Corps Security/ISS/Fresh Start Waste Services/Fellowes/Imtech
A news round-up of stories in the FM sector
Imtech has won a £2 million contract from Sir Robert McAlpine to deliver mechanical and electrical services at the new Barn Theatres at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust in West Keighley, Yorkshire. The building at Airedale’s General Hospital will house two state-of-the-art barn-style theatres, a small procedures suite, main entrance, and outpatient waiting area. The new premises will enable more operations to take place at Airedale Hospital, reducing the number of patients that have to attend other facilities and overnight stays. The project will provide new facilities for orthopaedic and ophthalmology procedures. Imtech is coordinating the installation, testing and commissioning of all mechanical and electrical services, including an extension to the existing primary infrastructure to serve the new unit.
AMCS, a technology provider for the waste, recycling and resource management industry, has announced the AMCS Platform Summer Release 2021, which accelerates the digital transformation of user and customer self-serve experiences, as well as increases the automation of transport management. This Summer Release creates a new Platform user experience across the Customer Care module, with the user interface designed around the daily needs and tasks of a customer service representative. The result is an intuitive and dynamic user experience designed for ease of use and to maximise productivity by providing quick access to the most important critical and frequently used functionality. The new “Easy to Order - Easy to Pay” e-commerce portal also displays a more natural user experience, where shoppers can avail themselves of a shopping cart and one-click payment features to stimulate multiple and repeat purchases. The AMCS Transport Management System has been extended to provide coverage for one trip scheduled services such as skip and roll-off work. This will allow planners to benefit from the full suite of automated planning, integrated resource management and live monitoring tools, to help manage this dynamic service area.
North-west waste and recycling collector Fresh Start Waste Services has invested in weighing technology on all collection vehicles to minimise the environmental impact of their business waste collection service. By identifying heavier bins, conversations with customers to increase segregation of heavier items such as food and glass for recycling can be had. This approach leads to a more environmentally friendly waste strategy across the region. All Fresh Start collection vehicles have been fitted with a weighing system to weigh each bin collected. As per industry standard, all Fresh Start customers agree to a standard weight allowance for their bins. Anything over this is charged by weight. The weighing systems installed on the vehicles include GPS controllers and an onboard computer. The computer system means the weighing equipment communicates with the driver and GPS navigation system. It allows the driver to view a route plan and report any irregularities with photos should there be any issues with the collections.
Corps Security has partnered with tech company MoonHub to deliver virtual reality training to its security officers at two key London sites. More than 70 officers at BNP Paribas and the Royal Opera House will undertake the immersive and interactive training on topics including patrolling, managing protests, dealing with suspect packages or aggressive people and being aware of potential hostile reconnaissance. Ten modules are currently available and more are being planned. Officers wear VR headsets to complete a module which lasts two to three minutes. Because it simulates the officer’s exact experience of an incident on the site in which they work, training has proved to be four times faster when using VR compared with traditional training methods – with knowledge retention rates of up to 75 per cent compared with 10 percent in standard training. MoonHub is undertaking 360-degree filming of the Royal Opera House and BNP Paribas and the training will launch in mid-August. Each officer will complete up to 10 modules over the course of a year to maintain their skills and knowledge.
As part of its roadmap to get players, staff and fans back into its facilities, Doncaster Rovers Football Club has partnered with healthy workspace specialist Fellowes to install AeraMax Pro commercial-grade air purification units at the Keepmoat Stadium and its Elite Performance Centre. Understanding the role of building ventilation and purification to improve occupant health and wellbeing has become more important than ever following studies from Harvard and Syracuse Universities, which concluded that the quality of workspace air can be directly linked to employee productivity. Moreover, the recent Covid-19 virus has further increased awareness of how air purification can make a huge difference in the battle against airborne viruses, enabling the fostering of healthier environments and helping to reduce the transmission of microbiological contaminants between people.
ISS Healthcare has commissioned a project that will take a scientific and behavioural approach to healthcare cleaning. ISS worked closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement in the development of the recently published National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness 2021. In support of the standards, the healthcare strategy is based on using science to validate the cleaning process, which will in turn build confidence throughout the NHS, support shorter patient stays, and provide a safe clinical environment to help save lives beyond the pandemic. Collette Sweeney, ISS head of healthcare cleaning, said: “The application of cleaning science and the impact of behaviour is intrinsically linked to environmental infection control. The purpose of the project is to use science to determine the efficacy and appropriateness of the healthcare cleaning process to deliver evidence-based safe systems of cleaning.”