How To Improve The Working Environment Of Your Manufacturing Site

It is no secret that those workers who enjoy a good, healthy working environment have better productivity, reduced sick time, and generally look forward to coming to work. It is therefore highly beneficial to your business and your workforce to provide them with somewhere safe and clean to work. This isn’t easy, but some extra attention in key areas can get you the best results. Here is a guide on how to improve the working environment of your manufacturing site.

1. Provide adequate break time facilities

To get the best work out of your employees they need to be able to take their breaks in comfort and away from their workstations. This will provide their brains with time to think about other aspects of their lives, maybe talk to other workers, and give their eyes a break from looking at monitors, microscopes, magnifying glasses, or wearing safety glasses.

All of these—although necessary within the manufacturing world—can cause eyestrain and tiredness. Where possible, you should provide an area outside your facility with cover for those employees who like to have fresh air on their breaks—whenever possible, somewhere that is separate from any smoking area.

2. Keep your site free from critters

There is not an employee in the world who likes to work in a bug-infested building, or for that matter, one that is open to other harmful pests. Keeping the internal spaces of your property clean, tidy, and free from debris is a good start. However, there are more steps you can take to prevent infestation—ensure that all bins are emptied regularly and that food waste is placed in lidded, lined bins that can be sealed and stored outside when full.

In addition, keep your recycling area organized and tidy by using baling machines such as those on recyclingbalers.com. This will stop unwanted guests from finding nesting sites amongst your recycling materials while they wait for collection, as well as make the area look aesthetically pleasing to your visiting customers and workers alike.

3. Maintain your machinery

You must maintain your machinery for the health and safety of all of your employees—not just the ones working on the machinery. However, there is more to machinery maintenance than just looking after the machines and equipment on your production lines. You likely have air conditioning units on-site to help keep the working environment at a desired, even temperature. Air conditioning units should undergo maintenance and service check-ups yearly. This ensures that your air conditioning unit is performing correctly and that it is clean throughout. Units that are not regularly serviced and cleaned can distribute bacteria in the air that they provide. This bacteria can be damaging to the respiratory systems of your workers and can cause flu-like symptoms and even devastating diseases such as legionnaires’ disease.

Final thoughts

A clean and safe working environment is likely to be the most productive, so you need to prioritize making this happen. Keeping mess and the critters it encourages at bay is one step, as is providing a break room so your employees can unwind. Equally important is making sure often overlooked features such as air conditioning are maintained, as this can lead to problems that aren’t visible but can be very serious.