What kind of work do people do in housekeeping in a hotel? (Part 1)

Housekeeping in a hotel is a very physically demanding job that includes many, varied tasks. Typically, in this case study, housekeepers were responsible for cleaning 16 rooms per shift. The actual amount of work depends on the size of the room and the number of beds. A housekeeper needs between fifteen and thirty minutes to do one room. A housekeeper carries out the following tasks:

• making beds
• tidying rooms
• cleaning and polishing toilets, taps, sinks, bathtubs and mirrors (Figures 3a, 3b)
• washing floors
• removing stains
• vacuuming

What are the risk factors of housekeeping?

The main risk factors for repetitive motion injuries (RMIs) in housekeeping are:

• heavy physical workload and excessive bodily motions which are a high risk for back injuries
• forceful upper limb motions in awkward positions which are a high risk for neck or shoulder and arm injuries

Space limitations require workers to use many uncomfortable postures. These are:

• standing or walking                                                                                                              
• squatting                                                                                        
• reaching
• bending      
• stooping
• twisting
• crouching
• kneeling 
• stretching

A housekeeper changes body position every three seconds while cleaning a room. If we assume that the average cleaning time for each room is twenty-five minutes, we can estimate that a housekeeper assumes 8,000 different body postures every shift.

In addition, forceful movements while using awkward body positions include lifting mattresses, cleaning tiles, and vacuuming every shift. Housekeeping is a physically demanding and very tiring job. It can be classified as "moderately heavy" to "heavy" work because the energy required is approximately 4 kilocalories per minute (4 kcal/min.)

How can we reduce the risk factors for RMI?

Hotel housekeepers work in a unique place. Hotels are usually designed for the comfort of their guests rather than their housekeeping staff. This fact makes it very difficult to improve working conditions for housekeepers by means of better engineering. However, some improvements can be made by selecting more appropriate equipment.

Lighter vacuum cleaners (preferably the self-propelling type), and lighter service carts with wheels designed for carpeted floors would ease the workload for their operators providing this equipment is always kept in good repair. When new vacuum cleaners are purchased, low noise emissions should be one of the criteria.

Improving the body postures that pose a major risk for musculoskeletal disorders seems an unachievable task. Again, this fact results from the peculiarity of hotels as a workplace. To attract guests and remain competitive, hotel management pursues a policy that everything should be "so clean it sparkles". Floors, walls, windows, mirrors, and bathroom fixtures might be adequately cleaned with some form of an extension tool to reduce bending and over-stretching. However, the demand for spotless cleanliness and hygiene, management often requires their cleaning staff to spend extra time and effort cleaning by kneeling, leaning, squatting, crouching, slouching and stretching. These postures will in time contribute to new musculoskeletal injuries and aggravate old ones.

To be continued.

Source: Hotel Housekeeping (HH) – General

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

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