Sweeping floors and emptying bins are all part of office housekeeping — but it also goes beyond that. In fact, good office housekeeping is a crucial part of any workplace safety programme.
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Why Office Housekeeping Matters
While basic cleaning tasks are essential, a comprehensive office cleaning programme is vital for creating a safe and healthy environment. Here’s how a clean and organised space benefits everyone:
- Reduce hazards: Clutter, spills, and improper material storage can lead to slips, trips, falls, and other accidents.
- Boost productivity: A tidy workspace allows for efficient movement, reduces distractions, and helps employees find what they need quickly.
- Improve morale: A clean and organised environment fosters a sense of professionalism and well-being for staff.
- Pass inspections: SafeWork Australia (SWA) regulations emphasise good housekeeping as a key component of workplace safety compliance.
Who Needs Office Housekeeping?
Good housekeeping practices keep every work environment safe, whether you’re in a towering city office, a remote mining site, or a workshop filled with chemicals. But the key to a safe office lies in everyone’s participation.
So, here are 15 tips for practical housekeeping to keep your workplace safe.
15 Easy Tips to Keep Your Office Safe and Sparkling
1. Train Your Team
Knowledge is power! Provide informative training sessions on proper hygiene practices, hazard identification, and allergy awareness.
Interactive sessions can cover topics like cleaning techniques to prevent germ spread, identifying trip hazards, and handling hazardous materials safely.
2. Establish Clear Standards
Develop a cleaning manual with your team’s input. Outline cleaning zones, task frequencies (daily, weekly, monthly), and specific cleaning procedures for different surfaces.
Include details like keeping office chairs clean and sanitised. This standardisation ensures a consistently healthy and welcoming environment.
3. Declutter Regularly
Schedule regular inventory reviews to discard unused items, minimising clutter and maximising productivity. Organise quarterly “clean-out” days where employees can purge unnecessary files, supplies, and decorations.
Donate usable items and recycle what can’t be reused. Decluttering your office is also a great way to get your office ready for winter!
4. Implement Safe Spill Response Systems
Equip your team with clear procedures for reporting and cleaning spills. You can also provide visible signage to promote safety.
Train employees on using spill kits to contain and clean up messes quickly. Use bright floor decals reminding everyone to “Report Spills Immediately” and directional signs leading to spill kits.
5. Sort Waste Responsibly
Provide ample bins for waste and recycling, clearly labelled with a colour-coded system for different waste streams (paper, plastic, general waste). This will encourage proper disposal and effortless recycling, reduce clutter, and promote a clean environment.
6. Use the Right Bins for the Job
For hazardous waste like broken glass, invest in puncture-proof bins with secure lids and thick plastic liners to prevent accidental cuts or punctures.
7. Develop a Cleaning Schedule
Create a comprehensive cleaning schedule with assigned tasks for daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning. This ensures a consistently fresh and sanitary environment. Rotate assignments to distribute the workload fairly and encourage team participation.
8. Encourage Daily Cleaning
Motivate employees to tidy their desks daily as part of their closing routine. Throwing away trash, putting away supplies, and wiping down surfaces can have a significant collective impact, leaving the workspace ready for a productive start to the next day.
9. Keep Walkways Clear
Maintain unobstructed walkways and exits for safe and efficient movement throughout the office. Conduct regular audits to remove clutter or misplaced items that might obstruct pathways or emergency exits.
10. Utilise Smart Storage Solutions
Utilise shelves, racks, and organisers for frequently used items. This promotes efficiency and minimises clutter. Invest in shelving units, vertical storage solutions, and desk organisers to keep frequently used items readily accessible without creating clutter.
11. Design for Efficiency
Consider rearranging your office layout for optimal storage and movement, prioritising easy access to frequently used tools and equipment.
You can even consider consulting with a space optimisation specialist! They can create a layout that maximises space efficiency, promotes collaboration, and minimises unnecessary traffic flow.
12. Waste Management
Ensure waste bins are strategically placed throughout the office, especially in high-traffic areas and near desks. Partner with a reliable waste disposal service to ensure bins are emptied regularly according to local regulations.
13. Maintenance and Repairs
Schedule regular maintenance checks for flooring, lighting, and furniture. Addressing minor issues like loose tiles, flickering lights, or wobbly chairs promptly prevents them from becoming potential accidents in the future.
Regular inspections can also help identify and address issues that contribute to sick building syndrome, such as poor ventilation or water damage, which can negatively impact air quality and employee health.
14. Highlight and Communicate Hazards
Utilise visual cues like colour-coded hazard signs to highlight potential safety concerns in specific areas. For example, use yellow for tripping hazards, red for electrical hazards, and green for emergency exits. This promotes a proactive safety culture and helps prevent accidents.
15. Use an Office Housekeeping Checklist
SafeWork Australia provides a valuable checklist to identify workplace hazards and prevent slips and trips. We recommend using this as a guide to ensure your office meets the highest safety standards.
This checklist can be a valuable tool during your regular office cleaning for building maintenance to identify and address any potential hazards before they cause accidents.
- Is there a build-up of polish on floors?
- Is there an excessive residue of detergent?
- Do workers have to walk on floors wet from washing?
- Are wet floor signs not available or not used correctly?
- Do you need to provide contractors with information/training/advice regarding
- cleaning procedures?
- Are paper, rubbish, dirt, or spills left on the floor?
- Are aisles poorly marked?
- Are aisles cluttered?
- Are there any trip hazards due to equipment and other movable objects left lying on the ground?
- Do spills (wet or dry) occur regularly during work processes?
- Is the cleaning method appropriate for the floor surface?
CleanCo Commercial Cleaning: Your Partner in Workplace Safety
While a clean office starts with the tips above, commercial office cleaning services can provide a deeper clean, tackling dust bunnies, allergens, and potential hazards you might miss.
Partner with CleanCo Commercial Cleaning for a cleaner, safer, and more productive work environment. Contact us today!