The Diversey Shields are designed not only to effectively communicate, but also to help you make sure that your protocols surrounding enhanced cleaning and disinfection, infection prevention, and food safety are in line with World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (eCDC) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) guidance, and are monitored by Diversey® and Diversey Consulting™ experts.

Three shields to suit your application

1. Clean and Ready 2020: ensures that enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols are in place.
2. Covid19 Safety Program 2020: for overcoming coronavirus with strong measures for today, and readiness for the future.
3. Food Safety Program 2020: focuses on food safety management systems.

How the programme is implemented

The Diversey Shield Program is implemented in four stages, starting from documents, products and tools through to completing an on-site verification audit. A Diversey representative helps complete requirements prior to the first audit. As per agreed timelines, the audit is conducted on Diversey iMAP, following which the discussion on the results and corrective actions is done. If required, a confirmation audit is done within a month.

This service is designed to elevate the quality of service, safety and care for guests and employees. Our solutions integrate products, processes, training and measurement systems to reduce risk, improve results and lower overall cost.

Once audits are cleared, a Diversey Shield kit is awarded to a property. This consists of a certificate that authorises a property to display Diversey Shields at the necessary locations.

Warehouse audits

Warehouse audit methodology is used to survey site specifications such as interiors, exterior, washroom, food court, periphery and high-touch point locations. Based on the area specifics, we assess further details such as:

• Surface type: hard or soft floors.
• Soil level: low, medium or high category.
• Cleanable area: percentage of the area accessible for cleaning.
• Cleaning task: wet mopping, auto scrubbing, spray and wipe application with recommended Taski/Suma products, or mechanised sweeping, vacuuming and high pressure jet application. All the above tasks are defined based on site operations, with daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly rotation.
• Skill level: current understanding and skill level of the janitor to perform the job.
• Existing infrastructure: current cleaning equipment, chemicals and accessories.

Mechanisation of cleaning is the way forward

Selection of compatible and right cleaning agents based on floor type is important to ensure floors are safe after usage, without damaging them. For example, Taski Spiral is a scientifically blended liquid detergent for cleaning floors and oily or greasy work areas.

Amongst cleaning equipment, auto scrubber-driers ensure powerful cleaning and drying results with no streak marks and prevent slippage after usage. Taski's patented Intelliflow system always ensures the right amount of cleaning solution on the floor and leads to significant water savings.

Spray and wipe application: microfibre dusters absorb five times their own weight, and can be used in both dry and wet application — for example, for high touch point area disinfection.

Manual or mechanised sweeper machines: these work on the overthrow principle, and ensure there is no residual dust flying. A bulk waste flap installed in front of the brush helps pick up bulkier debris.

Warehouse aisle cleaning

Manoeuvrability between the racks and stacks poses a challenge during cleaning operations. It can be addressed through mechanised cleaning with micro ride-on scrubber-driers, mini walk-behind auto scrubber-driers, and sweeping application with walk-behind machines.

Taski Swingo 2100 micro ride-on scrubber-driers can manoeuvre through narrow lanes. They are an excellent option in congested areas due to their speed, small footprint, agility and large tank size. Taski Swingo 455 E is a walk-behind auto scrubber for narrow alleys and small areas.

Kobra is an efficient walk-behind sweeper ideal for medium sized areas, with greater manoeuvrability and ergonomics.

Rack cleaning

This is challenging because of the placement and array of SKUs. It can be addressed by vacuuming with a backpack vacuum cleaner, such as the battery operated Taski Aero BP, which gives excellent dry cleaning performance, a crevice nozzle, and a dusting brush which can be carried with machines to complete multiple jobs at the same time. It meets EHS compliance and the backpack weighs less than 6kg.

In case the area to be cleaned is not accessible with these machines, microfibre-based dusters with damp or dry application are recommended.

Wall and ceiling cleaning

Clean any high surface area first as the debris will fall to a lower level. Dust levels are usually high in lower areas. High areas that require cleaning in warehouses include heating and cooling ducts, tops of pallets, racks, windows and frames. Diversey telescopic poles can be used up to an 11 metre height with required accessories.

Goods stored versus choice of equipment and chemicals

Machine recommendations may not vary much based on the type of warehouse. The cleaning agent shall vary, depending upon the type of soil or floors. For example, pharma warehouses need a different medical-grade cleaning reagent, while agro-based warehouses should use food-grade agents without any fragrance. E-commerce sites use neutral cleaner or alkaline agents.

Mechanised sweepers such as the Rider 1201 battery operated sweeper or the Picobello manual sweeper are recommended where soils are dry or loose, and when wet application is not preferred. For peripheral areas, normal sweeping with a manual or mechanical sweeper is feasible. High pressure jets like the Danubio 150 Bar high pressure water jet machine are also used to remove stubborn stains.

Warehouse area versus cleaning equipment

• Under 2,000 sq ft — washroom: wet cleaning and steam cleaning. Floor sweeping: dry mopping. Floor scrubbing: spray mopping. Periphery cleaning: not applicable.
• 2,000–15,000 sq ft — washroom: wet cleaning and steam cleaning. Floor sweeping: semi-mechanised sweeping. Floor scrubbing: walk-behind machine scrubbing. Periphery cleaning: manual sweeper.
• 15,000–50,000 sq ft — washroom: wet cleaning and steam cleaning. Floor sweeping: walk-behind machine sweeping. Floor scrubbing: ride-on machine scrubbing. Periphery cleaning: high pressure jet.
• Over 50,000 sq ft — washroom: wet cleaning and steam cleaning. Floor sweeping: ride-on machine sweeping. Floor scrubbing: ride-on machine scrubbing. Periphery cleaning: high pressure jet.

Addressing the media, John Panichella, CEO, Solenis, said that globally an increasing growth trend is visible across four key parameters — water treatment, infection prevention, protection of food supply, and fibre-based packaging solutions — and that Solenis is set to capitalise on these trends with targeted initiatives.

"Solenis' priority for India in the next three to five years is to achieve a higher double-digit growth. This ambitious growth will be achieved through timely investments in R&D, new manufacturing plants, and key acquisitions," he said. "We expect that our expertise in fibre-based packaging solutions and opportunities in coating will play a significant role in driving the growth in India and globally."

Somer Gundogdu, President of Emerging Markets and TASKI, stated: "Amongst the emerging markets, India is one of the important markets for us where we have a differentiated market position. Adding to the growth trajectory is the expanding Indian economy, which will pave the way for us to scale the business significantly."

On the plans for launching new products in 2024, Brijesh Rathore, Vice President, South Asia (Diversey Institutional) and Global Strategic Accounts APAC, said: "With the fast-developing IT sector, there is a requirement for special floor cleaning chemicals, which is being developed by us."

"Solenis, about an $8 billion company, is driving to achieve 25 to 30% of its sales from new products less than five years old. We are investing in R&D at our global centres to drive technologies that solve customers' problems. This is our goal," added John.

"We are going to launch a new technology into this market. It is a concentrated liquid in a dissolvable pouch that can be dropped into a spray bottle — shake it, it dissolves and is ready to use. This one container can be used multiple times," he explained. This eliminates transportation challenges and large storage space requirements.

While hospitality will be the focus segment for Diversey, "the sector we are very excited about is healthcare. We are developing solutions to meet the needs of this sector," said Brijesh.

Emphasising the need to study hospital-acquired infection (HAI), Brijesh elaborated that HAI figures in India could vary from 7% to 88%. "This 88% who acquire infection at the hospital is the area we are focussing on, given our global expertise."

The plans are strong to pursue the "Presumer" vertical, focusing on enhancing asset life and the health of occupants.

"The biggest area where we have a very strong presence is the building service contractors, which is fast growing. With the manufacturing segments fast increasing in India, outsourcing to BSCs will increase too. This is another focus area for us," added Brijesh.

Brijesh also elaborated on India's growth story, emphasising Diversey's dedication to giving back to communities through initiatives like GARIMA, a skill development programme, and sustainability initiatives such as Soap for Hope™ and Linens for Life™, which repurpose discarded soaps and linen to reduce the carbon footprint and promote hygiene.

However, pool maintenance has been a tough and complex job as many of the factors involved are dynamic in nature. Weather conditions, different types of users, the chances of chemical imbalance and the need for regular monitoring of water parameters all add to the complexity.

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, the chlorine level has to be maintained between 1–4ppm (parts per million) and the pH in the neutral range of 7–8.

Manual treatment of pool water and a lack of available technology in automation and specialty chemistry has held the industry back from managing pool facilities to the right standards.

The most common cause of pool-related outbreaks is Cryptosporidium (Crypto), a chlorine-resistant parasite. Other causes include Legionella and Pseudomonas, bacteria that can cause illnesses such as Legionnaires' disease and hot tub rash.

Between 2015 and 2019, the CDC reported 208 outbreaks linked to recreational water venues. These outbreaks resulted in over 3,600 cases of illness and 13 deaths during this period.

Diversey's Intellipool Solution

Diversey Solenis brings its globally successful Intellipool programme to India. Intellipool is an intelligent platform which works on sensing, detecting and acting in tandem with specialty chemicals. The system can adapt to the changing dimensions of weather, microbial load and pollution, and act with precision.

Features and benefits

1. Intelligent system: no need for manual involvement to add chemicals, or for manual testing and measuring. Complete peace of mind can be achieved.
2. IoT-based platform: monitoring and record keeping.
3. Lower water intensity: less need for makeup water, helping facilities reduce water intake.
4. Better and visually appealing pool.
5. Good user experience.
6. Health and safety.