Clean, Safe and Happy Work

Sometimes strange things resonate with you.

Such a long time ago for me now, when my career started in a busy regional pharmacy as an intern, I learned one of my most valuable business lessons.

Straight out of Uni, and working in an extremely busy dispensary, it was easy to see how mistakes could be happen. However, my mentor was fastidious with process and cleanliness. To keep us on our game, Alwyn would say, sometimes incessantly:

“A Clean Working Area, is a Safe Working Area, is a Happy Working Area”

I must have used this phrase now an innumerable number of times with my teams and perhaps is the basis of my passion for systemisation. Such a simple comment, however, with profound implications on all businesses and workplaces in terms of process accuracy, process safety, minimising errors, improving efficiency, and having a less stressful environment (at least for the Obsessive Compulsives like me).

As my experience grew into Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, the comment became even more relevant with plant and system design, procedures and training. It was almost the essence behind Quality Systems such as 5S, Lean, Six Sigma.

So, whatever your passion, your profession, much is the same. Whether you work in a Pharmacy, Restaurant, Cafe, Manufacturer, start with the simple Clean, Safe Happy!

Thanks Alwyn.