Hygiene colour coding is a simple but effective way to improve the cleanliness and safety of your facility, especially in the food and beverage (F&B) and related industries, as well as other sectors that may need sterile environments in which to work. By assigning different colours to various areas and different tasks, procurement managers, janitorial monitors, and owners can help to ensure that everyone knows where to use which products and equipment. It is also an easy way of monitoring cleaning schedules and ensuring that no areas are missed during cleaning.
In this article, as internationally renowned, world leaders in cleaning equipment and products, we at Pescatech will discuss the benefits of hygiene colour coding and provide a few tips and strategies for seamlessly integrating this system of janitorial management into your cleaning regimen.
4 Basic Benefits of Adopting a Hygiene Colour Coding System
Hygiene colour coding can benefit many industry sectors and there are many ways to adopt the philosophy. Colour-coded segregation can ensure safe hygiene in many areas, such as easily identifiable separation between cleaning equipment, cooking utensils, hygienic areas, and uniformed isolation between departments. This may end up protecting your brand and business reputation and improves product quality. Other benefits include:
- Prevention of Cross Contamination: Arguably the most important benefit of hygiene colour coding is that it may assist in reducing the risk of cross-contamination. By implementing different colour codes to separate areas, it prevents confusion and ensures that cleaning equipment is not used in areas where they could contaminate other products, equipment, or machinery. Additionally, colour-coding techniques can prevent the spread of salmonella and other harmful bacteria, allergens, and other foreign bodies.
- Improved Cleaning Efficiency: This method of segregated cleaning assists with improving cleaning efficiency and the separation of janitorial teams. Using colour to differentiate between cleaning areas helps to ensure that products and equipment are not used in the incorrect areas. This saves time and money and helps to keep the facility clean and safe.
- Lessens Employee Stress: Hygiene colour coding systems reduce stress in the workplace. When employees know what colours to use in different areas of the facility, they are less likely to make mistakes. Not only does this maintain safety levels, but it also keeps the factory clean and reduces the risk of unforeseen accidents.
- Assists with Training: With the Rainbow Nation’s number of ethnic groups, language barriers sometimes negatively impact effective training programmes. Using colour to determine where a worker must be and at what time may help streamline this process.
5 Tips and Strategies to Incorporate Hygiene Colour Coding in Your Business
Here are five tips for incorporating hygiene colour coding in your business:
- Use Colours First: Individuals are accustomed to traffic light signals, so use red, green, and amber (yellow) first. These colours represent stop, go, and caution for most people. Use red for hazardous areas, green for production areas, and yellow for dispatch areas, for example.
- Limit Colours: Keep it as simple as possible. Try to incorporate black, white, grey, and blue as well, but limit the number of colours to seven. If the colour coding system is too complicated, it will create confusion and janitorial staff will hesitate to use it.
- Use Signage: Support hygiene colour coding with understandable signage. Knowing the four or five most prevalent ethnic groups in your staff compliment and posting multilingual signage around relevant areas will help in staff using them correctly.
- Train and Implement: To prevent confusion, decide on a date of implementation to phase out the old and introduce the new. Then, fully train staff regarding colours, sections, sectors, and departments. Effect all the changes at the same time and police the result until the system is fully adopted.
- Colour-Match Tools with Storage Areas: Designate separate storage areas. Keep colour-coded cleaning equipment close to the area where they will be used. For additional clarification, use colour coordinated shadow boards or storage cages to simplify identification.
Where to Find World-Class Colour-Coded Hygiene Cleaning Equipment
At Pescatech, our cleaning equipment specialists have redefined the hygiene colour coding procedure. We have travelled the globe visiting our internationally renowned suppliers, gathering knowledge from their expertise, and applying what we have learned to the local Southern African marketplace.
For expert advice, excellent service, and superior products and cleaning equipment, contact us for an affordable quote. You will find that our products and equipment will supersede any product in its class and survive the most rigorous food factory conditions. If you need hygiene colour-coded solutions, consult with us. Our professional team is waiting for your call.
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