Domestic Energy Assessors Help Homeowners Show the Energy Efficiency of Their Homes When Selling

There is a new breed of professionals who you will get to know about now when you start out to sell your home. They are called Domestic Energy Assessors and are out now in England and Wales performing a brand new service.

The role of the Domestic Energy Assessor is to produce Energy Performance Certificates for inclusion in Home Information Packs. If this is complete news to you then just think of these as being certificates, like those you see on new fridges, which will provide A-G ratings on the energy efficiency of a home, plus advice on how to make further energy savings.

Energy Assessors will use their in-depth knowledge and practical understanding of the thermal performance of your home to judge on the thermal energy efficiency of properties.

This requirement has been introduced by the UK government working on the theory that these assessments of the the capability of all buildings about to be sold will encourage us all to be energy efficient. This will be good for the nation as it will be thoroughly green. It will the idea is, help avoid the need for the energy whether renewable or not.

This type of certificate is required whenever the building is constructed, sold or rented.

In the short term home owners directly, and home buyers indirectly, will need to pay for these Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) and in order to possibly carry out work to improve poorly insulated properties, they will need to pay for general advice to clients on energy efficiency measures.

This is all very good in principle, but the UK government has chosen exactly the wrong time to do this. The credit crunch is hitting the house sales market hard, it is already very difficult to sell properties, and the value of most of them is falling.

The staff that produce Energy Performance Certificates are very experienced in construction technology, building condition surveying and domestic energy assessment and are Degree qualified professionals. They do not come cheap!

Now we do accept that most assessors will not simply stop at inspecting your property, they should also take the time to explain exactly what they are inspecting, how they are going to go about it and gladly answer any questions that you may have. But, most sellers are going to deeply object to being forced by the state to take on this additional burden of cost.

The energy assessor takes measurements to analyse the cost of heating, water and lighting for a house and makes recommendations to improve the energy performance of the house. To me it looks like you the government may think that an assessment is a quick hour in the property and thats it. I doubt they have fully considered the travel time to and from the houses to be assessed, time taken to assess, time to prepare and check the report, input the data, produce the certificate and then charge a fee which includes the professionals insurance, accountant fees, advertising and many other costs – the list goes on and on, after all they will have to make a living like everyone else.

The Uk Construction Trade’s Decline

There is some dangerous news for those of you who step into your protective overalls for every day on the construction site every morning. Analysis by the Construction Merchandise Association (CPA) has shown that the construction business is going to continue declining for three a lot of years. Output is anticipated to fall by virtually 10 % this year and another four % the following year. This forecast is a lot of grimmer than previous reports and if this decline happens as predicted, it will be the most important decline in 30 years.

Chief executive of CPA Michael Ankers said, “The speed of decline is having a dramatic impact on many elements of the construction industry and is being driven by an unprecedented reduction in personal sector investment resulting from the credit crunch and economic downturn.”

The credit crunch affects all business sectors, significantly the motor and property industries, and the development industry is certainly no exception. The house building and repair sectors are the toughest hit with house starts expected to fall to their lowest level since the fifties and maintenance and residential improvements expected to fall by 15 % this year alone.

In addition to the present grim forecast, past construction output speaks volumes. Within the last 3 months of 2008, construction output within the UK came to ?19.3 billion which is ?1.5 billion down from the identical time period in 2007. But, the total output for 2008 was just about on par with the overall output for 2007.

However, construction output in some areas is seemingly to extend in the following years. Rail construction work ought to increase dramatically in the subsequent five years; the CPA report has predicted that it can increase by a hundred ninety%. Additionally to the current, public construction that is not housing-connected will go up by over 20 p.c in the following 2 years. Michael Ankers has asserted that the only sectors where construction output is forecast to extend are linked to public spending.

Spending on construction for education is expected to extend by nearly 30 p.c in the next 2 years, mainly because of the Building Colleges for the Future programme. The development trade is relying heavily on public spending throughout the recession. Luckily for those utilized within the trade, spending on public construction comes creates significantly more employment than different sectors of the trade and mainly British merchandise are used. This is often really the silver lining of the recession storm cloud for the trade and the well-developed British public sector is to thank for this.

Franchising Business Commercial Franchise Lawyers

Franchising Business Commercial Franchise Lawyers – We have all heard of the term, and most of us know people involved in it. After all, it now contributes more than 10 billion to the UK economy, across numerous business sectors. But what is it really all about, and how are some businesses so successful at it, whilst for others it brings disaster?
The concept is fairly simple. In a franchise, an established business (the franchisor) grants someone (the franchisee) the right to trade under the franchisors trade mark or trade name.
Most franchising is actually business format franchising. This means that the franchisor develops a business concept, including a trade name and operating methods, and they train the franchisee in how to run their business using this concept. The franchisee operates his/her own business under the franchisors name and under some fairly tight controls and guidance. These are set out in a franchise agreement, and usually an operations manual as well.
At heart, a franchise agreement is essentially a trade mark licence, with a number of operational instructions and controls placed on the franchisee.
In many cases, the franchisee is given an exclusive territory in which to operate during the term of the franchise agreement.
For franchisors, franchising can therefore be an exceptionally quick route to business growth, with low overheads and low risk. We will look at this in more detail later on in this article. For franchisees, franchising can provide an attractive opportunity to own and operate their own business, but one which has a proven business concept and which provides training and support. Franchising can in some cases also provide a very rare opportunity for genuine work/life balance.
Sadly however, as with everything in life, it is not always that simple. Although survival rates for franchisee businesses are much higher than for other business start-ups, franchisees all too often fail. Some lose substantial amounts of money, often through no fault of their own. Below are some of the perils to avoid:
Peril No. 1 – Not doing enough homework before handing over your cash
Most franchisors can talk a good talk. It is their job to convince you that their franchise offering will bring you wealth and success. However, whilst many franchisors are scrupulously honest and professional in their dealings with prospective franchisees, some of them are unfortunately not.
Remember when you take on a franchise this is a business to business agreement. There is no consumer law to protect you, so your legal remedies may be very limited. It is your responsibility to check out what you are being told, and never to take promises and forecasts on face value.
It pays to remember the age-old saying: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
Membership of the British Franchise Association – requiring the signing of a charter for ethical franchising – is a good indicator of an opportunity worthy of consideration, although there is no substitute for properly checking out and researching a franchise.
Peril No. 2 Taking on a franchise which does not play to your personal strengths
You need to think long and hard about whether taking on a franchise will suit your personality and skills. You may imagine, for example, during a frustrating day at the office, that nothing would be lovelier than leaving the rat-race and running your own cafe. But beware of the grass is greener over the fence philosophy. No matter what franchise you take on, it is likely to involve hard work, and this will never be satisfying unless it is something that you are passionate about.

Are Social Energy Tariffs As Fair As People Think

When social tariffs were first proposed, they were not seen as being fair to everyone. The idea was to combat excess winter deaths by helping UK residents that were at risk of fuel poverty to pay their bills with a discounted rate. However, that discount would be heaped on the backs of wealthier customers who would then make up the difference. The effect was to be temporary as the Green Deal would then help more and more UK residents to adopt green technologies that would reduce the overall energy demands of the country via grants and other types of financial assistance. Now that the social energy tariffs are being replaced by the Warm Home Discount, the same question arises with respect to the most vulnerable groups in the UK. Is it fair to get rid of social tariffs that the broader group needs to keep heating their homes?

Low Income Group Has Green Options

The UKs energy strategy continues to evolve as it seeks to reduce its dependence on outside energy sources while maintaining social protections in place for its more vulnerable citizens. The social tariffs were never meant to be a permanent fixture, as the policy outline in 2009 indicated that the effect would be temporary based on the implementation of the Green Deal technologies. For that reason, numerous schemes were put in place to help low-income citizens improve the draughty homes so typical of Britain using insulation, window-glazing, and other services. Many of these services were provided for free to qualifying low-income households. Also, those who could afford to implement these technologies and pay for them were also helped to find ways to achieve these goals. None of these energy schemes are expected to last forever, however, and even the Warm Home Discount is to expire in March 2015.

Keep An Eye On Excess Winter Deaths

There is data to indicate that the social energy tariffs, along with other grants and energy improvement schemes, have helped to reduce the excess winter death rate in the UK. While there were 24,000 excess winter deaths for the winter of 2011/2012 in England and Wales, that figure represents an 8 per cent drop from the previous winter. The social tariffs are being slowly phased out, with many of them being replaced by the Warm Home Discount for the 2013/2014 winter seasons. Even though no one can tell how much warmer home are in the UK, if the schemes have done their job and the Warm Home Discount is doing a fair job of it, then this number should continue to decrease. If it goes up, it will be a huge indicator that more changes need to be made to the UK energy strategy, not just to make it fair, to avoid killing more residents.

Fair Deals Change With Government

A question of fairness is always going to be an issue with social reforms. However, political parties tend to see fairness in their own terms. This does lead to changes in how schemes are planned and implemented, or whether they are eliminated altogether. Some would suggest that the Winter Fuel Payment changes are unfair to expatriates who live in countries deemed “warmer than the UK” even though the winters may be equally harsh. These UK residents will no longer be eligible and may suffer undue hardship. However, with the change of government, comes a change in the ideals of fairness. The new government believes that it is not fair to continue to pay for heat subsidies that are going to people who arent even in as drastic a need of them as others. As policies change, so do social tariffs, with the eye towards creating reforms that hit realistic targets and that do good in the community of people it is meant to serve. None are meant to be permanent, nor are they meant to require no further changes once they are implemented. As the UK faces the harsh winter ahead, social tariffs may be a thing of the past, but the ideal to create a fair society where even the most vulnerable have a chance at being able to pay their bills has not. It is merely changing and adapting towards newer social reforms that meet the needs of the population as a whole.

Blackberry Style 9670 The New Smart Innovation By RIM

Blackberry style 9670 is one of the amazing devices that are equipped with enhanced and improved technology. The device comes with all kinds of latest features and the smart functionality. The device runs with the latest Blackberry OS 6.0 that is compatible with the fast processor. The great offering by the brand really functions fast and enabled users to enjoy each and every feature available in the device Blackberry style 9670 deals are offered by all the prominent service operators of UK like Vodafone, orange, O2 and three. You can prefer any of the deals like with the contract offers or with out contracts.

Blackberry style comes with a TFT capacitive screen that is capable to display a color resolution of 65K colors. The display is also equipped with the QWERTY keypad and touch sensitive optical track pad. The device works only with CDMA network not at GSM technology. It has an internal memory of 512MB that is expandable. It offers internet connectivity through WiFi, 3G, Blue tooth and USB. It has an integrated camera of 5MP which can give the great picture experience to the users. The device offers good video and music quality with its media player that supports all the media formats. Social networking is also an integrated feature available in this device.

Blackberry Style 9670 deals are the highly beneficial deals of UK market that are highly effective ones and available at cheap rates. One can prefer the beneficial contract deals that are offered to the users by signing a contract of 12-24 months. In this deal, users have to pay fixed monthly amount as rental with great offers and free gifts. The best and the perfect way to follow these deals are through the comparison portals online. In these portals one can compare several plans and offers to move for the right one. So dears get ready to enjoy the perfect business style at pocket friendly rates.

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How To Allocate Retail Loss Prevention

Profit in any business requires an increase in income and decrease in expenditure. The same theory applies to the retail industry. To make profit in retail requires an in increase sales and reduction in shrinkage. This concept has so far been non-existence in the retail industry where the focus has always only been on increase sales and hoping that the problem of shrinkage will miraculously disappear.
Retail shrinkage occurs as a result of poor or non-existent loss prevention policies and procedures. Therefore, it is imperative that any retail organisation that wishes to remain profitable include loss prevention in its standard operational practices.
Loss prevention is the series of activities that are geared towards the reduction or elimination of all potential loss within an organisation. In the past, loss prevention has been confused with security. While security is a part of loss prevention, security is reactive, basically geared towards identifying shoplifters and employees suspected of stealing, loss prevention is centred around all the activities that are responsible for store loss. It can be known loss such as damages, returns and errors or unknown loss such as shoplifting or employee theft. Preventing shrinkage is simple if we understand the sources of the loss. Last year, UK retail industry spent 771 million on loss prevention, despite this spending, retail shrinkage rose by 5.4%. This has remained the story of loss prevention in the UK for many years. Shrinkage reduced by a few percent one year and increase by several percent the following.
What is the reason for this, the answer lies in the way loss prevention funding is allocated. Even though the levels of funding differ from one organisation to the other, the principle remains the same: spending more for less return on investment (ROI).
The Global Retail Theft Barometer report stated that for the 12-months ending June 2009 crime cost UK retailers 4,063 million. This is broken down as follows:
Customer theft 1,767 million (43.5% of all shrinkage)
Employee theft 1,479 million (36.4% of all shrinkage)
Distribution chain theft 175 million – (4.3% of all shrinkage)
Administrative error – 642 million – (15.8% of all shrinkage)
Total Shrinkage – 4,063 million – (100.0% of all shrinkage)

Total loss prevention spending for the same period was 771 million slightly down from the previous year of 785 million.
Broken down as follows:
Contract Security – 270,621,000.00
In-house Security – 162,681,000.00
Security Equipment – 223,590,000,00
Cash Collection – 61,680,000,00
Other LP Spending – 52,428,000.00
However, in this same period, shrinkage as a percentage of sales rose to 1.37% a rise of 5.4% from 2008 figure of 1.30%.
This brings us to the central thesis of this article: Why is retail loss prevention measure ineffective?
The answer lies in the way funding is allocated. To produce the desired result, retailers first and foremost need to determine the source of loss and allocate funding according to the ratio of loss and the ROI.
The below table outlines this point better, it shows last year retail spending on loss prevention and their return on investment:
Measures: Spending: ROI Achieved:
Trained Employees – 6.8% – 50%
Security Personnel – 56.2% – 2%
Security Equipment – 29% – 45%
Signs & others – 8% – 3%
Customer related theft accounts for only 21% of retail shrinkage the remaining 79% can be broken down into cashier cause 32%, followed by general employee cause 24%, receiving 10% and the remaining 13% is the result of damage and error. But the interesting point that needs to be noted is that even though 79% of retail shrinkage in caused by internal activities, retailers spent more on combating customer related theft than on employee cause.
56.2% of loss prevention resources were on security personnel that produced only 2% ROI, 6.8% was spent on staff training that produced 50% ROI. It is not difficult to see why despite the huge spending on loss prevention, retailers have not been able to affect their shrinkage level. There is a direct correlation between loss prevention spending and the ROI. Until such time that retailers get the balance right, loss prevention spending will continue to produce negative result.

How to make loss prevention effective?
The following are measures when implemented can lead to massive reductions in shrinkage levels and increased profits:
Measure the Scale of the Problem
Analysis daily profit and loss report
Complete top management involvement
Create awareness of the problem
Continuous education and discipline of employees
Inspect What You Expect
Set Measurable Targets
Take Advantage Of Technology
Develop the act of flexibility in approach
Change from present paradigm

Loss prevention is a science and like any science, it requires a systematic approach. Loss prevention personnel cannot approach it with cross fingers praying for the best. Gone are the days when retail crime such as shoplifting was seen as teenage leisure activities, or conducted by drug addicts. Many incidents of shoplifting are now carried out by Organised Retail Theft rings with levels of sophistication never before seen in the retail industry. We as loss prevention experts along with law enforcement agencies have to wake up to this fact and try to build our own capabilities to respond accordingly.
Increase sale does not necessarily mean increase profit the quicker retail executives crabs this concept, the sooner they will be making sustainable profit.

Dissertation Proposal On How Relationship Marketing Can Help Improve The Image Of Companion

INTRODUCTION

Against the background of the current economic situation within the region, many marketers are looking for better and more effective ways of increasing their sales. Some of them assume that when there is greater media visibility, then one is more likely to boost their success. However, what most of these marketers are forgetting is that there are relationships that are created every time a sale is made. Consequently, their companies must look for ways in which they can sustain this kind of relationship. The proposal will examine how relationship marketing can boost company images in the car industry with specific emphasis on the issue of trust.

BACKGROUND

This project is worth doing because of a series of reasons. First of all, the automobile company is one of the most important sectors of the UKs economy. Consequently, there is a need to look for ways in which this industry can be improved in order to boost the economy. Additionally, by examining the role that trust plays in relationship marketing, then car companies can understand the underlying factors required to make relationship marketing work for them. This project will also be significant in providing information about various tools and approaches in relationship marketing from automobile companies. (Jackson, 1985)

Previous work in relationship marketing has focused on its core functions. Levitt (1983) explains that relationship marketing is a form of marketing that centres on consumer satisfaction and retention. This is a shift from traditional approaches that mostly emphasised on transactions made at the point of sale. Some authors have looked at application of relationships to the automotive industry. Nilsson (2004) examined a case study of an automobile company in the US and looked at how this companys success had been enhanced though relationship marketing. Other authors such as Kotler (2005) , DeYoung and Boldt (1988) & Berry (1983)

have examined ways in which relationship marketing can be integrated with other marketing concepts such as process reengineering. Furthermore, a lot of work has centred upon the use of relationship marketing in various aspects of an organisation. These include its application in the supply chain logistics, information technology and other vital sectors. (DeYoung, 1987)

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES

The major objective that the research will be trying to achieve is to determine what the link between company image and relationship marketing is in the automobile industry. This will be determined through four specific objectives
1)What role does trust play in boosting relationship marketing in the automobile industry
2)What role does loyalty play in enhancing relationship marketing?
3)How can automobile companies apply relationship marketing in their marketing mix?
4)What is the value that relationship marketing brings to automobile companies?

Through these research objectives, it will be possible to understand what makes automobile companies successful in terms of relationship marketing and that can then be linked to company image. When companies are regarded as successful by their current or future clientele, then it is likely that they have a good image or vice versa. (Jackson, 1985)

METHOD; RESEARCH DESIGN
The research will dwell on the automobile industry in the United Kingdom. This will be done through a combination of approaches. Some leading automobile manufacturers like General Motors will be identified and asked about their implementation of relationship marketing. This will be analysed through personal interviews with their sales members. Additionally, the customer lifetime value added to a company through relationship marketing will be calculated for those chosen organisations. Customers will also be included in the research because they will be instrumental in assessment of how successful they perceive certain companies hence reflecting on the company image. (Envision software, 2007)

Personal interviews will be utilised when dealing with company representatives owing to the fact that they will be useful in highlighting certain unique r. marketing features prevalent in their organisations. However, in order to get uniform responses from clients, it would be favourable to use questionnaires for them. Secondary data will also form an important part of this research because it will provide a backbone for determining those elements that cannot be conducted practically and this include measurement of the value added to companies as a result of relationship marketing.

DATA COLLECTION
Data will be obtained through sales performance records released to the public by industry analysts. Data will also be obtained through the use of personal interviews. The population size in this part of the research will be made up of all top performing automobile companies in the UK. Ten sales representatives will be chosen from these companies. The sampling criteria will solely be based on that companys willingness and response to requests for interviews.

In the other aspect of the interview involving the public or various clienteles, the research will need to obtain fair representation from various parts of the UK. Consequently, a telephone directory will be used and respondents will be asked whether they would like to participate in the research. The questionnaires will be delivered personally to their residential areas after they accept to participate. Sampling criteria will be based on non probability sampling. Numbers will be chosen randomly in order to minimise biases. The research will involve ten personal interviews for sale representatives in automobile companies. Additionally, fifty questionnaires will be filled by those who accept to participate. (Durfee & Chase, 2003)

The research will also make a number of ethical considerations. Confidentiality will be a key concern as respondents in the questionnaire and the interview will be protected from other parties by concealing their identities. Additionally, care will be taken to ensure that clients only answer those questions that they feel comfortable with since they will be informed about this at the beginning of the research.

TIMESCALE

RESOURCES
Secondary data will largely be obtained from financial data released to the public. This will available in the school library and also in internet websites. This information will be crucial for ensuring that the issue of company image is duly inspected.

REFERENCES

Kotler, P. (2005): Relationship marketing- gaining competitive advantage through customer satisfaction and customer retention; North Western University Press
Nilsson, T. (2004): Customer relationship management within the US Automotive Industry; department of BA and Social Sciences, Lulea University Report, 18th June
Envision software (2007); Project Timeline management, available at http://www.envisionsoftware.com/ accessed on 11th November 2008
Durfee, W. & Chase, T. (2003): Project management, University of Minnesota Press
DeYoung, B. (1987): Marketing Your Charter Boat Enterprise – Putting Relationships to Work; Information Bulletin, no. 206
Berry, L. (1983): Relationship Marketing in Perspectives on Services Marketing; American Marketing Association
DeYoung, B. and Boldt, W. (1988): Relationship Marketing – Putting Relationships to Work, in Cornell Cooperative Extension Marketing Manual
Jackson, B. (1985): Build Customer Relationships That Last; Harvard Business Review, 120-28
Levitt, T. (1983): After the Sale, in The Marketing Imagination; Free Press

Agriculture Investment – Variables Why Its A Smart Endeavor

Getting the most effective agriculture investment is usually tricky for the inexperienced investor with small or no expertise in the sector but you can find obviously quite a few unique possibilities obtainable which includes agriculture investment funds, direct agricultural land investment and acquiring equities in agricultural providers. Within this report I’ll go some approach to investigating the unique alternatives the hazards they present to investors the mechanics of how each and every sort of agriculture investment functions along with the returns which might be presently getting accomplished.

Firstly we’ll take a look at the relevance of agriculture investment for the present financial climate and regardless of whether this unique sector shows us the indicators of becoming capable to produce growth and earnings.

The present Financial Climate

The worldwide economic climate continues to be within a state of turmoil and also the UK in distinct is cutting back public spending to cut back an unmanageable national debt the population is increasing and quantitative easing is probably to lead us into a period of extended inflation. Also the lack of financial visibility implies that it’s extremely tough to worth assets like stocks and rates of interest getting so low implies that our money deposits aren’t producing any tangible earnings to speak of.

So what does this imply for investors? It implies that we have to acquire assets which have a good correlation with inflation i.e. they go up in worth faster than the rate of inflation these assets ought to also produce an revenue to replace the revenue we’ve lost from money and lastly any asset that we obtain need to also possess a powerful and measurable track record.

It is actually pretty clear that agriculture investment particularly investing in agricultural land displays the characteristics of growth earnings a good correlation with inflation is simple to worth and features a clear and evident track record to analyze and as such agriculture investment ticks all the relevant boxes to possibly develop into the excellent asset class for investors these days.

Agriculture Investment Fundamentals

The fundamentals supporting agriculture investment are fairly simple to measure; because the worldwide population grows we have to have far more food to create additional food we need to have far more agricultural land as this can be the resource that gives all the grain and cereals that we consume and all the space to graze the livestock that finish up on our plate. So we’re coping with an incredibly fundamental query of provide and demand if demand increases and provide cannot maintain up the worth in the underlying asset increases so let’s take a look at a number of the crucial indicators of provide and demand for agriculture investment.

So the fundamentals supporting agriculture investment are sound and extremely obviously demonstrate a superb image for prospective investment. But can we absorb price tag inflation? Effectively you can find a myriad of reports that inform us really obviously that as a population we absorb increases in food costs pretty much 100% and sacrifice spending in other regions so yes we are able to.

To speak about threat for any moment the threat involved with this fund based investment technique is the fact that you give more than manage to a fund manager who will invest your funds for you personally and obtain assets that he or she believes are relevant. Also if 1 fund performs badly that typically features a knock on impact for other agriculture investment funds as self-confidence within this certain method requires a hot it is possible to thus shed worth by means of no fault of one’s personal. You also must spend a fund management fee consuming into your earnings.

When it comes to the returns 1 can count on from a fund this varies wildly but most project annual returns of about 10% while this can differ based on a complete host of aspects like the fund management investment method and common industry circumstances.

Furniture Rental London Eases Your Relocation Needs

Life becomes hectic for people who have high flying jobs. They come across a number of problems. One of the major problems that they face quite often is their need to relocate within a short notice period. This means packing up your belongings and moving from there to the other place where the company asks for. Now, if you think packing and relocating to be an easy affair you are completely wrong. Apart from being hectic, relocation is also expensive and time consuming. Has your company asked you to relocate to or within London? If yes, you don’t need to worry about packing and moving your furniture. Furniture rental London can be of great help to you in this case.

Furniture rental London offers a lot of advantages for your relocation needs. The first and foremost advantage is that you don’t have to sit the whole day and pack all your furniture all by yourself for your relocation needs. Even though if you plan to hire the services of a relocation company for your moving needs, it is true that you don’t have to pack all by yourself; the company will do all these things but in lieu of that they will charge you hefty amounts. However, with hiring furniture in London you don’t have to pay such heft amounts. Then again, with hiring furniture in London you don’t have to worry much about your furniture reaching the destination safely, securely and on time. Relocating is undoubtedly a hassle but you can definitely make it hassle free by using your intelligence.

There are also many people who think of buying yet another set of furniture for their homes when they relocate from one place to the other. To be very true, this is also not a wise idea. Purchasing furniture in London would cost you much. The option of furniture rental London is best in such cases. This option makes life more comfortable, easy and smooth.

Furniture rental London has become increasingly popular among social high-flyers of the world. You can find a number of companies in London that offer furniture on rent to their potential customers. These companies really makes life easier and smooth. They in fact offer furniture packages for hire purposes. What does this mean? This means you simply do not need to worry about co-ordinating your lounge, bedroom, dining room or any other room because everything will be done for you by them. There are different styles of furniture available for hire purposes. They range from traditional to modern designs.

Now the question you may ask is how to get in touch with such furniture rental companies in London. Internet is the best place for you. You just need to browse furniture hire London to get several reputed and reliable companies providing high quality furniture for your home, office and garden at an affordable pricing.

If you are looking out for furniture rental London, Emblem Furniture must be your choice. Furniture packages at http://emblemfurniture.co.uk suits a range of tastes and budgets. This company is considered as one of the leading furniture rental companies in UK.

How Food Handlers Can Reduce The Risk of Norovirus Infection

What is norovirus?
Known in lay terms as the winter vomiting bug, norovirus can cause dangerous infections of the stomach and bowel and is, in fact, one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis in the UK. The resulting symptoms are highly unpleasant, since they include diarrhoea, vomiting and fever and, in certain circumstances, this can lead to severe dehydration.

How does norovirus spread?
Norovirus is highly infectious, and the risks of contracting an illness from it can be serious, which is why maintaining good hygiene at all times is essential. The virus can spread from an infected person to somebody else. It can also spread by eating or drinking contaminated products (including food contaminated at its source, such as oysters taken from contaminated water), or when a person or a food comes into contact with an object or surface that has been contaminated. A huge problem with norovirus is that it is able to survive in a contaminated spot for a number of days, which is why those handling food should always ensure excellent hygiene and safety at all times, both in the kitchen and outside of it.

How can food handlers improve food hygiene and safety to reduce the risk of norovirus transmission?
Hand washing should form an innate part of a food handler’s behaviour. It is important to prevent the transmission of all viruses and bacteria, not just norovirus. To get rid of as many pathogens as possible, hands should be washed thoroughly with hot water and soap before and after any food is prepared or handled. The same is also necessary in other circumstances, especially after going to the toilet. The reason for this is because if any trace of vomit or faeces from someone who is infected gets onto the food, there is a risk that another person who handles or eats the food will be infected. It is important to note that hand sanitizers cannot be used as a sufficient substitution for hand washing when it comes to norovirus because some are effective against this particular virus while others have no effect at all.

Another extremely important point for food handlers to recognise is that they should not return to work until they have fully recovered which will be three days after symptoms have subsided. This is because someone infected with norovirus is not only highly contagious during the time they display symptoms, but also for a number of days afterwards when norovirus particles continue to be shed. Therefore, a food handler must not be involved in any food preparation, cooking or serving areas, and must not be allowed on site if ill, otherwise an outbreak of norovirus infection could occur.

In the unfortunate event of an employee becoming ill on site, care must be taken to make sure that any clothing or materials soiled by vomit or faeces is machine washed straight away and then dried. Any sinks or bathrooms in which someone has been ill must also be thoroughly cleaned to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

Disinfecting surfaces is also a must, as is ensuring that utensils and kitchen equipment are kept clean. Furthermore, food handlers should ideally not have bare hand contact with any food ready to be eaten, and should preferably wear single-use gloves. Extremely good hand washing procedures must be in place if such direct contact is allowed, given that only a small number of norovirus cells are needed to cause infection in a person.

Finally, it must be remembered that these food hygiene procedures must be carried out in addition to those already in place. Norovirus outbreaks are unfortunately all too common and can occur even when the most stringent hygiene and safety levels are enforced. However, the majority of outbreaks are avoidable and food handlers have a particularly important role in helping to minimise the risk to others of becoming contaminated with this virus. Norovirus not only brings significant problems of disease but can result in becoming an economic burden. Food handlers should be strict about the way in which they carry out tasks in the workplace, always ensuring the highest level of hygiene and safety.