4 Must-Have Ways of Keeping Your Factory Safe & Clean

Factories can be very hazardous places if proper health and safety standards are not maintained. In case you are planning to start up a new manufacturing facility, or are simply looking to improve the health and safety standards of your current establishment, read on as we discuss four effective and practical methods to keep your factory safe and clean for your employees.

Fume Extraction Systems

Almost all factories need appropriate fume extraction systems to keep the air inside from becoming toxic. Most fumes are generated during welding or spray painting, so invest in the installation of fume extraction systems where applicable. Visit the Integrated Air Systems website to know more about the kind of welding fume extraction systems your particular factory will need to keep the air safe and clean inside for everyone. It is to be noted that proper fume extraction systems are a requirement for relevant factories to be compliant with HSE safety standards as well, so it’s not exactly optional.

Regular and Updated Training

Technology is getting updated every year, so a new forklift model launched in 2019 won’t work in the same way that a model from 2010 might. Similarly, all new equipment, tools, chemicals, processes, etc. need to be handled only by appropriately trained employees.
Every time something new is introduced to the factory, make sure that all relevant personnel are trained with the necessary knowledge to handle the new equipment safely. This applies to even experienced workers, because of the aforementioned reasons. In case you need to increase your expenses and hire more qualified employees for that, don’t put it off because the risks are not worth it.

Maintenance Checks Should be Regular

Everything in a factory has to be checked either regularly or periodically by trained personnel only, and there can never be an exception to this rule, if you are to maintain safety.
Professional check-ups from external organisations for detecting unnoticed possibilities of health hazards and accidents should be conducted every once in a while, too. All it takes is a single faulty machine to cause a serious tragedy.

Cleanliness is More Important than You May Think

If hazardous materials are lying around unprotected, or even if the factory is just shabby, accidents will happen, sooner or later. Cluttered, dirty factories are potential timebombs in terms of work-related accidents. Make it a mandatory policy for both management and the ground workers to keep things tidy and safe for everyone.
Unsafe factory conditions lead to the deaths of multiple factory workers in the UK every year, resulting in companies being shut down and operations getting put on hold, which puts more workers out of job. This is not even counting the number of workers who suffer long term injuries or develop cancers, Parkinson’s and other diseases/disorders later on.
As health code violations and improper safety measures are extremely harmful both from a business and a moral perspective, it’s just so much better to get things right before an accident actually happens and you are facing a million-pound lawsuit that could put you out of business permanently.