Raise a hand if you see yourself struggling with any of these challenges. The truth is, you’ll probably recognize them all.

 

Lack of time to clean
A dedicated cleaning staff? Come on! Like most warehouses, you enlist random pickers and employees (only when they’re done with their regular tasks) and that’s bad news for consistent cleaning. 

 

Lack of training and experience
Picking random pickers to do the cleaning, they lack the training and experience that cleaning professionals have. Moreover, if time is an issue, there goes cleanliness! 

 

The high cost of labor
As much as 90% of the cost of cleaning goes to your staff, whether you have a dedicated cleaning staff or assigned cleaning duties on an ad hoc basis. 

 

Hard-to-access areas
You have a hard time (and lack the right gear) cleaning next-to-impossible-to-reach areas e.g. under pallets and racking, overhead surfaces, and narrow aisles.

 

Too much traffic for cleaning
Due to the busy-busy warehouse life with pickers, moving forklifts, and people and equipment moving through aisles, into and out of loading bays, cleaning must be unobtrusive. So, now we’ve addressed your challenges. Read on and see what you can effectively do about it. 

Get everybody on the floor with clear communication strategies on the values of cleanliness.

 

Mind your health and safety
Emphasize that the lack of cleanliness increases the risk of health and safety hazards. When inhaled, dust from cardboard boxes and pallets poses a risk for occupational lung diseases. Wet spills on the floor can cause slips, trips, and falls, in the worst case with long-term sickness absence.

Tip: Use a chalkboard or a dry-erase board to track the number of days without a slip, trip, or fall incident.

 

Make your job so much easier
If cleaning is a job appointed to random workers, they might see it as a hassle. Tip: Demonstrate how a joint effort of a few hours of consistent cleaning will make their job much easier not worrying about dodging debris or avoiding wet spills.

 

Achieve our cleaning goals and win a prize
Motivation works … if it’s meaningful. Incentivize your cleaning goals and make them worthwhile. 

Tip: If your team reaches your cleaning goals for say, a month, have lunch delivered (there is such a thing as a free lunch...).

We’ve covered your challenges and how to onboard employees. Now, tackle the top 5 challenges with the right equipment. Rule of thumb? A warehouse cleaning kit includes a sweeper, scrubber, and a portable vacuum cleaner.

 

To identify your cleaning needs, you’re always welcome to book a free on-site assessment by a skilled Nilfisk expert.

 

Industrial sweepers 
Industrial sweepers improve employee health and minimize slip-and-fall accidents by keeping your floors free of dust and debris. Sweepers come in walk-behind and ride-on versions. For areas with at least 6.5 feet sweeping paths, like warehouse aisles, ride-on sweepers tend to be the best solution because they can clean large warehouses in a fraction of the time compared to a traditional sweeper. *Recommended for collecting warehouse litter and other garbage 

 

Industrial scrubbers 
Industrial scrubbers provide fast, efficient floor cleaning to boost safety and reduce risk in facilities without heavy debris. Scrubbers also come in walk-behind and ride-on versions.

• Walk-behind scrubbers provide high productivity with low water and detergent usage. These scrubbers are low-maintenance and have an extended 84-minute runtime, making them a green cleaning option as well. Cylindrical versions employ a hopper to pick up debris, so no pre-sweeping is required. *Recommended for entryway cleaning, routine scrubbing, grease removal, spill cleanup, and grout and porous-surface cleaning
• Ride-on scrubbers are compact, easy to maneuver, and come with a variety of options to achieve the highest levels of sustainability and dust control. Machines with a large battery capacity have 30% more runtime compared to similar machines. These scrubbers can also be enhanced with technology that ensures operator accountability. *Recommended for keeping aisles and pick-and-pack areas clean and clear

Combination sweeper-scrubbers 
For facilities that require both sweeping and scrubbing, combination machines reduce cleaning and labor costs, while also increasing productivity and efficiency. Combination sweeper–scrubbers are great hybrid alternatives when your challenge is slashing your total cost of ownership via best-in-class battery life, increased fuel economy, and unparalleled efficiency. *Recommended for floor cleaning in large open areas

 

Industrial vacuum cleaners 
Industrial vacuums provide essential dust control to minimize slip-and-fall accidents and prevent combustible dust from accumulating and creating an explosion hazard. 

• Wet/dry industrial vacuums are recommended for collected liquid materials and very fine dust. They’re ideal for areas where a small footprint is required.
  *Recommended for ad hoc cleaning of spills.
• Compressed air industrial vacuums are recommended for use in facilities where electricity is not available or not permitted. They’re also compact and easily maneuverable for use in smaller facilities.
  *Recommended for cleaning in areas with static electricity, or for warehouses storing materials for the metalworking industry and for powder coating and building construction applications
• Industrial vacuums with three bypass motors offer a high-performance cleaning solution for a variety of wet/dry applications when only essential controls are preferred. *Recommended for cleaning overhead surfaces 
• Portable battery vacuum cleaners are designed for use in areas that don’t have electrical hookups, such as stacks in large warehouses. These vacuums provide a solution for cleaning under storage racks; removing dust from overhead ducts, walls, and utility pipes; and cleaning up wet or dry spills. *Recommended for facilities with limited electricity.