Enhancing Cleaning Safety: Best Practices for a Safer Workplace

cleaning safety - showcasing a pristine, well-lit room with cleaning equipment neatly arranged to one side. The room should evoke a sense of cleanliness and order.

Workplace safety is paramount, especially in sectors where the risk of injury is high. According to ASSTSAS, in the province of Quebec, falls and slips contribute to a staggering 18% of workers’ compensation costs. Alarmingly, this ranks as the third leading cause of workplace accidents in the health and social services sector, encompassing a wide range of job roles.

Understanding the Causes of Workplace Accidents

Before delving into solutions, it’s crucial to understand the root causes of these accidents. While falls and slips are significant contributors, several other factors play a role in workplace-related mishaps:

  1. Fall and Slide Accidents: These can be attributed to wet floors, uneven surfaces, or obstacles in pathways.
  2. Muscle Strains: Often a result of improper lifting techniques or excessive flexion, leading to back and muscle injuries.
  3. Chemical Exposures: Handling chemicals without proper precautions can result in eye and skin lesions.
  4. Respiratory Issues: Prolonged exposure to certain chemicals and equipment can adversely affect the respiratory system.
  5. Electrical and Biological Hazards: Accidental contact with live wires or exposure to biological hazards can have severe consequences.

Seven Proactive Measures to Enhance Cleaning Safety

To mitigate these risks, especially in cleaning tasks, consider the following seven steps:

  1. Regularly Review Work Methods: Periodically assess and update working methods and procedures to ensure they align with the best safety practices.
  2. Risk Assessment: Proactively identify and evaluate situations that pose risks. This includes lifting heavy loads, repetitive tasks, exposure to harmful chemicals, assessing air quality, and overall work organization.
  3. Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Recognize tasks that necessitate PPE. This can range from gloves and goggles to masks and protective sleeves.
  4. Opt for Non-slip Footwear: Especially crucial when working with floor finishes. Non-slip shoes can significantly reduce the risk of falls.
  5. Use Wet Floor Signs: Always use “wet floor” safety panels when cleaning floors. Ensure they are removed once the floor is dry to avoid confusion.
  6. Regular Equipment Inspection: Pay special attention to the electrical wiring of cleaning equipment. Avoid disconnecting devices by pulling on the wire.
  7. Handle Biological Hazards with Care: Treat any body fluid or blood as a potential biological hazard. Ensure you’re adequately trained before attempting any cleanup.

By integrating these steps into your cleaning procedures, you can create a safer environment for everyone involved. Remember, prevention is always better than cure.

Browse of full color catalog: Equipping oneself with quality safety gear is crucial for personal protection and the well-being of others. Our extensive range of safety equipment is designed to prevent accidents and safeguard employees’ health over time by reducing exposure to hazardous materials and tasks. Simple tools like gloves, masks, or protective goggles can make a profound difference!

Safe hand soap: a primer

hand soapHandwashing is the single most important action to break down the transmission of infection. Anyone working in the food industry, in a lab or in healthcare environment will tell you how often they have to wash their hands. So many products are available, however, it is clear that not all product were created equal. Multiple claims are often written on the bottle confusing users and buyers. A lack of regulation is seen. However, recently the American FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and Health Canada seems to be going toward new regulation in order to increase the safety of hand soaps.

FDA bans Triclosan

The American FDA (Food and Drug Administration) banned the use of Triclosan and 18 other chemicals in consumer hand soap. The decision was based on the lack of information regarding the effectiveness of this product compare to regular handwashing. Also, serious doubt concerning the safety of this product was crucial in the decision process. The debate has been going on for a while before the decision was made.

Health Canada identified risk regarding Methylisothiazolinone

According to Health Canada, the repeated exposure to this substance and its derivatives can generate multiple symptoms including:

  • a red rash or bumps;
  • itching;
  • swelling, burning, or tenderness of the skin;
  • dry, cracked or scaly skin;
  • blisters.

These symptoms may occur each time someone uses a product containing Methylisothiazolinone and its derivatives and may become more severe with repeated use.

Multiple solutions exist

Hopefully, many suppliers offer products without triclosan, paraben, methylisothiazolinone, benzalkonium chloride, polyacrylamide, dioxane, nonylphenol ethoxylated alcohol or any chemicals of concern. Ask you supplier what are the options regarding safe hand soap, it might save you a lot of trouble.

 

Reference:

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm378393.htm

http://canadiensensante.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2016/58290a-fra.php