Housekeeping in the construction job

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Housekeeping To provide guidelines for maintaining the orderliness and cleanliness of the workplace for meeting the following objectives:
  • The elimination of accident and fire hazards. 
  • The conservation of space, time, material and effort.
  • To obtain and maintain good working conditions.

Procedure

A. General
  • The Site Manager may delegate the housekeeping works to the subcontractors who is engaged in the job. And the subcontractor shall be made clear on the work area where they are responsible.
  • In  the  event  that  more  than  one  subcontractor  is  engaged  in  the  job,  the  work  area where each  respective  subcontractor  is  responsible  shall  be  clearly  defined.  If necessary, a shop floor plan / site plan / area store plan shall be used to demarcate the work area. Such demarcation shall be revised as and when there is any change in the work area allocated, entrance of new subcontractors, etc.
  • The Works shops/area project is under the charge of team project. When the Shop is allocated  to the  project  for  usage,  the  subcontractor  under  the  supervision  of  the project  team  shall  be responsible  for  the  housekeeping  of  the  standard  of housekeeping of the Shop.  The user is required to complete before being allowed to commence work therein.
  • The  Subcontractors  is  to  ensure  that  the  state  of  housekeeping  is  restored  to  the condition as it was before they took over the place.
  • The Safety Personnel, who is assigned to the project, shall conduct regular checks of the  project site  and  Shop.  Observations  made  which  require  rectification  will  be feedback to the Project Team.
  • A  dateline  will  be  fixed  for  the  subcontractor  concerned  to  carry  out  the  necessary rectification. Otherwise penalty actions such as fine, compound fine or stop work order will be imposed where necessary.

B. Requirements for housekeeping:
-  Access ways and passageways: 
  • All access ways and passageways must be kept clear at all times. They should be so  arranged that  they  are  the  easiest  means  of  access,  thereby  reducing  the temptation to employees to take short cuts and walk through operating areas and near other equipment. 
  • Materials and cables should not project into access ways and passageways.
- Floors :
  • Floors,  passageways,  walkways,  etc.  must  be  kept  clear  of  small  articles,  tools, scrap metal or any other working material when any of these are no longer in use. Materials that may cause slip or fall of personnel must be removed.
  •  Floors should be swept frequently and kept in good condition.
- Material storage:
  • Improper stacking and storage of materials is a major safety hazard and must not be tolerated. 
  • In  the  stacking  of  bulky  objects,  specially  designed  guards  should  be  provided  to prevent the rolling and shifting of the material into aisles or places where men are working.
- Tools:
  • Tools and equipment should not be permitted to lie around where they may present a slipping or tripping hazard.  
  • Tool box should be provided for spanner, pliers and similar tools. 
  • Storage places should be located conveniently where workers will use them, and the temptation to leave equipment at workplaces where it would cause accidents or be lost is then reduced.
- Platform on construction:
  • No objects must be thrown down from one level to another.
  • Tools, etc. should not be placed on overhead locations, such as scaffolding where they can fall and strike men working below.  All loose materials must be collected and stored inside pails for transporting purpose on platforms.
- Disposal of scrap:
  • All  scraps  should  be  properly  discarded  after  operation.  Designated  disposal  bins are provided for the disposal. Do not mix metal scraps and rubbish materials.
  • Rubbish  such  as  food  packaging,  cans,  newspapers,  plastic  bags.  etc.  should  be discarded  into  the  bin  provided.  Indiscriminate  throwing  of  these  items  not  only poses potential fire hazards, it also makes the work area look very untidy.

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