Principles & Practises in Mall Management

The Express Avenue mall in Royapettah, Chennai is an e-hotel spread over an expansive 10 acres of land replete with a high rise on 1.75 million sqft with shopping, food and entertainment spaces. Hygiene and safety are at the core of the mall’s cleaning perspectives. Aroon Kumar, CFO, Express Infrastructure Private Limited, Chennai gives an overview of the mall’s principles and practices in cleaning and maintenance, in an interview with Vijayalakshmi Sridhar.

KEEPING IN view the dynamic usage, a perfect cleaning regimen that is efficiently divided with clear responsibilities and shifts is carried out and supervised at the EA mall. Broadly, the regimen includes the cleaning of the most traffic filled areas, including the three basements, the toilets that are manned continuously with a specific number of toilets allocated to each janitor and the common areas such as lifts and corridors.

About 250 retailers occupy the four levels in the mall and the management is very particular about the retailers’ approach towards cleanliness. The housekeeping managers and supervisors keep a constant watch over the goings-on.

The organic wastage for the mall comes solely from the 50,000sqft food court and is close to a tonne per day. Through a process of regulated segregation, the organic waste is separated, crushed and taken to the cold room.

“Cleanliness in Express Avenue Mall is driven by the strong and dedicated management. It happens in a well-coordinated and networked manner. The food court, where majority of our waste generation comes from, is manned and methodically cleaned. Used plates are removed within five minutes. Even the retailers are expected to follow our stipulations. It encompasses their everyday utility and business practices,” Aroon explained.

[box type=”shadow” ]A 15-member trained team oversees each and every safety aspect in the mall and follows a formal certification process. We also do third party audits to review all our installations in terms of safety, list down the lacunae and work on them. The safety norms are strictly applicable to the retailers too. We keep raising the bar there. Overall, it contributes to our brand image.
– Aroon Kumar
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Similar to internal, external cleaning also happens on a clockwork precision and routine. The façade cleaning, done by a team of 20 happens twice a year and the painting once in four years. All the cleaning and maintenance activities at EA are outsourced. Agencies that have the essential infrastructure and training to provide the services to the mall’s expectations are put on the job. Accordingly, different agencies, and OEM supported service providers are engaged. There is a dedicated ratio of man and machinery that is functional in EA.

Says Aroon, “The challenge lies in having unobstructed service. Traffic is at its peak during festivals. That is when absenteeism is also high. In a decade, the cleaning industry workforce scenario is likely to change drastically. Though India is a populous country, as people upgrade their skills, their aspiration to grow is high.

“Our current CAM expenditure is quite high, on the crushers and dish washers and it is close to crores per annum.”

A very stringent in-house regulation in terms of safety for staff and events is part of the EA protocol. “A 15-member trained team oversees each and every safety aspect in the mall and follow a formal certification process. We also do third party audits to review all our installations in terms of safety, list down the lacunae and work on them. The safety norms are strictly applicable to the retailers too.  We keep raising the bar there. Overall, it contributes to our brand image.”

Users’ safety and eco positivity go hand in hand with the chemical choices at EA. Diversey range of chemicals are used at the mall. A good sewage treatment is in place. Water is procured both through the underground and outside source and an RO plant takes care of the purification. The pollution control is regulated through the STP plant. The sewage is partly composted and the rest is evacuated and disposed off responsibly. One third of the mall’s energy consumption is met through renewable energy sources.

Officially, though EA’s operation is certified by the pollution control board, the day-to-day operations are well above the mark set by the certification bodies norms. Thanks to the implementation and regulation of the certifications for worthy practices, as the mall has encountered no accidents. “Though we are out of the bandwidth of certifications, our quality is close to ISO standards,” Aroon cites the background for EA’s perfect approach.

The disaster and calamity management in the mall is also well drawn out. During the floods few months back, the mall was working throughout. There was water inundation, barricades were installed and the inflow was pumped out. Being in the center of the city adds a lot of pressure in terms of security too.

Being a service industry, Express Avenue mall’s growth is directly related to its deliverables. EA joins the limited league in this sector that has grown phenomenally in the recent years. “Our USP is in our outlook. Our cleaning and maintenance attributes are very clear and these include the unspoken parameters too. That is exactly the reason for EA’s popularity.”