Cleaning is everyone’s responsibility
Kimberly-Clark Professional teams up with the BICSc to bring expert advice on how to operate successfully in the post-pandemic era of the cleaning industry.
With cleaning and hygiene having never been so important, and with businesses still getting back on their feet, Kimberly-Clark Professional has partnered with the UK’s leading training body – The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) – to bring best practice and leading expertise to facilities managers across the country.
In these uncertain times everyone wants to feel as safe as possible and do all that they can to stay healthy. Also, it’s critical to recognise that today we all share the responsibility for minimising infection and contamination in the workplace. Now everyone has a role to play supporting the cleanliness and the prevention of spreading infection in the ‘new normal’.
Whilst the role of the cleaning operative remains key, certainly with far more focus than pre-pandemic, it’s now more vital that robust training programmes are effectively cascaded through the cleaning workforce – and even to all staff.
BICSc states that as an absolute minimum, cleaning operatives should be trained in the following:
1. Chemical competence to ensure operatives have an understanding of the correct dilution and use of the chemical range available to them. Of importance currently is to understand the correct dilution for the disinfectants, and the time they need to be active on surfaces for the maximum germ kill rate.
2. Safe assembly and equipment care for the comprehension of safety checks applicable for each piece of equipment needed to use for duties.
3. Best practice on keeping storage areas safe and clean to minimise the risks of cross-contamination.
4. Additionally, to meet the challenges they currently face they will need the following knowledge:
• To use the correct wipe for the specific task and ensure the correct product is used for the surface they are cleaning.
• To use systematic overlapping wiping actions so that all the surface area is efficiently and effectively cleaned, removing soilage and bacteria.
• To change the wipe when all surfaces have been used, or it has been contaminated to prevent spreading infection.
• To clean from the cleanest areas to the dirtiest to minimise cross-contamination.
BICSs explains that best practice is to apply the cleaning product from dirty to clean areas to allow the greatest contact time to kill bacteria. The areas are then cleaned
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from those least contaminated to those more heavily so, as shown in the illustrations.
The disinfectant would be applied from point 9 – the toilet, to point 1 – the door, providing the recommended contact time. The operative then commences cleaning from the least contaminated area (the door), working to the toilet cubicle area with the toilet itself being the final piece of furniture to be cleaned.
BICSc strongly recommends paying particular attention to key touchpoints, which may vary depending on the facility. In general office facilities, the key touchpoints include but are not limited to these areas:
• Door furniture. • Lift control panels. • Handrails. • Photocopier control panels.
• Kitchenette equipment – kettles, fridge handles, taps, drink containers.
• Washrooms – door handles, flush mechanisms, taps, soap dispensers and waste bin lids.
By folding a wipe correctly this can stop you coming into direct contact with multiple surfaces and help to contain any infection safely. BICSc recommends folding a cloth to provide eight workable surfaces. This means that potentially eight different surfaces can be cleaned without the risk of contamination, keeping both cleaning staff and employees safe from infection.
For office users, there will also be significant changes on returning to the workplace. Initially, we will need to differentiate between our personal space and the spaces that we share, as these will carry different levels of risk. Additionally, this will depend on both the building itself and the number of people that we work alongside – this is likely to be a very different model on our return to work than that we left behind in March.
Our personal space can be categorised as the area that only we have direct contact with: our desks, pedestals, drawers and chairs. Remember the key touchpoints in your own workspace though, such as telephones, keyboards, computers and calculators. Make sure to be clear – are these dedicated to your personal workspace, or shared?
The use of the correct wipe with a suitable viricidal product can ensure these items remain safe and infection-free. Providing quality cleaning products for staff to use is therefore essential. The occupiers should be made aware of the importance of good handwashing techniques and the
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