The weather was picture perfect for the Building Service Contractors Association of Australia (BSCAA) New South Wales division’s AGM luncheon, which was held at ECCO Waterfront Restaurant in Drummoyne (Sydney) on 26 June. More than 60 members and suppliers attended for a two-course lunch and to hear three guest speakers – Laika Hussein from
Proclaim, Bridget Gardner from Fresh Green Clean and Joe Taylor from Staples Australia.
Filling in for absent vice president Jamie Halfhide, Terry Corby gave an opening address announcing himself as the newly appointed NSW president, having just stepped down from the national presidency, which has been passed onto George Stamas of BSCAA Victoria. He welcomed all that attended with a special mention and condolences to the passing of industry icon, Gerry Goldberg.
Hussein, a qualified lawyer that previously practiced for the director of Public Prosecutions, has been at Proclaim since 2007 and currently manages a portfolio of liability claims across industry sectors. She focused on how to best manage liability claims, how to reduce cleaners’ claims and the costs involved.
The lessons learned from her presentation were to report the incident as soon as possible as this can result in prompt investigation and reduce claims costs; that apologising doesn’t admit liability and that open dialogue between the clients – both cleaning contractor and building owner – is important.
Bridget Gardner introduced her Green SASH program as a separate not-for-profit company, that will set industry benchmarks for green cleaning via self-evaluation tools and a certification program for buildings being cleaned to high standards of safety, sustainability and hygiene.
Green SASH offers promotions, certification, knowledge, support and connections with three levels of entry points for 1. cleaning service providers, 2. for client/managers of cleaning services, and 3. for all stakeholders in partnership.
The last presentation was given by Joe Taylor, head of the facilities solutions division within Staples Australia covering the cleaning, janitorial and safety categories. Taylor spoke about the industry trends in procurement contracts and large businesses and how that relates to the cleaning market and supply of janitorial.
Taylor focused specifically on how product is managed, how it’s bought and supplied, how much time and effort is spent sourcing and time wasted with inventory – and how Staples is offering a convenient solution.
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