Bidvest Noonan

A leading provider of facilities services and solutions

Expertise

Building great security teams in the Life Sciences Sector

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Bidvest Noonan supports many of the best-known and most important companies in the life sciences sector. Our clients include companies who produce many of the world’s most important and ground-breaking medicines and biotechnologies. We provide a wide range of services to our customers.

We spoke with Niall Bennis to understand how he prepares his security teams to support our customers in the life sciences sector.

Tell us about your journey and role in security.

I have over 15 years of experience in Security Management. Having worked in several sectors and engaged with diverse customers, I have acquired a vast knowledge of the security industry. I am very passionate about security and customer experience.

At Bidvest Noonan, I am responsible for Security Operations. My primary focus is on supporting the Life Sciences customers of our integrated solutions business unit. My job is to ensure the delivery of the operational plan at all levels, including training and development, talent and performance management, and recruitment and selection. My role is to build strong teams and put the right processes and technologies in place to deliver outstanding results for our customers.

What makes a good security team for the life sciences sector?

I believe that communication is critical to any team. As security teams are also ambassadors of customers’ brands, a good security team needs to be friendly and approachable while remaining assertive and confident at all times. They need to be passionate about security and have developed expertise in the field. A good team will be able to problem-solve and know when to escalate issues. They will support each other and know when to look for support. Good security teams earn our customers’ trust by demonstrating high performance and professionalism at all times.

How do you ensure your teams are prepared to deliver great service to our Life Sciences customers?

We work tirelessly with our teams to ensure they are delivering the best possible outcomes and experience for our customers. We put the right people in the right role to ensure they can be successful. We invest in strong management and subject matter expertise to support our teams.

We deliver bespoke training to our teams through a wide range of platforms to ensure that they are confident and competent in delivering a quality service to the sector. We identify, coach, and reward team members who go above and beyond their daily duties. We are visible and pride ourselves on building close relationships with our customers.

Our vision is to be so important to our customers, so valuable to their business, and provide experiences so good, we are always their partner of choice. What part of our vision resonates with you the most? Why?

Our vision in full resonates with me. The security service we provide makes us an integral part of their business, and we strive to add value through innovation and dedicated teams who always go the extra mile for our customers. We build strong relationships with our customers to always provide the best customer experience. We get this feedback through our engagement with our customers. It’s about trust and transparency.

Cleaning and Disinfection: The need to do both

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Tessa Rossi, GMP Microbiologist at Bidvest Noonan, discusses the new Annex 1 revision, the EU guidance document for the manufacture of sterile medicinal products, and what this means for sanitisation in the pharmaceutical sector.

Cleaning and disinfection achieve two distinctly different objectives. Each plays a crucial role in ensuring that a facility and its equipment are ready to be used for pharmaceutical manufacturing.

In light of the new Annex 1 revision, it has become apparent that there is a paradigm shift forcing cleaning and disinfection to be considered as two clearly separate, distinct tasks and that both these aspects have to be incorporated into the contamination control strategy.

Cleaning refers to the removal of all dirt, soil, and residues (non-viable particulates) from a surface. Detergents are used to clean surfaces. Disinfection specifically refers to killing any microorganisms (viable particulates) that are present on the surface. Disinfectants are used to accomplish this but do not necessarily employ cleaning as part of its mode of action.

Aside from the regulatory requirement to separate these two tasks and to include both as part of an effective sanitisation regime, it is also imperative to ensure effective contamination control. Non-viable particulates, such as soil, can often harbor microorganism within it. In addition to this risk, any dirt, debris, dust, and other non-viable particulates all pose a risk to the product itself, with both viable and non-viable contaminants required to be kept within defined cleanroom parameters.

Effective cleaning also primes surfaces and equipment for disinfection, as disinfectants become less effective if surface contaminants are present. Disinfection, in turn, if effective, eliminates viable (microbial) contaminants that could pose a risk to product safety.

An effective sanitation procedure in pharmaceutical facilities should include the following steps, combining both cleaning and disinfection as part of the process:

  1. Removal of larger debris and particulates
  2. Surface rinse
  3. Cleaning with detergent
  4. Post cleaning rinse
  5. Disinfection
  6. Post disinfection rinse (if applicable)
  7. Validation

Unite for Safety: Wash your Hands

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Part of our vision is to be so important to our clients. Our teams in the healthcare sector play a crucial role in maintaining a clean, safe environment for patients and visitors. Our people understand their role in lowering HCAI rates and keeping everyone safe.

To mark World Hand Hygiene Day 2022, IPC Nurse Specialist, Emma Power, discusses the importance of hand hygiene etiquette and how teams across our healthcare sites are doing their part to ‘Unite for Safety: Wash your Hands’

“Part of my role as IPC Nurse Specialist for Bidvest Noonan is to ensure our cleaning and security teams across our acute and non-acute healthcare sites receive up-to-date, evidence-based, training to equip them with the skills needed to comply with Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) standards. These skills are important and a requirement to work in a healthcare facility as laid out by The Health Protection and Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

Healthcare Acquired Infections (HCAIs) are infections acquired by patients during their stay in hospital. One easy, effective way of preventing HCAIs is by implementing and maintaining Hand Hygiene measures to keep those around us, particularly vulnerable patients, safe.

The World Health Organisations ‘5 Moments of Hand Hygiene’ were developed to guide practice and ensure hand hygiene is performed at the right moments to prevent harm. I help ensure this advice is adhered to across our sites to prevent and control infection.

We engage with our teams through continuous assessments, toolbox talks, and on-site education, so they are performing hand hygiene with the right technique, right product, and at the right time. Our managers, trainers, and supervisors on-site constantly emphasise the importance of hand hygiene and ensure the participation of all staff in creating and maintaining a safe environment in which to work or be treated.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of our education programmes and practices are reflected through audits conducted both internally by Bidvest Noonan and externally by hospital IPC teams. Audit results are fed back to our teams on-site showing compliance levels and highlighting areas for improvement.

Hand hygiene is the cornerstone of good care. As a nurse, I have seen the devastating consequences on patients in hospitals from just one missed moment of Hand Hygiene etiquette from when cross-contamination occurs, to when infection sets in. Hand Hygiene has never been easier. The availability of alcohol-based hand gels and foams has made hand cleaning easily accessible at the point of care. They are quicker to use, skin-friendly, and more efficient at killing the majority of microorganisms which can cause infection. Soap and water when needed are also more readily accessible throughout facilities, giving our staff choice and opportunity to perform Hand Hygiene effectively. The excuse of not having enough time, or not being able to find a sink for preventing staff from washing their hands, is no longer valid or acceptable.

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of Hand Hygiene, and how it can prevent the spread of infection and save lives around the world. It emphasised the responsibility we all have, to keep each other safe. As we learn to live with Covid-19, we must use its teachings to embed a culture of effective hand hygiene in our practice every day. By understanding its importance and making it a part of our culture we will achieve long-lasting compliance across all our teams.

The safety of patients is paramount, and the effects of poor or ineffective hand hygiene must be at the forefront of our minds every time we walk into one of our healthcare facilities.

Vision in Action Series – Kieran Fitzgerald

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Earlier this year, we launched our vision. This new vision sets out our ambition for the future. Our vision is to be so important to our customers, so valuable to their business, and provide experiences so good, we are always their partner of choice.

As part of our new Vision in Action Series, we are asking people from around our business what part of the vision stands out to them and their team the most. First up is Kieran Fitzgerald. Kieran is a Strategic Account Lead and has been a colleague at Bidvest Noonan for 6 years. He leads a very large team at one of the largest pharmaceutical facilities in Ireland.

“The part of our vision that resonates most with me is ‘being so important to our customers’. The work we do on this site is of the highest importance. We are critical to the continued operation of the site. Our client pushes the boundaries of medicine and technology to treat life-threatening and devastating conditions all around the world. Their aim is to make life better for people living with these conditions. My team and I play a big role in supporting this goal.

We work together to support our client by ensuring production facilities are contamination-free so they can continue delivering life-changing medicines. Our teams go through frequent meticulous training to ensure the services we provide in this highly controlled environment are of the highest standards.

We do all of this because we know the significance of our actions and how important they are to support breakthrough developments in the life sciences sector.”

Ancove progressing with Bidvest Noonan – Jane Tobin

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We recently caught up with Jane Tobin, Admin for Ancove, who gives us an insight into Ancove’s progress since joining the Bidvest Noonan family.

How has the Ancove business changed since it became part of Bidvest Noonan? 

Although we still have the same name above the door and we are continuing to offer the same core services to all our clients, there has been a real positive change to Ancove since becoming part of Bidvest Noonan. There has been a new injection of energy, and our ambitions have been backed. Both businesses share a similar aim, to help our clients by providing a great service.

The level of support provided by management has been fantastic. We now have local management teams to help guide us and there is a real focus on career development for employees.

I have no doubt we will see success as part of the Bidvest Noonan family. We can help each other. Ancove can help Bidvest Noonan grow their service offering by offering waste handling solutions for its clients’ sites complementing its current overall service package.

How does Ancove help Bidvest Noonan clients with their environmental performance?

As a leading provider of Waste Handling Solutions in Ireland, we help our clients reduce their carbon footprint. We identify their different waste streams on-site and offer solutions to manage their waste volumes to ensure all possible products are getting recycled correctly. By enabling our clients to recycle more of their waste, we help them create an additional source of revenue.

A reduction in the volumes of waste comes with it a reduction in transportation costs. This not only saves money for our clients but minimises the damage to our environment with a reduced number of trips for waste removal.

How have you found engaging with your new colleagues?

We joined Bidvest Noonan’s Industrial Team last year and it has been fantastic. Director of Operations, Ken Kehoe, and the whole team have given us great support. We have a weekly call with them, and there is a real togetherness within the group.

The integration into Bidvest Noonan has been made easier with the help of many of the central support teams too. The EHS, HR, and Shared Services teams have made us feel very welcome and have been on hand to answer any questions we’ve had.

I speak for the rest of the Ancove team in saying we really feel like we have been made part of a bigger team with great ambitions and I am looking forward to getting to know even more colleagues in the months and years ahead.

What are you now looking forward to the most as part of the Bidvest Noonan family?

The whole team and I are excited about the future of Ancove under Bidvest Noonan. With the backing of such a strong brand, we are excited to add value for our clients, and the prospect of our business growing to new heights.

Personally, with the support of Bidvest Noonan, I look forward to opportunities that will allow me to progress my career within the business. I have already begun developing my skills and look forward to growing my knowledge and abilities even further in the years ahead.

Interview – David Casey – Sourcing Solutions

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Our Marketing Team sat down with Managing Director, David Casey, to discuss the launch of Sourcing Solutions, our newest business unit in Ireland.

Tell us about your experience of launching the Sourcing Solutions business unit

The launch of the Sourcing Division has been very exciting, and it has been a huge learning experience for me personally. I am very grateful for all the enthusiasm and support I have received from our leadership and operations teams

With the launch of any new division, you need help and support. At Bidvest Noonan you never really have to look too far for support, to date, I have had colleagues from South Africa, the UK, and Ireland all reaching out to support the launch of the Sourcing Solutions division. I am particularly grateful to our colleagues from our communities such as the Innovation, Procurement, and ESG teams, they have generously given their time to help me with the new business unit.

Why did you launch the Sourcing Solutions business unit?

Cleaning, security, and technical services have been the three core pillars of Bidvest Noonan’s business in Ireland. We have always sought to identify and design the best solution for our clients in our core services. However, we want to add even more value, by offering more support.

To truly add value and be aligned to our clients’ needs it is important that we identify every opportunity to enhance the service offering. This brought our attention to some of the smaller spend lines. I believe we have an opportunity to deliver a new range of bundled services with a focus on cost-saving and convenience for our clients.

What are your long-term goals for the business unit?

My goal is to build a successful business unit that is delivering for both our clients and our operational teams. This business unit will strive to deliver on our new vision “To be so important to our customers, so valuable to their business, and provide experiences so good, that we are always their partner of choice”.

Have you been collaborating with others in our group?

I have been working closely with all the existing business unit leaders from Workplace, Integrated and Technical Solutions. In addition, we have a Customer Experience (CX) team that is engaging with clients directly. Our CX team provides some insightful information and feedback from our clients which helps us understand their needs and wants both now and into the future. The CX team along with our ESG, Innovation, and procurement leaders, are all collaborating with our Sourcing Solutions team to ensure we are positioned to offer service excellence to our clients while focussing on our carbon pledge.

What experience do you bring to your role?

With a background in Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) and Total Facilities Management (TFM) I fully understand Facility Management Outsourcing and the benefits of bundled service models. I will draw upon my 20+ years of industry experience in Facilities Management and the relationships built with suppliers and internal FM professionals within our industry. My team and I aim to listen to our clients and demonstrate models that will help them realise real value and service excellence in an ever-evolving sector.

What are you most looking forward to?

Getting out to meet all of our existing and future clients face to face. It has been too long since we have been able to share a coffee and have a conversation. The digital platforms have been amazing over the last two years to ensure we can still meet and maintain operations, but nothing beats a face to face interaction. I am excited to see this business unit grow into the fourth pillar of our business in Ireland. We have many great minds on our team and I look forward to harvesting some of their entrepreneurial flair and shaping new business ideas.