The back pack vacuum's back
October 1st 2007

With today's models more lightweight and ergonomic than ever before, the back pack is making a comeback in cleaning, says Truvox's Peter Holt

Although back pack vacuums have never really gone away, according to Peter Holt,managing director of Truvox International, they are surging through into wider acceptance and general usage.

The raising of the minimum wage to £5.35 an hour from 1 October 2006 with a further increase to £5.52 effective from 1 October 2007, at a time when many cleaning contracts pay less than they did five years ago, is a powerful deterrent to adding headcount to the cleaning team. Australia, the home of the backpack, typically costs daily vacuuming at 12,000 –14,000ft2/hr, compared with 3,000 – 4,000 in the UK. Given that labour is reckoned to account for in excess of 90 per cent of the total cleaning costs, the demand to achieve more for less is the only way forward.

Boosting operator productivity is imperative and both contractors and direct labour providers have recognised that it is financially prudent to use back packs for general daily vacuuming tasks as well as precision cleaning where many uprights are too unwieldy.

Further benefits of back pack vacuums include their use in team cleaning programs. In team cleaning, a fourmember team is comprised of a light-duty specialist, a vacuum specialist, a restroom specialist and a utilities specialist.The vacuum specialist follows behind the light-duty specialist and vacuums high traffic areas as well as furniture and underneath office waste receptacles.

Backpacks can be worn comfortably and used more easily than a regular vacuum with wearability of back packs improving out of all recognition.Where cleaners used to instinctively shy away from using back packs finding them heavy and a strain, today's are lightweight and ergonomic. Models such as the Truvox Valet back pack are said to be comfortable to wear for an entire shift.

Enhancing the backpack's speed is the ability of workers to change tools on the spot as needed for the job, with vacuum specialists carrying appropriate attachments right on the hip belt. For example, the user might carry a plastic upholstery tool, a crevice attachment, and a dust brush for sills and ledges.

The backpack vacuum cleaner offers a way of significantly increasing productivity in daily office cleaning,with the added benefits of freedom of movement and an increased ability to clean overhead vents, ceiling fans and behind heavy furniture or under beds and other places that are usually hard to reach.

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