05/09/2018
10 BENEFITS OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPING ON YOUR WORK SITE
Although cleaning and tidying up takes time and effort, we need to think 'past the broom' so to speak and understand the benefits, both immediate and long term, as fruits of our labour. The following benefits could be communicated to employees as motivation for them to practice good housekeeping daily in their workplace:
1. It opens the door for deeper safety interactions: Workers are more willing to discuss and take in safety interventions when their work area is clean and tidy. Is is counter productive to talk about serious safety concerns like PPE use, working at heights etc. when the worker retorts that the housekeeping is bad. You cannot successfully preach safety in a workplace that is allowed to be cluttered and untidy.
2. It creates a sense of Order: Good housekeeping is an indication that the rest of the workplace is well managed.
3. It exposes potential hidden hazards. Clutter covers safety concerns. Hidden hazards get exposed when items are stacked and stored properly.
4. It improves productivity: The first thing that often comes to mind when it comes to getting housekeeping done is, "I really don't have the time for this." Yet we end up spending double that time looking for something that is lying behind a pile of rubbish.
5. It reduces slip and trip hazards: Experience has shown me that slip and trip incidents in the workplace account for a large percentage of injuries. Clean up now and get the immediate benefits.
6. It aids effective emergency response: Escape routes are easier to identify in an emergency situation if proper housekeeping is in place. It also creates a safe environment when having to get to the emergency exits. Emergency exit signage may be obstructed by inappropriately stacked items.
7. It reduces fire hazards: Many potential fire hazards are eliminated through proper housekeeping.
8. It allows for better identification of missing items: If a workplace is well kept, tidy and having items/materials consolidated into distinct areas it makes it much easier to identify missing items/materials.
9. It makes stacked materials intrinsically safer: If items need to be removed from an untidy pile it often results in falling/sliding objects that may cause serious injury.
10. It creates good first impressions: Any new employee will get off to a good start if they first enter a clean and orderly work site. Half the battle will be won.
BY Andrew Mengel
Senior HSE (Lead) Coordinator at Fulton Hogan
