Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Post London 2012 Olympics was a massive anti-climax for a lot of people and businesses with involvement in Olympic activities.
Whether it was supporting it directly, or riding the wave of positivity and enthusiasm that the Olympics brought with it, there was a definite trough left in its wake for a lot of people.
Not so for CE Facilities Services, as Tomas Gronager, chief executive officer, explains:
“Of course, having the Olympics in the UK was a great experience, and our organisation played a major part in keeping all of the venues clean, risk-free and functional. We were thrilled to be part of it; our focus was that of cleaning venues with very tight changeover time from one event to the other and this is quite simply ‘business as usual’ for us.”
CE Facilities Services provides cleaning and housekeeping services at international stadiums and events, shopping centres and offices right across the UK as well as overseas and has been doing so since the company began trading in the UK in 2000.
An experienced specialist in the market, as well as the London 2012 Olympics, the contractor provides cleaning services for organisations including:
* Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
* Wembley Stadium
* White Hart Lane
* Emirates Stadium
* Stade Roland Garros complex near Paris
* Cheltenham and Aintree racecourses
* Silverstone Race Circuit and conference areas
* Shopping centres right across the UK
“The domains we work in are very demanding,” explains Tomas. “For example, at Wembley Stadium we service events that may host a total of 2,500,000 guests a year plus we clean 54km of seating after every event at England’s national stadium. This kind of environment - and high footfall, requires specialist knowledge and products and can often present unique challenges.”
For this extra level of support, CE Facilities Services rely on its business partners, like The Supplies House. Tomas explains: “Creating innovative technological solutions in the pursuit of excellence for operational efficiency and environmental responsibility is our speciality, but we could not do this without excellence from our partners as well.”
CE Facilities Services has been working with the Supplies House since 2000 so it is obvious that the supplier delivers what is required. One of the key areas where it has been able to deliver added value is through provision of extra support during the all-important start-up phase of a project. Tomas says: “These projects are typically large, complex and challenging. By delivering supplementary onsite staff during the transition phases of a typical CE Facilities Services contract, and especially focusing on training of new staff on COSHH and product application, The Supplies House enables our teams of cleaning and housekeeping specialists to focus on what they do best - understanding their customer’s needs and enhancing the quality of the visitor experience.”
Brian Chapman, managing director of The Supplies House, adds: “We are also able to bring many years of industry experience to the partnership, to resolve unforeseen technical problems.
“We might organise several manufacturers in to test and demonstrate the different products, to ensure that as a team, we identify exactly the right product for each client’s satisfaction.”
User experience
Tomas continues: “Another key strength of The Supplies House approach is knowledge and experience in the use of ‘System’ products for areas of high throughput.
“In a venue like a retail facility, with almost 50 million visitors a year, there are massive peaks and troughs in the footfall. Ensuring that there is clean, hygienic tissue and the appropriate cleaning chemicals available, at all times, are very specific problems and we find that ‘Systems’ are ideal in this environment.”
Brian explains: “We have all been in a cubicle, with no paper, or washed our hands only to find there are no towels. We’ve all queued for facilities in an environment where a hot air dryer is making the space hotter, noisier and more unpleasant with every use. None of this makes for a good user experience and ‘Systems’ are a great solution.”
Katrin Hand Towel and Toilet Roll Systems have very high capacities, so don’t need filling up so often. They have control features to ensure that customers only take what they need, and the products are contained within a locked dispenser, presenting only the end of the sheet – so they are hygienic during peak usage, and next day with only sporadic use.
The Diversey chemical systems have dosage control, ensuring that the right amount of product can be accurately calculated and available on site, all of the time. Being a closed system provides the maximum level of safety and cost control, and innovative features mean the products can be used even in vast stadium areas where there is no ready water supply.
Tomas says: “Great products, from a partner with experience, a flexible, ‘can do’ attitude and a competitive pricing approach are the perfect complement to our services, and key to enabling us to succeed”.
Another key part of the CE Facilities Services remit is to deliver services within both its own Corporate and Social Responsibility goals and also delivering against their clients CSR goals. This was certainly true with the mandate of ‘greenest ever Olympics...
Says Tomas: “Environmentally friendly products are essential for us, and we audit all products against our mandates and the customer specifications to ensure conformance. Again, with The Supplies House, this is never an issue. Manufacturers like Metsa Tissue and Diversey are among industry leaders in environmental performance; we know we can rely on anything that The Supplies House recommends.
“Flexibility is key. In each of our niche specialist fields we have developed an enviable reputation as a company that consistently exceeds expectations and delivers exceptional cleaning services, and with The Supplies House, we have definitely picked the right partner.”
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11th June 2015