With the increase in corporate clients, Best Practices Washroom has introduced new hygiene products and services. Managing Director Vinay Ruparel talks to Clean India Journal on hygiene concepts and solutions.
“The ignorance of the personnel that handles cleaning is the reason, why these kind of innovative products don’t work. The BPW staff is trained to provide customised solutions to the clients. With a lot of corporate institutions being serviced, there is a need for proper maintenance of the washrooms that often face heavy traffic,” says Vinay Ruparel. The system has been used in public places like railways stations and airports.
In another initiative, BPW has done a successful programme at Churchgate station for a year. Two people were stationed for maintenance and security of the urinals. The water management systems ensured 24/7 supply, and provided with 40 clean urinals that were daily frequented by 50,000 to 60,000 people. Being a place of high traffic, maintenance was carried out in five minute durations, to provide uninterrupted operations. However, the success of this system lies in proper maintenance. BPW has also been supplying hygiene products to the Mumbai Airport for eight years, but the desired results are not seen as the services for washroom is outsourced to a private agency.
The product helps with water management in companies and factories, where sensor based flushes are used for water conservation. Water quality is hard in most non-metro cities resulting in blockages in the pipes in the widely used sensors systems. “The clients complain that the products don’t work, but our products are soluble in water and the reason the chemical doesn’t reach is because there are problems with the flushing system.” So the cost of maintaining washrooms for a corporate facility runs high, because the sensors have to be maintained as well.
– Vinay Ruparel
Mostly in public places, eight out of ten people do not flush manually. To combat this problem, the water management system is fixed on the main line and automatic flush functions every half an hour with enzyme based solutions. A filter is used instead of valve, which is cleaned every 15 to 20 days, depending on the traffic. “Radius” technology used ensures that working parts have no contact with water, providing completely reliable operations. Spare machines are kept in case of emergencies and three to five years of guarantee is given on the products.
The product is also rented out to manufacturing companies who do not want to spend more money on washroom services for workers. “Since the product is on rent, we make sure it functions or otherwise it gets replaced. This service is provided for a fraction of the cost of normal urinals, which may malfunction even after all the maintenance.” Then there is also the issue of water usage; without adequate water the washroom may stink, but with the enzymes only a fraction of the water is used for superior results. The system has been installed successfully in a number of factories, food processing and automobile plants, and pharma companies. The cost of a washroom comes down with the implementation of this system as it saves up to 80% of water through its bio treatments.
Industrial Hand Washes
In industries, not much money is spent for hand washes. BPW has come up with an industrial hand wash for removal of oil and grease which is available since April this year. The hand wash needs a rugged dispenser; therefore, it is rented out to the companies. “Introducing the product was a great challenge, as the attitude of the industrial sector has always been selecting the cheapest available solution instead of the best.” Automobile companies which have the maximum greasy and oily hands were targeted with successful results. With the cost of dispensers being high, the superior performance of the product and the resulting customer satisfaction were used as the selling point.
Promoting Hygiene and sanitation
BPW has started training sessions for women on how to use feminine hygiene products. It plans to recruit a lady doctor who can communicate with the clients. Training sessions will also be conducted for upper secondary school students. The facility maintenance personnel are trained in their local languages, as they are the ones who look after the washrooms and training them ensures that the washrooms are maintained better. “The training is not limited for just BPW staff, even end users are invited to the training sessions. The feedback for the programme has been very encouraging.”