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Good housekeeping: an imperative for Safety
Several of our projects especially in urban areas are ‘exposed’ and in the public eye. A clean, well-organized construction site will speak volumes of the brand and we are not talking here about the branding on the barricades. It is often said that the first impression is the best and that first impressions last; visits and inspections can, most often, start on the right note if sites are neat and maintained. Cleanliness of a workplace reflects a certain pride of ownership and today with clients demanding a higher degree of safety, good housekeeping has emerged as an imperative for Safety.
Housekeeping is more than just cleanliness
Good housekeeping is about having a place for everything and nothing out of place. In our industry, it is considered as an effective accident/incident prevention programme that can significantly enhance a project’s quality and efficiency. It involves keeping workplaces orderly & neat, removing hinderances, maintaining easy accesses, properly stacking material, being vigilant to fix things that are broken, ensuring that everyone at the workplace follows the same regimen, all to help control or even eliminate workplace hazards and incidents. It is an ongoing exercise and sites with impressive safety records are more often those that practice good housekeeping.
Good housekeeping is about having a place for everything and nothing out of place.
It is so easy at construction sites to either slip through an unguarded opening or trip over a loose cable, to be hit by a falling object or tool or lose one’s footing on a wet or greasy surface, stumble over carelessly strewn material or inadvertently spark off a fire with some inflammable material lying around. “Each of these instances are because something was amiss, not in its right place, because someone was being careless,” points out Michael Sanderson, Head – EHS, Heavy Civil Infrastructure IC. “They occur because we do not pay attention to the small things and one learning in construction is that it is the small things that make the biggest difference, and in such cases, unfortunate.”
Have a sound housekeeping plan
Construction sites and offices are beehives of activity with lots of people carrying out various tasks, some complementary, some totally unconnected but all in proximity with each other which is the perfect scenario for things to go awry. A well-formulated and clear housekeeping programme can help site leadership to maintain order in this chaos and avoid hazards. “Maintain is the operative word,” remarks P Nagarajan, EHS Head – B&F IC. “Housekeeping is never achieved, it has to be constantly maintained for which the housekeeping plan must be shared with all stakeholders to ensure that it is followed meticulously which” as he adds, “is dependent on cleaning up and organizing the workplace regularly rather than waiting for the end of the shift, end of day or week to set things right.”
Housekeeping is never achieved, it has to be constantly maintained for which the housekeeping plan must be shared with all stakeholders to ensure that it is followed meticulously which is dependent on cleaning up and organizing the workplace regularly rather than waiting for the end of the shift, end of day or week to set things right.
P Nagarajan
EHS Head – B&F IC
The plan should clearly lay out how people, vehicles and material move within a site, where material, tools & equipment need to be stored, where areas are demarcated for waste disposal, and a lot more but perhaps the most important is to assign responsibilities and have accountability. “In housekeeping it is very easy for things to fall between stools,” grins Michael at his pun, “but seriously it is vital that each team member knows and understands clearly what is expected off them that is even more relevant for workmen who are an important component of our workforce and if they espouse our housekeeping principles, we will be better placed to maintain safety.”
Stick to the plan
“We are all in it together” is a famous line from an ad jingle that holds true for good housekeeping. Everyone, right from senior personnel, supervisors down to the workmen must be involved to create and keep alive a positive culture for a cleaner and safer workplace. A routine cleaning schedule is a good idea; inspections and assessments by senior management and/or EHS managers imperative like the 30-minute housekeeping drives conducted at B&F sites at the end of every shift. Prominently displayed electronic housekeeping indicator boards record a site’s performance and Nagarajan mentions a QR code that is linked to a questionnaire basis which the team creates a housekeeping score. “We encourage everyone at site including clients, vendors, suppliers and workmen to give their feedback that becomes the basis for improvement,” adds Nagarajan. Getting workmen to raise their hand to flag off unsafe acts or conditions is a tall ask but projects across the organization have been increasingly successful to tick this box.
In housekeeping it is very easy for things to fall between stools but seriously it is vital that each team member knows and understands clearly what is expected off them that is even more relevant for workmen who are an important component of our workforce and if they espouse our housekeeping principles, we will be better placed to maintain safety.
Michael Sanderson
Head – EHS, Heavy Civil Infrastructure IC
Train to stick to the plan
Since housekeeping is a shared responsibility, all stakeholders need to be properly oriented and trained for it. An enlightened workforce is one that recognizes an unsafe condition and action must follow recognition. This is where training comes in handy. Sometimes, action could be as simple as blowing the whistle to alert the EHS Manager about a threatening situation. Training also includes being properly attired for work with all the necessary PPE, an aspect that has gained such importance in these days of the pandemic where masking oneself, maintaining social distance and following safety hygiene protocols have become the tools for survival.
A top-driven plan has better chances to succeed
The attitude of the senior management is soon accepted as the norm at workplaces. “We do not consider housekeeping as an additional activity,” declares Neeraj Parmar, Project Manager – Chalet Commercial Phase 3 project, B&F, who drives it himself at site. “Good housekeeping is a habit, and our effort is to make sure that everyone at our site forms this good habit,” he smiles. The project follows 5S at their P&M workshop, offices, stores, and other areas by storing material properly that makes retrieval easy and keeping aisles clean and free.
With his scope including civil and structural steel works to construct a 26-storey office building with 10 parking levels involving a composite steel structure with structural steel columns encased in concrete, Neeraj and team need to handle 8,500 MT of structural steel, 110,000 sqm of metal deck and 35,000 cum of concrete, reinforcement, and formwork all from a single access. “The narrow access road within the site premises is our only lifeline to unload, store, lift, concrete, stack so we always keep it neat and free.” A surprise audit conducted revealed an extremely neat and well-organized site that won praise from M V Satish, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Buildings).
Good housekeeping is safekeeping at work and everyone at site has a role to play of a good housekeeper. The advantages of which are huge; the disadvantages, however, could be catastrophic.
The environment we work and live in is fragile. With good housekeeping and encouraging everyone to segregate and put their waste into the allocated bins for recycling will go a long way in our ESG efforts. At least 15 minutes to clear up should be a dictate for all sites.
Good housekeeping is safekeeping at work and everyone at site has a role to play of a good housekeeper. The advantages of which are huge; the disadvantages, however, could be catastrophic. Keep clean. Be organized. Stay safe. Housekeeping is the clearest sign that a project is safe because it cares. All it requires is the will to make it happen. Let us together make it happen!