July-Aug ’122

Street cleaning is an uphill task in India. Especially, the sprawling metros and many other big cities of India, with their multitude of cluttered roads with perpetual flow of heavy vehicular traffic and pedestrians, and mushrooming slums with garbage strewn across here and there, pose a huge challenge for the civic authorities as far as the execution and maintenance of cleanliness and hygiene in their streets go.

In India, it doesn’t take hours for a freshly cleaned street to become dirty. One can blame the people’s lack of civic sense for this mess, but people are not entirely to be blamed. Lack of adequate toilet facilities, the presence of a huge population of stray animals in busy streets, and improper drainage system have become part of our civic lives, leading to generation of mountains of untreated garbage on a daily basis.

Unless our sanitation infrastructure is substantially enhanced, and unless we as a society become more responsible towards disposal of our garbage, we cannot hope to have our streets and other public places clean and green in the near future. And it doesn’t deserve a mention that unclean streets, gardens, and other public places like beaches can not only hamper the health of its inmates but can also easily lower the tourism appeal of that place concerned.

Of course, besides addressing the issues pertaining to the appalling lack of sanitation infrastructure and civic sense, we need massive street cleaning campaigns on a regular basis to get a cleaner and greener India than it is now. However, simply initiating massive street cleaning campaigns is not enough; the authorities responsible for street cleaning must carry out a detailed classification of streets to be cleaned in order to arrive at the optimum cleaning solution, and also to ascertain its desired frequency within the constraints of available technology and resources. On the basis of a detailed street classification only we can decide whether manual or mechanical type of street cleaning operations would be suitable for the given street/streets.

We have explored the various factors to be considered in street classification, the comparative advantages of manual and mechanical cleaning, and the recent role of government, and some exemplary corporate and private movements towards street cleaning in the Cover Story, which we hope would interest our readers.

The outsourcing wave in hospitality, healthcare, retail and other sectors has made facility management a lucrative entrepreneurial option. Especially, in the ambit of housekeeping, the role of outsourcing has gained great importance.

Outsourcing can not only facilitate hotels and other properties, and organisations to cut costs, tackle the attrition rate, but also can often help them to focus more effectively on their core areas of operations and thereby improving their bottom lines. In the Business Story, we have explored the outsourcing market in India, and also thrown some light on the parameters to be considered while choosing the right facility management solution provider for your property.

Besides these important issues concerning the clean & hygiene industry, we have covered an array of relevant topics through our regular features, which we expect would be able to keep our readers fruitfully engaged and enriched between the covers.

E d i t o r i a l

Publisher cum Editor

Rajneesh Sharma

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Swarnendu Biswas

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Sharmila Chand (Delhi)

Ashok Malkani (Mumbai)

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Tapapriya Lahiri

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Clean & Hygiene Review is a bi-monthly magazine, printed, owned and published by Rajneesh Sharma from 313, Himgiri Apartments, J-Block, Vikaspuri, New Delhi. Printed at Print Creations, C-112/3, Basement, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase-1, New Delhi-110 028.

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3July-Aug ’12

SECTIONS 4 News Scan

10 Environment

34 Pest Management

36 Hygiene

38 Product Preview

40 Interview

12

CLEANING

26

16

BUSINESS

20

FEATURE

LAUNDRY

30

Contents

COVER STORY

July-Aug ’124

NEWS SCAN

Sodexo Facilitating Indian Business Sodexo, the leading player in quality of life services in the planet with presence in

80 countries around the globe, has established its technical expertise and footprint in the Indian facilities management market in a big way. Sodexo’s facilities management teams work around the clock to create clean, welcoming environments that facilitate its clients in the corporate, healthcare, education and remote sites segments to run their day-to-day operations smoothly and efficiently. In India, Sodexo has reached 90 million sq. ft. space as far as its facility management operations go, and leads the market in integrated services on-site. In other words, in India, Sodexo presently operates projects that spread across a staggering 90 million sq. ft. of property space across the country.

Sodexo teams help businesses maintain every aspect of their facility, with services spanning housekeeping, project management, waste management and preventative/corrective maintenance. In India, Sodexo’s on-site service solutions provide a broad range of more than 40 different services, and Sodexo delivers on-site service solutions in the corporate sector, education, healthcare and also to remote sites, across the country.

Delivering more than 40 different food and facilities management solutions across more than 1100 sites, with 32,000 employees and 710 clients, Sodexo is a market leader in India in terms of revenue, consumers served and employees retained, in its area of operations.

Sunil Nayak, CEO, Sodexo India On-site Service Solutions commented, “Sodexo has consistently demonstrated its ability to bring both expertise and innovation to facilities management. We do this by more than technical compliance. We also consider the positive impact on the quality of life of all those who benefit from our expertise. This approach allows us to more clearly consider the reason the facility is there in the first place, to optimise performance of the individuals working within it, and then in ensuring that our efforts are clearly aligned to that outcome.”

Towards a Green Ganesh Chaturthi The environmental activists in Indore are taking a proactive stance to spread

awareness about a green Ganesh Chaturthi, an important festival in the calendar of Maharashtrians. According to Narendra Surana, an environmental activist associated with CEPRD (Centre for Environment Protection Research & Development), an awareness campaign titled ‘catch them young’ would be initiated, whose main objective is to generate awareness among children about environmental issues. “We have been doing written correspondence with various schools around Indore about the campaign. We also visit schools and give lectures and presentation to make the children aware about the measures that are required to be adhered to during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival for the protection of our environment.”

One advice of Surana and his group is to worship clay Ganesh idols at homes, which can be immersed at homes itself in a bucket or a tub of water. They are also suggesting the people of Indore to opt for those Ganesh idols which have been painted with colours that are devoid of lead and arsenic. Attractive posters and notices are used by the group to convey its healthy message. The group also plans to provide some suggestions to the civic body about an environment-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi. “An important issue of concern will be the immersion of Ganesh idols, for which we are going to suggest that temporary tanks be constructed on the banks of Saraswati and Khan; the two major rivers in Indore. The idols can be immersed in these temporary tanks and subsequently they can be disposed of properly,” explained Surana.

Surana and his group are not alone in the endeavour towards an environment-friendly festivity in Indore. Anil Trivedi, another environmental activist from the city, has started a movement with his group, which is called Kudarat Kaam Andolan. “Our objective for this year’s Ganesh Chaturthi festival will be to scale down the noise pollution and we have been requesting Ganesh mandals across the city to curb the levels of noise pollution,” pointed out Trivedi. He also asserted that the plastic bags which are used to carry the materials for puja should be avoided.

July-Aug ’126

NEWS SCAN

Grant for e-ToiletBill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given a substantial

grant of 4,50,000 USD to an Indian firm for setting up eco-friendly and hygienic e-toilets. This welfare initiative by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is likely to give slightly more access of public conveniences to the teeming urban poor population in India, for whom even toilet is a luxury in the twenty-first centur y India, and would contribute towards improving the country’s dilapidated sanitation infrastructure. The firm which was awarded the grant, as part of the foundation’s second round of ‘Reinvent the Toilet Challenge’ grants, totalling nearly 3.4 million USD, is Thiruvananthpuram-based Eram Scientific Solutions Private Limited

World Health Organisation views that improved sanitation generates up to 9 USD in social and economic benefits for every 1 USD invested as improved sanitation enhances productivity, reduces the costs of healthcare, and prevents illness, disability, and early demise.

Shocking Noise Pollution in Mumbai

It is often said that Mumbai never sleeps, but that may be largely due to its high levels of noise pollution. It would not be an overstatement to say that quality of life in Mumbai has been severely compromised during the last decade or so due to alarming levels of pollution on all fronts, whether it be air, noise or water pollution. However, among them, the noise pollution is causing the maximum impact; increasing the risk of disturbed sleep and high blood pressure among the residents of one of the noisiest cities of the world.

Recent civic reports on Mumbai’s environment reveal that in the residential areas of the city noise levels have undergone steady increases during the day and night. Noise levels in the city during 2011-12 were around 63 decibels (db) by day and 78db at night, which are extremely alarming figures when compared with the permissible limits of 50db and 40db respectively. The noise levels in Mumbai’s 1112 notified silence zones have also undergone steady increases during the last four years, making the notion of silence zones a meaningless term.

However, amidst this din is the sustained work of Rubina Aslam, an environmentalist, who is endeavouring to make silence zones in Mumbai silent in real sense. She notes that there is “absolute disregard for the noise quotient in the city, with most people in the city not even aware of the silence zones in their vicinity.”

The Malnourished Tomorrows of India

While referring to the World Health Statistics report 2012, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Sudip Bandyopadhyay told the Rajya Sabha recently that India has the second highest percentage of underweight children below the age of five years, across the world. This shameful distinction gives a reminder to our extremely sorry state of healthcare & hygiene. The Minister also informed the house that pneumonia and diarrhoea were the major causes of death among children below five years of age. And it goes without saying that both of these diseases can be avoided through better hygienic measures, which sadly is lacking in India.

The Minister informed that awareness among mothers on sanitation and hygiene issues and in communities about causes and treatment of diarrhoea through health education has been generated to prevent and control these diseases.

Bandyopadhyay said that to check the high infant mortality rate in the country, various vaccines such as DPT, Measles and BCG are provided to children under the universal immunisation program to protect them against the dangers of virulent diseases like diphtheria, pertussis, measles and tuberculosis. He also introduced reports on steps taken by the government to lower the prevalence of malnutrition among children of various age groups and their impact, to the house of elders.

July-Aug ’128

QUALITYASSUREDCOMPANY

Geared to Boost Food Testing Edward Food Research and Analysis Centre (EFRAC) is one of the largest

integrated food testing and research facilities in India. It was inaugurated in May 2012 by Partha Chatterjee, the Commerce and Industries Minister, Government of West Bengal, at Barasat, Kolkata. The newly opened laboratory, perhaps the largest and most advanced food testing laboratory in Eastern India, built with an investment of Rs.35 crore, has a built-up area of around 21,000 sq ft and houses independent laboratories for providing residue analysis, food and agro product analysis, microbiological analysis, environmental testing, water and waste water testing, metals and mineral analysis, and plastic product testing.

The laboratory is endowed with five different wings, namely, Trace Analysis Lab, Ultra Trace Analysis Lab, Food Lab, Water Lab & Microbiology Lab. EFRAC’s strength lies in its team of highly qualified and skilled scientists, most sophisticated equipment and modern technology. It is all set to be the leading food safety solution provider in the country through offering a wide range of technical advice and consultation to the Indian food & beverage industry.

The laboratory boasts of high-end, highly automated and accurate instruments like GC QQQ MS, GC HRMS, GC MS, LC MS/MS, HPLC, ICP MS, FTIR, AAS, IC, TOC Analyzer, Biochemistry Analyzer, Automated Kjeldahl & Soxhlet extraction systems, GPC, CHN Analyzer, RT PCR, etc. By incorporating and using sample tracking LIMS software, the EFRAC laboratory is equipped to offer its services at exceptionally low prices by reducing the time to get results.

EFRAC offers independent, efficient and cost- effective research and analytical services that are expected to facilitate reduction of business risk for all players in the food processing industry across the country. EFRAC is specially equipped for advanced auditing and certification of products, processes and systems to applicable international standards.

The comprehensive facility has the potential to extend its services to myriad sub-sectors of the F&B industry which include fruit & vegetables, fruit concentrates, beverages (alcoholic & non-alcoholic), spices and condiments, pulses & cereals, sugar and confectionery, meat and marine products, egg and poultry products, milk and milk products, potable and non-potable water, edible oils, etc.

This unique facility also has the capacity to offer services as varied as pesticide analysis, heavy metal analysis, chemical analysis, microbiological analysis, GMO testing, Dioxin Analysis, antibiotic analysis, Mycotoxins Analysis, Food R&D, training & consultation, all under one roof. EFRAC is the only facility in Eastern India with the ability to conduct Dioxin Analysis.

With the growing need for comprehensive food testing in the industry in the backdrop of the implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the role of EFRAC is expected to be crucial in the near future. It is expected that with its enviable base of manpower and infrastructure, EFRAC would give a fillip towards the healthy culture of food testing in India that is already gathering momentum.

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July-Aug ’1210

ENVIRONMENT

At Aamod Dalhousie, a resort nestled amidst sombre and silent green mountains of Himachal

Pradesh with floating c louds caressing the peaks, environment-friendliness is amply complemented by in-vironment friendliness.

This unique hospitality property from Tarangan Developers Pvt. Ltd., is located 5 km uphill from Dalhousie, perched on a mountain ridge adjoining the 69 sq km Kalatop Wildlife Sanctuary; affording views of the Peer Panjal range on a clear day as part of the frontal view, and dense woods of the wildlife sanctuary on the backside. The fact that the picturesque resort is located away from Dalhousie, which according to the Resort Manager of the property Pranay Raturi, like all hill stations of India gets crowded during the peak season and thereby experiences a significant dilution to its scenic ambience, has enhanced Aamod Dalhousie’s eco-tourism appeal.

At Aamod Dalhousie, eco-tourism is not limited to guided nature hikes,

mountain biking, camping and some assorted adventure activities, which of course are all there for the guests who want to feel the nature more closely. Eco-tourism is imbibed in the philosophy of Aamod Dalhousie, and is amply reflected in its day-to-day functioning. “Here you are very close to natural life, breathing pristine air along with enjoying luxurious amenities at par with a conventional four-star property,” viewed Raturi. According to the ever

smiling and savvy Resort Manager, the USP of the property is luxury with eco-friendliness.

The Cottages are Green The green and luxurious property,

which was opened in 2011 April, comprises 15 rooms, which include 10 mud rooms and 5 porta rooms. It goes without saying that both mud and porta are environment-friendly. All the cottages have spacious furnished sit-outs or large panoramic windows, allowing guests to experience nature closely. In the five porta rooms of the property, in between porta sheets, a sheet of thermacol is placed, which provides insulation to the rooms.

All the five porta rooms of Deluxe denomination are completely portable. They can be unscrewed and then their doors, windows and walls can be transported anywhere else (preferably to a pristine environment-friendly place) and be set up there as independent hospitality units. Of course, the comprehensive range of modern day amenities inside these porta rooms needs to be restored along with their ‘structural rehabilitation’ if you want to enjoy the optimum combination of nature and luxury. We can say that these eco-friendly porta rooms are not potentially limited by their present geographies, and have very less

Exploring the Joy of Eco-tourism By Swarnendu Biswas

July-Aug ’1210

11July-Aug ’12

ENVIRONMENT

maintenance in terms of clean & hygiene measures.

According to Raturi, the mud walls of the 10 mud rooms of the property (comprising seven Deluxe and three Family rooms) are made with local mud, which doesn’t allow the pests to germinate, thereby making the use of artificial pesticides redundant. Moreover, as Raturi pointed out, the mud rooms are warmer in the winter and cool in the summers as compared to conventional rooms.

The mud walls of the 10 mud cottages of the property don’t have painting of any artificial substance too. “For their maintenance, the solution of mud is only used to repaint the walls,” explained Raturi. Both the mud and porta rooms, despite their eco-friendly character, have an impressive range of amenities that befits the standard of modern day hospitality. “Moreover, both mud and porta walls prevent moulds and other infestation to germinate in a much more effective way than the walls o f c o n v e n t i o n a l buildings,” averred Raturi.

“Al l the rooms o f t h e p r o p e r t y are endowed with double-walled glass in windows, which prevent the loss of heat energy, and with CFL lights to save electric consumption. T h e ro om s h a v e natural ventilation, and no VOC compound and artificial room freshener is being used in the rooms of the property. Moreover, the prevalence of wood rather than cement or concrete in the flooring of the rooms is also a welcome change,” explained Raturi, while stressing on the fact that “no tree was felled for making of this resort.” He informed that the woods from the trees which were fallen in the jungle due to natural calamities like storm and heavy rainfall were provided to the resort by the state government.

The furniture in the spacious rooms are well spread out and not cluttered, thereby further lowering the already remote possibility of

the presence of pests in the rooms. Herbal oils are used to create a fragrant atmosphere in the rooms, without compromising on the environment, a measure which seems to be complemented by the usage of environment-friendly herbal soaps

in the bathrooms of the resort.

R e c y c l i n g Endeavours

R a i n w a t e r harvesting and water recycling are the day-to-day measures at Aamod Dalhousie. Rain water which falls on the roof are passed through the channels installed below the roof of the property. The water is then

collected in a tank, located below the verdant lawn of the eco-friendly property. Subsequently, the collected rain water is filtered through an exhaustive process involving three layers (of gravel, sand and charcoal) and then again reused for the resort’s day-to-day usage.

As far as water recycling goes “all the water used in the sleek bathrooms of the resort are being carried through underground pipes and are eventually collected in another tank, which is different from the tank used for the collection of rainwater,” informed Raturi. And as you have understood by now, the collected water from bathrooms is

again filtered through sand, charcoal and gravel. “Then the filtered water is used for gardening and lawn area of the resort,” conferred Raturi.

Raturi also informed that the drinking water for the resort is derived from the natural springs in the vicinity. “Then of course, a comprehensive filtration process is being carried out on the spring water to make it just perfect for people’s consumption. Only then it arrives on the guest’s table,” elaborated the Resort Manager.

Waste recyc ling is another environment-friendly or rather in-vironment friendly measure being conducted at Aamod Dalhousie. “We have made pits, where wasted food materials are being disposed. Then these wasted food materials are being decomposed through worms already injected into the pit, which makes the wasted food to convert into manure. The manure is then being used for the lawn and the horticulture of the resort,” explained Raturi.

One can say that the comprehensive range of eco-friendly measures being carried out at the property can make the resort a haven for passionate eco-tourists who are keen to explore travel options with responsibility towards nature. Already, in the backdrop of eco-tourism gathering momentum in India, the resort is attracting brisk and discerning crowd. “We get around 300 guests per month, on an average, which include domestic as well as foreign tourists,” concluded Raturi. ■

Pranay Raturi

The Tank Where Recycled Water is Stored

11July-Aug ’12

July-Aug ’1212

Towards Clean, Green Streets

The slogan ‘Clean Mumbai, Green

Mumbai’ sounds smart, but take a look around this sleepless city by the Arabian Sea where Bollywood dazzles and slums mushroom, and chances are you will find that this bustling metropolis is neither clean nor green. In fact, if you look around you would find that most of our cities, towns and even villages are scattered with rubbish. It is not surprising, considering that the general public’s tendency in India is to throw trash here, there and everywhere. This makes the task of maintaining the streets and other public places like gardens and beaches clean an uphill challenge for the authorities, who by and large, don’t seem to be very proactive about maintaining their cleanliness in the first place. Here Ashok Malkani takes a look at the two methods of street cleaning — manual and mechanical — that the municipal corporations have been adopting in these times. The private contractors too implement identical methods. However, choosing the right method of street cleaning for a given surface is an important question, as on it often depends the efficiency of the cleaning operations.

COVER STORY

13July-Aug ’12

United Way Mumbai Helpline (UWMH) observed a United Way Day of Action on June 21st with an intensive

Clean-up and Awareness Campaign at Churchgate Station, by mobilising teams of youth, including school and college students and members of the general public. This was an effort by the social organisation to cultivate a habit of cleanliness among the general public. But Mumbai is not the only city which is cluttered with litter. Most of the cities’ streets at places look not much dissimilar to open garbage disposal bins. And it is not just the streets! Visit any public place — be it parks, gardens, or even beaches and national parks — in any of the large cities, and chances are you will find that people pay scant

attention to maintaining these places in a clean and hygienic state.

It may be mentioned that cleanliness can make the difference between life and death. A healthy environment is necessary if one wants to stay hale and hearty. It is the job of the municipalities to keep the cities clean but one finds that people’s tendency to treat the world as their dustbin makes the place dirty within hours of the place being cleaned. Individuals need greater responsibility while dispensing with wastes if they want the pathetic standards of cleanliness and hygiene in public places, which include roads, public toilets, gardens, beaches, etc. to improve in our country.

Criteria for Street Cleaning Among the public places, the streets

are probably the most widespread. Street cleaning contributes greatly

towards a healthy society. Street cleaning i s a fundamenta l feature in the urban life of modern times. Huge flow of vehicular traffic, movement o f c o m m u t i n g p e o p l e t o w a r d s home or workplace a n d w i d e s p r e a d commercial activity are some of the factors which contribute to the production of rubbish on the streets.

Lack of adequate toilet facilities for the huge population, stray animals, and often improper drainage system also lead to the amassing of garbage on the streets, which if remain unattended for long, does have great potential for spreading a variety of illnesses. Compounding al l these is a reign of callousness towards cleanliness among the

minds of our people, which aggravates the cleaning challenge.

Street cleaning is not a simple task. While undertaking street cleaning service from the technical and organisational point of view it is necessary to determine carefully the areas to be cleaned, the type of cleaning service, the frequency of such a service, number of people to be employed for the service and the equipment to be used for the given cleaning service.

Classification of Streets A complex task for those responsible

for the planning of the street cleaning service is the classification of streets. It is necessary to find the right street cleaning solution and to ascertain the desired frequency which will guarantee a certain standard of street cleaning within the constraints of available technology and resources. According to many contractors who have the exposure of undertaking street cleaning operations, the choice of means of street cleaning is based on street classification, which requires widespread inspection. of myriad interconnected factors.

The classification of streets should take into account of various parameters which include the areas marked for pedestrian usage, the length of road networks and the type of road surface material employed, presence of greenery on the roadsides, the extent of commercial activity and traffic intensity that the street/streets attract, the presence of markets, the possibility of festivities and public events on the street/streets concerned, and the type of environment which the street/streets cater to.

Street classification should also evaluate the degree of compactness and permeability of the street surfaces to be cleaned. A general classification of the types of wastes accumulated on the streets and their origin can also be a necessary criterion for the classification of streets, as is the width and the type of carriageway. All these factors and many other aspects of

COVER STORY

July-Aug ’1214

COVER STORY

street classifi cation are needed to be considered before fi nalising on the appropriate street cleaning solution.

Moreover, if there is presence of places of high economic and social importance or of heritage value, or of high sensitivity like say schools or hospitals, on the given street, that factor should also be taken into consideration for making the street classification, and in the eventual choice of the appropriate street cleaning operations.

Besides finding the right street cleaning option, the frequency of street cleaning can also be ascertained through the

classifi cation of streets. The various factors which should infl uence the frequency of street cleaning include the population density of the area where the street or streets is/are located, the extent of pedestrian and vehicular traffi c it attracts

or they attract on an average day, and

the presence of trees/hedges

in the given area/s.

Manual and Mechanical The nature of the surface to be

cleaned does infl uence on whether manual or mechanical methods of cleaning should be employed. All street cleaning jobs are not essentially suited for mechanised cleaning. In some highly skilled cleaning operations, manual cleaning has an edge over mechanised cleaning.

For example, mechanical cleaning is not the right street cleaning solution on a rough, disconnected and permeable road surface. In such a case, manual cleaning is the ideal way. Similarly, if the street is experiencing a fair or a sporting event, the manual cleaning should be the right choice, as movement of machines within a large crowd is not a comfortable proposition, whereas some manual cleaning workers can easily operate among a sea of people.

Similarly for gardens, manual cleaning is still the preferred mode of option, though mechanised cleaning of gardens has also emerged. For example, special machines are there to pick up dead leaves. For beaches however, special machines for sifting the sand to eliminate all the trash that gets mixed with the sand is useful. At the same time, the waste collection in

beaches is preferable to be done manually only. So we see, it is the cleaning operation or the place that demands whether manua l or mechanised cleaning would be used and in this regard an exhaustive

classification of streets can be of much importance in making the right decision.

Mechanised Advantage Though mechanical sweeping

cannot be used in all cases, it has some distinctive advantages over manual sweeping of streets, besides of course its productivity. For example, mechanical sweeping enables, especially in the case of vacuum type equipment, to remove dust and waste at the same time, which manual sweeping cannot. However, generally mechanical cleaning of streets is completely effective only when it is supplemented with manual cleaning, for there are many possible technical restrictions towards optimal usage of mechanical cleaning of streets.

The machines used for mechanised street sweeping can be roughly divided into three categories. They are purely mechanical street sweepers, vacuum type street sweepers, and mechanical/vacuuming sweepers. The purely mechanical street sweepers are ideal for collection of huge quantities of bulk rubbish materials which can comprise of huge quantities of dirt, leaves, vegetable waste, etc. and they are suitable for cleaning of marketplaces.

Compared to the pure mechanical street sweepers, vacuum type street sweepers are more suitable for use on streets and roads as they generally have greater accuracy than pure mechanical street sweepers and can collect minute pieces of litter and dust effectively. The mechanical/vaccum sweepers have rare usage in India and though they give a more comprehensive operational facility than the other two types of mechanical cleaners but their complex technology entails diffi culty in their usage and maintenance.

Playing a Role In order to make our streets clean,

a more proactive approach by our government authorities towards cleaning and building of comprehensive sanitation infrastructure should be supplemented by hygienic practices by people. Beetle leaf stains, urinating without urinals and dumping of garbage on the streets should be discouraged among we the Indians through execution of stringent legal measures, as should be the rampant

of street cleaning can also be ascertained through the

classifi cation of streets. The various factors which should infl uence the frequency of street cleaning include the population density of the area where the street or streets is/are located, the extent of pedestrian and vehicular traffi c it attracts

or they attract on an average day, and

the presence of trees/hedges

in the given area/s.

Similarly, if the street is experiencing a fair or a sporting event, the manual cleaning should be the right choice, as movement of machines within a large crowd is not a comfortable proposition, whereas some manual cleaning workers can easily operate among a sea of people.

Similarly for gardens, manual cleaning is still the preferred mode of option, though mechanised cleaning of gardens has also emerged. For example, special machines are there to pick up dead leaves. For beaches however, special machines for sifting the sand to eliminate all the trash that gets mixed with the sand is useful. At the same time, the waste collection in

15July-Aug ’12

COVER STORY

usage of plastic bags. Of course, the street cleaning

challenge in India should also be tackled by private endeavours. As far as metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are concerned cleaning of several roads and other public places is being done by private contractors, but their streets are far from clean. However, one noteworthy private initiative in the recent past is of the Ugly Indians, a civic group comprising anonymous professionals, which has made sincere efforts to make the Bangalore city clean. Ugly Indians is not an NGO, but simply a group of self-driven and motivated people who are passionate about deciphering the average Indian mindset towards cleanliness and outwit him/her with intelligent solutions.

Their miss ion i s to c lean Bangalore dirty street by dirty street, and it is hoped that the success of this two-year-old cleanliness movement, religiously carried out with the arsenal of face masks, gloves, buckets, broomsticks, mops, and lots of conviction, would spread to other cities too in a big way. So far they have many ‘clean’ success stories to their credit. Besides corrective measures like cleaning the streets, preventive measures like building clean toilets are also an effective way to keep our streets clean. The yeomen role played by Sulabh International Social Service Organisation cannot be overemphasised in this regard.

However such rare civic or NGO endeavours can be successful only if they are complemented by a slew of indigenous corporate endeavours in the purview of manufacturing of low cost but effective road sweeping machines which use less water, and are without any bag/cartridge filters. At the same time, corporate endeavours in building of low cost but effective eco-friendly toilets are also the need of the hour.

The street cleaning without proper disposal of solid waste is meaningless. As India becomes more and more populated and urbanised, the standards of solid waste removal and disposal demand more improvement, though sadly it isn’t happening. The quantity of refuse is enormous, and its generation, continuous. This fact,

combined with the impact of solid waste on the urban environment, prompted Industrial Plants & Waste Treatment Corporation (IPWT), a p ioneer ing Mumbai-based environmental technology company,

to work on solid waste management mechanistion techniques and equipment, for improved solid waste collection efficiency.

Endeavours of BMC and PMC

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is also going in for mechan i sa t ion in i t s s t ree t cleaning programmes. BMC has now a systematic street sweeping programme which will use state-of-the-art Canadian made IPWT-Madvac PS 300 Mechanical Vacuum Road Sweepers designed to meet the cleaning challenges of today’s busy streets in Mumbai. This pedestrian- friendly mobile sweeper has easy, versatile and dust free operations for

effective cleaning of city walk and streets.

“Introduction of such proven technologies to our city will enhance the speed of sweeping up to five times besides reducing operator fatigue while enhancing the dignity of labour,” said Jignesh Parekh of IPWT. “And this is just a good beginning towards better cleanliness standards to come for Amchi Mumbai,” added Rajesh Khatwani, CEO, IPWT. Khatwani has been known for his entrepreneurial forte. He has introduced proven environmental technologies into India over the last decade.

Street cleaning is incomplete without the cleaning of sewers. The manual cleaning of sewers compromises the dignity of labour and is inhuman on the part of the authority which directs to execute this task, and hazardous on the part of the workers who have to do this job. Thankfully, the Union Government discourages this act and is envisaging stringent action against civic officials caught getting sewers and septic tanks cleaned manually.

In this regard the role of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is laudable. The body has initiated safety measures for the job and has achieved 60 percent mechanisation for this arduous work, which has enabled 60 percent of the conservancy work to be done through latest technological equipment. According to Suresh Jagtap, the Joint Municipal Commissioner, Pune Municipal Corporation, PMC has also started using mechanised sweeping machines to clean the streets of Pune. ■

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BUSINESS

In to OutsourcinOutsourcing in India is getting popular as it helps in reducing the operational costs of

an organisation, and also helps it to improve focus on its core area of operations. These are not mean achievements in these days with looming threat of recession haunting both the manufacturing and service industries, amidst thriving competition. In the recent years, the facility management industry has grown by leaps and bounds due to the fact that hospitality, healthcare and other sectors are opting to outsource several services like security, accounting, IT, landscaping, laundry management and valet parking services, etc. Especially in the purview of housekeeping, the role of outsourcing has gained great importance. Outsourcing helps the hotels and other properties where housekeeping plays a key role in getting the desired housekeeping professionals at lower cost without incurring the investment and pains of training them. This trend has come as a great boon for the hospitality industry which is constantly plagued by the scarcity of trained manpower and high attrition rates. Here Ashok Malkani takes a look at the buoyant outsourcing market with focus on the area of housekeeping and infers that facility management, especially in the fi eld of housekeeping, offers immense scope for the entrepreneurs.

utsourcing

17July-Aug ’12

Outsourcing of services in the hospitality, healthcare and various facets of the corporate sector is often

infl uenced by a paucity of in-house human resources involving some specific expertise, coupled with a need to improve service quality and effi ciency, reduce costs and manage risks more effi ciently, without shifting the focus from the core area of operations.

Besides cost savings, outsourcing helps the companies to gain a competitive advantage by facilitating them to focus on their core areas. By outsourcing some support services a company can focus on its core activities more intensively. In various industries, where housekeeping primarily plays a facilitative role, outsourcing of housekeeping services has gained momentum over the years. However, that doesn’t mean outsourcing is meant only for support services.

For example, though housekeeping is a not a primary revenue generating area for a hotel and a healthcare facility but it is nevertheless a core area of operations in the hospitality and healthcare industry, as it prevents revenue from slipping away to the competition for the hotels and hospitals and enhances the reputation

of a hotel or a hospital, often in an intangible but in a signifi cant and enduring manner.

And housekeeping is very much subjected to outsourcing in these two industries. In fact, it would not be an overstatement to say that outsourcing in the Indian hospitality industry has graduated from an exception to a norm within the last two decades. Hotels in India have been outsourcing housekeeping operations in a big way as it is turning out to be a more effi cient way of utilising the services of specialists, and is enabling the smooth running of the business without unnecessary operational hiccups.

The decision to outsource often involves the decision to choose between a single service outsourcing model and an integrated services outsourcing model. Though single service model is still the prevailing preference among outsourcers of services, but the clients’ tendency to avail integrated services model is distinctly emerging, as businesses are endeavouring to reduce complexities by reducing the number of service suppliers.

Faci l i ta t ing Growth and Reputation

The growth of outsourcing in the recent years has given an impetus to the facility management services. Though they may not directly generate revenues, facility management services can facilitate growth and reputation of the companies by saving operational costs and providing specialised services. Facility management entails a fairly broad ambit. It includes the maintenance or enhancing of cleanliness & hygiene, security, electrical and lighting infrastructure, plumbing system, landscaping, ambience and décor, etc. of the hospitality, healthcare, educational, retail and offi ce properties.

Facility management firms or professionals manage and execute the outsourced work of the clients. From maintenance of cleanliness in offi ce buildings to keeping the hotel rooms and malls spic and span, to maintaining sensitive medical data and management of high-end laboratories, to providing trained nursing staff to

g

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hospitals, facility management is playing a decisive role in operations in hospitality, healthcare, retail and corporate sectors. Today facility management services have made successful inroads into healthcare, hospitality, retail and various aspects of corporate sector in a big way, and in this regard, the advent of MNCs has also played a facilitative role.

Facility management services market in India was valued at Rs.585 billion in 2011and it is poised to grow at a more than impressive CAGR of 25 percent. There has been an increasing demand for facility management services in India as more focus is being placed on urban development and modernisation of office spaces. The steady economic growth has given a fillip to the real estate sector in India which is expected to positively impact the facility management market in the near future, as more real estate means greater role for facility management in their maintenance and operations, which of course includes the provision of the security and clean & hygiene solutions to an increasing mass of real estate.

“With the ongoing revival of the real estate sector and the focus on urban development and modernisation of office spaces growing, the facility management business in this space is slated for quick growth in India,” opined Naushad Panjwani, Senior Executive Director of Knight Frank India. According to Panjwani, the facility management industry in India was Rs.10,000 crore in 2011. He believes that the other crucial factors behind the growth of facility management business in India include the impressive GDP growth of the country, along with the growth in retail, banking, financial services, telecom, insurance, IT and ITES businesses, which he rightly believes are absorbing large spaces.

A Clean Sweep Among the facility management

operations in housekeeping, cleaning plays a very crucial role. Cleanliness is one of the determining factors by which the guests judge the overall quality of the facility available. If the restaurant or a hotel does not

maintain the necessary standard of cleanliness and hygiene there are negligible chances of the guests revisiting the place, especially if you view this in the backdrop of increased competition. This is where commercial cleaning service suppliers, in most cases, score over in-house cleaning. Besides, hiring full time employees in housekeeping is also comparatively costlier. No wonder, across the globe cleaning of properties is being increasingly outsourced.

Commercial cleaning service suppliers traditionally carry out day-to-day cleaning duties, which include rubbish disposal, sweeping, vacuuming as well as more specialised services. “Actually cleaning agencies are more equipped to ensure comprehensive cleanliness of the facilities. In India these agencies took shape in 1991, but they have mushroomed at a rapid pace. There are specialised sectors in cleaning like kitchen cleaning, hospital cleaning, cleaning of places like malls where there is a continual flow of people, gardens, beaches, etc.,” proffered Saji Sebastian, Director, Blanc & White. No wonder, the outsourcingin the Indian cleaning industry has grown by leaps and bounds and today is worth more than Rs.50 crore.

Besides cleaning, laundry is another crucial facet of housekeeping operations in hotels and healthcare facilities. Across the globe, laundry service accounts for one of the largest operational expenses for hotels and motels. This has sparked an ongoing debate on whether outsourcing of

laundry services is more economical than to have every item of garment and linen cleaned through the hotel’s staff.

However, despite the debate the outsourcing of laundries in hotels has gained acceptance in India. Many healthcare facilities are also opting to outsource laundry functions, because of considerations of space and economies of scale. Hotels and even healthcare facilities should need to ensure that the level of expertise and infrastructure of the laundry service provider and in fact all other outsourced housekeeping service providers are capable of producing exacting levels of hygiene, as in these two sectors cleanliness and hygiene make all the difference. The primary challenge for outsourcing laundry operations for a hotel or a healthcare facility or in fact for any other property is to identify a laundry services provider which has higher level of expertise, identical levels of quality commitment, and higher levels of equipment set up pertaining to laundry operations, as compared to the properties concerned.

According to some laundry service companies, many a time hotel laundries need upgradation to cater to the demands of cleaning luxury linen, and thus it is cost-effective for these hoteliers to outsource laundry operations rather than investing on upgrading a section which doesn’t generate revenue.

Choosing the Right FM Besides allowing it to concentrate

more on revenue-generating aspects

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BUSINESS

of hospitality and healthcare, and enabling it to get specialised guidance, outsourcing in the hotel or a healthcare facility affords the management a degree of flexibility in operations in terms of utilisation and rotation of its existing manpower and enables these workers to go the

extra mile in terms of customer satisfaction, which is a keyword in both these service sectors.

No wonder, in the hospitality sector, housekeeping and payroll accountancy were the first areas where outsourcing was introduced. The challenge of maintaining the mirror finish or keeping the hotel’s rest room spic and span and supplemented with comprehensive range of toiletries 24/7 without putt ing extra burden on the already overworked manpower makes outsourcing an urgent and constant need in today’s pressurised hospitality sector.

With increasing corporatisation of India, and with the mushrooming of malls, banks and hotels, the role of Facility Managers is only expected to increase in the times to come. In the present context, it seems that facility management companies , especia l l y in the purview of housekeeping, have bright prospects in the hospitality,

private healthcare and retail sector, as all these sectors have been showing great promise in the recent years. One can expect a boom in entrepreneurship in facility management in urban India, in the years to come.

However, it should be noted that outsourcing or hiring Facility Managers in housekeeping and as well as in other areas of operations involves some careful thinking. The need to strike a balance between the client and the facility management company is required, so that each understands each other’s strengths and weaknesses; their potential and possibilities.

First of all the clients need to ascertain the type of outsourcing that would be tailor-made for your facility on a short-term and long-term basis. Before shifting to outsourcing, it is also important to first analyse the needs within the faci l i ty. Assess workload requirements, prepare a cleaning schedule, create frequency charts, and calculate the costs associated w i t h m a n h o u r s , t r a i n i n g , equipment, etc.

Clients need to be circumspect while choosing the right facility management company, for their work can make or mar her/his company’s/property’s reputation. It is always prudent to check out the facility management company’s past and present reputation, the projects they have completed successfully, their specialised area of operations if any, and then evaluate the costs and benefits of hiring it on an enduring basis before taking the decision to assign work to the company.

The client also needs to see whether the facility management company she/he is thinking of hiring permits her/him to select from the services it offers or does one have to avail the entire gamut of its services in exchange for a hefty fee. This factor too needs to be considered before selecting on the right facility management company for a given property, whether it be a hospitality property or a hospital, school, mall, or an office building. ■

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FEATURE

Tourism is one of the important engines of growth of the global e conomy, bu t i t s unimpeded growth

over the years has adversely impacted the environment and often eventually leads and has been leading to the compromising the reservoir of natural resources to a significant extent. This impending danger along with rising environmental consciousness has led to the relevance and need for eco-tourism, or tourism which focuses on sustaining the natural resources and environment in our societies.

From Eco-Tourism to Green Hotels

And the combination of tourism and environmental sustainability has led to the demand and consequent growth of eco-friendly hospitality. It is because hospitality always has to respond to the growing trends in tourism in order to bolster or maintain its bottom lines. As more and more tourists are showing an interest towards eco-tourism and adventure tourism holidays, the eco-friendly hotels and resorts are surfacing in the industry, across the globe. In India too the global trend towards energy-

efficient green hotels and resorts has gathered momentum.

Recycling programs and energy saving equipment are getting vogue in hotels and resorts, which includes many Indian hospitality properties too. Healthy initiatives such as installing chlorofluorocarbon-free air conditioners, introducing rainwater harvesting, using solar and wind power, adopting linen reuse programmes, and recycling waste are becoming commonplace in the Indian hospitality sector.

But we are not at all sure whether environment consciousness or

Green HospitalityGathers MomentumGreen HospitalityGathers Momentum

21July-Aug ’12

One of the powerful emerging trends in the hospitality sector is to harmonise tourism and environmental

sustainability, which has paved the way for eco-tourism. The World Tourism Organisation had noted eco-tourism as the fastest growing market in the tourism industry, showing an annual growth rate of 5 percent across the globe. Environmentally responsible business practices merge well with the recent popularity of eco-tourism. And the popularity of eco-tourism is manifested through the multitude of ‘green hotels and resorts’ or ‘eco-friendly hotels and resorts,’ which entail hotels and resorts that are providing environmentally friendly hospitality through the efficient use of energy, water, and other materials while providing quality services. Hotels and resorts termed as green properties or want to be tagged as green properties should endeavour to conserve and preserve by saving water, by reducing energy use, and by reducing solid waste. In doing so, besides contributing towards restoration of our fragile environment, they can accrue many tangible benefits to their bottom lines in the long-run, in the way of reduced costs and liabilities, and greater numbers of footfall of environmentally-friendly discerning tourists. Here Ashok Malkani takes a look at the green hospitality scenario in India and observes that in the long-run, despite their comparatively high construction costs, the green hotels tend to prove to be more economical than non-green hotels offering comparable levels of hospitality solutions, on an average.

FEATURE

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profit is the main motive behind the slew of eco-friendly hotels and resorts crowding India’s hospitality sector. Perhaps the emerging green hospitality trend is a combination of both these factors, but the result is the gaining foothold of sustainable hospitality. And in turn this

environment-friendly hospitality not only entails responsibility towards environment, but also can include more responsibility towards the hospitality properties’ bottom lines.

The concept of green building encapsulates myriad aspects of sustainability, focusing on minimising

adverse environmental impacts through a holistic environment-f r i e n d l y a p p ro a c h t ow a rd s construction, preservation and conservation strategies. Unlike a conventional building, green buildings focus on efficient use of water and energy, prefer to opt for renewable energy solutions wherever possible, go for recycled/recyclable materials, and introduce stringent parameters for maintenance of indoor air quality among others. Their housekeeping solutions also often employ non-toxic cleaning agents and laundry detergents, and should strive to use organic cotton sheets, towels and mattresses wherever possible.

However, we must remember that the term eco-friendly hotel or eco-friendly resort is a fairly broad term and the scope of these properties should not only be limited to energy saving practices to be eco-friendly in a holistic sense. An eco-friendly hotel or a resort should ideally be based on various criteria. They include dependence on natural environment, emphasis

on ecological sustainability and conservation of resources, provision of environmental training programmes to the management and staff after given time intervals, respectful of the cultural considerations of the place where the given hospitality property is being built, and provision of

Incidentally, many of the green hotels are endowed with the United States Green Building

Council’s Leadership in Energy a n d E n v i r o n m e n t a l D e s i g n (LEED) certification. LEED is an internationally recognised green building rating system. LEED’s certification is a rigorous process whereby hotels, and all buildings for that matter, have to meet strict environmental standards on a gamut of aspects, ranging from recycling to water efficiency. LEED ce r t i f i ca t ion p rov ides independent, third-party verification that a building, home or a community has been designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health — sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.ECOTEL is another important certification for eco-friendly hotels. ECOTEL is an environmental

cert i f icat ion specif ic for the hospitality. It enables hotels to be truly green and sustainable over the long term – by involving the entire value chain of owners, architects, operators, employees, suppliers and hotel guests. ECOTEL was developed by HVS in association with the Rocky Mountain Institute, USA with the help of engineering and hospitality experts, in 1994. ECOTEL facilitates hotels in setting standards in environmental best practices, which in turn help them cut back on operat ing costs and increase their overall competitiveness. ECOTEL’s mission is “to enable hotels to achieve a strategic and economic advantage through environment-fr iendly operations, systems and processes while positively impacting their local communities.” ECOTEL aims to do this through its certification and training workshops, which empower hotel communities to improve their standards without compromising the environment.

The Green Parameters

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economic benefit and employment to the local community of the area where the said property is being built.

Key Areas of ImpactThe three fundamental edifices

of eco-friendly properties are savings on energy, water, and waste. Hotels generally use more energy per person than a residential building or an office building for that matter, as bars, restaurants, banquets, discotheques are energy-intensive places. Studies have found that a hotel emits an average 20.6 kg of carbon dioxide per night. Excessive energy use or energy wastage is a costly proposition for hotels but with eco-friendly measures, the hotels can manage healthy cost savings on energy consumption.

Hotels also generate a great deal of waste, and approximately 30 percent of waste in hotels can be productively channelised through reuse and recycling. Otherwise, these huge piles of wastes would not only go waste but would also have the potential to impact the environment adversely. An average hotel guest demand more water from her/his hotel than an average local resident or office goer from her/his residence or office. The use of water is also generally much more in a five-star hotel with its swimming pool and spa, than in an average housing society or an office. Thus preventing water wastage can save lots of revenue for the hotels.

A Buoyant Trend Incidentally, the ITC Gardenia

is India’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

Platinum rated hotel. According to Nakul Anand, Director on the Board of ITC, “The ITC Royal Gardenia exemplifies ITC’s vision and is perhaps the perfect example of finding common rhythm between manmade and natural environment. The challenge was to see how luxury and responsibility could be in harmony together. Thus a series of sustainable measures and practices were embraced to ensure that elements of nature were effectively harnessed at every level inside the luxurious environment of the hotel.”

From its wind cooled lobby that frames a stunning view of the beautiful outdoor island restaurant Lotus Pavilion with its vivid grass topped roof, to the vertical gardens in Cubbon Pavilion and the lobby, and the distinctive nature-driven theme on each floor moving up from earth to sky, ITC Gardenia brings together the best of what is natural and manmade. ITC Gardenia uses frontier green technologies in its systems like water recycling, energy and waste management, along with eco-friendly materials in its architecture and decor, to offer five-star luxury for the discerning business travellers, with the healing touch of nature.

“Understanding the green advantage, ITC now has a platinum rating for all its luxury hotels—the ITC Windsor in Bangalore, the ITC Mughal in Agra, the ITC Sonar in Kolkata, the ITC Kakatiya in Hyderabad, the ITC Grand Central, and the ITC Maratha in Mumbai, and the ITC Maurya in New Delhi,” said Ashok K. Verma, who has been managing hospitality projects

and engineering for the last three decades.

ITC is not the only hotel chain in India going the green way. Verma also informed that the Pune Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre has been awarded LEED Gold certification, as has the Heritage Madurai Hotel & Resort, while the green credentials of Fortune Select at Lavasa has been enhanced with a Silver rating.

According to Verma, “Some of the salient eco-friendly features introduced in these hospitality properties are zero water discharge, 25-40 percent energy savings over conventional buildings, 40 percent reduction in potable water use, use of treated greywater for flushing, air-conditioning and landscaping, use of fly ash in bricks and concrete, usage of high efficiency equipment, and complying to eco-friendly housekeeping practices.”

If you want something more adventurous than your average eco-friendly hotel then Taj Safaris’ Banjaar Tola, situated along the banks of the Banjaar river, directly overlooking the heart of the Kanha National Park is one of the many luxurious adventure tourism options in the twenty-first century India. Here the luxurious, yet lightweight, ensuite tents have been designed in a contemporary style, with pressed bamboo wall panels, gorgeous bamboo floors and locally crafted furniture hewn from the timber of exotic Indian trees. The place is home to the highly endangered hardground barasingha and approximately 70 different tree species. Spread across 60 acres, this jungle camp has fine dining facilities, swimming pool, and a spa. The twin occupancy tents are nestled

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among towering trees with each tent having a private deck suspended over the river that makes for wonderful jungle views.

On the Savings Front There is a solid logic behind

why green hotels and resorts are likely to be more profitable than conventional hospitality properties of comparable levels. The adherence to green practices in buildings not only helps to keep their occupants or guests healthy, but can also facilitate to endow these green buildings with greater property value. Reduced energy and water consumption also lead to reduced maintenance and operating costs, which contribute to the buildings’ market valuation in the future and to the revenue model in the present. These general principles of green buildings are very much applicable to the green hotels and resorts too.

For example, The Orchid in Mumbai has saved Rs.33 lakh simply by opting for PL lamps or CFL. According to Krishan Singh, Business Head, Domestic Holidays, Yatra.com, “The ballpark estimate of the savings that a hotel can make in a year through its eco-friendly endeavours would be ranging between 20-25 percent.”

Eco-friendliness in hotels can translate into guests’ benefits too. It should concern a value-seeking holidaymaker that the hotel or the resort she/he has chosen to stay has adopted sustainable practices or not. It is because hotel’s or the resort’s eco-friendly practices can help its management to rent the rooms at cheaper rates. The smart hoteliers

would go for eco-friendly options and the smarter ones would opt to transfer some of the improvement in bottom lines through green route in the way of lower room rates. This would in turn further enhance their revenues.

Eco-friendly Practices Take the case of The Raintree

Hotels in Chennai, which are regarded as the first eco-friendly business hotels of south India. These properties save approximately 40 percent energy through various eco-friendly measures. If you are a guest in these hotels, you have the option to press the green button present in each of the rooms, which would set the room temperature to 24 degrees, thus saving on electricity consumption.

The hotel group caters to its energy requirement by generating as much energy as it requires through its own windmills, located at Udumalpet and Tirunelveli. The hotel group substantially reduces water consumption by the simple but innovative endeavour of reducing the flow rate of its bathroom showerheads and taps.

And if you are in Goa, the tented accommodation at Yoga Magic, which also offers two boutique suites and indigenously designed eco-toilets, can be your preferred choice over other run-of-the-mill five-star luxurious options.

At the eco-toilet of Yoga Magic, solid and liquid wastes are being segregated. The former drops into a mixture of mango and jackfruit woodchips and earth, while the latter is siphoned by pipe to fertilise the banana trees located behind the tents. These eco-toilets are sprayed with

‘effective micro-organisms’ which decimate the germs and quicken the process of waste decomposition. Besides these, the good bacteria in effective micro-organisms feed on organic compounds that emanate odour.

If these eco initiatives are heartening, it is more heartening to know that a night’s stay at The Raintree Hotel, Anna Salai, and Yoga Magic are affordably priced as compared to their comparable hotels in the area where they are located.

Though setting up of a green hotel or resort costs 15-20 percent more on an average than a conventional hotel of similar level, but the former’s operations and maintenance costs are generally lesser than that of a conventional hospitality property offering the comparable level of facilities and services to that of the concerned green hospitality property. The additional investment incurred on a green hotel or resort, according to the experts, can be recovered within 2-3 years. Thereafter savings on operational costs can translate into greater revenues and affordable room rates for the green property, though there is no guarantee of such a pleasant scenario of happening.

In the long-run, the tangible and non tangible benefits from a green hotel or resort are likely to be greater for the concerned management of the hospitality property and her/his guests as compared to from the non green hotel or resort of similar hospitality stature. No wonder, the time for green hospitality has come… and it is about time the Indian hospitality industry presses the green button with great excitement and enthusiasm. ■

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CLEANING

Hand gloves a re not only essential f o r t h e s a f e t y in hand l ing o f chemicals, but are

being widely used in hospitals, and at various industrial workshops where manual work is being done, especially at extremely high or low temperatures. They are also essential in kitchen operations in the hospitality industry. In fact, c leanliness of hands and prevention of infection from hands should be of paramount concern for anyone employed in a chemical

industry, hospital, laundry, kitchen, gardening, etc. The hand gloves play a crucial role in hospital operations, where total clean and hygienic conditions are required.

Hands can remain clean and insulated from infection by using appropriate hand gloves. At the same t ime, they prevent any possible infection from hands to pass through. The main function of hand gloves is to act like a protective fi lm. They can prevent hands from getting infected by harmful chemicals, and at the same time prevent the germs from

hands to transmit into food items. Therefore, it is wise to use hand gloves at every area where there is possibility of skin damage. The professionals need to identify such areas and use the appropriate type of gloves to avoid possible skin damage.

Gloved Threats However, merely using gloves

is not enough in some cases. For example, end-users need to wear the appropriate gloves before handling of hazardous chemicals, and this appropriate choice must

Hand inGlove(s)

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CLEANING

be guided by technical knowledge or proper guidance. The wearing of wrong gloves while handling chemicals or biomedical waste can invite dangerous consequences to the handler. For example, one should protect ones hands from direct contact with certain soaps, detergents, scouring powders, and similar irritating chemicals by wearing waterproof, cotton lined gloves.

For example, Methylene chloride based solvents, commonly used for many cleaning purposes, normally react with most types of rubber gloves. If rubber gloves are used while handling this chemical, they are likely to act as sponge, absorbing the chemical and holding it against the worker’s skin. In some cases, if the chemical contains acetic acid or methanol, it penetrates through the rubber along with methylene chloride, which can cause a powerful skin irritation.

Similarly, careful analysis is required to choose the right kind of gloves when using a common chemical like lacquer thinner. Lacquer thinner, another example of a seemingly non-harmful chemical, is a blend of many chemical substances. These chemicals can cause harm if they come in contact with the skin. Alcohols such as methanol or isopropanol can degrade the gloves made of PVC and aromatic solvents such as toluene or xylene can degrade the gloves that are made of neoprene, PVC, natural rubber, and butyl.

Tips for Using Gloves Moreover, one should always

replace gloves that develop holes. The gloves should not get drenched from inside, i f they do, they should be changed immediately. Waterproof gloves should be used while peeling and squeezing citrus fruits like lemon, orange, or grapefruit, peeling of potatoes and tomatoes, while heavy-duty gloves should be used when doing heavy manual work and gardening. While doing housework or industrial work, direct contact with turpentine, paint, thinner polishes for furniture should be avoided. And to prevent those contacts, one should wear heavy-duty gloves before handling these solvents since they react with skin.

Similarly, one should use rubber gloves for handling heavily soiled linen, which may be infested with a large number of pathogenic microorganisms. Soiled linen is generally sorted in the laundry before washing. Gloves and other appropriate protective apparel should be worn by the laundry personnel while sorting soiled linen. Gloves should be used when certain chemicals and solvents like bleach are employed in laundry operations, since these chemicals can damage the skin.

Laminate GlovesLaminate gloves provide good

protection to hands against harmful chemicals. The outer layer of laminate gloves is polyethylene, while the middle layer is made of a highly polar polymer such as polyamide or polyvinyl alcohol-acetate. Sometimes these gloves have intermediate layers that act as adhesives, in order to keep the entire assembly together as a single flexible film. The main benefi t of laminate gloves is that the low-polarity layers of laminate stop high-polarity chemicals and the high-polarity layers stop low-polarity chemicals from seeping in. As a result, laminate gloves are resistant to every chemical.

Laminate gloves can be used as a first hand-protection when dealing with unknown chemical

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spills. However, these gloves do not present a complete solution for handling every kind of chemical. These gloves cannot be stretched and are loose fi tting as compared to other gloves. Also, these gloves do not have the sure grip due to their smooth surface finishing. Moreover, the laminate gloves are thin and so can tear or puncture

very easily.

Double Protection Sometimes two sets of gloves,

when combined together, offer workers a holistic solution for hand protection. There are areas and situations where creative use of double gloving, or wearing one pair of gloves over another is generally

required. For workers who print materials

for ski tops, wearing a knit liner, supplemented with a nitrile glove is benefi cial. The liner is lightweight and helps to absorb perspiration, while the nitrile offers protection from chemicals. In workshops where resins and hot tools are used, workers can wear a heavier cotton liner with a rubber glove. This combination keeps the resins away from their hands.

Leather gloves for protection from steel edges and flash are worn over rubber, which protects against the grinding fl uid, and the rubber in turn is worn over a liner that absorbs sweat and provides comfort.

At an automobile glass workshop, where workers handle raw wet glass, wearing Kevlar gloves to protect their hands from cuts and using nitrile disposable gloves for an added layer of cut protection and also to keep their

CLEANING

Non-Latex GlovesNon-latex gloves are generally made of super tough, cut-resistant nylon cord. These gloves are cut resistant but not cut-proof or point puncture resistant. Thus, they cannot be used while using serrated knives.

Polythene Gloves Polythene gloves are used as all-purpose gloves. These disposable gloves can fit easily on either hand. They offer good grip and have heat-sealed seams. Heavy Weight Terry Gloves A pair of heavy weight terry gloves offers extra protection up to 375° Fahrenheit. They are washable and reversible with knit wrist.

Latex Gloves Latex gloves are disposable gloves that are made of high quality latex. Before putting on these gloves one has to sprinkle talcum powder inside the gloves.

Flame Retardant Gloves Flame retardant gloves are made of high-tech flame retardant fabric, which are resistant up to 800°Fahrenheit. They can be held to an open flame for short periods, even at 600°Fahrenheit. They are fully insulated and provide great protection against heat and hot liquids.

Silicone Oven/Freezer Long GlovesSilicone oven/freezer long gloves can be used while working on non-stick surface, for handling frozen food or cold containers.

Vinyl Gloves Vinyl gloves are seamless gloves. They are soft, flexible and strong. One has to sprinkle talcum powder before putting them on. Vinyl gloves are also used in laundry areas to protect hands from detergents, cleansers and other chemicals like bleach. The use of thin cotton gloves underneath the vinyl gloves is highly recommended during prolonged use, since they absorb excess perspiration. These cotton gloves should be washed frequently.

Gloves Used in Kitchen Operat ions

29July-Aug ’12

CLEANING

hands dry are very much there.

F a c i l i t a t i n g K i t c h e n Sanitation

Many specialised gloves are widely used in the kitchen to protect hands from burns, cuts and the painful gouges and abrasions.

Disposab le l a tex , vinyl or polyethylene gloves are the most commonly used in kitchens. Normally, t h e y p l a y a n indispensable role in maintaining food safety and preventing cross-contamination of food products.

C l o s e - f i t t i n g latex gloves offer t h e b e s t t a c t i l e sensitivity. However, some employees can develop latex allergies, which prevents them from wearing gloves made of this material. To avoid such gloves,

you can use a special type glove that is made from a high-tech vinyl compound, which offer the same comfort and sensitivity minus the possibility of allergy.

Many times disposable poly gloves can be used for food

handling chores, such as assembling sandwiches or plating salads. They can be disposed off after using once.

While handling hot utensils, one requires heat-resistant gloves. These gloves protect the finger tips better. Foods which require employees to reach deep into an oven or stove, heat-resistant gloves help to reach beyond the wrist; to the elbow or even to the shoulder level, and at the same time, prevent burns. These gloves can also protect employees from fryer spatter.

Similarly, a worker handling frozen food needs protective cold-resistant gloves, which enables him to keep a grip on frozen foods, thereby facil itating to avoid numbness or freezer burns in the process. Gloves are also important in dishwashing and maintenance areas. Neoprene or nitrile-coated gloves can protect workers’ hands from puncture wounds, harsh cleaning detergents, and chemicals. ■

July-Aug ’1230

LAUNDRY

As the winter ushers in damp mornings and chilly nights, t h e n e e d f o r dryers is felt in every household.

However, in our fast-paced lives, we can hardly afford to miss out on our dryers even during the

summers, making dryers a necessity for almost everyday of our modern lives. It is important to know that the use of dryers is not limited to the households, and not even only to the drying of clothes. Dryers are used extensively in various industries, besides for drying of clothes in the industrial laundries. They are also

Drying Need

31July-Aug ’12

essential in the textiles industry, paper and allied products industry, chemical/pharmaceutical industry, food industry, and even tea industry.

Drying is an age-old activity. But the invention of dryers is not that old. The use of fi rst clothes dryers is said to have begun in the early 1800s, in the UK and France. Pochon, a Frenchman, is believed to have built the ventilator, a barrel-shaped drum with several holes in it for drying purposes. The drum was turned by hand over a fi re. A signifi cant improvement in drying technology was made by George T. Sampson, in 1892. He developed a mechanism to use the heat from a stove. The use of electrical clothes dryers came into vogue only in the early 20th century. Since then, drying technologies have developed at an unprecedented pace.

It is now reported that there are around four hundred different types of dryers, and around one hundred types of dryers are widely available in the market. However, most of the dryers supply heat through convection. Modern day dryers also come with sensors that can automatically switch off the heating process at the appropriate time and help save energy.

Types of DryersThe most common forms of dryers

used in the industries are some forms of rotary dryers. Made up of large rotating cylindrical tubes, the rotary dryers reduce the moisture content in the solid material by bringing in

heated gas. This type of dryer is usually supported by steel beams or concrete columns. A rotary dryer can come with direct heated, indirect heated, or a combination of both direct heated and indirect heated technologies.

The fl ash dryer or pneumatic dryer is used to dry products very rapidly. In pneumatic dryers, the moisture in the wet material is removed with the help of a stream of heated air or other gas. This type of dryers is widely used, especially for drying of fi lter cakes, crystals, granules, pastes, sludges, and slurries.

Spray dryers are mostly used in the dairy and food industry, in the production of powder products. The drying chamber in the spray dryer converts the liquid fed in it into powder particles through a stream of hot air. At the time of discharging the powder, it is made to pass through a powder and air separator. With the use of high temperature, spray dryers can act quickly.

In the case of fluid bed dryers, the dispersion or distribution plate introduces gas stream at the base of the bed. Fluid bed dryers are used extensively in a number of industries as it makes continual fl ow of materials possible.

The steiners, which are basically gas fi red ovens, are used for drying fabric. They are quite versatile as they are also used for chemical fi nishing, heat setting and curing. Steam cylinders offer one of the simplest modes of drying fabric. The fabric here passes through a series of steam heated cylinders. But it is used mainly for intermediate drying, as unlike the steiners it cannot control fabric width.

The use of infrared energy in the dryers has brought about improvement in the drying technology. Infrared energy for dryers can be generated by both electric and gas infrared heaters and emitters. Although gas infrared systems prove expensive at the time of installation, the operations cost of gas infrared heater and emitters are quite low as compared to electric infrared heaters and emitters.

Radio frequency drying has its utility for the ceramic and glass manufacturers. It helps them in moisture control, and providing uniformity besides reducing surface

Drying Need

July-Aug ’1232

cracking. It also helps them save energy, drying time and plant space.

Different Industries; Different Dryers

The use of dryers is quite essential in the hospitality industry. They are widely used in hotels, health clubs, gyms and spas, or for that matter at any place where cleaning and drying of clothes are part of the day-to-day activities. Dryers also play a very important role in the paper and allied products industry. As the paper comes out of the press, the pulp or the paper sheet is dried to reduce the moisture content. However, different types of articles in the paper industry are dried in different types of dryers. Impulse drying is one of the new technologies that are being used in the paper industry for improving mechanical dehydration of paper.

The concept of Condebelt drying is also being used for achieving better paper quality. In Condebelt drying, the pressure on the sheet is maintained for more time than in the case of impulse drying and other conventional pressing technologies.

In the chemical industry, several

types of dryers such as tray tunnel dryers, tray/vacuum dryers, spray dryers, direct and indirect rotary dryers are required to dry inorganic salts and insoluble organic dyes. Dryers are also essential in the pharmaceutical industry as the material in powder, granular, or crystalline form contain moisture/solvents. The pharmaceutical industry has also witnessed the use of a wide range of dryers. The tea industry also makes use of dryers to remove moisture from the leaf particles by arresting enzyme reaction and oxidation. The use of dryers is also extensive in the textile industry. The fabric in the textile industry is dried in the sheet form, in hot air chambers or in cylinders.

Clothes DryersDifferent dr yers today use

different technologies and people can choose a dryer depending on their needs. Improvement of the drying speed, consumption of lesser energy, keeping the qualities of the clothes intact, and ensuring safe operations of the machines are the four main parameters along which drying technologies have made signifi cant strides. Basically, clothes

dryers or tumble dryers circulate heated air through a rotating drum called tumbler. In traditional dryers, the ambient air around the dryers is used to heat and dry the clothes. The humid air in the dryer is vented out so as to make room for more dry air.

According to Suresh Goyal, Director, Supershine Laundry Systems Pvt. Ltd., the introduction of sensors in the dryers has helped the laundry industry immensely in terms of saving energy and properly maintaining the equipment as the sensors can switch off the machine automatically at the appropriate time. Some dryers have also introduced a feature called SAFE (Sensitive Active Fire Extinguishing System). Such safety measures can help prevent any unfortunate break out of fi re in the dryer. Another important feature that a laundry facility with large production capacity can look for is lint fi lter. The lint fi lter helps in keeping the equipment effi cient for a longer period of time and also in maintaining the safety measures.

American Dryer Corporation, which is a leading manufacturer of a wide range of drying solutions for commercial laundry markets of around 90 countries across the world, is a manufacturer of contamination control dryers which are equipped with HEPA/ULPA

LAUNDRY

33July-Aug ’12

LAUNDRY

filtering systems to control airborne particle concentrations and meet healthy cleanliness standards. Such contamination control dryers are expected to be widely popular in the healthcare facilities, in the near future.

Goyal further added that gas heated dryers are the most effective forms of clothes dryers and they also help save energy. But he laments that availability of gas is still an issue with the laundry facilities in India, and most well established laundries therefore go for steam heated dryers in the country. According to him, the smaller laundry facilities prefer electric heated dryers.

Maintenance MattersProper maintenance of the dryers is

important not only for providing the dryers with a long life and imparting them with efficient functioning, but also for the safety of the properties where the dryers are being installed. The lint, created by the heating element and tumbling action of the

clothes dryer, can cause immense problem as lint is flammable. If the vent pipe or the flap vent gets clogged, the efficiency of the dryer goes down and it takes longer time to dry the clothes, which again results in the loss of energy and increase in the operations cost.

If the flap vent is not properly closed, various insects and pests can easily come through and create menace in the dryer. Proper installation of the dryer is also a matter of great importance as an unbalanced and shaky dryer can bring down the life of the rotating components of the dryer. Thus it is very important to carry out regular cleaning and scrubbing of the lint trap, cleaning the vent system, and also cleaning the underneath of the dryer.

The improvements in the drying technologies and the presence of a multitude of dryers often make it difficult for one to choose the right dryer for any industry. Therefore it is quite important to understand one’s needs better before making a

decision to buy a dryer. Even in the same industry, the need of dryers can be different depending on the production capacity of a facility. However, cost efficiency, durability, and safety measures are perhaps some of the important common parameters that everybody needs to analyse before purchasing a dryer. ■

July-Aug ’1234

PEST MANAGEMENT

Rat?

The rats have created enough holes in the net of hopes of billions of people throughout the

ages. They have decimated the agricultural crops at various places from time to time, and are also responsible for infl icting the deadly disease of plague. Especially in India, rats are omnipresent. As you come out of the sprawling malls, with both of your hands full of bags, you may well notice a rat saying you bye from safe distance.

Rats are clubbed in the group of rodent, along w i t h

squirrels, mice, chipmunks, and beavers. As small roadside eateries fi nd it nearly impossible to drive away the army of rats from infi ltrating into their area, it is not uncommon to see a few roadside eateries making peace with these rodents, supplying them food at regular intervals so that they do not have to bother to come out from their comfort zone and make an uncomfortable appearance in front of the guests. These rodents are in fact as much comfortable indoors as they are outdoors. Be it a home or a hotel, they have the knack of fi nding their own comfort zones and creating their

usual menace. Rats are scurrying and adaptable mammals, which

are quite intel l igent and are very quick in

spreading not only diseases but also in causing damages to our buildings by their persistent b u r r o w i n g and gnawing activities. It is therefore very i m p o r t a n t that precise steps should be taken to

control their m e n a c e i n

human habitats. To be able to do that effectively it is important

to understand w h e re r a t s

breed and what attracts them.These rodents leave behind signs

of infestation in burroughs & nests, in the form of urine stains and odours. These evidences are the signs that help Facility Managers and contractors rid the property of these pests. If we take a close look around a hospitality property we may often fi nd a good many environment that can attract the rats, often in a big way. Such places are debris, edible refuse, broken walls, spilled food, piles of junk and stacked materials, open trash bins, open sewers, shrubs and vegetation, opening around pipes, etc.

Tackling the House MouseAmong the rodents, the house

mouse is one of the most common pests found in human households, and it has been a part of our lives since time immemorial. Ancient tales, forklore, mythology, and even present day cartoons and movies pay tribute to this pest for its furry, lovable appearance, intelligence and adaptability. The house mouse is a replica of its larger cousin, the common rat. It is usually dark to light brown in colour with a whitish underbelly and ranges from 10-16 cm in length, including the 5-8 cm naked tail.

The house mouse is believed to be of Asiatic origin and is present in all parts of the world. It is found all over India from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari and lives chiefl y in houses, besides gardens and fi elds near villages, towns and cities. Unlike

July-Aug ’1234

By Gokul Bhagabati

35July-Aug ’12

PEST MANAGEMENT

the house mouse, the wood mouse and the harvest mouse are found in forests and fields.

Excessively active, the house mouse has a keen sense of taste, hearing, smell and touch and is an excellent climber and an acrobat. It can run horizontally along wired cables or ropes and can jump up to 13 inches from the floor onto a flat surface and can squeeze through the openings slightly larger than ¼ inch in diameter.

Like rats, the house mouse too prefers to keep its habitat close to the walls. It prefers cereal grains, but will eat many kinds of food. There is some difference in the approach towards food between rats and mice. Rats tend to eat most of their food at one time, whereas mice will nibble a little at a time. A sporadic feeder, mice nibble bits of food here and there. However, their natural instinct helps them in avoiding fatal poisoning.

Besides being an indiscriminate eater, the house mouse is a prolific breeder. Life span of a mouse is about twelve to eighteen months. The female mouse will have an average eight litters per year, each litter averaging 5 to 8 pups. Born blind and furless, they quickly attain full growth and development and are capable of producing their own young ones within a month of their birth!

Mice Meets Here A few corrective measures from

time to time can be taken to avoid attracting these rodents to your homes, offices and facilities. First of all, it is essential to conduct an indoor inspection of a building and identify the places where rats and mice can breed and then eliminate the conditions that facilitate them in breeding at such places.

Office lockers are the place where workers usually keep their snack food and it can be a convenient place for food sourcing by the rats and mice. They are also attracted to rest rooms because water, a vital lifeline for living beings, is readily available there. Kitchens, lunch rooms and cafeterias can also be particularly attractive for the rats and

mice for these environments have the potential to provide food, water and shelter to these pests. Improper sanitation and faulty garbage disposal also attract rats and mice to these places. Boiler rooms are an extremely attractive area for these rodents because it is generally the warmest room available for them in a given building.

Then there are of course, the food storerooms and general storerooms which can be attractive areas for the rats and mice. In the food storage areas, materials should be stored off the floor and at least 18 inches from walls and the floor should be swept regularly.

Their key breeding places in storeroom areas are the overhead doors and windows, sewers, water drains, etc. Note should be taken of the fact that food left in the open drawers by workers or morsels of meals eaten at desks invite rats and mice to infest these sensitive locations. Unused terraces can also be quite easily accessible to these rodents. Damaged rooftops, open windows and drain pipes are some of the favourite locations of these intelligent pests, because the rats and mice can generally stay undisturbed in these areas, and thereby breed profusely, away from the glare of the human habitants.

Controlling the Menace Despite their lovable appearance,

rats and mice are serious pests — they can cause damage to structures and properties by gnawing on cables, wires and plastic pipes, and transmit can virulent diseases such as plague and salmonellosis (food poisoning). One important sign of rat or mice infestation are their droppings, fresh gnawing and tracks. They contaminate 10 times more through their urine and droppings than by eating food. Their characteristic musky odour announces their presence and they are occasionally seen during daylight hours. However, they tend to be extremely active at night.

The comprehensive rats and mice control strategy can be a mixture of baiting, trapping and proofing. There are different types of baits to choose from such as blocks, pellets,

and seeds. Many of these baits can act as rodenticides. As each mice population may be different in its preferences, a little of each form of bait is a good choice in bait selections.

When baiting, it is better not to disturb their original habitats initially, or these quick pests may run to another area in the vicinity and cause damage. It is important to eliminate these rodents from a place completely before they could move to another area. After the baiting has begun, it is important to continue with sanitation procedures, food source removal, and harborage removal to prevent the infusion of additional mice population from nearby areas.

While baiting and trapping measures are adopted to eliminate the existing rat and mice population from inside the property, the proofing measures become necessary for preventing the fresh entry of these persistent rodents into the property. It is important to eliminate their food sources in a building, as a preventive measure.

The integrated approach towards pest control works best in checking the unabated infestation by the marching rat and mice population. The objective is to disrupt their behavioral pattern and make it difficult for them to establish themselves in a given human habitat.

Identification and treatment with traps or rodenticides should be followed up by regular monitoring. Sanitation and proofing methods provide lasting protection against re-infestation by rats and/or mice. Succinctly, if you happen to smell a rat (I mean literally) or a mouse for that matter, do not wait for it to breed. Take proactive preventive measures or eliminating action against the pest without much delay. ■

35July-Aug ’12

July-Aug ’1236

HYGIENE

The objectives of cleaning a room can vary from one industry to the other but the

types of contamination that should be removed may be one, two or all of the following types, which include microscopic particles, and fibres, chemicals, bacteria and electrostatic charges.

In the electronics and optical industries, very small particles can cause malfunction of the product and in the industries pertaining to pharmaceutical and medical devices, it is considered imprudent and unethical to introduce potentially harmful particles into the patient through neglect.

The pharmaceutical and medical devices industries are extremely concerned with possible bacterial infl uence because of their potential danger to patients’ health but the microelectronics industry is also concerned with bacteria because of the high ion content of the industry concerned. The microelectronics industr y a lso emphasises on eliminating static electricity because

the discharge of very small voltages can decimate silicon chips.

All these cleaning aspects can be catered to by the ‘clean rooms.’ Keeping the operational rooms spic and span is desirable for the hospitality and many other industries, but all so called rooms with healthy cleanliness cannot be technically termed as ‘clean rooms’ in real sense. Clean room is a scientifi c term entailing scientifi c defi nitions.

The concept and reality of ‘clean rooms’ attracted headlines in March 2011 when the Directorate of Factories, Andhra Pradesh, fi led charges against the pharma major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories over lapses in safety aspects at its manufacturing plant at Bollaram, located in Medak district, where two persons were killed on December 2010, after inhaling nitrogen gas at Dr Reddy’s USFDA-approved plant.

The Directorate of Factories fi led charges against the company in a local court in Medak for “negligence, issues of safety and standards of equipment.” In response to the charges, Dr Reddy’s

Laboratories had responded, “At the time of the accident, the deceased were handling the process of micronisation of Omeprazole powder. Apart from these two persons, no others were affected. The incident happened in the ‘clean room’ located in one of the production blocks. The access to that area has been restricted.” The other details of Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories response are not pertinent to this story. However, the human-interest news item did propel the term clean rooms into public discourse.

The Concept Decept i ve l y s impl i s t i c in

nomenclature, clean rooms are in fact very complex. According to the British Standard (BS) 5295 defi nition of ‘environmental cleanliness in enclosed spaces,’ “A clean room is a room with environmental control of particulate contamination, temperature and humidity, constructed and used in such a way as to minimize the introduction, generation and retention of particles inside the room.” This standard dates from 1976.

By Kanishka Gupta

July-Aug ’1236

Inside the Clean Room

37July-Aug ’12

HYGIENE

A clean room can also be defi ned as an environment that has the presence of extremely low levels of environmental pollutants like dust, airborne microbes, aerosol particles and chemical vapours. It is characterised by a controlled level of contamination, defi ned by the number of particles per cubic meter at a specified particle size. Clean rooms are very much used to facilitate industrial production, scientific research, biotechnology, and in medical practice. ‘Clean rooms’ are widely required in specifi c areas such as hospitals’ operation theatres, research/scientific laboratories, product assembly areas, etc.

The purpose of clean rooms is to reduce the contamination levels in the manufactured product or while rendering a service. Clean room technology concerns itself with the design facilities, air handling equipment and construct ion techniques. It deals with the removal of particles from the air and the levels of air cleanliness that can be achieved.

“There are many critical areas in modern industrial production, where the cleanliness is maintained and monitored at a higher level. Criticality varies from the application of product where it is to be used. For example, criticality of food product manufacturing area is less than that of oral drugs’ manufacturing area. Injectible medicines and memory chip manufacturing areas are even more critical than the manufacturing area for oral medicines. These areas do need such high class cleanliness to avoid contamination from air-borne particles to restrict the growth of microbial. This is to ensure product and consumer safety and to build reliability and trust,” informed SB Satapathy, Senior Manager (Engineering Services), Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., Paonta Sahib – Himachal Pradesh.

Degree of Cleanliness Now how are ‘c lean rooms’

classified? The present British Standard system designates four classes of clean rooms as class 1, 2, 3 and 4 with Class 1 embodying the

highest class of cleanliness. According to BS 5295 classifi cation, in Class 1 the particle count shall not exceed a total of 3,000 particles/m3 of a size of 0.5µ or greater. Moreover, the largest particle present in any Class 1 sample shall not exceed 5µ.

According to the same classifi cation, in Class 2 category of clean rooms, the particle count shall not exceed a total of 300,000 particles/ m3 of a size 0.5µ or greater; 2000 particles/m3 of a size 5µ or greater; 30 particles of a size 10µ or greater.

In Class 3 category, the particle count shall not exceed 1,000,000 particles/m3 of a size of 1 µ or greater; 20,000 particles/m3 of a size 5µ or greater: 4000 particles/m3 of a size 10µ or greater; 300 particles/m3 of a size 25µ or greater. In Class 4, the particle count shall not exceed a total of 200,000 particles/m3 of a size 5µ or greater; 40,000 particles/m3 of a size 10µ or greater; 4000 particles/m3 of a size 25µ or greater. ‘Clean Room’ class is generally achieved in the ‘at rest’ state when there are no people in the room. These particles described above are of course, microscopic, which can be seen only through a high-powered microscope.

Besides BS 5295 classification, there are other extremely reliable standards of clean room classifi cation, which are US FED STD 209E clean room standards, ISO 14644-1 clean room standards, and the GMP EU classifi cation.

Maintenance of Clean Rooms

Specific steps are needed to be taken to keep the fl oor, work areas, air quality, and light intensity in optimum conditions in the clean rooms. “Clean room standards are maintained through proper handling of air temperature, humidity, differential pressure, control led gowning procedure, controlled man-material-waste fl ow, validated machine and area cleaning procedures,” proffered Satapathy. There are risks involved if such areas are not kept clean.

The air which enters the clean room from outside undergoes fi ltration to eliminate dust, and the inside air of the clean room is continuously

recirculated through high effi ciency particulate air (HEPA) and/or ultra low penetration air(ULPA) fi lters in order to eliminate the possibility of internally generated contaminants. You need to wear a clean room suit to enter a clean room and for high class of clean rooms, entrance to the clean room is preceded by taking of an air shower.

“The clean rooms have to be hermetically sealed. Amount of air coming in has to be more than that going out so that the room has more pressure. The air supplied to such rooms should be through hepa filters. For higher classes of clean rooms, especially where injectibles are produced, there are no corners, and they have to be rounded with stainless steel polish on surfaces so that dust does not collect,” stated Atul Vig, Chief Engineer, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Delhi.

“If the clean rooms are not maintained properly, air-borne particles and microbial growth will increase and the risk of product failure in industries will also increase. Products may fail or degrade due to cross-contamination. If the fi ltration is not as per the requirement then the products also may harm the human beings in the area and it would not only affect the quality of the products but also the workroom effi ciency,” added Satapathy.

A clean room can be demarcated into ‘critical’ area and ‘general’ area. The critical area is the area around the point of production/operation where contamination can gain direct access to the persons, products or processes engaged/produced or present in the area. The general area is the rest of the clean room where possible contamination will not directly affect the products/persons/processes but should be kept clean because of the risk of the transfer of contamination into the critical area. It is necessary that the critical area of the clean rooms be cleaned most often with the best possible cleaning solutions available without giving any room for introducing the slightest trace of contamination. The general area may be cleaned with less stringency, but nevertheless on a regular basis. ■

37July-Aug ’12

Clean Room

July-Aug ’1238

PRODUCT PREVIEW

Th e i n f o r m a t i o n p u b l i s h e d i n t h i s s e c t i o n i s a s p e r t h e d e t a i l s f u r n i s h e d b y t h e r e s p e c t i v e m a n u f a c t u r e r / d i s t r i b u t o r. I n a n y c a s e , i t d o e s n o t r e p r e s e n t t h e v i e w s o f Hammer Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

Carpet Extractor MachineAman Cleaning introduced a new range of world class

carpet extractor machines. The model SS 40E is a carpet extractor cum wet/dry

vacuum cleaner having SS body waste container mounted on trolley; making it easy to carry and easy

to empty. Its powerful 1400W vacuum motor creates a very good suction power of 190 mbar, which allows you to suck the loose dust and water, etc. The tank capacity is 40 ltr which also allows you to use this machine for long hours without emptying the container.

The machine’s wheels are covered w i t h special rubber so as to leave no marking on the floors. The wide range of models are available for catering to the different needs of clients.

Aman Cleaning Equipments P Ltdaman_marketing2002@yahoo.co.uk

40E is a carpet extractor cum wet/dry vacuum cleaner having SS body waste container mounted on trolley; making it easy to carry and easy

The machine’s wheels are covered

Single Disc MachineDurable, reliable and supremely easy to operate, the TASKI ergodisc HD (Heavy Duty) has been tailored for the Asian market to offer robust toughness and effective performance. Its resilent metal chassis and

increased weight provide intense power to handle the most challenging floor

surfaces.The machines’ rugged build, combined with their ergonomic

features, make for both a comfortable and effective operating system. The

anatomically formed and height-adjustable handle offers unique

hand protection, while low vibration and noise levels reduce operator fatigue.

The key feature of the machine includes stiff metal chassis, and 10 kg attachement of extra weight. Even the low brush

speed of 150 rpm reduces splashing of stripping solution and delivers even cleaning. The unique feature also adds to stripping, scrubbing, marble crystalisation and wood treatment. Attachable water tank allows feeding of cleaning through the centre of the brush. This reduces splashing to a minimum and make operations very efficient.

Diversey India Pvt. Ltd.enquiry.in@diversey.com

Ushering Hygienic Floor Cleaning Solution Siddharth Impex is a prominent manufacturer, exporter and supplier of health and hygiene products, which include kitchen equipment, cleaning accessories, aerosol dispenser, scrubbing machines, hand-dryers, trays, toasters, tissue-dispensers, soap dispensers, among others. The company, incepted in the year 2006, is also exporting a major part of its manufactured products to several countries all over the globe. The company is promoted and managed by a group of experts, possessing years of industrial experience. The company has a robust infrastructure that has contributed immensely towards its uninterrupted and smooth flow of production. The well-integrated management of the company has enabled it to efficiently respond to the dynamic requirements of the industry in a proficient manner.

The company’s range of MOP Wringer Trolley (Double Mop Wringer Trolley Colour) is extensively used in educational establishments, hospitals, factories and/or in office environment. These are designed for floor cleaning and are rust-free. Furthermore, this range is provided with a reversible handle to ease its driving. In addition, this range of trolleys is also equipped with wide wheels with threads protections wringer, bumpers and buckets.

Siddharth Impexsiddharthimpex59@yahoo.in

Turnkey Laundry SolutionsSupershine has been successfully installing and maintaining commercial laundry equipment since 1990, in India and its neighbouring countries. Supershine offers turnkey solutions for any type of laundry projects. It represents world’s leading brands specialising in laundry and drycleaning equipment. The company has pan-Indian presence to provide quality services and spares, as per the requirements of the clients. The list of clients range from the best in the hospitality industry, which include names like Oberoi, Taj, Hyatt, Sheraton, Le Meridien, Radisson, Marriot, Leela, etc., to the leading healthcare industry players like Apollo, Escorts, Medanta - The Medicity, AIIMS, etc. to the major army hospitals like AFMC and various establishments and units of Army, Navy, and Air Force, and also garment exporters and commercial laundries.

Supershine Laundry Systems Pvt. Ltd.corporate@supershine.in

39July-Aug ’12

A D V E R T I S E R S I N D E X

AMAN CLEANING EQUIPMENTS PVT. LTD. ......................33

APPLIANCES EMPORIUM ......................27

ATLANTIC PASTE & GLUE CO., INC. ......................05

BORGHI BRUSH MACHINERY PVT. LTD. ......................19

DIVERSEY INDIA PVT. LTD. ......................01

GRAND CHEMICAL WORKS ......................23

INTERNATIONAL HOSPITALITY FAIR 2012 ......................25

KARCHER CLEANING SYSTEM PVT. LTD. ......................BC

NAVIN POLYCON ......................08

NUTECH JETTING EQUIPMENTS INDIA PVT. LTD. ......................GF

* BC - BACK COVER * GF-GATE FOLD * FIC - FRONT INSIDE COVER * BIC - BACK INSIDE COVER

COMPANY PAGE NO. COMPANY PAGE NO.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITYBUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

PEST CONTROL (INDIA) PVT. LTD. ......................07

QUARTZ HOME CARE (I) PVT. LTD. ......................04

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July-Aug ’1240

INTERVIEW

By Sharmila Chand

July-Aug ’1240

How important in your opinion is housekeeping to hospitality?

Housekeeping is one of the most integral departments within the hotel; it is responsible for maintaining the hygiene standard and upkeep of all guest rooms and public areas in hotels.

The role of housekeeping is fairly comprehensive. Generally, the housekeeping department in hotels is responsible for cleaning and maintaining of the guest rooms and public areas. In addition, it often handles laundering, pest control, safety and security of the guests as well as the maintenance of infrastructure and

interior decoration.In the competitive hotel industry,

service and cleanliness make an impact on our guests and often determines whether they will return to the given hotel or not. Housekeeping in true sense, can be called the backbone of the hotels.

What are the new trends in housekeeping? Please comment on the latest housekeeping scenario

More and more skilled manpower is coming forward to join the housekeeping industry. Quality in housekeeping has become of utmost importance, whether be it in terms of equipment or manpower.

Please name any one tool which has made the housekeeping operations much easier?

The Operating Software which is used in Hilton Worldwide has made the housekeeping operations comparatively easier as it is very user-friendly. The software allows us to maintain records pertaining to housekeeping and even helps us to see all the reports at one glance, thereby making the checking of reports a hassle free process.

Housekeeping requires rigorous training. How much of an emphasis does your hotel place on this?

Hilton Garden Inn New Delhi/Saket has dedicated training sessions conducted by the Training Manager to add to the skills of the employees in the team. These training sessions defi nitely plays a very crucial role in the hotel ’s operations. Moreover, on the job training within the housekeeping department is an ongoing process.

How does India compare with the international scenario with regards to housekeeping?

Having worked with international hotel chains, I can vouch that housekeeping standards in many Indian hotels are much more organised and the processes are more

strictly followed than in the west. What elements you take into account

to recruit staff in the housekeeping department?

We look for the right kind of attitude in a prospective candidate. Other than that of course, the credentials of the candidate, her/his communication skills, professional expertise, knowledge about the jobs and the products she/he would be doing and handling respectively are taken into account while recruiting the housekeeping team members at Hilton Garden Inn New Delhi/Saket.

What is the role of housekeeping

staff in the context of security? The housekeeping department of a hotel

must ensure maximum cooperation with all the departments, especially with the security department of the hotel. This is to ensure minimum disruption and optimum security to the guests.

The hotel should go to great lengths to ensure guests’ security, without compromising on their privacy, and often they do so. In this context, the housekeeping department has to be alert to these ongoing requirements and seek the security department’s intervention if necessary.

Any other input you would like to give

in the context of housekeeping? Besides the needs and luxuries and a

secured environment, what the guests really want is to feel at home, to feel comfortable. A more pleasant environment facilitated by housekeeping can improve guests’ satisfaction and can increase guests’ use of services. It can also encourage their frequent visits.

What are the challenges you have to face while undertaking your day-to-day job responsibilities?

Man management is a major challenge these days. With many hotels opening, it is very diffi cult to get trained manpower for the hospitality industry these days.

Dedicated Towards Guest Satisfaction

Wi t h m o r e t h a n a decade’s experience in

housekeeping, Sujoy Mallik, Housekeeping Manager at Hilton Garden Inn New Delhi/Saket is known for his dedication towards his department. What he particularly likes about his job is that it enables him to provide services, which make his guests’ life easy. In his own words, “I enjoy being helpful and I do my best to accommodate each guest to suit her/his individual needs.” Mallik has a lot of passion towards his job, which motivates him to excel. He has been associated with the Hilton group since November 2008 and prior to his present tenure, he was with Hilton Birmingham Metropole, UK. The excerpts of the interview follow: