INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH and SAFETY
Introduction to how to use a health and safety policy in your business.What personal protection you will need when cleaning
INSURANCE FIRST!
When you start up your business, the last thing on your mind will be health and safety, however from the time you set out on your first contract, these issues must come first in your mind, especially when you start to need help, and regardless of whether you pay them or that they are family.First, and foremost, you will need a good comprehensive insurance policy. Dont even think about running a business without insurance, and certainly never clean anyone's property without insurance. The cleaning industry has a very poor record on this (which shows up on all our current insurances) However, that is not to say that you should accept any quotation you are given - shopping around will find you a premium to suit.
HEALTH and SAFETY POLICY
You should develop a written health and safety policy and this must be given to your employees, and they should sign as read. The health and safety laws work both ways. The employee has to take as much care as does the employer, but the employer has tp point out all responsibilities to them. It is a serious issue in societies who seem to want to claim awards from anyone under the most trivial excuses and you as an employer and/or contractor will be first in the firing line. When we say trivial we really mean trivial. So start to cover your back. The bigger you want to grow your business, the more you must grasp this nettle in good time It never goes away.
A written health and safety policy basically explains what your business will be doing regarding all health and safety issues, both inside and out. You should explain what you expect from your employees and what they can expect from you. You should have an injuries book, and a hazard data book - that is you must know what hazards your employees will face and you should keep all the data (MSDS) sheets on the hazards (yes even the Tippex! which can be downloaded here) All your detergent data needs to go on this, and you have to train yourself and your employees in the use of your chosen detergents.So start to take your health and safety policy seriously
Health and safety is a big subject Over the next few weeks we will place more articles on this section
ARE YOU PROTECTED? What personal protection you will need when cleaning
Foot protection
Not just by insurance but by clothing. You may wear the T- shirt with the company logo but are you wearing the correct foot wear? We've seen cleaners with flip flops and cleaners wearing shoes with heels! We can just about stand trainers -'cos you are on your feet all day, but what if you are on a construction site? You will never get away with wearing inadequate or unsuitable footwear. So buy some comfortable shoes with steel toecaps. You should also consider that at some time during some parts of the day, your feet are going to get wet when you apply the detergent to the area you are cleaning.Your feet will suffer. Look after those toes. Ever had a vacuum cleaner land on them? Ever been rather too near a buffing machine?
Head protection - Having spent a lot of time on platforms ladders, cherry pickers and the like - we found that in many circumstances a hard hat was a necessity. Better than a battered head. Overhead and high level work always need a hard hat to be worn and again, dont attempt to work on a construction site without one.
Protect yourself by keeping an eye out for things moving overhead as well. It can be difficult to work in a hard hat when you are cleaning so ensure that it fits properly. You will always need a hard hat when overhead work is on - going, not so much when there is none. Use your discretion.
Eye protection - Overhead application of detergents will need some kind of eye protection. Anything in the eye is not comfortable as you will no doubt know You should also use eye protection when using a pressure washer at close quarters. The soiling that you are cleaning off may also damage your eyes, so if you are cleaning swarf (or metal dust) or engine or machine oil off a surface and you are using a pressure washer, you should put eye goggles on. However you should never operate a pressure washer at excessive pressure - never more than a noticeable pressure to your hand - so that any soil will not be blown into your eyes
Mouth and nose protection - You will always need a mask when working in very dusty or moldy areas. Also when working in enclosed areas, or with solvents. Wear a mask when you are cleaning off loose powdery soiling as in brickwork or metal dusts, and certainly when cleaning out food wastes or sewerage wastes. If you are in any doubt, put on a mask.
Ear protection - You should wear ear plugs if you have to work in a very noisy environment.
Hair and beard protection - try getting into a food factory without a hair net or snood. So therefore If you clean an active food preparation area, wear a hair net, even if it is only a small fast food place.
Hand protection - You will find that using a pair of chemically resistant gloves (and these are not household rubber gloves) will give you the protection you need for acids, alkalis and solvents. Use hand protection when cleaning drains, tanks or where you are likely to come into contact with sewerage or food waste.
We have well over 30 years of cleaning experience in all areas of cleaning including hostile environments, critical cleaning, retail and general cleaning as well as industrial, process plant and food industry cleaning; regularly asked to produce unique solutions to critical deadlines, so what ever your problem is we can say now that we can solve it. We work from a very technical base utilising our extensive knowledge of materials and detergent chemistry. We base all our work and documentation around ISO 9000:2000 and operate with due regard to the most up to date environmental regulations Should you have a serious problem which you can’t solve,
fact we actively source out products globally so that we can provide the very best, un biased advice for you.