The coronavirus pandemic has added a fundamental focus on maintaining germ-free workplaces to everyday business operations. A health crisis like COVID has serious implications for long-term health of employees and the production capabilities of a business. Having a comprehensive plan for work spaces to prevent outbreaks and mitigate infection is now a vital consideration for most businesses.
In logistics facilities, disinfecting services are critical to maintaining efficient daily operations. Logistics is a series of moving parts and disruptions in the supply chain can have a domino effect across businesses if a facility is affected by an outbreak.
Daily disinfecting tasks can certainly help to maintain efficiency and should be built in as an important part of the routine. However, regular professional cleaning services provide deeper and long-lasting benefits to ensure the health and productivity of employees.
Cleaning Steps to Take
Having disinfecting equipment on hand is an essential need for any workplace. Keep an array of disinfecting cleaners and wipes to cover high touch surfaces, walls and floors.
High Touch Surfaces
Certain diseases, like coronavirus, can spread easily and remain active on surfaces for days. Many commonly used items throughout the facility could require frequent cleaning during the day. These items may include:
- Computer keyboards, mice and monitors
- Printers and fax machines
- Door handles
- Restroom faucets and toilets
- Handrails
- Pallet jacks and hand trucks
- Countertop surfaces
- Breakroom surfaces and appliances
The CDC released guidelines on effective cleaning and disinfecting techniques. Wear protective gear, such as disposable gloves, and ensure you have sufficient ventilation for more heavy duty cleaners. Clean surfaces thoroughly with soap and water to reduce the amount of germs and dirt before using a germ-killing disinfectant.
Carefully read the instructions and uses on the labels of disinfectants to ensure that you choose the most effective and safest solution. For reference, the EPA released a helpful list of household disinfectants useful in combating the spread of coronavirus.
Floors
Coronavirus can spread from shoes to the floor and other locations. Heavy foot traffic can spread disease to new locations as workers move from trucks to loading docks and within the facility. Disinfecting the floors can go overlooked for too long so try to build a floor cleaning into your routine. Doing so can sometimes be difficult for certain facilities based on their size and layout. Depending on your operational circumstances, floor cleaning may only be practical through a professional cleaning service.
Communicate Expectations to Employees
As the importance of cleaning increases, the role of workers in the facility becomes greater. Encourage good personal cleanliness by making sanitizers and cleaning wipes readily available. Ensure workers clean up after themselves, wash their hands regularly and wear appropriate safety equipment.
Educate employees on changing cleaning practices and inspect their compliance with OSHA regulations and company SOP, providing feedback when necessary. It is important to communicate expectations to everyone and solicit shared buy-in to the effort. By having workers take simple steps to clean messes, pick up and take out trash and disinfect throughout the logistics facility, professional cleaners can focus on the more intensive projects.
The Advantages of a Professional Cleaning Service
Building a thorough cleaning into a consistent routine can be especially difficult with employees in a logistics facility. Cleaning can be the victim of the “not my job” mentality that makes it hard for employees to embrace it as part of their responsibilities. The fast-paced nature of shipping facilities makes it difficult as well, with workers having little opportunity to work a cleaning routine into an already busy day.
Disinfecting the workplace needs to be managed within a frequent schedule. To maximize effectiveness, facilities should be cleaned once a week at a minimum. Building consistency is important in the level of care given to the cleaning project as well. Cleaning needs to be a meticulous effort to avoid gradual buildup of mold or other harmful pathogens. The level of scrutiny and reliability needed to provide a fully disinfected facility is best realized through professional cleaners.
It is important to understand the new requirements spurred by the coronavirus pandemic and how standards can evolve in general to address public health. Professional cleaning services provide frequent training and protocol updates to their technicians to respond to changing needs. Many cleaning companies require their experts to undergo regular certifications for employment, keeping them updated on the latest techniques and focus points. Having a professional cleaning crew ensures OSHA compliance, reducing liability for employers.
Professional cleaners also have access to the highest grade equipment and most effective cleaning solutions. Logistics facilities in particular contain a large number of hard to reach areas that can easily go untouched. Special equipment used by professional cleaners can reach and disinfect these hidden areas around the facility.
Expert attention and cost-effective solutions are major benefits of a professional cleaning service. Logistics facilities can take advantage of regular disinfecting services to aid in productivity as well. Clean workplaces promote healthy, energetic employees and less sick time. Logistics workers play vital roles in the fast-moving workflow of a shipping facility. Missing work or slowed activity can disrupt the streamlined efficiency of the operation. Consistently thorough disinfecting services can keep workers available and energized.
At Dallas Janitorial Services, we build our service on a foundation of customer service and safety. We tailor our solutions to meet your particular needs and offer recommendations based on our years of experience. Our packages are customizable to fit your budget and your goals for the workplace. We manage our business to stay price-competitive while utilizing the highest quality cleaning products, the most up-to-date cleaning methods and the latest in innovative technology.
We work closely with our team members to ensure all expectations are met and to provide support for their continued success. Through reducing turnover, we offer a more experienced team that is well-versed in a variety of unique situations and cleaning strategies. We add assurance to our service by having our top experts perform quality control inspections to check that our standards are met and your expectations are exceeded. If for any reason you are unhappy with your service, we offer a complete satisfaction guarantee. If you are considering a disinfecting service for your logistics facility, contact our team of professionals today.
