Last Minute Facility Visitor? 7 High-Impact Areas You Need to Clean
It happens all the time. A customer calls and urgently waits to hear that it’s not too late. “We’re having a high-value client site visit,” they say. Or, “A VIP is touring the facility and I need help now.” Sometimes, it’s the CEO, other times it’s OSHA, the USDA, FDA, or DEC knocking at the door. Are you worried about cracked floors, rusty paint, and paint chips are falling from the ceiling?
Your reputation is at risk or hefty fines could be coming your way. Your facility’s future could be on the line.
Call it Rapid Image Improvement.
Don’t worry; we know you can’t talk about it. But there are skilled contractors that can help manufacturers and industrial facilities whip themselves into shape for a last-minute visitor. Here are the high-impact areas we’ve learned you need to clean and paint to make a good impression.
7 Areas You Need To Clean, Paint, and Pay Attention to Before a VIP Visit
- Entrances
Clean, paint, buff and seal – your entrance is the gateway to a positive impression. For a VIP visit, this is a hot priority.
- Hidden Corners
Just like in-laws coming for the holidays, it often takes a visitor to prompt us to finally remove those hard-to-reach cobwebs. In a manufacturing facility, those tough corners may also have dust, paint chips, rust, or other unsightly dirt and debris. Whether it’s for a federal or industry inspection, or just a customer tour, it’s critical to keep these areas clean as they could imply that your product is dirty, contaminated, or unsafe.
Our team also specializes in recognizing the areas where combustible dust can hide. It’s imperative that this safety risk be immediately removed if found.
- Safety Paint
A fresh coat of paint is always great for aesthetics. But OSHA and ANSI-recommended paint colors are about more than looking good – they can be critical for inspections and employee safety.
If the DEC is snooping around, they will feel more comfortable if all the tanks and support steel that house corrosive or dangerous chemicals are freshly painted. If they see rust it is a red flag that will lead to a serious conversation about the integrity of the uncoated steel and the chance of failure that brings.
Take a look around your space and make sure pipes, equipment, electrical areas and more are properly painted to identify safe areas and chemical, fire or biological hazards. If someone can’t identify exits or protective materials in the blink of an eye, you’ll have a problem.
- Floor Markings and Traffic/Work Space Demarcation
- OSHA standard 1910.22 (Walking-Working Surfaces) indicates that, “permanent aisles and passageways should be appropriately marked.” However, this short description has more to it, and a VIP visitor or inspector is going to be looking for specifics. Based on our experience, we help customers make a good impression by painting in critical areas.
- Make sure floor markings are at least two inches wide, easy to see, and either:
- Clearly define aisles
- Or clearly define hazard areas (leaving all other areas open to foot traffic)
- When updating aisles, they should be, at a minimum, four feet, but specifically should be at least three feet wider than the largest equipment that’s used in the aisle
- Marked aisles also need to navigate workers away from dangerous equipment and hazards, such as high noise areas
- If there is a mix of foot traffic and motorized traffic (for lifts, etc.) then it’s important to make sure designated crossing areas and pedestrian walkways are highly visible with fresh paint or floor marking tape
- Walkways
Walkways may need safety paint or floor marking touchups – but they should also get a second look for additional safety hazards or dirt. We recommend paying special attention to the route your VIP will take, even if it means old-fashioned elbow grease to make sure it sparkles.
- Interior Offices and Common Areas
Will you be sitting down for a meeting with your VIP or high-value client? Will you be serving a meal? What do your restrooms look like? It’s imperative that your factory floor be up to par, but don’t forget the behind-the-scenes spaces too. Our crew is often called in to give offices a new look or just to wash the walls and buff the floors.
- Ceilings
One of the fastest ways to immediately improve a facility’s appearance is to give the ceiling a fresh coat of paint. Not only is it recommended for employee safety (improves visibility and reduces eye strain), but it also enhances any visitor’s experience and a lightened, brightened ceiling will make the entire facility feel clean and pristine.
Reduce stress and ask for help
A lot can ride on a last minute visitor. We’ve seen facility managers panic after a presidential visit because they didn’t know industrial and commercial cleaning vendors could jump in to save the day. When you get the call, call us. We’ve got your back.
For Industrial Cleaning Services in the Greater Atlanta Area Please visit www.midsouthmechanical.com