Why successful companies clean up their act
Published: 16 April, 2020
Businesses spend a lot of money to stand out. Presentation is all important, and the attention to detail in maintaining a brand’s reputation commands significant investment. However, standing out for all the wrong reasons is something that also comes at a cost. PWE reports.
Potential customers often request a tour of your premises as part of their assessment of possible new suppliers. Equally, it might be tempting to invite a prospect to see your operation in action. Either way, you want them to see you at your best. Hours of effort ensuring that your production line is running smoothly only for them to see an untidy factory floor or warehouse undermines all that preparation. Worse still if unsightly or possibly dangerous spillages appear to have been left unattended for days.
The need for change
It’s not just car manufacturing plants that have transformed from oily, grimy engineering operations into gleaming, well-lit environments with painted floors and walkways. Modern companies now have a keen understanding ofthe benefits of a properly implemented cleaning strategy.
Aside from the obvious influence that a well maintained working environment can have on employee morale, there is the impact on productivity. Clear aisles and walkways not only improve access but also reduce the risks of slips, trips and falls that bring their own consequences of reduced productivity, lost working time and potential workplace injury claims. Movements of goods around the workplace are unhindered by obstacles that must be moved or spillages that have to be avoided.
Beyond the logistical, there’s the mechanical factor. Discarded material such as pallet wrap is a hazard for moving vehicles. Damage caused to axles by plastic banding and strapping is an easily avoidable cost. Dust andother debris blocks radiators and clogs air filters. This disrupts planned maintenance schedules designed to keep your operation running smoothly and at minimal cost. Cleaning out these blockages, with its associated time-ismoney delays, is a preventable issue.
Expensive equipment isn’t the only source of issues from airborne dust. Long-term exposure for employees can have equally damaging implications for employers as injuries do.
Risk-free benefits
These all seem like perfectly rational reasons why companies pay attention to cleaning. But are there influences from a higher level, broader considerations that can provide that direction? Large corporations often issue clear guidelines for their sites and this can stem fromexpectations for presentation and also a commitment to ISO standards. Motivations for managing waste and recycling for 14001 compliance can extend to preventing skips of refuse blowing around not only your own yard but neighbouring sites too.
All these attempts to avoid risk come with added benefits too. A regime that maintains the floor regularly helps to prevent damage to floor coatings from spillages that might otherwise require expensive refurbishment. Whether you have the resources to manage these tasks in-house with dedicated or rotating resource or you choose to outsource cleaning to a contractor, you can be sure that there are options available and support in place. Whereas previously the prospect of acquiring cleaning equipment would mean outright purchase and management level approval, the market is changingWith so much at stake for companies that already have their primary business operation to focus on, it’s important to take advantage when an industry sector transforms its offering.
These changes in customer demands and the expectations for better service drive industries to improve. How many other areas could benefit from this same approach?
For further information please visit:
