Investing in Safety Can Save Your Cleaning Company and Your Bottom Line

When is the last time you heard the phrase, “Safety Pays”?

In 2010, a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) study disclosed that janitorial workers had the 16^th highest injury rate of all occupations. This same report revealed that janitorial workers sustained over 46,000 injuries requiring days away from work. Clearly, it's vital to examine how investing in safety saves your cleaning company money.

In an industry with over 2.5 million cleaning workers, we must pay attention. Days away from work cost far more than just money. Don't get caught off guard with a non-current or non-existent plan for safety.

Prioritizing safety in your workplace has intangible benefits as well that build goodwill in employees, their families, your community and industry. Word spreads fast when you demonstrate that you care about the well-being of your workforce and clients.

You will find it becomes easier to attract and retain better employees and customers. That makes you a recognized leader.

Are you investing in safety?

Investing in Safety Reduces Risk

Surely, you've thought about how to manage risk for your cleaning business. My goal is to expand your insights on how investing in safety saves your cleaning company money. If you've ever had to hire and train temporary employees or been through an accident in the workplace, you know how it drives up costs.

If you have no formal safety program in place, it's time to make it happen. I know from firsthand experience how it can transform your business.

Physical and environmental perils in the janitorial industry are many. New chemicals and regulations spring up constantly. Understanding the basics will show you that the potential savings are worth the extra time and effort it takes to realize the full benefits. This will inspire you to plan and execute your safety program.

If you need further motivation, safety regulations mandate safety in the workplace:

• OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) was created in 1970. Its purpose is to protect the health and safety of workers in the workforce. 
• OSH Act (Occupational Safety and Health Act) has a General Duty Clause. This clause is for employers. It tells them they will give employees a workplace free from recognized hazards. Hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.

Despite safety regulations, lack of proper training is prevalent in many companies for many reasons.

• Scarcity of time and revenue may tempt employers to speed up safety training.
• Worse yet, they may skip it. They want to wait until a new hire has been on the job awhile. After all, it might not work out, right?

This attitude is a huge mistake. It puts your company at risk along with your reputation.

Whether they ask or not, all new employees have questions, and safety concerns are among them. Addressing these questions early on is just one example of how investing in safety saves your cleaning company money.       

Most new hires want to make a good impression. They felt working for your company was a good choice. Which way the goodwill goes from there is in your court.

How and when you begin the training process sets the stage for job commitment. Employees expect many things from their job, including feeling safe.   

You may not have had an accident or even a near miss… yet. Nevertheless, it takes proactive measures to stack the odds in your favor when managing risk in your cleaning business.

Among other things, new hires wonder:

• What are the dangers of the job?
• What type of equipment will I be using?
• Will I receive training? When?
• What if I get hurt?
• Who do I go to with questions?

Smart potential hires will ask these questions in their interview. Being prepared to answer them is another example of how investing in safety saves your company money because it builds trust with the candidates you want to hire, just as ongoing open communication after hiring does.

What to consider when managing risk in your cleaning business

This list of common types of accidents may help you start mapping out your safety program. You may spot things you hadn't considered before that pertain to how investing in safety saves your cleaning company money:

1. Slip/Trip/Fall Accidents (STFs)

If you've ever slipped on a loose rug or a wet surface and recovered without hitting the ground, you know what a sense of relief that brings. We once had a near miss with a slippery floor. One of our employees was burnishing a VCT tile floor. It looked great, but he used too much chemical. We got a phone call the next day that the floor was very slippery. We had to go in right away and fix it or we could have had a slip/fall accident liability.

STFs can happen anywhere, and not just on wet floors. They are one of your biggest concerns when managing risk in your cleaning business. Slips and trips may results in falls. Falls may cause temporary or long term disability. A wide range of injuries can result, from lacerations or contusions all the way to sprains, strains, and broken bones. STFs represent nearly a quarter of reported claims each year and are the second leading cause of accidental death following motor vehicles (approximately 12,000 annually).

Trips are often times caused by tripping over a vacuum cord, a curled up edge on a rug, or obstacles in walkways. Many trip incidents can be avoided by keeping aisles clear, closing file drawers, returning waste receptacles to their regular spot, and taping down loose wires. Other causes are uneven surfaces or walking on a wet floor. These may be prevented by posting warning signs or taping areas off while mopping.

Employers can work with building owners and property managers to help prevent most slip incidents by things as simple as posting signs, securing loose rugs or tiles, adding slip-resistant surfaces and railings. Improved lighting may also help as may training employees how to fall properly. Employees can participate by being more mindful of both their surroundings and actions such as the number of objects they carry. They may also be advised to slow down to prevent mishaps.

2. Ergonomic Considerations

Have you ever used equipment that was beyond what you could reasonably manage? I once used a vacuum that was way too heavy for me, but I didn't stop there. I also used mops that were too heavy, and I ended up with carpal tunnel. After months of numbness, wearing wrist braces and enduring cortisone injections, I ended up getting surgery on both wrists. Had I been an employee instead of owner, our Worker's Comp policy would have paid for all this treatment and our rates would have skyrocketed.

Over time, repetitive motions can take their toll, especially in an industry where workers are constantly bending, pulling, pushing, lifting, and reaching. Injuries may occur suddenly. Musculoskeletal injuries including strains and sprains can occur. Even back injuries are common ergonomic injuries. So assigning the right ergonomic equipment is a less obvious preventative measure, but it can certainly save your cleaning company money.

3. Chemical Safety

Chemicals are everywhere these days. It seems there is really no way to avoid them completely. All you can do is take reasonable efforts to minimize contact with them by keeping sprays, vapors and fumes from coming into contact with skin, eyes, and nasal passages/lungs. According to OSHA, 36 percent of all janitorial injuries involve skin irritations or burns; and 12 percent are the result of breathing fumes.

Note that there is a difference between “fumes” and “vapors” even though they are often used interchangeably.

• Fume exposure may cause early symptoms including watering, prickly eyes; running or blocked nose; sore throat; coughing, wheezing, tight chest and breathlessness. Occupational asthma may develop over time with exposure to certain fumes.
  
  
• Vapor exposure can be toxic when chemicals reach a certain concentration. The best example that comes to mind is carbon monoxide, which is a colorless, odorless gas. It is found in fumes produced any time you burn fuel in cars or trucks, small engines, stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges, or furnaces.

We once had an employee that complained about getting a rash on her hands. When we discovered that she wasn't wearing protective gloves, we thanked her for calling the situation to our attention and gently reminded her that this is why we require employees to where PPE. We retrained her on this part of the safety training she had signed off on, and then followed up with her to show that we cared that the problem was resolved. Remember that employees need updated training on a regular basis. Repetition is key to retaining learning.

When managing risk for your cleaning business, decide how you will manage properly storing and disposing of chemicals to avoid fines for pollution. Be sure you have necessary and proper protective clothing, accessories and other gear, as well as supplies such as rubber gloves and masks available. Be mindful of the business your commercial clients are in and ask appropriate questions. Declining work from certain businesses may be in your best interest if you aren't properly trained in how to safety clean their type of facility.

4. Electrical Shock

If you are thinking that preventing electrical shock is easy, you may be in for a different kind of shock.

Some shocks come from vacuum cleaners with loose wires. No surprise there. Another way to get a shock is from static electricity, which can build up to surprisingly high levels in your body. This may be something you need to consider depending if you're working near potentially volatile chemicals or vapors. Although static electricity in cell phones has been pretty well dismissed as a cause of fire at gas pumps, you can see in this video that static electricity is still a suspect. Whether this is rare or not, it's worth keeping in mind.

Many companies offer light bulb changing as a service. If you don't train employees to turn off the power, shocks are likely. In addition to the risk of shock, if employees are changing a fluorescent bulb in the ceiling, other accidents can occur. It's possible to slip off the ladder. There's even risk from cuts if the bulb is difficult to get out and suddenly shatters.

Preventing shocks and associated risks is similar to managing risks in other areas discussed above. Understand where you're working and what is around you. Are there spills? What type? Is there any moisture in an area where you're working with electricity? If dry chemicals are present, how volatile are they?

Remind workers to work mindfully, prioritizing safety over speed. You may want to create a checklist for procedures such as lightbulb changing that reminds workers to turn the power off, wear safety goggles and gloves.

5. Bloodborne Pathogens

If you work with blood, you must give proper training. Exposure to some human body fluids has the potential to transmit serious, even deadly, disease. Most commonly, HIV (Human Immune Deficiency Virus) comes to mind when we think of blood-borne diseases. There are others, including HBV (Hepatitis B). HBV can cause serious liver disease. Even if you don't normally work with blood in your accounts, you still must have supervisors on the scene who have been trained on properly cleaning up blood, should an incident occur.

Preventing incidents is a combination of ongoing education, protective clothing, gear, and safety goggles and gloves.

Recap: Why Investing in Safety Reduces Risk and Saves Money

If you've never considered how investing in safety saves your cleaning company money from a variety of angles, be sure to take into account things that are non-monetary in nature. They can also have an enormous impact on your bottom line:

• How might just one serious injury affect employee morale? Co-workers can be devastated and, just as some family members, may never get over what happens to ‘one of their own.' An injured worker must deal with the impact of an accident in every area of his or her life. It may lessen mobility, decrease ability to participate fully with family and friends, and decrease ability to provide financially for many needs.
• What could just one serious injury cost? Go way beyond the direct costs of Worker's Comp increases, overtime and fees for temporary employees. Indirect costs such as time spent training others or hidden costs such as lowered morale can easily dwarf direct costs.
• Your response to just one serious injury could escalate into bad publicity for your business, should you handle it wrong. All businesses have a public face. To attract great clients and employees you must put your best face forward at all times. Just one emotional news interview from a disgruntled employee or a crippling fine from OSHA could mean the end.

Regardless of the size of your company, large or small, you can take steps to increase safety and decrease insurance premiums.

• Meet with your insurance agent. Be sure you understand your coverage fully, as well as what the financial implications are for various incidents. In addition, how might an event affect your insurability?
• Learn the laws, regulations, and agencies that govern your industry.
• Involve your employees. They know the ins and outs of their jobs. Make it a part of their job responsibility to report unsafe conditions.
• Solicit advice from your vendors about what other business similar to yours are doing.
• Identify hazards, then create a plan to minimize or remove them.
• Improve work procedures.
• Upgrade equipment and PPE policies to provide greater protection.
• Consider working with an independent consultant with safety program experience.

The bottom line here is not just about money. It's also about providing a safe workplace, ongoing training and making safety improvements as necessary. Caring attention to the details of workplace safety and health can increase your business profitability in other ways.

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