News

Associations Promote Workplace Safety

Eight School Districts Honored For IAQ

Can C. diff Be Cleaned Away?

Green Poll Stirs Interest and Controversy

Sign up to receive weekly news e-mails at www.cleanlink.com/misc/form.asp

Of Note...

Survey: Top Health and Safety Issues
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) announced the results of its biennial membership survey, projecting that permissible exposure limits, MSDS/GHS and nanotechnology are among the top public policy issues of concern over the next 2 years.

"...These regulatory and legislative issues have a key impact on the work that [front-line workers] perform," said AIHA President Lindsay E. Booher, CIH, CSP.

AIHA identified the following as the top public policy issues for 2009-2010:

• Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) Updating
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)/Globally Harmonized System (GHS)
• Nanotechnology
• OSHA - Specific Issues (combustible dust, ergonomics, IAQ, etc.)
• OSHA - General Issues (PELs, chemical labeling, injury/illness prevention, risk assessment, etc.)
• Federal/State Legislative Issues
• EPA Issues
• National/International Standards

According to Aaron Trippler, AIHA Director of Government Affairs, the results show a few interesting trends.

"The most interesting result from this survey is probably what did not appear as a top public policy issue," said Trippler. "The issue of emergency preparedness and response was previously one of the top issues. This latest survey did not find this issue anywhere near the top."

Click here to read details from this article.

Ask Your Peers...

Where in your facility have you incorporated microfiber and what benefits have you seen as a result of doing so?

• "We started using microfiber over 2 years ago to mop all our floors in our nursing home. We have found that they do a much better job of cleaning the floors than string mops. The only drawback that we noticed is that in the wintertime they do not work as well with all the salt and sand that is tracked in. We also exclusively use microfiber cloths for all our daily cleaning and noticed that they work so much better than rags. We use different colored cloths for different areas of the facility."
  -- Bruce Slaminski at Pine Crest Nursing Home in Merrill, Wis.

January Question:
What areas within the facility create the biggest cleaning challenges? I.e. Entrances, restrooms, carpets, hard floors, etc. Please explain.

E-mail Housekeeping Solutions your response and look for the results in the January issue of the HS Update.

Editors Note

Throughout the year, I have had the pleasure of delivering top news and industry trends to the in-house cleaning market. During that time, there have been some very pressing topics, some surprising statistics, success stories and even a few challenges. Briefly, I will break down some of the more memorable articles from the last 12 months.

Even early in 2008, MRSA was top-of-mind. Cleaning managers made it a goal to wrap their arms around this spreading bacteria in an effort to make sure their facility avoided an outbreak.

On the money end, many budgets experienced early cuts, forcing managers to prepare strategies that would reduce the threat of outsourcing. It also forced managers to reassess their purchasing options.

Maintaining a safe environment for employees and building occupants was also a focus throughout 2008.

As the push towards green continued all through the year, many managers looked beyond product implementation and focused their attention on waste and recycling.

Covering all these trends, the HS 2008 Reader Survey outlined the industry as a whole, breaking down budgets, purchasing and green.

These last 12 months have been exciting in terms of progress for the in-house cleaning industry and I look forward to what 2009 has in store.