Increase Workplace Safety - Vacuuming and Mopping

This video is all about the importance of maintaining office maintenance safety. There are important steps in vacuuming using a backpack vacuum to attend. We then discuss safety when cleaning with a mop by using wet floor signs, chemical safety, and good practices.

Video Transcription:

Speaker 1: Alright, Budd group team, we’re here to check in on our next task that you guys are doing on a daily basis, which is vacuuming, specifically vacuuming with a backpack vacuum. So we are here with our subject matter expert Alex, who’s going to help us talk through how to make sure we’re doing it safely when we’re using the backpack vacuum. So Alex, before we’re going to get going with the vacuum, what do we need to do before we get started?

Alex: Well firstly we had to check the fraying.

Speaker 1: Okay, so we’re checking the core to make sure there’s no frays all the way through it. Good. What else do we need to check?

Alex: And we see the plug.

Speaker 1: Okay, yes. So we have to make sure it has all three prongs, the ground prong, which often gets broken off. Now, Budd group team, if you find one that has a broken ground prong, don’t use it.

Contact your manager and let them know that it’s been broken and we can either get it fixed or get that cord placed. Alright, so we’ve checked the cord. What do we need to check on the vacuum before we get going?

Alex: I’m checking the clean the vacuum.

Speaker 1: Okay, so we’re checking to make sure the bag is clean. Very good. And a good rule of thumb is, if that thing is more than two thirds of the way full, we need to go ahead and empty it out before we get using it, because the more weight that builds up there, the harder it is to carry and the less suction that you’re getting. And we also need to check the filter. Alright, so we check the cord and we’ve checked the vacuum, so I think we’re ready to get into it. So this is maybe the most important piece.

Alex is going to show us how to put the vacuum on and wear it correctly. So you’ll notice as he’s putting it on, he’s already got these straps adjusted for his use and it’s got the vacuum up nice and high on his back. We want to avoid these straps getting saggy and getting low on your back, because it’s going to put stress on your lower back, so keeping it up high allows you to keep good posture. And the next important thing is to make sure we use both of the straps that are on the backend, the one that goes around the waist, and then the one that goes up around the chest. And these are so important because they evenly distribute the weight of the backpack. So oftentimes as I’m traveling around, I’ll see people who have the backpack and it’s sagging down on their lower back and they don’t have either one of these straps and what’s happening is that it’s pulling your body in the wrong direction and putting a lot of stress on our lower back that we don’t need. And it really makes the backpack feel a lot heavier than it truly is.

So really important. Keep it up high, keep these straps nice and tight and then make sure we strap it in both places. And then the last thing we want to talk about is if you’ll notice, this cord is extremely long that we are using and that’s because you have a lot of ground to cover. So with that in mind, make sure, and I’m sure Alex would affirm this, that once we get that thing plugged in, we’re conscious of where we’re cleaning. We don’t want to be plugged in in this room, this office for instance, and then walk across the hall and clean the next office. We want to make sure we move the plug to the next office just in case any of our other teammates or someone else in this building would happened to walk by, we wouldn’t want them to trip over that cord, or we wouldn’t want ourselves to trip over it. So Alex, thanks for your help. We appreciate it and we’ll let you get back to work.

Alex: Thank you.

Speaker 4: Vacuum safety tips. First, check the cord to make sure there are no frays and that the ground prongs are intact. Then check your vacuum filter. If the bag is at least two thirds full, you should change it before you start vacuuming. If you’re using a backpack vacuum, make sure you wear it high on your back. Attach at both the waist and the chest drafts and make sure they’re tight. Then observe the length of the cord re plug when necessary to avoid tripping.

Speaker 1: Oh, hi Budd team. On to the next floor care tasks that we are doing on a daily basis and that’s a mopping. So we are here with our subject matter expert and Angelica and she is going to show us a how to mop safely. So if were mopping, we’re going to mop this area, what’s the first thing we want to make sure we have, the equipment we want to have before we get going?

Angelica: Well you always want to make sure that you have your slip resistant shoes on and-

Speaker 1: That’s right and if you don’t have some, luckily she has some of her own and those are great, those have been approved by her supervisor. If you don’t have those, you can use the one that the Budd group offers, which are covers that can go over your normal shoes and your manager should make sure that these are in your J closets for you.

What else would we need?

Angelica: We need our wet floor signs.

Speaker 1: That’s right. We’ve got to have a wet floor sign, maybe more than one depending on the area we’re doing. We’ve got to make sure we keep our customers aware that we have a wet floor as well as our other teammates to make sure nobody’s slipping and falling. So we’ve got the equipment. What next, if we were going to mop this room, what will be important for us to know?

Angelica: Well, we would start from the back of the room and map our way out of the room.

Speaker 1: Okay. So starting in the back. You can go ahead and start for us and show us and that will be great. So notice she’s going to ring them off out really well and then start in that back left corner and work her way out of the room.

Very good. And in doing this, this keeps her from ever having to walk back over the wet service. And one other thing that you’ll notice that she’s doing really well as instead of using a twisting motion, you can see that she’s using a rocking motion to pull the mob back and forth. Just like when we’re lifting boxes or pulling trash, we want to avoid twisting when we can because that’s an easy way to pull out our back. We want to make sure we’re using our legs instead of our back. Alright, very good. So we’ve got this thing mopped up. So my next question for you is when we finish this room and we’re all done, what are we going to do with this dirty mop and this bucket?

Angelica: We’re going to pour the content out and we’re going to ring our mop out and then we’re going to rinse the mop out and rinse the container out.

Speaker 1: Okay. So make sure we rinse them out. A lot of times when I go into some of our J closets, somebody hasn’t rinsed out the mop and it’s just kind of just sitting there and the mop bucket and that’s what sometimes makes our closets have not such a great smell, so I’m glad you said that. Very important to rinse out the bucket and rinse out the mop thoroughly and then we can hang it up so that it can dry out, air out and we can turn the mop bucket upside down to rinse out and dry out really well as well. Well, thank you so much for showing us how to do it safely and I hope to see you again soon.

Angelica: Okay. Alright, thank you.

Speaker 4: Mopping safety tips. First, wear slip resistant shoes. If you don’t have any, make sure you use a shoe cover. Ask your manager where these are if you can’t find them, then place wet floor signs around the area. Place your mop in the bucket with the appropriate chemical, wring it out, and then start mopping at the back of the room. This way you avoid walking in the wet areas. While mopping use a rocking motion instead of a twisting motion, this will help your back. When you’re finished, wring out the mop, empty the bucket, and then rinse the bucket with water.

The Budd Group strives to be a God-honoring company of excellence safely delivering services in janitorial, maintenance, and landscaping; offering development opportunities for their employees; and contributing to their community.

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Testimonials

I have worked with The Budd Group since 2011, and I have been very pleased and impressed with their staff, account managers, and regional support they provide. They have been very prompt to respond if there is an issue with the janitorial services. They provide an exceptional service and understand the importance of greeting our passengers and guests to allow them to have a wonderful experience when traveling. I view their service as a partnership and count on them daily to deliver exceptional quality to our tenants, passengers, staff, and business partners.

The Budd Group provides exceptional custodial services for our campus. We are grateful for their service to our patients, families, visitors, staff and faculty for over 40 years. The Budd Group is very responsive to our requests and needs, and we truly believe in their loyalty and commitment to our success.

I personally have had the best experience and relationship with The Budd Group. From their owner all the way to their day porters, they take great pride in representing the company name, and doing the best job they can. During these unprecedented pandemic times The Budd Group has been flexible and responsive to the changing needs our district has had in every way. With every firm that we have used there have been issues, but no firm has ever been as responsive, and as quick to fix whatever the issue may be as The Budd Group!

The Budd Group has been providing services to Capsugel for over 6 years. The service provided has been excellent and professional. They perform duties in multiple locations including a manufacturing plant, distribution center, office area, machine shop and fitness center. They clean all of the following types of areas at those various locations: office, bathroom, cafeteria, fitness center, locker room, shipping/receiving and CGMP production areas. As it relates to CGMP experience, they also created a sanitation program for the cGMP areas, maintain and created their own operating instructions, maintain document control and follow all cGMP guidelines for hygiene and documentation.

The Budd Group has become a true partner with Presbyterian College. They have taken the time to fully understand our mission and become a true part of the Blue Hose family. The housekeeping staff often pull off miracles when given very little time to clean a space on campus between events. They work long hours and respond 24/7 to emergencies on campus. The landscaping team has transformed the grounds of the campus such that the college regularly gets positive feedback from those who visit the campus. Before outsourcing to The Budd Group, the college performed these services in house. We have seen significant improvement in both housekeeping and grounds since The Budd Group took over.

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