Our time to shine

September does not just mean back to school, but also back to life without the Olympics and Paralympics. Whilst the sporting events have to come to an end, the legacy of the games is an on-going project and that’s where the cleaning and FM industries have a key part to play.

The London 2012 games showcased not only the best sports stars but also a sparkling delivery of contemporary sports venues and vital infrastructure services. We can say with confidence that we were involved in this Olympian triumph.

Multi-facility construction projects at the Olympic park and village are landmark FM projects and thousands of staff across the cleaning and waste management sector were a critical element in making London 2012 a success.  These industries played an important role in making sure venues were ready for spectators, visitors had a positive experience, and athletes were able to focus on their most important job – going for gold.

Cleaning, FM and waste management tend not to hit the headlines in national newspapers unless something goes wrong or a strike is taking place, but there were some good examples of positive reporting in the run up to, during and after the Olympics.  “Olympic site clean-up completed” was a headline in the Guardian, which included reference to a waste water recycling plant within the Olympic stadium.

‘Good News Britain: Balfour Beatty builds bridges for London Olympics legacy’ was the headline in the Daily Telegraph Finance section, where Ian Tyler of Balfour Beatty gave his opinion on Olympic FM projects, including a highly positive statement about construction work in the UK: “I believe the Park will stand for decades to come as a ‘world trade fair’ of British design and construction skills – our ability to produce unforgettable, unique structures on time and on budget.”

Street cleaning stepped up a gear over the Olympic period. For example, in Weymouth and Portland, a popular destination for summer visitors, a regional paper reported that the council had extended its operating hours for cleaning and litter picking and additional vehicles and bins were deployed during games time to cope with the additional influx of visitors. Additional on-street recycling bins were installed in Weymouth town centre whilst The Live Site and Sports Arena was fitted with 18 sets of recycling and waste stations to collect plastic bottles, cans and paper.

We were involved in promoting important Olympic related projects. For example, we secured media coverage for a case study about gold medal standard cleaning for the British Olympic team who used the Royal Commonwealth Pool as a training camp. The pool will host the diving when the Commonwealth Games come to Scotland in 2014 – and after going to great lengths to find the right supplier, Edinburgh Leisure found the perfect partner in Truvox International.

Another client, PHS Washrooms compiled a contingency plan in an effort to minimise disruption to washroom servicing needs during the Games. Its aim was to continue to provide a consistent service level to Olympic venues being serviced and to customers across the county during what was a very challenging period.

For all countries and, historically, civilisations, the Olympic Games represent the height of individual and team success and we witnessed many new records being achieved. Efforts are increasingly made to mirror that ‘on field’ sporting success with the ‘off field’ glory of positive change for the environment and communities – a lasting legacy.

Moving forwards let’s hope there is further investment in upgrading current facilities and building new ones. Projects like the Places People Play delivered by Sport England aim to transform the places where people play sport, making the benefits of London 2012 visible in cities, towns and villages across the country. The project plans to upgrade up to a thousand local sports clubs and facilities; invest in a number of iconic multi-sport facilities that set the standards for future facilities development and protect and improve hundreds of playing fields across the country. These facilities will carry the London 2012 Inspire mark, a permanent celebration of their role in the legacy of the games.

So how do we live up to the challenge of making sure the cleaning and FM industries are involved in that lasting legacy of positive change and receive the recognition they so richly deserve?

Companies must share their success stories. You may be the best manufacturer or service provider with the broadest product range and most comprehensive customer service in the country, but if you don’t tell anyone, no-one will know! Make sure your voice is heard. It’s your time to shine.

Published in Tomorrow’s Cleaning – September 2012 @TomoCleaning       http://bit.ly/PhH6jZ