7 Tips for Keeping the Workplace Clean & Safe

There’s no question that cleanliness and sanitation are top of mind for people in workplaces across the country, as businesses continue to seek the best methods of protecting employees and customers from communicable diseases such as COVID-19. Routine cleaning in the workplace is essential to maintaining employee morale and encouraging a culture of cleanliness; it improves productivity and helps stop the spread of harmful germs and bacteria.

Our free eBook, A Complete Cleaning Plan for a Safe & Healthy Workplace, covers all the considerations property owners, business owners, and facility managers need to make when developing a complete cleaning program. Today, we’re taking a step back to look at a few easy-to-implement tactics for your work environment with 7 tips for keeping the workplace clean and safe.

1. Develop a Comprehensive Cleaning Schedule

   Cleanliness must be thought of as a shared responsibility among everyone in the workplace. Develop comprehensive cleaning schedules and rules that say who is responsible for what and when. Irregular and improvised cleanup of individual and shared workspaces leads to wasted time and effort and is inefficient and insufficient in ensuring every area is always safe. Surface cleaning must happen regularly to reduce the spread of germs, so be sure to have the right equipment and cleaners readily available.

   Be sure to grab a copy of our free eBook for more guidance on developing a complete cleaning plan. It’ll help you create a schedule that’s properly tailored to your unique workplace setting.

2. Identify High-Traffic & High-Touch Areas

   Cleaning and disinfecting high-traffic areas, desks, and other surfaces regularly and consistently is key to controlling cleanliness and eliminating the spread of germs. Typically, it’s suggested to increase attention to these areas during cold and flu season, but in today’s health-conscious world, you can never let your guard down. High-touch and high-traffic areas should always be cleaned and maintained to the best of your abilities. The increased costs of an uncompromising cleaning regimen can be entirely offset by the continued health of employees and the reduction in sick time.

3. Prohibit Food in Certain Areas

   Put clear guidelines in place regarding food and beverages in certain areas to reduce food particles and spills that could compromise work, equipment, and products and pose potential safety risks. For places where food and drink may be allowed, such as breakrooms, cafeterias, or individual cubicles, be sure to include them in your comprehensive cleaning schedule. Leftover food, crumbs, and packaging can attract pests and encourage bacterial growth, even when placed in wastebaskets, so frequent attention is needed anywhere food and beverages are permitted.

4. Stock Up on PPE & Cleaning Supplies

   Set up designated storage areas for PPE and cleaning supplies and ensure that supplies are monitored and restocked frequently. All employees should have access to paper towels, surface cleaners, hand sanitizers, gloves, masks, and other items that may be necessary to stop the spread of disease, quickly clean up spills, and maintain overall cleanliness and safety in your workplace. Check out Enhancity’s complete range of high-quality commercial janitorial supplies for everything you need to run a safe and healthy workplace, including:

   • Carts and accessories
   • Floorcare supplies and equipment
   • Disposable products
   • PPE and safety equipment
   • Cleaning chemicals
   • Eco-friendly cleaning products
   • Hand soaps and hand sanitizers
   • Trash cans, recycling bins, bags, and liners
   • Restroom supplies
   • Facility maintenance products
   • Commercial floor mats

5. Routine Inspections of Workspaces & Common Areas

   Implement scheduled inspections of all work areas and common areas to help prevent incidents, injuries, and illnesses. Routine workplace examinations help to identify and record hazards for corrective action. Inspections are an opportunity for workers and supervisors to voice their concerns. They help you better understand the operations, jobs, and tasks in your workplace and help identify and mitigate potential hazards.

   Pay attention to items that are most likely to create unsafe or unhealthy conditions due to stress, wear, impact, vibration, heat, corrosion, chemical reaction, or misuse. Include areas where no work is done regularly, such as parking lots, rest areas, office storage areas, and locker rooms. Every aspect of your workplace environment, including the people, equipment, process, and the space itself. Routine inspections should include:

   • Noise
   • Vibration
   • Lighting
   • Waste
   • Temperature
   • Ventilation

6. Electrostatic Disinfection

   COVID-19 has dramatically increased the need for effective commercial office disinfection services in every workplace. Every room, piece of equipment, product, and surface needs proper treatment to ensure harmful microbes are destroyed and removed from the environment. One effective solution to guaranteeing complete cleaning coverage on all of these surfaces is electrostatic disinfection with nano-barrier protection.

   Electrostatic disinfection uses electrically charged spray technology with liquid cleaning products that wrap around surfaces for a 360-degree clean. This rapid cleaning method ensures even and thorough coverage while preventing chemical overuse and is excellent at managing hard-to-reach and complex spaces.

   Nano-barrier protection uses defensive antimicrobial formulas to establish a non-receptive layer on both porous and nonporous surfaces. This attracts and physically blocks microbes from growing on objects in a given space, keeping treated areas safe from a wide array of bacteria, viruses, molds, mildews, fungi, and algae.

   Together, these methods offer significant protection against the spread of COVID-19 in every industry, from offices to airlines, manufacturing plants, hospitals, and universities.

7. Hire a Professional Commercial Cleaning Service

   The absolute best thing you can do to keep your workplace clean and safe is to rely on a professional commercial cleaning and janitorial service. With full-service commercial sanitation and office disinfection services, Enhancity helps businesses run cleaner, safer, and more productively. You get optimal building operations strategies, a suite of soft-services, and an extensive range of flexible capabilities that enable your business to run cleaner, safer, and more productively.

   Download our free eBook, A Complete Cleaning Plan for a Safe & Healthy Workplace, to learn more about the considerations you need to make when developing your complete cleaning program.

   Enhancity is your complete source for 24/7 cleaning and disinfecting services that put the health of your employees and tenants first. Contact us today for additional information as well as guidance, consultations, and pricing on comprehensive commercial cleaning solutions.