ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

In Italy, the first Facility Management Masterclass - organised by two industry associations - took place recently. ECJ correspondent Anna Garbagna reports.

The first Facility Management Masterclass promoted by ANIP (the National Association of Cleaning and Integrated Services Companies of Confindustria) and Afidamp Servizi was held recently within the workshops of Forum Pulire.

Giulio Sapelli, economist and historian, highlighted how the integrated services sector has an entrepreneurial spirit focused on the future of the national economy for two reasons: for its work within the sphere of the ‘care of the person’ (cleaning, safety and support) which will be increasingly relevant, and for being ‘labour intensive’, ensuring increasing occupational levels where technological progress will be a key support for human work without replacing it.

This was the first participation by Andrea Granelli who recalled the extraordinary modernity of Adriano Olivetti, for whom technological progress has always been at the service of workers.
The concept that the value of a company is determined by human capital and its cultural riches as much as profit is a concept that had already strongly emerged during the Pulire Forum last March.

We are living in an historical time in which it is necessary to give identity to a sector of extreme importance which is destined to grow, comprising facility management entrepreneurs, manufacturers and distributors of solutions for professional cleaning. This identity starts firstly from a cultural prospective which is based on giving value to the human capital which is a vital component of this sector.

The partnership between Afidamp and ANIP fits exactly within the wider project of building an identity which can be immediately identifiable by the general public.

The first significant affirmation of this new concept will be during Pulire 2015 in Verona this May. With such extensive objectives, management training will have vital relevance.

Professor Sapelli stressed that “training for a manager and even more so for a businessman, is more important when it helps him to have broader vision to be put into the service of his own company - difference between collective benefit and personal gratification.

Giulio Sapelli described the macro-economic context and the geo-strategic scenarios and some dynamics linked to them. Italy is among the three main manufacturers of machines, products and equipment for the professional cleaning industry, together with Germany and the USA. This leading position is due to innovation which has always characterised the production and the quality of ‘Made in Italy’ in terms of cleaning efficiency and service levels.

“Be the future – suggested Sapelli and Granelli – make yourselves recognised for being focused on new solutions which are increasingly functional and able to solve the more diverse requirements of cleanliness and hygiene. Don’t be afraid to openly state that you work in cleaning as in this there is the strength of those who anticipate and manage the future of a service which is taken for granted but should not be. Tell your story and give dignity to all the workers who are part of it”.