Every employee, regardless of position,
has an individual and co-operative responsibility to be uncompromising
with regard to health and safety. Risk management should be incorporated
as an integral part of all business initiatives and operations, ensuring
all hazards are identified, assessed, controlled, and modified as
necessary to maintain safe working activities.
To work safely in the cleaning industry it is important to understand
what the following terms mean:
• Hazard
• Risk
• Risk Assessment
• SDS
• Hierarchy of Control
• Workplace Policies and Procedures
• Safety Induction & Training
• Accident & Incident reporting
• PPE
All employers and employees must take action to minimize the cause of
harm to anyone “so far as is reasonably practicable”. This includes
employers providing training to minimize any risks associated with the
work environment, ensuring the safe use of all equipment and chemicals.
Employers and employees must do everything they can to try and predict
what may cause injury or harm and take action to prevent incidents.
Hazard
Anything that might hurt or cause harm to
someone. Example: Mopping the floor of a busy shopping centre is a
hazard as the floor is slippery. Common Hazards in the Cleaning Industry
Include:
• Chemicals
• Heat Stress
• Equipment
• Slip and Fall
• Manual Handling
• Biological
• Sharps
• Electrical
Risk
The chance of the hazard hurting someone.
Example: Mopping the floor of a closed shopping centre is less of a risk
then mopping the floor of a shopping centre at peak hour.
Risk Assessment
The procedure for assessing the risks involved on a particular site or
job. It can be performed by a site walk thorough or may be completed by
a site supervisor before commencing work.
SDS
Material Safety Data Sheet. It is the law that every chemical supplied
and used in the workplace must have a SDS The purpose of a SDS
is to show how to safely:
• Store chemicals
• Transport chemicals
• Handle chemicals
• Dispose of chemicals
• Clean up spills
• Apply first aid in an emergency
• Identify the chemical
• Contact the manufacturer
Hierarchy of Control for Cleaners
The best way to manage risks and hazards is to use the hierarchy of
control. The hierarchy of control must be followed in the listed order.
Elimination should be the first solution sought for the control of any
hazards.
Workplace Policy and Procedures for Cleaners
A document that every employee should be familiar with that discusses
the WHS policy for all staff, specific to the tasks performed by the
business.
The WHS policy should expresses the following commitments to health and
safety in the workplace:
-
Abide
by all statutory and regulatory obligations as a minimum, and pursue
best practice applications beyond these requirements.
-
Provide the necessary training for all staff to safely perform their
duties.
-
Consult with staff, on a regular basis, to identify and control
risks.
-
Maintain plant and equipment in a safe operating condition.
-
Isolate defective or dangerous equipment until fixed.
-
Set
and monitor WHS improvement objectives and targets.
The WHS
Policy should be reviewed periodically to ensure it continually reflects
legislative requirements and organisational needs.
Safety
Induction and Training for Cleaners
An
introduction when you start a new job, new role or a new work site. The
induction covers all of the things you need to know about how to stay
safe at work. An employer has duty of care to provide training in all
WHS matters specific to your work.
The organisation should be committed to continually improving the way
business is managed and the way the business encourages staff to develop
their skills. Internal and external training should aim to:
-
Nurture a culture that values training and development, so that
staff have the opportunity to reach their potential.
-
As a
result of staff training and development, long service and loyal
employees is encouraged.
-
Deliver increased value to clients and stakeholders due to more
efficient and competent staff.
These
objectives can be achieved by:
-
Inducting all personnel and clearly communicating values and
expectations.
-
Conducting regular performance reviews with staff, to identify
training and development needs to meet individual and business
objectives.
-
Encouraging individuals to train and develop themselves to meet
business needs and help realise their personal potential.
Accident
and Incident Reporting for Cleaners
Accident
= An unexpected event that causes injury or illness.
Incident = Any event that could have caused an injury, illness or a near
miss.
It is very
important to report all incidents and injuries in the workplace; the
report should be as detailed as possible with names, dates, locations,
causes of incident/accident and any other details available. The purpose
of reporting incidents or accidents is to make any changes necessary in
the work environment to ensure no one is harmed in the future. These
reports will be used to highlight any dangerous work sites, habits or
perhaps a gap in the WHS policies and training of the organisation.
PPE for
Cleaners
Personal
Protective Equipment
Example: Gloves, goggles, aprons, boots, masks
All PPE should be correctly used and training should be provided to
all cleaners on the correct way to use the equipment. PPE should be
returned clean and ready to use or disposed of correctly.
All
cleaning storerooms must:
-
Be
lockable and well ventilated – They should always be left locked
when unattended.
-
Contain
all necessary documentation including WHS policies, procedures and
forms, work orders and all other organizational requirements.
-
An
inventory of equipment and consumables should be kept to assist with
re-ordering and to monitor usage patterns.
-
SDS – Should be available to easily access close to where the
chemicals are being used. All chemicals should be stored according
to the SDS.
-
Particular attention should be given to isolate all incompatible
chemicals.
-
All
chemicals should be clearly labelled accurately especially when
decanted (put into smaller containers).
-
The
label should not be easily damaged by the contents. (These can be
ordered free of charge from the supplier).
-
Equipment must be tagged and tested for electrical faults, any
faulty equipment should be clearly marked as out of service and if
possible removed from the cleaning storage area to another location
until serviced and safe to use.
-
Equipment that is colour coded should not be in contact with each
other to avoid contamination.
-
All
equipment should be thoroughly cleaned and ready for next use before
being stored.
-
All
waste should be removed from the cleaning storage area. All
chemicals and consumables should be used on a first in first out
basis.
-
Consumables could refer to anything that can be used up such as,
toilet paper, soap disposable clothes etc.
-
PPE
should be clean and in perfect working order.
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