Set goals and expectations, and base auditing on those goals. What is the best way to manage safety actions and make sure they are actually completed?
We aim to find out with this Failure to properly manage audit actions can have disastrous consequences. In this blog, safety expert Bridget Leathley To help prevent slip, trip and fall incidents, HSE. They can use this information to prevent future accidents. If you see a spillage, clean it up or make arrangements for it to be cleaned. Report any damaged floors or mats. Play your part and keep the workplace tidy.
If you see items on the floor where someone could trip over them, remove them or arrange for them to be removed or for the situation to be made safe. If you are given PPE, wear it and look after it. Report any faults or damage to your employer and make arrangements for a replacement.
Tell your employer about any work situation that you think is dangerous, or if you notice that something has gone wrong with their health and safety arrangements. Eliminate fire hazards. There are three main types of dust: Silica dust — created when working on silica containing materials like concrete, mortar and sandstone also known as respirable crystalline silica or RCS ; Wood dust — created when working on softwood, hardwood and wood-based products like MDF and plywood; Lower toxicity dusts — created when working on materials containing very little or no silica.
The most common include gypsum eg in plasterboard , limestone, marble and dolomite. Stop or reduce the dust Before work starts, look at ways of stopping or reducing the amount of dust you might make. For example you could use: The right size of building materials so less cutting or preparation is needed; Silica-free abrasives to reduce the risks when blasting; A less powerful tool — eg a block splitter instead of a cut-off saw; A different method of work altogether — eg a direct fastening system Even if you stop some dust this way, you may do other work that could still produce high dust levels.
There are two main ways of doing this: Water — water damps down dust clouds. However, it needs to be used correctly. This means enough water supplied at the right levels for the whole time that the work is being done. Just wetting the material beforehand does not work. On-tool extraction — removes dust as it is being produced.
It is a type of local exhaust ventilation LEV system that fits directly onto the tool. Avoid tracking materials Work-area mats — which can be cloth or sticky-topped — should be kept clean and maintained. Prevent falling objects. Customers and the other stakeholders of the organization have more confidence in the organization since they notice that the work is being carried out efficiently in clean, pleasant, and well-ordered surroundings.
Housekeeping and cleanliness practices generally reflect the attitude of the management towards healthy practices. Good housekeeping and cleanliness reflects pride in the workplace, which signals that the organization has a healthy work culture. This is important since a healthy work culture provides an environment at the workplace where the employees are not only at home with their work but they enjoy the work and hence their work efficiency gets a boost.
The responsibility of housekeeping and cleanliness lies both with the management and the employees. Periodic and panic cleanups are costly and ineffective and do not improve work environment where the employees can give efficient performance. Good housekeeping and cleanliness mean that there is an effective management of the workplace. This effective management is the reason for the better performance, increased productivity and better control on the product quality.
Good housekeeping and cleanliness also reflect systematic storage of the materials, neat and tidy work areas, and systematic movement of the men, materials and machines, as well as adequate workplace illumination. With these practices, workplace can be kept safe from potentially dangerous objects or substances present in the work environment. An organized and clutter-free work area also makes it easier to respond to or evacuate in the event of an emergency.
Good housekeeping and cleanliness normally results into i a workplace which is cleaner, safer, well organized and more pleasant for work, ii improved utilization of floor space, ii smoother and systematic workflow with substantial reduction in non-value added activities, iv better inventory control of tools and materials, v reduced handling to ease the flow of materials, vi reduction in wastages of materials, vii more efficient equipment clean-up and maintenance leading to lower break-downs, viii minimization of errors leading to better products, ix safe environment for work and lower exposures of employees to hazardous substances such as dusts, and vapours etc.
Furthermore, poor housekeeping and cleanliness also create fire hazards which inevitably lead to increased fire risk. Starting point for housekeeping and cleanliness in the organization is the setting of the housekeeping and cleanliness practices and then training the employees in those practices.
These practices are to have clear objectives which are practical and attainable. The practices are to comply with the regulatory norms and requirements.
These practices are to be safe and simple so that employees are motivated to follow them. Good housekeeping and cleanliness practices plan and manage an orderly storage and movement of materials from point of entry to exit. They include a material flow plan which ensures minimal handling. The plan also ensures that work areas are not used as storage areas. This avoids the employees moving the materials to and from work areas as needed.
Part of the plan can include earmarked area for different materials and frequency of material disposal from the earmarked area. Often, ineffective or insufficient storage planning results in materials being handled and stored in hazardous ways. Knowing the shop layout and the movement of materials throughout the workplace helps in planning of the work procedures. Employees need to know how to work safely with the products they use.
To be effective, these practices are to be used on a regular and continual basis by the employees in the organization. One way to ensure that these practices are followed at the workplace is to integrate them with the job responsibilities of the employees. The orderly arrangement of operations, tools, equipment and supplies is an important part of a good housekeeping cleanliness practices. Also regular inspection is needed for ensuring that the practices are followed at the workplace.
The major elements which are normally included in the housekeeping and cleanliness practices at the workplace are described below.
Through healthy housekeeping and cleanliness practices, the organization not only keep the workplace neat and clean, but also save on a whole lot of resources which in turn helps in improvement of the profitability of the organization. All the employees of the organization play an integral role in housekeeping and cleanliness.
It is important to establish a housekeeping schedule. At a minimum, housekeeping is required to be done at the end of each shift. At this time employees are expected to inspect, clean and remove unused or discarded materials. In areas where significant debris build up is possible, it is important to establish a more frequent housekeeping schedule. It is important to train workers to keep their areas clean throughout the shift in order to minimize hazards as well as reduce the amount of time needed at the end of a shift to clean.
Like any other process, it is better if the standard operating procedures SOP are written for the housekeeping and cleanliness. SOPs ensure that the housekeeping and cleanliness practices are well defined in the organization.
This in turn makes it easier for the employees to follow them. Also, housekeeping and cleanliness being an ongoing process, it is necessary that all due measures are taken to maintain the sanity of the workplace.
Regular audit, walkthroughs and inspection schedules need to be put in place since these in turn help in sustaining good housekeeping and cleanliness practices in the organization. Good housekeeping and cleanliness practices are normally difficult to maintain since there are pervasive problems.
Additionally, a few individual employees who are not committed to housekeeping and cleanliness practices can make a significant difference. Hence, continuous, unrelenting management attention to this issue is necessary to achieve and maintain the desired level of housekeeping and cleanliness in the organization.
The program should outline the regulations and standards for colours. Dirty light fixtures reduce essential light levels. Clean light fixtures can improve lighting efficiency significantly.
Aisles should be wide enough to accommodate people and vehicles comfortably and safely. Aisle space allows for the movement of people, products and materials. Warning signs and mirrors can improve sight-lines in blind corners.
Arranging aisles properly encourages people to use them so that they do not take shortcuts through hazardous areas. Keeping aisles and stairways clear is important. They should not be used for temporary "overflow" or "bottleneck" storage. Stairways and aisles also require adequate lighting. The best way to control spills is to stop them before they happen. Regularly cleaning and maintaining machines and equipment is one way. Another is to use drip pans and guards where possible spills might occur.
When spills do occur, it is important to clean them up immediately. Absorbent materials are useful for wiping up greasy, oily or other liquid spills. Used absorbents must be disposed of properly and safely. Tool housekeeping is very important, whether in the tool room, on the rack, in the yard, or on the bench. Tools require suitable fixtures with marked locations to provide an orderly arrangement. Returning tools promptly after use reduces the chance of it being misplaced or lost.
Workers should regularly inspect, clean and repair all tools and take any damaged or worn tools out of service. The regular collection, grading and sorting of scrap contribute to good housekeeping practices. It also makes it possible to separate materials that can be recycled from those going to waste disposal facilities. Allowing material to build up on the floor wastes time and energy since additional time is required for cleaning it up. Placing scrap containers near where the waste is produced encourages orderly waste disposal and makes collection easier.
All waste receptacles should be clearly labelled e. Good organization of stored materials is essential for overcoming material storage problems whether on a temporary or permanent basis. There will also be fewer strain injuries if the amount of handling is reduced, especially if less manual material handling is required.
The location of the stockpiles should not interfere with work but they should still be readily available when required. Stored materials should allow at least one metre or about three feet of clear space under sprinkler heads. Stacking cartons and drums on a firm foundation and cross tying them, where necessary, reduces the chance of their movement. Stored materials should not obstruct aisles, stairs, exits, fire equipment, emergency eyewash fountains, emergency showers, or first aid stations.
All storage areas should be clearly marked. Flammable, combustible, toxic and other hazardous materials should be stored in approved containers in designated areas that are appropriate for the different hazards that they pose.
Storage of materials should meet all requirements specified in the fire codes and the regulations of environmental and occupational health and safety agencies in your jurisdiction. Add a badge to your website or intranet so your workers can quickly find answers to their health and safety questions. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information, CCOHS does not guarantee, warrant, represent or undertake that the information provided is correct, accurate or current.
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