We all know that health and safety in the workplace is a priority for business owners. You implement all the necessary steps to keep employees safe and your business compliant with current regulations. This also applies to contractors, including cleaners, who undertake tasks on business premises. So, this month we ask the question, ‘Are your cleaners health and safety complaint?’ and detail the necessary documentation to prove they meet the required standards.

If you employ a commercial cleaning company, you may not realise that there are a number of health and safety compliance requirements that should be met for both their employees and their clients.

If your business is based in South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, call Crystal Clean Service on 0114 4010 550 today so we can show you how we ensure the health and safety of our employees and our clients.

Are your Cleaners Health and Safety Compliant?

In order to demonstrate compliance with UK health and safety requirements, professional cleaners need to provide clients with various documents and forms, which we explain below.

Health and Safety Policy

At Crystal Clean Service, we have found that many new clients had not even asked their previous commercial cleaning company for a copy of their health and safety policy!

Just think for a minute. What would happen if there was a spillage of cleaning chemicals? Or, if someone slipped and fell on a wet floor?

In fact, there are any number of different scenarios that could happen, putting cleaners, your employees and visitors at risk of being hurt.

It is therefore extremely important that commercial cleaners show health and safety compliance by understanding the legal requirements set out by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations.

To demonstrate that your cleaners are health and safety complaint, you need to see a copy of their health and safety policy.. This demonstrates knowledge of their responsibilities and a commitment to maintaining safe working practices whilst on clients’ premises. The policy will detail the procedures they have implemented to achieve this.

Procedures

Cleaning companies need to show that they are operating safe systems of work for cleaning tasks undertaken on behalf of clients.

There should be clear step-by-step procedures for carrying out cleaning tasks safely. Safety precautions should be detailed along with procedures for:

  • Dealing with cleaning chemicals spillages
  • The safe handling and disposal of waste

Method Statements

Method statements outline the procedures and safety measures to be followed for cleaning tasks.

These statements make sure that tasks are performed in compliance with health and safety regulations.

  • Scope of Work describes the cleaning tasks
  • Risk Assessments (more on this later)
  • Procedures (as outlined above)
  • PPE requirements for each task
  • Emergency procedures for accidents, chemical spills, fire etc.
  • Responsibilities – who is responsible on site for health and safety?

Risk Assessments

Commercial cleaners have a duty of care to both their employees and their clients, so need to conduct thorough risk assessments to identify potential hazards for cleaning tasks.

Risk assessments should be reviewed and updated regularly, but especially following an incident, changes in the cleaning process, or following a change in equipment/chemicals.

The use of hazardous substances requires separate risk assessments to be compliant with COSHH regulations.

Every cleaning chemical needs its own Safety Data Sheet detailing:

  • Its properties
  • How to handle it safely
  • Hazards to health
  • Emergency procedures in case of spillage, bodily contact or contamination

Process for risk assessments:

There is a process for carrying out risk assessments to identify hazards that could cause injury or harm, such as wet floors, dangerous chemicals or electrical equipment.

  1. Assess the risk of harm by considering who may be harmed/injured, and how.
  2. mplement measures to remove or reduce the risk.
  3. Document the findings of the assessment. It is this document that should be kept on file demonstrate compliance.

 

Accident Forms

Of course, nobody wants an accident at work to occur and every care is taken to prevent this.

But clients need the assurance that should an accident happen, professional cleaning companies will handle it competently.

Accident forms provide evidence of how previous incidents have been handled and should include:

  • Information about the incident/accident – who, what, why, when, how
  • Details of the response
  • Changes made to procedures to prevent future occurrences

Training records

It is not enough for commercial cleaning companies to reassure clients that all their cleaning staff have been trained in safe working practices.

In order to answer the question, ‘Are your cleaners health and safety complaint’, there should be documentation detailing who, when, and what training was provided:

  • Safe working practices
  • Use of PPE
  • Handling chemicals safely
  • Emergency procedures

Training will need to be refreshed from time to time and when regulations change. This also applies to First Aid training.

 

PAT Testing

All electrical equipment used by cleaning companies should be regularly inspected and tested.

Portable Appliance Testing, (known as PAT), offers clients assurance that the cleaning equipment is safe and monitored.

Moreover, it enables clients to fulfil their health and safety obligations to on-site contractors.

Site Assessments

Site assessments are necessary for cleaning services to be tailored to the needs of individual clients and sites. In addition, they pinpoint high traffic areas, visitor or public zones, slippery surfaces and the suitability of storage areas for cleaning equipment and chemicals.

There may also be regulatory compliance issues depending on the nature of business, for example, hygiene standards in the food industry.

It is imperative that on-site cleaning practices meet or even surpass regulatory standards to make sure that clients are compliant.

By maintaining and updating documentation to reflect changes, commercial cleaning companies can demonstrate compliance with current health and safety regulations. All documents should be accessible to clients, with records of client-specific amendments.

Remember, if your cleaners aren’t health and safety compliant with the current regulations, then neither are you!

Are your Cleaners Health and Safety Compliant?

At Crystal Clean Service, we take health and safety compliance very seriously, and make sure that we keep comprehensive records of the documentation we have outlined in this article. This ensures that we can produce evidence of our compliance to both clients and the relevant authorities as and when required.

It is this openness and honesty that has helped to build a bond of trust with our clients and why they choose Crystal Clean Service, time after time.

Are your cleaners health and safety compliant? If you don’t know, or haven’t been provided with documentary evidence, you may not be compliant! At Crystal Clean Service, we provide the necessary documentation to show that we are compliant with the current regulations, so you can be assured of our commitment to health and safety. Contact us for a quote or take a look at our website to find out more about our professional cleaning service and how we keep your workplace clean, hygienic… and safe!