Trash Chute Door3684159
Wow… What a scary website to see. Trash bags caught in the trash chute in such a way that it prevents the chute doors from automatically closing. And make no mistake about it, the trash chute doors are required to close and latch, automatically.
Section 19.5.four.3 of the 2000 edition of the Life Security Code demands trash chutes to discharge into trash collection rooms and the trash collection rooms can't be utilized for any other purpose. So, that means you can't shop items that are not related to the trash chute in the space, such as floor scrubber machines.
The scene in the image is generally brought on by the failure to empty the cart in time, before it fills up to the point exactly where the bags of trash stop the chute doors from closing. In today’s economy, it is not all that uncommon to learn that staff reductions in the Environmental Solutions (housekeeping) division prevent sufficient staffing to remove the trash bags. Whilst this might be a reputable purpose, someone at this hospital forgot the importance of removing the trash on a regular basis. They require to make this a priority.
From a life safety point of view, it would be much better to remove the cart and allow the bags to fall onto the floor. This way it would take a lot more bags of trash to pile up prior to it would obstruct the chute door from closing. I’m not sure what the hospital’s Infection Manage professional would say about that, but I would recommend it as an alternative if the ES division can't empty the cart often sufficient.
If you decide to allow the bags of trash to accumulate on the floor in the trash chute discharge room, I recommend you conduct a danger assessment to analyze the risks to patient security. This way, you can demonstrate to a surveyor that the dangers were considered if the surveyor has a issue with bags o’ trash scattered on the floor.
