A member of our staff was shopping at a major food retailer, when she started to walk down an aisle half flooded with water! There was asafety conesitting forlornly in the midst of the mess, but, apparently, nobody had taken the next step and communicated that a spill needed to be cleaned up.
She immediately alerted a store team member, who took action. He later thanked her for bringing the spill to his attention. The question is, why did it take a customer to point out the spill?
Staying on top of spills is critical, regardless of your industry the more so if you work with hazardous materials. Here’s a primer:
- Create A Spill Plan. Does your business have aSPCC(Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure) program in place? Knowing exactly what materials are on hand, the procedures necessary to address a spill, and how to implement safe spill containment and clean up procedures is important. Even when the spill is “just” water, as in the above example, if someone slips, falls, and sustains an injury, it will have major repercussions for your business.
- Communicate!When a spill happens, someone on staff (ideally who is trained in spill containment) should immediately block off the area, notify appropriate personnel, and follow your SPCC.
- Control.Contain the spill to keep it from spreading. One product that works well for a range of spill situations is theXSORB Universal Safety Spill Center Double Pack, which, as its name implies, includes everything you could possibly need to respond to and contain most spills. The wall-mountable rack includes four yellowFiberLink Handy Socks, a box ofFiberLink Safety Yellow heavyweight bonded absorbent pads, a six-quart bottle ofXSORB Universal Spill Clean Up, a Biohazard Response Kit, full-length broom, dustpan, brush, and disposal bags.
- Clean up. The XSORB Safety Spill Center will do the job nicely. Or, you can opt for any of a number of our more than 500 leading-edge spill clean up and safety products, guaranteed to contain and clean spills effectively, ecologically, and economically.
You may never have taken a sailing lesson in your life, but you can sail the high “Cs” of smart spill prevention, communication, containment and clean up with a spill plan and Impact Absorbents.
It’s a slippery world. Stay safe out there!
