JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 09 July 2014 – Servest, the leading international provider of integrated facilities management solutions, has been awarded the “soft” services contract for AngloAmerican Platinum Dishaba mine, situated outside Thabazimbi in the Limpopo Province. The project was awarded based on Servest’s experienced integrated facilities solutions approach and existing symbiotic relationship with Dishaba Mine, as well as two of the largest mining companies in South Africa – Anglo Platinum and Xstrata.  

Servest will offer three “soft” services grouped together as a single service offering including Cleaning Services (including a laundry service), Hygiene Services (Hygiene Equipment  and Deep Cleaning), Pest Control and Landscaping Services.    

“We are exceptionally pleased with this contract win as it forms a critical part of our strategy to achieve a mix of organic growth and opens a path to further develop our integrated facilities solution to an evolving industry. The Dishaba mine requires solutions to take care of their non-core business functions with a trusted partner that can provide a healthy systematic and aesthetically pleasing environment for the miners.” Says Dees Maharaj, National Sales & Marketing Director, Servest Cleaning.  

The bundled service on Dishaba mine is overseen by a comprehensive on-site management team, which consists of a Facilities Manager and the respective services’ management teams. “The Management structure at Xstrata is different to Dishaba, as there is no Facilities Manager employed, but a comprehensive management structure per service is employed. As such, each mine is site-and-job-specific and therefore requirements change according to the specifications,” says Maharaj.  

The facility services at Dishaba mine are overseen by a Facility Manager - a site specific 26.1 which is a supervisory appointment supervising all supplied services to the client. The Cleaning Services at Dishaba mine are overseen by a cleaning manager, a 2.9.2 appointment, who delivers daily reports on cleaning standards, as well as reporting maintenance issues to the management team, who are responsible for the management of the day-to-day cleaning activities.  

To ensure that all safety, health and environment (SHE) requirements are met, Servest has provided a comprehensive training programme for all staff members. “In fact, we have trained cleaners to become certified First Aiders, Fire Fighters, as well as SHE Representatives. Health and Safety is of paramount importance and Servest’s number one priority. Our approach is to partner with the mine, ensuring that daily planned job observations are completed and starting the day with a ‘toolbox talk’ – discussing any improvements and operational areas of concern, to ensure a clean and safe mining environment,” adds Maharaj.  

Servest utilises a roaming training team that trains staff on site on the latest cleaning methods and procedures. This ensures that staff is kept up to date on the latest advancements in cleaning techniques, chemicals and equipment. State of the art cleaning equipment, such as high pressure washers (and fully equipped laundries) as well as SABS approved chemicals, ensures that all cleaning is done in accordance with the mines’ requirements. Monthly swab testing is completed to boost compliance.  

There is a clear trend towards an integrated facilities management solution: “More clients recognise that by optimising the synergies between services, we are able to pass on significant cost savings to our clients – providing them with one point of contact for their facilities service, giving clients the opportunity to enjoy a complete service offering throughout the lifecycle of their asset. For example, we wash around 4,500 overalls and clean gumboots in a 24 hour period – where the dirty overalls are collected from the locker areas and are transported to the laundries by a team of Laundry Runners.”  

A strong business strategy within this sector is to understand the opportunity that is available through these integrated models and ensure an up-to-date understanding of the specifications. “What is critical is to increase quality and risk mitigation for an industry that has strict regulations to meet as this is crucial in developing a strong business strategy and ensuring a conducive, healthy working environment for the mine workers. We look forward to working with Dishaba Mine to do just this,” concludes Maharaj.  

About    

Servest is a leading service provider[Link to http://www.servest.com/] in the South African, African and UK Facilities Management sector offering Integrated Solutions, Cleaning, Hygiene including Pest Control, Landscape and Turf construction and maintenance. We offer Interior Solutions which include coffee, water dispensing units, event supplies, office furniture, recycling and waste management, synthetic turf, and related products. As well as Security, Parking, Marine services and transport, Catering and Camp Management.