View The Latest Issue
Official Media Sponsor
C&M is published by
Industry first for ServiceMaster Clean
ServiceMaster Clean has announced that Christopher Friend, based in East Kilbride, Scotland, has become the youngest individual, at age 17, to be awarded British Damage Management Association (BDMA) technician status. ServiceMaster Clean specialises in disaster restoration services alongside commercial cleaning expertise. Its Restoration Response service guarantees fast response within a few hours of an emergency starting, to put the property back to pre-damage condition.
Securing British Damage Management Association technician status means ServiceMaster Clean’s insurance restoration work is carried out to the highest professional standards of care and codes of practice, underpinned by technical and corporate training. The company retains its position as having the highest number of BDMA qualified technicians in its sector.
Christopher Friend has worked in the commercial cleaning and disaster restoration sector for a year and a half, following in the footsteps of his mother and father, Jennifer and Sid Friend and his grandfather, William Friend before that. The family team provide ServiceMaster Clean’s range of specialist services in central Scotland, covering East Kilbride, Clydesdale and East Lothian. The work involves restoration of buildings affected by water or fire or malicious damage and liaising with both the customer and the insurance industry.
Christopher Friend is now about to set up ServiceMaster Borders, becoming the youngest ServiceMaster Clean franchisee owner.
Malcolm Holmes, head of commercial support for ServiceMaster Clean, said: “We go above and beyond customer requirements by supporting them with knowledgeable personnel who have a detailed understanding of water and fire damage, making the claims management process and property restoration as straightforward as possible. We are delighted to be setting yet another industry first by training the youngest person to the highest possible damage management standards. ServiceMaster Clean continues to ensure all its staff are qualified to the highest possible standards, meaning we retain the position of having the highest number of BDMA senior qualified technicians in our sector.”
www.restorationresponse.co.uk
Hospital laundry saving £14,000 a year
St Richard’s Hospital, part of Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, is making significant energy savings in its laundry department following the installation of Thermal Energy International’s GEM venturi orifice steam traps. The GEM traps are expected to save the hospital over £14,000 per annum in energy savings alone, as well as additional reductions in replacement traps and maintenance costs.
Conscious that the laundry’s mechanical steam traps were causing water vapour losses through evaporation from the hot well as well as poor condensate return, Richard Harris, head of engineering and estates standards, decided to investigate the GEM venturi designed steam traps. “We considered chemical treatment, but decided to also explore the GEM traps as we were also finding that a significant proportion of the laundry’s steam traps were failing,” he said. “As the GEM traps come with a 10 year guarantee we thought this might prove the solution.”
Thermal Energy International carried out a survey of the laundry’s steam traps using an infrared thermometer. This found that over 26% of the mechanical traps had failed partially open which was causing problems within the system. From these findings, Thermal Energy International was able to calculate that by replacing the mechanical traps with the GEM venturi design, St Richard’s Hospital would be able to save over £14,000 in energy and maintenance per annum alone, providing a short-term payback of less than two years.
“Over a 10 year period the hospital has the potential to save £155,000 on gas alone based on present costs,” said Richard Harris. “In addition, as the GEM traps do not fail, we will save money on downtime and replacement costs. A further added bonus is that the traps only have to be cleaned once a year.”
www.thermalenergy.com
Survey reveals attitudes to mopping
A new study conducted by Kaivac Inc, makers of the No-Touch cleaning system and the new Crossover Cleaning System, found that 97% of building service contractors and others involved in the professional cleaning industry are aware that ‘using mops and buckets can spread soils’.
The survey was conducted in March 2012, with nearly 200 respondents starting the survey and 99 answering all the questions completely.
The respondents indicated that the most common type of hard surface flooring they clean is vinyl composite tile, at 67%. This was followed by terrazzo flooring, at about 20%. Respondents also stated that they believe these types of floors are the easiest to clean, although cement floors were also considered an easy floor to maintain.
Asked what they like most about using mops and buckets to clean floors, more than a third answered: “It’s all I have ever used.”
However, 27% said they prefer using mops and buckets because they are fast; the remainder believed mops and buckets are easier or more effective than other floor cleaning systems.
Asked what they like least about mopping floors, nearly half of the respondents indicated: “The mop and solution gets dirty pretty fast and have to be changed frequently.”
“This question also allowed the respondents to write in other reasons they dislike using a mop and bucket,” said Matt Morrison, communications manager for Kaivac. “We got all kinds of answers, such as ‘nothing like moving dirt from one area to another’; ‘it’s a soil dispersal system’; to, very simply, ‘it cleans the area badly'.”
While many respondents expressed concerns regarding using mops and buckets to clean floors, nearly 70% also indicated that hard surface floor care is easier overall than carpet care.
“Along with this, nearly 58% said they are seeing more hard surface floors installed today than carpets,” added Morrison. “This is in line with what other reports indicate.”
www.kaivac.com
Giving British Airways wings
British Airways has awarded a five year aircraft cleaning and amenity services contract for all its aircraft based at Heathrow Airport. OCS, which has provided aviation services to British Airways at London Heathrow Airport for over 20 years, secured the contract to become BA’s sole aircraft grooming supplier following a competitive tender process last year.
British Airway’s manager business development, Dave Lucas, said: “Our principal objectives were to secure best value alongside a contract framework that would drive safety, quality and punctuality. We were also determined to find a partner with whom we can continue to develop and innovate improvements in our cabin appearance standards. We believe OCS is the right choice to meet these aspirations.”
The OCS aviation team developed a strategy for British Airways with a focus on management structures, client relationship mapping, staff training and development, and lean engineering techniques in operational processes. An ‘innovation and environment’ forum will be introduced.
OCS’s director of transport, Phil Derbyshire, said: “The contract was awarded to us thanks to the quality of our management team, our wealth of experience and the strength of our commercial proposition. I want to pay tribute to OCS staff on the ground at Heathrow who, through their continued efforts, have given this key customer the confidence to place their business with us.”
www.ocs.co.uk
Record numbers entering the Loo of the Year Awards
Despite in excess of 40% of the UK’s public toilets closing down in the past 10 years, the Loo of the Year Awards is still going strong and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year - and the awards are receiving record entries for the 2012 event. The awards are promoted by The British Toilet Association and, this year, in association with headline sponsor Lepicol, a probiotic formulation specifically developed to help maintain healthy bowels - naturally.
“This year we are welcoming millions of visitors into the UK for events such as the diamond jubilee and the Olympics, yet there is only one public toilet for every 19,500 of the population in London, excluding visitors,” said Mike Bone, managing director of the awards programme. “The Loo of the year awards recognises those toilets still open and the people who still have pride in their loos. Despite record numbers of toilets closing we are delighted to be receiving record numbers of entries into the awards, which this year will be bigger and better to celebrate our 25th anniversary.”
Trophies for the very best entries will be presented at a special 25th Anniversary awards presentation event to be held on Friday 7 December at the St Johns Hotel in Solihull. Dr Hilary Jones, who is working alongside headline sponsor Lepicol in 2012 to help educate on the importance of bowel health, will be presenting some of the winners with their awards.
www.loo.co.uk
Helping Group Lotus cross the finishing line
Group Lotus recently announced a strategic corporate partnership with OCS at Autosport International. OCS, a corporate partner who delivers an integrated facilities services solution to Group Lotus plc’s Norwich headquarters, will have a key opportunity to promote its brand and services through association with Lotus Racing motorsport activities. Over the next five years, the OCS logo will appear on team clothing and on Lotus GT cars in the British GT Championship and GT4 Endurance races.
“The synergy between our businesses made OCS a natural corporate partner,” said Tony Schulp, commercial director for Group Lotus. “We are both aiming for high performance and making continual improvements through innovation.”
OCS has provided a bespoke document management service, with full graphic design, print management and mailroom capability, to the group’s Hethel headquarters for two years and will now also deliver an additional range of support services. These include building services with grounds and track maintenance, cleaning of offices and production and design areas, catering services at ‘Just Dine’ staff restaurants, and trackside executive hospitality services.
Tony Schulp added: “2012 will be a time of unprecedented investment and growth for Group Lotus and we need a partner who can develop with us in all aspects of the business. OCS has already demonstrated that they can deliver service quality and efficiency. We are confident that they will provide the required flexibility and speed of delivery to meet the demanding changes of our business environment.”
OCS MD, Martin Gammon, said: “This innovative deal clearly demonstrates the importance we place on building strong partnerships with clients which have the flexibility to evolve. I firmly believe that this five year corporate partnership between Group Lotus and OCS will be a winning formula.”
www.ocs.co.uk
