ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

The German capital Berlin is to host the 2017 Congress of the World Federation of Building Service Contractors (WFBSC) this September, alongside the CMS professional cleaning trade exhibition. The congress is being hosted by the German contract cleaning association BIV.

The theme of the programme, which takes place from September 18-20, is Cleaning in the Digital World - Processes, People, Technology. The CMS exhibition then takes place from September 19-22.
Together with specialists from all over the world, congress participants will discuss which aspects of business activities will be impacted by digitalisation.

This includes what consequences digitalisation will have on service processes and performance; to what extent the importance of knowledge acquisition and the use of stored data will change; and how building service providers will be working together with their customers in the future.

Main topics include:

• Digital Strategies for Building Service Contractors
• Relationship Management with Customers, Staff and Stakeholders
• Effects of Disruptive Technologies
• Working Environment and Labour Law the age of Digitalisation
• Data Handling by Market Partners
• New Forms of Recruiting? Knowledge and Education through Digitalisation
• Digital Procurement Processes
• Consequences of Digitalisation on Service Processes and Performance
• Smart Buildings and their Impact on the Sector.

The congress will be opened by EU commissioner Günther Oettinger. The internet activist and former Wikileaks spokesman Daniel Domscheit-Berg will share his perspectives concerning the opportunities and risks involved in digital networking. Changing business strategies in the digital age will comprise part of his focus along with the challenges presented by internet platforms and the impact of the internet on facility management service related processes, management issues and general working conditions.

Exhibition visit

Thomas Dietrich will challenge participants from Germany and abroad to work together at the congress toward finding answers to the questions their various enterprises pose concerning digitalisation.

Congress delegates will then also visit the CMS professional cleaning exhibition, which opens on September 19. Special events during the show include the presentation of the CMS Purus Innovation Awards on the first day - see page 12 of this edition for news of the finalists. There are six categories: Large Machines, Small Machines, Equipment, Washroom Hygiene, Digital Tools and Systems, and Cleaning Products.

Visitors will be able to use the new CMS app to navigate their way around the show. Designed to be a source of information, exhibition guide and networking tool in a single package, the app boasts latest news about exhibitors, products, events, the trade fair site and much more besides.

A one-off download provides all information and organisers recommend visitors download the app before arriving at the show. It can be downloaded free of charge onto any iPhone, Android smartphone or tablet.

Another handy tool for visitors is the Virtual Market Place (VMP), an online catalogue complete with product and exhibitor search facilities. The VMP is available throughout the year at www.cms-berlin.com/VMP and enables trade visitors to get in touch with exhibitors and with other trade visitors. Just enter a free profile on the networking index and then wait to be found by other networkers. A contact form provides an easy way of arranging appointments with exhibitors and networkers.

Interesting entries can be stored on the fair planner and put together in preparation for an individual tour of the fair. A newsletter provides details about all the new features associated with the fair and about the exhibitors and products of particular interest to individual subscribers. Interactive plans of the halls help to locate the exhibitor, and an offline function is available for tablets and smartphones.

www.cms-berlin.de, www.wfbsc2017.berlin

• ECJ is a media partner for the WFBSC Congress and CMS. For news of two readers can win free tickets to the WFBSC congress, click here