In the previous blog post, we gave you an update on the accreditations that Newlife Cleaning Systems currently hold, and the ways in which these accreditations will benefit our clients and our staff.  Previous posts have already informed you of the ISO 14001:2004, the ISO 9001:2008 and the SAFEContractor award.

The final certificate we hold, is the Construction Line certificate.  We conduct a lot of work within the construction industry, and it is these clients- and potential new customers searching for a contractor- who will benefit from us holding this.

In a simple summary, obtaining the Construction Line certificate allows us to be part of a database, with other contractors, who are pre-qualified to work in the building and construction industry.  It affirms that our staff, supervisors and area managers who are assigned to this department, are fully trained, informed and qualified to conduct their work.

This benefits those in the construction and building industries who are looking for a competent contractor to work on their site.  By accessing this database, which holds over 2000 contractors (a figure which is growing all the time) they can see an immediate overview of contractors in their area, who meet the  legal  requirements in terms of safety.  This enables them to select an organisation that they know will prioritise safety and best practice from the outset.

As a result of being part of the Construction Line database, we have been encouraged to be even more diligent with potential developments in laws and legislations, which may be subject to change in these types of workplace.  To retain our certificate, we are assessed regularly, to make sure that all of our knowledge and training is up-to-date.  An additional benefit of this is for our staff, as we can guarantee that they are safe, and that we are acting in their best interests, at all times.

If you would like to know more about how our Construction Line certificate can benefit your business, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  You can telephone Newlife directly on 0800 018 9099.

At Newlife Cleaning Systems, we couldn’t emphasise enough how important continual development and improvement is.  We want to ensure that we are constantly, systematically keeping up-to-date with the certifications we need to hold, alongside updates on new industry laws and requirements.

As part of this, we hold the ISO certificates in extremely high regard, and currently have ownershop of the ISO 14000: 2004 and the ISO 9001. For this post, I thought it would be beneficial to discuss the ISO 9001:2008 certificate, and how our holding it can benefit our clients, and help to aid company and staff development.

This particular certificate places a strong emphasis on the arrangement and implementation of quality management systems within an organisation. For a company like us, the term ‘quality management’ can encompass a wide range of circumstances and services.

Firstly it places a high importance on delivery; making sure that we are completing our works to a high standard, no matter what the size or complexity of the task.  This is as applicable to the legal and industrial guidelines that are placed upon us, just as much as it is to how satisfied our customers are. We interpret this in a way that means we will never leave a job that is incomplete, or that a client isn’t 100% happy with.

There are a number of ways in which we do this, to help us to adhere to the ISO 9001, and to improve the service you receive from us.  This includes setting up a number of systems and indicators, which allow us to monitor our performance as a company, and gives our staff guidelines to work on.  Every cleaning service, and every individual process, has a very strict format on how it should be undertaken.  This includes specifying the correct chemicals, equipment and techniques that need to be used.  With this, key performance indicators will be specified, that will help us to check that we are doing our job correctly.  The results of these guidelines and checks give us points for development that we can work upon to keep improving our service.

If you would like further details on the ISO 9001: 2008, or any of our other certifications, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  You can telephone us directly on 0800 018 9099.

At Newlife Cleaning Systems, developing and continuing to improve are essential parts of what we do.  In the contract cleaning industry, there are new expansions and advancements in technology all the time, so it’s very important to us that we’re always at the top of our game.

One of the ways in which we do this, is to make sure that we have attained the appropriate industry certifications.  This helps us to ensure that we, and our cleaners, are doing the best job possible.

We are therefore delighted to announce that we have recently received a SAFEcontractor accreditation, which we hope will benefit both our clients, and the people who work for us.

SAFEcontractor is a leading UK-based scheme, which helps companies within our industry to improve the quality of their health and safety, and their competency record as a result.

One of the reasons we applied for the SAFEcontractor accreditation, was the desire for uniformed standards across our business.  Many major clients recognise the scheme and accept the certificate as confirmation of competency.

Under the SAFEContractor systems, we have had to undergo a vetting process, which examines our health and safety procedures.  This process also reviews our previous health and safety procedures, to ensure that they were up to standard prior to the review, and not just on the day.

SAFEContractor is applicable to most sectors, although it is particularly relevant to food manufacture, property, facilities management, retail and leisure sectors- all of which tend to be big users of contract services.

The SAFEcontractor accreditation recognises very high standards of health and safety practise amongst UK contractors, which means that receiving this certificate puts us in excellent company.  The certification will also help us with more practical purposes; when our liability policy is ready for renewal, it will demonstrate to insurance companies that we are exploring all possible avenues to ensure that our work is as careful and efficient as possible.

Not only does this benefit our business and our clients, but achieving commendations like this is also accepted as the only way to proceed in an economy that’s as strained as ours.  This is seen clearly in a quotation from John Kinge, Head of Risk and SAFEcontractor, who states:

“Major organisations can no longer run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies.”

“More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Newlife Cleaning Systems has done.  The firm’s high standard has set an example, which hopefully will be followed by other companies in the sector.”

You can view a full and comprehensive list of the organisations approved by SAFEContractor, by visiting their website.  You will need to register on the site, which is very worthwhile, as it gives you access to an entire database of approved companies; giving you more peace of mind when you select contractor to work with.

Our clients will not be alone in seeking the benefits of this database; over 150 major national companies, from a number of key market sectors, have signed up to use it.  This will help them when selecting cleaning, maintenance, refurbishment, and electrical and mechanical services going forward.

For more information on what the SAFEcontractor accreditation means for our clients, please contact us.

The information for this article, including the quotations from John Kinge, was taken from a press release sent to us by SAFEcontractor.

Nowadays Smartphones have become integral to many people’s lives.  If you’re lost, you can access digital maps through your phone’s GPS system.  If you have something you’re compelled to share, you can tweet it, or change your Facebook status by just a tap of the buttons on your phone.  Now, one UK contract cleaning company have taken the Smartphone generation to a new level; utilizing their popularity to create an iPhone app to benefit their business.

The waste disposal cleaning company is the first of its kind to use this type of technology to theirs and their clients’ advantage.  Their app, which has been designed for clients looking for a waste collection service, allows them to receive a quote in a simple, convenient and immediate way.

Once the app is on the client’s iPhone, the welcome page invites them to video the waste they would like the company to dispose of; giving the company an accurate perspective of what they would be removing.  Once the video has been taken, the app then offers the opportunity to select a time when they would like the waste to be removed.  They have a choice of ‘Anytime’, a ‘Specific Date’ or a ‘2 Hour Window.’  The client is also made aware that the more specific their collection time, the higher the cost will be.  After they have requested this, the app uses the GPS on the phone to find their location, which they are then asked to confirm.  Once this is done, a summary of their request us shown to them, which when approved sends an email to the cleaning contractor, requesting a quote.

The contractor then receives all the information, and emails an accurate quote back to the client for this particular service.
This contract cleaning company is moving with the times in a fantastic and efficient way.  Once clients have this app, it is free to use, and makes arranging a waste collection service quick and simple.  They don’t need to make phone calls or arrange a time for an estimator to visit, and they can be given a quick quotation for the job cost without leaving their home.  All they need to do is pick up their mobile phone.

In terms of business, the cleaning contractors themselves are also saving money and time.  With a video of the waste arriving directly to them, they save money on sending a member of staff to the site to assess the cost of its removal.  It is also a very quick and immediate way to access business, and will open the company up to clients who would rather quickly use an app to receive a price, than liaise back and forth with the company.

The design of one of the first iPhone apps to benefit cleaning contractors is an exciting development for the industry.  There is only one element which makes me think the contractor should proceed with caution.  With this type of technology, there is always the danger that it will be misused, and that clients may video less waste than they actually have to remove; causing  complications later on.   Otherwise, I think this is a very positive advancement of technology in the industry, and it won’t be long until other companies follow suit.

Original article about this app, can be found at:  http://www.cleaning-matters.co.uk/stories/articles/-/newsletters/2011/july/news/waste_clearance_iphone_app_launched/.

You can see a video of the app at:  http://www.youtube.com/user/AnyJunkVideo?gl=GB&feature=mhee#p/a/u/0/VIWbrSgOMwQ

In February, Daily Telegraph journalist Rupert Neate reported a clash between two think tanks on the always controversial topic of the minimum wage.

Neate’s article stated that Steve Coulter, of the Social Market Foundation, had made the  suggestion that the Government should raise the minimum wage.  Coulter, who is the economics analyst for BBC News, said that the increase would encourage employers to acquire employees with more refined skills and qualifications.  He assured that a skilled and better-paid workforce would also result in an increase in productivity in the workplace.

This was refuted by Sam Bowman, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute, who argued that if the Government increased the minimum wage it would create even more unemployment.  He argued that workers are paid in proportion to the value of their labour, and that some jobs are not worth a higher paid rate.  For example, in the cleaning industry people do not pay very much for cleaning, so it is very common for most daily cleaners to be paid minimum wage.

It is attitudes like Bowman’s that puts cleaning contractors such as ourselves in a very difficult position.  If we accepted this theory, we would never be able to pay our daily cleaners a substantial wage, otherwise we would be in fear of losing money overall.

We are however, fully aware that the minimum wage completely undervalues how hard our cleaning staff work, and therefore pay our cleaners as much over the minimum wage as we are able to.  As already stated in previous blogs, the minimum wage is not a living wage; you couldn’t pay rent, a mortgage, bills, give your children everything they need and put food on the table on that alone.  No-one deserves to be working on a minimum amount, and this include cleaners who work extremely hard, undertaking unpleasant tasks that for a wage many would deem unacceptable.  At Newlife Cleaning Systems, we believe that cleaners deserve more for what they do.

How do we achieve that?  Well in terms of the above think tank debate, I have already stated that I agree with raising the minimum wage.  I also agree that it is important for employees to gain as many skills and qualifications as possible, to improve their chances of earning more than the minimum wage.  Employees legally have the right to request appropriate and relevant training from their employers, and we support that.   We therefore have training available for our cleaning staff, if they require it, to enable themselves to become more qualified in what they do so well.

As we have suggested before, another way to pay above the minimum wage, especially in the cleaning industry, could be to change the way each job is priced.  The most common procedure is to price a job depending on how long it will take to complete, in which the hourly cost of labour is also taken into account.  If instead, each job is priced depending on a promised result, rather than time it will take, you can incorporate a higher wage for the staff.

For us, the way forward with the minimum wage debate sees us placed firmly in Steve Coulter’s camp, as  we think raising it is very important.  However businesses can help it along, by providing as many training opportunities as possible and by pricing their work differently, so they can afford to reward their staff’s hard work.

For more information on doing this, visit www.newlifecleaning.com.

Original article can be found at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8351143/Think-tanks-clash-on-minimum-wage.html

Can you remember your first one? I do as well. It was with a girl called Theresa Ashley when I was 10 years old outside the girl’s toilets at St. Gregory’s Infant & Junior School, circa 1965, after the Miss Scullion had rung the brass handbell and everyone else had scurried to classes after ‘dinner hour’. I’ve never forgotten it!
Her family went back to Australia the next term but that’s another story.

In this context it’s something different but just as personal as it simply refers to making your work communications factual and simply understood by others so you don’t end up being the stupid one.

Keep It Simple, $tupid.

When multi-million pound European satellite missions cock-up because the team in one country are working in Metric and their partners in the UK are still using Imperial units of measurement and things don’t fit when they put them together, it doesn’t take a ’Brain of Britain’ to realise the importance of simplicity when you’re talking to your customers and co-workers.

By using the 24 hour clock as standard for all communications in 24/7 operations like cleaning services you remove one ambiguity (which I have fallen into myself) but by also not only using dates but days you can emphasise the importance of timeliness in your customer’s minds.

You’re on a mission together aren’t you?

Taking it further: It doesn’t matter whether you plumb for feet and inches or metres and centimetres but if you always use the same terms you minimise the chances of stupid stuff like a work crew turning up at the contract with an expensive ‘cherry-picker’ which doesn’t actually reach the job!

Get it wrong and it costs you and your customer money.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? Let’s ask those space scientists.

Columbus Dixon July 2010

For the first time, employees in Great Britain have the right to request time for study or training, following legal changes that came into effect on Tuesday.

Time to Train will give workers in businesses, which employ more than 250 people the legal right to request time off to take up relevant training. The right will be made available to all employees from April 2011. This phased approach will give smaller organisations and businesses more time to prepare for the introduction of the new right.

“We need to empower people to speak about training opportunities and the benefits they can bring to a business’ success,” says Skills Minister Kevin Brennan.

“Many companies and organisations are very good at training their staff, but we need to make sure that all businesses are advising employees on what is on offer.

“This is where a regulation like Time to Train will be able to help people. It will give them the confidence to ask about training and skills, allowing them to take control of their own careers.”

The legal right will allow employees to request time to undertake relevant study or training that employers are required to consider seriously. The training should improve the employee’s effectiveness in their job and contribute to improved business performance and productivity. Employers are not obliged to approve every request – they can be turned down if there is a good business reason to do so.

The legislation was included in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act, which received Royal Assent in November 2009.

Guidance for employers on the right to time to train is available at: www.businesslink.gov.uk/timetotrain

Guidance for employees on the right to time to train is available at: www.direct.gov.uk/timetotrain

Columbus Dixon April 2010

Many people fail in life, not for their lack of natural ability, intellect or drive but simply because they don’t focus their energies like a laser, on their end goal.

In the contract cleaning industry, whether you’re a Site Manager, Supervisor, Team leader, Contracts Manager or a Surveyor it is too easy to simply become overwhelmed with normal day-to-day activities that all you can do is take one step at a time. Yes, this may help you get through the week but operating at this level will not move you any closer to achieving your BIG over riding goals. You will simply be treading water.

Here are some simple “rules” to ensure that you keep your ultimate objective in mind while at the same time achieving the incremental steps, which take you closer and closer to your goal without losing yourself in the minutiae of day-to-day working life.

First of all never forget that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail! It’s seems an old corny saying but it has a heck of a lot of truth in it.

You must imagine exactly the result or objective you want to achieve. Smell it, imagine it, and touch it. How does it make you feel? What positive outcomes will it have for you and your Team in the long run?

Once you have got your objective firmly fixed in your mind and you know this is what you are aiming for 100% you should then make yourself a road map with key stages or milestones that you know you must achieve. When you have it all thought out in your head put it down in writing! As soon as you commit your thoughts to paper it is as if you have carved it in stone. This way you stop your mind playing tricks on you and allowing you to forget / downgrade the importance / allow self-doubt to creep in and erode your single mindedness.

To further ensure your goals become reality when you commit them to paper, use the SMART acronym. This is a simple tool to use when writing your goals and objectives down.

Specific – Know exactly what your goal is.

Measurable – Know whether you achieved the goal.

Achievable – Speaks for itself.

Relevant – Relates to the big picture.

Timely – When will you reach the goal?

It’s said that only 5% of people actually write down their goals.

If you truly want to see improvement and growth in whatever you do, take the time to create SMART objectives then regularly hold yourself accountable by checking progress against these written down goals. Otherwise you will continue living one day at a time, working hard but not SMART.