When walking through an industrial facility it’s easy to only look at eye level and consider it clean. Unfortunately, support beams, piping, ventilation ductwork, and various other surfaces found in the high ceilings can collect dust, dirt, and other debris that can cause health and safety issues. Since these areas are out of reach and out of sight they are not regularly cleaned. This allows all the dust from the manufacturing process to collect on these surfaces, while the rest of the building appears clean. While it may seem that as long as that ceiling dust stays up there it’s not hurting anything, when in reality it is causing numerous problems within the building. It’s important that these high surface areas are cleaned as needed.
Fall Safety
When someone has to be up high to perform these high ceiling cleaning services it puts them at risk for falling hazards. Falls are the number one source of worker deaths according to OSHA, and Fall Protection issues were the top citation given out to companies in 2015 by OSHA inspectors.
Hughes Environmental technicians have all been through OSHA 10 or 30 hour training, as well as Fall Protection training to ensure that proper safety measures are used when cleaning the high surfaces in your building.
Less Efficient HVAC System
Dust is dispersed throughout the facility and over time, is brought into the ventilation ductwork as air flows through the building. The dust will settle in sections of the duct where there is a bend or anything that might prevent the dust from continuing to flow through, clogging the HVAC and making it work harder to move air throughout the building.
Employee Health Risks
Not only do dirty ductwork cause the HVAC system to run less efficiently, but they are the perfect breeding ground for mites, mold, bacteria, viruses, and other poisons that could contribute to Sick Building Syndrome. Mites and mold can cause allergic reactions in some people; bacteria and viruses will spread throughout the building making your employees sick.
Debris Falling
When being cleaned the debris that has accumulated on these high surfaces will be disturbed, and can potentially fall onto the work surfaces down below. This can cause quality control issues, or damage sensitive machinery, as well as create breathing hazards for workers. Standard vacuums will lose power as they’re used and knock dust down without actually cleaning it up.
Hughes Environmental technicians will take extra precautions to ensure that your machinery and production line are protected, and use a vacuum powered by compressed air that does not lose pressure during use and is significantly more powerful than a standard vacuum.
Dust Explosion Risk
When the dust is being cleaned by someone untrained in proper procedures it can create a dust cloud when it falls into the air below the high ceiling. If the dust is one that is combustible, this can become an extremely dangerous hazard; combustible dust explosions can be fatal and destructive. The NFPA has created specific standards for the processes and equipment needed to handle cleaning combustible dust from high surfaces to prevent an explosion.
Hughes Environmental technicians are well-trained on NFPA standards and requirements for safely cleaning combustible dust, and use explosion proof vacuums designed specifically for combustible dust cleaning.
Rafter and ceiling cleaning services will remove dust, dirt, grease, and other materials commonly found on the high surfaces of manufacturing and production facilities. Cleaning these surfaces on a regular basis can improve health and safety of your work environment, eliminate an explosion hazard and avoid costly OSHA fines. Areas that should not go untouched when cleaning high surfaces include:
- Ceiling
- Ceiling Truss
- Rafters
- Conduit
- Lighting
- Exterior of ductwork
- Exhaust hood ventilation
- Beams
- Storage racks/shelving
- Fire suppression systems
- Ceiling Deck
- Piping
Do you need help with high surface cleaning services in your building?
