They say that knowledge is power and what you don't know can certainly hurt you. Such is the case regarding bloodborne pathogens. In the cleaning business it is so natural to prioritize customer service, obtaining new contracts, finding the best employees, however, there is another priority that tops all of them, safety. The safety of our employees, the clients' staff, and their customers is the single most important obligation of every cleaning business. We have an obligation to promote awareness, protective measures, and accident procedures in the handling of the threat and occurrences of bloodborne pathogens.

Employees should maintain a daily awareness that the threat of bloodborne pathogens exist and should be mindful of the symptoms that they bring about. At least bi-annual or maybe even quarterly trainings may have to be implemented to establish a business culture that takes the OSHA requirements seriously. Proactively reminding the team periodically of what bloodborne pathogens are and the impact they have on one's health and safety is an industry best practice.

Protective measures can be communicated in a manner that is easy to remember and easy to execute. Some ideas include: Dos and Don'ts List, "What If Scenarios",etc. In addition, that all employees are educated on the contents of the company's OSHA Exposure Control Plan aimed at addressing accidents involving employees coming in contact with bloodborne pathogens. In closing, factoring in all of these steps can position any cleaning business to function with the power of proactively handling both the prevention and accidents with bloodborne pathogens.