October 16, 2020
10 Facility Inspection Items for a Safe & Spooky Halloween
At Mapcon Technologies, Inc. there are only a few things we take more seriously than trick-or-treating, and one of them is helping you feel confident that your facility is ready for a safe spooky season.
Halloween has changed, and the celebration, most likely, will continue to change even more due to COVID-19. In past generations, Halloween was about dressing up for school or parties on Halloween and ending the night trick-or-treating, door-to-door, around your neighborhood. Now, more commonly, children are attending Halloween events at churches, malls, downtowns, and other locations. Halloween celebrations now take place all month as opposed to just Halloween day. The holiday is less about the one night spent running house to house, gathering as much candy as you can, and is more about the multiple events to attend like trunk-or-treats.
Due to the global pandemic, Halloween is changing even more drastically. There is a smaller chance for families and their children to participate in trick-or-treating due to it being hard to do 100% contact-free. With the possibility of families feeling more comfortable to attend smaller events within their church or any safety regulated event like in malls or downtown, those who are hosting similar events must make sure the facility is safe and prepared for the occasion.
Top proactive facility inspections for Halloween:
- Restrooms: Triple-Check restrooms. Everything must be working correctly as well as clean. Continue to check throughout the event to ensure safety for all attendees.
- Hand sanitizer areas: Check to make sure all hand washing stations or automatic hand sanitizer dispensers are working.
- Safety equipment: Inspect safety equipment like fire extinguishers and the first aid kit.
- Emergency exits: All emergency exits must work and unlocked for swift evacuation.
- Doors: Guarantee proper functions and ease of use. For example, test the handicap buttons or prop up heavy doors that are in popular hallways. Halloween costumes can impair vision, and by pulling on a heavy door, it can result in costumes becoming jammed.
- Parking lots: Make sure all lights in the parking lots are working. Also, check for any debris and continue to monitor the area.
- Lighting: Inspect all safety lighting. Even though Halloween is based on darkness and being frightened, this inspection is a necessity before the event begins.
- Common areas: Check over both indoor and outdoor communal areas. Look for any wet places or anything that could cause an injury.
- Heating or cooling system: If indoors, make sure all temperature regulating assets are running correctly. Some costumes can be warm, and in an overly hot area could cause someone to pass out and become injured.
- Railings: Loose railings should be checked and secured with a plan in place for sanitization throughout the event.
Inspecting the facility is the core of Halloween maintenance. It guarantees assets are running accurately, they will not be a safety hazard, and any requests for a WO or PM are put into place if there is an issue. With Halloween being spooky enough, there is no room for an accident caused by no facility inspections.
We wish you all a candy-filled and safe Halloween.