Health and Safety – Your Duty to Your Employees And Your Legal Requirement For Ductwork Cleaning

Ingot Services is a HVAC registered company, helping businesses to meet their legal obligations when it comes to health and safety in the workplace. As well as ductwork cleaning, we offer a full range of industrial cleaning services.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering work related health and safety within the UK and it sets out many of an employer’s responsibilities for the health and safety of their workforce.

This includes an employer’s duty of care, meaning that, whatever the size of business, they must adhere to a strict set of rules, including:

• Keeping temperatures at a comfortable level - a minimum of 13 degrees centigrade where the work involves physical activity or 16 degrees centigrade for 'sedentary' workplaces, for example in offices.
   
• Lighting premises so that employees can work and move about safely.
   
• Keeping the workplace and equipment clean.
   
• Ensuring that workrooms are big enough to allow easy movement with at least 11 cubic metres per person.
   
• Providing workstations to suit the employees and the work.
   
• Keeping the workplace and equipment in good working order.
   
• Making floors, walkways, stairs, roadways, etc. safe to use.
   
• Protecting people from falling from heights or into dangerous substances.
   
• Storing things so they are unlikely to fall and cause injuries.
   
• Fitting openable windows, doors and gates with safety devices if needed.
   
• Providing suitable washing facilities and clean drinking water.
   
• If necessary, providing somewhere for employees to get changed and to store their own clothes.
   
• Setting aside areas for rest breaks and to eat meals, including suitable facilities for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
   
• Letting employees take appropriate rest breaks and their correct holiday entitlement.
   
• Making sure that employees who work alone, or off-site, can do so safely and healthily.
   
• Making sure that workplaces are properly ventilated, with clean and fresh air.

Ductwork Cleaning As Part of An Employer’s Duty Of Care

While many of these rules can be adhered to with the correct procedures in place, ensuring that the workplace is properly ventilated with clean fresh air means that, where air conditioning and heating, with ductwork involved are concerned, professional cleaning from a ductwork cleaning company is a legal requirement. And with the provision of fresh air linked to sick building syndrome, and the ailments that come with it, carrying out ductwork cleaning can lead to a much happier, as well as healthier workforce, meaning better productivity and few days off sick.

Ductwork Cleaning from Ingot Services

At Ingot Services we work with the full range of industries within the UK, offering ductwork cleaning to help ensure health and safety within offices, restaurants, care homes, schools, hospitals and many more. And when it comes to our credentials, as well as our high standards when it comes to customer service, you can be sure that you are meeting your ductwork cleaning legal obligations.

To find out more about how Ingot Services can help meet your health and safety obligations with ductwork cleaning, call today on 0800 731 7892.

The Importance of Regular Duct Work Cleaning and Kitchen Maintenance in the Catering Industry

Whether it’s kitchen fires caused by a lack of duct work cleaning, or spills not being cleaned up promptly, a lack of proper maintenance is a major cause of accidents in the hospitality industry. These types of accidents can be very costly in financial terms, and cause human pain and suffering, and most accidents from inadequate maintenance involve equipment.

Your catering equipment is essential to ensure that your business continues to run smoothly and regular maintenance by competent staff will ensure that your equipment performs well and reliably and helps prevent accidents. All items of equipment – whether it is your oven or grease extract fan – need regular maintenance to keep it consistently doing its job to the highest standard. Without regular maintenance your equipment can deteriorate in cleanliness and safety, resulting in a variety of hazards for staff and customers alike. This can range from glasses that aren’t properly cleaned to a serious fire breaking out in your kitchen.

 Legal Requirements 

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 along with subsequent legislation requires employers to provide and maintain safe plant and equipment and to ensure a healthy and safe work environment.

Types of Accidents 

Accidents happen on a daily basis. The five main types of accident caused by poor maintenance in the catering industry are:

·      Slips

·      Exposure to hot or harmful substances

·      Electrical injury

·      Fire and explosion

·      Machinery accidents

Following good maintenance procedures can reduce the likelihood of any of these types of accidents occurring.

Managing Maintenance 

When planning maintenance activity there are a number of points that you need to be aware of:

·      Clear responsibilities must be agreed in situations where the premises and equipment do not belong to the caterer.

·      When working on electrical and gas systems there are specific legal requirements that must be adhered to.

·      You must make sure that the equipment is safe to work on.

·      The contractor should make sure that their employees adopt safe systems of work and leave the equipment and premises in a safe working order.

Types of Maintenance 

The types of maintenance that you should consider implementing are:

1. Cleaning

Cleaning is an essential activity for all hospitality businesses. Cleaning steps that should be undertaken to prevent injury or ill health to staff include

·      Setting up safe methods of cleaning

·      Using cleaning chemicals and materials safely

·      Training and supervising staff properly

·      Cleaning spills up instantly

2. Routine Checks

This involves checking regularly for obvious visible damage and wear and tear.  All employees need to be trained in what to look for, and how to report faults. Areas that should be checked include machine guards, gas appliance controls, electrical plugs, and ventilation systems.

3. Planned Maintenance

Some equipment may need to be regularly serviced by fully trained personnel to ensure their continued safe operation. This includes cleaning of invisible or inaccessible areas such as kitchen extracts and duct work.

4. Breakdown Maintenance

As with planned maintenance, safety critical repairs must only be carried out by a suitably qualified person using the right tools and equipment. Sub-standard, temporary repairs carried out to keep equipment in use may cause injury and contravene health and safety legislation.

5. Inspection and Tests

With some equipment such as gas appliances, pressure cookers and electrical appliances periodic inspection is legally required.

6. Duct Work Cleaning

Duct work is required to be professionally cleaned at least once every 2 years – possibly more often in a very heavily used kitchen. As well as being required by law, it is also required by insurance companies who will not pay out in the event of a fire if the required certification is not in place. Certification can only be supplied by an HVAC registered company.

Other Areas To Consider

A couple of areas to consider when planning maintenance activity include food safety and asbestos.

·      Asbestos – Any building built before 2000 may contain asbestos. You have a duty if you own, control or maintain a premises containing asbestos. More information can be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive’s web site.

·      Food safety – as a caterer you must consider the implications to food safety when selecting, installing, maintaining and cleaning any catering equipment.

How Ingot Can Help With Regular Maintenance?

Ingot can help with your maintenance programme through the cleaning of your grease extract fans and ventilation systems. At Ingot Services, we take commercial kitchen and duct work cleaning seriously. We are fully HVAC registered and we are a member of the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme, as well as a Safe Contractor Registered firm.

With over 25 years’ experience in deep cleaning and duct work cleaning in commercial kitchens, we have worked with clients ranging from cafes, pubs and bistros through to Michelin Star restaurants, as well as commercial kitchens within hospitals, care homes, schools and more.

To find out more about how Ingot Services can help your commercial kitchen meet health and safety requirements, including your kitchen deep cleaning and duct work cleaning, call today on 0800 731 7892.

The Safe Maintenance Health Check

How do you know if your workplace is safe enough? Try answering this check list.

1. Do your staff always isolate machines before doing maintenance?
2. Have all your maintenance staff got their own isolation padlocks and warning boards?
3. Do you know if you have got asbestos in your building? If so where?
4. Do you have the right access equipment for any job?
5. Do you have any confined spaces?
6. Do your managers and supervisors stop maintenance work if it isn't being done safely?

If the answer to any of these questions is unsatisfactory then corrective action may need to be taken. Further guidance can be found at the Health and Safety Executive website www.hse.gov.uk. 

Ingot Services Continues Its Support for Suffolk Youth Charity

Out & About, the Suffolk based charity who provide opportunities for disabled young people across East Anglia, have held their annual awards evening, honouring their young volunteers. corporate sponsors, Ingot Services, was there to join in the celebrations.

Ingot’s Managing Director Alan Maynard was delighted to be asked to present an award on the night. “I was really pleased to be asked to attend what was an uplifting and inspiring evening” said Alan.  “Everyone who gives their time to the charity in whatever role they can gives something to the lives of those young people who otherwise might not get the chance to fulfil their wish to try an activity or learn a skill that will make a big difference to their lives.”

Ingot became the charity’s first corporate sponsor earlier this year, backing the ‘iam out there’ series of life skills programmes.

Out & About’s Kate Higgs explained how vital Ingot’s support has been: “Being able to run the programmes enables us to help more young people make the transition from childhood to adulthood with greater confidence. Many things that we take for granted like using public transport, road safety or handling money are daunting for young people with disabilities and ‘iam out there’ really does help to get them ‘out there’!”

“We are always really grateful to all our volunteer helpers, fundraisers and sponsors; they contribute so much to the charity with their spirit, energy and generosity.”

Alan Maynard concludes: “As an employer I am a great believer in providing opportunity for those who need someone to invest some trust in their ability and I have no doubt that Out & About does many great things to help unlock the potential of young people living with a disability. I hope more businesses continue to come forward to sponsor the programmes.”

Out & About: www.oaa.co.uk

Ingot Services Ltd: www.ingotservices.co.uk

Deep Cleaning the Kitchen Within Your Commercial Property Including Your Ductwork Cleaning

Within a commercial kitchen there are many health and safety issues to take into account, including an increased legal requirement for ductwork cleaning.  But within a non-commercial kitchen, in an office or other commercial premises, which is used as a kitchenette for staff use, deep cleaning is still vitally important.

So what is the difference between a commercial kitchen and a non-commercial one in a business premises? And how does the requirement for deep cleaning and ductwork cleaning differ between the two?

A non-commercial kitchen is a provision within a business premises, offering your workforce the facilities to prepare food and drink for their personal consumption. It will typically be a kitchenette, with a sink, kettle or boiler, and possibly a microwave, we well as some type of worktop for preparing food and drinks, and very often a refrigerator for storing milk, lunchboxes and so on. A commercial kitchen is one in which food or drink is prepared for sale to the public.

Commercial kitchen hygiene is rigorously enforced by Local Authority Environmental Health Officers using the Food Safety Act 1990 as their principal item of legislation. And the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires food outlets to demonstrate not just that their premises are adequately clean at the time that the officer visits, but that it has a planned cleaning schedule in place that is followed by staff.

While these obligations don’t apply to a non-commercial kitchen, employers owe their employees a duty of care, and as such, kitchens within commercial premises should be considered a part of the health and safety risk assessment.

While day to day, your non-commercial kitchen may be kept clean, dirt and bacteria may be building up in the harder to reach places, and can be especially harmful in areas that offer breeding grounds. These can include the corners and crevices in your worktops, your fridge seals, microwave, and other cooking equipment.  In addition, the users of a non-commercial kitchen typically won’t be working to the same standards of hygiene expected of commercial kitchen staff, in terms of handwashing and proper food management (think of multiple people using the same door, fridge and kettle handles, not to mention milk and food left in the fridge over the weekend). So in some ways a non-commercial kitchen can be even more prone to the buildup of germs than a commercial kitchen.

Choosing to have a deep clean within your non-commercial kitchen will help to maintain the safety of your workforce, and reduce health risks from harmful bacteria. It will also demonstrate the high standards offered within your workplace, improving morale and staff motivation.  Moreover, kitchen areas which seem unhygienic will encourage your staff to take their breaks elsewhere, possibly resulting in longer breaks from work, as well as bringing food and drink into office areas.
 
Adding Ductwork Cleaning to Your Deep Cleaning Schedule

When it comes to any ductwork that may be running through or past your kitchen, grease and grime could be building additional breeding grounds, meaning ductwork cleaning should be considered every time you schedule a kitchen deep clean. Even more so as ductwork cleaning is a legal requirement in all business environments.

Ingot Services is a professional kitchen deep cleaning and ductwork cleaning company. We are fully HVCA registered, giving you the assurance that our ductwork cleaning work will meet your legal obligations, and we are also members of the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme and we are a Safe Contractor Registered firm.

As well as commercial kitchen clients, we carry out ductwork cleaning work for a full range of industries throughout the UK, including offices, retailers, local authorities, schools and care homes.

Find out more about kitchen deep cleaning and ductwork cleaning from Ingot Services on 0800 731 7892.

Deep Cleaning Your Office? Remember Your Ductwork Cleaning

When it comes to your office deep cleaning, it’s not just your ductwork cleaning that needs special attention. While regular cleaning in your office is essential, a week to week clean will normally only skim over the surface of the dust and dirt that builds up daily. This means that dirt and germs can build up in the nooks and corners - on things like computer peripherals, telephones and the like. And in an era when hot desking is the norm in many offices, germs are not restricted to any one person’s personal work space

Your Office Deep Clean - Taking Into Account More Than Your Ductwork Cleaning

As well as the desktop and equipment on and alongside it, your office deep cleaning should include fixtures and fittings, such as lighting, window furniture and your ductwork cleaning.

• Light fittings
  
  These may just need a good dusting, but where necessary, your office deep cleaners should remove, clean and remount these for you.

• Windows and frames
  
  While these may be cleaned regularly on the outside, during an office deep clean, your windows and frames should be cleaned thoroughly using professional cleaning products.

• Window fittings, such as blinds
  
  If you have blinds, it will be easy to see the dust building up on each slat.  These should be thoroughly dusted, and again, where necessary, cleaned with professional products to keep dust and grime at bay.

• Flooring
  
  Whether you have wooden flooring, carpet or tiling, your flooring should be properly cleaned using industrial equipment and professional products.

• Computers and peripherals
  
  Over time, your computer, keyboard, mouse and peripherals such as printers and scanners can become worn and stained with ink and dirt. A professional deep clean can prolong the life of your equipment, as well as keeping them free of dirt that could cause clogs.

• Telephones
  
  Due to the way that telephones are used, these need particular attention, to ensure harmful germs and bacteria are eliminated, particularly from handsets and push buttons.

• Toilets and sanitaryware
  
  Toilets and sanitaryware need special attention and more rigorous cleaning - ensuring that every element of the washroom is disinfected and odour free.

• Kitchen area
  
  If your office has a kitchen area, or even just a place where staff boil a kettle to make drinks, this too will need extra attention to ensure a safe environment for your workforce to handle their food and drink.

Within your office deep cleaning, it is important not to forget your ductwork cleaning.  An area that cannot be seen, ductwork cleaning may be easily overlooked, but as a legal requirement within a business premises, it is vitally important. As such it is also important to ensure that you choose a professional ductwork cleaning company, ensuring that you meet your obligations.

This will mean calling in two teams, and scheduling your ductwork cleaning company to work at the same time as your office deep cleaning team means that you can minimise disruption to your workforce.

Ingot Services - Your Ductwork Cleaning Professionals

At Ingot Services, we are specialists in ductwork cleaning - for offices of all sizes, restaurants, shops, schools and from the full range of industries. We are fully HVCA registered, as well as being a member of the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme and a Safe Contractor Registered firm, giving you the reassurance that our ductwork cleaning meets your legal obligations. And with over 25 years’ experience we have an enviable reputation for high quality work and exemplary customer service throughout the process.

To find out more about ductwork cleaning for offices from Ingot Services,  call today on 0800 731 7892.

Another Restaurant Fire Reminds Us of The Importance of Health and Safety In Commercial Kitchens

Deep and Ductwork Cleaning from Ingot Services

As yet another local kitchen fire causes disruption to a local business, it reminds us to take a look at health and safety within commercial kitchens, ensuring deep cleans, as well as ductwork cleaning, are scheduled regularly.

While the fire at Bella Italia in Norwich was relatively small, and caused little disruption with all customers safely evacuated, it does bring sharply into focus the risks that a fire within a public place can pose.

Health and Safety Obligations

Health and safety within all commercial kitchens is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), ensuring that risks of accidents are kept to a minimum.  Such accidents may include slips, trips and falls, injuries caused by the manual handling of heavy equipment, and exposure to hot and harmful substances.

Environmental Health

But as well as the HSE, commercial kitchen hygiene is rigorously overseen by Local Authority Environmental Health Officers, who work to enforce the Food Safety Act 1990 as the main item of legislation.

As well as this, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires that food outlets demonstrate not just that their premises are adequately clean at the time that the officer visits, but that they also have cleaning procedures in place showing a planned schedule that is being followed by staff.

Including routine deep cleans in your schedule strengthens your protocol helping to convince an Environmental Health Officer that cleanliness is taken seriously.

Ductwork Cleaning for Clean, Fresh Air

Workplace health and safety regulations also require a good, clean air supply into your business premises, and specify that ductwork cleaning for your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system is carried out regularly by a professional ductwork cleaning company. It is here that a good number of kitchen fires may start - as grease and grime accumulate within the system, causing blockages of dust which can easily combust with the help of a small spark.

Deep and Ductwork Cleaning from Ingot Services

At Ingot Services, we take commercial kitchen and ductwork cleaning seriously. We are fully HVAC registered and we are a member of the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme, as well as a Safe Contractor Registered firm.

With over 25 years’ experience in deep cleaning and ductwork cleaning in commercial kitchens, we have worked with clients ranging from cafes, pubs and bistros through to Michelin Star restaurants, as well as commercial kitchens within hospitals, care homes, schools and more.

To find out more about how Ingot Services can help your commercial kitchen meet health and safety requirements, including your kitchen deep cleaning and ductwork cleaning, call today on 0800 731 7892.

Ingot Services Expand Their Interests To The North Of England

A thriving Suffolk Company is continuing to defy the recession and has expanded its operations by acquiring the Manchester Kitchen Cleaning Company Neil King & Co LLP.

Ingot Services is proving to be something of a success story in these testing times having recently celebrated a quarter of a century of providing expert kitchen cleaning services to a varied and prestigious client base across the country. With the business in excellent shape Ingot has welcomed the opportunity to take over the Manchester Company enabling the company to access its clients even more efficiently within the M62 corridor.

Ingot’s Managing Director Alan Maynard explains: We have always carried out kitchen cleaning throughout the UK from our base in Suffolk. Buying this successful Manchester concern means we can serve a demanding and busy area more efficiently.

“We see this move as a template for further growth for Ingot in other parts of the country in the not too distant future.”

A spokesman from Neil King says: “We are delighted to become part of the Ingot Group as I feel we have the same approach and dedication to customer service that has been built up over the years. This arrangement secures our future and allows us to be more competitive in what can be economically testing times.”

The office of Neil King & Co LLP will continue to operate as normal and all of the existing staff will be joining the company as part of the Ingot Group.

Ingot supply a full kitchen cleaning service, including deep cleans, and duct cleaning – an area often overlooked and a potential cause of devastating fires. The company works to suit each client, often at short notice, at times that are most convenient and issue a certificate of proof of cleaning, requested by most insurance companies, along with before and after pictures.

Ductwork Cleaning – How Much Does It Cost?

For every business in the UK, ductwork cleaning is a requirement by law. And with many different types of heating, ventilation and air conditioning units around, and with so many risks to take into consideration should your ductwork cleaning not be done properly, it is also a requirement that it is carried out by ductwork cleaning professionals. So how much is that likely to cost?

Asking how much ductwork cleaning will cost without having had someone come for a site survey is a little like asking ‘how long is a piece of string?’ Not only is every business premises different, every heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system will have been constructed differently, to tie in with the surroundings and set up of the building, as well as for your specific business needs, such as special facilities required for commercial kitchens, hospitals and other care environments.

It is for this reason that, at Ingot Services, you will benefit from a free of charge, no obligation site visit before we quote for your ductwork cleaning job, to ensure that you get the very best value for money and a thorough service. And we guarantee to match any price you are quoted, and to stick to that price for the next three years.

What to Look Out For When Comparing Ductwork Cleaning Quotes

Of course, with budgets tight, it is important to shop around for the most competitive quote for your ductwork cleaning. But while the cheapest may sometimes also offer the best value, it is also important to ensure that you are comparing like for like.

As well as the cost, it is a good idea to look at quality, to ensure you don’t end up paying for a company to come in and clean up what a less scrupulous company has left behind. The following questions should help you to compare your ductwork cleaning companies more easily:

What References Do You Have?

As with any service that you are procuring, it is a good idea to ask for references for the ductwork cleaning companies you are asking to quote for your work.

At Ingot Services, the quality of our work, coupled with our price match promise, mean that our customer relationships stand the test of time. We have testimonials from a good number of our clients, and should you wish to contact some of them, we can easily provide you with their names and numbers.

What Ductwork Cleaning Credentials Do You Have?

This is a very important question. In order to be compliant, your chosen ductwork cleaning company needs to be fully registered and accredited by the HVCA. Membership of the HVCA can only be achieved via approved qualification or experienced practitioner routes, so you can be sure of a good job.

As well as being fully HVCA registered, Ingot Services is a member of the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme and a Safe Contractor Registered firm.

What Experience Do You Have?  In My Industry?

Finding out about the experience the ductwork cleaning companies have within your industry will enable you to make sure they have the knowledge of the type of debris and bacteria that could be lurking in your ductwork, cleaning it out to ensure health and safety is maintained.  For instance, in a kitchen environment, there will be a lot more greasy build up within the ducts, which needs to be removed to help prevent the risk of fire.

With over 25 years’ experience Ingot Services has an enviable reputation for high quality work. We have clients throughout the UK within the full range of businesses, including local authorities, schools and care homes, and Michelin Star restaurants through to pubs and cafes.

What Is Your Process And Which Elements Are Included In Your Ductwork Cleaning?

While it may sound straightforward, and it may be assumed that a ductwork cleaning company will include every part of the HVAC system within their quote, it is worthwhile checking. And finding out just how the system will be cleaned is also worthwhile, not only to enhance your own understanding, but to ensure that you are happy that your obligations are met.

During our free, no obligation site visit our engineer will be happy to talk you through our ductwork cleaning process, the tools we use and the time it is likely to take for your unique system.

Ductwork Cleaning – The Hidden Cost of Ignoring It

With your ductwork not in immediate view, it can be very easy to put it to the back of the list when it comes to cleaning priorities. But with a host of problems that may occur without regular ductwork cleaning – from harmful bacteria through to fire, as well as possible fines for not meeting your legal obligations, and invalid insurance should the worst happen, not having your ductwork cleaning done can be a lot more expensive than commissioning a ductwork cleaning company on a regular basis.

Find out more about the ductwork cleaning  price promise from Ingot Services. Please call us on 0800 731 7892.