Staying on top of cleaning tasks can often be pushed to the bottom of the ‘to do’ list in the workplace, but it seems especially true in warehouses and mechanical shops and storage areas. You may be wondering what keeping a tidy area can do for you. Keeping your place of work clean has several benefits including monetary ones.
If you are uncertain about investing time, money, and resources in keeping your shop or warehouse clean and organized, here are some good reasons why you should consider prioritizing this job.
A clean shop can help employees focus on the task at hand and will actually boost productivity. Employees tend to be happier, more creative, and more efficient at their jobs when they are not dealing with a distracting mess. Physical clutter can actually cause mental distractions – workers find it easier to focus without all the debris in the way.
Cleanliness reduces accidents. An unclean shop creates more opportunities for accidents to happen. Employees can slip on dirty floors or trip over obstacles. Items placed haphazardly on shelves might fall over and hurt someone. Cleanliness will help reduce the chance of accidents and injuries in your shop or warehouse. Show your employees that their safety is important to you by insisting on cleanliness.
Organized shelves make it easier to manage inventory of parts and products needed to complete a task. It can feel like an overwhelming task to assess stock when the displays are a mess. Maintaining a tidy, uncluttered environment in your shop or warehouse makes it easy for employees to quickly find supplies and equipment, which directly increases productivity. Higher accuracy of inventory levels helps to streamline inventory orders which may lower holding costs of inventory, reduce chances of overstocking or running out of items, and monitor shelf-life of products to reduce waste of having to dispose of a product that no one knew was way in the back.
We all know that cleanliness prevents the spread of viruses, but could always use the reminders. Shops and warehouses are high-traffic, high touch areas where many people interact; keeping them clean is a must for the well-being of your employees. Reducing incidents of cross contamination and spreading illness will keep your employees healthier and able to do their jobs. Providing disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizers and hand washing supplies can result in fewer lost days of work due to preventable illnesses.
Cleaning equipment helps it last longer. Warehouses often contain expensive equipment like pallet jacks, lifts, and conveyors. Allowing debris to accumulate on these machines could damage the motors, reduce their efficiency and ultimately reduce their useful lifespan. Investing in cleaning will reduce the cost of maintaining, repairing, or replacing equipment.
A clean and organized shop or warehouse helps to encourage a positive workplace atmosphere.
When a shop is messy, it tends to just get worse as employees feel they can easily just put something down instead of putting it away. On the other hand, having a tidy shop leads employees to put things away properly because that is the expectation that has been set. A dirty work area can lead to a negative employee attitude as employees pay less attention to small details when performing important tasks because they are off-put by their surroundings or feel that if the boss doesn’t care – why should they?
So as you head out to keep your facilities clean and running smoothly, don’t forget to head in as well and do the same for your office and shop environment.
