CHTMAG.COM INDUSTRY INSIGHT NOVEMBER 2015 5 CLEANING HYGIENE TODAY NVIRO APPOINTS NEW OPERATIONS DIRECTOR CHSA MEMBERS RAISE £8,500 FOR CANCER CHARITY NOVEMBER CLEANING IN BRIEF Robertson Facilities Management has secured a major contract with the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) which will see it provide cleaning services at five of the SPS’ 15 prisons in Scotland as well as the SPS College. The contract is for an initial three years with an option to extend for a further three. Mobilisation on the contract has now been completed and full service commenced on 1 October, with Robertson Facilities Management providing cleaning and window cleaning to sites from Glasgow to Peterhead. Incentive FM Group’s specialist cleaning arm Incentive QAS, has won a contract to provide cleaning and associated services to City & Guilds Group, a global leader in skills development. The three-year deal which comes with extension options, covers 10 offices across the UK and will see Incentive QAS providing a full range of daily office cleaning services plus a selection of associated services, including pest control, waste management, window cleaning and washroom services at the City & Guilds Group’s two main offices in Giltspur Street, London, as well as at eight regional offices including Glasgow, Warrington and Cardiff. London cleaning specialists, Julius Rutherfoord, has won the Kimberly-Clark Professional Golden Service Awards ‘Healthy Workplace’ category for the second time running. The ‘Healthy Workplace’ category recognises companies that have taken significant steps to provide a more hygienic office environment to help reduce sickness and increase employee wellbeing. Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust has awarded G4S Facilities Management (G4S FM) with a three-year contract worth £615,000 per annum to deliver cleaning services in the Manchester area. The Trust, which provides mental health and community services, neighbours G4S FM’s existing and largest healthcare contract with Pennine Acute Hospital NHS Trust. The healthcare sites range from small inpatient facilities, clinics and outpatient departments. Some are on existing Pennine Acute Trust sites, for example, Royal Oldham Hospital in Greater Manchester and Fairfield General Hospital in Bury. This will enable collaboration between the services, benefiting both organisations. Sarah Southworth, founder of Preston-based, Specialised Cleaning Services (SCS), has brought home the double in just one week, awarded the UK’s Best Specialist Cleaning Company, at the bi-annual Kimberly Clark Golden Service Awards and Business Services Entrepreneur of the Year at the North West Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2015. Southworth, who on her own, started the cleaning company in 2007, today delivers specialist cleaning services, including trauma cleaning, asbestos removal, crime scene cleaning and a host of other complex specialist cleaning services to businesses and Housing Associations across the North West, from its headquarters in Preston, Lancashire. The latest figures from the Food Standard Agency suggest over half a million cases of food poisoning each year are caused by known pathogens. If unknown pathogens were included the figure would more than double. Campylobacter is the most common foodborne pathogen, with over a quarter of a million cases each year. The two next most common causes are Clostridium perfringens (80,000 cases) and Norovirus (74,000 cases). Salmonella causes the most hospital admissions, around 2,500 each year. Poultry meat was the food linked to the most cases of food poisoning, with an estimated 244,000 cases every year. Ofsted chief, Michael Wilshaw has angered the cleaning sector, following his claims that cleaning should not be offered as part of an apprenticeship. A recent Ofsted report has criticised the quality of apprenticeships, claiming low level skills such as cleaning are potentially devaluing the apprenticeship brand. Wilshaw’s description of cleaning as a ‘low-skill’ occupation has caused many cleaning professionals to question his understanding of an industry that contributes in excess of £8 billion to the UK economy annually. Nviro, a cleaning, hygiene and facilities management services specialist has strengthened its senior team with the appointment of James Gates as operations director. An experienced senior manager who has worked in operational roles for several major FM providers, Gates has also advised businesses as a management consultant. Most recently he filled the role of national account director for Interserve, having previously held senior positions at Norland Managed Services Ltd, Programme Management Ltd and Inn House Services Ltd. Commenting on his new appointment, Gates said: “I am delighted to be joining the Nviro team at such a significant time. With a track record of yearon year growth, outstanding contract retention and employee satisfaction, Nviro is at the forefront of the contract cleaning industry with exciting prospects for all of our staff. I am very much looking forward to building on the success that has already been achieved through quality of service, passion and understanding our customers’ needs.” Nviro managing director Brian Warren said the board-level appointment would strengthen the company. He commented: “James comes to Nviro with a wealth of experience, from senior operational roles within high-profile facilities management organisations, I am confident that James’s approach and knowledge, and that experience, will serve to consolidate and indeed grow Nviro’s stature as an industry-leading contract cleaning specialist.” Members and sponsors of the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA) have raised £8,500 in 2015 for the Chairman’s Charity, The Helping Treat Cancer Together Committee, which helps cancer patients with treatment costs the NHS will not fund where the patient’s doctors believe there is a reasonable chance the treatment will provide a cure, prolong life expectancy or improve quality of life. The CHSA has raised the funds through its highlight events, which include its Annual Golf Day and Charity Ball. The Charity Ball took place in May at the Tara Copthorne Hotel in Kensington and the Golf Day took place at Rudding Park in September. Stephen Harrison, chairman of the CHSA and managing director of Harrison Wipes commented: “We’re very proud to raise money for charity and each year we pick a charity with which there is a personal connection for someone within the CHSA or one that is relatively small and so would really benefit from the support we can provide. “The Helping Treat Cancer Together Committee is in the second category. It’s a small charity that makes a big difference to the lives of those it is able to help. “Yet again this year our members have shown their generosity. The money they have contributed will make a real difference to people whose treatment is no longer being funded by the NHS. We are extremely grateful for every single donation, large and small.”
CHT November 2015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above