Managing Warehouse Dust

Dust and dirt are inevitable in a warehouse and everyone who works in that environment is familiar with the sound of small debris underfoot or dirt and grime on your collar at the end of a long day. Keeping a clean warehouse is a never ending task. Luckily, commecial services like Desert Oasis Cleaners can help but just as importantly, there are things you and your employees can do to help as well. Read on to learn more.

You can reduce dust and dirt in your warehouse. Many warehouses remain dusty because of lackadaisical cleaning. It is important to schedule workplace cleaning on a mandatory basis at the end of each shift. You can do this, by implimenting the following ideas:

Employee Training

Warehouses often have hard to reach or small areas where dust can accumulate through everyday activities and working machinery blowing dust around. Ensure your employees know where these areas are so it can be vacummed or swept on a daily basis.

Employee Responsibility

Once your employees have been trained on how to keep their workplaces clean, they should understand exactly what areas they are responsible for and should know that keeping their work areas properly cleaned is one of their main responsibilities.

Supervisors Responsibility

New cleaning procedures do not mean much if they are not followed! Ensure your employees follow through on cleaning their work areas by implementing periodic inspections by direct supervisors. Regular inspections increase the likelihood of your employees properly disposing of dust and debris.

Dust in your warehouse often isn’t a sign that cleaning the warehouse is ineffective, but that cleaning is done infrequently or to a lower than desirable standard, implementing clear standards and taking measures to ensure that your employees carry out cleaning consistently can greatly help to reduce dust. If warehouse cleanings have been uncommon for some time, you may actually want to stop operations for a complete and thorough cleaning.

Warehouse Dust Systems

If a great deal of dust is generated in your warehouse, you may want to think about obtaining anti-dust equipment:

Partitioning: A system of impermeable partitions can prevent dust from moving from one part of a warehouse to another.

Ventilation Systems: Dust suppression ventilation systems use extractor fans to move air through filters which trap the dust.

Fogging Systems: Fogging systems spray a constant light mist of water into the warehouse atmosphere. These small water droplets collide with dust in the air and pull it to the ground. This is the preferred method for preventing grain dust explosions.

Dust enters warehouses in different ways but one reliable source of dust in nearly every warehouse are wood pallets. Wood pallets decay over time, and the friction caused by heavy loads or by powerful machinery can cause wood fibers to fray or break loose, leaving dust and other debris behind in your warehouse. If you’re serious about reducing the amount of dust, dirt, and debris in your storage facility, you need to make an effort to keep wood pallets out of controlled areas.

 

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