In any warehouse setting, employers are always responsible for the safety of their workplace, as well as their employees. Special laws underneath the Workplace Regulations 1992 ensure any workplace adheres to specific standards of safety. A major concern about extremely busy warehouse environments is that they can easily cause some employers to slip up when it comes to these standards and lose sight of their employees’ safety. Therefore, it’s important for employers to check regularly that their workplace is staying up to standards. Here, we will look further at how to make a safer warehouse environment.
Proper Vehicle and Equipment Use
The vehicles and equipment that warehouse employees use are very helpful, but they can also be very dangerous is they are not operated properly. One of the most common vehicles in a warehouse is the forklift. To keep severe accidents with forklifts to a minimum, make sure to only allow certified workers to use them. You should also outfit racking, columns, and dock areas with bumpers to protect forklifts from damage.
Storage and Loading Safety
How items are stored in a warehouse will have a significant impact on the safety of the environment. Any shelving or racking that is aging or broken presents big safety hazards. The last thing you want is items falling on employees. Being aware of weakening or broken pallets is also vital for employee safety. Broken pallets can lead to serious accidents when loading and unloading shipments. For this reason, one benefit of recycling your wooden pallets is that it leads to increased worker safety.
Implement Better Training and Awareness
When wondering how to make a safer warehouse environment, this is one of the most important things to consider. Putting workers through a proper amount of safety training will teach them everything they should know about how to promote safety in the warehouse. A lack of safety training is one of the most common causes of accidents and injuries on the job. This involves making sure your employees learn how to properly lift and carry loads, use ladders and flatbeds, and how to correctly use machinery. First-aid training should be part of this process as well.
Utilize Signage
Making sure to place a lot of signs to warn and communicate with employees can go a long way. This involves having signs that label where first aid equipment, eyewash stations, and fire extinguishers are located. You should post warning signs anywhere there might be a concern or safety hazard. All vehicles and equipment also need to have signage and proper labeling to keep workers safe when operating them.
