LEISURE & HOSPITALITY


Hosting the Olympic Games is a challenge for any city, and this year’s event is no exception. The press has been filled with reports that Rio de Janeiro is not prepared for the event and that the city is ill-equipped to cope with the half million extra people expected to pour in.


Brazil’s current economic crisis has only heightened the alarm. But commentators remain hopeful that everything will be all right on the night and that the games will eventually play out without any major hitches.


But such an influx of spectators is bound to present challenges. For example, they will all need to be accommodated and fed, and on a more basic level, they will also need toilet facilities. Many will flock to the washrooms between sporting events, perhaps stopping off on their way back to pick up a hot dog or a burger.


In any environment where people are crowded together in an enclosed space there is a risk that viruses and infections will spread. This risk is compounded where people are eating snacks and sandwiches with their hands – particularly if they have not practised good hand hygiene.


Washrooms at major outdoor events are notorious for their poor standards. SCA quizzed 1,000 people about stadium washrooms a few years ago and discovered that 75% of people were generally unhappy with the cleanliness of the toilets at large events.


Around 27% of the people we questioned said they avoided using stadium washrooms at peak times, with 44% of respondents shunning them altogether while many deliberately avoided drinking at such occasions.


These figures cause alarm bells to ring on several levels. Where people are opting to stay away from congested toilets they are also unlikely to be washing their hands. By refusing drinks they are running the risk of dehydration, particularly in Rio where the average August temperatures tend to be in the mid to high twenties.


www.tomorrowsfm.com


In cash-strapped Brazil, selling drinks to half a million sports fans could spell lucrative business for the locals. So any refusal to partake will have a detrimental effect on concession sales. Other problems lie in store for people who do choose to use dirty or ill-equipped stadium washrooms. Where hand washing supplies are inadequate, visitors could pick up a bug that would spoil their visit and leave them with a bad impression of the country. This could have a knock-on effect on tourism, which would be counter-productive in a struggling economy.


With bar profits, the health of guests and the image of the country to consider, stadium organisers have a strong incentive to ensure that their toilets are efficiently run with plentiful supplies of soap, toilet tissue and hand towels.


All washroom systems should be easy-to-use and accessible to all. In high-traffic washrooms where budgets are tight, dispensers should be designed to help control consumption and reduce costs in use.


Soaps should be supplied in long- lasting systems to prevent any halt in supply during busy periods. Tork foam soaps, for example, come in cartridges that hold 2,500 doses, more than double the number in a liquid soap dispenser of the same size. The dispenser has been designed to be easy-to-use for everyone.


In busy washrooms where air dryers are used, queues tend to form and this may tempt impatient people to leave without drying their hands. Damp hands provide an ideal environment for bacteria to multiply, so any failure to dry the hands properly could compromise hygiene – not only for the person concerned but for anyone with whom he or she shakes hands or shares a snack.


Paper towels provide a quick and easy method of drying the hands while the friction that arises from rubbing the hands on the towel helps to physically remove any bacteria left behind after washing. A long- lasting paper towel system will prevent the risk of towels running


out between maintenance checks during busy periods: the Tork Matic Hand Towel Roll dispenser, for example, holds sufficient towels for up to 1,400 hand dries. It also gives out only one towel at a time, which helps to reduce consumption while also offering hygiene advantages since each visitor only touches the towel they use.


It is also important that the toilet paper is kept constantly replenished in a busy washroom. Jumbo rolls provide a long-lasting supply but it can be hard to predict how quickly these will be used up since long lengths of paper can be pulled out from the dispenser at a time. A toilet tissue system such as the Tork SmartOne helps to prevent supply shortages since the dispenser naturally limits the amount of paper each user takes out. Besides reducing toilet tissue consumption by up to 40%, this also reduces the risk of toilet blockages and “out-of- action” cubicles.


Washroom maintenance can be logistically difficult to achieve in a stadium where bottlenecks may occur and where staff need to get past the queuing guests in order to check on paper and soap supplies. A system such as the Tork EasyCube can help enormously in this type of situation.


Tork EasyCube allows janitorial staff to use their smartphone or tablet to check on refill levels in Tork “connected” washroom dispensers. Operatives can then head straight to the washroom or cubicle where supplies are running out and replenish them on the spot. This can save a great deal of time while also reducing the risk of dispensers being left empty for long periods.


Visiting a stadium washroom is all part of the experience when attending a sporting event. Organisers of the Rio Olympics will hopefully take on board the fact that better-equipped washrooms will not only enhance their guests’ experience, they could also have a major impact on profits.


www.sca.com/uk TOMORROW’S FM | 39


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64