Monthly Archives: December 2020
FELLOW of the Royal Society for Public Health
Personally, along with my colleagues in the BTA we pay tribute to one of this organisations founding members; as we congratulate Sue Cunningham on becoming a Fellow of the RSPH this year. Sue has been an ardent campaigner for woman’s rights and decent public provision for over 20 years and this fellowship must reflect and recognise her continuous fight for the maintaining of exemplorary stanards
“In May 2019, the Royal Society for Public Health published a comprehensive report revealing the dire state of our publicly available conveniences and the consequent impact on community health.
I have always admired the work carried out by the RSPH, and their dedication to the promotion and protection of collective human health and wellbeing.
As an Honorary Member of the BTA, I am delighted to have been elected Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, which entitles me to benefit from all the sources of information which they make available to their members. I feel sure this will enable me, with renewed vigour, to continue campaigning for improvements in the provision of well-designed, well-maintained, and hygienic public toilets”
Susan Cunningham FRSPH 18th December 2020
Hon Member of the BTA
The winners have been announced for the very first Technology & Marketing Awards, specifically for the cleaning, hygiene and facilities management sectors.
Organised by LaCerta, the awards were free to enter and were a chance for marketing & PR professionals, leaders, CEO’s or anyone working on exciting campaigns to showcase and share their success. A long line-up of high-profile judges from top companies, including Universal Pictures, Samsung, England Rugby and Nespresso helped select the winners after considering factors like overall strategy, communication and creativity
Influencer / Impact Award – Susan Cunningham – for her Public In-Conveniences guide and her exceptional contribution to improving toilet provision in the UK
***DOUBLE CONGRATULATIONS !***
UK guidelines have been updated and adopted into an international standard
In response to the pandemic, BSI worked quickly with a wide range of experts to produce a set of generic safe working recommendations.
These guidelines help organizations adjust the way they work during the pandemic to protect workers and the people they come into contact with.
International interest in what we’d produced has now led to the latest version forming the basis of an international standard. PD ISO/PAS 45005:2020 Occupational health and safety management — General guidelines for safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic supplies practical recommendations to organizations and workers on how to manage the risks.
The standard:
- Provides a single source of internationally agreed good practice and accurate advice based on current knowledge and lessons learned
- Provides practical examples and help with developing a rapid response plan
- Is suitable for organizations resuming operations, those that have been operational throughout the pandemic, and those that are starting operations
If you’re responsible for protecting workers during the pandemic, either as a business owner, manager, worker, or in an advisory capacity, please download a free copy of PD ISO/PAS 45005:2020 now.
For all general enquiries call +44 345 086 9001
or visit the BSI Group website
Our mailing address is:
BSI Standards
389 Chiswick High Road London,
W4 4AL United Kingdom
BTA receives welcome recognition with another major UK Award
The Special 2020 Edition BSI Standards Awards were created to recognize the individuals and organizations that have made great contributions to standards/standards guidance or have used a voluntary standard(s) in new/unprecedented ways specifically to support the UK’s response to the pandemic
NOMINATION:
British Toilet Association – Standards User Award
The pandemic was in danger of causing an unwanted increase in open defecation and urination because of the closure of many public toilets. The BTA developed guidance that contributed to the BSI guide on COVID 19 measures and responded to numerous calls from the media to provide solutions. Local authorities from all over the UK requested guidance on how their public toilets could be adapted to provide safe amenities that would help any residents who could not travel far without such facilities, and any visitors that needed toilets.
The BTA responded to this deluge of requests for help with calmness, consideration and authority, despite being a small organization with few staff. Without the input from the BTA many tourist centres and beauty spots would have been either completely closed or made unhygienic and unattractive by the actions of people who needed to “go” and had no suitable facilities. The BTA’s input to the BSI Flex 45005 Safe working during the COVID-19 pandemic – General guidelines for organizations was timely and helpful. The material will also be used in the upcoming revisions of BS 6465 Sanitary installations: Part 1 Code of practice for the design of sanitary facilities and scales of provision of sanitary and associated appliances and Part 4 Code of practice for the provision of public toilets, and may also contribute to a future ISO standard.
The BTA has consistently provided good input to the development of the BS 6465 suite of standards for over 20 years and has used British Standards to build its award schemes and guides. Its relationships with manufacturers, local authorities, user groups and researchers have helped it to provide well-grounded advice and comments during the development of various British Standards,; including on the provision of access for disabled people.
Standards User Award Winner
for supporting government and local authorities with advice and guidance about standards to ensure public toilets could remain open and safe for all users during the pandemic.
A digital LINK is being created and will be placed here shortly to allow all our members to view the actual Awards cerempny that was held VIRTUALLY this year due to Covid restrictions
