Warehousing activities pose many health and safety risks. If you can't control them, your warehouse may face high employee turnover, poor employee performance, injury and illness, lost workdays, legal problems and, at worst, death.
As an employer, supervisor or manager, you are required by law to implement and maintain safety procedures. Safety measures must protect workers from warehouse hazards and ensure that they can carry out work activities safely.
For reasons other than compliance, you should also focus on promoting thorough warehouse security procedures. Maintaining good practices shows that you value the well-being of your employees and want to do the right thing, which will increase motivation and trust in your leadership.
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Our warehouse safety training introduces learners to how your warehouse puts workers at risk and what measures you can take to control exposure, including hazards caused by vehicles, manual handling, storage, etc.
Warehouse safety tips
The following sections cover common warehouse hazards that you should strive to manage.
Vehicle safety
Whether your workers drive forklifts or forklifts, vehicle safety is essential to prevent impact or crush injuries. In 2020 / 21, 25 people died in the UK from being hit by a moving vehicle. In addition, nearly a quarter of all deaths involving work vehicles occurred when the driver was reversing.
To maintain vehicle safety, you should:
Only employees who have received practical training can drive vehicles. People under the age of 18 are not allowed to operate forklifts.
Make sure workers maintain speed limits - you should post signs to remind them. Forklift drivers should not exceed 5 mph.
Ensure that employees avoid reversing as much as possible. Set up a one-way system and plan the route so that drivers can always see where they are going. If the driver cannot avoid reversing, make sure they are found or supported by other visibility.
Maximize visibility. Set the rear-view mirror to help the driver's line of sight when maneuvering or reversing at the corner. Make sure people working on the warehouse floor know to look left and right when leaving the aisle.
Implement a zero tolerance policy for dangerous driving such as racing cars.
Keep the passage unobstructed. Ensure that employees know to follow good housekeeping practices. For example, dispose of packaging materials and clean equipment as soon as possible.
Arrange regular inspection and maintenance of vehicles. Trained professionals need to check that everything is normal. However, staff can still look for obvious problems.
Provide the driver with a daily checklist. For example, the warning light on the instrument panel, flat tire, seat belt failure, abnormal noise, etc.
Display driver safety notices and signs. Signs should warn drivers to pay attention to pedestrians, fasten seat belts, report problems to managers, etc.
Maintain the floor to prevent the vehicle from overturning or damage. Make sure that some parts of the floor are not too steep, uneven or damaged.
Slips, trips and falls
Statistics from health and safety executives show that slipping and tripping are the most common causes of work-related injuries in the UK. They also point out that falling from height is the cause of death in most workplaces. In 2020 / 21, 35 people died from falling from height, and one third of employees' non fatal injuries were caused by slipping and tripping.
To prevent slipping, tripping and falling, you should:
Ensure that employees know how to conduct good housekeeping. They should clean up spills, remove obstacles in the path, tidy up cables, etc.
Ensure that cleaning personnel display appropriate warning signs. Try to schedule cleaning outside normal working hours, which can reduce the number of people at risk. Also make sure that cleaners use the correct methods and cleaners for your warehouse floor type.
Use non slip paint. It can prevent dust accumulation, reduce the sliding quality of the floor surface, minimize wear and improve cleanliness.
Use non slip tape and shoes. Tape can be used on stairs and other areas where non slip coatings cannot be used, and non slip soles can help people stay safe even in the event of a slip hazard.
Make sure the floor is level - uneven floors can cause people to lose their foothold. This is especially dangerous if they carry heavy loads.
If you have to lay cables on the floor, use heavy wire covers. In addition to preventing tripping, the cover protects the cables from vehicles running over them.
Train employees to work at height safely. The safety of ladders is particularly important because misuse or use of unstable ladders can lead to serious injury or even death. Ensure that workers use them for no more than 30 minutes, stay away from the first three steps and always maintain three contact points (e.g. two feet and one hand).
Lifting
Warehouse staff can carry out manual and mechanically assisted lifting activities. If they are not carried out safely, both activities will bring significant risks. You need to implement appropriate controls to prevent the risk of musculoskeletal disease and unsafe equipment.
To minimize the risk of lifting, you should:
Ensure that the operator of the lifting equipment is aware of the maximum safe working load (SWL). SWL is usually printed on the equipment and / or included in the manufacturer's instructions. Compliance with these limits is essential to prevent strain, which can cause the load to fall off or wear the equipment.
Carry out manual handling safety training for employees. They should know their manual handling weight limit (20-25 kg is heavy for most people) and how to use appropriate handling techniques to minimize stress.
Avoid manual handling as much as possible - use forklifts, pallet trucks, trolleys, etc.
Ensure that employees use and store the chain store correctly. Improper use of the chain will cause metal fatigue, bending or rust of the chain links. Regularly check the chains for problems, put them in a dry place and prevent the vehicle from running over them.
fire safety
The warehouse has a lot of open space and kindling, which means that the fire can spread very quickly. In 2020 / 21, 11916 fires occurred in workplaces and other non residential buildings (including warehouses) in England, of which 14 died and 743 were injured.
In addition to damaging your warehouse and injuring people, fires can also lead to the loss of valuable resources and production time. In fact, many enterprises have never fully recovered from a serious fire.
To maintain fire safety, you should:
Conduct fire drill at least once a year. The exercise can help you check whether your escape route is effective in practice. They should prove that the staff know the location and assembly point of the fire access.
Test the fire alarm once a week, preferably once a month. Also check other equipment regularly, such as fire extinguishers and sprinklers.
Develop fire evacuation and emergency plans. You should review and update it regularly.
Appoint a fireman. Their responsibilities include minimizing fire hazards in the workplace, making evacuation plans and being responsible in case of emergency.
Make sure you have emergency lighting installed. Fire escape routes, exits and signs need sufficient light so that people can see them from a distance and navigate safely.
Handle materials safely. Workers need to ensure that boxes and packages are cleaned and hazardous substances are handled with extreme care. Make sure you know how to store chemicals safely in the warehouse.
Pallets and shelves
Most warehouses require employees to load and unload pallets on shelves manually or mechanically. Your workers must perform these tasks safely so that they do not drop pallets on people, affect the stability of shelves, or damage other equipment.
To ensure the safety of pallets and shelves, you should:
Train employees to load pallets safely. Use shrink or stretch packaging to support the tray and follow the appropriate stacking pattern as recommended by the manufacturer.
Ensure that employees follow the manufacturer's recommended safe stacking height and load-bearing capacity. They should stack them evenly and place heavier pallets at the bottom.
Instruct staff to check each pallet before use. The tray shall not contain loose nails, fragments, cracks or any other problems.
Tell employees not to climb, lean on or walk over pallets or shelves. Some employees may not be aware of the damage they can cause and how easy it is for them to fall off the shelf or hit something.
Ensure that employees do not use pallets or forklifts to enter high places. They should use ladders or other types of suitable equipment to reach higher shelves.
Provide employees with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE helps prevent exposure to multiple hazards.
Personal protective equipment
Workers may need to use personal protective equipment in your warehouse, but remember that you should first implement other controls. This is important because if PPE fails or workers do not wear it, any uncontrolled hazards will pose a huge risk.
Examples of PPE you may need to distribute include:
Safety helmet - make sure you buy it legally. Fake helmets do not provide the same protection as helmets that meet manufacturing standards.
High visibility Jacket - High Visibility clothing is essential when the vehicle is on site.
Safety shoes - shoes with non slip soles can prevent slipping accidents, while steel covered boots can prevent collision and crushing hazards.
Eye protection - Safety Glasses and goggles prevent debris from damaging the eyes.
Hearing protection - ear protectors or earplugs help reduce noise to an acceptable level.
You need to assess the risks in the warehouse to determine what type of PPE your workers need. But in most warehouse sites, hard hats and high visibility jackets are essential. Online training courses can provide more information about the legislation on the use of PPE, the types you may need, and how to effectively implement it in your warehouse.
train
Health and safety training for workers is a legal requirement. They must understand how to use warehouse equipment safely and how to maintain health and safety controls.
You should:
Provide technical and practical training for workers. For example, practical training should include how to use forklifts safely. Technical training - such as employee health and safety training - enables them to understand the hazards in the workplace and how to minimize them. Employees may also need other specific training, such as ladder safety.
Train yourself. Remember, you need a higher level of training than workers. For example, the manager's health and safety training, which covers each basic safety topic in detail.
Most importantly, make sure workers know and report hazards to you or other senior staff immediately. Swift reports enable you to take action to correct problems and ensure warehouse security.
