Contribute to safe, sustainable cleaning and circular economy
Overview
This standard is part of the competence area related to being environmentally friendly and maintaining sustainability. It is about contributing to safe, sustainable cleaning and circular economy. It is for supervisors in the cleaning industry who need to demonstrate competence in contributing to sustainable cleaning and circular economy to support safe practice during work activities. This standard is about taking steps to minimise risks of infection, damage to the environment and disturbance to habitats. It requires resources to be used in accordance with your organisation's approved procedures and practices, explaining these to staff and suggesting improvements where they can be made.
Relevant policies and legislative requirements to take account of include those for:
health and safety, including control of substances hazardous to health
environment
operational quality management
regulatory
statutory
organisational policies
corporate social responsibility
risk assessments.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
Operational measures and safety procedures
1. ensure the safe systems of work and requirements are followed for protection of cleaning staff
2. monitor staff health and well-being in relation to viruses and infections
3. train your staff in enhanced cleaning and infection control procedures, where required
4. provide the relevant protective equipment and products for cleaning staff
5. ensure protective equipment is worn throughout cleaning and is reused or disposed of within organisational safety procedures
6. follow formal risk management requirements of your organisation before entering the workplace
7. take the relevant actions depending on the outcome of risk assessments carried out
8. ensure work is carried out in a manner which minimises pollution and physical disturbance
9. ensure staff use recyclable materials, static and mobile plant that will minimise pollution and physical disturbance
10. ensure work is carried out in accordance with relevant policies and legislation
11. recognise the occurrences of physical disturbance and take the appropriate action to eliminate these
12. identify improvements to your organisation's procedures and practices in terms of environmental good practice and take the appropriate action
13. ensure staff dispose of hazardous and non-hazardous waste safely in accordance with organisational policies and procedures
14. contribute to sustainability and circular economy by conserving energy, water, resources and equipment during cleaning activities to minimise environmental impact and generation of waste
Controlling the risk of infection
15. follow your organisation's requirements for mitigation of risk of infection in the workplace
16. follow the cleaning procedures depending on environment and identified risks
17. examine areas for cleaning and identify any high contact touch points
18. carry out cleaning in accordance with work schedule and required frequency depending on the outcomes of risk assessment
19. use cleaning products including specialist cleaning solutions, antibacterial and antiviral chemicals
20. use disposable cleaning equipment to reduce viral loading in the areas being cleaned
21. follow the enhanced cleaning and disinfection procedures for suspected or confirmed virus contamination
22. ensure used cleaning and protective equipment is disposed of in accordance with specified safety procedures
23. ensure the reusable cleaning equipment is cleaned and disinfected
24. wash and dry your hands thoroughly and safely in accordance with organisational requirements
25. ensure the hand washing facilities are maintained with an adequate supply of washing solution, disinfection gels and a hygienic means of hand drying
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
Operational measures and safety procedures
1. your organisation's safe systems of work and requirements for protection of cleaning staff
2. your organisation's procedures for monitoring staff health and well-being in relation to viruses and infections
3. your organisation's enhanced cleaning and infection control procedures training
4. the relevant protective equipment and products required for the job
5. how to reuse the protective equipment or dispose of it in line with your organisation's safety procedures
6. organisational requirements to minimise risk of infection when traveling to site and working on premises
7. the relevant actions depending on the outcome of risk assessments carried out
8. your organisation's principles of formal risk assessment before entering the workplace
9. the relevant methods for minimising pollution and physical disturbance to the environment during work
10. the most suitable choice of materials and equipment to use depending on the nature of the work activity, and its potential impact on the environment
11. the ways in which tools and materials should be used in order to minimise environmental damage
12. the operational and legislative requirements in terms of minimising the environmental damage
13. how to identify improvements to your organisation's procedures and practices in terms of environmental good practice
14. the types of damage which may occur, the impact these can have on the environment, and the corrective actions to take
15. the relevant methods of hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal which will minimise the impact on the environment
16. the purpose of circular economy to minimise environmental damage and waste
Controlling the risk of infection
17. your organisation's procedures for mitigating the risk of infection
18. the frequency of routine cleaning in communal areas, facilities and high-contact areas
19. the enhanced cleaning and disinfection procedures for suspected or confirmed virus contamination
20. the areas for cleaning and how to identify high contact touch points
21. the range of specialist cleaning products and how to use them safely and effectively
22. the cleaning procedures to follow, depending on the environment and risks identified
23. your organisation's procedures for cleaning and disinfection of reusable equipment
24. your organisation's procedures for disposing of used cleaning equipment and protective equipment
25. the duration of hand washing procedures after the protective equipment is removed