Making Your Plastic Manufacturing Facility Shine
It’s spring-cleaning season, and while we do our part to rejuvenate our facility in the springtime, daily facility maintenance and cleanliness is something we pride ourselves on at Stanford Manufacturing.
Facility upkeep is important. For safety reasons alone, it’s worth it to keep the floor clear of scrap waste, machines clear of residue build up, and bulk storage organized. To us, facility cleanliness began at the building’s conception – when the foundation was poured, shelving was installed, and facility maintenance equipment was installed. We must ensure that our plastic raw materials don’t come in contact with liquids or other contaminants, because if they do, the final manufactured products are liable to have defects. We built or inspected our facilities to make sure that they are properly insulated and sealed to reduce internal moisture of the buildings.
Plastic raw materials often come in the form of small, round pellets. This form of raw material is easy to spill and scatter across facility floors. We make sure to sweep up all run-away pellets every day, so these don’t pose slip risks and make a mess that’s not so pretty to look at. Our injection molding machines are outfitted with scrap bins and scrap bin chutes which efficiently collect scrap materials and minimize waste that could end up on the floor.
Regular machine maintenance is essential for extending the lifespan of our equipment and maximizing our investments. After every production cycle on an injection molding machine, we clean our molds to remove debris and identify potential repair needs, preventing issues during production.
We also have to address the little stuff. The chore’s that you do at home, like dusting, polishing and removing clutter, are also necessary in our manufacturing facility. Our facility isn’t just cleaned in the spring, it receives a thorough cleaning every week to keep our employees safe and healthy and just to make it shine.
Since we’ve created an effective system for production area cleanliness, we never have to worry about the aesthetics of our facility when we host a tour for customers, the media, or fellow industry professionals. Routine upkeep ensures that we are ready to show off our state-of-the-art equipment at any time. In addition to our production area, we make sure our office spaces, bathrooms, and breakrooms are similarly clean and tidy as well. For the sake of our employees’ comfort, we employ a weekly office-space cleaning service, so employees don’t have to vacuum, sweep, or dust their personal spaces.
At Stanford Manufacturing, we’re committed to dispelling the notion that manufacturing is inherently messy. Our facility runs like our machines -- smoothly, efficiently, and practically. If you keep up with cleanliness every day, it doesn’t become an overwhelming task.
