Championing Cleanliness…
“Why is the Show only for three days? You need to keep it open for a week.”
This spontaneous reaction by Smt Sheila Dikshit, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi, at the Clean India Show 2010 at NSIC Grounds, Okhla, set the pace for the three-day annual cleaning event. The very fact that she set apart time to inaugurate the show and spent quality time visiting the stalls, has been motivating. For years, Clean India Journal and Clean India Shows have been trying to impress upon our leaders that unless they recognise and support the campaign for cleanliness of very high standards, all our efforts will not bear the optimum results. The visit of the Chief Minister of Delhi has indeed increased the enthusiasm of the Indian Cleaning Industry.
The organiser of the show, Virtual Info Systems Pvt Ltd has now bigger challenges ahead – of not just expanding the scope of the Trade Show, but also of continuously facilitating the interaction between leaders & decision makers and the Indian Cleaning industry. Clean India Journal has always been taking those extra steps to bring the Indian Cleaning Industry to a higher level and also to highlight the need for adapting scientific cleaning practices.
As the Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt Dikshit has been encouraging the use of cleaning equipment for city cleaning and new technology for maintenance of hygiene and cleanliness in public places. In India, we seldom show eagerness to change. Anything which requires effort and realignment is received with resistance. We need mechanisation and newer approach to cleaning. Smt Dikshit is quite aware of the needs.
Are the Civic Departments participating in the show? It will be beneficial for all the departments concerned to visit the show and understand the latest cleaning technology available in India today. We need cleanliness and hygiene solutions for schools, hospitals and public places. What are the equipment on display for road cleaning? Would the road sweeper remove stubborn mounts of mud off the streets How does the microfibre wipe clean more effectively? How are the cleaning chemicals used? Are these made available? Can the industry provide mobile mosquito control systems?
These are some of the views/questions raised by the CM. Scientific washroom hygiene solutions attracted her attention, so also chemical dozing systems & dispensers and bins for waste management. She encouraged exhibitors to explain to her the features of their products/systems. The CM discussed at length with Clean India Journal about its role in taking the clean movement forward and bringing the cleaning industry and the Government closer. “I am open to more interactions to understand various technologies the industry can provide,” she said. She appreciated the fact that the cleaning industry is giving employment to a very large number of unskilled workers. At the same time, “It is very essential to train the existing municipal cleaning staff too.”
The deep understanding and interest shown by Smt Dikshit have set a new momentum to the “cleanliness and hygiene” movement and we are thankful to her. Also visiting the show over the three days were senior officials from different government organisations.
What more? Shri Kamal Nath, the hon’ble Minister for Road Transport and Highways, sent his officers to gather information on the latest cleaning technology and solutions. “I am happy you are organising shows on cleanliness and hygiene solutions. Apart from the mechanised cleaning of roads and highways, I am also interested to know about the cleaning technologies and usage of equipment in various areas. It is high time we give professional cleaning its due. I am going through the literature collected by my officers,” said the Minister to Clean India Journal. We also received a letter from Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, hon’ble Minister of Health & Family Welfare, wishing the show all success.
The trend sure is positive; the scope is immense; the demand for mechanised and scientific cleaning solutions is on the rise. And the journey to create awareness about the need for cleaner environment continues…
…Charting
Cleaning Industry Growth
The awareness is certainly much pronounced as the visitors at the Clean India Show came from varied backgrounds – top officials from PWD, ministry, Ludhiana and Patna municipal corporations, railways, airport authority, schools, temples, catering colleges, hotel management institutes, FM & housekeeping companies, transport, IT industry, malls, pharma companies, hospitals, hotels, infrastructure… and also housewives. Most of them were aware of what they required and were looking for solutions, while many others found the Clean India Show “amazing” and most wanted.
The seventh edition of the Clean India Show, being held for the second time in Delhi, is the most important cleaning trade show in the Asia-Pacific region. The entire cleaning industry stood together on this one platform at the NSIC Complex to introduce new technology and equipment to the country and also build business tie-ups. For the first time, an exhibition of such a scale has been organised under a specially erected German structure. The 40-metre clear span aluminium marquee was covered with weather-proof fire-retardant fabric on all sides and on the roof.
Some of the new, innovative and interesting products showcased drew a lot of attention. At a time when researchers are still finding ways to eradicate the intelligent mosquito from the planet, imagine a machine attracting mosquitoes within the vicinity of an acre of land! The killer machine woos primarily female mosquitoes by emitting as much CO2 as eight human beings standing at one place and killing up to 15,000 mosquitoes in one night. The ‘killer’ stall at the Show attracted scores of visitors keen to get a live demo of this NASA-assisted technology. Invented in Mississippi, USA, the “mosquito killing system” was launched in the US way back in 1999 but for the lack of a good technology partner, it was launched in India only in July 2010. And yes, it is safe around children and pets too.
Talking of innovations and inventions, “wash balls” drew a lot of interest. It’s just about tossing a ball into the washing system to suck up the dirt. Well, doing laundry is more fun and an interesting exercise with the launch of the washing and sterilisation ball at the Show. Weighing 170g, the ball can be put inside the washing machine for a laundry of up to 5kg. This eco friendly ball cleans up all the dirt, including oil stains keeping the colour of the linen intact! The wash ball added to the delight of the laundry managers of the various hotels visiting the Show.
A housewife is a laundry manager too. Ajeet Kaur, a 55-year-old housewife, said, “I was interested in knowing about environment friendly cleaning products. I found the eco friendly wash ball very interesting and useful.” Interestingly on the second day of the Show, “pan” stains on the carpet laid on the aisle looked an ugly spot. Quickly, Supervisor Soni of Walsons Integrated Solutions (a division of Walsons HR Solutions Pvt. Ltd), who were managing the housekeeping services at the Show, brought some magic powder from one of the stalls and rubbed it on the stain. After a standing time of a few minutes a quick vacuuming and the stain vanished! Many stood by to watch the magic show of the eco-friendly carpet cleaning solution. Actually there is no need to shampoo a carpet and wait for it to dry, the eco-friendly magic powder does it all.
When it comes to taking up eco-friendly practices in cleaning, green chemicals are the need of the day. The range of green cleaning agents on display at the Clean India Show raised the curiosity of the people right from the chief minister to the CME of the Northern Railways who especially took time out to visit the show and select cleaning products to suit their requirement.
“This is one of its kind Trade Shows and very useful. We have seen a range of machines for cleaning platforms and sheds. The Show has been organised very well,” said KD Mainrai, CME, Northern Railway, who had come along with his team.
Of particular interest was the high powered, simple to operate vacuum cleaner which had a big mouth hose to gobble up everything that comes its way. Be it a pet water bottle or a paper cup, it could suck up all. It’s ideal for track cleaning. One of the largest cleaning shows of Asia-Pacific regions, the quality visitors stood by each stall to know the applications of over 150 national and international brands of cleaning products.
“The Show gave us an insight into the cleaning culture and the cleaning business here. The shortage and issues of skilled manpower are being experienced in Singapore too. However, unlike in India, the Singapore government pushes for the janitors’ welfare,” said Susan Lee, Manager, Training & Development, Ramky Cleantech Services Pte Ltd, Singapore.
Most of the facilities, whether hospital or an IT company, have engaged in house staff for maintenance and also outsourced cleaning services to housekeeping companies. “With patients health and hospital cleanliness being the main focus, we are always looking for new methods of cleaning. Maintenance of floors or keeping washrooms clean are equally challenging in a hospital. We are here to know about the latest techniques of cleaning,” said Dinesh Kumar, Housekeeping supervisor, Narinder Mohan Hospital, Ghaziabad.
Acknowledging Dinesh’s views was Poonam Jalan, Manager Housekeeping, Fortis Healthcare, Noida, who believed that the healthcare sector expected higher standards of cleanliness. “These days, people have become very conscious about cleanliness and hygiene. I am here at the Show to find out more about new equipment which could be used in the healthcare sector. And also about economic sanitizers & disinfectants and eco friendly chemicals,” she added.
Not just in hospitals or malls or hotels, people expect clean washrooms everywhere; even at an exhibition hall. With thousands visiting the Show, keeping washrooms clean is all the more challenging. To ensure that delegates, exhibitors and visitors travelling from as far as Hyderabad and Kashmir are given the comfort of a clean washroom, Best Practice Washroom gave the existing toilets at the NSIC grounds a complete makeover with all the hygiene products in place and janitors keeping the place spic and span. While many were aware of touch-free soap dispensers, tissue towels, auto janitors and toilet seat cleaners, the sanitary bin left many women awe-struck. The inquisitive Chief Minister also suggested that the airports of Delhi should install feminine hygiene products. Well, not only airports, a sanitary bin is essential in every place where women are employed. It’s not a luxury; it’s a woman’s necessity after all.
Isn’t it a fact that girl students drop out of schools because of improper washroom and lack of sanitary waste disposal system?
“Washroom hygiene is a challenge and we came looking for solutions for feminine hygiene,” said Prem Prakash, Takshila Educational Society which owns and runs DPS Patna, Pune, Ludhiana. “I got a team of 11 people to the Show because they are the actual users of the cleaning products at our school premises. It is they who have to tell the organisation what is suitable and what changes they want in the existing cleaning systems at the school. They also have to get educated in green cleaning so that they know why it is essential to adopt them. Very shortly we want to introduce green chemicals. Nothing can be more expensive than the environment. We are already planning to get products like urinal blocks and floor cleaning solutions.
“We have our in house housekeeping team. We practise mechanised cleaning and are proud to say that we are one of the best maintained schools across the country. Our management is clear about having clean schools. In fact, they are so keen on having clean premises that they spent about र8 lakhs to purchase equipment and that was seven years back when no one had heard of mechanised cleaning,” he added.
The awareness of mechanised cleaning is as much needed at every school as at every institution that is directly related to cleanliness and hygiene. Topping the list is catering colleges. More than 50 students and staff of the Banarsidas Chandivala catering college visited the Show. Catering requires essential knowledge about cleaning as it is related to food. “Yes, we want to know all that is related to housekeeping and cleaning. To ensure that the housekeeping staff keep the food area clean, we have to ourselves know how to keep the place clean,” said a second year student. Truly, the youth are more cleanliness conscious these days! Cleaning as such is ok but when it comes to cleaning washroom, it’s not a very soothing job, opined another student.
But, the janitors do it all the time. At many places, janitors do not have the proper safety gadgets while cleaning washrooms. “They don’t get proper training and education either. Today, there’s even manpower crunch,” said Prem Prakash.
“The hotel industry in India has shown that it can match international standards. The products displayed here are of international standards. Good to see products like the air cleaners coming to India. We are from facility management background so the knowledge of new equipment and chemicals will help,” said Rahul Agarwal, PG student, Ashok Inlead School of Hospitality, Gurgaon.
Definitely, cleaning cannot be limited to just the floors and washrooms, indoor air quality is equally important. Caere launched the Pure Room at CIS which drew a lot of attention. Pest is another area that needs to be tackled effectively to ensure cleanliness. Besides the mosquito killer, rodent catchers interested the CME-Northern Railway. This in particular would be suitable for the office area, said KD Mainrai. Some of the stations of the Northern Railway have successfully eradicated rodents using scientific pest management systems.
While, the visitors found their solutions, the exhibitors and cleaning industry visitors were equally enthusiastic. “We were able to identify a couple of distributors for our products,” said Richard Dias of Only The Best, supplier of toilet seats and Ion bulbs which do away with any kind of odour in the air.
So did Carind srl which has received several enquiries from Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat and even Hyderabad. “Exhibiting at Clean India Show has been very effective for our business. We are new in India and never expected such a good response from the show. The Indian market is huge; there is always scope for multiple players in this market. The tremendous response has encouraged us to participate in the Clean India Pulire show in November 2011,” said Cedric Cornello, Agent for Carind Srl, Italy.
Even China based Zhe Jiang Danau Industries Ltd were all-praise. “India has a big market. We have to first understand the market and surely in time to come, we can establish a good demand,” said Zhang Weimin, Sales Manager.
“It’s a core industrial exhibition. We never had such exhibitions in India earlier. I got to see a whole new range of machines,” said Abhishek Gupta, GM Business Development, A2Z Infra Services Ltd.
“Definitely, the exhibition has been fruitful. I got the opportunity to spend time with different cleaning vendors and to understand the technology better. This in turn would help us in smooth operation at the airport. We knew a few of the machine/equipment vendors very well because they have supplied machines to our airport,” said Raghavendra V. Gondkar, Associate Manager-Customer Facilities.
Clean India Show 2010 Facility Management – Level Next seminar
Across section of senior professionals from all over India attended the two day seminar on Facility Management-Level Next on November 25 and 26 at the Clean India Show. Facility managers, general managers and vice presidents of leading companies, including HCL Tech Ltd, YES Bank Ltd, Reliance Money Infrastructure Limited, Tata Consultancy Services, Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, Patni Computers, DIMTS, Paharpur Business Center and many more participated in the seminar. Organised by Clean India Journal with Jones Lang LaSalle as Knowledge partners, the Seminar focused on topics ranging from engaging an FM service provider at construction stage, delivery of FM services to green cleaning, soft services, waste management, asset security and best practices.
Reaction :
“The seminar has been a good platform for facility management professionals to interact with industry experts and understand the growth & development happening in India and across the world.” – Kavita Mazumdar, Sr Manager-Admin Services, Ranbaxy Labs Ltd
“Arrangements were good and topics selected were quite relevant. More sessions on HR issues in this field and interactions with customer-service providers are welcome.” – Kabita Das, GM, Paharpur Business Centre
“The panel discussion on ‘Engaging an FM Service provider – Too soon or too late?’ and ‘Waste management: Moving Towards Zero Waste Level’ techniques brought new insights into the concept as a whole. I feel that the standards and rates for facility management services are to be fixed on per square feet area to be covered instead of man head basis. Whereby you emulate the value of a labourer who is currently seen as a cleaner on a minimum wage basis. We look forward to a conceptual change in the industry as whole.” – S Shanker Rajhan CEO, Lancor Maintenance & Services Ltd
“We have to be practical and realistic on what can be done to reduce the waste. We talk of big solutions, which are neither cost-effective nor can be implemented. How many bio-gas plants are installed and how many of them are working? Are there any strategies that have been implemented and given results? We talk of ‘green building’ but do we have expertise on the subject? The problem is we discuss a lot but implement nothing at the end. However, the ‘Green Cleaning’ presentation by Nitin Bhatnagar of Haylide Chemicals gave us insight an into the correct usages of choosing green chemicals.” – Dr Sanjay Arya, Associate Professor-Hospital Administration, AIIMS
“The topics chosen for the seminar were relevant and very interestingly moderated. The session on “Soft Services: Challenges & Opportunities Ahead” was an interesting subject moderated by Amit Dhawan of G4S Facility Services. I look forward to attend many more interesting panel discussions like this one.” – Neeraj Sahdev, Sunlight Upkeep and Maintenance
“It was a great pleasure to attend the seminar as all the topics discussed and debated were relevant and were of great importance. It was a good learning experience. Clean India Journal should come up with more shows and seminars.” – Manish Bhardwaj, Manager-Housekeeping, Maharishi Ayurveda Products Pvt Ltd
“Perfect seminar for creating awareness about HR, retention, facility management and waste management. Here was a chance for enhancing knowledge and networking.” – Dheeraj Chauhan, Manager- HR & Admin, Gates India Pvt Ltd
“It was good healthy two day session. The facility management organisations need to come up and think more than just winning contracts.” – Yogesh Singh, Assistant Manager-Administration, Patni Computer Systems Ltd.