A warehouse has the potential to be a very hazardous environment. Let’s take a look at a few of the steps you might take to lower the risk to your workers and to keep productivity high as a result.
PPE
Workers should protect themselves physically, through the use of wearable items like steel-toed shoes and hard hats. If heavy objects are being stored at height, then the right head protection might make a difference if one of those objects should fall.
By far the most important piece of protective equipment, however, is the high-visibility vest. This will give everyone working in the building a good chance of seeing other workers. Being unaware of someone’s location can create the possibility that you’ll unknowingly put them in danger, especially if you’re driving a piece of heavy machinery like a forklift. Unlike other high-visibility gear, the vest is easily worn and easily taken off, which means that your workers will be more disposed to wearing it. That said, it’s still worth imposing penalties for those who fail to wear the PPE.
Signage
By the same token, the right signage in the right places can convey risks to workers, and help them avoid getting into danger unknowingly. For example, if there’s been a spillage on the warehouse floor, then you might insist that a temporary wet-floor sign be put up. On the other hand, you might look for something more permanent – like a floor-painted sign indicating the direction in which foot traffic should flow.
To be effective, your signs should be clear, legible, and unambiguous. You might also use visual aids that don’t use words and letters at all: yellow and black indicates danger in a way that you don’t even need to be able to read English, or read at all, to understand.
Training
Often, minimising risk is a matter of knowing the right things, and behaving in the right way. But you shouldn’t expect workers to come pre-installed with this knowledge. Instead, have regular training in place that will help them to be aware of potential risks, and to report those risks to other people. By the same token, you should also implement a thorough onboarding process so that new recruits can get up to speed quickly.
Machinery Maintenance
If you’re using heavy machinery in your warehouse, then you should make sure that it’s regularly inspected and maintained. Unseen faults can deteriorate over time if you’re not actively looking for them. This deterioration can result in a sudden failure which can endanger your workers.
The solution here is to put in place a system in which all equipment is treated to a thorough inspection at fairly regular intervals.
