Cleaning teams raise their output

High-level cleaning doesn’t have to be expensive, disruptive or neglected, says James White of Denis Rawlins Ltd, who outlines an alternative method that puts simple, proven technology in the hands of the routine cleaning team.

Maintaining cleanliness is a challenge in an industrial environment – and all the more so when cleaning interferes with the smooth running of production processes.

Apart from maintenance of the machinery or equipment involved in production, one of the most disruptive activities tends to be high-level cleaning. Inside or out, this usually entails access platforms, scaffolding and often specialist contractors. On top of the additional cost – whether it’s a routine or scheduled ‘deep’ clean – is the risk of working at height.

Of course, failing to clean high-level areas – such as sills and the surfaces above ducts and girders in warehouses or factories – poses risks too, to employees and the business. Indoor air quality is an important factor in workplace welfare, while airborne dust can compromise food hygiene. Indeed, exposure to flour dust is the most common cause of workers’ asthma, according to the Health & Safety Executive, which recently launched a programme of unannounced inspections of food processors.

So the question is how to integrate these hard-to-reach areas into the cleaning regime while minimising cost, risk and disruption.

The ideal answer – at least until someone perfects a hi-tech vacuuming drone – is to put simpler, proven technologies in the hands of the in-house cleaning team or your general contractor. Such an approach ends reliance on external specialists, reduces costs and allows high-level cleaning to be incorporated within the routine cleaning regime.

This is perfectly practicable with SpaceVac, a system using super-lightweight yet strong carbon-fibre poles and incorporating wireless video.

With their feet planted safely on the ground, just about any operative can vacuum indoor structures up to 11 metres high. Working externally, this system is effective up to heights of 16 metres.

SpaceVac is compatible with most vacuum systems, and it does not require special strength or skill, and only minimal training.

Vacuuming is as effective as at floor level as there is no loss of suction. The SpaceVac user can check the progress of cleaning on live, high-quality video thanks to the system’s in-built wireless camera. A recording can also be viewed later by supervisors or the client.

SpaceVac comes with a variety of tools and cleaning heads, which are manufactured in one piece from 100% carbon fibre for maximum strength and minimum weight.

Compliant with Health & Safety Executive guidance, SpaceVac is also safer in industrial environments where there is a risk of combustion. The range includes the world’s only ATEX certified high-level cleaning system. SpaceVac is the only system of its kind to be certified as safe for ATEX use in explosive atmospheres and hazardous environments.

This superior high-reach system boasts another innovation – called S.A.F.E.R. This stands for Safe And Fast Easy Release – a locking system that ensures the components of SpaceVac’s cleaning systems cannot separate during operation, even at full 16-metre extension. It is standard on all poles, heads and brushes, internal, external and ATEX.

Designed and engineered in Northampton, SpaceVac is highly flexible due to its wide array of brushes and accessories. From gutter cleaning heads and specialist outdoor tools, to a specially designed selection of indoor brushes, the system has a solution for the most awkward cleaning challenges.

Typical cleaning tasks for SpaceVac include pipes, beams and fixtures inside factories, warehouses and other large industrial and commercial buildings.

Crucially, SpaceVac is as cost-effective as it’s simple, putting this high-level cleaning system well within the reach of most cleaning budgets. At the same time, it gives cleaning managers the option to take control, and keep this, more challenging aspect of cleaning firmly within the in-house routine cleaning regime.

So the cleaning team can raise its own output – working safely around and above workers and machinery – without compromising theirs.

Published In Industrial Plant & Equipment – Mar/Apr 2018