Workplace Safety: Good Housekeeping

• Occupational safety aims to prevent personnel injuries from job-related incidents as per Aloqaily, A (2018).

Housekeeping

• Basic for a safe and productive workplace
• Poor housekeeping often leads to employee injuries and is directly linked to unsafe conditions

Good Housekeeping Defined

• Clean and orderly placement of everything

Benefits of Good Housekeeping

• Eliminates accident and fire hazards
• Maintains safe and healthy work conditions
• Saves time, money, materials, space, and effort
• Improves productivity and quality
• Boosts morale and demonstrates a well-run organization

Signs of Poor Housekeeping

• Cluttered areas
• Untidy storage
• Excess or unneeded items
• Dirty floors and surfaces
• Tools and equipment left out
• Lack of waste bins
• Spills and leaks present

The 5S of Good Housekeeping

• Offers steps to ensure good workplace maintenance
• SEIRI (Sort): Remove unneeded items
• SEITON (Straighten): Arrange needed items for easy access
• SEISO (Shine): Keep everything clean and functional
• SEIKETSU (Standardization): Maintain the first three S's; decide storage places for routinely used items
• SHITSUKE (Sustain and Maintain): Habitually maintain procedures, returning items after use

Hazards from Poor Housekeeping

• These include slip, trip, and fall hazards, strain and pain hazards, and laceration hazards

Slip, Trip, and Fall Hazards

• Result from improperly stored items and slippery floors from liquids
• Also occur when makeshift surfaces are used to reach high items or elevation changes are not marked

Strain and Sprain Hazards

• Occur from slips, trips, and falls, and when heavy items aren't properly stored or placed

Laceration Hazards

• Arise from improperly stored sharp items which can injure workers

Workplace Controls

• Clean work area
• Provide waste bins
• Keep floors clear
• Proper storing of items

Key Points for Good Housekeeping

• Prevents workplace fires and accidents
• Everyone is responsible for maintaining it
• Be alert for hazards and report them

Material Handling

• It involves the preparation, placing, and positioning of materials to facilitate movement or storage

Classification of Materials

• Can be classified by physical characteristics: Solid, Liquid, or Gas
• Classifications of materials based on hazardous characteristics: Flammables, explosives, toxic, corrosive, emits fumes or gases, fragile

Materials Handling Categories

• Lifting: Distance is important
• Transporting: Planning and routing of traffic is important
• Storing: Depends on cost, material type, and free flow

Basic Principles of Manual Handling

• Size up the load
• Secure footing: Feet solid and close
• Crouch with a firm grip, keep back straight
• Lift using legs

Fire Safety

• Needs a chemical combination of fuel with oxygen and heat
• Removing any element prevents fire

Flash Point

• Lowest temperature at which a substance produces enough vapor to form a flammable mixture

Fire Point

• Temperature at which a fuel will continue to burn

Ignition Temperature

• Lowest temperature for a substance to self-ignite

Explosive (Flammable Range)

• Vapor range that will burn or explode in air when ignited

Classifications of Fire

• Class A: Combustible materials (wood, cloth, paper); use water to cool
• Class B: Flammable liquids, grease, gases (gasoline, propane)
• Class C: Energized electrical equipment (motors, computers)
• Class D: Combustible metals (magnesium, titanium)
• Class K: Kitchen fires (cooking oils and fats)

Fire Extinguishers

• Active fire protection is for controlling small fires in emergencies

Electrical Safety

• Electrical shock is the most serious hazards
• Occurs when touching a live wire or poorly insulated machine, becoming a conductor

First Aid Procedures for Mild Shock

• Have the worker sit
• Ensure normal movements
• Check loss of feeling, pulse rate, and breathing
• If no pain, the worker can return to work

Continuous Shock Response

• Remove worker from the source using non-conductive items like wood or plastic
• Assess airway, breathing, and pulse; seek medical attention after first aid

Lock-Out and Tag-Out System (LOTO)

• Isolates energy sources during maintenance, protecting against unexpected startups or release of energy.

Steps for LOTO

• Preparation: Know the equipment and its energy sources
• Shutdown: Turn off the equipment.
• Isolation: Identify & isolate all energy sources (pulling fuses, capping sources).
• Application: Lockout energy-restoring elements, using a lock box for multiple equipment
• Control: Manage stored energy (relieve pressure, stop moving parts, discharge capacitors, & ensure continuous monitoring)
• Check: Verify shutdown, warn others, activate controls

System Re-Energizing (3 Steps)

• Restore work area: Remove tools, check components, replace safety features, and close access panels.
• Notify personnel: Inform all of LOTO device removals & ensure safe distances
• Remove LOTO devices: The person who placed device removes it; notify supervisors if that person cannot remove it

Machine and Equipment Safety

• Is often related to machine guarding at points of operation and power transmission

Preventative Measures

• Preventing injuries from equipment, damaged materials, etc.
• Effective machine guarding is critical to reduce injuries

Where Mechanical Hazards Occur

• Point of Operation: The work area on a machine like cutting, boring, forming etc
• Power Transmission: All mechanical components that send the energy

Hazardous Mechanical Motion

• Rotating motion: Can grip clothing and pull into dangerous spots
• Reciprocating motion: Back-and-forth motion causing worker to get struck by moving parts
• Cutting: Action may involve rotating, reciprocating, or transverse motion

Actions

• Hazards exist where body contact can occur or flying materials
• Punching: Results from applying power or cutting tools to the body.
• Shearing also falls under the same safety and hazard category as Punching: The hazard with stock inserted, held, and withdrawn

Machine Guarding

• This step is most effective when you need to perform safety measures on the machine, as the hazard is at the point of insertion

Types of Guards

• Fixed Guard: Provides a barrier as a permanent part of the machine
• Interlocked Guard: Automatically shuts down power when opened, preventing operation until replaced
• Adjustable Guard: Barrier adjusted for various operations
• Self-Adjusting Guard: Barrier moves to accommodate stock size

Types of Guarding Continued

• Enclosure (cover): Cover hazards between person and machine
• Fencing (railing): Prevents somebody from trespassing and coming

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• Employers must equip workers with necessary PPE due to hazardous work conditions
• PPE should follow standards, such as OSHS, OSHA, and ANSI that are appropriate to the risk and work being done
• Employers are to make PPE properly maintained and adequate

Types and Uses of PPE

• Head Protection: It provides head protection against impact from falling objects and electrocution; to be kept inspected
• Eye Protection: It provides eye protection from hazards caused by items such as; light radiation, splashes, and gasses. Different varieties of items can be applied in each work environment described
• Face Shield: Protection in areas that require lower impact resistance. Should also be used as secondary protection
• Ear Protection: It covers hearing deficiencies, such as ear muffs and canal caps in areas of excessive noise of 85-90dB or more, for 8hr exposure
• Respiratory Protection
  • It is required when contamination cannot be eliminated
  • Contaminants also are known as mists/vapors, gasses, smoke, fumes, dust etc. In area of insufficient oxygen

Hand and Arm Protection

• Workers that are prone to the chance of; chemical burns, thermal burns, and temperature extremes, must use protection
• Examples of said hazards are chemical burns, thermal burns, and temperature extremes

Hand Protection

• Appropriate gloves and hand pads, should be used when exposed to different environment and extreme conditions
• Foot and Leg Protection: To protect against falling or rolling objects, workers use conductive shoes, especially when involved with live electricity in the work place.
• Fall Protection: If the area is an extreme condition with high probability of incidents; one should be sure to be composed of body belts with proper safety accessories
• Torso (Full Body Protection) To be used when engineering and administrative controls have failed, safety equipment one could be potentially harmed by the hazard; examples as follows:

Bodily Hazardous situations

• Intense heat and splashes that can splash hot liquid material, impacts from tools cuts that can inflict bodily harm, including electricity and radiation.