The work shouldn’t get in the way of the work. It’s not exactly age-old wisdom but it has its place. If the process of getting work done makes it hard to continue working, procedures need to change.
This is doubly true when it comes to warehouse safety tips. Policies need to accommodate a large volume of work without resulting in catastrophic accidents and injury. Likewise, safety protocols can’t be so strict as to slow work to a crawl.
It is a delicate balance but one with centuries of careful management in play. Warehouse and transportation injuries are second only to outdoor industrial injuries. This indicates that the more space there is to work in, the more chances for accidents to occur.
Unforgettable Warehouse Safety Tips
Remembering to stay safe in a warehouse is about constant, low-level reinforcement. For each of these tips consider regular intervals for signage and education meetings.
1. Lift Right
First, protect workers from themselves.
Warehouse work requires a lot of moving of products to and from shelves. This kind of repetitive strain adds up and so doing it right each time becomes important.
Train warehouse staff to lift and move efficiently. Workers benefit from lower injury rates and greater flexibility and the warehouse saves time from slow processing from workers stopping to stretch and readjust.
2. Drive Safe
Forklift safety is crucial to keep workflows high. Forklifts represent dangers to the operators, other workers, and to products.
Keep drivers and machines in top condition through frequent rotation. A driver too used to moving the same boxes gets lax and makes mistakes. Rotation of drivers ensures they stay vigilant and off of auto-pilot.
3. Ensure Stability
The racks and aisles of a warehouse are the arteries and organs of your operation. You want to make sure that they stay strong and functional.
Racks need to be inspected and changed out as they wear. Investing in rack protection prevents accidents that injure workers and destroy products. It’s a two-fold savings for one simple tip.
4. Clean Areas
In addition to keeping areas reinforced, inspected, and structurally sound you need to keep areas clean. A cluttered aisle leads to workers and forklifts dodging objects, this risks more collisions and costs efficiency.
Consider pre and post-break checklists. As workers stop and start work they look for items to organize and areas to clean. This keeps the warehouse in top shape and ramps up and down work to facilitate continuity throughout a shift.
5. Awareness, Awareness, Awareness
The most important thing to remember about safety in the workplace is that it’s ongoing. You can’t train or program workers to avoid all issues by rote, they aren’t machines. They need to stay aware of their surroundings and changing conditions to react quickly when something goes awry.
Develop some acronyms and mnemonics that workers can go over. This keeps them mindful and helps spot minor errors before they become major accidents. A financial incentive for finding and reporting trouble makes for extra vigilant bodies.
Lead On
With these warehouse safety tips in-hand, you can build a better warehouse. Employees are always happier to work when they feel safe and seen and these tips accomplish both.
For more about leadership opportunities and ideas, check us out again.
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