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UK workers ‘worried sick’
One in five Brits never considers taking a day off sick even when they’re genuinely ill, according to new research released by SCA, one of the world’s leading hygiene companies.
A fifth of workers (19%) say taking time off to recuperate is not an option, citing colleague and managers reactions as concerns. This is in spite of recent pandemics that have led to around one in three workers saying they are more aware of hygiene issues at work than ever before.
The survey also revealed that 64% of Brits believe ill colleagues should stay at home to stop germs spreading but they are clearly not practicing what they preach. Even those who are genuinely unwell are worried about sounding nervous on the phone (26%) when they call in, or the heavy workload they have waiting for them (32%) when they return.
But battling in when poorly can make things worse, with one in ten believing that their workplace hygiene contributes directly to ill- health. Hotspots for germs include our computer keyboard which came out as the highest percentage in terms of office equipment considered to be unhygienic. A shocking 17% of workers admit to never cleaning their keyboard and a 20% never clean their mouse!
Rolf Anderson, senior hygiene advisor at SCA, said: “Both employers and employees must act responsibly to curb the spreading of conditions such as the common cold, stomach flu and influenza in the workplace. Employers should provide well-equipped washrooms with access to anti- bacterial soap and single-use paper towels. It is also important that employees show respect for their colleagues and stay home from work when they are sick - this would benefit both parties from both a health and a financial perspective.”
Employment expert John Lees said: “People worry about phoning in sick as they feel it can be misinterpreted as a lack of loyalty of commitment to the job. It is important however, that when employees really are sick, that they consider the effects coming into the office could have on other staff members and ultimately their employer, by spreading germs amongst the workforce.”
The research, which was undertaken to support the SCA 2010 ‘Hygiene Matters’ report, also found that only one in five workplaces are providing their workers with basics such as antibacterial wipes. SCA’s 2010 ‘Hygiene Matters’ report comprises more detailed research into worldwide cleanliness and hygiene with a focus on nine countries including the UK. It was commissioned to provide a greater understanding of personal hygiene attitudes and behaviours worldwide, and follows on from the report published in 2009.
www.hygienematters.com
FWC safety accreditation for Advanced Cleaning Services
Advanced Cleaning Services, based near Newmarket, Suffolk has achieved accreditation following the FWC’s IOSH Cleaning Windows Safely course. ACS’s window cleaning manager, Simon Higgins, attended and successfully completed the training course earlier this year.
Chris Broadley, managing director of ACS, said: “With window cleaning standards and health and safety improving we have to be ahead of the game in providing a safe and professional service to our clients. We understand the importance of releasing staff for formal training, but time, staff availability and budgetary constraints can sometimes overshadow just how important this type of training is. We are, however, committed to supporting our staff and realising the importance of employee training and safety.”
Dedicated to developing best practices in the cleaning industry, the FWC has been the professional employers trade association for window
cleaners for over 60 years, and its aims include to:
• Increase public awareness of the need for high standards of safety.
• Encourage members in attaining health & safety training & education.
The FWC, in conjunction with IOSH, has launched it’s newly accredited one-day Health & Safety Course covering the use of waterfed poles and
portable ladders. With the aid of external support, the FWC has created a no-nonsense, hands-on, practical and theory-based course
covering health & safety legislation, risk assessments, safe systems of work and the use of waterfed poles and portable ladders.
This course has been written by experienced window cleaners and will provide an externally recognised qualification, accepted by employees,
clients and health & safety professionals.
Broadley continued: “The course is a must for our window cleaning professionals and will provide our staff with the ability to work safely and in line with The Work at Height Regulations 2005, which apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. The regulations include a hierarchy for
managing and selecting equipment for work at height, and state: Avoid work at height where possible; Use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height; and Where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur. The FWC’s IOSH ‘Cleaning Windows Safely’ accreditation provides ACS with a professional image, improved business opportunities, lower insurance costs, but most importantly it gives us peace of mind that our staff are working inline with health & safety regulations.”
www.advancedcleaningservices.co.uk
SCA’s latest Sustainability Report published
SCA has exceeded one of its ambitious sustainability targets a year early and taken new steps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. These were among the highlights of the company’s 2009 Sustainability Report, published recently.
SCA has pledged to achieve a 15% reduction in water consumption and a 30% reduction in its organic wastewater content by 2010, using 2005 as a base year. By the end of 2009 water consumption had decreased by 4.9% while organic content of wastewater had reduced by a massive 40% – exceeding the company’s target by 25% a year earlier than expected.
SCA’s approach to sustainability involves being prepared to rethink deep-rooted beliefs and methods of approach according to the company’s president and CEO Jan Johansson. “For example, are we using the appropriate technology?” he said. “How can we minimise the products’ environmental impact? Can we find new ways to distribute our goods? The company’s holistic approach to sustainability is paying off. The year 2009 has been a difficult period distinguished by the recession and financial crisis. In this harsh competitive environment, SCA has secured more customers and contracts through our pronounced and transparent sustainability strategy. Young coworkers choose to work at SCA for the same reasons.”
The 2009 Sustainability Report also revealed a 2.2% reduction in carbon emissions. However, SCA has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2020 using 2005 as a base year.
A number of plans are underway to further reduce CO2 emissions. SCA Tissue Europe is actively working with energy efficiency in the common SCA network E-save. A total of 500 E-save projects have eliminated 72,000 tons of CO2 and saved 340 GWh of electric consumption annually since 2002.
A future example for SCA is the Swedish wind power project in collaboration with Norwegian Statkraft which will involve the building of 455 wind turbines in six wind power parks and is expected to generate 2.4 TWh of electricity every year.
SCA was one of the pioneers of reporting transparency and has published annual reports on the environment and sustainability since 1998. The organisation recently appeared in the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations list for the sixth year running.
SCA’s Sustainability Report 2008 can be downloaded from the Tork website at www.tork.co.uk.
Revamped Tork website
The Tork UK website of hygiene company SCA Tissue Europe has been revamped to give it a fresh new look and make it easier to navigate for the end-user. The website now features the company’s new branding and takes a more modern approach to hygiene on the web.
The www.tork.co.uk website, which showcases the entire Tork washroom and workplace hygiene product range, now enables the visitor to view Tork products by category, business, sector or quality level. This means that a food and beverage company seeking to equip its washrooms with paper hand towels can go to the ‘washroom’, ‘hand towels’, ‘food and beverage’ or ‘food service’ section of the ‘products’ page and cross-reference the products they need.
The ‘My Solutions’ tab then enables customers to choose the products they require and send a complete washroom or workplace ‘solution’ to a distributor in the form of a pdf. Customers can also find their nearest distributor and pinpoint their location on a Google map.
The ‘About us’ section of the site features a short film of Tork Elevation designer Thomas Meyerhoffer, explaining the rationale behind the design of the award-winning products.
Other features include a wider selection of images and printed material available for download in the ‘Media Bank’, and a full list of the latest Tork news and sustainability achievements in the site’s ‘Newsroom’.
“The new Tork website takes our Internet offering to a new level,” said SCA Tissue Europe’s marketing communications coordinator Jamie Wright. “By building a more modern platform for our web-based communications we open up a wide range of possibilities for forging even closer customer links in the future.”
The site also includes details of how to sign up to the monthly Tork newsletter which provides all the latest product launches and company awards and accolades.
www.tork.co.uk
Emprise Services acquires Clarity
Emprise Services plc has purchased Clarity, a niche cleaning company delivering diamond floor polishing and construction cleans in addition to daily cleans in the education sector.
Emprise makes this further strategic acquisition to consolidate a long term prior relationship with this specialist cleaning company. Clarity is based in Norfolk and generates half of its revenue in cleaning within the local education sector. The balance of revenue is delivered through specialist cleaning to the retail and construction sectors.
The education sector component of Clarity’s business will be integrated into Emprise’s Corporate and Commercial division to complement its portfolio of existing contracts in Norfolk. The diamond floor polishing and construction cleaning work will be delivered through a new sub-division of Emprise’s retail and key accounts division. This ‘Specialist Services’ sub-division will provide company- wide specialist support including builders cleans, diamond floor polishing and kitchen deep cleans in addition to other niche cleaning product areas. The acquisition of Clarity provides Emprise with the opportunity to increase the breadth of its self-delivered specialist services offering.
Craig McGilvray, CEO of Emprise, said: “The acquisition of Clarity is a good strategic development for Emprise. This further acquisition, which expands our specialist capability, is supporting two of our key strategic objectives by increasing the scale of our provision and self delivering services which meet the needs of our customers.”
www.emprisegroup.co.uk
Ionic’s Swift Pole wins Windex award
Ionic Systems, manufacturer of the Reach & Wash System, won the innovation award at the Windex exhibition for its new Swift waterfed pole range. The Swift pole, which has been two years in development, was specifically designed to more closely meet the recommendations of the UK Health & Safety Laboratory (HSL) in its report on the ergonomics of pole use. That HSL report recommended that waterfed poles should be as light as possible, as rigid as possible, and with the smallest handle diameter possible. The Swift is claimed to set new standards in all of these areas.
The Swift range is approximately 31% lighter than the Ergolite range, which it will replace. It is also approximately 5mm narrower, making the Swift very comfortable to hold. Many of the benefits of this pole are possible thanks to Ionic's new Transverse clamp system, like the shorter length of the sections.
Ionic's managing director, Reuben Reynolds, said: "The new Swift range is already proving very popular. The new clamps allow the sections to be shorter, lighter and narrower, making the Swift easier to use and easier to stow. A higher grade of carbon fibre was used which meant that the sections could have tighter tolerances. The result is a very stiff pole that is substantially lighter and narrower. Because the pole was developed in line with the HSL recommendations, the risk of strains or even injury is much lower. But the benefits window cleaners will see are faster working times, less effort needed and much greater ease of use. The Transverse clamps are designed to be easy to use by both those who are left and right-handed. They also have a wider clamping area, so that the sections are held more evenly and firmly, making the pole more rigid overall. The smaller size not only reduces the weight, but also allows the pole to be shorter when collapsed."
The Swift pole is currently available in three sizes: 35ft, 45ft and 65ft.
www.ionicsystems.com
