Poor housekeeping has been cited as the primary contributing cause for thousands of serious accidents that occur every year in this country both on jobsites and in offices. The scrap materials and litter which clutter floors, dropped tools that are not picked up, grease or wet spots left on walkways and materials carelessly stored around work areas can cause employees to slip, trip and fall or bump themselves.
 

In one recent incident, an employee received an 8" long deep gash to his body after he slipped on a piece of pipe and tumbled into a stack of sheet metal which had one exposed sheet striking out like the blade of a knife. This accident occurred in front of three other employees, all of whom knew that the pipe was on the floor. When asked why no one had picked it up, they all felt that it wasn't their job. The "cleaning crew" was supposed to take care of it.
 

Was it really the cleaning crew's job? Can anyone expect to have that many people assigned to clean up operations? The sad fact is that this accident was totally unnecessary. Had one of those employees taken the time to pick the pipe up, the accident would not have occurred.
 

Housekeeping is everyone's job. We cannot and should not depend on a clean up crew to continually take care of everyone's work area. You are critical to our housekeeping and housekeeping is critical to our safety.
 

Remember, it's the little things in work areas that can cause serious injuries. If you see something hazardous on the floor or around the work area, take a moment to pick it up or make sure it is reported. Think about the hazards you might create for others when you drop something and don't pick it up or when you leave material haphazardly on walkways or work areas.