Flow chart - spill response

If there’s a spillage of liquid, whether it’s oil or gravy, chemical or custard, you need your staff to act swiftly. However, they must also avoid putting themselves or others at risk. Use our flow chart to encourage a balanced response.

Fast guide

The benefit of showing your procedure in a flow chart is that it’s easy to read in a hurry. We would therefore suggest that once you’ve adapted our Flow Chart - Spill Response to suit your own business needs, you display it in locations where it’s likely to be needed, e.g. cleaners’ cupboards, kitchen, store, etc. By having a quick reference guide to spillages you’ll keep control over any associated environmental risk or safety hazard. It will give a helping hand to staff during a potentially stressful time, ensuring they know what’s required and in what order.

What’s covered?

The first item on the flow chart is a decision box which asks, “is the substance hazardous?”. If the answer is “no” the reader is led to a very short and simple response which is to: (1) clean it up or report it to the cleaning team; (2) dispose of it in general waste routes or drains; and (3) check if any further reporting or response is needed. The instructions include reminders to leave floors as dry as possible and follow safe systems of work.

If the substance is identified as hazardous, or if it’s unknown, the flow chart offers a significantly more detailed set of actions and decisions. These cover safety precautions, reporting and investigation.