This standard document provides guidance on how to maintain a tidy place of work, free from avoidable hazards and an orderly working environment. Scope of the procedure covers all projects under the supervision of the organization.
Project head along with discipline engineers including HSE are overall responsible for the implementation of this housekeeping method.
Good housekeeping’ means maintaining the necessary standards of domestic cleanliness and tidiness to make sites and workplaces safe, healthy, pleasant places at which people work.
It may be summarized by the phrase “A place for everything and everything in its place”. Bad housekeeping is the cause of a large number of accidents on sites.
General Construction Housekeeping Requirements
There are three main objectives to good housekeeping in workplaces.
Elimination of accident and fire hazards.
Conservation of space, time, material, and effort.
Obtain and maintain good and safe working conditions.
The general layout of a workplace or site is extremely important in good housekeeping.
Road and passageways should be kept clear of obstructions at all times.
All roads should be signposted to enable trucks coming on site to proceed to their correct destination and to facilitate the task of emergency services to get to their destinations with ease and the minimum of delay.
Necessary Control Measures for Good Housekeeping
Stairways
Stairways should at all times be kept clear of all materials and must be properly lit.
Handrails must be provided and non-slip strips to be furnished.
Lighting Requirements
Inadequately lit work areas are often the cause of accumulations of rubbish, scrap, etc. All workplaces, passageways, and stairways should be adequately lit and free from shadows.
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Sudden transitions from brightly lit to dimly illuminated areas and vice versa are dangerous, because of momentary blindness caused to persons passing through.
All light fittings, windows, and roof lights should be regularly cleaned and defective light bulbs replaced (first ensuring the current is switched off).
Fluorescent tubes to be dispersed of in the prescribed manner (210 litre drums with 50mm steel type fittings)
Adequate lighting at site boundaries and approaches is also important and should be provided as applicable.
Protected lighting is an aid to the prevention of accidents and thefts; for instance, at waterfront boundaries, which is a favorite approach for intruders.
Access Ways and Passageways
All access ways and passageways must be kept clear at all times and demarcated.
Access passages should be so arranged that they are the easiest means of going through a site or workplace, thereby reducing the temptation to employees to take shortcuts and walk through operating areas and near other equipment.
Stacked materials should not project into access ways or passageways.
Overhead Walkways and Ramps
Nothing must be thrown down from one level to another.
Tools, etc. should not be placed on overhead locations, such as scaffolding, window ledges, or shelves, where they can fall and strike people working below. In such locations suitable protection must be installed to prevent tools, materials, etc. falling.
Regular inspections of overhead walkways etc. should be carried out to ensure that no loose materials or debris are left around.
Floor Walk Ways
Floors, passageways, walkways, etc. must be kept clear of small articles, tools, scrap metal or any other working material when any of these are no longer in use.
Oils, grease or other material, which can be the cause of slipping or falling, must be removed.
Floors should be cleared frequently and kept in good condition, firm and level. Worn spots and other defects should be reported for repair immediately.
Inclined ramps should have raised slats fixed on their surface, with an opening to enable wheelbarrows, etc. to be moved along them.
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Material Storage Requirements
Improper stacking and storage of materials is a major safety hazard and must not be tolerated.
Inside stacking must be done in specially designated places and located in such a manner as to minimize the hazard of a stack falling. The stacked materials must not present a tripping hazard.
Proper clearance should be allowed between the ceilings and the top of stacks.
Stack only double the size of the stack base.
Never stack higher than shoulder height (Risk of Falling objects)
Tools Management
Small tools and implements should not be permitted to lie around where they may present a slipping or tripping hazard.
Special racks for tools should be provided.
Tool bins should be provided for picks, shovels and similar tools.
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Storage places should be located conveniently where workers will use them, and the temptation to leave equipment at workplaces where it would cause accidents or be lost is the reduced.
Tool cribs and racks will do much to encourage good housekeeping and promote efficiency.
Tool box and site box lids should be propped open to prevent finger and hand injuries.
Assemble shutter boxes to assist in storing of small items (e.g. clamps, wedges, tees)
Handling the Loose Timber
When shuttering is stripped, all loose timber must be carefully stacked and removed.
Loose timber with protruding nails is a major source of accidents; therefore all nails must be removed or bent over to prevent penetration wounds etc.
Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, Risk and Safety Checklist
For each of the activities identified in this Instruction, the appropriate Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment shall be done and implementation of Risk and Safety Checklists on regular basis should be ensured.
