7. TIDINESS AND ORDER
7. Tidiness and Order
In places where is risk of fire, e.g. in ships under construction, the biggest accident risk
is fire. Cleanliness and order are essential factors to reduce the risk of fire and to improve
safety at work. Most of the accidents are connected to tripping, slipping, falling,
and stumbling over things.
Work goes well and safely when everything is in order and unnecessary items and
waste are taken to the places designated for them. Tools that are not needed for
immediate use and surplus material and pieces of materials are clutter on the jobsite.
Keep clutter picked up at the jobsite, return tools and useful materials to their proper
places so they won’t cause a safety risk or block passages and gangways. It is the
supervisor’s responsibility to create a safe working environment, but cleanliness and
order is everybody’s responsibility.
If everyone learns to work in a tidy manner and cleans up afterwards, there will be no
need for special cleaning. It is less trouble to keep a clean workplace clean. When the
working place is kept tidy and in order, then job satisfaction improves and the work
seems easier. Cleanliness and order also gives others a positive impression of you and
your workplace.
Tidiness and order improve safety and quality and increase
work efficiency:
The risk for fire is reduced.
There is more room to work
The risk for accidents is less (tripping, and falling objects).
Less time is wasted looking for things.
Assembly times get shorter.
Productivity increases.
The atmosphere at your workplace gets improved;
attitudes are better; there are fewer irritations and
accusations of one another.
Your working environment gets more pleasant and it is
easier to function there.
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