RAS conducts corporate talks

Under the invitation by one of our proud Happy Toilet owners, the JTC Corporation, RAS conducted four "Happy Toilet Awareness Talks" for its factory workers and toilet cleaners in April. The talks were both conducted in English and Mandarin to better cater for the target audience. The audience was given a detailed explanation on the consequences of dirty toilets and the dos' and don'ts of toilet etiquette. Participants were also encouraged to send their toilet-related feedback to RAS via email or SMS.

About a month after the talks at JTC, RAS was invited again to conduct a talk for staff of the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD). This time, SPD staff was given the opportunity to learn to C.H.E.C.K. - Considerate users, Hygiene, Exercise initiative, Cleanliness and Kind volunteers - on themselves. Our corporate talks have been well received and we have been receiving enquiries on our corporate talks from both government and private organisations. Interested organisations can email to info@toilet.org.sg for more details of our talks.

RAS conducts first Restroom Assessors Workshop

RAS conducted its first training workshop for voluntary restroom assessors on the 29th of March at its office. Apart from an introductory talk about RAS and its operations, our voluntary assessors were also briefed on our Happy Toilet Programme and the checklist for assessing the toilet standards. Our President was also present at the workshop to answer questions on toilet issues raised by them during the FAQ session.

After the session, our voluntary assessors embarked on a hands-on learning experience at the upgraded Whampoa Drive Market & Food Centre, which was completed last year. They were assigned to assess two toilet blocks. For some of our female volunteer assessors, assessing urinals in male toilets up close proved to be an unforgettable experience.

[View pictures here]

Happy Toilet Seminars

It is a series of seminars related to the Happy Toilet Programme. It focuses on three main areas - Design, Cleanliness and Maintenance, and reaches out to its target audience in the Restroom Industry i.e. architects, facility managers, cleaning contractors and toilet owners. Through seminars, a focused programme is tailored for the target audience e.g. coffee shop owners, and new developments, legislation and solutions to current problems are shared with the participants. RAS accesses resources through the 3P (public, private & people) network, like trainers, industry stalwarts and relevant authorities.

The first Happy Toilet Seminar was held on 31 March 2004. It was an interactive session graced by Members of Parliament Mr. Ang Mong Seng and Mdm. Cynthia Phua, grass root leaders, merchant associations and industry professionals. It sought to find solutions to dirty toilets in coffee shops and also to encourage the owners to take up NEA's Toilet Upgrading Programme, a co-sharing programme to finance the upgrading of coffee shop's toilets.

The first ever seminar on Good Toilet Cleanliness & Maintenance for Schools' Toilets on 5 March 2007 at the Environment Building was a remarkable success, drawing an audience of more than 160 attendees from 110 schools and 10 other organizations.

The seminar was specially catered to Schools' Operations Managers with the objective of developing a code of practice for educational institutions. Forum discussion about common problems facing Operation Managers in the area of maintaining Clean Public Toilets included topics such as "Advantages in having professional maintenance for public toilets" and "Happy Toilet Benchmarks and sharing of best practices".

Other key highlights of the seminar included presentations by speakers from other organizations such as the Singapore Plumbing Society [Tips on Good Plumbing], National Environment Agency [Introduction to Code of Practice for Environmental Health (PublicToilets)], World Toilet College [Introduction to Restroom Specialist Training Course], Public Utilities Board [Water Efficiency in Toilets] and Shuqun Primary School [How Shuqun Primary School achieved Happy Toilet 3- Stars].

There was also an accompanying exhibition featuring products and services from various organizations such as Nan Wah Marketing Pte Ltd, Rentokil Initial Singapore Pte Ltd, Shiners Maintenance Pte Ltd, Karcher Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Besco Building Supplies (SEA) Pte Ltd, Rigel Technology ( S ) Pte Ltd, Kimberly-Clark Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Cleaning Express Pte Ltd, Super Steam and the World Toilet Organization.