Good housekeeping is a place for everything and everything in its proper place. Well, this implies that a workplace is in orderly manner for personnel, equipment and materials.
For example, when combustible materials are present in a location that would expose them to heat and oxygen sources, a fire would happen. And it could be said that there is no orderly arrangement of the combustible materials.
Combustible materials close to heat and oxygen sources are a sure way for a fire to start.
Good housekeeping entails a lot of things such as having a proper layout of the workplace or the facility or having a designated area for an arrangement of harmful substances and marking physical hazards that can cause injury.
And equally having routine maintenance in all plants, equipment and machinery at work and so on.
Poor Housekeeping Conditions.
Some workplace conditions can be very harmful and dangerous for employees to work; where you have sloppy floors which can be difficult to access and move.
Sloppy floors can lead to a lack of pride and can cause an accident in the workplace.
Some workplaces witnesses work tools on the floor scattered carelessly or unattended and this can be a huge safety problem.
Some have much defective equipment for work. Often, this is a result of a lack of maintenance culture for this equipment and tools. (Defective equipment and tools have the likelihood to lead to harm).
More so, oil spills on the floor or when you have an uncovered container harbouring a harmful chemical substance could lead to a safety concern.
In many places where there is little or no good housekeeping, a lot of safety concerns are present.
Promoting good housekeeping will bring in a lot of benefits for the organization, the employees and everyone that is affected by their activities.
However, below are the seven reasons why you should pay more attention to good housekeeping.
1. Good housekeeping improves worker safety.
Often, No-slip, trip and fall incidents exist when the floors, walkways and the environment are free of slippery materials. And other materials that clutter the area.
Elimination of waste and flammable materials through good housekeeping improve worker safety by causing a reduction in an accident.
Due to the careful storage of materials through housekeeping, exposing workers to struck-by objects can be minimal.
Timely inspection and maintenance of machines and equipment lead to fewer malfunctioning equipment, and for this, there is a reduction in the risk of injury from malfunctioning equipment
2. It eliminates accidents.
How does good housekeeping prevent accidents? For example, when you have an oil spill on the floor
Worker accidents leading to injuries can lead to lost workdays and increased spending on hiring new workers for replacement.
3. Good housekeeping eliminates fire emergencies.
Fire needs heat, oxygen and a source of fuel for it to happen otherwise called the fire triangle. You can read more about the fire triangle from this blog.
However, good housekeeping helps to make sure that these three elements of fire don’t come together to ignite a fire in the workplace.
4. It encourages better working habits.
Encouraging good housekeeping ensures improvement in workers’ habits and attitudes.
Good housekeeping makes the workplace to be neat and organized; this increases worker morale and reduces stress from work.
5. Good housekeeping reduces operational costs.
Poor housekeeping comes with a lot of issues that can affect the operational cost of an organization.
Preventive maintenance through good housekeeping will reduce property damage.
However, proper good housekeeping will bring about a timely inspection of equipment for work, and this will necessitate timely repairs and maintenance of any defective ones.
Those marked for repairs can be labelled and tagged out properly to avoid bringing them into use before repairs.
6. It improves worker health.
Through regular cleaning, worker exposure to dust and other harmful substances is minimal. The provision of sanitation materials for workers due to good housekeeping helps to take care of their health.
Good housekeeping offers Good waste handling and management on-site in such a manner that it doesn’t pose a danger to the lives and health of workers in the workplace.
7. It improves productivity at work.
When you have a safe work environment with good housekeeping, it leads to workers with high morale and this increases productivity.
When the environment is tidy and well-kept, it allows for more effective use.
Items of work equipment can easily be seen and used hence reducing time lost in tracking them down during work.
Workplace cleanup of equipment will also ensure better control of tools and their inventory.
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Other blogs;
- Managements role in promoting a good safety culture in a workplace
- Road Safety and Accident Prevention
- Benefits-of-environmental-management-system
- Brief explanations of the three ISO management system standards every health and safety professional needs to know
- A simple lesson on Job Hazard Analysis.
- Tips on writing a great minute during the safety and health meeting
- Management System Audit
- Transportation safety toolbox talk
- 37 Chemical handling safety tips.
- How do we make the health and safety policy accessible to all workers
- 30 hand safety tips to prevent hand injury
- What does it mean to have safe places of work?
Onyeka Emma is a QHSE Professional with more than 10 years of experience in occupational health and safety, which spans many industries such as construction, beverage, oil and gas, etc. He has many health and safety certifications, including NEBOSH IGC, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 Lead auditor certificate. A member of IOSH, ISPON, and Nigeria Red Cross Society. He is interested in business, entrepreneurship, Speaking, and motivating people to do better for themselves. He enjoys leisure with a good motivational book.
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