Easier and more effective cleaning at Birkebo Nursing Home

"Vikan offered a very efficient cleaning system and it has been very well received by the housekeepers and the residents. It has been easier and quicker to clean using the Vikan system, and this is allowing more time to be spent on attending to the individual needs of the residents. We have also achieved considerable savings on water consumption, and have cut chemical usage by two-thirds, which is of benefit in respect of our environmental accountability."
Tom Weye, responsible for the cleaning at Birkebo.

About Birkebo Nursing Home

Birkebo was established as a private rest home in Elsinore, Denmark in 1973, and currently has 70 residents and 84 employees. Birkebo's value-based management involves both the residents and the employees in decision-making on factors affecting their everyday lives. Cleaning is managed in-house by a team of 'housekeepers', a term used to reinforce that Birkebo is a 'home from home' to the residents.

Challenge

In conjunction with an extensive rebuilding project, the management decided to upgrade their cleaning protocols.  The existing wet-mop system was time-consuming and causing physical strain to cleaning staff, as well as proving expensive due to the high volumes of water and detergent required. Birkebo were looking for an effective system that offered cost savings, was more environmentally friendly and altogether less arduous for the workforce.

Solution

The housekeepers thoroughly tested the Vikan system and, having achieved positive results, were fully behind Birkebo selecting the trolley based microfibre-cleaning system on the basis of cleaning quality, economics, ergonomics and the environment.

Each cleaning trolley can be equipped with accessories individually suited to each housekeeper, area of deployment or application. The ready-to-use tools and single work processes leave surfaces clean and dry in one pass to reduce slips and save time, while delivering high levels of cleaning performance. The Vikan range also offers a more ergonomic working method to safeguard operator health through tool design and by eliminating heavy water buckets; has lower levels of environmental impact due to reduced water demand and lower detergent use; and delivers a longer textile life.

Whilst Vikan's system is designed to be simple to use even by non-professional cleaning staff, Birkebo sent their housekeepers on the two-day training course offered by Vikan, as this would enable them to make optimal use of the trolley and its accessories.