WHA Members – good news for hydration solutions

The Government has identified the importance of remaining hydrated in the light of the Covid-19. Healthy hydration is essential to the well-being of the workforce, helping to keep the immune system strong. The good news is that use of a water dispenser is a simple and easy method of providing workplace hydration in a safe and hygienic way with minimal personal contact. For workers returning to work, the fear of contracting the virus will be at the forefront of their minds; using toilets and other facilities such as the communal kitchen could be risk areas and the WHA Guidelines are there to ensure that the water dispenser is not.

When FMs are looking for hydration solutions for their customers it may be difficult to distinguish between all the various companies and offerings in the marketplace. That’s where the Water-Dispenser and Hydration Association (WHA) comes in. The WHA treats safety as its highest priority and is the body that oversees its Members to ensure continued and sustainable standards. So what’s in it for FMs? – especially during and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.

WHA Members have been issued with advice on reintroducing hydration into the workplace, and how to engage with their customers to ensure safeguards are met in line with Government guidelines. This includes company vehicles, use of PPE, hand-washing and guidance on site visit procedure.

Using a WHA Member gives peace of mind; just as you would only use approved suppliers to fit electrical and gas appliances, you need to ensure that your water dispenser provider is a professional too – and you can do this by using a WHA Member.

WHA Members must follow the highest standards in safety and hygiene. They are audited annually to standards that are regularly reviewed and revised to ensure that regulatory obligations are met, and often exceeded.

WHA Members are:

• Professional, reliable and motivated to supply the best products and services
• Committed to delivering safe hydration that promotes health and wellbeing
• Audited by 3rd party organisations to the highest industry standards of hygiene and safety of drinking water
• Assessed to comply to both legislative and WHA requirements so FMs can be assured that their legal obligations are met
• Mandated to receive regular industry specific training in hygiene, distribution management and dispenser installation
• Encouraged to support the WHA Sustainability programme. As well as providing one of the healthiest hydration solutions, the water dispenser industry is also one of the most sustainable. WHA Members support the 5 for 5 Sustainability Pledge covering the 3 pillars of sustainability: social, economic and environmental
• Supported by knowledgeable and expert industry specialists
• Assured to provide a distinct point of difference in the hydration marketplace.

Customers are advised to introduce a daily cleaning and disinfection of all contact surfaces within their workplace as well as social distancing. Customer Factsheets are available on www.twha.co.uk/hydration on both the re-introduction of workplace hydration and essential care of water dispensers.

WHA Chair, Jon Wicks says: “The WHA is highly sensitive to the concerns and needs of returning businesses. We have been keen to furnish our Members with as much information as possible to ensure that water dispensers will continue to be managed safely, and still provide the important hydration solutions needed by the country’s workforce. It is interesting to see that customers are choosing to increase the number of dispensers on site to enable more effective social distancing.”

We strongly recommend that when looking for hydration solutions for your clients, you place membership of the WHA as an accreditation body on your checklist of requirements. Quality. Trust. Standards. We are WHA – the advantage is clear.

Quote WHA in all tender documentation. Visit www.twha.co.uk/Find-a-Member for a full list of accredited WHA Members.

www.twha.co.uk
Tel: 01438 816 380
info@twha.co.uk

-ends-