September 2015

The pan-European magazine for the professional cleaning sector

SEPTEMBER 2015

MARKETING

SPECIAL REPORT

SURVEY

Preview of CMS Berlin exhibition Starts page 55

Using social media

The science of scent

Impact of daytime cleaning

Page 34

Page 29

Page 78

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CONTENTS

September 2015 | Vol.23, No.4

SPECIAL REPORTS

COVER STORY 26 Kärcher

29 The smell of success

A range of new products

A look at the science behind air fresheners and how scent can affect mood.

BUSINESS 65 Doing the right thing...

Hartley Milner looks at the fragile relationship between business and ethics.

34 Understanding social media How can you best use social media to benefit your business?

39 Machines versus mops In these highly mechanised times, do mops still have a place?

51 Competing with the big boys How business intelligence can help small businesses improve performance.

55 CMS Berlin preview

03 News

ECJ’s look ahead to the German cleaning exhibition begins here.

69 A good spot

18 European reports

Ann Laffeaty examines the mechanics of spot cleaning on carpets.

78 Impact on office staff

87 New product review

An SCA survey on the effect of daytime cleaning on workplace personnel.

80 Appearance matters How important is the appearance of an entrance matting system?

84 Staying compliant An update on REACH substance identity and checking processes.

Criterion Publishing Ltd PO Box 299, Chesham, Buckinghamshire HP5 1FP UK T +44 (0)1494 791222 F +44 (0)1494 792223 info@europeancleaningjournal.com www. europeancleaningjournal.com Subscriptions UK - £60 / Continental Europe - £70 / International - £80

Editor Michelle Marshall Features Writer Ann Laffeaty Advertisement Director Chris Godman Advertisement Sales Carole Dawson Circulation Marie Payne

Italy, Spain & Switzerland Fabio Potesta Mediapoint & Communications Corte Lambruschini, Corso Buenos Aires, 8 V0 Piano, Interno 7 16129 Genova, Italy T +39 010 570 4948 F +39 010 553 0088 info@mediapointsrl.it www. mediapointsrl.it

European Cleaning Journal is published six times a year by Criterion Publishing Ltd. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in European Cleaning, Criterion Publishing Ltd and its agents can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors, manufacturers or advertisers. Copyright for all material published in European Cleaning remains with Criterion Publishing Ltd and its agents.

Germany Reinhard Knittler Knittler Medien, Mittlerer Hubweg 5, D-72227 Egenhausen, Germany T +49 7453/9385 787 F +49 7453/9385 797 info@knittler.de www.knittler.de ISSN 0968-901X ©Criterion Publishing 2015

NEWS & EVENTS

Latest News & Events from ECJ

Taxpayers footing the bill for dirty Irish hospitals, says patient group Basic commodities like soap are still not being provided in toilets in all public hospitals in Ireland, according to a patients’ group there. Janette Byrne of lobby organisation Patients Together said this was still the unfortunate reality at a time when millions are being spent on hospital cleaning services.

Figures released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act show at least €68 million was spent on cleaning the majority of the State’s public hospitals last year. The figures come as the Health Service Executive (HSE) has engaged outside consultants to conduct an audit of cleanliness in hospitals across the country.

The firm is carrying out unannounced inspections and will report to the HSE.

cleaning. He claimed most of the increase would have gone on wage rises.

“It is only when we deal properly with the problem of cleanliness and hygiene and infection control in our hospitals that we will see huge increases in hospital cleaning budgets,” he said.

Situation unsatisfactory However he stressed that €68 million was a lot of money to have been spent on cleaning if hospitals were still not clean.

“Most people have experience of going into hotels and pubs and seeing details of when

Increase in budgets The figures for amounts allocated to hospital cleaning in 2013 and 2014 indicate that despite suspicions cleaning budgets had been cut by hospitals to fund other services, this does not appear to be the case. They show cleaning budgets in many main hospitals increased dramatically last year.

Byrne said there was absolutely no excuse for hospitals not being clean when taxpayers were paying “top dollar” for cleaning services.

However she said cleaning staff claimed it was impossible to keep some departments such as A&E units clean because of overcrowding.

Fine Gael health spokesman Dr Liam Twomey said the fact the cumulative cleaning budgets for more than 30 hospitals were up more than €5.8 million last year did not mean more was spent on

Register now for your free monthly email newsletter from ECJ. Remember to bookmark the ECJ website and don’t miss our regular blogs - including Dr Ilham Kadri from Diversey Care, Rob den Hertog of Amsterdam RAI, Mike Sullivan of GOJO, EUnited’s Markus Asch and Vectair’s Paul Wonnacott www.europeancleaningjournal.com

areas were last cleaned and by whom. We should have that also in our hospitals,” he said.

Labour health spokeswoman Liz McManus said a lot of money was being spent by hospitals on cleaning, yet the situation was not at all satisfactory.

“It does raise a very specific issue about the privatisation of services - there are questions around whether it’s the most appropriate way to clean our hospitals,” she said. ”Hygiene issues will arise when hospitals are so busy, no matter what their cleaning budgets are.”

Des produits aussi basiques que le savon ne sont toujours pas déployés dans des toilettes de certains hôpitaux irlandais, s’est plaint un groupe de patients dans ce pays.

EVENTS September 22-25

January 17-23 2016

CMS

Cleaning Technology Week

Berlin, Germany www.cms-berlin.com

Mumbai, India www.ctwindia.com

October 15

January 21-23 2016

UK Fragrance Forum

Clean India Pulire

London, UK www.ifrauk.org

Mumbai, India www.cleanindiapulire.com

October 20-21

May 10-13 2016

Ausclean Pulire

ISSA/Interclean Amsterdam

Queensland, Australia www.auscleanpulire.com

Amsterdam, Netherlands www.issainterclean.com

October 20-22

May 19-20 2016

Clean Expo Moscow

Clean NZ

Moscow, Russia www.cleanexpo-moscow.ru

Auckland, New Zealand www.cleannzexpo.co.nz

October 20-23

October 25-28 2016

ISSA/Interclean North America

ISSA/Interclean North America

Las Vegas, USA www.issainterclean.com

Chicago, USA www.issainterclean.com

October 27-29

March 14-16 2017

Hygienalia+Pulire

The Cleaning Show

Madrid, Spain www.hygienalia-pulire.com

London, UK www.cleaningshow.co.uk

November 2-4

September 11-14 2017

Clean Middle East Pulire

ISSA/Interclean North America

Dubai, UAE www.cmepexpo.com

Las Vegas, USA www.issainterclean.com

November 25-27

October 2-5 2018

Clean Expo Japan/Toilet Tokyo

ISSA/Interclean North America

Tokyo, Japan www.jma.or.jp/clean/en

Orlando, USA www.issainterclean.com

To have your event included in Events, contact ECJ via email at: michelle@europeancleaningjournal.com

Bedarfsgüter wie Seife werden noch immer nicht in Toiletten in allen öffentlichen Krankenhäusern in Irland bereitgestellt, teilt eine Patientengruppe vor Ort mit.

In Irlanda, a quanto afferma un gruppo di pazienti, i generi base di comodità tipo il sapone ancora non vengono forniti nei bagni di tutti gli ospedali pubblici.

September 2015 | ECJ | 3

NEWS Eco-friendly cleaning spurs growth in ingredients market The market for ingredients in professional cleaning solutions has significant and sustainable growth potential, according to the latest Ingredients for Household, Industrial, and Institutional Cleaning Applications report from market research and management consulting firm Kline. In fact some country markets are experiencing double-digit growth rates during the forecast period from 2014-2019.

While mature markets like Europe and the United States represent a large portion of the total market sales, accounting for over $11 billion (€9.8 billion), developing markets - particularly China - are gaining market share.

The Southeast Asia market is

expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 4.7 per cent through to 2019. India is forecast to post the strongest growth of almost 13 per cent.

The household sector does dominate in all regions however in mature markets such as the US and Europe the industrial and institutional (I&I) segment has a relatively higher share compared to other regions.

Laundry care formulations lead the way in terms of ingredients consumption followed by hard surface cleaners and dishwash applications.

“I&I is more price sensitive than household segment and therefore formulators in this segment are reluctant to use

Le marché des ingrédients de solutions pour la propreté professionnelle présente de bonnes perspectives de croissance viable, indiquent de récents travaux de recherche.

September 2015 | ECJ | 4

expensive ingredients like enzymes and fragrances,” comments Kunal Mahajan, project manager for chemicals and energy at Kline.

A growing demand for more eco-friendly products is also evident. Kline says as the market continues to focus on high efficacy, milder, and eco-friendly products, sales of products such as enzymes, alkyl polyglucosides and others will continue to grow.

Enzymes are expected to take advantage of the move towards

ingredients with higher biodegradability, but also towards ingredients providing a better performance to cleaning products.

This means the enzymes market is expected to grow almost twice as fast as the market average, at 7.3 per cent.

In Europe and the United States, consumption of enzymes is additionally boosted as their penetration increases in the I&I segment during the forecast period from 2014-2019.

Register now for your free monthly email newsletter from ECJ. Simply send your email address to michelle@ europeancleaningjournal.com

Der Markt für Inhaltsstoffe in professionellen Reinigungslösungen zeigt ein beträchtliches und nachhaltiges Wachstumspotenzial. Dies geht aus einer aktuellen Studie hervor.

Da una recente ricerca emerge che il mercato degli ingredienti per i detergenti chimici professionali ha un potenziale di crescita significativo e sostenibile.

Consume too much solution?

IPC launches unequalled Advanced Productivity Control™: exact water quantity, execution time and remaining washable square metres at your fingertips.

SCRUBBER DRIER

CT-80 Revolutionize your floor cleaning.

Increase up to 100% your productivity Advanced Productivity Control™ Eco Select for a long battery autonomy

Silent, compact and manoeuvrable Less than 62 dB 16% Climbing Angle

Long lasting Double Battery Life Memory Card for an easy service

Visit us at CMS in Berlin 22/25 September, 2015 Hall 1.2, Stand 111 www.ipcleaning.com

NEWS Rental association promotes sustainability The European Rental Association (ERA) has outlined its plan to promote the sustainability of rental, focusing on engagement with EU policy makers and highlighting opportunities for small and midsized rental companies.

The association argues that equipment rental offers enormous benefits for sustainability, including higher efficiency through the intensive use of modern, rented equipment with high quality maintenance, and the buying power of rental companies, which makes them well-placed to discuss sustainable design with original equipment manufacturers.

ERA’s Sustainability Committee

plans to focus its work on two areas over the coming year. First, to highlight the opportunities in sustainability to smaller rental companies, working with national equipment rental industry associations. Second, it aims to increase engagement with EU policy makers around relevant areas of legislation and highlight the benefits of the industry.

Highlight benefits Michel Petitjean, secretary general of ERA, speaking at the association’s annual convention in Rome, said: “Sustainability is a real opportunity for our industry. It can play a vital role in helping customers operate more efficiently, with better

•L’Association européenne des loueurs (ERA) prévoit de promouvoir la durabilité des équipements de location.

• L’association professionnelle mondiale ISSA a nommée un nouveau directeur exécutif en la personne de John Barrett, qui remplace John Garfinkel.

ISSA director

environmental performance, and improved health and safety measures. It is vital that rental companies and their customers see this potential, both as a business opportunity and to help wider society.

“However we need to take practical steps to help rental companies do so, especially smaller ones. We also need to ensure that policy makers grappling with economic and environmental issues see the potential of our industry to support growth, increase efficiency and increase sustainability at the same time.

These benefits of our work have not in the past received the recognition they deserve.” www.erarental.org

•Die European Rental Assocation (ERA) plant, die Nachhaltigkeit beim Geräteverleih zu fördern.

• Der globale Industrieverband ISSA hat einen neuen Executive Director als Ersatz für John Garfinkel ernannt. Er heißt John Barrett.

Global cleaning industry association ISSA - which has its headquarters in the US - has appointed a new executive director to replace John Garfinkel, who has led the organisation for the past 25 years. He is John Barrett, who has worked in senior positions in a number of leading companies.

Garfinkel will work in a consultative capacity throughout 2016 in order to facilitate a smooth transition, says ISSA. “Serving the association these last 25 years has been the highest honour and most rewarding experience in my 50 years within the cleaning industry,” said Garfinkel after the announcement. www.issa.com

• L’associazione europea European Rental Assocation (ERA) sta pianificando di promuovere la sostenibilità delle attrezzature a noleggio.

• L’associazione mondiale ISSA ha nominato John Barrett direttore esecutivo per sostituire John Garfinkel.

Can your machine read a clock?

IPC launches unequalled Advanced Productivity Control™: exact water quantity, execution time and remaining washable square metres at your fingertips.

SCRUBBER DRIER

CT-80 Revolutionize your floor cleaning.

Increase up to 100% your productivity Advanced Productivity Control™ Eco Select for a long battery autonomy

Silent, compact and manoeuvrable Less than 62 dB 16% Climbing Angle

Long lasting Double Battery Life Memory Card for an easy service

Visit us at CMS in Berlin 22/25 September, 2015 Hall 1.2, Stand 111 www.ipcleaning.com

NEWS Workplace culture impact on hand hygiene

Paper sale

Better access to hand hygiene facilities and more hand washing ‘cues’ could help to improve hand hygiene in healthcare, according to researchers.

And increased knowledge about hand hygiene procedures plus a good example set by senior staff could also make a difference.

A team in Ireland examined various worldwide studies into hand hygiene to ascertain a list of reasons for poor compliance in hospitals. According to lead researcher Maura Smiddy, motivational factors for hand washing include social influences and self-protection.

The shareholders of Northwood Paper Sales and its associated companies have acquired the issued share capital of Disposables UK, best known for manufacturing and distributing ranges such as Bay West, Optimum Professional, and Optimum ProWipers in the UK. Commenting on the sale David Burkill, managing director of Disposables UK said: “This is the next stage in our development.

In Northwood we have found a buyer that suits our business, with whom we already have a strong relationship and which is a family-run business with a similar approach.”

Paul Fecher, chairman of Northwood added: “The activities of Disposables UK and Northwood Hygiene Products are complementary to each other and enhance the coverage of the whole away-from-home product range available to the market from the new unified supply source.

“With the range of Bay West, Optimum Professional, and Optimum ProWipers joining Leonardo, Essentials, Whisper and Perform we have system as well as commodity solutions and the right products available for the full requirements of the hygiene sector.”

Personal risk Healthcare workers were found to follow hand hygiene protocol more closely when there was a personal risk involved, such as when they were handling bodily fluids or treating a patient with MRSA, for example.

Junior medical staff and medical and nursing students also tended to follow the example of senior physicians when it came to hand hygiene.

And hand hygiene ‘cues’ such as the provision of hand sanitiser dispensers had a positive impact on compliance,

the researchers noted.

However healthcare professionals were less likely to wash their hands in lifethreatening situations for fear of delaying their response to an urgent call for treatment.

“Information regarding compliance was considered beneficial in several of the studies,” said the researchers. “Auditing was seen as an effective tool to encourage and monitor hand hygiene

• Selon une étude, en améliorant l’accès aux installations de lavage des mains et en déployant une signalétique à ce sujet, on pourrait améliorer l’hygiène des mains dans le secteur de la santé.

• Au Royaume-Uni, Disposables UK a été reprise par Northwood Paper Sales.

September 2015 | ECJ | 8

compliance - and being informed about audit results was important to healthcare workers.”

Improved knowledge of hand hygiene procedures and convenient access to supplies at point of care were also linked to compliance. “Understaffing is linked to suboptimal hand hygiene compliance and an increase in healthcareassociated infections,” it was claimed in the study.

•Besserer Zugang zu Handhygieneeinrichtungen und häufigere Hinweise auf Händewaschen könnten dabei helfen, die Handhygiene im Gesundheitswesen zu verbessern, teilen Forscher mit.

• Das britische Unternehmen Disposables UK wurde von Northwood Paper Sales erworben.

• Un miglior accesso ai servizi di igiene della mani e maggiori suggerimenti sul lavaggio delle mani potrebbe aiutare a migliorarne l’igiene nel settore sanitario, come affermano i ricercatori.

• Nel Regno Unito, la Disposables UK è stata acquisita dalla Northwood Paper Sales.

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NEWS EXTRA Technology - the key to better service and adding value for cleaning firms Benoit Maerten is managing director of Temco Facility Services Europe in Belgium – one of the largest service providers in the country.

Having joined the company as a newcomer to the sector in 2011, and with a background in management systems, he quickly saw ways in which to make the business smarter and more efficient.

Having come to the cleaning sector from a background in financial management and software solutions, Benoit Maerten very quickly observed significant developments that could be made in this area when he joined Temco Facility Services. Now, as its managing director, he has implemented core system changes that have brought very real benefits to his staff and clients alike.

What were Maerten’s initial observations on entering the cleaning sector? “My first thoughts were that we were a time-consuming and labourintensive industry in terms of the back office systems being employed. Therefore my first objective was to implement more efficient systems.”

This constituted replacing traditional paper functions such as accounting, invoicing and payroll with computerised solutions. Managers were then issued with tablets to enable them to work more effectively off-site, and access all information on their clients.

“Now we are fully integrated, internally and from the point of view of what the client sees,” he explains.

Clients now use an e-platform to tailor Temco’s services more closely to their needs. Planning of visits by Temco area managers is also in the platform, alongside all operational details about the site, the specification, etc.

“This means another member of staff can take over on an

account if necessary, with no hassle for the client,” continues Maerten. “Any member of Temco management has access to all details about that contract.

And clients can access all information about their job online - with confirmation of all tasks carried out - without the use of any paper.”

As far as Maerten is concerned, the implementation of such efficient operating systems enables Temco to serve its clients much better. “I seek to exceed customer expectations,” he explains. “Cleaning companies in general are often operating in a defensive mode, waiting for complaints and then explaining why things go wrong.

“I believe good customer care and communication is generally lacking in the industry. In the past the customer was not so interested in how problems were solved, how the whole cleaning operation happened, but now they want to be involved and they expect us to be much more transparent and communicative. They expect to see complaints and other issues recorded, and how they have been followed up.”

Solutions partner For Maerten the objective for cleaning service providers is clear. “We must be a solutions partner. The truth is that cleaning is not a service clients like very much, it’s a commodity.

Staff working in a building just want the cleaning to be cleaned without them having to be involved, and the FM manager is ultimately responsible for ensuring that happens. For his part, the FM manager simply wants issues to be resolved and the staff within the building to be content.

“At the moment cleaning companies are just not responding fast enough, and with sufficient transparency.”

He continues: “In my opinion cleaning companies do have

L’administrateur délégué de l’entreprise de propreté Temco, Benoit Maerten, estime que l’attention au client et la communication doivent s’améliorer dans le secteur.

a customer service mentality but not a customer service communication mentality. When problems arise our clients now want to know about the process of solving them. But many companies are unwilling to share such a lot of information with their clients - there is just no longer any place for secrecy.

“The industry as a whole is reluctant and resistant to change in my view but there is no avoiding the fact we must all be more transparent.”

Maerten explains that through the implementation of IT systems his area managers now have more time for the cleaners and for the company’s customers. “We have put more focus on regional managers, area managers and those responsible for looking after the cleaners themselves. They can be out on the road more, offering support and training where necessary.”

How was the new way of working received by the Temco managers? At first they hesitated about it, but now they are very open to it because they can see the very obvious benefits it brings. “For example, they can do customer reports while they are at the client’s premises so the amount of admin they have to do has decreased dramatically.

The time-saving efficiencies are clear.”

By implementing its new

Benoit Maerten, Geschäftsführer beim Reinigungsunternehmen Temco, ist der Meinung, dass innerhalb der Branche bessere Kundenpflege und -kommunikation erforderlich ist.

system Temco is in effect forcing its managers to be more in touch with clients, and that has attracted a very positive response from the clients. “We decide with them what level of information and service they want right from the beginning.

And what has been agreed must be carried out – there is no cheating. We have found our clients now feel they have a supplier who is a real partner.

Trust of clients “Another interesting consequence of operating in this way is that we have many more discussions with clients about other services we may be able to deliver than we did in the past.”

Maerten is now confident Temco is a more professional organisation, operating to European standards. “The client’s trust has always been an issue for the cleaning industry traditionally but our new levels of transparency bring that trust which is a fundamental issue.”

“Cleaning is cleaning after all – we can make the difference in the management and the tools we offer to customers. So many cleaning companies are not delivering cleaning as a service organisation, they are not adding value. The actual cleaning service is a given – what we must ask ourselves as cleaning companies is where we offer added value for our customers.”

Benoit Maerten, il direttore generale dell’impresa di pulizie Temco, crede che ci sia la necessità di servizi assistenza clienti e comunicazioni migliori nel settore del cleaning.

September 2015 | ECJ | 11

NEWS India cleaning technology week

CMS Purus Awards finalists

January 2016 sees the hosting of Cleaning Technology Week in Mumbai, India. This week-long programme of exhibitions and other events is being staged by the organisers of Clean India Pulire and takes place from January 17-23.

The highlight of the week is the hosting of five exhibitions Clean India Pulire, Car Care Expo, IFS Expo, Waste Technology India Expo and Laundrex India.

These are expected to attract over 15,000 visitors. Clean India Pulire will have 200 exhibitors from 20 countries.

Cleaning Technology Week begins with roadshows from January 17-19 in different Indian cities. There will be live

The judging panel of this year’s CMS Purus Awards, which will be presented during the CMS cleaning exhibition in Berlin this September, has selected its shortlist of 15 finalists.

More than 60 entries were received this year, over five categories. The finalists are: Machinery: Kärcher, MC 130 Adv suction sweeper; Fimap, Genie XS scrubber dryer; Nilfisk, VP600 commercial vacuum cleaner; Schneidereit, EasyMopp washing machine; SEBO Stein & Co, SEBO 350 Evolution upright vacuum.

Equipment: Diversey Care, Smart Mix Pro dispensing system; Hollu Systemhygiene, HolluQUID liquid washing

demonstrations of mechanised cleaning and implementation of hygiene solutions at strategic locations, including malls, schools, hospitals and other public places.

The roadshows will involve NGOs and government departments as well as the cleaning industry.

And on January 20 the IFM Summit will focus on the importance of infrastructure and facilities management to companies’ business strategy bringing together international and national experts.

The Clean India Awards will be presented at a gala ceremony in Mumbai on January 22. www.ctwindia.com

• Au cours de janvier 2016 se tiendra, en Inde, la Semaine de la technologie de la propreté.

• Les juges des Prix Purus de cette année, qui seront décernés lors du salon de la propreté CMS à Berlin en septembre, ont sélectionné 15 finalistes.

• Im Januar 2016 findet die Cleaning Technology Week in Indien statt.

• Die Preisrichter der diesjährigen Purus Awards, die im Rahmen der Reinigungsmesse CMS in Berlin im September verliehen werden, haben die 15 Finalisten ausgewählt.

system: Tana Chemie, SMARTSystem dispensing and safety system; Unger, nLite HydroPower deionisation filter; Vileda Professional, UltraSpeed Pro wet flat mopping system.

Washroom Hygiene: CWSboco, Paradise Air Bar fragrance dispenser; SCA Hygiene Products, Tork Image Design dispenser range.

Management Systems and Software: IGEFA Handelsgesellschaft, icosSystemfamilie ordering and information system; Johannes Kiehl, KIEHL-App product information app.

Brand Communication: Kärcher, restorative cleaning of Aachen cathedral.

• A gennaio 2016 si terrà l’evento Cleaning Technology Week in India.

• I giudici del concorso Purus Awards di quest’anno, che avrà luogo durante l’esibizione del cleaning CMS che si terrà a Berlino in settembre, hanno selezionato i 15 finalisti.

NEWS Industrial wipes market in US enjoys five per cent growth Hospitals, schools and universities are spearheading a rise in sales of disinfectant and sanitiser wipes in the US. The market grew by five per cent in 2014 according to a report by market research firm Kline. The highest growth in US hand sanitiser sales took place in schools and universities with primary schools being particularly heavy users. However, the healthcare sector remained the leading segment.

Fitness facilities experienced the highest growth in usage of sanitising wipes. There was also a significant increase in the use of general purpose wipes in industrial environments for cleaning away substances such

as grease and oil.

The report revealed that the recently-modified EPA wiper rule was helping to expand wiper sales. Reusable laundered cloths and solvent-contaminated disposable wipes are now subject to the same regulations as sanitising wipes, and this is expected to lead to increased sales according to Kline.

Little brand loyalty But customers show little brand loyalty. Fewer than a third of survey respondents said brand name was an important purchase factor, while more than half said they would simply choose an alternate brand of wipes if their distributor stopped carrying their brand.

Aux États-Unis, des hôpitaux, écoles et universités sont à l’origine d’une forte montée des ventes de désinfectants et de lingettes désinfectantes.

“End users utilise cleaning wipes for multiple reasons but disinfecting and sanitising surfaces are key functions,” said Laura Mahecha from Kline.

Germs at bay “Concern with maintaining clean facilities and keeping germs and bacteria at bay

is high across all segments.

Convenience, saving time and safety of workers are other important purchase factors when buying wipes.

“However, end-users also voice some concerns about the cost of wipes compared to traditional cleaning products.” www.klinegroup.com

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Krankenhäuser, Schulen und Universitäten haben eine Vorreiterrolle beim zunehmenden Verkauf von Desinfektionsmitteln und Desinfektionswischtüchern in den USA.

Ospedali, scuole e università capeggiano l’aumento delle vendite di disinfettanti e salviette sanitizzanti negli Stati Uniti d’America.

GO FURTHER With Pacvac’s back pack vacuum cleaners

Designed in Australia for cleaners of the world. www.pacvac.com

NEWS EXTRA More evidence needed to identify best hospital cleaning methods Concerns about Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) have certainly highlighted the need to prevent the spread of germs in healthcare settings.

However a new US report reveals disturbing gaps in knowledge when it comes to the most effective ways of cleaning surfaces.

Tray tables, bed rails, light switches, toilets – all of these are common surfaces for swapping germs between patients and healthcare workers.

But what is the most effective way of cleaning them? According to a new systematic overview published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in the US there is a lack of evidence as to which method of cleaning high-touch surfaces is the best.

The systematic overview was led by Craig Umscheid MD, Jennifer Han MD, Brian Leas MS and Nancy Sullivan at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. They examined 80 studies published between 1998 and 2014 and found comparative effectiveness studies were uncommon. Such studies would have directly compared different ways of cleaning, disinfecting, and monitoring the cleanliness of hard surfaces in order to determine the most effective.

There were also relatively few studies that focused on measuring outcomes of most interest to patients, such as changes in HAI rates or the presence of pathogens on patients. Only five were randomised controlled trials.

Instead, the existing studies were largely before and after experiments, comparing the magnitude of surface contamination after cleaning with a particular agent to the magnitude of contamination before cleaning. Over 65 per cent of the studies assessed surface contamination, such as bacterial burden and colony

counts, as the primary outcome.

Less than 35 per cent reported on patient-centred outcomes such as HAI rates or acquisition of a specific organism in the body, known as colonisation.

“The cleaning of hard surfaces in hospital rooms is critical for reducing healthcare-associated infections,” said Han, the study’s lead author. “We found the research to date does provide a good overall picture of the before and after results of particular cleaning agents and approaches to monitoring cleanliness. Researchers now need to take the next step and compare the various ways of cleaning these surfaces and monitoring their cleanliness in order to determine which are the most effective in driving down hospital-acquired infections.”

Review of evidence While studies examining HAIs have increased over the last 15 years, infections acquired in the hospital remain a leading cause of death and morbidity. In 2011 there were over 721,000 HAIs in the US, according to the most recently available data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And many experts believe only 50 per cent of surfaces are typically disinfected during cleaning of a patient’s room.

The team looked at three broad categories of evidence: • Which agents and methods were used to clean hard surfaces • What approaches were available to monitor the effectiveness of cleaning • What systems-level factors are needed for cleaning and monitoring to be successful.

“Our goal was to provide a comprehensive review of evidence in all three domains,” said Umscheid, the study’s senior author. “While there is a clear need for more patientcentred and comparative effectiveness research, the findings that do exist provide a

Une nouvelle étude publiée aux États-Unis a fait ressortir d’inquiétantes lacunes de connaissance sur les moyens les plus efficaces de nettoyer des surfaces dans des établissements de santé.

good place to start in terms of a hospital or health care entity seeking information on ways to mitigate HAIs.” Among its findings, the EPC team identified several studies showing rates of C.difficile, the most common cause of hospitalacquired gastrointestinal infections, fell with the use of bleach-based disinfectants but that a chlorine dioxidebased product was ineffective in reducing contamination and infection rates. Patients taking antibiotics are at special risk of becoming infected with C.diff because antibiotics can disrupt the normal bacteria of the bowel.

In addition, six studies integrating various wipes moistened with hydrogen peroxide and other chemicals into preventive strategies reported positive outcomes, including sustained reductions in HAIs. Seventeen studies implementing ‘no-touch’ modalities to clean hard surfaces - such as devices that emit ultraviolet light or hydrogen peroxide vapor - reported positive findings, with three specifically demonstrating reductions in infection rates.

Seven out of eight studies evaluating enhanced coatings on hospital room surfaces, such as copper-coated bed rails, reported positive findings. Surfaces made of solid, copper-based metals or alloys were found to continuously kill bacteria that cause infections.

The EPC team also highlighted several priority areas for future research, based on their review of the evidence and interviews with leading experts. Questions to emphasise in future studies include: what surfaces present the greatest infection risk to patients, what benchmarks should be established for measuring cleanliness, and what factors affect the quality of routine disinfection practices?

Further research is also needed on recently emerging

Aus einem neuen Bericht aus den USA gehen beunruhigende Wissenslücken hervor, was die wirkungsvollste Art der Reinigung von Oberflächen im Gesundheitswesen angeht.

disinfection strategies.

“In addition to expanding the use of comparative effectiveness research and placing greater emphasis on patient-centred outcomes, future research should investigate the effectiveness of a number of promising new technologies and approaches,” said Han. “These include self-disinfecting coatings and increasingly used surface markers for monitoring the presence of pathogens. Other challenges include identifying high-touch surfaces that confer the greatest risk of pathogen transmission and developing standard thresholds for defining cleanliness.”

Evidence gaps In another editorial Tara Palmore MD and David Henderson MD of the NIH Clinical Center in Maryland, wrote that “the gaps in the evidence base for hospital environmental cleaning and disinfection methods and monitoring will be filled best by randomised, controlled trials rather than quasiexperimental studies.”

However ‘quasi-experimental studies’ are easier and less costly to do than a large randomised control trial, but they do not show how different cleaning practices compare or how cleaning practices impact patient outcomes, Han noted.

“In addition to lacking a tight web of evidence, we still lack the means to ensure cleaning procedures are followed consistently,” Palmore and Henderson wrote. “Even in a facility with a strong culture of safety, environmental service workers are sometimes a marginalised part of the healthcare staff and may not always appreciate or be appreciated for the patient safety aspect of their work.

Effective communication and education are essential, as are meaningful outcome measures.”

Un nuovo sondaggio americano rivela che ci sono delle lacune allarmanti nella preparazione professionale per quanto riguarda i metodi più efficaci per pulire le superfici negli ambienti sanitari.

September 2015 | ECJ | 15

NEWS EXTRA UK cleaning contractor first in Europe to achieve CIMS certificate A UK cleaning contractor has become the first in Europe to achieve the Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) first launched by US-based association ISSA in 2006. Based in London, Principle Cleaning underwent a comprehensive assessment process in order to gain this consensus-based management standard originally developed in the US. The Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) was first developed by global trade association ISSA for the US market. It was created for facility service providers and applies to an organisation’s management structure and performance systems and processes. ISSA describes it as a “framework to help facility service providers develop customercentred organisations”.

It differs from other industry standards and certification programmes, ISSA says, in that it applies to an entire cleaning organisation – focusing on its management systems and processes. It is similar to ISO in many respects, however CIMS has been developed specifically for the cleaning industry through a consensus-based process, ISSA points out.

Having been established in the US since 2006 ISSA is now bringing the standard to other parts of the world – the UK, Ireland and some parts of the Middle East are the first markets to access it through a partnership with the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc). It was through a training course hosted by ISSA and BICSc in the UK that Principle Cleaning Cleaning’s HR and support services director Lilia Lamberto-Silva first learned about CIMS. “The main appeal of this standard for me was that it has been designed specifically

for the cleaning industry,” she explains. “So at Principle Cleaning we wanted to be the first to achieve it in Europe.”

Established over 26 years ago, Principle Cleaning specialises in the delivery of services in financial services, legal, media, professional and prestigious buildings. The foundations of CIMS fitted well with its ethos of benchmarking standards and validating its processes.

“The focus is not on putting in place cleaning procedures but on implementing a system for auditing and management.,” Lamberto-Silva continues.

“Every process in a company is covered – from health and safety, HR, recruitment and benchmarking to sales and the supply chain.”

Thorough inspection Achieving certification involves a thorough inspection of paperwork, processes, records, etc by an independent, accredited auditor who visits both the company head office and a site nominated by the contractor. In Principle Cleaning’s case the assessment took place at one of its flagship contract buildings in London.

This involved some advanced preparation for LambertoSilva, who was responsible for ensuring all information was available for inspection during the assessment. “It is not enough to simply say you have a certain system in place,” she explains, “ you must illustrate it is working in practice, every day.”

The CIMS auditor evaluating Principle Cleaning was Mike Fletcher, an industry professional for many years who himself has undergone rigorous training with ISSA in order to achieve this status. He explains the five key areas evaluated during an assessment: Quality systems; Service delivery; Human resources; Health, safety and environmental stewardship;

La société britannique Principle Cleaning est la première entreprise de propreté d’Europe à avoir obtenu la certification CIMS (Cleaning Industry Management Standard) introduite par l’association américaine ISSA. ECJ en examine le champ d’application et le travail qu’il faut accomplir pour être accrédité sous cette norme.

September 2015 | ECJ | 16

Management commitment.

“Breaking that down, in each section there are several requirements that are mandatory (‘shall’), some are recommended (‘should’) and some good to have (‘may’). To gain accreditation companies must achieve 100 per cent of the mandatory points and a minimum 60 per cent of the recommended points.

This builds to a final score the company must achieve 100 per cent of all mandatory points and 60 per cent of all ‘shoulds’ in all sections.

What did Fletcher observe when he audited Principle Cleaning? “What I admire about Principle Cleaning is that it has not lost the family value of what was essentially a family-owned business as it has grown. It has adopted the best management practices, delivering services well and conforming exactly to what CIMS is looking for.

“The relationship between managers at the head office and those out in the field is also excellent,” he continues. “As part of the auditing process I spent time with cleaning staff out on-site asking them about their job, their training, etc and that was clear.”

Key benefits What are the key benefits for Principle Cleaning now in having achieved CIMS accreditation?

“CIMS is a differentiator for us,” replies Lamberto-Silva. “It’s a way of standing out from the crowd in this market where it is difficult for contractors to differentiate themselves.

“And of course it is another important way to improve our industry and to make it more professional, more transparent in the eyes of our clients.”

Fletcher agrees standards like CIMS are essential in forcing the industry to do what it says it does, and in proving that.

“Achieving a credible certification

Die in Großbritannien ansässige Firma Principle Cleaning ist das erste Vertragsreinigungsunternehmen in Europa das den Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) erlangt, der von dem in den US-basierten Verband ISSA eingeführt wurde. Das ECJ findet heraus, was dieser Standard abdeckt und welche Arbeit mit der Erlangung der Akkreditierung verbunden ist.

is a great selling point to clients,” he believes.

And the opportunities brought

by CIMS exist not only for cleaning companies but for manufacturers and distributors too. By attending training courses held regularly, in the UK currently, anyone in the industry can be certified as an ISSA Certification Expert (ICE), either on behalf of a company or independently. This means they are qualified to assist customers who are preparing for CIMS certification.

Business potential “This is potentially an area where distributors and manufacturers can develop business in helping cleaning companies to achieve CIMS certification,” says Fletcher.

CIMS does not dictate how staff should be trained, what management systems are put in place, cleaning procedures or products employed. It’s up to each individual organisation to choose how it can best meet the standard’s requirements – the goal is to act as a quality framework and be nonprescriptive. Re-auditing takes place every two years.

Fletcher explains how the scheme has established itself as a recognised sector standard in the US since its launch. “In fact many large clients there, including federal organisations, specify it as a requirement when cleaning companies are tendering for contracts. And many US-based clients who operate globally are enquiring about it coming to Europe.

There is increasing demand for globalisation in standards.

“My opinion is that the uptake of CIMS may be a little slow to begin with, until the industry understands what it is – including the clients. Then it will be client-led I believe.” www.issa.com/cims

Nel Regno Unito, la Principle Cleaning è la prima impresa di pulizia in appalto in Europa a ottenere il Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS), lanciato dalla associazione ISSA che ha sede in USA. ECJ scopre cosa copre esattamente lo standard e qual è l’impegno necessario per ottenere la certificazione.

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UPDATE: NETHERLANDS Government policy affects sector The Dutch government has decided to insource a number of facilities services, reports Nico Lemmens The Dutch government has decided to insource a number of facility services, among which catering and cleaning.

This remarkable policy has been proposed by the socialist government party. As explained in earlier editions, this policy is aimed at creating jobs for lower wage scales. However it conflicts with the cabinet’s own policy of reducing the size and increasing the flexibility of the government machine. The Dutch cleaning research association VSR has been approached to assist in creating a government cleaning organisation.

In 2015 this association will introduce a quality mark. Some 35 years ago the association introduced a measuring system under its own name: the VSR Quality Measuring System. This system is scientifically (statistically) well founded. Inspectors are trained and certified in its correct application. However more and more ‘amateurs’ claim to be able to apply the system correctly, which, in many cases, is not true.

To discourage this undesirable development, VSR decided to develop a quality mark. This quality mark is designed not for individuals, but for organisations that use VSR QMS. The quality mark is based on a standard developed by VSR. To obtain the quality mark, an organisation will be audited by an independent auditor. The maintenance of the quality mark system has been delegated to Stichting Schoonmaak Kwaliteit (Foundation for Cleaning Quality).

Apart from these ‘policy matters’, there are some very hot topics concerning methods and cleaning techniques such as robotisation, bacterial or microL’Administration néerlandaise a décidé d’internaliser un certain nombre de multiservices, dont ceux de propreté, rapporte Nico Lemmens.

September 2015 | ECJ | 18

biological cleaning techniques, and nanotechnology.

As far as nanotechnology is concerned, there sometimes seems to be something of a ‘nano hype’. Some manufacturers of nano coatings and of products containing nano materials claim to have products and methods with fantastic properties in terms of self cleaning effects, efficiency and safety.

On closer analysis many of these claims prove to be false. This is not the only topic of interest for an independent research organisation like VSR. Another interesting subject is bacterial or microbiological cleaning, using so-called probiotics. Here we also have manufacturers that sometimes produce claims which prove not to be resistant against critical analysis. Some of these claims need to be qualified (‘bacterial cleansers break down biofilms’ or ‘bacterial cleansers break down allergens’) while others are downright incorrect (‘bacterial cleansers break down ultra fine dust’).

And there is yet another topical issue: robotisation of cleaning activities. Now, robotisation is a subject that is of great interest to many sectors and activities, not only as far as technological aspects in the narrow sense are concerned. The Dutch government for instance is interested in employment effects of technological development in general and of robotisation in particular.

VSR will collect information on the subject from a great many different sources to filter those items that are of relevance to the cleaning industry.

All in all there is one reassurance: in the near future VSR will not be out of a job.

Nico Lemmens berichtet, dass die niederländische Regierung die interne Vergabe einiger Gebäudedienstleistungen, darunter auch Reinigungsdienste, beschlossen hat.

Il governo olandese ha deciso di internalizzare alcuni servizi di gestione delle strutture e fra questi i servizi di pulizia, come ci riferisce il corrispondente Nico Lemmens.

UPDATE: UK The ‘health’ in health & safety ECJ has a new correspondent in the UK, Lynn Webster. In this edition she focuses on the issue of health and well-being in the workplace.

Open any newspaper or glossy magazine, check what’s trending on social media, or tune into a selection of television channels and what do you find? Medically proven routes to healthy living, fad diets, exercise regimes and more are presented to us on a more than daily basis, encouraging changes to our current habits that will ensure a healthier, and of course happier, life.

Sometimes, but perhaps not often enough, the workplace is mentioned in relation to health.

Given that many of us spend a large part of our waking life at work we ignore the impact of workplace on individual health at very real cost – cost to the individual and the employer alike. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines a healthy workplace as one where “workers and managers collaborate to use a continual improvement process to protect and promote the health, safety and well-being of all workers and the sustainability of the workplace”.

Examples, as defined by WHO, of the identified needs lying at the heart of this process include: health and well-being concerns in relation to the psychosocial work environment; attention to personal health resources in the workplace and participation in the community as a means of improving worker health.

The psychosocial work environment takes in workplace culture and working practices, encouraging a focus on factors that might directly relate to stress in the workplace. While employers and HR specialists might readily quote the direct correlation between stress, reduced productivity and the resulting negative effect on profitability, taking practical action to tackle workplace stress is often argued to be difficult, presenting Notre correspondante au Royaume-Uni, Lynn Webster, examine le rôle d’un lieu de travail sain pour le bien-être des employés.

insurmountable challenges to management and staff alike. Gone are the days when treating workers to an annual day trip to the seaside was deemed enough to keep them happy and productive!

But organisations that address these challenges reap very real qualitative and quantitative benefits. Organisations are implementing measures and changes that facilitate and support a healthy workplace, measures and changes directly addressing the WHO-defined issues.

Personal health resources might include offering reasonably priced healthy alternatives to salt- and sugar-laden snacks; workplace initiatives to encourage cycling or walking to work and even access to exercise or relaxation classes at break times.

Involvement in community projects is proven to have a major impact on personal well-being, with a positive knock-on in the workplace and at home. Encouraging employees to share their skills with community projects or volunteer in a practical capacity, perhaps for a few hours of their work time per month, can be a worthwhile investment in a healthy, human resource.

It should go without saying that employee well-being is also directly related to working in a clean, safe and hygienic workplace. Within the industry we recognise the health issues arising from misuse of chemicals and equipment and implement effective training that seeks to address these. A healthy workplace approach also needs to find ways of helping managers and staff alike to identify the symptoms of stress, setting in place practical processes and support mechanisms that readily support healthy and safe working practices.

Die britische ECJKorrespondentin Lynn Webster untersucht, welche Rolle ein gesunder Arbeitsplatz beim Wohlbefinden der Mitarbeiter spielt.

La corrispondente britannica di ECJ Lynn Webster esamina il ruolo che un luogo di lavoro salutare gioca sullo stato di benessere dei dependenti.

September 2015 | ECJ | 19

UPDATE: FRANCE Winners in sustainability News of an industry award ceremony in France from ECJ reporter Christian Bouzols.

The French Federation of cleaning contractors FEP presented its Sustainable Development awards recently in Paris. Covering the year 2014-15, these awards went to five companies.

In the Employee Skill Development category, the winner was a small company called Bruno Fradin with19 employees which since 2007 has given every member of its staff personal mentoring adjusted to the abilities and expectations of each one. Results have amply proved the value of this approach as all the employees are totally committed to their work and there it no staff turnover. A high degree of cohesion has been established within the business and this has led to its customers having the highest regards for the skills of its people.

In the Accident Prevention category the winner was Rhonis, a business of 309 employees.

This firm has put into place various measures to prevent musculoskeletal injuries. In particular it has employed an on-site occupational physician, and implemented training under the guidance of an osteopath. Additionally, many training sessions have been held on work-related risks and hazardous products. Not a single day of sickness leave has been recorded during 2013 and 2014, and staff turnover has fallen from 12 per cent in 2013 to three per cent in 2014. The rate of customer satisfaction reached 94 per cent in 2014.

In the Jury Special Award, two companies got the vote: GSF (29,000 employees) and SNEG (250 employees). GSF has developed an environmental calculator for quantifying the impact on the environment of one month’s cleaning work and for determining the measures needed to reduce these impacts.

La Fédération française des entreprises de propreté a récemment décerné ses Trophées du Développement durable à Paris.

September 2015 | ECJ | 20

In order to reduce muscular injuries linked to cleaning activities, GSF has published an in-house magazine since 2011 informing its readers of the latest ergonomic improvements to cleaning equipment. And it set up a special health simulation unit to train inspectors in their duties involving biological cleaning in hospital environments.

SNEG has formed a training plan in which 114 workers were enrolled in 2012-13 to learn about accident prevention and safety. The head of quality assurance obtained a diploma in prevention leadership for muscle injuries in 2014. The company also involved the health and safety committee of a client company in order to validate measures that had been taken to reduce the work-related risks to a female employee.

On the environmental front, SNEG ensures the recycling of papers, boxes and cartridges at its headquarters, uses selective methods for sorting and recycling empty cans, and limits water consumption.

The fifth winning company, Saturne Services (618 employees) received the Special Jury Award under the heading Global Approach to Company Social Responsibility. This firm has trained its people and taken measures in keeping with FEP’s recommendations by drafting a Company Social Responsibility charter and observing the provisions of the United Nations Global Compact. It gave top priority to training in 2014, having launched a programme involving 873 hours of training to 21 per cent of the workforce.

It has trained employees in the best cleaning techniques in terms of environmental impact (use of eco-labelled products, dosing of products, learning new methods, etc).

Der französische Verband für Reinigungsunternehmen veranstaltete kürzlich in Paris seine Preisverleihung für nachhaltige Entwicklung.

La federazione francese degli appaltatori di servizi di pulizia ha tenuto di recente a Parigi l’evento Sustainability Development Awards.

UPDATE: RUSSIA Where did all the clients go?

The Russian cleaning market is declining rapidly, writes Oleg Popov of Cristanval Cleaning for ECJ. The crisis in Russia continues and has not yet reached its ‘bottom’.

The cleaning market has stopped growing, and has started to rapidly decline. We can see this in the number of applications to participate in tenders. While there was previously a constant flow of incoming emails and phone calls, now the phone is silent. Where did all the clients go to and what can be done to make them return?

Since the beginning of the crisis, many have significantly ‘tightened their belts’, and their consumption habits have become more moderate. Clothing and footwear sales declined by eight per cent last year and this year the market has fallen by 20 per cent. Russians have begun to buy less and choose options that are cheaper.

So the economy segment has started to develop, while all others have suffered significantly.

Moscow’s main shopping streets continue to lose tenants – now 11.8 per cent of all space sits empty, with the occupancy rate at the lowest it’s been in the past six years. Many tenants are looking for a more cost-effective and flexible solutions by moving into shopping centres. This year, six large shopping centres were commissioned in Moscow with a total area of 778 thousand square metres. The total amount of space in Moscow shopping centres has reached 5.1 million square metres. But the vacancy rate in them is also growing. Since the beginning of the year it has risen from 6 per cent to 9.1 per cent, partially owing to the sharp increase in supply.

Shopping space in Moscow is empty and tenants’ profitability has fallen, especially in the nonfood sector. Decreased consumer activity, plus growth in production costs has led to the fact that retail networks are no longer willing La croissance du marché de la propreté en Russie a subit un coup d’arrêt et a amorcé un rapide déclin. Oleg Popov, de l’entreprise de propreté Cristanval, nous tient au courant de la situation.

to pay the same amount for rent as previously. In the first half of 2015, most of the requests submitted for street retail premises came from low-end retail networks, which have begun to actively launch businesses across the country. We are currently witnessing the development of the cleaning market in this sector.

When the regular stream of clients has dried up, cleaning companies start to look for markets that have been least affected by the crisis. These include cleaning apartments and performing non-recurring special works. The yield on such special works has always been high, especially for the grinding and crystallisation of marble and granite, as well as concrete grinding. During the crisis, this work has not completely disappeared, but demand has fallen and competition has tightened.

We see that the promotion of cleaning companies is becoming more aggressive. While it was previously the case that clients approached companies themselves, now companies need to advertise their services. Anything goes – Internet advertising, predatory pricing during tenders, and spreading damaging stories about one’s competitors. To survive the next crisis, Russian cleaning companies have to really start to fight for their clients.

This year not all cleaning companies will survive the fight for remaining clients. There will be no need to speak of the market’s development under such conditions. Some companies will leave the market, there will be fewer active firms and the only businesses that will be able to survive are large ones with financially stable structures operating in all markets. Life will show us who will come out on top this year.

Der Reinigungsmarkt in Russland hat nicht nur aufgehört zu wachsen – ganz im Gegenteil zeigt er einen starken Rückgang. Oleg Popov vom Reinigungsunternehmen Cristanval bringt uns auf den neuesten Stand.

In Russia, il settore del cleaning ha subito un arresto nella crescita e infatti sta rapidamente andando in discesa.

Oleg Popov dell’impresa di pulizie Cristanval ci aggiorna.

UPDATE: ITALY Encouraging signs of recovery Latest industry statistics suggest a better future for the cleaning sector, writes Anna Garbagna.

There is a rosier future for the cleaning sector which, in 2015, recorded total sales of € 1,510.245.221, marking the start of an encouraging recovery, driven above all by the growth of the paper sector.

According to the results of the survey carried out by AFIDAMP FAB, other sectors in the majority of cases also have positive indexes giving good hope for the near future.

From 2009, the year when the crisis began, until today the sector suffered a number of fluctuations in terms of total sales and production, but nevertheless managed to cope with the negative circumstance better than other industrial sectors. 2009 and 2010 represented the most difficult two years and, for some specific sectors, the fall in total sales was enormous. 2012 also recorded losses, but less substantial, about five per cent on average. Since 2013 the situation seems to have stabilised towards a general improving trend which was confirmed by the survey in 2014.

However during these years, Italy has always retained its leadership position and it asserts itself today as one of the top manufacturers at global level, together with Germany and US, especially for machines and equipment, and also as one of the strongest exporters.

As far as total sales are concerned, machines represent 31 per cent of total production, with a total of €468,429,257; followed by chemicals with 13 per cent (€199,868,934) and equipment with 5 per cent (€69,118,696). Paper, awayfrom-home tissue, totalled €514,525,465, a growth of 14 per cent, of which 53 per cent Le marché italien des produits de nettoyage a connu une reprise encourageante l’année dernière, rapporte Anna Garbagna.

September 2015 | ECJ | 22

was on foreign markets.

Fibres and cloths, accessories and spare parts, machines and other products share the remaining parts of the market with respectively two per cent, four per cent and 11 per cent.

Export has also achieved an increase of six per cent compared with the previous year, with the machine sector remaining the driving element.

The total sales to foreign markets were €815,259,464 with the main markets still being Europe, Asia and Middle East.

The strong Euro in fact did not favour exchanges with the US which will probably record an increase during the course of the year because of the depreciation of the European currency.

A survey carried out by AFIDAMP COM, reveals a high level of optimism and trust in the future: eight out of 10 companies expect themselves to achieve growth in 2015.

The general improvement in 2014 could also be credited with a greater interest in topics concerning training, especially in companies with more than five employees.

Generally 85 per cent of companies have invested in training courses in 2014. The number of employees is growing and, significantly, so is the importance given to the human factor in business - particularly the ability to create customer loyalty since a happy customer is the best advertising instrument. Word of mouth is the best kind of promotion...

For 2015, distribution professionals claim that the sector will be driven above all by highly technological products, emphasising that innovation and trial and test are crucial in the cleaning sector.

In Italien zeigte der Markt für professionelle Reinigungsprodukte im letzten Jahr ermutigende Anzeichen einer Erholung, berichtet Anna Garbagna.

La corrispondente Anna Garbagna ci informa che l’anno scorso il settore del cleaning professionale in Italia ha attraversato un periodo di ripresa incoraggiante.

UPDATE: GERMANY Tolerance and respect campaign As Thomas Schulte-Marxloh explains, the cleaning sector is at the forefront of condemning xenophobia.

The German association of contract cleaning business, BIV and the journal Rationell Reinigen have launched a joint initiative against social marginalisation of migrants and xenophobia; The slogan: “Angekommen. Angenommen” (‘Arrived. Accepted‘) – is a clear statement.

The phenomenon of Pegida (Patriotic Europeans against the islamisation of the occident) triggered talks early this year between the editorial staff of Rationell Reinigen and the BIV regarding an image campaign against xenophobia. At that time Pegida, a German anti-islam organisation, was a big issue in German media. Between October 2014 and February 2015, Pegida organised demonstrations every week against the allegedly ‘islamisation’ of the Western world and demanded to tighten immigration laws, in particular for Muslims.

Some of the protesters with roots in other right extremists’ organisations delivered speeches which stimulated hatred and resentment. However the angstridden sympathisers of Pegida soon had to face a number of counter movements; established democratic parties as well as economic leaders damned the political extremism that emerged with Pegida.

Social hostility has not vanished yet. Facing the challenges of globalisation, scary developments and wars in other countries, the ageing of the population or the shortage of skilled workers, some Germans seem to have problems to adapt themselves to an increasingly complex reality.

This year Germany – population about 81 million – expects to receive about 800,000 refugees and immigrants (compare Lebanon: population four million, Comme le rapporte Thomas SchulteMarxloh, l’association allemande de la propreté professionnelle et l’une des revues du secteur ont lancé une initiative commune pour lutter contre la marginalisation sociale des migrants et contre la xénophobie.

estimated refugees from Syria one million) which constitutes a challenge and an opportunity at the same time. While some parts of German society are shaken by xenophobia, the German economy welcomes migrants – particularly the well educated and qualified ones. It seems that economy is the key to integration.

“There is hardly any other business as dependent on the cooperative work of many nationalities as our business; for us it is just natural to promote this cooperation and to set an example”, says BIV’s md Johannes Bungart.

Rationell Reinigen also emphasises the well established and traditional culture of welcome which is very much alive in the cleaning business. “In contrast to its frequently unjustified but persistent negative image, the contract cleaning business can serve as an example for other economic areas in terms of integration and tolerance”, publisher Alexander Holzmann explains.

Johannes Bungart also believes the image campaign to be an opportunity to underline the landmark function of the contract cleaning business regarding peaceful cooperation: “This is an excellent way to show that in the contract cleaning business the culture of welcome is very much alive and that our trade also plays a very important role in terms of integration.” Bungart emphasises: ”In our trade there is no room at all for xenophobic tendencies and slogans.” During the next few months advertisements will be published in order to demonstrate the awesome cooperation of different nationalities and cultures in the contract cleaning business.

Hopefully, tolerance and respect for other cultures will prevail – not only in business.

Thomas Schulte-Marxloh berichtet, dass der deutsche Vertragsreinigungs-verband und eines der Branchenmagazine eine gemeinsame Initiative gegen die soziale Ausgrenzung von Migranten und Ausländerfeindlichkeit gestartet haben.

Il corrispondente Thomas SchulteMarxloh ci informa che in Germania, l’associazione professionale del cleaning e una delle riviste del settore hanno lanciato un’inziativa congiunta contro la marginalizzazione sociale dei migranti e contro la xenofobia.

September 2015 | ECJ | 25

KÄRCHER SERVICES SEVEN TAILOR-MADE SERVICES A comprehensive concept for customer satisfaction: this is the aim of Kärcher Services. Beyond the delivery of its products, as a world market leader in cleaning technology Kärcher offers not only high-performance machines, accessories and cleaning agents, but also a comprehensive range of services. The seven contemporary, customer-oriented solutions are bespoke offers for leasing, customer service, rental, used machines, service packages and software solutions such as the ECO!Manager and the Kärcher fleet management service, Kärcher Fleet. This provides customers with a supporting partnership for maximum economic efficiency.

The leasing option: Kärcher Lease Kärcher's leasing concept offers an alternative to buying a machine thanks to flexible financing. Detailed planning enables effective machine use at costs that can be reliably calculated. The duration and monthly rates are tailored to the requirements of the operator.

Fleet Management: Kärcher Fleet Kärcher Fleet is a telematic system for the organisation of machine storage. Contract cleaners can find out via GPS and mobile communication where their scrubber driers and sweepers are being used, which service was rendered and when, and the condition the machines are in. In this way, Kärcher Fleet provides the basis for optimisation and increased efficiency in daily operations – and provides customers with real added value.

Software: Kärcher ECO!Manager ECO!Manager is a web-based barcode system for planning, recording and analysing services. Together with the smartphone app, it is a comprehensive system for organising contract cleaning services. The system highlights possible areas of improvement at an early stage by means of data collection and evaluation.

Service packages: Kärcher Maintain The benefits of regular servicing go way beyond mandatory operational safety tests. Operational reliability and availability are important factors for the reliable fulfilment of contracts. As part of Kärcher Maintain, the customer can choose between various different service packages, each of which is tailored exactly to their requirements. Available services include inspections as part of mandatory safety checks, scheduled maintenance or even full service contracts for economical fleet operation.

Customer service: Kärcher Service For professional operators, cleaning machines must always be ready to use, without restrictions and to the best of their functionality. Kärcher Service works around a comprehensive network of technicians and service partners who provide on-site support to keep downtime to an absolute minimum. A fast supply chain for spare parts is key to this.

Rental: Kärcher Rent If the operator requires a Kärcher machine for a specific period of time, the cleaning technology specialist will offer a rental model. With Kärcher Rent, function, safety and availability are paramount. Whether for an additional contract, in the event of a machine failure, temporary contracts or for extensive practical tests, commercial operators will receive the right machine for their requirements at short notice.

Used machines: Kärcher Use Kärcher Used takes care of the preparation and sale of used machines – complete with Kärcher spare parts and the same scope of Kärcher Service as in the case of a new machine. The range extends from used floor cleaning machines such as sweepers and scrubber driers to used high-pressure cleaners and vacuum cleaners.

AIR FRESHENING

The smell of success We all have our favourite smells but as human beings we rely less on our noses to help us navigate the world, and use them as something to help us enjoy it a little more. And researchers have discovered that the human sense of smell is actually far more powerful than originally thought. Writing for ECJ, direct365 takes a look at the science of smell, and how different scents in the workplace can impact people’s mood.

sense of smell is actually far more powerful than originally thought. Scientists have always claimed that our sense of smell was limited to 10,000 different odours, however researchers have gone even further by testing the senses of volunteers using very specific odour molecules that had been individually crafted for the experiment. From the results, the scientists estimated that the average human being is able to distinguish between one trillion individual odours, if not more.

We all know that our sense of smell is very strongly linked to our memories; the faintest whiff of a familiar scent can send our minds tumbling backwards to remember moments long past. But did you know that what we smell can actually affect the way we think and feel? A pungent odour can cause your mood to plummet, and leave you feeling disgruntled and uncomfortable, whereas a light pleasant scent can lift the spirits and put you in a great mood. But how can people use this to their advantage?

Scents and the city The smell of roasted coffee in the morning, baking cookies wafting through the house, freshly-cut grass on a sunny day. We all have our favourite smells but as human beings we rely less on our noses to help us navigate the world, and use them as something to help us enjoy it a little more.

Because we live in such a highly visual and fast-paced world where everything is loud and bright, our sense of smell has become somewhat under-used, but you may be surprised at the important role it plays in our everyday lives. Certain smells have different effects on us; the smell of gas alerts us to danger, a rotten smell tells us not to eat that food and a gentle fragrance can relax us, even if we don’t realise it at the time.

The science behind our noses Researchers at the Rockefeller University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have discovered that the human

Good and bad smells are around us all the time; when we walk down the street or into a shop, but we only visit these places fleetingly. We spend the majority of our time at home or at our place of work, so these important locations are far more likely to have long-term effects on our moods and emotions.

You can have the most perfectly decorated office in the world, with the most productive and stimulating colours and the best use of natural light, but if there’s a nasty smell lingering around then people aren’t going to be able to concentrate. It can dampen their mood and it can even distract them from tasks at hand, not to mention make people feel ill if it is left untreated for too long.

As we all know, the office bathroom is one of the worse contenders for bad smells. With dozens of people traipsing in and out all day, it’s no wonder that walking in can sometimes cause you to wrinkle your nose. Not only can a terrible smelling

bathroom result in disgruntled employees, but it could also put off potential clients, especially if they pop off during a meeting only to be met with a terrible odour in the bathroom. You never get a second chance at a first impression, and something as simple as a bad smell could result in an unhappy client returning to the table.

Maintaining a clean and fresh-smelling bathroom is obviously important for hygiene reasons, but keeping the people in and around the office happy should be another good motivation. What’s important is to get the balance just right.

Too much of a good thing?

We all know the phrase “everything in moderation”, but did you know that it also applies to freshening up your bathroom?

There are two extremes when it comes to air fresheners: a dreadful pungent odour and, at the other end of the spectrum, an overwhelmingly strong scent of chemicals that catches in your nose; there’s a perfect balance to be struck here.

Spraying a can of air freshener around the room every once in a while will do nothing to get rid of the bad smells, and could actually just make them worse. Pure chemical fragrances only mask the scent rather than remove it from the air and, as it lingers, can react with the bad bathroom smell to make it even worse.

To really have an impact in the room, the best option is to use air freshener units that can be installed directly into your bathroom and emit a spray of fragrance at regular intervals. This keeps the horrible odours at bay, whilst also refreshing the bathroom with a subtle yet pleasant smell.

A scent by any other name Certain scents won’t just make us feel happy or sad; scientists have discovered that it actually works on a much deeper level than that. So much research has actually gone into this topic, to discover how our brains and senses are affected by the smells around us, and studies have Continued page 31

September 2015 | ECJ | 29

Hygiene technology has evolved The Vectair MVP Dispenser Range A new species combining elegant design with cutting edge technology

Find out more at: www.vectairsystems.com

AIR FRESHENING found that even tiny differences can have an impact on our mood.

Stephen Warrenburg, research fellow at IFF, discovered that the citrus smell of a clementine caused people to feel both happy and stimulated, whereas the gentle scent of vanilla made the participants feel happy and relaxed. Although they were both pleasant enough, they were found to have vastly different effects. When it comes to putting the finishing touches on your perfect office environment, you can use this knowledge to your advantage to make sure your employees feel stimulated and happy, whilst also impressing clients.

Lemon and jasmine scents have been found to improve our cognitive brain performance, as well as boosting our overall mood, which makes it perfect for

an office environment. You don’t even have to consciously notice the smell in order for it to have an effect on you, so installing air freshener sprays in your office bathrooms that emit a gentle yet invigorating lemon smell will keep your visitors motivated and thinking hard.

Pour les humains, il y a des odeurs qui plaisent plus que d’autres, mais les gens dépendent moins de leur nez pour naviguer dans leur environnement que pour en tirer une peu plus de plaisir. Des recherches ont cependant découvert que l’odorat humain est beaucoup plus puissant qu’on ne le pensait. ECJ examine la science de l’odorat et l’effet que différentes senteurs pénétrant le lieu de travail peuvent exercer sur les états d’âme.

Wir alle haben unsere Lieblingsdüfte. Doch wir Menschen verlassen uns weniger auf unsere Nase, um uns in der Welt zurechtzufinden, stattdessen hilft sie uns, die Welt um uns etwas mehr zu genießen.

Und Forscher haben entdeckt, dass der menschliche Geruchssinn tatsächlich viel ausgeprägter ist, als bisher angenommen wurde. Das ECJ wirft einen Blick auf die Wissenschaft des Geruchs und wie sich unterschiedliche Düfte am Arbeitsplatz auf die Stimmung von Mitarbeitern auswirken können.

Morale boosting Other great scents that stimulate the brain include grapefruit and rosemary, as these are thought to be strong morale boosters and could even improve our longterm memory! There’s plenty of research out there to do with which smells are best for your office; it’s all about figuring out the best one for you. Orange is known to reduce anxiety so would be perfect for a doctor’s lounge, whereas cinnamon is

thought to improve creative thinking.

You will hear people talk a lot about the art of creating the perfect office; which colours are the best, how to get the most natural light and the benefits of ergonomic furniture. And while all of these are still incredibly important, our sense of smell should not be ignored. The office acts as a home away from home for your employees and like it or not, visitors will judge you on the environment you work in. Take the time to think about the science behind our senses to improve the moods of your employees, make them more productive and impress potential clients. You could make your office a much more engaging, productive and happy place, not to mention pleasant for everyone - simply by adding this little finishing touch.

Ognuno di noi ha i suoi odori preferiti ma come esseri umani facciamo meno affidamento al nostro olfatto per aiutarci a farci condurre nel mondo e usiamo il nostro naso per aiutarci a vivere meglio. E i ricercatori hanno scoperto che il senso dell’olfatto negli umani è molto più potente di quanto non si pensasse in passato. ECJ prende il esame la scienza degli odori, e come diverse fragranze nei luoghi di lavoro possano avere un impatto sull’umore delle persone.

PRODUCTS: AIR FRESHENING

• Le nouveau système Paradise Air Bar de la société CWS comprend une interface utilisateur offrant différentes options de réglage.

• Unicorn Hygienics propose le sytème de désodorisation Sanair pour des toilettes, et le système Microaire pour des bureaux et fabriques.

• L’appareil Shield proposé par Fragrance Delivery Technologies diffuse des parfums purs sans faire appel à des composés organiques volatiles ou à des solvants.

• Die neue Paradise Air Bar von CWS bietet eine integrierte Benutzeroberfläche zur Steuerung der verschiedenen Einstellungsoptionen.

• Unicorn Hygienics bietet das Lufterfrischersystem Sanair für Waschräume und Microair für Büros und Fabriken.

• Shield von Fragrance Delivery Technologies bietet reinen Duft ohne VOCs oder Lösungsmittel.

• Il nuovo sistema Paradise Air Bar della CWS è dotato di una interfaccia per utente integrata che offre diverse opzioni di impostazione.

• La Unicorn Hygienics propone il sistema di profumazione per ambienti per sale da toilette Sanair e Microair per uffici e fabbriche.

• Shield della Fragrance Delivery Technologies eroga fragranze pure senza utilizzo di VOC o solventi.

September 2015 | ECJ | 32

User interface CWS says its Paradise Air Bar is the first fragrance dispenser to feature an integrated user interface offering a range of setting options.

Suitable for use in washrooms, receptions, conference rooms, spas and smoking areas, the system targets bad smells without being oppressive, says CWS. All nine fragrances are made from ingredients that are not harmful to people or the environment.

The user can switch between two different fragrances at any time and intensity can be set to four different levels. And the Air Bar can also be used to

create a pleasant ambience in areas which may be difficult to ventilate - not just for eliminating unpleasant odours. www.cws-boco.com

Two systems Unicorn Hygienics offers two main air freshening systems, the Sanair and the Microair.

Sanair works as a cleaner and deodoriser, designed to continually spray concentrated fragrances to eliminate odours and clear piping. This is a non-aerosol air freshener and Unicorn also offers a range of Bio refills based on naturally occurring aerobic organisms that neutralise odours at source.

The automatic Microair Aerosol Dispenser is a continuous and programmable system to fragrance areas with bad odours.

The tamper resistant unit is compact and operates with 100 ml aerosols, with 30, 45, 60 or 90 day service intervals. www.unicorn-hygienics.com

Pure oxygen Air freshening systems from Fragrance Delivery Technologies (FDT) use patented Oxy-Gen Powered technology, a medical grade innovation that uses pure oxygen to deliver continuous and consistent fragrance. There are no propellants or solvents.

Two options are available the coloured Viva!e system or the practical Shield model which is tamper-proof and designed for facilities more susceptible to vandalism.

Dispensers come in a range of colours and the refills are 100 per cent recyclable - there are 25 fragrances to choose from.

Each refill is guaranteed to deliver fragrance for 60 days and each dispenser covers an area of up to 85 cubic metres. www.oxygenpowered.com

PRODUCTS: AIR FRESHENING

Simple science

Tab and spray

V-Air SOLID from Vectair Systems is a multi-phasing, non-aerosol air freshener with sub-micron fragrance technology. It is VOC exempt and 100 per cent organic and biodegradable.

There are no batteries in either the refill or the dispenser, which means the dispenser is fully recyclable. All it requires to work is natural airflow.

V-Air SOLID uses sub-micron technology – meaning fragrance particles are much smaller and lighter (less than one micron), remaining airborne for many hours. The cartridge is made up of a ceramic capsule and fragrance core, which combine and diffuse key fragrance notes that are subtly different.

This results in a multi-phasing fragrance effect that eliminates the problem of fragrance fatigue. www.vectairsystems.com

Tork manufacturer SCA offers a range of air freshening solutions in both tab and spray format.

Freshener Tabs available in Apple, Citrus and Floral versions.

The tabs are supplied in packs of 20 and are green in colour, but turn blue when the fragrance has been used up. www.tork.co.uk

Safe fragrance

The Tork Air Freshener Spray Dispenser is quick to refill and easy to maintain and provides up to 90 days of fragranced air.

It comes in Citrus, Floral and Tropical Fruit options.

The unit gives out odourneutralising agents at metered intervals, covering an area of up to 170 cubic metres. There are 3,000 bursts of spray per refill and the dispenser can be programmed to last for 30, 60 or 90 days.

Also from SCA are Tork Air

HYscent says its system offers a chemical-free and safe solution to odour neutralisation and commercial fragrancing.

Fragrances are made from pure essential and fragrance oils and all conform to indoor air quality standards. Designed not only for the washroom, HYscent is also used in hospitals, retail outlets, hospitality, care homes and offices.

Each fragrance is blended with up to 11 essential and fragrance oils and a choice of dispensing solution is available - all units are designed to be simple to operate, secure and effective. www.hyscent.co.uk

• Vectair System a lancé un produit nouveau, le désodorisant V-Air Solid composé d’une capsule en céramique et d’un noyau de parfum.

• SCA propose des solutions de rafraîchissement d’air à pulvérisation et à languette imprégnée.

• HYscent fait valoir sa méthode exempte de produits chimiques et sûre de neutralisation des odeurs et de diffusion de parfums.

• Neu von Vectair Systems ist der Lufterfrischer V-Air Solid, der aus einer Keramikhülse und einem Duftkern besteht.

• SCA bietet Lufterfrischerlösungen in Tabletten- und Spayform.

• HYscent bietet einen chemikalienfreien und sicheren Ansatz bei der Geruchsneutralisierung und Beduftung.

• La novità della Vectair Systems è il profumatore per ambienti V-Air Solid che consiste in una capsula di ceramica e un nucleo centrale di fragranza.

• La SCA propone soluzioni di profumazione dell’aria in formato spray o tavoletta.

• La HYscent vanta di avere un approccio sicuro e senza prodotti chimici per la neutralizzazione degli odori e la profumazione dell’aria.

September 2015 | ECJ | 33

SOCIAL MEDIA

Understanding social media Marketers often struggle with the best way in which to integrate their business with new technology and how best to stay front of mind. It feels as though there are new types of social media platforms appearing every week, but not all of these will be relevant to you, nor your customers. Christopher Nicholas at SumwotSocial offers some guidance.

Marketers often struggle with the best way in which to integrate their business with new technology and how best to stay front of mind.

There are now so many different technology platforms that can be used to communicate with your prospects and customers. It feels as though there are new types of social media platforms appearing every week, but not all of these will be relevant to you, nor your customers. No point fishing in a pond with no fish - however good your tactics - you will never catch that infamous fish!

Every successful business is following a plan. Having goals and objectives is essential to measure both your success and improvement areas. Social and digital marketing is no different and be assured, your plan or goals could be as simple as: • ‘I’m going to drive more people to go to our website’ • ‘We will actively recruit more people to sign up for our monthly newsletter‘ • ‘We want to build our brand awareness through online channels’ These can then be broken down further into smaller bite size junks and can be applied to different strategies: • Driving traffic to your website - an email footer can be changed every week,

September 2015 | ECJ | 34

to highlight and promote different parts of your website or various offers • Targeting key audiences – you will have an awareness that certain decision makers and industry sectors are more likely to use a particular form of communication and digest that information through varying channels. Use your customer insight and knowledge of their preferred communications methods.

For example, don’t suddenly feel pressure to start using Instagram because it the latest trend if you haven’t researched the usage by your current client base • Building your brand awareness – the easiest way of building your brand online it to follow and implement what you do in the real world, in the virtual one! So if your mission statement is to add value to your customers in the real world, continue to apply that principle in the virtual sphere.

Human beings are drawn to helpful and knowledgeable people.

Use social media… to listen “Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens” – Jimi Hendrix The internet can be put to work for you in very simple and cost effective ways: • Google Alerts https://www.google. co.uk/alerts • Look at what competitors are doing with social media – check their Twitter, Facebook, Instagram accounts and try to own a real niche area in that online discussion • Monitor and take a note of what your current clients are doing with digital and social media as well as your potential clients. They are likely to be at differing points in their decision making process and will therefore be digesting differing content that you’ll need to cater for within your marketing activities • Look at what your favourite brands and companies are doing to stay in touch with their customers. It doesn’t even have to be related to your industry, but if you have real passion for interior design or angling for example, check out the way in which they staying in contact with their

customers. There will be things that you can learn from and adapt for your industry • Twitter lists https://support.twitter. com/articles/76460-using-twitter-lists

Reviews and feedback matter Pre-internet we used to rely much more on our own network for advice – but like so much else this network has moved online. A traditional network might be your friends, colleagues and family. In the modern world, we are now very happy to listen to complete strangers for advice as well as this more traditional network. This offers us reassurance in our decision-making.

Trip Advisor is an excellent point in question. Think of how often we will consult this website for advice on booking holidays or dining out. It is very unlikely that we will ever meet the people who leave these reviews but we will often book a holiday or meal based on their words or rating.

It is also true that online reviews can make or break a business. Only now are people seeing the potential to really understand their business and the business of a competitor.

Want to know what your competitors are really good at? Look at their product and service reviews! Want to know what they are really bad at? Look at the reviews their patrons have left them.

Start with a search in Google or Twitter and you will often be amazed by the sheer volume of reviews or comments on products or services that you will find.

What is even more amazing is the number of businesses that don’t respond to the reviews left by their customers.

But feel free to get involved in the online conversations! This applies to both good and bad reviews.

In ignoring this online debate in the real world, it would be the equivalent of going into a shop and the sales assistant turning their back on you! I’m sure we have all had a variation of this, perhaps not to the same extreme but it always has the same outcome - we end up having a

SOCIAL MEDIA lasting negative impression of that brand/ company/individual.

There is a reason why the likes of John Lewis responds to all of the reviews placed on its website. It understands the power of what these reviews can do. An excellent book on this subject is ‘Everyone’s A Critic: Winning Customers in a Review-Driven World,’ by Bill Tancer.

Use social media to ask questions Leading on from the above, feel free to use social media to ask questions of your customers. It doesn’t need to be so dramatic nor direct as: “Why don’t you buy from me anymore?” It can be as subtle as gauging opinion on a subject related to your industry.

For example, to post such a question as: “With so much being written about personal protective equipment and the rise of counterfeit equipment, what do you think could be done?”

It can also be used in the development of future products or services, so questions could focus on ascertaining whether prospects prefer ‘Option X’ or ‘Product Y.’ You will be amazed at how much an engaged audience will help.

If you really want to know what your customers think, employ a specialist business to undertake a telemarketing fact-finding mission. Or you could use a service like Survey Monkey to create your own surveys. Surveys with 10 questions or less are free – these are then sent out to your customers using email or even by having a clickable link on your website.

Get involved with LinkedIn – but use it in an old fashioned business way. It’s not all about getting a new job (although it will help with this).

As you will know, LinkedIn is one giant networking opportunity, although this is normally as far as people take it. They join LinkedIn, perhaps connect with a few people, perhaps join a few groups and leave it at that. These same people are normally heard saying, “I’m on LinkedIn but I don’t use it or get much out of it.”

Well, by spending as little as five minutes a day on this platform you will be begin to see results – but use it in an old fashioned, common sense way.

Some suggestions…

1. Before the Internet, if someone got a new job, you would perhaps congratulate them by phone or the next time you saw them. However I’m sure you have seen that LinkedIn tells you if someone changes their position and it even suggests you congratulate them! Here is a bit of advice… when you get this notice, rather than congratulate them on their timeline, write to them directly and congratulate

them in an email via LinkedIn. Clearly, congratulate them, but also mention other things in the email, such as a suggestion to meet up. They will have lots of new things to tell you but being at a new company they are likely to want to make a good impression so your trusted expertise might be needed?

2. Comment on news stories through Pulse on LinkedIn. Pulse is LinkedIn’s rolling news service which allows other to comment on different news items. Only ever comment on an article if you feel you can add to the conversation without selling anything – that switches people right off!

After you have done this a few times, you will find your profile begins to get noticed more inside LinkedIn. What does this mean? It means that if you are adding value you are increasingly seen as a trusted individual within the LinkedIn community and forging your position as a subject matter expert.

Another tip is comment on stories related to the industries you want to work for. So for example, you are in the cleaning sector but you work within the airline industry - you need to be commenting inside this arena and building credibility slowly but surely.

3. Keep people front of mind through using LinkedIn. If you happen to spot an article on a website that you believe a client would find interesting use the https://www.linkedin.com/bookmarklet This allows you to share with your connections, interesting articles that keep you as an individual front of mind. (It is the

tab that sits on your web browser tool bar that allows you to share things without actually being on the LinkedIn website).

Don’t forget email It seems old fashioned these days with so many people now using social media to communicate but really, don’t forget email.

There is a reason that huge businesses spend millions of their budget on sending targeted email campaigns. The reason?

They work.

For everyday use, make sure your email signature is fit for purpose. Having your name and contact details on there should go without saying but if you regularly use social networks, it could be prudent to include links to these as well.

Make it clear what you want people to do, for example: “I’m also on Twitter, please follow me here @..” or “My LinkedIn profile can be found here”.

A website that allows you to build a great email signature for free is called http://www.wisestamp.com. It is quick to implement and makes your email signature look very professional.

When sending targeted emails, you are likely to use your dedicated database of clients that you have steadily built up through transactions or interactions.

In my experience buying an email list, however much that sales rep might say is ‘targeted’, is usually worthless. You know your customers and prospects.

In addition, many email software providers will not allow you to upload a bought database into their system. They Continued page 36

September 2015 | ECJ | 35

SOCIAL MEDIA Understanding social media (continued) will often ask the specific question to ascertain if you have bought this database.

You could say ‘no’ – but beware! They have very clever systems that will be able to work out through the amount of unsubscribes, and number of people reporting you as a spammer. This will have a negative impact on your perception within your client base and result in lost opportunities.

One of the best tools to use is http:// mailchimp.com. This allows you to create professional looking emails, quickly and simply. There are free options if you want to test something out first and also paidfor versions, which allow you more scope to send to big databases.

The major advantage of systems like Mail Chimp is you can measure exactly Les commerciaux éprouvent souvent des difficultés à intégrer leur commerce et les nouvelles technologies, et à se maintenir à la hauteur de ces évolutions.

Il leur semble que de nouveaux types de média sociaux apparaissent chaque semaine, sans pour autant revêtir de l’intérêt pour eux ou leurs clients.

Christopher Nicholas, de SumwotSocial, offre des orientations à ce sujet.

September 2015 | ECJ | 36

what is working and what isn’t. So for example, you can tell how many people opened your email, how many clicked through on your links, where people opened your email in the world, and also, what type of device they used, ie, a tablet, smartphone or a desktop computer.

From this information you can modify your next campaign based on what you have learnt. Continuous improvements will have positive impacts for you and your organisation.

Conclusion There are no wrong and right answers to the use of social media and other forms of digital marketing. The only broad rules I would encourage you to follow are to treat social media channels the same as the real Marketingfachleutetun sich oft schwer, wenn es um die beste Art und Weise der Integration ihres Geschäfts mit neuer Technologie geht und wie sie am besten im Bewusstsein der Verbraucher bleiben.

Manchmal könnte man meinen, dass jede Woche neue Arten von sozialen Medien verfügbar sind, doch nicht alle werden weder für sie noch für ihre Kunden relevant sein. Christopher Nicholas von SumwotSocial bietet einige hilfreiche Auskünfte.

world and meeting and talking to people in the real world. Don’t go changing the tone of your message just because it is online rather than face to face. If you feel that you probably wouldn’t say something like that to someone’s face – then clearly you shouldn’t be saying it on Social Media.

There are so many great resources for finding out more about the subject and how it can be implemented with your business. I have listed a few below which I hope you find useful. http://mashable.com/ http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/ http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ social-media/ Christopher Nicholas: https://uk.linkedin. com/in/chrisanicholas I commercianti spessono faticano a trovare il modo migliore per integrare le loro attività con le nuove tecnologie e per rimanere sempre all’avanguardia. Sembra che, per quanto ci siano nuovi tipi di piattaforme di social media che appaiono ogni settimana, non tutte siano rilevanti per gli imprenditori e nemmeno per i clienti. Christopher Nicholas della SumwotSocial ci offre dei consigli.

S M A R T

T E X T I L E S

NOT JUST MICROFIBER !

Thin, light, color coded, patented, cost effective, planet friendly and made in Europe.

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MOPPING EQUIPMENT

Machines versus mops In these highly mechanised times, what are the arguments for using a manual mop with all its associated labour costs in place of a machine to clean your floors? Ann Laffeaty asks mop manufacturers and machine suppliers their views.

A mop and bucket were once the chief tools for cleaning hard floors. But cleaning machines have gradually begun to take over this task. There are now scrubber dryers on the market that are sufficiently compact to take over the job of a person with a mop. But how practical, affordable and versatile are they? And does manual mopping still hold any advantages over machine cleaning?

The answer is very much so according to Vileda product development manager Steve Barber. “Mops are smaller and more controllable and you can use them in corners,” he said. “They are also quiet and require limited training. And a mop can be stored easily in a small cupboard and taken out whenever it is needed to quickly remove a floor spill. In situations such as these, using a machine would be a case of over-engineering.”

He adds that in countries such as the UK where many offices are carpeted, a hard floor solution would only be required in the washrooms and kitchens in any case.

And in the washroom, a machine would be too large to effectively clean around pipes and toilet bowls.

“On staircases, too, an electric machine would be too heavy,” he said. “And you can

clean the ‘up’ part of the staircase with a flat mop whereas you can’t with a machine.”

He adds that manual mops are increasingly being put to other uses. “In Central Europe and the UK, people think of a mop as something to use on the floor whereas a cloth tends to be used above floor level,” he said. “But in the Nordic region items such as desks and whiteboards are now routinely being cleaned with mops.” Vileda makes a small 35 cm mop for the Nordic region for use on desks and other smaller surfaces.

Machines and manual mops complement each other according to Barber. “Airports have both machines and mopping systems,” he points out. “They will use a machine for normal cleaning regimes - but when someone drops a can of cola they will reach for the mop.”

Mop versatility The Vileda range includes double-sided mops for use in washrooms; the Swep system of wider mops for use in corridors, and Micro One which is a newly-launched range of single-application mops. “If you want to mop up a blood spill in an operating theatre for example, you would use this system and place the mop head in the contaminated waste container afterwards,” said Barber. “Each site is completely different and the mopping system you choose will depend on the floor type, storage facilities, access to laundry and whether you want a spray or a bucket system. Mops really do have the versatility to match the customer’s needs.”

International sales manager of Crisp Clean Services Judy Toes says flexibility and accessibility are the main advantages of a mopping system. “Manual mops can be used to clean small or large areas right to the very edge,” she said. “They can clean stairs and walls as well as floors and be easily transported.”

Crisp Clean Services makes stainless steel mopping systems such as Ringo and Hytech plus the i-Press, a compact adjustable flat mop roller press.

“There is virtually no cleaning task that cannot be achieved with a mopping system,” says Toes. “It is simply not economical to use a machine to clean smaller areas, and impractical to use machines to clean stairs. Mopping systems can also be easily transported to an area for an unplanned cleaning task.”

While she feels that machines are more efficient for cleaning large open areas and surfaces such as stone floors, Toes believes that mopping systems have been becoming more efficient in recent years.

“They now come in many forms with single-bucket, double-bucket and triplebucket options and can incorporate wringers and dosing systems as well. And mops can be used dry, damp or wet.”

However according to managing director of Denis Rawlins James White, mops are only preferable to a machine when an area is too small for a machine to be used.

“Where mopping is regarded as a costsaving alternative to machine cleaning, the economy is usually a false one,” he said. “Labour is the largest element of a cleaning budget and mopping is labourintensive as well as ineffectual. It wastes the operative’s time, creates a slip hazard and is not a cost-effective use of a facility’s cleaning budget.”

Where manual mopping is required, he adds, the most acceptable method is microfibre mopping. “This should be used with a clean solution and the mop should be rinsed before it is put back into the solution,” he said. “Mop heads should also be changed as often as possible - and sterilised - because once the head has collected any dirt it will spread this back on to cleaned areas. The dirt may then become embedded in grout lines and crevices where it will leave behind a smorgasbord to nurture bacteria which can multiply very quickly.”

According to White, using a machine that automates the mopping task and removes both dirt and water will speed up the process, providing both labour and Continued page 40

September 2015 | ECJ | 39

MOPPING EQUIPMENT Machines versus mops (continued) cost savings. “Meanwhile, a properlycleaned floor that has been left dry by a machine will result in far fewer slip and fall accidents,” he said. “As well as avoiding injury, this may obviate the potentially high costs of a lawsuit.”

He feels that an increasing number of contractors are moving away from manual mopping. “I have heard this month from a large cleaning contractor at a major UK airport that they now have no mopping operations on site - hallelujah!” he said.

Cost concern Denis Rawlins supplies a range of cleaning machines including the Kaivac OmniFlex Crossover System, said to allow the user to progress from manual mopping by adding the capability to vacuum.

Concerns about the cost of manual mopping are growing as an increasing number of employers seek to pay their operatives a sustainable wage, according to White. “Also, machines are becoming even more efficient,” he said. “Comparative testing has shown that manual mopping takes between twice and three times as long as a machine. I can see no reason for persuading anyone to adopt a manual mop

September 2015 | ECJ | 40

in place of machine cleaning.”

However, he feels there will be an ongoing need for mopping systems in situations where it is necessary to spread a cleaning solution over a floor. “But there are now systems available where the solution can be dispensed to the floor and wiped away so that the mop never needs to be dipped into the solution,” he said. “This keeps the solution clean and means that any leftover solution can be used another time.”

Export manager for Filmop Paolo Scapinello says manual mops offer a major advantage because they enable a single tool to be used for cleaning floors and vertical surfaces such as walls, skirting boards and tiles. “They are also ideal for areas where a machine cannot operate due to its bulk, such as in narrow spaces or areas filled with obstacles,” he said.

He agrees with other manufacturers that manual mops are particularly appropriate in healthcare where any cross-contamination of microbes and bacteria needs to be closely controlled.

“Here the cleaning of patient rooms and bathrooms needs to be performed using new and clean mops every time,” he said.

“In healthcare environments, machines

can only really be used in corridors that are totally empty.”

He admits that compact scrubbing machines could begin to rival the manual mop. “However the cost of these machines right now is still too high and they are definitely not for everybody, even though there are arguments about labour cost savings.

Limited impact “For the time being we feel that compact machines are having a very limited influence on the mop market not only for economic reasons, but also because the two systems meet very different needs.”

New from Filmop is Duo Face, a combined system of frames and mops for cleaning floors and vertical surfaces, and Equodose which is a mechanical dosing device that enables mops to be soaked directly at the cleaning location.

Scapinello admits that the labour costs involved with manual mopping systems are a concern for customers. “However, cleaning has a fundamental value with regard to health and well-being,” he said. ”For this reason, the high hygiene standards associated with manual mopping plus

MOPPING EQUIPMENT its flexibility for use not only on floors but also on furniture, mirrors, glass and walls makes the ‘human factor’ of mopping both precious and unique.”

IPC Group managing director Michele Redi says mops and machines are best when used in tandem. “Machines cannot clean all floor spaces – think of washrooms and hospital rooms for example,” he said. “Manual mopping systems are increasingly used to complement those machines that are used to clean large uniform spaces. Non-mechanised solutions, on the other hand, can cope with more complex tasks - particularly where high standards of hygiene are required.”

He says manual mopping systems are used extensively in hospitality and medical environments where cleaning has to be performed with minimal disturbance to guests or patients.

Par ces temps mécanisés, quels sont les arguments en faveur de l’épongeage humide et de ses frais connexes en main-d’œuvre par rapport à une machine de lavage des sols ? ECJ se penche sur des facteurs tels que le silence de marche, le peu de mise de fonds, et l’aptitude à opérer dans des coins difficilement accessibles par une machine.

“Manual mopping systems are both versatile and mobile,’ he said. “They are ideal in crowded areas and adapt well to the environment. They are also silent.”

Boost productivity However Redi believes that today’s new compact scrubbing machines can boost cleaning productivity in smaller, more uniform areas. “The impact of the increasing penetration of floor machines is that manual mopping is becoming an even more complementary, specialised job,” he said. “The challenge to the industry is to continue to innovate and increase the productivity of the entire cleaning role.”

He says labour costs are always a concern in the cleaning industry. “However cleaning is always a laborious task, no matter what tool is used,” he adds.

“Machines have provided an important Welche Argumente gibt es in diesen hochmechanisierten Zeiten für den Einsatz eines Handmopp in Verbindung mit allen zugehörigen Personalkosten anstelle einer Bodenreinigungsmaschine? Das ECJ betrachtet Faktoren wie ruhigeren Betrieb, geringeren Kostenaufwand und eine bessere Fähigkeit zur Reinigung in Ecken, um herauszufinden, ob ein Moppsystem eine bessere Wahl sein kann als eine Maschine.

contribution but there is no perfect tool that can cater for all floors. In fact we are seeing increasingly specific solutions for individual cleaning tasks, and these are not always mechanised solutions.”

IPC offers trolleys, frames and mops plus a range of floor scrubbers and sweepers. “Offering the entire set of cleaning tools and machines enables us to grasp the complexity of any cleaning job and develop truly complementary solutions,” he said.

According to Redi there will always be a place for manual mopping. “Manual mopping systems are becoming more productive and allow the operative to cover more space in less time. It is likely the focus of manual mopping in the future will be to ascertain how best it can complement the work of machines and increase overall productivity,” he said.

In questa era altamente meccanizzata, quali sono le argomentazioni sull’uso dei mop manuali, con tutti i costi di manodopera ad esso associati, invece di una macchina lavapavimenti? ECJ prende in esame fattori tipo il lavoro più silezioso, la riduzione delle spese, e la migliore capacità di pulire negli angoli, per scoprire se il sistema di mop può essere un’ozione migliore dell’uso di una macchina.

Septemer 2015 | ECJ | 41

PRODUCTS: MOPPING

800 washes The TASKI Jonmaster Ultra range of ultra microfibre mops from Diversey Care are guaranteed for 800 washes and are designed for optimum microbial removal in daily cleaning operations.

The mops are manufactured using a new specification of ultra microfibre with finer fibres and a more open structure than traditionally used, says Diversey Care. The construction of the fi-

bres ensures each mop has double the surface area compared with previous ones - resulting in easier and more effective dirt pick-up.

Jonmaster Ultra mops can be used dry or with water alone.

They also have increased polyester fibre content to help reduce friction, enabling the mops to glide across the floor more effortlessly. www.diversey.com

Separate collect Alpha Split is the separate waste collection system introduced by Filmop for its Alpha trolleys.

Thanks to the new removable drawer positioned underneath the bag holder and the dividers of the upper section, the operator can have up to six different compartments for waste collection. By adding other small dividers the number can be increased to eight sections.

• Les têtes d’épongeage TASKI Jonmaster Ultra à microfibre de Diversey Care sont garanties pour 800 lavages.

• Filmop a mis au point l’Alpha Split pour ses chariots de nettoyage afin de permettre la collecte séparée de déchets.

• Rekola Trolley Systems s’est vu attribuer le label Nordic Swan pour son tissu ProTex.

• Die TASKI Jonmaster UltraMikrofasermopps von Diversey Care können garantiert 800 Mal gewaschen werden.

• Filmop hat zum Einsatz auf seinen Moppreinigungswagen das System Alpha Split entwickelt, das die getrennte Abfallsammlung ermöglicht.

• Rekola Trolley Systems wurde mit dem Nordischen Umweltzeichen „Schwan“ für das ProTex-Tuch ausgezeichnet.

• I mop in microfibra TASKI Jonmaster Ultra della Diversey Care sono garantiti per 800 lavaggi.

• La Filmop ha progettato il sistema Alpha Split che permette la raccolta differenziata dei rifiuti e che può essere usato sui suoi trolley per mop.

• La Rekola Trolley Systems ha ricevuto il label Nordic Swan per il suo panno ProTex.

September 2015 | ECJ | 42

This removable drawer can also be used as an additional storage area for the trolley so that it can be used for a combination of waste collection, wet mopping and storage in one compact work station. www.filmop.com

Swan label The ProTex cloth from Rekola Trolley Systems has been awarded the Swan ecolabel. The label applies to the Ultra Microfibre waffle cloths for surface cleaning and the ones used with the patented ProS Q swivelled squeegee system. www.rekola.com

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Use MicroOne cloth once and then throw it away. Use MicroOne mop in one patient room, then dispose of it.

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PRODUCTS: MOPPING

One at a time Dosely is a mechanical cleaning solution dispenser designed to soak one mop at a time while it is on the trolley. Designed by TTS, the dosing system is secure in that detergent goes into a removable hermetic tank which can be locked into the trolley using a key. The operative also has the flexibility to adjust the amount of cleaning solution applied to the mop during cleaning, which saves on chemical.

This means no more carrying of heavy buckets filled with pre-soaked mops and no manual pre-soaking - saving on time and labour. And reducing the risk of cross-contamination says TTS. Less water and electricity are used because there are fewer mops to wash and detergent consumption is also reduced because Dosely soaks only the cleaning side of the mop which saves up to one-third of cleaning solution for each mop. www.ttsystem.com

Cost reductions Decitex says planned short-term use of its Dispomop 3D and Ultimate 3D microfibre mopping systems can lead to significant cost reductions.

Because 3D uses lighter weight products, a five-kg washing machine can hold 250 pieces, which cuts down on mop maintenance costs. And it is designed to carry less water and for cleaning without chemical.

The Dispomop 3D is also a

short-term use microfibre mop which can be washed up to 50 times and weighs just 15g when dry. Water and chemical consumption are said to be reduced by up to nine times in use. www.decitex.com

Wring flat mops New from Sprimsol is an automatic wringer specifically for flat mops. The second Fregomatic has stiffened springs that make the rollers exercise higher pressure on flat cleaning tools, such as mops and wipes.

The vertical system wrings out flat mops from the top to the end towards the tips, leaving them cleaner and dryer. And it can be adapted to most of the buckets, handles and mops on the market the company says. www.sprimsol.com

• Le Dosely est un distributeur de solution de nettoyage qui se monte sur un chariot et trempe des têtes de balayage humide une à la fois.

• Le Dispomop proposé par Decitex est une tête de balayage humide qui peut être lavée jusqu’à 50 fois.

• Sprimsol a ajouté l’essoreuse autromatique Fregomatic pour sa gamme de têtes d’épongeage plates.

• Bei Dosely handelt es sich um einen mechanischen Spender für Reinigungslösungen, der an einem Reinigungswagen befestigt ist, um jeweils einen Mopp einzuweichen.

• Der Dispomop von Decitex ist ein Mikrofasermopp für die kurzfristige Verwendung, der bis zu 50 Mal gewaschen werden kann.

• Sprimsol hat seine Produktreihe um einen automatischen Wringer Fregomatic für Flachmopps erweitert.

• Dosely è un dispenser meccanico di soluzione detergente montato su un carrello che impregna un mop alla volta.

• Dispomop della Decitex è un mop in microfibra a breve durata che può essere lavato 50 volte.

• La Sprimsol ha aggiunto alla sua gamma di prodotti lo strizzatore automatico per mop piatti Fregomatic.

September 2015 | ECJ 45

PRODUCTS: MOPPING

• Pour les chambres blanches, Perfex a mis au point la tête d’épongeage à éponge TruCLEAN que l’on peut employer pour appliquer des désinfectants.

• Hilados Biete a lancé la tête d’épongeage à microfibre Duo Face sous sa marque Ressol.

• Crisp Clean considère que son système de chariot Nipper Plus représente la solution en acier inox la plus flexible actuellement disponible.

• Für Reinräume hat Perfex den TruCLEAN-Schwammmopp entwickelt, mit dem Desinfektionsmittel aufgetragen werden können.

• Hilados Biete hat unter seiner Marke Ressol den Mikrofasermopp Duo Face vorgestellt.

• Laut Crisp Clean ist das Reinigungswagensystem Nipper Plus die flexibelste, aus Edelstahl gefertigte Lösung, die erhältlich ist.

• La Perfex ha sviluppato il mop TruCLEAN Sponge per le camere bianche che può essere usato per applicare i disinfettanti.

• La Hilados Biete ha lanciato il mop in microfibra Duo Face con il suo marchio Ressol.

• La Crisp Clean afferma che il suo Sistema di carrelli Nipper Plus è la soluzione in acciaio inossidabile più flessibile disponibile sul mercato.

September 2015 | ECJ | 46

For cleanroom

can clean a 16 x 5 ins area in a single pass - cleaning, rinsing and drying quickly. It can also hold up to five times its weight in liquids. www.perfexonline.com

Both sides

Designed for use in cleanroom or sterile environments where contamination control is critical is the TruCLEAN Sponge mop from Perfex. These are suitable for applying disinfectants and sterilants to floors, walls and ceilings.

The specially formulated polyurethane foam construction has chemical and microbial resistance, low particle generation and optimum surface coherence says Perfex. TruCLEAN Sponge will not release liquids until pressure is applied and it

Duo Face is the new mop developed by Hilados Biete under its Ressol brand. For cleaning of floors, vertical surfaces, stairs and skirting boards, both sides can be used. Dust, turn and wash, then wash, turn and dry.

One side is made of microfibre chenille which attracts dust and dirt, while the other side is rougher in its construction. www.hiladosbiete.com

Secure storage Crisp Clean Services says its Nipper Plus trolley system is the most flexible stainless steel range available - offering enclosed secure storage,

detachable enclosed units and a wide range of accessories.

Nipper Plus is built off a fully modular base which can accommodate all types of cleaning methods and specifically tailored trolley arrangements can also be constructed.

Other systems from the company include the i-Press compact adjustable flat mop roller press designed for small areas. Ringo and Hytech are flat mopping presses with built-in mechanism or foot operation.

For damp mopping the patented Solo system ensures the correct amount of solution is evenly added to the mop and only when required. www.crispclean.co.uk

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DISTRIBUTORS

Competing with the big boys Businesses operating across the jan/san supply chain are part of a global industry worth €17.28 billion. As is the case in many industries, smaller companies have had to fight hard to compete with the bigger, multi-national corporations. But in a market this size, and one that is growing all the time, now is a great a time as any for smaller companies to step up and take their market share.

Paul Black, ceo of sales-i - which specialises in sales performance software - writes for ECJ.

To run a profitable business, regardless of size, companies need to keep existing customers happy and be able to identify new ones. In a sales-based industry such as the jan/san supply chain, businesses generate a lot of customer data and those with the ability to analyse it properly are armed with the power to step up their competitive game.

Being able to process and analyse data is vital for suppliers and distributors across the entire industry, but it’s especially true for the smaller companies where information such as this can help them stay ahead of the competition.

It provides businesses of all sizes with greater visibility into customer buying habits and trends, enabling them to make better, more informed decisions. And one of the best ways companies can make the most of the data available to them is to manage it using business intelligence software.

Business intelligence, at its most basic, is the ability to transform unstructured

data into meaningful and useful information for organisations to identify new business opportunities.

Even in a small company, sales people are expected to manage hundreds of customers across a vast array of product lines, meaning they generate a huge amount of customer data every single day. Recording - and more importantly analysing - this data manually would be a difficult, nigh-on impossible task, and one that would cost businesses a lot in time and resources to implement effectively.

Business intelligence software exists to do precisely this; it can identify what products are in high demand, what products are in low demand, what products customers need and want, often even before they know it themselves.

There has been much talk across multiple industries about the potential of ‘big data’ (that is, the enormous quantity of data now available to businesses). For business to consumer companies, this might mean assessing the effectiveness of various marketing campaigns and analysing their online purchasing habits, for example. But for business to business suppliers it means understanding customer data and turning it into actionable information that can help salespeople sell more.

Big jan/san companies may have the resources to plough hundreds of hours into cold calling but for smaller companies this can be a waste of valuable selling time. Knowing how to use a sales force efficiently and for the maximum return is key to driving healthy sales figures in any small business.

Of course there are ways to do this manually but trawling through endless spreadsheets trying to identify trends is not an efficient use of time. Automating this process means precious time and money can be saved, and sales teams can focus their time and efforts on building customer relationships and selling more.

Business intelligence software will flag up when a particular customer is likely to

run out of a certain product. It will also highlight cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. For example, if a salesperson sees that a particular customer purchased a large order of mops but no buckets last month, they immediately know it’s time to pick up the phone and how to start the conversation.

It can also identify wider customer trends, including what the best selling product lines are and whether there have been any seasonal changes. This can help jan/san suppliers run highly targeted promotions and marketing campaigns that are based on data and fact, rather than on the opinions of a few people in the marketing department. Why not run a 15 per cent discount on buckets to those customers who only bought mops last month, for example?

Intimate customer service Customer retention is an all too often overlooked area of business. Many companies will invest heavily in marketing and promotion to bring in new clients but winning a new customer costs 10 times the amount to retain an existing one. As well as delivering efficient, intelligent sales and worrying about how to compete with the big corporations, smaller Jan/San companies must make the most of being just that; a smaller business.

Providing better customer service by knowing what customers want and delivering it efficiently will help build up trust.

Business intelligence software will organise customer data into digestible segments, meaning sales teams can access key information about every customer in an instant. This includes information such as purchasing history, what’s changed within the account, who has moved where, and what the customer is happy, or not so happy, about.

It can help businesses to better anticipate customer needs, record their interests more accurately and deliver an altogether better and more intimate service every time. With insights like these, Continued page 52

September 2015 | ECJ | 51

DISTRIBUTORS Competing with the big boys (continued) even the smallest of Jan/San suppliers can reel in any drifting customers before the competition gets to them.

Sales professionals often spend a lot of time on the road, travelling to meet prospects and customers. Business Intelligence software can be accessed via smart phones and tablets on the move, meaning customer information can be accessed from anywhere, and at anytime.

Sales staff can easily check stock levels in real time, book delivery slots and let the customer know on the spot when they can expect their delivery, all without having to be anywhere near their desk. Gone are the days of having to carry around reams of paperwork detailing customer information, and with business intelligence, travel time no longer means wasted time.

A key element of keeping any business Les entreprises engagées dans la chaîne d’approvisionnement des services de nettoyage et d’entretien font partie d’une industrie globale d’une valeur de 17,28 milliards d’euros.

Situation fréquente dans toute industrie, les petites affaires peinent à lutter avec les grosses entreprises implantées dans ce secteur, et l’on se demande comment un nouveau-venu peut y réussir. Disposer de renseignements commerciaux appropriés constitue un moyen particulièrement important à cette fin, déclare Paul Black, de la société sales-i.

September 2015 | ECJ | 52

competitive is through effective management and the development and progression of staff.

A team is only as strong as its weakest member, but in the past it could take a month or more for managers to make sense of sales and identify any problems with individuals in the team. Business intelligence software provides managers with an overview of how everyone in the team is performing. It can provide real time information about sales and performance, helping businesses to give praise where it’s due and to address issues as and when they arise.

Trends in underperformance, either at a team or individual level, can be spotted before they do damage, and help and support can be offered to get things back on track.

The key to success for any business is Firmen, die über die gesamte hausmeisterliche Lieferkette hinweg tätig sind, sind Teil einer weltweiten Industrie im Wert von 17,28 Milliarden Euro. Wie in vielen anderen Industrien mussten kleinere Firmen schwer kämpfen, um sich gegen größere multinationale Unternehmen zu behaupten. Wie können sich kleine Firmen steigern und ihren Marktanteil beanspruchen? Business-Intelligence kann eine maßgebliche Rolle spielen, sagt Paul Black von sales-i.

identifying what customers want, when they want it and when they need it. Advances in technology such as business intelligence software will benefit companies of all sizes, across all industries; but this is particularly true for smaller distribution businesses trying to compete with the big industry suppliers that have bigger budgets and more personnel at their disposal.

Not only does it provide sales teams with all (and only) the information they need to sell more, it will save time previously spent on manually trawling through spreadsheets and speculatively cold calling prospects. It enables managers to more effectively manage their team and leaves sales professionals to get on with what they do the best - building relationships with customers, and selling. www.sales-i.com Le imprese che operano in tutta la catena di sevizi dedicati alla pulizia degli edifici sono parte di un settore globale del valore di 17,28 milardi di euro. Come in molti settori, le imprese di dimensioni più piccole devono combattere duramente per competere con le corporazioni più grandi e multinazionali, quindi come possono le piccole imprese fare dei passi in avanti e prendersi la loro quota di mercato? La business intelligence può avere un ruolo significativo, come afferma Paul Black della sales-i.

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CMS PREVIEW

Countdown to German CMS exhibition CMS 2015 - the professional cleaning exhibition for Germany - takes place in Berlin from September 22-25.

More than 16,000 visitors from 60 countries attended the last CMS in 2013.

This year the organisers are seeking to make the event even more attractive to visitors from outside Germany, with the hosting of its second international conference there.

The theme of the programme is People and Business, held over two days on September 23 and 24. The conference language will be English and the venue the Marshall Haus, a listed building at the ECJ présente une avant-première du CMS, le salon allemand de la propreté professionnelle, qui se tiendra à Berlin du 22 au 25 septembre. Nous jetons un coup d’œil sur les manifestations de ce salon et sur les produits nouveaux qui y seront lancés.

exhibition grounds.

Topics to be discussed include available workforce potential, big data, demographic change, pandemics and infections, technology and sustainability, and the shortage of trained specialists.

The CMS Purus Awards - which recognise excellence in product design - will also be presented on the first day of the show. The 15 finalists have already been announced, over five categories.

Within the exhibition, special areas will include grounds care, glass and façade cleaning and aerial work platforms.

Visit www.cms-berlin.de Das ECJ bietet eine Vorschau auf die CMS, die Internationale Fachmesse für Reinigungssysteme, Gebäudemanagement und Dienstleistungen, die vom 22.-25. September in Berlin stattfinden wird. Neben den wichtigen Ereignisse, die im Rahmen der Messe veranstaltet werden, betrachten wir auch die neu vorgestellten Produkte.

ECJ fa un’anteprima della CMS, l’esibizione tedesca del clening professionale che si terrà a Berlino dal 22 al 25 settembre e prende in esame gli eventi importanti che avranno luogo alla fiera e i nuovi prodotti che verranno lanciati durante l’evento.

September 2015 | ECJ | 55

PRODUCTS: CMS

Gloria Gloria has added five powerful sprayers to its CleanMaster range of hand and pressure sprayers.

Equipped with high quality Viton seals, the PF 12 and PF 50 sprayers are said to have a particularly high resistance to acid cleaning agents with a low pH-value.

The new CleanMaster Extreme EX 100 hand sprayer is claimed to be particularly efficient when applying solvent-containing agents such as brake or wheel cleaners.

The pressure sprayer has a filling capacity of one litre and a maximum operating pressure of three bar plus a robust container made of resistant Polyoxymethylene plastic with Viton seals.

The CleanMaster Extreme EX 05 and EX 10 hand sprayers have a filling capacity of 0.5 and one litre. www.industrial-sprayer.com

Wetrok On the Wetrok stand there are two new scrubber dryers.

The Duomatic Esprit features the patent-pending Wetrok Power-Whirl which is based on advanced suction nozzle technology that generates optimallycontrolled suction which leaves the floor area completely dry with lower energy consumption, says Wetrok.

This model also features the Touch’n’Clean handle that allows for automatic start/stop operation, along with a 55-litre fresh water tank with integrated water pump. Filling is conveni-

ent, thanks to the Quick-Refill attachment with a hose coupling and automatic power cut-off.

For medium to large areas there is the Drivematic Delight ride-on scrubber which boasts compact dimensions and small turning circle. It features brush change at the touch of a button; Quick-Refill function; chemical and water dosing system and user-friendly display. www.wetrok.com • Gloria a étendu sa gamme CleanMaster en y ajoutant cinq nouveaux pulvérisateurs chimiques.

• Wetrok a lancé deux nouvelles autolaveuses sous les dénominations Duomatic Esprit et Drivematic Delight.

• Gloria hat die Produktreihe CleanMaster um fünf neue Sprühgeräte für Chemikalien erweitert.

• Bei den beiden Scheuersaugmaschinen von Wetrok handelt es sich um die Duomatic Esprit und die Drivematic Delight.

• La Gloria ha ampliato la sua gamma CleanMaster con l’aggiunta di cinque nuovi nebulizzatori per prodotti chimici.

• La Wetrok ha due nuove lavasciuga pavimenti , la Duomatic Esprit e la Drivematic Delight.

September 2015 | ECJ | 56

PRODUCTS: CMS

Kärcher

CWS-boco

New products on the Kärcher stand include the MC 130 compact municipal vacuum sweepers in the cubic metre class. This manoeuvrable machine weighs less than the permitted total weight of 3.5 tonnes, even with maximum load and can be driven with a standard driving licence.

The new hot water high pressure trailer has a large water and diesel tank for autonomous cleaning of up to 30 minutes.

Featuring built-in frost protection, it is designed to be suitable for winter use.

And the B 95 RS step-on scrubber dryer has features including energy-saving eco!efficiency mode, DOSE cleaning agent dosing system, KIK colour-coded key system and Auto-Fill tank filling system. www.karcher.com

CWS says its Paradise Air Bar is the first fragrance dispenser to feature an integrated user interface offering a range of setting options.

Suitable for use in washrooms, receptions, conference rooms, spas and smoking areas, the system targets bad smells without being oppressive, says CWS. All fragrances are made from ingredients that are not harmful to people

or the environment.

Paradise Air Bar can neutralise bad smells including nicotine, sweat and canteen odours via a diffusion system that transports the fragrance into the room from two cartridges. The intensity of the fragrance can be set and regulated as required.

Also on display is the dispenser range CWS ParadiseLine, along with the company’s skin hygiene and protection line. www.cws-boco.com

• Parmi les nouveaux lancements Kärcher figure la balayeuseaspiratrice municipale compacte MC 130.

• Les nouveau système Paradise Air Bar de la société CWS comprend une interface utilisateur offrant différentes options de réglage.

• Unter den Neuvorstellungen von Kärcher ist die MC 130, eine kompakte Kehrsaugmaschine für Außenbereiche.

• Die neue Paradise Air Bar von CWS bietet eine integrierte Benutzeroberfläche zur Steuerung der verschiedenen Einstellungsoptionen.

• Fra i nuovi prodotti lanciati dalla Kärcher c’è la spazzatrice/ estrattore compatta municipale MC 130.

• Il nuovo sistema Paradise Air Bar della CWS è dotato di una interfaccia per utente integrata che offre diverse opzioni di impostazione.

Septeber 2015 | ECJ | 57

PRODUCTS: CMS

Eureka EC-51 is the latest addition to Eureka’s line of cleaning machines - an escalator and travelator deep cleaner.

For its other floor cleaning machines the company has developed the Eureka ECO System for saving time, chemicals and costs with an eye on the environment. www.eurekasweepers.com • Eureka a lancé l’EC51, un nettoyant d’escaliers et de trottoirs roulants.

• Truvox présentera sa soufflante Hybrid Blower 3400, sa lustreuse Orbis UHS 1500 et son aspirateur Valet BackPack 11.

• Werner & Mertz a développé le système de dosage chimique SMART. • GOJO expose ses systèmes d’hygiène des mains en dehors du domicile.

• L’aspirateur Elsea X15 se démarque par une faible consommation et un fort pouvoir d’aspiration.

• La nouvelle gamme Lewi Bionic d’outils de nettoyage proposée par Lehmann comprend des raclettes, laveuses, gratte-vitre et brosses.

• Neu von Eureka ist die EC51 zur Reinigung von Rolltreppen und Rollsteigen.

• Truvox wird den Hybrid Blower 3400, das Poliergerät Orbis UHS 1500 und den Staubsauger Valet BackPack 11 demonstrieren.

• Werner & Mertz Professional hat das Chemikaliendosiersystem SMART entwickelt.

• GOJO stellt seine gewerblichen Systeme für Handgesundheit und -hygiene aus.

• Der Staubsauger X15 von Elsea bietet niedrigen Stromverbrauch und hohe Saugstärke.

• Die Produktreihe Lewi Bionic mit Reinigungswerkzeugen von Lehmann umfasst Abzieher, Einwascher, Fensterschaber und Bürsten.

• Il nuovo prodotto della Eureka è la macchina per pulire le scale mobili e i tapis roulant EC51.

• La Truvox dimostra i suoi prodotti Hybrid Blower 3400, la Orbis UHS 1500 e l’aspirapolvere Valet BackPack 11.

• La Werner & Mertz Professional ha sviluppato il sistema di dosaggio dei prodotti chimici SMART. • La GOJO espone i suoi sistemi di igiene e cura delle mani per il mercato non domestico.

• Gli aspirapolveri X15 della Elsea vantano basso consumo energetico e aspirazione potente.

• La gamma di articoli per le pulizie Lewi Bionic prodotti dalla Lehmann include tergivetro, raschietti, e spazzole.

September 2015 | ECJ | 58

Truvox

The latest addition to Truvox International’s air mover range is the Hybrid Blower 3400 which is said to be light and more compact that traditional blowers while still generating the same power for fast drying of carpets and floors.

The ultra high speed Orbis UHS 1500 burnisher, meanwhile, is suitable for long cleaning shifts and after use the single disk unit’s handle now folds for easier storage. And the Valet BackPack II has been updated to offer new features including a 1200 W motor. The cable is also easier to change and the switch is now fixed on the hip strap rather than clipped. www.truvox.com

Werner & Mertz The core element of the new SMART chemical dosing system from Werner & Mertz is its membrane technology, a bottle concept bringing portable dosing to the smallest applications.

GOJO Europe From GOJO comes a line of skin health and hygiene solutions for away-from-home applications. The range encompasses ecolabel-approved foam soaps, hand sanitisers, skin conditioners and dispensing systems.

The company also provides comprehensive education and training for hand hygiene compliance. www.gojo.com

Elsea

Elsea’s newest vacuum cleaner is the X15, designed to offer high performance with minimum energy consumption and low noise level. Features include an ergonomic handle, no-mark wheels and rear accessory holder.

The X15 is also equipped with a pedal start/stop system, with a motor speed regulator and light indicator to signal when the dust bag is full. www.elseaonline.it

Lehmann

Features of SMART include flexible dosing along with worker and material safety.

This is because the membrane prevents leakage and chemical exposure while handling is safe and convenient. No installation and maintenance, or additional dosing equipment, are required.

And the system also requires no training. www.wmprof.com

Lewi Bionic is a new range of tools from Lehmann - encompassing squeegees, washers, window scraper and brushes for many applications. At the centre of the range is the newly developed Bi component handle, designed for optimum grip in the hand and comfortable working.

Lehmann’s established Qleen pure water cleaning system is also on the stand. This comprises a water processing unit, professional pole system and various brushes. A new addition to the system are Qleen carbon poles. www.lewi.de

PRODUCTS: CMS

Papernet Among the tissue ranges at the Papernet stand are Dissolve Tech, Bio Tech, Dry Tech, Kraft Tech, Double Layer Tech and Hy Tech.

Dissolve Tech is a hand towel that can be thrown into the toilet and flushed away like toilet tissue, where it will dissolve after three minutes. Bio Tech is an active toilet tissue which Papernet claims helps to keep sewage pipes clean and eliminate bad odours. Produced using Biologic Active Tissue Paper (BATP) technology it contains five types of active microorganisms that release enzymes when they come into contact with water.

Minimal lines and ergonomic shapes characterise the HyTech dispenser range created by Italian designer Stefano Giovannoni. Hy Tech Hygiene, Hy Tech MaterBi and Hy Tech Antibacterial lines are available. www.papernet.it

Kimberly-Clark

New from Kimberly-Clark at CMS is the Scott Max rolled hand towel, which boasts high capacity and continuous availability. With 1,400 towels on a roll it delivers 700 hand dries per roll.

Scott Max towels are made of Airflex material which absorbs water faster than conventional paper towels. This, together with their tensile strength, ensures effective drying and less waste says Kimberly-Clark.

Dispensing is simple and reliable, with a survey showing that the problem of towel tabbing is up to two-and-a-half times less likely than with comparable systems. This means complaints relating to the lack of towels in the washroom can be minimised. www.kcprofessional.com

Hako

Hako is presenting a crosssection of its cleaning products including sweepers and vacuum sweepers, scrubber dryers and cleaning appliances for use in small buildings. The company will also be showing some of its cleaning and care agents plus products aimed at the municipal technology segment under the brand name Citymaster.

Also available is a programme of product-related services such as fleet management, computerised profitability calculations and various financing and procurement options.

Debuting is the 3.5 t-class Citymaster 1600 as well as Hako’s new flagship implement carrier Multicar M31 Euro VI. www.hako.com • Parmi les de papiers exposés au stand Papernet figurent des serviettes Dissolve Tech et papiers hygiéniques Bio Tech.

• Kimberly-Clark a lancé le distributeur à serviettes Scott Max, contenant 700 pièces par rouleau.

• Sur le stand Hako sont déployés de nouveaux modèles de balayeuse et d’autolaveuse, ainsi que ses solutions de gestion de parc de ce fabricant.

• Unter den Papierprodukten am Stand von Papernet befinden sich die Handtücher Dissolve Tech und das Toilettenpapier Bio Tech.

• Neu von Kimberly-Clark ist das Papierhandtuch-Rollensystem Scott Max, das 700 Trocknungen pro Rolle bietet.

• Neben den Fleet Management Solutions werden am Stand von Hako neue Kehrmaschinen und Scheuersaugmaschinen gezeigt.

• Fra i prodotti in carta esposti sullo stand della Papernet ci sono gli asciugamani Dissolve Tech e la carta igienica Bio Tech.

• Il nuovo prodotto della KimberlyClark è l’asciugamano in rotoli Scott Max con 700 asciugature per rotolo.

• Sullo stand della Hako saranno esposte dei nuovi modelli di spazzatrici e lavasciuga pavimenti e inoltre le sue soluzioni Fleet Management Solutions.

September 2015 | ECJ 59

PRODUCTS: CMS

• Les appareils de nettoyage haute pression à eau chaude/froid exposés par DiBO comprennent le JMB-M 500/30.

• Ecolab mettra en avant ses solutions chimiques de nettoyage pour la cuisine et la blanchisserie.

• IPC a équipé son autolaveuse CT80 d’un dispositif avancé de régulation pour la productivité assurant un débit d’eau précis et constant.

• Unter den Heiß- und KaltwasserHochdruckreinigern am Stand von DiBO ist der JMB-M 500/30.

• Ecolab legt Nachdruck auf chemische Reinigungslösung in der Küche und beim Wäschewaschen.

• IPC hat die Scheuersaugmaschine CT80 mit Advanced Productivity Control ausgestattet, um einen präzisen und konstanten Wasserfluss zu ermöglichen.

• Sullo stand della DiBO, fra le idropulitrici ad alta pressione ad acqua calda e ad acqua fredda, c’è il modello JMB-M 500/30.

• La Ecolab mette in evidenza le soluzioni chimiche detergenti per le cucine e per le lavanderie.

• La IPC ha dotato la sua lavasciuga pavimenti CT80 del Advanced Productivity Control per rendere il flusso d’acqua costante e accurato.

September 2015 | ECJ | 60

DiBO

The latest model in the DiBO range of hot and cold water high pressure cleaners is the JMB-M 500/30 fuel-efficient hot water trailer-mounted machine.

Features include the DiBO GreenBoiler, an industrial water cooled diesel engine, an intercooling system and an automatic start/stop system.

The company says this model can offer up to a 33 per cent fuel saving compared to traditional trailer-mounted high pressure cleaners. It also boasts low CO2 and soot emissions. www.dibo.com

Ecolab The MAXX2 range of chemical cleaning solutions from Ecolab is used primarily in low concentration and covers a range of applications.

The Apex and Kitchen Pro ranges are designed for use in kitchens, with Apex covering dishwashing and KitchenPro tackling cleaning tasks in the kitchen efficiently and cost-effectively.

Aquanomic and StainBlaster are the latest developments in laundry, which are used in conjunction with precision dilution dispensing technology.

Finally, there is a new hand care product called Nexa designed to encourage successful hand hygiene compliance. www.ecolab.com

IPC IPC has improved its CT80 compact ride-on scrubber dryer with the development of Advanced

Productivity Control, a water control system that enables precise and consistent water flow throughout the cleaning process.

Plus the operator gets instant visual feedback of remaining time and square metres.

And following the launch of Black is Green recycled plastics in its BRIX cleaning trolleys, IPC has extended the technology to a full range of trolleys and vacuum cleaners. www.ipcleaning.com

PRODUCTS: CMS

US Pumice Co

Leafield

US Pumice Company produces non-toxic cleaners under the brand name Pumie for porcelain, ceramic tile, and steel surfaces.

Pumie products are said to avoid the need for scrubbing with brushes and pads. According to the company they work on contact to effectively erase stains, grime, rust and scale from surfaces using a mild abrasive action.

The Meridian recycling bin from Leafield Environmental was designed in partnership with the University of Greenwich in the UK. The brief was to make recycling easier by separating mixed recyclables and non-recyclable waste at source.

The 110-litre Meridian Envirobin bin was initially designed to take the two waste streams in one unit with a 70:30 split in favour of mixed recyclables in

order to encourage recycling.

The triple lid version followed and was further customised to meet individual customers’ waste streams. A lid with a hole aperture helps segregate cans or bottles while a liquids reservoir and lid are also available along with a 100 per cent open top version and a 70:30 split lid with both sides open.

The bin also boasts a narrow footprint and flat back that can be placed against a wall. www.leafieldrecycle.com

Pumie Jan 6 with a handle and Jan 12 bars, for example, remove stains and deposits with mild abrasive action. The Flex-Scour flexible scrubbing screen is designed for use on curved or round surfaces and can remove rust, paint, mineral deposits, grease and carbonised food deposits. www.uspumice.com • US Pumice produit des tampons de plancher non toxiques utilisant de la ponce naturelle.

• L’Envirobin Meridian est une poubelle effilée de 110 litres signée Leafield Environmental et capable de recevoir deux flux de déchets.

• US Pumice fertigt ungiftige Reinigungspads unter Verwendung von natürlichem Bimsstein.

• Bei der Meridian Envirobin handelt es sich um eine schlanke 110-Liter-Einheit von Leafield Environmental, die zwei Abfallbehälter in einer Einheit enthält.

• La US Pumice produce tamponi di pulizia non tossici utilizzando pietra pomice naturale.

• Meridian Envirobin è una unità slimline della capacità di 110 litri prodotta dalla Leafield Environmental e progettata per accomodare due contenitori per rifiuti.

Septeber 2015 | ECJ | 61

PRODUCTS: CMS

• TTS a lancé la gamme de chariots de nettoyage Mini Magic, conçue pour les petites superficies.

• Nouveau produit de Numatic, l’aspirateur Eco Xtra tourne à une puissance de 420 W. • Unger expose sa gamme de solutions pour le lavage des vitres, y compris un nouvel outil.

• Neu im Angebot von TTS ist die Produktfamilie Mini Magic mit Reinigungswagen, die zum Einsatz in beengten Räumen konzipiert wurde.

• Neu am Stand von Numatic ist der Staubsauger Eco Xtra, der mit 420 W betrieben wird.

• Unger präsentiert seine Produktfamilie mit Fensterreinigungslösungen, einschließlich einem neuen Werkzeug.

• La novità della TTS è la linea di carrelli Mini Magic, progettata per essere utilizzata in spazi di dimensioni ridotte.

• Sullo stand della Numatic è esposto il nuovo aspirapolvere Eco Xtra che funziona a 420W. • La Unger presenta la sua linea di soluzioni per la pulizia delle finestre che include un nuovo attrezzo.

September 2015 | ECJ | 62

TTS The newest addition to TTS’ line of Magic Line trolleys is the Mini Magic line which is designed to cater for small areas. Users can select the most suitable configuration for their needs in terms or storage area, waste collection and cleaning areas and the company claims the 50x52 cm model will be easy to move and carry around.

And the introduction of TTS plastic hooks means a fully accessorised trolley can be created, connected to a smaller mobile work station. With a click Mini Magic can be disconnected from the main trolley and any accessories the operator needs can be fixed to it. This attachment/detachment system can be applied to the whole line. www.ttsystem.com

Next edition of ECJ - October

Numatic

Visitors to the Numatic stand can see the Eco Xtra vacuum cleaner for the first time.

This, the company says, offers professional performance at 420W and is a market leader in energy conservation.

Also on the stand is the new ride-on scrubber dryer CRO8055, along with a high speed burnisher, the MopMatic handsfree mopping system and trolley range. www.numatic.co.uk

Unger Window cleaning specialist Unger is promising the first appearance of a cleaning tool innovation at CMS. Other highlights on the stand include the nLite HydroPower

DI, a resin bag-based pure water filter system, and the S-Channel Plus squeegee with curved ends that support the rubber at the edges for improved cleaning close to the frame.

Recently launched is the ultra-light carbon fibre squeegee handle ErgoTec Carbon, designed to deliver performance with minimum fatigue - even after hours of cleaning. www.ungerglobal.com

PRODUCTS: CMS

Pancomp

All reporting with Pancomp systems is online and real time so data gathered can be acted on immediately. www.pancomp.com

Columbus

Specialising in mobile time and workflow management and quality assurance solutions for contract cleaning businesses is Pancomp International.

In addition to the existing handsets for employee work time tracking the company has developed a smartphone app for checking in and out. The cleaner or supervisor can also report deviations with free text comments and picture. And the app can manage weekly task lists and enable quality audits at customer sites.

From Columbus comes a line of floor cleaning equipment including scrubber dryers, sweepers, vacuum cleaners, wet and dry vacuums, single disk machines and accessories.

New on the stand are the antibacterial noBAC scrubber dryers

in 40, 60 and 100 litre sizes for applications where hygiene is a top priority. Also debuting are the WA 46 | B 10 and WA 46 | 10 K for use in small and heavily furnished areas, along with the compact 20-litre scrubber RA 43 | B 20. www.columbus-clean.com

CEBE New from CEBE are an acidic and an alkaline version of its surfactant-free fine stoneware cleaner Limporo - Limporo-S and Limporo-A. Both can be used for maintenance cleaning as well as intensive or corrective tasks.

To tackle odour contamination, such as after a fire, the company offers Kill Odor solid odour neutraliser. Simply open the jar and place it in a room for a citrus scent and odour neutralising etheric oils - Kill Odor can last for up to three weeks. www.cebechem.com

• Pancomp propose des systèmes mobiles de gestion de temps et de flux de travail pour des entreprises de propreté.

• Columbus aligne une gamme d’autolaveuses, d’aspirateurs, d’aspirateurs eau et poussière et de machines monobrosse.

• CEBE a introduit les nettoyants de sol en pierre Limporo-S et Limporo-A, qui sont exempts d’agents de surface.

• Pancomp bietet mobile Zeit- und Arbeitsablaufverwaltungssysteme für Vertragsreinigungsunternehmen.

• Columbus bietet eine Produktfamilie mit Scheuersaugmaschinen, Staubsaugern, Nass- und Trockensaugern und EinscheibenModellen.

• CEBE stellt die tensidfreien Bodenreinigungsmittel für Feinsteinzeug Limporo-S und Limporo-A vor.

• La Pancomp propone sistemi mobili per la gestione dell’orario e del flusso del lavoro per le imprese di appalti di pulizie.

• La Columbus offre una linea di lavasciuga pavimenti, aspirapolveri, aspirapolveri wet & dry e modelli monodisco.

• La CEBE introduce i suoi detergenti senza surfatanti per pavimenti in pietra Limporo-S eLimporo-A.

September 2015 | ECJ | 63

BUSINESS: ETHICS

Doing the right thing...

Much is said about the demise of ethics in business today. Well, the truth is business and ethics have always made for uneasy bedfellows, with ethics likely to be turfed out in favour of expediency at the first hint of a rift. Hartley Milner explores the pressures on this most brittle of relationships.

The theory goes that wedding your business to a strong ethical policy and always doing the ‘right thing’ helps raise your brand profile and enhances your reputation as a great company to do business with and work for. The fruits of the union are said to be increased longterm profits.

This relationship, however, can rapidly turn sour during difficult times when a business may suddenly find its margins severely squeezed and cash flow slow to a trickle.

“Human nature being what it is, business owners find staying faithful to ethical ideals easy when all is going well, but when the going gets tough they may be tempted to flirt with expediency and relax their principles a little,” said business consultant Paul Petherick. “After all, their ultimate goal is to make money and keep their investors happy, as well as pay their bills and staff salaries.”

Public trust in business is at an all-time low following a spate of scandals over the past decade or so. These range from the Enron scandal in the US to superstore predatory pricing aimed at forcing the competition out of business, which not only breaches competition law but also impacts on the rights of store workers.

“Ethics can be broadly defined as keeping to what is legal and doing what is right, even when no one is looking,” said Petherick. “It follows, therefore, that when we talk about unethical behaviour in business, we are talking about actions that do not conform to acceptable business practices, doing what is right in every situation.

Tough times “But in tough economic times the boundaries of what is considered to be acceptable tend to become less rigid as businesses feel obliged to seek a more pragmatic route to maintaining revenue levels.

“When paying for services, for example,

is it right for large multinationals to suddenly impose a payment regime of 60 or 90 days, or even longer in some EU states, on their much smaller suppliers?

Such punitive payment terms can seriously impact on an SME’s cash flow and may even tip them over the edge if they are already struggling.”

The EU directs that business-tobusiness payments should be made no later than 60 days (30 days in the public sector), except under exceptional circumstances or with the agreement of both parties. If this period is exceeded without such an agreement, the supplier can claim interest for every day that the payment is overdue.

Treated unfairly “In practice, though, the supplier rarely claims, for fear of a loss of goodwill or even the contract itself in some instances,” said Petherick. “The client company trades off the fact that coming over as bolshie or uncooperative is not in the vendor’s interest, so it is using a form of intimidation, or at least an implied threat, to keep them in line. The client may say it is merely doing what it needs to do to stay on a firm financial footing itself – the poor supplier may feel it is being treated unfairly, or even unethically. It depends on your viewpoint.

“The squeezed supplier may feel that the customer would be more accommodating were it to offer an early payment discount, but this usually has to be something fairly substantial to work its magic. And while it might help with the cash flow in the short term, it is a price cut and is likely to impact on the bottom line in the long term.

“The supplier may accept being pushed only so far before thinking ‘Fine then, this is a game that two can play’. Fearful that putting up its fees may lead to a less than happy outcome, the supplier could decide to seek creative solutions to maintain a healthy revenue base.

“This can range from outright fraud to subtle invoicing tactics or a combination of the two. Blatant invoice fraud is still relatively rare, but inventive invoicing has become more common in recent years because suppliers felt they had to keep their fees pegged to pre-recession levels but can now no longer absorb their rising costs.”

The dangerous sport of extreme

invoicing includes billing for more than the agreed price, charging for products or services never provided and even double billing in the hope that the customer won’t notice.

Chancy tactics indeed, but it is surprising how often ‘accounts payable’ fails to pick up dubious claims. From what little evidence is available, it is estimated that around 10 per cent of all business invoices submitted in the UK have at least one dodgy element on them.

Fraud is notoriously difficult and costly to prosecute, but the recent recession has focused minds in accounts departments and more cases are being exposed.

Italy’s finance police recently uncovered a false accounting scam that defrauded the government out of a massive €1.7 billion. Two businessmen used false invoices issued by intermediary companies to bill the state for nonexistent services. The money was paid into the accounts of these ‘shell’ companies and the funds were then removed, in cash, and deposited in San Marino and Luxembourg.

The two companies were subsequently declared bankrupt.

Decade of deception The perpetrators started their racket in 2001 and managed to elude the authorities until now. More than a decade of deception passed in which the fraudsters prospered and the taxpayer suffered. Police seized 100 properties and two businesses, and revealed that the two ringleaders had more than 60 accomplices. Yet, it took almost 15 years for them to be caught and locked up for their greed.

Desperation is the more likely driver when a small business chooses to put its reputation and goodwill on the line. In the UK, the boss of a cleaning materials supplier that was struggling with chronic cash flow issues fraudulently obtained £93,000 (€127,500) in one last attempt to keep the family business afloat. The fraud was centred on false claims for goods and services that the firm issued to customers through its bank’s invoice financing service.

In court, it was claimed that the intention was to credit back the money, but the cash supply situation worsened until the company was so deeply in debt that it had to be wound up. The fraud Continued page 66

September 2015 | ECJ | 65

BUSINESS: ETHICS Doing the right thing... (continued) came to light when the bank visited the firm’s premises to carry out an audit. The business had been established for more than 35 years, but had been badly hit by the recession.

Blatant fraud This was blatant fraud, but is ‘finessing’ your invoices for gain necessarily unethical. All businesses need to mark up their products or services to make a profit, by between 15 and 30 per cent on average. It is also seen as legitimate for a contractor to add an admin fee onto supplier charges that will eventually be passed on to the client.

“These practices in themselves are neither unlawful nor morally wrong,” said Petherick. “After all, you could say governments impose markups on products and services through the VAT system, ranging from 17-25 per cent across the On parle beaucoup de la déroute de l’éthique dans les affaires, mais a vrai dire, l’éthique et les affaires n’ont jamais fait bon ménage, écrit Hartley Milner. Il se penche de plus près sur les exigences de « l’action correcte en tout temps ».

September 2015 | ECJ | 66

European Union.

“A conflict with ethical practice is likely to arise when a contractor attaches clearly ‘over-the-top’ markups of 40, 50 or even 60 per cent to the supplier bills it passes on to the client. The contractor may argue that it is adding a price premium to compensate for not feeling able to raise its fees. Such hefty hikes are really not so unusual in Europe, but if uncovered they can lead to accusations of fleecing the customer. For this reason, we are increasingly hearing of commissioning businesses asking to have sight of original middlemen invoices before the contractor charges them on.

“If you keep inflating your bills, you are walking a very fine ethical line and it may not be long before your customers start thinking ‘Mmm, this seems excessively high’ and you may find yourself put on the spot, having to justify the charge.

Es wird viel über den Niedergang der Ethik im gegenwärtigen Geschäftsleben gesprochen. Die Wahrheit ist jedoch, dass beide schon immer unbehagliche Bettgesellen waren, schreibt Hartley Milner. Er wirft einen näheren Blick darauf, was es heißt, „gut und richtig zu handeln“.

Simply saying you have added a little on top to cover admin costs may not cut the mustard when you are asked to hand over the original invoice and the client sees just how much that ‘little’ amounts to.

Be straight “In my experience, it is always wisest to be straight with your customers. If you really need to put up your fees, then go to your clients, not cap in hand but as an equal partner, and explain to them face-to-face why you feel the increase is necessary. This way, you are more likely to get a sympathetic hearing and be able to negotiate a fee rise that is near to what you wanted.

“All said and done, there is no such thing as business ethics. Only people can have ethics and in all areas of our lives our mantra should be – do the right thing, because it is the right thing to do.”

Si parla molto della scomparsa dell’ etica nel mondo del business attuale, ma la verità è che il rapporto fra i due è sempre stato difficile, come afferma Hartley Milner mentre esamina da vicino le sfide legate al “fare la cosa giusta”.

CARPET CARE

A good spot Ann Laffeaty asks carpet care manufacturers about the mechanics of spot cleaning and finds out about the latest products on offer.

Removing a spot or stain from a carpet can be a highly technical business. Many factors need to be taken into account before tackling the task. For example, the cause of the stain; its chemical makeup and its age all have to be factored in.

The technician also needs to know what the carpet is made from and whether or not it could be damaged by a chemical compound or water.

Various experts recommend dry compounds, extraction machines, liquid products or even household bleach. But all agree that the best way of tackling a carpet spill is to attempt to remove it immediately.

“The sooner it is removed, the less chance it will have of causing permanent damage,” said Racine Industries consultant Geoff Greeley. “This is most critical when removing substances that could bleach or dye the carpet.”

He says many spotting kits include specific directions for removing various types of spots. “While these instructions are usually good, the challenge is that

most of the time the spot or spill or stain is not identifiable,” he said. “That is why all kits include directions for ‘unknown spots’.

In my experience, it is best to follow the steps for unknown spots in all situations.”

According to Greeley, the key to successful spot removal is to dissolve the substance in a controlled manner so as not to drive it further into the carpet.

“While spot removal can be very technical, this doesn’t mean that the uninitiated can’t give it a try,” he adds.

In the first instance, he says, it is best to attempt to remove as much of the spot or spill as possible without using liquids or cleaning chemicals. “In the case of a wet spill, white paper towels can be used to blot up the liquid,” he said. “You can even apply a layer of towels and then step on them to draw out as much of the liquid as possible.

“In the case of a dry spot, you should scrape away as much of the substance as you can with a blunt knife or spoon. Then apply some plain water to a clean, white microfibre towel and blot the spot.”

He says a dry extraction compound such as the company’s Host Dry Extraction Carpet Cleaner can then be applied to the area. “This will absorb the rest of the spot, drawing it into the compound.”

Some spot removal chemicals can become sticky and attract dirt if they are not properly rinsed out or removed, according to Greeley. “Using a dry compound as a poultice is a good way to prevent this problem.” Host also offers a spot remover for use on petroleum oilytype soiling, plus Host Prep for removing animal fat spots and food stains.

Spot-cleaning can be highly effective for removing stains such as coffee, blood, wine and crayon according to Dione Pereira, who is regional director of contract cleaning company Nviro. “It is often the quickest and most appropriate solution in buildings such as offices and schools that need to be fully functional throughout the day,” he said.

He agrees with Greeley that spots and

stains should first be tackled using dry white towels or cloths. “However if there is a substantial spillage, you need to avoid spreading the stain more widely which means you should change the cloths as soon as they become saturated,” he said.

“After this you could try treating the stain with a mixture of vinegar, water and a gentle non-bleach detergent. But you should always perform a patch test first to ensure that the chemicals won’t damage the carpet.”

He says there are several risk factors to take into account when spot cleaning.

“Using inappropriate chemicals or a stain remover could damage the carpet or spread the stain,” he said. “Also, the colour of the carpet may change if the right treatment is not used, and in a worst case scenario this may be irreversible. The best way to avoid recurring spots is to make sure that someone cleans up the spill immediately.”

Competence essential Expertise and patience are two of the main requirements when spot cleaning a carpet according to Dr Schnell Chemie’s marketing executive Franz Felbermeir. “Almost 90 per cent of stains are water-soluble and can be removed with lukewarm water directly after they occur,” he said. “But the operative needs competence to choose the right absorbent cloths and dirt-specific chemistry.”

He says a moist cloth, sponge or brush can be used for removing residue and that any rubbing should be avoided. “Also, oil and water-insoluble stains need to be treated with special stain-removal agents,” he adds.

New from Dr Schnell Chemie is Quick Tric, a tenside-free concentrate for removing drink stains, sugar solutions and protein-containing stains such as milk and mustard. For oily and greasy stains the company offers tenside stain remover Rapido, while blood and coffee stains can be removed with an acidic Continued page 70

September 2015 | ECJ |69

CARPET CARE A good spot (continued) maintenance cleaner such as Milizid in combination with a tenside-containing agent.

“For the removal of water-insoluble stains such as ballpoint pen, paint, glue or chewing gum we recommend the use of watersoluble solvents,” he added.

According to Felbermeir, the main risk when removing spots and stains is that the stain-removal substance may coalesce with textile fibres in the carpet. “These will then only be able to be removed with difficulty or not at all,” he said. “Talking to an expert beforehand will help.”

Regional account manager at Truvox Craig Manson says a general purpose carpet-spotting product will remove the majority of spots and stains. “This can be sprayed on, agitated and then extracted with a carpet cleaning machine,” he said.

“However the result will be dictated by the length of time the stain has been in the carpet; the construction and material of the carpet and the chemical make-up of the stain. In some cases, specialist chemicals or expertise will be needed.”

He says scrubbing in a circular motion could cause damage to the carpet and that some chemicals may discolour it. “The use of too much water could also be a problem since this could make the colours bleed into one other,” he said. “It might also create new stains from the carpet backing as well as giving rise to unwanted smells. It is therefore important to use appropriate

When removing spots it is essential to know the materials used to make the carpet as well as its backing and substrate. This eliminates the potential danger of damaging the carpet. spot-removal chemicals and remove them afterwards with an extraction machine.”

Truvox makes a number of compact carpet-spotting machines including the Hydromist Lite for occasional spot cleaning, and the Hydromist 10 and 20 HD heavy-duty spotters.

Prochem marketing manager Peta Tilley says anyone tasked with spot-cleaning needs to have a good understanding of the carpet’s fibres and their absorbency.

“For example, wool and other natural fibres are particularly prone to absorbing dyes and could create a lock within the fibre, creating a new colour,” she said. “Nylon could also be deemed to be a re-dyeable fibre while synthetic fibres such as polyester or polypropylene are less likely to absorb staining, although this depends in the spill.”

She says spot cleaning requires both skill and patience.

“Scrubbing or rubbing a spill can seriously affect the likelihood of removing a mark,” she said. “But spot removal is highly effective once the technician understands what the spill is, what fibre they are attempting to remove it from and which product to choose.”

Prochem offers a range of spot and stain-removing products including B144 Stain Pro for water-based protein spills such as tea, coffee, food, drink and blood, and E840 Citrus Gel for removing fake tan, candle wax, syrups, medicines and other oilbased spills. “Formulations are becoming more ‘stain specific’ and this makes them more effective,” said Tilley. The company offers a one-day training course on advanced stain removal techniques.

Operations director at Julius Rutherfoord Chris Parkes says the method of spot removal to be employed should depend on the stain. “A few years ago we were awarded a school contract

September 2015 | ECJ | 70

CARPET CARE and had to clean the carpet of chewing gum during the summer holiday,” he said. “We used a steam machine and a solvent remover followed by a wet extraction machine to give it the final clean finish.”

He adds that deep cleaning is advisable at least once a year. “This lifts and opens up the carpet pile and removes contamination,” he said. “Over time, contaminants will build up on and within the surface from airborne particles as well as dust and fibres from the natural wear of the carpet.”

According to managing director of CEBE Reinigungschemie Dr Jan Reimers, only a minimal amount of expertise is required when using an all-purpose stain remover. “However for certain types of stains - such as coffee, for example - special products and approaches are necessary which means that an experienced technician would be needed,” he adds.

Ask the right questions “Experience and asking the right questions can go a long way towards identifying a stain. When attempting to remove it, patience is required since this reduces the risk of damaging the fibre through excessive mechanical use. And patience is also needed when applying enzymatic products where dwell time is a must.”

He says that when removing spots it is essential to know the materials used to make the carpet as well as its backing and substrate. “This eliminates the potential danger of damaging the carpet,” said Reimers. “Of course applying an appropriate product is also important. If the wrong product is used, the stain may be fixed and become impossible to remove. For stains that require the application of a bleach-containing product, too, there is the risk that the dye of the carpet will be partially or completely removed.”

CEBE’s classic Spotting Kit comprises chemicals such as acetic acid, ammonia, neutral detergent and a volatile solvent. “Using this kit requires a great deal of knowledge regarding the impact of each chemical in regards to the fibre type, backing and adhesive,” he said. “For the layman we also offer a Destainer Kit containing standard stain-removal products plus some specialist products for removing coffee and chewing gum.”

He adds that spot-cleaning is becoming easier due to changes within the industry. “Spot-removal products are not necessarily becoming more effective, but they are more user-friendly,” he said. “And at the same time, the tools used for removing spots are becoming more efficient.

“Compact extractors are now available that apply the product and quickly extract it, leaving no residue. This has made things a lot easier for the carpet cleaner.”

Le détachage de moquettes est une activité technique pour laquelle de nombreuses maisons de soin des tapis et moquettes proposent des kits.

Ceux-ci peuvent contenir jusqu’à une douzaine de produits pour le traitement de différents types de taches. Nous invitons des fabricants à nous renseigner sur la mécanique du détachage et à nous expliquer les derniers produits proposés.

Fleckentfernung ist eine sehr technische Angelegenheit, und viele Teppichpflegeunternehmen bieten Fleckentfernungskits, die bis zu ein Dutzend unterschiedlicher Produkte zur Behandlung verschiedener Fleckenarten enthalten. Wir bitten Hersteller, uns die Vorgehensweise bei der Fleckentfernung zu erläutern, und stellen die neuesten Produkte am Markt vor.

La rimozione delle macchie è un lavoro altamente tecnico e molte imprese di pulizia delle moquette offrono dei kit di pulizia delle macchie che contengono fino a una dozzina di prodotti diversi per il trattamento di vari tipi di macchie.

Chiediamo ai produttori di spiegarci passo passo le meccaniche della rimozione delle macchie e di parlarci dei prodotti più nuovi sul mercato.

September 2015 | ECJ |71

PRODUCTS: CARPET CARE

Uses steam Vapor.Net is a cleaning system for carpets from Cimel-Turbolava that can operate with dry steam only or with chemical added.

Suitable for all types of carpets in small and large areas, this is a tool for the removal of stains and spots which also helps to sanitise the carpet.

Water reaches working pressure in minutes to enable the operator to start work immediately. The automatic boiler refill

system is particularly useful in applications where continuous cleaning is required.

Available in a range of models, Vapor.Net has a stainless steel body and boiler along with an accessories kit. The machine can come with or without vacuum. www.cimel.com

Big performance The Endeavor portable carpet and upholstery extractor from Prochem Europe has had an

upgrade in performance from 150 psi to 220 and 500 psi.

The Aquatec Smooth Flow DC motor pump has a pressure switch to prevent premature brush wear and incorporates an internal bypass to stop the pressure switch being damaged prematurely by the cycling effect when using a hand tool.

The machine’s wand has also been re-jetted to twin 110/02 jets to cut down on water consumption, while the Lamb vacuum motors help to

ensure carpets are left as dry as possible.

The Endeavor 2 features a 500 psi induction motor-driven Cat Pump. This unit incorporates a stainless steel heat exchanger giving temperatures up to 60C. Other features include handlemounted wheels for easy vehicle loading, top front mounted controls and new front mounted wand stowage. www.prochem-uk.com • Vapor.net est un système de nettoyage à la vapeur convenant pour des tapis de toutes sortes, affirme son fabricant CimelTurbolava.

• Prochem Europe a relevé son extracteur de tapis portable pour fonctionner sous 220 psi.

• Bei Vapor.net von CimelTurbolava handelt es sich um ein Dampfreinigungssystem für alle Teppicharten.

• Nach einer Modernisierung bietet der tragbare Waschsauger Endeavor von Prochem Europe 220 psi.

• Vapor.net è un sistema per la pulizia a vapore di tutti i tipi di moquette, prodotto dalla CimelTurbolava.

• La Prochem Europe ha potenziato la sua macchina lavamoquette portatile Endeavor a una macchina 220 psi.

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PRODUCTS: CARPET CARE

No residues

Less fatigue

By using its patented Thermopad system, carpet cleaning is as simple as daily spray buffing according to Columbus. Rooms and high traffic areas can be cleaned as regularly as necessary and used immediately.

A single disk machine combined with a heater and heat-conducting aluminium pad holder with cotton pads work to create a hot dampness on the floor. The temperature triggers the cleaning agent into action and the dirt is brought out to the surface of the fabric - it is then absorbed by the cotton pad.

Because only a small amount of water is used, this is a damp cleaning method: the water is turned into steam by the hot air. This means the carpet can be used immediately and no residues remain in the fibres. www.columbus-clean.com

For cleaning of smaller and medium-sized carpeted areas Hako developed the vacuum sweeper Sweepmaster 650.

Despite being compact in size at 68.5 cm wide it boasts performance of up to 3,525 square metres an hour.

The drive enables fatigue-free operation even if the machine is used for long periods of time, says Hako, and there is a choice of quiet industrial petrol

engine or a maintenance-free battery drive. The E version of the machine is equipped with an on-board charging system

and integrated charging cable, so that the batteries can be recharged at any time and at any plug socket.

For cleaning larger areas the optional carpet kit allows the battery-driven Sweepmaster B650 to clean short pile carpets too. The kit contains an automatic main broom switch-off when the machine comes to a standstill, a special fluff pre-filter and a modified filter shaker. www.hako.com

• Columbus affirme que son système de nettoyage de moquettes Thermopad ne nécessite aucun temps de séchage.

• La balayeuse et aspiratrice Sweepmaster 650 de Hako peut traiter 3525 mètres carrés à l’heure.

• Columbus teilt mit, dass das Teppichreinigungssystem Thermopad keine Trockenzeit erfordert.

• Die Saugkehrmaschine Sweepmaster 650 von Hako kann bis zu 3.525 Quadratmeter pro Stunde reinigen.

• La Columbus afferma che il suo sistema Thermopad per il lavaggio delle moquette non richiede tempi di asciugatura.

• La spazzatrice aspirante Sweepmaster 650 prodotta dalla Hako è in grado di pulire fino a 3.525 metri quadrati all’ora.

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PRODUCTS: CARPET CARE

• L’ergonomie a occupé une place prioritaire dans la conception des extracteurs-pulvérisateurs Puzzi de Kärcher.

• Tennant propose une gamme d’aspirateurs balais, à dos, et traineaux.

• Host affirme que son système d’extraction à sec de tapis peut éliminer des salissures huileuses de tapis en polyester.

• Sous l’appellation BAT, TMB a lancé une nouvelle gamme d’extracteurs de tapis de type balai.

• ProTeam considère que ses aspirateurs à dos nettoient trois plus vite que les modèles traditionnels à réservoir.

• La gamme la plus récente de machines de nettoyage de tapis de Ghibli & Wirbel est la Série-M.

• Ergonomie war beim Entwurf des Sprühextraktionsgeräts Kärcher Puzzi ein wesentlicher Aspekt.

• Im Angebot von Tennant befinden sich Hand-, Rucksackund Kesselstaubsauger.

• Laut Host kann das Teppichreinigungssystem mit Trockenextraktion Verschmutzungen auf Ölbasis aus Polyesterteppichen entfernen.

• Neu im Angebot von TMB ist die Produktfamilie BAT mit aufrechten Teppichreinigern.

• Laut Angaben von ProTeam reinigen seine Rucksacksauger dreimal schneller als herkömmliche Tankmodelle.

• Die neueste Produktfamilie mit Teppichreinigungsmaschinen von Ghibli & Wirbel ist die M-Serie.

• L’ergonomia è stata la priorità principale nella progettazione delle macchine a estrazione spray Kärcher Puzzi.

• La Tennant produce una gamma di aspirapolveri verticali, dorsali e a cilindro.

• La Host afferma che il suo sistema a estrazione a secco per la pulizia della moquette è in grado di rimuovere le macchie di olio dalle moquette in poliestere.

• La novità della TMB è la linea di lavamoquette verticali BAT. • La ProTeam afferma che i suoi aspirapolveri dorsali puliscono tre volte più velocemente dei modelli tradizionali a cilindro.

• La più nuova linea di macchine per il lavaggio delle moquette prodotte dalla Ghibli & Wirbel è la M-Series.

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Comfortable Ergonomics was a top priority for Kärcher in the development of its Puzzi 10/1 and Puzzi 10/2 Adv spray extraction cleaners. The new floor tool design enables the user to always work in an upright position while practical storage options for the upholstery tool and power cable offer ease of use and spacesaving storage.

the V-SMU-36 single motor upright vacuum has been designed to be reliable and affordable.

Tennant also produces a range of heavy deep-cleaning extractors, along with interim cleaning models. Ride-on, pullback and forward-push designs are available. www.tennantco.com

Oil-based soil According to Racine Industries its HOST Dry Extraction Carpet Cleaning System can remove oil-based soil from polyester carpets - particularly in hightraffic areas that are a challenge for traditional wet extraction cleaning methods.

The controlled moisture system also removes water soluble soil easily without the risk of wickback post cleaning and leaves the carpet fibre free of soil attracting residues.

A consistent level of suction is guaranteed because the vacuum is not interrupted during cleaning thanks to the floor tool maintaining the optimal extraction angle because of the movable bar attached to the suction opening. This, the company says, reduces drying time by up to 30 per cent so carpets can quickly be walked on again.

A bracket at the rear holds the upholstery tool ready for use, while the power cable can be rolled up on its brackets in seconds. Spray pressure is one or two bar, with 10-litre clean water tank capacity. www.karcher.com

Full line From Tennant comes a line of upright, backpack and canister vacuum cleaners.

The V3 and V6 are dry canister vacuums with low dBA which means they can be used anywhere, at any time. They come with a variety of wands and accessories, and are compact in size for easy transport and storage.

The backpack model is the V-BP-7 which boasts ergonomic, lightweight design and HEPA filtration as standard. It also comes with special tools. And

Thanks to the system’s counter-revolving brushes combined with the controlled application of cleaning agents in the HOST absorbent compound cleaner, the floor can be dry and ready for traffic very quickly. www.hostdry.com

system as standard, with the option to add other filters. www.tmbvacuum.com

3x faster ProTeam says its backpack vacuums clean three times faster and remove more dirt than traditional tank style vacuums. Available in two sizes, the 11-litre Super CoachVac HEPA or the 6.6-litre Super QuarterVac HEPA vacuums allow users to clean more floor space with reduced downtime the company claims.

Both units can be used on carpets or hard floors and use an advanced filtration system. They can also clean dust from vents, rafters and high shelving. www.pro-team.com

BAT uprights The BAT range of upright vacuum cleaners has been introduced by TMB, with working widths between 30 and 45 cm, available with one or two motors.

Thanks to their low centre of gravity, the company says, these models have excellent stability, are more manoeuvrable and less tiring for the operator to use. By simply turning a selector knob the brush can be adjusted, while the particular distribution of the bristles on the brush and high rpm (up to 5,000) guarantee optimum dust pick-up.

There is a five-stage filtration

Rugs and carpet For the cleaning of rugs and carpets Ghibli & Wirbel has expanded its M-Series of machines with the M11, M21 and M31.

Features include a new pump, pressure switch, flexible hose available in two lengths, plus new hand and floor tools.

All new models are available in two different versions. The Standard unit is for daily cleaning tasks while the Auto version has been designed for the cleaning of car interiors. www.ghibli.com

PRODUCTS: CARPET CARE

Minimum effort The CleanTec Hi-Lo 15 has been designed by Numatic to offer quick and effective carpet care with the minimum of preparation and effort.

Within the single design the company has incorporated its TwinFlo’ carpet vacuum extraction system together with the deep clean PowerFlo’ pump injection unit to offer a choice of two performance standards.

The Hi-Lo system allows the operator to select the Hi pressure (four bar) performance for heavily soiled areas and the Lo pressure (two bar) standard for lesser soiled areas. This, says Numatic, reduces carpet wetting in areas where less cleaning penetration is needed.

Two separate emptying systems are available: full removal of the dirty water tank or an integrated dump hose. www.numatic.co.uk

Upright vacuum Truvox says its Valet Single Motor Upright vacuum cleaner offers optimum manoeuvrability in hard-to-reach areas plus a brush head that automatically senses the carpet pile height.

Other features include three-stage filtration, detachable aluminium cleaning wand, on-board crevice and dusting brush, 30 cm cleaning path and 6,000 rpm brush speed. There is a commercial-strength metal

brush roll for up-to-the-edge vacuuming and the detachable aluminium cleaning wand can be used for cleaning upholstery, curtains and stairs.

Three-stage filtration, including a HEPA 10 filter, removes all dust particles of 0.3 microns or more. www.truvox.com • Pour le nettoyage de moquettes, tissus et garnissages, Numatic a développé la machine CleanTec Hi-Lo 15.

• La gamme Valet d’aspirateurs de Truvox a été enrichie de l’aspirateur-balai Single Motor Upright.

• Zur Reinigung von Teppichen, Textilwaren und Polstermöbeln hat Numatic die CleanTec Hi-Lo 15 entwickelt.

• Die Produktpalette Valet mit Staubsaugern von Truvox wurde mit dem Single Motor Upright erweitert.

• La Numatic ha prodotto la macchina CleanTec Hi-Lo 15 per la pulizia di moquette, stoffe e tessuti per arredamento.

• La gamma di aspirapolveri Valet della Truvox è stata ampliata con il lancio del modello Single Motor Upright.

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PRODUCTS: CARPET CARE

Transforms

Step-on Nikita is a step-on carpet cleaning machine from Santoemma designed for large areas - it can clean up to 1,000 square metres per hour.

In a single pass, a 70 cm strip of carpet is sprayed with a concentrated chemical solution, brushed with two counterrotating brushes, rinsed and vacuumed. And thanks to the powerful vacuum motors Nikita

can leave the carpet almost completely dry.

This machine can be used for maintenance low-moisture cleaning or restorative deep cleaning with brush pressure and vacuum head adjustable according to carpet type.

The addition of the squeegee SQ900N transforms Nikita into a step-on scrubber dryer. And Santoemma claims its manoeuvrability is enhanced by the differential drive motor. www.santoemma.com

The compact scrubber dryer LW30 from Lindhaus can be transformed into a carpet cleaner by simply adding the carpet kit, which is a soft brush and carpet nozzles. The machine is then ready to wash the carpet, says the company, with a mechanical brush action at 1,800 rpm and powerful suction, forwards and backwards.

As soon as the brush removes the soil the suction vacuums up dirty water to leave the carpet dry in less than 15 minutes.

The compact size, low base profile and low handle weight of the LW30, says Lindhaus, allow it to work in any location. www.lindhaus.it

Next edition of ECJ - October • L’autolaveuse compacte LW30 de Linhaus peut se tranformer en extracteur de tapis.

• La Nikita de Santoemma est une machine de nettoyage de moquettes à conducteur debout pour de très grandes surfaces.

• Die kompakte Scheuersaugmaschine LW30 von Lindhaus kann in einen Teppichreiniger umgewandelt werden.

• Nikita von Santoemma ist eine AufstehTeppichreinigungsmaschine, die für sehr große Flächen konzipiert wurde.

• La lavasciuga pavimenti compatta LW30 della Lindhaus può essere trasformata in una lavamoquette.

• Nikita della Santoemma è una macchina lavamoquette con uomo a bordo progettata per aree di dimensioni molto vaste.

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DAYTIME CLEANING

Impact on office staff Daytime cleaning is becoming increasingly prevalent in Europe.

But how do office employees feel about sharing their workspace with cleaning teams?

Charlotte Branwhite from Tork manufacturer SCA shares the results of a study into the changing relationship between office staff and cleaners.

Office workers were generally more comfortable when some daytime cleaning tasks were carried out than others. Six out of ten people objected to carpets being vacuumed around them.

September 2015 | ECJ | 78

Over recent years there has been a general shift towards daytime cleaning in Europe’s offices and institutions. Cleaning teams - previously a shadowy force that tended to carry out their duties largely unseen – have emerged into the light and are now increasingly cleaning around the daytime workforce.

The immediate advantage of this change has been a significant reduction in energy costs. Where cleaning staff are on-site during normal business hours there is no longer any need to light or heat buildings overnight which means that utility costs can be dramatically reduced.

But there are inevitably challenges too, when two independent forces are asked to merge and adjust to the fact that they no longer have the workplace to themselves. The need for cleaners to carry out their work unobtrusively and speedily has become more important than ever, for example. For their part, some office workers may find the presence of cleaners to be a distraction.

But those in favour of daytime cleaning claim there are several positives to be gained from the new working relationship.

It is suggested, for example, that office workers’ perception of the cleaning service is likely to improve when they can actually see the work being carried out and the person behind the cleaning trolley. Rather than complaining about an unseen cleaner who has failed to carry out this or that task, office workers are now simply able to ask the cleaner concerned to perform the job in question.

It is also possible that on-site cleaning teams may help to improve the housekeeping habits of office workers.

Messy individuals who leave their lunch containers on their desks or screw up discarded documents and throw them in the vague direction of the bin may be less inclined to continue with their bad habits and risk personal embarrassment if they know the person responsible for cleaning up their messes.

But do office staff feel comfortable

around the cleaners at work now that daytime cleaning has become the norm?

Or do they feel uneasy about the perceived intrusion of a workforce they would prefer to have operating in the background?

Earlier this year we at SCA commissioned a study into the effects that daytime cleaning is having on office workers. The aim was to find out how comfortable office staff feel about the increasingly noticeable presence of cleaning teams in their workspace. We particularly wanted to ascertain their reactions to being “cleaned around” and whether they perceived the cleaners at work as valued co-workers or as unwelcome intruders.

Cleaners greeted at work With the aid of survey company Questback we polled a total of 3,056 office workers between January and February this year. Responses were gathered through online web panels, and offices of various sizes were represented. Respondents from the UK, Sweden, France, Germany, Russia and the Netherlands were included in the study.

While the majority of people questioned said they generally encountered a cleaner at work on a weekly basis, how they interacted with that cleaner seemed to vary greatly from one respondent to another.

Just over 77 per cent of respondents said they routinely greeted cleaners at work compared with a tiny minority of 0.6 per cent who said they never did so.

However 41 per cent admitted to never actually having had a conversation with any of the cleaners they encountered. And only half of the respondents claimed to know any of the cleaners’ names.

Office staff were evenly split over the type of relationship they wanted with their cleaning teams. A total of 49 per cent said they would like cleaners to interact with them as co-workers. The remainder wanted less interaction, with only 14 per cent preferring cleaners to remain firmly in

DAYTIME CLEANING the background.

Office workers were also generally more comfortable when some daytime cleaning tasks were carried out than others. Unsurprisingly nearly 89 per cent of respondents said they were happy for toilet tissue and soap supplies to be replenished in the washrooms during the working day, for example.

However, six out of ten people objected to carpets being vacuumed around them while 57 per cent felt uncomfortable when their desk area or cubicle was cleaned while they were working.

Uneasy in the washroom While most respondents said they generally felt comfortable when meeting a cleaner on the office floor or in the corridor, a quarter of those questioned felt uneasy when encountering a cleaner in the washroom. However, the survey revealed that 91 per cent felt more comfortable when the cleaner concerned actually greeted them.

One key positive of our survey was the fact that office workers seem to value the work of cleaners. More than 88 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the service supplied by their cleaners and a strong majority of 84 per cent said workplace cleaning had a direct impact on the quality of their working life. Another 71 per cent felt that cleaning had a positive effect on their company’s profitability.

When asked about the most important qualities of a good cleaner, a third said speed and efficiency were key while 30 per cent cited care and meticulousness as the most important characteristics.

Fifteen per cent of respondents said they valued a pleasant disposition while nine per cent claimed eagerness to help was a crucial quality.

However according to our study the concept of what constitutes “daytime cleaning” varies from one office to the next. Only a quarter of respondents said cleaning teams were employed at their office during normal business hours whereas just over 27 per cent said earlymorning teams were employed.

Evening cleaning took place in nearly 33 per cent of the offices whereas night-time cleaning was carried out in just five per cent. But despite these variations, more than eight out of 10 people questioned Le nettoyage de jour se répand de plus en plus en Europe. On peut cependant se demander si les employés de bureau sont heureux d’être entourés de nettoyeurs. SCA, le fabricant des produits Tork, a mené une étude sur l’évolution des relations entre les personnels de bureau et les agents de propreté.

said they generally encountered a cleaner at their workplace at least once a week.

When asked when they preferred cleaning to be carried out, just over 30 per cent had no preference. However only 7.7 per cent said they preferred it to be carried out within normal office hours whereas 25 per cent preferred evening cleaning and early morning cleaning was preferred by nearly 30 per cent. Only 6.3 per cent wanted cleaning to be carried out at night.

Daytime cleaning is still in its infancy and the amount of work completed during office hours varies from country to country. A study carried out by the European Federation of Cleaning Industries (EFCI) in 2012, for example, showed that 80 per cent of cleaning was then being carried out during the daytime In Norway. This compared to 75 per cent in Finland and 70 per cent In Sweden.

However in other countries daytime cleaning was slower to catch on with only 11 per cent of cleaning being carried out during normal office hours in the UK, for instance.

But as it becomes more prevalent, there is every hope that daytime cleaning will bring further advantages. For example it could lead to better lines of communication between cleaners and office staff and enable them to develop direct working relationships.

to worry about the security and transport issues associated with working at night along with the physiological and emotional stresses of shift work.

All about the people Unlike many other industries that are becoming increasingly automated, cleaning is very much all about the people. Cleaners who are happy, healthy, motivated, well-trained and respected members of society are more likely to be efficient and productive than those who are tired, stressed and undervalued. They are also likely to interact with office staff in a more friendly and co-operative way.

It may take some time before all those concerned become accustomed to the move towards daytime cleaning. But in the meantime we feel that the intelligence gained from our survey will help to clarify the types of concerns held by office workers. And this will help facilities services managers to understand all the issues and enable them to streamline the process of switching their cleaning regimes over from night-time to daylight hours.

Respect As the trend continues, office workers will potentially develop more respect for cleaning staff and be able to address any performance issues on the spot rather than having to communicate through ineffective or convoluted channels.

When it comes to the training of cleaning teams too, staff development is easier to organise during daytime hours. And cleaners who work during the day will no longer need Die Tagesreinigung ist in Europa weiter auf dem Vormarsch. Doch was halten Büroangestellte davon, ihren Arbeitsraum mit Reinigungsteams zu teilen.

Tork-Hersteller SCA führte eine Studie durch, in deren Rahmen die sich ändernde Beziehung zwischen Büropersonal und Reinigungspersonal untersucht wurde.

In Europa, le pulizie effettuate di giorno stanno diventando sempre più diffuse. Ma qual è l’opinione degli impiegati degli uffici che devono condividere il loro luogo di lavoro con i team di pulizia? La SCA, produttrice della marca Tork ha condotto uno studio su come sta cambiando il rapporto fra il personale degli uffici e gli addetti alle pulizie.

September 2015 | ECJ | 79

MATTING

Appearance matters How important is the appearance of a mat when it comes to creating an entrance system for a commercial or retail facility? Ann Laffeaty finds out.

“Any business wishing to promote a positive image will use a logo mat to welcome or communicate with customers.

Appearance and cleanliness are both crucial attributes for a facility.”

The chief purpose of an entrance mat is to trap and hold any walked-in dirt as soon as visitors arrive. But these days corporate image is becoming more important and companies are increasingly striving to differentiate themselves from their rivals.

As a result there has been a growing tendency to use colour and branding on entrance mats to make an impression on customers.

At the same time, matting manufacturers are continually coming up with new techniques to make their mats in a variety of shapes and to print them in an everwidening range of colours. And in fact attractive mats can have a major influence on the overall appearance of a facility according to Mountville Mills country manager Pieterjan Defoort.

“Any business wishing to promote a positive image will use a logo mat to welcome or communicate with customers,” he said. “Appearance and cleanliness are both crucial attributes for a facility and these can have a major influence on how potential customers and suppliers are likely to perceive a business.”

He says today’s matting firms are having to offer a wide colour choice in order to allow customers to match the colours of their logo. “Where a wide choice of colours is offered, customers can also use ‘trend-colours’ to enhance the appearance of a mat,” he said. “Today’s company logos are becoming increasingly complex and it is also important that mats have a sufficiently high print quality to display the logo correctly.”

Logo mats popular New from Mountville Mills is the Portal Premium range of logo mats. These offer 60 colours and the possibility to incorporate intricate designs. The company also manufactures a standard logo mat with 30 colours, plus high definition logo mats that offer photographic print quality.

“Our high definition mats can incorporate smaller taglines underneath the logo or even a registered trademark or copyright symbol with ease,” said Defoort.

September 2015 | ECJ | 80

“They also have a dense, plush, carpet-like surface that allows for finer print lines and contributes to the overall print quality and appearance of the mat.”

According to Defoort, logo mats are becoming increasingly popular worldwide.

“There is a general tendency to steer away from the lowest price options,” he says.

“Customers prefer high quality products with high print definition. Some hotels even install logo mats in the lifts, and these are changed throughout the day to wish customers a good morning, a nice day or a good evening. Mats in custom shapes with photographic print quality are also often used to impress customers.”

Custom-made He adds that custom-made mats are evolving fast and are in high demand.

“When combined with the highest print definition and a wider colour offering, these are the ideal products to promote a brand or product,” he said.

The entrance of any building provides that vital first impression for customers according to Superior Manufacturing marketing manager Giselle Dirckx.

“As with any introduction to people, places or products that first impression is critical,” she said. “Entrances have to satisfy a variety of requirements including attractive design, high throughput rate and excellent functionality. And even between cleanings the entrance mat should continue to look great after thousands of people have walked on it.”

She says large commercial buildings with heavy traffic can see as many as 5,000 crossings a day. “The entrance mat is becoming a large promotional opportunity to enhance a company’s image and truly welcome guests since most people look down at the floor when they enter,” she said. “And logo matting allows the company to customise an entrance with an image, logo or message for really powerful branding.”

She says a clean, well-kept entrance is critical to any business wishing to establish a professional impression in line

MATTING with its corporate identity. “Appearance is important everywhere from shopping centres, airports and cafeterias to speciality stores and public buildings,” she said.

According to Dirckx, new techniques in mat production and high definition printing technology make it easy to produce complex logo designs along with shading and three-dimensional effects. “A high resolution results in a photo quality print with superior image representation, while the height of the carpet pile enhances the depth of the image for a truly brilliant effect,” she said.

The company’s logo matting is made using polyamide fibres which are crush resistant and hold their structure well, adds Dirckx. “Crush-resistant mats will tolerate more wear and keep their appearance and functionality longer in high traffic conditions.”

Superior Manufacturing offers four Notrax logo mats including the 198 Logo Superior which is densely tufted to allow extremely fine printing. According to Dirckx, demand for logo matting has increased significantly since mat customisation has become more accessible to companies of all sizes. “Whether ordering 1,000 mats or

one mat, companies can now choose the logo mat quality that best suits their brand and corporate identity,” she said.

Notrax has recently expanded its logo printing capacity and claims to offer an almost infinite number of colour possibilities. Multi-coloured logos, complicated designs, artwork and photographs can all be easily replicated within a mat, says Dirckx. “We also offer a ‘Match Your Mat’ service that allows customers to order a mat incorporating colours that reflect their logo,” she said.

Customer communication Maren Schulte, product manager at CWS-boco, also feels that an attractive mat can help to shape the customer’s first impression of a facility. “It can also be used as a smart way of communicating to customers,” she said. “For example, individualised mats can be installed bearing slogans such as ‘welcome’ or ‘please wait in line’.”

She says the materials used to make the mat will have as significant an effect on its appearance as print quality. “First you need a high quality material that ensures the fibres remain upright and provide a dense surface,” she said. “This will also en-

“There is a tendency to steer away from the lowest price options.

Customers prefer high quality products.” sure that all dirt and moisture is removed from the shoes. Good colours and print quality will then provide the mat with an excellent appearance.”

CWS logo mats are available in 150 standard colours and 16 million ‘special’ colours. The mats can be supplied in any shape to suit customer requirements.

Like other manufacturers, Schulte claims that the market for logo mats is growing. “Customers are increasingly demanding more individualised products since the way in which companies want to be represented at the entrance is becoming more important,” she said. “Appearance and cleanliness both matter and logo mats are also being used in lifts, cafeterias and Continued page 82

September 2015 | ECJ |81

MATTING Appearance matters (continued) retail outlets at point-of-sale to highlight a particular product display.”

Mat aesthetics are a high priority when used front-of-house according to Denis Rawlins managing director James White.

“As an example we are increasingly being asked for anti-fatigue matting for hotels, department stores and boutiques by customers who stipulate that they must not look ‘industrial’,” he said.

“We are also receiving more enquiries from stores seeking an attractive yet effective system for their mat wells. Clients are increasingly aware that both attractiveness and effectiveness are important.”

Denis Rawlins offers rubber non-slip outdoor logo mats with full-colour print plus three grades of nylon-tufted logo

mats. These come in 30, 60 and 150 colour options.

“The quality of design and manufacture are both key to the appearance of a mat,” said White. “When it comes to logo mats, the supplier needs to be able to provide a wide range of colours and guarantee high print quality.”

Dans les établissements commerciaux, le paillasson d’entrée donne au visiteur une première impression sur l’entreprise. L’orner de couleurs vives, de dessins, de logos et de slogans jouera un grand rôle pour impressionner le visiteur sur la qualité de l’établissement, qu’il s’agisse d’un restaurant, d’un hôtel ou d’un immeuble administratif. Nous demandons à des fabricants de paillassons de nous expliquer leurs méthodes pour maximiser l’attrait de paillassons tout en leur permettant de retenir les salissures.

Eingangsmatten in gewerblichen Einrichtungen vermitteln Besuchern den wichtigen ersten Eindruck der Räumlichkeiten. Daher spielen lebhafte Farben, Muster, Logos und Mottos eine wichtige Rolle, wenn es darum geht, die Besucher von der Qualität des Restaurants, Hotels oder Büros zu beeindrucken. Wir befragen Mattenhersteller, mit welchen Methoden sie die Attraktivität maximieren und gleichzeitig einen wirkungsvollen Schmutzfang erreichen.

September 2015 | ECJ | 82

Better print, more colours So where will the logo mat industry go from here? “Tomorrow’s mats will have an even higher print definition and more colour options to choose from,” said Mountville Mills’ Pieterjan Defoort. “Meanwhile, the effectiveness of logo mats in terms of dust and moisture control will greatly improve.”

Maren Schulte from CWS-boco says demand for mats in customised shapes is growing. “There is also a trend for customers to become more involved in the creative process,” she said. “We offer a tool called the ‘CWS mat designer’ which gives customers the opportunity to create their own mats by choosing colours and uploading logos to see what it would look like.”

And James White from Denis Rawlins believes that improved print quality and custom shapes will be the next steps in the logo mat market. “As inlay techniques improve, this will widen the scope for logo options and other materials in effective matting,” he said. “And who knows what may happen with LED lighting incorporated into mats in the future?”

Gli zerbini per gli ingressi delle strutture commerciali danno ai visitatori la prima importante impressione dell’edificio. Quindi, colori vivaci, design, logo e slogan giocano una parte importante nel dare ai visitatori una buona impressione sulla qualità del ristorante, hotel o ufficio in questione. Chiediamo ai produttori di zerbini quali sono i metodi da loro usati per massimizzare il lato estetico degli zerbini e nello stesso tempo siano efficaci nell’intrappolare lo sporco.

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REACH LEGISLATION

Staying compliant Dr Sandra Meijer and Dr Kath Carr of The REACH Centre share their learning on the substance identity and sameness checking process in this exclusive article for ECJ.

The ingredients in cleaning products are subject to REACH registration therefore it is important for the manufacturers of these products to ensure they are compliant with the regulation. Whilst many of the large-scale substances have already been registered prior to the 2010 or 2013 deadlines, a very significant number of the smaller volume substances (1-100 tonnes/year) are yet to be registered before the final REACH deadline of May 31 2018.

Compared to the earlier deadlines, additional challenges are expected this time around, especially for those substances that do not yet have a Lead Registrant. ECHA’s database shows that many surfactants and other cleaning product ingredients including various fatty acid salts, ethoxylated alcohols, and sulphonate salts have not yet been registered by anyone in industry at the time of writing of this article.

It’s essential that companies start to look at their portfolio now, so as to allow enough time for all the necessary activities needed to complete a successful REACH registration.

The activities you must undertake depend on whether you will be a Joint Registrant (JR) or the Lead Registrant (LR). However the process for everyone generally involves, in order of listing: • Sameness check • Data sharing (cost sharing) • Dossier build in IUCLID • Submission • Payment of ECHA fees Whether you will be acting as LR or submitting a registration as JR, whether you will need to make an inquiry or

September 2015 | ECJ | 84

already have a valid pre-registration in place, substance identity and sameness checking are the first steps and are crucial to getting the right registration in place.

It will allow you to ascertain that you are in the right SIEF and it is an essential requirement of any REACH dossier that you prove the substance identity to ECHA. In this article we will discuss the issues around substance identity and share some case studies.

Substance identity According to the ‘one substance one registration’ (OSOR) principle of REACH, companies are required to work together in a substance information exchange forum (SIEF) to share the costs of compiling the hazard data and submit these jointly.

However sharing hazard data is only possible if the jointly registered substances are “the same”. Robust substance characterisation data are essential to demonstrate identity and composition and to check whether the substance fits within the scope of the Substance Identification Profile (SIP) agreed with the SIEF. Characterisation presents evidence that the substance manufactured or imported by the registrant is the same as that being described in the registration dossier.

Different strategies will be needed for different types of substances.

Under REACH, a substance may be classified as well-defined, ie, with a defined qualitative and quantitative composition. This category can be divided into mono- and multi-constituent substances, defined by their quantitative composition, in which the main constituent is present to at least 80 per cent (w/w) or >10 per cent (w/w) and <80 per cent (w/w) respectively.

Alternatively substances might be defined as unknown or variable composition, complex reaction products or biological (UCVB) materials. Here, the number of constituents is relatively large and/or the composition is, to a significant

extent, unknown and/or the variability of the composition is relatively large or poorly predictable.

By their very nature, UVCB substances can present a difficult analytical challenge and their characterisation may demand a somewhat different approach to that used for well-defined substances. Typical examples of UVCBs include petroleum products, plant-derived essential oils and complex inorganic species, such as synthetic minerals.

A substance is defined by the identity and relative quantity of both its main component and its impurities.

Characterisation must provide evidence that the substance being manufactured can be described by the identity shown in the registration dossier.

Whilst Annex VI of REACH (Section 2: Identification of the Substance) lists certain spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques as part of the substance identity information requirements, in practice there is no defined set of tests that must be used for the characterisation of any substance.

Rather, sufficient analysis should be performed to identify and quantify all components in the substance at ≥1 per cent (w/w) or Substances of Very High Concern at ≥0.1 per cent. The choice of an appropriate suite of orthogonal analytical techniques is critical.

Substance characterisation Anyone designing an analytical strategy for REACH registration must take several factors into account. First, the strategy must be able to identity and quantify all of the major constituents in the substance.

In addition, any impurities present at a concentration of ³one per cent w/w should be identified, then specified by chemical name, EC and/or CAS number and/or molecular formula Knowledge of the manufacturing process is useful for highlighting any potential impurities that would be relevant to the classification or persistent, bioaccumulative & toxic (PBT) assessment

REACH LEGISLATION of the substance, were they to be present in sufficient quantities.

The strategy should make provision for testing for such impurities and if they are found, they should be specified by the criteria listed above regardless of their concentration. The sum of the main constituents, impurities and any additives included to preserve the stability of the substance must be 100 per cent.

Scientific justification for tests not deemed to be appropriate must be provided. This is typically limited to the principal analytical techniques listed in Annex VI of REACH (Section 2: Identification of the Substance).

Finally, the results should be fully interpreted and all experimental details (and reference materials used) comprehensively documented such that a competent person might, in principle, be able to repeat the work.

For UVCBs, the chemical composition and identity of the constituents should be given as far as known. This information can be provided in a generic way as appropriate, eg,. the carbon chain-length range. The analytical strategy may need to include the determination of other parameters that contribute to defining the substance. Boiling range, for example, would be an important property for a petroleum-based substance.

Typical concentrations and concentration ranges need to be given and all constituents present at a concentration of ³10 per cent should be specified by a IUPAC name and a CAS number. Unknown constituents should be identified using a generic description of their chemical nature if possible.

As with well-defined substances, knowledge of the source and manufacturing process is useful for highlighting any potential constituents that would be relevant to the classification or PBT assessment of the substance were they to be present in sufficient quantities.

The analytical strategy should make provision for testing for such constituents and if they are found, they should be specified by a IUPAC name and a CAS number, regardless of their concentration.

Over the last few years, it has become clear that proving substance identity is not always straightforward. In 2013, having achieved its target of evaluating at least

five per cent of all registration dossiers for the two highest tonnage bands by the end of 2013, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) issued its ‘Evaluation under REACH Progress Report’.

In this, the agency revealed 61 per cent of the dossiers checked did not comply with one or more of the information requirements of REACH. One main area of concern was substance identity. If an issue is raised following dossier evaluation and follow-up corrective action still fails to satisfy ECHA’s requirements, it may invalidate the registration and withdraw the registration number.

Within SIEFs, agreeing on sameness has also proved challenging at times. In many known cases, registrants had to redefine the substance identity based on SIEF discussions and chemical analysis and ended up registering their substance under a different EC or CAS number.

Many SIEFs were split as what was thought to be one substance turned out to be several different substances. In total, ECHA has recorded over 350 such substances, many of which were multiconstituent substances and UVCBs As agreeing sameness is the first and crucial step in the joint registration process, you need to start the discussions sooner rather than later. Once you have carried out the analysis, you may find that you pre-registered the wrong substance.

Les ingrédients des produits de nettoyage sont soumis à l’enregistrement REACH, si bien que de nombreuses substances commercialisées en petits volumes devront être enregistrées avant la date limite du 31 mai 2018. Il est vital que les entreprises examinent désormais leurs assortiments de produits, déclare le centre REACH.

Die Inhaltsstoffe in Reinigungsprodukten unterliegen der REACH-Registrierung. Die fristgerechte Registrierung vieler Substanzen, die in geringen Mengen auftreten, bis zum 31. Mai 2018 steht noch aus. Es ist sehr wichtig für Unternehmen, jetzt ihr Portfolio zu begutachten, teilt das REACH Centre mit.

Case studies The REACH Centre has extensive experience in this area: Case Study 1 - One of The REACH Centre’s clients manufactures consumer and laundry detergents using the sodium salt of an organic diacid. The salt is added to products to improve their performance, especially with regard to stain removal.

The salt is imported from a number of different sources and each individual product is known to vary slightly in certain respects such as the sodium content. The client wanted to be sure that the material from all their sources fell within the SIP for the substance. The REACH Centre analysed batches of the salt from each of the different sources and checked their composition against the SIP. Sameness could be demonstrated for all the batches analysed and the client went away confident that they were in regulatory

compliance and could retain the flexibility and security of their supply of material.

Case study 2 - A manufacturer of a quaternary ammonium salt used in detergents and textile softeners requested a sameness check by The REACH Centre.

This was a complex case insofar as there were two critical variables that needed to be taken into account. The salt is prepared from a long-chain alkylamine in which there is a range of alkyl chain lengths.

The range required for sameness was one of the parameters defined in the SIP. In addition, residual amounts of one of the reagents used in the manufacturing process needed to be considered due to its relevance for classification. An analytical strategy was designed by The REACH Centre that allowed both the alkyl chain length range to be clearly demonstrated and the residual reagent to be quantified.

This information was used to good effect and allowed the sameness assessment to be performed successfully.

Case study 3 - A client was planning to begin manufacture of an alkyl-substituted aromatic sulphonic acid. A number of these exist, differing principally in the length and distribution of the alkyl substituents, and they are UVCBs. Some have been registered; others have not, mainly because they have been found to fall into the SIP for other related substances.

The client commissioned The REACH Centre to undertake its substance characterisation, which defined the all-important alkyl chain length and distribution. It was then possible to compare the identity and composition of the substance with the known options and demonstrate sameness with the most appropriate of these.

Case study 4 - A client had preregistered a long-chain fatty acid, which was a multi-constituent substance, comprising several acids of differing carbon chain lengths. Analytical characterisation unexpectedly revealed that the substance did not fit into the SIP issued by the SIEF. By examining closely related substances and their respective SIPs, The REACH Centre was able to demonstrate sameness with a more appropriate substance. As a result, the client was able to fulfil its obligations and remain compliant. j.friesl@thereachcentre.com Gli ingredienti dei prodotti di pulizia sono soggetti alla registrazione REACH e molte sostanze di volume minore devono ancora essere registrate prima della scadenza finale del 31 maggio 2018. Il Centro REACH afferma che è fondamentale che le imprese inizino a controllare da subito il loro portfolio.

September 2015 | ECJ | 85

NEW PRODUCT REVIEW

Easy compact

Prevent infection

With the introduction of the BD 50/50 walk-behind scrubber dryer Kärcher is adding a new compact model to its Classic range. Designed to make operation and maintenance particularly easy, it offers an entry-level option for use in many applications.

Sirane has joined forces with MTP Innovations to develop DiffX, a cleaning and disinfection solution that can help in infection prevention and save costs - the company says.

The product is an addition to Sirane’s Sira-Care range and the company is aiming to provide the product in new formats the first of these will be DiffX handy wipes. Currently it is available in sachets and with a trigger spray bottle.

The formula is claimed to be non-chlorine-based and noncorrosive, and it cleans and disinfects at the same time.

It is also said to eliminates all surface contamination – including MRSA and viruses, C Diff spores, Norovirus, TB and Mycrobacteria.

This model is one metre high and 0.5 metres wide, so the operator has a clear view of the working area. Clean water tank capacity is 50 litres, allowing for up to an hour of cleaning. Scrubbing, vacuuming or polishing can all be activated by a single dial (EASY operation). The disk brush can be changed easily, as can the battery. Additional equipment such as brushes, scrapers or mops can be stored and carried with the so-called Homebase, which is available as a panel or a container.

Also new in the Classic range is the T/71 dry vacuum which weighs in at 3.5 kg. Again designed as an entry-level model this unit offers 130 mbar underpressure for maximum suction and quiet operation at 63 dB(A). www.karcher.com

Treats water New from Morclean is BlueBox, an above ground partial water treatment system designed to provide an alternative to costly ground works, and to eliminate excavation for the installation of interceptors, sumps or tanks.

The system treats the outflow from a wash bay or car wash area without the need for a below ground interceptor. It’s surface mounted and requires only a power supply to operate, and minimal installation. www.morclean.co.uk

for reliable grip.

The S-Spring channel release mechanism is manufactured from stainless steel and compatible to the most common channels in the market.

This makes for quick and easy change or adjustment of channel and rubber. www.ungerglobal.com

Inner city bins Lune developed its new Bubble bin in conjunction with the Berlin city waste department in Germany. With a capacity of 360

litres this stainless steel, spherical bin is between six and 10 times larger than a conventional outdoor waste bin. Which means fewer collections and cost savings of up to 30 per cent says the company.

The Bubble is 100 per cent recyclable and is emptied by one person using a vacuum which literally sucks the waste from the bin. www.bubble360.nl The company is interested to hear from potential distributors. www.sirane.com

Super-light The new ErgoTec Carbon superlight handle for window cleaning from Unger has been designed to deliver hours of cleaning with minimum fatigue for the operator. It weighs 73 grams, is made from high quality carbon fibre and features an anti-slip coating

Keep up to date with latest news by visiting the ECJ website.

And have the email newsletter delivered directly to your inbox register at www. european cleaning journal.com

• Kärcher a ajouté une nouvelle autolaveuse compacte poussée à sa gamme - la BD 50/50.

• Le Morcelan BlueBox est un système en surface de traitement des eaux d’écoulement d’aires de lavage de voitures.

• DiffX est un système de désinfection n’utilisant pas le chlore et développé par Sirane and MTP Innovations.

• Le nouveau ErgoTec Carbon, affirme Unger, constitue un manche ultra-léger pour laveurs de vitres.

• Lune a développé une poubelle Bubble de 360 litres pour déploiement au centre de villes.

• Kärcher hat seine Produktreihe um eine neue kompakte, handgeführte Scheuersaugmaschine erweiterte: die BD 50/50.

• Bei Morclean BlueBox handelt es sich um eine überirdische Teilwasseraufbereitungsanlage zur Behandlung des Abwassers von einem Waschplatz oder Autowaschplatz.

• DiffX ist ein chlorfreies Desinfektionssystem, das von Sirane und MTP Innovations entwickelt wurde.

• Laut eigenen Angaben von Unger handelt es sich beim neuen ErgoTec Carbon um einen extrem leichten Griff zum Einsatz durch Fensterputzer.

• Lune hat den Abfallbehälter Bubble aus Edelstahl mit einem Fassungsvermögen von 360 Litern für Stadtzentren entwickelt.

• La Kärcher ha aggiunto alla sua gamma di prodotti una nuova lavasciuga pavimenti compatta con operatore al seguito, il modello BD 50/50.

• Morclean BlueBox è un sistema sopra il livello del suolo per il trattamento parziale dell’acqua per trattare le fuoriuscite di acqua da una zona di lavaggio o di un autolavaggio.

• DiffX è un sistema di disinfezione non a base di cloro sviluppato dalla Sirane and MTP Innovations.

• La Unger afferma che il nuovo prodotto ErgoTec Carbon è un manico ultraleggero adatto per essere usato dagli addetti al lavaggio delle finestre.

• La Lune ha sviluppato il portarifiuti Bubble in acciaio inossidabile da 360 litri per il centro delle città.

September 2015 | ECJ | 87

NEW PRODUCT REVIEW

• Aquaint est un désinfectant naturel aqueux capable d’éliminer 99,9 pour cent des bactéries en quelques secondes.

• Asco Carbon Dioxide a introduit l’appareil ASCOJET Combi Blaster 1708 pour permettre le grenaillage combiné à la glace sèche/matière abrasive.

• Haaga montera son nouvel accouplement d’entraînement iSweep sur sa gamme de balayeuses manuelles afin d’en améliorer le maniement et la vie utile.

• RCM affirme que la Kilo, sa nouvelle autolaveuse à conducteur monté, est conviviale et confortable pour l’opérateur.

• Le système Lotus Pro de Green World Innovations transforme de l’eau en ozone aqueux pour le nettoyage sans produits chimiques.

• SNG Commercial a ajouté de nouveaux produits à sa gamme professionnelle, dont des lavages de mains, pulvérisations à gâchette, nettoyants de plancher et dégraissants.

• Aquaint ist ein natürliches Desinfektionsmittel auf Wasserbasis, das in Sekunden 99,9 % aller Bakterien tötet.

• Asco Carbon Dioxide hat den ASCOJET Combi Blaster 1708 vorgestellt, der ein zusätzliches Strahlmittel in den Trockeneisstrom dosieren kann.

• Haaga wird alle Handkehrmaschinen in seiner Produktreihe mit der neuen Antriebskupplung iSweep ausrüsten, um für eine bessere Handhabung und erweiterte Lebensdauer zu sorgen.

• Laut RCM ist die neue kompakte Aufsitz-Scheuersaugmaschine Kilo benutzerfreundlich und komfortabel für den Bediener.

• Das Lotus Pro-System von Green World Innovations verwandelt Wasser in wässriges Ozon, um chemikalienfrei zu reinigen.

• SNG Commercial hat seine professionelle Produktreihe um einige neue Produkte erweitert, darunter Handreiniger, HandSprühgeräte, Bodenreinigungsmittel und Entfetter.

• Aquaint è un sanitizzante naturale a base di acqua che elimina il 99,9 per cento di batteri in pochi secondi.

• La Asco Carbon Dioxide ha lanciato l’ ASCOJET Combi Blaster 1708 per la sabbiatura criogenica mediante ghiaccio secco e altri materiali abrasivi aggiuntivi.

• La Haaga sta per dotare tutte le spazzatrici manuali della sua gamma della nuova trasmissione iSweep per renderle più maneggevoli e più durature.

• La RCM afferma che la sua nuova lavasciuga pavimenti compatta con operatore a bordo Kilo è facile da usare e comoda per l’operatore.

• Il sistema Lotus Pro della Green World Innovations trasforma l’acqua in ozono liquido per la pulizia senza prodotti chimici.

• La SNG Commercial ha aggiunto dei nuovi prodotti alla sua gamma professionale, fra questi ci sono prodotti per il lavaggio delle mani, pistole spray, prodotti per il lavaggio dei pavimenti e sgrassatori.

September 2015 | ECJ | 88

Water-based Aquaint is a natural, waterbased sanitiser that kills 99.9 per cent of bacteria in seconds, says manufacturer Opus Innovations. Water provides the base for the product and its only other ingredient, Hypochlorous

additional abrasive effect of a carefully selected additive.

Because of its higher cleaning performance, the ASCOJET Combi blaster 1708 can run with less compressed air, which leads to a considerable reduction in noise emissions. www.ascoco2.com

New drive

Acid (HCIO), provides its antibacterial properties. Hypochlorous Acid is a harmless, natural acid produced by the human body to kill bacteria.

As well as cleansing the hands the Aquaint multipurpose product can be used to cleanse the hands as well as sanitising surfaces and equipment. Two sizes are available - a large 500 ml bottle and small 50 ml bottle that fits into the pocket for professionals who are constantly on the move.

Opus says the product is suitable for use in the healthcare,leisure and hospitality sectors. www.aquaint-uk.com

Abrasive dry ice ASCO has launched the ASCOJET Combi blaster 1708, which combines dry ice blasting technology with abrasive properties.

The new dry ice blasting unit is equipped with a newly developed dosing device which allows the use of an additional blasting material in the dry ice stream. This means users get the combination of gentle cleaning with dry ice pellets and the

Haaga is now fitting all manual sweepers in its ProfiLine range with its new Haaga iSweep drive coupling. This, it says, will extend the life of the models many times over.

Moreover, the company says, this iSweep is virtually maintenance free. Models haaga 477, haaga 479, haaga 677, haaga 697 and haaga 697 plus are now all equipped as standard with this system for driving the circular brushes. www.haagasweeper.com

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and water to the brushes relative to the running speed. www.rcm.it

No chemicals The lotus PRO Cleaning Solution from Green World Innovations transforms water into aqueous ozone by infusing water with ozone, which the unit can stabilise for up to 24 hours. The infused water or aqueous ozone is chemical free and can be used for cleaning.

Capable of producing a continuous flow of approximately 14 litres of aqueous ozone per minute – using the equivalent power of just two 40 watt bulbs – the solution provides a residue-free cleaner that does not require rinsing. Green World Innovations says lotus PRO can clean at the same level of performance as chemical products. www.greenworldgb.com

More products Small ride-on Kilo is the new compact ride-on scrubber from RCM. It boasts manoeuvrability, 65-litre capacity, simple operation, easy access to the removable batteries, solid chassis, efficient traction and comfortable seat.

The machine also incorporates the Detersaver system which controls the dosing of detergent

SNG Commercial has added some new products to its Professional range, including hand washes, laundry powders and trigger sprays.

New additions include 400 ml hand washes and lotions; trigger sprays including oven and grill cleaners, antibacterial and multipurpose cleaners; degreasers and descales; floor cleaners, disinfectants and bleaches. www.sngltd.co.uk

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