Safe operation is essential, not just to keep your maintenance personnel safe, but also to ensure the safety of anybody else in the facility or on the property at the time they are being used.
What defines safe operation?
Everyone defines safety a little bit differently, but when you’re talking about commercial floor cleaning machines or other equipment, they have many moving parts that can spin at high rates of speed. If safety is not placed as a top priority, it can lead to significant injuries and worse.
Make sure proper footwear is used.
Cleaning a commercial floor means these machines could be within a matter of meters or centimeters of a person’s foot. Only proper footwear should be used. Nothing open toed, such as a sandal, should ever be worn when using a commercial floor cleaning machine.
Use clearly visible signs.
Make sure signs are placed around the area being worked on, even if it’s believed that no one else is in the facility.
If somebody returns to the office or has a need to be on the premises when your maintenance personnel are cleaning those floor surfaces, those signs will indicate that certain work is being done and they should avoid the area, if at all possible.
Never remove safety mechanisms.
Many commercial floor cleaning machines and other pieces of equipment have safety mechanisms on them. This may require holding down a lever or other part to keep them operating. This is designed to shut the equipment down if the individual steps away, such as to pick up a larger piece of debris.
Disengaging any of the safety devices should be discouraged in every way possible. Maintenance personnel should face termination if they tamper with the safety devices.
The safe operation of your commercial floor cleaning machines is not just about keeping your facilities clean and safe for everyone, it’s also about liability. By following some of these tips, it will help protect you and your commercial facility and company in the future.