Delivering a great experience to customers at your car wash means more than just ensuring you have quality cleaning processes or a cutting-edge access system – health and safety is crucial for protecting each person and asset involved.
Start your customers’ journey off right with safety assurance for your car wash and an intuitive access system from PSD Codax. In this article we’ll discuss the purpose of car wash health and safety, give some tips on things to consider, and outline ways to improve your car wash experience.
Enhance your car wash with world-leading car wash access technology – get in touch!
What is the Purpose of Car Wash Health and Safety
The purpose of car wash health and safety is quite simple – it ensures your facilities are held to a high standard and protects everyone involved in the process and beyond. This includes:
- Customers
- The general public
- Employees
- Vehicles
- Your car wash assets
- Any attached facilities
Car wash health and safety provides security for each of these groups, ensuring their wellbeing. Proper practices, informed by an understanding of who is at risk and why, can help to prevent accidents at your car wash and adjacent services while keeping your car wash facilities functional.
There are many potential accident spots with ever-present dangers including moving vehicles, mechanical parts, machinery, chemicals, and people – all in a concentrated location. It is therefore important to understand the risk factors involved to minimise the chances of injury and damage to employees, customers, and vehicles.
Health and safety benefit the customer experience – improve this experience with our guide >
Safety Tips and Hazard Considerations at Your Car Wash
Health and safety starts before the customer even enters your car wash. One key aspect to consider is having proper signage and spacing around your car wash systems, especially for manual or self-service options. This prevents accidents from occurring between vehicles entering and exiting your car wash, as well as with those passing by.
Once you’ve made it clear where vehicles and people should be with regards to your car wash, next is making it simple to use. Utilising an easily understandable car wash access system, such as the ones from PSD Codax, can help customers know what they’re meant to do.
A good access system can improve your profits by providing additional add-ons for their car wash service while also allowing you to control who enters and when – preventing possible collisions from oversaturated car wash belts.
External factors are also essential to consider. Things like telematics and vehicle technologies, wet floor signage and proper drainage, and accredited installation of electrical equipment – especially if your car wash is an add-on to something hazardous like a petrol station – are all important factors.
Find out more about telematics and their impact on your car wash >
Finally, using harmful chemicals which could run off into local plant life or cause dangerous fumes should be avoided at all costs. Your employees should be aware of the chemicals used and understand what to do if they’re inhaled or come into contact with skin or eyes. Only trained personnel should handle car wash chemicals, using a trolley and strapping to avoid potential injury.
Car Wash Health and Safety Checklist
You should perform regular maintenance and checks as part of an essential safety procedure to ensure your car wash is safe for customers to use. In this process, you should:
- Inspect for hydraulic line damage
- Check the floor for loose mechanical parts
- Listen for irregular sounds that could indicate an issue
- Scan for oil spillage which could present a slip or fire hazard
- Ensure hoses are coiled neatly, outside of any tunnelled areas
- Check your gauges, monitors, and readings are at expected levels
- Ensure the functionality of lighting and cameras
- Provide in-date fire extinguishers that are readily available and appropriately located
Once you’ve ensured your car wash is safe, you’ll want an access system that streamlines the whole process – contact us today.
How to Improve Your Car Wash Health and Safety
With so many factors to take into consideration with regards to the health and safety of your car wash, it is easy to miss a few aspects off the list. We’ve put together a few different things to keep an eye on and improve as you see fit.
Safety Training for Car Wash Employees
Making sure your employees are fully aware of the best practices in health and safety is the most important step towards ensuring safety across the board. This includes:
- What they wear. Make sure their shoes are grippy, and their clothes aren’t loose, preventing risks of slipping or getting caught in machinery
- Moving parts. When vehicles are moving through your car wash, employees should take care not to touch any moving parts or the vehicle itself
- Vehicle direction. No vehicle should be directed towards the car wash before it has been checked to be clear and accessible
Discussing with health and safety professionals to create a proper action plan and provide training for your staff is the best way to ensure they’re up to speed on the processes involved in car wash health and safety.
Perform Regular Maintenance
Making sure you regularly maintain your car wash will lead to better health and safety. This allows you to respond to problems as they arise and provide a consistent experience for staff and customers.
Using the steps shown in the checklist above is useful for when you set up your business, and ongoing checks using this same list alongside other considerations like wear, training, and chemical usage will improve the overall health and safety at your car wash.
Improve your car wash further with our guide to water efficiency >
Use a Clear, Responsive Car Wash Access System
Employees knowing what to do is important – but it is equally important for your customers to be aware as well. A clear, easy to use car wash access system will help them to understand where to go and what to do.
This can lead to less congestion, fewer people going to unexpected places to find a way to access the car wash, and a more easily controllable stream of entry into your system.
Reliable Car Wash Access Systems from PSD Codax
Make sure you’re aware of all the different elements that could present a hazard. Train your staff on the proper handling of chemicals and mechanical parts, provide a clear journey for customers, and regularly survey and maintain your car wash.
To help with the journey, choose a world-class car wash access system from PSD Codax. Get in touch today to find out more or read on with some related articles where we discuss all aspects of a car wash business!
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