To some, the concept of safety housekeeping is a new one. However, if your goal is to reduce worksite injuries, you need to embrace the idea of safety housekeeping. What is it? Quite simply, it includes keeping the work area clean and tidy, keeping floors, doorways and emergency exits debris free at all times, and finally it is an awareness of potential hazards that exist in our workspace.
There are several very distinct benefits of an orderly and house kept work area. These include: improved workplace efficiency, an assist to fire prevention on the worksite, a noted increase in employee morale, and finally, less employee injuries. It is this last point that appears to offer the most financial benefit. Obviously if you have an employee who injures himself on the job, you will have costs associated with medical treatment, lost wages, and lost productivity. Even if you have workers' compensation insurance coverage who will pay some of these costs, keep in mind that you will ultimately pay in the form of increased insurance premiums.
So what does a good safety housekeeping program consist of? First and foremost an investment in employee training should be a top priority. Employees need to be trained on the concepts of keeping their work areas safe of debris, cleaning up after their shift, placing warning signs when a spill occurs, job site inspections and more. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of safety housekeeping is that your employees will have a hyper sensitive alertness to work place safety. Remember, an aware workforce is a safe workforce.
In order to implement a proper safety housekeeping initiative, there will likely need to be an initial expenditure for supplies. Some thought should be given to buying storage bins for loose or scattered work materials. Also, spill control supplies should be at several locations throughout the target facility. Finally, dust and dirt removal should be accomplished through a powerful and HEPA certified unit.
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