5 things every cleaning or janitorial business should know about Health & Safety

Health & Safety

Health and safety awareness is important in any business, but especially so in the cleaning and janitorial sector. Health and safety law applies to all businesses, no matter how small.

Many do not realise that if they do not pay due attention to safety in the course of their work or cause injury or infection to someone else, they are personally responsible and may face prosecution. Similarly, organisations that fail to take adequate steps to ensure their own employees observe all relevant procedures can also be liable to prosecution.

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Best practice in sustainable cleaning

Every chemical or biological cleaning agent has some impact on the environment. And while the biggest effect that cleaning products have comes from the chemicals which they contain, the packaging they come in and how they are shipped also affect their environmental rating.

Jangro has developed an environmentally-friendly range of cleaning agents, including Enviro Concentrates, designed to reduce users’ carbon footprints. As well as using green cleaning formulations, such as bacterial washroom cleaners, the Enviro Concentrates range comprises high concentration and low dosage products, and the trigger spray bottle format makes it even easier to know how much of a product you are using.

Responsible usage and dosage control are key elements in reducing the environmental impact of any cleaning product. Designed to be very economical, Jangro also provides guidance on dilution rates – particularly useful when tackling dirtier conditions.

Prevent wastage

The idea is to prevent wastage through over-use of products, while getting the job done to a high standard. And the Enviro Concentrates range also boasts pleasant fragrances, proving that going green does not have to involve any kind of compromise on end-user experience.

Meanwhile, all Jangro products are now labelled under the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. Where hazardous chemical cleaning agents are present, red diamond-shaped hazard pictograms indicate this.

Jangro also uses the Wright Environmental Impact Rating (WEIR) system, which considers environmental issues during the selection process of raw materials, the manufacturing process and packaging.

The system also looks at the impact of the water used in the product, the impact of its use, its pH level, and the energy used for manufacture and shipping. The product in question receives a score for each of these criteria, and the lower the score, the lower its overall impact on the environment under WEIR.

Product lifecycle

This means that as well as considering cleaning products containing less harmful chemicals, we are looking at the lifecycle of the product, its packaging, and its overall carbon footprint. This allows us to compare many different variables when we ask ourselves whether there is another, more sustainable alternative to a product we are considering.

The green revolution isn’t just a nice slogan to talk to clients about, it is crucial for the wellbeing of our planet and should be considered a cornerstone of any forward-thinking business.

For more information on the Jangro group, have a look at this short video!

We’ve got your back when it comes to Manual Handling

Welcome back! I am delighted to announce that Jangro has added a brand new module to its award-winning suite of e-learning modules. Due to popular demand the manual handling course teaches employees everything they need to know about this vitally important subject. I’m here to share some top tips on best practice when it comes to moving anything in the workplace.

What is Manual Handling?

Anything that involves you changing the position of something is manual handling. So, whether it’s lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying you need to ensure you are doing it correctly and safely in order to minimise the risk of a workplace injury.

You might not think it but manual handling is something we do everyday, moving an office chair to a different desk, lifting an awkward shaped box from a shelf or loading a delivery van. It is important to remember that just because these tasks are familiar and something you do everyday, doesn’t mean an injury can’t still occur.

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Employees have duties to take reasonable care of their own health and safety as well as others who may be affected by their actions, communicating with their employers to ensure all health and safety duties are met efficiently.

In the workplace it is the employees responsibility to:

  • Follow appropriate systems of work laid down for their safety
  • Make proper use of equipment provided for their safety
  • Co-operate with their employer on health and safety matters
  • Inform the employer if they identify hazardous handling activities
  • Take care to ensure that their activities do not put others at risk

Lifting is as easy as L-I-T-E 

Learning how to handle and lift different kinds of objects is imperative, but so is the planning and preparation.

Here’s a little Jangro Genius acronym to help you get in the swing of things when manual handling.

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Let’s look at these points in detail. Ask yourself the following questions before manual handling any object to prevent any injuries.

Load

  • Is the load heavy?
  • Is it sharp?
  • Is it likely to shift suddenly?
  • Do you need help?
  • Can you break the load down in to smaller weights?

Individual

  • Do you have any current injuries or health problems?
  • Are your clothes likely to catch on the load?
  • Will your hands slip
  • Are your shoes suitable?
  • If you don’t think you will be able to lift the item, don’t. 

Task

  • What is the task?
  • Are you moving one item or numerous?
  • Will you be able to use a trolley?
  • Is it vital that the object is moved?

Environment

  • Do you have enough space to avoid over reaching or twisting?
  • Is your route clear?
  • Are there any doors or steps to negotiate?
  • Will people get in your way?

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Now you know…

The steps to manual handling various objects correctly and safely may seem like a lengthy process but it is imperative you follow each one to ensure you don’t injure yourself or anyone around you.

You can take advantage of the brand new Manual Handling LMS modules right away by visiting http://jangrolms.net and adding GeniusMH in the voucher code section for exclusive access to the new addition.

If you have any further questions about manual handling and the best ways to go about moving objects in the workplace you can contact me on my social media pages.

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ph Scale and Cleaning Agents

Hi all and welcome back to my blog! This week I’m going to be telling you all about the pH scale of the different types of cleaning agents you can use and their properties.

First let’s have a look at the pH scale:

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The pH scale measures varying degrees of acidity or alkalinity of any cleaning agent or solution, in simple, numeric terms, with 0 being the most acidic and 14 being the most alkaline.

Acidic Products

Due to their harsh nature these are rarely used in the cleaning industry, but are certainly the go to product when you need to remove limescale from a hard surface. Acidic products can also dissolve salts that aren’t soluble in water.

Alkaline Products

If you are looking to remove greasy, fatty deposits from hard surfaces an alkaline product should be used. These kinds of products will have a typical pH value of between 11 and 12.5.

Emulsion floor polish strippers are much stronger and will have a value of around 13 while the extremely corrosive Caustic Soda will have a pH value of 14.

Neutral Products

General cleaning products such as washing up liquid and carpet cleaning solutions will be neutral with a pH value of between 6 and 9.

Throwback

Take yourself back to those science lessons in school and you’ll remember the litmus test. Using Universal Indicator Paper you can dip it into any solution to test the pH value.

The paper will change colour depending on the value. You can see what each colour represents in my chart above.

Cleaning Agents

The list is endless when it comes to cleaning agents that are available on the market. Our Jangro catalogue alone contains hundreds of different products that can be applied to various cleaning tasks. For a Jangro catalogue contact your local distributor or view an online version here 

Most cleaning products fall into one of the below categories that you might already be familiar with:

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How do they work?

To understand how cleaning agents work, we must first grasp the basic principles of soil removal. Water is generally a poor cleaning agent, however, when combined as part of a solution, will tackle most situations.

In order for soil to be removed properly a cleaning agent or solution must have the following properties:

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Detergents

This can describe any cleaning agent. However as there are so many, we tend to call agents with large amounts of chemicals ’Surfactants’.

Be effective

An effective detergent will have the following properties:

-Ability to reduce surface tension

-Ability to emulsify soil and lift it

-Ability to suspend soil in a solution

-To be soluble and remain effective in cold water

-To be soluble and remain effective in hard water

-To be harmless to the user when used correctly

-To not cause damage to the surface being cleaned

-To be easily rinsed from a surface and leave no streaks or deposits

-To be economical

You should have a clearer understanding of the different kinds of cleaning agents available. I will go into more detail into ‘Surfactants’ in a later blog but for now, if you have any questions about any of the above subjects please do give me a shout on my social media pages.

You can also contact Jangro by calling 01204 795955 or emailing enquiries@jangrohq.net.

http://www.facebook.com/JangroLtd

www.twitter.com/JangroLtd

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