Page 15 - Clean India Journal - August 2023 Digital Edition

ConferenCe report

CEO, MOD; Dheeraj Gupta, MD,
Jumbo King; Dr Sudhir Tamne,
QA Head, Burger King and Sudha,
QA Head, Papa Jones Pizza.

Sessions for FM
In his keynote address, Kiran
Rao, Director – Building Care,
Diversey India stressed the threefold
importance of designing cleaning
products that are user-friendly,
economical and eco-friendly. Ashish
In another keynote speech, Chef the industry’s culture and education. Poddar, Executive Director, CBRE
Paul Kinny, Director of Culinary, Panelists for the discussion about South Asia, delivered another
The St Regis Mumbai, discussed the ‘Operational Challenges Post- keynote address on ‘Emerging Trends
innovative ways hotels have adopted Pandemic’ – Yogesh Deshmukh, in the FM Industry’. He stressed the
to serve guests in the post-pandemic Director of Services, Westin increasing significance of facilities
era, including mobile check-ins, Powai; Chef Jerson F, Culinary management and its transformation
digital room keys and increased Director, Accor Group; Varsha from a merely operational role to
cleaning measures. Punjabi, Hygiene Manager, St a strategic one. Poddar pointed out
A panel discussion on Regis Mumbai, and Rinku Mondal, how office design now mirrors and
‘Sustainability with Modern- Regional Housekeeper, The Lalit reinforces an organisation’s culture,
serving as a tool to incorporate this
Day Challenges’ was moderated Mumbai and Ajay Sharma, Cluster
by Bhuvanesh Khanna, CEO, GM, ITC Fortune – discussed the culture among employees, especially
in this age of hybrid work.
BW Communities. The panelists, challenges faced by the hospitality
including Harkaran Singh Sethi, industry in the aftermath of the He also highlighted the rising
GM, Radisson Marol; Manish pandemic. demand for flexible, on-demand
Dayya, GM, Sofitel Mumbai They highlighted issues such FM services and the importance of
BKC, Ajoy Balakrishnan, GM, as manpower shortages, the need integrating sustainability into their
FF Marriott and N Nishant for operational efficiency and the core practices. He advocated for
Kumar, Hotel Manager, Marriott changing preferences of guests. They a shift in focus towards employee
Executive Apartment, discussed the also discussed the measures they have well-being and data-driven decision-
importance of sustainability in the taken to overcome these challenges, making.
hospitality industry. such as installing waterless urinals. The discussion on ‘Inclusive
They shared their initiatives, such The third panel – about Innovation’ featured Saji C
as reducing water and food waste, ‘Sustainable business practices Sebastian, COO, Quess IFMS);
switching to LED lighting and - integrating profitability and Taher Nalwala (COO, Al Jamia
implementing digital waste tracking. hygiene’ featured Paul Warren, Tus Saifiyah University) and Nikhil
The panelists also emphasised on the WBC, Business Head, APAC, BP Varma,General Manager, Reliance
need for sustainability to be a part of International; Tarak Bhatacharya, Corporate IT Park Limited), and
was moderated by Kumud Bharti,
Director, IFM Subject Matter
Experts Team, JLL. The panel
proposed a shift in the perception of
roles within the industry to reflect
their true value, such as referring
to janitors as ‘health engineers’.
They also advocated for developing
scientific approaches like cleaning
and hygiene indices to create clear
benchmarks and standards in facility
management.
The last panel on ‘Cost Plus vs
SLA, Which way forward for FM
industry?’ comprised Rahul Kamle
(President – Operations, Crystal

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