Bidvest Noonan

A leading provider of facilities services and solutions

Expertise

60 Seconds with Jason Dwane

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Jason Dwane, Business Development Manager, has kindly participated in our 60-Second interview series, sharing some personal insights and valuable advice below.

How would you define what you do at Bidvest Noonan?
My role as Business Development Manager is to support our clients and build solutions to meet their soft services requirements.

What has been your best day at Bidvest Noonan?
I have had many great days in the last 8 years at Bidvest Noonan but my stand out one has to be my last day as Operations Manager before I moved into the role of Business Development Manager. We had a ‘meet the CEO’ day for our team and this gave us a chance to reflect on the last couple of years together. I felt very proud about everything we accomplished together over the years and how we had grown and developed as a team. Most of all, I was proud of how close everyone had become. I couldn’t have asked for a better team, they were the driving force behind our success.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
‘Never ask somebody to do something you are not willing to do yourself’. This is a piece of advice I have always stood by and passed on to my teams.

How do you motivate yourself and your team?
I always set small and big goals for my personal life and career. I always take on challenges to better myself. This has always been the same with teams I have been part of. Setting goals will always keep you on track and motivated. 

Who or what has inspired you the most?
I have had a lot of people in my career and personal life who inspire me but most of all my young family. My main goal in life is to set good examples and be a good role model to my children. I want them to grow up being proud of their dad. They are what inspires me every day.

If you had a motto, what would it be?
Success is best when shared. I love this motto as success is always best when you have accomplished with others.

How technology is changing the cleaning industry for the better – Mairead Stapleton

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The cleaning industry is constantly evolving due to technological advances. These advances are making a difference in the way we clean, the way we work, and the way we interact with our customers. Business Development Director for Bidvest Noonan’s Workplace Solutions Business Unit, Mairead Stapleton, shares just a few of the ways that technology is changing the cleaning industry for the better:

Improvements for People

Technological advances are delivering improvements for people in the industry. With new innovations, we can now clean smarter and faster than ever before. For example, advancements in cobotics and artificial intelligence are helping us to reduce monotony and labour in cleaning tasks.  This, in turn, means that people can be redeployed to other tasks or areas where they are needed most.

The latest cleaning equipment is designed to be lighter and easier to use, which makes the job of cleaning much less physically demanding. This is especially beneficial for cleaners who have to work long hours.

At Bidvest Noonan, we invest in the best equipment and technologies the industry has to offer to support our teams.

More Effective Results

Cleaning is becoming more effective thanks to innovation. Cleaning products have come a long way in recent years, and they are now more successful at removing dirt, grime, and bacteria. This means that cleaners can finish the job faster, and more efficiently.

Cleaning machinery has also undergone a number of improvements in recent years, thanks to advances in technology. The latest generation of machines are much more powerful than older models, and they often come with a number of features that make them more effective at cleaning.

At Bidvest Noonan, we take every opportunity to leverage our unique capabilities and resources to deliver innovative and highly effective cleaning solutions for our customers.

Sustainability

The excess use of water, energy, and chemicals to clean is a major contributor to the global carbon footprint. One way that technology has improved the cleaning industry is by making us more sustainable. 

New ground-breaking machinery that uses less water and energy has a significantly reduced impact on the environment. These machines help achieve faster turnaround times while maintaining the highest standards.

The use of green chemicals to clean is becoming more prevalent. These products are less hazardous and use less packaging. This helps reduce pollution and waste.

We at Bidvest Noonan believe successful companies should lead the way in sustainable and ethical behaviour. We are taking big steps to deliver a greener and more sustainable world. Read our environmental report here

Data-Led Results

Technological advancements have also paved way for data driven solutions. Highly-advanced systems allow cleaning teams to track the progress of their cleaning projects and deploy resources to where they are most needed using sensor technology. These same systems can be used by customers for their own building management insights and space management benefits. This technology can ultimately help cleaning businesses be more efficient, improve quality, and save costs for customers.

At Bidvest Noonan, we equip our teams with the best technologies to enable them to achieve higher levels of productivity and increase safety and sustainability. Learn more here

Susan Howard has been promoted to Operations Director for Healthcare

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Bidvest Noonan has strengthened its Irish senior management team with the recent promotion of Susan Howard to Operations Director for Healthcare.

Susan, who joined the firm in 2003, has deep expertise and knowledge of the healthcare sector and will enhance the service and value delivered to clients. In her new role, Susan takes ownership of Bidvest Noonan’s national healthcare portfolio in Ireland, covering both cleaning and security services.

Speaking on her promotion, Susan said: “I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to lead our healthcare operations for our business in Ireland. I look forward to building on the platform the business has created in recent years and ensuring we have the expertise available to support all of our clients.”

Managing Director, Anthony Harman commented: “I am delighted that Susan has took up the role as Operations Director for our healthcare division. The need for a clean and safe environment in the healthcare sector is more important than ever before, and I have no doubt Susan is the right person to lead both our cleaning and security teams. With an experienced team around her and long-standing relationships with clients across Ireland, I have no doubt her tenure will be a success.”

The appointment follows Bidvest Noonan’s ongoing investment in its healthcare operations. Last year, the organisation appointed Emma Power as its Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) Specialist to further develop its subject matter expertise in the sector.

The Importance of Training in the Healthcare Sector

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We caught up with Brigid Ryan, Operations Manager for the Healthcare sector. Brigid shares her career journey and her perspective on how Bidvest Noonan has been so successful in the sector.

How did you get started in the industry?

I started working at Bidvest Noonan in 1999 as a Mobile Area Manager. Prior to joining Bidvest Noonan, I had worked as a Healthcare Professional and I was able to use this experience to progress to the role of Operations Manager in our Healthcare Division. My first contract was at one of Cork’s busiest hospitals, and now as Operations Manager, it remains one of my key accounts to this day. It grew from there, and I have had many other healthcare partnerships since.

What sets us apart in the industry?

We were one of the first companies to introduce rigorous site auditing. I remember explaining the concept to our clients at the time. It was basically a way to provide evidence of the quality of our service and to provide a history of consistent quality of service.  Many standard practices that the industry takes for granted now were innovations that we were the first to introduce.

What is unique to working in healthcare?

I believe it is the nature of the working environment and the level of training and IPC knowledge required to perform our work in a healthcare facility. Our people are working in very challenging environments surrounded by vulnerable patients, busy staff, and visitors. Our teams have constant interaction with people while working and this can be both rewarding and challenging. Our work plays a key role in breaking the chain of infection in a healthcare environment. That is why our people must complete a wide range of infection, prevention, and control training to ensure a safe, clean environment for patients, staff, and visitors.

Is Infection Prevention and Control important to the sector?

It is hugely important, and I believe we have extensive expertise in this area. Our Healthcare Division now has an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) nurse specialist on the team. Through this investment, we have been able to expand our IPC expertise and continue to improve the service we provide. We have been able to further support our site-based teams by empowering them with the knowledge to ensure that Infection Prevention and Control is at the heart of our cleaning activities on site.

Photo of Bidvest Noonan Cleaning operative in an hospital

From Security Officer to Director of Operations

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When he unexpectedly received an offer to study Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Nick O Connor’s heart was set on becoming a chemist. When his student grant ran out, he got a weekend job in security to support his living expenses. The career in science never panned out and Nick found himself putting more hours in at his weekend job. His path in the security industry led him to Bidvest Noonan as a Site Manager. Almost 30 years have passed since he started in the industry, and he is now Director of Operations at the company.

‘We earned this respect’
Nick credits a large part of his success to treating everyone as equals: “When I talk to my team at Bidvest Noonan, I always encourage them to be supportive of each other and try to approach everything from an empathetic perspective.”

When he began his career, he remembers that security was largely focused on stopping theft and customer service was secondary. Nick marvels at how far the industry has come. “When I started out, I felt there was very little respect for security guards, but now, we’ve earned this respect and industry licencing has certainly helped this. At Bidvest Noonan, our teams are trained in everything from first aid, suicide awareness and dealing with a wide range of challenges. The intention is to support our clients in building lasting relationships with their customers.” We have developed a fantastic, motivated and high-achieving team of people supporting tens of millions of shopping experiences annually.

Photo of Nick O Connor holding a trophy

His first role with Bidvest Noonan was as a security manager at a large shopping centre in Dublin. Although the early part of his career was focussed solely on security, as the service offerings expanded several clients wanted one point of contact overseeing all their services and Nick was asked to oversee them. He recollects, “We would start a contract with one service line and try to operate as best-in-class in that area. All of a sudden, we were providing multiple services, so I took that as a sign that we were doing a good job!”

From then, it was a natural progression. Over the next few years, larger contracts would come under his remit. “With time, some of the larger sites would fall under my domain and a few others in retail also came under my management. Today, I oversee all of the larger retail contracts within our retail portfolio in Ireland across multiple service offerings.” Nick has helped to shape and benefited from Bidvest Noonan’s vision: “The vision that the company follows today was one that I grew with, became fully involved in and got to engage with. I try to get my team involved in it as well. At this stage, we are strong leaders in what we do because we are pursuing a clear vision and have strong values.”

‘The sky is the limit’
Although a lot has changed for him over the years, Nick says, “Even when I started out, my thought process was ‘You should compare yourself to the best and not the worst’. I want to be the best, and I want my team to be the best. Now, as an Operations Director, my primary aim is to make sure that my team is the best. And that’s exactly what customers are looking for.”

Having come from humble beginnings, Nick has managed to build an exceptional career. He explains, “If you’ve got the right attitude, the sky is the limit. That has been my experience with Bidvest Noonan. If you put time and effort into it, there’s no mountain you cannot climb. I’m at a position where I’m happy with what I’m doing. But it hasn’t happened by accident, and it didn’t happen overnight either. Anyone who knows me knows that I put the effort in.”

Helping UCC deliver on its sustainability goals

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We caught up with Katarzyna Sroka, Bidvest Noonan’s Site Manager at University College Cork (UCC), to learn about the environmental initiatives being rolled out on-site, and how we are helping UCC deliver on its sustainability goals.

What does your role at UCC entail? 

My role as site manager involves managing the delivery of a high-standard cleaning service across the campus, ensuring a safe and clean environment for all the students, staff, and visitors to UCC. I also work with the Bidvest Noonan team to bring significant changes to our environmental performance on campus and find solutions that will deliver even better value for our client.

I liaise daily with my site supervisory team and the UCC head of departments to coordinate our services on site. We work in partnership with UCC and support all initiatives and activities on campus. 

Can you share some of the initiatives that you and the Bidvest Noonan team have rolled out since taking up the cleaning service at UCC?

At Bidvest Noonan, we are always looking to reduce the impact our services have on the environment. This ranges from improving how we manage waste to minimising our carbon footprint. 

We have introduced a chemical-free cleaning system that converts tap water into a highly effective cleaning agent. This system has made a significant and positive impact since we first brought it on-site in the Rahilly Building. It has made our cleaning process a lot more efficient across campus

We have moved to a greener fleet. Our vehicles on campus are hybrid and electric, reducing our tailpipe emissions and the impact on the environment.

Taking the lead from the UCC Green Campus Forum, we have also introduced regular awareness talks for our people on sustainability. Topics include car engine idling and the impact on air pollution.

We have invested in the best cleaning equipment the industry has to offer. For us, that means equipment that achieves excellent cleaning results while reducing our environmental impact. Our flat mopping floor cleaning system and i-Mop Floor Cleaning Machines all reduce the level of water usage by our teams on campus. 

We also support the university with its sustainability goals. UCC has rolled out a Paperless Office Project campus-wide by the Procurement and General services team. We are proud to help UCC with this project by adopting a paperless approach.

How have the UCC community of students and staff taken to the changes?

We are delighted to constantly receive positive feedback from staff and students. A clean and safe environment is one conducive to learning. We want to ensure students feel comfortable on campus at UCC.

We also received recognition for our sustainability initiatives on campus from the stakeholders on the Green Campus Forum at UCC. Positive feedback like this spurs our team to innovate further.

Have you any other environmental initiatives planned for UCC?

Part of our vision here at Bidvest Noonan is to be so valuable to our customers’ business. This means helping them achieve their strategic objectives, some of which are around sustainability and environmental initiatives. The Bidvest Noonan team is committed to taking all the necessary steps to help UCC achieve its environmental goals.

We have already made a significant impact, but our on-site team is always looking to improve. Our next big project is to identify initiatives that will help reduce our carbon footprint on campus.

What do you like most about your role with Bidvest Noonan at UCC?

No two days are the same and delighted to work with such a fantastic team. We are delighted to see the changes we are making are helping UCC and its sustainability goals. We feel like we are making a real difference on campus for students and faculty and having a positive impact on the planet.