Reza Hygiene – a leading supplier of cleaning & hygiene solutions in the Gulf region - has the honour and privilege to serve the team behind the maintenance of the Great Mosque of Mecca, (Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Arabic) by providing multiple product and service solutions for its maintenance. The responsibility of providing the right solution, appropriate equipment and the right kind of trained staff for this project is paramount for Reza Hygiene. Given its wide experience, since 1997, in providing the ideal solutions in the fields of bio-security, infection control, food safety and facility maintenance, the company is focused on providing full support to the Saudi Arabian government’s 2030 vision for the Mecca expansion project. This commitment is explained by Reza Hygiene CEO, Haydar Alireza, “I share my country’s commitment, philosophy, religious and national duty to do everything in my power to provide God’s guests with a comfortable, safe and joyous visit to the two Holy Sites. I am truly humbled and grateful for our company to be given the opportunity to first prove and then provide our services to Al-Masjid Al-Haram.”
The Great Mosque of Mecca is the centre of Islam and to which - in the direction of the Kaaba (Qibla) - more than a billion Muslims turn at prayer. The largest mosque in the world, it is currently able to accommodate over1.5 million worshippers at a time! The Great Mosque of Mecca has undergone major renovations and expansions over the past 50 years - the most recent in 2015, with the number of pilgrims entering the country having tripled in the last decade to reach 8 million people! The Saudi Arabian government is now undertaking a third major expansion of the Great Mosque of Mecca with a $10 billion expansion project so as to accommodate 2.5 million pilgrims at the same time and to receive a total of 20 million Umrah pilgrims per year by 2020, and 30 million by 2030. Once the project is completed, the Great Mosque area will have expanded by two thirds to reach an estimated area of 1.8 million sq. m! This project forms part of the first Pillar of the Kingdom’s ‘Vision 2030’. The Saudi Arabian government considers it a noble responsibility, a great privilege and honour to serve the Two Holy Mosques of Mecca and Madinah and all visiting pilgrims to the blessed holy sites, sparing no effort in their commitment to provide a comfortable,safe, deeper and more soulful experience. The Presidency for the Affairs of theTwo Holy Mosques is responsible for maintaining and managing the Great Mosque of Mecca, and the challenges with such large numbers and spaces are numerous and unprecedented. Above all else, the health and safety of all visitors is paramount. This is ensured with a massive around-the-clock emphasis on a very high standard of cleanliness and maintenance, the very frequent cleaning of all areas, fast removal of waste, the provision of hygienic washroom and ablution areas and potable drinking facilities.
Reza Hygiene’s role
Reza Hygiene and its Mecca team has worked closely with the project team of The Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, whose focus has been to select the right partners who can provide sustainable solutions and innovations that give improved operational efficiencies and improved bio-security standards.
Reza Hygiene’s Khaled Abu Eliz, Director of Government & Religious Projects, adds, “Reza has built a solid reputation over many years for offering value-added products and solutions that make a tangible difference to the client. For our work at the Great Mosque of Mecca, there is an added emphasis with a shift to Saudi nationals cleaning operatives and a requirement for an on-going training programme on large cleaning equipment, and the 24/7 availability of a Reza service team on site. On this important project with all its special demands of surface types, scale of size and staff training, working with our supplier partners we have achieved all objectives with flying colours.”
The company has offered new technologies and systems that are faster and more efficient while using less manpower. For instance, there are multiple floor levels and escalators at the Al Haram and these escalators often suffer from dust coming in from the nearby construction areas forming tough ingrained soils in the treads. Reza Hygiene successfully deployed escalator cleaning machines to quickly remove the ingrained, tough-to-remove inorganic soils, reducing down time to the escalators and inconvenience to pilgrims.
Keith Watson, Division Manager, Reza Hygiene, added, “Our Reza Hygiene mobile workshop vans stocked with spares and combined with a 24/7 on-site service capability, guaranteed greatly reduced downtime and operational efficiency. These value-added benefits gave confidence to the Al-Haram management to decide on placing the floor machinery with Reza. With over 6,000 pallets spaces of warehousing and an efficient supply chain to match, stock and spare parts are rarely an issue for us.
Efficient tools
Rubbermaid Commercial cleaning and waste handling products are renowned for their innovation, quality and durability, used at all major high populace venues and transport hubs throughout the world. Seifeddine Beldi, Regional Manager for Rubbermaid USA, added, “On a smaller, but no less important scale, for spot cleaning of hard floor surfaces, Reza Hygiene provided the Al-Haram cleaners with our innovative ‘Pulse’ flat mopping system, a micro-fibre flat damp mopping system complete with its own integral cleaning solution feed tank, which in turn is supplied by a comfortable fitting backpack for the cleaner. This eliminated the use of wet mopping buckets travelling long distances and meant that cleaners could spot clean quickly and efficiently,”
For visiting pilgrims, personal hygiene requirements and a comfortable visit is an important matter for the Great Mosque management, and once again after extensive and successful trials, a large capacity foam hand soap dispenser and product was selected to cater to hand washing needs. The use of foam soap greatly reduced consumption compared to liquid soaps. Reza also introduced and extensively trialed the compact Dyson Airblade V hand dryer. “Dyson Airblade V hand dryers are now to play a major part in improving pilgrims’ hygiene needs. The Dyson hand dryer provides quick and efficient hand drying using the airblade ‘wiping effect’ without the need for energy consuming heating elements. The Dyson hand dryers come with a no-hassle 5-year warranty, and if in the unfortunate event of any manufacturing failure, Dyson through the Reza Hygiene team, replaces them completely free of cost,” Watson added.
Reza Hygiene is completely committed to support the management team of the Great Mosque of Mecca whose goal is to provide all visiting pilgrims with a comfortable, safe, deeper and more soulful experience.