Spring Cleaning in the Workplace

Colorful cleaning tools, such as gloves and sprays and rags, in a bucket

Celebrate spring with a deep clean. Use this time to eliminate safety hazards and make energy-saving choices to set yourself up for a safe, sustainable year.

Reduce Clutter to Ensure Safety and Comfort

  • Throw away or recycle what you can. Shred any documents that contain personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI).
  • Move objects away from exits to avoid tripping hazards.
  • Ensure air circulation. Do not block ventilation system equipment, such as perimeter units, registers in the ceiling, or window air conditioners.

Reevaluate Your Equipment to Make Room for Savings

  • Request discard services by submitting a work order to CUIMC Facilities. For computers and electronic storage devices, contact CUIMC IT first to ensure all sensitive data has been wiped.
  • Schedule repairs accordingly with CUIMC Facilities or your vendor, as required, to fix broken equipment.
  • Are you looking to purchase new equipment? Consider Energy Star-rated models, which use less energy and cost less to run.

Review Your Critical Storage Areas to Recover Space and Improve Reliability​

  • Review your stored chemicals. Refer to the Safety Data Sheet for each product to determine the proper storage method. If you no longer use certain chemicals, contact Campus Life Safety and Regulatory Compliance to coordinate a safe disposal.
  • You can improve your ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezer’s reliability. Start by following your manufacturer’s cleaning guidelines. Then consider planning a controlled defrost to clean the freezer’s interior and discard unneeded materials. Get started with these good freezer management practices.

Share our spring cleaning guide (.pdf) with your colleagues and neighbors.

Questions?

Yvonne Wojcicki
Executive Director
Campus Life Safety and Regulatory Compliance
yw2366@cumc.columbia.edu