Tag Archives: FM services

Blog post: Take some advice from an expert

by Sean Canty, Director, CAM Specialist Support

Whatever views you held during the ‘Brexit’ referendum, perhaps the most surprising aspect was people’s willingness to heed the advice ‘not to listen to experts’. It’s a phenomena apparently equally at home in Donald Trump’s quest for the presidency of the United States.

It’s a pretty frightening turn of events. Taken in the context of whether or not to leave the European Union the advice sounds a little on the implausible side, but in other contexts it is downright dangerous. Experts, whatever their field, become so through years of studying and experience, and what they think shouldn’t be taken lightly.

The internet has done many wonderful things, information can now be shared widely and we no longer have to rely on monopoly media outlets for our news. However, the old adage ‘don’t believe everything you read’ remains as true as ever when you don’t know who is publishing it or why. We continue to need reliable, independent experts across a variety of subjects who can help us ‘sort the wheat from the chaff’.

In our industry for instance not everyone understands what working at height encompasses and they often don’t appreciate the risks of even a seemingly mundane task. Anything that means taking a step off the ground, or where there’s a danger of falling, is a work at height task and should only be undertaken by a competent person with the right equipment.

We are experts at cleaning at height and conducting maintenance at height and provide FM services in London and the surrounding areas – we have industry-recognised training, years of experience and a variety of specialist equipment to take on any task whether just above head height or multiple stories up in inaccessible locations.

We conduct individual risk assessments for every job and don’t just rely on generic forms. Anything less would be dangerous for our operatives and the general public, which isn’t a risk worth taking.

So please, whatever your political persuasion, don’t forget they’re called experts for a reason, and you ignore them at your peril!

Blog post: London’s legacy

The Rio Olympics are now but a memory and we hope they will be remembered for more positive reasons than the issues clouding their run up, the reactions of some disappointed coaches and false allegations of a street robbery. These, together with political upheaval in Brazil, the Zika virus, pollution, Russian doping scandals, and the like, are far from the Olympic ideal.

At least the people of Great Britain have some bragging rights, our Olympians having achieved the distinction of coming second in the medal table. Well done to all who took part and especially those who returned with medals. You’ve certainly done us proud!

It’s easy to forget the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics when all sorts of catastrophes were predicted, but luckily there was nothing on the scale that faced the Rio organisers. There was bound to have been a lot of pressure having the eyes of the world upon you, but the end result in London was nothing short of spectacular. Not just success on track and field, but a real coming together as a city and a nation.

It was a great time to be in London, the sun seemed to be shining every day and everyone seemed to have a smile on their face – even people who don’t like sport were caught up in the mood.

It was a proud time for CAM as a company too, playing our part in keeping London’s buildings clean and well maintained. The dedication and training we’ve put in to learning our craft and achieving excellence may not see us rewarded with gold medals, but CAM’s expertise in high level cleaning and maintenance means a lot of happy customers which is as good as a medal to us.

CAM’s rope access teams and water-fed pole operatives are surely using similar skills to some of the Olympic stars, maybe sailing and pole vaulting? Maybe we should have an Olympics for FM services where people can show off their talents. I know it’s a winter sport, but all that sweeping and floor polishing cleaning operatives do would surely help with curling!

Anyway, getting back to the matter at hand, let’s hope that now the Rio games have ended, they will be remembered for the carnival not the chaos and the people of Rio can be as proud as those from London at how the world viewed their great city.

Blog post: Mixing the old and the new

The mix of the traditional and the modern is one of the things that makes London such a great place to live, work and visit. Walk down an unfamiliar street and you just don’t know what will be waiting around the corner; will it be an ancient church or a vibrant new office block? And will it be the same next time you go around? The City of London Corporation reports that over 50% of buildings have been redeveloped since 1997.

When you work in commercial building maintenance, including high level cleaning, like we do, you really get to experience the rich tapestry that makes up London. One site we work on is just by St. Paul’s Cathedral. So we’ll be at the top of a modern, largely glass, office block and can see not only the Cathedral, but the Millennium footbridge and Tate Modern, as well as the Tower of London and a host of City offices like the ‘Cheesegrater’ and ‘Walkie Talkie’ beyond.

This melting pot is captured brilliantly by the City of London’s livery companies. They bring together the very traditional – think gowns and ceremonial halls – with modern business to give people the opportunity network with professionals from across their industry and to get involved in socially responsible initiatives, such as supporting education.

There are 110 such livery companies. Here at CAM, a number of us are Freemen or Liverymen of the Worshipful Company of Environmental Cleaners. In fact, my colleague Matt and I recently organised an event for potential new members so that they could find out more about what being a member of the Worshipful Company really means. In summary, members can network and socialise with over 200 people at work in the cleaning industry whilst also engaging in charitable and community activities.

At CAM, we’re passionate about the cleaning industry, and about attracting bright, ambitious people to join it. We believe the Worshipful Company is highly relevant, combining the traditions and mystique of The City with the changing needs of a major 21st Century Industry. It exists “to encourage and foster the craft of Environmental Cleaning and kindred occupations by means of professional and social intercourse and the mutual exchange of information between those concerned with the craft and those occupations.”

We think that, like London itself, the livery company’s mix of old and new is the recipe for success.