Poor housekeeping proved expensive
It’s not just unsightly. Waste such as cardboard boxes, paper etc. might not appear to be a major hazard, but a recent fire at a supermarket in the West Country proves otherwise. In fact, a roll of cardboard which hadn’t been tidied away, ended up costing Morrisons (at the time it was Safeway) upwards of £8.5million in rebuild costs alone.
How did it happen? The roll of cardboard had been left on an open loading bay in violation of company procedures, but unfortunately it wasn’t spotted. At around 1am a couple of children decided to set fire to it. The fire spread, helped by a trail of chicken fat - which also hadn’t been cleaned up - to a pile of fat-coated pallets stacked against an external wall. The heat generated by the fire caused the wall to collapse enabling it to spread to an emergency generator fuel store. It continued to spread and finally engulfed the whole building. Be aware that according to the Fire Protection Association, 50% of fires are started intentionally. So don’t make your business easy pickings.
Tip. Ensure all of your staff are fully aware of the importance of maintaining good housekeeping standards. If you are having problems maintaining standards, assign someone the responsibility of final checks before your staff leave for the night. Make sure all bins, especially those near any perimeter fences, are locked and secure.
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