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Safety and compliance

Safety is the job before the job.

The U.S. Department of Labor classifies cleaning and custodial work as high-risk. A cleaning crew creates its own hazards, every mopped floor is a wet floor on a schedule. We treat safety as a managed system with an owner and a paper trail, not a poster in the break room.

An HM Solutions technician moving a stocked janitorial cart past an HM-branded wet floor sign in a warehouse

Why safety is different in cleaning

The people cleaning the building face the building's real risks.

Industrial cleaning is not low-risk desk work. Roughly 40 percent of janitorial injuries are musculoskeletal, and the crew works on wet floors it creates, around chemicals, and in restroom and waste areas. Four hazards dominate, and each one has a control we run on purpose.

Hazard 01

Slips, trips, and falls

The crew works on the wet floors it just mopped. Same-level falls are one of the most expensive injury categories in the industry, and cleaning manufactures the exposure on every shift.

How HM controls it: Wet-floor signage at every wet approach, low-slosh equipment and buckets, fast spill response, and slip-resistant footwear for people who cannot walk around a hazard that follows their mop.

Hazard 02

Chemical exposure

Disinfectants, strippers, and degreasers can harm skin, eyes, and lungs, especially in poorly ventilated areas over a long career.

How HM controls it: A green-cleaning chemical program with metered dilution, GHS-labeled products, ventilation awareness, and the right PPE, backed by Hazard Communication done at the cart, one of OSHA's most-cited standards.

Hazard 03

Bloodborne pathogens and regulated waste

Restroom and waste work create real exposure to blood and other potentially infectious material. This is governed by OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030.

How HM controls it: A written Exposure Control Plan, universal precautions, documented training, correct PPE and disposal, and a clear line between what janitorial handles and where regulated medical waste begins.

Hazard 04

Musculoskeletal and ergonomic strain

Lifting, mopping, and repetitive cart work are the single largest source of janitorial injuries over time.

How HM controls it: Ergonomic equipment, task rotation so the same motion is not repeated all shift, and hands-on training on how to handle buffers, scrubbers, and heavy equipment safely.

One standard, every site

The same safety SOP runs at every location.

HM runs a single, streamlined set of Standard Operating Procedures across every team and every location. The standard does not change from one building to the next, whether the site is in South Carolina or anywhere else we operate. One SOP, trained the same way, enforced the same way, so an audit at any location tells the same story.

The reason it holds is the management model. A dedicated on-site manager, an area manager above them, operations, and hands-on ownership keep the SOP from drifting the way it does when a company runs on borrowed crews and local habits.

An HM Solutions technician mopping a healthcare corridor with a caution wet floor sign and a stocked cart
An HM Solutions safety and training session with the crew in HM uniforms and high-visibility vests reviewing hazards, PPE, and SDS

Start with the right tools, and keep them sharp

Training is not a signature. It is a practice.

Safety training and active participation are essential the day someone is hired and on an ongoing retrain cycle after that. We take it seriously, and we expect every team member to understand and practice it, not just sign a form and move on.

Every new hire is screened before they ever touch a floor: E-Verify, background check, and drug screening. Then they are trained on hazards, PPE, chemical handling, and the SOP for their site. Certifications that expire get renewed on schedule, bloodborne pathogens training, for example, requires annual renewal to stay compliant. Right tools, kept sharp, for everyone on the team.

Third-party verified

Our safety is checked by people who are not us.

Two independent platforms sit between HM and the customer. We participate in both, and we can hand you the documentation, because a claim you cannot verify is just a claim.

ISNetworld ISNetworld member contractor

Your safety vetting is already done.

HM Solutions is an ISNetworld member, ISN ID 400-929487, on the contractor prequalification platform that EHS and procurement teams already use. Our written safety programs, insurance, and injury rates are third-party verified and current, mapped to the components ISN grades before a crew is cleared on site.

  • RAVS written safety programs, reviewed against the OSHA-based checklist
  • Safety performance history: TRIR, DART, and EMR from our OSHA logs and comp records
  • Current certificates of insurance and a complete, consistent company profile
  • Client-specific standing, kept current as your site requirements change

HM currently holds Grade A standing for two customer facilities and can provide proof and certification of ISN participation on request. An ISN grade is earned continuously, not filed once.

Certificate of ISNetworld membership (PDF). Clients with an ISNetworld account can pull our current record directly using ISN ID 400-929487.

EcoVadis

EcoVadis scores evidence, not intentions.

EcoVadis is an independent business sustainability ratings provider that evaluates companies across Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. HM Solutions is an active member that upholds and continuously advances its standards against that framework.

As your facility-service provider, we sit inside your Scope 3 footprint and your Sustainable Procurement theme. We turn recurring janitorial, recycling, and green-cleaning work into documented environmental evidence you can report, mapped to the four operational issues EcoVadis grades under Environment:

  • Materials, chemicals, and waste: green-cleaning program, metered dilution, SDS records
  • Waste and recycling: managed diversion, measured landfill-diversion tonnage
  • Energy and GHG: route-planned scheduling and efficient equipment
  • Water and resource efficiency: metered dilution and efficient floor-care methods

We hand you the documentation your own assessment needs, rather than asking you to take our word for it. See our Sustainability and green cleaning page.

ISNetworld and ISN are registered trademarks of ISN Software Corporation. HM Solutions, Inc. is an independent contractor and is not affiliated with or endorsed by ISN. ISN grades are assigned per Hiring Client requirements and thresholds and are maintained on an ongoing basis; standing may vary by client and over time. EcoVadis is an independent third-party sustainability ratings provider. HM Solutions, Inc. is an independent service provider and is not affiliated with, certified by, or endorsed by EcoVadis. Framework references are provided solely to help buyers map contracted vendor services to evidence within their own assessment.

Our people, and how we protect them

Safety is what care looks like on a job site.

Our HR team and our Safety and Training Manager work as one to hold the highest standard. HR owns hiring, screening, benefits, and the human side. Safety owns the training, the SOP, the incident response, and the field audits. Together they make sure the standard is real on the floor, not just on paper.

And this is not only about our crew. A wet floor we did not sign is a risk to your employees, your visitors, and anyone in the building. When we protect our people, we protect everyone around them. That is why our staff are W-2 employees we invest in and train, not disposable subcontracted labor rotated through a site.

A locker room corridor at an HM Solutions account, freshly mopped with a caution wet floor sign in place
A real HM account, mid-clean. Every wet floor gets a sign, every shift.

Safety contact

Talk to the person who owns it.

Questions about our safety program, our ISN standing, our EcoVadis participation, or a site-specific requirement? Go straight to the source. We are happy to provide our safety documentation and certifications on request.

Or email info@hmsolutionsinc.net. Either route reaches the same team.

Next step

Let us walk your facility.

No cost, no obligation. We take the time your building needs, from a quick look to a full walkthrough of a large site, give you an honest read, and tell you what we would do differently. Whether you hire us this year or three years from now, you learn something either way.