Protecting your business is vital, and this doesn’t always mean protecting it legally or protecting your employees, it can also mean protecting it from inefficiency. If you have a manufacturing floor, loss can be one of the greatest sources of inefficiency. Beyond faulty equipment, contamination, dirt, and generally poor standards of cleanliness can be major contributors to loss. Here, we’re going t outlook at the ways you can keep your manufacturing floor clean and your business lean.
Keep cleaning suppliers around the place
If you want to make cleaning a habit, you should make it a part of the job description. When an operator is done with a machine or work surface, they should clean it up after them. Keep cleaning stations on your manufacturing floor, so that everyone is able to access disposable gloves, disinfecting wipes, and cleaning sprays. If the equipment in an area needs any special equipment to keep it in the best condition, then make sure that is available in the right locations, as well.
Supply employees with the right gear
Aside from supplies to use to wipe down surfaces and clean equipment, you want to make sure that your employees aren’t tracking around dirt, themselves. Providing or purchasing things like full body covering jumpsuits that allow them to work comfortably and cleanly not only keeps them from bringing dirt in, but it stops them from having their clothes contaminated by any chemicals in use in the business. A shoe cover dispenser can be a great way to keep contamination down where it’s at its most concentrated. Shoes can be a major source of dirt transfer.
Know how to sterilize
If there are workstations that see a lot of different people using them, then hygiene should be a major concern, as well as the increased chances of biological contamination. Aside from making sure that sick employees stay home, then one of the best ways to sterilize any surfaces handled by multiple people is to use UV light. Exposure to UV lights can wipe out bacterial, as well as fight off mold and fungi. There are UV light devices you can use to expose the surface to short bursts. Be sure to use it with care, as prolonged and constant exposure can degrade some materials, so that’s not what you want.
Put a deep clean on the schedule
The tips above will help you maintain a generally higher standard of cleanliness but, depending on the materials and the chemicals you work with, there’s some dirt that’s just going to take more effort to get out than the average employee can deal with every time they’re working. Deep cleaning of the production plant, perhaps with the help of some professionals, can make sure that you get rid of all dust and grime occasionally. For the best results, you want to do this outside of your usual production hours, or at least during a relatively slow period.
You have to invest in the right practices and equipment to ensure that standards of cleanliness are maintained consistently. Occasionally spring cleaning the place isn’t enough. Hopefully, the points above have made that clear.
