Actively identifying weaknesses in your workplace housekeeping will go a long way to reducing risks for your employees, business and yourself. Sometimes all it takes is a small tweak in your system and you can dramatically improve the WHS environment that is critical to a safely managed operation.
This guide offers four clear, concise, and easy to implement tips to assist the instant improvement of management activities that will assist the sustainability of your housekeeping initiatives.
The tips are:
1. Create personnel awareness
All workers should be made personally aware, by their immediate manager, of their responsibility for maintaining high housekeeping standards in their work-area and in all their activities.
Detailed and exhaustive training programmes should be initiated for all personnel, to encourage awareness of the importance of housekeeping.
2. Encourage housekeeping promotions
Where appropriate, housekeeping competitions pitting various departments, sections, or sites of your business against one another in friendly competition may be held. This can serve two purposes: to strengthen team-building and to educate staff in matters of proper housekeeping initiatives.
Housekeeping and its importance can also be promoted by means of posters, stickers, etc.
3. Enable good housekeeping
Good housekeeping in the workplace includes:
- Providing the right tools and equipment for cleaning and general maintenance
- Ensuring materials and equipment are stored in a tidy manner (including empty packaging and containers)
- Aisles, walkways and other thoroughfares are kept unobstructed (e.g. trip hazards)
- Removing combustible materials from built-up areas
- Clear access to emergency equipment and first aid kits
- Unobstructed means of escape
4. Inspections
All managers and supervisors should carry out regular housekeeping inspections for areas under their responsibility.
Housekeeping inspections can be carried out in accordance with controlled checklists, problems identified, and documented actions followed up and completed on time.
Arrangements should also be put in place to ensure the timely and proper completion of all actions arising from deficiencies identified in the course of all housekeeping inspections.
General advice warning
The information on this site is of a general nature only. It does not take your specific needs or circumstances into consideration. You should look at your own situation and requirements before making any decisions.
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