Maintaining a safer sanitation environment

Maintaining a safer sanitation environment to keep your bus at full capacity.

Presented by Tammy Moyer Worldwide Monochem

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Proper sanitation equals good health

Prevention of the spread of illness in buses and coaches requires stringent sanitization processes using powerful cleaning products Maintaining the fleet in terms of cleanliness and health is mandatory for safe transport and positive reputation of the company. The safety and comfort that comes with curtailing the spread of illness in a clean environment for both employees and passengers necessitates routine cleansing and sanitization processes that employ powerful professional products to stem potential outbreaks.

Maintaining clean and healthy vehicles may appear obvious to most operators, but the more unpleasant aspects of these chores always bear repeating — and repeating.

In addition to a line of proprietary products that promote sanitation aboard buses and motorcoaches, the company offers these general cleaning and maintenance best practices for the health and wellbeing of the traveling public.

Rules of the road As part of the pre-trip safety advisory, drivers should remind passengers of the necessity to wash their hands with hand sanitizer or soap and warm water thoroughly and often, especially after using the lavatory.

Even with the availability on the onboard restroom facility, the schedule for lengthier motorcoach trips and tours should include frequent restroom breaks.

If passengers or crewmembers become seriously ill during the trip, a good practice is to report any such incident to your company staff and follow their suggestions.

Try to limit the food and snacks onboard. Instead, plan appropriate stops for snacks as well as regular meals. Bringing food aboard a bus can quickly turn messy, and spoilage of food at unsafe temperatures becomes a concern.

Provide a supply of hand sanitizers or sanitary towelettes for passenger use during a trip or tour.

Cleaning and sanitizing Make bus cleaning, sanitizing and between trips and during trips basic to the maintenance routine.

The cleaning and sanitizing process addresses all contact areas within the bus — restroom area, seating front and back, flooring, handrails and overhead compartments. Refresh upholstered contact areas with germicidal/virucidal products between tours, and when possible during trips once the passengers have deboarded.

The HVAC and ventilation ducts also require routine cleaning and sanitizing regularly, especially after after transporting ill passengers.

Use any EPA (and most any EPA-approved) product approved cleansers to eliminate norovirus are appropriate. If such a product is not available, a solution of 1-1/3 tablespoons of household bleach to one quart of water works well.

Routine cleaning supplies include commercial cleaning products and disinfectants; paper towels and trash bags tissues, as well as a supply of latex gloves.

Hazmat safety When do these chores become a job for Hazmat-trained employees? Typically, when it entails emergency measures such as sudden illnesses and accidents involving bodily fluids or other serious waste materials and contaminates.

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There are three levels of Hazmat waste operations (HAZWOPER) training levels listed in the OSHA 1910.120 regulations. The first level pertains to emergency response; the second level, clean up of contaminated hazardous waste sites; and third, the treatment, storage and disposal (TSD) of hazardous waste.

Worldwide Monochem recommends OSHA-certified HAZMAT training for maintenance employees who can handle those occasional accidents and situations that involve bodily fluids or dangerous materials.

About Worldwide Monochem Worldwide Monochem is a division of Satellite Industries Inc, Cedar Park, TX. In its 55-year history, since the introduction of its original line of T-5 products, the Monochem brand has become synonymous with superior quality and performance in mobile, onboard sanitation.

The company manufactures portable and mobile sanitation products for the bus and motorcoach industries, as well as aviation and marine, and enjoys worldwide recognition as one of the pioneers of chemical deodorizers for transportation providers.

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