Total FM
| Raising standards in vending |
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| Written by Janette Gledhill, Director, Automatic Vending Association (AVA), 2008 | |
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Janette Gledhill of the Automatic Vending Association (AVA) reports on an industry that is not only looking to care for its customers and staff but also the planet.
The Automatic Vending Association (AVA) is an integrated body and represents all sectors of the refreshment vending industry in the UK and Ireland. The tick of vending qualityAn important function of the AVA logo, otherwise known as the 'tick of quality', is to certify that the displaying company holds a current accreditation to the AVA Quality System. Any company that fails to maintain the AVA Quality System is liable to expulsion from the Association and obviously loses the right to display the logo. AVA is proud that the Quality System sets AVA members apart from others and is building on this distinction through the AVA Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme for route operators. Unique to the AVA, a vending CPD programme like the AVA Quality System offers an industry-recognised set of standards against which individuals can be judged. CPD has three levels and holders of each level are clearly identified by their CPD badges. Good-quality cleaning ensures good-quality productsDeveloped in association with the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC), the CPD programme ensures that operators not only know how to keep their machines clean but understand the science behind why good-quality cleaning ensures good-quality products. Bronze operators will have all the skills necessary to ensure that the machines they operate are filled and cleaned to the highest standard. Silver operators go that bit further and have developed their general vending and product knowledge. Gold operators are just that: the very best there is. They use their skills and knowledge to help drive continuous industry improvement. Qualification must be renewed every three years and in order to maintain their CPD accreditation, candidates must gain sufficient CPD points each year to demonstrate that they are continuing to add to their skill set and ensuring that they are up to speed with current knowledge. Government-backed R&DAVA have been involved in two separate three-year studies at UWIC looking at the best way to clean both the cold and hot sides of vending machines; the validated cleaning procedures produced and used as part of the AVA Quality System are based on that work. These studies have been conducted as part of Department of Trade and Industry supported Knowledge Transfers Partnerships but the main investment has come from the vending industry. The desire for continuous improvement is also evident in environmental issues and reducing impact on the planet is as much a concern for those working in refreshment vending as it is for facilities managers. Operator companies and machine and commodity suppliers work together within the AVA to address issues such as energy reduction, packaging reduction etc. New uses for old cupsVending has been addressing environmental issues since 1990 and has benefited from the services of a dedicated recycling company, SaveaCup. The role of this company, which is owned and run by the vending industry, has traditionally been to reclaim and find durable new uses for used plastic vending cups. Some 10 million drinks from vending machines are enjoyed by consumers each year. About 80 per cent of those drinks are enjoyed in the workplace thus it is no surprise that SaveaCup focuses its reuse products on items that can be used at work. The use of a SaveaCup pen or pencil acts as a great reminder to ensure that the used cup is put into the cup collector ready for its second life. SaveaCup is now building on its experience in plastics to start new ventures. With the increase in the use of paper cups within vending machines, SaveaCup, working with the vending industry, is starting to provide a collection and recycling programme for paper cups. Pilot projects are also in hand to collect and recycle coffee sachets. The vending industry has more recently established a recycling company, Category 10 Collective (c10c), which provides a great way of fulfilling the producer's legal requirement under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive to collect and recycle end-of-life vending machines. The company is so named because vending machines comprise the 10th category of products covered by the WEEE Directive. AVEX - International Vending and Water ExhibitionAVA is keen to spread the word about vending. Every other year the members stage an international exhibition. The next AVEX will be held on 10-11 June 2009 in Hall 1 at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. This exhibition is being run in conjunction with the European Point of Use Drinking Water Association, further enhancing the already vast range of machines, products and operated services on display. Free tickets and full information can be obtained from the dedicated website www.avex2009.co.uk All the elements of the Association's work and all the best the industry has to offer will be on display at AVEX 2009 so make sure you are there too. Janette Gledhill is Director of the Automatic Vending Association (AVA). Please visit www.ava-vending.co.uk |
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