The correlation between a clean, organised workplace and overall increased efficiency is clearly visible across multiple industries.

Cleaner workplaces also tend to have fewer accidents.

Yet it is common to find piles of packaging, cardboard boxes, and bunched shrink wrap in depots across the UK.

Many warehouses are also quick to complain about the space constraints they face. This phantom constraint is often as a result of poor space utilisation and the presence of clutter. A lot of clutter.

Warehouse managers and operatives rarely recognise the slow build-up of junk which can lead to hazardous conditions.

From the piles of products left over or damaged from the last peak period to the forklift that broke down nine months ago, warehouses accumulate junk slowly but surely.

Beyond the obvious benefits of reclaiming otherwise wasted space, thoroughly de-cluttering your building can save the firm from other unpleasant consequences. Plainly put, clutter causes hazards and their presence invites accidents.

Keeping employees and the work environment safe can be achieved with a thorough quarterly spring clean. In most warehouses, suggesting this will lead to a mutiny. But by using this checklist by Monarch Shelving to go walk through your distribution facility, you’ll quickly know what to look for and eliminate it.

While most clutter is readily visible and can be removed on sight, in these are five areas, we know that clutter accumulates and warehouses rarely know to look there.

Chemical Containers.

Whether it’s from a bad batch, an old shipment or a mislaid canister, all chemicals that are not in use must be disposed of properly. Chemicals can be flammable or toxic, and with some of them, these qualities intensify over time.

All chemicals that have lost identifying labels or are past their use-by date must be disposed off immediately. Don’t go pouring them down the drain. Be sure to consult professionals to dispose of them properly.

Miscellaneous Debris.

• Personal Trash – In some warehouses, staff are allowed to snack while working. This can lead to wrappers dropped on the shop floor. While one crisp packet or two may not seem like much, they tend to drift under machinery and over time can clog up parts.
Note that ‘tidying up’ is more than keeping up appearances. Workers can ‘tidy up’ their stations by sweeping tools and materials out of sight. Neat? Yes. Safe? NO.

Good housekeeping practices must be enforced among all staff. They must be personally responsible for their work areas. This also applies to wrapping or banding that has been stripped off a pallet; leaving them can be a trip hazard.

• Broken Pallets and Packing Material – Over time, warehouses tend to accumulate wooden pallets that can’t be returned to the distributor. While some firms take the risk and reuse broken pallets, others just stack them in a corner. Apart from being a nuisance to stack and keep organized, these are a huge fire hazard. In other firms, it may be the highly combustible packing material that is stripped off pallets that is left strewn around.

• Oil spills and Oily Rags – Oil spills must be cleaned up immediately and the source identified and attended to. Remember that slips and trips are still the single most common cause of major injury in UK workplaces. Oily rags must be properly disposed of; in a proper closed container.

Clutter is often implicated in warehouse fires. All it takes is a spark near a discarded oily rag in an out-of-the way corner to start a fire and devastating damage could result.

Offices.

You wouldn’t expect to find much clutter in the office, but peeking inside those shelves that haven’t been cleaned out in years will surprise you. With digitization of records, many businesses simply left the paper versions in a conveniently out-of-sight corner/shelf.

Take the time to go through all document shelving and get rid of paper that isn’t required. This removes the chance of pest harborage.

Broken Down Equipment.

Broken equipment is not often seen as clutter, but if it has been there for 100 days with a ‘do not use’ sign taped to it, it should be disposed of. Forklifts, hand pallet trucks, reach trucks, any equipment not in use and is taking up space on your warehouse floor, can be a potential hazard.

Vent Cleaning.

The vents that pump hot and cool air into the warehouse are some of the last places that people think of cleaning. Yet a clogged vent system defeats it’s purpose. Poor ventilation leads to increased threats of asthma, respiratory function, triggering of allergies etc.

Having proper maintained vents can control bacteria, mould, allergens and other contaminants.

Getting rid of clutter will earn your business more money. For one, you’ll save by avoiding paying compensation for avoidable accidents, but you’ll also:
• Reduce the amount of stock lost through employee theft; which occurs only because they feel nobody will notice.
• Have more space to carry out your primary activities if obsolete equipment isn’t taking up valuable space.

A quarterly spring clean may seem like a hard pill to swallow, but once implemented, it will work to reduce clutter. Done continuously over time, it becomes second nature to clean up as the staff goes. Supervisors also need to be available to enforce rules where needed and teach where required.

Remember to correctly label all shelving and racking to prevent mis-sorting and much more. These racks take a lot of abuse; remember to inspect them and replace when necessary. Monarch Shelving encourage you to rally your staff together and start your first spring clean today!