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ISSA golf day swings back into Lincolnshire
Members of the UK cleaning industry converged on Lincolnshire’s Toft Golf Club in early July for a day of bright sunshine and relaxed (but competitive) golf as the ISSA hosted the second golf day for its members.
After the success of last year’s inaugural event, everyone was looking forward to an enjoyable 36 holes of golf. Of the 23-man field, it was Roger Smith who triumphed in the main competition of the day - the individual Stableford - with a score of 38 points. Stuart Berry of Peter Grant Papers took second place while Brakes’ non-food division manager, David Ratcliffe, came in third place.
First place in the morning 9-hole Texas Scramble competition was shared by four players: Tony Markham, Roger Smith, Bob Kenyon and ISSA’s own Keith Baker, all with a score of 26.4. Sharp-shooter of the day was Alan Nottley of Numatic, who won the ‘nearest the pin’ competition, but Tiger Woods should look out for Jimmy Finlay who struck the day’s longest drive.
Keith Baker, ISSA director of EMA services, said: “It was a fantastic day for everyone. The weather was superb and we had an atmosphere to match. It was a relaxed, sociable day for all involved and we are certainly looking forward to next year’s event.”
Anyone interested in playing in the 2011 ISSA golf day should email keith@issa.com or phone Keith Baker on 07747 440468 to register their interest.
Numatic victorious in court
Following a two year legal battle, Numatic announced last month that it has won a high court ruling blocking Qualtex from making copy products.
Judge Christopher Floyd said that Qualtex had threatened to ‘pass off’ Numatic’s long established Henry brand products as their own by producing a replica machine. The ruling, which recognised that the distinctive shape of the Henry range of vacuum cleaners was protectable, guards Numatic from any third parties who wish to copy the famous brand.
Andrew Large, secretary of the Industrial Cleaning Machine Manufacturers Association, said: "This is an important victory for Numatic and it sends the right message to all companies who want to develop and manufacture quality products. Trade mark protection is essential to the survival of manufacturing industries and it is fair and right that it is illegal to pass off someone else’s products as your own.”
Mark Woodhead, chairman of the British Cleaning Council, said: “All manufacturers strive to build trust between themselves and the customer and they should be protected from competitors who may wish to gain an unfair advantage. Numatic is a leading name in our industry and has worked hard for decades to build its famous brand; this ruling will enable the company to continue this work and we wish it well in the future.”
Ionic’s Swift pole becomes best seller
Ionic Systems, manufacturer of the Reach & Wash System, has announced that its new Swift pole has become its fastest selling pole ever.
The Swift range, which comprises carbon-fibre poles reaching 35, 45 and 65 feet, was launched at this year’s WindeX exhibition, where it won the innovation award in the window cleaning category.
Ionic’s managing director, Reuben Reynolds, said: “The Swift pole range represents nearly two years of development by Ionic Systems, and incorporates several innovations that make it the most advanced pole available. After so much hard work, we were very pleased to have won the innovation award. But of course, the true test of any new product is what the users think. It’s unparalleled popularity, which has risen steadily over the last four months, shows clearly that window cleaners have given it their approval.”
Developed using advanced materials engineering, the Swift range features the lightest and most rigid poles Ionic has ever produced. With a close eye on ease of use and speed of working, they are also extremely narrow, making them comfortable to grip for prolonged periods.
The Swift range also incorporates Ionic’s revolutionary transverse clamp system, which further reduces weight and is easier to use than conventional clamps. Crucially though, the use of transverse clamps and nested sections allows the poles to have a very short collapsed length, again making them easier to use, faster to extend and simpler to stow and transport.
“We designed the Swift range to be the most versatile, easy to use and robust waterfed poles available, and I believe that we have achieved this,” continued Reynolds. “As the market leader, customers look to us to continually push the boundaries in developing new products, and I believe that the Swift range are simply the best waterfed poles available today.”
www.ionicsystems.com
BTA Innovation Awards announced
The BTA Innovation Awards are being reintroduced for 2010 and will recognise innovation in three key areas of ‘away from home’ toilet provision: new products, new services and efficiency improvements.
Anyone can nominate a provider or supplier or their own organisation or company by sending an email to enquiries@britloos.co.uk by Friday 20 August. Nominations will include details of why the product, service or efficiency should be awarded a BTA Innovation Award. All nominations will be acknowledged.
A panel comprising members of the BTA management committee will judge each nomination and decide who will gain awards. There may be more than one award in each category, dependent on the number and quality of nominations. The decisions of the judges will be final.
Each award winner will receive a trophy designed specifically for the BTA Innovation Awards and a framed BTA Innovation Award certificate.
The awards will be presented to the winners by a celebrity guest during the BTA annual conference on Wednesday 15 September at the Stratford Hotel, Stratford upon Avon.
"Our annual conference is an opportunity for providers of 'away from home' toilets to network with product and service suppliers, as well as user group representatives, to discuss best practice and hear about fresh ideas which are already working," said Mike Bone, director of BTA. "It also provides an ideal opportunity to recognise the cutting edge of washroom product development and service provision through the presentation of the BTA's annual Innovation Awards."
www.britloos.co.uk
Government cuts threaten NHS staff
Data gathered by the Royal College of Nursing has revealed that some NHS staff may be at risk from government cuts. The union fired the warning just as health trusts cut thousands of jobs as they try to deliver £20 billion of savings, despite the coalition government's earlier guarantees to ring-fence frontline services.
The union says its survey of 100 NHS organisations showed that in the past six months, 9973 posts had been lost through recruitment freezes, redundancies and staff not being replaced when they retire. In more than 25 health trusts there were plans for compulsory redundancies, while several others were closing wards to save money, and some had proposed rebranding jobs to make savings.
Mark Woodhead, chairman of the British Cleaning Council, said: “There seems to be a growing gulf between the coalition government’s pledges to protect patients, and the staffing cuts being forced upon NHS trusts. Time and time again it has been proved that nurses, cleaners and facilities management staff play a key role in keeping our hospitals hygienic, clean and safe; the British Cleaning Council is against any moves that do not reflect their importance.”
www.britishcleaningcouncil.org
Cleaning companies ‘more positive’
Cleaning companies are performing better than they were this time last year, according to new research which monitors the views and performance of employers. The Asset Skills Barometer Survey questioned a total of 94 employers about skills and other issues as part of a rolling six monthly programme.
“The Barometer Survey is a rolling programme that aims to chart the link between skills investment and productivity,” said Richard Beamish, chief executive of Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council for cleaning. “It is a valuable piece of industry research that helps us determine trends in skills training and gives the cleaning industry solid data, facts and figures from which they can draw.”
Cleaning employers were positive about many areas of their business, in particular how effectively they felt they were performing and the current levels of staff morale - both of which were reported to have improved compared with six months ago and this time last year. However, employers also noted that running and recruitment costs had risen.
According to the survey, 18% of companies claim they invested more time in training over the last year, with the same proportion claiming to have invested more money. Evidence suggests that further training may be needed in future - 27% of employers said they planned to move into new areas of activity in the next year and 36% claimed that current staff did not have the skills required to undertake the new activities that they would need.
Despite the rise in staff morale that was reported in the last six months, employers still highlighted issues around staff as one of their most pressing concerns. Motivating employees, attracting skilled staff into the sector and retaining experienced members of the workforce were highlighted as some of the challenges that companies were currently dealing with.
While the economy was not cited as a challenge by employers as frequently as it was six months ago, it remained a concern. A large proportion of firms (78%) said they planned to expand over the next three years, and a number of employers noted that the economy could potentially restrict their ability to do this.
A fifth of respondents felt that the skills levels of recruits has increased over the last six months, with 61% reporting that new employees are either fully equipped or have most of the skills that they require for the job. However, 17% of employers felt that new staff had none or few of the skills that they needed.
The latest Barometer Survey is available to view at www.assetskills.org/Research/Projects/Barometer_Questionnaire.aspx
