Housekeeping On The Job Site

Have you thought of ways to make your job easier? There is one way - one that not only makes a job easier, but safer - practicing good housekeeping.

A nail in a scrapped two-by-four goes through a shoe and punctures a foot. A pile of trash catches fire. A cluttered walkway causes an employee to trip and fall. All these accidents are caused by poor housekeeping. Some poor housekeeping accidents don't amount to much: A small cut, a scuffed elbow, or a bruised leg. Others can have disastrous results involving the loss of life and property.

Housekeeping is a continuous process in which everyone must participate throughout the workday. Let's see how we can eliminate some of the most common housekeeping problems that can cause accidents on this job.

Nails

Pull all nails from scrap lumber. Then throw the scrap in trash containers or pile it neatly where it won't be in the way.

Metal Straps

After removing straps or bands, pick them up immediately and put them in a trash container. It is easy to trip on banding if it left lying around on the job.

Extension Cords

If you must run an extension cord across the walkway, hang it from the ceiling where it won't cause anyone to trip. But hang it high enough so you won't hang the person who walks under it.

Food Rubbish

Lunch bags and other food rubbish not only cause trips and falls, but fires also. Put them in trash cans after you have finished eating.

Containers

Some items should be stored in separate trash containers. These include oily or solvent-soaked rags and empty cans that contain flammable liquids, such as paint, thinner, and glue. Remember to keep these trash containers covered. Clean 55-gallon drums make good rubbish containers but don't ever use a torch to cut the tops off. A severe explosion could result if the drum contained flammable or combustible liquids.

Storage Areas

There are numerous storage areas throughout the job. Keep these neat. This not only is safer but enables you to find what you want more quickly and to get it more easily.

Slipping Hazards During the course of a job, it is almost impossible not to have grease or tar on the floors of a new building, or on the jobsite. Clean up slipping hazards immediately. This also goes for ice during cold weather.