Industrial and manufacturing facility managers and operators face many challenges when it comes to keeping a facility clean.

Employee safety is one of the biggest concerns and this can be impacted by the large equipment and machinery used to create products as well as the mess that can be caused during production.

Because of this, keeping industrial facilities clean is both a human safety and product quality issue.

A messy facility or one that is not cleaned regularly can cause harm to employees and even be the reason for quality control issues. On top of that, lost time and severe damage can cost a company thousands of dollars.

“Each year more than 3.5 million U.S. workers suffer occupational injuries or illnesses that cost businesses an estimated $97.4 billion in compensation expenses alone," a

Here are some crucial steps that should be included in your facility’s cleaning plan to help ensure safety and quality production.

Create a Detailed Cleaning Schedule

To start, a detailed and clear cleaning schedule should be outlined for your cleaning team. The most efficient plans will align and coordinate with the manufacturing facility.

“Training and education; selecting the proper tools, chemicals and procedures for the task; voicing expected cleaning results; and having a chain of command that allows for accountability.”

Safety is one of the most important aspects to consider when creating these plans, and because of this training staff on the proper supplies to use based on the facility is incredibly important.

Also, since industrial and manufacturing facilities often operate running two or three shifts, the cleaning plan will have to be built to coordinate with those shifts.

This may mean scheduling certain types of cleaning, like floor cleaning, during breaks or shift changes when there are less people on the floor.

This could also mean outlining what types of cleaning tasks must happen at certain times of day—for example, dusting of shelves and storage areas may need to take place when other workers have gone home for the day to eliminate accidental spread of debris from people walking through the area.

Whether you are a BSC sending your cleaning team to the facility, or your cleaning team is in-house, making sure the plan is clearly outlined and expectations are set is important to overall safety and effectiveness of the plan.

Keep the Facility Organized

In addition to creating a detailed cleaning plan, keeping the facility organized is necessary, and when it comes to cleaning, it is ideal for your cleaning staff to have a dedicated work and storage area.

This space should be large enough for staff to work on and maintain cleaning equipment as well as store necessary supplies.

Not only that, but make sure your cleaning supplies are stocked and maintained so it is easy for the cleaning team to find what they need when they need it.

Having a designated area for your cleaning team will help them to be more efficient, as everything they need will be in one location.

Make Cleaning Floors a Priority

Clean floors in an industrial and manufacturing setting are one of the most critical areas to keep clean!.

• First, dirty floors pose safety issues on many levels. Facilities that operate with chemicals or items that require water or other liquids often end up with flooring that gets wet and dirty.

This causes hazards for any employee on the floor, not to mention creating unsafe conditions for operating any sort of machinery. So, in these types of situations it may be crucial to conduct floor cleaning throughout the day.

It is also necessary to make sure any large debris or non-essential items are consistently cleared from areas where machines move or operate.

• Second, dirty floors can cause more dirt to end up in the air, or on the product that is being produced in the facility.

Dirt and debris on floors can be inadvertently kicked into the air (from people or equipment moving around) causing poor indoor air quality, which is a health risk to workers.

Not only that, but this dirt and debris can also settle on product. Depending on what the facility specializes in this can cause health and safety violations or even product quality issues.

Making sure to have the appropriate equipment is key. Floor scrubbers and sweepers, like those by ICE Cobotics, are designed to tackle large areas of flooring, and can help cut down on the time it takes to clean floors.

In addition, using scrubbers and sweepers with fleet management software can help managers monitor machine usage, operators, and even confirm clean, all from an app.

Fleet management software, like i-Synergy by ICE Cobotics, can help managers develop a clearer idea of how long it takes to clean certain areas of a facility. This information could help streamline the cleaning plan and help increase cleaning productivity and efficiency.

Use Cleaning as an Active Maintenance and Facility Inspection Tool

By building regular inspections into your cleaning plan, you can set up a schedule for any areas that need deep cleaning, whether that is once a week or once a month. This can help control dust or debris that gets in hard-to-reach areas and is also an effective way to bring extra attention to any areas that typically collect clutter.

This is also a suitable time to review active maintenance plans for equipment and to determine if maintenance is needed.

Keeping cleaning equipment in top performing condition aids in the overall cleanliness of the facility, not to mention it can help decrease downtime.

This is also an opportune time to examine any areas of the facility that pose safety risks such has areas where spills frequently occur, or hard to see around corners where moving equipment is operated.

Giving extra attention to those types of a spots in a manufacturing facility can go a long way in preventing slip or trip and fall accidents and can help prevent obstructions where machinery is operated.

ICE Cobotics is a floor cleaning equipment company specializing in the subscription model. Reach out to one of our equipment experts to see how we can help you keep your facility clean.

If you'd like to read further, we suggest: Industrial, Manufacturing and Commercial Robotics Safety Standards