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ISSA Introduces CIMS and CITS

ISSA CIMS & CITS
Operating and training standards for the janitorial industry
    
    The janitorial industry has long been viewed as being fractured,  with no standards and highly varied training regimes that led to varying degrees of success.
      The International Sanitary and Supply Association (ISSA), is providing an answer to these concerns.  The ISSA has instituted the CIMS program (Cleaning Industry Management Standards), and the CITS programs (Cleaning Industry Training Standards).

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Going to extremes

ARE WE MAKING OURSELVES SICK or are we being hygienic?

This is a good question and one that will illicit any number of answers.  In this age of MRSA, C Diff. and any number of antibiotic resistant bacteria, one wonders if we are going too far down the hygienic road.

I played in the dirt as a kid, it didn’t kill me and yes, god forbid, I even ate an apple without washing it first.    The human body has evolved in a natural environment, are we divorcing it from this environment to too great an extreme?  We want to work in a sterile environment with no odours, hygienic soap dispensers everywhere, and disinfected desks.  We want sterilized phones, cups, tissue and chairs.  We go to the doctor and get a vaccine for everything from the flu to it seems anything else, some of the vaccines or pills with worse side effects than the malady that they are to protect us from.  
 
Let us be careful how we proceed in the future, how far we go down the sterile road.

Cleanliness, of course, common sense protection from disease, of course, but beware of excessive and improper use of disinfectants and sterilization.  Lest some day in the not so distant future we find ourselves gasping our last breaths after venturing outside on a warm , sunny, spring day only to find that the sweet smell of a cherry blossom does us in like the invading Aliens in  War of the Worlds.  Go outside and play in the dirt, it won’t kill you.  Just don’t eat the yellow snow.

Communication is a wonderful thing

We have all been there in one situation or another, we’ve hired a service to perform jobs for us and they just don’t get it right.   It’s simple, isn’t it, we told them to clean the house or make the yard nice?  Why isn’t it done the way you want it done?  Simple answer is both yourself and the contractor did not communicate.  You thought clean the house included dusting those cobwebs beneath the bed, or from the chandelier.   The contractor believed you understand that those items are not included in standard cleaning duties.    The problem lies in our assuming too much and not wanting to appear demanding.  
    What can lead to a win/win relationship are honesty and a willingness to pay for what you want.  Isn’t it logical then to sit down and carefully craft a list of duties that you expect and will pay for , and which the contractor can professionally and happily provide for the agreed upon price.
    Agreed this is not rocket science, however, it is the root of most dissatisfied client/contractor relationships.  Take the time to clearly and in a detailed fashion, list what you want done.  Be prepared to pay a reasonable fee for these services, (the old adage that you get what you paid for is still true) and then find a professional contractor. You will enjoy a long lasting and mutually beneficial relationship. 

Hand Hygiene IMPORTANT

Washroom Solution; The Real Problem to Improving Hand Hygiene?
Posted by Deborah Gobey

We are all aware that the HSE states that an employer has to provide “adequate toilet and washing facilities for employees”, but is your washroom provision as good as you think?

Studies show that people do not wash their hands frequently or adequately enough; the average person washes their hands for around 9 seconds and only 16% wash their hands at the recommended time periods.

Indeed, separate washroom studies from around the world show that only 78% of people wash their hands at all which means that 1 in every 5 is walking around with unwashed hands.

So, whilst you have provided a washroom solution, is this really the problem?

 

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