Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th July 2024 Issue no. 1124
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BREAKING: The Manchester Cleaning Show will not go ahead this month. Stand by for new dates and information as we get it. NEW DATES: 15th-16th September 2020.
Clean Buildings Expo, Baltimore, USA, postponed.
JUST ANNOUNCED: The Canadian Sustainability Conference and Expo due to be held 7-8th April in Toronto, has been cancelled.
Here's an interesting thought... supply chains.
I don't know how it's been where you live, but in several countries, we've seen the impact the human factor can have on what had previously functioned as a perfectly decent supply chain. There hasn't been a sudden population increase yet supermarket shelves have been stripped bare in many cases, by people panic buying in the fear that Coronavirus containment measures will soon have us in lockdown and we won't be physically able to go out and buy what we need. Spanner in the works doesn't begin to describe it, does it?
The virus has presented our industry with opportunities but with these have come challenges. There's a far greater demand for more frequent and more thorough cleaning. To meet that demand, companies require more cleaners and these cleaners should really be trained before they even start the job (as opposed to being trained by colleagues on the job) as otherwise the outcome could be catastrophic. So, more trainers too. In recent weeks I've seen cleaning companies large and small and in many parts of the world, trying to recruit staff to cover the workload. Whether there's been sufficient response is anyone's guess. Will we see cleaners' wages rise as firms try and tempt people away from a rival, I wonder - and will contractors be able to negotiate better deals as their clients finally realise how crucial a good clean actually is?
And what about cleaning disposables... the extra chemicals needed because a more thorough job is demanded (I've seen calls for stronger chemicals, rather than the 'greener' versions, too). Are these readily available and will the manufacturers be able to supply if huge numbers of their workforce, and/or delivery drivers, go off sick? It's not just chemicals, either. Greater numbers of cloths and mops and the like will be required too, as the need to avoid cross-contamination becomes ever greater.
I don't know how widespread this is, but I've read reports of hand gels and toilet tissue being stolen from hospitals and other public facilities. How are we going to keep replacing these and who's going to pay for them?
And what will happen when cleaners find themselves having to 'self-isolate', or are unable to get to work because there's no transport, since those who provide it are also unwell or are having to self-isolate? Who's then going to do the cleaning (if of course, there's anything to clean with)?
Supply chains... Intact or in trouble?
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Yours,
12th March 2020