With a new year kicking off, how do you get that “Fresh Start” that everyone talks about? It’s that age old question: where do you start? The corners pile up with stuff purchased by various employees who have come and gone over the years. Pretty soon, blank spaces on shelves are filled and people are using drum tops as trays for garbage and used spill rags. Here are 6 steps to help clean and organize your lube room with oil storage and safe handling solutions!
1. OUT WITH THE OLD
Determine what products you need and what ones you don’t. Recycle or sell the old products that you haven’t used within the past year or do not know what they go to. Old products collect dust and other airborne contaminants, take up valuable real estate in your lube room and provide an increased opportunity for cross-contamination by employees. If you are keeping products “just in case” make sure they are clearly labeled so employees will know what they are for.
2. CLEAN THE SPACE
Take the time to wipe down shelves, soak up spills, sweep the floor under and behind things, throw away garbage and just give the space a much needed deep clean. Use Callina 1210 to wash shop floors and remove slippery oil spots. After being in a space repeatedly, it’s easy to look past the imperfections, so make sure you critically assess it as if you were a stranger or guest. In utility areas like lube rooms, it is easy to just set something down and forget about it. If you notice a lot of dirty rags, consider placing a garbage can by the door for easy disposal and to keep shelves and drum tops clean and clear of contaminates – just don’t forget to take out the trash when it fills up!
3. CONSIDER THE FLOW
Look at the space with an objective eye. Is there a different arrangement that would be more logical, efficient, or easier to clean? Would shelves help? Do you have adequate secondary containment for petroleum products? Are you in compliance with all applicable safety standards?
4. CATEGORIZE
When returning the products you use to your lube room, consider organizing them by type, application or package size. Oil Safe containers are a great color coded way to transfer lubricants from large quantities to small reservoirs and come in an array of colors so categorizing by type of lubricant is easy and cross contamination is reduced. Many people create a rolling cart for if they have a variety of lubricants in Oil Safe products so that they can increase mobility to fill each pour point accordingly.
5. LABEL
Color coding to organize each lubricant is a great way to organize your fluids to ensure there is no mix up when filling machines. The more mistakes you can eliminate by keeping a clean and organized lube room the better!
6. MAINTAIN
By regularly revising the status of your lube room and reviewing these steps you can prevent the giant mess it was when you found it. Keeping a clean and organized lube room inhibits costly cross-contamination, creates a safer working environment and promotes a more efficient business!
Written by: Rochelle Vanbellinghen