Tag Archives: tool hire

Builders, Construction, Construction Equipment, Construction Tools, Contractors, Do-It-Yourself, Home Improvement, Maintenance

Spring Means a Spring Clean with the Help of HSS Hire

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As spring begins, it is time to start clearing your garden of all the unwanted winter mess which has piled up over the previous months. It’s not just the garden either, as the rest of your home is probably due a traditional ‘spring clean’, so why not let leading tool and equipment hire specialists, HSS Hire help you out?

HSS Hire, the award-winning tool and equipment hire company, has an extensive range of items to help with a wide range of indoor and outdoor tasks. From carpet cleaners to lawnmowers, ladders to drills, HSS Hire is on hand to help.

Starting outdoors – why not revitalise your patio or deep-clean your driveway with a mini power washer? Around the rest of your garden the use of lawn scarifiers, lawnmowers and lawn aerator can breathe new life into an ailing lawn. Or if you are just tidying up then why not hire a shredder, chipper or a leaf sucker?

If you are looking to work at a height, to clean windows or gutters, then HSS Hire will have the right ladder, tower or lift to suit your needs.

HSS Hire also has the equipment to help the indoors stage of the ‘spring clean’ too, such as carpet cleaners and steam cleaners, so there’s really no excuse to not have a shiny home this Spring. Or if you need to do more than just clean, HSS can supply wallpaper strippers, paint strippers, dust sheets and spray systems to help you redecorate professionally.

Category Manager, James Rice of HSS Hire explains it is a great time of year to freshen up your home and garden, “As spring begins and the extra hour of sunlight lightens our evenings, our gardens will be getting more use. Taking the necessary steps now to prepare your garden is crucial, so when summer arrives – hopefully bringing the nice weather with it – your garden will be a beautiful, tranquil retreat.”

Via EPR Network
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Builders, Construction, Construction Equipment, Construction Tools, Contractors, Do-It-Yourself, Home Improvement, Maintenance

Survey Reveals Facilities Managers Wasting Up To A Day A Week On Equipment Management

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A survey and whitepaper sponsored by HSS, the national supplier of tool and equipment hire, in association with the Facilities Management Association (FMA), has discovered that almost one third of Facilities Managers are spending almost a day a week on the management of their equipment. Launched today, the whitepaper based on the survey results, written by leading FM consultant and journalist, Martin Pickard, known to many as “The FM Guru” can be viewed online at www.hss.com/outsource.

The survey, conducted amongst a sample of 330 Facilities Management (FM) professionals, working both in-house and for outsource specialists, found that:

* almost 30% of managers spent between 10% – 20% of their time on equipment matters.
* 81% report that margins fell in 2010
* 48% anticipate that the Public Sector Spending Review will have a negative impact on their business
* 40% report that equipment problems are responsible for service related issues in more than one out of five cases
* the economic environment is impacting on capital decisions with more than half of the survey respondents admitting to keeping kit beyond its useful life, with a quarter admitting losing productivity as a result of the age of their kit.

Other issues raised from this “groundbreaking” survey include 31.6% of respondents being worried about prosecution for non-compliance with health and safety legislation and a quarter reported that they could not prove their compliance with regulations. In terms of training, 90% reported their operatives had been trained to use the equipment but only 70% thought they could prove it through paperwork.

“The majority of FMs do see benefits in outsourcing with less than a quarter buying all of their own equipment,” writes Martin Pickard. “Despite this, equipment is still consuming a lot of management resource and equipment related issues are far too common. Equipment is being kept beyond its useful life as a result of the recession by those who have retained ownership while those that have outsourced have less exposure to the problems that creates.”

It is apparent from the whitepaper that for equipment outsourcers to be successful they have to demonstrate the ability to add value through specialist knowledge and technical innovation. Martin Pickard adds that solution driven commercial products are increasingly required by equipment users and that the most prudent facilities managers are those engaging successfully with leading equipment providers to develop new strategies in support of corporate objectives.

HSS works with many facilities management companies to deliver bespoke managed equipment plans through its “Outsource” service. HSS Outsource allows FMs to benefit from a move from fixed to variable costs, the minimisation of capital investment, equipment innovation and guaranteed compliance.

“The solution provides all the benefits of ownership with none of the responsibility,” says Chris Davies, HSS CEO. “It also provides a 24 hour helpdesk, advanced planned preventative maintenance regime, and the most rigorous reactive service delivered via our national network and maintenance staff. Most importantly however, Outsource provides an opportunity for facilities managers to only pay for what is in use, managing their costs efficiently in line with customer needs in challenging times.”

Martin Pickard concludes: “Emerging from a recession is a critical time for companies and it is at this time more than ever that management need to concentrate on their core business and proposition. Fixed costs and capital investment are unpopular with businesses under pressure. What could be more convenient than guaranteed availability of whatever kit you need, wherever you are and replaced with new or fully maintained equipment when you need it?”

The FM Whitepaper contains a wealth of information gained from the survey divided into five sections: Industry Outlook, Management of Equipment, Equipment Innovation and Replacement, Compliance and Training. You can view the complete white paper, Facilities management and facilities equipment, written by Martin Pickard (FBIFM) by clicking on the link - www.hss.com/outsource.

Via EPR Network
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Builders, Construction, Construction Equipment, Construction Tools, Contractors, Do-It-Yourself, Home Improvement, Maintenance

HSS Hire Supports News Ladder Safety Campaign

HSS Hire, the UK’s award-winning tool and equipment hire company, has announced it will be supporting the Ladder Association’s new safety campaign ‘Don’t be a Ladder Lightweight’.

HSS Hire Supports News Ladder Safety Campaign

The initiative will encourage proper training in ladder use to help combat the over-confident and sometimes unsafe approach of ladder users who underestimate the associated dangers. The campaign is also aimed at ensuring ladder users, managers and supervisors are competent in line with Work at Height regulations.

With an estimated 2 million operated daily, ladders are – and will remain – an invaluable and flexible piece of workplace equipment. However, as with any type of working at height, they pose potential risks to the well-being of the operator and the ‘Ladder Lightweight’ campaign hopes to educate those that take ladders and their associated risks for granted.

Ladder Association chairman, Chris Ball, says: “Sadly, familiarity breeds contempt. Our aim is simply to promote an informed and professional approach to ladder use, just like any other piece of access equipment. Falls can be avoided by sensible and proportionate management of the risks – knowledge and skills best acquired through training. We’ve actively supported the Health and Safety Executive’s Ladder Exchange initiative for the last 3 years to help highlight the importance of safe ladder use”.

Integral to the initiative is the association’s new Code of Practice which can also be used as a stand-alone reference. With a foreward from the HSE, the code comprises employers’ and users’ responsibilities, the Working at Height Regulations, risk avoidance and the importance of planning, inspection and maintenance. The CoP also complements the Ladder Association’s one-day training course, offered by HSS Training.

Head of Health and Safety at HSS, David Wilson, adds: “The ladder is, and always will be, integral to working at height but it’s also not without risk. It’s really important that people understand the dangers of using ladders in the workplace and at home and that they are aware of the correct procedures to help minimise those risks. By using the right equipment, by ensuring that it’s fit for purpose and by being aware of the safest working practices, the risk can be managed and ladders can be used safely. We’re able to help on all accounts and are delighted to be supporting this latest ladder safety campaign”.

HSS Hire remains the only tool and equipment hire company to have achieved the coveted 4* British Safety award and also offer a comprehensive range of industry-recognised safety, technical and personnel training courses.

HSS Hire Service Group is a UK-based tool rental and equipment hire chain that has been serving big businesses, trade and DIY customers since 1957. It is the Hire Association Europe’s Hire Company of the Year 2009 and Contract Journal’s Plant Hire Company of the Year 2009. It has just been recognised by the HAE for Excellence in Customer Care.

Via EPR Network
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