Hospital cleaning: effective and efficient with UNGER erGO! clean for the benefit of patients and employees

Hannover | 13.08.2019

INI, the International Neuroscience Institute® in Hanover, is in an impressive building clearly visible from afar. The architecture of the special clinic and research facility, which opened in 2000, abstractly reflects the contours of the human brain. Many open-brain operations are performed here. In addition, angiograms can be performed during neurosurgical procedures. This allows for a unique collaboration of a neurosurgeon together with an neuroradiologist when treating difficult tumours or vascular diseases in the brain.

Covering approx. 19,000 m² of floor space over eight floors, the hospital houses operating theatres and intensive care units, a neuroradiology department, patient rooms and care facilities, neurorehabilitation and technology, as well as offices for the chief consultants, conference areas, building services, administrative offices, reception, and a cafeteria. Equipped with state-of-the-art medical technology, the hospital has 6 operating theatres, 116 beds and 14 intensive care beds.

With a total of 12 employees, a team from procuratio GmbH ensures the clinic's full compliance with hygiene and cleaning regulations for the hospital sector. With 1,100 employees nationwide, procuratio is one of the ten largest service companies for hospitals, senior homes, and rehabilitation facilities. These health facilities are exposed to high hygiene risks. This is why they require professional cleaning according to a well-defined concept.

At INI, all but three of the procuratio employees are responsible for daily maintenance cleaning in all departments. The other three take special care of the cleanliness and hygiene in the operating theatres. Most of the work takes place in high-traffic areas like the lobby, cafeteria, and toilets, with stone, hardwood, carpet, and tile surfaces requiring regular cleaning. The hospital's entrance area alone is over 380 m².

It and everywhere else in the hospital must strictly adhere to the hospital's HACCP (hazard-analysis critical control point) hygiene concept as well as the regulations of the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). According to procuratio site manager Mario Bittner, extremely high standards are an absolute must. That's why every room is inspected after each cleaning. A room checklist defines the work required for the floors, corners, window sills, technology, radiators, showers, etc. Since the beginning of the year, the pre-cleaning and cleaning of the patient rooms has been carried out with Unger's erGO! clean floor cleaning system. The procuratio team has set its bar high. "At INI, the entire hospital staff embraces cleanliness and hygiene. Not just the cleaning staff," says Bittner.

Coffee stains are one of the most common issues, since coffee gets consumed at each station. There's also other small bits of litter, slush, salt, and other specks that need to be removed. The main challenges in daily cleaning are the numerous corners and edges, especially when cleaning with a machine.

Since early 2019, the cleaners at INI have been using the erGO! clean floor cleaning system from UNGER. They use the erGO! S-shaped telescopic handle with the matching erGO! mop heads. Two erGO! clean floor cleaning systems are even specially designated just for use in the operating theatres. Previously, they used a rigid mop system with a standard aluminium mop frame. Since the introduction of erGO! clean, the time spent each day for maintenance cleaning has been reduced and the employees are happy with the new equipment, so the site manager reports. One employee, who used to complain of shoulder pain after a few hours of work, has even experienced a great deal of relief. The special feel of the erGO! Clean is kinder on the joints. The team is especially convinced by its ergonomics, flexibility, and ease of handling. The almost futuristic design is also convincing. Since they started using UNGER's erGO! clean floor cleaning systems, the employees are more motivated and actually enjoy working with the devices.

DThe outstanding ergonomics of the UNGER erGO! clean floor cleaning system was awarded the ECN Ergonomics Award in the hand-held tools/products category in the spring of 2019. In granting the award to UNGER, ECN noted: "The UNGER erGo! clean floor cleaning system is an outstanding product from an ergonomic perspective. The erGO! clean floor cleaning system significantly reduces the effort to make the figure-eight motion used in cleaning floors. The mop can be operated without much effort and relieves the shoulders and wrists as well as the back thanks to the ergonomic grip areas. In addition, important work functions are also integrated."

In addition, the UNGER erGO! clean floor cleaning system has received many other awards worldwide. This includes the seal of approval from Aktion Gesunder Rücken (AGR) e.V., a campaign for healthier backs made up of physicians, therapists, and occupational health care professionals. The UNGER ergo! clean performed excellently in AGR's tests and was the only one awarded. Other accolades include the INCLEAN Innovation Award from the jury of the ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo in Sydney and the ISSA Innovation Award in the supplies and accessories category in Dallas. A study of the ergonomic properties of various floor cleaning systems done by the University of Siegen also gave top marks to the erGO! clean floor cleaning system.

The independent consulting and training company sarikohn certified that the Unger erGo! clean offers significant time advantages over systems with double or single push buckets. This is due to the perfect pairing of quick set-up and the system's ergonomic properties. Users are significantly faster, more productive, and more efficient, increasing the area they cover by up to 76%. According to the report, this results in an extra 34.5 minutes in an eight-hour work day for other jobs to enhance the quality of the cleaning job.

When it was first introduced at INI, an explanation of and training in the use of the system proved helpful. Some intuitively how to handle it right away. After a four-week introduction to its use, it has become second nature. No one wanted the erGO! clean devices to be returned. "The UNGER erGo! clean floor cleaning system is something you have to experience for yourself. Over the long term, we have only had positive results with it! It promotes motivation and mood and helps protect employees," summarises Bittner. His final verdict: Excellent!