Harmattan And Facility Management

ARE YOU READY FOR HARMATTAN?

It is that time of the year, we experience dryness in the atmosphere and lots of dust, we now have to make use of nose-mask, always do a thorough cleaning at home or the office.

Harmattan is weather that happens during the dry season in Nigeria, West Africa. It is a cool, dry wind that blows all the way from the northeast usually comes in around late November. It moves a large amount of dust on its part, causing the dust to settle on surfaces across its part, causing intense heat, serious dehydration and constant inhalation of dust if one lives in a dusty environment. This is bad for our health, especially for people with asthmatic conditions.

Basically, harmattan is a Characteristic Danger which incites desert-like climate conditions: it brings down the dampness, scatters cloud cover, forestalls precipitation arrangement and some of the time makes huge dust storms or sand which can even bring about violent sandstorms or dust storms

The truth remains that little or nothing can be done to change the weather cause it is that time of the year for it. But preventive measures can be taken to avoid much impact. There are some certain risks that are associated with harmattan and cannot be overlooked.

Risks Associated With Harmattan

Poor Visibility:

The harmattan cloudiness can reduce visibility. Drivers and even trekkers needs to beware!

Pilots ought to likewise observe that visibility is diminished because of high concentration of residue particles in the air which may at times obstruct air travel. All Drivers are instructed to be cognizant concerning the hazy climate condition, early morning and late evening fogs which are normally connected with the harmattan season.

Outbreaks of Fire:

The outbreaks of fire comprise one of the usual or common dangers during harmattan; a considerable amount of fire outbreaks are frequently recorded since there is dry breeze, which makes it simple for fire to spread at the smallest start causing annihilation of lives and properties.

Another wellspring of harmattan fire is petroleum kept at homes, workplaces and such other uncommon spots during this season.

Health Hazards:

Allergies:

This is the time when the Asthmatic people experience more crises. Many likewise endure pneumonia and bronchitis, particularly the youthful ones and the aged. The skin is normally dry following the cracks on the lips, the feet sole and surprisingly the skin itself. The eyes are exposed. Itchings, unfamiliar body sensation and redness might be normal particularly in people with hypersensitive eye disease.

The dry, cold and dusty breeze related with Harmattan likewise triggers sickle cell emergencies in affected individuals.

Another condition that can be achieved by the harmattan time frame is nose bleeding as a result of dry bodily fluid coating of the nose and a lot of nose picking.

Prolonged every day openness to chilly climate is an open greeting to sicknesses like rheumatism(affect your joints tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles), pneumonia(cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills and difficulty breathing) and arthritis (painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints); and, in serious cases, death from hypothermia.

The scourge of meningococcal meningitis(bacteria infection that affects the brain/spinal cords) is generally common between February to May in the ‘meningitis belt’, northern Nigeria, is a repercussions of Harmattan.

Loss of water (lack of hydration) is very prevalent. Throat gets sore, sneezing is persistent, regular headaches, sputum in your spit due to catarrh and afterward cold and over the long run, cough. This large number of symptoms for only one season!

Food Borne Diseases:

Due to the shady and dusty atmosphere, it is important to be cultured with the practice of healthy preservation of food most especially food hawkers. In this season, it is easy for people to be infected with diarrhoea and gastroenteritis due to water scarcity. Inadequate supply of water will bring forth poor environmental hygiene.

All these mentioned are not to scare but to create an awareness for you to be careful and be safe at this period in time. Nevertheless, their is a good part of Harmattan that would interest you as well.

Harmattan Benefits

The Harmattan, in spite of its antagonistic health impacts, isn’t without certain advantages to man.

The low temperature related with it is negative for breeding of mosquitoes in this way reducing the occurrence of malaria. The cool breeze likewise brings relieve from the severe hotness. It likewise makes for some beautiful dawns and sunsets!

While the season endures, couples are ‘motivated’ to stick all the more intently together, snuggling like new babies at nights.

During harmattan period, faces are smooth and skin inflammation free? Women would now be able to use as much make up as they need without the heat liquefying it down their appearances.

But preventive measures can be taken to avoid much impact.

Safety Tips During Harmattan

Execute preventive fire safety measures:

1. No burning of bush, prevent electrical touches and avoid wrongly storage of fuel etc.
2. Drivers should drive with lights on low pillar considering reflections from high bars that elevate poor  visibility during this period.
3. Asthmatic patients ought to lessen openness to the dusty air as well as having their inhaler with them all the time.
4. Keep your skin sound by skin utilization of slick creams and climate cordial dressing.
5. Avoid inordinate utilization of disinfectant cleansers; the utilization of extremely impressive sterilizers will more often than not make the skin to dry up.
6. Proper eye cleanliness in type of washing with clean water, reduced openness to dust and wearing of protective spectacles ought to be encouraged.
7. Patients with sickle cell sickness ought to be careful and keep warm however much as could reasonably be expected to forestall crises.
8. Fruits and vegetables ought to be appropriately washed before eating. It is unfortunate for individuals to belittle all way of food vendors all through the season.
9. Our drinking water compartments ought to be appropriately covered.
10. Routine Meningitis vaccinations ought to be in top stuff around this period.
11. Lots of liquid ought to be assumed to make up for loss of water from the body into the air through breath, sweat and pee.

F.M To Business Owners

As a facility manager to a business owner, the productivity of employees can be at stake if the proper cleaning process is not done during this period. There is a call for an intense office cleaning, whether it is a big-sized office or small-sized.

To help you sail through this harmattan season, ELIEZER Workplace Management Limited, with the international best practice janitorial services procedures, will give you three simple ways to keep your office clean.

Rigorous Rug and Cleaning of The Tiles

It is easy for the specks of dust to penetrate to settle on rugs and surfaces and allow some particular kinds of bacteria that are harmful to health. That’s why deep vacuum cleaning is important. This might seem difficult to achieve, but with our best international practice and procedures, it becomes easy.

Office Should Be Constantly Organized

Prevent the office from being clustered during this period and always keep the office organized. Employees should manage their files and objects in one place to keep the tables bare.

Dusting and Cleaning of Office Gadgets and Equipment

Gadgets are among the things that collect the dust at most, so it’s necessary to keep them constantly clean so as for them to be effective and not break down.

In conclusion, how you keep your office will determine the level of dust that gets in. Keep your door shut at most times to reduce the inflow of dust through the door.

We believe with these tips, you have what it takes to reduce the level of impact of dust effect in your office during this harmattan period and increase the productivity of your employee.

We can help you achieve the optimum workplace with our facility management services. Call us today on 08144000052 or email info@eliezergroup.com for a quote.