CLEANING EQUIPMENT (Jan 2007)

Cleaning machines and other cleaning products have undergone radical improvements and changes in the last few years, and both suppliers and users constantly adjust their businesses to incorporate this. There is a move towards miniaturised circuitry in battery-powered machines; the development among manufacturers to produce more user-friendly products is an on-going process; and more and more hotels are applying eco-friendly policies within their cleaning departments.

“Battery-powered machines will benefit from batteries that have a longer working life and a longer running time; chemicals will continue to be developed to become more acceptable in ecological terms and less hazardous to the individual. In the name of common sense, hygiene and economy, we shall see the downward trend in the use of the smelly, germ-infested cotton mop, continue in favour of the flat-mop system,” said Colin Wilson of Al Bariq Cleaning Equipment of the UAE, distributors to many hotels including the Dusit Dubai, Burj-Al-Arab, Sheraton hotels and the Ritz Carlton.

Grand Hyatt Dubai executive housekeeper Tatjana Ahmed believes that keeping tabs on cleaning trends is vital.  “Manufacturers of cleaning machines are very innovative nowadays and ensure maximum flexibility and efficiency during the cleaning process.  As one of the largest hotel operations in the Middle East, we must be sure to keep up-to-date with new technologies, and use them to ease our staff’s daily work”.

Al-Bariq has experienced a growth in sales in 2006 not so much from the general expansion of the market but from specific sectors and defined product ranges including the larger, outdoor ride-on sweepers and scrubbers. “The host of new buildings and complexes (in Dubai) have meant more and more landscaped areas, pedestrian walkways and car parks. In all of these, a battle needs constantly to be waged against the omnipresent and insidious sand, as well as increasing amounts of dead leaves and other horticultural debris.”

In terms of scrubber-dryers, the company already markets a mini ride-on unit which can be taken into very tight areas, but believes there will be more such developments in smaller walk-behind machines, which will become more and more ingenious in terms of application and performance.

While the means may be there, having the right operator can be problematic. A major challenge for hotel housekeeping managers is staff, where turnover among the cleaning departments is high. “To get employees who have the right attitude and a sense of pride is very difficult these days. Housekeeping staff must show a concern for guests that will make them want to return to our property - a basic ingredient for the growth of occupancy. But it is vital to employ staff with a caring attitude not only in guest rooms, but also in public areas. It is the responsibility of the Housekeeping Manager to develop this concern in the staff - it is just as important as the other functions of cleaning bathrooms and making beds,” said Tatjana Ahmed.

“But sadly, staff turnover is higher than ever before and well-trained staff are often looking elsewhere for a career. This is partly related to employing staff who are more highly educated - they want to move on to a different department after a year or two. Partly it is related to the outside contractors we are working with, because as soon as the employees finish their contract with us, they are gone.”

For cleaning this hotel’s interior there are both contracted out and permanent staff amounting to 70 for public areas and 120 for guest rooms, and this includes turn down service and corridor and carpet cleaners, plus a marble care team.

General cleaning advice comes from Jim Hlavin, head of business development for Tornado Industries, a USA manufacturer of professional floor and carpet care equipment, who said recently that floor care costs can account for up to 30 percent of a hotel housekeeping budget, and because of this and the impact the flooring has on appearance, safety, indoor air quality and staff and guest health, it should be a priority area. He believes that one of the “hot” trends in the building maintenance industry in the USA is a definite move towards the adoption of “green” floor care policies. New equipment, chemicals, and systems are continually being introduced, and he suggests that those in the hospitality sector looking for ways to “green” their floor care programme should keep current with these trends.

Green floor care basically involves the use of preventative soiling measures, more environmentally friendly chemicals, and more advanced floor care equipment. It also includes cleaning processes that help reduce the need and frequency of more hazardous and time-consuming restoration procedures such as sanding, grinding, or stripping and refinishing hard-surface floors.  Indeed, Middle Eastern hotels with an abundance of exterior marble flooring particularly at the main entrances, often get spoiled by humidity and high traffic and need a lot of attention to keep a new and squeaky-clean look.

Specific green cleaning products contain less environmentally harmful ingredients and less or no petroleum materials than conventional cleaners. Ideally green hoteliers should use products certified “green” chemicals by organisations such as EcoLogo, EPA or Green Seal. They should also use neutral pH products for daily cleaning, eliminate hazardous acids, alkaline and bleach, use natural disinfectants, concentrates with automated dilution systems plus use dry vapour cleaning as a sanitisation process.

Capturing and removing soil at its source is the least expensive and easiest method to prevent soiling in a hotel, but it is the most under utilised. Here Jim Hlavin recommends placing entry matting inside and/or outside all entry and exit points or other areas where soil or sand may accumulate.

Regarding floor care equipment, he believes that in order to protect indoor air quality floors should be vacuumed instead of swept or dry mopped. The floor machines used should have passive filtration systems and shrouds that cover the base of the machine, so that dust and debris collected when cleaning does not become airborne.  Some hotels, particularly those in Europe, have switched to using cylindrical floor machines because these use less water and chemicals, which helps make them a greener alternative. 

Providing eco-friendly solutions in a different but equally important area of a hotel is Dubai based Al Fardan Trading, with its Grease Guardian product, an at source grease removal device that traps grease and removes it automatically. The company recently launched the D10 model from FM Environmental, which is ideal for covering large installations. All models of Grease Guardian are now approved and certified to EN 1825-1, and according to Tony Simpson, sales manager at Al Fardan, since launching their products onto the UAE market in 2005 they have experienced a boom in sales. “We have seen a rapid increase in business due to the environmental regulations imposed by local municipalities,” said Mr Simpson. Hoteliers will be aware of the authorities actively enforcing these standards and fining those with incorrect or dirty grease traps, and customers are being more responsible and proactive when it comes to waste management. They are also more aware of the consequences to the environment and the implications of ISO1400.

These grease removal devices are mainly used in hotels and shopping mall restaurants and kitchens, where grease, fats and oils cause pipe blockages, damage to wastewater equipment and reduce the efficiency of wastewater treatment processes. According to Mr Simpson, their product saves a hotel a lot of money in maintenance costs in the long term. “A large, five-star hotel with around 350 rooms would spend in the region of AED 70,000 (US $19,000) a year on cleaning their conventional grease traps,” he said. Some hotels employ a third party specialist to empty all their grease traps on a regular basis, but this can be costly. “With a Grease Guardian no pumping or emptying is required.”

The Madinat Jumeirah resort in Dubai installed these products in the Al Qasr Hotel as well as in restaurants within the complex including Pier Chic.

Finally, window cleaning is a massive part of all Middle Eastern hotels’ daily routine, and most of this work is contracted out. The Burj-Al-Arab’s answer to preventing bird muck from plopping onto its shimmering curved windows is probably the most environmentally friendly, simple and effective of all methods. Five days a week falcons from Dubai based falconer David Stead patrol the vicinity within the Jumeirah Group’s hotels, and shoo away pigeons planning to get comfortable on the hotel roofs. “The idea is not to catch or kill or pigeons, it is a preventative measure to stop them settling in,” said David, who also works his falcons at the Emirates Towers and Jebel Ali Hotel plus at other establishments.