledge, and access to the Neutrasol professional

grade methamphetamine decontamination system on completion.”

Both courses have been developed in line with the Australian Clandestine Drug Laboratory Remediation Guidelines, and include elements of NZS 8510:2017 where necessary to ensure a best practice approach is adopted by delegates.

Decon Systems provides courses nationwide including Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, with CECs available to all IICRC members.

For those attending the RIA conference on the Sunshine Coast in June, Decon Systems has scheduled both the decontamination and testing courses for Saturday, 15 June.

Conference attendees will receive a 25 per cent discount when using the promotional code ‘sunnycoast19’ when registering via Decon Systems’ website. www.deconsystems.com.au

QUALITY WASHROOM PAPER DISPENSERS Durolla Products NZ Ltd

FOR YOUR REQUIREMENTS CONTACT:

dispensers@durolla.com or visit www.durolla.com

www.incleanmag.com.au 65

MARKETING

Vileda Professional provides next level cleaning performance The development and launch of Vileda Professional’s PVAmicro was the result of constant research and development at Germanowned Freudenberg Group.

PVAmicro is a combination of PVA material (known for its streak free cleaning performance and high absorbency properties) and knitted microfibre material.

According to Vileda Professional, it is the first company to offer this patented product.

The knitted microfibre base provides greater dirt pick up while the PVA impregnation provides strong absorbency, superior streak free performance and excellent release of dirt particles during rinsing that reduces the chances of scratching delicate surfaces.

After wringing a standard knitted microfibre cloth, surfaces can remain quite wet. In comparison, PVAmicro shows a much lower and more consistent water release that prevents streaking and ensures surfaces dry quickly.

Another benefit of less water being released is improved surface coverage, saving time and effort required to clean. The cloth can be laundered up to 400 times when washed at 60°C, and can be washed at 95°C with minimal shrinkage without any problem.

PVAmicro is suitable for use for general cleaning tasks in buildings, restaurants and automotive settings. The range is available in four colours (blue, green, red and yellow) to suit different working areas. www.oates.com.au

Restore Solutions hits the road to offer tailored training Restore Solutions’ rolling showroom and training centre has hit the road to offer tailored training and education to customers.

The new powered showroom vehicle and trailer features all of Restore Solutions’ cleaning and restoration equipment, products, instruments and chemicals from brands including European brands, including DBK Drymatic, Aerial, Dantherm Group, Protox, Husqvarna, Tramex Meters, Primacover and Trotec.

“We do a lot of travelling so we wanted to build a mobile showroom to offer tailored training and education to customers,” Restore Solutions director, Lorelle McCulloch said.

“We wanted to offer a mobile showroom so customers can at their convenience see all the latest equipment from Europe, without having to leave their office or business site.”

Restore Solutions is set to schedule a few more roadshow tours for 2019, with the timetable – which is built around requests from customers – yet to be announced.

“We aim to visit the northern, southern and western Australia at least once a year. So far we’ve been to Queensland, NSW and Victoria. We are organising to visit South Australia, Perth and Tasmania in the near future. If you would like us to visit you please give us a call!” www.restoresolutions.com.au

66 INCLEAN May/June 2019

MARKETING

Manage labour costs while maximising efficiency In the cleaning business labour costs are among the largest ongoing expenses. The cost of labour is also an essential expense – and one that becomes more expensive as a company grows.

According to commercial cleaning supplier Pall Mall, one of the best ways to manage labour costs is to equip cleaners with tools that don’t just enable them to get the job done faster but that empower them to get it done without sacrificing quality.

A rushed job done poorly can harm a cleaning business’ reputation, s o it is always better to invest in solutions that help staff clean faster and better. This involves making the job physically easier.

One solution is the erGO! Clean from German company Unger, introduced to Australia last year by Pall Mall.

Winner of the Janitorial Award at the 2018 INCLEAN Innovation Award, the erGO! boosts operational efficiency by 18 per cent for area cleaning and up to 76 per cent for spot cleaning.

The erGO! Clean’s telescopic, S-shaped curved handle, promotes ideal posture while reducing forearm, wrist, back and shoulder strain, resulting in less fatigue.

Due to its ergonomically friendly design features, the erGO! Clean also promotes high quality cleaning.

By working faster and smarter, using the erGO! Clean means more surface area can be cleaned without adding more staff, resulting in more efficient use of labour. www.pallmall.com.au

STOP SPREADING. START EXTRACTING! SEBO Australia - proud partner of the National Asthma Council Australia's Sensitive Choice® Program.

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Ph: (02) 9678 9577 info@sebo.com.au | sebo.com.au

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spillz.com.au | 1800 774 559 | office@spillz.com.au

www.incleanmag.com.au 67

MARKETING

BSCAA introduces new member benefit Along with the variety of services the Building Service Contractors Association of Australia (BSCAA) provides its members, a major drawcard is free access to the Bizversity portal.

Described as the “Netflix for business”, Bizversity is an online app that features more than 1000 training videos produced by more than 250 business experts from around the world.

“At BSCAA we have recognised that our members want to educate themselves in a fast-paced and user-friendly manner and Bizversity is the answer,” said BSCAA national executive director, Cassie Ruhe-Hodge.

Through the Bizversity app, BSCAA members can learn how to increase their business IQ; become a better leader; make more sales; improve productivity; become and industry expert; improve cashflow and profits, as well as set and achieve business goals.

ISSA Oceania expands local team Global cleaning association ISSA has expanded its Oceania division, with the appointment of two new team members.

Thomas Walkerden has been appointed as the division’s first membership specialist. Walkerden comes with strong sales, account management and business development experience, having worked for both national and multi-national companies.

Walkerden is responsible for interacting with ISSA members, as well as delivering individual consultation. As the membership specialists, he will strategise new practices to improve ISSA’s services.

ISSA Oceania has also appointed Chloe Roumanos as international marketing specialist. Roumanos has extensive marketing experience having previously managed brand campaigns, developed promotional material, planned and executed digital and communication campaigns.

Roumanos supports the Oceania, Asia Pacific and China regions, informing cleaning industry professionals about ISSA’s developments and the support the association offers

68 INCLEAN May/June 2019

The ‘Learn Switch’ feature of the Bizversity app allows users to seamlessly switch between video and audio modes. Other features include the ability to create a personal playlist, forward videos to friends, choose the streaming quality and the ability to speed up the content so users can watch or listen at 2x, 3x or 4x speed.

All BSCAA members with a full membership have free access to the Bizversity portal, on up to three devices, until February 2020 on a 12-month trial period.

“We want to work with members to create the best work environment we can,” said Ruhe-Hodge.

“If you are a member and if you haven’t already, contact the BSCAA to gain access to this unique and valuable resource.” www.bscaa.com

to all members. Roumanos will also promote events, educational workshops and new member benefits through marketing and communication activities.

Her main focus for Oceania this year will be assisting with the co-ordination of the ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo, taking place in Melbourne on 23 and 24 October.

ISSA Oceania manager Lauren Micallef said ISSA looks forward to having both Walkerden and Roumanos on board.

Thomas “Due to the increasing membership Walkerden base, our growing ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo and the number of activities scheduled for this year we have expanded our Oceania team,” said Micallef.

“We look forward to having both Tom and Chloe on board to expand ISSA and its benefits in the Oceania and Asia Pacific regions even more.” www.issa.com.au

Chloe Roumanos

MARKETING

Xpower range available in ANZ Australian Cleaning & Restoration Academy (ACRA) has launched a series of training webinars for the restoration industry.

Launched in February, the six webinars are targeted at carpet cleaners looking to improve their earnings in carpet and upholstery cleaning. The webinars run for approximately 1.5 hours, covering the steps, processes and solutions cleaners need to be successful on the job, as well as a live question time and access to the recorded webinar for future reference. Each webinar costs $99 (including GST), with special offers soon available. ACRA managing director Lorelle McCulloch said business owners and technicians would benefit from the webinars. “Our webinars can help cleaners improve their carpet, upholstery and stain removal services to achieve better cleaning results, increased turn over and profitability while keeping customers coming back. The webinars can be accessed via a website link on all devices and computers.”

Xpower manufactures a full range of restoration products including air movers, axial fans, dehumidifiers, air scrubbers and blowers. Xpower also has a purpose-built factory to cater for the research, design and the manufacture of water damage restoration (WDR) products.

“Xpower designs and manufactures electric motors in our facility which makes our equipment more efficient in performance,” said director, Lisa Michalson.

“The only part of the products not made in our factory are the electrical cables.

“We control all areas of production. [Xpower products] are compact and light weight in design, with advanced ABS injection housing process to offer a revolutionary concept on traditional bulky WDR equipment.”

Xpower equipment also has a number of features specifically for WDR professionals, including variable speed control, high toque motor and pre-cool LGR technology.

All Xpower machinery is electrically approved for Australia and New Zealand.

www.cleaningrestorationacademy.com.au

www.xpoweraustralia.com.au

ACRA launches webinar series

Your membership strengthens the Australian cleaning industry building service contractors association of australia limited

Manufacturing Company

We are Australia’s peak industry employer organisation for Commercial Cleaning Companies.

FLOOR CLEANERS

Join us to receive:

+ Rugged Construction

PREMIUM BATTERIES FOR

Government Lobbying Industrial Relations Advice Networking Events Online Resources Industry Excellence Awards Industry News Online Training www.bscaa.com Education 1800 312 970

+ XC2™ Formulation

+ SpeedCap® Venting + Diamond Plate Positive Locking System Technology®

national@bscaa.com

Contact your local branch: QLD bscaaqld@bscaa.com NSW bscaansw@bscaa.com VIC bscaavic@bscaa.com

SA bscaasa@bscaa.com WA

admin@cleaningcouncilwa.com.au

TAS bscaatas@bscaa.com

Available from R & J Batteries stores and distributors / www.rjbatt.com.au/u-s-battery / 1300 769 282

www.incleanmag.com.au 69

PRODUCTS

Chlorinated creme cleaner Softie is a chlorinated creme cleaner which cleans, sanitises and polishes hard surfaces leaving them crystal clean and shiny. With soft scrubbing particle technology Softie clings to surfaces, killing germs while removing mould, water stains, soap scum and body fats at the same time. Safe to use on ceramics, stainless steel, porcelain and enamel.

Agar Cleaning Systems 1800 301 302 www.agar.com.au

Biodegradable washroom cleaner RapidClean’s Hi-Genic biodegradable washroom cleaner can be used on a variety of surfaces including stainless steel, porcelain, urinals and stone bench tops. The eco-friendly cleaner incorporates a blend of natural, organic acids and wetting agents combined with a specially formulated thixotropic agent. The acidic detergency provides rapid penetration and dissolution of lime scale deposits, uric acid deposits and stains, whilst the thixotropic characteristics ensure that the thickened liquid has an extended contact time by ‘sticking’ to all vertical surfaces.

RapidClean 02 4721 1994 www.rapidclean.com.au

Eco-friendly floor cleaning machine

Leav es surf aces spo tles s!

The Surescrub Multiwash is an ecofriendly floor cleaning machine, that can wash, scrub and dry on both hard and soft floor coverings in a single pass. This fast-working machine can save cleaners hours of time and labour during cleaning routines. Easy access to the solution tank makes it easy to fill up clean water and remove waste. With flexible manoeuvrability, the Multiwash can clean non-slip surfaces leaving them spotless and safe to walk on in minutes.

Abco Products 1800 177 399 www.abcoproduct.com.au

Autonomous outdoor vacuum The eco-friendly, battery-operated Ariamatic 240 Super is an autonomous driven outdoor vacuum. Equipped with the “Follow Me” automatic driving system, it will promptly follow, leaving the operator the sole task of directing the vacuum hose to the waste. The system detects obstacles, ensuring the safety of people and things in the surrounding environment. Free onsite demonstration available.

Central Cleaning Supplies 1300 347 347 www.sweepclean.com.au

Gentle 3-in-1 wash Dermalux Enrich is a three-in-one shampoo, conditioner and body wash that is pH balanced and gentle on skin and hair. It contains added moisturisers to hydrate and replenish skin and hair. It is ideal for use in aged care facilities as it is easy to use, gentle on all skin types and delicately fragranced. Dermalux Enrich contains Betaine, a long-lasting moisturiser with low irritancy to skin. Dermalux Enrich is available in 500ml bottles or 1 litre pods for use in Whiteley dispensing systems.

Whiteley Corporation 1800 833 566 www.whiteley.com.au

70 INCLEAN May/June 2019

PRODUCTS

All-natural toilet bowl and urinal cleaner

le Availab u in fo r ! colours

Small in size, big on performance

E-Flush is a natural toilet bowl and urinal cleaner and deodoriser that is eco-safe and biodegradable. Through frequent use, E-Flush can reduce the build-up of uric acid. Just squirt onto the surface to be cleaned, brush and rinse. E-Flush can also be diluted and sprayed on surfaces to deodorise and eliminate odours at the source. Available in a 1 litre squeegee bottle and 5 litre and 20 litre bottle.

Abco Products 1800 177 399 www.enviroplusproducts.com.au

The UltraSpeed Mini is the latest addition to the Vileda Professional family. Created specifically for all small area cleaning tasks, the UltraSpeed Mini is twice as fast as traditional string mops to clean and dry areas up to 20sqm. Available in four colours, the flat mop is suitable for cleaning walls and tiles, skirtings and staircases, as well as behind pipes and toilets.

E.D. Oates 1300 669 686 www.oates.com.au

Self-cleaning outdoor vacuum

Free onsite demo le! availab

Part of the TSM range of eco-friendly cleaners, the Aria 240 Super is a battery-operated outdoor vacuum that doesn’t produce carbon emissions. It has a time saving on-board automatic filter cleaning system that allows the operator to keep working without stopping frequently to clean the filter. Operator’s efforts are reduced by electric traction that is easily controlled by the front lever. It also features a mechanical support for the hose to eliminate curves and prevent obstructions.

Central Cleaning Supplies 1300 347 347 www.sweepclean.com.au

THE HIGH-TECH NEW CONQUEST MAXIMA FEAT UR INTU ING 50BT PLUS T O U C ITI V E • QUIET OPERATION AT 58DBS • UP TO 4 HOURS CONTINUOUS RUN TIME

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www.incleanmag.com.au 71

PRODUCTS

Industrial ride-on floor scrubber The Hako Scrubmaster B175 R has been designed to meet the highest demands when it comes to cleaning high traffic environments such as shopping centres, production factories, train stations and airports. With a tank capacity of 175 litres, combined with high operational cleaning and drying performance, the machine enables fast and efficient cleaning of large and medium-sized areas. Moreover, its compact dimensions and a 90-degree steering angle make the Scrubmaster B175 R manoeuvrable and flexible to use. It can be tailored to specific site needs with various adaptable configurations.

Hako Australia 1800 257 221 www.hakoaustralia.com.au Fast & t! efficien

Fast drying, powerful mop solution

Pleasan tly perfum ed

Lifetime guarantee for backpack vacuum Cleanstar has introduced a lifetime lid guarantee for the Ghibli T1 backpack vacuum cleaner. The Italian made Ghibli T1 backpack is one of the lightest, quietest and most powerful backpacks on the market, with a five-level filtration system, padded three strap support system and H14 HEPA filtration. All customers will now be covered for the left and right hand lid for the life of the machine, along with a 12-month limited warranty and two year motor warranty.

Cleanstar 03 9460 5655 www.cleanstar.com.au

Ready-to-use hospital grade wipes Speedy Clean Wipes are designed for use in healthcare facilities including hospitals, general practices, aged care and dental facilities. Speedy Clean assists in removing organic soils from contaminated surfaces. The wipes are pleasantly perfumed and available as a ready to use solution or convenient single use wipe. The wipes are fast drying leaving surfaces streak free. Suitable for pre-cleaning soiled surfaces before disinfection.

Whiteley Corporation 1800 833 566 www.whiteley.com.au

Mop’N’Dry is a powerful, biodegradable and phosphate free detergent specially formulated to be used together with microfibre and spray and glide mops. The fastdrying solution breaks down greasy and stubborn stains and quickly dries without leaving any residual films on floors, minimising occupational health and safety risks. The detergent is ideal for spot cleaning on high traffic floors.

Agar Cleaning Systems 1800 301 302 www.agar.com.au

Fast and effective floor scubber

Minimu m noise, maximu m results!

Operating at a low 58Db the Conquest Maxima 50BT floor scrubber is the ideal machine to achieve a thorough clean in noise sensitive areas. Featuring advanced technology and powerful scrubbing action, this commercial scrubber provides a consistent clean across smooth or textured flooring surfaces. Its powerful vacuum motors leaves floors dry and safe to walk on immediately after one pass.

Conquest Equipment 1800 826 789 www.conquestequipment.com.au 72 INCLEAN May/June 2019

PRODUCTS

Robust orbital floor cleaner

Outdoor batteryoperated sweeper

The GTC-18 orbital floor cleaner is a single disc machine that utilises both orbital and rotational movements to significantly enhance cleaning results.

Compared to conventional single disc machines, the GTC-18 can save time, water and detergent by up to 50 per cent and consume less energy. Robustly built, it is suitable for heavy duty cleaning on a wide range of surfaces including vinyl, carpet, concrete, wooden floor, and tile and grout. Free onsite demonstration available.

Central Cleaning Supplies 1300 347 347 www.centralcleaning.com.au

The Itala 135 BT is an eco-friendly, battery operated outdoor sweeper that doesn’t produce carbon emissions. Due to its powerful filtering system, fine particles remain trapped and are not released into the environment during the sweeping tasks. All functions of this mechanical and suction sweeper are electric, therefore its noise emissions are reduced only to the noise of the brushes on the ground, offering the possibility to clean anytime night or day. The Itala 135 is also available as a petrol version. Free onsite demonstration available.

Central Cleaning Supplies 1300 347 347 www.sweepclean.com.au

Vitamin E enriched hand moisturiser Bactol moisturiser has been designed to protect the skin. It is enriched with Vitamin E, pH balanced and lanolin free. It absorbs quickly and is suitable for use under gloves. The use of an oil-containing lotion or a barrier cream, three times a shift, can substantially protect the hands of healthcare workers.

It is available in a 500ml bottle or 1 litre pod for use with dispenser.

Whiteley Corporation 1800 833 566 www.whiteley.com.au

www.incleanmag.com.au 73

PRODUCTS

Lightweight carbon fibre water poles

Anti-bacterial deodorising surface cleaner

Unique four-way action

Fresharie is a strong anti-bacterial deodorising surface cleaner with a unique four-way action to neutralise problem odours. The odour-neutralising detergent attacks molecules that cause offensive odours replacing them with an appealing perfume. Ideal for use in hospitals and nursing homes on hard surfaces, carpets, clothing, furnishings and upholstery.

Agar Cleaning Systems 1800 301 302 www.agar.com.au

Flat micro FX mop Featuring the latest microfibre technology, the Flat Mop Micro FX can use three different pads for mopping, cleaning and dusting. This flat mop is ideal for all industries.

The pads available include: Micro FX Hygiene, Micro FX Xtreme or Micro FX Active pads. The pads are resistant to bleach and strong chemicals and provide effective removal of bacteria, sticky or tough dirt, grease and grime.

Sabco 1800 066 522 www.sabco.com.au

All-in-one multipurpose platform Easy handling, superior performance The Scrubmaster “B” series scrubbers ensure high standards of cleaning and hygiene with reduced running costs. The machine’s 65cm to 85cm cleaning path combined with its 75 litre tank capacity deliver floor cleaning coverage of up to 4200sqm per hour. The model comes in two versions; B70 Standard and B70 CL (Comfort Line). The Comfort Line comes standard with added features like AntiBacterial solution and recovery tanks, electronic park brake, silence mode for even quieter operation, speed variable water/ solution flow rates and a larger battery capacity.

Hako Australia 1800 257 221 www.hakoaustralia.com.au

74 INCLEAN May/June 2019

The OmniFlex SUV is an all-in-one multipurpose platform that replaces mops and buckets, janitor’s carts, wet vacuums, dust mops, and in some cases, even autoscrubbers.

The SUV combines high speed push-behind cleaning for large areas with the precision and flexibility of a vacuum wand for smaller areas or grouted floors. The result is a compact cleaning cart that can tackle any hard-flooring challenge thrown its way.

Spillz 1800 774 559 www.spillz.com.au

The Unger nLite range of lightweight carbon fibre water poles can be extended as high as 20 metres. The poles are strong and inflexible, and despite their strength and rigidity, are very light.

The 20 metre pole weighs as little as five kilograms. The poles are available in three different grades of carbon – the longer the required pole, the higher grade of carbon needed. The range also features adjustable pressure clamps, choices of jets, carbon-fibre goosenecks, choice of brushes, and hoses that can be attached internally or externally.

Pall Mall 02 9584 8644 www.pallmall.com.au

INTRODUCING KÄRCHER’S B 300 RIDE-ON COMBI MACHINE. p Scrubbing and sweeping in one working step doubles productivity (> 16,000 m²/h) in comparison to single-use machines. p Best-in-class area coverage with up to 1755 mm working width. p Good overview thanks to driving position and close to the edge cleaning on both sides with pivotable side brushes / scrubbing decks. p Easy and convenient disposal by high dump (height 1.5 m / 180 l container). p Unlimited running time with strong LPG or diesel driven combustion engine.

For your FREE demonstration, contact Kärcher on 1800 675 714. sales@au.karcher.com www.karcher.com.au