David Thacker
As anyone in Quality Control can readily tell you, keeping a manufacturing plant clean is imperative if you ever hope to put out quality products. That’s really the bottom line, however, what exactly does it mean to keep your manufacturing operations clean and what can happen if you don’t? Let’s look at some of the vital areas that literally demand being kept clean, with or without you being told to do so. The results will speak for themselves most of the time.
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1. Dust Infiltration in Highly Sensitive Electronics
If you are in the business of manufacturing electronics, you will know how sensitive many of those components are. You might be thinking of the same kind of dust particles you endure at home but many of these particles are the result of metal shavings, for example. Those can quickly short out circuitry and if you ever want to see a huge but avoidable cost, watch an entire order get scrapped because dust shorted circuitry on boards. This is why so many companies invest in top-of-the-line industrial vacuum cleaners that ensure there will be no dust at any time during the process.
2. Cross-Contamination
While this is of primary importance in the food industry, there are other products manufactured that must be kept free of cross-contamination as well. For a moment, let’s look at the manufacturing of foods. Perhaps the two biggest allergens that can actually cause anaphylactic shock and death are peanuts and shellfish. If your company manufactures anything whatsoever that uses those two ingredients, thorough cleaning of all equipment must be made before switching to any other product. Yes, death can result from cross-contamination, which is why it is important to ensure that there is no risk when moving on to the next product to be manufactured or packaged.
3. Compliance with Health and Safety Regulations
Not being compliant is perhaps the one area that will speak for itself if you aren’t up to code. Not only can your company be slapped with a huge fine, but some of your lines might be shut down as well until they are brought up to code. Among the biggest risks identified by OSHA would be slip and fall risks that can see employees severely injured on the job. Keeping areas clean and up to code is important, not because of that fine but because the health and safety of your workers should be a primary consideration.
As you can see, the importance of keeping your manufacturing plant clean at all times is for the safety of people as well as of products you are manufacturing. A company can sustain huge losses if a certain level of cleanliness and precautions aren’t met, and that is something you don’t ever want to experience. Not only can you sustain financial loss but the potential for endangering the lives of workers and the general public exists. That is why there are rules governing manufacturing cleaning procedures and products and why you should observe them down to the letter of the law.
