Hygiene Group - The Interview
The specialist cleaning and hygiene experts
Created in the early 1980s, the privately owned Hygiene Group is now acknowledged as the UK's leading provider of specialist cleaning and hygiene services to the food and pharmaceutical manufacturing and processing industries. Hygiene Group also provides its flexible, cost effective, high calibre services to its food, drink and pharmaceutical clients' warehousing and logistics operations, which has led it to broaden its client base into other industry sectors where companies want to outsource this crucial area of their operations.
 Today, Hygiene Group operates through a nationwide network of regional centres on 24-hour standby, geared to its clients' cleaning and hygiene needs. The growing list of customers includes other manufacturers, distribution operations, retailers and third party logistics providers. Hygiene Group Managing Director Steve Bailey spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.
Warehouse & Logistics News - This interview is part of our Hygiene feature. In the warehouse and logistics area, what do you see as the biggest cleaning and hygiene challenges? What should companies do to improve their cleaning and hygiene performance?
We see the top priorities being maintaining a clean and safe environment for staff and product, particularly where there is a constant 24/7 operational cycle with heavy personnel, vehicle and forklift truck movement.
WLN - Under UK law, what are the statutory requirements for hygiene and cleanliness in the warehouse and logistics operations?
The normal Food Hygiene regulations cover this area, but good practice is to apply specific regimes such as pallet pulling (a programme of removing all lower level pallets, from the pallet bays), under rack cleaning, based on the known likelihood of pest risk, daily floor cleaning regimes, and the regular inspection and cleaning of forklifts and HGV vehicles to minimize the risks of physical and micro contamination to products.
BRC Global Standards Storage and Distribution Issue 1 Aug 2006 is the accepted standard applied. Additionally, the Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 must be complied with, especially relating to safe access and egress of personnel to work areas and safe operation of all cleaning and maintenance tasks.
WLN - When was the Hygiene Group formed, and by whom?
I set the company up with the late Roger Bradbury in 1983. Our backgrounds were from sales, cleaning and pest control. Armed with this knowledge, we recognised the need for a specialist service provider that could deliver specific cleaning regimes to the food industry. Almost 25 years later, the Hygiene Group continues to fulfil these requirements.
WLN - In a few words, how do you sum up the Hygiene Group proposition?
We provide Bio Security for our customers, covering all aspects of cleaning and maintenance, based on our unique specialist food sector knowledge and firmly focused upon their individual requirements.
 WLN - How do your charges compare with other cleaning service providers?
HG offers a competitive cost package based on fixed price strategies, utilising effective staff motivation, training, state of the art technology and systems.
WLN - Where are you based?
HG's Business HQ is located centrally at Kings Norton in Birmingham. We have regional operations throughout the UK, including Slough, Leicester, Thetford, Manchester, Bromborough, Carlisle, Leeds, Teeside and Glasgow. HG currently employs over 800 full time staff.
WLN - How many live customers do you have in the UK, and what is your turnover? How fast is it growing?
HG has a prime base of 55 blue chip clients in the UK. We carry out one-off and programmed work for a further 150 customers. Our annual turnover is now £17.2m, which has doubled over the past ten years.
WLN - How big do you think the UK market is for outsourced specialist cleaning and hygiene services like yours? Again, how fast is it growing? What's driving it?
Discounting operations carried out by in-house teams, the current market for outsourcing this type of service in the UK is in the region of £150m. If in-house operations are included, the total value is more in the region of £500m. The growth of HG over the past ten years reflects the growth of the sector, driven predominantly by cost cutting initiatives from the major retailers, and also by the streamlining of client structures to concentrate on core manufacturing and distribution activities.
WLN - Do you conduct any business outside the UK?
Hygiene Group has carried out specialist work for customers in Germany, Holland and Northern and Southern Ireland. We are currently working with two customers to evaluate the potential for establishing an operational base in Dublin. This is an integral part of the business and an extension of the UK network, retaining our brand identity.
WLN - How would you sum up your day-to-day role as MD?
I view my role as MD in a very hands-on way, working in close contact with my management team in all areas of the business.
 WLN - For people who don't know Hygiene Group, can you talk us through the different elements of your service portfolio?
HG offers a wide range of services covering all aspects of cleaning and ancillary services to our sector. These include food production equipment cleaning, high level cleaning, confined space cleaning, window cleaning under our Reach & Wash brand, environmental site service cleaning, amenity cleaning, kitchen cleaning, office cleaning, pest control, grounds maintenance, laundry services management, security, training and consumable supply, through our dedicated Stores business.
WLN - You mentioned the Reach & Wash window cleaning service. How does that differ from other window cleaning services?
This technique enables us to clean hard surfaces, including windows, up to sixty feet high with our feet firmly on the ground. It works by using pure de-ionised water, which acts like a magnet, pulling dirt, algae and stubborn contaminants clear of any surface.
WLN - Do you offer security as a stand-alone service? What security functions would this cover?
HG's security operation is designed to complement an existing service contract and draw on the existing site management structures as an added value service. A typical service package would include static guarding, reception, key holding, patrols, contractor management and fire duties.
WLN - Concentrating on cleaning and hygiene, what size companies outsource these areas of their operations to you?
We service organisations with typically up to 10 UK process or manufacturing sites, each operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Alternatively, we might provide a service to a privately owned, single site, niche manufacturer.
WLN - Can you name some of your customers?
Included in the HG portfolio are Cadbury, Carlsberg, Walkers Snacks, Geest, United Biscuits, Co-op Retail Logistics, Morrisons and NestlŽ General Mills.
WLN - To show how your service works, can you talk us through what you do for a typical food client, like United Biscuits?
We carry out a full range of activities across eight manufacturing sites at United Biscuits ranging from machinery cleaning to grounds maintenance. HG has provided UB with standard documentation, systems, working procedures and KPI measurement.
We have a library of published case studies relating to different services carried out for specific clients, accessible through our website at www.hygiene.co.uk.
WLN - Whose cleaning chemicals do you use? Do you develop your cleaning technologies in house?
HG has developed partnerships with all four of the leading chemical suppliers to the sector in the UK, Johnson Diversey, Holchem, Ecolab and RP Adam. HG has introduced groundbreaking innovations in our industry, including the use of cryogenic cleaning systems, FaST foam floor scrubbing, low volume steam, reach and wash window cleaning, which are all now in day to day use with our clients.
WLN - Do you supply cleaning chemicals or other consumables as a stand-alone service?
Yes. Hygiene Stores (UK) is a wholly owned subsidiary of HG, which provides a complete range of equipment and chemicals, specifically for the food and pharmaceutical sectors. While supplying HG and many of their clients, Stores (UK) also has a rapidly expanding client base in both the food and non-food areas.
WLN - What cleaning and hygiene services do you offer specifically for warehouses and loading bays?
For our logistics customers such as Co-op Retail Logistics (CRL), HG offers a bespoke service designed specifically for their 24/7 operations. This includes round the clock floor scrubbing using heavy duty gas powered ride-on machines, risk-based under racking pallet removal and cleaning, spillage control, re-pack service, waste management, pest control liaison, amenity and office cleaning programs, barrier painting, site external and power wash under loading docks.
WLN - Do you help companies clean up in hygiene-related crises, for example after major spillages or 'bio' outbreaks such as foot and mouth or bird flu?
HG has six regionally based, specialist "mobile outside teams." They operate from fully equipped vans, available to carry out emergency works including product spillage, flood and environmental issues, and act as a rapid response unit either to support our on site crews or assist the client's own resource. The recent flooding in Yorkshire saw these teams fully deployed in assisting two clients back to full production in the shortest possible time, minimising downtime and financial loss.
WLN - How much capacity have you got to take on more non-food or pharmaceutical clients?
We have the capacity to service new work for both. The key to expansion is our ability to provide high calibre managers identified and developed through our own Hygiene Academy, supported by our Service, Business Development and Technical Teams.
WLN - Can a company start working with you using just one service and go on from there, adding more?
The contract can be tailored to specific requirements - many of our clients began their relationship with HG by having high level cleaning carried out and then extending the service as the relationship developed.
WLN - Presumably it makes a difference if the client embraces hygiene and cleaning best practice as well. Do you provide training for companies' hygiene staff and managers?
Yes, we actively encourage our clients to view HG as an integral part of the site structure. We can offer expertise and practical advice. HG can deliver specific training relating to the Food Safety Passport, EIOH courses, pest awareness, manual handling both to our own staff and to the client, as an added value service.
 WLN - Do you offer any IT tools to support customers and help them manage their use of your services effectively? What size of customers are these IT tools designed for?
HG offers several IT tools, generally geared towards larger operations. Our Technical team has developed electronic audit systems and scheduling programs such as Maximiser and Controlpoint and pioneered Datapoint, a revolutionary internet-based data storage portal, all of which are available to our clients.
WLN - Larger companies, such as retailers, increasingly expect suppliers to have independent quality accreditations. What industry accreditations do you have, and what standards do you work to?
HG is accredited to the ISO 9000:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 standards and recognised by Investor in People, Safe Contractor and British Pest Control Association (BPCA.)
WLN - Are you members of any industry bodies? Are you involved in setting industry standards in hygiene and cleaning services?
HG is an active member of the Society of Food Hygiene Technology. We are also members of the Security Industry Association.
WLN - How important is safety in your operations - do you use ladders and hydraulic platforms?
Safety is paramount in our business: every task is risk assessed, a method statement created specifically for that task and all staff are trained and certified against the procedure.
Ladders are rarely used above 2m in normal operations, HG having invested heavily in a variety of hydraulic platforms and booms to access high-level areas safely. Areas not accessible by platform are cleaned by the rope access team, utilising abseiling and mountaineering technology. Window cleaning is carried out by the Reach and Wash method, which uses a system of lightweight poles at ground level.
WLN - Do you see pressures increasing to balance the environmental impact of cleaning versus customers' hygiene and cleaning targets? Do you advise clients on how to be more 'green' in this area?
A current initiative is evaluating an environmentally friendly base for our chemicals, processed entirely from sustainable corn plants. First trials are encouraging, and we are working with UB in this area with a view to extending the trial. HG advises clients on waste initiatives such as segregation of materials such as cardboard, plastic, paper and metal, both from the cost recovery perspective and also reducing landfill volumes.
WLN - Have you won any awards?
Yes, in 2006 HG were the recipients of two prestigious industry awards: Hygienic Performer of the Year at the Food Processing Awards, won jointly with our customer Carlsberg, and also the Company of the Year award, presented by the Society of Food Hygiene Technology.
WLN - Finally, where do you see Hygiene Group going from here?
We see HG further developing its success in the coming years, through its specific industry expertise and reputation, and addressing the need for our clients to manufacture product under increasing pressure from their retail customers. Our ability to provide a cost effective service package, individually tailored to requirement, delivered by trained and motivated workforce and supported by proven process and practice - endorsed by bodies such as the BRC - provides the platform for our growth.
We are currently investing in new equipment, staff training and the development of new technologies and skills to back up our ten year plan to match the current turnover in areas allied to the food sector. Industries such as ingredient supply, packaging manufacture, transport and storage, which demand the same levels of specialist service provision, have become an area of huge focus for the Hygiene Group.
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For further information about this company's activities in the warehouse and logistics industry please contact:
Hygiene Group
Tel: 0121 451 3211
www.hygiene.co.uk |
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