How to Improve the Safety of Your Warehouse

Operating an efficient warehouse is essential for helping your company reach its goals. In terms of filling orders and stocking product, your warehouse needs to have ample space and a team that can effectively manage every aspect of the workday. While you want your team to work quickly, so that productivity does not suffer, it is also critical that you have a safety plan in place because the nature of a warehouse poses dangers not found in other industries. Improving safety in your warehouse will lead to greater productivity, increased morale and more business for your team.

Train Your Team with Safety in Mind

Safety in a warehouse begins with you. By training new hires and providing continuing education for your employees, you will be able to greatly reduce the amount of warehouse incidents. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), there are more than 145,000 people working in over 7,000 warehouses in the United States, and the fatal injury rate in the industry is higher than the national average. Potential hazards in a warehouse include the improper use of machinery, such as forklifts, and stacking products on pallet racks unsafely. When you educate your employees on the risks and take steps to promote and reward safe behavior, your entire team will respond positively.

Inspect and Protect Pallet Racking

Over time, your pallet racks may wear down. Accidental damage from forklifts or other equipment, in addition to the weight of products, can increase the risk of injury from falling objects. Implement a regular inspection and maintenance plan that will allow you to spot problem areas and take action before an incident occurs. Following the guides on your shelving will also keep you from overstocking items that could pose a threat to your employees.

Placement of Items in Your Warehouse

Overexertion is a common injury in warehouses around the world. Constant reaching and bending for product on the shelves leads your employees to muscle strain and other injuries. To help your employees, you can create a strategic plan where the fastest moving product is placed between waist and shoulder level. This eliminates the constant need to bend and lift product off the floor, or reach above the head and increase the risk of injury. According to Inbound Logistics, this also increases efficiency by allowing employees to load a pallet in less time with less strain on the back.

When you think of warehouse safety in the most basic way, you will see the simple steps you can take to reduce injuries, including maintaining and repairing your pallet racks. Informing your employees about the risks and providing your warehouse team with the tools they need to safely complete the job will make it easier for everyone to stick to the safety plan and help your business grow.

       Sources

      1.    OSHA (2014-04-10), “Worker Safety Series: Warehousing,” Occupational Safety & Health Administration (www.osha.gov)

      2.     Harrington, Lisa H. (2014-04-10), “Warehousing: The Safety Zone,” Inbound Logistics (www.inboundlogistics.com)

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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