Now that we’ve finished our OSHA, EPA and internal end-of-year reports, let’s do some cleaning! Here are a few spring safety cleaning tips for our plants, offices and grounds. (Note: You can share many of these ideas with your fellow employees in your next in-house newsletters. There are things we do in and around the plant that apply to home safety too.)

1. Inspect the building and outlying buildings. Take a good look at the exterior of your buildings. Yes, maintenance should be looking, too, but an extra pair of safety eyes is always a plus. Is there any ice damage, leaks, deteriorated wood or faded signs, etc? (Speaking of the signs, consider paying a bit more for replacements that are UV ray resistant or add a coating of UV resistant sealer.) Were there areas where falling icicles or ‘ice dams’ were an issue? Don’t wait until next winter to correct them!

2. Inspect the grounds. How about the grounds themselves? Any washing away of footings, hazards heretofore covered by snow? Is there spalling of cement or potholes in the parking lot or roadways?

3. Seek out unwanted visitors. Check now and later this spring for animal burrows, wasp nests, birds’ nests in electrical areas, etc. If you have berms around water treatment, burrows can lead to a Department of Natural Resources citation.

Check for bats, too. At this time of year, bats come out of hibernation and are looking for new homes. We found one at our house, caught between the patio screen door and inner door. We shooed him out and sealed the small hole in the screen that he’d squeezed through.

4. Get up on the roof. Are all necessary safety devices in good shape? Were fire extinguishers actually inspected in January and February? (Those of you in the South can skip this one). Are there railings in place at roof edges? Was anything blown away or damaged by ice? EPA doesn’t like to see permitted stacks missing parts or rusted.

5. Prepare for the coming weather. Soon it will be tornado and thunderstorm season. Have you arranged for “Storm Spotter” training? Are your emergency lighting and back-up generators in good shape? (Sidebar: while overseas with Uncle Sam we had an emergency generator that was started up faithfully weekly to make sure it ran well. What no one checked was whether there was continuity to the building wiring AND whether the diesel tank needed refilling!)

6. Check your emergency supplies. As part of your emergency planning, are supplies in good shape? Do you have batteries for flashlights, potable water, emergency radios, etc., etc.?

7. Remember your workers’ extra-curricular activities. Did you know that the death rate among farmers in 2007 was 10 times that of the average worker? Many of us have farmers among our workforce. Remind them to get a ROPS on their older tractors, steps in their grain bins, guarding for their PTOs, etc. Agricultural states generally have good handouts from the Extension Offices. I know our Iowa State University Extension does a great job in that area. Remember, too, as we move into spring planting that some of those employees will be putting in LONG days between the farm and the plant (no pun intended).

8. Update your paperwork. Check that your annual programs are current with 2010 dates and correct names. Remember that as plant managers, MDs, maintenance managers, utility providers, etc., change names and/or phone numbers, YOU need to update programs, signage and such.

9. Catch up. Last, but not least, remember telling yourself in December that never again would you leave such-and-such to the end of the year? Well, now’s the time to get a jump on a couple of those items (and I’m pointing a finger at myself, too!).

Conclusion

Spring is nature’s awakening. It should be an awakening, too, for our physical plant safety, programs and general safety attitude. Let’s spring ahead into a record-setting year!

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