The Process of Elimination

By: Allencia Ballard

Most of us spend more time at work than we do at home.  Like at home, if you don’t take time to clean regularly, housekeeping can quickly get out of hand!  With so many moving parts in the workplace, a regular cleaning schedule is important, but can often feel impossible to maintain.

While it may feel burdensome to schedule time to clean, you can minimize the burden by practicing good habits – daily – to clean your work area.  Avoid frustration and save time by cleaning as you work.

Elimination

The key to good housekeeping at work is elimination.

  1. Eliminate the build-up of dust, dirt, oil, grease, chemical residue, etc. on surfaces, tools, and equipment. Wipe down these surfaces regularly.  It goes a long way toward making the workplace safer for us all.
  2. Eliminate trash right away. Don’t allow trash or useless items to pile up in the work area.  Even if you intend to discard it later, it’s best to just get rid of it immediately.
  3. Eliminate clutter by removing items not used frequently from the work area. Properly store them out of the way and in an area that is easily accessible when needed.  Obsolete items should be sold, donated, scrapped, discarded or otherwise removed from the facility.
  4. Eliminate broken or damaged items from the work area immediately. These items should NOT remain in the work area.  There’s too much risk that someone could inadvertently use them and suffer an injury or accident.  Have these items been repaired immediately or properly discard?
  5. Eliminate safety hazards that exist in the work area. Whether a bolt is loose on a machine guard, a puddle is on the floor, or tools are left on the stairs, good housekeeping and an injury-free workplace go hand-in-hand.

 

Remember to keep safety in mind while cleaning & eliminating in your work area.  Use these 5 guidelines to clean and eliminate . . . injury-free:

  • ALWAYS wear PPE to protect your eyes, face, hands, feet, and skin from contaminants.
  • NEVER clean moving equipment. Keep hair, jewelry, and loose clothing away from parts in which they could become entangled.
  • ALWAYS perform LOTO to clean conveyors, presses, pulleys, chains, motors, cylinders, etc.
  • NEVER clean powered hand tools while they are plugged in or with batteries installed.
  • ALWAYS vacuum hazardous or combustible dust. Sweeping or using compressed air only redistributes the material.

 

Good housekeeping isn’t just about cleaning.  It’s important to eliminate things that aren’t required in the work area.  With an “everything in its place” approach to housekeeping, we can quickly identify deviations in safety and immediately find ways to correct them.

Back to top