How do you keep your warehouse clean?

For many organizations, the warehouse is a key part of business operations. In order to work properly, quickly and efficiently, the warehouse needs to remain clean at all times. This increases throughput and prevents trip hazards and accidents. Here are some tips on keeping your warehouse clean.

1. Schedule a weekly cleaning session

Close a contract with a cleaning company or regular cleaner who cleans your warehouse from top to bottom each week.

Even beyond that, it is important to keep the warehouse clean and dust-free anyway. You can do that by investing in a:

2. Low-dust floor

A lot of dust can gather in a warehouse, and some materials can contribute to it. Wooden floors generate more dust than PVC, for example. Carpeting is completely out of the question. Choose a floor that is easy to sweep and mop, such as PVC, tarpaulin or a cast floor. If you want to get it right from the beginning, impregnate the floor with dust binder.

3. Tidy storage

Open shelves make products dusty and dirty. That looks unprofessional and can result in complaints and product returns. Make sure your products remain dust-free by working with closed crates, drawer units or store organizers.

4. Seal cracks and seams

Seal gaps and seams in order to prevent dust from accumulating and pest infestations. An additional advantage is better insulation!

5. Keep pallets off the ground

Do not put the bottom row of pallets directly on the ground – place them on a shelf. This prevents pests from nesting under the pallets and allows you to clean under and behind the pallets.

6. Stock management

The contents of your warehouse also determine the amount of dust and dirt. Have products been lying around for months or even longer, waiting for a new owner? Could they be gotten rid of, or could you pack them in closed crates? Check stock regularly and make sure old and depreciated stock is gotten rid of.

7. Home-clean rule

Ask your people to commit to leaving the warehouse clean and tidy when they go home at the end of their working day. Assign each employee a fixed task. You could use a schedule of chores.

8. Make it easy

Make sure that all cleaning tools, dustpans and brushes, brooms, paper cleaning rolls, degreasers, and cleaning sprays are within easy reach. Place everything together in an easily accessible cupboard so that if someone spills something, they can clean it up straight away.

If you want to leave the responsibility of keeping your warehouse clean to somebody else, outsource your warehouse management.