If you have the ability to conduct commercial floor maintenance when nobody else is in the facility, that’s ideal. However, many businesses and other organizations today simply can’t do that. For example, the hospital that is open 24 hours a day still has to have the floors cleaned every single day. In fact, depending on the hospital and the situation, it may be necessary to clean certain parts of the floor more often than just once a day.
Keeping people safe during commercial floor maintenance is essential. This not only protects the maintenance personnel, but it also reduces liability as a result of slip and fall accidents and other injuries that are common when floors are being cleaned, stripped, or waxed.
Here are three strategies that can help protect people when commercial floor maintenance is going on.
Strategy #1: Limit operational hours.
If possible, it’s a good idea to limit operational hours in certain areas of the building, especially during the nighttime hours. If it’s possible to close the facility once a week at night, at least for a couple of hours, this will give the maintenance personnel an opportunity to do the job without various risks to them or others.
Strategy #2: Rely on clear, visible signs.
Signage is important for letting other people know that commercial floor maintenance is going on. Even though people are paying less attention to where they’re going, usually looking down at their phone while texting, signs are still vital to indicate the floor may very well be slick.
Strategy #3: Close off one half of the hallway or room at a time.
It can be a bit more time consuming for the maintenance personnel to clean half the hall or half of a room at a time, but if the corridor must be used or the room is still being used, keeping them off the portion that’s being cleaned will help the maintenance personnel get the job done quickly and efficiently while also keeping everyone else safe.