Behind That Locked Door – Locker Cleanliness
Keep your industrial lockers clean with these tips
As our new normal in the age of Covid-19 marches on, each facility is faced with balancing the ever-growing demand for products/services and keeping workers safe. Your environment must be clean and protect your employees every day to ensure not only the health and wellness of your workforce, but also an efficient and productive operation. New practices should be implemented to fight against this invisible enemy, whether it’s distancing or disinfecting.
With the continued easing of restrictions on how many people each facility may have on hand, you want to have a program in place that tackles all facets of employee safety. One area to target has one of the highest traffic rates and potential for infection–facility lockers.
Locker rooms and facility locker storage are a common sight in many workplaces, from warehouses to retail stores and everything in-between, and are often a crucial part of employee security and safety. These areas, however, can experience a high risk of shared germs due to the amount of traffic and usage they’ll see through a normal day, and it’s important to promote safe use and enhanced methods of protection in the locker areas.
What are some ways to keep your lockers clean and safe?
Get the right lockers for your facility
If you’re looking for lockers for a new area in your facility, or to replace existing older lockers, choosing the right kind in the age of Covid-19 is a must. Locker areas are high-traffic in nature, and will generate a lot of use and wear, not to mention hygienic considerations.
A galvanite locker is a perfect choice from a hygiene standpoint, as they’re made from galvannealed sheet steel components and finished with an electrostatically applied high-grade powder coat finish. Now, what that mumbo-jumbo I just spouted means is that they’re great for high humidity or wash-down areas (outdoors too!), so they can be cleaned again and again without losing their finish. Perfect for multiple cleanings each day.
Plan your cleanings
Regardless of your locker choice, you want to start cleaning and keep cleaning from now on. Scheduling cleaning with either your existing sanitation crew or an outside company will keep your locker area on the right side of being Covid-free. Current CDC guidelines recommend cleaning existing equipment at least every shift change, and the same should be done for your lockers and locker room areas.
Instill proper hygiene for your workforce
No matter how many deep facility cleanings you schedule, your lockers won’t win the germ-free battle without buy-in from employees (and really, this goes for all areas of your warehouse). Encourage each worker to practice personal cleaning of their areas and provide signage encouraging them to wash their hands whenever they enter or exit a locker storage area.
Another way to promote locker cleanliness is to offer access to cleaning supplies at each locker location. This will provide a visual reminder for employees to keep their area clean, and the means to do so. Combine your regular sanitizing with that of employees using the lockers at the beginning or end of each shift, and this can strengthen your locker cleanliness.
Let the distance bring your facility together
A proper cleaning schedule, combined with a hygiene plan and the right lockers, all combine for a great start at protecting your employees. The last aspect is the one we are all involved with in one area or another (at least I sure am aware of it when I’m in Target), and that’s social distancing. Your locker rooms and locker areas have a lot of employees coming in and out, so proper policies regarding distancing will help keep people from coming into close contact with others. Limiting the number of workers in one locker room or leaving an empty locker in between those in use are just a couple of examples for working in this policy.
You’ll also want to limit the number of personal items brought into the locker area(s). This will help avoid items possibly contaminated, and reduce messes in and around the area.
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Evan Fleishacker