Industrial Cleaning: Everything you need to know
What is industrial cleaning?
Industrial cleaning involves the specialist sanitisation of industrial sites and often includes plant and equipment. This service is specifically designed for operations such as factories, warehouses, manufacturing units, food processing plants, depots and utilities.
A standard commercial clean often won’t be enough for these types of buildings. Industrial cleaning deals with heavy build-up, hazardous substances, and high-level or hard-to-reach areas. Because of this it needs specialist equipment, trained operatives and formal safety controls.
What does industrial cleaning cover?
Cleaning of industrial sites isn’t limited to but often includes:
- Degreasing and cleaning machinery and production lines
- High-level cleaning of windows, ceilings, beams, ductwork and racking
- Pressure washing and steam cleaning floors, yards and loading bays
- Tank, silo and vessel cleaning, often classed as confined space work
- Drain, gully and interceptor cleaning, plus waste removal
- Removing hazardous residues like oils, chemicals, dust and swarf
- Deep cleans during shutdowns or between production runs
Is industrial cleaning a legal requirement?
There’s no legislation to enforce industrial cleaning, but there are acts and regulations that need to be followed when cleaning is taking place and that link to hygiene, safety at work and waste management. Industrial cleaning can help you stay compliant to these regulations.
Depending on the industry or particular site, the following regulations are worth knowing:
COSHH Regulations 2002: You need to control any hazardous substances used or removed during cleaning, so every chemical, oil and residue should be risk-assessed, handled safely and stored correctly.
Confined Spaces Regulations 1997: Cleaning inside tanks, silos, pits or vessels counts as confined space work, which means trained operatives, a safe system of work and emergency rescue plans before anyone goes in.
Work at Height Regulations 2005: High-level cleaning of ceilings, beams, ductwork and racking has to be properly planned, supervised and carried out with the right access equipment to prevent falls.
Food safety and hygiene standards: If you make or handle food, your cleaning needs to support your HACCP plan and meet the Food Safety Act 1990 and food hygiene regulations, so you stay inspection-ready.
Waste Duty of Care: Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, you’re responsible for making sure waste from your site is correctly classified, carried by a registered carrier and legally disposed of. This can include hygiene waste from washrooms.
What to look for in an industrial cleaning partner
Choosing an industrial cleaner can take a bit of research and time. You might be switching due to price or service or looking for a new partner for a new site. Whatever the reason, here’s a short, helpful checklist of standards that any cleaning partner should offer you:
- Trained and accredited operatives
- DBS checked teams
- The right liability insurances
- Risk assessment and method statement as standard (RAMS) supplied as standard
- Confined space and height capability
- Registered and licenced waste carrier status
- Flexible scheduling
- Capacity to get to you quickly for an emergency clean up
What to expect from an industrial clean
Every industrial clean should follow a clear process. Here’s what a good provider will do, from the first visit to the final check.
Site survey
A good provider will take time to consult on the phone or ideally will visit your site before quoting. They’ll check the areas to be cleaned, the current condition, and any hazards, so the quote reflects what your site actually needs.
Risk assessment and method statement (RAMS)
You should receive RAMS before any work starts. They set out the risks on your site, how each one is controlled and exactly how the job will be done. If a provider can’t supply them, that’s a red flag.
Scheduling
Industrial cleaning should fit around your operations, not the other way round. Expect to agree dates, start and finish times in advance, often during nights, weekends or planned shutdowns, so downtime stays low. A good provider will offer the service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The clean
Trained operatives should be DBS checked and carry out the work with the right equipment for each task and follow the agreed RAMS throughout. Any hazardous waste should be removed and legally disposed of.
Sign-off
When the job is finished, you should be able to check the work against what was agreed. Ask for confirmation of completion and waste transfer notes (if relevant) for your records, so you stay compliant.
Frequently asked questions
Once signed off, for emergency cleans we aim to be with you in 24 hours but can confirm this when we quote.
We aim to clean around your schedules to create the least amount of disruption possible. When we agree our schedule you’ll have a clear idea if there is any downtime, but with our 24 hour service it’s possible to avoid any disruption depending on your site size and set up.
The business that operates the site is responsible for keeping it safe and clean. That’s a legal duty under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
You can hire a specialist provider to do the work, but you still need to make sure they’re competent and work safely.
Industrial cleaning shouldn’t have a fixed price before a quote, as it should be priced based on specific requirements and bespoke needs.
Each site is different and the price will depend on a number of variables such as site size, condition, access, hazards, scheduling, equipment and amount of cleaning staff needed.
High level cleaning can be the sanitisation of any area or surface that is difficult to reach from ground level. For many of these areas, specialist equipment and specially trained operatives will be needed to safely clean efficiently. In an industrial setting this can include:
- Beams, rafters, and ceilings
- High-level pipework and ducting
- Ventilation systems and air vents
- Lighting fixtures and signage
- Warehouse shelving and storage racking
- Cladding and structural steelwork
- High-level windows and ledges
