Written by: Emily Joswiak • August 27, 2020• Business

Tips for Maintaining a Clean Warehouse

Not enforcing cleanliness in your warehouse can lead to issues like product contamination, injuries, illnesses, property damage, and an overall unprofessional appearance. These tips for maintaining a clean warehouse will help you keep the workplace safe, the employees healthy, and the products in good shape.

Have a sufficient number of cleaning supplies at all times.

In order to maintain regular cleaning practices, you need to have a sufficient stockpile of cleaning supplies. Don’t just buy random cleaning supplies, but carefully consider all of the materials you and your employees need to maintain high levels of sanitation in the workplace. Additionally, you should replace cleaning supplies before they run out. Both you and employees should learn when it’s time to replace supplies in accordance with how frequently you use them. That way, whenever supplies are low, an employee will be able to notice and inform a superior about the issue.

Train your employees in proper cleaning practices.

Enforcing these tips for maintaining a clean warehouse will be tough if the employees don’t know how to use their cleaning supplies. You might think that everyone knows how to use a mop, but that’s not always the case. Plus, the employee should know the nuances in sanitation practices for individual machines and surfaces. Not all machines are made the same, even those that reside in the same class of equipment. For example, some of the advantages of using a pneumatic conveyorare how easy it is to clean and maintain, though some conveyor systems aren’t quite as accommodating.

Provide each area with a designated cleaner.

When training employees, you should already have an area in mind for them to clean. That way, you can focus their training on the specific materials or machines they’ll be operating and cleaning on a regular basis. For example, workers on a conveyor line should clean up their work area before the next worker arrives. Not only will this keep the area clean, but it also means that the following employee doesn’t have to waste time cleaning up before their shift even starts.

From cleaning the equipment to cleaning the floor, you should ensure employees are keeping their workspace clean and safe whenever they leave for the day. Another advantage of assigning specific areas to specific employees is that you can always have someone around who is supposed to maintain cleanliness. If you spot a lack of cleaning in one or multiple areas of the warehouse, you know who to talk to.

Stay on top of inventory turnover rates.

If there’s a product in your inventory you no longer need, then it shouldn’t be there. Even if your facility has the space available on your storage units, don’t accumulate clutter due to laziness. Not only can that space provide storage to more relevant materials, but keeping that old inventory there also allows dust to accumulate over time. Whether it’s you or the employee who works directly with it, there should be someone who knows when a certain piece of inventory requires disposal or replacement.

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