British Cleaning Industry Conference round up
November 9th 2006 Changing the face of the cleaning industry was the banner under which industry stakeholders gathered at the recent British Cleaning Industry Conference held at Alton Towers in September.
Throughout a packed conference, the central theme was to promote the good news. David Bellamy applauded the number of industry training courses available – but called for them to be linked to apprenticeships. He also wants to see an “interactive family-based science website”, to relate the science behind cleaning and environmental protection. Bellamy said such a site would be the perfect good news delivery mechanism.
LCC chief Bob Vincent promoted the positive work his company is undertaking to develop a workforce that can add value to the customer – and pointed to LCC’s daytime cleaning contract with Lloyds TSB as a template. “If a busy banking establishment can be cleaned during the day, why can’t anywhere else?” he asked. However, research undertaken by LCC (a straw poll of Alton Towers visitors) showed there is still a negative public perception towards cleaning as a profession.
MITIE’s Neil Glover echoed Vincent’s sentiments: “Perception is still a problem but we can change that through training: Listen, learn and act. We must ensure staff are properly trained and inducted or they won’t know what is expected of them and swiftly leave the industry,” he said. Glover believes companies should be creating training academies, where wages can then be paid against training achieved to facilitate the demand for a living wage.
Glover also revealed that a third of employers in the sector have to give remedial lessons in Maths and English. He said MITIE has found that providing English lessons makes employees feel more valued team members, and therefore more likely to stay with the company long term. Glover concluded by urging clients to buy into daytime cleaning but called for further technological development to help facilitate it.
Kärcher and Truvox talked about technological developments from a manufacturing standpoint, with Truvox’s Peter Holt urging the industry to get on board and try a different approach. “If we build it, will you come?” he asked, explaining that innovation needs commitment and investment from the top if it is to be viable for manufacturers to produce.
In terms of battery technology, and the evolution of cordless equipment, Enersys’ Chris Walsh said that the future looked bright, with Li-Ion batteries giving better life cycles, fast charging and no maintenance. However, he stressed that until volumes pick up, they would be too expensive for cleaning market. In the interim, he said pure lead batteries, which are available now, should improve the performance of cordless equipment.
After the conference came the hugely enjoyable BICSc Awards dinner, with Keith Aldis’ dry stewardship at times bettering the hired comedian... Here’s to next year!
For further information see: www.britcleanconf.co.uk More articles from British Institute of Cleaning Science: | 
