Safety is at the heart of what we do at The Night Shift. We don’t just start there, we live and make our home there. Why? Because custodial safety isn’t just a box to check, safety is something that can literally save lives — both on our team and your team. So we take janitorial safety very seriously and put it at the forefront of everything we do.
From our website: “We are committed to providing a safe working environment for all employees.”
First, let’s acknowledge that custodial work can be hazardous, if not done properly or if performed under poor management. When done correctly, however, janitorial work should be some of the safest in the workplace. Custodians are exposed to harsh chemicals, muscle strains, and overexertion. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that custodial work is the fourth-highest job by injuries and illnesses that require time off to recuperate. Of those workplace injuries, overexertion is the most frequent injury, at 27%.
It starts with our employees — safety is always the right choice to make for your custodial team, and if you are a custodian you should feel valued by your employer, wherever you work. But in addition to the human relationship, safety is also a smart financial investment. Money spent on safety today will save you from accidents and costly fines down the road.
You might break down our safety commitments into two categories: equipment and company culture.
Equipment
Here at The Night Shift, our first line of defense is equipment. We make sure our team is equipped with the right tools and don’t cut corners. Gloves, eye protection, and cleaning equipment are the first line of defense for our team, and we want to make sure they have exactly what they need. This means going beyond the bare-minimum safety requirements and investing in tools that will truly make us confident, not just comfortable. Remember:
- Gloves. One size does not fit all! No employee should wear a glove that doesn’t fit or feels unsafe.
- Eye protection. Choose eyewear with a wide view that makes it easy for the custodian to see and maintain awareness of their surroundings. Also, take note of the eyewear’s ventilation and make sure there’s no way to allow splashes in!
Safety also means listening to your janitorial staff and tailoring to their needs. This leads us to the second commitment:
A Culture of Custodial Safety
It’s about so much more than giving your team the right tools. Have you taken the time necessary to properly train them on those tools? Do they feel not just competent, but confident in their responsibilities? Training is at the heart of everything we do. When you invest in training, you save yourself a host of problems down the road, where poor training can manifest in the form of injuries, code violations, and just plain unhappy custodians.
So keep training at the forefront of what you do — not just an initial course, but ongoing refreshers and, of course, encourage your managers to listen and pay attention to their custodial staff’s evolving needs.