A lot can go wrong in a warehouse. That’s why safety is an important issue– warehouses need to be managed in such a way that they’re setup well for safety, rather than being an “unattended to, not cared about” mess!
Keeping Employees Safe in Warehouses
What can you do to keep employees safe in a warehouse? For starters, think about all that could go wrong and then plan accordingly to avoid such problems. Think about things like potential equipment accidents involving forklifts and pallets. Also think about employees slipping on slippery surfaces, uneven floors, cords on the floor, etc. What about hazardous chemicals stored in the warehouse? Or falling objects (coming from shelves above)? And then there are the machines– you don’t want employees literally getting entangled in machines and/or crushed.
Warehouse managers should literally walk around their warehouses and look for potential safety hazards. Make a list of them and fix them! Also, check to see if safety equipment is readily available and in good usable condition.
If a warehouse has hazardous zones, are they marked clearly? Are racks, equipment and materials labeled clearly so even a visitor to the warehouse would know they’re in a hazardous space? Also, look at your warehouse from an outsider’s point-of-view. If the outsider were to walk into the warehouse and need to get out quickly, would they see clearly marked emergency exits? Do you have a safety route map on the wall and/or arrows on the floor showing people how to get out of the building in case there’s a fire or other problem?
Warehouse managers should ensure that employees receive safety training– they should know and understand safety processes and procedures. Meanwhile, proper clothing should be worn– flip flops aren’t smart in warehouses, for instance.
Are warehouse shelves overloaded with too much weight? If so, they could collapse and injure people. Are they stacked properly or is the weight unevenly distributed, which could lead to things falling off shelves?
Finally, to help keep employees safe in a warehouse, conduct regular fire drills.
Warehouse safety matters– injuries and deaths can result when safety isn’t a priority.
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