Why Safety With Chemicals Needs To Be On Everyones Mind

Podcast Episode Summary: Cleaning Processes with Jerry

Hi everyone, Jerry here! In this episode of "Cleaning Processes with Jerry," we dive deep into the critical topic of safety in the cleaning industry. Whether you're cleaning at home, in a restaurant, or in a large-scale food production facility, safety should always be your top priority.

Key Points Discussed:

1. Importance of Safety:
2. Cleaning might seem harmless, but it involves risks like exposure to harmful chemicals and operating heavy machinery.
3. Neglecting safety precautions can lead to accidents, long-term health issues, and even severe injuries.
4. Common Hazards:
5. Exposure to toxic cleaning agents can cause skin irritation, respiratory problems, and poisoning.
6. Improper use of cleaning equipment can result in cuts, burns, or electrocution.
7. Slips and falls are prevalent due to wet floors and cluttered spaces.
8. Preventive Measures:
9. Equip yourself with the right tools and knowledge.
10. Use cleaning chemicals appropriately and wear protective gear like gloves and masks.
11. Follow proper handling techniques and ensure safe storage of chemicals.
12. OSHA Guidelines:
13. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides guidelines on hazard communication, personal protective equipment, and safe handling of chemicals.
14. Training and education are crucial for adhering to these guidelines.
15. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
16. PPE like gloves, masks, goggles, and aprons are essential for safeguarding against chemical exposure and physical injuries.
17. Always ensure PPE is worn correctly.
18. Proper Handling and Storage:
19. Store cleaning products in designated areas away from heat sources and incompatible substances.
20. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for using chemicals and ensure proper dilution.
21. Training and Education:
22. Regular training sessions are vital for ensuring safety.
23. Managers and owners should actively participate in training to set an example for employees.
24. Safety Data Sheets (SDS) should be accessible to all employees at all times.
25. Creating a Safety Culture:
26. Prioritizing safety leads to a more productive and efficient cleaning process.
27. Encourage employees to ask questions and provide them with the necessary resources to feel safe.

In conclusion, making safety a priority in our cleaning routines not only prevents accidents and injuries but also contributes to a cleaner and healthier world for everyone. Let's embrace safety as an integral part of our cleaning activities.

Thank you for joining me today. If you found this information helpful, please like and share it with others. If you have any questions or would like to be a guest on the show, feel free to reach out. Don't forget to check out my latest blog post at Hospitality Cleaning 101 for more insights.

Stay safe and keep cleaning!

Best,
Jerry

00:00:01 - 00:00:12: Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:12 - 00:00:22: Community Building in the Cleaning Industry
00:00:22 - 00:00:33: Sharing Ideas and Expanding Markets
00:00:33 - 00:00:43: Invitation to Join and Blog Information
00:00:43 - 00:00:54: Host's Background and Contact Information
00:00:54 - 00:01:05: Importance of Safety in Cleaning
00:01:05 - 00:01:15: Fast-Paced World and Chemical Use
00:01:16 - 00:01:26: Chemical Use Before and After COVID
00:01:26 - 00:01:37: Safety as a Top Priority
00:01:37 - 00:01:48: Safety in Various Cleaning Environments
00:01:48 - 00:02:09: Preventing Accidents and Ensuring Health
00:02:10 - 00:02:21: Risk

Different Sites Below
https://direct.me/jerrybauer

Jerry Bauer
Hospitality Cleaning 101
Jerry@hospitalitycleaning101.com

Transcript

Swell AI Transcript: Why Safety With Chemicals Needs To Be On Everyones Mind

Hi and welcome to Cleaning Processes with Jerry. My podcast is dedicated to building an online community of like-minded individuals and businesses in the chemical and cleaning industry. We will share ideas, tips, and solutions and even tell some stories to solve problems and hopefully expand our markets. Please join me every other week when we frequently introduce a special guest that just might be you. Check out my blog at HospitalityCleaning101. I work for Kim Station of Boston as a Senior Sales Consultant. If you ever have questions, feel free to reach out and I will answer on a future podcast if you like. At the show's end, I will include all of my contact information. Today, we're going to talk on why safety has to be on everyone's mind when cleaning. See, in today's world, it's still as fast-paced as ever. We're still coming out of COVID, where chemicals played an important part in all of that, probably both before COVID and after COVID. Maybe the lack of chemicals used before COVID, and now even some of the inaccurate ways of using chemicals after COVID, but that's probably another subject for another day. However, it goes hand in hand with this because it's essential to remember that safety should be the top priority for any cleaning task. The top priority. Whether you're cleaning your home, you're working in a restaurant, in food production, brewery, contract cleaner, it really doesn't matter. you always have to be mindful of safety measures to help prevent accidents and ensure a healthy environment. See, the importance of safety and cleaning is cleaning may seem like a harmless activity, but there are several risks involved, from using chemicals and cleaning agents to operating the heavy machinery floor equipment, meat slicers. Everything that you have to clean frequently can hurt you just as well. Cleaning tasks can pose various hazards if not done correctly. Additionally, neglected safety precautions can result in slips, falls that can lead to long-term health issues for anyone. To avoid some of these mishaps, if not avoid all of them, you must equip yourself with the right tools and the right knowledge. Understanding appropriate use of cleaning chemicals, wearing protective gears such as gloves, masks, practicing the proper handling techniques that are critical steps to ensure safety during cleaning. Some of the common cleaning hazards can expose individuals in many different ways. One of the most common risks is exposure to the harmful chemicals themselves. See, many cleaning agents contain toxic ingredients that can be harmful. It can cause skin irritation, respiratory problems, and even poisoning if ingested or inhaled. I've seen it all three of those. Not necessarily to myself, but I've seen where it has hurt or injured others. Another hazard is the improper use of the cleaning equipment, which can lead to accidents such as cuts, burns, or electrocution. As I'm saying these words, I'm laughing in the back of my mind thinking, the first time I use an old side-by-side. Some people know what that is, some won't. It's the old buffers. strip waxing floors, and you have to apply the pressure just right so it can go left, go right, go left, go right. I've seen many people, including myself in the very beginning, oh I can do that, I can do that. They turn that buffer on, it It'll go in circles and circles. The cord will wrap around the individual's ankles. They'll fall to the floor. The buffer will go up against the wall, even breaking through drywall. It's a hazard working with chemicals. And it's not always just the chemicals. It's the equipment that go with it. With that, going back to my notes, slips and falls. Slips and falls are prevalent in the cleaning industry. Wet floors, cluttered spaces, improper use of ladders, all of that can cause accidents. If you are doing floors, do you put wet floor signs out, not just to protect and remind yourself, but to remind others who are walking through. Sometimes the repetitive motions of cleaning can result in disorders such as back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, I've seen it happen to many people. Years ago, OSHA came out. OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Came out with many guidelines. I almost said you could write a book. You definitely don't want to read that book, but the government agent, OSHA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, They've established different guidelines and standards for all of this. They're very good. These guidelines cover a wide range of topics, including the hazard communication. That's where management is telling employees how they should use the products. Talks about personal protective equipment, safe handling of chemicals. I get called in. monthly to different people, different accounts, different customers, potential customers, and do a training class on chemicals. I can tell you this up front, I don't go in and really deal with the cleaning of chemicals. I do go in and review, and I'll just say the words review, some of the OSHA guidelines. I'm not a representative of OSHA, I get it once or started to do it once, and a person sent me a 30-page form to fill out saying that I was his consultant for OSHA from that day forward. And the 30 pages made it look like I was legally responsible for anything his employers did. Well, I can't take that risk on, but there are consultants out there. You don't have to get knee deep in it. You just have to use some of the basics or all of the basics of what OSHA is trying to put out there for all of us to be safer. OSHA emphasizes the importance of training and education. One of my last podcasts a couple of months ago was Matt, who specializes in safety training within the brewery industry. He can go in and look for problems and such. Very big, important thing, no matter where you work, you have to adhere to common sense first. You also have to adhere to rules, rules that are established for possibly the people you work for that should be guidelines that should go, heck, hand-in-hand to what OSHA recommends. One of the things that OSHA recommends is personal protection, PPE for cleaning. That's very crucial in the safeguarding of the personnel against different hazards. It includes gloves, masks, goggles, aprons, protects against the exposure of the chemicals, possibly airborne particles or even physical injuries. I'll say this, I put on PPE frequently to do certain jobs. It might sound funny, but when you put PPE on, go find a mirror and look in a mirror of how you look. It's not a glamour shot, but by looking in the mirror more than once, I've noticed that I don't have the piece of equipment on correctly. So again, don't use the mirror because you're on a glamour parade and someone's taking your picture. Use the mirror to make sure that it is on correctly. Next, there has to be safe handling and storage of the cleaning chemicals. Proper handling and storage of cleaning chemicals is essential for maintaining a safe work environment. All cleaning products should be stored in a designated area away from heat sources and incompatible substances. Labels and containers should be visible The canter should be tightly sealed to prevent leaks or spills. Chemicals should never be stored next to food. If you're in a restaurant, food production, chemicals have to be in their own area. Many facilities actually rope it off, put a chain link around it, put it in a separate room just for cleaning chemicals. It's the proper way to do it. When using these cleaning chemicals, it's always important to follow the manufacturer's instructions. Hopefully, chemical provider has guidelines, a wall chart, and a binder, and some type of material that you've been trained to use properly. If you're not training your chemical, your personnel properly, get your chemical vendor involved. Chemical vendors should always be involved and always offer their services. Again, the chemical vendor's not gonna sign up for a 30-page report saying they're your consultant. Next thing you need to be aware of is to use the correct amount of chemicals. The chemical vendor has given specifications on how to use it in the proper dilution. Dilution is the words for ounces per one gallon, frequently. If you're mixing up a quart, it might be so much per quart, but usually people measure it out so many ounces per gallon. The chemical vendor then checks that frequently through the process called titrations. It's the same thing as a person, if you've ever had a swimming pool, or you've seen someone with a swimming pool, might have an outside company come in and check what the titration of the chemicals are. There are reasons that are suggested. Too low is not going to actually save anybody money, but it's going to cost you money. Going too high is going to cause problems as well. Might not be rinsed properly. contaminate with something else, more readily available, and different problems. Going back to my notes, the next thing is something I've already spoken about. It's the training and the education for safety training. It's showing that you care. If you're the vendor, you have to supply material safety data sheets, SDF safety data sheets. These have been around for many years. They need to be supplied by all chemical vendors to the manager's orders. The managers or owners need to keep these in a area that are accessible to all employees at all times. In other words, they can't be locked up in the manager's top desk drawer and he goes home at five o'clock. These SDSs need to be taken with an employee if they go to a hospital. It will tell you the different precautions as well as safety measures that should be done if the chemical gets in someone's eyes, if they get on their bare skin, and such. All employees need to know where the safety date and sheet are at all times. You're a vendor showing your customers you care. I feel that it's a badge of courage going out and talking to people about all of this because badge of courage is probably not the right word, but it's a badge of honor to go out and talk to people about safety in their building their operation because it's shown me that the customer cares enough about the employees that he or she wants me to come out and review this for them, with them, side by side. If a manager or owner asks for my participation in a training class, I've learned this the hard way. I make it mandatory, mandatory. that they are there. They have to be in this 110%. Years ago, I would have a manager or owner ask me to do a training class, and then they would tell me they were too busy to attend. Well, what kind of participation do you think I got from the employees I was speaking to? If the manager or owner wasn't there, why should they pay attention? So the owner, manager, applaud them for asking me, but they have to do the second step as well. They have to attend. They have to then get a form paper. different people use different ones, but have all the employees sign off on it that they have been trained by the distributor, the manufacturer, whatever identification it is that the person, yeah, I'm laughing, yeah, no, I was not this OSHA consultant, but who's the person doing the training? You don't have to write down what was, necessarily spoken about that day, but get everybody in attendance. The reason I'm saying this, and it goes back to the ownership management, and I was going to say the badge that I wore, was that it's a culture. The culture of the environment that we're in, if the management ownership shows that they are willing to do this, you should give, every effort should be made by every employee to attend, and then every employee should be motivated to speak up and ask questions. I always, always, always, when I do a training class, I tell them that I will be around afterwards, in case somebody wants to come up and ask me a question in private, because some employee might be They don't want to raise their hand, and they think that the person sitting next to them is going to think, well, that was a silly question. Might be a new employee, doesn't want to open their mouth, stuff like that. I hang around after the meeting's over with, I make myself readily available. I make myself readily available with business cards. I'm not trying to sell them anything. I want them to call me, to question me, to feel comfortable with the chemicals that they're using because I want them to feel safe. In conclusion, safety should always be the forefront of everybody's mind when they're doing different cleaning activities. Both the individuals and organizations can create this safer and healthier cleaning environment. The word I used earlier was culture. They can do that, and it helps. Prioritizing safety prevents accidents and injuries and contributes to a more productive and efficient cleaning process. By making safety a priority, we can ensure that cleaning tasks are carried out with care and attention. That's leading to a cleaner and healthier world for everyone. So let's all embrace safety as an integral part of our cleaning routines. kind of making a habit to protect ourself as well as protect others as we strive for cleanliness and hygiene.

SPEAKER_00: Thank you. Thank you for joining Jerry today. He shared some insightful information about the chemical and cleaning industry. If you liked his information, please like it and share it with others. If you ever have any questions about his show or would like to be a guest, please reach out on one of his channels. Finally, check out his latest blog post and get additional information at Hospitality Cleaning 101.