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ISSA golf day - registations open
ISSA Europe has unveiled details of its annual golf day which be held on Thursday 21 June 2012 at the Toft Hotel and Golf Course, Lincolnshire.
Known for being a keenly contested yet enjoyable tournament, the format for the ISSA event will be a nine hole Texas Scramble and an 18 hole Stableford competition. Players will be served with a bacon roll on arrival, followed by lunch and a dinner in the hotel’s recently updated restaurant when prizes will be presented to the day’s winners.
Teams from Vectair, NSS, CPD and many more industry organisations participated in the 2011 event. However, it was players from Greyland who ended up victorious in both the Stableford and ‘nearest the pin’ competitions.
Keith Baker, ISSA’s director of European services, said: “The day is wonderfully social and it is great to be able to spend time chatting and networking with old acquaintances and new friends from our industry. In past years, the enjoyment level among players has never dropped regardless of whether your golf ball is hitting the green or landing in one of the water hazards that make the Toft course such a pleasant challenge.”
A limited number of places are available at £75 per head. To book your place please contact Keith Baker on 0116 260 9171 or by emailing keith@issa.com .
Hygiene Group to the rescue
Hygiene Group has further invested in its employees by offering them the opportunity to take a course in confined space entry procedures covering search and rescue using self-contained breathing apparatus.
Hygiene Group is believed to be one of the first providers of cleaning services to the food sector to offer this type of training to its employees. The two-day course trains staff in safe entry and exit of a confined space, emergency procedures while operators are working in the confined space and life-saving search and rescue in an enclosed environment.
Helen Millership, health & safety manager at Hygiene Group, said: “Our teams frequently have to clean confined spaces such as silos and cooling towers. With this training, they can carry out more complicated confined space work, requiring a greater level of expertise, for which clients may previously have had to engage a specialist contractor. Hygiene Group already has a permanent presence on these clients’ sites and our site knowledge, availability and cost- effectiveness allows us to add further value to their operation.”
The Birmingham-based company is dedicated to developing its workforce and, along with the confined space search and rescue course, offers a range of other training. As a result, Hygiene Group has received awards for its investment in staff, including the British Chambers of Commerce Award for ‘excellence in people development’.
www.hygiene.co.uk
CSSA welcomes new online visa check tool
The Cleaning and Support Services Association (CSSA) has welcomed the announcement of a new visa check system that will allow employers to verify migrants’ visa status online. The scheme, which will be operational from early 2012, will help companies that hire migrant workers avoid the large fines imposed for employing workers who have forged or invalid work permits.
Immigration minister, Damian Green, said: "It is vital that we work with employers to give them the tools they need to meet their obligations. Our new online checking service will also turn up the pressure on those who wish to live and work here illegally. The message is clear - the UK is no longer a soft touch for illegal workers.”
Andrew Large, chief executive of the CSSA, said: “This is definitely a positive signal from the UK Border Agency and it shows that they are interested in offering better support for businesses. The CSSA has long argued that government policy towards migrant workers places too much responsibility on employers and not enough on the UK Borders Agency, with the increasing complexity of forgeries making it very difficult for companies to ensure that they always obey the law. In addition to this, the heavy fines in place for companies that employ illegal workers, even unknowingly, are a serious operational hazard for companies during difficult economic times. An online tool that could help cleaning contractors only employ workers who have the right to work in the UK will be warmly welcomed by the cleaning industry.”
www.cleaningindustry.org
Hat trick at People into Action awards
OCS employees have been awarded for their efforts in three Land Securities contracts by the commercial property company’s ‘People into Action’ initiative.
The scheme is designed to reward those people who go above and beyond the call of duty. OCS staff all received quarterly awards, including: Kathleen Healy from Leeds Shopping Plaza in the ‘excellence’ category for her work in improving cleaning standards at the centre; Keith Arnold from St David’s shopping centre in Cardiff for helping to prevent a fatality; and the OCS security team at Bon Accord St Nicholas shopping centre in Aberdeen for its consistent hard work. This included clearing up following a flood, helping to prevent a member of the public from choking, and responding to a potential terror threat.
All the winners, who were nominated by Land Securities staff, are eligible for an annual prize which will be presented at a ceremony in February 2012. Eddie Ratcliffe, operations director for OCS, said: “It is great to see that our employees have such a strong relationship with our client and really satisfying to see them doing such a good job. Well done to all involved.”
www.ocs.co.uk
New training centre for Scotland
Scottish janitorial supplier, Unico, has recently opened a new BICSc approved onsite training centre. The centre allows Unico to offer a proven professional standard of training via a combination of education, demonstration and practical hands on experience.
The new centre will offer BICSc tailored training for the COPC (Cleaning Operative proficiency Certificate) and TTT (Train the Trainers). The facility includes a fully functional training environment, working sinks and toilets, a full range of cleaning equipment and a dedicated educational area.
Toucan-Eco wins award
Toucan Eco has scooped the British Toilet Association 2011 Innovation Award for the ‘best new product’. This follows its successful launch in March this year where it won the Innovation Award for ‘best eco/green product’ at The Cleaning Show in Birmingham.
Toucan Eco fluid can be successfully used in toilets as both a disinfectant and cleaner. It is effective on all hard surfaces including glass, tiles, mirrors and porcelain. The Toucan Eco system has gained recognition as a cost effective and ecological way of producing a combined cleaner and disinfectant. Using only tap water and salt, the device uses electrochemical activation (ECA) to produce a highly effective environmentally friendly substitute for many commonly used chemicals. The Toucan fluid is produced on the spot, saving time and money.
Day cleaning risks are minimised as the fluid is harmless to people but effective against a whole range of bacteria and viruses. The disinfection properties have been verified to EN 1276 standard and the cleaner has a mild degreasing effect which is excellent for a wide range of modern surfaces.
Toucan Eco is produced by Centrego. Along with an extensive range of other ECA devices, it can already be found in around 20 countries and can be bought direct in the UK or via distributors here and overseas.
Oliver Weisflog, director at Centrego, said: “It’s great to have these amazing devices’ unique capabilities recognised so quickly since their launch. It is changing the way the industry is looking at cleaning products.”
www.centregoltd.com
