Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying my blogs and keeping up to date with my latest posts and tweets on Jangro’s social media pages.

This week I will be focusing on the very important issue of COSHH and explaining what you need to know and do to stay safe and compliant.

Getting in on the act

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 covers the management of risks within all industries. Included in the legislation are specific guidelines that apply to the safe use of hazardous substances.

These guidelines are better known as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations. The law requires employers to manage and control exposure to hazardous substances to prevent ill health and by complying with COSHH regulations businesses can protect employees and other people who may be exposed.

Information at your fingertips

COSHH procedures can help responsible businesses to set measures to ensure employers, employees and the public stay safe.

Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) of substances and mixtures have replaced Chemical Hazards Information and Packaging for Supply Regulations 2002 (CHIP) and now compliment the COSHH regulations and place a duty on the supplier of chemical based products to ensure customers are provided with the information they need to protect themselves, others and the environment.

Safety Data Sheets and packaging labels are also used to ensure everyone can access vital information.

Jangro provides these online and has recently launched a free online resource that will save employers time and money, and ensure they are up to date with the latest health and safety documentation.

‘Site Manager’, Jangro’s Health and Safety Compliance Solution, is available to all online customers and contains hundreds of Safety Data Sheets, COSHH risk assessments and process risk assessment documents.

Each time a new product is ordered online, the relevant compliance information will automatically be added to your dedicated Site Manager area.

In addition, links to the documents will appear on the order confirmation, saving you the time it takes to search for and download data for each individual product.

There is also the option to collate a site or company specific pack in the form of a PDF document with branded cover sheets and a contents page, which can be used for health and safety inspections and insurance purposes.

All literature is updated in line with national legislative changes and you can even set up automatic email updates to send the latest documents at regular intervals.

Safety Data Sheets – the facts

A Safety Data Sheet provides detailed information on the components contained within a product. It also identifies the associated potential hazards and provides information on first aid requirements in the event of accident.

By law a Safety Data Sheet must contain detailed information that covers 16 distinct categories:

1. Identification of Substance
2. Hazard Identification
3. Composition and Information on Ingredients
4. First Aid Measures
5. Firefighting Measures
6. Accidental Release Measures
7. Handling and Storage
8. Exposure Controls and Personal Protection
9. Physical and Chemical Properties
10. Stability and Reactivity
11. Toxicological Information
12. Ecological Information
13. Disposal Considerations
14. Transport Information
15. Regulatory Information
16. Other Important Company and Staff Information

Know the risks

Using the information listed in the Safety Data Sheet, managers must then carry out an in depth assessment of the risks associated with the individual product in the work environment and scenario it is to be used in.

A comprehensive risk assessment needs to be tailored to each company, product and situation, and should cover every single aspect of its use from its arrival onsite to it being disposed of in a responsible way.

Once this assessment has been carried out it must be decided if there is a problem with the substance being used, what risks there are to the people using or being exposed to them and how to mitigate these risks.

The basic steps include:

• Identifying the substances and consider the risks they pose to people’s health
• Deciding what precautions are needed to remove or reduce them to acceptable levels
• COSHH regulations require you to prevent exposure to substances hazardous to health if it is practicable to do so.

Where this is impossible the danger must be reduced through the use of personal protective equipment

• Sharing the information with staff, which is vital to ensure complete compliance

Once the controls have been established the regulations require employees to adhere to them and report any defects or issues.

New hazard symbols

In June 2015 the hazard symbols that appear on chemicals are being replaced with new pictograms. Orange symbols once used from CHIP regulations have now been replaced with red diamond symbols from the new CLP regulations.

Serious longer term health hazards
such as carcinogenicity and
respiratory sensitization

 

Contains gas under pressure

 

 

Jangro is updating all labels in line with the CLP Regulation and safety data sheets will also include the new symbols and safety phrases.

All of Jangro’s labels have QR codes to get instant up-to-date access to safety data, product usage guides and support materials.

When you see this symbol scan the QR code for all of the latest, relevant information.

 

Knowledge is power

The most reliable way to share your findings with staff is to produce and distribute hard copies of a COSHH Risk Assessment File, which includes all Safety Data Sheets and Risk Assessments. Here are some very important points for consideration.

• It should be a comprehensive record including all products
• It should be completed by a trained person
• There should be a hard copy in every building
• All documents should be kept up to date
• Management should take full responsibility of giving information and guidance to employees
• Risk Assessment Files should be regarded as ‘living’ documents that are regularly reviewed and updated

And finally….

Keeping up-to-date records and working hard to follow regulations will mean you are always working as safely as possible.

Here are some personal pointers on some other good practice do’s and don’ts to help you on your way:

All the information in the Risk Assessment File has been collated with one aim – to keep people safe while ensuring everyone understands their responsibilities.

I will be looking at some other areas of COSHH later this week on Facebook and Twitter. Stay in touch by following and liking!

https://www.facebook.com/JangroLtd

https://twitter.com/JangroLtd

Welcome back cleaning friends, I’ve been looking forward to posting this blog. This week I’m focusing on housekeeping, which is essential to creating a great first impression.

I am going to delve further into these two types of housekeepers as well as giving you some handy information on their responsibilities and the tasks they should be carrying out.

If you’re an employer and looking to recruit a housekeeper for your office or hotel, choosing a reputable cleaning agency is vital because not only do they offer a professional service, all rates include insurance to give you peace of mind.

Office housekeeper
Those who take care of office environments sometimes work during office hours while others will complete their tasks after hours – it purely depends on the size and requirements of each individual business.

Good housekeeping plays a massive part in reducing and eliminating workplace hazards. If your office housekeeper isn’t following the correct protocol they could actually be contributing to workplace accidents and injuries.

Standards of good housekeeping need to be set and most importantly, maintained. A laid back approach to cleaning practices, tasks and regimes should be addressed and if visitors and customers notice rubbish, stains and spillages around the office a huge question mark will hang over the company as a whole.

Think outside of the box

Housekeeping is so much more than cleaning; everything that contributes to a neat and tidy office will be the job of the housekeeper and it is the employer’s responsibility to outline what specific tasks need fulfilling around the office. This may involve organising certain areas, whether this is stacking generic paperwork or simply putting pens, paperclips and other paraphernalia back in their pots.

It is also the housekeeper’s responsibility alert maintenance staff and managers if they spot something that is in need of some TLC or potential hazard like exposed wires as well as other duties like controlling the office recycling or contacting external contractors to come in for specialist cleaning tasks such as carpet cleaning.

Housekeeping should be:

Typical duties of a housekeeper include:

• Keeping toilets and washrooms stocked
• Cleaning around tea and coffee stations and kitchenettes
• Putting the bins out for collection and relining waste and recycling bins
• Spot cleaning on windows and walls
• Responding to reception or help desk requests
• Ensuring all broken, blocked or damaged fixtures and fittings are reported to maintenance
• Reporting and sometimes replacing light bulbs
• Keeping an eye on walkways and corridors and making sure they aren’t obstructed
• Organising equipment, supplies and tools, keeping them in a handy place that is easy accessible

Hotel housekeeper

The size of a hotel will depend on the level and role of housekeeping required.

These different roles are:

• Executive housekeeper

These will liaise with multiple departments and are responsible for the overall cleanliness, maintenance and general upkeep of the hotel.

• Assistant housekeeper

There may be numerous assistant housekeepers working at a hotel to fit in with different shift patterns. They will report to the executive housekeeper.

• Housekeeping team member

A team member will carry out the actual cleaning tasks delegated to them from either the executive or assistant housekeeper. Different areas of the hotel such as bedrooms, corridors and public areas will be assigned to them.

Hotels rely on word of mouth, repeat business and extended stays therefore, as I mentioned earlier, first impressions most certainly count.

With sites such as Trip Advisor it’s so easy for guests to review their stay and nine times out of 10 they will review the worst part of their stay, highlighting what was wrong rather than the positives. It’s important that hotel housekeeping is faultless to ensure the cleanliness of the hotel doesn’t let it down.

What makes a good hotel housekeeper?

• Presentable appearance
• Good personal hygiene
• Pleasant mannerisms
• Discretion
• Honesty
• Attention to detail

Risky business

There are many risks involved with housekeeping, some of which may never even have crossed your mind.

Workplaces are responsible for conducting and producing the relevant risk assessments for housekeepers’ daily jobs and I can always help with any cleaning-related queries.

I think I’ve just about covered everything you need to know about housekeeping but if you have any further questions, please give me a shout on my social media pages.

https://www.facebook.com/JangroLtd

https://twitter.com/JangroLtd

Hello there cleaning friends and welcome back! This week I’m here to guide you through the sometimes confusing colour-coding systems used in the workplace and how you may be able to adapt them for your workplace as well as how to incorporate them into your daily cleaning regime.

I will help you understand the importance of colour-coding so you can appreciate how this system effectively contributes to the prevention of infection, creating a safer worker environment for not only yourself but others around you.

Easy as a,b,c…

Even though it’s not mandatory and there are no set rules, I advise you do implement a scheme to make controlling germs and bugs at work that little bit easier.

To make life easy for you, the cleaning industry kindly developed a widely used colour-coding system for all of your cleaning products and equipment, including popular items such as mops and brushes that should be used in the different areas identified by various colours.

These four colours are commonly used for this method. Here is some information on how and where they should be used:

Don’t worry if these aren’t the colours used in your workplace, you may have adopted another system that includes different colours. This is absolutely fine as long as the colour codes are strictly adhered to at all times.

Follow suit

It may be difficult at times but ideally equipment within different areas should also be suitably colour coded.

Here at Jangro we make and distribute all of the relevant equipment you could possibly need for your cleaning regime.

Ideally all your equipment you use to clean a particular area should be stored within that designated area.

Is your kit clean?

It defeats the object if you’re cleaning with a dirty product, so make sure you take just as much time in cleaning your equipment as you would with cleaning your workplace.

It’s important that if you are cleaning more than one area, gloves should be worn and changed when moving areas to ensure equipment isn’t contaminated.

I’ve created a little guide to give you peace of mind when cleaning your kit.

I’d be interested in hearing what colour-coding systems you have adapted in your workplace to actively prevent infection.

Perhaps you use the same colours as above but for different areas or use a completely different range of colours. I’d love to hear about it on my social media pages.

https://www.facebook.com/JangroLtd

https://twitter.com/JangroLtd