>> Workplace Health Issues

No matter what the workplace environment, the product, or the service, proper maintenance and good housekeeping routines are critical to proper safety, and controlling health issues. These two important components to avoiding excess health issues are extremely complimentary to one another, and often overlap in several cases. However, some distinction can be made when it comes to forming a proper health issues policy.
When it comes to health issues, maintenance is the term that refers to the work that is necessary for keeping the building, equipment, and machinery in working order and safe to use. It also refers to the upkeep of all of the sanitary and welfare facilities, the cleaning, sanding, and painting of all walls, ceilings, and fixtures. Flooring is also kept in good repair.

On the other hand, good housekeeping to avoid health issues is regular daily cleanliness efforts. This includes tidiness, and good order of all of the different items in the workspace environment.
Maintenance and housekeeping are wholly dependent upon one another to effectively prevent health issues. For example, a tattered carpet is hard to keep clean, and the work environment is hard to keep dry if there is a leaky roof. Similarly, by making a habit of good housekeeping, maintenance will be much easier and faster.

Health issues often associated to bad housekeeping or maintenance include:
• Falls and slips on broken flooring, torn carpets, and worn stairs or steps
• Falls from broken or defective chairs, stools, and ladders
• Burns from un-lagged hot pipes, and scalds from leaking steam pipes
• Pinches, breaks, and lacerations due to damaged guards that leave damaged parts of machinery open.

Other serious health issues in the workplace can include trapped workers in the case of fire. This is entirely possible if exit doors are blocked or don't open quickly. It is also the case if staircases to the outside are damaged or blocked in some way. Electrical fires and electrocutions become a health issue when damaged electrical equipment remains un-repaired, such as with earthing arrangements, flexes, plugs, and worn wires. Lack of maintenance is the number one cause of failure in lifting equipment, and explosions in pressure vessels.

Just as dangerous are health issues such as:
• Poor lighting due to dirty windows or light fittings
• Badly maintained exhaust ventilation systems which fail to expel dangerous dust and fumes
• Workbenches that are worn past the ability to clean them properly
• Defective plumbing
• Lack of hot water or clean drinking water

Health issues due to poor housekeeping are most commonly associated with:
• Falls and slips on slippery, wet, or greasy floors
• Trips and bumps against machine parts and other material obstructions that are not moved away from pathways
• Cuts and lacerations from protruding objects from desks, workbenches, and other work surfaces
• Punctures by nails and tacks
By using common sense and keeping work areas clean and in good working order, the majority of all health issues can be prevented before they ever have the chance to occur.