It’s Time for Spring Cleaning
It’s that time again: the air is warmer and today is the Spring Equinox, officially bringing us into the spring season. Pollen is accumulating on our cars, and our craving to go outside makes us more and more aware of how dirty the inside of our homes have become. That’s right: it’s time to break out the brooms and the feather dusters and scrape the winter away.
We usually remember to initiate the spring cleaning process in our homes, but we may forget the importance of initiating the same process in our workplace. A clean workplace is a safer workplace, so here are a few tips and tricks that can apply to both work and home:
Practice Ladder Safety
When everyone starts to clean out their gutters or ceiling fans, ladder safety becomes an important reminder once again. Wear non-slip shoes and make sure to set up the ladder on level ground. If you have someone available to help you, it is always best to have them hold the ladder steady for you while you’re on it. Always maintain three points of contact while moving up or down a ladder. There are approximately 500,000 injuries from ladder falls reported every year, occurring in both the workplace and at home. You can keep yourself from being a part of that statistic by practicing ladder safety.
Keep Floors Clear
It is easy to trip over things when they aren’t in their usual place, and during spring cleaning, furniture and other items might litter the floor. Trips and falls can be dangerous, and you can prevent them by keeping walkways clear and putting things back in their place as soon as possible. In the workplace, you can help create a safer environment by looking out for obstructed walkways or messy spaces.
Read Safety Labels
Spring cleaning can turn deadly fast when it comes to the chemicals you use. Mixing ammonia and bleach, for example, creates toxic gas that can be fatal. Using cleaning products wrongly can lead to burns, respiratory problems, and sickness. When you’re using these, make sure to wear gloves and keep the area well ventilated by turning on bathroom fans or opening windows or doors. Read all the safety labels on any product you use in order to avoid creating a dangerous concoction by accident.
Look for Mold
As you clean areas that may only get cleaned once a year, make sure to look for mold, especially in bathrooms and kitchens where water is run often. It can cause serious health problems if left unchecked. You can kill mold with bleach, but it’s usually a good idea to keep an eye on moldy areas. If mold continually comes back or that area is uncharacteristically damp, you should try to see if you can find an underlying cause. There may be a leaking pipe or insulation issue in that area that could require expensive repairs in the future.
Safety Goes Beyond Spring
Spring is a good reminder to start deep cleaning, but when it comes to staying safe, cleaning needs to be a year round practice. If you find that you or your employees struggle to keep the workplace clean, there is a chance that the system in place causes friction between the way you should function and the way you are currently functioning. That is where we can help.
TapRooT® RCA is based on Human Performance Research, which means we help you craft better systems. A good system makes it easy to do right and hard to do wrong, even when it comes to details as simple as the cleanliness of your work environment. If you are interested in learning more about what TapRooT® can do for you, contact us for a free briefing here.
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