“We want residents and visitors to the borough to be able to enjoy their food safe in the knowledge that it has been produced, stored and prepared in a hygienic manner.”

This was spoken to the Government’s News Distribution Service after Mr Chitta R. Das, owner of frozen food company Euroversal International released a statement last week which assured the public that his produce was safe to consume. This came after his factory was exposed for being unhygienic earlier this month. The Food Standards Agency discovered a mouse infestation in the factory and traces of mouse droppings were found inside food packaging, on shelves and in the food itself. The company was charged with six food hygiene offences, fined £5,730 and had their ‘Mithaighar’ yoghurt product recalled.

In areas where food is prepared, packaged and distributed to the public, the hygiene and cleanliness of the building and the staff who work in it must be impeccable.  Any dangerous bacteria must be removed from all surfaces, even if they are not in direct contact with food; harmful bacteria can cause food-related illnesses such as salmonella, listeria and E. coli.

It is the responsibility of business directors who run food factories to adhere to constantly updated rules, regulations and legislations which are monitored by a number of official bodies.  Firstly, the Food Standards Agency, an independent Government department, was set up to monitor food production in the interest of the consumer’s health.  They set guidelines for food preparation, which they monitor and enforce frequently. The BRC, British Retail Consortium also sets a standardised level of hygiene that retailers expect from their suppliers.  They modify the rules frequently and a sixth edition of their regulations is due in 2012.

With all of these pressures on owners of food production factories, it can quickly become impossible for them to keep up. With so many other aspects of running a business to think about, the easiest way to make sure it is done properly, and with minimum fuss, is to get a cleaning contractor to do it for you.

Cleaning contractors are often highly experienced when it comes to working in industry. They are subject to stringent hygiene, safety and cleanliness regulations as part of their job; making it important for them to be knowledgeable in the latest food hygiene and cleanliness laws.

They will have specially-trained teams to set to work, who will be very experienced at working in industrial units.  The contractor will be responsible for staffing issues, including ensuring that staff are up to date will all legislations. The procurement of any specialist equipment and supplies will also become the responsibility of the contractor.

Another issue for owners of food production factories is the time constraints against them; to maximise the company’s productivity they need to be open for business for long periods of time. Some specialist cleaning processes require time and potentially an emptied factory, which could clash with production times. A cleaning contractor will fit in with the company’s schedule and requirements to make it as convenient as possible.

Alongside daily cleaning, there are some special services that a contract cleaning company can offer.  Firstly, there is high level cleaning, which requires experienced staff cleaning hard-to-reach areas, making every surface spotlessly clean. They will also be trained in machinery and process parts cleaning, an essential process that removes the residue of bacteria and it keeps the machines working efficiently; dirty machines break down which makes the factory lose money. Many insurers now also want ventilation and duct cleaning and testing to be undertaken by professional contractors, which they will also be able to help with.

Hiring a cleaning contractor to do your food factory cleaning can therefore ensure that the factory maintains the highest standards, will remove the stresses from a business owner and will undertake regular daily cleaning as well as specialist tasks.

If you would like to know how hiring a contract cleaner can help your business, Newlife Cleaning Systems welcome your enquires on 0800 018 9099, or visit www.newlifecleaning.com.

As the Royal Wedding had done before it, the subsequent event clean-up and more importantly who paid for it, has been subject to press attention.  The ceremony, and the trimmings that came with it, were funded by the bride and groom’s parents.  Conversely, the cleaning costs and security were funded by the council’s budget, and therefore by the taxpayer.

The great majority of the cleaning work was done by Westminster City Council’s cleaning contractor.  The Telegraph stated that official predictions estimated that the additional costs of cleaning Central London’s streets before and after the wedding could reach up to £40,000.  To enable them to do this task, the contractor had to set an extra 100 cleaning staff to work; over the proceedings a total of 130 workers picked up approximately 140 tonnes of litter from London’s streets.

The cleaning of the subways, which was done by criminals convicted of minor offences, did not directly cost the taxpayer.

The additional costs to the taxpayer for the wedding clean-up are not without note, but what about the cleaners undertaking the work?

The cleaners’ hard work to prepare London’s streets for the Royal Wedding and to clean up afterwards, was praised in the press.  Guardian Journalist Jill Insley joined the cleaners on the day, spending the morning working with them.  She acknowledged their hard work in her article, stating; ‘I will never again ignore those who are working so hard to keep my environment clean’.

Unfortunately, recent reports have shown that those who clean up after royalty do not necessarily receive royal benefits.

The cleaning staff at Buckingham Palace for example, are paid £6.45 per hour; above the minimum wage of £5.93 per hour but below the ‘Living Wage’ estimated for London.  The ‘Living Wage’, which is a minimum hourly wage that will enable an individual to provide for their family, was estimated to be £7.85 per hour for 2011.  This means, that although the contracted cleaners worked tiring, additional hours for a global, high-profile event, they do not even earn enough money to support their families.  With the streets of London spotless as two billion sets of eyes were on it, it is unfair that the cleaner’s are not getting all of the financial recognition they deserve, for doing such an important job.

Mark Banks, the waste and receycling manager at Westminster City Council, regarded the procedure as “a little practice run for the Olympics for us.”  If the Olympics are predicted to be an even bigger event than this, with larger cleaning operation then Westminster City Council’s cleaning contractors are to expect a busy few years.  With the attention on the streets of London, and how the streets are prepared before and cleaned after, hopefully the Olympic clean-up will get the cleaners the recognition they deserve; seeing a positive effect in their pay packets as much as their public profiles.

For more information on event clean up, visit: http://www.newlifecleaning.com/

Original articles can be found at:

http://thestandard.org.nz/the-royal-approach-to-who-pays/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/may/07/street-cleaning-royal-wedding,

Desperately excited, grossly indignant or quietly indifferent- everyone had their opinion on the recent Royal Wedding. The luxurious celebration was watched by two billion people, whilst tens of thousands flocked to the mile and a half procession route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, to try and catch a glimpse of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

With the world watching the streets of London, it is important to spare a thought for the people who made them look impeccable. The clean-up of London’s streets, both prior to and after the event, was organized and executed with military precision. Here’s how it was done…

The initial clean-up began weeks before London was flooded with visitors from across the globe. The subways leading to and from Westminster tube station were scrubbed vigorously with detergent and wire brushes. This was done by criminals, convicted of minor offences, who chose to volunteer for the duty rather than receiving a prison sentence. This project was organised by Westminster Council through the Community Payback scheme.

The rest of the preparations and post-wedding clean-up were organized by Westminster Council’s waste management & cleaning contractor. They tackled the clean-up with the efficiency you can expect from a contractor; utilizing their resources and staff to get the job done, whilst causing minimal disruption to the public.

A ‘deep cleansing’ of the route was undertaken on the night before the Royal Wedding. This involved using a 15 strong team of cleaners to remove every piece of litter from the procession route. They were assisted by a small Johnston C40 sweeper to do an initial clean, which was then followed by a large Johnston 600 sweeper. After this, they gave the route one final polish with high pressure jets to make sure it was spotless. A statue cleaning team from Westminster City Council worked to rejuvenate the Royal Tank Regiment, Women at War and the Gurkha Soldier statues, which were to be passed by the procession.

On the day of the Royal Wedding, the contract cleaning staff began their work at 2.am; they prepared the procession route by giving it one final sweep. They then laid sand down in places where the horses were likely to slip, and ensured that two gritting machines were placed at strategic intervals on the route. During the royal procession, the contractor’s street cleaners waited until the procession passed by and then immediately entered the area to remove any litter and sand that was left in the wake of the procession, returning it back to it’s spotless state.

Around busy transport stations, they placed an additional 40 sweepers, to keep these densely attended areas neat and tidy. Other cleaners walked amongst the crowd throughout the day, picking up litter left by the public. After the celebrations were over, it didn’t take long for the cleaning team to return the streets of London back to normal.

Regardless of the views on the cost of the Royal Wedding to the public, Westminster Council’s cleaning contractor did an excellent job of preparing for it, and making the city look like it had never happened afterwards. Their exact planning, extra available staff, countless machines and unlimited equipment made the clean-up an unmitigated success.

If you would like to know more about how a contract cleaner can make cleaning up after your event more hassle free, Newlife Cleaning Systems can help you. To make an enquiry telephone 0800 018 9099 or visit www.newlifecleaning.com for more information.

While the streets of London are definitely not paved with gold the pavements the streetscape of most of Britain’s towns and cities including Borisland appear to be suffering from a virulent attack of measles or chicken pox.

Next time you’re in a queue or simply ambling along window shopping cast your eyes downwards and play the game of counting the number of bits of trodden in chewing gum that you can see. Yes all those black or white stains are simply trodden in gum, spat out by Joe Public and there are millions of them out there.

This scourge is increasing exponentially as anti-smoking initiatives drive people to change their habits but older habits die hard and just like ciggie butts used to be discarded without a thought so it is with gum despite the exhortations’ on the packaging.

It has been estimated that the ongoing clean up war against gum costs local authorities – that is you and me the taxpayer, between £150 – £200m a year to remove. Even then the effectiveness of the removal is only visible for a matter of days.

Also this cost doesn’t take into account the disruption caused by the use of steam cleaners, pressure washers and the esoteric range of chemicals used to dissolve the offending staining. There is also the initially unseen damage caused to block paving and the de rigueur expensive pavoirs s by the ‘blowing out’ of the sand between the blocks. This causes the loss of the integral strength of the walkway leading to slumping and movement of the actual blocks themselves which in turn is further exacerbated by the weight and torque of mechanical street cleaning sweepers leading to ruts and potentially expensive ‘slips and trips’ claims.

The answer may be at hand though with the development of a new form of chewing gum polymer which it is claimed does not effect the chewability or ‘mouth texture’ of the gum and which doesn’t require any changes in the actual production process of making the ‘chewie’ This last point is crucial if there is to be any form of take-up by the major international manufacturers who are governed by the bottom line and the need for affordability with such a spur-of-the-moment purchase.

These new polymers, if adopted, will lead to gums which are either easier to remove using simply water and abrasive action or which will degrade within 6 months to a fine powder. These benefits are not restricted solely to hard surfaces but are also effective on clothes, shoes and hair which will delight any mother who has children.

Approved by U.S. food safety authorities and currently going through the final stages of European approval it is hoped that the product could soon be adopted by the big names in the gum world such as Wrigley or Kraft. Alternatively, if the take up requires extra momentum, we could take a leaf out of the 10 year old, successful Singaporean method of addressing the problem and simply make the import and sale of non-medicinal gum illegal and backed up with heavy fines.

Columbus Dixon Jan 2011

First published 5 years ago Crisis in Cleaning by Scott Young is an invaluable tool for any cleaning contractor or manager with responsibility for premises cleaning especially where hard floors are involved.

In it he willingly shares 56 years experience in the industry with a career spanning window cleaning to building cleaning contractor then on into manufacturing of cleaning equipment based and designed on his many years of practice in the field.

What this book is about is one mans quest to explain the importance of professional cleaning.

It is mandatory reading for all Newlife Cleaning Systems Area Managers which is the highest endorsement we can give.

It doesn’t matter whether you have just started your first commercial contract or you’re a facility manager with a ‘slip and trip’ problem in your client’s kitchens. The answer is in this personal journey to excellence.

A limited number of copies are available, P+P free, to the first 50 readers who register their interest.

please email sales.national@newlifecleaning.com with your postage and contact details

Columbus Dixon Aug 2010

An Irish hospital has specified hygienic copper door handles as part of its plan to reduce healthcare-associated infections – the first in the world to do this throughout its facility.

St Francis Private Hospital in County Westmeath made the decision after examining compelling evidence from the clinical trial at a hospital in Birmingham, UK. This showed that copper surfaces such as taps, toilet seats and door pushplates can reduce microbial contamination by 90-100 per cent.

General manager and director of nursing Noeleen Sheridan explained: “All healthcare facilities are acutely aware of the risks from the spread of germs and the high costs of negating them. As it is estimated that 80 per cent of infections are spread by touch, keeping surfaces like door handles as germ free as possible will impact on the spread of infection.”

Professor Tom Elliott, who led the copper clinical trial at the Selly Oak Hospital, believes copper could play a key role in helping to contain healthcare associated infections. “Laboratory research has shown that MRSA and Clostridium difficile microbes die much more quickly when they come into contact with copper-based surfaces than on the usual surfaces you find in a hospital,” he explained.

The use of copper as a preventative health measure is becoming increasingly well recognised – it is the first solid surface material to be registered with the US Environmental Protection Agency as having proven public health benefits, helping to reduce contamination between cleans. Antimicrobial copper surfaces have been shown to kill more than 99.9 per cent of specific bacteria (including the MRSA superbug) within two hours, and to continue to kill more than 99 per cent of these bacteria even after repeated contamination.

Noeleen Sheridan concluded: “Copper touch surfaces serve as an extra line of defence in addition to the hospital’s accredited hygiene measures.”

www.eurocopper.org

Columbus Dixon May 2010

Recent developments in the field of nanotechnology have led to major breakthroughs which are to revolutionize the way window cleaning is performed in future. The technical named for this new nanotechnology is “Si02 ultra thin layering” but most people know it as liquid glass. The diversity of possible applications for this Liquid Glass is simply astonishing. It can be used to coat floors, doors, windows, settees, trains, the list goes on, in fact it is nearly impossible to conceive of a surface that it cannot be used upon.

The benefits of the Liquid Glass are numerous. Alongside being food safe and environmentally friendly it is also scratch resistant and corrosion resistant. The coatings are around 500 times thinner than a human hair and so are not visible to the naked eye. One benefit of this is that they can be used to coat domestic products such as settees in order to protect the surface and also make cleaning an easier process. The stain resistant coating even allows protected surfaces to be cleaned with water alone, this reduces the need for cleaning chemicals and so benefits the environment. The green credentials of Liquid Glass contributed to it winning the Green Apple Award and its anti-bacterial properties also earned it the NHS Smart Solutions Award.

It is the versatility of Liquid Glass that is truly remarkable. It can be used in almost any environment to reduce cleaning costs by both reducing the frequency of cleans and the duration of the cleaning process. These properties make it an invaluable tool when tackling jobs such as large scale window cleaning where one coating on the outer layer of glass would drastically reduce the costs involved in such a large scale operation. Perhaps the owners of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, should bare in mind the benefits of nanotechnology and especially liquid glass as it could well be the most versatile coating in the world.

Guano removal isn’t exactly the most glamorous job out there, however the public health risk posed by guano means that its safe removal is extremely important. The term ‘guano’ was coined in Peru where for hundreds of years farmers had collected the white piles of guano from the shoreline and caves where it had been deposited by seals and bats respectively. They realised the nutrient rich compound was ideal to support their agriculture. This is primarily due to the large amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen contained within the guano. Even today the export of guano provides a key resource to the organic farming industry throughout the world. Alongside this it is also a key ingredient in the manufacture of gunpowder, again due to the large presence of phosphorus and nitrogen.

Despite its numerous positive uses guano is almost universally detested within the UK, and rightly so. The main sources of guano in Britain are bats and pigeons. Guano from these animals carries an assortment of diseases which present a danger to humans. Pigeon droppings alone can lead to psittacosis, a flu like condition that can lead to comas and even death in vulnerable individuals. Pigeons are also associated with bacterial infections such as salmonella, E.coli, meningitis and toxoplasmosis. In addition to these illnesses guano poses a danger on walkways where the slippery droppings can lead to accidents. If that wasn’t enough the faecal matter of the birds can cause acidic damage to the buildings that they occupy. All of these health risks make guano removal an important task.

Guano removal has the potential to be highly dangerous if it is not carried out by professionals. The guano must be dampened before it is removed otherwise toxic particles will be released into the air and could be inhaled during the guano removal process. Even when the guano has been dampened operatives are still required to wear face masks while removing the guano in order to prevent the dangers outlined above. This is especially important when operating in confined spaces without good ventilation. After the guano removal process has been completed precautions should be taken in order to try and prevent the return of the birds so that the problem does not simply repeat itself.

Despite what you might think sharps removal and disposal is a very dangerous and specialised process. A ‘dirty’ needle could be harbouring a whole host of blood-borne viruses. These could range from HIV to hepatitis B (HBV) or hepatitis C (HCV). Although the risk of HIV infection from a single exposure is fairly low the consequences of such an infection would be life changing, as such it is never recommended for an amateur to partake in sharps removal, no matter how good their intention.

It should also be noted that HCV, unlike HIV, is frequently contracted from a single exposure. What makes this even more alarming is the prevalence of HCV among drug users, a group who are not renowned for their responsible disposal of used sharps. In fact a recent American study revealed that the HCV infection rate was around 86% among intravenous drug users in Tacoma, Washington. (Pollack, H. Can we Protect Drug Users from Hepatitis C? 2001). It is safe to assume that the infection rate is likely to be at a similar level in British cities with a similar demographic. In light of these factors it seems irresponsible not to leave sharps removal to trained professionals armed with the correct safety equipment.

One of the consequences of increased drug use in Britain is a growth in the areas where used sharps can be found. In the past drug use was usually kept out of the public domain, it occurred behind the closed doors of squats and other such locations but this is no longer the case. Sharps removal teams are regularly called to areas such as public parks, toilets, playgrounds and a whole host of other public areas where sharps are present. With the public coming into contact with used sharps on an ever increasing basis it is important that people are aware of how to treat a used needle and arrange for sharp removal. It should never under any circumstances be handled in any way, even with protective gloves. Upon discovering a used needle members of the public should contact the owner of the land where the sharp is situated.

Sharps removal should be left to professionals with industry approved equipment and the relevant expertise. It is only if sharps removal is performed in this way that we can work to neutralise the dangers that these objects pose to the general public.

Ultrasonic sound is sound with a pitch so high that it exceeds the normal threshold of human hearing. Sound waves in excess of 18 kHz are referred to as ultrasonic. The ones used in industrial parts cleaning tend to range from around 20 kHz to 50 kHz. As environmentally friendly cleaning practices become more popular, the attractiveness of using ultrasonic technology for industrial parts cleaning begins to grow.

When this eco-friendliness is combined with highly effective cleaning of industrial parts it is not hard to see why this technology is gaining popularity. Alongside this, ultrasonic cleaning is perfectly suited for batch style cleaning arrangements which increases the cost efficiency of the parts cleaning process. This not only minimises cleaning time but also maximises the effectiveness of aqueous solutions used during the industrial parts cleaning process.

By manipulating sound waves ultrasonic cleaners are able to blast particles from contaminated industrial parts through the processes of compression and rarefaction. These processes offer an unparalleled level of cleanliness which makes them ideal for industrial parts cleaning where even light contamination of components can result in dire consequences.

It is quite early days in terms of the technology behind this aspect of industrial parts cleaning. Regardless of this, when utilized in the correct way, ultrasonic cleaning offers the chance to dramatically increase both the speed and the efficiency of a cleaning process whilst minimising its environmental impact. As the technology develops and people become aware of the numerous benefits of ultrasonic cleaning then it is inevitable that its popularity as an industrial parts cleaning process will grow.