By Greg Wellington

When you run a car wash and/or an auto detailing business, the safety manual that you give to your employees is crucial for keeping them from the many dangers that can result in accidents in the industry. Auto detailing companies also have their share of workplace safety hazards that require the proper safety training for employees to avoid making mistakes that can lead to injuries and deaths.

Car Wash Industry Hazards

A car wash may be largely run by machines that do the washing, but employees play an important role in getting the job done. With employees on site, often outdoors near moving vehicles, there are many ways that a small mistake can cost lives. Being hit by vehicles that accelerate unexpectedly is a constant danger that can claim several lives at once. In 2011, an accelerating vehicle killed a car wash worker inMarylandand injured two other employees of the car wash. Learning where to stand to avoid an out-of-control vehicle is important information to arm your employees with.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, car wash employees are also at risk for accidental amputations from machinery that is not being used properly. When employees can learn about the proper lock out/tag out procedures from a car wash and auto detail safety manual / IIPP, these injuries can be avoided by the careful operation of the machinery. The manual should also teach employees about the correct protective equipment that they should use to keep themselves protected from injuries. The proper hazard communications among employees and management is also an integral part of the safety principles learned from the right car wash and auto detail safety manual / IIPP.

Auto Detailing and Chemical Hazards

When employees detail cars, they spend a lot of time around chemicals that effectively clean the cars and make them shine. However, these chemicals may cause health problems when they aren’t used with the right protective gear by employees. The fumes from some cleaning fluids can cause everything from dizziness to long-term health consequences when they are used in confined spaces.

When detailing inside vehicles, a car wash and auto detail safety manual / IIPP teaches employees how to use the correct protective gear, which may include gloves or a respirator, depending on the chemicals being used. Using the right eye protection when working with a pressure washer and other equipment is not only a safe solution for preventing eye injuries, in many cases it is also required by OSHA. With the right protective equipment, auto detailers can protect their eyes, hands and lungs from being injured by the common equipment and chemicals used to detail vehicles.

With the right car wash and auto detail safety manual / IIPP, employees who use respirators can learn when they are necessary, what type to use and how to make sure that their respirator is fitted properly and working. Without this information, having a respirator on hand may be of little use to employees who don’t understand when and how to use them to prevent health problems.

Whether a business is strictly a car wash or does both washing and detailing, the employees of that business deserve to be armed with all the information they need to keep themselves safe from the dangers that have caused so many injuries and deaths in the industry. As an employer, you also deserve to be armed with the protection that having a well-trained workforce gives you. Never assume that your employees know how to stay safe on the job, and don’t keep your business from following the proper OSHA regulations.

About the Author: American Occupational Safety & Health Consultant with experience in Operational Risk Management, Insurance Loss Control, Safety Engineering and other safety related disciplines. Writes

safety manuals

for the construction industry.

Source:

isnare.com

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