Healthcare Facility Housekeeping Toolbox Talk

Before the Toolbox Talk

This safety talk is designed for discussion leaders to use in preparing safety meetings. Set a specific time and date for your safety meeting. Publicize your meeting so everyone involved will be sure to attend. Review this safety talk before the meeting and become familiar with its content.
Make notes about the points made in this talk that pertain to your workplace. You should be able to present the material in your own words and lead the discussion without reading it.
Seating space is not absolutely necessary, but arrangements should be made so that those attending can easily see and hear the presentation. Collect whatever materials and props you will need ahead of time. Try to use equipment in your workplace to demonstrate your points.

Give the safety talk in your own words. Use the printed talk merely as a guide. The purpose of a safety meeting is to initiate a discussion of safety problems and provide solutions to those problems. Encourage employees to discuss hazards or potential hazards they encounter on the job. Ask them to suggest ways to improve safety in their area. Don’t let the meeting turn into a gripe session about unrelated topics. As a discussion leader, it’s your job to make sure the topic is safe. Discussing other topics wastes time and can ruin the effectiveness of your safety meeting.

Toolbox Talk: Healthcare Facility Housekeeping

NOTE TO DISCUSSION LEADER: Before coming to this talk, you might walk around the hospital and visit various work stations t note safety hazards attributable to poor housekeeping habits. Report what you discover to employees attending the safety talk.

If you want to learn about attitudes toward safety, just take a look at housekeeping habits. Good housekeeping is indeed one of the most important aspects of safety. Of the 1,883 Ohio hospital accidents and injuries reported in 1979, a total of 343 were the result of falls from the same level, and 122 resulted from striking against objects. These are the kinds of accidents you can expect if you practice poor housekeeping. Good housekeeping is not just something for hospital housekeepers– good housekeeping should be practiced by everyone.
The hospital could spend a large sum of money to improve the quality and safety of the work environment, but the environment would still be unsafe if you and your co-workers did not practice good housekeeping. Safety entails everyone working as a team to maintain good housekeeping standards. Make sure you follow the rules to prevent accidents by practicing good housekeeping.

• Make sure all containers are labeled; the labels should be legible, not blurred by liquids that have run down the outsides of the containers.

• Do not store supplies where they may be mistaken for something else. For example, it is not a good idea to store cleaning powders with staples like sugar, flour, and salt.

• Be familiar with special chemicals, gases, and liquids that are used in your work area, and know the ones that can and cannot be stored together. Some substances, like oxygen and fuel gases, have the potential for disasters when stored nearby.

• Dispose of hazardous substances–like flammable liquids and chemical reagents used in the hospital laboratory–by the safe method prescribed. If you aren’t sure how to dispose of a substance, check with your supervisor.

• Clean up your work area immediately after completing each task; never leave an area cluttered with tools or supplies that could present tripping hazards.

• Clean up spilled liquids right away; they can cause slips and falls.

• Pick up broken glass immediately with a broom and dustpan, never with your hands.

• Do not allow “debris,” such as cleaning rags and newspapers, to accumulate anywhere in the hospital, because this creates a serious fire hazard.

• Respect “Wet Floor” signs; they are used for your protection.

Good housekeeping is one of the most important aspects of any fire safety plan. Accumulated debris can cause plugs, and clutter in hallways slows the movement of personnel and equipment during fires. So, those who want to prevent fires should begin with good housekeeping.
In addition to all the safety benefits it contributes, good housekeeping results in a more pleasant working environment. Almost everyone prefers cleanliness and neatness to filth and clutter.

Interactive Discussion

1. Have you or someone you know been injured or nearly injured while carrying out this activity? What happened?

2. How can we stay safe today?

3. What do we do at the worksite to prevent injuries related to this activity?

After the Toolbox Talk

At the end of the meeting, ask employees to sign a sheet on the back of this talk as a record that they attended the safety meeting. Keep this talk on file for your records.

References

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