Machines are ‘million-dollar’ investments – and must be maintained to ensure the maximum operation capability and longest lifespan. However, the current unusual situation we have found ourselves makes this slightly difficult. More industries and businesses are seeking the ideal ways to keep work going without putting operators and employees at harm’s way.
Health practitioners have recommended disinfection as one of the best ways to stay safe in these delicate times. But the big question is, “How do you disinfect your machines?” To answer this question, we have prepared a comprehensive guide on disinfecting machines.
So, if you want to feel safer and more productive with your machines, here is a piece for you. Without wasting time, let’s get to it!
Disinfecting the machine parts
The parts of the machine involved in disinfection are the touchpoints, such as the joysticks, switches, steering wheels, and displays such as touchscreens and monitors. Others include door handles, consoles, seats, armrests, and grab handles.
Any of the following solutions can be used to disinfect the aforementioned machine parts:
- Soap and eater
- 70% Isopropyl Alcohol
- non-bleach disinfecting wipes/spray.
Do not use solvent-based or solutions containing bleach. It is also advisable not to use disinfectants kept at a temperature above 30 degrees Celsius and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. For best results, disinfect the parts regularly.
Observing Hand Hygiene
In addition to the hand hygiene recommendations provided on the CDC website, you can adopt the following ideas to keep your job sites safe for everyone:
- Create more sanitation stations for employees on site.
- Provide new work gloves.
- Share machine disinfecting protocols and schedules with employees.
- Ensure proper compliance with these schedules and protocols.
Maintain a workspace clean
Here are some tips to keep your workspace clean:
- Provide sufficient disinfectant sprays and wipes at every point possible.
- Disinfect common touchpoints, including remotes, tables, chairs, desk or cell phones, touchpads, doorknob railings, whiteboards, and fleet vehicles, among others.
- Do a thorough cleaning of the offices, equipment, and shared vehicles on work-free days.
- Reduce touch points by propping commonly-used doors, including the conference rooms and office doors.
Staying at alert
In addition to admonishing employees and operators to observe social distancing practices at all times, you can also introduce the following measures to keep everyone alert at all times:
- Introduce flexible shift plans.
- Watch out for operators or workers with signs of ill-health.
- Relieve them and replace them with new operators.
- Replace the air filters on the machines before the new operators take over.
- Adopt the one-operator-one-machine during each shift.
Keep communication lines open at all times
- Organize daily safety briefings where employees are reminded of these cleaning and safety procedures, and the resulting concerns addressed.
- Introduce signage in essential places, including equipment and shared fleet vehicles, reminding employers to observe social distancing, hand hygiene, and other disinfecting procedures.
- Provide equipment cleaning guides for all operators and employees while ensuring compliance.
- Ensure that workers and employers prioritize safe working practices at all times because everyone can be caught up in their thoughts.
- Make your employees understand their relevance to the company, the industry as well as the local and national economies.
- Encourage your employees to be open about their safety needs and other demands that will keep them safe and productive at work.
- Appreciate your teams and employees for their cooperation and essential contributions to the smooth running of the community.
Everyone will agree that the current situation is nothing like we have seen before. It has affected both our works and daily routines. Therefore, employees must ensure the safety of their employees on- and off-site. On our part, we will keep providing resources to help you in this regard.
Finally, we appreciate every employee and employer in the critical infrastructure and essential service industry. You all are our heroes in these difficult times.
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Article by cat parts specialists KEP Services in the UK
