Health & safety in the spotlight

Among the many displays, there were cordless vacuum cleaners that eliminated trailing cables and trip hazards, product packaging designed for safer manual handling, extendable gutter cleaning poles that removed the need to work at height, and cleaning chemicals formulated to be kinder to skin. 

 

Of course, such equipment is only effective when combined with good health & safety measures and management systems, including staff training, regular risk assessments and the provision of suitable protective clothing. And while our industry has come a long way, there is still further to go, as a quick look at the news on our website – www.cleaning-matters.co.uk – illustrates. 

 

In the last two weeks of March alone, for instance, we reported that a Surrey-based cleaning firm had been prosecuted for safety failings after an employee suffered life-changing injuries when he plunged six metres through a fragile rooflight, while a waste-recycling firm was fined after a Leicester worker suffered severe crush injuries in an unsafe machine. It's worth highlighting that slips, trips and falls from height are among the leading causes of workplace injuries and fatalities, and that waste and recycling is the UK's fourth highest-risk industry in terms of injuries to workers.

 

And let's not forget occupational health issues. A recent report from the European Agency for Safety & Health at Work (EU-OSHA), ' Exposure to carcinogens and work-related cancer', identified cleaners and those involved in waste management as an at-risk group with regard to contracting occupational cancer as a result of exposure to carcinogens in cleaning products. 

 

Strenuous manual work, musculoskeletal disorders, working alone, stress, bullying and violence are among the other issues that can negatively impact the health and safety of cleaning operatives.

 

So how can we improve the situation? According to EU-OSHA, preventing harm to cleaning operatives requires changes not only in cleaning companies but also in our perception of cleaning, and how we obtain cleaning services. 

 

It says: "Changing employment patterns, such as moving from night to daytime cleaning, better procurement, taking into account value rather than just price, and better liaison between the client and the cleaning company can directly reduce the risk of harm to cleaning workers."

 

To help employers in the cleaning, maintenance and hygiene sectors fulfil their duties to staff and comply with regulations, Cleaning Matters has launched a guide to Safety, Workwear and Welfare. We hope you find this guide useful and that it inspires your business to engage with staff to create safer and healthier workplaces.