Safety Tip of the Week – Worksite Safety

In the workplace, ‘good housekeeping’ is the term used for keeping the worksite clean and free of hazards that can cause injury. Housekeeping is a safety concern that is often overlooked or taken for granted. Far too many accidents happen because people did not keep their work areas neat and clean.

Results of Poor Housekeeping Practices:

• Injuries when employees trip, fall, strike, or are struck by out-of-place objects;
• Injuries from using improper tools because the correct tool can’t be found;
• Lowered production because of the time spent maneuvering over and around someone else’s mess and time spent looking for proper tools and materials;
• Time spent investigating and reporting accidents that could have been avoided;
• Fires due to improper storage and disposal of flammable or combustible materials or wastes;
• Substandard quality of finished products because of production schedule delays, damaged or defective finishes, ill-equipped employees, etc;
• Lack of future work due to a reputation for poor quality; and
• “Wall-to-Wall” OSHA inspections due to the poor first impression of the compliance officer.

Good housekeeping is everyone’s responsibility. Make it YOUR personal work task to remove hazards from the workplace. Fortunately, practicing good housekeeping is really very easy, once you’ve made it a habit. These few seconds are well worth it if they can prevent a serious injury. You will discover you work faster and better in a clean workplace.

KEEPING YOUR WORK AREA CLEAN HELPS KEEP HAZARDS FROM BEING UNSEEN!!