Warehouses are, by nature, large facilities that house a high volume of people. Under normal circumstances, this can lead to extremely powerful and wide-scale operations in a very efficient way. Now, due to the novel coronavirus, it’s an environment that needs to be carefully managed to keep your business open – and protect your workforce. When it comes to warehouse / production facility cleaning and compliance with new sanitation guidelines, here are common touch points that need to be cleaned effectively to keep your employees safe.
Key Takeaways
Shared wearable items, accessories, and communication equipment should be sanitized between every use to help prevent viral transmission.
Workers should sanitize handheld tools, radios, electronics, and other equipment after use and place them in a designated sanitized area.
Shared heavy equipment, including forklifts and floor cleaners, requires disinfection of seats and control panels before each new user operates it.
Frequently touched surfaces such as doors, handles, faucets, knobs, and drawer pulls should be cleaned and disinfected daily.
Employee training, convenient access to cleaning supplies, and shared responsibility are essential to maintaining an effective warehouse sanitation program.
Cleaning a warehouse can feel like a daunting task, but it does become more doable when you ask everyone to work together to make it happen. By training workers to effectively sanitize their own equipment after use, you distribute the burden of labor and make it more likely to clean effectively, and less likely to experience a viral outbreak that can compromise your business – or your employees. By implementing policies and procedures to address these common touch points, you can feel confident you’re doing the most to protect your operations – and all the people who make it happen.
Warehouse / Production Facility Cleaning: Wearable clothing and equipment
These may be obvious, but they’re extremely important. Nothing has a greater capacity to spread a virus through your factory like a wildfire than unsanitized clothing or equipment that is shared amongst multiple workers. Any accessories worn on the wrists, hands, or head – as well as items like belts, communication equipment, and more – absolutely needs to be properly sanitized between each and every use.
Warehouse / Production Facility Cleaning: Handheld items
This is a broad category of items – it can include radios, specialized job tools, electronics, and anything else requiring handling to assist in the completion of a worker’s task. The most efficient policy is to require every worker to sanitize their own equipment after use, before putting it into a designated ‘sanitized’ pile for the next worker. It’s important to train all employees on how to effectively sanitize, however, as cutting corners is easy to do, difficult to catch, and can be dangerous to everyone.
Warehouse / Production Facility Cleaning: Heavy equipment
Most warehouses don’t assign every employee their own dedicated forklift, floor cleaner, or any other heavy machinery needed to keep operations running smoothly. For this reason, it’s essential that all control panels and seats are disinfected before a new user comes to operate the equipment. Keep all the tools and cleaners necessary to sanitize each piece of equipment near where machines are stored, so it’s convenient and efficient for workers to sanitize after their use.
Warehouse / Production Facility Cleaning: Doors and handles
This one is easily overlooked in many facilities, but it’s an important one. All entrances, exits, bathroom doors, stall handles, sink faucets, appliance handles, drawer pulls and cabinet knobs – everything a hand touches to open or close or operate – absolutely needs to be sanitized each day. These are often the most touched objects in every facility, and the most likely to be forgotten during cleaning.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is included in warehouse and production facility cleaning?
Warehouse and production facility cleaning includes sanitizing shared equipment, high-touch surfaces, work areas, and common spaces. It should cover wearable items, communication devices, handheld tools, heavy equipment, doors, handles, faucets, knobs, and drawer pulls.
2. How often should shared tools and equipment be sanitized?
Workers should sanitize handheld tools, radios, electronics, and other shared equipment after each use. Once cleaned, items should be placed in a designated sanitized area so they are ready for the next person.
3. How should forklifts and other heavy equipment be disinfected?
Seats, steering wheels, control panels, handles, and other frequently touched areas should be disinfected before each new user operates the equipment. Use cleaning products that are appropriate for the surface and follow the product label for safe application.
4. Which warehouse surfaces require daily cleaning and disinfection?
Frequently touched surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected daily, or more often when usage is high. Pay close attention to doors, handles, faucets, knobs, drawer pulls, shared workstations, and other surfaces touched by multiple employees.
5. How should shared wearable items and communication equipment be handled?
Shared wearable items, accessories, radios, headsets, and similar communication equipment should be sanitized between every use. If possible, assign equipment to individual employees to reduce sharing and limit the risk of viral transmission.
6. What role do employees play in warehouse sanitation?
Employees should clean the tools, equipment, and work areas they use after each task or shift. Providing training, clear procedures, and convenient access to cleaning supplies makes shared responsibility easier to maintain and supports consistent sanitation practices.
7. Where should cleaning supplies be placed in a warehouse or production facility?
Place approved cleaning and disinfecting supplies near high-use equipment, entrances, workstations, and other areas where sanitation is required. Supplies should be clearly labeled, safely stored, and readily accessible so employees can clean items immediately after use.
