Workplace Housekeeping and Safety Tips
Keeping your work area safe, clean, and organized is essential to an efficient workplace. Essentially, housekeeping involves creating a hazard-free environment in which your employees can operate safely—whether it’s a woodworking studio, real estate office, or a boho boutique.
Why is good housekeeping important in the workplace?
Creating effective workplace housekeeping can improve your workers’ health, work morale, and productivity and prevent dangerous incidents, such as falls, spills, or machine-related injuries. Read on to learn more about workplace housekeeping standards and the six most effective housekeeping tips to keep your business running safely and smoothly.
Safe, Sterile, and Spotless: The OSHA Standard
Maintaining a clean, hazard-free work area is about more than improving employee morale or making a good impression on visitors. It’s about keeping up with the legal standards put in place by the United States Department of Labor.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) works to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for workers by providing training and enforcing safety standards within a work area. As a business owner, you must familiarize yourself with these standards in order to avoid any non-compliance fees and to ensure your employees have access to rights such as:
- Receiving workplace safety and health training in the language they understand
- Working on machines that are safe and working properly
- Receiving the proper safety equipment, such as gloves, hats, or harnesses
- Being protected from toxic chemicals
- Requesting OSHA inspection and speak with an inspector
- Reporting injuries or illness due to workplace hazards
Learn more about OSHA’s Safety and Health Information Bulletins to ensure your workplace conditions are up to standard.
6 housekeeping tips to keep your business running safely and smoothly
#1 Keep Your Walking and Working Surfaces Hazard-Free
There are bound to be a few workplace safety hazards lingering about when you’re running a business, from merchandise-filled cardboard boxes to tools like scissors, box cutters, and other machinery.
However, these can be potential hazards to you and your employees.
Slips, trips, and falls in the workplace are one of the leading causes of serious workplace injuries. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 32 percent of workplace nonfatal injuries result from falls, slips, and trips, specifically in the construction industry. But slippery surfaces don’t only apply to construction.
To that end, employers must begin by identifying walking and working surfaces that may be potential fall hazards, such as:
- Portable ladders
- Fixed ladders without fall protection
- Damaged stair treads (from snow, rain, ice, or grease)
- Unclean or slippery floors
- Unsecured dock boards
Then, the employer must properly train their employees on fall hazards and equipment management and provide the employees with fall protection.
In addition to identifying potential fall hazards, OSHA standards state that employers must ensure that all workplaces, including passageways, storerooms, and service rooms, are kept “clean and orderly and in a sanitary condition.” Additionally, drainage should be present anywhere “wet processes are used.”
For example, Fred Norton, a technical director of Risk Control Services, Liberty Mutual Insurance in Walnut Creek, California, encourages the use of adequate flooring depending on the condition of the workplace. Then, use the appropriate cleaners to maintain those surfaces.
In addition, the National Safety Council states that employers and employees can maintain a safe work environment by:
- Reporting and cleaning up spills or leaks
- Keeping walkways, aisles, and exits clear of items
- Considering installing mirrors and warning signs to help with blind spots
- Installing anti-slip flooring and grab bars where necessary
- Providing mats, platforms, or other dry standing places
- Replacing worn or damaged flooring
- Using drip pans and guards
- Eliminating slippery conditions like snow, ice, oil, and grease from walkways and working surfaces
The amount of housekeeping you do will depend on the industry you’re in. For example, if you’re a hospitality business that provides foods and beverages to your customers, you’ll want to ensure that the entire establishment—dining room, kitchen, and bathrooms—are safe for your employees and customers.
On the other hand, if you’re a real estate agent you may have to do things a little differently. While potential home-buyers may visit your office, they’ll also be walking through homes. For home showings, be sure to sweep the front steps, pick up any clutter, and wipe down dirty areas within the home.
#2 Reduce Dust Buildup
Poor housekeeping practices can cause clutter, debris, and hazards throughout an office. According to the National Fire Protection Association, dust accumulation of more than 0.8 millimeters that covers at least 5% of a room’s surface can pose a significant explosion hazard.
As such, regular dusting and water wash-downs are recommended, specifically in workplaces with a large number of machines or electronics, such as coffee shops or construction sites.
OSHA standards also state that employers must provide their employees with respirators if the working conditions and air quality are considered unsafe due to hazardous airborne substances.
The World Health Organization characterizes hazardous airborne contaminants as gaseous or vapor dust, sprays, mists, smokes, and fumes. More specifically, airborne dusts are of great concern because they are known to cause lung diseases, lead poisoning, cancer, and asthma.
Potential hazardous dust accumulation in the workplace can be caused by:
- Mineral dust, such as silica
- Metallic dust, such as lead
- Chemicals, such as pesticides
- Molds and spores
- Vegetable dust, such as wood, flour, cotton, and tea
Dust may also reduce the quality of products or merchandise, which can be costly. If you’re a real estate agent, you’ll want to make sure that you dust the baseboards, window panes, and blinds of the home you’re showing to impress buyers and sellers.
#3 Prevent Falling Objects
Employers must recognize and prevent potential hazards and develop procedures to maintain safe workplaces. According to the National Safety Council, employers should abide by the following guidelines to avoid falling objects from injuring employees:
- Shut the drawers of filing cabinets when they’re not in use
- Open one filing cabinet at a time to prevent the cabinet from tipping over
- Store heavier objects closer to the floor, and away from walkways or exits
- Store tools, equipment, and other materials properly to prevent them from falling (make sure sharp edges are not exposed)
- Stack materials properly and away from the edges of the shelf to prevent falling, sliding, or collapsing
In addition, installing a toe board or net on shelves can help to prevent objects from shifting or hitting workers or other equipment during the workday.
#4 Create an Emergency Action Plan
An Emergency Action Plan is required for OSHA compliance. Essentially, the plan trains and informs employees of the actions they should take in the case of an emergency, such as a fire or natural disaster. These plans should include:
- Escape procedures and exit routes
- Systems to account for employees after evacuation
- Rescue and medical duties of employees
- Means for how to report fires and other emergencies
In the specific case of a fire, OSHA also recommends that employers determine a Fire Prevention Plan to provide employees with fire safety training and procedures. In general, employees are required to keep unnecessary combustible material from accumulating within the workplace.
The National Safety Council Supervisor’s Safety Manual also recommends the following precautionary measures for fire safety:
- Store quick-burning, flammable materials away from ignition sources.
- Avoid spilling flammable liquids on clothes or other fabrics.
- Keep passageways and fire doors free of obstructions. Stairway doors should remain shut and stairwells should not be used for storage of flammable materials.
- Keep materials at least 18 to 36 inches away from automatic sprinklers, fire extinguishers, and sprinkler controls.
- Create a clearance of 3 feet between piled material and the ceiling.
- Report hazardous electrical areas and fix them as soon as possible.
#5 Provide Medical and First Aid Supplies
In the case of an emergency or occupational injury, employers should provide their employees with on-site medical supplies that are compatible with any workplace risks that may occur.
As an employer, you should first identify and assess workplace risks and then design a first aid program that:
- Minimizes the potential of workplace accidents
- Provides readily available first aid supplies and equipment
- Assigns and trains employees to be first-aid providers
- Regularly goes through reassessment and updates
When equipping your workplace with medical supplies, OSHA recommends that you include the following:
- 4x4-inch gauze pads
- Two 8x10-inch gauze pads
- Box adhesive bandages
- Two-inch-wide gauze roller bandage
- Two triangular bandages
- Wound cleaning agents, such as moistened towelettes
- Scissors
- Blanket
- Tweezers
- Adhesive tape
- Latex gloves
- Resuscitation equipment, such as resuscitation bag, mask, or pocket mask
- Two elastic wraps
- Splint
- Directions for requesting emergency services
#6 Train Your Employees Properly
As an employer, it’s your responsibility to train your employees in workplace safety, including machine operations, electrical safety and hazards, and emergency protocol. In addition, it’s important to encourage your employees to report any issues or potential risks they observe while on the job.
If your business works with any hazardous materials, such as fluorescent bulbs, home cleaning products, motor oil, or paint, it’s important to educate yourself and your employees about the potential dangers when handling these materials and how to protect themselves, including but not limited to:
- Using gloves
- Wearing chemical-resistant safety boots
- Avoiding mixing substances in the same container
- Following the proper waste disposal methods
Build Your Community and Your Business With Nextdoor
Adhering to proper workplace practices and good housekeeping is essential to keeping your business on top of potential hazards or occupational risks that may occur during business hours. Essentially, you’ll want to keep your storefront, office, or warehouse clean and hazard-free to ensure the safety of you, your employees, and your customers.
Once you’ve equipped your workplace with the proper tools, get the word out about your products and services with Nextdoor. With Nextdoor, you can connect with fellow business owners to compare safety standards and relay your commitment to safety to your customers and future employees, too.
Sources:
Federal Register. Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Protective Equipment (Fall Protection Systems). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/18/2016-24557/walking-working-surfaces-and-personal-protective-equipment-fall-protection-systems
United States Department of Labor. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.266AppA
National Safety Council. Tips for Effective Workplace Housekeeping. https://www.nsc.org/getmedia/f0f277a0-d10e-4bd3-8c77-82685515de03/housekeeping-st-eng.pdf
World Health Organization. Hazard prevention and control in the work environment: Airborne dust. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-SDE-OEH-99-14
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fatal and nonfatal falls, slips, and trips in the construction industry. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/fatal-and-nonfatal-falls-slips-and-trips-in-the-construction-industry.htm
United States Department of Labor. Safety and Health Information Bulletins. https://www.osha.gov/shib#tab1
United States Department of Labor. Compliance Assistance Quick Start. https://www.osha.gov/complianceassistance/quickstarts
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